The Enemy of an Enemy

Chapter Sixteen

We moved out and traveled in silence for awhile. There was something that had been on my mind, and thisseemed like a good time to ask about it. “Major Jerran, when thefirst of the Magi spoke to us, he called his group the Magi; later,when I met you, you also referred to them as the Magi; yet as faras I know Larath coined that name a couple of weeks ago and it wasknown only by a few select members of the Dragon Claw’s crew. Sohow did that name get known here?”

“Sir, forgive me, but the better question is: How did Larath know that name?” was his answer.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“Well, sir, we call them the Magi, becausewhen our telepaths probed them we learned that is what they callthemselves. This was long before even Lieutenant Tom arrived,” heanswered.

“I see your point,” I said and nothingfurther was spoken about that. This was not the first time a threadof information had led back to Larath. What part did he play in allthis? I was still missing some key piece of information. I knewthere was some piece of data that, once known, would shed a lighton the rest of what we knew and would make sense of it. I had noidea where to find it, however. Then I remembered the book Icarried with me. It was written in a language that looked similarto that on the wands. Maybe that was a clue.

“Major, the writing on the wands and staves,do you ever see it elsewhere?” I asked.

“Yes, sir, but only on their clothing andsome of their jewelry,” he answered.

“Then this is not their primary writtenlanguage, I assume?” I prompted.

“No, sir. They have another language forthat. It looks somewhat similar but we cannot read it,” heanswered. He paused a moment then continued, “One of our latemembers could read it. He learned it by telepathically stealing theinformation from one of the Magi, but he was killed before he couldpass it on.”

“If he could do it then can Darnath, Luke, orGafar also do it?” I asked.

“Yes, sir, but not without giving away ourposition to the Magi,” he answered.

“Well, it is good to know it is an option, ifa dangerous one,” I said. I was about to ask about the book when wecaught up with Darnath.

“Sir, this is the last safe place to rest.Just around the corner is an automated security checkpoint. Once wepass that we will be about ninety minutes from the gate, but underconstant threat from patrols and surveillance,” reportedDarnath.

“Okay, then set up camp here and let’s haveone more meal. We do not know when our next chance will be,” Iordered. As everyone got busy I turned to Darnath and asked, “Canwe get by this checkpoint undetected?”

“Yes, sir. We will be able to walk rightthough it. Your thought shield will make you completely invisibleto it, and we have our own methods that work as well,” heanswered.

“How does my thought shield render meinvisible to electronic sensors?” I asked.

“Well, sir, we do not know for sure becausethere is no way to measure or record what happens, but whenpsionics decide to use their powers to hide, they disappear fromall sensors as well. The prevailing theory is that the body’snatural electromagnetic field is somehow being affected, thusrendering the sensors useless,” he answered.

“Interesting. So then let me ask you this, ifI had on my shoulder a standard navy issue medical alert patch andput up my thought shield, what would happen?” I asked.

“Well, sir, the patch would lose its abilityto read you, so all your vital signs would register zero and thepatch would assume you were dead,” he answered. “Sir, I take it youask because that happened?”

“Yes, and that is exactly what happened.Well, at least that mystery is solved,” I said. “Okay, everyonebring me what you were able to get from the storeroom and I willsee if I can figure out how to make a nice bomb.”

“Sir, if you do not mind, I think I shouldtake care of that since I am a demolitions expert,” Major Jerransaid with a hint of fear in his voice. Perhaps he was worried how Iwould react to that statement.

“Absolutely. I have some training, but deferto your superior skill,” I said and passed him all that I had.“Please make a timer that will give us fifteen seconds onceactivated,” I ordered. Then a thought occurred to me. “I shouldhave realized you would have demolitions training. With yourtelekinetic skill you can place the explosives easily with a levelof safety far beyond that of the average person.”

“Yes, sir, all telekinetics are required toget certified as demolitions experts for that very reason,” hereplied and then got to work on sorting out the jumble of parts wehad given him.

“Sir, I need to tell you something more aboutthe path ahead,” said Darnath.

“Speak freely, Darnath,” I prompted.

“Well, sir, the corridor is likely to haveaudio sensors to record any sound. So we will have to be as quietas possible, as our powers will have no impact on such recordings,”he said. He looked like he wanted to say more but kept quiet.

“Go on, Darnath, do not be afraid to talk tome. We are in this together and it is important that we keepcommunications open,” I said.

“Sir, well … if you don’t mind, I will letKellyn explain since it is her idea,” he said.

“Very well, Kellyn, I am all ears,” Iprompted, wondering what was up.

“Well, sir, please forgive us but when wefirst met up with you we weren’t sure what to think of you. Ofcourse we would follow the chain of command, there was no questionabout that; but you were an outsider to us, and we did not know ifwe could truly trust you. We have been imprisoned in this colonyfor a very long time, some of us all our lives, and that does notexactly breed trust for official representatives of the Empire.”She paused here. They were clearly worried about how I was going toreact to all this. I just waited quietly, doing my best to give noindication of how I felt about this admission. Then she continued,“Sir, back in the tunnel when I healed your shoulder I probed muchdeeper into you than I should have, but we had to know what kind ofperson you really were at the core. You have all the indications ofa psychic, but you were not imprisoned with us. We had begun towonder if maybe you were a plant by the Magi, or somethingworse.”

She paused again, as if afraid to continue. Iremembered the memory that Darnath gave me of her. She alwaysappeared timid, yet when it came down to fight or flight she stoodwith the best of them. Eventually she continued, “Sir, I know itwas wrong to probe you like that but the connection we made while Ihealed you was the first time any of us could see behind yourthought shield and I was sure it was our only chance to find outfor sure who you really were.” She stopped there and locked gazeswith me, and seemed to gain confidence. “Sir, I learned that youare exactly what you represented yourself as, and more. We know nowthat we could have trusted you completely from the start.” Shestopped there and waited. They were all waiting for myreaction.

“Kellyn, well done,” I said. “If we were backon the Dragon Claw I would request that you be promoted to my team.You saw a small window of opportunity and used it. Most peoplewould have hesitated, and with that scan so close behind when youhealed me, the chance would have been lost for good,” I responded.I did not like all this probing, but if I had been in her positionI would have done exactly the same thing and I needed to keep thatin mind. She saw a golden opportunity and took it. It was exactlythe kind of thing I tried so hard to teach my men back on the ship.The fact that I had been the target did not change that, and Icould not let that interfere with my judgment.

“There is more, sir,” started Gafar.

“Go on,” I said. Now what?

“Well, sir, we have known for some time nowthat we can safely bring you into our telepathic communicationslink. You see, when Darnath gave you that memory it was really afinal test to be sure we could.” He paused, and then continued, “Wedid not mention this before because we felt we needed a way to talkthat you could not hear in case you were not what you appeared tobe. But now we know you are trustworthy and you definitely have thegift of psionic abilities, though untrained; so we can bring youinto that communications network.”

I thought about this for a while. These BlackAdders kept proving to be a lot more resourceful than I gave themcredit for. I looked at each of them, lingering briefly on Kellyn.I could not get that look of horror out of my mind. If we ever gottime alone, I would have to ask her about it. “Seeing that we willhave to be silent for the rest of the journey, this is good timing.What do I need to do?”

“Well, sir, all you have to do is let mereach you through your shield in the same way as you did withDarnath. You see, only telepaths can communicate telepathically. Sowhat I do is act as a communications hub linking up all the mindsin our little squad. It will make more sense once we connect, sojust let me through your shield and I will take care of the rest,”Gafar said.

Well, this would be interesting. I envisioneda small room inside my thought shield, and in that room I pictureda table and chairs for us all to sit at. Then I created a doorthrough the shield to that room and set it to allow Gafar and theothers in. As soon as I did this Gafar appeared in one of theseats, and one by one the others appeared in silence. I created athought picture of me in that room and asked, “Are you sure thatthe Magi will not be able to hear us in here?” It was a sillyquestion, but I needed to say something to break the ice.

The image that was Gafar said, “Yes, sir.No one can be part of this that I do not allow.”

With some effort I was able to turn off theimage so that I could focus on the world around me without breakingthe communication channel. “Okay, well, it might take me a whileto get used to talking without saying anything, but I willtry,” I said.

“You will be fine, sir, you’re anatural!” said Kellyn. “Now, I want you to eat anotherchocolate bar. You need to keep your strength up, at least until wecan find a safer place to rest,” she said as she handed me acandy bar.

“Sir, the bomb is ready. This red buttonis the trigger. When we are ready to use it we just connect thebutton here, and press it. Once set you will have around fifteenseconds,” said Major Jerran.

“Around fifteen seconds?” I asked.

“Sorry, sir, but we did not have a timer,so I just used enough fuse line to roughly provide the delay youwanted,” he responded.

Anyone watching us would have been baffled bywhat they saw. We used no audible language but interacted just likepeople who were talking. “Well, that will have to do, then. Ifwe are ready we should move out.” I had lost all track of timedown there and did not know how much time we had left before theDragon Claw began its attack.

As Darnath moved ahead to take the forwardguard position, I felt our net stretch and soon I could see whatDarnath saw ahead of us, and as Luke fell behind to take therearguard position I could see what he saw at the same time. I wassilent for a while as I made sense of seeing through three pairs ofeyes at once. They talked amongst themselves about various optionsin the route we could take, and other mission-related topics. Thefree exchange of ideas between them was a masterful demonstrationof how team planning should work, but never seems to. This mediumof communication seemed to allow a more pure exchange of ideas.They could talk with any combination of the five senses at once, soinstead of just describing an idea, they could show everyone whatthey were picturing.

Ahead through Darnath’s eyes I saw theentrance to the room that contained the gate. There were twoguards, firmly entrenched behind a partial shield wall with wandsat the ready, scanning the corridor in both directions. Darnathwaited for us to catch up.

“I do not like this. They are too wellentrenched there. I doubt we could get past them beforereinforcements arrived,” I said. I checked my gear to see if Ihad any hand-grenades left. I was sure I did not but hoped I waswrong. As I had thought I did not have any, but in looking for themI unintentionally sent the image of my idea to all the BlackAdders.

“Sir, that is a great idea. I can take asmall part of the explosives from the bomb and make one,” saidMajor Jerran.

“Without a timer, how will you detonateit?” I asked.

“Well, sir, the stuff we were able to getfrom the storeroom is notoriously unstable; it should be easy todetonate it with a light blast from a wand.” As he said that Ihad an image in my mind of the explosive drifting down the corridornear the ceiling out of sight, and then myself jumping out andshooting it.

“That sounds … looks … should work,” Isaid, stumbling for the right word to use. “Since the wands aretargeted by sight, can I use the view I have from Darnath’s eyes totarget, or does it have to be mine?”

“Sir, either will work, but you still needa clear line-of-sight path for the bolt to travel,” answeredLuke.

“Okay, here is the plan. Kellyn, you andAndreya will go through the gate first. Andreya, once through thegate use your power to hide the fact that we are all comingthrough. Kellyn will guard you with her wands and should you beattacked she is your best chance of survival until the rest of usarrive.

“Jerran, as soon as you are ready, send inthe bomb,” I ordered. Soon after, I saw the package travelingin the shadows towards the unsuspecting Magi. As soon as it was inplace, I rolled out into the corridor on my belly and fired mywand. When the bolt hit the package there was a bright flash oflight, followed by a loud rumble. I covered my head but could stillsee, thanks to my connection to Darnath.

The bomb destroyed a section of the corridorand the two Magi were dead, but the passage was partly blocked byrubble. I ran forward intending to climb over the pile of rubblewhen I felt myself lifted up and over it. As soon as I was back onmy feet I looked back to see the others flying over, too. It tookme a moment to realize that Major Jerran had lifted us allover.

As soon as everyone was over Andreya andKellyn approached the gate, and Major Jerran began stringing outthe explosives. I felt Andreya focus on the gate and concentrate ona single thought, “A place of safety.” Then in the center ofthe gate a blue, swirling light started to grow until it filled thegate. She and Kellyn charged through, followed by the threetelepaths. As Gafar passed through the gate I lost touch with allof them.

“The bomb is live!” called out Jerran,the last one to pass through the gate.

I started to count down from fifteen in myhead. I had to wait to make sure the bomb was not interfered withbefore I left. Just as I started to count, the pile of rubbleblocking the corridor dissolved and one of the Seven stood there,lowering his staff at me. “You are too late, old man!” Itaunted, knowing that time was up and dove through the gate. WhenAndreya activated it, she did it the same way we used the wands, soI did the same, focusing on Kellyn as my target and hoping for thebest.