Chapter 34
KIT
SFS POLARIS
Kit stands in the lab next to Oswald, who is swiping through a series of digital files projected in front of him. He stops when he reaches a graph that takes up most of the Prism screen, showing what appears to be a slow decrease in something.
She leans closer to the Prism, squinting at it as if that will help her better understand what she’s looking at.
Luminary Oswald is like this, she’s learned.
He won’t tell any of the Luminaries or healers that work under him anything.
He’ll simply wait quietly next to them until they come to a conclusion themselves and then voice it.
She scans the graph again, arms crossed. Her fingers tap idly against her elbow. “Measurements of magical core activity?”
Oswald nods once. “Whose?”
Kit looks more closely. “The ambassador’s.”
Oswald nods again. “We’re seeing some limited success again with the pagadium. It’s reacting favorably to nixos.”
Kit takes this in. She’d thought that adjusting the concentration further would help, and she’s glad to see her hypothesis was correct.
“It appears that his magical core is getting stronger. Based on the latest magitech scans, it looks like there’s a small shield around his core, protecting it enough to regenerate a bit.”
“That’s good,” Kit says, breathing a sigh of relief. She’s glad it’s helping, but it’s not eradicating the Fever entirely. “But we’re still missing something.” She feels like there’s a strand she’s not been able to grasp, a code she hasn’t been able to crack. It’s just out of reach.
“Indeed, Luminary Hart, we are,” Luminary Oswald agrees. “If the magical core doesn’t regenerate fast enough, the Fever will simply continue to feed off of it before it can become whole again.”
“I’ll keep running trials,” Kit says. “I’ll look again at the energy pathways.
We know this is an evolution of nixos, but there’s something we’re not understanding.
Luminary Ellsworth is also investigating on her end.
She’s reaching out to the Agrippa Institute to see if they can put any of their research assistants to work going through some of the ancient texts. ”
“She said,” Oswald replies, still peering at the graph in front of him.
“And Luminary Alpin is still working on identifying where we might be able to find the other minerals,” Kit adds. “While the pagadium seems to also be helping a bit now that I’ve adjusted the dosing, there might be something that works even more effectively.”
“Actually,” Oswald picks up his Prism, tapping against it until a map of the Consortium is projected on the wall of the lab, different planetary locations highlighted in purple, red, and green, “she’s already put this together.”
“Mineral deposits, I presume?”
“Yes. But as you’ll note, most are far away. Even past Nexarium, possibly on some of the dwarf planets.”
“Accessing them will be a challenge, then,” Kit says.
“Not only due to proximity, but also because of how difficult they are to mine. Some of the minerals Luminary Alpin mentioned have never been successfully removed from the cores of these planets.”
Kit sags, resting her elbows on the lab table and rubbing her forehead with a hand. Now probably isn’t the time to raise the other issue regarding the pagadium, but she needs to tell Oswald.
“There’s another problem.” Kit feels the hesitation in her voice as Oswald looks over to her.
“That Guardian who seems to pop up every time you’re around?”
Kit’s cheeks heat. “It’s his job.”
“At 4:30 in the morning?”
Kit rolls her eyes. “He was bringing me a coffee.”
“I see,” Oswald says, light still dancing behind his eyes.
“That’s not the issue, Luminary Oswald. It’s the pagadium.
We’re running low, and I don’t know that we’ll be able to get more of it.
” She can’t ask Task to go get more, not after he’d risked his life the first time.
She doesn’t think the Governor of Aquidium will be welcoming him back any time soon.
Oswald considers this. “You know, I’d wondered how you’d gotten it at all.”
“I don’t think that…source can be leveraged again,” Kit replies, careful not to say anything that would give away Task’s role.
But of course Oswald would have wondered.
He’s not an idiot, after all. “I’m trying to use as little as possible, but with the new dosing adjustment, each brew requires nearly an entire jar.
Lumaria will need to try to negotiate something with Aquidium. ”
“They’ll ask how we got it to begin with. How we know it works.”
Kit presses her lips together. “Lumaria will have to speak around it, then.” The minister is good at that, not telling people the whole truth. “Ellsworth can reference the texts we found. We can pretend as if we don’t already know it works.”
“And why wasn’t this the route you pursued initially?” Oswald asks.
Kit sighs. She wonders why she’d asked Task, instead of going through the formal diplomatic channels.
Probably because it feels to her like he can do anything, like he’s an unstoppable force.
That he could procure it much more quickly than Lumaria could, and time was of the essence. “It seemed quicker…the other way.”
“I will speak with your father later today.” Oswald nods, turning from her to look back to the charts.
Kit knows she’s been dismissed, but she can’t help but linger, still looking at the map displayed on the wall. The pagadium is running out, and while the counter-curse seems to have been accidentally successful on Knox, one case is hardly statistically significant.
Planets she’s never been to, knows very little about, waver in the hologram, little flashes as different mineral stores are highlighted. There must be a way they can access at least some of these minerals. Make a trade with Calandra, or give someone a handsome check.
She resolves to find another solution soon. She needs her citizens to recover, for her father to be safe. She needs to do this to show herself she can. That’s she’s worth something. If she doesn’t, she’ll be right back where she started.
Task
The corridor is almost silent as Task accompanies one of his men to the brig on the lower deck, situated near the nose of the ship.
The Guardian has a tight hold on the man’s bicep, dragging him along.
He doesn’t struggle anymore, not after witnessing his friend die at the hands of one of Task’s men.
It had been quiet for weeks, almost peaceful, and then as if a band had snapped, the unrest had begun.
The mind healers had warned of this, especially with people who had limited experience being sequestered.
Some were mentally deteriorating, yes, but today, two had tried to escape the ship altogether.
They’d put everyone else at risk, and Task and his men had to step in.
The Nexarium Force was brutal and efficient, and order was restored almost immediately, but only after one of the escapees was brought to the morgue.
Task had been grateful it was Luminary Oswald who had greeted him with the body — that Kit didn’t have to see him bringing a lifeless citizen to her.
There are two other Guardians on guard outside the brig.
Both nod at Task as he enters, depositing the prisoner into the cell.
He turns away, meaning to walk out, but in a flash, feels two hands grab him roughly around the shoulders, a lumi-dagger at his throat.
He tries to see who has attacked him, but winces as the lumi-dagger slices into his unshielded flesh.
“What the fuck?” he coughs out, struggling against the hold and attempting to focus enough to wield the pain echo against the assailant.
They made a grave error in touching him.
In a second, he's absorbed it — the pain of a surge-saber wound, of losing two fingers in a battle, of the murder of a second lieutenant — and casts it back outwards, enough to send the person who’d gripped him sprawling.
He grabs his surge-saber from its sheath, spinning on his heel to face the Guardian when he hears the brig door slide open, a voice ringing out. “It’s no use, Canmore.”
Task looks over his shoulder, finding Alexander Caden leaning against the doorway, a cruel smile on his face.
Next to him, Caelinus struggles against the hold of a Guardian, trying to break free of the pulsing energy net that traps him.
Voss is crumpled at his feet, blood flowing from a wound in his head.
He groans, trying to push himself up from the floor.
Task rushes toward him, dropping to his knees.
“Voss?” he asks, wanting to shake his friend awake but afraid to touch him.
“’m fine,” Voss mumbles.
“Caden. What is the meaning of this?” Task demands, looking up at the man.
Caden grins. “Seems as though Governor Dormius found out about your little jaunt to Aquidium a few weeks ago.” He paces, his smile deepening. “He’s, how do I say this…displeased that you’re acting so far outside the boundaries of your role, major.”
“This doesn’t concern you,” Task says, his voice shaking.
He knew there was no way Draven wouldn’t find out eventually, not with the Governor of Aquidium very clearly denying them access to the pagadium and then the pagadium stores being raided.
She’s not an idiot — the link would have been apparent.
“It does when the governor asks it of me,” Caden responds. He pulls out his Prism, tapping until Draven appears, and Task grimaces. “I’ve got them here, sir.”
“Excellent work, Alexander,” Draven almost purrs. Caelinus’ father stands beside him, his eyes shooting daggers at his son through the hologram.