Alector's Choice (59 page)

On Londi, Dainyl did
not hurry unduly, but neither was he late in reporting to Myrmidon
headquarters. He had no sooner settled into his study, not even with a chance
to look at the reports neatly stacked there, than Colonel Dhenyr knocked on the
door.

“Come in, Colonel.”
Dainyl offered the words with a smile and gestured to the chair across from
him. “How are matters with the other Myrmidon companies going?”

Dhenyr shifted his
weight in the chair. “I’m most glad you’re back, Submarshal. Most glad. Might I
ask about Dramur first?”

“The revolt is over,
and the mine production is back to normal. We did lose two pteridons to unusual
circumstances. I’ll have to brief the marshal before I can say more. Most of
the rebels and rebel leaders were killed, well over a thousand rebel
casualties. The Third Cadmian Battalion had a particularly effective captain.
When I have a moment, I’ll be recommending him for promotion to majer and
command of the battalion. You may have to follow through on that. Now… what
have you to report?”

“You knew about the
pteridon lost near Scien?”

“Didn’t that happen
before I returned to Dramur?” Dainyl frowned. “Or did we lose another one?”

“Yes, sir. In that
same area. The marshal has ordered all flyers to avoid it until further
notice.”

“Have we lost any
more pteridons anywhere else besides Dramur?” asked Dainyl dryly.

“Ah… yes, sir. One
flying out of Dereka over the BarrierRange on a message run to Indyor, and one
near Aelta. Fifth Company found the burned rock in the BarrierRange, but no one
has found any sign of the pteridon that was flying north of Aelta.”

“What were they doing
up there?”

“I’ve put in an
inquiry to Captain Fhentyl, sir, but we don’t have a response.”

Dainyl managed to
take a long and slow deep breath. In less than a season, six pteridons had been
lost—six out of slightly less than two hundred, and none could be replaced.
According to the records, not one pteridon had been lost in the past three
hundred years. Why had the ancients decided to attack pteridons now, after so
many years of being invisible? It had to be their work. “What else? What about
Coren, Catyr, and Hyalt.”

“Hyalt’s calm, and
all of First Company’s second squad has returned—except the one Myrmidon lost,
of course. We’ve been able to stop overflights of Coren, and the marshal
ordered the return of the squad covering Catyr yesterday. They haven’t returned
yet.”

“Any more skylances
missing in Dereka?”

“No, sir.”

“What else should I
know?”

“I understand that
the Duarch is not pleased with events, sir. That’s what the marshal said on
Octdi, anyway.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes, sir.”

Dainyl nodded, and
the colonel slipped away. From what he could tell, Lystrana’s analysis of
Dhenyr was accurate. He tried hard, and he was conscientious, and he had even
less Talent than people had thought that Dainyl had—and far less insight.
Dainyl wasn’t sure whether to be more worried about Dhenyr or about the lost
pteridons. Clearly, the marshal and the Highest did not want any higher-ranking
officers in headquarters with both insight and Talent. Dhenyr had neither.
They’d accepted Dainyl—for the moment—because, while he had insight, they did
not know that he had more Talent than was obvious.

“Submarshal! Welcome
back!” Shastylt stood in the doorway.

Dainyl rose, not
quite so easily as he had before and would again.

“You were injured, I
see.”

“Broken arm and
broken leg. They’re mostly healed. It happened when we lost Quelyt and Falyna
and their pteridons.”

Shastylt nodded
slowly. “I feared something like that.”

“I have a report
here, sir. Would you like me to tell you, or would you prefer to read it, then
discuss what happened?”

“Why don’t I read it?
It won’t be long. That’s the first thing we need to deal with. I assume that
you resolved everything in Dramur?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” A twisted
smile appeared on the marshal’s face. “The Duarches would like some good news.
If you have that report…”

Dainyl lifted the
thick envelope off the desk and handed it across to Shastylt. “It may be longer
than you need. As you requested, that is the only copy.”

“Good. I’ll be back
to you shortly.”

After Shastylt
departed, Dainyl settled down with the re-.ports. He’d only made his way though
five when the marshal reappeared, stepping inside the study, and closing the
door.

The marshal settled
into the chair across from Dainyl, looking solidly at the Submarshal. While
Dainyl was well aware of the Talent-probing of the marshal, he left his shields
in place, with the same apparent unaware stolidity that Lystrana had helped him
develop years before.

“I’ve read your
report, Dainyl. It’s most remarkable. Or rather, I should say that your actions
were most remarkable. You seem to have prevented a runaway rebellion with a
minimum of casualties, that is, given the feelings of all those involved.”

Dainyl had his doubts
about the “minimum” of casualties. To him, nearly half of the Third Cadmian
Battalion, more than a thousand dead rebels, and two Myrmidons and their
pteridons were far greater than minimum casualties. He’d managed to salvage the
situation, but his actions were anything but remarkable. The only thing
remarkable was the fact that he hadn’t seen what was happening earlier. In
hindsight, it had all been so obvious. There hadn’t been a rebellion, until the
combination of Majer Herryf’s arrogance and stubbornness and Majer Vaclyn’s
stupidity had collided and created one. But then, that was clearly what the
marshal and the Highest had intended. Things would have been worse if it hadn’t
been for Captain Mykel.

“There was one aspect
of all this that troubles me, Marshal,” Dainyl said, trying to inject
puzzlement into his voice. “As we discussed much earlier, there could not have
been a rebellion without large numbers of Cadmian rifles present in Dramur. Has
anyone been able to determine how such unmarked weapons got there?”

Shastylt laughed.
“Coins. Golds. All the steers of Acorus are obsessed with accumulating what
they perceive as wealth. The landowners on Dramur tend to be fearful of both
the prisoners and each other. They have more wealth than many. The smugglers
knew that, and they bribed one of the assistant weapons engineers in Faitel to
produce extra rifles. Over time, he reported a number of production runs as
spoiled, requiring extra production. The runs were not spoiled, but were
slipped out of the manufactory as scrap to be reused, then were diverted. The
engineer in question has been discovered and punished. Before he died, he
revealed what happened.” The marshal smiled coldly.

“I see. Thank you.”
Dainyl returned the smile, hoping he could keep to himself, behind his shields,
the knowledge that the marshal was not telling the entire truth.

“The more important
aspect of your efforts in Dramur was the discovery that the ancients are still
alive and active, if in a reduced capacity. Things could have been much worse,”
reflected the marshal, “but, in many ways, matters turned out better than they
might have.”

“Better, sir?”

“We are aware of the
problem before the ancients have been able to act against us on a larger
scale.”

“Colonel Dhenyr
reported that we have lost four other pteridons in the past season.”

“That is true, but
only in Dramur do we know what happened. In all other cases, the pteridons
either disappeared or mysteriously crashed. We would be guessing, or acting
with less than complete knowledge…” Shastylt was clearly more concerned about
the ancients. He had seemed almost amused about the abortive rebellion. “… the
Highest and I have decided that it would be best if you were the one to brief
the Duarch on the events in Dramur. You have the greatest personal acquaintance
with the situation, and you were the one to bring everything back under
control.”

Dainyl understood
that as well. The marshal and the High Alector of Justice were tired of being
called to task.

As abruptly as he had
entered, the marshal stood. “The Highest requested that you attend him
immediately upon your return. I took the liberty of summoning the duty coach.
It will be here shortly, after taking a message to the Hall of Justice.”

“Right now?”

“That is the meaning
of immediate,” Shastylt replied wryly.

Dainyl laughed and
stood. “I’ll be on my way.”

He did have to wait a
quarter glass for the coach to take him to the Hall of Justice.

Once he arrived
there, what surprised Dainyl even more than the immediate summons was that the
High Alector of Justice ushered Dainyl into his private chambers instantly, and
with a broad, almost relieved, smile.

“I had feared you had
been even more seriously injured than you were, Dainyl.”

“I was fortunate,
Highest.”

“We have not talked
since you returned from Lyterna, Dainyl. We’ve been somewhat preoccupied. What
did you think of what you learned there?” asked the High Alector of Justice.

“Some of it, sir, I
knew,” replied Dainyl carefully. “There was much I did not know.”

“Asulet knows more
about life forming and lifeforce than perhaps any alector in our history here
on Acorus. We are most fortunate to have had him guiding us.”

“He is most
knowledgeable, and he was most instructive.”

“You have seen much
of Acorus over the years, Dainyl. What do you think about our progress in
building lifeforce mass?”

Dainyl kept his
expression pleasant and a tight rein on his emotions and shields, even as he
wondered why the Highest was more interested in Lyterna than Dramur. “I would
not be the one who could best judge, but I would say matters are progressing
more slowly than might have been hoped.”

Zelyert laughed, a
hearty booming expression. “You are so tactful! More slowly than might have
been hoped! So delightfully droll.” His voice dropped into a lower tone, one
almost sad. “And so unfortunately true. Life here on Acorus is still most
fragile, despite outward appearances. We must be most careful. That was one
reason why we did not wish to send a full Myrmidon company or even a full squad
to Dramur.”

“I had wondered,”
Dainyl said politely.

“As you have
doubtless seen, over the past year, the life force mass here is slow to
respond, and that is something that we have had some difficulty conveying to
the high alectors who serve the Archon in Ifryn. Using the Tables for messages
is most difficult, because recorders at each Table must hold the link open simultaneously,
then read and write down what appears.”

That was something
Dainyl did not know.

“The only alternative
is to send a courier, and that tends to be hard on the couriers.” After a
moment, Zelyert went on. “We have tried to point out the fragility of the life
structure on Acorus, and how we are caught between two difficult alternatives.
Because of the rapidly deteriorating conditions on Ifryn, the Archon and the
Duarchs have directed the high alectors here on Acorus to manage the life-force
growth for maximum gain. This requires strict controls on the landers and
indigens. They resent it, and there are uprisings and disobedience. The ensuing
violence and the greater use of pteridons and skylances reduces growth as well.
You saw this in Dramur. The recent events in Catyr and Coren are other
examples. If we are less strict, then we do not face so many uprisings, but
lifeforce growth is slower, and that is not acceptable to the Archon and the
Duarchs.” Zelyert offered a sigh. “This problem is also why we have permitted
so few alector births. Oh, I understand that you and the most honorable
Lystrana will be expecting a child?”

“Yes, we are,”
replied Dainyl. “We are most grateful.”

“As you should be,
but I can think of no couple who more deserves a child.” Another smile crossed
the face of the Highest. “In addition, Marshal Shastylt and I have decided that
you are worthy of being not only Submarshal, but designated, unofficially, of
course, as the next Marshal of Myrmidons.”

“That is quite an
honor and responsibility,” Dainyl replied.

“After you brief the
Duarch of Elcien—and that may be a good week or so, if not longer, for he has a
crowded schedule, I also have a small task for you. I would like you to travel
to Alustre—by Table, of course—and consult with Submarshal Alcyna. I would like
you to find out if she knows more about the disappearances of the pteridons
near Scien than we have heard. You are, I believe, far better suited to such a
task than anyone else.”

Dainyl nodded. “By
then, I will be more conversant with what occurred in my absence.”

“I am most certain
you will.” Zelyert stood. “I congratulate you on your handling of a most
delicate situation, and, of course, upon your child. I am confident that we can
continue to rely upon your judgment and discretion, and that you will provide
an instructive briefing to the Duarch on the events that transpired in Dramur.”

Dainyl stood, more
slowly, and inclined his head. “I hope that I will prove adept in conveying to
the Duarch not only our successes in Dramur, but also the difficulties of
relying upon landers and indigens to build lifeforce when resources for
supervision are as limited as they have been.”

“You do that,
Submarshal,” replied Zelyert, “and you will have our gratitude. I fear he has
heard that too often from us. He needs to hear it from one who has just
returned from the field. As for the matter of the pteridons and the ancients… I
would suggest that you also note that we are working to develop a contingency
plan, should it appear necessary, but that the details have not all been worked
out.”