Kian turned from the window and walked back to the conference table. "Help yourself to some fresh coffee." He motioned at the thermal carafe.
"Don't mind if I do." Onegus poured himself a cup.
Kian pulled out a chair and sat. "We have reasons to celebrate this morning, and I was thinking of getting the whiskey, but it's really too early for that."
"I wouldn't mind." Onegus grinned over the rim of his cup. "Three toasts. One for each brother."
"Perhaps later," Kian suggested as he refilled his mug.
Sipping their coffee, they waited for the other team members to arrive and take their seats at the conference table. Turner, Toven, Lokan, and Kalugal, who'd been a last-minute addition.
All of them had been informed of the developments and were here to discuss the next steps.
"We are in unfamiliar territory," Turner said.
He didn't sound as if he viewed the elimination of Losham's main adversaries as a good thing.
"What do you mean?" Kian asked. "Without the brothers breathing down his neck, Losham can do what we tell him to do without any impediments. We can actually manage the island remotely now."
"It's not as simple as that," Turner said. "The brothers were a thorn in Losham's side, which limited what he could do, but that doesn't mean he's free to do whatever now that they are gone.He will have to promote others to take the place of the three he eliminated. He can't manage everything himself."
Onegus put his cup down. "That's one of the reasons we are assembling this morning. Losham might need our guidance to keep control of the island."
Turner looked at the chief for a long moment as if expecting him to continue, but Onegus was done.
"Losham didn't tell us about his plan to kill his brothers," Turner said. "We assume we control him because he has to do what we tell him, but unless we compel him to run by us every plan and every decision, he can still do a lot of damage all on his own. The problem is that we can't really do that without paralyzing him and therefore hastening his end. If we cripple his ability to take immediate action when needed, he will not last long before another upstart gets rid of him."
Leave it to Turner to cast a shadow on every ray of sunshine.
"So, what do you suggest?" Kian asked.
Turner shrugged. "For now, I'm just listing the limitations." He shifted his gaze to Toven. "Unless you have some creative ideas as to how we can manage Losham better."
"The compulsion is a tool, not a leash," Toven said. "I can command Losham to do or not to do specific things. You are right that I cannot compel him to run every decision by us. Even if I did, he would find cracks to slip through. Losham has spent two thousand years working with Navuh's leash around his neck. He will identify any gaps and exploit them.
"And while we are on the subject of compulsion, it has occurred to me that if we do have to employ the EMP, it will disableLosham’s phone and, at least temporarily, will leave us with no way to communicate with him. I need to instruct him to keep the same number when and if he replaces his phone."
“Good call.” Kian leaned back in his chair.
The plan was to keep Losham in place as a puppet for as long as possible. It wasn't enough to control him just for a few weeks until the chests were recovered and the scientists, soldiers, and the women they took from the Dormants' enclosure were extracted. They couldn't allow the Brotherhood to descend into chaos, even though that would have weakened the organization long enough for the clan to build the military capacity it needed to engage it directly.
There were thousands of innocents on the island that would fall victim to an unruly army of immortals without a clear leader to rein them in.
"Losham doesn't know the first thing about running an army," Lokan said. "He's a great political and economic strategist, but he is no general. The army has been Kolhood's responsibility for the past three decades, and the chain of command flowed through Kolhood to the senior commanders to the junior officers and down to the rank and file. With Kolhood dead, the senior commanders who reported to him will now be looking for instructions from Losham, and it will become clear very quickly that he's not the right brother for the job."
It was clear that Lokan had someone in mind for the position.
"Who do you suggest that Losham nominate for the position?"
"There are steps that he needs to take even before that," Kalugal said. "The senior commanders will be looking for three main things." He lifted a finger. "Acknowledgment of the loss." Helifted a second finger. "Clarity about the chain of command." Third finger. "Reassurance that their positions are secure." He put his hand down. "Losham needs to do all three as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will try to take advantage of the situation during the period of confusion."
Lokan nodded. "First order of business is to assemble all the senior and junior leadership and address them in person. Losham needs to confirm the deaths of his three brothers, officially attribute them to our father, and establish that the chain of command now runs through him as our father's designated regent. He should also acknowledge the senior commanders by name and reaffirm their positions. That is the acknowledgment, the clarity, and the reassurance, all delivered in a single communication."
"He needs to appoint a new head of the army," Turner said. "And it can't be him. He is not a military man, and the commanders will not respect him in that role even if he claims it. He needs to elevate one of the senior commanders, ideally someone who was close to Kolhood but who wasn't a fan of his. Such a person would be seen as a natural successor, and it would reinforce the fiction that Losham had nothing to do with Kolhood's death. It also places a familiar face at the top of the chain of command, which preserves continuity." He looked at Lokan. "Any suggestions?"
"Bertram," Lokan said. "He's been Kolhood's second for over a decade. He's young, and Kolhood promoted him because he's competent but not overly ambitious. He wouldn't have challenged Kolhood, and he won't challenge Losham, but the senior officers know him and respect him."
"Good." Kian lifted his coffee cup and took a sip. "That's what we will suggest when we talk to him next."
