# XIV explained — The Defiant Agents

> Chapter companion for The Defiant Agents by Andre Norton.

## What happens

Travis and Buck plan to use Kaydessa as bait to lure the Reds into a trap involving the wrecked ship, which has become a haunted place due to the malfunctioning Redax machine. Manulito, revealing his M.I.T. training, proposes to booby-trap the ship's control cabin to destroy the Reds when they investigate.

## Themes in this chapter

### Betrayal and Trust

The plan involves manipulating Kaydessa's trust and using her as bait, while the Tatars cannot be fully trusted due to the caller's control.

### Technology vs. Tradition

The Redax machine creates supernatural fears, blending modern technology with ancient beliefs; Manulito's M.I.T. training contrasts with the clan's traditional ways.

### Survival and Colonization

The Apaches and Tatars must outmaneuver the Reds to survive and prevent colonization of the mountains.

## Character check-ins

### Travis Fox

Leads the planning of the trap using Kaydessa and the haunted ship; recalls his archaeological training and the project's selection criteria.

### Buck

Proposes using Kaydessa as bait and describes the terrifying experience in the ship with Deklay.

### Kaydessa

Targeted as the bait to be captured, frightened in the ship, and allowed to escape to lure the Reds.

### Manulito

Reveals his technical training from M.I.T.; volunteers to test the space suit and proposes booby-trapping the ship's control cabin.

### Jil-Lee

Provides medical training to treat Travis's wounds and agrees to the plan, noting it covers all known loopholes.

### Deklay

Accompanies Buck to the ship; seeks to restore his honor after being beaten by Travis.

## Key lines

> The ship is changed. Inside, there is something wrong. When you walk the corridors your skin crawls, you think there is something behind you. You hear things, see things from the corners of your eyes⁠… When you turn, there’s nothing, nothing at all!

Buck describes the ship as a haunted place where the Redax machine amplifies primal fears, making it terrifying to enter.

_Highlights the altered state of the ship and the psychological impact of the Redax._

> I think perhaps the machine is still running, but running in a wrong way⁠—so that it does not awaken old memories of our ancestors now, but brings into being all the fears which have ever haunted us through the dark of the ages.

Buck theorizes that the Redax is malfunctioning and now generates universal fears instead of ancestral memories.

_Explains the source of the ship's haunting atmosphere._

> Do you think we are just the savages those big brains back at the project wished us to be? They have played a trick on us with their Redax. So, we can play a few tricks, too. Me⁠—? I went to M.I.T., or is that one of the things you no longer remember, Fox?

Manulito reminds Travis that the Apache team members have advanced technical skills, like his own M.I.T. training, which they can use to counter the Reds.

_Reveals Manulito's background and the team's hidden capabilities._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters/xiv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_defiant_agents_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_defiant_agents_se/chapters