Dorg had tried to get them to see the danger represented by the humans, but they were just not listening. Then Terl, the top clan chief, stood up and silence reigned. Admiral, you are hereby stripped of your rank and are sentenced to five years in prison or until such time as the Alliance ends its restrictions concerning the humans. Consider yourself fortunate that more severe actions are not taken.
Two guards came up on each side and escorted him out of the room. As he left he shouted back, You have no idea of the danger they are to our existence.
After the Admiral was taken away, Terl asked the other members, Does anyone wish to add anything?
I do, said Krug, the chieftain of Dorgs clan. I agree with your punishment because he took these actions without consulting us, but the admiral has made several strong points about how the humans represent danger to our civilization. I also suspect that the only way the humans could have gotten this recording was to set up our ships to embarrass us and cause what happened. There had to be other Earth ships nearby.
Why do you think that, Clan Leader? Terl asked.
Who recorded this? Certainly not the ship that was destroyed; it didnt even try to defend itself when we know after the first attack that it was fully capable of doing so. There had to be another ship, or ships, present, and if there was, why didnt it come to the aid of the ship that was being attacked? I think they were there to record what happened and remove us from having access to them. I suspect that any information we learned from this encounter is worthless. They let us see what they wanted us to see. Theres one other important thing. Now that the former admiral has told us about the first attack, remember the photograph. That small ship destroyed two cruisers with their own missiles. Do we know how many ships they have? Do we know anything about their capabilities? Do you really think the Admiral wrong in his estimates? And one final item, do you think these humans have no ill will toward our race after we have attacked them three times? Krug sat down and the room was silent.
Terl sat for a dreg, contemplating what Krug had said, and then stood again and said, after careful thought, The safety of our civilization is our prime responsibility. You raise many unanswered questions here. The admiral was stupid and hasty; however, we may have been hasty in our condemnation and punishment. I think he was actually trying to protect our people from what these humans may be capable. Then Terl looked at the clan leaders and said, He already knows more about these humans than anyone we could replace him with. Thank you for your insight, Clan Leader Krug. I recommend we reinstate and place the admiral on probation and assign someone to watch him to make sure he keeps us informed of any future planned actions. He should be more informative after the punishment we just gave him. I would also recommend that since we cannot enter their territory that we get some of our friends in the Alliance to assist us in collecting intelligence about these humans. All in favor of this Everyone stood up. Its unanimous, he said. Lets see what we can find out.
Chapter 15
I nspector Connor was on Danielles display screen in her living quarters and was asking her questions before she went out with Tag. Do you really think this is a good idea?
Yes sir, I do, Danielle said. The interrogations at school turned up nothing. We know that our Superman has to be a student. So either we did not interrogate Superman, or he was able to manipulate the truth field. Before you removed all of the security personnel from the school, didnt you interrogate every student above the age of twelve?
Yes we did. Leave no rock unturned, I say. And youre right, we came up with nothing. Do you really think that the person were looking for could lie in a truth field and not be caught?
Logic screams that thats the only answer. If our Superman has the ability to see cameras views, then he must be able to detect different kinds of electronic fields. Is it a huge jump to consider that if he can detect them he might be able to manipulate them?
We started measuring for psychic ability after we left, but I dont know if thats going to work, Inspector Connor said. Do you still think that hes our best suspect to be Superman?
Im not sure. I was there when he was interrogated and he was very relaxed and at ease. Even the innocent would be worried if they were going to be questioned. There was something else that bothered me.
What was that?
One of his friends was being interrogated while we were sitting outside, and one of the questions he answered showed he was being dishonest when he was asked how old he was. He had answered correctly.
Was that the only issue you saw?
No sir. The student questioned after his friend had the interrogator stop the session and call for a technician to repair the truth field because it was not working properly. I noticed that after that Tag seem to be more at ease. I asked the technician later what caused the truth field failure. He said that when he checked it there was nothing wrong. He thought it might be a temporary electrical surge or something else that would throw it off.
What do you think, Miss Ash?
I dont want to sound crazy, but I think Tag was practicing on the students before he went in to see if he could manipulate the field.
You keep adding to our Supermans powers.
Sir, please tell me if you think Im wrong. A lot of these conclusions that I come up with seem to come out of nowhere, but they feel right. I cant tell you half the time how I arrive at them, and Im not always certain they are correct. If you think I am wrong or headed the wrong way please stop me. I know you have a lot more experience than I do, Danielle said.
Thats just it, Miss Ash. Theres no other explanation than what you have deduced. I dont want to believe that this person is capable of all the things we ascribe to him, but were left with no other alternative. What concerns me right now is that if youre right, youre about to place yourself in the hands of a very dangerous individual.
If Tag is Superman, I wont be in danger, she said.
You cant be certain of that.
I can be as certain of that as I am about any conclusion Ive made.
How?
Unfortunately, Inspector Connor, this particular conclusion was not done completely logically. Its something that I sense about him. He wont hurt me.
Even so, I want you to go armed.
Inspector Connor, if Tag is our Superman, he was able to disarm and kill four skilled criminals in six seconds. What chance do you think I would have to use any kind of weapon? And if I go armed and he sees the weapon, hell know Im with security because were the only ones allowed to legally carry them. It would blow my cover. Besides, I havent even begun my weapons training.
Okay, you shouldnt go armed, but I insist that you have a way to call for help. Go to your mail slot and remove a package youll find there.
Danielle did as he said and then opened the package. She pulled out a new com that looked exactly like the one she normally used. Inspector Connor said, This is your new com. This one is programmed with all the same numbers you currently have, except that if you press your thumb on the crystal display and rotate it clockwise, it will immediately activate a locator beacon for us to find you. Touching it with your thumb wont make it work; it has to be pressed down. It will also let us know that youre in trouble and need help. If youre out with him I am going to have floaters stationed around the city that can get to any place in less than sixty seconds. Thats how long youll have to delay for help to arrive.