Part
Five
First Threat
In North's fourteenth year of age he did extraordinarily well in The Games, taking nearly every event and surpassing even Morn. So much so, that some people claimed Morn had let his friend win, in order to get him back some position, but North knew better. Morn was incapable of any such act. Haven teaching or Hashon, would not have permitted it. The two friend still studied together quite often, and North's grades skyrocketed. Only Morn himself, could keep ahead of him.
So it was, that North found himself with free time. One day his doorbell rang, and his mother answered and then called him.
"It's a young man to see you," she said. "Someone named Gray Mountain."
Northern Star had been avoiding Gray Mountain since the time of his father's death, but now the other had come directly to his door.
"Come in," North told him, as he reached the doorway. "Excuse us, mother," he added when the other had entered. "We have some private business to discuss. Boy's stuff." He smiled.
His mother half smiled too, as the two young men went into North's room and shut the door. North took his pocket Com from his pocket and activated the privacy circuit. Going to Gray Mountain, he held out his hand, and the other handed over his own pocket computer. North went to the other end of the room, and did the same with him. Then the two computers emitted an invisible field of energy in which no listening device, no matter how sophisticated, could operate. The computers themselves, with their tiny cameras and microphones could record what was going on, but no one besides their owners could retrieve them without the memory banks by-passing or automatically erasing. No sooner were the fields in place, than Gray Mountain spoke.
"North, what is the matter? I have been trying to make an appointment with you for months. Have you forgotten what we pledged on that rooftop?"
"No," North replied, "in no way have I forgotten, but that night I spoke in great anger, and the time will come when we will begin to work, but we must go slowly, and take our time in every step we take. Neither of us is more than fifteen years old.We cannot possibly stage a rebellion or even begin to gather people. We must study, learn, and make ourselves ready, then carefully but surely gather a following, but it will take time: Maybe three or five years before we can move. Until then, we must sit tight and be patient, and become The Empire's most faithful servants."
While North was saying all this, Grey looked more and more upset. Finaly, when North was done, he spoke out.
"But we can't wait, North. We already have people. I told you there were others, but none of us are leaders. None of us have the