Spectra's Gambit (37 page)

“What is the situation?” I asked.

“Our shields are eighty per cent depleted –” he began, but was cut off by a report informing him that the shields had recovered completely and were far more powerful than previously.

“The shields are being dealt with. What else is there to report?” I asked.

He took a deep breath and said, “Thank you, Grandmaster. I don’t know what exactly happened; it makes no sense to me. The Phareon government sent a demand for taxes, and when I said we could not pay what they were asking their fleet jumped in and demanded our immediate surrender. When we did not comply right away, they launched an attack.”

“What of our allies out here?” I asked.

“They cannot get any fleets out here in time, but they are willing to launch counter-attacks against other stations to draw our attackers away. The problem is that this station is likely to fall before they can do that. The government forces moved too fast for us.”

“This station will not fall. Get the government representative on the communicator, and also the leaders of our allies, and let us see if we can resolve this. Do not mention my presence yet,” I said.

While Doctor Hawthorne attempted to arrange this discussion, Mathorn sent over our telepathic network,
“Grandmaster, they are attempting to overwhelm the shields with focus fire.”

“Any sign of boarders?”
I asked.

“Not yet, Grandmaster,”
sent Shadow.
“But I am sure we have some intruders. It would have been easy for them to board covertly ahead of this attack, and if we assume they want control of this station instead of merely destroying it, they would need to have boarders already in place.”

“Keep watch for them. I want to do all we can to prevent a fight in the corridors of this hospital
,
”
I sent.

The government official was arguing with Doctor Hawthorne, unwilling to entertain anything but complete surrender.

“Shadow, drain the energy from all the power stores on the attacking ships,”
I sent. I knew their power plants would recharge their stores in a few hours, but this would temporarily remove their ability to attack and hopefully give them a
reason to talk.

“Done,”
sent Shadow.

“We have lost communication with the Phareon fleet,” said Doctor Hawthorne.

“Give them a few minutes to get some emergency power online and they will contact you again, I am sure. Hopefully they will be more willing to talk this time,” I said.

Doctor Hawthorne smiled. “What did you do?”

“Me? Nothing, but Shadow drained all their power so they are helpless at the moment. It will be a few hours before they can attack again,” I said.

“Amazing: you just stopped an entire fleet without harming a single person,” he said.

“Stopped? No, delayed only. If they press this we may have to fight, but let us continue on the path of peace as far as possible,” I said.

“I agree,” he replied.

Not long after that the government official contacted the station again, and this time Doctor Hawthorne was able to convince him to attend the peace conference.

While we waited for everyone to get on the same communication channel I asked, “Who are the groups that matter?”

“Resden is our key ally. If they continue to back us, they can match the Phareon government’s fleet. The major problem at present is that the big consortiums constantly fight each other, and there’s no love lost between them. The only reason this station has held out so long is because it is the one and only place which they all agree is neutral,” he said. “The defensibility of this station has mainly been a bluff for decades now. We have no real offensive power.”

“If Phareon successfully defeats this station, what happens?” I asked.

“For a brief period the trade consortiums will rise up as a unit and go to war, but I suspect internal fighting would destroy that alliance, and it is possible that the government would end up the victor in the long run. The wild card would be Resden. If they join the fight, there is a chance that they could overthrow the government and that would probably bring on a period of anarchy. If they don’t, then the government ends up more powerful in the long run. Neither outcome is good for Resden, so it is hard to say which they would prefer.”

“And if Phareon fails here they end up weaker, with all of the trade consortiums stronger,” I said. “It is a calculated risk for them.”

“They would not have seen it as much of a risk. They timed their attack perfectly, when there were no fleets close enough to defend us,” he said. “My guess is that recent activity out here by your … or rather, our people has caused them to think they need to act now before you get too much of a foothold.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But it still seems awfully sudden. I suspect there is more to it than what is apparent at this time. Perhaps it is related to the Cathratinairians.”

“You think that whoever wants them eliminated somehow pushed the government into attacking us?” he asked.

Our discussion was interrupted by an aide telling Doctor Hawthorne that the conference was ready for him.

I sat out of sight and just listened for a while as they argued back and forth. Tempers were flaring, and soon it became obvious that all-out war was imminent. I decided it was time to interfere.

“Look, that station is our property and we want it back: pure and simple,” said the Phareon ambassador.

I stepped into view, which silenced the room. In my full ceremonial robes I was easily recognized. There was a collective gasp as recognition spread through the collected leaders. It was clear that none of them expected that I would actually come out here. “With all due respect, Ambassador, the Phareon government has no claim on my station,” I said.

“Grandmaster,” he replied, “I had no idea that you laid claim to that station, but it has been part of our region for decades.”

I raised my hand to cut him off and said, “Ambassador, we have supplied the primary funding of this station since before the Great War. Our claim to it predates Phareon’s very existence, and it will not be denied. I have already disabled your entire attacking fleet, and I know about the sleepers you have on my station. You will stand down.” I noticed the representative from Resden grinning. I thought he looked familiar, but I could not place him at the time. “I had hoped you would be reasonable and come to a peaceful agreement with my friends here, but unfortunately you have forced my direct intervention.”

“With all due respect, Grandmaster, that station was given to us by the Emperor himself. I know you respect the rule of law, so I think you will agree it is ours to claim,” he said.

“I do indeed respect the rule of law, but I also know that it was not the Emperor’s to give, nor am I subject to his laws. It is simple, really: since you have forced my hand by attacking my property, I will bring my forces to bear to defend this station. If you wish to play at war, I suggest you choose a different target,” I said.

The ambassador was quiet, but the representative from Resden said, “Think carefully about this, Phareon. In all of history, has Grandmaster Vydor ever bluffed?”

I decided it was time for a peace offering. “Here is how I suggest we resolve this. The hospital will continue to operate exactly as it has for the past several decades, but I will also make it an official embassy of the Wizard Kingdom. Doctor Hawthorn, will continue to run it and be my representative out here. We are willing to open up trade with our region, through this station, to all the trade consortiums that have stood by us.”

“Would you grant us an embassy in your kingdom?” asked the ambassador.

“That could be arranged, but your mundane travel methods would limit the usefulness of such an embassy, so it might be more reasonable for you simply to have a section on this station as your embassy,” I said.

“Resden would like to say we agree with Grandmaster Vydor’s proposal and are happy to continue our standing agreement with Hospital Station,” said the representative from Resden.

The other consortiums were quick to agree, leaving only the Phareon government outstanding. I had really left him no choice. I doubted they would be willing to risk war with us, but he was possibly wondering if I could bring any real force to bear this far from my kingdom.

“Grandmaster, I will have to confer with the president, but I am sure we can work something out,” he finally said.

“Then you will withdraw your fleet immediately,” I said.

“Once they are able to do so, they will withdraw for now,” he said.

“Very well. Contact us when you are ready to talk again. Until then, we will operate as we always have,” I said.

With that everyone began to leave the conference, and Doctor Hawthorne said, “You certainly know how to work a room.”

“You have done a remarkable job out here and laid the foundation for this agreement. If we did not have so much support, a more bloody resolution could have been forced which would have crushed any hope of the Wizard Kingdom making friends out here.”

“Could you really have taken on that fleet alone?” he asked.

“The greatest problem would have been the people they almost certainly have on this station. There would have been a high risk of noncombatants being killed while we rooted them out,” I said. “With Mathorn’s shields in place around the station, the fleet was more of an annoyance than a threat.”

“Thank you for coming so quickly. The situation had grown beyond my ability to control,” he said.

“You are part of the Wizard Kingdom, and we defend our own. Now that it is known that we are here, I will station some troops here full-time, and our engineers will upgrade the station’s defenses.”

“I dislike the idea of having military forces here,” he said. “But I knew sooner or later it would have to happen.”

“We live in a hostile universe, Doctor; but we have bought you peace for the present. I am going home to get some rest. Shadow will move some forces out here and oversee improvements to the station.”

“Thank you, Grandmaster,” he said.

The hospital was alive with constant activity as engineers from the Wizard Kingdom worked to shore up the defenses and expand the station so that it could support a defense force. For my part, I was slowly packing up my office. I had not yet been told I was to move, but Light told me to prepare. I would be sent on to something new soon, and I was eager to find out what it might be.

I quietly sang my favorite hymns while I worked. It was amazing how much I had acquired in my short time out here.
I wonder if Doctor Leslie would want any of this?
I thought to myself. I could not see how to transport it all myself. Light had blessed me so much since coming here that I hardly knew what to do with it all.

As I finished my packing, I sensed a familiar presence approaching. “Nemesis!” I said out loud to myself. I moved over to my computer and viewed the station’s tactical displays, but I could not find Nemesis on them and my sense of his presence had faded away. That could only mean that Dusty had recloaked, but I didn’t know why. I would have expected him to approach and dock.

“Hi, Shea!” called out Spectra as she appeared.

“Spectra! By the Light, it’s great to see you!” I exclaimed and sent a silent prayer of thanks to Light for giving me the chance to see her again. She leapt over my boxes and we embraced. It was good to feel her fur on my face again. Dusty and Spectra were my closest friends, but recent activities had kept us apart. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Nothing. We were just cruising through and I wanted to drop in and see my favorite cleric,” she said. “What is going on around here?”

“You mean all the construction?” I asked.

“Yeah, and there are wizards all over the place now,” she said.

“The station was attacked by a massive fleet, so Grandmaster Vydor, Master Shadow and a couple of others came out to defend it,” I said.

“With that much firepower, I don’t imagine the fight lasted very long!” she said.

“No, it never really started. They made our shields invulnerable and Master Shadow drew all the power from the attacking fleet. Quite an embarrassing loss for them, I think,” I replied.

“Sound like it. I guess that means that everyone knows about us now,” she said.

“Yes, so they are beefing up the defenses and troops will be stationed here from now on,” I said.

She looked around the room and wandered over to some of my edible plants. “You still have some fresh Nepeta!”

“Yes.” I started to offer her some, but before I could she tore off a few leaves, leapt up on some boxes and slowly savored them.

“You grow the best snacks,” she said blissfully.

“You know those leaves are not good for you,” I chided.

“It can’t be that bad, or you would stop growing it for me,” she countered.

I smiled. She had me there. It was not really good for her, but she loved it and a little bit occasionally was not harmful. I was pretty sure that no one else grew it for her, since I had brought the seeds with me from Korshalemia, so I knew she was not getting too much. “Well, a little is okay, but don’t overdo it.”

She smiled as she leaned back against the wall and slowly rolled a leaf around in her mouth. I could see the tension leave her shoulders as she relaxed. “I’ve missed you,” she said.

“Me too,” I said.

“I was talking with your partner in crime,” she stated.

“Who might that be?” I asked.

“Nanny,” she said. “And she has advised me to bring you on board the Nemesis as part of our team.”

“Nanny is fast becoming one of my favorite people,” I said. “Heck, she is already my favorite spirit!”
Thank you, Light, for putting Nanny in Spectra’s life!
I prayed silently.

Spectra chuckled at that. “She is something special, that is for sure.”

“Did you come here to fetch me, then?” I asked.

“If you want to come. Do you?” she asked.

“That’s a silly question!” I said.

“Well, it might not be as silly as you think,” she said.

“Why not?” I asked.

“We are leaving the Wizard Kingdom to set up on our own and create a group to train spiritualists," she said.