various kinds of technologies and bio-weaponry. It would be very difficult to fight a war on two fronts, even though Grod and his forces were weaker than before. If Grod seized the opportunity to attack en masse again with the coalition simultaneously fighting the Baruk, it could quickly turn out for the worse.
Then Tiet was struck with a new thought. The threat to this planet was also a threat to the Horva. They had no allegiance to the Baruk and had helped drive off the Vorn military presence, which held treaty with the Baruk. This fight was Grod's fight, whether the General realized it or not.
Tiet needed the assembly's attention, and he needed it now. Then he decided to get their attention. He kicked the podium off of the raised platform. It crashed down the few steps to crash loudly on the stone floor. All eyes were suddenly upon him.
'Forgive me for the interruption, Ambassadors,' he said, 'but I have reconsidered and decided to accept your endorsement.'
Shouts began to erupt from the audience. He interrupted them again.
'Please…My acceptance is conditional!' he said over the crowd. Everyone became quite again at this point. Tiet could see Wynn considering him.
'I will accept-on the condition that the Council endorses my going to General Grod in an attempt to broker a peace agreement and convince him to fight with us against the Baruk.'
He waited after that statement, expecting a reaction. The ambassadors were all looking at one another to confer. The room was now awash in low murmurs concerning Tiet's dangerous request. Tiet stood fast and waited. After a few moments Ambassador Licoure turned back to address him.
'Master Soone, your request is troubling to say the least, but I am curious why you would think the Horva would join us?'
'I believe the main thrust of Grod's campaign and the Horva's desires all center around wanting their freedom and a fight to attain it. I think he might be willing to listen to what I have to say. He wants what we want; I just have to make him see it.'
'With all due respect, we have never known the Horva, especially Grod, to be open to negotiations,' said Licoure.
'I only ask for your endorsement and willingness to work with the Horva peacefully if I am successful, nothing more. If you agree, I will accept your motion that I ascend to the throne of my father.'
Licoure looked back at the other delegates in the council and at Wynn who was still fixed on Tiet. The other ambassadors gestured approving nods to Licoure.
'Well, Master Soone, against my better judgment.'
'I appreciate your confidence, Ambassadors.' With that, Tiet turned to leave the assembly.
Wynn made his way quickly to catch up to Tiet as he walked back down the great hall.
'Wait, Tiet!'
Tiet slowed, but did not stop.
'Tiet, what are you up to? Grod won't negotiate with you. He's a brute who loves conquest.'
Tiet stopped then, surprised by the statement.
'Wynn, you told me things aren't always what they appear to be. I hated the Vorn who were actually peaceful-'
'Yes, but that's not Grod at all, he-'
'He and the Horva were slaves wanting their freedom. And as for being a brute…well, he managed to destroy the Sphere weapon no one else had been able to defeat, so he must be pretty smart and he must be a great leader to have generated the successful uprising against the Vorn military.'
Wynn stood silent; surprised at the wisdom pouring out of his apprentice and king.
'Besides, we cannot afford to fight a war on two fronts; without him, I think we'll lose.'
Wynn had considered that aspect before and remained silent as Tiet turned to continue out. 'I've got to get going on this while we still have time,' he said as he punched the button to open the lift door.
'Do you really think Grod will listen or even answer your transmission?'
'I have no intention of transmitting anything. I'm going to Nagon-Toth personally.'
'And do you really think he will let you just walk in?' asked Wynn sarcastically.
'We'll see.'
'You realize if you go and confront him he might just decide he should join the Baruk against us. Did you consider that?'
'I'm not giving him the opportunity,' Tiet said matter-of-factly. 'If he doesn't join us then I'm going to kill him.'
And with that Tiet let the lift door close in front of him. Wynn stood there speechless. He was certainly his father's son. The same brash determination was something he remembered from serving under the king years ago. He was glad to see these qualities emerging finally, even though he was worried about the likelihood of him being successful.
XI
THE hangar bay of the Baruk flagship was teeming with warriors. Unfortunately, they were congregated very near Kale's ship. Kale watched from a shadowed position high above the massive tarmac. There were many ships inside the bay, mostly Baruk fighter craft. Then he spotted one that was different.
It was Tal's ship; he was surely either imprisoned or dead by now. Kale knew the Baruk were going to remove the remaining Vorn military from the equation very soon. Tal's presence on the flagship likely meant that was already in process.
Nevertheless, the Governor's ship was some distance across the bay from his own, and still better, it was unguarded. Kale deftly made his way to an area above the vessel. It was quite a bit bigger than his.
He pulled a spicor disc from his garment and flung it downward at the hull of the ship. When it impacted, a hole was created all the way through the hull. Kale dropped in fast. He landed inside and quickly made his way to the bridge.
He had learned a few things about Vorn spacecraft during his years with them. He pulled a palm-sized device from his coat and then fitted the mechanism to an interface panel at the helm.
The area around his ship was still quite crowded with warriors. Kale keyed in a sequence on the touch screen, and the ship hummed to life.
The group of warriors surrounding the strider noticed engine sounds coming from across the bay. From above the long lines of Baruk fighter craft they could see a ship rising off the platform. It was the ship that the Governor Tal had arrived in with his aides-all of whom had since been executed.
The Baruk warriors brought their personal weapons to bear as the commander received his order from the Three telepathically; attack the fleeing ship.
The warriors began to fire on the Vorn ship floating above the docking platform as it prepared to leave the bay. The ship began to drift as the warriors closed in on it. The craft crashed into Baruk fighters docked nearby, and then attempted to raise again as the warriors concentrated more firepower on it.
It was starting to spin out of control. The tail end was knocking Baruk fighters all around the bay, causing the warriors to scatter for cover while still maintaining their assault.
The shields on the vessel were not active. As it spun wildly out of control many Baruk were pummeled to death by flying debris from the ship and the destroyed Baruk fighters.
Kale sat calmly at the helm and adjusted the controls. The engine responded accordingly. He pulled up his handheld control and tapped in a new sequence. The Vorn craft drifted further down the bay toward the hangar control center. It tumbled and smashed into the area.
As the control center was engulfed in the fireball of the ship, the force field deactivated, allowing the influx of open space into the hangar bay. The entire hangar bay's contents rushed into the vacuum; carrying the Baruk warriors with it.
Kale laid aside his remote device. By remote piloting the Vorn ship he had been able to get to his strider. He launched the strider from the platform as debris impacted against the ship's shields. Baruk warriors sucked into
