“Seriously?” Tee said. “Why, man?”

  “The spell just said Summon,” I replied. “I didn’t know what it would do. I assumed it would summon a djinn or an owlbear or something.” I glared at the Warden. “And he knows it. You set us up.”

  The Warden shrugged. “Maybe.” He laughed mischievously, the drink vanishing from his hand. “I could just insert myself into your ship’s computer again, but I’m sure we all agree that gets old after a while. It’s always a good idea to mix things up. Keep you on your toes.”

  “Or maybe Lantz figured out how to shut you out,” I said.

  The Warden waved his hand dismissively. “That two-byte hack? Please.”

  He could deny it all he wanted. Having seen Lantz's work, I believed that was the real reason for this alternate approach. Whether it would last was questionable, but he’d at least temporarily stymied the Warden.

  “Anyhow, I sincerely want to applaud you on your efforts so far,” the Warden continued, offering another golf clap. “You continue to exceed my expectations in every facet of your experience in Warexia. It’s definitely commendable.”

  “Does that mean I get a boon, now?” I asked.

  “No. A boon will be released, but not to you, Noah.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s my boon, and I say so.” He laughed. “I definitely didn’t expect your continued dogged pursuit of a means to return home following Levain’s unscheduled departure.”

  “Why wouldn’t we?” Ally asked. “We don’t belong here. We have lives back on Earth.”

  “On the contrary, All-red. Thus far, your escapades have only solidified the notion that you belong here. Only a few of the many transplants from other galaxies have survived as long as you have. It’s truly impressive. And I mean that. The bad news for you is that only three people knew Levain’s method of traversing the universe. Levain, Jaffie, and⁠—“

  “Zariv,” I interrupted.

  “Now how did you ever guess that?” the Warden said. “You are a boy genius, Noah.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Tyler growled. “You set us up to take them out for you.”

  “Believe me, T-Bone. It didn’t take much. Like I said earlier, that whole situation on Cacitrum was a powder keg ready to blow. I just provided a catalyst.”

  “You used us,” Ally said.

  “Yes. That’s what I do. For entertainment. I thought I made that clear from the outset?”

  “Why do you want us here so badly?” I asked. “What does it matter to you if we make it home or not?”

  “Because no one leaves Warexia,” he replied, face twisting in sudden anger. “Not Levain. Not Jaffie. Not Zariv. And certainly not you.”

  “So this is about your ego?” Alyssa questioned.

  “This is about the needs of Warexia and my place as its caretaker,” the Warden answered, amusement returning to his expression. “Speaking of which, I have another task for you.”

  “But I thought we’re doing a bang up job of being entertaining?” Tyler said. “Tasks are for when you’re bored, aren’t they?”

  “I can see boredom on the distant horizon, my rocket fisted friend. I’d like to head it off at the pass.”

  “Or you’d like to stop us from following our current course to its destination,” I countered.

  “You wound me, Noah,” he said, putting his hands on his chest as if he’d been shot. “Regarding that plot line, I’m as curious as anyone to see how it turns out. I hadn’t even realized I’d lost a ship prior to your conversations with Goloran and Nyree. And of course, your discovery in Levain’s secret room. That one blew my mind. Of course, those beats are exactly why I want you to stay here. Why I need you to stay here.”

  “So, you’ll never help us get home,” Ally said.

  “I never say never, my murderous mistress of mayhem. I may yet allow you exodus in time. But that time isn’t now. I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.”

  “And what if we don’t want to complete your task?” I asked.

  “I’m not asking.”

  “What if we refuse to complete your task?” I rephrased.

  “There will be consequences, of course. I don’t think you want to find out what they are. Besides, I believe this is the kind of task you can get behind, even if you aren’t card carrying members of the Warden Fan Club.”

  “If it keeps us further away from going home, I doubt that,” Tyler said.

  “You handled Levain and Zariv so well, I’d like you to handle another problematic individual for me. A Ponto by the name of Markan. He runs a dark network dealing in illicit cargo. I want it shut down. Unfortunately, Markan has managed to ingratiate himself with the local assets I would typically depend upon in such circumstances, which is why I need you.”

  “Why don’t you just deal with him yourself?” Tyler asked. “You’re supposed to be all-powerful.”

  “Because I don’t want to,” the Warden replied. “I want you to do it. It’s more fun that way.”

  “What kind of illicit cargo are we talking about?” I asked.

  “A better question than your friend’s. Everything and anything illegal, from military-grade weaponry to ILF trafficking.”

  “Slaves?” Alyssa questioned with disgust.

  “Potentially.”

  “You mean you don’t know for certain?” Tyler said.

  “No, which is why it is more important than ever for me to accelerate my plans to shut him down. He’s learned to move his network beyond my immediate purview.”

  “It sounds like Markan could teach us a thing or two.”

  “Don’t even think to make light of his serious crimes,” the Warden snapped, growing angry once more, enough so that we all flinched at the violence of his rebuke. “You’re to kill Markan at your first opportunity.”

  “And how do we know Markan doesn’t have something in his possession, tucked away in his network, that you don’t want us to see?” I asked. “A way home, maybe? Or something related to chaos energy.”

  The Warden’s eyes fixed on me, a hint of anxiety flashing through them before they lightened back to his more typical amusement. “That would be quite rich, but also rather repetitious. Hardly entertaining. No, this is direct vigilante justice. I will ensure the authorities not under Markan’s control don’t cause you any undue hardship. Do you understand your task?”

  I glanced at Tee and Ally, who looked less than thrilled with this whole thing. Even if the Warden was honest about his reasons for giving us this task, it would still delay our chance to get home by weeks, if not longer. Except…we had the hop racer and possibly Princess Goloran. Maybe we could split up to⁠—

  “By the way,” the Warden added, derailing my train of thought. “It occurs to me that you might consider divide and conquer a viable strategy. It isn’t. I expect you to remain within one light year of one another at all times. If you don’t, I guarantee that bad things will happen.”

  “What kind of bad things?” Tyler asked.

  “Are you familiar with the torc around your throat?”

  “Yeah, I set it to Level Five to—“ Tyler’s words cut off as he cried out and started convulsing beneath the device’s activation. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was more than long enough. Tee fell to his knees, clutching his throat.

  “I can do the same to you from the inside,” the Warden said. “But I’d much rather not.” He turned his attention to me once more. “Do you understand your task?”

  “Not completely,” I replied. “Where do we find Markan?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Geez, could you be a little less helpful?” Tyler wheezed, defiant despite the pain.

  “No doubt, he has agents here on Asterock,” the Warden said. “I trust you can locate them and go from there. Are there any other questions?”

  “Yeah,” Tyler said. “Why don’t you⁠—“

  “From you, Noah?” the Warden said, ignoring Tee.

  “No,” I replied. “We understand.”

  “Excellent. To show my appreciation, I’ll provide you and your entire team with an enhancement.”

  “Enhancement?” Tyler said excitedly, his prior question and dismay already in the rearview. “What kind of enhancement?”

  “Should you ever need to communicate with one another from a distance beyond the range of your primitive communicators, simply raise your pinkie and thumb to your face like this.” He moved his hand, mimicking the ‘call me’ gesture, to his face, holding it like an old-fashioned telephone receiver. “Whoever you intend to speak to will feel an irresistible urge to do the same.”

  “Question,” Alyssa said.

  “What is it?” the Warden asked.

  “Can’t we have the same thing without this?” She repeated the phone gesture. “It’s kind of hard to use while holding anything in your hands.”

  “No,” the Warden replied. “You have six months to complete the task, though I doubt it will take you quite that long. I’m very excited to see how it all turns out. Toodles!”

  Another flash of light and crack of thunder followed, depositing us back on the simulated battlefield. Lantz stood over us, warning off would-be attackers with vicious swings of his Doom Hammer.

  “Ugh, what happened?” Tyler groaned, getting the engineer’s attention.

  “I should ask you that,” Lantz replied. “All three of you just froze in place suddenly. I toppled you over so I could keep you alive. The match is almost done. We’re well past five minutes. The prizes will be unbelievable. A T-shirt, at least. Maybe a lighter. You—“ He stopped talking suddenly, taking in the shocked and worried looks on our faces. “What did I miss?”

  “The Warden,” I replied simply. Lantz’s face fell.

  “We need to go,” Tyler said. “We have to tell Ben and Matt about this.”

  “Yeah, but you can’t just leave in the middle of the match.”

  “We have to,” I insisted.

  Lantz paused to kill another enemy attacker before returning to us, opening his mouth to speak. Before he could, a horn blared loudly enough to shake the entire landscape.

  "Match complete!” The fake Warden announced. “The attackers have seized the castle, and are victorious! Final contested kill tally... Attackers 1423. Defenders 1339. Simulation completed at thirty-one minutes, seven seconds. Please report to the staging area for your final point tallies.”

  Around us, the smoky crimson battlefield began fading, replaced by the prep area vistas. It felt strange to again feel a solid floor beneath my leaden feet instead of muddy soil. I couldn’t begin to fathom how any tech that had created the battle landscape worked, and at the moment, I no longer cared.

  We had more significant concerns now. Again, thanks to the Warden. Damn him.

  “Good game, soft skins,” the rock-man said on his way past us, one of the small group of defenders who had made it through the entire match in one piece. Of course, we owed Lantz and his Doom Hammer for that.

  “You too,” Tyler replied. “Rock on!”

  The rock man tilted his head in amused confusion, offering another nod before leaving the area. Melia dodged past him, bustling up to us looking terribly excited, trailed by med drones carrying beverages and futuristic band-aids to fix any real damage we might have taken. “Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! We were tracking your numbers the entire time. Your kills were off the charts for new players. And you held your section against all those reinforcements for literally the entire match! Amazing!”

  Somehow, she took our silence for breathless excitement rather than what it was—frustration, anger, and anxiety over the Warden’s new directions. Over our chance to find a way back home being put on hold once more. Beaming happily, she tapped out something on a data readout. "Scores will be posted momentarily. I’m sure the rewards will be fabulous given how long you lasted."

  The silver torcs unlatched from around our necks with a hiss. Tyler made a raw sound of relief, fingering rapidly fading electrical burns left behind from the Warden’s example. Meanwhile, the med-drones crowded close, scanning for injuries while offering drinks. I downed two bottles of sickly sweet alien Gatorade in a hurry, my heart still beating fast. Tyler and Alyssa accepted drinks, too, but their eyes kept tracing to the exit, eager to get out of the Arena. Thankfully, the equipment drones replaced the med-drones, quickly snatching the weapons from our hands and removing our prop clothing.

  Finally, Melia gave a delighted cry, tail flicking with excitement as she studied rapidly scrolling data from her manipulator. "Just as I thought! Record numbers indeed. Your team scored over one million Arena credits total!"

  “Is that a lot?” Tyler asked.

  “Enough for a life-sized plush of the Warden!” Melia replied exuberantly. “Or a number of other items available in our treasure room.”

  “Lantz, they’re all yours,” I said. “Consider it a going away present.”

  Lantz shook his head. “I appreciate that, Noah. But I changed my mind. I think I’ll stick with you a little longer. It sounds like you might be able to use my help.”

  “We can’t pay you any more than we already have,” I replied. “At least for now.”

  “Free room and board will have to do then,” he answered.

  “Well, you’re welcome for as long as you want to stay, but you should know, the Warden gave us a new task, and it’s not going to be easy.”

  “The Warden gave you a task?” Melia asked excitedly. “You aren’t even Warexians and you scored so high? Even more impressive!”

  “Yeah, it’s great,” Tee said flatly.

  “We’ll spend our credits another time,” I said. “We need to go.”

  “Maybe we should stop at the treasure room on the way out,” Tyler suggested, “and pick up that life-sized Warden plush.”

  “We could use it for target practice,” Ally added.

  “That’s the best idea I’ve heard today,” I agreed.

  We headed for the exit together. One unit. One crew. One group of friends had survived the strangest yet strangely exhilarating trial by fire I could imagine. Fear and anxiety lurked in the back of my mind, but camaraderie and growing confidence held it at bay. If we couldn’t come up with a hack around the Warden’s no-splitting-up threat, then we would complete the delaying task as quickly as possible and be back to check out his lost ship in no time. On the bright side, he’d overplayed his hand by diverting us away from the vessel, telling us in so many words that there was something on it that he obviously didn’t want us to find.

  While the Warden now remembered that the derelict existed and knew that we knew where to find it, thanks to Lantz’s added system security, I felt confident he didn’t know the location just yet.

  And wouldn’t until it was too late.

  Thank you for continuing Starship For Rent! For more information on the next book in the series, please visit mrforbes.com/starshipforrent3

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