“So you hid out on this other planetsomewhere for a few days. How did you get back?”
“We used one of their gates.”
“What are these gates?”
“Well, they appear to work similarly to ajump drive, except that you do not need a ship or large mass, justa big ring of stone planted in a wall. When the gate is activatedit looks like a swirling blue light, and when you enter it, it islike being in jump space, but with absolutely no physical matter. Ireally do not have much more information on them.”
“Vydor, you have changed a lot.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Well, when you left here you were a kid. Youtalked big but had nothing to back it up. Now I see why Dr. Rannorrecommended you so highly. When the challenge came you rose to meetit and became a warrior worthy of my senior staff.”
“Thank you for your kind words, but I do notthink I will be returning to your senior staff. Sir, pleaseunderstand that I fully expect it to go poorly when we meet HighCommand, and it is a given that I will never wear the uniformagain.”
“Vydor, you are more than any uniform, andonly a fool thinks High Command has a clue about real officers inthe field. No matter what happens at that debriefing you will havean ally in me.”
“Captain, I greatly appreciate that, and Imay have to hold you to that promise. A lot of things will changeafter I meet with them, and you may be required to publiclydenounce me. I just want you to know now that we will be fine, andwe do not want you to take a fall for us.”
“When we got that message from you, we allthought that would be the last we heard from you. All of us exceptPeter, that is. He said at the time, ‘Vydor always plans a way outin advance. He will make it yet.’ Seems that he knew you betterthan we did.”
“Captain, Lieutenant Commander Peter is thebest possible replacement for me; please make his positionpermanent as soon as you can.”
He laughed and said, “Of course. You know, itis funny how things work out. He was the one I wanted in yourposition before Dr. Rannor convinced me to take you.”
The door opened behind him and Dr. Rannorwalked in. “Captain, I need to talk to them alone if you don’tmind.”
“That does not sound good, Doc,” the captainsaid as he left.
Dr. Rannor stood there for a moment withoutspeaking, seeming to visually examine each of us. It was a tensesilence and I was unsure of what to expect. He was wearing histraditional white lab coat and holding a medical pad thatpresumably had our charts on it.
Eventually he turned to me and said, “Vydor,how long do you need?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, you have some odd bacteria on you thatresisted the decontamination treatment. It could be harmless butthere is no way to know without watching it for a while,” he said.There was something about his voice, something that told me he knewthat we would be better off spending our trip in here and he wasoffering to arrange that.
“Well, that sounds only prudent and if we hadto stay in here until we were to report to High Command’s chambers,that would be fine with us. We would not want to endanger anyoneneedlessly,” was my reply.
“I think we can arrange to have you out intime for that. It is good to see you again, and we will have tocatch up some day when you are not so penned up.”
I realized then what the good doctor was upto. He was warning me that our conversation was being monitored.“Yes it will, Doc.”
He gave a slight smile and left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The next few days passed painfully slowly.All our books were still on the Dark Talon, and even if we had hadthem with us we dared not study them while under observation. Onthe third day of our captivity Zalith came to visit.
He entered the room and came straight to thetransparent wall, locking his steel-like gaze directly on me.“Vydor, I need you to lower the screen on the Dark Talon.”
“Sorry, Zalith, I cannot do that,” I repliedand matched his gaze.
“Vydor, forget your orders for a minute. Onthat ship are some personal effects from the fallen Knights and Iwould like to get them back to their families.”
Personal effects? The Dark Knights? I couldnot believe it. Still, I could not let him on that ship, not withall that we had stored there. “When I am permitted to return to thevessel I will be glad to retrieve them for you, but I cannot letanyone but us seven on that vessel, at least not until after HighCommand rules on it.” I was bluffing far too much with this HighCommand orders card. I just hoped I could keep it up long enough tospeak before them.
He was not at all happy with that response. Ido not think he expected me to stand up to him and say no. Hisnostrils flared and he bared his razor-like teeth slightly. I heldmy ground and did not flinch, but secretly I worried that the wallwould not be able to hold him back.
I decided to try and defuse the situation,“Zalith, I suggest you go find Dr. Rannor and ask him to set up adecontamination tunnel so that I can return to the ship andretrieve what you want.”
With a slight growl, he swiftly spun and leftthe room.
“Well, he certainly is one of yourfriendlier crewmates,” commented Luke. “I bet he is a blastat parties.”
I could not help but chuckle at him. He wasreally developing a habit for saying the silliest things at theoddest times. I was just glad he had not said that aloud. I did notthink others would find it humorous.
“I fear he could be our biggest obstacle onthis ship. He wants the Dark Talon back, but until we can find areplacement for it, we cannot let him have it. It is our only baseright now.”
Soon after that Larath came by. I wasexpecting this visit sooner or later. He was dressed in casualattire, like he always was when he was going to evaluate someoneand did not want to let on. This had potential to be a verydangerous meeting as he would surely detect the changes in me, butI was glad for the chance to finally determine how much power hehad. “Gafar, do not get caught but learn what you can abouthim,” I said. “I will try to keep his focus on me.”
“Okay,” replied Gafar.
“Greetings, Vydor. I am sorry I was not ableto see you off properly,” he said warmly.
I could feel him trying to read me, so Ireturned the favor and reached out and gently prodded, trying to donothing more than distract him. I was counting on Gafar to do thereal probing.
“Hello, Larath. I am glad you finally came tovisit,” I said.
“I see you did not need my lessons afterall.”
“No, I had to learn them the hard way, but Imanaged.”
“Perhaps after all this is done we can tradenotes,” he commented.
It was time to risk tipping my hand a bit tosee if I could flush anything out. “Larath, I had been meaning toask but never had the time: how did you come up with the name‘Magi’?” That sent a ripple through his psychic defenses. I haddefinitely stumbled onto something.
“Oh, it is just a name from an old story.Nothing special.”
“Really? What story is that?”
“Just a childhood tale, nothing worthy ofnote. You and your team have been very quiet since your return. Iseverything all right?”
It was an interesting subject change. I hadhit on something there, but I dared not push it yet. “Justrecovering from the stress of combat, each in their own way.”
“Why don’t you tell me a little aboutthat?”
“Larath, you never stop trying to do yourjob, do you?”
“Vydor, how does that make you feel?” he saidwith a big grin.
“Like laughing at you,” I said with achuckle.
“Ah, that’s a good reaction; I will have tonote that in your record.”
“Larath, are you to deliver your report on usbefore or after we present ours?”
“Neither, I will be with you when youreport,” he said and promptly left.
“Gafar, give me some good news,” Isaid.
“Vydor, I cannot. But if you want bad news,I have plenty.”
&nbs
p; “Well, then, give me that.”
“Larath is an apprentice-levelsorcerer.”
I almost fell over when he said that. Of allthe things I expected to hear, that was not one of them. “Thatis not at all good.”
“No, and it gets worse. He is only one offive sorcerers in consular positions in the Empire.”
“You have to admire how clever that is. Thatgets them unrestricted access to just about everyone. Can you tellif there are others?”
“No, Vydor, he knows of no others.”
“We cannot let him attend our debriefingwith the High Command. The question is how do we stop it withouttipping our hand?”
“Vydor, I have some more bad news. Herecognized the rings on our fingers.”
“Then it is too late to consider anythinghidden. Our enemy knows we are alive and what we are up to. Ourfirst mission will be to eliminate their five spies.”
“Why didn’t Larath warn the sorcerersabout the bombardment?” Kellyn wondered.
“That is a very good question,Kellyn,” I said.
We spent the next few days just waiting.There was not much else to do. I spent most of the time working allthe new information we had back into the weave of knowledge I wasmaking. Knowing Larath was a spy answered quite a few of themysteries going back to the early days of the mission. Things werefinally starting to make some sense, and for that I was greatlythankful.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A week after we returned, Dr. Rannor and thecaptain came back into the visitor’s room. They both looked a bittired and concerned. I could sense they were worried about mymeeting with High Command. For the first time I realized they didnot trust or respect High Command and the Emperor nearly as much asI had when I first came on board.
“It is time,” was all Dr. Rannor said beforehe opened the seal to our chamber.
“My orders are to put you on the Dark Talonand send you to the capital planet. Once there you will receive neworders. I am also to send Larath with you,” said the captain.
“Send Larath ahead of us if you must, but hecannot board the Dark Talon,” I said forcefully.
“Vydor, is there something I need to know?”asked the captain.
“Yes, but I cannot tell you here. Do you havea pad I can use?” I asked.
Dr. Rannor found one and gave it to me. Ithen encoded a message to the captain in the Duck Code explainingwhat we knew about Larath. “Captain, after we are safely underwayand Larath is gone, take this pad to Peter. He will know what todo,” I said as I handed the pad to him.
He hid it away in his uniform jacket and thensaid, “Vydor, I know your orders are to prevent anyone fromboarding the ship, but Zalith has requested access. He says youknow why.”
“Yes I do. Have him meet us in the bay. Nowthat I can be there and pretend to care about my orders byescorting him, what he wants can be done,” I said with a big smirk.Then over our telepathetic net I said, “Andreya, please makesure to hide all our newly-acquired things before I board withhim.”
“Will do,” she replied.
“Captain, I think we are ready,” I said.
The captain walked down to the bay with us,but did not say anything until we got there. Then he looked at Dr.Rannor who gave him a slight nod, and said, “Vydor, you and yoursquad are welcome back on this ship, regardless of anything thathappens with the High Command.”
“Captain, no matter what happens, I do notsee how this can unfold without us being side by side in battle,and sooner rather than later.”
He looked me right in the eye, placed hishand on my shoulder and said, “We will win this war, Vydor,together. Until we meet again, good luck and farewell.”
Dr. Rannor then approached me, and didsomething no one had ever done in my entire adult life; he actuallyhugged me. I did not know how to respond to that, but Kellyn urgedme, “Hug him back,” so I did. With that he left withoutsaying a word.
We entered the bay, again greeted by an honorguard, but this time without the biohazard suits. Zalith stood nearthe ship waiting for us. We walked up to him and I could tell hewas still not happy with me. On my mental cue Darnath moved forwardand lowered the shields around the ship. “Okay, Andreya, you goin. Everyone else stay here,” I sent via our link.
“Zalith, I will take you on the ship shortly.Andreya just needs to handle the rest of the security on board,” Isaid.
“Security?” he asked.
“Yes, let’s just say that time spent outthere on the front line tends to make you more paranoid than a deskjob,” I replied.
That actually brought a small smile to hisface as he said, “Aye, that it does.”
“Okay, Vydor, it is all done. I am on myway out,” sent Andreya.
“She is finished,” I said, moments beforeAndreya appeared in the doorway. Once she was off the ship Zalithand I boarded. He went straight over to a wall and removed a panel.Behind it was a hidden safe, which he quickly opened and pulled outa box.
“Vydor, I must confess when I first heardthat the Dark Knights had been wiped out but you lived, I assumedthey died covering your dishonorable retreat. But since then I havedone nothing but pore over the information that you sent and watchhow you interact with your new squad. You share a bond with themthat only comes from staring down death and winning as a team. Iknow now why you did not stand and die honorably with the Knights.You had others to protect, and a battle to win. No Zalionianwarrior could have accomplished this feat, since they would haveblindly died fighting head-on an enemy you beat with smartertactics. My only regret now is that I never got to see you inaction. You truly are a great warrior, no matter what those idiotsin High Command end up saying.” After that he just left in hisnormal, brusque style.
I did not know what to make of him. Some daysI was sure he wanted to rip my head off and use it as a soup bowl,and other days I swore he would give his life to protect me. On topof that, now it was obvious he had even less respect for HighCommand than anyone I had met. I was starting to wonder if anysenior officer still believed in the Emperor.
Everyone filed on to the ship and to mysurprise they all filled in key positions on the bridge. Darnathwas first to speak up, “Sir, I will take navigation. I spent thelast week studying it.”
Then Luke said, “Sir, I am a certifiedpilot, and I spent the last week studying the specs of this vessel,so I will take the pilot’s position.”
Then Jerran said, “Sir, I spent the weekstudying the tactical systems, so I can take thatposition.”
I looked back to the other three and Kellynpiped up, “And we all spent the week studying damage control,and the like. Wasn’t that really a brilliant idea?” she saidwith great excitement.
I knew there was no way through conventionalmeans that they could have learned so much so fast, especiallyabout a classified vessel while locked in prison-like confinement.“Well, I should say something like we must work out some rulesfor proper use of our powers amongst the mundane, but instead Iwill say “well done”! We can worry about the rules later. Everyoneprepare for departure. Darnath, please work out our jump to the waypoint, and get that programmed in.” I then activated theship-to-ship communications and said, “Dark Talon requestingpermission to depart, flight plan Alpha Beta Charlie Niner.”
“Dark Talon, we are preparing the bay foryour departure. Please stand by,” came the reply.
On the ship’s viewing screen I saw thehanger’s crew and the honor guard filing out of the bay. Once theywere clear there was a rush of air on the monitors as the baydepressurized in preparation for opening the outer doors. Next, themagnetic locks released from the ship and Luke took control of thecraft. Once the other bay doors were opened we got the call overthe radio, “Dark Talon, you are cleared for departure. We will sendyou jump algorithms before you clear the wake.”
“Negative, Bay Control, we do not need thealgorithms,” I replied.
There was a pause, then a hesitant,“Acknowledged. Bay Control out.”
I smiled. That must have had them reallyconfused.<
br />
Luke then expertly flew out of the bay andsaid, “We will be clear of the gravity wake in abouttwenty-seven minutes.”
“Excellent. Okay, since you are all sowell trained in the specs of this ship, get working on disablingall recording devices on this ship. Gafar, see if you can figureout what Zalith took,” I said.
Gafar said, “Vydor, he took a memory bank.It was tied to the ship’s internal sensors, but primarily used forpersonal storage.”
“Personal storage?”
“Yes. Journals, diaries, personal logs, thatkind of thing.”
So Zalith was not lying after all. He reallywas after personal effects. “We will need to get that replaced,then.”
“Vydor, are you planning to keep thisvessel?” asked Kellyn.
“Yes, we need a base to work out of, andthis is a good size for us.”
“How do you plan to get them to give it tous?”
“Well, I plan to steal it.”
“Vydor! That is not a good plan. Whateverhappened to the rule about always doing the right thing?”
I sighed, “You are right, Kellyn. I willrequest it from High Command, and if they turn me down we willfigure out something else. Meanwhile, I may have to appoint you asthe official conscience of the Council of Wizards,” I said witha grin. I was not sure why, but I felt like deciding not to stealthe ship was a small victory for us.
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