RENDAVI
Thark landed the Prowler at the rendezvous on Rendavi slightly over eighteen hours after leaving Irschcha. He was well rested and in a cheerful mood as he, Kainor, and Valla left the ship for the improvised conference hall.
No other ships were there yet. Unfortunate, Thark thought. That meant the meeting—more accurately, war council—would be delayed, possibly for several hours.
Inside the hall, the trio from the Prowler seated themselves on cushions at the head of the low conference table, talking about nothing in particular while they waited for the rest of the Seniors and Crusade leaders to gather.
Those were trickling in slowly when, a little over five hours after Prowler's arrival, an orange-kilted messenger appeared at the door and tried to attract Thark's attention. He waved her to his side, listened attentively to the message she murmured in his ear, then dismissed her.
The last group of Seniors arrived and seated themselves. Thark went through the brief formalities of convening the Prime Chapter, then said, "It is my unpleasant duty to report to you that this Crusade has been betrayed by a young pre-initiate who discovered it existence by accident, from me."
A ripple of disturbance moved through the assembled Irschchans. Most of what Thark could pick out were expressions of disbelief that anyone with Talent could do such a monstrous thing.
Valla's clear voice penetrated the disturbance, silencing the Seniors. "So Losinj escaped both the Sanctioners and Entos."
There were more expressions of disbelief, stronger this time. Thark silenced them. "According to the message I just received, it is not only possible, it has happened, and worse. She made it past both, and into the Planetary Palace. Ranger Medart, who was unfortunately on Irschcha at the time, arrived two hours later. His lander, presumably with him and young Losinj aboard, left for his orbiting battle cruiser soon afterward."
He turned to his chief aide. "Valla—I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Medart also sentenced Entos to death for attempted murder on Imperial territory. The sentence has been carried out."
Valla growled with an intensity that should not have surprised him but did. "Entos was my best operative, and a friend. I claim Ranger James Medart as my personal prey."
"Granted," Thark agreed promptly. "But now to planning. With Losinj aboard Medart's ship, it is possible, even probable, that she will be helping him. Even if such is not the case, we must assume it is, and that means our first strike must be decisive. Valla, does this affect your plans for our assault on the Imperial Palace?"
"Possibly," his aide replied. "If Losinj is helping Medart, and they reach Terra in time, our assault team will be faced by a fairly strong Talent. She may be able to incapacitate one or more, and we need all our strength. Although there are enough Seniors to defeat her, she may introduce complications."
"Since she was my student, and it was my error which caused her to become a problem, she is my responsibility." Thark's ears went back briefly. He had seriously misjudged her; he could not honorably ask anyone else to correct his error, now that she was no longer his guest. But making that correction would not be a pleasant task.
He went on. "Kainor, what about your status report on the Rangers?"
"Crown Prince Forrest is at the Imperial Palace on Terra," Kainor said. "So are Kennard and Menshikov; all three are covered in Valla's assault plan. Fenn and Szolacz are in the new Traiti Sector, assisting in its integration; they must be disregarded for the present, since we have no Order members there. Ellman and Steinhauer are still in hospital, and my agents are in position to kill them as soon as the strike time is set. Wang has just been sent to Sector Twelve to take over its administration, since its Duke died with no heir; being aboard a battle cruiser, she is presently out of reach and will have to be dealt with later. Tarlac, of course, is already dead; we have all seen the tapes of his assassination. Medart is the only one in a position where he might be an immediate danger. If Losinj got this location when she probed you, Thark—"
"She did not," Thark assured him. "She did no real probing, in fact. She was far too upset by her simple discovery of the Crusade's existence to check any more deeply."
Kainor nodded. "Good. Despite that, our first strike will not only have to be decisive, it will have to be swift. The fact that a powerful Imperial officer has become aware of the Crusade means their forces will be mobilizing. We must act before they can be fully alerted and deployed. Even led by Rangers, that will take them a certain amount of time which we can put to good use."
Thark agreed. "Speed is certainly essential. I will adjourn this meeting shortly; I want the various operational group leaders to meet separately and determine exactly how soon you can be ready to move. Report to me as soon as you can. The Seniors will remain here with me. Are there any questions?"
"The Traiti, Master," a graying female said. "They have pledged loyalty to the Empire. What threat do they pose?"
"Little as yet," Thark replied. "Their casualties in the war were far heavier than the Empire's, and their military has barely begun the changeover to Imperial service; for the moment they are too disorganized to pose a true threat. Is there anything else?"
There was nothing. "One final detail before we adjourn," Thark said. "We will be operating on Palace Standard Time from this point on, so adjust your chronos accordingly. This meeting is adjourned until 1600 hours, that time."
By 1600, when the full council reconvened, Thark and the Seniors had received reports from all the operational groups and had finalized their plans. Thark rose and addressed the group.
"This is the most important turning point in both human and Irschchan history," he told them, trying to project his solemnity. "What we are planning here, what we will soon accomplish, will determine the course of civilization for centuries to come. We dare not fail, for if we do, the galaxy will continue under human rule, their lack of Talent causing them to stumble from crisis to crisis, a whisker's width from disaster and complete chaos at any moment. Worse, they will drag us along with them. It is symptomatic that except for Irschcha itself, our people have no voice in Imperial government.
"I am the highest Irschchan official, its Baron in their terms—the lowest of the Imperial nobility. All other nobles outside the Traiti Sector are human. There has never been an Irschchan Ranger, so we cannot hope for an Irschchan Sovereign unless we succeed."
He paused and scanned the group lightly, sensing their approval of his words. "If we succeed, however—when we succeed—we will bring the Empire the same peace and stability the White Order has brought Irschcha since its triumph. The humans may find it difficult to accept at first—they seem to actually enjoy disorder—but they will soon come to realize the superiority of rule by the Talented. The change may in fact be difficult for our own people as well, but in the long range, things will be better for all three races."
He paused again, then spoke in a more matter-of-fact tone. "These are the final plans. The last operational group can be in position by 0145 two days from now. Allowing an hour for the inevitable delays, I am setting the strike for 0245. It is vitally important that no warnings be given. Since Losinj got no details of the Crusade from me, any alert that Medart puts out will have to be a general one. Losinj may be able to make some guesses, since she does know me, but the Empire will not dare depend on those. Except for the Palace itself, then, our objectives should be no more heavily defended than any others unless we ourselves attract attention to them in some way.
"The Seniors and I, together with thirty-six Sanctioners, will take Prowler to Terra, leaving here in time to attack the Palace in coordination with the rest of you, at 0245. I wish the assault force could be larger, but anything more would certainly be stopped by the primary defense satellites. Therefore, we must use the strongest Talents available, and those Sanctioners who are most proficient with weapons, to compensate for the greater number of Palace Guards."
An elderly Irschchan in a dark blue plaid kilt rose. "Will that be sufficient if Losinj is there and opposes you?"
"Yes," Thark replied without hesitation. "Admittedly she is strong, but she is only one person; she will, at worst, slow me somewhat."
He returned to the original subject. "Once we eliminate the Emperor and any Rangers there, we should have no major problems. We will have enough telepaths on hand to screen any humans in positions to cause trouble, and any of those who plan to do so we will kill. Afterward, we can replace the nobility with our own initiates, on the basis of strength of Talent. That is far more logical, and will insure far more stability, than the hereditary system now in use."
"One more question, if I may, Master?" That came from a young male in scarlet.
"Go ahead," Thark said. "We have time."
"I have heard rumors that some humans have developed Talent."
Thark projected amusement, was joined by several others. "It has been rumored indeed," he said. "Stories from long ago, before the Empire, do hint at some, but the strongest of those legendary humans would be about equivalent to a first-year student. There are not even rumors from more recent times."
"With respect, Master, what of the Narvonese Dragon-Kindred and their ability to project emotion?"
"An intriguing novelty," Thark acknowledged, "but hardly either Talent or useful, except in a very limited sense."
"Still, if there are any—"
"We can worry about hypothetical situations later," Thark said in mild reproof. He didn't blame the youngster for asking, but facts were facts: humans just were not Talented!
"Enough discussion," he said finally. "You all have your assignments and you know the schedule." He briefly considered dismissing them with the final lines of an old battle chant, but decided against it. It translated poorly, and few of the younger ones here used anything but Imperial English. He settled for, "Go, and fight well."