Ily looked skeptical.
“No, you don’t understand the implications!” Adam waved his hands nervously, a fanatical gleam in his eyes. “It’s as if someone sat down and designed an entirely new human being-and did it so well that it could still produce a viable offspring!”
“Designed? Not just random recombination?” “No, this was done on purpose-an artifact.” He stiffened. “Rotted Gods.
“What?"
Adam’s lips quivered. “We can’t do this! Not even the best computers we have could interpret the different possibilities of potential viable offspring from a single mating, let alone one that would be viable in a random. He shook his head, baffled. “It’s impossible! “
“But it’s here on the screen before you. That’s taken from a specimen, isn’t it?” At his dazed nod, Ily asked, “But from who?”
Adam shrugged and lifted his hands. “So far, the only way you have the specimen identified is as Fl. On the other hand, looking back at the parental types, they’ve got a catalog number from our vaults. But I can tell you right now, they’re not the parents of the mysterious Fl. The male was Targan and the female Etarian. The maternal contribution to Ana’s subject was Ashtan. It’s the paternal genetic source that’s the real question. “
“So the father was the real clone?”
“Perhaps. At this stage of investigation, it’s hard to say. I need more data! Curse you, Ana, why didn’t you show this to me?” He bent over like a hunting heron, eyes on the screen.
“Who are the parental types? You said you had a catalog number.” Ily crossed her arms, fascinated by Adam’s sudden obsession with the data.
“Forget them, they don’t matter. They didn’t have anything to do with the genetics of Fl.”
Ily reached down and yanked Adam back. “Their identity, Professor. Now!” Bokken had come to stand behind her, his slablike face inscrutable. Adam seemed to retreat from the thorny problem of the DNA.
“Yes, yes. Just a moment.” He used a pull-down menu and tapped in instructions.
“Working,” the machine intoned.
Adam drifted away again, his gaze devouring the DNA on the screen.
Ily bent down as data flashed on the computer screen. Her heart began to pound as she read: SUBJECT IDENTIFICATIONS REQUESTED: FIRST SUBJECT 11768-BQ TANYA FIST; SECOND SUBJECT 11768-BR VALIENT FIST. SEE FILESI CRSREF SEDDIICRSREF ASSASSIN.
Ily straightened. “Bokken. I’ll have a team here immediately. Until further notice, this lab is sealed. Professor Adam will figure this out. Anything he wants, he gets, but he is not to leave this laboratory under any circumstance. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. What about Anatolia Daviura?”
“If she appears again, you are to arrest her immediately. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The thick carpet gave under Mykroft’s feet as he padded down the corridor to the operations room. There, he placed his palm to the lock plate and the door slipped open to admit him into a brightly lit computer room. One wall displayed a holographic situation board which depicted the terrain around Tercee Estate in real-time three dimensions. Dots of light indicated the disposition of various forces.
“How’s it look?” Mykroft asked.
“Excellent,” Sampson Henck responded from where he bent over a holo tank which magnified and augmented portions of the main board. “Ily really came through. She must have someone over in Comm Central who can pull strings. We’re reading this right off the master battle comm.”
Ily has people everywhere. Mykroft walked over and checked over Tie Arnson’s shoulder. The First was running simulations making subtle changes to the tactical dispersion of two Groups in a wooded marsh.
“If I could have your attention for a moment?” Mykroft glanced around, seeing his people look up. “I just talked to Ily on the comm. Gentlemen, this is it. Our baptism by fire has come. Last night, the Sixth Sylenian and Tenth Etarian landed their forces in the positions you see on the map. Ily’s people have spoken to both of the Division Firsts. Control of their Divisions will be routed directly through our comm in this room. Today, we fight Sinklar Fist. Let’s beat him at his own game.”
“How long until the exercise begins?” Rick asked, a serious set to his thin face.
“Less than ten minutes.” Mykroft slapped a hand against his thigh. “Gentlemen, we can’t afford a mistake. We’ve studied Fist’s tactics ... even in our sleep. Today, we must win, or at least fight him to a draw.”
“Why don’t I like the tone in your voice?” Henck asked.
“Because the timetable may be moved up by at least a month. It seems Sinklar is causing problems. We have to be ready to take over at a moment’s notice.99
“Could you come with me?” Sinklar asked the two guards outside of his personal office.
The smartly dressed young woman looked nervously at her companion, then told Sinklar, “We’re not supposed to leave our post, sir.99
Sinklar smiled. “You have new orders. This way, please. “
He beckoned and led them through the offices. The powder-blue hallway bustled with activity. Two Groups from First Section worked to erect energy barriers around the doorway to Sinklar’s palatial quarters. Charged blasters rested conspicuously in the Sergeant Firsts’ arms as they supervised and called instructions. More heavy shoulder weapons were stacked against the expensive cobalt blue finish and in the wall niches where techs labored to install monitors.
“You’re officially dismissed,” Sinklar told his Imperial Guards. “Go take the afternoon off. Enjoy yourselves. You’ll be paid for another two weeks. At the end of that time, we’ve got a place for you in the military, if you’d like.”
The woman’s jaw dropped. “You can’t just dismiss the Imperial Guard!”
Sinklar frowned, scuffing the carpet with his toe. “Is that right? And why not?”
“ Why ... why, there’s been an Imperial Guard for over three hundred years! My grandfather was one of the first!” the young man protested.
“And you’re the last. You’ve just finished a family tradition.” Sinklar crossed his arms. “You’ve got the afternoon off-and on me to boot. Skip out of here and don’t come back.” Sinklar started to turn away and then paused. “Oh, and tell your commanding officer on the way out, will you? You can even take him along if you’d like. “
At that, Sinklar pointed a finger at the Sergeant First who had just seen to the settling of an energy barrier. “First, you and four of your people, come with me.”
They snapped to attention, trotting forward. ‘Buchman, isn’t it? Third Section?”
‘Yes, sir!” Buchman replied smartly.
Sinklar nodded. “You were with Hauws when he took out Weebouw.”
Buchman’s voice dropped. “Yes, sir. I was there.” Sinklar recalled. Buchman, a private at the time, had worked the four-man gun that had taken out Weebouw’s headquarters. Buchman had been the only survivor on the ridge. Sink led him through the offices. “I want four people in here, armed at all times. He passed the guards’ station, stating, “Another two here.” In his personal quarters, he passed through the dining room while Buchman and the privates gaped, and stepped into his bedroom.
Anatolia lay on the sleeping platform, dead to the world. Sinklar pointed and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Sergeant First, the security of this office is half of your responsibility. She’s the other half. No matter what, nothing happens to her.”
“Yes, sir. “
Sinklar led the way back into the hallway and stared at the fortifications. “I guess if Ily’s gonna break in here now, she’s going to need a Division.”
Buchman nodded. “Yeah, but you know, some of those guys we’ve been training have started to catch on. “
Sinklar sucked at his lower lip, frowning. “What happened yesterday?”
Buchman stuck thumbs in his weapons belt. “Dion Axel and Mayz fought a couple of new Divisions that just shipped in. Guess they had
the strategy down pretty good for Regulars, but they lost it because of their people on the ground. Seems the Groups and Sections couldn’t quite comprehend what the HQ was telling them. “
“What else? You’ve got a hesitant look on your face. “
Buchman made a face. “Just scuttlebutt, sir, but Dion was worried. Seems she knew both of these Division Firsts ... and she didn’t think that much of hem, if you know what I mean, sir.”
“ What did she say? Did you hear?”
“Yeah, I was in the situation room. Dion, she’s pretty canny, you know? Sharp. She kept frowning, staring at the situation board with her arms crossed. When it was all over, she shook her head and muttered, ‘They’re not that bright. It’s almost as if.they’re being orchestrated.’
Gysell walked into Ily’s office from the internal lift. The length of time since his last shave could be judged by the black shadow of beard on his thick cheeks. The corners of his lips twitched as he padded across Ily’s carpet, each step swirling the colors.
Ily saved the file on her computer as he approached. “Something’s come up?”
Gysell’s control broke, and a smile bent his lips. “You might say that.” He handed her a data cube. “This just came in on subspace. Cryptography decoded it and patched it through to me first thing. It’s from our operative on Imperial Sassa.”
Ily took the cube between thumb and forefinger, inserting it into her comm. She watched as the report played through, and afterward she stared blankly at the screen, long fingertips tapping on the polished surface of her desk.
Finally she looked up. “Do you think their assessment is accurate?”
The lines at the corners of Gysell’s eyes tightened. “I think so. MacRuder might have just handed us the entire Sassan Empire. The report was very specific. The damage caused by Gyton’s attack and the freighter they drove into the planet is devastating. At best, hkn can only scramble a ship heire ur theTe. He might be able to try what wejust did-a suicide attack on a planet-but little more. MacRuder’s attack, limited as it was, has crippled Sassa for the near future.”
Ily exhaled and sank back into her chair. “It’s hard to believe that they were that close to collapse.” Gysell reminded her, “We’re not that far behind.
Not when you take a real look at our systems. A similar disaster, say a major strike on the capital, would devastate our own ability to administer and mount a military offensive. Too much is centralized.”
Ily swiveled in her chair and stood, absently brushing at the creases in her black suit. “But assuming we vigilantly guard ourselves, avoid fat Sassa’s mistake, who do we have to fear? Only the Companions.”
Oysell straightened, touching his fingertips together
as he watched her from under lowered eyelids. “I wouldn’t want to underestimate the Companions.”
“Perhaps the time has come to contact Staffa again. He’s had time to stew, perhaps to regret his rash words. Even if taking Lyma has spurred him to ready his fleet, by the time he can space, he knows I’ll have had time to interrogate her. She’s the second in command at Itreata. Think of what she knows, Gysell!”
Ily clapped her hands together with satisfaction. “With Lyma in our hands, we’ll know everything about Itreata-perhaps enough that we won’t even need Sinklar to make his strike against Ryklos to lure Staffa out. “
“I assume you’ve reviewed the exercise Mykroft conducted against Sinklar’s Firsts?”
Ily chewed at her thumbnail. “I did. Mykroft was upset with his performance. 1, on the other hand, thought he did marvelously. We’ll see what happens tomorrow when I patch him through to some of the retrained Divisions. When you watch the tapes, Gysell, Mykroft didn’t do that badly. His troops simply didn’t have the skill to carry out his commands.”
“Perhaps. But getting back to Staffa, he will be the next serious problem we face.”
“Until we have Skyla Lyma under our probes, there’s no sense in trying to formulate a policy. But, Gysell, with Sassa neutralized as a threat, we’re closer than I thought we’d be. And depending on what Lyma tells us, we might have the key to the Companions.” She gave him a ravishing smile. “Within months, we could be the sole rulers of Free Space.”
His grin widened. “I thought you’d appreciate that report from Imperial Sassa.”
Ily waved him away. “That will be all. for now, Gysell. Thank you. You’ve really improved my whole day. “
Gysell inclined his head to her and strolled back toward the lift. Ily savored the heady sensation of triumph. Sassa? Prostrate? Vulnerable? How incredibly delicious!
She threw her arms out and whirled around in circles, her hair streaming out as she pirouetted around the room, laughing until she became dizzy.
She stopped then, regained her senses, and walked to the desk. “Very well, Staffa. Let’s see if you’ve decided to talk coherently now.” She settled herself in her cushioned chair and steepled her fingers. “Comm, connect on subspace with Itreata. I would like to speak with the Lord Commander, Staffa kar Therma.”
“Acknowledged, Minister Takka. We’re establishing the link now. It will be several moments.”
“I understand.”
Ily closed her eyes, imagining the Sassans as they scrambled to overcome the damage done. Her agents had been very thorough. MacRuder had crashed a huge freighter into the planet at almost a third of lightspeed. The giant Sassan military base had disappeared in an explosion that had cracked the planet’s crust. Imperial Sassa’s resources were strained to the limit in coping with earthquakes, fallout, and climatic fluctuations caused by the debris blown into the atmosphere. The planet’s entire agricultural production had been laid waste by freezing temperatures. The population balanced on the precarious edge of famine and frost, their services cut, and social order maintained by a thread. The rest of the Sassan Empire now struggled to save their capital and its overextended population.
“Minister?” Comm interrupted her thoughts. “I have Itreata Comm on subspace.”
“Very well.” Ily composed herself as she leaned forward and stared into a woman’s expressionless face. “Good day. I am Minister Ily Takka and I would like to speak with the Lord Commander.”
The Itreatic comm operator’s expression remained unfazed. “I am requested to inquire if you have released Wing Commander Skyla Lyma.”
“That is exactly what I would like to discuss with the Lord Commander.”
“Has the Wing Commander been released?”
Ily began to bristle. “I will discuss that with the Lord Commander. Do I need to repeat myself?”
The woman didn’t even flinch. “You do not, Minister Takka. Nevertheless, I have my instructions. The Lord Commander has ordered me to tell you that he has nothing to discuss until the Wing Commander has been freed.” She looked down at a monitor. “His exact words are, ‘Until that time, you’re wasting your breath.’ I’m sorry, Minister, but those are the Lord Commander’s orders.”
“I see. Then I suggest you tell him that when he wishes to discuss the situation, he can Rotted well contact me. I won’t play games. Good day.”
Ily cut the connection and fought to control her welling anger. “You thrice-cursed maggot, Staffa, what sort of game are you playing? Have you written Lyma off? Is that it, you cold bastard? Or are you gambling, betting that I’ll break before you do?”
A prickling of unease had begun to eat at Ily’s sense of triumphant euphoria. She glanced down at the data cube Gysell had given her-and threw it across the room to shatter against her expensive paneling.
“I am often asked, ‘How do the Seddi perceive the universe? What is the purpose of existence? How does this unpredictable universe relate to God Mind?’
“We believe that God created this universe when it became aware—conscious, if you will. And, yes, the universe, as a reflection of God itself, has a purpose: our universe is God’s way of learning about itself. From a teleological point of view, we currently believe through our limited kn
owledge that our universe will one day collapse into a gravitational singularity. When that happens, duality will cease and every particle of mass energy will be returned to the Godhead.
“In a way, this is an ingenious manner of obtaining knowledge. God Mind learns from every observation and from every permutation of the universe spawned by observation. What we observe as a stochastic process of evolution, is, in effect, a means of not only powering the universe, but of examining every aspect and permutation of a problem. To the supernaturalists who demand miracles, can one offer anything more miraculous than this? In one masterstroke, God has powered the universe through uncertainty, randomization, and free will, yet It gains all the benefits from multiple solutions which play out in multiple universes.
“The concept becomes problematic to those who insist that human beings, by some arcane reasoning, should be capable of knowing everything there is to know. Alas, my friends, we are limited in time and sensory capacity. We can model, predict, and analyze, and describe those results to our colleagues and heirs. Even then, we are crippled in our ability to communicate through our language. (Processes are poorly discussed by means of nouns and verbs-only mathematics is somewhat applicable in this instance.) Emotional pleas aside, true knowledge will only be the province of God Mind.
“Around us, we see a miracle: our Universe. For those who seek illumination, consider this. You’ve been enculturated to perceive a duality, a split between the supernatural and the physical, Our science, however, teaches that one cannot exist without the other. A ceramic cutting tool might appear solid, but in the realm of the quanta, solidity vanishes into electron clouds and subatomic forces. Solidity is but a shadow of mostly vacuous atomic interactions. If you would view the universe through new eyes, you must scourge this duality from your thoughts. The mystical and physical are one, both reflections of God’s creation and purpose, from the largest to the smallest.”