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supplies could handle large amounts of people.”
    “We cannot transport the entire population of what was once Omunga to Khadora,” balked General Manitow. “That is impractical.”
    “It is impractical,” agreed the Torak, “but there is some wisdom in the suggestion. My ships are continually sailing the west coast of the Sakova to bring food supplies to those cities that have not yet recovered from the famine. It does make sense to carry some citizens back to Khadoratung where food is readily available. Also,” he continued, “all of my armies are between Khadoratung and the eastern coast. It will be the last city in Khadora to be attacked. If Vand gets that far, our cause in Khadora is already lost.”
    “Which cities would you take people from?” asked Lyra.
    “We should start with the citizens of Alamar,” answered Emperor Marak. “They are already displaced from their homes. It is not safe for my ships to come here any longer, but we can begin picking people up at Tanzaba.”
    “It is only women and children fleeing the city,” General Manitow pointed out. “Every man of appropriate age is staying to defend the city. I suspect the citizens of the other cities will react the same. The Omungan people have indeed become Sakovan in spirit as well as name. They will not give up their homes without a fight.”
    “We have great need of those citizens,” remarked Emperor Marak. “In fact, I have some suggestions for their use during the war, especially the fishermen and sailors among them.”
    “There are many of them in the cities and villages,” responded General Manitow as Temiker walked into the building and joined the group. “Omunga was a country that depended heavily on the sea. What do you have in mind?”
    “The first thing they must do is preserve their boats, large and small,” answered the Torak. “They should move them away from the battle or hide them where they will not be discovered. We must never lose the ability to take this war to the seas.”
    “Fishing boats cannot battle the behemoths that carry a thousand men,” frowned Temiker. “What are you planning?”
    “I don’t have a particular plan in mind,” admitted Marak, “but I can clearly see the need to maintain mobility on the water. Sometime during this war we may be faced with the problem of moving massive amounts of troops from one place to another. My fleet of ships is not large enough to handle that. Even transporting the women and children to Khadora will be a massive undertaking. There is no way that my fleet can transport all of them, but thousands of small ships may be able to.”
    “That might work,” mused General Manitow. “One has a tendency to discount a ship that can only carry three or four people, but thousands of them can move quite a few people.”
    “If we used the boats from Alamar and Tanzaba to transport the people fleeing this city,” mused Lyra, “the road would be cleared fairly quickly.”
    “I don’t know about quickly,” interjected Temiker, “but it could be done. There are also many fishing villages between the two cities.”
    “Once the road is cleared,” Emperor Marak added, “start the evacuation of Tanzaba. Move the people to Okata. We will need spotters along the coast to see what the Motangan fleet does. If they find Tanzaba empty, they may not proceed any farther along the coast.”
    “And if the spotters see that they are going farther,” nodded Lyra, “we can begin the evacuation of Okata before the enemy arrives.”
    “Exactly,” agreed Marak. “In the meantime, my ships will carry some of the refugees to Khadoratung to ease the food supply problem. I think this can work, but some of the small boats must be preserved in this area as well. We do not want to end up with all of our boats in Okata.”
    “I know you, Marak,” Lyra interjected, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the Torak. “You are contemplating something else that you have not mentioned. What is