Space Knight Read online

  The air smelled like dirty socks, and I stopped breathing through my nose for a bit. Whoever lived inside these quarters needed a few tips in personal hygiene, and maybe another read-through of the RTF’s recruit manual.

  “Are there other squires on board?” I asked the knight with the red mohawk.

  “Unfortunately,” he muttered. “They keep their mouths shut and stay out of our business, like you’ll do.”

  “When will I be meeting the captain?” I figured my introduction would be a top priority, since getting on his good side might mean I wouldn’t have to report directly to this berserker. More questions came to my mind, like where the galley was and what my duties would be on board the ship, but I decided not to ask them. The knight seemed to annoy easily, and one question might be all he’d have the patience to answer.

  “When he’s good and ready.” The red-haired man paused to take another swig from his water drum. He took an impossibly long gulp and then lowered it from his lips. More rancid smells filled my nostrils as he sighed. “Once the last of the cargo’s loaded into the hold, you’ll hear the thrusters start up. Then, we’ll jump through a portal, and you better get your ass anchored. You understand?”

  I’d been hazed by drill sergeants before, so I knew the best way to deal with authority. “Yes, sir,” I said.

  The berserker knight grabbed my shoulder, and his fingers pressed into my armor. I winced, and his smile broadened. “Welcome to the Stalwart.” The man drained the rest of his drum and left the room. I heard his laughter echo from the passageway before the door slid shut.

  “Is he gone?” A man’s head popped up from behind a bed. “Tell . . . tell me he’s gone.”

  “The berserker?” I asked. The knight had made me uneasy, but I wasn’t terrified of him like this other man appeared to be. “Yeah, he’s gone.”

  The man exhaled in relief and creeped out from behind the bed. A plain blue tunic hung from his slight frame, and the royal blue squire symbol was embossed into the right breast pocket below the RTF trident. His rounded features marked him as a Caledonian Core World noble, even though he bore none of a nobleman’s confident air.

  “I’m Nicholas Lyons.” I put out my hand, but the young man turned his nose up at my gesture. Well, at least he hadn’t forgotten everything about what it meant to be a noble. I was a little glad he hadn’t shaken it since my hands were sore from the fight. The mobility in my arms was also reduced, and I wondered whether I had broken something. I’d have to see the ship’s medic at some point.

  I reached over my shoulder with effort and grabbed the ex-knight’s axe. I gritted my teeth as my arm took the weapon’s weight and rested it on my mattress. The polished double-edged blade gleamed beneath the overhead lights. I entered the item into my prot-belt and watched the stats come to life on the holographic display projected from the belt’s buckle.

  Weapon type: Durable Two-handed Battle Axe of Rending

  Additional damage: 25% (bleed)

  Power class: Squire

  Weapon effect: Weapon is constructed of a lightweight duranium alloy, increasing the durability of any rune inscribed into it.

  Runes inscribed: Rending

  Rune class: Knight

  Rune effects: Weapon’s edge is capable of piercing light armor.

  I dismissed the information and stepped back to admire the axe again. After reading the rune effect, I was glad the ex-knight hadn’t landed a hit with the weapon. Although the power class of the axe was Squire, I still couldn’t use it without a promotion because of the Knight class rune effect. I could keep it in storage until I was ready, or I could dismantle it for Arcane Dust. Dismantling the item seemed like a waste, considering how powerful the weapon appeared.

  “Looks like a nice axe,” the noble squire said from over my shoulder, and I detected a hint of disdain his voice. “Especially nice for an Outlander. I can’t believe they assigned one of you to the ship. The Stalwart really is the worst vessel in the RTF.” He plopped down on a bed. “All I can say is good luck.”

  The other squire’s scalp had been shaved in places with some spots much longer than others. I figured he’d been the victim of some kind of hazing, and it made me feel a little sorry for him despite his racism.

  “Are you new, too?” I asked.

  The anxious noble shook his head. “This is my second tour, and I’ve been in this room most of the time.”

  I could tell from the way the nobleman’s eyes roamed about the quarters, that there was probably a good reason for not leaving the quarters. He likely only graduated from the Academy thanks to his parents’ money and status. He must have really pissed someone off to end up on the Stalwart.

  I didn’t want to spend another moment with him in this room. I went to leave but caught a glimpse of my reflection in one of the mirrors. Blood speckled my armor, and I decided I couldn’t leave my quarters in this state.

  Wash basins separated each of the beds, so I took a towel from a wardrobe, wet it, and scrubbed my armor clean. By the time I’d finished, the towel was soaked with blood. The young noble didn’t say anything, but I could see his scared expression in the mirror’s reflection.

  “Fifteen minutes before the Stalwart disembarks the docks,” a female voice said from the speaker above me. “The ship will make its jump at 21:30.”

  Removing my armor and changing into squire garments would take at least ten more minutes. I figured I wouldn’t look all that strange wearing my gear while I walked around the ship because the berserker had also been equipped in full gear.

  “Where are you going?” the squire called as I stepped outside.

  I ignored the nobleman and made my way down the passageway toward what I thought was the galley. The starship’s outer appearance made the vessel seem haphazardly constructed, and the inside confirmed it. The Stalwart was nothing like the uniform military Belugas I’d learned about in the Academy, and I got lost a few times in its intersecting passageways.

  As I passed the elevator, a loud whirring sound filled my ears, and the thruster engines must have fired up. Three artillerymen walked by me, clad in juniper green basic armor. If I hadn’t been granted the scholarship to the Academy, I might have applied for artillery. It was an honorable job role, second to the knights.

  The soldiers wore prot-belts, but they were likely low capacity with prot-fields that would only stop a dozen bullets before giving out. Squires and knights tended to get the more valuable loot, and they were also paid substantially more by the RTF, so artillerymen often couldn’t afford better equipment.

  I gave the men a nod, but they all ignored me as they entered the lift. I figured their lack of politeness was probably normal, considering the stiff rivalry between the kingdom’s infantry and the knights.

  When I found the galley in the next passageway, I encountered a knight with dreadlocks leaning against the bulkhead beside the entrance. He was bopping his head to music blaring through headphones while drinking from a water drum similar to the one the redheaded crazy knight used for his beer. He wore power armor similar to the berserker knight, but his was even larger. Huge pauldrons jutted out from his boulder-like shoulders, and his chest plate must have weighed fifty kilos.

  When I got closer, I recognized him as the shield knight who’d paid my carriage fare earlier today.

  “Ahhh! The Hero of Tyranus,” he said when he saw me and tugged off his headphones. “Didn’t hear you were going to be our new squire recruit.” The big knight smiled at me, and I relaxed. Although he was drinking from a huge drum, he wasn’t drunk like the other knight I’d met. “Name’s Moses Monroe.”

  “Nicholas Lyons, sir!” I yelled above the sound of the ionic thruster engines below us.

  “Loud in here, isn’t it?” He chuckled, and I realized I’d probably yelled a little too loud. “This ship’s a beauty, isn’t she?”

  “Uhhh . . . she’s certainly something.”

  “You don’t have to lie, buddy. She doesn’t look too hot, but
you’ll see her do some damn fine things. Years in space and you learn to appreciate a good vessel.” He swigged on his water drum. “Any idea what specialist role you’ll take when you’re promoted?”

  “I wanted to become a squire for so long, I never thought much about what I’d do afterward.”

  “Outlanders don’t often get into the Academy, let alone make it to graduation. You’ll be trudging uphill, that’s for sure. Those bastards in the upper echelons will do their best to make things hard for you. I’ve had my share of it. I’m not an Outlander, but I’m not a Caledonian, either. Sometimes I wish I could put them nobles in their place.” His grip tightened around the water drum, and the metal crinkled a little.

  I was starting to like Moses a lot, but he sounded like an insurrectionist. But then, a lot of people were annoyed with the RTF’s bureaucracy, so it didn’t necessarily make him a rebel. Still, Polgar would probably want to hear about it. My stomach churned at the thought of reporting this knight to the sorcerer.

  “Where you from, Nick?” he asked.

  “I grew up in the tenements on Dobuni’s southside. My mom’s still there. She’s the reason why I joined the RTF. I want to help her out.”

  Unlike other people who’d learned where I’d come from, Moses didn’t bat an eye. “I hear you. I joined for a similar reason. Except I needed the currency for my brothers and sisters. They’re doing well now, and it’s all thanks to the kingdom paying my wages.”

  “And killing Grendels,” I added with a chuckle.

  Moses frowned at me, and I got the impression I’d said something wrong. “Yeah, I’ve done my fair share of killing Grendels. After I fixed my siblings up, I rose up through the ranks in the RTF. It’s a long road, but if you work hard, you’ll get where you want to be.”

  I wasn’t sure ending up on the Stalwart was much of a rise, but I kept quiet.

  “You alright?” Moses must have noticed me frowning.

  “Just a little tired,” I said quickly and forced a smile.

  “Get some rest while you can. I have to report to the bridge.”

  “Should I come?”

  “Nah, you won’t be allowed up there until you’ve been briefed by the captain and your prot-belt is linked to the systems. We’re in a bit of a hurry to leave the docks, so you’ll be waiting a little while. You’re free to have a look around the ship in the meantime, though.” The knight paused. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

  Now he mentioned it, the passageway had heated up like a furnace, and I was having trouble focusing. My body was finally giving in to exhaustion. Maybe it’d be a good idea if I went back to my quarters.

  “You don’t look too good,” the knight said. “I’m taking you to the doc.”

  “Thanks, but I’m fine.” I tried to shake off my exhaustion and smiled.

  “Look, Nick. I know you want to prove yourself, but we are a team on this ship, and watch out for each other. I’m also your superior, so if you don’t come with me, I’m gonna knock you around so hard you’ll be begging me to take you to the infirmary,” he said with a wink and a broad smile.

  I nodded as I followed the big knight down the passageway. As we passed the galley, I heard laughter and peered inside the open doorway. A dozen men and women were gathered together, and Olav was telling them a story. Every crew member held a water drum in hand, and I guessed from their lazy smiles they were guzzling beer from them. Olav slammed his water drum onto the bench and then wrapped his arm around a long-haired knight. What I thought was a show of affection quickly turned into a headlock, and a second later both men wrestled each other on the ground.

  These men were all crazy.

  I hurried along after Moses, and he entered a room ten meters past the galley. I turned the corner through the doorway and was hit by the smell of disinfectant. Every surface was polished to a gleam, state of the art medical machines lined the walls, and a vat filled with bioliquid bubbled in a corner.

  “You alright if I leave you here?” Moses said. “I’ll comm the doc to come see you.”

  I nodded. “Not a problem, sir. Thanks.”

  “We take care of our own on the Stalwart.”

  I smiled as he left. Besides feeling a little sore and in desperate need of rest, I didn’t think I was injured.

  A woman clad in a form-fitting midnight blue dress and a white coat entered the room. Blonde shoulder-length hair framed a high-cheekboned face. “Squire Nicholas Lyons?”

  Her voice carried the thick accent of the Rutheni Kingdom. She was the second crewmember I met who wasn’t from the Caledonian Kingdom.

  “That’s me.”

  The woman grabbed a medscanner from a cabinet and ran it over my body. “Significant bruising, but nothing is broken.”

  She leaned close to me as she pressed the device against my left shoulder. Her skin didn’t bear a single wrinkle even though she seemed to be approaching middle-age. Lavender perfume drifted from her hair, and I forced myself not to stare at the front slit of her dress. She leaned over a little more, and I swallowed.

  The woman looked at me knowingly as she removed a needle from the table beside me and pushed the drug into my left arm.

  “What are you giving me?” I asked.

  “Something for the pain. It will also help you recover.”

  “Are you the nurse?” I asked when she’d finished.

  “I’m this vessel’s medical officer. Dr. Natali Lenkov.” Now I was less surprised the infirmary was in much better condition than the rest of the starship. It matched the doctor’s flawless appearance.

  I rubbed my arms and noticed they were no longer bruised. Every part of me that had ached a few seconds ago was now free of pain.

  “If you do not mind my asking,” Dr. Lenkov said, “how did you get these injuries? Surely you haven’t suffered with them since you got back from Tyranus? I know the Academy doctors are sometimes negligent, but that would be atrocious.”

  “No, it wasn’t on Tyranus. It happened earlier today.” I considered telling the doctor about my time at the Business Spire, and I wouldn’t have minded spending a good half hour with the beautiful woman, but the ship would be leaving soon. I wanted to explore more of the vessel before I anchored myself somewhere.

  The doctor must have sensed my thoughts because she stood and held out her arm. “You may leave now. I’m sure there are many parts of the Stalwart you wish to see before the captain briefs you. The ship mage will be bringing us to our new location shortly, so you don’t have much time.”

  “Thanks for your help. I feel one hundred percent now.” I awkwardly bowed my head at the woman, and she smiled as she stifled a chuckle behind her hand. My ears burned as I left the infirmary.

  I was about to enter the corridor to my quarters when I saw a woman in the RTF’s enchanter uniform outside a closed door. She looked like she was having trouble opening it, so I walked over to her.

  “Piece of shit,” she muttered as she punched her prot-belt.

  “Need a hand?” I asked.

  Her shoulders bunched up, and all I could see was the back of her red-haired head. “No, I don’t need a fucking--” When she turned around, she stopped speaking and glanced over my uniform with a smirk. “Just when I thought this tour was going to be same old, same old, we have a handsome new recruit. What’s your name?”

  “Nicholas Lyons.” I smiled, held my hand up to the door’s scanner, and the light flashed over the rune on my palm. The scanner beeped, and the door slid open vertically.

  “Thanks,” she said as she peered up at me. Her smirk became a grin, and I was surprised by how pretty she looked. I’d only been on the ship for less than an hour, and I’d already met two beautiful women.

  Maybe life on the Stalwart wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  “It’s no trouble,” I said.

  “I’m sure it wasn’t.” She raised her eyebrows at my armor and then drew a finger across my cuirass. My eyes widened as she came closer to me, and placed her
hands on the flanking metal guards at my hips.

  “This is great armor,” she said, and then she peered up at me with a wry smile. “What did you think I was doing? Checking out your muscles? I suppose those are pretty nice too. How much can you deadlift?” The woman sized me up as she smirked.

  “Uhh . . .”

  “I’m Casey Roman,” the enchantress said, and I was glad I didn’t have to answer her question. “Outlander, aren’t you?” Her hand shoved my back, forcing me to lean forward in a hunch. “That’s better. Try not to stand so straight all the time. This might be an RTF vessel, but you won’t find prim and proper knights here.”

  She slapped me on the shoulder, and I rocked back again.

  “I’m only joking,” she said with a giggle. “Stand however the fuck you want.”

  I laughed until a memory reared in my mind. Casey’s jovial nature reminded me of Alice Jones, and I had to think of something else before I started tearing up. “What do you do on the ship?” It was a stupid question since she was clad in enchanter uniform and glowing specks of dismantled gear stained her apron, but I needed to say something. She didn’t seem to mind.

  “I’m the Stalwart’s resident enchantress. I work here with my granddad, Joseph.”

  “Is this your first tour?”

  “Second. Don’t ask about the last one. Everyone’s still a little testy about what happened on Brigantes.”

  “What happened on . . .” I stopped myself, and the woman’s lips pulled back in a smile, making my stomach flutter.

  “You’re learning. Good. You’ll need to discard a bunch of book stuff you learned at the Academy. We don’t really do things by-the-book on the Stalwart.”

  “Yeah, I’m noticing that.” I glanced at the naked wires drooping from the overhead. “Nothing here seems to be regulation.”

  “You have no idea.” Casey rolled her eyes and sighed.

  “What do you mean?” I found my eyes drifting to the freckles on her neck and the bare part of her shoulder left uncovered by her sleeveless tunic.

  “I’ll tell you more later. I bet you want to have a look around, right? You might have been on a starship before, but--”