The horror of that realization rose up and sucked him down… Tambu wept.
INTERVIEW XII
“I transferred ships shortly after that. I found my old quarters held too many memories for comfort. That pretty much brings us to the present. For the last two years, I have been training the new captains. The Council is now established and functioning, allowing me leisure time, which in turn enabled me to grant you this interview.”
“And the fleet never found out the actual cause of the explosion on the Scorpion?” Erickson asked.
“Of course they found out. I told each of the new captains during their initial briefing. I felt it was a necessary lesson as to the possible repercussions of a poor captain-crew relationship.”
“Didn’t anyone question what you had done?” the reporter pressed. “I mean, surely someone objected to your handling of the situation.”
“Remember our discussion of famous people, Mr. Erickson,” Tambu instructed. “None of the new captains had ever dealt directly with me before. They had been suddenly thrust into a new position of responsibility, and were casting about for direction and approval. Preconditioned to view me with awe and fear, they readily accepted me as their authority figure, the only one between them and chaos. No one questioned my actions, but they eagerly learned the lesson of the disaster.”
“Of course, you’ve done nothing to encourage that awe and fear,” Erickson said.
“Quite the opposite,” Tambu admitted easily. “I’ve done everything I could to build the image. Most of my work for the last two years has been establishing and maintaining the gap between myself and the fleet.”