Eric Olafson, Fleet Cadet 23

Chapter 23: Kermac Prime Interlude

The Kermac High Circle of Wizards listened to the report of their spy. He had shown them a recording of the Assembly proceedings as well.

Vorneun the Intelligence wizard looked perplexed.” Can someone tell me what is going on here? I never even heard of the Fornax Cluster, what were they talking about Kermac in Y’All ships?” He addressed Nachacht the Military Wizard as he expected him to have done something in secret, but Nachacht looked as surprised but the Grand Wizard clenched his little fist.” It has begun. The Call has been answered. The Y’All are here and the cursed Union will be no more than a memory.”

Nachacht raised his hands wanting to strangle the Grand Wizard.” Did you not see and hear that entire report? The Narth will go to war on Union side. I am not sure if there are enough Y’All in this Universe to stop that one Narth Sphere they have sent. Did you hear the Union Reps screaming for war? We are not ready for war.”

The First Wizard said angrily. “That was just a Union rouse. A cheap actor. Anyone can look like a Narth. Besides, even the Narth are not invulnerable. They too can be conquered. It is your job Wizard of the Military to make sure we are ready for war.” To the Intelligence wizard he said.” Your task is to find out how the Narth can be overcome. Your task will take priority over everything. The Universal Collective had a way to deal with the Narth. We are the successors of the Uni.”

“They are gone for two million years.”

“The shafts of knowledge are still on Koken. Go there and do your research. No cost and effort to be spared. Take and recruit what you need.”

Vorneun was no longer as pessimistic. “Yes I will do that. I wondered why we left all that knowledge there in the first place.”

“Because the shafts are dangerous and they do not easily give up the information and only Kermac can access them so we cannot use thralls. I value my existence more than knowledge, but you are expendable and so are a few thousand of our kind you can take along. Now go and be successful.”

Vorneun was not sure this was the real answer. There was a reason their forefathers had left the shafts untouched and left Koken. No one remembered the reason why the Kermac left Koken. The story about hearing the Voice of the Universe was mythology. There was another reason. Yet he had been there with the Grand Wizard and nothing bad happened. He wondered also why no Kermac before them got the idea to do that. There was a hidden tome of information guarded by the first wizards that held the answers. Part of his mission he decided was to get rid of the Grand Wizard and make himself supreme and then he would know.

--””--

COMMANDER HOLLOW

No one had showed up to brief me or anything. So I reported in ten minutes before the time I was supposed to be there. JAG Office 54653 was an entire floor of the building and I was asked by a human Ensign to wait in a boring lobby until I was called with a few arm chairs and a low table littered with fleet magazine foils.

A single room plant in the corner looked somehow forlorn. Every now and then women in high heeled shoes and skirt suits would stalk down the corridor and disappear in one of the many doors. I could see the desk with the Ensign and after 12 minutes I asked him if I was at the right place and if they knew I was there. He looked bored and a little annoyed.” Midshipman Olafson, I am doing this job for a while now and very good I might add. You are but a Midshipman, about as important as that rubber tree there in the corner. I have registered your presence with those who requested you. All you have to do is sit tight and wait. If it takes all day you still wait. There are important matters worked on and should they need you they call you.”

Punching an ensign in the face, at a JAG facility of all places would not have been a good idea, even though I was tempted, so I returned to the arm chairs and grabbed one of the magazines; an issue of Squadron News Magazine from three month ago. I actually began to enjoy myself reading it, there was a lengthy report on the new Bubble bridge design and I was a little proud of myself that I experienced one first hand. A dozen high ranking officers had started a lively discussion below the article arguing in a professional manner about the pros and cons of the design.

Three hours had gone and still no one had come. The Ensign was getting up came over and said.”I am off duty now, but your orders were to be here at 1400 hours, your orders do not specify anything else, so I strongly suggest you stay here.”

That didn’t make much sense. First they dispatch a Battle ship on Admirals orders to get me here with all haste and then let me wait in a boring lobby. Was this a tactic of the defense maybe? Was the proceedings already well under way or even over and I the main witness had not shown?

I did have my PDD with me and there were no messages. I send a message to the Admirals office that I was here an hour ago, but it had not been answered so far.

Even though he was just an Ensign he was a superior officer and he had given me a direct order to wait here. There was not much else I could do.

One of the women I had seen go back and forth approached me about three hours later. She was Saresii, judging by her purple eyes and long silvery hair and I wasn’t sure if she was a woman in the first place. She wore civilian clothing and said.” Cadet, you are sitting here for hours. Can I ask you why?

“I was ordered to be here at 1400 hours and I reported in at that time. It was regarding a Court Martial procedure.”

“I am Commander Hollow assistant to Admiral Olia. There was only one case on the docket...” she snapped her fingers.”Of course you are Cadet Olafson. You went through basic training with Agia Olia right?”

“Yes.”

“I am so sorry the proceedings have been postponed as the Admiral of the Fleet himself wanted to be present. However a big crisis has come up and the Admiral had to deal with it.”

“Oh okay.”

She smiled.”Scuddlebud has it the Y’All have returned and Admiral Stahl is engaging them as we speak at a distant star cluster. Something like that would take the priority over a court case.”

“I understand.”

“What I don’t understand is, why you haven’t been sent to the Hotel. Waiting here for hours was totally unnecessary.”

“The Ensign at the desk insisted I wait here.”

“I see.” Then she said.” We will proceed with the case with or without the Admiral the day after tomorrow. We can prolong it only that long. So you are stuck on this dust ball of a planet for the next 36 hours and if you want I can show you around a little and you tell me about Olia’s daughter and the Academy and we can have dinner.”

“I am not getting in trouble not waiting here as ordered?”

“No worries. I really am a Commander and I am second in command of this place and I will have a word with that Ensign tomorrow.”

“I am glad I would have had to start a conversation with the Rubber tree otherwise. I know the magazines by now.”

“I doubt it would be a very good conversation, that tree is not known for its conversational skills. So I suggest you go to your hotel, freshen up and change into civilian if you like and I meet you in the lobby in an hour. There is an excellent real Terran Italian in town.”

“What does he do?”

“Serve the most delicious food this side of the Galaxy. Trust me on that.”

I decided to trust her and was about to leave when she said.”Oh and so you know I am a woman.”

“You read my mind?”

“No I can’t read minds. Even though I am Saresii, I am a good Telekinet though, but that is a question everyone has meeting a Saresii. I just wanted to make sure you know that.”