start rotating my men through for shore leave, but we can handle another year, at least. It’s not your problem,” he said with a smile. “We’re going to focus on districts next,” he said. “The Rebels will need a lot of manpower to bring the districts under their control, and it will take a long time. There are thousands of districts, and they will be fertile recruitment grounds for us, I’m certain.”
Krys looked worried. “They don’t have the resources of the sector headquarters.”
“Not so, Krys. In many ways, they are the resources of the sector commanders. Districts don’t have control of large fleets, but they do command squadrons, many, many squadrons, and some of those squadron commanders are going to be loyal to the Queen when they find out about her existence. I’m sending lots and lots of fighters out to as many districts as I can to spread the word. I expect more success at the district level than at the sector level, and remember… every squadron we keep from Struthers is one more squadron for the Queen and one less for him. Equally important, if we get bogged down and can’t win at the top, we’ll have to do it district by district. The more of them we have under our wings, the faster it will go.”
“So we need to prepare new lists?”
“We do. The list of sector commanders is nearly exhausted. Chandrajuski will follow up with the ones we’ve brought back into the fold. Our job is to keep searching for new ones to add to his list. It’s dangerous, but necessary.”
“What’s Governor Veswicki doing?”
“For the moment, he’s consolidating what he has. He’s promised to have ten sectors behind him soon. He’s waiting to make his move until Chandrajuski gives the okay. As you know, the Chessori issue has significantly muddied the waters.”
“Are we all competing for the Great Cats, then?”
Buskin rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. Veswicki hinted at another plan. The First Knight apparently has something in mind, but he’s not ready to discuss it. Until someone comes up with a better plan, I’ll take all the Great Cats I can get.”
“It’s asking a lot of the cats.”
“It is, and even with them, it’s far from ideal. We haven’t been able to test them under battle conditions, but we’re expecting a significant reduction in abilities. The fact that they function at all is our only hope at the moment.”
“The mind weapon is a truly horrible thing. My Protectors struggled mightily to keep going.”
“But they were effective?”
Stven lifted his head. “It’s more like the Chessori were ineffective, sir. Borg chose not to maneuver on the two Chessori. He acted, instead, as if the ship suddenly ceased functioning, as it would have under the influence of the mind weapon. The Chessori approached unshielded, certain of victory. It really wasn’t much of a fight.”
“Hmm. I’ll bet that’s one of the things he discussed in his meeting with his brothers. It’s a good strategy, at least at the start of a battle.”
“But only for a little while,” M’Sada interjected. “If ships manned by Chessori outnumber ships manned by the cats, they could have a real problem on their hands when they merge.”
“Agreed. We’ll have to model things, test them out, and let the cats learn how close they can let their opponents get.”
“Can you do that without the influence of the mind weapon?”
“We can approximate it. We can dial down the effectiveness of the cats’ weapons and find out what works best.”
“If they’re up against Chessori ships, those ships will not be limited in any way. If they’re up against Rebel ships with partial Chessori crews, there could be a huge degradation on the side of the attackers.”
“Exactly, and each situation will have different tactics. Your own encounter with the Chessori suggests something else to me. They approached with high confidence. That might well be a natural trait. If they’ve had this mind weapon for long, it might have become their primary weapon, one they expect to see work in every situation. If so, at least in the early stages of a battle, that would be in our favor. We’re going to reconsider how we position our forces at the beginning.”
“Are there reports of anyone going up against a Chessori ship?” M’Sada asked, his upper hands preening.
“Other than your own and a number of encounters by the Queen, there are none that I know about, at least none that survived.”
“If they rely on this mind weapon, I wonder how good their weapons and shields are?”
“Hmm. Good point. I have a feeling we’re going to find out – the hard way.”
Krys and Tarn remained behind when the meeting ended. “I have a personal request, sir, if you can spare a little time,” she said.
“What can I do for you?”
“I was injured during the Chessori attack on Rappor. ”
“I know. I wish you’d told me. Doctor Qrondra believes you’re recovering nicely.”
“I feel fine, but I have not attempted a vision since the attack. Are you willing to allow an attempt with you?”
Buskin didn’t hesitate. “I’d be honored.”
“If it doesn’t work, I’d like to keep it private for the present.”
“I understand. You might not be completely yourself yet.”
Krys took her seat with a hesitant smile at Tarn. His heart went out to her, but in this area, he could not help. He gave her ten minutes to sink fully into her meditative state, then he asked Buskin to take her hand.
Buskin leaned down and took both of her hands in his. There was no change visible on Krys’ countenance, but a few moments later she opened her eyes to stare worriedly into his eyes.
Her gaze went to Tarn, then back to Buskin who still held her hands. “Thank you, Admiral. I’m back in business.”
He let go of her hands and backed away. “What did you see?”
“I appeared to be looking through your eyes. I think you must have been out in space and in the net because I could see in all directions. Behind you, a blue and white planet was receding. One gray moon hung off to the side. In front of you, far in the distance, an array of many, many ships approached. That’s all I saw.”
“Whose ships?”
“I don’t know.”
Tarn asked softly, “What color were they?”
“Bright blue.”
Tarn and Buskin looked at each other. “Chessori appear in bright blue, sir,” Tarn said.
Buskin nodded, his expression grim as he looked at Krys. “How many were there?”
“Many. Maybe a thousand. The vision was accompanied with words, as some are.” She closed her eyes and said,
“Follow, or lead? Where once it was dirt, a King’s tears now fall through spread fingers. The battle is won, the war lost.”
Buskin’s focus went internal as he considered the words. So, too, did Tarn’s. Buskin spoke first. “We’re going to lose?” he breathed.
Krys spoke softly, not wanting to disturb Tarn who was seated nearby and thinking hard. “The words must be considered in full, sir. When words accompany a vision, they are always in the form of a riddle. Taken in pieces, the words can be misleading. Tarn has had some success with deciphering the riddles.”
She and Buskin waited for Tarn to open his eyes. When he did, he looked unhappy.
“I don’t sense the pattern this time, Krys. Some of it is obvious, but key parts are not, and those parts could entirely change the meaning of the riddle.” His gaze moved to Buskin. “Her visions seem to apply to the one who touches her. Most likely, she has seen something in your future.”
“That much I understood,” Buskin said dryly.
“Follow or lead? That could have several meanings.” He looked at Krys. “Did you get a sense of their meaning?”
“It seemed like a choice must be made.”
Tarn nodded and looked to Buskin. “It could mean you’ve received orders from someone above you that you
