Counter-Measures

  :'What's happened, Ryman?" 'Attempted sabotage. " :'Rotted Gods. Targans?

  No, sir. Master Nyklos." Sinklar stiffened. "Staffa! "

  I IHe's fine. " And for added emphasis, "No one gets close to him on my watch.

  The deep-space comm dish, however, was a different matter. I guess Nyklos didn't think I'd keep a sentry up there."

  :'The dish is still operable?"

  'Yes, sir. We got him as he was placing a grenade on one of the tower legs. We found four more in his pack." Sink rubbed the back of his neck. "Why? He . . .

  All

  right. Send someone over to the Seddi dome and drag Bruen out. Where have you got Nyklos? "

  :'Ops dome. The med techs are working on him now." 'Med techs? "

  IHe's missing a leg. Tried to run and the STU up there stopped him. "

  I IMy compliments to your people. Let's drop a little Mytol between his lips and see what he's got to say. And, Ryman, I want that bastard Bruen in there, too."

  "Yes, sir. "

  Sinklar turned, meeting Adze's eyes. "God-damned Seddi. If there's trouble, they're at the root of it."

  "I've developed a respect for their philosophy," Adze admitted candidly.

  "All right. If there's trouble, Bruen's at the bottom of it.

  "What will you do next?"

  "Bring an end to it. Once and for all. I'm tired of Seddi conspiracy. Excuse me, Bruen's conspiracy. What started on Targa is going to end here." He looked up at the night sky shot with stars, then down at the dirt that still smudged the skin on his hands. Like it should have when they killed you, Gretta.

  "With respect, sir, shouldn't you wait for the Lord Commander to-"

  "I want it now, Adze. I'll deal with Staffa when he awakens.

  CHAPTER 31

  At this writing, I find myself completely baffled. I've just left an engineering skull session. I called the meeting immediately upon receipt of the latest transmission from Targa. The missive involved consisted of a complex design schematic based on the current configuration of Countermeasures. The personal note from the Lord Commander informed me that if we redesigned Countermeasures to the specs in the schematics, the Forbidden Borders would be vanquished within months instead of the years it now looks like it will take for us to construct a reliable means to disrupt the gravitational barriers. All that just to distort the fields enough to slip a ship through without suffering from the tidal effects.

  The Lord Commander's faith aside, I and my team have been poring over the design for hours, trying to decide what it could possibly do for us or for the achievement of our goal.

  Basically, the blueprint calls for the addition of another two matter/antimatter reactors to double the electromagnetic generation capabilities. The null singularity generator is to be removed and a second reaction rocket with bounce-back collars installed to double available thrust.

  Along with an upgrade of powerlead to handle the increased current, a hemispherical shell of graphsteel and sialon containing impregnated iron-the whole plated with pure copper-is required. Most notable is the reversible polarity diode through which we have to pass the current. The final curiosity is a complex navigational system which rivals that aboard Chrysla, yet is tied into the subspace net through a series of thoroughly insulated computers.

  Is this thing supposed to operate on remote control? Very well, I'm smart enough to realize he's building a

  gigantic electromagnet. How gigantic? The dish on this thing is eighty-eight kilometers across. The engineering challenges for this project are among the most dauntmg' we've ever undertaken, almost as desperate as the Forbidden Borders themselves. At least we can build it within the time frame specified-assuming we can get the raw materials delivered to us regularly and on time.

  I have served my Lord Commander all of my life, and I will continue to do so.

  If Staffa wants me to build him a zero g fountain that spouts molten lead and frozen ammonia , I'll accept the task and give my complete application to the completion of the project.

  For now, I and my team must trust our Lord Commander, perplexed though we may be. With this device, we can manipulate elect:rical charge and reverse polarity at will. If I were to guess, we could manipulate objects with electromagnetic qualities, but what good will that do? Surely Staffa doesn't intend to sling nickel-iron asteroids at the Borders! To break them, we need to deal with neutronic mass and gravity fields not electromagnetic force.

  My question in this instance-which will remain unarticulated-is: Lord Commander, I'll build your giant electromagnetic device, but what in Rot is it supposed to do? And how does that help us to break the Forbidden Borders?

  -Excerpt from Dee Wall's personal journal

  Sinklar stepped into the ops dome, passing through the main room where staff and STU waited, expressions serious. Sinklar stopped long enough to draw a cup of stassa and then proceeded into the room guarded by two shiny STU.

  Nyklos lay on a medical antigrav, two techs bandaging the stump that ended at mid-thigh. Despite the pain suppression, Nyklos' dark eyes had a bright glaze to them. Muscles on his strong jaw had knotted and sweat beaded on his face.

  "Is he coherent?" Sinklar asked one of the techs. "Yes, sir. "

  Sinklar leaned over, searching the Seddi's eyes. "Why?"

  Nyklos swallowed hard. "Go lick pus with your disgusting father."

  Sinklar nodded. "You just laid down the rules, Master. Live by them." He turned to the tech. "How stable will he be in the next hour?"

  6A little shocky. " The woman gave him a grim look. We've replaced the blood he lost. The pain won't be so bad-but you can't fool the brain."

  :'What would Mytol do to him?"

  'No!" Nyklos cried, struggling before Adze flattened him with an armored forearm.

  The tech pondered a moment, obviously worried. "It won't kill him. It might make a little more work for us down the line. " "Bring him to the conference room next door as soon as you can."

  "Yes, sir.

  When Sinklar stepped out, Ark's people were guiding Bruen's medical gurney into the room. Sinklar gestured to the conference room door.

  Ark entered a moment later, muffled anger in the set of his dark features.

  "Good call, Lord Fist. He'd managed to shut down his life-support system.

  Another couple of minutes, and who knows if we'd have arrived in time."

  "STO, call me Sinklar. I hate that Lord Fist business. We need a link to Itreata. Magister Dawn needs to hear this and to concur with my judgment. "

  Ark laid a hand on Sinklar's arm and lowered his voice. "Sir, you're in charge. I'm well aware of that. But don't you think Staffa should be apprised?"

  "Ryman, he left administration as my responsibility. Does he have to do everything? Besides, this involves Nyklos. I think he'd appreciate having someone else handle it. You know how they feel about each other. I'm not that familiar with the Seddi situation, but leaving Staffa out of it might avoid troubled waters down the line. Kaylla will participate for the Seddi. Nothing will happen without her approval. "

  Ark continued to give him an unyielding squint. "Ryman, I've got to start shouldering the load sometime. I might as well do it now. The responsibility has been given to me. I'll hold up my end."

  Ark finally acquiesced. "All right, sir."

  Sinklar entered the conference room, and Bruen gave him a hate-filled look.

  "What is this about, monster?"

  "I hear you were so desperate you turned off your life' support. "

  Bruen slumped back into his gurney. "I've nothing to say to the likes of you.

  "

  At that moment, Kaylla's face formed. She looked as if she'd just been called from sleep. "Forgive me for interrupting you, Magister. We have a problem here. Nyklos tried to blow up the deep-space dish. He was shot when he ran but is alive. "

  " Nyklos? " Kaylla asked, shock in her tan eyes. "Why?" "We don't know yet. As soo *n as they bring the Master in, we're going to put him u
nder Mytol.

  "Where is Staffa?"

  "Asleep. This last session under the helmet left him so weak we had to take him out by antigrav. "

  When she nodded, her brown hair bobbed. "And you wish to take care of it now?"

  Sinklar settled himself at the table, clasping his hands before him. "I'm not crazy about any of this. However, if there's trouble, we'd better know sooner than later. "

  "I see. Yes, go ahead." She stared miserably. "Nyklos? He was my right hand here."

  The Master heard as he was trucked in. The expression on his face showed terrible anguish. At the sound of Kaylla's voice, he groaned and shut his eyes.

  Kaylla craned her neck, trying to see the Seddi. Sinklar gestured to the techs who positioned him where Kaylla could see him.

  "Nyklos?" Kaylla almost cried. "I thought we agreed?" "We did." He looked up.

  "You won't need the Mytol. I'll tell the truth. It doesn't matter anymore.

  I've lost it all. Failed the people. "

  "Shut up, you idiot," Bruen growled.

  "Let him talk," Sinklar ordered. "We'll hear it all anyway. Whether it's freely or under Mytol. "

  When Nyklos spoke, it was to Kaylla. "Bruen kept bringing up Staffa. About how he was sleeping with you as well as with Skyla."

  "What?" Kaylla whispered in disbelief, a stricken expression on her face.

  1 'Well, you didn't just talk philosophy in that shipping crate, did you? He saved your life, didn't he? You've been going to his rooms every time Skyla was out of sight. Did you expect me to simply turn Free Space over to you and your lover? "

  A range of emotions could be read on Kaylla's face, pain, anger, but the most powerful was betrayal.

  Nyklos shot a pleading glance at Kaylla. "Shut up with him day after day, I wondered what could have turned the man I once loved and respected into such an angry and bitter man. From the way he talked, I came to the conclusion it was the machine. The more I listened to him, I realized that maybe he wasn't so wrong. After all, that's what your appointment to Magister is about, isn't it? Keeping Staffa's physical urges satisfied so that the Seddi are cared for?

  "

  Nyklos swallowed hard. "And then, this afternoon, after Staffa's decision to use the machine, Bruen asked me what I thought I owed him. He reminded me of my parentskilled at Staffa's hands. Of the time when Bruen found me on the slave block and saved me. Since I owed him my life, I agreed to destroy the machine. "

  Sinklar asked, "You had five grenades. One was placed on the subspace dish.

  What about the others?"

  Nyklos nodded, sweat trickling down his face. "One for the dish, three for the machine, and one for the Star Butcher. "

  Across the room, both Ark and Adze had stiffened. "Miserable idiot!" Bruen cried angrily.

  Kaylla's head had bowed, as defeated as Sinklar had ever seen her.

  Sinklar crossed his arms. "Had you been here alone, would you have come to this decision?"

  Nyklos shrugged, resistance dead in his flat expression. "In all honesty, I probably would have swallowed my hatred for Staffa kar Therma and followed my instructions. I wouldn't have known about Kaylla's affair with Staffa." He glanced up. "I'm sorry, Magister. I guess I . . . " His breath caught. "Why did you have to share your bed with him?"

  Kaylla blinked, battling frustrated tears. "I didn't, you simple fool. Of all the men in Free Space, I could never. . . " She placed clenched fists over her face. "Of all the ways you could hurt me, Nyklos, this is the worst.

  "Who else is involved?" Sinklar asked.

  "Bruen and 1, we're the only two here. You don't need to go on a crusade on my account." He glanced over to where Bruen glared like a trapped shimmer skin.

  "Unless you've got others, Bruen. " Nyklos bit his lip, eyes clamped tightly closed.

  "Magister?" Sinklar asked.

  Kaylla sat quietly-the most wretched of expressions on her face.

  Ark asked, "Master Nyklos, where did you get the grenades?"

  "Inside the mountain," Nyklos whispered. "Took them off a corpse when no one was looking."

  "They're Regan ordnance," Ark added. "Why not pick up a blaster while you were at it?"

  "How would I hide a . . . All right. I put one in a desk. Inside the mountain.

  Down in the old Masters' quarters. It used to be Wilm's room. You'll find it there. I would have used it to take out Staffa's security when the grenades went off. That should have awakened him if nothing else did." Ark's eyes had begun to burn.

  "I know nothing about this," Bruen protested. "He's wounded. Deranged."

  Sinklar rubbed his face. "I doubt the Master is that deranged. Even through shock, I think he's told the truth." Nyklos had turned his head to gape at Bruen in disbelief. Sinklar continued to watch Kaylla. She looked like she'd been kicked in the belly. "Ryman, double the compound security. Keep them frosty. We can't afford a mistake now. " "Yes, sir! " Ark lifted his belt comm, speaking in low tones.

  Sinklar bit his lip, then approached the monitor. "Magister, whose jurisdiction are we dealing with? What's protocol in this situation?"

  "We don't have one," she said tonelessly. "This is a ... a new situation."

  Sinklar glanced at Bruen. "I have never relinquished the office of military governor of Targa. As concerns Bruen, he faces charges of inciting revolution, social disorder-"

  "You can't!" Bruen cried.

  --murder, arson, vandalism, the destruction of property, assault, and mayhem.

  " Sink paused. "And I'm adding defamation of character. "

  ' 'What are you getting at? " Kaylla looked like she was about to shatter and only hung on by a frayed thread of control.

  "I want him tried in a civil court on Targa. The time has come to govern by law instead of force." Sinklar studied her. "Isn't that what a new epistemology is all about?"

  :'What if they put him under Mytol? "

  'Let them! You tried. Surely Targan courts are no more skilled than Seddi psychologists. What could he tell them? The secrets of the Seddi? That's sure to get him fried faster than saying nothing. Warn them about the Mag Comm? All of Free Space will know we've employed the machine in a couple of hours.

  Frighten them the way he did Nyklos? Perhaps, but I doubt his confessions would be taken as more than the ravings of a crazy old man. "

  Kaylla's anguish was so evident, it was painful for Sinklar to see it.

  Nevertheless, he continued, "He set off a revolt on this planet that killed over one hundred thousand people, Magister. "

  "At the machine's bidding!" Bruen insisted.

  "That didn't mean you didn't have your own free will, Bruen. That didn't mean you had to instigate the butchery of all those people. And for what purpose?

  To lure Staffa kar Therma close enough so you could use Arta Fera to assassinate him? "

  Sinklar throttled his rage. "I was outside Vespa when the call came that we had trouble. I was visiting a grave, Bruen. The woman I loved. Arta killed her for no other reason than that she was Regan. Gretta had gone to Fera's cell to try and talk to her, to comfort her after Butla Ret's death. And for that act of mercy, she was beaten to death."

  He turned his attention back to Kaylla. "We have to start somewhere, Magister.

  And as much as I'd enjoy paying Bruen back, making him suffer the way the rest of us did, I'm willing to let the civil courts do it. Where do you stand?

  "Fist is a monster!" Bruen rasped. "Half human, half beast! I should have dashed his pustulous brains out the day I got him!"

  Kaylla rubbed her face with trembling hands, finally nodding. "Yes, we must start somewhere. Very well, I agree. What of Nyklos?"

  "We want him. " Ark raised a fist. "The Companions have their own code for attempted assassination."

  "No." Sinklar locked gazes with Ark. For long moments, neither gave. The only sound in the room came from Bruen as he cursed them.

  In a voice like controlled ice, Ark asked, "Why not?" "Because Companion codes are not
the only consideration. We're working with the Seddi now. Magister Dawn has an interest here as well." Sinklar asked Kaylla, "What are your policies concerning disobedience?"

  In a lackluster voice, she responded, "It depends on the infraction. In Nyklos' case, execution. "

  "That settles it," Ark cut in immediately. "I'll take him out and shoot him."

  "Patience, Ryman." Sinklar glanced up at Kaylla. "We should establish a joint tribunal. We'll try him when we return to Itreata. "

  "But Lord Fist! " Ark protested.

  I'No, Ryman. " Sinklar raised a hand. "If I am to be part of this new epistemology I hear so much about, then, Gods Rot it, we'll codify the whole process and make sure each person gets the same shake. Let Nyklos face his accusers and defend himself. And, Ryman, if Staffa disagrees, I'll back off on this. Fair enough?"

  "Why?" Ryman demanded. "We've heard his confession. What trial on Itreata would decide differently?" "None." Kaylla said from the monitor. "But Lord Fist

  is right in this instance. If nothing else, STO, it will give us all time to cool off. It's a means to keep from making mistakes. I agree with Lord Fist."

  "But, Lady," Ark protested. "Nyklos will make these same silly accusations about you and the Lord Commander! Why go through it?"

  Kaylla waved him down. "Let him. I'll get over the hurt, Ryman. I'll even take Mytol if he wishes and let him interrogate me about how I feel about Staffa-and even about what occurred in that shipping crate. My testimony under the drug will only solidify the verdict against him. "

  A choked sound came from Nyklos as he stared in terror at Kaylla. "But you and Staffa . . . "

  " Never, " she told him in a broken-glass voice. "If you had to hurt me, Nyklos, why didn't you simply knife me from behind?"

  Sinklar sighed. "Then that's taken care of. Magister Dawn, forgive us for placing you in such trying circumstances. "

  "Forgive me," Nyklos called out. "Kaylla, please?" She cut the connection.

  Ark walked over, eyes like smoldering obsidian. "What next, sir? "

  Sinklar picked up his stassa and drank. "Keep these two under observation.

  I'll take Bruen into Kaspa tomorrow and give them a deposition. "

  Ark nodded and rapped out a salute. "As you wish, Lord Fist. "