A New Day by Ben Winston Page B

have given Tammerain so many ships unless they were certain they could still defend themselves. Which means, many more lizard warships exist than what was sent to Hyclarion. We could be in for some trouble."
    Gail nodded. "I've been told it is entirely possible that Tammerain is also betraying the rest of the Dukes."
    Yolinar stopped and looked at her. "How so?"
    "Well, in order to get the size of force he would need to take Hyclarion, as well as getting the other Dukes to leave him alone long enough to do it, he had to strike a deal with them. They would give him ships and troops to take Hyclarion and overthrow the Emperor in exchange for restoring the original Lizard royal line.
    "We feel he will take Hyclarion and declare himself Emperor before any of the other Dukes could get into position to stop him. We can't prove any of it, but we do believe it," Gail replied. "Which means he has another fleet of ships stashed somewhere else to defend Hyclarion once he takes it."
    Yolinar nodded thoughtfully as they began walking again. "That would make a lot of sense. Tammerain is a crafty snake, I am actually surprised the rest of the Lizards would have entrusted him with something like this."
    "Maybe they don't," Gail said. "They have to know that Tammerain is going to pull something like this. My question is, what do they have in place to keep him in line?" She shook her head. "It's a very confusing mess."
    Yolinar chuckled. "War is always a confusing mess, my young friend. It is our job to bring sanity out of chaos. I only wish I could have brought my staff along. Conducting a war under these circumstances handicaps us."
    Gail nodded. "We did what we could to make certain we could at least monitor the planet. With Mother invading the rest of the systems on the planet, we should have more options available." She paused. "Mother, if His Majesty and the Prime Council do not need her, could you ask if Councilor Carlyle could join us in the Command Center?"
    "General, Councilor Carlyle has already sent three of her analysts to assist you. They should arrive shortly after you do," Mother replied.
    "Ah, I forgot she brought friends with her. Thank you, Mother. Can you give me a status on the drone modifications?" Gail asked.
    "Planet wide, we are at fifty-two percent complete. I am told they should all be complete by the end of this day," Mother said. "I would mention that by taking control of the planet's computer systems, it will make controlling the drones much easier.
    "However, I feel I need to remind you that neither I nor any of my fellow AI can fire the weapons they carry. Because of this, I have tasked many of our troops with 'piloting' the vehicles. I have even asked the Council for volunteers from the populations to assist. Those people are in training at the moment and should be ready by the time the drones are finished. The control consoles are very intuitive."
    "That was a good idea, Mother. Thank you," Gail replied.
    "It was not actually an idea, General. I saw that there was a need to be filled and took steps to fulfill that need according to standing protocol. That being said, you're welcome," Mother replied.
    "She is a very intuitive AI," Yolinar replied. "It is hard to believe she is as old as she is. Her designers must have been far ahead of their time."
    Gail nodded. "Yes, in a way I am sad they didn't get included in our population, but if they had been, Mother would never have been completed to help the people that remained. I sometimes wonder if we hadn't taken so many of the planet's scientists and researchers, how well our people would have fared in that war."
    "There is no way to know. All we can do is deal with the present to the best of our ability and knowledge. The past is there to give us knowledge and to provide a strong foundation upon which to plant our feet and deal with what is before us," Yolinar said as they arrived at the Command Center.
    "Attention on Deck!" the guard yelled as the two