Theogony 1: Janissaries (21 page)

Where Gurp was robustly built and powerful looking, all of
the men were so massive that he looked slight in comparison. Unlike Gurp’s dark
brown skin and hair, they were nearly midnight black in complexion, and their
black hair was cropped short. More worrying, all six of the men carried clubs
that were nearly as large as one of her legs.

Seeing them, Gurp said, “Whatever I have done to you, these
people are strangers from another land. Let them pass, and I will come
quietly.”

The largest of the men, a full six and a half feet tall,
stepped forward, looked at Gurp and said in a very deep, uneducated voice, “Have
no orders for them; they go. You come with us.”

Before Gurp could reply, Sergeant Hattori Hanzo stepped in
front of him. Yokaze bowed to the men and said quietly, “This man is under the
protection of my master. We do not want to harm you, but we cannot allow you to
take him.”

The leader of the men looked at the Japanese man who stood at
least a foot shorter than he and began laughing uproariously. When he was able
to speak again, he said, “Little man, you not hurt me or men.” He began tapping
his oversized club in the palm of his other hand. “I count to five, and then I
squish you.”

Yokaze nodded once. “So be it,” he said. Reaching over his
shoulders, he drew his swords, a 42” katana in his right hand and a 30” wakizashi
in his left. The noise they made as they came out of their scabbards echoed
loudly in the close confines of the stable. “Perhaps you would like to be
first?” Deadeye’s sword made a counterpoint to his question as it cleared its
scabbard.

“I count!” said the large man, who continued tapping. “One,
two, five!” He swung the club without any warning at Yokaze. The Japanese man
bent backward at the waist, avoiding the swing of the massive club. His right
arm blurred and then came back into a ready position with the blade over his
head.

The man’s club hit the ground at Gurp’s feet. Astonished,
the tall men looked down to find their leader’s hand and forearm
still
attached to it!
The leader seemed confused to see his arm on the ground. For
him, usually it was one swing, and the fight was over. Then the pain hit him.
“My arm! Kill them!” he screamed as he tried to stanch the flow of arterial
blood with his other hand.

The five other men moved past their leader as he fell to his
knees. Three headed toward Yokaze; the other two went to the other side of
their fallen leader and approached Deadeye. “Damn!’ she said in English. “What
I wouldn’t give for a laser pistol right now.”

“Just hold them off for a few seconds,” Yokaze replied
calmly as he began slowly weaving his swords in a hypnotic pattern. “There are
only three of them. I’ll be right with you.”

The three men facing Yokaze charged. Their focus was on him,
and the man on the right didn’t see Gurp throw their leader’s club. It hit him
in his left shin and staggered him. Yokaze saw him going down and sidestepped to
the right around him. Holding the man in the middle at bay with the point of his
katana, the wakizashi flashed, and the man on the right continued his fall to
the ground. As he hit, his head rolled clear of his body.

Yokaze let the body fall past him and continued around it to
face the man in the middle. The man on the left was now out of position behind
his ally, and it took him a few critical seconds to go around him. As he moved
around his ally to face Yokaze, he saw the man in the middle fall. Blood poured
from at least five deep cuts to his chest and stomach.

The two men facing Deadeye chose not to charge her. Instead,
they split up, trying to get one person behind her to club her. In order to
keep them from flanking her, she had to move back away from them. She continued
to move back until she reached the side of the corral. Seeing that she was unable
to move any further, the men went to either side of her and began closing in.
Knowing she was out of time, Deadeye did the only thing she could—she attacked.
Seeing the man to the left was closer than the one on the right, she took a
step left and then dove at the man, leading with her sword. The move was
unexpected, and the man could do nothing but watch as the long sword slid into
his stomach, and the point buried itself in his backbone.

He fell backward, pulling Deadeye along with him. She tried
to pull the sword back out, but wasn’t able. The point was firmly imbedded.
Sensing motion behind her, she rolled off to the right, narrowly avoiding the
club that the other man swung at her. It hit the hilt of her sword, driving it
even further into his partner. With a bellow of rage, the man swung the club in
a backhanded blow, hitting her in the right knee.

Her leg went numb, and he smiled as he raised the club for
the final blow. She tried to roll away from him, but found herself up against
the next corral. Trapped, she watched as the man smiled and lifted his club for
the fatal blow. It had just started down when the man grunted, and six inches
of wakizashi exploded outward from his chest. Deadeye was familiar with
Yokaze’s weapons and started to thank him, but as the body of the man fell to
the side, she saw that it was Gurp who had stabbed him. He pulled the blade out
of the man as the body continued to fall, looking at it curiously, as if seeing
it for the first time.

“I will take that now,” said Yokaze from behind him.

Turning slightly, Gurp handed the ninja the weapon, still
looking at it, lost in thought. Yokaze wiped it off on the dead man next to Deadeye.
“Are you all right?” he asked.

“No,” she said, wincing as she tried to stand. “He hit me in
the knee, and my leg’s gone numb. I’m afraid that he’s damaged something.”

“I had killed all but one of my adversaries,” Yokaze said,
“but he was not in a hurry to die. I could see Deadeye needed help, so I threw
Gurp my wakizashi. After I finished with the one I was fighting, I looked up to
see someone watching from the stable doorway. Gurp had just killed the last one,
so I tried to catch the man in the doorway, but he ran away as soon as he saw
me look over at him. Knowing that Deadeye was injured, I came back to help her.
Gurp knew where the inn was and led us here.”

“Did you see what the man in the doorway looked like?” asked
Calvin. “Would you know him if you saw him again?”

“Hai!” Yokaze affirmed. “Yes, he was a small man that looked
like the person that brought you to this inn.”

“OK,” said Calvin, “let me know if you see him.” He turned
to Gurp. “Thank you for your help.” Gurp nodded and blushed slightly,
uncomfortable to be the center of attention. Calvin continued, “Do you know who
the men were or what they wanted?”

Gurp shook his head. “I do not know them, but I know of
them. They are from a tribe that lives in the center of the continent. The
security police use them as their enforcers. If they take you away, it is
unlikely that you will ever be seen again.” He shuddered. “I do not know what I
have done, but I am a dead man.”

“You don’t have any idea why they could be looking for you?”
asked the ambassador.

“None,” answered Gurp. “I am a poor farmer, who was taking
my fruit to market when you met me. Had I not seen you, I would have sold it
and gone home to my wife and children. I have never hurt anyone before today
and have broken no laws that I know of. I have not even been to Remurn in
several years.”

“So the only reason that anyone would want you would be to
try to get information on us,” replied Calvin. The way he said it, it wasn’t a
question, but a statement of fact.

“That is the only thing that I can think of,” agreed Gurp.

“They’re not getting him if I have anything to say about
it!” exclaimed Deadeye, trying to get up. Her knee gave out on her, and she
fell back onto the bed.

“I hope you’re not going to say you won’t stand for it,”
said Top with a frown, “because you can’t even stand up on your own.” He looked
at Calvin. “We need to get her back to the ship to get that knee looked at,
sir.”

“I would recommend against it,” disagreed the ambassador.
“If one of our group just disappears, it is going to raise a lot of questions.
She can stay here when we go to court in the morning.”

Calvin sighed. “We were going to have to leave a couple of
people here to guard Gurp, anyway,” he explained, “as we’re responsible for
him. She can stay back here as well.”

“That would be fine,” agreed the ambassador. “I do not think
we will need all of the soldiers at court. I doubt that they’re going to do
anything there in front of everyone.”

“OK, then,” said Calvin, “here’s what we’re going to do...”

* * * * *

The Terrans were waiting outside the inn when Blin came to
get them in the morning. The planet’s star had just risen, and it was cool out,
although the day promised to be much warmer once the star climbed a little
higher. Along with Yokaze, Calvin had decided to bring Sergeant Hans Fleischer
and the twins along with him as the ambassador’s escort. Top had elected to
stay back with Deadeye and Gurp, and had convinced Calvin that Cristobel
Contreras was better off remaining at the inn as well. The Chilean’s temper had
almost landed them in trouble once; taking him to court would just be asking
for trouble.

Blin looked at the group waiting for him and asked, “Where
are the other members of your group?”

Calvin shrugged. “They aren’t feeling well this morning,” he
explained. “They must have eaten something that didn’t agree with them, and now
they’re sick in bed. It will just be the six of us.”

It was Blin’s turn to shrug. “OK, let’s go then,” he said. “We
don’t want to be late.”

The local led them into the city. The number of people in
the streets was already considerable, and the soldiers had to stay close to
each other to keep from getting separated. It didn’t help that all of the
locals seemed to sense Blin’s presence and made way for him, only to close back
up after his passage, sometimes shouldering the Terrans in their haste to get
wherever they were going.  

Although not as stocky as the locals, the Terrans were
generally taller and kept sight of one another long enough to make it to the
palace, which Calvin guessed was located in about the center of the plateau. It
overshadowed the buildings in its vicinity, with soaring towers and minarets.
The castle sat atop a raised earthwork, with a large stone tower dominating the
center of an open courtyard surrounded by 30 feet high walls. None of the
city’s buildings were within 50 feet of the walls, nor were any of the nearby
buildings taller than the castle’s walls.

Soldiers were present in great numbers, both on the walls
and manning the gatehouse. Unlike the other soldiers that the Terrans had seen,
Calvin noticed that all the soldiers in the palace area were dressed in red
uniforms. It must be a special unit or an elite ‘guards’ unit, Calvin decided,
as the soldiers guarding the gatehouse snapped to attention as Blin approached
and opened the gates. Blin appeared to have done this many times; he neither
said anything to the troops, nor did his pace slow. He just expected the gates
to be open for him upon arrival.

The ambassador noticed, as well, and looked at Calvin with a
raised eyebrow. Obviously, Blin was a man of some power within the society,
despite the manner of his introduction.

As the group walked through the gatehouse, they got a better
look at the central tower, or keep. The palace was generally rectangular in
design with corner towers that extended above the rest of the keep. A large
tower soared over the center of it, with a flag flying from a pole at its peak.
There were two large doors at ground level that faced the direction of the
gatehouse, which soldiers were already opening for them. A group of about 20
soldiers was practicing hand-to-hand combat in the back of the courtyard.

“
SIR!
” commed Bad Twin, “
The soldiers on the wall have
guns!
”

Calvin looked back in time to see that all of the soldiers
on the wall had guns resting on the wall alongside them. They were the first
guns that the Terrans had seen. It was difficult to make out all of details,
but it appeared that the Eridanian guns were some sort of early flintlock with
muzzles that flared outward at the end. They wouldn’t be very accurate at long
range, Calvin knew, but if all of the soldiers inside the castle had guns...the
Terrans were quite literally outgunned. The thought made him very uncomfortable.

“
I see them,
” he replied. “
Everyone just stay
cool. We have technology they don’t know about, too.
”

Blin crossed the courtyard quickly and entered the palace
with the Terrans close behind him. As he walked through the doors, his pace
slowed noticeably, assuming one a bit more ‘stately.’ He looked at the doorman,
who was dressed in elegant robes and holding a large metal-shod staff and said,
“Lord Flowers, Ambassador of Terra, to see King Bling Pirle II.”

The doorman announced them, and the Terrans entered the
castle. The large chamber that spread out before them was over 100 feet long
and at least 35 feet wide. The ceiling arched above them, 20 feet high at its
central peak. Two rows of columns lined the sides of the central pathway to
where the king waited for them on a raised platform; each of the columns was
almost five feet in diameter.

As they marched toward the king, Calvin saw that there was a
large crowd of people waiting for them. Nearly 100 people were in the audience
chamber. They split in half when the doorman announced Calvin’s group, making a
path to the front of the hall. Before Calvin reached the group and couldn’t see
the walls any more, he noticed that there were soldiers about every five feet
stationed along both of the sides. All were armed with guns. Now that he was a
little closer, he thought they looked like an early version of a blunderbuss
from Earth. All of the guards also had a smaller, pistol-sized version of the
blunderbuss pushed through their belts.

As they neared the throne, Calvin saw that it sat upon a
platform that was nearly four feet high, with steps leading up to it. The king
sat on the throne with an advisor standing on either side dressed in fine
robes. Looking at the king, Calvin realized with a start that the royal
couldn’t have been more than about eight years old. Although dressed in large
robes and bedecked in golden jewelry that made him look older, the boy was
fidgeting on the throne and seemed bored. He stilled somewhat as the advisor on
his right leaned over and said something to him.

Calvin got his second surprise as the man straightened. It
was the same person that had met them at the city gates the day before. He
would recognize the thin greasy mustache anywhere. Calvin hadn’t been impressed
with his manners or grace yesterday in the center of the city; he doubted that
the man would be any more civil in his own element.

A third surprise followed shortly after, as Yokaze commed, “
Sir!
The man on the left of the king is the man from the stables!
” The gang’s
all here, thought Calvin, a bad feeling coming over him.

Stopping five feet from the steps that led up to the throne,
Blin turned and commanded, “Kneel!”

“I’m sorry,” began the ambassador, “but as the senior
civilization, protocol demands a full bow. We do not kneel to anyone.” He bowed
long and full. The ambassador looked up to see the king staring at him.

The man to the king’s right said, “See, Your Highness? They
have no courtesy. I told you they would not kneel to you.”

The king stood. “If they cannot do as they should, then I
will have no more to do with them.” He turned his back on the Terrans. “Take them
away!” He began walking away, and the advisor went to walk alongside him. Calvin’s
augmented hearing just barely caught the king ask his advisor, “Was that good?”
and the advisor’s reply of “Yes Your Highness.”

Listening to anything else became more difficult as armed
soldiers surrounded the group. The civilians ran to get out of the way, leaving
the six Terrans surrounded by almost 50 men, who pointed their blunderbusses at
the group. Although inaccurate from long range, from 10 feet, it would be a
slaughter. The locals might shoot some of their own men on the other side of
the ring, but the Terrans were sure to be hit in the initial volley as well.

The leader of the troops stepped forward and commanded, “Get
down on your stomachs!”

“
Shall we fight them?
” asked Yokaze via his implant.

“
While military matters are up to you,
” commed the
ambassador, “
I would rather see how this plays out.
”

“
I agree,
” answered Calvin. “Do as he says,” he added
out loud as he got down onto the floor. “
We can always call for extraction
or more support if needed.
” The soldiers quickly tied them up and led them
off.