Valterion: The Space/Arch? Mage

Location: Solar System; Earth; France; Arcane Labs

Prince Kai Opalia steps out of the ruined building with a big frown on his face. Hector, his best friend and sometimes butler, follows right behind him. "Well, that was a bust," Hector says and kicks a piece of stone away.

Said stone stops midair and slowly lowers itself back on the ground. A female voice calls out from behind the two young men. "How often do I have to tell you not to kick around random stuff, Hector?"

Kai turns around and smiles at the petite brown-haired woman. "Come on, Becky, it was just a little stone." He has to suppress his laughter as he looks at his two friends.

They are always like this… Like an old married couple. I wonder when Hector will finally propose to her.

Rebecca's glare now turns to Kai instead, and he raises his hands placatingly. "Anyway, Hector is right… Arcane Labs was a complete waste of time. I'm starting to wonder if the whole company was a giant scam."

"That's possible," Hector agrees and is about to kick another stone when Rebecca zaps him with a small electrical spell. He jumps up instead and looks at her sheepishly.

The trio slowly walks back to where they've parked their shuttle a couple of days earlier. Kai is deep in thought, the girl with Lisa Song not getting out of his head.

How did she feel so powerful? There is next to nothing known about her… And Charlie didn't find a thing amiss. But she also felt incomplete somehow… Like there's a piece missing in her magic. Dammit, I wish I could learn more. But she's our opponent for now. Maybe once we're done here on Earth. I'd love to talk magic… There's no one else who comes close to me.

Later! Now it's time to check if she truly is a worthy rival.

The group is almost at their ship, and Kai addresses his AI. "Charlie, is there anything new from our satellites?"

The deep male voice replies through his suit's speaker for everyone to hear. "Indeed, there is! As you wished, I kept most of my focus on your new love interest…"

Kai interrupts him. "You know very well that I'm not interested in that kind of stuff!"

This causes Hector and Rebecca to laugh, and Charlie continues. "Anyway, they were visited by none other than Aria Axtendus herself yesterday, and, from the way things looked, gave something to her. She returned to orbit shortly after, and Miss Green and her group returned to the facility. Just a few hours ago, I detected a great amount of Space magic in the area, and I can only assume that they teleported someone to or from the facility."

This time, Hector interrupts the report. "What are the odds that they needed Lisa Song to access something inside?"

Kai nods along. "Probably. Anything on her location? And on the other relevant people as well?"

Charlie continues his report and informs the Prince about the locations of everyone who takes part in Kai's little game of extra stakes, even if it hasn't started yet. In the meantime, the group arrives at their shuttle and enters. "And lastly, about Lisa Song and her small fleet. I lost their main ship, the Stargazer. It just vanished, and I can't find a single trace of it. The remaining three ships, on the other hand, stayed visible and set out on a course away from Earth. I'm still trying to get a read on them, but the satellites are slow-moving to stay undetected. I need a bit more time until I can try to find them."

Kai nods and fires up the shuttle. "Alright, then let's head back up to the Duskstar and look for a new place to visit while we wait for Charlie's results."

Rebecca and Hector agree with him, and they spend the next hour traveling back up to their starship. Back on the Duskstar, Kai spends a few minutes taking a shower before joining Rebecca, Hector, and the rest of his crew on the bridge. He takes the captain's seat and puts on his trademark Prince Kai smile. A subtle air of confidence and superiority fills the bridge, and the Prince revels in it.

He's now back in full Prince mode; the time of relaxation with his friends is over for now. As the future leader of a whole star nation, he has to act the part even if he prefers to be casual.

Rebecca and Hector are used to it by now, and Hector seamlessly steps into his butler role, while Rebecca takes the seat next to the Prince, acting as his first officer.

Over the next few hours, his crew scans for another promising location down on the planet for the Prince to explore. While continuing to project confidence, Kai's thoughts are somewhere else.

Where did they go? Why send your whole protection away? Are they so confident in protecting themselves? Or did they trick me, and this Sara girl teleported to where Lisa and the ships are instead of exploring the Song Medical area? But what about Aria Axtendus? How does she fit in?

Those thoughts hunt him well into the night, and he doesn't get much sleep. The next morning, he's in a grumpy mood, and everyone feels it. The magical pressure he emanates is higher than usual, and Rebecca tries to calm him down. She somewhat manages, and the Prince collects himself before entering the bridge. "Thanks, Becky," he whispers before being back in his mysterious and unapproachable self.

Luckily, Charlie has some results by midday and presents them to Kai and the assembled crew. Turns out Lisa Song's ship and her entourage just reached Venus, where a gigantic shipyard is hidden. Anger fills the Prince, and he feels betrayed.

They did trick me! Told me to explore some ruins of Song Medical while secretly raiding a shipyard? Probably even a Valterion shipyard!

In his anger, he even forgets that his extra challenge hasn't started yet. He gets up and addresses his crew. "Get ready, we're going on a hunt!"

Location: Solar System; Above Venus; SKS Duskstar

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Prince Kai's ship finishes its teleportation and arrives close to Venus. The starship and its crew are ready for battle, and Prince Kai himself has multiple A&D spells ready to cast. He's just looking for a target.

They don't have to search for long, as the gigantic shipyard is hard to miss. It fills out pretty much everything that can be seen through the Duskstar's window. This also includes the three starships floating before it.

Gotcha!

As Rebecca manages the Duskstar's shields, Prince Kai can completely focus on the offense and sends out multiple Tracer spells that can simulate a real attack without destroying anything. Kai watches his spells fly with a calm smile and already plans to enter the shipyard with Rebecca and Hector when something unexpected happens.

He fights to keep his smile when his spells are blocked by a Mage aboard one of the ships, and the other two hide behind it.

That's not how it's supposed to work! How did they react so fast?

Determination fills him. He's always been one for a proper challenge. Return fire comes from two of the ships, but a glance at Rebecca reassures him that she's got everything well in her hands for now. The Prince stands up and warns his crew to get ready for another jump. He's got the weakest link in the small fleet in his sights.

One jump and a few well-placed Tracer spells later shows the freighter as destroyed on the Duskstar's main screen. As per the rules, said freighter quickly flies away from the battleground to make way for the remaining three ships.

Kai tries the same maneuver again to take out the small ship that remains, but a powerful Shield spell stops his attempt.

Hello Lisa!

What follows is a game of cat and mouse, which the Prince enjoys a lot. He slowly whittles down Lisa's supply of magic until one lucky Tracer spell manages to take out their engines, which counts as destroying the starship.

All this happens while Rebecca fights off the final ship that's still here. It's the only one that actually counts as a warship, and Prince Kai recognizes it as a Peacekeeper vessel. "How does it look, Becky?" He asks and only gets a strained grunt in reply.

Huh, she's struggling more than expected.

He adds his own spells and watches the ship expertly dodge around them. Anything that can't be dodged is blocked by a Shield.

They've got a hell of a pilot!

It takes much longer than the Prince would have liked, but finally, he manages to sneak a Cloaked Tracer spell past the Shields and aims for the engines. Still, a last-second maneuver that has him baffled leads to a partial dodge so that his spell only clips the engines. While his screen reports massive damage, the ship isn't destroyed. Instead, it vanishes in a flash of Space magic.

What the fuck? What is this pilot? How could they dodge this? Dammit, now we have some loose ends. And I'm still missing their main ship. Where is the Stargazer?

His inner turmoil obviously stays hidden, and his smile never wavers. Rebecca, of course, knows him better than that and puts a hand on his shoulder. "They're crippled. We've got them enough. Are you ready to check out the shipyard? Maybe they have someone already over there."

She's right! This Sara girl leads their ground team. Maybe they're already inside the shipyard!

"Thanks, Becky. Get Hector and suit up. The three of us are going over there."

She nods once and exits the bridge. Kai turns back around and addresses his crew. "Keep an eye out and protect the ship. We'll be back as soon as possible." He then turns to his tactical officer, who is also the strongest A&D Mage that will remain aboard. "Khelani, you're in charge!"

The woman gets up and bows slightly. "As you wish, my Prince." She then walks over and sits down on the captain's chair while Kai leaves the bridge. He puts on his equipment and then meets back up with Rebecca and Hector.

Hector holds up a tablet, showing a scan of the shipyard. "I took the liberty of taking a closer look at the yard while you two were fighting. I managed to detect life forms inside. Apparently, they landed a shuttle at this small hangar bay and then made their way further into the station. I'm also detecting fusion power, so either they managed to reactivate one of the reactors, or it was running all along. Anyway, currently, they are right there."

Hector finishes by highlighting a spot on the map on his tablet. Kai nods in thanks. "Charlie, get me those coordinates. We don't have time to waste."

"You know that you are not supposed to jump into the unknown, right?" his AI replies with a sigh.

"I don't care. We didn't destroy the ship, so we're on the clock. Lisa Song tricked me, and I can't let that slide. Imagine we'd have waited till Sunday and then raided the Song Medical location, they told us… We would have looked like fools. Also, my Space Sense can manage this little jump. Hector even has a map."

Another sigh, but a set of coordinates locks in. "Fine, but don't complain if there are consequences later on…"

Kai grimaces, but casts his Teleportation spell anyway. He grabs onto Rebecca and Hector and triggers it. The coordinates are spot on, and he doesn't even need his Space Sense to correct things. A fraction of a second later, they're inside a hallway, barely a hundred meters away from a squad of nervous Peacekeepers.

They demand that he identifies himself, but he just shakes his head in disappointment while slowly coming closer.

The Sara Green girl isn't here… And those guys are barely worth my magic.

He stops about thirty meters away from them and starts speaking. "My my my, who

do we have here? Some Peacekeepers and a team of…"

Huh, now that's interesting. Lisa Song even recruited some archaeologists. I wonder what her plans are with them.

"Archaeologists? Interesting. If that isn't a part of Lisa Song's team. I can see now why she kept you a secret. Still, you shouldn't be here, and now I have to teach you a

lesson!"

One of the Peacekeepers interrupts him. "This is your last warning. Identify yourself or we'll open fire!"

Kai just laughs at the empty threat. A Junior Mage is barely an inconvenience for someone like him. "You want my name? Well, I am Prince Kai Opalia, and I'm here to take what's mine! Lisa Song crossed me, and now it's my turn."

He casts a few spells that immediately have the suits of every single Peacekeeper flash bright red. Two of the archaeologists also drop in the crossfire, which annoys him.

Dammit, where did my accuracy go?"

Rebecca's calming whisper barely registers in his ear. "Don't get too worked up, Kai. We don't know the full story."

He ignores her and walks forward until he stops before one of the remaining archaeologists. The others look at this man as if asking what to do. Despite his anger, this tells the ever-perceptive Prince everything he needs to know.

"Now, here we are… You look like the leader, correct?"

The man manages a weak nod, and Kai continues.

"Good, so you will carry my message while I keep your friends as collateral. This is

my place now. When you're back in the game, tell Lisa Song and her retainer that I

hate liars! They will know what I'm talking about. Now farewell."

He casts another spell and knocks the young man unconscious. This counts as another elimination, and he beckons Hector and Rebecca to grab the two archaeologists who are still listed as alive.

"Now what to do with you?" He muses under his breath.

That's when a Communication spell from Khelani reaches him. "My Prince, the Peacekeeper ship is back! We're under attack… Shit, they've got our shields! Dammit, we're out of the game. I'm sorry, my Prince… They overpowered me."

That stops Kai right in his tracks, and his mind clears.

Holy shit! How could I act so foolishly? I completely threw caution to the wind! Dammit, what's wrong with me? How could the possibility of a worthy rival cloud my thoughts so thoroughly? Fuck, my challenge hasn't even started yet!

He looks at Rebecca and Hector, his Prince Kai persona washed away. Now only Kai is left. The two of them notice immediately and look at him with concern. "What's wrong?" Hector asks.

"They took out the Duskstar. I overstepped. We need to retreat for now…" He looks at the two archaeologists, then at the room at the end of the hallway. "Take them inside and take them out. Then let's close the door. Maybe that'll cost them some time to get them back out. Oh, and leave something to eat and drink."

His friends comply, and a minute later, the door is closed. Kai takes one more look at the shipyard and sighs. "You win this one, Lisa. But don't think I won't be back. Next time with a clear mind."

After that, they teleport away and arrive on the Sigil where their official watcher, who is normally his bodyguard, resides.

The Sigil is the second starship in Prince Kai's miniature fleet and he left her behind near Earth in his hurry earlier. He groans silently upon arrival.

Nina's going to be furious with me for leaving her behind. Time to get my scolding…