Voice of Mars (Starship's Mage, #3)

by Glynn Stewart

“I make it six minutes to the dam,” the pilot said into the shuttle’s PA. “We’ll be hitting the SAMs on the way down and kicking y’all out the hatch at fifty meters and three hundred kilometers an hour. Thanks for flying Royal Navy!” The young officer turned to Julia with a brilliant grin. “I suggest you go back and get into your armor, ma’am. This is not going to be a ride for the squishy.”

one of the main reasons the Hands’ authority was respected and honored was that they didn’t abuse it.

“I’m on a goddamn Navy cruiser, and it’s Damien fucking Montgomery’s personal transport?”

Grace had never thought she would ever see Damien so… cold. Not just to her, she’d caught a glimpse of personal warmth when they’d spoken in the corridor, but in general. The Hand had been harsh, if not necessarily unfair, and almost statue-like. Her grandfather had walked in, owning the room the way he always did… and then Damien had run over him like a rogue freight shuttle.

I want you, your geeks, and Jakab’s Marines back in the same number of pieces you leave in.”

“Either way, in less than twenty-four hours, the MSF is going to command enough firepower to make the Navy blink, let alone the Patrol.”

In a perfectly timed demonstration of power, magic, and skill, the Duke of Magnificence burst into existence exactly between the two fleets.

“For any of you with a terminal lack of situational awareness, I am Damien Montgomery, Hand of the Mage-King of Mars.”

The Charter doesn’t allow the death penalty for much… but they’ve committed crimes where it requires it.”