The room was completely silent for several moments before General Didyk spoke. “No wonder you hate the Omungans so much,” he said. “To have to witness such death and destruction, it makes me ashamed of my ancestors.”
“They were my ancestors, too,” Lyra replied, “and I do not hate Omungans. I was one. What I hated about Omunga was the manipulation of the people for the satisfaction of a few. Besides, none of us are guilty for what our ancestors did. We are responsible for what we have done, and even then Kaltara offers forgiveness to those who seek it.”
Again the room fell silent for several moments.
“Can we count on Vand attacking in the same manner?” asked General Manitow. “That is taking quite a gamble with many lives.”
“That is true,” frowned Lyra, “but we must have a plan, even if we decide to change it later. For now let’s assume that he will attack in the same manner that the Omungans did.”
“Then the heart of the Sakova becomes our sanctuary,” General Smythe pointed out. “That is why you are stockpiling food in StarCity?”
“That is one reason,” nodded Lyra. “The other reason is that StarCity is central to all locations. It is an ideal distribution point.”
“If we mass our armies at Alamar,” posed General Didyk, “and Vand learns of it, he might be tempted to encircle us there.”
“There is a risk of that,” nodded StarWind, “but it can be minimized. The armies can be kept out of sight. If the bulk of the armies are located in the Sakova, we will have no fear of spies. We will allow no one in and no one out. Food and supplies will be delivered from StarCity.”
“And how will we get our troops into Alamar in time to do us any good?” asked General Kapla.
“By delaying the landing of their ships,” answered Lyra. “I don’t want to go into that just now, but we are developing a plan to stall their invasion as their ships near the coast. The real question is what do we do if they overpower us at Alamar?”
“If you are correct about their plan of attack,” offered General Smythe, “we could slowly retreat around the coast. It is usually a losing battle when you try to retreat safely, but what other option is there?”
“Fleeing and regrouping,” suggested General Didyk. “We know the geography much better than they do, and the Sakovans taught me a vital lesson that I will not soon forget. We can make sure that there is no food available along the coast. Just supplying their own armies will slow them down. We can regroup at a time and place of our choosing and attack them when they least expect it.”
“Actually,” General Papper interjected thoughtfully, “a combination of those two plans would be best. If we divide our forces into two segments, the smaller group can slowly retreat along the coast, burning fields along the way. The larger segment can slip into the heart of the Sakova and then be used for surprise attacks.”
“You men are beginning to think like Sakovans,” grinned Lyra. “Let’s work up a tentative plan and see if we can find any holes in it. Approach it as if it is just a shell of an idea. What I mean by that is to think freely as we design this. I am sure that we can make improvements as we go along.”
* * *
Emperor Marak was staring at the wall map in his office in the Imperial Palace in Khadoratung when a knock sounded on the door. He gave permission to enter without taking his eyes from the map. He heard the door open and close, but little else. Still, that small amount of knowledge told him a great deal. The footsteps were soft and had only traveled half way across the room.
“You are getting lax,” chided the visitor. “Never depend on the guards to properly screen your visitors. I don’t want to find you dead one day.”
Marak pivoted swiftly, his arm moving in a blur as the Sakovan star sailed through the air. It slammed into the floor less than a pace in front of the visitor’s feet. Marak grinned.
“Your words are well taken, friend,” smiled the Emperor as he stared at the priest of Kaltara. “Why the new disguise?”
“I do not want to limit my access to you by portraying only an Imperial Guard,” shrugged Fisher as he bent down and pried the star out of the wooden floor. “There may come a time when that disguise will not be enough to gain me entry. By the way, you would have missed me by over a pace with that star.”
“No, I wouldn’t have,” grinned Marak. “Had I not noticed your unique walk, I would have aimed higher.”
Fisher grinned and shook his head as he walked to the Emperor and handed back the star. “A unique walk?” he frowned. “How do you mean?”
“Other people try to walk softly when they are creeping up on someone,” explained Marak. “It makes their steps very deliberate. You walk naturally, but silently. I am not sure if that is a good explanation, but I understand the difference. That is all that matters.”
“I will have to pay more attention to my walking now,” chuckled the spy.
“Don’t,” Marak shook his head. “Your walking is perfect. If you think about it, you will lessen your stealth.” The Emperor returned the star to his pouch and sighed softly, “I am glad that you have come. We have a problem.”
“You always have a problem,” replied Fisher. “What is the nature of this one?”
“There is a stirring among the clan lords,” explained Emperor Marak. “Some of them are planning a revolt of sorts. I need you to identify the players.”
“That is exactly what I have been doing,” grinned Fisher. “You are talking about what started with the Seth clan I presume?”
“How did you know so soon?” asked the Emperor.
“I am a spy,” laughed Fisher. “Actually, I spoke with Yenga shortly after he found out about it. I have been working on it ever since. I stopped by to let you know what I have found out so far.”
“Come and sit,” urged the Emperor as he retreated to his desk. “I want to hear what you have found out.”
Fisher sat in front of the Emperor’s desk while the Torak sat behind it.
“Marshal Orteka was wise enough to have one of his men shadow Lord Sydar when he left the Litari estate,” Fisher began. “The Seth lord has been doing a lot of visiting in the south, and he is not the only one. Lord Woroman of the Disina clan has also been making short, discreet visits to the frontier clans.”
“Those two clans have unresolved boundary disputes with the Chula,” noted the Torak. “That may be what ties them together.”
“They are also neighbors,” nodded Fisher. “Have you been told what the conversation with Lord Burdine was about?”
“Yes,” nodded Marak. “They plan to cause a vote in the Assembly of Lords revoking my reforms, but Lord Burdine was not able to tell me much about it.”
“That is because he learned very little,” replied Fisher. “The plotters are very reluctant to speak about the plan. At this point they are merely seeking out clans that are unhappy with the reforms. When they find one, they make rather simplistic promises of having a chance to vote against the reforms, but they steadfastly refuse to name the other clans involved.”
“That will make it practically impossible to find out what I am up against,” frowned the Emperor.
“That is not entirely true,” grinned Fisher. “There are many ways to pierce the veil of secrecy on any plan of the clans.”
“Such as?” asked Marak.
“You have two cortes of troops from each and every clan in Khadoratung at all times,” answered Fisher. “I took the liberty of mingling with some of them recently. The visits that the Seth and Disina clans have been making started fairly recently. The first visit made by either clan, was made by both of them at the same time. Both the Seth and the Disina visited with the Rican clan just before the traveling started.”