7 - The Grand Admiral

Grand Admiral S'ian, the supreme commander of the Erratan Galactic Republic's expeditionary force in this galaxy, was sitting at his desk, meditating. With his eyes closed he was facing a window that showed the inky blackness of space, broken only by the twinkling of stars and the occasional fighter escort silently moving past. He meditated here at least twice a day, using it to keep his mind focused on the various strategies of his campaign. On the desk in front of him were 5 screens, one of which was displaying a battle occurring between one of his task forces and two Borg cubes; the Borg were losing against the large number of EGR destroyers. As exciting as it looked, he had lost interest in viewing such battles many years ago, preferring to focus on results of events, rather than the observance of them.

The two Borg ships on the screen were fighting valiantly, but hopelessly. Against over 50 ships, the two cubes were outmatched. And spectacularly outmatched, as one of the cubes exploded from the direct hits of a volley of torpedos. The massive explosion caught its companion cube in the blast, resulting in that one exploding as well. The smaller EGR fighters were racing away from the explosions, some of them not fast enough as they were struck by debris or were caught within the expanding cloud of energy.

The denizens of this galaxy, having spent the past year reeling in shock from the entry of the Erratan Galactic Republic, believed that Grand Ambassador Jelan Torn was the EGR's representative in this galaxy. The battle fleet was controlled by Admiral Antill Pe'chenza, who the Grand Ambassador answered to. It was part of the Grand Admiral's strategy that the locals in this galaxy think Torn and Pe'chenza were in command; this made S'ian invisible, and it also made them publicly responsible for the invasion. Therefore, any potential personal repercussions were likely to affect only them, and really, they were replaceable. Grand Admiral S'ian was not.

As another fighter escort swept past the large window, a voice from nowhere murmured softly in S'ian's ears, almost startling him since he hadn't heard the door open or any footsteps approach. He thought it might have been in his mind. Or was it?

"About three more month's should wrap up operations then, don't you think Admiral?" said the voice.

Grand Admiral S'ian opened his eyes, calmly looking around, a frown on his face. As he suspected, there was no one in the room with him. He closed his eyes again, purposefully thinking 'out loud' in his mind. "And you are?"

"An interested observer, nothing more."

"Observers do not often make contact," S'ian said, still only in his mind, satisfied now that the intruder was telepathic since it had responded only to his thoughts. "You have therefore changed your status to a participant. What do you want?"

"Disinterested observers," the voice emphasised, correcting S'ian's assertion, "do not often make contact. You could say that I'm interested in your... motivations... for the record."

"You have a way of recording my thoughts?" S'ian asked, curious.

"Any train of thoughts, having been observed, form a record," the voice stated. "Therefore I asked, and your involuntary thoughts answered."

S'ian frowned as he again answered in his mind. "Since you know so much about me and yet I know nothing about you, maybe you could indulge my curiousity and tell me more about your intentions?"

"Your activities coincide with some... research... of mine. Maybe I could answer a question not related to current affairs. Would that suffice?"

"What is your name?" S'ian asked the unknown being, thinking that he would start with the basics.

"R would be as suitable a name as any," it replied.

"I'm disappointed, 'R', that a being such as yourself would hide behind an alias," S'ian said, referring to it choosing a 'suitable' name rather than giving its real name. "You must be able to learn from my mind all that you need to know, so your intent can only be to alert me of your presence. Why?"

"Admiral," the voice replied, sounding disappointed that he had to ask the question. "You are well aware of what information you have been given and you do have enough. Until our next conversation then?"

S'ian stayed silent. He knew that from this point on, he had a probable spy he couldn't find, and whom he couldn't hide from. However, he also knew from this conversation that the entity would keep any information it had to itself. If not, then it could have gained invaluable information over the previous 3 years that would have already been used against the EGR. None of his enemy combatants had displayed any knowledge of his tactics or strategies during that time, so therefore the entity was not a threat to him. At least, not yet. "Are you still there?" he asked, still in his mind. "I have one more thing to ask."

"That which benefits you, benefits other matters," R replied, answering S'ian's unspoken question. "There is no other way. I wish you well."

"Goodbye," S'ian said, particularly interested in its final words. He suspected interesting times were ahead, especially since he now had a mysterious telepathic being apparently on his side.

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"I'm sorry sir, there is no record of any being called 'R'," stated Admiral Pe'chenza. Like the Grand Ambassador, Pe'chenza was a figurehead, albeit an effective one. He was the only man in the entire EGR fleet who knew of Grand Admiral S'ian's existence. All of Grand Ambassador Torn's orders came through Admiral Pe'chenza, but were secretlyinitiated by S'ian. Most of the Grand Admirals back in the EGR's home galaxy weren't so secretive, but secrecy was very important to S'ian, especially in his role taking over this galaxy, something that the EGR had never done before. Apart from its own galaxy, of course. With the number of enemies here, along with the various possibilities for defeat and betrayal, it was important that if anyone was going to be killed as the EGR's leader in this galaxy, it wouldn't be him. Pe'chenza continued his report.

"We have cross-analysed all of the Federation's reports of the being they call 'Q'. It may not be a coincidence that your contact was with someone calling themselves 'R', particularly since R comes after Q in the Federation's alphabet..."

"I'm well aware of the Federation's alphabet Admiral," S'ian replied, looking up from the desk with a dangerous look in his eyes. It was not unknown for S'ian to have bothersome staff executed, and Admiral Pe'chenza blanched at the thought. He knew he was important to the Grand Admiral's plans, but he also knew that he was expendable. Ayone could do as they were told; he was simply the one being told what to do at this time. Tomorrow, another Admiral could be promoted to the same position as his.

"Yes sir," Pe'chenza said, looking back at his report. "There have been no reported instances of Q going by any other name, but there are numerous reports of other energy beings throughout the the recorded history of many of the inhabitants of this galaxy. The Federation seems to be the only group to have recorded them scientifically, as actual beings of energy, rather than as religious icons or such like. Although Q displays omnipotent abilities, the Federation has always treated him scientifically, as simply a member of a race of beings who have evolved to the point where their minds transcend physical limitations." He paused and looked up at S'ian as he continued. "The Federation have a quote from one of their historical authors which seems relevent: 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' Or in this case, any sufficiently advanced race may be indistinguishable from apparent omnipotence."

S'ian nodded, contemplating what Pe'chenza was saying. He had read the reports of Q, and had wondered about it. It seemed that the God-like being called Q had interfered in the affairs of the Federation a number of times, coming to their aid and helping them evolve. It had been a concern for him to work that into his strategy. It wasn't an accident that the Federation was the only group in the galaxy that the EGR had allied with. Since Q was able to manipulate space and time with the snap of his fingers, it didn't seem wise to potentially alienate a powerful being who supported the Federation.

If 'R' was somehow related to 'Q', then it made things very interesting indeed. Q had never seemed shy in the reports, and therefore R, being shy, was not of the race that Q came from. Maybe it even had something to hide. Was it possible that it was another highly advanced race of beings who were the next evolutionary step of Q? That seemed logical, and the use of 'R' was potentially a hint at how they followed Q. Of course, it could also be logical that the being named 'R' was simply a local member of this galaxy who was powerfully telepathic, and attempting to lead them astray with their analysis. Either way, it was obvious that his mind was not safe from eavesdropping. His only choice was to continue as planned, and hopefully learning with time what R wanted. If any God-like being wanted him dead, or his plans thwarted, then there would be nothing he could do about it.
"Continue as normal," S'ian said to the Admiral. "I will keep you updated if any further contact is made, but at this stage, we are unable to do anything about it. Therefore, there is no need to concern ourselves with it."

"But sir," Pe'chenza said, about to disagree.

"You have your orders Admiral," S'ian said, interrupting him. "Carry them out."

"Yes sir," Pe'chenza replied, standing straighter. Slipping the report under his arm, he saluted and then turned, leaving the Grand Admiral's office.

To be continued....