respect the legitimacy of all nations and peoples.
Until proven otherwise.
Consequently, a third session has been summoned.
The council requested an official connection and conciliation to be developed with the land of Helandi’s leadership.
Delegates would be briefed and sent north.
After exhaustive deliberation only a few conflicting debates remained unresolved. One grave point was unanimously shared:
Nobody wanted war.
I stared at that those words. A tragic resignation rested in their meaning while they expanded before my eyes.
Nobody wanted war.
Distantly I heard my name as both a voice and a thought steadily repeating like a beating drum.
Nobody wants it, Torlo Hannis. You must lead our people into a clash with the Kamina. It is your destiny; it always was. I stared at the document still clutched in my hands.
Nobody wanted war.
My eyes darted around the room. I was its only occupant. Adt is up to his telepathic tricks, again, I thought. But I was wrong. You have a powerful mind, Torlo!
A ghostly image appeared out of the dark, fading in and out of focus. Then it slowly sharpened and I recognized Moyi. He floated, face lined, eyes penetrated deep into mine. Suspended, no larger than my fists, he filled my mental universe with his presence; features drawn up into a wrinkled smile, eyes brightening.
An intense, yet kindly expression marked the stark lines of his face as he continued to stare through me.
Don’t resist!
I reached out and we made contact, my hand touching his. The vivid illusion was real and enveloped me with puzzling security.
It is well for you to be cautious when on mission. For you will soon be sent. The name Torlo Hannis is in danger.
Hide that identity.
Be prepared for false illusions. Fear no images. They will make extraordinary efforts to delude your core awareness. Observe and learn all you can from them, all the while isolating your inner shell.
His image faded; then returned, flickering slightly. When he spoke, his voice was hollow and thin.
Give them Sorla of Kanns, the mercenary. He must occupy them sufficiently. Your challenge is critical. Avoid discovery. Develop Jan Sorla fully. Flesh out his identity. Remember the mercenary from Kanns. Fill him with your knowledge of combat: your experience as a warrior.
Remember the fiction: your father and mother were Kanns, from the north. You have been away from your country for many seasons. You left at the peak of your youth, consigned to armies of other nations. Ever since then you have been without a country; without loyalty to any sovereign. Your profession travels with you.
Remember; the Kanns believe a man’s past is his own. That is their guarded truth; and yours. They are brutal by nature and certainly easy to anger.
You are a mercenary for hire who has conquered many warriors in honorable duels. An assassin, if need be, by nature, trade and habit. You could be useful to the Kaminaeans.
Moyi began to dim.
Our link will not maintain when you go on mission. Be careful.
The image had faded, the voice echoed in the emptiness.
Be alert and aware, Jan Sorla.
I shifted position.
Cloudy pieces of lapsed memory retraced my life on other worlds. Battle ships and wars in long forgotten planetary systems against untold enemies, teased my trepidation. And I, Jan Sorla, fought long and hard among the strongest of them, though it was not as a tribal member of the Kanns on Noomas. For the Sorla I recalled in my former life was that of the galactic warrior. Many times I had led units of a hundred and more to victory, only to redeem my promised reward.
I’d travel on to the next realm, hunting for action. Always hunting and never willing to settle in any land; restless, eager to explore. I’d hoped to find my roots; my family—a connection to the past nearly obliterated.
My search brought me to Noomas. Finding Andon and learning his story gradually shed new light on unanswered questions about my early youth. Within a short time I had remembered large patches of my past.
During the Diano War I had made use of the name Jan Sorla, my name prior to landing on Noomas. As a trained soldier, I easily adopted the nature of the warring Kanns, a fitting cover for a man without memory.
Everything changed when Youi came into my life. I fell in love. She had become my passion; all I ever wanted to live for. And her nation became my nation. My earlier careers on other worlds were now, by choice, faded memory. Noomas took precedence for me.
Once again I concentrated on duty. Between dream and wakefulness, I pondered those last words of the document.
Nobody wanted war
It was time to take action.
My mission units had nearly completed their training and could no longer be delayed. Pulling out my official memo, I began calculating requirements to schedule the initial flight missions. Then I wrote the final details. Sealing the orders, I summoned my couriers to deliver them at once.
IV. Preparations
Be not hasty to define resolution with matters of conflict. Long deliberation often uncovers undiscovered truths while a short fuse will destroy all possibilities of understanding and of lasting peace.
—Teachings of Moyi
It was during these weeks that Adt Dorta joined me nearly every morning to discuss the Kaminaean situation. Often we’d meet at the palace arena where he gave me critical pointers in fencing. One morning, after a few moments of sparring with dulled practice swords, he bluntly stated:
“Your abilities have remarkably improved since our cadet days. Obviously you’ve continued training with my father or one of his instructors. You’re using a few of my father’s unique techniques quite effectively!”
I probably looked puzzled, for he added, “I opened part of your mind and observed. You must take extra time to practice with the sword. You’ll be pleased, I’m sure. Mixed with your masterful hand-to-hand fighting skills, they’ll make you a dangerously fearsome warrior in battle.”
We touched blades; I strove to penetrate his defenses only to have the sword snapped out of my hand. It hit the floor with a clatter. He laughed as I picked it up. “You have forgotten a few things, I see!”
That was a trick he’d flaunted me with many times in the past.
“Maybe,” I grunted, again attacking with more care, only to have each thrust towards his chest easily parried to one side.
His prowess surpassed mine, despite my increasing agility and accelerated response with each practice session.
Before he and Sarleni left for Helandi we devoted long hours in my office to the concepts of the Zygo and all its capabilities, both in the physical and the mental worlds.
Sarleni and Adt had learned to see their world from a broader scope than ever before. And he taught me a lot about the Zygo.
“To give you the blocking ability that Moyi suggested, will take some training.”
Adt would begin gently, though the principles were not so simple.
He would induce a semi-conscious state, what Sarleni referred to as pre-hypnotic mental readiness.
Adt closed his eyes as I loosened my stiff neck and shoulders.
“Relax. Release your control. To shield against any Muti you must only access your surface thoughts.”
Focus on an X; blot out all else.
“Lock