Chapter Fourteen
The Doctor walked boldly through the door. The late Emperor's private study was spacious and airy, lined with bookcases and cabinets. A dark wooden desk stood at an angle, with a swivel chair near the balcony curtains. There was a large viewscreen, the latest model, set in one wall. It was a neat, sensible office, made to be used, and only incidentally belonging to the most powerful man on the continent.
The room appeared to be empty.
The Doctor stood in the middle of the room, all his senses tingling. There was no sound or movement. Staring straight ahead, the Doctor said, "Come out, Sode."
Nothing changed. The Doctor's voice became sharp. "General Eckers Sode Sodos, come out and face the music!"
A shadow to his right blurred. Sode, resplendent in the finery of the Regent of Vanussia, stepped out of an illusion of wall, a ready crossbow on his arm. Phestan holography, the Doctor remembered, was second only to its antigraviational engineering.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Sode didn't wait for the Doctor to answer. "A spy. Some sort of spy. They all are." He walked around the Doctor, inspecting him as one might inspect a new hovercraft. "An enemy agent. Come to try and ruin everything, eh? Well, you're too late. It won't work. Do you realize I could have a hundred men in here with one shout? Two hundred?"
"I hardly think the room is big enough for that many," said the Doctor. "Now listen to me. You've got to have the Vanussian army stand down."
o0o
Cerf crouched outside the door, listening. Sode? he thought.
o0o
"What do you know about the Vanussian army?" said Sode.
"No more than I know about the Krakod army," said the Doctor. "And a certain Major Hefuheo, secretary of defense to the Krakod Thane. And the secret militias hidden beneath the crusts of both continents, and the wanton destruction of national landmarks and preserves to make room for all the guerilla soldiers someone's been importing from the Islands. Oh, you've been busy, haven't you?"
o0o
Cerf's face twisted into a snarl as he listened. He put his hand on the doorknob.
There were running footsteps from the stairs. Someone was coming up. Cerf ducked into a handy corner, pulling out his needler.
o0o
"...and the new friend is left in a position that could save him a lot of trouble, but only until the Prince is legally old enough to take over. Remember, we're speaking hypothetically. Unfortunately the Prince is hardy of character and idea, and doesn't like his old tutor anyway. The boy's coming-of-age is soon, and with little time to spare--" by now the Doctor was almost quoting by heart -- "the tutor realizes that the Prince is somehow resistant to telepathic control..."
"As are you, Doctor, somehow," growled Sode. "We cannot sense your presence at all. How do you do that?"
"Oh, I have a knack," said the Doctor modestly. Then he caught the plural. "What do you mean we?"
"I don't like mysteries," said Sode. He fingered the crossbow, which he had placed on the desk. "But why would this hypothetical friend of the Emperor's want to control Vanussia?"
"For the same reason he wanted to control Krakor," said the Doctor. "For the same reason he armed the people of the Ten Thousand Islands, who had been peaceful for centuries--"
Sode exploded. "And how long would my peaceful people have lasted when the great powers were through with it, if I hadn't taken charge?"
"Listen to me, Sode," said the Doctor urgently. "It's not too late. Declare the Islands independent. The Thane won't argue--"
"No! I grew up never knowing whether the enemy was to the west or to the east, and I found it was both. Krakor and Vanussia have been fighting over the Ten Thousand like two dragons over a scrap of meat." Sode laughed dreadfully. "After the dragons tear each other apart, my shade will rise from the ashes and create a lasting peace!"
"Rubbish! Will you let me finish a sentence?" The Doctor was also getting angry. "You can't force peace with a lot of armed storm troopers! There are more people on the Continents than on the Islands, you know. You won't be able to hold them all for long!" There was a slight movement outside the door. Was Cerf hearing all this?
"The bombs will stop them, Doctor. They will blame each other for the Chip's destruction and wipe each other out. There can be no revolt for centuries. There will be peace at last."
"Don't you understand?" shouted the Doctor. "Those bombs are going to destroy the planet! There will be nothing left for you to take over! Nothing!"
"Better to rule a wasteland than be ruled by faceless strangers!" Sode picked up the crossbow. The Doctor glanced around, but there was nowhere to hide. Then, as the Islander took aim, a tall form broke like a wraith from the shadows and stood in the way, shielding the Doctor. "No," he said. "This has ended, Sode."
The Doctor's eyes widened in recognition. "Tellisn!" he cried. "Get out of the way, there's no use reasoning with this maniac!"
Sode stared, popeyed. His voice cracked with incredulity. "Get back, fool!"
"No," said Tellisn simply, and launched himself at the Islander. The crossbow twanged and went flying across the room as Tellisn hit Sode like a ton of bricks, twisted, and threw him over his shoulder and straight into Cerf, Alendar and Gamra, who had just run in through the door. They all went down like bowling pins. The enraged Sode struggled wildly and thrashed forward, but Cerf tackled him, and the Guards beat him unconscious.
Cerf stood, breathing hard, and stared down at the face of the man who had killed his family. "Hron, my father's friend," he said sadly. "My father trusted Hron with his life. He couldn't figure out why I didn't."
There was a noise. Tellisn had slumped against the wall, clutching his side.
The Doctor raced over to him. "It's an arrow," he said angrily. "Sit down, Tellisn, steady does it. We'll need to cut away the uniform around the arrow to get it out. Does anybody have a knife?" As one the Royal Guards drew and offered their huge sabers. "No, no, no! Don't you have anything smaller?"
Cerf had gotten a fancy pair of scissors out of a drawer. "He quoted my father twice," he said, as the Doctor started cutting away the tangled fabric, "and he helped us in the tunnels, and now this. How did you know his name? Who is he?"
"A patriot, Your Highness," said the Doctor.