CHAPTER 18: THE ENGAGEMENT PHASE

  [THREAT DETECTED: IMPERIAL CRUISERS 'RESOLUTE', 'VALIANT', 'MONARCH']

  [DISTANCE: 15 MILES]

  [MANA RESERVES: 75% CAPACITY]

  The sun reflected off the armored hulls of the three heavy cruisers as they descended through the clouds. They were massive, slab-sided beasts of war, their bellies bristling with mana-cannons and hangar bays for scout-frigates. They didn't move like ships; they moved like mountains that had forgotten how to fall.

  I stood on the observation deck, my hands clasped behind my back. I didn't feel small. I felt like a man looking at a collection of very expensive scrap metal.

  "Lilo, report to the surface battery," I said.

  "The battery isn't finished, Gray!" Lilo shouted. He was sprinting through the halls, his armor clanking against the basalt. "The lances are still submerged! If you fire now, you'll blow the top three floors off the Oasis!"

  "I didn't say I was firing the lances, Lilo. I said report to the battery. I need a visual lock on the 'Resolute'. It’s the lead ship. It’s carrying the Admiral."

  I turned to my console the violet energy arcing across the ceiling. I didn't feel fear. I felt the thrill of the audit. I had forty million gold worth of Imperial property entering my airspace. If I could capture just one of those cruisers, the Oasis would become the most powerful entity in the Southern Wastes overnight.

  "Admiral on the 'Resolute' is hailing us," Sammy said. He was in the comms-hub, his face pale. "He says... he says we have five minutes to surrender the Core and turn over the Sun-Walkers for 're-education'."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "I didn't authorize a five-minute window," I said. "Open a channel."

  The screen in front of me flickered to life. A man in a high-collared white uniform appeared. He had a chest full of medals and a face that looked like it had been carved out of granite.

  "I am Admiral Vane," the man said. His voice was like a cold wind. "You are Gray, the failed clerk. You have committed crimes against the Guild, against the Merchant's Code, and against the Crown. You will disable your Core and present yourself at the gates for execution."

  "I didn't realize the Empire sent its top accountants to handle executions, Admiral," I said. I leaned forward, my spectacles catching the light. "I’ve reviewed your fleet’s operational costs. Those heavy cruisers consume ten thousand mana-shards an hour just to stay airborne. You’ve been at full burn for twelve hours. By my calculation, you’re currently running on a twenty-percent fuel reserve. That’s a very dangerous margin for a combat zone."

  Vane’s eyes narrowed. "I'm not here to discuss logistics with a traitor."

  "You should have," I replied. "Because I didn't build this Oasis to be a fort. I built it to be a magnet. Look at your mana-gauges, Admiral."

  I triggered the 'Siphon-Swell'.

  The Oasis didn't fire a beam. It did something much worse. I reversed the polarity of the Core, turning the entire building into a massive, hungry vacuum. The mana-rich atmosphere that the cruisers used for their anti-gravity drives began to flow toward the ground.

  On the screen, the Admiral’s composure broke. He looked off-camera, his mouth hanging open. "Power loss! We’re losing altitude! The engines are stalling!"

  "I didn't attack you, Admiral. I simply invited your energy to join my reserves," I said. "You’re currently experiencing a 'Logistical Default'. If you don't surrender your ships within the next sixty seconds, the desert will claim them. And gravity, unlike me, doesn't accept payment plans."

  The 'Resolute' began to tilt. It was a slow, agonizing slide. I didn't feel pity. I watched the mana-ticker on my desk.

  [MANA RESERVES: 80%... 85%... 90%...]

  I was literally eating their fleet.

  "Gray! The scout-frigates!" Lilo’s voice screamed over the comms. "They’re dropping! They don't have heavy drives—they’re coming down like stones! They’re going to hit the town!"

  I didn't blink nor look at the town. I looked at the 'Resolute'.

  "The town is a secondary asset," I said. "The cruiser is the prize. Stay focused, Lilo."

  One of the scout-frigates hit the dunes a mile away, a massive explosion of sand and fire. I didn't feel the vibration. I just felt the increase in the Core's hunger.

  "Thirty seconds, Admiral," I said. "Surrender the fleet, or I'll let you see what the ground looks like up close."

  Vane looked at me through the screen. He didn't see a clerk. He saw a man who had turned the very laws of magic into a weapon. He didn't have a choice.

  "We... we surrender," he whispered.

  I didn't celebrate nor smile. I just updated the ledger.

  [ASSET ACQUIRED: 1 IMPERIAL CRUISER (RECOVERABLE)]

  [ASSET ACQUIRED: 2 IMPERIAL CRUISERS (STABILIZED)]

  I didn't make the fleet fall. Their own inefficiency did. I just made sure I was there to collect the remains.