Chapter 8

The emperor was reading the latest intelligence summary on the Shas'vsaz. It also included the latest stats on the dead and wounded of the emperor's forces. He sighed. He was starting to have nightmares about this. 103,000 dead and 53,012 wounded.

[There is a better way] His symbiont said.

<What's that?> Responded Richard curiously.

[Simply use the gifts you have. Take the information you need or want from the mind of the aliens.] It responded.

<You know how uncomfortable that makes me. It seems a violation of the very basic individual's privacy.> Richard said, a bit uncomfortably.

[You are astonishing to me. Here I have given you abilities far above those of the average human, yet you refuse to use them. You are EMPEROR. You have a responsibility to your empire. You have a responsibility to your people. Think about it. I will help you if you wish.] The symbiont responded.

Richard did think about it. For several days he agonized over what he was considering doing. Invading another being's mind and ripping out what he needed and wanted to know. His whole being rejected the thought of such an invasion. It went against everything he stood for.

Yet he had done just that three times. In all three cases it was after discovering fellow telepath's within the borders of his empire. Two were men who seemed to use their abilities for the betterment of themselves. The third actually interested him.

She was a young woman named Vonda Preston. She was 36 years old, single and lived only 30 minutes away by air car. She knew she was telepathic, yet did not take advantage of it. She had developed a natural shield which Richard had penetrated only after careful instruction from his symbiont.

He had read all three minds, to ascertain their abilities, wants, and drives. They never knew he had been inside their minds, he was that good. The men were driven by greed and had used their abilities to enrich themselves with the information they gleaned from their illicit mind probing. He felt extremely dirty after each probe into someone's mind.

Vonda was different. She lived a simple life. Had a job she went to on a daily basis. Never intruded unless she felt extreme distress from someone. Was always helpful. He had read the memories of her early life in her mind and her discovery of this ability. For a while she had thought she was going insane. He sympathized with her. It started around the time she hit puberty. To have this ability come out with all the other angst that went with puberty, and to have developed into such a fine person had spoken volumes to the emperor of her character.

The symbiont who had been following this train of thought responded, [She would make a perfect match for you, Richard. It has been some years since the death of your wife and child. You should consider remarrying and giving your empire an heir. It would please both the House of Commons, and the Assembly of Lords.]

Richard sighed. <I know. I got another not so subtle hint about that just last week. The prime Minister has hinted that perhaps now would be a good time to pursue uniting the Caliphate and the Empire together in holy matrimony.>

<Getting back to the war. I guess I know what I have to do. If I can shorten this war, or give us a better advantage, I need to do it. For my people.> Richard said, sighing again.

So it was that the emperor found himself only a week later at Macon Battle Station where three of the alien Shas'vsaz were being held for him. He knew they were two officers and a minor clan subchief. It still amazed him that a system of clans could produce the amount of ships to fight that they did.

It only took an hour and a half to get everything from them that he wanted. He also got associational information that might prove useful in the future. He returned to his ship which then took him back to his capital planet of Marshal. After returning to his palace, he summoned Yami Mitsuko, his Admiral of the Navy, Marian Pennington, his Secretary of War, David Powell, his Prime Minister, and finally General Walter Stein, his Chairman of all Armed Forces.

In the palace was a situation room that had state-of-the-art equipment and a large Holo tank. Everyone was seated and studying the tank as the emperor pointed out locations and gave a monologue of what he had discovered. The Holo tank changed to show different portions of the enemy strongholds and known positions, as well as the new information the emperor added.