“Yo Vahn!” Drake’s voice chimed through the speakers. It was really him.

  “Hello Drake.” Vahn replied, unsure of how to respond to Drake’s informality.

  “You sound nervous Vahn. I guess the secretary wasn’t kidding when she said the king would be listening to this. She’s got a pretty voice; I hope you’re having her put in extra hours for you if you know what I mean.” Drake said.

  “That would be...” Vahn began.

  “I don’t care if you’re sleeping with her or not, Vahn.” Drake interrupted, “I just wanted to embarrass you in front of your king.” Vahn’s cheeks flushed red, but he said nothing.

  “Anyway,” Drake continued, “I had a fun little run in with your Anti-Luck friend.”

  “What?” Vahn asked. That wasn’t what he had expected. How had Drake found the Anti-Luck?

  “Don’t act so surprised, Vahn,” Drake said. “I’ve always been better than you at finding what I want.”

  “Where did you find the Anti-Luck?” Vahn asked, ignoring Drake’s quip. “Did you speak with him?”

  “I ran into him on Sher Ghiy.” Drake replied. “He’s not there anymore, but we had an interesting conversation; I figured I might get some money out of sharing what he had to say.”

  “You might be right,” Ryker interjected. “Tell us all about it and we’ll pay you what the information is worth.”

  “Alright,” Drake replied. “But this is how it’s going to work. I’m helping you out, but I don’t need you. So I want to be treated with some respect as long as I’m here.”

  “Respect and disrespect both need to be earned. I’ll treat you the way I feel you deserve.” Ryker said. “So may we proceed?”

  “Good answer Your Highness.” Drake said. “I’m orbiting New Earth right now. If you tell these space traffic control people to lay off me a little I’ll land at the palace and tell you in person.”

  “I’ll order them to stop immediately.” Ryker said. “Vahn, meet him at the palace landing hanger.”

  “Right away you’re Majesty!” Vahn said, saluting rigidly before running out the door toward the landing hangar.

  ******************************

  “Hey there Vahn.” Drake said as he stepped out of the stolen ship, now docked in the palace hangar. “This is a nice place,” he continued as he looked around at the lavish decorations draped down the walls. “It’s no wonder you betrayed me to live here.”

  “I didn’t betray you.” Vahn said.

  “Yeah, sure, whatever.” Drake replied. “Anyway, take me to the king and get out of my face. I don’t really care to do business with traitors.”

  “This way.” Vahn said, pointing toward the entrance to the main palace. “But you’ll have to leave your gun and your sword with those soldiers.”

  “Woah,” Drake said. “We’ve got a problem there. If you think I’ll walk into a palace full of armed soldiers with nothing but my bare hands, then you’re dead wrong.”

  “I suppose we could arrest you instead.” Vahn retorted.

  “Well I suppose I could do the same thing here that I did in Hades Prison.” Drake said.

  “How did you do that, Drake?” Vahn replied in a serious tone. “There’s no way one man could’ve massacred a group of soldiers like that.”

  “Didn’t the Anti-Luck kill a few hundred elite soldiers by himself?” Drake said. “Try to take away my weapons and I’ll prove to you I’m capable of the same thing.”

  “You’re not going in front of the king with weapons on you, Drake.” Vahn said.

  “Trust me,” Drake said staring into Vahn’s eyes. “I’m really much more dangerous without them. Set me up a video chat, I don’t care how you do it, but I’m talking to the king, and I’m not handing over my weapons.”

  “Set him up a room with a camera and a screen.” Vahn said. “And keep armed guards outside the door.”

  “Yes sir!” The guards at the entrance replied in unison.

  It took almost no time at all for the guards to set up a room for Drake to speak with the king.

  “Are you ready to begin?” The king said as his face appeared on Drake’s screen. Drake looked up to see fourteen other faces on his screen. Most of them were old men, except for Vahn. Drake was irritated that Vahn was even there, but he would only have to deal with Vahn’s presence until he finished using the Humans to rescue Angela.

  “Yeah, let’s start this thing up.” Drake replied.

  “Very well,” the king replied. “Why don’t you start by telling us about the encounter you said you had with the Anti-Luck?”

  “Sure,” Drake replied, “But first, let’s talk about my terms. I want full disclosure to any and all information you have regarding the Anti-Lucks and the battle of Rabbit’s Foot.”

  “Done.” The king replied without hesitation. “But only if you can actually get the princess back and neutralize the threat that the Anti-Luck poses to the Human Empire.”

  “Deal.” Drake said. “Ok, so let me see if I understand the situation here. 169 showed up, you guys have no idea how he survived Rabbit’s Foot, and without even trying, he killed all of your best elite soldiers and took your princess. Now you’re hiring me to get her back and take this guy out because you’re desperate. Did I miss anything?”

  The men on Drake’s screen sat in silence.

  “Do you even know why he took her?” Drake said.

  “We have some theories,” Vahn replied, “but none of them have been confirmed.”

  “Well if all you’ve got is theories your intelligence network sucks worse than I thought it did.” Drake said. “I already know why he took your princess.”

  Drake paused for a moment.

  “Are you going to tell us?” Ryker said.

  “I’m just trying to think of the best way to explain it.” Drake said. “Tell me Ryker, I can call you Ryker right? Or do you prefer pet names, like maybe Rykey?”

  Ryker glared at the screen threateningly.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” Drake said. “So tell me what you know about Vhy’ Rai.”

  “It’s the power the Mystics hold.” The king replied. “Human’s can’t use it. We’ve never been able to find a scientific reason why it works.”

  “That’s because there isn’t a scientific explanation for it;” Drake replied, “At least not one you would believe. The Mystics have an old legend. A long time ago, and evil monster made of fire came down to enslave all life. Knune, an all-powerful being, gave the Mystics Vhy’ Rai to help them defeat the monster. Knune gained his power by being infinitely respected by all forms of life, and even by inanimate objects, so to use his power the Mystics have to be respected too. They have to live by a certain code of conduct, but if they stay worthy they can command matter to do things, and it’ll listen.”

  “Not to be rude,” the king said, “but I’m not seeing your point.”

  “That’s because I haven’t made it yet.” Drake said.

  “Then make it.” Ryker said.

  “Answer me a question.” Drake said, “Can an Anti-Luck use Vhy’ Rai?”

  “The one that attacked us could certainly use it, or at least something similar.” Ryker said.

  “Close,” Drake said. “Did you notice the machine attached to his arm? That’s the only way he can access Vhy’ Rai.”

  “You’re sure of that?” Ryker said.

  “That’s the only way he could do it when I fought him yesterday.” Drake said. “His machine is made of Soul Stone. I think you Humans call it hemoignisium. It’s not an easy material to find. You can only get it on one planet. When you melt it down, and mix it with your own blood, it becomes responsive to you, and only you. Instead of the matter obeying your orders, it obeys the orders of the hemoignisium, and the hemoignisium obeys your orders.”

  Drake lifted his revolver and showed it to the camera.

  “This is made from hemoignisium.” Drake said. He opened the chamber and removed a bullet. It was red, made of the same material as the revolver itself, with letters of the Mystic alphabet etched into its side.

  “This is how I give it directions.” Drake said, pointing to the writing on the bullet. “It’s written in the language of the Khryary. They’re the servants of Knune who gave the Vhy’ Rai to the Mystics. It tells the hemoignisium what to tell the matter to do. Of course, the bullet also needs to be mixed with your blood.”

  “Depending on what you want the matter to do, you may need more than just your own blood. You need blood with more authority. Royal blood. Not just your daughter’s though, although that is what he took her for. Whatever it is he’s planning to do requires blood from two different royal lines.”

  Drake neglected to mention that it was his blood that 169 needed. The Human’s didn’t need to know that.

  “Very good.” Ryker said, “If he’s working for Dathan that we must assume he already has the blood he needs. We need to find and detain him as soon as possible.”

  I suppose we could use the line transceiver he gave me. Drake thought. But I’d rather not give him my blood, so it’ll be better to ambush him.

  “Hemoignisium is only found in one mine on one planet.” Drake said. “169 needs a bullet which means he’ll be stopping by that mine. I say we wait for him there.”

  “I agree.” Said the king. “You and Captain Ashbell will go there with a squad of elite soldiers immediately."

  This is gonna suck. Drake thought as he looked at Vahn’s grinning face on the screen.

  Chapter 10: Olivia

  Olivia had spent the last three days locked in the same room. She wasn’t chained to a wall, or underfed, or any of the things she had assumed would be a part of captivity. But she was lonely. The only person she had spoken with since her arrival was her captor, and conversations with him were less than pleasant. He had never mentioned what his name was, so in her mind Olivia had taken to calling him Sir Fluffy, after a stuffed toy she had as a girl. It made him seem a little less threatening.

  The door opened.

  Is it dinner time already? She thought as Sir Fluffy entered. He was limping, and there was blood dripping down his leg. Next to him was a young woman, nearly Olivia’s age. She had amber colored hair, and bright green eyes. She would have looked absolutely stunning if it wasn’t for how filthy her clothes were.

  “You have a cell mate.” Sir Fluffy said, “Explain my rules to her. I’ll bring you dinner later, if I feel so inclined.” He turned and walked away, a trail of blood dripping behind him as he went.

  Olivia turned to the girl. She was sitting on the floor with tears filling her eyes.

  “Are you alright?” Olivia asked.

  The girl looked up, her otherwise attractive face already turning red and puffy from the crying.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.” Olivia replied. “We’re on a ship, that’s as much as I know.”

  “That was informative.” the girl said sarcastically. “Who is that guy?”

  “I don’t know who he is.” Olivia replied. “I’ve been calling him Sir Fluffy.”

  That elicited a laugh from the poor sobbing girl.

  “Sir Fluffy? Does he come in here and snuggle with you at night or something?”

  “I was going for irony.” Olivia said. “What’s your name? And please don’t go with an ironic answer.”

  The girl laughed again,

  “My name is Angela.” She said. “And you’re Olivia, right?”

  “How do you know my name?” Olivia asked.

  “Was I not supposed to know the name of the princess?” Angela said. “Should I refer to you as “Your Highness?”

  “I hate that title.” Olivia said. “Olivia will do just fine.”

  “Thank you Olivia.” Angela whispered. The tears left her eyes.

  “For what?” Olivia asked.

  “For making me laugh.” Angela replied. “You don’t understand how hard my life has been the past few weeks. I needed to laugh.”

  “Well, being kidnapped isn’t the most fun thing, but we’ll do our best to get through it.” Olivia said, smiling at Angela. “So, do you have any idea why he took us?”

  “He wants royal blood.” Angela replied. “At least that’s what he said to the guy I was with. I really don’t understand what he wanted it for though.”

  “Royal blood?” Olivia asked. “Does that mean you’re some kind of princess too?”

  Angela laughed.

  “A princess? I wish.” Angela said. “But I guess the guy I was with is some kind of prince or something. Although I act more like royalty than he does. I’m just a bargaining chip for his blood. ”

  “The guy you were with,” Olivia said. “Is he the one that made Sir Fluffy’s leg bleed like that?”

  “Yeah,” Angela replied. “He got him in the leg with a knife.”

  “Wow,” Olivia said, “If we’re going to talk about him fighting, we might want to come up with a cooler name than Sir Fluffy.”

  “He said his name was 169.” Angela said.

  “That’s almost as bad as Sir Fluffy.” Olivia laughed. “What was his mother thinking?”

  Angela smiled.

  “So do you think that guy you were with will trade his blood to get you back?” Olivia asked.

  Angela paused for a moment.

  “I barely even know him.” She said. “I don’t know why he would come save me. But I don’t understand anything I’ve seen him do so far.”

  “Then maybe he’ll make the trade and get you out of here.” Olivia said.

  “Yeah,” Angela said. “Maybe he will.”

  Chapter 11: Vahn

  “Drake, we need to talk about what happened between us.” Vahn said as they sat on the bridge of their ship, listening as the Tachyon drives warmed up preparing them for their jump to the border of the Neutral Zone.

  “Actually, we don’t.” Drake said, turning away from Vahn.

  “Yes, we do.” Vahn said. “We can’t work together if you refuse to talk to me.”

  “I’m willing to work with you.” Drake said, “But we are nothing more than co-workers right now. If you try to reignite our brotherly love then I’m bailing on this mission, and just letting 169 do whatever he wants with your precious princess. Got it?”

  “Got it.” Vahn said. “We’ve both gone this long without family, there’s no reason to change that now.”

  Vahn hated those words even as they left his mouth. He wanted to reconnect with his family, but Drake obviously didn’t. Perhaps there was a time Drake wanted to be on good terms with his brother, but it had died along with their childhood.

  There was a sudden, jarring shift as the ship made its jump to the borders of the Neutral Zone, and another jerking feeling as the ship came to an abrupt stop light-years away from where it had started.

  Vahn wasn’t accustomed to such fast travel. Tachyon drives like the one on this ship were rarely used. Too much damage could be done if every ship could break the light-speed barrier so the military heavily regulated the technology. This was only the fourth time Vahn had used one in his entire military career.

  “They’ll be calling soon to ask why you’re here. Offer them enough money and they’ll let you in to do whatever you want. Just don’t lie to them. They’ll catch you and they'll stop you from coming in.” Drake said as he stepped out the door and let it close behind him.

  At least Drake was being helpful.

  “Incoming transmission from the Neutral Zone Border Patrol.” One soldier said.

  “Patch it through.” Vahn replied.

  A face appeared on the screen. It had almost human qualities about it, except its skin was blue and it had an extra set of eyes. Vahn wasn’t sure if it was male or female. He had never seen this particular species before.

  The Neutral Zone had hundreds of different species of non-human intelligent life, and they all refused to take a side in the conflict of the Human’s against the Mystics. It was a good thing too since they had more military might than both empires combined.

  “State your reason for seeking entry into our borders.” The strange blue face on the screen said. Vahn remembered Drake’s earlier warning about honesty. As childish and annoying as Drake was, he still knew a lot more about what they should do on this mission than Vahn did.

  “We wish to see the hemoignisium mines.” Vahn replied. “We’re prepared to pay you in gold for our entrance.”

  “The hemoignisium mines?” The blue person said. “A strange place for members of the Human Government to be going.”

  “We believe a dangerous fugitive is headed there.” Vahn answered. “We want to capture him. Nothing more.”

  “Pay me 50 Denarius per person entering and you can go anywhere you want.” The blue person said. “If you break any laws then I will deny having granted you passage, and you will suffer the penalty for trespassing.”

  “You have a deal.” Vahn said, relieved at how easy it was to gain entrance. Under any other circumstances it would have been much more difficult, but with the good luck of a Fortunatus on your side, things had a tendency to run more smoothly.

  “I’ll send you the details to wire the money to us.” The man on the screen said. “We’ll pick it up and give you the all green once we’ve checked that it’s the proper amount.”

  “I understand. It was great doing business with you.” Vahn said.

  The blue person turned off the screen without saying another word.

  “Send him over the money and call me back to the bridge when we have the all clear.” Vahn said to the nearest crewman.

  “Yes sir.” The officer replied with a sharp salute.

  Vahn turned and walked out the door.

  Drake was just standing there in the hallway outside of the main bridge. Why hadn’t he stayed in there with them? If things had gone poorly, he could’ve helped. Luckily, everything had gone according to plan, so it was a bit of a moot point.

  “When we land, I want to go into the mines by myself.” Drake said as Vahn passed by him.

  “There’s no way that’s going to...” Vahn stopped as he took in Drake’s appearance. “Why are you wearing that ridiculous hat? And do you have a fake mustache on your face?” he asked.