Victorious

“Yes. It’s the home star system of the current chair of the Alliance grand council.”

The Syndic CEO appeared puzzled a moment longer, then suddenly laughed. “You’re falling for that? Seriously? It’s the oldest trick in the book.”

“What is?” Geary demanded.

“Avoiding attacking property belonging to an enemy leader. It makes the enemy wonder what kind of deal that leader might have cut. I don’t have personal knowledge of Abassas, but that’s a common strategy for sowing dissension in the enemy ranks.” Boyens stopped laughing and spread his hands. “I don’t know if you like that answer or not, but that’s the only answer I know.”

Geary nodded abruptly. “Thank you. You’ll be taken to the brig on this ship while your offer is evaluated.”

He turned and left, trying to resist the urge to yell at the Syndic.

Halting in the observation room, Geary took in the displays. “What do you think?” he asked everyone there.

Rione answered first, her own eyes on the readouts. “He didn’t register as deceptive in his request for aid, though there were other places where he was clearly shading the truth and being certain to phrase his answers carefully.”

Lieutenant Iger nodded. “That matches my assessment, sir. The request for aid appears to be sincere. He didn’t tell us anything that was a lie. That doesn’t mean that he didn’t hold back other things, though. Things that might be important.”

Desjani, her eyes narrowed in thought, was gazing not at the Syndic or the displays, but into the distance. “They’re not acting like they’re more powerful than we are.”

It took Geary a moment to realize what she was referring to. “The aliens?”

“Yes.” She turned her head to focus on him. “Concealing your strength, capabilities, and dispositions are all usually good tactics in battle, but there are still times when it’s a good idea to let the other side know that you have overwhelming superiority. Instead, they’re hiding their capabilities.”

Rione was watching Desjani and nodded in agreement. “That’s so. Especially in negotiations.”

“But,” Desjani continued, “it’s also useful to make the enemy think that you’re stronger than you actually are. To keep him guessing. It’s a very good tactic to employ when you’re actually weaker than the enemy.”

Everyone stood silently for a few moments while they thought about that. “How do we know,” Geary finally said, “that they’re thinking like we would? Maybe to them, all of this mystery is just normal.”

“Even hiding the shapes of their ships?” Desjani shook her head. “If what that Syndic said is true, then these aliens have devoted a huge amount of effort to keep humans from learning anything about them. Maybe they are privacy freaks who hide themselves under every possible disguise and cover, but if this were a human foe, I would ask myself what they are so concerned with hiding.”

Lieutenant Iger spoke deferentially. “Captain, that’s from a human perspective. On Earth and many other planets, the dominant life-forms use physical displays to overawe opponents, trying to make themselves look bigger than they are. Humans do it, too, to some extent. But there are life-forms that use very different approaches, such as lurking hidden until their prey comes close enough, then striking before the victim can react.”

Rione made a disgusted noise. “You’d think the Syndics could have learned a little more in a century of contact. This CEO is holding back information.” She suddenly seemed to think of something. “How long ago did the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds ‘discover’ the hypernet technology and begin creating their own hypernets?”

Desjani tapped her data unit, then read the answer. “The first segments of the hypernets on both sides were activated sixty-nine years ago.”

Rione’s lip curled in anger. “The CEO claimed the aliens were fairly active until about seventy years ago and have been mostly quiet since then. Those bastards spent a few decades learning more about humanity, then sent in the hypernet technology and since that time have been sitting back and waiting for us to annihilate ourselves.”

“Why the probing attacks during that time?” Geary wondered.

“To make sure our sensors and weapons hadn’t changed in any major ways,” Desjani suggested.

“That’s plausible,” Iger agreed.

There were still far too many questions, and the Syndic CEO seemed to have far too few answers. “Is he worth keeping on this ship?” Geary asked.

“I’d recommend it,” Rione said. “I believe his answer regarding the lack of attacks on Abassas. It registered true, and strikes me as a very effective tactic. I may have to use it myself sometime.”

“I’d recommend keeping him as well, sir,” Iger added. “He could have more information, and he told us that he knew the people in the border star systems, the ones in charge out there. We might need those contacts.”