Buskin led the small delegation to his conference room. They got down to business immediately.
“I need more Great Cats, Sire,” Buskin began.
“I just arrived back on Brodor, only to find that you’ve absconded with quite a few of my brothers already. What, exactly, are you doing with them?”
“Training them on the net, Sire. They’re the only known tool we have against the Chessori.”
“I’ve been under the influence of this mind weapon many times. It’s not an easy thing to deal with. You expect them to fight and fly at the same time? Finesse is not possible while functioning under the strain of the mind weapon.”
Borg spoke. “I have fought and won in spite of it.”
“How many times, and against how many?”
“Once. We took out two Empire fighters crewed by Chessori. A bit of subterfuge helped, Sire. Kross, too, took out a Chessori trader while piloting a frigate. Sheeb did the shooting.”
Otis nodded. He turned back to Buskin. “How many do you need?”
“As many as you can send, Sire. So far I have twenty-three squadrons to man, and I expect more, many more.”
Otis looked from Buskin to Krys. “You’ve been busy, more busy than I knew. Does Chandrajuski know?”
Buskin answered. “If he doesn’t yet, he will soon. I recently spoke with Governor Veswicki. Chandrajuski can plan for a thousand ships at the rate we’re going.”
“A thousand!” Otis padded across the room, then turned back to Buskin. “The Queen has about 40 at the moment.”
Buskin’s eyebrows rose. “Perhaps I should go to her.”
Otis considered. “No, Veswicki will supply more, and she’s well hidden. I like your plan, and I like the idea of a reserve force. It’s going to take time to gather my brothers together and train them.”
“It is, Sire. I’d like to suggest that instead of sending Great Cats to me, send them after more Great Cats. Build a network, then deliver.”
Otis shook his head. “Had I known of your needs, it would already be in place. I’ll get started immediately.”
“Sire, I don’t necessarily need fully qualified Guardians. I need bodies that can function under the mind weapon. I’ll train anyone you send.”
“You’re running a school out there, wherever ‘there’ is?”
“I’m doing whatever it takes, Sire.”
“It takes a certain… hardness… to function against the scree. Our young ones might not be up to it. I’ll take it under consideration. What else is on your agenda?”
“That’s all I came here to do. We need to work out rendezvous points and passwords, that’s all.”
“It’s not all. There are other developments of which you should be aware. You must visit Chandrajuski personally, and perhaps the Queen, as well. A force the size of yours cannot hide out in obscurity forever – you should be part of whatever plans are being developed.”
He padded away from Buskin for a moment, then turned back to face him, peering hard into his eyes. “You bring great honor to your uniform, Admiral. Chandrajuski chose well. In the Queen’s name, I thank you for what you have done.” He sat, then looked at the two other Great Cats with him. When he turned back to Buskin, he said, “Work out the recruiting details with my men here. I need to spend some time with Krys. If you’ll excuse us, I’ll see you again before I leave.”
“Very well, Sire, and thank you. My plan won’t work without your brothers.”
“Actually, it might. If things go as planned, my men will be a temporary measure. Chandrajuski will explain.” He, Krys, and Tarn left.
“Will you join me on my ship?” Otis asked her.
“Will you join me on mine? I’d like my crew to meet you. None of them has ever met a Knight. They’ve had no proof of the Queen’s existence, only my words.”
“I’d be delighted, and they deserve proof. You and I will need some privacy.”
“I know. I hope you’ll include Tarn. He’s the Guide.”
Otis stopped dead in his tracks, a low growl escaping his throat. He turned to Tarn, looking carefully at the young man before him. After a time, he nodded and held out a hand. “A pleasure to meet you. So we finally know who her Guide is.”
“Uh, not exactly, Sire.”
“You’re not her Guide, the one we were told to expect?”
“I might be, Sire. When her need was greatest, I was there. I believe that was the promise?”
“Then why are you uncertain?”
“I’m no longer uncertain, Sire. I am the Guide, but not her guide.”
“I don’t understand,” he said, turning to Krys.
“Neither did I, at first,” she said. “I was looking for someone to guide me, when that was not what the Leaf People promised at all. They never promised me my own guide, only that the Guide would find me. My visions are for others, Otis, and I’ve never been able to interpret them. Tarn has. He’s their Guide.”
Otis nodded thoughtfully. “You’ve had more visions then. Your skills have improved?”
“Marginally. I wish I had someone who could teach me.”
“You know your next stop must be the Queen.”
She nodded. “I knew the moment I saw you. I’ve not yet met anyone who knows where she is.”
“There’s not a more carefully guarded secret. Keep that in mind.”
“I’m a little more grown up than when you last saw me. Don’t worry.”
“You’re still a cub as far as I’m concerned. Both of you,” he said, looking back and forth between the two. “How have you managed so well?”
“I have a wonderful crew, and your brothers have played their part. We’re all better at what we do because of them.”
“I expect no less of them.”
“But they did it without proof, Otis. They had some hard choices to make, and they made them without proof.”
When they reached Rappor, Krys presented Otis to the crew. They all bowed to him, but he would have none of that.
“Stand, all of you,” he demanded. He looked the crew over carefully and nodded his great head. “A Rress and a Schect. No wonder you managed so well.”
“The whole crew is exceptional, Sire,” Krys said. “Gordi’i and Kali’i are excellent gunners, and they’ve demonstrated their skills with hand weapons as well as ship’s weapons. Engineer Gortlan has managed to get us through several beacon changes, not a fun process.”
“It’s possible to change a beacon?” Otis asked in surprise. “The Queen would have benefited from an ability to do that.”
“It takes special equipment and training, Sire,” Gortlan said. “It requires shutting down the AI completely while in transit. The pilots have an interesting time holding things together while I reboot.”
Otis eyed them all hard. “Your new First Knight transited 800 light years without an AI. His Rider and your Queen kept the net functioning while he made all the jumps manually. It took the better part of a year.”
Stven looked at M’Sada in shock. “You embarrass us, Sire. We struggle to hold things together for a couple of hours.”
“Well, in your favor, the First Knight and the Queen did not know that what they were doing was difficult.” He turned to Krys. “Tell me your story.”
“I think yours is much more interesting.”
“My story is the Queen’s story. It will be told in private.”
“Otis, if your crew was so small that she had to be in the net, I think you know what life is like aboard a small ship. There are no secrets between us. There can’t be.”
Otis sat almost at attention as he considered. “You’re right, Krys. You know, of course, what happened to the treaty mission.”
“We only saw the wreckage. Tarn, Stven, and I were there. We had hoped to rescue you, but I knew we were too late long before we arrived.”
Otis nodded. “We escaped, but someone had altered the navigation program. We ended up far from where we intended. We fled to the nearest world, a world classified as an emerging world. The Chessori tracked us, and a running battle that had begun at the treaty site continued.”
“Tracked!” Stven exclaimed. “I knew it.”
“You’ve seen it?”
“We’ve suspected it. And they have some way of calling ships through hyperspace.”