twinkled in her left ear. A coat of pale sandy fur, covered with tiny blue
rosettes, sheathed her small body. Her face, with a long muzzle, was a
meld of cat and fox, and her big emerald green eyes shone slightly when
the light caught them just right. She wore a diaphanous apron of pale
pink, decorated with black embroidery.
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“A kitty,” Helen whispered.
Ha! The Universe provided a teachable moment. “No, my flower. That’s
a lees. Remember how I told you about hiding your strength? The lees
hide their strength. They look cute, but they are dangerous and very
cunning.” They were also excellent assassins and they would poison
their enemies in a heartbeat, but that was a lesson she would deliver a
few years down the road. “See her little apron? She’s from a merchant
clan. The markings tell you which one. This one is from Clan
Nuan. Remember how I told you that Grandpa and Grandma were
innkeepers? They would buy things from Clan Nuan, and sometimes
they would take me with them. Your grandpa told me to never bargain
with a lees, unless I absolutely had to. He was right.”
Helen craned her neck, trying to see better. “At Baha-char?”
“Yes, my flower. And every time I visited, Nuan Cee, the great Merchant,
would give me candy. It was the best candy ever and it wasn’t for
sale. He gave me candy because he liked me, but also because he
wanted to make a good deal with my parents. It’s hard to bargain with
someone who made your child happy.”
They reached the lees. The little fox glanced at them.
“Greetings,” Maud said.
“Greetings,” the fox answered.
“Please pass our respects to the honorable Nuan Cee,” Maud said.
“You know our clan?” the fox asked.
“Our family has done business with Clan Nuan. My parents were
innkeepers. You may know my sister, Dina. She is an innkeeper, also.”
The little fox froze.
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Maud tensed.
“Dina? We know Dina!”
The little fox grinned, showing all of her tiny teeth, and hopped in place,
bouncing like a balloon filled with excitement. “We know Dina! You
come. Come with me now. My uncle twice removed will be so
happy. Come, come!”
“We are—”
The fox grabbed Helen by her hand. “Come with me now!” She ran
down the hallway and Helen dashed with her.
Just what they needed. Maud sprinted after them. They turned right,
then left, then right again, and the fox jumped into the doorway, pulling
Helen with her. Maud lunged through and slid to a halt.
Veils in pastel colors draped the stone of vampire walls. Soft, luxurious
rugs hid the cold floor. Plush furniture, carved from pale wood so ornate,
Louis XIV would’ve turned green with jealousy, offered seating by little
tables. Glass and metal bowls sat on the tables, offering fruit, sweets,
and little pieces of spicy jerky. A dozen lees chatted, snacked, and played
games. In the center of it all, on a six-foot-wide floor pillow stuffed to a
three-foot thickness sat Nuan Cee. Silver blue, his fur darkened on his
back, dapples with golden rosettes, and faded to white on his chest and
stomach. He wore a beautiful apron of ethereal silver silk embroidered
with Clan Nuan’s sigils and a necklace of sapphires, each as big as a
walnut.
It was like stepping into a Merchant’s shop. Maud almost pinched
herself.
The little lees ran into the room, pulling Helen with her. “Dina’s
sister! And her young!”
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Helen froze.
Nuan Cee raised his paw-hands in surprise. “Matilda!”
He remembered her.
Suddenly the memories came flooding back. Walking with Mom and Dad
through the sunlit streets of Baha-char within a current of shoppers from
all of over the Galaxy, while the galactic bazaar hummed with a million
voices. Reaching Nuan Cee’s shop, a cool oasis in the middle of the
desert heat and hearing Nuan Cee’s sing-song voice bargaining and
chuckling. The taste of ru candy in her mouth. Suddenly she was twelve
again. Maud almost cried.
Nuan Cee pushed off his pillow and took three steps toward Maud. She
barely registered the honor. She reached him and they hugged.
“There you are, Matilda,” the Merchant said.
Somehow she found her voice. “Yes.”
They broke apart.
“And who is this?” Nuan Cee widened his turquoise eyes.
“This is my daughter, Helen.”
The lees let out a collective squee.
“She is so cute!”
“Look at her hair!”
“Look at her little boots!”
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Helen stood in the whirlwind of lees, looking slightly freaked out, like a
cat greeted by a pack of overly enthusiastic little dogs.
“I am Nuan Ama,” the lees who found them announced. “Come with
me. We have the best sweets.”
Maud almost laughed as the lees dragged Helen to the nearest table and
thrust a dish of candy under her nose.
“Have you seen your sister?” Nuan Cee asked.
“Yes. She is all grown up.”
“And an innkeeper!” Nuan Cee raised his hands. “Who would have
thought?”
Maud laughed. It was that or crying.
“What are you doing here?” Nuan Cee asked.
“It’s complicated.”
“Come, come.” He led her to a divan by his pillow. “What are you doing
here?”
Someone brought her a glass of sweet wine. Someone else delivered a
dish of bright red ru candy. She ate one, savoring the taste melting on
her tongue, sweet with a slight touch of sour, but so refreshing, it was as
if her whole mouth sang.
“Tell me all about it,” Nuan Cee said.
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Chapter 5 Part 1
March 2, 2018 by Ilona
Many thanks to Prof. Bronwyn H. Bleakley for her generosity in explaining
evolution of social behavior to us. All errors of theory, fact, and science
are
ours
alone.
Tell me all about it.
Oh you clever, clever lees. Maud leaned back and laughed.
Clan Nuan watched her, the little foxes caught in identical poses, their
ears flicking. For some reason it cracked her up even more. She laughed
until she snorted.
“Did I say something funny?” Nuan Cee inquired.
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Maud managed to get the giggles under control, enough to squeeze out
a few words. “How long was Nuan Ama waiting in that hallway for me?”
The room was suddenly quiet.
“I mean, it had to be since the beginning of the dinner, because you had
no way of knowing if or when I would throw a hissy fit and storm out in
a huff. I’ve been wondering since I came through the door why the
Merchant of Baha-char, a distinguished guest, wasn’t at dinner. This is so
well done, honorable Nuan Cee. The pillows, the veils, even the candy,
all for my benefit. Here I am, all alone, a stranger in a strange land, and
you’re bringing back all of
my childhood memories. Such a clever,
manipulative trap. I’m primed and ready to spill all of my secrets.”
For a moment the Merchant just stared at her. Then Nuan Cee raised his
paw-hands and dramatically rolled his eyes. “You can’t win them all.”
The lees around them giggled.
“You’re as ruthless as ever,” Maud said.
“You flatter me, Matilda,” Nuan Cee said.
“Are there jammers active in here?” she asked.
“Please.” Nuan Cee waved his left hand. “Of course, there are. We jam
the audio, but we do give them the video feed. We have to give them
something or they will throw us out.”
They were being watched, but not heard. Just what she expected. “Did
you bug the feast hall?” Maud asked.
Nuan Cee rocked his head side to side, then grinned. “Yes.”
Maud chuckled and popped another piece of candy into her mouth.
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“You can’t blame me, though,” Nuan Cee said. “You wield great influence
over the Marshal.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Oh please. Arland is besotted with you.”
“Besotted?”
“Yes. I’ve used that word correctly. If there was a river of fire and you
were on the other side of it, he would strip off his ridiculous armor and
swim through the flames to get to you.”
Maud laughed. “First, the tachi, then you. What is this really about?”
“I doubt the tachi know about your relationship. They are academics,”
Nuan Cee said. “Which does not mean they won’t pounce on you once
they know.”
“What is this about?”
“Business.” Nuan Cee bared a mouth full of sharp teeth. “And a great
deal of money.”
“I’m listening.”
He reached over, took a tall glass of some pink liquid from a side table
and sipped it. “You have seen the battle station?”
“I have.”
“The battle station changed everything. This is now the safest area of
space within this quadrant. There are many trade routes that intersect
here, or they could, provided there was a safe haven. A place where a
spaceship could dock easily without worrying about burning fuel in
orbit. A place of trade and commerce.”
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The light went on in Maud’s head. “You want House Krahr to build a
trading space station.”
“Yes. And I’m trying to give them money for it.”
“A space station in vampire territory giving access to other
species? Dozens of foreign vessels docking in the Holy Anocracy’s
system? That has never been done.”
A little lees with turquoise fur brought her a glass of pink wine. Maud
sipped. It tasted like watermelon, strawberry, and sweet grapes rolled
into one.
Nuan Cee groaned. “How can a spacefaring species be so
closeminded? They already built the battle station. They have made this
expensive thing that can guard the whole of the system. It is sitting there
and costing them money. I’m proposing something that would bring a
huge profit for everyone. There is not a docking station anywhere within
the quadrant.”
“Anywhere within the Holy Anocracy’s territory, except for the
diplomatic space station near the capital star system, as I recall.”
“Exactly. Dozens of species desperate for a port facility. Dozens of
species who now have to go around the vampire-controlled space.
They’re hanging there like ripe fruit. All I am asking the vampires to do
is to stand under the tree, open their mouths, and let the bounty fall into
them. They could recoup the cost of the battle station within two years.”
He was right. The trading space station would earn House Krahr a
fortune.
Nuan Cee moaned in genuine distress. “I do not understand. Do they
not want to make money?”
“Is that why the tachi are here?”
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“Yes. They have an archaeological dig on On-Toru. They have to travel
hundreds of light years out of their way around the vampire space to get
there. A space station here would give them a near straight shot to that
colony. They’re willing to pay top prices.”
Maud leaned back. Getting the vampires out of their “by vampires for
vampires” mindset would be next to impossible.
“You know vampires,” Nuan Cee said. “And you have influence with the
Marshal.”
“As I said, my influence doesn’t go that far. Dina told me that you and
House Krahr have reached a settlement on Nexus that made all of you
rich. You should be the natural ally for the Krahrs. If they are resisting
you despite all of your shared history, nothing I say would matter. I am
a nobody here.”
“You are Matilda Demille.”
The family name slashed across her memory. Her parents were still
missing. She missed them so much.
How would mom go about this?
“Have you noticed how obsessed with defenses they are?” Maud
asked. “As a species, the vampires spend more time in armor than out
of it. Take this castle, for example. A smaller structure would’ve
sufficed, yet here it is, a monstrous fortress with impossibly thick walls
and enough defenses to hold off an assault by an overwhelming force. I
haven’t been under the castle, but I would bet that below us is a network
of tunnels burrowing into the mountain, so deep, it would withstand an
orbital bombardment. The chances of such an attack happening are
exactly zero. You’ve seen their fleet. Arland’s destroyer alone can hold
off a small armada. The system is already as protected as it could be, yet
they built a battle station on top of it. You’re asking them to allow
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outsiders into their space, many different outsiders, not just a select few
trusted allies. You are forcing them to go against their nature.”
“I’m offering to make them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.”
“They don’t care. It’s not about money.” Maud swirled the wine in her
glass and took another sip. “It’s about the Mukama.”
“I have heard about the Mukama,” Nuan Cee said, his face
thoughtful. “But never from a vampire. You are almost a vampire.”
Maud smiled. “Would you like me to tell you about the Mukama?”
“Yes. There is a piece missing that I do not understand.”
“Very well. It goes back to the Law of Bronwyn.” The Galaxy had very
few universal laws, but the Law of Bronwyn had proven true again and
again, so often that it was simply accepted.
“Once a species is introduced to interstellar spaceflight, it will advance
technologically but not socially,” Nuan Cee said.
Maud nodded. “Yes. Their individual standard of living may drastically
improve, their technological progress will continue, but their social
construct mostly stays the same. The ability to travel between the stars
removes some of the pressure factors known to drive societal
change. Once you get interstellar spaceflight, suddenly the population
density is no longer an issue. Geographical limitations are gone. The
competition for the natural resources is
largely gone, at least in the initial
stages. Different splinter groups within the society no longer have to
learn to coexist; they can simply move apart from each other.”
Nuan Cee nodded.
“Societal change is hard, because a society is made up of the
individuals. These individuals learn how to be successful in that
particular social construct, and they resist change, because it threatens
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their survival. To really implement a change, one must convince the
population that their survival as a whole is in doubt unless they alter their
course. Because interstellar flight removes a lot of these survival factors,
the society in question generally stays as it is once it’s achieved. If they
were hunter-gatherers, they remain so. If they were a republic, they
remain a republic, and so on.”
“Yes. It is a known fact,” Nuan Cee said.
“The Mukama invaded the Holy Anocracy when the vampires were in a
feudal period. The vampiric society, at that point, consisted of powerful
clans led by warrior aristocracy and bound together by a strong
religion. The Mukama must’ve thought the vampires, so technologically
behind them, were easy pickings. What do you know of the Mukama?”
“Not much,” Nuan Cee said. “They were a secretive species and this
conflict happened a long time ago.”
“They were a predatory species,” Maud said. “They didn’t want the
planet. They wanted the vampires themselves, particularly
children. The adults were used as the workforce and the children as food
source. The Mukama found children to be tender and delicious.”
Nuan Cee grimaced.
“The vampires retreated to their castles. Reducing castles to rubble
would have destroyed all of the lovely meat inside, so the Mukama had
to commit to ground assault. It was discovered that the Mukama didn’t
do well in narrow enclosed spaces. They were an aerial species. They
hunted from above. It was also found that the Mukama’s stun weapons
didn’t work against a vampire in armor. It was a long war.”
“How long?” Nuan Cee asked.
“Almost two decades. At some point, about eight years into the conflict,
the main Mukama flotilla lost contact with the orbital fleet dispatched to