The soldiers brought chairs while we waited. I sat on one - carefully avoiding Furniture Destroyer - and waited.

When my CP topped out at 264 again, I signalled the others. "I'm ready."

Veda Sinclair and Edward Heath nodded. "Ready here, too."

I initiated the link.

RAPTOR GUARD IS COMPELLED TO COMMUNICATE.

MINDSPEECH CHANNEL ACTIVATED. TIME: 00:00:14

: What is your name?

Aisindrahas! Please spare me, Puppetmaster!

: I will spare you if you agree to speak to my people. Raise your left hand for Yes and right for No. Remember, left for Yes, right for No, and shake your head if you don't understand.

CP EXHAUSTED. CHANNEL CLOSED.

The purple tendrils collapsed.

"Any luck?" asked Heath.

"His name's Aisindrahas," I replied. "I told him to raise left for Yes and right for no, as you suggested."

"Good," nodded Heath, "now we can get started."

Veda Sinclair held up a large board with a black line on it. Heath held up another board with another black line.

Slowly, the two officers pantomimed the process of adding one plus one to get two using a variety of whiteboards.

The alien - Aisindrahas - watched fascinated. Initially there was a lot of headshaking. After about ten minutes, he finally raised his right hand.

"He thinks one plus one don't equal two?" asked Pemberley, puzzled.

"He raised the hand which was to his right and our left," pointed out Heath. "It's likely reference directions get confused in Mindspeech."

Sure enough, after another ten minutes of pantomime, Aisindrahas was raising his right hand when we expected him to. Meanwhile, my CP has capped off again.

"Time for message two," said Sinclair.

I nodded, ready to follow the officers' script.

MINDSPEECH CHANNEL ACTIVATED. TIME LEFT: 00:00:14

Belessar: You will now say the word 'Yes' out loud, three times. Then say 'No', once. Then 'Don't know', twice.

Aisindrahas: You said you'd stop!

Belessar: Co-operate and I will.

Aisindrahas: Please! Please don't take my mind!

I was taken aback. Take his mind?

CP EXHAUSTED. CHANNEL CLOSED.

Aisindrahas stood up, trembling, and let out a short, atonal chirp. Then he repeated it. And repeated it again.

A snort-like grunt sounded after that, followed by two repetitions of a slightly longer phrase.

The audio recorders got it all.

"We have three more words," Sinclair announced. "Good show, Belessar."

"Thanks. He's terrified of my doing something to his mind."

"Could it be a side effect of this Mindspeech?" asked Dr. Shapiro. "Does it hurt the aliens if you force your way into their brains for too long?"

I shook my head. "I doubt it. Nanocloud and I have been using it for months now, without any problems."

"Mindspeech and Puppetmasters," mused Dr. Belmont. "Reminds me of how Masters work."

I turned to the scientist. "Do you think the Puppetmasters are a Master-type species?"

"It makes sense," replied Shapiro. "There's always been speculation about whether the aliens have their own version of ultras. Without a baseline, we could never figure out which was what."

"Let's ask this one," ordered Pemberley. "Belessar, on your next Mindspeech link…."

"Find out about Puppetmasters, got it."

Ten minutes later….

MINDSPEECH CHANNEL ACTIVATED. TIME REMAINING 00:00:14

: Tell me about Puppetmasters.

: You don't know?

: Describe them. Quickly.

: They are beasts! Evil creations that eat the minds of people!

: More.

: They touch your mind and you lose your will! Feed on your….

CP EXHAUSTED. CHANNEL CLOSED.

"So the Puppetmasters are mind controllers. They take over people through Mindspeech."

"Get more."

Eighteen minutes later…..

MINDSPEECH CHANNEL ACTIVATED. TIME REMAINING: 00:00:14.

: Draw a picture of a Puppetmaster.

: You said you'd spare me….

: I will not eat your mind. If you do what I say.

: I will obey, lord!

: You will be given pencils and paper.

CP EXHAUSTED. CHANNEL CLOSED.

Eighteen minutes and some sketches of an octopus-like creature later….

MINDSPEECH CHANNEL ACTIVATED. TIME REMAINING 00:00:14.

: Is that a Puppetmaster?

: Yes, lord!

: Draw one sketch of each type of creature in the Hierarchy. You will be given more paper.

CP EXHAUSTED. CHANNEL CLOSED.

Several hours later, we had learnt many things about the Hierarchy.

First, Aisindrahas was just one of millions of Raptors who were part of Clan Guthnar.

Second, the Clans were less like families and more like full-fledged states within the Raptor nation. A Clanlord of the Raptors had more political power as the Governor of California and the state's senators put together. In fact, the Clanlords were more like feudal Dukes, with absolute power over their Clans.

Third, the Raptors, Sarnak, Grizzeloids and Lynxians were only a fraction of the species within the Hierarchy.

On a lot of topics, Aisindrahas' explanations were less than clear - or at least not crisp enough to understand in fourteen seconds.

The one thing that did come out, though, was that the Puppetmasters were part of the Hierarchy's leadership. And they terrified every single Raptor.

"You got a lot out of him," commented Pemberley, "especially considering the fourteen-second limit."

“I tried. We have some sort of vocabulary put together based on today, right?”

“Yes, we have a grand total of seventy-nine words. Still, that’s enough to build a base - and we can keep adding to that. Now, I believe you have a dinner to prepare for?”

“Yeah, you’re right. What time will General Windsor be here?”

“Less than an hour, so you’d better get changed and freshen up. Corporal Birkhead will escort you.”

The room I was assigned was spartan, with a bunk and a writing table. The corporal left me alone while I took off my armour and gave it a quick rinse.

(Yes, nanofibre weave combat armour can be cleaned with plain old tap water. No special chemicals needed. I like my stuff easy to maintain.)

As I changed out of my sweaty clothes and toweled off my gear, I updated Anne on the events of the day.

: so I can communicate with the aliens the same way we speak

: That’s interesting. And weird as hell.

: Maybe the aliens are all just one big team.

: Too early to make these guesses. Did you get somewhere in the quest?

: Only part of the way.

NEW CLUE REVEALED:

YOU HAVE SPOKEN TO A JUNIOR SOLDIER IN THE FORCES OF THE SPINE OF THE HIERARCHY AND GAINED SOME INSIGHT INTO THE HIERARCHY’S OBJECTIVES. THERE IS STILL A LOT TO LEARN, THOUGH. SPEAK TO AN ENEMY LEADER TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING.

SKILL UNLOCKED: MINDSPEECH CHANNEL: ACTIVATE A CHANNEL TO SPEAK TO A SUITABLE TARGET FOR 1 CP/SECOND. CURRENTLY YOU CAN ONLY SPEAK TO ALIENS WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO ACCEPT THE CHANNEL LINK.

: so you need to speak to the alien leader to finish the quest? And then you can unlock a new technology?

: That’s what I hope. I’m supposed to interrogate him tomorrow.

: Good luck, brother.