“The next thing to consider is the firstprobe we sent. The Magi could easily have simply shot it down;instead they tampered with it, changed what it would report and letit report for a while, and then shot it down. The only reason forthis is that they wanted to change our perception of them in someway. If they had merely destroyed the probe, we would not havethought much about it. By manipulating what the probe reported theycaused us to spend time and resources trying to deduce what theywere up to, and making wild guesses about what they could do.”
As I looked around the room, I noticedsomething I had never seen before. They were listening very closelyto me. Not as if I was a green youngster, but as a peer. Icertainly had their attention. Dr. Rannor was a good example ofthis. He always took notes when he thought something was important,and he was taking notes on my presentation. Zalith never tooknotes, but his piercing gaze was firmly planted on me, paying veryclose attention to everything I said.
“After this we sent a second probe. Thisprobe was specifically designed to prevent tampering, and washeavily armored so that it would not be easy to shoot down. It wasalso transmitting data non-stop throughout its flight. This meantthat the Magi could not merely manipulate the probe to convey whatthey chose, and it was impervious to the known planetary defensesof the colony. What did they do in response? They used a weaponthat they know we cannot duplicate, and fired on the probe threetimes. As we agreed here, it would have been impossible for them toknow that the first hit failed to destroy it before they fired thesecond shot, indicating that they had always intended to take threeshots. When we discussed this, the captain pointed out that it wasprobably a tactic designed to induce fear. It was then that Zalithpointed out their lack of sensor technology.”
Now it was time for me to present myconclusions. This would make or break me. I had their attention andif I messed up now it would be much harder to prove my worth in thefuture. If I had a future, since in a fairly short time I would beleading a virtual suicide mission.
“By now some of you may have an idea what Iam leading up to, but let me present two more pieces of data thathave not yet been considered in these chambers. The first is thecrew’s morale. Most of our crew are battle-hardened veterans, yetthere is a noticeable level of fear everywhere on the ship. Thatdoes not make much sense. All the Magi have done so far is to blowup a couple of probes and repel our first attempt at invasion. Evena mighty force like the Imperial Navy loses skirmishes, especiallyearly on in a brand-new war, or potential war. Some level ofanticipation might be expected, but fear? I may not have seen asmuch space time as the rest of you, but I think I can fairly statethat this level of anxiety is not normal.
“Add to that the strange orders from HighCommand, the lack of information, and the death of the captain’sinformant; and it start to appear that High Command is alsosuffering from an unusually high level of alarm. The fear here onthe ship could be categorized as fear of the unknown, but theindications are that High Command knows more than they are saying,so their fear is that of a known force.”
I paused to gather myself. The silence in theroom was deafening, almost entreating me to continue. “There is onemore piece of information which I think ties this all together.What I am about to disclose comes from a reliable but unofficialsource. I travel a lot in intelligence circles, and so I meetpeople, and perform favors which are paid back with information. Ibelieve this to be accurate. I trust this source.
“The Magi are not a new hostile force. Theyare an experimental research group into the art and science ofpsionic warfare. I know, you have probably all heard the variousconspiracy theories and think them groundless, but add up what weknow so far and it becomes apparent that the colony has launched adevastatingly subtle weapon against us, that ofpsychologically-induced fear. They are researching biologicalweapons, but not the kind we assumed; the so-called bugs in thiscase are people, a group that goes by the code name Black Adders.They were sent there secretly to focus solely on psionic warfareand attempt to prove or disprove the viability of such a weapon,and I would say they were successful in their endeavors.”
That wrapped up what I had to say. I wasunsure what to do next, when the captain spoke up. “Vydor, theytold me you were the best, and that you could find connections andlink data which others missed, and they were certainly right.”
I sat down and waited to see what would bethe reaction of the others. Dr. Rannor was reviewing the notes hehad taken. Larath was finding some reports on his personalcomputer, and Zalith looked lost in thought.
Larath was the first to respond. “Sir, I haveto say, with regard to Vydor’s statements about the crew, I mustagree. I am looking at the reports from my staff, and an illogicallevel of fear is being reported. I can think of no good reason forthis.”
“Dr. Rannor, what is your opinion on thecolony?” inquired the captain.
“Well, Captain, I have heard some rumorsabout a colony such as Vydor described, but I had rejected them assilly. His assessment of the colony as a failure is an accurateone, based on reports which I have no idea how he could have seen.In my studies of biological warfare I have turned up no newdiscoveries accredited to Arken IV. In fact, I had never heard ofthe colony until this mission,” answered Dr. Rannor.
“Zalith? Your thoughts?” prompted thecaptain.
“I have to admit Vydor’s theory sums upeverything very nicely, and I would agree with his conclusion basedon the given information. This leaves us with a problem. The Magihave at least one powerful plasma cannon, and the ability to sowfear. Either of those weapons by themselves would be dangerous, butcombined they make a deadly mixture,” was his reply.
“Does this change our commitment to send introops?” asked Commander Jones.
“Our orders are not conditional uponanything, so no. It is safe to conclude that High Command knowsabout the Black Adders, and that’s why they do not want us to bringthe fleet in any closer than needed. I assume they are counting onVydor’s reputation for reasoning to defeat the fear weapons, sincethe Tom’s boldness apparently failed,” answered the captain.
“But why did High Command keep thisinformation from us?” asked Dr. Rannor.
“Well, fear of the unknown is something weall have experience of; we all know how to deal with that. Fear asa weapon only works when you can remove the person’s ability todeal with it. They are probably assuming that we have a betterchance of winning if we do not know what we are facing, as odd asthat sounds,” answered Larath. “The big question we need to beconcerned with is how to fight this fear weapon.”
“I am not sure. I cannot find any reliableinformation on how to counter psionic warfare. We are all trainedto deal with fear, but Tom had that same training, and it did nothelp him,” I answered.
There was some brief chatter regardingvarious rumors and theories about psionic weapons, even a fewreferences to myths and legends from days so far back that no onecan place them.
“Captain, I need your permission to select areplacement to take over my post,” I began.
“Do you think you’re not coming back?”interrupted Larath. “If you leave with the intention of failure,then you will surely achieve it.”
Commander Jones interrupted, “That is a goodidea, Vydor. If the mission is a success you are likely to be goneat least a few months.” I noticed he did not address the questionof the mission failing.
“Months?” I was a bit shocked by thatassessment. “I figured several weeks, but not much more thanthat.”
“Yes. If you are successful at making firstcontact, then I will need you as part of the negotiations when Iarrive. In most cases the person who makes first contact is theperson most able to smooth over negotiations. After we have builtup formal communications, you could return to your post here, butthat often takes several months,” answered Commander Jones.
“Oh, come on! First we take a top officer andsend him on a suicide mission, and now we are talking aboutdisgracing him with a desk job? Is nothing sacred any more?” boomedZalith.
&n
bsp; The assembled officers really were unhappywith this mission and how it was being handled by High Command.Combine that with the fear everywhere on the ship and things couldstart to get explosive. The captain sat back and watched. He lookedso calm in the face of all this. How did he do it?
It was officially my meeting, so it was up tome to try to control it. “Gentlemen, please. Enough of this. Iappreciate the concern for my honor and wellbeing. I completelyunderstand the risks of this mission. As of now no one understandsour enemy better than me, and I am not looking for a way out. TheEmperor has decreed that I lead this mission, and that is enoughfor me. I need not know what his plans are or the part I will playin them. If by my death or life I can serve the Empire, then Ishall do so.”
I paused a moment and looked around the room.My comment affected them in different ways. Larath, as always, hada look of encouragement about him. It was that look that he used tokeep himself from ever showing any emotion. The captain and Zalithboth regarded me with knowing pride on their faces. It was as ifthey looked at me and saw younger versions of themselves. CommanderJones maintained a completely unreadable posture and face. The bigsurprise was Dr. Rannor. He had an odd look on his face; it was asad look, but more than that. It was as if he was looking into thefuture and what he saw depressed him. He must have known somethingthat he had not shared, but what could it be, and why hide it?
“If there is no further information, orquestions, I have a team to prepare to run without its leader foran unknown length of time.” I paused here to see if anyone hadanything to say. Since this was my meeting, protocol demanded thatI be the one to wrap it up. “Okay then. This meeting isadjourned.”
As everyone started to clear out, the captaingrasped my shoulder from behind and said, “Vydor, wait a moment. Iwould like to talk to you in private.”
He waited for everyone to leave, and thengestured for me to sit across from him. He paused for what seemedlike years. Then in an uncharacteristic, fatherly tone, he startedto speak.
“Vydor, you are a fine officer and a valuablemember of my team here. Since you came on board you have gone wellbeyond the call of duty in everything you have done. You haveworked very hard to prove yourself worthy of the tremendous honorof your position here. I will admit I had to be talked into lettingyou on to my team. You were not my first choice; in fact, you werenot even on my list of possibilities. However, since you came onboard, I have watched you. I have watched how you work with yourteams, and how they view you. I have read every report produced byanyone under your direct influence, and I have kept on top ofeverything you have done from the beginning. You have certainlyshown yourself to be worthy of the great chance you got when youwere offered this position.
“Now that you are leaving us for a while, Iwould like to give you a bit of advice on what to do with yourteams before you go. In your desire to prove yourself, you areoverworking your teams a little. Before you assign a replacement,go over your rules and regulations and add a little moreflexibility and leniency. People tend to work better when they havesome room to maneuver.
“When you do select your replacement, don’tpick the best man for the job; instead choose the one whoseleadership style most closely resembles yours. This will reduce theamount of retraining you will have to do on your return.”
The captain paused here a minute, as hedecided what to say next. I knew him well enough to be silent whilehe worked it out. “Vydor, I must say I am a bit concerned that yourpride may be driving you to take this mission. You lack experienceand really do not know what it is like to face death. You will beleading a very dangerous mission, and every member of that team’slife will be in your hands. I want them all back safely. Do nottake any foolish risks just to prove yourself to us. Returningalive with all of your team will be enough.”
“Captain, I have faced death.” I paused togather myself. “I have faced him in a very intimate way. In ourfirst round, he won. We brought every weapon and tool that theEmpire could muster against him, and lost. Now I am locked in astand-off with him. I can see him down the corridor of time. Hestands ready to do battle again, patiently waiting, knowing thatthe clock always runs in his favor. While I may not have a hugeamount of combat experience, I am all too familiar with death.”
“You are referring to your father, and thedisease you are destined to get. Good, I am glad you realize that.A healthy respect for death is a good thing to have on a missionlike this. Do not look so surprised; I make it my business to knowmy staff. Your family line is plagued with Betalian’s Syndrome.Every male in your family has died from it. In fact, I also knowthat you are the last of your bloodline.”
I was continually surprised by the captain’sability to learn things he was not authorized to know. Personalmedical histories like mine were not intended to be generallyknown, in order to prevent discrimination in assignments. But hewas completely right. It was just a matter of time before I too gotsick like my father.
“Vydor, before you leave pay Dr. Rannor avisit. No, I am not worried about your health, but about his. Yousee, he is the reason you are here.”
To say that remark surprised me would be anunderstatement. I knew that High Command had sent orders ahead tosecure me this position, but it never occurred to me that theship’s doctor would even know my name, never mind be the reason formy acceptance.
“As you know, High Command sends outrecommendations for crew replacements whenever positions open up inthe fleet. What you may not yet have learned is that most of thetime, most captains ignore them and choose whoever they think best.High Command makes its decisions based on records, while captainsmake their decisions based on their personal knowledge of theofficers. When your recommendation came down the line I intended toreject it, but Dr. Rannor piped up in your defense.
“He was very convincing, singing your praisesand telling me that there was no one better in all the Empire forthis position. I was amazed by this, as he has never done anythinglike that before or since. Based solely on his recommendation, Iaccepted your assignment to my staff. I thought that you wouldn’tlast more than a few days and I could appease him and then be ridof you. But to my surprise, you turned out to be all that he saidyou were. You lack only experience, something you’re about to get abig dose of.
“I am worried that if something should happento you on this mission, he will take it hard and blame himself. Soplease stop by his office as soon as you can and see what you cando about that.”
With that, the captain left the room.
Chapter Seven
I just sat there for a while, I do not knowhow long. This new information from the captain must relate in someway to the puzzle of the Magi. In my mind I could see many threadsall tangled together. There had to be a way to untangle them andweave them into a tapestry that would explain everything. I wassure it was just a matter of time before I loosened enough threadsto see the outline of the pattern, and could start to weave themproperly.
When I got up and left the room, the honorguard was still dutifully at their post. Since I had called themeeting, they could not leave until I dismissed them. Oncedismissed, they secured the room and walked off in perfectlockstep. Their dedication to perfection was amazing. With all thatwas going on, it was heartening to see them so calmly going abouttheir duties. Most of the ship was plagued by the fear weapon, yetthese two were seemingly unaffected by it. I set this thread asideto be considered later. There was too much I needed to do now toget ready for my mission.
I headed to the common mess hall wherecrewmen of all ranks mingled off-duty over food and refreshments. Ifound a dark table in the corner and covered it with my work todiscourage anyone from approaching me. The rule changes did nottake long. I had already considered some adjustments, so it wasmore a matter of drawing up the official documents and placing theorders. Before I left I would have to schedule a department-widemeeting to announce these changes.
Instead of moving on to review my officers’records, I found myself once more focused on the tapestry of thepuzzle. It
seemed to call me in; I could not let it go. It hadtaken a while to get to a point where I could start working withthe threads of information, but now that I had something to workwith, my confidence of success was much greater.
I sat there staring blankly at piles ofrecords, working in what my father used to call “puzzle-solvingmode,” hyper-focused directly on the puzzle at hand almost to theexclusion of everything else. I have been accused of not evenbreathing when I am working this hard. I had not gotten very farbefore Larath came to the table.
“Hello, Vydor, mind if I join you?” he askedas he sat down. Clearly he was not really looking for permission.“I see you are lost in thought, no doubt about the upcoming missionand the Magi.”
“You know, Larath, sometimes you have amazinginsight into people and seem to read minds — and other times youare the master of stating the blindingly obvious,” I responded witha big grin.
“They are one and the same. It often justtakes a change in perspective to see what others are blind to.”
“Perhaps that is so, but you did not comehere to trade quips. I perceive you have something on your mind?” Iwas bluffing. I could never read him, but it was odd for him toappear at my table.
He grinned and said, “Now who is stating theobvious? You are right, of course. Vydor, I know we have not servedtogether for long as yet, but hopefully by now you have learned totrust me as a friend.”
He paused here; he was leading up tosomething. Because of the nature of my position and rank on thisship I was required to see him regularly for psychiatricevaluation, and through those visits I had learned a bit about hisstyle. He was a master at getting people to talk about theirdeepest secrets. I had often wondered if he would be willing totrain my officers, as his methods would be a major help ininterrogations.
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