NOVEL FROG Chapter 40: Making Plans
Chapter 40: Making Plans
Location: Estriduros Republic; Querny System; VS Stargazer
It takes until after our next jump, but now I finally find time to sit down with Maja to discuss our plans. There is so much to do! First, we need to decide on the route we want to take. We meet up down in my cabin and sit on my bed lazily. “You got the flying part handled?” I ask her and stretch my legs a bit.
“Sure,” Maja replies. “We're going in a straight line for the next day… I just have to watch for some rocks floating around, but the route here is pretty clear. And our sensors provide warnings way in advance.”
“Nice, that should give us enough time to discuss a few things.” I glance around for my tablet, as I've written down some notes yesterday before the jump. There. Right on the desk, exactly where I left it. I wish I had Telekinesis… But no, I have to do it the mundane way, so I get up and grab it. Grumbling under my breath, I sit back down.
The tablet activates after unrolling and shows my list. Ah, right. Almost forgot about that again. “Okay, until now, we’ve flown around pretty aimlessly toward the Estriduros System.”
Maja interrupts me right there. “I wouldn’t say aimlessly… We had to escape out of the Olovis System before detection, and our current route is a direct one.”
“Yeah, true, but what I mean is while we’re flying toward the capital system, we’ve not yet talked about what we’re going to do once we arrive. Oh, and we might have to delay a bit anyway as my progress with the Stealth spell is very slow.”
Maja looks down, seemingly deep in thought. Her human-like expressions are completely indistinguishable now… Crazy! She nods and looks back up. “Well, you promised me all the way back to stop them from finishing what they started with me. So that should be one of our goals.”
I nod in agreement. “Yeah, totally true. You helped me so much in these past months, it’s time I give something back. Even better if it’s a noble goal. Those plans can never see fulfillment. I just hope Sean was right and they managed to delete everything.” I tap my fingers along the tablet’s edge, not able to hold still. “But that shouldn’t be our only goal. I actually don’t want to stay here in the republic for too long. Even if I’m currently a free Mage, there is always the chance of discovery. And if there is one thing I never want back, then it’s that collar!”
“Oh, I can understand that. Also, there is the data from Earth. We need to deliver it.”
She’s right. While I didn’t forget about that, I considered leaving the republic for now as more important. “Also true, so we have two goals to accomplish for now. I’ve written down a few more things but I’m open to your ideas too, so let’s hear them and don’t cheat by accessing my tablet.” I wink and she blushes.
She huffs a bit. “Fine, let me think then.” She finally managed to avoid going completely still when processing data and so she still acts lively even if she’s clearly absent. “Okay, first of all, we need IDs if we want to do anything legal.” She grins at me and continues. “Well, we could always play pirates and steal the things we need. How about it? We've even got some weapons.”
Arrrghh, how could she? “I should space you right now for even suggesting it! We’re never going to be pirates!” I compose myself after my outburst. She just did it to irk me and it worked… Very annoying! “But you’re right. Without IDs, we’re sitting ducks. I hadn’t thought about that. There’s another thing too, we need money.”
“I might have a partial solution for that, but it will be a bit illegal, at least if we want to stay below the radar.”
A bit illegal? She’s talking about stealing it, right? But why should that only be a bit illegal? I must say, I’m curious. “What is it?”
“You should have gotten paid at your job as a Mage, right?”
I nod. I did earn money at Solitur Transportation. The republic praises their great treatment of Mages after all, the collars are for our protection. Everyone knows they’re lying, but they advertise it anyway.
“Good, so there should be some money in your account. While we can’t access it directly as we want to stay unnoticed, I think I can funnel it through a few fake accounts until we can deposit it in a new account corresponding to our new IDs.”
Oh, that’s actually quite genius. I mean it’s my money, so we aren’t stealing it, technically. “That’s a good idea. Let’s do that. While I don’t have too much, it should at least let us buy enough supplies.”
“Sweet, that’s settled then. Now back to the IDs… I think we both know that there is no way around something shady. We can’t simply walk to a government office and ask nicely.”
I frown. She’s right, unfortunately. “Sadly true, you are not supposed to exist anymore and I’m an uncollared Mage. We have to look for someone in the Estriduros System. And while we’re talking about illegal stuff, that brings me to my next point. While you can fly the ship pretty well, that's it... I've seen you struggling from time to time. The ship clearly wasn't made with AI control in mind. And there's also the issue with the magical weapons and shields... We simply can't use them without an A&D Mage. What I’m meaning to say is we need a crew!”
I get a confused look in return. “True enough with the non AI friendly controls... But how is getting a crew illegal?”
“Well, the crew I have in mind is not exactly unemployed right now. At least I think so. And most of them are in the same situation I was in a few months back.”
“Ohh, you mean your friends you've talked about, right? Your perfect starship crew.”
“Exactly, Thomas and Lucy for our offensive and defensive duties, and Shay for security.”
I go silent for a moment. I’ve just remembered something. Shay still has my necklace turned bracelet. The one I had as a baby. The one that’s probably from my parents. One more reason to get Shay! I definitely need that back. Now that I know of my family, I need it more than ever. It’s the only thing I have left of my parents.
“Something wrong?” Maja asks and I shake my head.
“No just something I remembered. I left something with Shay all those years ago. Now I can finally get it back.” I smile.
“Now on with it. Simon can be my backup, or well actually the main Space Mage as he’s stronger than me. Next, there is Jack. As a Utility Mage, he’s probably in the communication sector from what I’ve heard about what the republic does with them. He could support you with the sensors and other communication equipment. And as the last of my academy and home world buddies, there is Greg. I’m actually not sure as he hates his magic… maybe we can convince him or show him that he’s not that locked into A&D when we leave the republic. I’ve two more people in mind, but finding or getting them could be tricky. First is Dr. Silver from the academy and the second is Trix, the engineer.”
Maja furrows a brow. “You know, if I hadn’t known about them before you listed it up so nicely, I would have thought, you picked your friends for exactly that purpose. They are frighteningly fitting for our needs here on the Stargazer.”
She’s right, of course. But I thought that before. Way back on the academy station. I can’t help myself but laugh out loud. “I can’t help it… Those are my friends. Well, most of them are, Doctor Silver was only very nice to me, but I think it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
We are both silent for a moment before Maja starts speaking again. “I agree. We should try to get them all. It’s always better to count on friends… Now that settles the crew. That should be it, right?”
Besides getting supplies we discussed almost everything on my list, but that’s stuff we can simply buy once we solved the money problem. “Yeah, that's pretty much it. I've got a few more things on my list like setting up our lab and gym or getting newer equipment overall, but I guess it’s better to look for those things once we’re in another nation.”
“Good. Now we just have to find the most efficient way to do that,” Maja points out. “I don’t want to waste our time traveling back and forth through the whole nation. Wanna join me on the bridge for that? I think the bigger screen is better than your small tablet.”
“I agree. Lead the way.” We both get up and leave the room. While the elevator takes us up to deck 03, I voice my frustration. “I know it’s a very nice ship, way better than I’ve ever imagined flying, but we really should upgrade to hologram projectors as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, I completely agree. We should upgrade the whole infrastructure. It’s ancient!”
We arrive at the bridge with a ding and the doors slide open. A glance out of the window shows empty space as far as my eyes can see. It seems like it will take a while till we can jump again. Maja activates a screen on the wall and we both look at it. A map showing all 23 systems of the Estriduros Republic appears. Almost in the center is the Estriduros System itself. The Olovis System is to the left, right at the border to the Dakarti Federation.
It takes a while, but finally, I find the Acordus System at the bottom end of the map. It’s way smaller than most of the others. Huh, it’s actually not that far away relatively speaking.
The best thing is, that I now have a visual of the route we are currently taking toward the Estriduros System. Maja conveniently marked the Querny System and our previous travel route in red. Three more jumps and one new system till we arrive. I have to hurry with the cloaking spell! Wait, I know the name of the system we arrive at after a double jump through a refill station. It’s the Puertu System, Lucy’s home system!
My eyes go wide. “Maja, I've got our first destination!”
She looks at me and frowns. “We are already traveling toward the Estriduros System, you can’t claim that as your idea.”
“No, that’s not it. It’s the Puertu System. Jack should be working there for Star Com!”
“Ohh, that changes things. But that also means you have to learn the Stealth spell earlier… I’m going to slow us down a bit, hang on.”
I grimace, she’s right. That’s a core system, they would detect our weapons immediately if we closed in on a planet. More work for me. “Right, but let’s finish the plan before I go practicing.”
“Yes, so our first stop is the Puertu System to collect Jack. Next, I suggest going to the Estriduros System as soon as possible. There should be a military facility that I can infiltrate and hack. If we’re lucky, I don’t find anything about the project that was responsible for me…”
“I agree, finding nothing would be for the best. And there is the main base of the military, that’s a good place for you to look for information.” Maja displays what we said so far, and I notice something. “Wait, you’ve only put your name next to the military facility!”
Maja looks me straight in the eyes. “I did. There’s no way you could fake being a member of the military, also who knows if they’ve got Mage scanners or something like that? Additionally, you can look for someone who can print us some IDs.”
I flinch a bit. “I could fake being military for sure, let me tell you! But you’re right, me looking for IDs is probably better as it saves us time. Oh, and when you’re already inside the military facility, you can also look for the others… I mean there should be records of their deployment schedule.”
Maja nods and adds it to the list. “That I can do. So afterward we meet back up and infiltrate the academy?”
I think about it for a minute, then shake my head. “No, I think that’s too risky. We should look if we can catch Doctor Silver out of the academy somewhere. That should be it for now, right? Once I've got the IDs, you can take care of the money problem, and for Greg, we have to ask the others… I don’t know if he still works for the same company. It’s been a while since I've heard from him. That only leaves Trix. She should still work for Solitur Transportation, so we have to check their headquarters in the Bon Delaaz System. But we can leave that for last.”
Maja, nice as she is, finishes up the list and claps her hands. “Yeah, that’s it. Now off you go, you’ve got a spell to learn.”
I groan. That’s going to be a long day! “Yeah, yeah, I know. Let me know when you need me for the jump. I’m going back down to practice.”
I turn around to leave, then stop. “Actually, can you turn off the gravity? It’s about time we try some teleportation!”
“Sure, here you go.” I quickly activate my magnetic sneakers and gravity turns off. “You still want to go to your room?”
I nod. “Yeah, can you calculate the coordinates?”
“I should be able to… Huh? Wow, inside the ship is easy as fu..”
I just have to raise my eyebrow and she stops and blushes. Gotcha! “Okay, let’s do it.” I feel the coordinates locking in, just like before. Next, I form the Personal Teleportation spell and flex my magic. I vanish with a purple flash and immediately afterward, I reappear in my cabin two decks below. Then, with a short delay, I hear Maja swearing.
“Shit! I lost you for a moment. That’s not going to work! Anywhere else besides the ship and I wouldn’t have been able to reconnect. We need to find a solution.”
Hmm, that’s not good… But I also can’t put her back into my head. That would be cruel. Maybe another… “Hah, I’ve got it! We can use S-57. Can you still keep the connection if we load him on your old chip? Maybe you can teach him to be smarter.”
“That could work! Here, jump right back up. Let’s test it.”
Another set of coordinates locks in and I focus to jump. Stealth has to wait for a little while longer.