Chapter Nine

"So all this time you were really?"
Collin nodded. Hamaf had secrets of his own, and this wasn't the first unique character that had joined his command. He'd gotten several future guardsmen, a dozen notorious criminals, disgruntled politicians; admittedly he'd never had someone as high profile as Collin before, but the responses were less than dissimilar.
"Were you afraid I'd treat you differently? That I'd think of you as something you aren't? Collin, you are one of my officers. Not a single one of them was promoted because of something their father or grandfather did or is; I made you an officer because you can handle the responsibilities and have earned the privileges. Never question that, because I expect you to keep your platoon operating to the same standard as you did before."
"Yes sir."

They continued down the hall. Small glowing orbs hovered every five meters, suspended mid-air where Peter had conjured them. Weak as they were, the illumination they provided allayed the fears of the men.
Hamaf grinned as he pondered the glowing orbs.
"However, I expect now that you're nobility and not just another urchin pickpocket my wife will be considerably more interested in having you over for dinner."
She laughed, The captain's wife was notorious for her weekly dinners for the more respectable officers. It was no secret she hoped to one day move up in the world.

A familiar sound came from the door ahead of them, the weapon that had wounded Collin earlier. Peter had been forwarned, and his enchantments prevented further casualties. Sharai and the rest of the company had brought the crossbows with them, and in the Fae illumination of the accompanying orbs the troopers easily dispatched the unarmored adversaries.
"I see why you had so much trouble with that last one." Peter leaned angainst the wall, clearly wearied by his magic. "Whatever they're using it's much more powerful than a crossbow."
"Hurts worse too."
"They die easily enough though. If you can keep up that barrier we'll deal with them quickly enough."
"I can't do this all day. If we encounter much more resistance I'll need a nap."
"Magic, bah." Sharrai came up from the rear. "No wonder the old kingdoms fell, The empire is held on the backs of honest men, not snivelling mages in their towers and temples. Your kind just create problems for the rest of us. A dozen lanterns and a pair of sturdy shields would replace you easily enough, now.."
"Liuetenant that's enough. Peter here is a member of his Majesty's imperial guard and to be treated with respect. I obey his orders and through me he commands you; if he says we stop, we stop, if he says we fight, we fight. And if you insist on doing otherwise I will be forced to personally inform your family that you angered a mage and died a fool's death."
She pulled back, no matter her predjudice against magic and its practitioners she respected his authority. She owed him that much, especially considering the lengths he had gne to to keep her out of trouble in the past.

"Rest may not be such a bad idea sir. We've been walking for hours now and the men are getting hungry. Perhaps we should wait here and radio back to forward command that we've found a suitable location for company HQ."
"We have?"
"Yes, this room is quite large, a sort of gymnasium I'd say. There are locker rooms on either side, complete with functioning plumbing."
"Really, you don't say? I could go for a good shower. Sharrai, for your insubordinate behavior towards the good guardsman, you will take the first watch. Wake Sergent Krenian to take over in five hours then get some rest yourself. Collin, you and your men are the best rested I assume."
She nodded quickly.
"Good, set up the radio equipment in the center of the room. We'll contact Command and report our progress. Perhaps they can give us some idea of where we are, get some sort of map of this place going. Ask them to send supplies, if we can get a basic mess kit set up then this place will be a fully functional base camp. Esteval, you and Thak gather some of the debris in the nearby halls and set up some sort of barricade outside of the lockers. Maybe a fall back point in here when you finish. Mr. Guardsman; get some rest, you'll need it if we plan on making as much progress tomorrow."

A veritable chorus of affirmation, the work would be well worth it for the chance to rest after three days of exploration. By now he imagined they'd be nearing the outside of the ship. It was only a matter of time before they found something worth looking for.