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  Troubled by Magic

  The Rogue Gambit Book 1

  Nathan Howe

  Copyright © 2019 by Nathan Howe

  Cover Artist: Dark Matter Book Covers

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  To the men and woman who served past and present.

  Thank you for you service.

  Contents

  Ambushed

  Spies

  Note from the Author

  Also by Nathan Howe

  Acknowledgments

  About Nathan Howe

  Ambushed

  Chapter 1

  “That can’t be right,” Admiral Nala Zoltack muttered. The woman was short with brown hair and a stern face. She sat in her office reading the Federation report that had landed on her desk moments before. The office was neat, organized, and devoid of anything that might be considered a distraction, which meant no awards or photos graced the walls, no stray notes, nothing out of place and all strictly for business.

  The Federation spanned a large part of the Milky Way and had been around for roughly a hundred years of which Earth had been a part for the last seventy years.

  The admiral hadn’t actually left Earth in ten years, not even to visit the Mars settlement or the outer ring of the solar system space station. That was the hub for most of the Federation when it visited Earth. Still, Zoltack was proud to be one of the highest-ranking humans in the interstellar organization that kept the peace.

  But what she read now might make keeping the peace harder, and she didn’t like that one bit.

  The paper in her hands had been delivered by her executive officer, who waited for her to finish reading. Commander Paul stood tall, all six feet of his athletic frame. Paul was half Zoltack’s age, which meant he was in his early twenties. He was on the fast track to becoming an admiral himself, though he needed some time in the field before reaching his potential. With his square jaw and white uniform in pristine condition, the man was born for the role, and he knew it.

  “Admiral,” he asked, “what do we do?”

  The news was bad, and she wasn’t sure. She read the report again, stalling for time. A mystery fleet of ships had attacked the planet of Coeus. Although it was one of the outer systems in the Federation, the planet was an important one. The people of Coeus were some of the savviest shipbuilders in the Federation and had helped design many of their current ships. If it wasn’t for them, the hyperdrives that most of the existing fleet had wouldn’t be nearly as advanced. They had found a way to travel several times faster than the speed of light, to hyperdrive ten, and the speed was beyond what Zoltack could understand.

  “Admiral, what do you think needs to be done? Ma’am,” he said. “We can’t just send our fleet. This hadn’t come through proper channels.”

  The commander was correct about the report. It had no seal and was sent via an unsecured communication from a private vessel out in the Coeus system. That meant it might not be correct, but she couldn’t ignore it.

  “Then?” she asked.

  Paul knew Zoltack was testing him, seeing if he had what it took to replace her when, or rather if, she ever retired. The admiral had no desire to leave her position anytime soon. She loved working for the Federation, even if it was mostly politics for her these days.

  “We send in a scout ship,” he said, “one of our smaller, faster ones that can make the trip.”

  That was the best course, but not many were there on Earth or close to Coeus.

  “Very well. Which one is the closest?”

  The commander pulled out his tablet and a few seconds later handed it to the admiral. “The Rogue Gambit captained by Hunter Solomon.”

  Zoltack grinned. It couldn’t have been any better since that was one of the fastest scout ships they had. Captain Solomon was an exceptional leader of men, but he had a way of not listening to orders at times. He was never going to get any higher than he was in the Federation Navy, and he was completely okay with that. Zoltack, however, didn’t want to take any chances.

  “Shall I have them go to Coeus?” Paul asked.

  “Have them come here first,” she said. It was on the way to Coeus and wouldn’t slow the Rogue Gambit down much. She wanted to make sure that Solomon followed the orders to the “T” and took no unneeded risks.

  Chapter 2

  Hunter Solomon leaned back in the captain’s chair on the bridge of the Rogue Gambit. He was tall with brown hair and a muscular body. The captain had a mature face to match his age of mid-thirties, but he liked to say he looked young for his age.

  Today was going to be a nice and relaxing day. Since he and the crew weren’t part of the advanced team going out to the edge of the Federation, they had been stationed on the edge of the Earth’s solar system. The bigger ships with larger crews had been ordered in the direction of Andromeda. In that direction, anyway, and yet not even close to the other galaxy.

  Hunter shivered at the thought of what could be out there. The Captain of the Rogue Gambit still remembered his great-grandfather’s stories of when Earth had made first contact. It wasn’t an era Hunter wanted to return to, one of fear and disbelief.

  The bridge door opened, and the first officer walked on board. Charlie Pock was a few years younger than Hunter with light brown hair and a lean frame. Like Hunter, she was from Earth but from Germany, not America like the captain, though she had moved to New York City when she had been young.

  Not that much of the old countries mattered. Most of the Federation didn’t say they were from America or Germany anymore because most of them were not from Earth. It was the planet that mattered these days. For that matter, not all of the crew were humans.

  Charlie was waiting to be acknowledged.

  “Charlie,” Hunter said. “What is up?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Can’t you even pretend to be in the Navy?”

  Hunter looked down. “Yup. I remembered to put my uniform on. I’m in the captain's chair. I think I got being in the Navy down.”

  She didn’t even laugh. The first officer was the one person on the ship who hated how Hunter didn’t follow orders and treated much of his crew as equals. Yet, his team was one of the best scout ships in the Federation. Charlie thought that accomplishment was in spite of Hunter rather than because of him.

  “Not funny,” she said. “Captain, we have orders to return to Earth.”

  Hunter groaned. “Roger that, Lieutenant.”

  Charlie smiled.

  Hunter pressed the all hands-on deck and used the comm system to speak to the crew. “This is your captain speaking. Our orders have changed, and we are to return to Earth.”

  That was going to be something. Even though they were close to the planet, it had been close to three years since Hunter and the rest of the crew had been there. In fact, Quentin Mack, one of their non-human crewmembers, had never been to the planet at all.

  The door opened again, and the large Drachian walked into the room. He was taller than any human. His skin was covered in bright green scales, and his hands ended in razor-sharp claws. All Drachians were similar in the size and scales at least. Hunter wasn’t sure about the claws and was too scared to ask about it. The Drachians weren’t known for being friendly when angry, and the last thing Hunter wanted to do was provoke him.

  “We really going to Earth?” Quentin asked.

  Charlie nodded. “We are.”

  “I can’t wait,” Quentin said. “I’ve been waiting for thirty years.”

  That wasn’t all that long for a Drachian since they lived an average of three hundred years. To them, thirty was just old enough to shave. That was if they shaved, which they didn’t.

  The Rogue Gambit didn’t have a large crew, and soon, the bridge team arrived to pilot the vessel back to Earth.

  Hunter turned to the first officers. “Any reason why we have to go back?”

  “Just have orders from Admiral Zoltack to return.”

  Hunter groaned. The short woman was fierce and didn’t like him much. If she was summoning them, it wasn’t good.

  The Rogue Gambit docked at Earth’s Federation headquarters on the east coast of North America not far from what had been Savannah, Georgia. Now, it was called Federation City. Not that Hunter liked the name. All the planets in the Federation had one city called that. Supposedly, it made it easier for the crews to know where they were.

  If Hunter had his way, that would be removed. It was the dumbest thing he had ever heard of. A person didn’t have a clue as to where they were on the planet with such terrible names.

  Hunter turned to the ship’s lead mechanic as he walked in the hanger. “Brad, can you get the repairs needed?”

  Chief Petty Officer Brad Westin nodded. He was a brute of a man and a fine mechanic and engineer. He really should have been an officer, but his love was working with his hands. “Roger that. I sure can.”

  “Great,” Hunter said. He knew that he was going to have to see the admiral and soon, but the captain hadn’t been on Earth in a long time. He was going to take his time on the way over to the Federation Headquarters.

  Charlie walked next to him as the rest of the crew stayed near the ship. Hunter was envious of them, as most could hit up the dive bars that sprung up around all the docks. N
o matter what the Federation liked to say about the people who joined, they all enjoyed a good beer or shot of tequila or whatever the local version was. Not all the planets had the same beverages or food, but no matter where a person went, one thing was certain. The people there found a way to have a good time.

  As he and Charlie walked, they passed several of them, a few Hunter had been to in the past. Subconsciously, he took a step toward one and was grabbed by Charlie.

  “I don’t think so,” she said.

  Hunter groaned. “Just one drink.”

  Charlie rolled her eyes. “You are meeting the highest-ranking member of the Federation on the planet, and you want a beer. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope,” Hunter said. “It’s a great way to cut the edge. Makes me more relaxed.”

  Charlie glared at him. “You don’t need beer to relax. You are the captain of a ship.”

  Hunter shook his head. Being a captain of a ship didn’t suddenly make a man above needing to steel his nerves. Charlie acted like those who were captains or higher were a different breed of beings and above the carnal needs of the rest.

  One day, she would be in his shoes and realize how wrong she was. The lieutenant would see that just because one had rank and power, that didn’t make them infallible.

  “Fine,” he said, “but on the way back.”

  “If you must.”

  “I must,” Hunter said with a sarcastic tone as they turned for the Citadel.

  The Citadel was the tallest building on Earth, topping well over four thousand feet tall. Hunter didn’t have a clue as to how many floors that was. Not that it mattered since he would not be going very high up. Admiral Zoltack would be on one of the lower floors, close to the action. She was that type of leader, and Hunter mildly appreciated that.

  The building was impressive, and the wonders of engineers never ceased to amaze him. Outside of the building, sculptures of the early days of Federation on Earth surrounded the courtyard. One was the first contact that was made so many years ago between the humans and the Kuntrian. There were other important moments in the history of the Federation and the humans, but that was the key one. It stood front and center for all to see as they arrived at the building.

  Charlie, of course, was memorized by the sculpture. “Such an important moment.”

  “Yeah. A big one.” Hunter knew she was right, but he wasn’t going to go all googly eyed over it. “We have stuff to do.”

  It was his turn to keep them on task. Charlie would stay out here and check out all the different plaques and monuments. She was a sucker for history, and with the way she revered those in power, that was no surprise.

  Inside the building, Hunter’s footsteps echoed off the tiled marble floors. The grand entrance opened into a large waiting area with a giant desk. Hunter strode right to the man standing behind it, and he heard Charlie behind him hurrying to catch up.

  Before Hunter could speak, the other man looked up and smiled. “Captain Solomon. The admiral is waiting.”

  He was a chief petty officer, and he handed both Hunter and Charlie passes and directed them to the elevator and the fifth floor. As Hunter expected, not too high up. He was sure that in past years, well before the Federation and true space travel, that a person with Zoltack’s power would have been on the top floor so they could have the best views of the city.

  That just wasn’t the case anymore since more and more people were seeing Earth from space and other planets. Not everyone joined the Federation, but one could easily travel between the systems. There was a bustling trade and tourism between many of the planets, and that meant civilian ships traversing space.

  Those trips weren’t cheap, but in the last few years, they had become more manageable. The ships had been getting faster and less expensive to produce, making it more accessible for the average person. That was a good thing, but Hunter was sure that was going to hurt the number of people who joined the Federation.

  Stepping off the elevator on the fifth floor, Hunter was greeted by a tall, stiff man. A commander and most likely the XO of the admiral.

  “I am Commander Paul,” he said. “Please follow me.”

  The name rang a bell in Hunter's mind. This was a guy on the fast track to being an admiral himself if he would ever leave Earth, but the commander had a reputation of being scared to travel in space. Considering he was a member of a space-traveling military force, his fear of space travel didn’t bode well for advancing his career.

  The admiral’s office wasn’t elaborate, but that suited her in Hunter's opinion. She was a short woman yet extremely intimidating.

  “Captain, Lieutenant,” she said in greeting. “Commander, you are dismissed.”

  Paul nodded and left the room without a word. With her long brown hair pulled back, the admiral had a stern face at the best of times. Right now, she didn’t look happy at all.

  “We have a problem,” she finally said, taking her seat behind the plain desk.

  Both Hunter and Charlie waited for permission to sit.

  “I figured as much, ma’am,” Hunter said.

  Zoltack smiled. “You may sit.”

  Both quickly sat in the plain but comfortable chairs in front of the desk.

  “What is the problem, Admiral?” Charlie asked.

  “As you know, the bulk of our force is on the outer ring in the direction of Andromeda, but on the other end of the Federation, we have a planet, Coues, that sent word of an invasion.”

  Hunter knew the planet well. They had stopped there often as it was one of the last places on the edge of the mapped Federation. The Rogue Gambit had helped explore the outer reaches there and had found no sign of habitable planets.

  “I know it,” Hunter said.

  “I thought you would,” Zoltack answered. “I didn’t want to risk sending your orders via transmission in case the threat is real, which is why I called you into my office. We can’t just send forces since we would have to pull them back from their current missions, and that is not currently possible nor practical.”

  “You want us to make sure the threat is real?” Hunter asked.

  The admiral nodded. “I do.”

  “We can do that,” Hunter said.

  “Good, but don’t engage if it is valid. Go, scout, and then come back. Do not transmit in case they try to intercept. I want to see you back in person for a report.”

  Hunter groaned. “Very well. I will do as you say, ma’am.”

  “Good. This is the worst possible timing. We are on the cusp of expanding the Federation, and we can’t have an unknown force attacking us from the rear.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Hunter said.

  They stood and were given permission to exit the office. This was going to be a cake walk. Hunter was sure this was a false alarm. He had already scouted that region and had found nothing. No way had he missed a planet that could attack the Federation.

  Chapter 3

  Admiral Zoltack left her office and ventured to the upper levels of the Citadel. It was a grotesque building, and she hated it. The Federation long ago felt that each and every headquarters had to be the tallest on the planet they were on. That meant something to the rest of the Federation. Zoltack knew that the first people on Earth who joined felt the same way, and she was sure that many still did.

  It wasn’t a trait unique to the Federation, whether human or not. People wanted to be the biggest and baddest around. Zoltack viewed it as a dick-measuring contest, and she loathed it.

  Commander Paul was waiting for her outside her office. Zoltack didn’t say a word to him and strode to the elevator. If she had her way, this meeting would be done in her office over a regular vid call.

  But the Federation and their techy toys had to do everything as high tech as possible. That meant a ride up to nearly the top of the Citadel to a newly renovated meeting room. Several chairs with tables next to each one formed a large circle. Once she took a sear, the other chairs filled with holograms of the other leaders of the Federation.