The Enemy of an Enemy

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Once the shuttle was gone I turned to thegood doctor and asked, “Do you really want a tour, or would youprefer a comfortable place to sit and talk?”

“I think a talk would be good,” he said.

“Then let’s go to the library,” I said andled him to the lift.

We rode up in silence; he seemed nervous. Iwanted to reach out and find out what was wrong, but I resisted. Hedeserved the privacy of his own thoughts. When we finally enteredthe library he looked around and said, “Impressive.”

“Come now, Doctor, the only thing impressiveabout this library is its room to grow,” I said.

“What do you mean? You have more real bookson that one shelf alone than I have seen in my entire life!” washis reply.

I looked around the room and said, “Funny howtwo people can see the exact same thing and get such differentfirst impressions.”

“I think it has to do with what you have tocompare it to. Obviously you have seen a much greater library, andI have not.”

“Yes, I have and most of these books arecopies from it. Come this way. I have a place where we can sit withaccess to refreshments.” I was not sure when I had picked up thehabit, but I rarely read any more without snacks or a drink of somekind.

We entered an area of the library that hadvery few shelves; instead it had big, comfortable reading chairs,end tables and a small food locker. This was my favorite area ofthe library. Its partial seclusion allowed me to become immersed inwhat I was reading.

I got myself a big mug of coffee and asked,“Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you,” he said.

I settled into my favorite chair, and he satacross from me. “Now then, Doctor, what is on your mind?”

“Well, Vydor, remember those memory blocks wespoke about last year? Did you ever find out if you had more?”

“That was the only one, and it appears tohave been put in place because of the secret message I was decodingat the time,” I said.

“Ah. Well, I was able to find out more aboutmine. This is the strangest thing; it turns out they are of my owndoing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, perhaps I should show you,” he said,as my cup began to float up.

I scanned the room, found the source of thepower and traced it back to Dr. Rannor.

“Yes,” he said, lowering the cup. “You see, awhile back I found I could do that, but I knew of the decree aboutthe Black Adders, and I didn’t want to be imprisoned like them. SoI contacted Larath and asked for his help. At the time he was morethan happy to help me forget everything I could do.”

“Of course. He was eliminating a potentialenemy with no risk of being discovered,” I said.

“When you killed him, his spell broke and allmy memories came back,” he said.

“Now that is a revelation. What powers do youhave?” I asked.

“Not much. I can lift very small things likeyour cup, and I can sometimes detect people just before they openthe door or come into view,” he said.

“Well, that is a start, and it shows that youdefinitely have the gift. What do you plan to do now?” I wasstalling while I updated the five members of the Council that Icould reach. This was a big discovery, big enough that Andreyarelayed messages verbally to Kellyn. This was the first Magus fromour realm we had found since the Council was formed. “Gafar, ifhe exists, there could be more. Do what you can to scan the fleetwith minimal penetration. We need to know if there are others likehim whom Larath mentally locked up, or any othersorcerers.”

“That will take some time, a lot of time;but I will do what I can. It would probably be best if I start withthe Dragon Claw and work out from there, since that is where hisinfluence would have been the greatest,” he responded.

“That is just it, Vydor, I don’t know what todo now. Frankly, I am far too old to be of any use in the war, andI am due for retirement this week,” said Dr. Rannor.

Retirement in the Navy was a bit of a looseterm, as there was no place for him to go until the fleet happenedto pass by a station that could take him. And since we were juststarting a mission, that would be a while yet. He was stillthinking out what he wanted to say, so I let him work on it while Idiscussed our next move with the other wizards. Ultimately thechoice was mine to make and not his, but I was not going tostrongarm him into anything.

“There is only one real option, he mustjoin us,” said Darnath.

“Age is not an issue for our art. In fact,I am sure Mantis is far older than all of us combined,” saidAndreya.

“You guessed Mantis to be a lot youngerthan I did, then,” said Luke, “though I am not sure he hasquite grown up.”

Finally Dr. Rannor said, “Vydor, can I stayhere for a while instead of returning to the Dragon Claw? I need aquiet place to contemplate things.”

“Of course. Doctor, I am not sure how to putthis; though this discovery of yours is exciting for us, it willcomplicate things for you,” I said.

“Exciting? Complicated? How so?” heasked.

“Well, this is exciting because you are thefirst Magus from our realm we have found since we returned.Complicated, because you are the first Magus from our realm we havefound since we returned.” I had to concede Darnath’s point that Dr.Rannor, as a Magus, had to submit to our rule, but that seemedsomewhat totalitarian. “Dr. Rannor, we need to explain something toyou. As a Magus you fall under the direct authority of the Councilof Wizards, and are no longer responsible to the Emperor. Now, youdo have a choice. You can retire in peace and forget about yourpowers, and hope the war never reaches you, or you can come to liveon this ship with us as our first student-level wizard. Either way,the choice is under my jurisdiction, not the captain’s or theEmperor’s, though we will behave in a civil manner over theaffair,” I said.

He needed to sit and think that over a while,so I decided to help his decision along. “Dr. Rannor, before youmake any decision there are a couple more things I would like tosay. First, your age is not an issue for our art. It is onlybecause our council is so new that we are all so young. Everymaster-level wizard or sorcerer that we know of is much older thanyou. The amount of wisdom and knowledge the position calls for isnot normally found in the young. Second, I would love it if youwould come be part of our team. I think you would be a great assetand besides, we need someone to treat Kellyn if she gets sick.” Istood, finished my drink and said, “Whatever your decision, you arewelcome to stay on board here as long as you need. Just remember weare heading to the front line, and it could be a bumpy ride.”

I was about to leave him to think when hesaid, “Vydor, I really do not need to think this over. I just hadto convince myself to take the step. The captain knows why I amhere, and he has already offered to release me if you would takeme. It is just that I am an old man. I am used to being a ship’sdoctor. I know how to do that well; in a way, it is all that I am.What we are talking about is a huge departure from that, andfrankly it is terrifying.”

I got down to his level. “You are not just aship’s doctor. If titles are so important, then you should knowthat you have already achieved the level of prospect wizard. I amoffering you the chance to reach the next step and start to learnhow to use the power you already have, because I know that you aremore than any job. If you decide to do this, I know you can. We alldo.” I felt a level of confidence in him from my fellow wizardsthat surprised me at first, but then I remembered they trusted myinstincts completely. “If he joins us we will have to create alevel of telepathic communication far less deep for him to talk tous on. As the council we will need to keep our connection, but itwould not be polite to completely exclude him,” I said to theothers, who were watching intently through me. “Doctor, look aroundyou. All of these books, every last one, is about the power youwield. You will not be left to guess your way through it. We willteach you, not only to practice your art, but also how to use thesebooks for self-growth. We are constantly working on expanding ourcollection, so with a bit of luck you will never run out of booksto study. If you decide to retire, you will be alone. No one willunderstand you. You will be a stranger among even your own people,but here you have family.”

Suddenly his shoulders squared up and hesaid, “Master Vydor, I cannot turn down your offer, and I humblyaccept.”

I tried to think of a good response to thatbut my mind was full of six cheering voices. Wait a minute …“Kellyn, I thought you were hiding!”

She giggled and said, “How could I missthis? Okay, back to hiding for me!” and she was gone.

The others soon came up to welcome Dr. Rannorto the family. After many pleasantries were exchanged, I offered tocall the captain for him.

“Yes, please do. Just now, if you don’t mind,I need rest. I have not slept much since you made your firstcontact with us earlier this week, and it is catching up onme.”

“Of course, Rannor. Gafar here will show youto the crew quarters where we all stay. These rooms are allshielded from telepathic communication of any kind. If you needanything or anyone while in that room, or want to reach a person intheir quarters, you will need to use the mundane intercom system.Outside those rooms we communicate telepathically, and in time youwill too,” I said.

Rannor and Gafar left to find him somequarters, and I made my way to a comm station to call the captain.I was not certain how to approach him about this, but Rannor saidhe had already spoken with him on the subject so maybe it would bea non-event.

“Good evening, Master Vydor,” said thecaptain. There he went again with the title. Sometimes he used itand sometimes not. I wondered what the difference was.

“Good evening, Captain, I am sorry to disturbyou but I have just had a rather interesting chat with Dr. Rannor,”I started.

“Ah yes, he told me he planned to talk toyou,” he said.

“What did he tell you?” I asked.

“We talked for a while about his upcomingretirement and how it would have to wait until after this mission.I told him I thought he was too young to retire just yet. Hementioned he wanted to transfer to your crew for the duration ofthe mission. I explained to him that your ship is considered to bean alien vessel, and there could be no official transfer, but ifyou allowed it, it would be fine with me,” he said.

“Did he say why he wanted this transfer?” Iasked.

“No, not really; just that he felt it wassomething he had to do. Don’t take this the wrong way, but if anofficer does not want to be in his position, I would rather movehim to a different position than force him to stay against hiswill,” he said.

“Well, Captain, that is pretty much whathappened here. Dr. Rannor has officially requested to join ournation permanently,” I said.

“He is due for retirement at the end of thisweek, so while I could demand that he returns to the Empire andserve here, it would also be easy to say he is finishing out hiscareer as an Imperial advisor to Kellyn. Then after he retires heis free to do as he wishes,” said the captain.

I thought for a bit about my response. Icould just accept that and say no more, but I felt that would bedeceptive. This man was trusting his life and the lives of hisentire fleet to my abilities. The least I could do was becompletely honest with him. “Captain, it is a bit more complicatedthan that.”

“How so?” he asked.

“Captain, Dr. Rannor has made it known to methat he is a Magus. This means that he falls under my jurisdictionnow, and no longer that of the Empire,” I said.

“Master Vydor, I see what you mean about itbecoming more complicated. What exactly does this mean for mydoctor?” There he went with the formal title again.

“I offered him a choice. I said he couldeither finish his present assignment, find a place to retire to inpeace, and forget he ever discovered his powers; or he could joinus and be trained as a wizard.”

“I am glad to hear you left the choice up tohim. I would hate to think you had let your newfound power andposition corrupt you. Be ever wary against that, Vydor. Thetemptation to abuse your power must be far greater than I canimagine and it would be a dark day indeed if you gave into it.” Hestopped and sighed. “I know the good doctor too well to think hechose retirement.”

“You are correct, Captain,” I said. I heardhis words, but I was more concerned about his warning. There wasgreat truth in it, and I did almost force Rannor’s position. I mustalways be on guard against that.

“Then the simple way to handle this is to dowhat I suggested previously and assign him to your crew as anImperial advisor,” said the captain.

“I must respectfully disagree with that,Captain. I do not want to set up a precedent of sneaking aroundinstead of just handling it straightforwardly. I think the bestthing would be for you to grant him retirement a few days early,and then note on his record that he has joined the ranks of thewizards, so that there is no question about his allegiance down theroad,” I said.

“Then that is what we will do. Can I speakwith him?” he asked.

“Well, I have nothing against it, but he hasretired for the evening already. I am sure there will be ample timefor you to talk tomorrow either before or after the wedding.”

After that we wrapped up the call. Now,before I went to bed I needed to contact Mantis. We did not haveany training material for someone as new to his powers as Rannor.The big question always was whether Mantis would answer the call.We never found a pattern indicating when he was available and whenhe was not.