Far Country

by Fanpro

  "We're a little different from that. Hoond was an officer on the ship that brought us here." Pesht could see that both the concepts of female officer and ship that brought us were beyond Sirayuki's comprehension. "It doesn't really matter. We're different. Leave it at that. Anyway, that's our problem and not yours. You have the problem of dealing with us as a group or as individuals. And if you deal with us as a group, you want to deal with someone who can deliver. I think you're worried that Vost can't."

  Pesht hoped that he was on the right track. Right or not, he'd have to press on; he was too committed to the action now. "I think you will have to find a way to deal with more than Vost. Some people in the city may not be completely enthusiastic about the situation."

  Sirayuki knew that the little rat-faced man was absolutely correct. The leaders of the seven oligarchies had been decidedly cool at their last meeting. They'd been especially frosty when Sirayuki explained what the mercenaries wanted and how they were to be paid. It was obvious that the leaders of the oligarchies had made contact with at least one of the other mercenaries and were attempting to do better.

  The shidosha was elected as leader of Usugumo by the votes of the seven oligarchy leaders. It was not required that one family hold the position, though the Hommas had held it for three generations. That they'd been able to hold on to the position for so long was a measure of their cleverness and their ability to split the other factions. But it wasn't cast in iron that it would continue so. Sirayuki had a son who could win the position, but the shidosha would have to be careful. "You have, perhaps, a solution in mind?"

  Pesht saw the conversation turning to his advantage. It would have been hopeless if Sirayuki were unaware of the unrest in his own ranks. "Your people want to deal with someone who can deliver what has been promised. The 'Mech is a powerful weapon, and if used correctly could dominate our little world. So far that has not happened. The people on your council want to see something better."

  "Who are these people you speak of? Do they have names? Do they have faces?"

  "That's not really important. See, I'm on your side. I want to work with you. As far as I'm concerned, you're the one who has the power. What you need is someone who can deliver and show these stooges what really works. And if they give us any trouble, we have the power to snuff them."

  "I'm still not sure what you want or how you want to do it. You must understand my position. I am very weak compared to the others. I have no voice on the council when it's time to make a decision. All I can do is propose a course of action, and then they decide. I am powerless."

  "That's a crock. I've been asking around. You're the richest man in Usugumo. You may not have a vote, but you have the money to buy any votes you need. That's how you've maintained control all these years. You and your family."

  "It is true that I am rich, but in wealth is also weakness. I can be overturned at any time."

  "Another crock. You are the one who controls iron production here. I know that. Seagroves hasn't figured out that gold has little value and iron is everything. There's not much of it—maybe it's just that you've kept it rare—so you have the power. I've done my homework. That's why I'm dealing with you and not one of the other dweebs. Let's cut the bull and get to the bottom line."

  Sirayuki saw that Pesht was not completely blind to the truth of the situation. How the man had found out about the iron mine was a mystery, though. He had concealed ownership through a series of dummy corporations and figurehead positions. He'd even managed to get one of the members of the council to serve on the board of directors of one of the dummies. Now, in less than a week, this little man had unraveled the carefully constructed facade. There had to be something he wanted. "And what, then, is the bottom line for you?" Sirayuki asked amiably.

  Pesht leaned back. Damn cushion, he thought. The next meeting we'll be in chairs at a real table. He leaned forward, putting both elbows on the table. "I can bring the team with me. We can support you. We can tell the others that you're the only one we'll deal with. If they need a demonstration of what we can do, we'll snuff one of them. Not a secret assassination like you people use. I mean a straight walk into the room, blow away the target, and walk out. Bold as brass. Bold as any metal you want to choose. That'll show them who's boss. I can do it. I know what buttons to push on the others."

  "What buttons, as you call them, and what do you get out of this?"

  "Ha. What do I want? I want all of it when it's over. I can control everyone in the team. Seagroves is the easiest. All he wants is money, and he thinks gold is it. Keep a shower of the stuff headed in his direction and he'll do anything. The guy's myopic on the subject. Pay attention to him, give him gold, let him fly. He's a great big fluff ball. No problem.

  "Vost is easy too. I've been with him for almost six months, and there's only one thing he wants: women. And the more the better. The idea that women are servants is right up his alley. He chases every woman he sees. When he landed here a couple of weeks ago, the first thing he did was to try to set himself up as the sperm bank for the group. He's a libido at full power. I think he'd rather run after women than pilot a 'Mech.

  "The last one to deal with is Hoond. She's a typical, insecure woman. She's doing a man's job in a man's world. All you have to do is treat her like a man. Show her some respect. Listen to what she has to say. You don't have to do anything she suggests, just listen. That was the trouble with the female 'Mech jockey we had; Vost wouldn't listen to her. She left. Left and took one of the 'Mechs with her. Stupid move on both their parts. I wouldn't have left her behind. I'd have killed her first.

  "Those are the buttons to push on them. The technicians will do what they're told. They take orders. All they want is to tinker with the 'Mechs and keep them running. As long as the pilots don't bend the 'Mechs too badly, they'll be happy."

  "You still haven't told me what you want. You said 'all of it,' and I haven't heard the 'all' yet."

  Pesht smiled and leaned even closer to Sirayuki. "I want to be the next shidosha. I know it's supposed to go to your son, but I want it. So adopt me. I know it's possible. It's time for a transfusion of some new blood into the system."

  33

  Pesht let his eyes sweep across the parlor of his suite one more time, wanting everything to be at its best. Not so much in order to impress his visitor with the opulence of the place, but because he wanted to strike a pose. The place had to look like somewhere an important person might live. The inn had given him a suite of three rooms, with the sitting room finished to Pesht's specifications. The low table and cushions had been replaced by one of more comfortable height, plus a half-dozen straight-backed chairs. Pesht had no idea where the management had procured the items, but suspected they'd had to special order them from some local carpenter. They still smelled of recent workmanship. Taking a chair that faced the door, he settled down to wait.

  He was still sitting there a quarter of an hour later when a knock came at the door. He rose quickly, opened the door, then closed and bolted it as soon as his visitor had entered. He'd installed the bolt personally, for it was the only way to secure the entrance when he'd first occupied the room.

  Locks and bolts, Pesht had noticed, were reserved for the houses and businesses of the leaders of the seven oligarchies and the shidosha. That was one of the ways to identify their property; it had locks. It was how Pesht had been able to trace the ownership of the iron mine to Sirayuki; every door and gate in the facilities surrounding the mine had locks on them. Interestingly, the door of the offices of the firm that nominally owned the mine did not. It was obviously bogus and of little value.

  The visitor entered the room silently, taking the chair to which Pesht gestured him from across the table. Pesht poured two small cups of budoshu and waited for Subash Chi to begin his presentation. He was the sanyu, the high priest of the Amatukaze, who had traveled to this meeting in Usugumo at what was probably some risk.

  The Usugumo and the Amatukaze were in a period of truce since
before the strike against Takuda's people and their allies in the woods three days earlier. The fact that Vost had engineered a preemptive LAM strike against the forces of the Amatukaze as the attack was beginning had not seemed to damage the fabric of the truce. Among other things, Pesht hoped to find out just how stable the agreement was. "You had no trouble finding the place, I trust," he said to begin the conversation. His visitor nodded and smiled. "There have been many changes since I last spoke to your agent," continued Pesht. "There have been certain offers made on your part and the parts of others that must be considered."

  Subash Chi sat straight and rigid in the chair, his eyes fixed directly on those of his host as he tried to gauge the other man's strengths and weaknesses. The tradition of the Amatukaze was one of constant conflict with the other enclaves. Antipathy had existed among the three since the beginning of recorded time, but the animosity of the Amatukaze was the strongest. The Osio and the Usugumo had drifted from the fivefold path. Each had paid nominal respect to the Amatukaze as the religious exemplars, but over time they had turned their backs on the true way. The Osio had become rigid in their thinking, allowing only members of the nobility to become leaders. They kept the peasants as underlings, a class whose sweat and blood supported those whom birth had placed above them. The Osio had lost all feeling for the good of the population, coming to accept power as the only absolute.

  They were a worthless agglomeration without whom the land would be better off.

  The Usugumo, on the other hand, had turned toward the motive of profit over the needs of the people. Through time they had gained control of the means of production and distribution. Despite the fact that they were a despicable lot, the Osio could not eliminate them completely because it would lead to the ruin of the others. Chi understood that it would be better to subjugate the Usugumo than to destroy them. The Amatukaze had been planning that subjugation for as long as he and any of the other sanyu could remember. Now this little man presented the best chance to accomplish that dream. The forces the man claimed to control could drive the Usugumo to their knees without the need to destroy the entire enclave. But it was important that Chi know what the man wanted in return. He waited now to learn just that.

  'There is a great deal I can do for you, Chi," said Pesht when his guest made no reply. He watched as the silent priest lifted the cup of budoshu and let the liquid brush his lips. Pesht could smell the pungent aroma of the hot wine that rose from his own cup. He had ordered the best budoshu available, and he hoped the sanyu appreciated it.

  "You have already done much for me. The bodushu is of a very fine variety, and the kashi is without peer. I am in your debt."

  Pesht understood about debt and status. These people in the enclaves were sensitive to both. Sirayuki had been obviously concerned about losing status among his peers, which was the sticking point on the subject of the adoption. Pesht had let the matter stew for a while, and the shidosha had finally given in. The word had come earlier in the day, and now Pesht was euphoric about his own future. The sanyu would have to come up with a significant offer. The budoshu and kashi had been ordered before the event, but they probably would help the sanyu make his decision. The sanyu didn't have to know Pesht had ordered the stuff as a celebration for himself; let the priest continue to think of it as in his honor.

  "In Amatukaze," began Chi, clearing his throat, "we have a distinct hierarchy. It takes a long time, for many a lifetime, to reach a level of sublime contemplation. The way is long and difficult, and only the most dedicated can make the journey. Many begin, but few will achieve the end desired." Chi let his words sink in. This visitor from beyond the stars, as he and the others claimed to be, needed to understand in detail how strict was the discipline among the Amatukaze. One of the many aspects that gave the Amatukaze superiority over the others was the severity of the training.

  "You must understand, you must absorb, the concept of the five," continued the sanyu. "There is a fivefold path to enlightenment, and five pillars that hold up the truth. These things must be appreciated."

  "Is this going to be a lecture on philosophy?" asked Pesht. "I've heard all this before from the first sanyu who talked to me. He was full of the same stuff. Frankly, Chi, I don't care a hoot for all that I want to know what you want from me and what you'll give for that service. I'm not looking for some reward in the great beyond or in the distant future. I'm not interested in some inner peace. Get that straight from the start."

  "But without inner peace there is nothing. All the worldly trappings of our existence pale in comparison to that which glows from within. That is why our junior bokushi wear only simple gowns, sleep on the floor, and eat plain rice. They must allow the inner light to grow. Simplicity is everything."

  "Right. That's why your temple glows at night. That's why you wear the embroidered, bejeweled gowns. That's why you recognize fine budoshu and kashi when you have it. Don't give me that story about being simple and poor. Your idea of five is to have five courses at every meal, five wines with each course, and five layers of goosedown under you when you sleep. That's what the five is all about." Pesht was enjoying himself; this dealing from a strong position was not bad at all.

  "There are ways," said the sanyu, clearing his voice and letting his eyes drop to the table. "There are ways. We could always validate you as being of a higher level. You could become a second level, a full sanyu."

  "I'm not sure I want to be a priest. I think I'd like to be higher than that. Perhaps higher than you. What comes above you?"

  "There is nothing above me. There are only the philosophers and great thinkers who have laid down the tenets of our religion."

  "Then let me be one of those. I can tell all of you what to do. That sounds fair and just."

  "That would give you a power that no one has ever had."

  "Someone did. There was someone who established all the claptrap that you guys spout. Why do all those guys have to be dead? There was a time when they were alive or there wouldn't be any record."

  "But they were people of great simplicity and strength. They were thinkers."

  "So it's time for a non-thinker. Time for someone who acts. I can act. I can see to it that the Amatukaze become supreme. Maybe you people have been sitting on your backsides so long that you've lost the ability to really do anything. Look, Chi. I have the power to do something. Something that none of you have been able to do for five hundred years. Now's the time. Swallow your pride, or your face, or anything else, and go with it. Make me your supreme speaker. Then it will get done."

  "I will have to think about it," said the sanyu, rising from his chair. "There are many aspects to consider. The future of the Amatukaze is at stake. Perhaps there is a way for us to arrange this matter."

  Pesht escorted his guest to the door. There was no one in the corridor, and the sanyu departed unseen. Closing the door behind him, Pesht smiled.

  "Do you think he bought your idea?" asked Seagroves, suddenly emerging from his hiding place in the bedroom.

  "You heard it all? Do you believe that garbage about being simple and poor? I wanted to laugh in his face."

  "I liked the bit about becoming the philosopher for the religion," said Seagroves as he swallowed what was left of the budoshu from one of the ceramic cups, then filled it again with the wine. "I can just see you as Confucius or something. If you get the top spot, what's in it for me?"

  "What do you want? I can make you anything you desire. How about you sit at my right hand and speak for me. Think of it: the mouthpiece of a god."

  'They don't really have god," said Seagroves. "They just have a bunch of dead people who said a bunch of things."

  "Right. The only difference is that we'd be alive. Those guys were alive once, and they didn't take full advantage of it. I plan to make full use of the power. If people are going to sit at my feet and listen to me, you can be sure I'll tell them what I want. And they can jolly well jump when I say so. The only thing they'll have a chance to ask is 'how far' on
the way up."

  "What about the Osio? You were supposed to hear from them too."

  "Creeps. That's all they are." Pesht poured the last of the wine into his cup. Trouble with these cups, he thought, was that they didn't hold enough. That's one thing he'd change, no matter where he went. He'd have big flagons. No use drinking something if you couldn't pour it down.

  "The problem with the Osio," he said, "is that they're too servile. Nothing like a military system to breed servility. They promised me anything I wanted. Wanted to make me their O, their king. They said that it wouldn't be hard.

  "I didn't talk to the boss. Maybe he would have offered something else. It didn't sound like he'd be willing to bite the bullet so I could get the job. Anyway, the other guys offered to bump him off. That wasn't the word they used, of course, but they said they'd get rid of the big O and put me in his place. Said I could have the job for life.

  "There's only one thing wrong with bumping off the big O to make room for another. It could become habit-forming, know what I mean? How long before another of them got the idea that I could be eliminated just as easily and another stud put in my place? Or how long before one of you figured it out? I'd have to eliminate the whole lot of you just to keep myself alive. I don't think I want to rule like that. Not that I wouldn't be willing to eliminate some of you."

  Seagroves looked at the Javelin pilot. Pesht drove the weakest of the three 'Mechs. There was no real reason why the little rat-faced man should be the one in charge. "I still like the deal I have here. This is where I started, and this is where I think I'll stay."

  "I'll take that into consideration before I make a decision," said Pesht with a smile. "Don't worry, big fella. You are a definite and important part of my plans. But just think about it—if we go with the Amatukaze, you'll be an almost god."

  34

  Takuda awoke to the smell of coffee that drifted through the curtain into his underground sleeping area. He lay with his eyes closed in the darkness, letting the aroma kindle memories of other mornings and other places. He'd been introduced to coffee while in the home of someone not originally bred in the Draconis Combine, and become an instant convert. Tea, the Combine's traditional drink, had never had the same power over his olfactory sense. Now, he sat bolt upright, fully awake.