“You don’t want me to risk losing the sectors, do you?” Veswicki asked.
“Definitely not. We must protect our infrastructure.”
Seeton spoke up. “Let me model it before I commit. Off the top of my head, I’d say I could spare ten heavy squadrons, and a lot more after we make our move and consolidate the sector politically.”
“See if you can make it thirty, Harry. What about you, Signio? Can I count on support from the other sectors?”
“Definitely. I won’t commit without their approval, but we’ll scrape together as many as we can. I assume we’re talking about hardship duty.”
“We are. Until the Queen can move out into one of the sectors, I cannot support dependents.”
“What can the Queen do for you?” Mike asked.
Veswicki spoke immediately. “We need regular communications, and I am requesting a summons from the Queen for myself and my senior commanders.”
“She’ll want to Test you, but she’s not up to it yet. Multiple Testings take a lot of energy, energy that she won’t have for a while. I’ll let you know when she’s ready. Until then, you have Admiral Chandrajuski’s support, and that means you have hers.”
“You mentioned something about gleasons, Sire.”
Chandrajuski answered. “Struthers has recruited them.”
“How?”
“I don’t have a clue. There were three of them. Her Protectors took them out, but not before the last one threw a poisoned knife into her heart.”
“And she’s still alive?” Veswicki demanded.
“To make a long story short, Sir Mike killed the last gleason, then sent his Rider to the Queen. The Rider is repairing her injuries as we speak.”
Veswicki turned away, then turned back to Mike. He stared hard at him, but he addressed everyone within the room. “The Chosen have never carried Riders. Does anyone know what effect the Rider will have on her being Queen? Will her Touch still work?”
“We won’t know until she’s strong enough to try,” Chandrajuski said. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. If her Testing fails, she might be able to rid herself of the Rider. If all fails, we still have Alexis who will be named Daughter if she passes her Testing. The circle of those who know about this must remain very small. Understood?”
Solemn heads nodded agreement. “I will inform you when the Queen is ready to Test each of you. She may even come here to do it. That will be her decision.”
“Where are you off to next?” asked Veswicki.
“Admiral Korban is my next stop. You three will be my top commanders.”
“You’re wasting your time if you think you’ll get any help from him,” Veswicki responded. “He’s up to his eyeballs just trying to hold Orion Sector together. He’s in Struthers’ sights, and they’re going after him hard.”
Chandrajuski thought for a time, considering options. “I’d love to teach Struthers a lesson,” he finally said. “Can we offer any support to Korban?”
“We already sent a couple of courier ships. When neither returned, we sent a full squadron. Not a single ship has returned,” Seeton said. “We’re on the verge of declaring the squadron lost.”
“It has to be the Chessori,” Val said. “In addition to their mind weapon, they have some other advantages we do not have. They can track through hyperspace, and they have an interstellar communicator. Beware.”
Veswicki and Seeton looked at each other in alarm. Seeton said, “A dispatch was received from our lost squadron. It, too, claimed a trader tracked them through hyperspace.”
“A Chessori tracked me through hyperspace,” Mike said, “though they’re not actually tracking during the jump. Someone had placed a mechanism aboard our ship that broadcast our jump settings just prior to each jump, so they’re really tracking only during the intervals between jumps. I wonder if any of your ships have been compromised?”
Seeton frowned. “We’ll have to check. What do we look for?”
“I don’t know, but I know who does. We’ll get the information to you.”
“Whatever develops here or anywhere else,” Chandrajuski said, “the Chessori, and hence the Rebels, will know about it if we allow them the opportunity to get a message out. Timing will be everything when we make our moves, and because of the Chessori, we’re not going to be able to move simultaneously in all sectors. It’s going to be one at a time.”
“Sir, we can’t fight on these grounds.”
“You’re not fighting, not yet. You’re holding. Your job will be to defeat the Rebels, and you’re well focused on that, but you can’t act yet. Sir Mike’s job is to defeat the Chessori, and we have a plan. There is a way to defeat the mind weapon, but it’s not something I can discuss. Just know there’s a plan that will take some months to put together.”
He added one more consideration for Veswicki. “Are you ready to give up your position here?”
“Definitely not. I’ve just gotten started.”
“You’d better be looking for your replacement during the next few months. The insight you’ve shown me with your understanding of the big picture is impressive, much better than my own. The Queen does not have access to a lot of political advice right now. She might want you at her side. She’ll let you know.”
Chapter Four
Getting help from Earth suddenly moved up on the list of priorities. Struthers had a timetable. Though they didn’t know its details, it most likely included demonstrating to the Imperial Senate that he was capable of taking control of those sectors that resisted. Chandrajuski was determined to do the same in the Queen’s name, and Orion Sector looked to be the place to do it.
In the end, among many other things it was decided that Val would pay a visit to Admiral Korban by himself. His mission, though extremely dangerous, was crucial: in addition to bringing hope to Korban, he was to determine what had happened to Seeton’s lost squadron and what assistance Korban needed to keep his sector out of the hands of the Rebels.
Mike and Chandrajuski would return to Shipyard, first gathering up any Protectors or Guardians they could find here on Aldebaran I to guard the Queen.
Mike would hasten his departure to Earth. While he was gone, Chandrajuski would organize a training regimen for the recruits from Earth in addition to his myriad other chores of organizing the Queen’s armed resistance to the Rebels.
“Thank you for not telling them about Serge’s fast ships,” Chandrajuski commented to Mike during their return to Shipyard. George had turned off his beacon a week after departure, and their signature had dropped from the screens at Seeton’s headquarters. Because of that, they were able to fast-ship the rest of the way.
“No sense getting their hopes up until Serge agrees to provide the science and engineering,” Mike answered. “We definitely need it. We’re in the hole when it comes to new discoveries to combat that communications ability of the Chessori. If they really have it, Struthers has access to it, and don’t for a moment think those kinds of things are insignificant. On Earth, major battles, even whole wars have been won or lost because one side suddenly gained a slight advantage. But bringing Earthmen to the front lines, if we can pull it off in time, provides us with a huge club against the Chessori. I just hope we can keep their knowledge of our source, Earth, a secret. It won’t be easy. As soon as my people show up in the fleet, everyone will know.”
“Then maybe we should lie about where they come from. Where would you like to be from?”
Mike smiled. “I couldn’t care less. Somewhere that won’t suffer when the Rebels find out. I can readily see them decimating some poor, innocent world out there.”
“We’ll have to do some homework on that one. Maybe we can have your men wear a special trinket or something that leads everyone to believe we’ve found a technological solution to the psi weapon.”
Mike brightened. “Great idea. Anyone with the trinket will be immune, no matter where they’re from.”
“We’ll have to claim it only works for humans at the moment,” Chandrajuski grumbled.
