The immortal wizards were the most powerful humans ever to walk the planet Tharia, but the wars between them devastated the planet and the whole world breathed a sigh of relief when the last of them was killed. In an attempt to cheat death, though...
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Saturn arrived back aboard the Ship of Space in a tearing hurry and almost ran up the stairs and along the corridors in his haste to get back to the bridge. Matthew paused briefly in his work as the wizard puffed past, staring after him curiously. "Where's the fire?" he wondered to his companions.
Ihvon wiped a paint stained arm across his brow, leaving a grey smudge there. Like the others, he'd stripped down to his underclothes to protect his uniform and was now stained up to the elbows on either arm, with smudges all over the rest of his taut, muscular body from scratching and wiping away sweat. And they'd still only done one corridor! How long would it take them to paint the whole drassing ship?
"He seemed in a hurry to get somewhere," he muttered, standing straight and arching his back to ease the cramp out of his joints. "What the drass is going on around here?"
"I wish I knew," Matthew sighed wearily. "I don't even know if we've left Kronos yet. Tom'll let us know as soon as he's free to get away. I'll sit on his chest until he talks."
His companions gasped in alarm. "That's a wizard you're talking about!" the navy man said, staring in horror. "They don't like it if you don't show respect."
"Tom?" said Matthew, grinning with amusement. "Let me tell you something, Tom's one of the finest men I've ever met. He's not like other wizards." He had no idea how true his words were.
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Saturn took a moment to pause and compose himself before stepping onto the bridge. Time was short, it was true, but he had to maintain a proper decorum before the rest of the bridge crew. The soldiers didn't count, of course. They weren't important enough for their opinion of him to matter. Once he'd controlled his breathing, therefore, he pushed open the door and strode in as regally as a King.
Ignoring the surprised glances of the others for the time being, he sat in the command chair, picked up the Helm of Farsensing and placed it on his head. He closed his eyes in silent concentration for a few moments, then cursed under his breath. He took it off and handed it to Timothy. "Wear this at all times," he commanded. "If you spot anything leaving Tharia and heading out into space, inform me immediately. You understand?"
"Yes," said the puzzled cleric, placing the helm on his head. "What's going on?"
"The saboteurs came to our world in a Ship of Space, like ours. We captured two of them but the rest eluded us. They may already have escaped out into empty space, but if they're still in the area I want them found and caught."
"We can only see a small volume of nearby space with that helm," pointed out the moon trog, staring at the wizard thoughtfully, "and the planet Tharia blocks our view of what's behind. Unless they happen to come in our direction..."
"But they would come in our direction, if the ring is the transdimensional portal they came through," cried Thomas in excitement. "We're sitting right on top of it. They'll have to come to us."
