“Marella—”
“Kamien will have to fight us all.”
“Starting another arms race that led to the complete breakdown of treaty agreements made a hundred years ago, which led to the last Great War. History repeats itself, again and again. Will we ever learn?”
She set a placating hand on his arm. “The declaration has already been signed. If Kamien attacks us again, we’ll be at war. We appreciate your objection to putting ourselves in the way of his attempts to hurt you. No, let’s call it what it is – to murder you. It’s already done, and you can’t change it.”
“So I should gracefully accept your willingness to take the risk when the risk is so far outside the greater good of the Trean System as to seem completely irresponsible. For the two of us? It doesn’t make sense.”
“It makes better sense than doing nothing,” she said. “Your concern is sweet and appreciated, Dain, but won’t change our minds. We’re going to help you. Your mother and I were best friends. I went to Cobalt for tutoring and we were together for nearly four years. I will not turn my back on her sons.”
“She wouldn’t want her sons to put her best friend at such terrible risk,” Dain countered, but saw that it had no effect.
“She understood risk. So do I,” Marella said and then pulled on his arm. “Come sit down. Drake has some ideas on how to mitigate.”
“There’s an unusual moon in the Trean System,” Drake said once they’d all settled. “Xavier might be the only one alive today who knows of it.”
The Lord Chancellor nodded. “Your grandfather established it as a secret base many years ago. I was a young man, and Dionin had only been crowned a few years.”
“There has to be some record of it,” Dynan said.
“There used to be, yes,” Drake said. “At the beginning before its intended use made it necessary to hide it. There are no records now, except of a gravitational anomaly in the area, making it necessary for our ships to avoid it. Every pilot knows about it, and the dire consequences should they ignore the warnings. More than a few ships have been set to drift there.”
“Someone has to have seen it,” Dain said, finding it hard to believe a whole moon could go missing.
“There are sensor buoys all around it, projecting only empty space,” Drake said. “It’s quite unknown, I assure you. You’ll be able to reach it safely with the right shield modulation. I’m told the buildings are in reasonable repair.”
“Reasonable enough for a Base to be established?” Dynan said, after a moment of silence blanketed the room.
“I’ve already sent some trusted technicians, and their reports are encouraging. It’s not much, except a place to start.”
Dain didn’t like the sound of it, more because it meant they had to accept the unforgiving reality of their lives now – that it would take years for them to ever hope to go back home. There wasn’t much choice. Dynan glanced at him, and even when he didn’t want to, Dain nodded.
“A place to start,” Dynan said, echoing Drake.
“Yes, not a place to live out the rest of your days. It’s not that accommodating.”
“Somehow, I get the feeling there won’t be too many of those in my life. Not for a while. Thank you, Drake.”
“You can thank me after you’re crowned, Your Highness. In the years to come, I doubt you’ll feel so charitable.”
“All right. I’ll remember that.”
Having a new destination to reach set the entire household in motion making preparations to move them in as much secrecy as they could manage to the moon base. There wasn’t much to pack, so it didn’t take them long.
They arrived on Trillian late the next day, flying over on the XR-30 after a series of sublight flight maneuvers meant to prevent any possibility they’d be tracked. A thick mist clung to the ground, obscuring the view, but Dain gathered that they stood in a large open field. Boral had arranged for a squad of guards to meet them, and they provided escort to a single-story, stone building that appeared through the fog as they drew close. There were other buildings, but it was hard to discern their shape or number.
Once inside they were greeted by a small group of Drake’s technicians, and their Commander. His name was Reige Toolin. They found him an amiable man, and full of excitement about his new duty. He offered his services, and they thanked him for the work he’d accomplished so far. Toolin suggested a tour, so they followed him, and found their excitement growing to match the Commander’s enthusiasm.
Dain looked around at the grey, dreary weather billowing as they walked. It didn’t seem like the sun shone too much here. Off in the distance a line of mountains marched across the horizon. The fog cleared a little at the higher elevations.
“What are we going to be seeing, Commander?” Dynan asked.
“A few of the buildings we’ve put into use, Your Highness. I thought you might like to see what’s been happening here so far. There’s a crew quarters over there.” He pointed to a two-story building just discernible, beside a tall, large hanger. Dain frowned, wondering why a crew building would be necessary at this point. Toolin opened the door to the hanger.
Three hundred men came to brisk attention, standing in equal ranks. They wore uniforms emblazoned with two entwining rings, one sapphire, one emerald, and they all wore the Telaerin insignia at their collars.
Dynan, thrust suddenly into the position of having to speak in front of a large group of people, glanced at Carryn, who only smiled, and nodded him forward. The tour had just turned into an inspection he hadn’t expected. To Dain it seemed the men who stood at attention before him were judging him as well. He resisted the impulse to go to his brother’s side, but then changed his mind as the silence deepened. He moved to stand two steps back behind Dynan on his right. This was a place familiar to Dain since he was little. He understood his job here and he suspected the men watching them knew it too.
Dynan reached back and pulled him forward to stand next to him. “Thank you doesn’t seem enough,” he said, glancing at Dain before going on, struggling to find the right thing to say to them. “It isn’t enough. Words alone can’t explain how much it means to us that so many of you are here. It’s the nicest surprise we’ve had in a long time.”
A young Captain stepped forward then, and saluted smartly, his right hand snapping to hang in the air in front of his eye. They weren’t used to that salute being directed at them, but managed to acknowledge it properly.
“It is our honor to be in your service,” the Captain said. “You should know that there are more of us, but we decided it would be safer for everyone involved if we made our exodus in stages.”
“More?” Dain said. “How many?”
“Close to a thousand. There are more coming in every day. We’ll have twice this number next week, and again the following. We’ve set up contingency plans to keep our departures as unnoticeable as possible. We’re all military men, all trained by the best tacticians that exist. I assure you, we know what we’re doing.”
There was a challenge explicit in the comment, but Dynan didn’t respond to it, except to nod. He seemed incredibly young and Dain felt it too, a level of inexperience he wasn’t familiar with, before these men who were all older.
“We’re both going to work hard to make sure we measure up to your expectations, Captain,” Dynan said. “I can’t tell you yet what’s coming, but you are a place to start. Thank you again.”
Dynan turned to Commander Toolin and the tour soon continued. They moved into another hangar, and the number of attack craft filling it dwarfed its size. There were over forty ships. With each craft, work crews stood at attention. Dain noticed a few wearing the different uniforms. Most of them he recognized as Drake’s technicians.
“What’s with the uniform?”
“Drake again,” Carryn said. “Yours are waiting in your quarters.”
Toolin took them through two separate hangers, each filled with the same compliment of ships. While some of them were obviously
donated by Drake to fill the numbers, most came from Cobalt. It was a gratifying surprise they hadn’t expected. They’d felt so completely isolated that it hadn’t occurred to them that there were people from their home who would fight for them. Some had already died for them.
Toolin explained after they returned to the Command Center, moving into a large conference room, and seating themselves around a brightly polished oval table. “The numbers aren’t so high right now, but likely to climb. As more escapes are attempted, the more difficult it will be for those left behind, contingency plans or no. We’ve lost too many already, destroyed while attempting escape, or lost to some other difficulty, engine malfunctions, and the like. I think we’ll get eight hundred, maybe a few more before Kamien puts a stop to it.”
Dynan nodded, looking at a large wall screen that mapped out the complex. The Base was large. Big enough to handle twice the number of expected exiles.
“The first thing we need to do,” Carryn said at Toolin’s nod, “is establish a chain of command. Your Highness, you need to decide who those people are going to be, and where their duties will lie. After you, of course there’s Dain, should anything happen to you, and—”
“We’re not going to let anything happen to him, are we, Carryn?” Dain interjected. “I’d make a lousy King, and you know it.”
“Yes, but we’re stuck with you, like it or not. You’re next in line of succession, Dain. A fact I’d think you’d be used to. Of course, protecting you both is our primary goal. As second in line, you should be second in command. You’ll need to know everything Dynan knows, so if it becomes necessary for you to step in, you’ll be able to.”
Dain started to shake his head, but Dynan stopped him. “It’s not any different from what we were doing on Cobalt. I always intended for you to be my Lord Chancellor. You’ve always accepted that before, so if it helps, think of it that way.” He turned to Carryn. “You know better than I how best to organize this. The top spot is yours, First Commander.”
It seemed to Dain that for a moment everyone turned to him to see if he’d say something about the appointment. Maybe they expected him to object or at the least make some sort of comment. He didn’t want to be in charge of trying to build an invasion force, especially since he didn’t have any idea how to go about it. He had to wonder if Carryn did, but then, maybe that was true for everyone except perhaps Xavier. Dain glanced at her, raising an eyebrow at her, before nodding her on.
“I don’t see that the organizational chart is going to be too difficult to set up,” she said. “Ralion and Sheed will continue as guards. They will also be responsible for our safety and security, and when I say our, I mean all of us here. We can’t afford to lose any of us.”
She looked around the table at them. “Speaking along those lines for a moment, we all need to begin training for what we’ll be facing in the days to come. We’re the last line of defense, and judging from our performance at the Ilthain Palace, we all need some work. I’m talking about extensive combat training.”
“Then Boral should be the one to tackle that particular responsibility, being the best Master at Arms I’ve ever known,” Dynan said.
Carryn agreed. “Trevan and Lycon will be in charge of fleet maintenance and operations, and anything else they can dream up to help us. Allie and Gaden on communications. Geneal will keep us all healthy.” She turned to Frazier Cordon, who sat in the corner behind Ralion. “You’ve been in the Special Forces unit the longest. I’d like to ask you to be my Lieutenant Commander. I want our training emphasis to be in Special Operations where our forces can do anything and do it exceptionally well. That will be our strength should we fall short in numbers.”
“I’ll do anything you like me to, First Commander,” Frazier said.
Carryn nodded to that and looked around at them. “Does that sound acceptable to you, Your Highness?”
Dynan turned to Xavier, who sat observing the proceedings. The Lord Chancellor shook his head. “No, Dynan. I was drafted a long time ago. I’ll serve you as always, as best I can, but I’m too old for anything more official than that.”
“Thank you, Xavier. I’m grateful enough that you’re here. As long as you promise to let us know when we’re about to make a drastic wrong turn.”
“You can count on it,” he said, and patted Dynan’s arm. “You’ll be fine. You’re doing everything you need to right now.”
“What else do you have for us, Commander Toolin?” Carryn asked.
Over the next several hours they discussed what it would entail to return to Cobalt, most of which they found extremely depressing, simply because the timeframe for doing so seemed to stretch out before them to infinity. Dynan was especially downcast about it and Dain didn’t feel much better.
The accepted time line at the least was five years, but more likely eight. Dain didn’t want to think about enduring exile for eight years, but it didn’t seem possible to move any faster. In order to have any success in attacking Cobalt, a force of equal or greater strength had to be gathered. The Telaerin fleet alone stood five thousand strong. Drake’s fleet only mustered at twenty-five hundred. Ground forces were another matter entirely. Where all those men were going to come from remained an unsolvable problem. Dynan refused to contemplate the idea of hiring men; mercenaries, to fill the ranks he would need, so that discussion didn’t get far.
By the time they decided all they could, Dain felt exhausted, and doubtful of their chances. Toolin led them to their quarters; a large house near the back of the Base. He was surprised to see a crew of men busily erecting a wall around the property. While it might be necessary to protect them, it felt like being caged.
Ralion and Sheed took rooms on the first floor, while Toolin showed them upstairs. Nicely appointed thanks to Drake’s generosity, they found the arrangements more than satisfactory. Carryn, Frazier, and the others were housed in two other buildings close at hand. Toolin hesitated when he mentioned Geneal.
“Maybe she should stay with us,” Dain said easily. “It might be handy having a doctor close by, just in case.”
Toolin agreed, obviously not reading anything more into Dain’s intent. The General left them to settle in, returning to the Command Center. “You handled that rather easily,” Dynan commented, pulling off his jacket, and loosening the lace at his collar. He poured himself a glass of water, then gave it to Dain, who downed it almost in one gulp, and poured another, looking around the first floor parlor. Home, Dain supposed, for a long time to come.
Dain smiled. “Well, I figure it can’t hurt, you know. Time to move on and all. She’s never going to relent anyway, but it’ll be a lot easier having her right here than halfway across the compound.”
“Reducing the risk of competition.”
“As if.”
“I haven’t noticed any willingness on your part to deprive yourself.”
Dain frowned at him. “Why should I?”
“Geneal isn’t that kind of woman, in case you haven’t figured that out. As long as she thinks she’s just another one of your conquests, you aren’t going to get anywhere with her.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“That’s all you ever think about, isn’t it?” Dynan asked, sitting by the fireplace, looking at the cold hearth.
“It’s all you think about,” Dain said, flopping down on the couch across from him.
“There isn’t going to be any running back and forth to Ilthain. No fraternizing with the women in the ranks either. That didn’t come from me. It’s direct from Boral. Expect a conversation.”
“There were women in the ranks?” Dain said, unable to not smile at the annoyed glare from Dynan. “It’s not my fault, you know, that you took that vow. I told you not to, more than once. It’s also not my fault that you seem to have the worst luck of anyone I know when it comes to getting up with someone of the female variety. Do you want me to set you up? I will not have the same difficulty.”
“I just said—”
�
�I’m not talking about anyone from the troops. I’m sure there are going to be women of some sort on this Base, Dynan. The Command staff, the Medic Center, the mess hall. You can’t have a military installation, secret though it is, and not have support staff, which will include women, non-military ones, willing and able.”
Dain thought he’d go along with it, but he wasn’t deterred or swayed. “I want your promise that you won’t try to leave the Base.”
Dain growled something under his breath. “Do you suppose that’s why Drake is having that wall put up? All right, I promise. I’ll swear to it even. By the Gods, I hate this. Kamien better hope I never get near him again.”
“Doesn’t seem like we have much of a chance, does it?”
“I can’t answer that,” Dain said, sitting up. “Not after listening to Carryn and Toolin going over what we have and don’t have, more of the latter, and what we’ll need. And how long this is going to take. I want my life back, and I don’t want to wait five years, or eight years or ten years to get it. I’ll be an old man in ten years.”
Dain sat up all the way, and stood. “I can’t stay in here. The thought of that wall going up out there gives me the shivers. Let’s go look around. I’d like to talk to some of those men who came over from Cobalt. Get some news.”
“Go ahead, and take Sheed with you.”
Dain stopped in the doorway, turning slightly. “Is that an order, Your Highness?”
“If you want to take it that way,” Dynan said.
“I’m coming back here with a girl.”
“Sure. Whatever Dain.”
Dynan didn’t seem to believe him or be much enthused by the thought. Dain left him to brood. There wasn’t any need to call for Sheed. The guard was waiting for him outside.
~*~
Chapter 6
Telepath Page 7