Bren telekinetically pulled over a chair and looked for the anti-grav adjustment panel…then saw it wasn’t going to be big enough, so he drifted it back to where it had been and simply sat down on the ground cross-legged, which put his head height about even with Esna’s.
“I did not know who you were until after you arrived and I checked your record. You were born outside of Star Force, whereas the rest of us were not.”
“Kirritimin wasn’t either,” Esna corrected him.
“No, you are right, but he is not a warrior. Not in the flesh. His mind can lead fleets, but he doesn’t know the feel of combat as you and I do. And you have felt it outside of Star Force, without training or an empire behind you. I wanted to ask what that was like?”
“Maddening,” she answered, cupping her head in both hands as she thought back to memories she’d prefer to keep buried. “You were always afraid of getting caught up in something and dying, from something stupid or just a random accident. It wasn’t glorious like the movies suggest. I lost my brother to that shit, and would have died myself if not for a Calavari named Rammak who saved me. He was Star Force, but he’d been left behind when Mace fell. The planet was wrecked and what had once been Star Force was so far gone we didn’t even know its name. We called the planet Forso, for what reason I don’t know. I didn’t even know I was Human at the time. I didn’t know anything.”
“Did you do any training?”
“Ha. We didn’t even understand what the word meant. We piddled around, experimented, mostly did stupid stuff, and some of it worked and we learned. Nobody really knew what they were doing, but a lot liked to pretend they did, and we bought it for the most part. I wish I’d been born into Star Force, for many reasons, but we don’t get to choose our entry point into the universe. I’m fortunate to have survived mine. I certainly didn’t earn it.”
“Do you know why Davis called you here?”
“He didn’t say.”
“I know,” Bren said, eliciting a raise of Esna’s head. “He and I are rather close. I spent many of my early years on his personal guard, and his wisdom is still underestimated by the Empire. You are here because of your vantage point and your skill. You started with nothing, outside the empire, and have risen past so many who had far more than you. You have earned your rank of Khan in Canderous, but even then you chose the life of combat rather than a life of organizing others in combat. You became an Ard Ri, and I believe I know why.”
“Enlighten me.”
“You want to feel the combat. You want to determine the outcome based on your skills and your actions…not ordering machines around or putting someone else into harm’s way. You want to be in the heaviest of fighting, like the Archons do, but they’re needed for so much else they rarely get that opportunity. The Golden Knights take most of those duties on us so that the Archons can be freed up to do the duties that few can. Do you know why I am here?”
“You’re a Golden Knight. Isn’t that obvious?”
“I’m a Golden Knight who was also once an Admiral, long, long ago. A special appointment by Davis when he saw more tactical skill in me than most naval officers. He said we needed people who could see beyond the small battles without losing sight of them, and that only someone who knew how to fight hand to hand could direct others to, all the way up the line to the Admiral who commanded the destiny of thousands. I took the opportunity and responsibility he gave me and learned the hard way…no training, no peers, just straight to Admiral. And to his credit, I added a few new tricks to the Naval handbook after I got my bearings and began looking at things from a different point of view.”
“That’s crazy,” Esna said in admiration. “I had no idea anyone had done that.”
“I had no idea anyone had done what you did. Apparently Star Force isn’t interest in bragging on their heroes that aren’t Archons…and I only say that because that’s what Davis described me as once. He said there were many heroes that nobody would ever know of, because the fighting we do, especially on the bridge of a warship, won’t be seen by the masses. Not even your own crew. But heroes we are nonetheless. And in truth, most people see the Archons as multiple versions of the same person. The ‘Archon’ is the hero, not the individual.”
“I thought the trailblazers were all etched in stone somewhere?”
“And they rightly should be, for among other things they head up their own Clans. But the rest of the Archons are nameless, faceless heroes in armor, and they’re the inspiration others need. People like you and me have walked paths that they cannot, so they don’t need to know our stories…though they’re there to find if you dig hard enough. And the people who need to hear them usually learn to dig.”
“Did the Director tell you that too?”
“More or less. And you need to start calling him Davis or Sean. He prefers that.”
“Really?”
“In his position, do you think he really cares about titles? He cares about who has skills and answers. And both you and I have stuff that he doesn’t have, which is why we’re here.”
“Well,
