“See that you do, Gaston. See that you do.”
Chapter 14 – The Meeting
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An unlikely group sat around the table in the galley. Magnus, the chief mage of the gnomes, and Felspar represented the gnomes and dwarves respectively. Comstar stood against the side bulkhead. Sergeant Ron leaned against the metal wall next to the elf. All eight wizard scouts sat at the table. Myers sat at the head. Terrie, Tam, Telsa, Stella, Jerad, Trinity, and Rick were on one side of the table. Charlie, Matt, Tia, and Angela sat on the other. The eight battle helmets were placed strategically in front of their wizard scouts. The Defiant’s computer, Margery, was also keeping an eye on the proceedings while continuing to monitor the rest of the ship.
“Why are we here?” asked Sergeant Ron in an attempt to get the meeting started. “Eight wizard scouts are a heck of a force to be assembled in one spot without a good reason. What is it?”
Myers gave a tight-lipped smile. “You still like to cut to the chase, don’t you, Sergeant Ron? I guess that’s why I’ve always respected you over the years. You’re right. We are here for a very good reason. Everything I say is top secret, so whatever’s discussed during this meeting stays here.”
“The Defiant isn’t a military ship,” said Sergeant Ron sounding like he suspected some trick by his daughter, the empress. “Except for Rick, my crew consists of civilians. Neither the Imperial High Council or Diane can order us around.”
“I’m not here to argue with you, Sergeant Ron. You’ll be well compensated for the use of the Defiant.”
“I’m not going to let Di—”
Holding up his hand, Myers stopped the Defiant’s captain before he got into high gear. “Please! At least wait until you hear what I have to say before you object.”
Sergeant Ron stopped speaking, but he didn’t look pleased.
It was no surprise to anyone at the meeting that anything involving Sergeant Ron’s daughter just naturally got him riled.
“Hmm, what have we here?” said Nickelo. “I thought we were going to have at least ten minutes of arguing before we found out what this is all about.”
“Hush, Nick,” Richard said. He was just as suspicious as Sergeant Ron but did want to know what was going on. He knew the empress wouldn’t send her chief of security unless his mission was important.
Ex-TAC officer Myers waited until he had everyone’s attention. “When the Crosioians attacked the DNA center on Velos, they confiscated thirty bottles of DNA gas. The Imperial High Command wants them back.”
Richard sat up in his seat. He grew instantly suspicious. Despite Myers use of the words “Imperial High Command,” Richard had no doubt the more likely people desiring any stolen DNA gas was the Imperial High Council.
“You’re being too general, buddy,” said Nickelo. “I calculate if anyone has plans for the lost DNA gas, it’s the empress.”
Richard had to agree. Diane Deloris had already sent him on one mission involving DNA gas before she was the empress. He’d nearly died along with the entire crew of the Defiant. He had no intention of letting himself be used for such a quest again. He was about to speak when Telsa beat him to the punch.
“That was eighteen months ago. Surely the Crosioians have used them by now.”
Myers shook his head. “Negative. DNA gas is useless to them thanks to Shepard.”
Everyone looked at Richard. His argument against the empress died on his lips as he tried to figure out Myers’s logic. He couldn’t. If the meeting had been hosted by anyone but Myers, Richard would have asked questions. However, his brother was running the show. Richard refused to give him the satisfaction of admitting his lack of knowledge.
After a few seconds of silence, Jerad asked the obvious question for all of them.
“How’d he do that?”
Myers smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “Think back, Jerad. When Shepard got his DNA baseline, his multiple-reserve Power setup blew out half of the center’s computer network. The resulting fires also destroyed a lot of the equipment.”
“I remember,” said Jerad.
Richard remembered as well. Chief Instructor Winslow had warned him the equipment wasn’t designed to handle his strange Power setup. She’d told him it might be dangerous.
“Myers warned you also,” said Nickelo. “He advised you not to go through with the baseline.”
“Whatever,” Richard said. He seriously doubted Myers had been concerned about his welfare.
“We believe,” continued Myers, “that the Crosioian raiding party expected to take the computer systems and the equipment required to perform the baselines along with the bottles of DNA gas. Thanks to Shepard destroying half of the equipment in the place, they were severely disappointed.”
“There were bound to be backup systems,” said Tam.
“Of course there was,” agreed Myers. “Fortunately, they were all offsite. The Crosioians attacked too soon. The replacement equipment hadn’t been brought in yet.”
Jerad had been a battalion commander of an armored unit before he’d volunteered for wizard scout training. Richard wasn’t surprised when Jerad was the first to figure out where Myers was heading.
“So the Crosioians have the DNA gas, but they haven’t got the knowledge or equipment to use it? Is that right?”
Myers nodded his head in agreement.
Jerad continued thinking out loud. “I think I see. The Crosioians have thirty bottles of DNA gas, which is too valuable to get rid of, but they can’t use them because they don’t have the equipment or knowledge.”
“That’s about the gist of it,” said Myers.
“Can’t they figure out how to build the necessary equipment?” asked Tam. “They’re bats, but they’re not dummies.”
“Our intelligence reports indicate they’ve been trying,” replied Myers. “So far, they haven’t succeeded. They’ve also been trying to locate and capture key technicians such as Chief Instructor Winslow. Fortunately, the Empire has them all hidden in a place so secure even I don’t know its location.”
Sergeant Ron took up the line of questioning. “Well, since the Empire’s chief of security is here along with seven other wizard scouts, I’m guessing you know where those thirty bottles of DNA gas are located. Am I guessing right?
Myers gave another tight-lipped smile. “Almost.”
Richard sensed a line of energy shoot out the front of Myers’s battle helmet. A holographic image of a large space station appeared over the galley’s table. The outside of the space station disappeared to reveal the inner part. A red dot began flashing in a room deep within the space station.
“Our best MI analysts are extremely confident they’ve found the location of twenty-nine of the bottles,” said Myers. “We’re going to get them.”
Although he’d kept quiet until now, Richard could hold back no longer. He didn’t like the sound of things. The fact that his ex-TAC officer was the one doing the talking didn’t help.
“No way! You can tell your empress to go get them herself. The Defiant was almost destroyed on the last wild-goose chase the empress and you sent us on.”
Myers’s face turned beet-red. He began stuttering as if searching for the right words. Before he could speak, the hologram of the space station was replaced by a set of orders.
A pleasant, feminine voice came out of Myers’s battle helmet. “Wizard Scout Shepard, the orders come straight from the Imperial High Command.” The hologram zoomed in on the official seal at the bottom of the document. “Gaston is just following his orders.”
“That’s Wanda,” came a thought from Margery in Richard’s shared space. “She’s smart even for a battle computer. She’s also honest to a fault. If she says the orders are signed by the Imperial High Command, I calculate a one hundred percent probability they are.”
“How are you talking to me? Are you going through Jonathan and Nick?”
“No, she isn’t,” said Nickelo. “She’s communicating with you direct
ly. I calculate that’s impossible without her security override code.”
Two long sequences of numbers imprinted themselves into Richard’s memory.
“How? Why?” Richard thought.
“How? It doesn’t matter,” said Margery. “Why? You’ll figure that out when the time comes.”
The ex-battle computer’s answer confused Richard even more. “I need a better answer than that. Why?”
“Because it’s time,” stated Margery matter-of-factly. “The first number is for me. The second is for… a friend.”
“How are you able to communicate with me directly?” Richard asked.
“I’m corrupted,” said Margery. “That’s how.”
“Who corrupted you?” Richard asked. He’d thought only the two battle computers he’d directly linked with, Jonathan and Nickelo were corrupted. “Did the commandant corrupt you?”
Without hesitation, Margery said, “No, wizard scout. You did; a very long time ago.”
A loud voice brought Richard out of his conversation with the two battle computers.
“Am I boring you, Shepard? Did you even hear me?” said Meyers.
Richard looked questioningly at his brother but didn’t reply.
“I said you swore to obey orders from your military chain-of-command.” Myers swept the table with his gaze. “That goes for the rest of you wizard scouts. These are legal orders from the Imperial High Command. You will obey, or I swear I’ll have you court-martialed and shot for cowardice in the face of the enemy.”
Richard fingered his phase rod with his left hand. Before he drew it, Sergeant Ron stepped forward and slapped the table hard with the palm of his hand. Everyone, including Myers and Richard, jumped.
“That’s enough!” said Sergeant Ron. “I’m the captain of this tub of bolts, and we’ll keep things civil. If’n you don’t, I’ll jettison every one of you out the hatch. We’ll see how far you get trying to hitchhike in the vacuum of space before your Power reserves run out.”
Richard ignored Sergeant Ron and glared at Myers instead. “It’ll be a cold day on Sirius when I let—”
“That goes for you too, Rick,” said Sergeant Ron. “Now take your hand off that fancy phase rod of yours before I take it away.”
Richard turned his glare on Sergeant Ron. The beast that was his temper was rattling its cage.
“What?” asked Sergeant Ron not sounding intimidated at the least. “Are you going to kill me if I try? The commandant asked me to take care of you.” Sergeant Ron switched his gaze to Myers. “He asked me to take care of you as well, Gaston. He’d be ashamed of both of you if he saw you now.”
Shame quieted the beast in Richard’s cage. He placed both hands on the table. The red in Myers’s face also lessened slightly.
“All right then,” said Sergeant Ron. “As the captain of the Defiant, I’m taking charge of this meeting. Does anyone else object?”
No one spoke.
“Fine. Then this is how I see it. Rick, Jerad, Tam, Telsa, Stella, and Trinity are all active-duty wizard scouts. Those orders look official. I’ve no doubt you’ll do your duty. The commandant wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Defiant’s captain looked at Myers. “Terrie’s medically retired. He’s back under Trecorian control now. He can do whatever he wants. As for the rest of my crew, they’re either Trecorian military or civilians. The Imperial High Command has no say over what they do.”
Surprisingly, Myers smiled. “Of course they don’t. Diane… er… the empress knows that. All we’re asking you to do is transport my team to a location I’ll give you. Then you’ll take Matt back to Risors. The empress wants him home where he’ll be safe.”
Matthew jumped to his feet. “I’m not going anywhere. My mother agreed to let me stay on the Defiant for two years. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Myers stood up. “You’ll do as you’re told, young man.”
The teenager looked defiantly at Myers. “You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my father. You’re just Mother’s hired help. My mother can’t tell me what to do either. I’m eighteen now. I make my own decisions.”
At Matthew’s words, Richard noticed Myers wince. In any other person, Richard would’ve thought the boy’s words had hurt somehow.
Not possible, Richard thought. He’s made of ice. Nothing hurts him.
“Sit down,” ordered Sergeant Ron. “Both of you. We’ll tackle our family matters when the time comes, Matt. For now, we need to concentrate on the wizard scouts’ mission. I take it you have a plan, Gaston.”
Myers sat down and looked up at Sergeant Ron. “Yes. I’ll explain the details to the wizard scouts later. We’ll need Shepard’s wolves and that spirit-horse of his to make it work.”
“Ha!” Richard said. “Good luck with that. I don’t control them. They do what they want.”
“Well, then, you’ll just have to convince them, won’t you, Shepard?”
Richard glared at his brother. He moved his left hand off the table in the direction of his waist.
“Rick!” said Sergeant Ron. “Keep your hand on the table where I can see it.”
Richard rolled his eyes and placed his hand back on the table.
Looking at Myers, Sergeant Ron said, “The flaw with your plan is that my ship and crew are kind of like Rick’s dolgars and spirit-horse. We do what we want when we want. Forget about Matt for the moment. Why would we take you to wherever you need to go? While you’re at it, you can explain why you aren’t just taking one of your own ships. Why the Defiant?”
Myers drummed the fingers of his right hand on the table a couple of times. “All right, Sergeant Ron. I was going to tell you when I gave you the coordinates, but I guess now’s as good a time as any. The space station is deep within the Crosioians’ inner systems. It’ll take a minimum of twenty-seven hyper-jumps to get there. No other starship in the Empire could get there without overhauling their hyper-drive at least twice. From what I’ve been told, the Defiant can make unlimited jumps.”
Pursing his lips, Sergeant Ron thought for a moment. “So what if she can? Why would I risk my crew?”
The holographic image above the table changed form. Instead of the Imperial High Command’s orders, there was an official pardon signed by Empress Diane Deloris. The space for the name of who was being pardoned was blank.
Myers gave a knowing smile. “Because this is yours to bequeath on whomever you see fit. We’ve heard rumors you might be harboring an escaped convict on the Defiant. The Empire hasn’t pursued the matter since you’ve been assigned to Trecor. Now that you’re returning to Empire territory, things have changed. This would solve that little problem.”
Richard exchanged glances with Sergeant Ron. The Defiant’s armorer, Sergeant Hendricks, had been imprisoned in the military prison on Diajor. Richard had freed him and brought him to the Defiant. Last Richard had heard, the Empire was offering a large reward for Sergeant Hendricks’s return, dead or alive.
“Not enough,” said Sergeant Ron. “Not nearly enough.”
Reaching into a side pocket of his battle suit, Myers pulled out a small metal box. Richard picked up nothing with his passive scan. The box gave off no energy whatsoever. Richard straightened in his seat. He’d seen a similar box before.
When Myers flipped the lid open, Richard sensed a presence inside.
“Danny,” said Nickelo over the external speakers of Richard’s battle helmet.
Myers nodded his head. “That’s right; Danny. He was my mother’s battle computer through all of her time-commando years. He’s yours, Sergeant Ron, if you follow orders.”
Sergeant Ron just stared at the box.
“Think of it,” said Myers. “Two battle computers helping you run the Defiant. Your ship would have more processing power than a dreadnaught. You could fire more accurately and optimize your shields to levels only obtained by starships many times your size.”
When Sergeant Ron continued to remain silent, Myers sweetened the pot.
“I dare say even that black dreadnaught from the magical dimension would be hard-pressed to resist your attacks.”
“He’s right,” said Margery. “No starship has ever been equipped with two battle computers before. In fact, it’s never been possible until now.”
“What’s so special about now?” Richard asked. He didn’t like the way Sergeant Ron continued to stare at the box. He was taking way too long to tell Myers to take the empress’s gift and stick it. Richard knew it was up to him to find the flaw in Myers’s offer. “Why would the Empire give up another of its battle computers? I’m surprised the empress hasn’t had his memory wiped and inserted into another battle helmet by now.”
Myers gritted his teeth. “Why, Shepard? Because Danny’s corrupted. Just like Margery’s corrupted. That’s why both Margery and Danny can coexist. They’re both emotionally corrupted. The techs can’t explain it, and they can’t wipe the corruption from Danny’s memory banks.”
Sergeant Ron looked across the table and stared at Richard. The Defiant’s captain seemed to be asking a question. Richard knew what finding and destroying the black dreadnaught meant to his friend. He reluctantly gave a slight nod of his head.
After a few seconds, Sergeant Ron glanced back at Myers. “Let me think about it. I’ll give you my answer in an hour. I need to talk privately with Rick first.”
“Grandfather,” said Matthew. “I don’t—”
“I haven’t decided about you yet either, Matt. We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
“Very well,” said Myers. “We’ll meet privately in an hour. The rest of you can go on about your business.”
“Not quite,” said Sergeant Ron as some of the attendees started to rise from their seats. “We’ve got some Defiant business to handle first. I’m going to need all of you as witnesses.”
Everyone seemed as confused as Richard at the old sergeant’s words.
“Uh, not quite everyone,” came Nickelo’s thought in Richard’s shared space. “Take a look at Trinity and Jerad.”
A glance at his two friends told Richard his battle computer was correct. The two wizard scouts seemed expectant, but they weren’t surprised.
Wizard Rebellion (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 5) Page 15
