The Enemy of an Enemy

“Well, Vydor, remember those memory blocks wespoke about last year? Did you ever find out if you had more?”

“That was the only one, and it appears tohave been put in place because of the secret message I was decodingat the time,” I said.

“Ah. Well, I was able to find out more aboutmine. This is the strangest thing; it turns out they are of my owndoing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, perhaps I should show you,” he said,as my cup began to float up.

I scanned the room, found the source of thepower and traced it back to Dr. Rannor.

“Yes,” he said, lowering the cup. “You see, awhile back I found I could do that, but I knew of the decree aboutthe Black Adders, and I didn’t want to be imprisoned like them. SoI contacted Larath and asked for his help. At the time he was morethan happy to help me forget everything I could do.”

“Of course. He was eliminating a potentialenemy with no risk of being discovered,” I said.

“When you killed him, his spell broke and allmy memories came back,” he said.

“Now that is a revelation. What powers do youhave?” I asked.

“Not much. I can lift very small things likeyour cup, and I can sometimes detect people just before they openthe door or come into view,” he said.

“Well, that is a start, and it shows that youdefinitely have the gift. What do you plan to do now?” I wasstalling while I updated the five members of the Council that Icould reach. This was a big discovery, big enough that Andreyarelayed messages verbally to Kellyn. This was the first Magus fromour realm we had found since the Council was formed. “Gafar, ifhe exists, there could be more. Do what you can to scan the fleetwith minimal penetration. We need to know if there are others likehim whom Larath mentally locked up, or any othersorcerers.”

“That will take some time, a lot of time;but I will do what I can. It would probably be best if I start withthe Dragon Claw and work out from there, since that is where hisinfluence would have been the greatest,” he responded.

“That is just it, Vydor, I don’t know what todo now. Frankly, I am far too old to be of any use in the war, andI am due for retirement this week,” said Dr. Rannor.

Retirement in the Navy was a bit of a looseterm, as there was no place for him to go until the fleet happenedto pass by a station that could take him. And since we were juststarting a mission, that would be a while yet. He was stillthinking out what he wanted to say, so I let him work on it while Idiscussed our next move with the other wizards. Ultimately thechoice was mine to make and not his, but I was not going tostrongarm him into anything.

“There is only one real option, he mustjoin us,” said Darnath.

“Age is not an issue for our art. In fact,I am sure Mantis is far older than all of us combined,” saidAndreya.

“You guessed Mantis to be a lot youngerthan I did, then,” said Luke, “though I am not sure he hasquite grown up.”

Finally Dr. Rannor said, “Vydor, can I stayhere for a while instead of returning to the Dragon Claw? I need aquiet place to contemplate things.”

“Of course. Doctor, I am not sure how to putthis; though this discovery of yours is exciting for us, it willcomplicate things for you,” I said.

“Exciting? Complicated? How so?” heasked.

“Well, this is exciting because you are thefirst Magus from our realm we have found since we returned.Complicated, because you are the first Magus from our realm we havefound since we returned.” I had to concede Darnath’s point that Dr.Rannor, as a Magus, had to submit to our rule, but that seemedsomewhat totalitarian. “Dr. Rannor, we need to explain something toyou. As a Magus you fall under the direct authority of the Councilof Wizards, and are no longer responsible to the Emperor. Now, youdo have a choice. You can retire in peace and forget about yourpowers, and hope the war never reaches you, or you can come to liveon this ship with us as our first student-level wizard. Either way,the choice is under my jurisdiction, not the captain’s or theEmperor’s, though we will behave in a civil manner over theaffair,” I said.

He needed to sit and think that over a while,so I decided to help his decision along. “Dr. Rannor, before youmake any decision there are a couple more things I would like tosay. First, your age is not an issue for our art. It is onlybecause our council is so new that we are all so young. Everymaster-level wizard or sorcerer that we know of is much older thanyou. The amount of wisdom and knowledge the position calls for isnot normally found in the young. Second, I would love it if youwould come be part of our team. I think you would be a great assetand besides, we need someone to treat Kellyn if she gets sick.” Istood, finished my drink and said, “Whatever your decision, you arewelcome to stay on board here as long as you need. Just remember weare heading to the front line, and it could be a bumpy ride.”

I was about to leave him to think when hesaid, “Vydor, I really do not need to think this over. I just hadto convince myself to take the step. The captain knows why I amhere, and he has already offered to release me if you would takeme. It is just that I am an old man. I am used to being a ship’sdoctor. I know how to do that well; in a way, it is all that I am.What we are talking about is a huge departure from that, andfrankly it is terrifying.”

I got down to his level. “You are not just aship’s doctor. If titles are so important, then you should knowthat you have already achieved the level of prospect wizard. I amoffering you the chance to reach the next step and start to learnhow to use the power you already have, because I know that you aremore than any job. If you decide to do this, I know you can. We alldo.” I felt a level of confidence in him from my fellow wizardsthat surprised me at first, but then I remembered they trusted myinstincts completely. “If he joins us we will have to create alevel of telepathic communication far less deep for him to talk tous on. As the council we will need to keep our connection, but itwould not be polite to completely exclude him,” I said to theothers, who were watching intently through me. “Doctor, look aroundyou. All of these books, every last one, is about the power youwield. You will not be left to guess your way through it. We willteach you, not only to practice your art, but also how to use thesebooks for self-growth. We are constantly working on expanding ourcollection, so with a bit of luck you will never run out of booksto study. If you decide to retire, you will be alone. No one willunderstand you. You will be a stranger among even your own people,but here you have family.”

Suddenly his shoulders squared up and hesaid, “Master Vydor, I cannot turn down your offer, and I humblyaccept.”

I tried to think of a good response to thatbut my mind was full of six cheering voices. Wait a minute … “Kellyn, I thought you were hiding!”

She giggled and said, “How could I missthis? Okay, back to hiding for me!” and she was gone.

The others soon came up to welcome Dr. Rannorto the family. After many pleasantries were exchanged, I offered tocall the captain for him.

“Yes, please do. Just now, if you don’t mind,I need rest. I have not slept much since you made your firstcontact with us earlier this week, and it is catching up onme.”

“Of course, Rannor. Gafar here will show youto the crew quarters where we all stay. These rooms are allshielded from telepathic communication of any kind. If you needanything or anyone while in that room, or want to reach a person intheir quarters, you will need to use the mundane intercom system.Outside those rooms we communicate telepathically, and in time youwill too,” I said.

Rannor and Gafar left to find him somequarters, and I made my way to a comm station to call the captain.I was not certain how to approach him about this, but Rannor saidhe had already spoken with him on the subject so maybe it would bea non-event.

“Good evening, Master Vydor,” said thecaptain. There he went again with the title. Sometimes he used itand sometimes not. I wondered what the difference was.

“Good evening, Captain, I am sorry to disturbyou but I have just had a rather interesting chat with Dr. Rannor,”I started.

“Ah yes, he told me he planned to talk toyou,” he said.

“What did he tell you?” I asked.

“We talked for a while about his upcomingretirement and how it would have to wait until after this mission.I