Free Rise of Shadows by Vincent Trigili

about Spectra? Was she mulling over the failed jamming? I could imagine a dozen different ways a green crew could beat themselves up after even the most perfect fight, having once been as new as they were now. I was about to break the silence when Dusty spoke up.
    “Well, I can’t help but wonder: are we wizards fighting like mundanes, or mundanes who happen to have a few wizard tools to call on?” asked Dusty.
    “What do you mean?” asked Flame.
    “Well, it seems like all our training with this ship and the first two fights could have been completed by mundanes. If we are out here as a show of force, shouldn’t we show some of our real power?” he responded.
    “That is a very good point about the first two fights, but obviously the destruction of that battleship could not have been accomplished by mundanes,” I said.
    “True,” said Spectra, “but Dusty is right. We are fighting like mundanes who have wizard powers to call on.”
    “Well, then, let’s answer the biggest question first: are you wizards or mundanes?” I asked.
    Silence filled the bridge for a bit, and then Spectra broke the ice and said, “I am a magus by birth, and a wizard by choice.”
    “Well said,” I responded. “Never forget that you may have grown up thinking you were a mundane, but that was an illusion; we are all magi. We never were mundanes. We think differently, look different, and have much greater responsibility than any mundane could ever grasp. This might not seem true now, but once we are mingling with the mundanes again the differences will become obvious. You will not fit in, not even among your old friends. So, with that understanding, how should we have handled the first fight?”
    After a brief silence they started tossing around ideas about different spells and how best to use them in this environment. The most interesting thing about their conversation was the total lack of any use of this mighty weapon we were sitting in.
    I raised my hand to get their attention and then said, “Back home at the Academy we joke about how the wizards from Korshalemia do not use nor understand our technology. Is that the ideal we are shooting for here?” I let them ponder that for a bit, then said, “I think we need to find the balance between taking advantage of all the tools that we have to use and using none at all.”
    Right then the computer interrupted and told us that it was time to jump. “Battle stations, everyone, we will have to continue this discussion at another time.” I was a bit annoyed at the interruption, as I realized this kind of conversation struck at the heart of what we were really doing out here. We were defining what it was to be a wizard at war in this realm.

Chapter Fifteen
    “Admiral, I have the latest reports on the Alpha Academy vessel,” said my assistant.
    “Excellent, put them on the big screen, and let’s see what they have been up to,” I said.
    We had requested help years ago from Alpha Academy, but they did not have a navy at that time. They did open trade with us and set up a major trade hub that allowed some money to flow into our nation, for which we were extremely grateful, but we were still in serious danger from a pirate takeover. Now they were sending a single ship to help us. They insisted that it was sufficient, and that it would have great impact. They told us that they had a vested interest in taking out the pirates and assured us they planned to help.
    “Yes, sir,” he said as he brought up the information. “They call the ship the Dust Dragon, and it appears to be a prototype of some kind of advanced Conure class cruiser. They currently have a crew complement of five wizards, and their commander is Battle Wizard First Rank Shadow Weaver.”
    “Yes, I have spoken with him already. Bring up the first fight. I want to see what is so special about this Conure,” I said. I also wanted to see how much danger Shadow was putting my baby sister into.
    “Yes, sir,” he said.
    I