Chapter 4: The Plot Thickens

Kirl examined the pictures and said, "Why, that's the secretary to Councilor Barst. What's he doing here on Rannoc?"

"Planning to murder the Council."

"What! How? When?"

"Calm down, Kirl. The computer has a lot of the relevant conversation saved. Listen..."

Kirl listened to the recording we had made. His first comment was: "That meeting is in thirty two days. How did you get this recording? Won't they know you're onto them?"

"Not very likely, to answer your last question, first. They were a long way off. Do you know the layout at the Mulda Museum?"

"Yes. I was there last year."

"You know the shape of the great central hall?"

"Yes, but..."

"The hall is elliptical in shape."

"Yes..."

"One of the properties of an ellipse is that sounds generated at one focus can be heard at the other. They were too faint for the human ear, but the ship's computer heard it and could take the picture of the speakers at the other focus. Serendipity, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Admiral. You did well. Now I must let the Council know that they are in danger," he turned to leave.

"No, you don't. If you tell the council then others will know, and the plotters will melt away. They will attack the Council at a later date when we're not so lucky. What you must do is gather a team that you can trust, so that you can watch the plotters. That way you will be able to catch them 'red-handed', as we say."

"Yes, but..."

"Where does the Council meet?

"The Council meets on the planet of the current Chairman."

"Where..."

"Filutia. The current Chairman of the Council is Phlad a Filutian."

"Now Kirl, How good are your computers? Can they communicate with ours?"

"Yes, I believe that there has been an exchange of the details of their respective protocols. That has provided a means for them to talk to each other. Why?"

"We need to get Filutia, quickly. Your ships are so much quicker than the Beagle. I would respectfully suggest that you, and I, should get there as soon as possible. Do we need to take our marines?"

"Yes..."

"Does Phlad have any security staff? Anyone he can trust to look for the criminals? Look, Kerl, we need to move quickly on this. Computer!"

"Yes, Admiral?"

"Ask Roas to come here please. It's urgent."

"Yes, Admiral. He is on his way."

"Can you trust him, Kerl?"

"Yes. We are like brothers."

"Well, try to tell him as little as possible. Just that you need a small ship urgently for us and some Marines. Can you do that?"

"I suppose so. It doesn't feel right, however. How many of these Marines do you have?"

"Four and their commander. Five in all."

"Agreed. Will you tell them please."

"Sergeant Jones, please report to my ready room as soon as you return."

"I'll be right up, Sir. We've just got back from our day out."

We were both left with our thoughts when Roas and Brian Jones appeared.

I said, "Come in, both of you, and shut the door, please."

"What is it, Kerl?" asked Roas.

"We need to borrow a small craft for, say, seven people. It would probably be for about thirty or forty days."

"Of course, what's up?"

"We've a problem that's arisen. It may be rather dangerous, so Bill has offered to help me with his Marines. Do you know if you've had a visitor from Filutia?"

"Yes, there was one two days ago. If I remember correctly, his name is Knox, Pherl Knox. Why, what's he done?"

"Treason!"

"He's booked on a flight to Filutia in six days time. Do you want me to arrest him?"

"No," I said, "if we do that we may not be able to catch his collaborators. What's more, there may be a more successful plot later on. We need to take this 'slow and careful'."

"I see," Roas said.

"Can we get there before him?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Roas, "I have a fast dispatch vessel that you can use. How many of you are there?"

"Seven. There's Kerl and myself, four Marines, and their commander, Sergeant Jones."

"Good. The craft will take ten. I'll leave now and prepare for the trip. The consumables will need restocking."

He left, only to be replaced by Susan Chalmers.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Bill went to the Museum of Art instead of following your party. During his visit, he stumbled upon a plot to assassinate the Governing Council for this arm of the Galaxy. We were just arranging transport to Filutia in order to foil the plot."

"Right, do you have room for one more?"

"An extra pair of eyes is always useful," I said. "Brian, will you alert the Marines, please? They should pack for a thirty-day trip. Side arms only."

What made me estimate the excursion at thirty days, I don't know, but within the hour we had started. The trip to Filutia took five and a half days. Once underway, we all used the educator to learn the Filutian language. When we arrived, we boarded a smaller version of the bus that had been used on Karse.

I was sitting up front and heard Kerl ask the bus, "Take us to the location of Councilman Phlad."

A moment later, the bus replied in Karsian.

"The Councilman would like to to know why you want to see him, Sir?"

"Tell him it's a matter of State Security, and of his own personal safety."

"Very good, Sir."

The bus left the space port and traveled out into the open countryside. We bypassed what looked like a small town. About ten miles further on, we approached a village that was comprised of mansions and equally grand office blocks.

"This is our capital, lady and gentlemen," said the bus, drawing up to one of the office blocks, "Councilman Phlad is in the Council Library. He will meet you in the foyer."

"We all descended from the bus and walked up to the front doors of the building with Kerl in the lead. We entered to find one individual inside. He was tall, about six foot four in height, and extremely skinny. He was dressed in an armless floor-length jacket in a material which looked like silk.

"Good day to you all," he said in Karsian, "What can I do for you?"

"We have something that we want to show you," replied Kerl. "Bill, please show the Council Chairman what you showed me."

I showed Phlad the tablet I had with the video of the plotters, and explained how I had obtained the video. When he heard them mention the Sith virus, Phlad gave a slight shiver.

"That would be a very painful death," Phlad said. "Have you proof that Councilor Barst is involved in the plot."

"No, Sir, not yet." replied Kerl, "That is why we told no one and came straight to you. We didn't know who to trust."

"Very wise. However, I knew he was up to something. My race, if you didn't know it, are almost telepathic. We can sense emotions, feelings, and a thought, if it is broadcast strongly enough. Barst is from Rannoc, but he is aware of our abilities. He has been trying to avoid me, and when he has met me, he has been reciting nonsense verse in his head. It was most irritating, but I understand now why he was doing it."

Phlad turned to me and said, "What would your race do to these three?"

"We have a phrase in my language, Sir. 'Lock them up and throw away the key'."