“People join us because they want to be part of the action, to help and be listened to, not to be ignored.”
“They expect all that because you tell them to. We should not invite recruits to come to us, anyway. They risk their lives and could–and already have–led allies to us.”
“If they don’t even come to us once, how do we know where and who they are?”
“We don’t have to. We send out recruiters through the worlds, leaving information on what to do and where to go when the time comes to attack.”
“And how do the recruiters travel and report back to us safely?”
“They don’t either. They only need to travel from world to world, telling those who would join us that there will a message or signal.”
“How do we know when we have enough support?”
Baluka grimaced. “Perhaps we wait until we know we have more than enough.”
“And this signal. Would it be the same signal everywhere?”
“Yes.”
“But if any recruiter or rebel is caught by the allies, the signal’s meaning will be known. They’ll watch for anyone making it, and kill them.”
“That depends on the nature of the signal.”
“Oh? What kind of signal are you suggesting?”
Baluka hesitated, then sighed. “I don’t know yet. I’m still working on that part.”
For a moment Tyen was disappointed. The Traveller’s suggestions had a mad kind of sense to them. A few tweaks… But I’m not supposed to be encouraging ideas that will work. He tapped the chair arm, then stopped as he saw an advantage in Baluka’s idea. Keeping the rebels spread through the worlds would not only be safer for them, but the risks of travelling would prevent them getting together and pressing for action. So long as they believed a signal would come one day, they would wait. And the excuse that there weren’t enough rebels to attack the Raen yet could never be disproven. And if I resist this idea for a while, then let Baluka take the credit, he’ll take the blame when it fails to lead to an attack on the Raen.
He cringed inwardly at the thought of setting the Traveller up. Could he make up for that in some way? What would the Raen say, if I suggested that freeing this man’s fiancée would weaken the rebels? Would Baluka leave if the woman he loved was free and unharmed?
“If you think of something…” Tyen began.
Baluka nodded. “I’ll tell you. Though I’m sure you’ll read it from my mind first. I can see that’s a necessary precaution, but it’s going to take some getting used to. My people consider it bad manners to read minds without consent.”
Tyen nodded. “Most people do. So is planning to kill a ruler, if you are the ruler or his supporters.”
“More than bad manners.” Baluka moved over to the covered window. “But to those who suffer under that rule, it is more like a song. One that you can’t get out of your mind. One that speeds your heart and sets your blood on fire.”
“I know the kind of song you mean. It makes death seem glorious and defeat impossible.”
The young Traveller turned to regard Tyen, the side of his face illuminated by the lamplight leaking between the curtains. “Death and the risk of defeat are an unavoidable part of war. I don’t think anyone who joins a rebellion is ignorant of that.”
“But they expect us to keep the risks as low as possible, or at least make their deaths count. If we treat them otherwise we are no better than the tyrants they seek to remove. ‘It is often wiser not to fight at all than attack before victory is sure’,” he quoted.
Baluka nodded. “If defeating the Raen could only be achieved through the sacrifice of most of the rebels, would the death of thousands be worth it for the freedom of countless people in countless worlds?” Would it? Baluka asked himself. Could I give the order to attack, if I knew that was the cost? He wasn’t sure, and that roused in him a little reluctant respect for Tyen.
A chill ran through Tyen. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Baluka regarded Tyen in silence, thinking that he would have tried to reassure a recruit in this situation. It was obvious that Tyen was not a natural leader. How did he end up in this position? Hapre didn’t tell me that part of the rebels’ story, only that Tyen was the previous leader’s adviser. Perhaps she expected me to read the rest from her mind. Ah, lom’s balls! He’s probably watching me thinking about this. I’ve got to get used to that. There’s a lot to learn.