He put his hands on the tactical station, and magic surged from his body. The ship amplified it thousands of times, as it was routed into and strengthened the shields. He also brought the weapon systems online.

  Besides strengthening the shields, he’d also be able to improve the energy output of the lasers. Lastly, his mind was aware of the military sensor data streaming into the system, and he’d be able to launch spells as well. Against ships, that kind of thing was better left to the enhanced lasers and missiles, but a well-crafted spell could swat enemy missiles out of space far more accurately than the laser targeting could.

  He’d also be far more effective and powerful at it, than a wizard of lesser ability and strength.

  Brenda said, “Port side life-ship just launched, sir.”

  He nodded, “Not a ruse, my detections felt them leave the ship. They’ll be picked up by a patrol.”

  “Sixteen missiles incoming. They’ll be within effective laser range in… twenty-three seconds.”

  He knew that already, but he wasn’t going to comment on that. He needed her watching his back, and he didn’t want to dissuade her from sharing critical information or have her start making assumptions that he was omnipotent. That was a good way to get dead.

  He launched four missiles at the closest of the four enemy ships. Then focused on casting an earth spell that would slam into the missiles. The collision circuit should make the missile believe it’d hit a target and set it off.

  The first missile exploded, and he started to send out spell after spell, as quickly as he could process the data flowing through his magic and mind. He managed to get most of them, but the last two slammed into the shields.

  The ship rocked violently, but he barely noticed with his eyes closed and his focus on what was going on outside the ship. Regardless, the enhanced shields held.

  The ships could fire four missiles every forty-five seconds, and there were just over fifteen left before he could launch again. The enemy could fire in thirteen, but they’d all be in laser range of each other in just a handful of seconds.

  His first volley of four missiles only had one direct hit, the other three taken out with point defense lasers. The damage to their shields was negligible.

  But he aimed for that spot on their shield grid, as he fired the bow and two port laser banks at them. That was twelve eighteen-inch lasers that stabbed across the distance, hitting their slightly degraded shields. The two starboard and aft lasers banks didn’t have line of sight.

  Normally it’d take three to four volleys to cut down the shields, but he was a Celestial Knight, and his magic greatly enhanced those beams. The shields held for a moment, then were overloaded. The hot beams dug into the ship cutting jagged furrows through the hull as the targeting adjust wasn’t quite perfect to the movement disparity between the ships.

  At the same time, his enhanced shields kept their return fire from degrading the shields more than five percent, instead of the expected thirty percent when powered without a magic user.

  He launched four more missiles at it, which would finish them off. The missiles flew into the jagged holes of the hull, and then exploded inside of the ship. It went off like a miniature nova.

  He started to swat twelve more missiles, as he waited for the other three ships to move into laser range.

  Brenda said, “They’re bugging out, I think you scared them into running. They’ve reignited their plasma candles and are running for the FTL line. Should I adjust course to pursue?”

  He considered it, then shook his head, “No, continue our course toward Dragos. With the data we have, I have no doubt the fleet sent to finish it will run them down fast and deal with it. Their data should also have all their customers and contacts, sales. We’ll be shutting down more than we bargained for in the beginning, not just the dissidents and suppliers for those dissidents.”

  It just made sense not to risk the ship and data, just for the satisfaction of personally taking down three more of those bastards.

  She snorted, “If I were them, I’d scuttle my ships, change my name, and hide on a planet.”

  He chuckled, “That works too, if it puts the Varian Merc company out of business.”

  He secured the ship, and verified they were still transmitting the data dump to Bright Star.

  She gasped, when he snuck up on her and put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, then nibbled her neck and suckled her earlobe.

  Her skin was delicious, and the adrenaline crash and thrill at still being alive had him horny as fuck. It wasn’t why he’d saved her, but it sure came in handy, and he moaned into her ear as she arched her back and ground his cock hard with her soft supple ass.

  “You going to take me right here?”

  “Damn right, lock your station, and bend over.”

  She quivered in his arms, and she did exactly that while he ripped her uniform pants down. She was a wild thing for him, and he was probably the best fuck she’d ever had. Which was saying a lot, given she was two decades older than he was, and quite experienced at giving a man pleasure in bed. Of course, she also didn’t look a day over twenty-five, most humans of any age looked to be between twenty-five and thirty. Keeping the appearance of youth and having supple flawless bodies was easy with a healer’s aid, or a celestial knight’s, for that matter.

  It was only those like him, who were younger than twenty-five, that looked younger than that age bracket.

  They both hissed in pleasure, as he buried his generously fat and eight-inch-long cock into her dripping and tight heaven. Fuck, she was so wet for him, so hot for him, and so very snug around him, that it drove him mad with lust. She’d always been a wild one for him, and that was just magnified in the life affirming wild rutting and thrill of survival as he took her hard over the console.

  He was going to miss her, when they both got their next assignments, which would probably be in a few days. It wasn’t often he thought that of a woman he was having an affair with. It wasn’t that he was selfish and only cared about sex, on the contrary it was not at all that. But his work for the king was constant, and always pulling him in separate directions. So his affairs were usually short, intense, and over before deeper feelings could be engendered. Some few he’d made casual friendships with, but that’s as far as it ever went.

  He never used women either, on the contrary they were always aware of the reality of it, and that it was just a limited tryst.

  He didn’t love her, and she didn’t love him, but after sixty days it was a bit deeper than just a casual hookup for amazing pleasure and to fulfill the potent chemistry between them. He had a feeling that Commander Brenda Vila would be one of the rare friendships that would last even after parting.

  They also did have three hours to kill, after all, and he hadn’t been bragging even a little bit, about his stamina. His body magic ensured he was up for a long love session, and it also ensured neither of them would get too sore, or in her case dry even after he started to wring double digit orgasms out of her body.

  “Cum for me, commander.”

  She replied cheekily, if still very breathily, “Is that an order, sir,” and then gasped as he spanked her, which threw her over into a potent orgasm as she came apart around his cock.

  It was going to be a nice long trip to Dragos.

  Chapter Two

  “Your majesty.”

  It was three days later, and just hours after Brenda had left to report for her next posting. It’d been a wild three days, and he’d miss her, but such was his life. He had a good attitude about it at least, and he had passion in his life even if of a transitory kind.

  The ship had been a prize, and Brenda and he would share in the purse. They’d get the value of the ship they’d captured for the kingdom, minus the refit cost that would bring the ship up to kingdom standards. Not the hundreds of billions of dollars it was worth, but they’d still make a billion or two off it to add to the retirement fund.

  The king had a strong jaw, dark brown hair and eyes, and a swarthy skin tone.

  Andros nodded, “Well done. The loss of the Eagle was regretful, but I find no fault in you for its loss. Clearly the fault laid with the captain and his foolish pride. Despite that, we’ve managed to root out far more than we expected. Not only are the insurrectionist groups on the run, but we’ve closed down several black markets on the twenty-two worlds. As I said, well done.

  “I have a new mission for you.”

  He nodded deeply, “I thought you might, my king.”

  Andros snorted, “You’re not going to like it, but it needs to be done. The prelate of the Grand Communion has passed. Levi was a peaceful man, but as you well know our history with the Grand Communion has been… turbulent. About half their prelates decide they need to convert all of humanity to the worship of the one goddess, by force if necessary.

  “I’m sending you there to find out if the new prelate is one of the crazy ones. Her name is Aria, and we know little about her.”

  Well, damn. That mission would take months more, which he suspected might be part of the reason he was going. The king really didn’t want him on Bright Star right now. He supposed it could be worse, the king didn’t look like he wanted to kill him anymore, at any rate. To be fair, he probably deserved it for his mistake, but it’d been a personal thing, not a betrayal or matter of state.

  The reason he wouldn’t like it was obvious, he was strongest in battle, and didn’t really care at all for politics. Though his body magic did make him good at it by revealing much his opponents wanted to keep hidden. Most of the time.

  Andros shook his head, “I know what you’re thinking, but when we contacted Prelate Aria’s temple staff to arrange a diplomatic visit, she requested you by name. I decided it was in our best interest to humor her request, and to put our best foot forward.”

  “Do you know why she requested me, your majesty?”

  Andros shrugged, “I imagine you’ll find out when you get there. Also, the standard royal military guard for one of my Celestial Knights would be an insult, yet we can’t send you without support. To that end I’ll be sending you a Cheelah to act as your body servant. She’s also an unusually strong wizard, if not at the top of the scale.

  “Lastly, you’ll be going in a converted corvette which is now an unarmed diplomatic ship. As for the crew, one of our artificial beings have agreed to take on that task. It will just be the three of you, and honestly it won’t hurt to keep you away from the military for a few months. Until tempers cool and lies are separated from the truth. I’ve been told you’re not very popular in that quarter right now.”

  He sighed.

  The Cheelah was the second biological sentient race in the universe. There were probably more somewhere out there among the stars, but the Cheelah were the only ones the humans had met. They looked a little like cat people and there’d been a lot of misunderstandings that had led to wars in the early days. But in current times there were humans living in their space, and Cheelahs living in ours under our governments.

  It was probably more accurate to say the Cheelah had met humanity, since humans had been stuck in the SOL system still when they’d showed up. It was the Cheelah that had perfected humankind’s understanding of the universe by introducing them to magical forces, and how to use them.

  It was usually the similarities that got humans in trouble with the Cheelah, because in a lot of ways they were a lot like humans were. But in some ways, some instincts and traditions, they were shockingly different. If a person didn’t know about those differences, they’d be bound to screw up.

  They were alien in appearance, but close enough to human that the alienness just added an element of the exotic. Cross mate pairings weren’t uncommon, for instance. In short, they looked much like a human would, with cat ears, fur on their bodies and head, and a tail. The only places without fur on a Cheelah were their faces, chests, bottom of their feet, and around their sex organs.

  He’d been with more than a few in the past. By instinct they needed a firm hand or submission, but god save you if you couldn’t back up that first one when you chose it. It was a hierarchy thing, something he’d have to see to immediately when he met her.

  Regardless of who ended up dominant in the relationship, that wouldn’t give him rights to her body, or to order her around churlishly. She would also no doubt be insanely protective of him, as was her duty, if she thought his life was in danger. He honestly couldn’t imagine a better body servant or guardian than a powerful wizard Cheelah.

  “Just the three of us, on a ship that big?” And only two of them with bodies.

  The king shrugged, “It’s a diplomatic envoy ship, which means there’s no small rooms or crowded corridors. It’s spacious, elegantly decorated, and you wouldn’t shame a monarch throwing a state dinner on it. I don’t think you’ll have any complaints.”

  Right, but I would have to power the space fold, which honestly wasn’t a big deal. I’d have to be at the console to initiate it, but I could maintain that link from a distance with a modicum of concerted effort.

  “Which artificial?”

  Artificial beings were just the modern word for artificial intelligences. They were also the third form of life humanity was aware of. They were citizens of the kingdom, and there weren’t that many of them. They had the same rights anyone did, and they didn’t often volunteer to work for the government, at any price. They could also be a blessing or a pain in the ass to work with.

  The king smirked, “Daisy.”

  He sighed, “She hates me.”

  The king nodded, “I know she likes to mess with you, it’s probably why she volunteered. But she’ll keep you safe, on task and focused, and she will take good care of you. I don’t believe she hates you at all.”

  He reminded himself not to argue with the king.

  “Anything else I need to know, my liege?”

  Andros shook his head, then said, “Don’t start a war.”

  He chuckled, “I’ll do my best, your majesty.”

  Andros nodded, “The ship will be there tomorrow, good luck.”

  The transmission cut off.

  There wasn’t much to do to kill time, not with Brenda gone, so he brought up the mission parameters and reviewed the ship’s layout and took a virtual tour.

  The bridge and engineering looked the same on any ship, which accounted for the middle bow and aft sections of the hundred and twenty-meter ship. The middle of the ship was completely different, and hallways were done in a rich mahogany wood floor and walls that looked to be marble. There was a lot of art on the corridor walls, and the corridors were far more spacious, almost twice as wide.

  The forty crew quarters had been removed completely, to turn the captain’s quarters into an even larger and more luxurious suite. With a living room, office, and bedroom with a private bath, richly decorated with redwood furniture and oak flooring. The bed was king sized, and the bathroom had a whirlpool tub as well as a large shower with seven spray nozzles in the tiled walls.

  There were also two guest room suites, that were almost as nice, and he wasn’t sure when a ship would be hosting important foreigners, but the ship could do that if it was required. Perhaps it was for more than one ambassador, if a whole team was being sent? He honestly wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t sure if he even cared. They wouldn’t be used on this cruise.

  The ship also had a large dining hall and kitchen, and lots of storage space. The kitchen was automated, and there were plenty of bots aboard, which meant Daisy could cook all their meals. The only question was if she would, because he’d never been a good cook.

  The weapons had been removed, but the ship had shields which he could augment, as well as a magical amplifier twice as strong as would normally be found in a corvette. With the extra space, and the removal of the weapons systems, they were able to fit a battleship sized amplifier on board. Despite there being no missiles or lasers, with a celestial knight at the helm, he’d still be able to cast spells at other ships if he had cause.

  That wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing.

  More than that, without all those missiles in storage or the six laser banks of four lasers each, the ships tonnage was greatly reduced. That meant a slightly improved acceleration profile, as well as higher maneuverability, even without him enhancing things.

  He also reviewed Riesa’s service jacket. She was just twenty, and she held the equivalent rank of a full lieutenant in the royal guards. She was twenty years of age, and quite attractive based on her picture. She had tawny colored fur on her head, ears, and the back of her hand. Golden blonde, with just a hint of brown. The rest of it of course was hidden behind her outfit, which in the picture was a military one. Of course, she’d be playing the role of his body servant, so would likely be in civilian clothes or some kind of maid’s uniform to stay in cover when the ship arrived.

  She was five foot seven, with golden eyes and was exotically pretty around the face. She was lithe as most of her race was, and he guessed she had B cups by the photo included. No doubt, she would move with a mesmerizing liquid grace with a hint of predatory grace thrown in.

  She could obviously pilot the ship as well, as a wizard, if at any time he couldn’t for some reason. Obviously, because she’d be the only one on it right now. Well her and Daisy, but he didn’t want to even think about that part of the mission.

  The last interesting fact was that Riesa had volunteered as well, and he wondered what would prompt her to give up a palace post for such a dangerous mission, and where she’d have to pretend to be a servant. Not on the ship certainly, but when he was visiting in the grand temple, she would remain in the suite of rooms he was assigned. They’d have to assume it was bugged in some way, so she’d have to act the part in all ways.

  He also reviewed the mission objectives and parameters, but there were no surprises there. The king had covered it pretty well in his briefing, and there was a lot left to be discovered. Not just why Prelate Aria had requested him, but her true intentions toward the Moiroi Star-Kingdom.