Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions (Death's Handmaiden Book 3) by Niall Teasdale (best summer reads txt) 📕

of zero-G movement by using Flight spells to glide around the ship with ease. Rhianna had done free-fall training and was managing to get around just fine without sorcery. Everyone else was hugging the scenery. At least Rochester was looking less green.

‘Did any of you get any sleep?’ he asked as he watched Nava gliding around the communal area outside his cabin.

‘I managed a few hours,’ Nava replied. ‘It’s not easy with someone sitting on your chest.’

‘Tell Suki to get off then,’ Melissa suggested.

‘Ha ha,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Much as I might like the idea, I have not been anywhere near Nava’s chest. You’ve all been through a jump before, right? What’s it like?’

‘It’s the same as teleporting,’ Nava replied. ‘Which, thinking about it, isn’t a good analogy.’

‘I think you’re the only one here who’s done that, Nava,’ Courtney said.

‘Untrue,’ Rhianna said. ‘Nobo can teleport. Best lockpick ever.’

‘It has its uses,’ Nobuyuki agreed. ‘Nava is right, however. Being aboard a ship during jump is not very different to using Teleport on yourself.’

‘That makes sense,’ Rochester said. ‘Jump drives are basically teleportation engines.’

‘You might experience some disorientation immediately after we jump,’ Rhianna said, ‘but it’s usually not that bad.’

‘There’s a sort of… discontinuity,’ Rochester said. ‘I’m not sure I can explain it properly, but you know when it’s happened.’

‘Like there’s a tiny sliver of time gone missing,’ Melissa said.

‘You’re right,’ Nava said. ‘I don’t notice that when I teleport myself.’

‘Because the process takes a little longer when the spell has to ensure that everything jumps together,’ Rhianna said.

‘Okay,’ Mitsuko said, ‘so there’ll be a slight discontinuity followed by some disorientation.’

‘Possible disorientation,’ Nava corrected. ‘Not everyone has problems every time.’

‘Jump in thirty seconds,’ said the voice from the speakers.

‘Here we go,’ Rhianna said. ‘A hundred and thirty-four light years in the blink of an eye.’

A few seconds later, Nava blinked. Or it felt like it. Like the universe had skipped a beat and she had had her eyes closed when it happened. She turned her head to look at Rochester. He was looking a little weird, like his equilibrium was off, but so were Mitsuko and Courtney.

‘I’ve never really liked jumps,’ Courtney commented after shaking her head.

‘I may decide to agree with you,’ Mitsuko said.

‘We have arrived in the Beherbergen system,’ the man on the speakers said. ‘Acceleration starts in five minutes.’

‘Back to lying down then,’ Rochester said.

‘That sounds like a plan,’ Nava replied, heading for the access hatch to her level. ‘Next stop, Beherbergen. And then the fun starts.’

Hausman City, Beherbergen, Hausman’s Stars, 236/8/9.

Hausman’s Stars, the system where Beherbergen was located, was a binary system. A K2 star orbited some eight astronomical units away from the primary G8 star. Beherbergen was the fourth planet out from the G8. It was quite a yellow sun compared to Shinden’s. It also looked bigger because Beherbergen’s orbit was closer. Right now, Shinden was actually a bit hotter than Beherbergen was, but Beherbergen stayed warmer while Shinden’s eccentric orbit made for greater variation in temperature.

There was also the atmosphere. Compared to old Earth, Shinden’s atmosphere was a little less than twenty percent higher in pressure. It was within tolerable limits for humans, except in some very low-lying regions. Beherbergen’s atmosphere was over forty percent denser. You could breathe the stuff, but you would not want to unless you had to. The residents of Beherbergen – Kyle included – had been genetically modified to allow them to handle higher air pressure without discomfort. For visitors, the only solutions were to grin and bear it or wear a pressure suit.

Or, as the planet’s latest visitors from the Alliance capital were doing, you could ask Nava to cast a Pressure Support spell on you. She could do it as a cantrip and it lasted for five hours before it needed to be renewed. As the team emerged from the shuttle’s airlock, the men waiting for them looked a little surprised that no one seemed to be having trouble breathing.

One of their greeters had more brass on his uniform than the others. He took stock of his visitors and then picked the wrong one to talk to. He saluted Nobuyuki. ‘Oberstleutnant Stefan Sieger House, head of the Befreit Beherbergen Response Unit, at your service.’

‘Good morning, Oberstleutnant,’ Rhianna said, a smile on her face. ‘I’m Rhianna Greyling Sonkei. You’ll primarily be talking to me.’

‘Ah. Apologies.’ Despite his name, there was no sign of an accent in his speech. Most of the House clan spoke both English and German fluently, and Kyle had once said that the German accent had largely faded across the entire planet, even for those who spoke no English. What you got was a Beherbergen accent, which was something not quite like typical English or German accents. Stefan, however, did not even show that. ‘We have prepared pressure-controlled quarters for you. If you’ll follow me, I’m sure you’d like to rest after–’

‘The pressure isn’t a problem, we’re all magicians. If you could get one of your men to show some of my companions to those quarters for now, the rest of us would like to hear an update on the current situation. We have people to extract with all speed.’

Stefan regarded Rhianna for a second. ‘If that is what you wish. There is some urgency. We believe we have pinpointed the location your people are being held, but there is a problem.’

Rhianna’s smile did not falter. ‘Just what kind of problem are we talking about, Oberstleutnant?’

~~~

The militia’s operations room was busy. There were a lot of people in sandy-brown uniforms at consoles, working feverishly, and others rushing around, apparently carrying messages by hand. It seemed rather inefficient and there was no sign of any sorcery being used in anything.

The central focus of the room was a map table. It was purely video, no use of sorcery to add a 3D element. On display currently was a map of the region where the ASF team had gone missing and, in the south-east corner, a marker showed the location the