Sensus looked again at the resource management report. He remembered a time when he was newly promoted to Captain, and how he groaned about the tedium that came with the management of a single team. The thought brought out a laugh.
His door chime rang quietly. It was Daena, his secretary. She had a datapad under her arm, and a mug of hot chocolate in her hand. She set the mug on his desk.
“Daena, as a former diolomatic atache, aren't you a little overqualified to bring me my hot chocolate?"
She was an older woman, thin with a plain face that was hard to read. She looked over her spectacles, an expression that could herald anything from quiet acquiescence to defiant protest.
“You could just say 'thank you'".
"I didn't mean to..."
"General,” she said, “whether or not I do personal favors for you will be determined by how nobly you serve Albion. You’re off to a decent start, so here's some hot chocolate.”
He chuckled. “And how could I be doing better?”
“Be nicer to the council. We’re all the same team.”
“Well, next time you’re in the mood to do me a favor, go to Duke Salamanca’s office and give him that same reminder.”
She allowed a smirk. “Already did. Read the pad.”
She held it out and he looked at the screen. The duke approved of a thirty percent increase in all resources devoted to the growing military.
Daena’s smirk widened a little. “His wife and I go back. We talk once or twice a week. Be nice to me and that’ll be a good thing for you.”
Sensus sipped his cocoa. It was delicious. He took another sip before setting it down. “I didn’t realize you hobnobbed with the nobility.”
“I planned their galas when I was a kid.”
“When you were a kid?”
“In my sixties. When you hit two-fifty, everyone’s a child.”
“Well, I’ll do my best not to act like one.”
She nodded. “Speaking of acting like children, shall we go over the disciplinary reports?”
He thought for a moment. “I have a better idea. Let’s talk about delegation. I need a staff to handle administrative tasks.”
She looked over her glasses again. “And what am I? An aging pop star?”
“You, Daena, are going to be the manager of my admin staff. I can’t afford to be bogged down in paperwork, and you deserve to head up your own team.”
She sat down in one of the chairs across from his desk. “Do you like rum in your hot chocolate?”
“I like rum in my stomach. But not during the day.”
“I thought you people didn’t get drunk.”
“It still slows us down a little. So, you must remember Old Terra.”
“I remember Earth. I wouldn’t call its last days old.”
“There’s still a fair amount of people living there.”
She shrugged. “There were twenty billion at one point.”
Sensus thought back to his history studies. “Before the exo invasion.”
“Yup. Someone shot a rocket at the worst possible target. Next thing you know, a whole asteroid field rains down and sunshine becomes a myth.”
Another sip of cocoa. “Humanity’s past is a long tale of tragedy.”
“You quit worrying about the Armageddons and Ragnaröks after a while. Have you ever been to earth, Sir?”
“No. My memories are all of colonies and deep space patrols.”
“Ah. So you were a soldier in your past life too? It shows. You’ve got more of the bearing than most Harbingers. Most of you walk around like Vikings fresh from a raid.”
Sensus smiled. “Or crazy hermits with wild theories.”
“I heard he woke you. That’s what you call it, right?”
He set the empty mug on his desk, then leaned back and with his elbows on the arms of his chair, he steepled his fingers. “Harbinger One is comprised of the last Harbingers Solomon found.”
Daena nodded. “Just trying to get it all straight. You hear a lot of gossip when you’re hobnobbing with the nobles.”
“I imagine so.”
“So, how many cats will I be herding?”
“How many do you think you’ll need?”
She crossed her leg and leaned forward, scrunching her nose while she worked the problem out. “Ten. Unless I can have whoever I want. Then I’ll only need four.”
“Who are these four people?”
“They’re currently working for the duke.”
Sensus smiled. “Write a justification for ten people and I’ll look at it. If you want those four, I suggest paying the duke’s wife a visit.”
“They won’t be cheap. The duke’s budget comes from the Central digital bank.”
Sensus whistled. “He pays his admin staff in ceeds?”
“They told me the military draws its budget from Central as well.”
Sensus shook his head. “We do, but that capital is reserved for war fighting essentials. Staff pay is in denarii.”
“Hmm. That’ll make it hard. These people don’t just do admin work.” She looked around the office. “I’m assuming it’s safe to talk here?”
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Sensus cast his aura. Daena shivered.
“Wow. You really do have strange powers. I felt that all the way down my spine.”
“You’ll get used to it. We can talk.”
“These four people are almost entirely the reason for Salamanca’s political success. We want them. Trust me. And I can make two of them come our way for sure, and possibly all four. But not for local bills. Not even citadel tier.”
The thought of having a small, elite team that could see him through the political storm was appealing to Sensus. He would use them to clear a path for the right decisions to be made, or to protect good people from unfair repercussions.
“I want dossiers on all four of them. And if I approve, I will not do so officially, and you’ll need to poach them discreetly.”
“Can do, General.”
“Good. What’s next on our agenda.”
“There’s a munitions shortage. You’ll have to read it yourself for the details ‘cos I don’t know anything about guns or bombs or any of that. And there’s a message. Your old team hasn’t reported in yet. Mr. Solomon wanted me to tell you that he isn’t worried about them, and that you shouldn’t be either.”
Sensus nodded. “Thank you, Daena. Get me those dossiers, then take the rest of the day off. We have tough times ahead, so relax while you can.”
“Rest before labor.”
Sensus was beginning to look at the datapad she’d handed him, then snapped his head back up. “What was that?”
“Just an old expression.”
“Hm. It’s an old Harbinger expression. Must have spread around.”
“Oh yeah? Funny. I never see you guys resting.”
“It refers to the time before we’re risen.”
Daena gave him a dramatic nod. “Interesting. Okay, Sir. I’ll get you those dossiers then hit up Sofia.”
She stood and turned towards the door.
“Oh, and Daena, as a professional favor, I’d like you to brush up on military decorum.”
“Of course. I’ll be happy to.”
“Thank you.”
Sensus looked at the datapad when she left. Line after line blurred into nothing. When he was halfway through the list of ordinance requisitions, the angrily tossed the datapad onto his desk. He stood, walked to the edge of his office where a holographic display projected images of the stars outside. He looked in the direction of Bindhu Prime, and noticed with disgust that the black space that bordered the Verge had been pasted over with more stars.
They were out there, somewhere, with Revol and hopefully by then Haruspex as well. As busy as he was, he never stopped thinking about them. He’d actually begun to miss Revol’s inane humor. On a lighter note, he was eager to hear how the new H1 performed. He had a list of questions he wanted to ask Speck, along with an overdue promotion in rank.
Sensus thought back to when Speck joined the team. He was one of the most highly decorated combat pilots Sensus had known, and he was ten years younger than every other pilot accepted into the jumpship academy. Catalyst had been brutal in the course, launching savage blasts of raw power in between the would-be jumpers while they ran through sand on desert planets, climbed trees with razor sharp thorns on jungle worlds, and did pushups till their arms gave out. Speck was never phased by even grazing blasts of radiance. Or, if he was, he never showed it.
His chime rang again. He went to his desk and looked at the security camera. Black Fountain was waiting by the door. Sensus opened the door and the big exp pushed through. Daena snuck in behind with the dossiers.
“Beg your pardon.”
His hunter head hissed.
“Enjoy your evening, Daena.”
“Yes sir.”
The door closed and Sensus cast his aura.
“Our man is in position.”
The speaking head smiled. “They are an interesting species.”
Sensus agreed. “Their espionage potential is terrifying. Only finely tuned medical sensors can spot them. And they’re incredibly agile.”
“And this one is deadly, desperate and alone. How did you find him?”
“He approached Ishtar while we were assisting their evacuation.”
“Yes. And I hear you used underworld contacts to recruit him.”
“A rogue named Holloway.”
“What do we know about Holloway?”
“Nothing. Which tells us a lot. I’ve dug deeper into his records than I’ve dug into anyone’s, and every document of his I’ve found is forged so well I’m tempted to hang them all in an art gallery.”
“He sounds useful.”
“He has been. But his motives are hard to pin down, so I get less out of him than I’d like.”
“My people might be able to learn something you can’t.”
“I doubt we’ll make a soldier out of Holloway, but he could definitely be more useful to us than he is.”
“He is a criminal. We’ll find a way to control him.”
“And we won’t lose any sleep over it.”
The eating head was staring at the empty cocoa mug and drooling. Black Fountain took a cloth out of a pouch on his belt and dabbed the drool. “And what is the long game for Sam?”
Sensus went to his window and folded his hands behind his back. “Less than I thought at first. Or perhaps more.”
He heard Black Fountain stand. “You speak through more mouths than me.”
The comment made Sensus smile a little. “I’d hoped to establish a rapport with one of them, and through that one others, until I’d worked my way to their leaders and made them friends of the Harbingers.”
The vid’redic knew how to walk with little sound for their size, but Sensus could feel the vibrations in the floor. He turned his head slightly toward his colleague.
“Good,” Black Fountain said as he came to the general’s side. “Salamanca cannot influence them. He does not understand Solomon or fear the Tangents. The mamani are a pacifistic people, and he would put them completely to sleep.”
“Where we will wake them to the danger coming to us, so they can properly make their choice how to respond.”
He heard the sudden movement of all three heads. The feeding head wore a dumb grin and looked to the other two. The hunting head snarled, and the thinking head wore a look of shock.
Sensus turned to face him. “I’ve been thinking hard about Sol’s actions. Along with Salamanca’s efforts to discredit him behind the scenes.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s had sound files edited to make Sol sound like he’s lost his mind and is worshiping the tangents. I was given those files twice by Needle. At first, I thought Needle was taking orders from Salamanca. Now I’m not so sure. Either way, Sol wanted me in charge because he trusts me. I told my team they were going to have to trust each other. And that’s the key.”
Black Fountain’s thinking head looked out the window, clearly in deep thought. “Yes. They will show us if we can count on them.”
“And in the process, we will show them they can count on us.”
Black Fountain then lowered his heads. All three of them were quiet for a moment, as if he’d been hurt. “Will none of humanity rise? Will they all remain nestled firmly in mediocrity? Their leaders are their best...”
“No. Their leaders are not their best. But that is their strength. Anyone of them can rise. They too will need to learn trust. This may sound like a sentimental platitude, but nothing else will see us through to the end.”
Black Fountain put a hand on the general’s shoulder and bowed all three heads before leaving.
Sensus left his office and got his dinner at the commissary. He ordered steak at first, then asked for a soy substitute. He ate quickly, nodding to the section chiefs and captains who saluted him. Sensus was glad for the salutes. Along with trust, they would need discipline. The Harbingers, beyond the reach of death and brimming with esoteric power, had grown indulgent. Sensus reflected on the importance of discipline, having seen time and again how it amplified the effectiveness of non-radiant troops.
We must arm ourselves with every weapon we can, he mused.
Back at his office, he suffered through the rest of his paperwork. The last item on his list held his attention more than the others. Forge had managed to bring back a few samples of the strange material found on Bindhu Prime. Under a microscope, it appeared to be synthetically constructed, and its composition looked like a lattice of repeated enneagrams. The planetologists had little to say about the substance, which told Sensus a lot.
He went to Solomon’s apartment after he’d finished his work. Sol wasn’t there. He sighed, as he’d hoped to look out his window for an honest view of the stars.