He gave her a smile. “No, this force is not gathered to impress you. It, and us along with it, will leave for Ra’a’zani space tomorrow. And after, I will release you to go back to your people.”
“You think that that is wise? Starting a war with the Ra’a’zani, just as my people are to attack you?” Anessa asked guardedly. He paused, outwardly retaining his confident aura, but for a moment Anessa caught a stray emotion as it slipped through his blocks. He was unsure. She kept her new insight to herself and waited for an answer.
“There is plenty of time for us to deal with the Ra’a’zani before your people arrive,” Adrian said.
“My people have been at war with the Ra’a’zani for decades. What makes you think that you can do better?”
“You fought with only one of your Legions, and started the war with the Ra’a’zani at the height of their power. They are nowhere near as powerful now as they were then,” he said, and again a snippet slipped through—he was confident in his words.
Anessa narrowed her eyes at him. The human had a lot more information than what Anessa had told him. He knew about the particulars of her war on the Ra’a’zani, which could only mean that they had acquired that information from the Erasi. And it would be problematic if the Erasi were actively selling information to them.
“And how will I be returned to my people?” Anessa asked. “Your ships would not be allowed to leave our territory should you enter.”
“My ship will not be staying in the Ra’a’zani territory for long. We will visit Tarabat and I will purchase a ship for you. I assume that that will be adequate.”
Surprised, Anessa responded immediately, “Yes.”
The prospect of going back to her people immediately invigorated her; she had been approaching her limits. She knew that plans for the invasion of this Empire would already be in motion; the Elders wanted the sphere too much to wait. And if the Empire had dealings with the Erasi, that meant that their location was known. It wouldn’t take long for the Shara Daim to find out the Empire’s location. But over the time she had spent as prisoner, Anessa had learned a great deal, and she was no longer as sure that the Shara Daim could roll over the Empire as the Elders thought. They still believed that they were dealing with a weak race, one that had allowed itself to be enslaved by the Ra’a’zani. But even though she disagreed with their views, she knew that the attack had to come now, before the Empire had the chance to utilize more technologies from the sphere.
Adrian gave her another of his confident smiles and was just about to speak when one of his subordinates interrupted him.
“Lord Sentinel, we have an unauthorized trans-space transfer from the Luna lane,” the Nel said.
Adrian turned back to the holo just as its image changed to now show four ships sitting in the empty space. The markings and labels of the holo were unfamiliar to Anessa, but she quickly realized that what she was seeing was a trans-space entry point into this system. And she recognized the ships—three Erasi cruisers escorting one of their diplomatic vessels. She quickly moved her eyes across everything on the holo and stored all the information that she saw, just as the holo changed again and Adrian stepped into her line of sight.
“I apologize, but I’m afraid that our trip needs to be cut short. Let me escort you back to your quarters,” Adrian said, leading her away from the room.
Chapter Three
As soon as the doors to the prisoner’s quarters closed, two people stepped out from around the corner where they had been following out of sight. Adrian started walking towards the two, Akash and Sora following a few steps behind. One of them stood on his three tentacle-like legs; the other was Gotu, the Nel who was Adrian’s second in command. Both were waiting for Adrian, who walked with languid, confident steps. As soon as Adrian reached them, they started walking back towards the command hub.
“So, what do you think, teacher?” Adrian asked the tall Sowir telepathically.
“You were correct. Even with your device, she can sense you telepathically,” Lurker of the Depths said.
“What did he say?” Gotu asked, sounding annoyed, as he felt left out of the conversation without telepathy.
“That I was correct,” Adrian answered.
“Good, at least we have that going for us. Were you successful?” Gotu asked.
Adrian turned to Lurker of the Depths and quirked his eyebrow. “Well?”
“She did not realize your deceptions. She believed the ‘telepathic leaks’ to be genuine,” Lurker of the Depths responded.
“Good. And what about the arrival of the Erasi?” Adrian sent.
“You don’t need me to tell you that she noticed what you wanted her to notice. Your two people have much in common in how you express your emotions.”
“True that. Now I just need to make sure that I don’t give away too much and make her suspicious,” Adrian sent.
“Your telepathic ability is superior to hers. She might have more power, but she lacks finesse,” Lurker of the Depths sent back.
“Good, because in every other Sha ability, she is leagues ahead of me. The only reason I survived our battle was because of our numbers advantage and because she was trying to capture me unharmed. She could have crushed me like paper in her hand if she so wished,” Adrian sent.
“It is good that you acknowledge your limits,” Lurker of the Depths sent.
They walked in silence, with Lurker of the Depths drawing looks from the Nel residents of Olympus Mons as they walked past.
“There is still a great deal of distrust pointed at my people,” Lurker of the Depths sent.
“You can’t expect them to forget. Just them accepting you as a part of the Empire, no matter how unofficial your status, is a great step forward,” Adrian responded.
“I know,” Lurker of the Depths responded, sending a glimpse into the abyss of regret he felt for his people’s actions in the past. “What we have done might never be forgiven. We understand that. And yet, those of us who remain are stalwart in our desire to make amends.”
“Gotu has accepted you. Others will too,” Adrian sent.
“He might be willing to work with my kind, but it is only out of his respect for you. He feels the same anger as the others of his kind,” Lurker of the Depths sent regrettably.
Adrian was surprised, since it was something he hadn’t noticed. His telepathy might have had the potential to be more powerful than that of his teacher, but he was still not at the level of Lurker of the Depths. The Sowir’s only means of communication was through telepathy, and they had become very good at it. And Lurker of the Depths was Sowir’s greatest and most powerful telepath.
Telepathy was an amazing tool, but it was not what Adrian had imagined it would be before he gained it. A person with telepathy could not read the mind of another, at least not easily. And it was near impossible for a telepath to retrieve information from someone who didn’t also have telepathy. That required multiple powerful telepaths working in concert.
And reading the mind of another telepath required both knowledge and power, and even then it was extremely hard. At most one could get at the information that the person didn’t value much. Things that were truly important to a telepath were buried deep and protected well.
Adrian had learned long ago how to skim through the surface thoughts of non-telepaths, how to put ‘noise’ into their minds in order to distract. But doing the same with another telepath was tricky. They usually had defenses against such things, and were far more sensitive to any kind of invasion. And while Adrian was a great telepath according to the Sowir standards, he still wasn’t as good as his teacher in the arts of reading another telepath’s mind without them realizing it. Which was why Adrian had called the older Sowir to help him.