Shadows of Golstar (36 page)

“To success,” the General echoed. They both drank
deeply.

“And now General,” the Leader repositioned the mask
and put the drink on the table, “while I am gratified that under my leadership,
you have taken such a bold step, surely you agree that the time for secrecy is
over? Why not tell me exactly what you and your people have endeavored to do in
the name of the Preservers of the Way. Indeed, I am most anxious to hear the
current status of the, ah… situation.”

The General hesitated, trying to think of a way to
justify his plan and his choice to act alone. Seeing his obvious uncertainty,
the Leader spoke again, “Come General, surely you knew I have many resources at
my disposal. A grand scheme such as yours could not go unnoticed for long. I
now only ask these questions so I may fully understand your strategy and how
you envision it promoting our goals.”

Seeing the General still hesitate, the Leader
continued, “I admit I was somewhat taken aback when I first found you had acted
without sanction, but I must also confess I am now intrigued by such a daring
and decisive move on your part. Please, won’t you enlighten me with the
particulars?”

Although the request seemed genial, the words formed a
command the General easily recognized and could not refuse. And so having no
choice, he immediately began to describe the plan he had set in motion. As was
his habit, the Leader interrupted from time to time to ask questions and
clarify points of understanding.  

As time passed, and the Leader still voiced no
criticism only apparent interest, the General gained confidence. He
progressively became more enthusiastic and animated in his descriptions. He
confidently concluded the enemy would soon reach the end of his fortune.

After the General had finished, the Leader nodded in
apparent satisfaction. “Yes, yes I can certainly see the value of your
thinking. You have demonstrated unexpected initiative to advance our cause.”
The Leader paused as if in thought. The Leader then said, “Yes, I see your
novel plan was a straight forward, almost simplistic approach, and that you
have put some of yourself into this noble strategy.” The Leader paused again,
this time to lift the mask and take a sip of the drink.  

The Leader then said as if an afterthought, “You knew
of course the Keeper of the Way was onboard the
Light Saber
?”

The General drew back and could not hide his surprise.
The Keeper of the Way was on the ship? The question was totally unexpected and
his reaction had been unguarded. What could the possible reason be for her to
be onboard with the enemy?  

The General paused and thought of the possible
ramifications resulting from the Leader’s revelation. There was nothing he
could think of that would excuse this lack of knowledge. He knew he had no
alternative but to admit that he had not been aware of her presence on the
Light
Saber
.

He suddenly had an idea and said finally, “My
intelligence appears to have been incomplete, but on thinking it through, I
believe it to be a fortunate happenstance that she was present. Yes, yes I
believe it was indeed providential. Her elimination will be one more strike at
the Grand Patriarch, a virtual killing strike to his heart.”

The Leader nodded and appeared thoughtful, saying,
“Interesting. That is something I would not have envisioned. Go on.”

Encouraged, the General continued, “It is well known
that he dotes on his daughter, to the point of public displays of affection.”
This last was said with disapproval. “I have no doubt her loss will diminish
his will to prevail in his mad delusions. It is obvious to me now her removal
will be one less obstacle to deal with when the new order replaces the old. By
this opportunity, the Founder has indeed smiled upon us.”

“To be sure,” the Leader said. “From what you say, I
can see from your perspective that it was indeed providential she was aboard.
However, perhaps the man from Confederated Planets is not the only one who has
enjoyed good fortune; she may have survived, too.”  

“It matters not, if she survived, she will soon share
the outsider’s ultimate fate.”

The masked face stared at the General for a long
moment in silent contemplation. The Leader’s eyes moved to the antique clock on
the wall. The Leader seemed to hesitate, as if deciding something, and then
withdrew a number of papers from beneath the voluminous gray robes. “Now I must
apologize but my time is limited, and I am afraid we must now deal with more
mundane matters.”

The Leader placed the sheaf of documents on the table
with a gold stylus on the top. “These are for your signature. As we have done
in the past, we need military authorization to redirect munitions to certain
storage facilities to which we have access. As the time for the Return to the
Way draws ever nearer, we must make sure our supporters are prepared and thus
equipped for every contingency. Do you not agree?”

The General felt he had just been tested by the Leader
but was still unsure of the outcome. He remained uneasy by the clandestine
manner in which the Leader had entered his quarters, yet the manner they
conversed seemed to belie any sinister intent. He could detect no other,
underlying motive, but he could not shake the sense there was more to this
meeting.

To disguise his discomfort, he took another sip from
the tumbler and said in his most agreeable manner, “Of course.” He took up the
stylus and briefly glanced at the top sheets, nodded his ascent and then
quickly signed the three sheets staggered at the bottom and handed back the
documents along with the stylus.

The General sat back. He felt off-balance, still
unsettled by the Leader’s unannounced visit. As he thought on it, he began to
wonder why the Leader had not summoned him through the usual channels. He found
his mouth dry and took a larger swallow of the liquor.

He had placed the tumbler back on the table when he
felt a sudden constriction in his throat and began to cough. He experienced a
wave of dizziness, and the coughing became more violent. He was having some
trouble catching his breath between the hacking coughs. His skin suddenly felt
hot, and he began to sweat, though the room was comfortably cool. The Leader
sat back and watched him without comment. The coughing finally subsided but he
continued to feel hot.  

“That is a nasty cough… Colonel,” the Leader said,
using the General’s official military title in a pointed manner. “I could
recommend a good physician, but I do not believe there is sufficient time for
it to do you much good. No, as I think on it, I believe you are quite out of
time.”

“What do you mean?” The General’s face was set in
almost a comical expression of astonishment.

“What I mean is that while you turned away to get the
glass, I took that brief opportunity to add a little something extra to your
drink. You should feel privileged; you have just joined the select few who have
experienced the first effects of poisoning from the venom sac of a blue-ringed
sandfish.”

“The poison is odorless, colorless and virtually
tasteless. What little taste it possesses was masked quite nicely by the
liquor.” The Leader paused, staring intently at the General. “I understand its
effect begins in a rather mundane fashion with a cough and a sudden flush of
the skin. You know... the sandfish is quite rare, and I assure you its venom
was most difficult to obtain.” The voice synthesizer struggled to translate a
dramatic sigh. “I do hope you appreciate all the trouble I have gone to in
procuring it.”  

The General was incredulous and vainly tried to stand
but only managed to raise himself a few inches off the seat when he experienced
a sudden wave of weakness. His strength deserted him, and he collapsed limply
back onto the chair.

“Oh, I am sorry. I forgot to mention the poison also
causes acute weakness and a general numbing of the limbs,” the Leader said in a
casual manner then nodded as if in satisfaction. “Yes, yes I see its symptoms
are progressing quite nicely.”

“Why, why would you do this… to me? I am loyal. You,
of all, know I am devoted to you and the cause,” the General croaked. His
throat was raw and each word caused a grinding, sharp pain.

“Loyal? You? I might define loyalty a bit differently.
Yes, in fact, very differently. Your recent actions do not support your claims
of loyalty, no, in fact, quite the opposite.” The Leader leaned forward in
obvious growing agitation, “To take upon yourself such rash and drastic
unilateral measures without consultation with your Leader does not reflect what
I perceive as loyalty. No, no, not at all; indeed, your reckless disregard for
this leadership and authority has not aided, but has, in fact, jeopardized our
cause!”

The leader’s synthesized voice grew
 
in volume. “You are a complete fool! The
Grand Patriarch now has no choice but to act in the defense of his daughter and
mobilize resources he was heretofore reluctant to engage!” The synthesizer
struggled to convert Leader’s voice, which was rising to a deafening
volume.
 
The words became distorted, and
it was difficult for the General’s poison-hazed mind to comprehend.

The Leader rose and began to pace with increasing
agitation, robes swirling. “Am I not the Leader? Does not the very title of
Leader
self-define its purpose? As an officer of the military, do you not recognize
this most basic of concepts? Yes? And yet you chose to ignore this fundamental
principle. You of all people, a man supposedly steeped in military history,
protocol and procedure, chose to ignore the rightful
chain of command
!”

The truth of the Leader’s words battered against the
General’s carefully constructed rationalizations, but he was distracted as he
was finding it harder to breathe, struggling for each precious gulp of air.
Painful metal bands seemed to encircle his chest, becoming tighter with each
forced inhalation. He tried again to concentrate on the Leader’s words and
gasped out a futile lie, “I did it for you, for our people. I did it to
preserve our Way.”

“No, you did not! No, you and I know you did it for
yourself alone, for your incredibly inflated ego!” the Leader slammed a gloved
fist on the table.

The General struggled to respond and managed to say,
“No, you are mistaken…” He gasped for breath, but before he could form his next
words, the Leader pounded the table again.  

“You are dying yet you still persist in your lies! You
had no real conviction outside your own ambition and your petty need for
revenge against those who were promoted over you. Is that not the truth? Did
you actually think I would not know of this? It was this weakness that I
exploited. Even so, your faults have now exceeded even my expectations. Your
ambition consumes you and blinds what precious little intellect you possess.”
 

The synthesized voice thundered, “You thought only to
advance yourself, adorn yourself with the glitter and trappings of power! You
are an egotistical ass! Did you truly believe I would endorse your maverick
actions?!” There was a crackling and the voice synthesizer abruptly squealed
and fell silent.  

The Leader paused then resumed in a calmer,
now-undisguised voice, “Had you bothered to discuss your plans with me, you
would have been told the Keeper of the Way was personally participating as a
diplomat and receiving the accursed outsider at the rendezvous location. You
fail to recognize the Keeper of the Way is beloved by our people. Her
popularity could have worked in our favor.”

“I would have gone on to enlighten you in regard to
my
plan; to retain her as a figurehead for the interim government as we
consolidated our power out of the public eye. This would have facilitated an
orderly reintegration, a return to traditional beliefs and minimized the
possibility of backlash from the general populace. This, of course, runs
counter to your glib dismissal of the Keeper of the Way and the glee you
expressed in contemplating her demise.”

The Leader stopped pacing and stood, looking down at
the gasping military man. “But back to your original question, you asked me
why. Why would I eliminate you? In case it is not now self-evident to your
feeble mind, then I shall tell you in simple terms in order to make sure you
understand before you finally die.”

The Leader bent closer, “With this final act, you have
far exceeded your usefulness. You are now only a detriment, a cancer festering in
the side of our righteous cause and must be exorcised before you can inflict
further damage. And I? Why I am the appointed surgeon and I have made certain
the contagion will not spread.” The Leader straightened, pulled off the mask,
threw back the hood and grinned widely at the General.

The General blearily recognized the undisguised voice
and now revealed face of the Leader, but he could not make the extra effort to
acknowledge the Leader’s identity. He was not sure he would have the breath to
speak in response to the tirade but attempted it anyway. His head was becoming
so heavy, and he struggled to keep it up. “You. You  are… you cannot…” he
coughed and blood spattered the front of his tunic. “There will be a military
inquir…” Gasping, he could not finish. He could feel himself weakening.

The smile faded and the Leader looked at him
critically, “Were you trying to say a military inquiry? If so, I can assure it
will be minimal. The Leader looked up at an antique timepiece hanging on the
wall and said with mock sympathy, “You do not have much time remaining.
However, before you pass into the darkness of blasphemy, you might be
interested in this.”