"Almost none," Chavvorth said. "Few have been captured, none
successfully interrogated--few successfully held, in fact. Most are
able to conjure their way out of custody, even denied the materials an
Imperial magician would find necessary."
Medart chuckled. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. Do you have
anything like a mindprobe, so I can give you everything I know in a
hurry?"
"Not yet," Chavvorth said regretfully. "One is in the development
stage, but it will be several months at least before it is far enough
along to experiment with humans on."
"We do it the hard way, then. Emperor Barton?"
"Yes, Ranger Medart," the ship replied.
"What access level do I have in this universe?"
"Full access, Ranger."
"Good." That was standard in every Empire he'd visited or heard of,
but since neither had applied to this one, it'd seemed best to ask
rather than assume. "Record everything I say about Sandemans, then,
and pass it along to IntelDiv for summary and conversion to a teaching
tape. They should include a caveat that this information comes from
Alpha Prime and may or may not apply to the Zeta Prime Sandemans."
"It will be done, Ranger."
"Thank you." Medart turned his attention back to Captain Chavvorth.
"The Shapers were genetic engineers who left Terra in 2130 and
deliberately lost themselves. Not long after that, they began using
their own germ plasm to create the Sandeman race as improvements on
humanity. The idiots didn't stop with that, though. They designed a
complex of physical and psychological traits that made a percentage of
the males into genetically-determined warriors who not only like to
fight--it's one of their favorite occupations--they have to either
fight or make love at regular intervals just to stay healthy."
Chavvorth stared at him. "Genetically determined warriors? That would
explain much about them--but how could anyone be so stupid?"
Medart shrugged. "We don't know. When our Sandemans overthrew their
Shapers, almost all the Shaper records were destroyed. My personal
opinion is that it was sheer arrogance."
"Which they passed along to their creations," Chavvorth said.
Medart chuckled. "They have some justification, you must admit--they're
stronger, faster, and more intelligent than the standard human norm."
"True," Chavvorth said grudgingly. "They also have greater mage-power,
as you must have deduced from what I told you about their ability to
escape."
"Uh-huh. In my universe, they've got greater than usual Talent,
especially the warriors. So it seems reasonable that here they'd have
more than the normal amount of magical ability." He took a swallow of
coffee, grimacing when he found it was cold. "Just how bad is the
situation?"
"We have lost about a quarter of the Empire, and are rapidly losing
more. Terra itself will be in danger within six months."
Medart winced. "That much that quickly? They must have one hell of a
big civilization!"
"We believe so, but we have no way of being sure."
"Mmpf." Medart was silent for a moment, then he said, "Damned if I
know what you expect one person to be able to do about something that's
already taken out a quarter of your Empire, but I've got to try. First
thing, I think, is to get in touch with His Majesty--or Her Majesty,
here--let @ know I'm available, and find out what resources I can use.
Emperor Barton?"
"His Majesty," the ship said, "is Emperor Ray Kennard, and he has been
informed of your arrival. On Ranger Ariel's orders, I beamed an
account to his personal comset, complete as of your departure from the
Bridge."
"Good--thank you. In my universe under these circumstances, he'd be
the one to call as soon as I made it to the top of his priority list;
would that be safe to assume here?"
"Yes, sir, I believe so."
"Okay." Medart's attention went back to Chavvorth. They'd been
expecting a visitor, so there'd be quarters ready for him--and since he
usually worked in his living area rather than his office, that seemed a
reasonable place to wait for His Majesty's call. "Shall we continue
this discussion in my quarters, Captain?"
"As you wish, sir." The two rose, and Medart followed the Traiti
again, thinking.
The Emperor Ray Kennard in his universe had limited precognition as
part of his Talent; if parallels between the two universes held as well
as they seemed to, the one here should have some equivalent means of
foreseeing parts of the future. Which might mean he'd foreseen a
solution.
Or might mean he'd foreseen the visitor would either be or bring a
solution. In that case, Medart thought, he was likely to be
disappointed--though Medart intended to do his best. He snorted to
himself. He'd gotten the challenge he wanted, all right--gotten it in
spades, and very possibly more of one than he could handle.
As he'd told Captain Chavvorth, though, he'd have to try to meet even
such an impossible-seeming challenge. He had no idea at the moment how
he'd meet it, but he was sure it'd have to be something unconventional.
He was positive that this universe's people were every bit as competent
as the ones at home; they'd have done all the conventional things as
well as he could. Probably better, since this was their universe and
they knew how it worked.
Chavvorth interrupted his train of thought. "If you will key the lock,
sir?"
"Right." Medart placed his hand against the door's lock-plate, keying
it to his palm-print. The two entered when the door slid open; Medart
immediately went to the service panel for a fresh cup of coffee. "Want
some more chovas?"
"No, thank you. A cup of Blue Ginger, perhaps?"
"You got it." Medart entered the appropriate order, took the steaming
cup when it appeared, and handed it to the Traiti, then took his own
seat. "You said you'd start teaching me magic. I know better than to
tell a teacher how to teach, but I have a feeling I'm going to need
something I wasn't wearing when Ranger Ariel summoned me. So I think
I'd better learn that summoning spell first."
Chavvorth looked uncomfortable, but shook his head. "Such a summoning
is dangerous even for an experienced magician--far too dangerous for a
novice, particularly one who is also a Ranger. No, I will not teach
you that spell. But I will attempt to summon this object myself, if you
will describe it."
Medart frowned. He wasn't used to having his requests refused, even
for his own safety--a Ranger was presumed to be able to evaluate risks
and take only necessary ones. On the other hand, he didn't know enough
about magic to make such an evaluation accurately, and his first
attempt at using it had injured an Imperial officer . . . so maybe he'd
better accept the refusal gracefully. "All right, Captain. But if
it's that dangerous, I'd hesitate to risk an IBC's captain, either.
Don't you have any magical specialists?"
"Yes, of course. Next to Ranger Ariel, Major Treschler is our most
accomplished magician, and he has been successful with summonings."
"Get him to do it, then. I may be able to do better than a description
of what I need, though--I'd better be, or there won't be any point in
getting it. Emperor Barton, do your records include twentieth-century
entertainment tapes?"
"Yes, Ranger. I have a complete selection."
"Then if they exist here, you've got the Star Wars movies."
"Yes, sir. They do, and I have."
"Good! I'd like close-ups of Lord Vader's lightsaber, please, from as
many angles as possible."
"It will be about ten seconds." The ship paused for that time, then
said, "Completed; they are in your fabricator."
"Thank you." Medart went into the sleeping area to get the stills,
then returned to the living area and handed them to Chavvorth. "Mine
looks like this. It's in my quarters aboard the Empress Lindner."
Chavvorth took the pictures, clearly puzzled. "An object from an old
entertainment tape?"
"Right, and I'd recommend close study of the movies, too--Lord Vader in
particular. The Sandemans at home regard those movies as classics, and
based several aspects of their culture on them. The first clan formed
after Overthrow is named for Lord Vader, for instance, and the clothing
they call honor-black is based on his armor and robes. They put a lot
of effort into developing real lightsabers, too--I got mine as a
death-gift from the warrior Leigh DarVader, and I wear it on ceremonial
occasions or when I'm in Sandeman territory."
Chavvorth came as close to frowning as most Traiti could manage. "I
hope you do not intend to confront them personally."
"I think I'm going to have to. There isn't anything I can do
long-range that your own Rangers can't; what I can do is talk to them on
their own terms."
"I understand." Chavvorth rose. "I will give these to Major Treschler
and ask him to start preparations immediately."
"Thanks." Medart watched him leave, then asked the ship for a basic
magic text. If he was going to have to confront hostile Sandemans
again, he wanted every bit of knowledge and skill he could manage.
He was perhaps a third of the way through the tape when the ship
informed him the Emperor was calling. He went to the screen, pleased
to see that this universe's Sovereign looked like he was standing up
well to the strains of war. "Ranger James Medart of Alpha Prime, Your
Majesty. I'm at your Empire's service."
"I'm pleased to meet you, Ranger Medart, though I must apologize for
having you taken away from your own Empire."
"No apologies needed, sir. Things were quiet at home, and I was
planning to ask for temporary out-universe duty. It seems I've made
friends out of your current enemies once before, so I get the challenge
of trying to do it again."
The Emperor smiled. "I'm glad to hear you feel that way, Ranger. I'm
not sure it'll be possible to make friends out of the Sandemans, but
I'm not asking for a miracle; it'll be enough if you can just stop them
from destroying the Empire."
"I'll do my best, sir. What resources can I call on?"
"Anything that's not actually engaged in combat. Or anything that is,
if you consider it essential, including myself and the Rangers."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. In that case, I'd like to borrow the best
magic teacher available; I won't be much real good until I can control
the power I accidentally burned Captain Chavvorth with."
The Emperor frowned. "I saw the record tape of that, Jim. We don't
have any teachers who can give you control of that much power without
limiting it--the only ones who might even come close are the Sandemans,
and they're not likely to want to help an Imperial."
"In that case, I'd like the fastest small ship available--something on
the order of a courier--with a volunteer crew, to take me to Sandeman
territory. I'll tape everything I know about them on the way, so
you'll have that information whatever happens to me."
"What do you plan to do?"
"I don't know, exactly," Medart admitted. "That depends a lot on
exactly how closely these Sandemans parallel the ones in Alpha Prime--and
on how they feel about some incidents that took place there. But I
do know, as I told Captain Chavvorth, that I can't do anything at long
range that your people can't do at least as well. The only thing I
have that they don't is over a hundred and a quarter years of
friendship with Sandemans."
"That long?" The Emperor looked concerned. "Just how old are you,
Ranger Medart?"
"A hundred and seventy-five, Your Majesty--but the anti-agathics are
still working fine; I have the same physical abilities I did when I
started them at eighteen."
"Understood. All right, Ranger; you were on full duty, and you
obviously know more about them than we do, so I can't reasonably order
you to stay away, however dangerous a situation I believe you're going
into."
"It is dangerous, Your Majesty--I don't have any illusions about that.
I fought them before I brought them into our Empire, and they scared
the stuffing out of me then. These have an extra century and a quarter
of development, a hell of a lot bigger civilization, and magic, so they
scare me even worse. But the only chance I see for your Empire is
going in, so I have to do it." He paused. "I was brought here with no
chance to inform Alpha Prime's Emperor Kennard. If I'm able to return,
I can explain things myself; if I can't, for whatever reason, I'd
appreciate it if you'd notify my Sovereign of the circumstances."
"I'll see to it, Ranger. Is there anything else?"
"Just one thing, if I can indulge my curiosity."