Robson and Omar from the security detail stood to either side of Fenrisúlfr, side arms leveled despite the mortal wolf demigod being bound in glowing energy loops. Lightning flickered around him from the magic damper. The demigod could work miracles. One had deceived a nascent multi-planet government into allying with Rouge Star Traders LLC. This afternoon, his miracles lost me three crew.
A planetary defense force (PDF) corvette and a Rouge Superfrigate raced us to light speed. The lights on the bridge flickered. I grabbed the armrests of my chair before the gravity compensators failed momentarily toward port, jerking us that way. Robson grabbed a stanchion. Omar chose to fall with his charge, twisting to strike the demigod with elbows and knee, instead of the wall. Fenrisúlfr groaned.
The Rouge threw relativistic iron pellets at us, einsteined into the ten ton range, impossible to see, except as a gamma ray blip a few seconds out. Rouge trading money hired the best galactic thaumaturgists who produced gravity loops superior to most modern militaries.
"You see that?" I yelled, pointing at the tactical tank. Green lines marked our evasions; burnt-out orange firework trails, their targeting solutions.
Glowing amber eyes bore into me. The wolf winced. I'd have to write up the rib fracture. Geneva Convention allegation, training failures, etc. I added, "Tell me where you hid the Lug you stole and the PDF will stop the Rouge from killing us. You're mortal. I know it. You want to die?"
A growly voice said, "Your reputation proceeds you."
"You think /The Sakura/ is /lucky?/ We always escape? I lost two men and a woman today!"
"I see futures. Yours, Rin, are good."
"You let yourself get captured?"
We dodged three more relativistic misses before he shrugged, smiled, and nodded. I ground my teeth.
I touched the intercom. "Engineering? Mr. Thomas. Where's that boost you promised?"
"Um, Captain Sasaki, ma'am. About that?"
"What now?" I glared at the wolf warped by spirits and gods. It bared a fang in a grin.
"Remember that power failure?"
"The upper cargo holds?"
"Lost atmosphere in—"
"—the fuel compartments?"
"Aye, ma'am. The drive isn't happy."
I rubbed my temples. The relativistic drive used a miracle to violate physics. Ours contained an avatar of Nergal, the "Burner," the Babylonian god of the sun and wanton destruction. A dual drive and weapons system. The denatured lion god required live sacrifices: Tank-grown hyenas.
Hyenas. Resembled a wolf, right?
"Ms. Watanabe, you have the helm."
Engineering looked like a gate to hell. Thaumaturgy erected gravity folds and time discontinuities to protect the environmental pod of the ship from the thauma-mechanical superstructure. The metal walls aft glowed dull red. A doorway opened into a lava-filled volcanic "host" chamber. Refrigeration like a winter gale barely kept the crew from sweating. I smelled brimstone.
After another dodge, I asked Fenrisúlfr, "How do you like engineering?" The wolf gripped the safety railing with white knuckles.
"Medievally modern? Not a thaumaturge. My magic is intrinsic. Your point, Rin?"
"We're on a first name basis, now?"
"The lady's showing me around her house, isn't she?"
"Mr. Thomas. How closely related to a hyena does the sacrifice need be?"
"Dog-like. Hyenas proved easy to clone anencephalus."
"Will a wolf do?"
Fenrisúlfr stood stark straight. "Are you mad!" he snarled. "That's murder."
"Let's see..." I counted fingers. "Let the Rouge kill us? Maybe get a death sentence? We all die? I sacrifice you, my crew survives, and we fix the shit you caused planetside? Quick! It's your ship? Your choice? No answer? Pity."
My poker hand, in a nutshell.
I walked closer to the open door, security dragging Fenrisúlfr behind. It looked like a hatch on a submarine or to the firebox of a locomotive. The heat tightened my skin. "Where's the Lug?"
The ship dodged hard three times before he yelled the location. I transmitted the message immediately. We were ten light minutes from a response.
"Doesn't that feel better? You told my future accurately."
"I had confidence." I waited near the heat, just in case.
The next instant, /Bang!/ The impact sheared off parts starboard. Gravity compensation went off seconds, long enough to float free of the decks. The ship couldn't dodge, lest we be smashed to a protein film.
Lights and gravity returned. Nobody had been thrown aside.
I'd barely sighed when titanic flaming lion's paw emerged from the glowing hell. Claws snagged a startled Fenrisúlfr, snatching him into the fire.
The engine began purring.
Turns out Fenrisúlfr had predicted my future correctly, not his own.