Freedom and Loyalty

  Star Sorceress: Book Two

  Author: D. L. Harrison

  Copyright 2024. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Afterword:

  About the Author

  Other books by D. L. Harrison:

  Book Description

  Chapter One

  Fleet Mage Academy base, Irilia.

  Irilia was warmer and more temperate than Earth. The midwinter January day a cool and crisp fifty-six degrees as they opened up all the windows and aired out their assigned housing. Their uniforms were rated for survival in space, so had no trouble keeping them warm despite the chill cross breeze. They’d returned a day early to get their assigned housing back in order after a three-week absence, and Ashley was both excited to be back but a little disappointed their short vacation was over.

  While the three of them aired the place out, and took care of the dusting, putting out fresh washed sheets and towels, and all that, the guys had gone shopping. As per their agreement with Stacy, who kept them all in fresh home cooked meals on the weekends while the guys kept them stocked, and her and Ella kept the kitchen tidy and clean.

  The four of them were her best friends, and perhaps her first and only ones. She’d failed to really connect with anyone in the large foster home, she’d been far too focused on study, graduating high school, researching history with a jaundiced eye, and practicing mage magic to raise her Solis limit high enough to qualify.

  The four of them however, were all just as driven in their own way, ambitious toward their fleet career, and focused on ideals such as integrity, sacrifice, and service to something larger than they were. She wanted to make a difference, protect and safeguard lives, and take down the Harbingers. The Fleet Mage Service had seemed like the best chance she’d have at doing that. Not to mention the free higher education and spells the fleet provided to its mages, including several that made cleaning up quite a bit easier.

  She felt a warm thrill when the guys got back and Crandall’s strong arms wrapped around her from behind, and she tilted her head back to receive the kiss he was looking for. They’d talked about what was coming of course. The service didn’t forbid fraternization in the cadet ranks, only cadets mixing with the other students in the academy and college, but it did forbid any form of PDA or angst in public, either during or between classes.

  She wasn’t looking forward to it, the last three weeks had been blissful, and she often had her hands on him if he was in range, even just holding his hand, and he didn’t seem to be able to keep his hands off her either. Which she’d learned was quite normal and healthy, for a relationship so new.

  Ella and Daniel had the same problem. As far as she could tell, Ella was entirely over her fears in dating a councilor’s son, one person of sixteen that ruled on the inter-world level of the Planetary Union government.

  Regardless, they’d set some strict rules for each other, and while she was more than disciplined enough to follow through on them, she wasn’t looking forward to being in class with him all day but unable to touch, or even give him an intimate look, all day long. It sounded like torture actually, but she was determined to control and enjoy her passion in and for him, she wouldn’t let her passion control her, or ruin her career.

  Next to a lot of other challenges in her past, it was no big deal at all, except it was a tempting challenge instead of an obstacle challenge, which she was learning was a bit different.

  They’d simply put, decided not to risk their careers by taking foolish chances, and all affection and intimacy between them would be limited to the very house they stood in. There would be no stolen moments, not even in the city on a night out, even if they were positive that they wouldn’t get interrupted or had privacy.

  The second rule was he wasn’t allowed to spend the night, which would technically be against protocols as he was supposed to be in his own dorm room. As light’s out in the academy was ten pm, they’d have plenty of time together in privacy and with the group every day after their school day ended in early afternoon.

  That was it, the two rules weren’t difficult to remember, only hard to carry out she imagined.

  She’d miss that second one more, she thought. She’d gotten used to waking up next to him. That practice hadn’t ended with the arrival of his parents, which had been a pleasant surprise.

  All five of them had also signed up for the same electives for the second semester. Her late morning class was a continuation and deepening of quantum physics as it related to the study of magic, or thaumatology. The intro courses of history and computer science had been enough for her on those subjects. The former she could continue her studies on her own as history interested her, and in truth she’d found the classroom progress a bit slow and stifling given her passion for the subject. A degree in history wouldn’t help her career, so she’d relegated it to a personal hobby.

  The computer science course had been enough for her purposes, so she hadn’t pursued the next level of the subject in either course.

  The two new courses were piloting, specifically smaller landing craft such as shuttles and fighters, including atmospheric and spaceflight. She was a little curious about it, and it’d be a good skill to have, but it’d been Ella and Crandall that had truly been passionate about the idea. The afternoon elective they all agreed on was psychology, which they all believed would help them as officers and future leaders and commanders in the fleet. A kind of complementary course to officer and command courses they’d have as part of the four-year fleet operations class.

  Their three main classes weren’t changing at all, just an advance in subject difficulty built on top of what they’d learned last semester.

  “Miss me that much?”

  Crandall winked, and he didn’t look like he was planning to let her go anytime soon.

  “Maybe.”

  She leaned back against him for a private moment, then asked seductively, “Just maybe?”

  He grinned, “Temptress.”

  She smirked, “If I’m that tempting, then why aren’t we in my bedroom yet?”

  She snickered as he picked her up, and headed that way at a fast clip…

  Professor Janice Cahill stood before the class, with a light professional smile on her face.

  “Welcome back, cadets. I hope the last three weeks haven’t completely erased all the information I stuffed in your heads last semester?”

  “No, maam!”

  Cahill grinned, “Glad to hear it. Last semester we focused on all the standard fleet spells, deep dives into their schemas, and you all created a spell of your own devising proving you understand the basics of spells.

  “This semester we’re going to be learning about devices. A device spell works much as a normal one. The magic is applied, and like your implant a spell is imprinted into your mind which is then cast through the device. Very similar, who can tell me what is different about the devices. Jace?”

  Jace replied, “A spell has variables filled in by the caster’s intent. Such as power level, target, and some spells are dynamic enough to do vastly different things. Telekinesis is a good example of that, as the ends are as varied as what our hands may accomplish. A device has zero variables, the spell is set in every way, from power level to function and form.”

  Cahill smiled, “Good, anyone else know what the other difference is? Ella?”

  Ella replied, “It would be foolish to do so, but when using a device, a mage doesn’t even have to know what the spell is, or what it will do, to use it.”

  Cahill tilted her head, “True, but not exactly what I was looking for. Anyone else?”

  She waved lightly, “As Ella said the implant can’t prevent a mage from casting a spell with a device, making them dangerous in that way. So, a mage could burn themselves out, if they unknowingly try to cast a spell through a device beyond their Solis limit.”

  Cahill smiled, “Yes. They can be dangerous. If you’re not sure what a device does, using it would be courting the loss of your magic as well as irreversible brain damage. Which is where the analyze device spell comes in. Part of the standard spells, you should make a habit of using it whenever encountering a new device, even if you trust the person that gave it to you, mistakes are made, no one is perfect. You don’t want brain damage because someone accidentally put it back on the wrong shelf last time it was used. The analyze spell won’t tell you exactly what the device does, not without studying the results, but it will tell you definitively and immediately what the Solis cost is.”

  “Enough about that, though I’ll mention it again in the future given its importance. Let’s examine the first difference which Jace covered. No variables. Which means devices are often us
ed in situations and jobs that require exact duplicate results, not only from cast to cast but from caster to caster. Your mage pistols are a spell device, with three embedded spells that are governed in part by electronics.

  “Your uninforms are mage devices that you don’t even control. When the sensors detect a drop in atmosphere it automatically has you cast the atmospheric bubble around your head which makes it completely airtight. Then there’s the gravity device spells on our warships, which as you learned last semester in your operations class, are that way to ensure the gravity aboard a warship is predictable and never changing, from mage to mage. It’s also all those spell devices can do, specific unchanging actions with identically repeatable results, because no mage casts the same spell in the same exact way, because every mind is different.

  “So devices are extremely important, and this semester we’ll be digging into the various kinds of devices, as well as how they’re made. There are three device types. Autonomous devices like your suit, designed to work when certain variables are true, and you’re not even aware you’re casting the spell. Voluntary devices such as your mage pistols, which are entirely at your discretion.

  “The third type of magical device is semi-autonomous, like breathing can be voluntary or involuntary. The device spell will automatically activate if the right conditions are met, yet you can also use the device at your own initiative. An example of a device like that is closer at hand than you know. Specifically, encasing your feet. If your boots detect a loss of gravity, they will immediately magnetize autonomously, but you can also activate your magnetic boots with an act of will if you stream some magic into your feet, instead of your hands.”

  “It also may not come as a surprise to you, after all I’ve said about the coming semester, but your final project in this class is to build a spell device. You get to keep it, so my advice is to make something with a spell you use often, to accomplish the same task daily. You can create a new spell, a basic one, if you wish, but if you choose that path then you’ll also need to submit it for approval and licensing. You will of course, get a better grade as well, for putting in the extra effort.

  “Now, let’s get started.”

  The café was a bit raucous after magic spell class, a lot of people catching up after the break, within and between platoons. Once things settled down a bit the morning class came up.

  Daniel asked, “Any ideas on devices.”

  “Weekend kitchen cleaning?” Ella quipped.

  She smiled, “That’s tempting, but I think we’d need a variable spell for that. No two kitchen messes are the same. The dishes won’t be in the exact same spots, different silverware and pans, and so on. Hmm, how about… never mind.”

  Ella snickered, “No, spit it out.”

  She laughed, “Remember my first suggestion of a new spell?”

  Ella blushed.

  She shrugged, “It’s actually pretty easy, and it could come in useful if the mundane ones fail. I considered grooming as well.”

  Stacy tilted her head, “Wax, shave, nails, pluck, exfoliate, teeth, and moisturize?”

  She nodded, “Something like that, yes. But it’d be a device that only worked for one person, really. Not every one of us does those things in the same way. I’m tempted to build a spell for it though, it’d take weeks an hour a day, but then I’d never have to bother with that stuff again.”

  Stacy asked, “What was the other idea you two danced around?”

  Ella shook her head, “Not polite conversation in public.”

  Jace snickered, “Now you have to tell us.”

  Brent nodded in agreement.

  “An autonomous contraceptive device.”

  There were some snickers around the table, but no one commented. It really was something she was considering now that she was active. Accidental pregnancy wasn’t a huge risk, but the mundane contraceptives weren’t a hundred percent, though they came close they did fail.

  Still. She wasn’t shy, but the idea of having her project reviewed in class wasn’t exactly appealing. She considered making both grooming and contraceptive spells, in her spare time, but she’d pick something else for the device project. At least with a spell, only the board would see it, and it wouldn’t be reviewed in class since it wasn’t classwork. Mages were allowed to build their own spells, after all.

  Daniel nodded, “I can’t really think of anything important that isn’t already covered, or a task I hate so much I’d want to automate it. Except maybe when it’s our turn to clean the dorm bathroom.”

  She nodded, “That would work, and since the bathrooms are uniform across floors and dorm buildings it would work on all of them.”

  Of course, that didn’t help her.

  She’d give it some thought. While cleaning the bathroom did sound useful, it wasn’t something they could ever use again once they’d left the academy. She kind of wanted something she could use in a longer term and would stay relevant even after the academy. That might be asking too much though, so she’d pick something else if only to do the assignment.

  Chapter two

  Sgt. Amelia Hall stood before the class.

  “Glad to see you all made it back. Alright, a few things. This semester we’ll continue with small arms and squad tactics as well as larger groups two days a week, Monday and Wednesday. There’ll be two weekend exercises revolving around that this semester, and to sharpen your skills further there will be smaller practical exercise in class. We’ll also be working in larger ordinance, attack shuttles, small yield missiles, and artillery defenses.

  “Two days a week we’ll be expanding weapons and tactics to space. Warships, their weapons, and tactics in small skirmishes and large fleet actions. So tomorrow and Thursday you’ll be reporting to the simulators. As always there is to be no use of magic save your mage pistol devices in training shot mode. There’s a lot to get to.

  “Lastly, in your second semester you’ll have the opportunity to join one of our clubs. Tryouts for the junior teams and schedules are already available to you in your implants. Participation is highly recommended and will look good on your record here at the academy, even if you fail your tryout for a place on the teams, that’s better than not trying at all.

  “There are four clubs, marksman, dueling, hand to hand, and flight. There are also various sports teams. Marksman should be self-explanatory, only the best and quickest shots will excel there as it requires split second timing.

  “Dueling sounds more dangerous than it really is, since in academy magic duels you’re restricted to the basic spells and all at power level one. The first person taken down to the ground or that has been blooded by magic, loses. You start out with no spells on at all, some try to raise defenses, others will go for the quick kill betting they can cast faster than you. It will be useful experience however, if you ever run into an enemy mage.

  “Hand to hand is also self-explanatory, a physical sparring that ends when an opponent is pushed from the fighting circle or put down the ground for longer than three seconds.

  “Flight uses the flight spell and an obstacle course to fly through. Speed and maneuverability determines the winner, which is one of the reasons we have junior and advanced teams. As of now, you can all manage a power level one flight spell and a thaums regeneration spell to ensure you don’t run out of magic and fall to your deaths. Each level of flight is faster, so you’d never be able to keep up with the cadets of later years. The same logic applies to the rest, though in marksmanship, duels, and hand to hand the only telling portion will be experience.

  “The clubs will make you better fleet mage officers, more capable, but you can only be in one at a time, as tryouts and meetings will be on Sundays. There are four second semesters during your four years here, so it is possible to experience all four if you have what it takes.

  “The second semester of every year is also the inter-academy competition. Your club meetings on Sundays will be competitive, but also training for the competition, which will occur halfway through the semester. This year the Marines are hosting.

  “As you should all know, each of the three branches have three bases on Irilia, on the three continents. An active-duty base and command and control center, and two academy bases each, one for mages and the other for those that serve without magic. Like you, the spook mages are the cream of the crop as far as potential and Solis level, since they have ships too with ripple drives it’s a requirement. But do not underestimate the marine mages of intermediate and advanced strength, a higher Solis level won’t avail you anything over them in the competition.