Part 48

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Portal Station 133.

They appeared unexpectedly. Ships of unknown design came out of hyperspace a few dozen miles from the station. The ships did not respond to signals, but there was no overt aggression either. The station duty officer opened the hangar and five fighters flew out to intercept the ships. After all, the station cost a colossal amount of money, and raids were a common occurrence. It was only the number of ships and their design that was bothersome.

The fighters aligned with the ships and opened all available communication channels.

- Blue 1, why don't you answer? - The duty officer was showing concern. As soon as the fighters opened the communication channels, their connection to the station was cut off. Now the unknown ships were heading towards the station surrounded by fighters. Suddenly a voice came from the speakers. The duty officer and his assistants could not distinguish the words, they settled back in their chairs and obediently opened all hangars, cancelling the possible alarm. The ships docked and the Prince himself came up to the station. The people shackled by Veela magic paid no attention to the most famous dark magician. Mephistopheles went to the control panel and began to type the necessary commands. The portal came into motion, beginning to spin the rings, forming a rift in space. The first ship of his army emerged from the gap. It would take at least twenty-four hours to move all the ships.

***

Constellation Swan, planet Kazzi.

Miranda sat relaxed in her chair, not at all embarrassed by the fact that she was a wanted man, and across from her sat a man who would gladly kill her or put her in one of the secret prisons. The girl was in no hurry to start the conversation, but her interlocutor had been describing for several minutes what punishments awaited the girl.

- Are you finished, Simon? Will you listen to my proposal?

- Proposal? Really? The head of the Confederacy will reward me handsomely for your capture, maybe a promotion. What is it you have to offer me? - The man laughed, but his eyes remained as cold as ice.

- I don't know what kind of reward it is that you're flaunting in front of me like this. You're almost the richest man on this planet, and I know you own that battle station orbiting the planet. Besides, Mephistopheles' head is worth a lot more than mine," Miranda stretched contentedly, interest flaring in her eyes.

- Mephistopheles is dead. I saw him die myself.

- You seem to be good at reading minds with eye contact. You can see for yourself," Miranda looked into Simon's eyes. Everything was quiet for a few minutes, and then the man jumped up from his chair and started frantically pacing around the room, thinking of himself as the head's right-hand man.

- Where is he now? Answer me! - Miranda shrugged and took a sip of wine. - How much do you want?

- A lot. But besides money, I want you, as a member of the council, to withdraw the bounty on my head, release the seizure of my property and stop harassing the members of my guild. For that I will reveal where exactly Mephistopheles is gathering troops," the girl replied.

- Troops? He has an army? - Simon responded a little tensely.

- A few heavy transports, a dozen fighters, and some mutants with telekinesis. And him, of course. I hope you haven't forgotten the threat the Prince poses to himself.

- All right, then. Give me the coordinates and I'll fulfil your demands," the man sat back in his chair.

- No, Simon. First you'll do as I say, or I'll go to... hmm, to your closest competitor, maybe he'll be quicker. - She shrugged and got up from her chair.

- Wait. I need a couple of days and I'll sort everything out. Deal?

- Deal.

***

Asteroid belt. Designation LR-111.

After the successful transition through the portal, all troops were transferred to the asteroid belt, where no scanners could not detect the ships, which in addition to the usual camouflage and magical protection.

- That Miranda's been gone a while. Aren't you afraid she's up to no good again? - Eliza floated weightlessly.

- Nope, everything's under control," said Mephistopheles, who was studying the latest news.

- I don't believe her," the vampire said stubbornly.

- It doesn't matter. She'll be back," the Prince said.

***

- All charges have been dropped, and you are now a full member of society," Simon said grudgingly, handing Miranda the documents for her property and the guild permit. Coordinates, now! - The boy bellowed.

- The asteroid belt on section 111. In your jurisdiction, by the way. I strongly advise you to capture all your loyalists and the station. I don't care, but you might get killed, - the girl replied, hiding the documents in her bag.

- Fine. You can get out of here," Simon said, calling for the commander of his personal squad.

- Logan, gather the men. Everyone, absolutely everyone. Take the equipment and give the station crew the coordinates of our asteroid belt. We're leaving immediately. Do not take Mephistopheles alive, it is enough for me to have his corpse. - The commander bowed and walked out. Simon turned around, but Miranda was gone.

***

LR-111.

The battle station came out of hyperspace and immediately atomised several asteroids with powerful lasers. The station was followed by fighters.

The station's scanners detected several ships deep in the asteroid belt, but it was difficult to reach them. Simon had no right to destroy the belt, because it could have serious consequences. The only thing left to do was to slowly fly around the belt, looking for a convenient position to attack. After a couple of hours, the station came to an angle of attack.

- Commander, we have visual on all targets. Ready to fire. - Simon rubbed his hands together in triumph.

- Destroy them! - The missiles went to the targets. There were explosions.

- A direct hit," Simon smiled. All that was left was to find the Prince's body, and then the reward could be given. But he was distracted from his thoughts by the commander's voice.

- The strike has been deflected. No damage to targets," the commander stammered, "activate shields! - He yelled, but it was too late. Several missiles slammed into the station, knocking out one of the engines. The defence field was eating up too much power to keep it on all the time.

- Commander, new targets. There's a lot of them, at least a couple of thousand! - The scanner was showing a lot of ships. It took only a few seconds for all the fighters to be destroyed, and from the station's speakers came the mocking voice of the Prince.

- Simon, mate, long time no see. What kind of death do you want to die? Or maybe you want to live? Either way, switch off the protective field completely and then I won't blow you up right now. You've got a minute," the voice was silent, and Simon realised he was trapped. That bitch Miranda must be in cahoots with the Prince. But whatever it was, the shields had to be shut down and let Mephistopheles' ship dock at the station.

The Prince walked majestically, surrounded by his entourage, into the control cabin. Of all those gathered, Simon recognised only Miranda and Marcus, the rest were unfamiliar to him.

- You must be confused, Simon. So let me explain. Miranda must have lured you to me, because despite my troops, I've never been able to build a battle station with my limited resources. Yours is a good place to start. And by the way," the Prince put his arm around Miranda, "we're not at war with her anymore. It would be strange if they let him go alive.

- You're right. Bella, kill him," the last thing he saw was a bright green beam hitting him in the face. And the world went out.

***

The disappearance of a member of the confederacy was not immediately noticed. But far more than the disappearance of one man, the council was concerned about the fact that a battle station was missing. Checking everything they could, the council came across an oddity with Portal Station 133. All flight records had been erased and the crew remembered nothing. It was as if they'd had their memories wiped, which was rare. Only a handful of people could do that.

Simon's body was soon found. A ship carrying minerals from the asteroid belt to the processing plant had stumbled upon it. How the councilman ended up among the asteroids was unclear. There were no records in his estate or his office.

The fact that the council had lifted all sanctions on Miranda and her guild was a little alarming. But there was no evidence of blackmail or threats from her, and the guild had regained its popularity, so it was difficult to approach Miranda now.

The council would have wondered what had happened until one day, weeks later, they received reports from several prisons at once. They had been raided by ships of a strange design that could not be traced. In each case, it took only one prisoner. When everything came together, it was obvious - Mephistopheles was alive, and he was gathering his men.