He was nearly asleep when the tele-module beeped at his bedside. Hira stirred and turned over, her back to him as he tapped a key and saw the face of his secretary on the little screen.
"Yes?"
"A caller for you, sir. Red-line; I've routed it, and put it on hold." Priority one, governor's ears only, and no name given.
Antun Wizera clicked off, got up and put on a robe, pulled the covers up over his wife's naked shoulder and quietly left her sleeping there. He went to his private terminal in a room next to Nokai's, faraday-screened and soundproof, speaker and palm-scanner at the door. He placed his palm on the plate there, and said "Enter." The door slid open, and then closed behind him. The screen of his console was brightly lit and Yesugen's face was there. The icon for real time was pulsing below her.
He sat down, and Yesugen smiled faintly. "I'm sorry to disturb your sleep, Governor, but I just arrived."
"You're on your flagship, then," he said, feeling suddenly uneasy.
"Yes."
"Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your mother. She was a fine woman, and wise. She has shown patience and understanding regarding our problems here, and I hope you will continue to support us as Mandughai."
Yesugen's eyes were suddenly narrowed and hard. Wizera sensed a bitterness there, and a stoic, cold resolve that made his stomach crawl. "Calm yourself, Governor," she said tersely. "Before her death, my mother made it clear to me her commitment to Lan-Sui City was absolute, and I will honor that. My methods, however, are different from hers, and always have been. She had patience where I did not, and Lan-Sui is a good example of it. This business with the rebellion has gone on far too long. It must end. It must end now."
Wizera's face flushed. "Are you here to invade our moons?" he asked bluntly.
"I'm here to prepare for it, yes. In the end, I think an occupation will be necessary, at least until things are stabilized. I don't intend to have a permanent presence here, Governor. It's a drain on resources needed for Meng-shi-jie, and I've been under pressure for a long time to withdraw. Now that my mother is gone, that pressure will only increase, and it's not easy to argue against it.
"The only excuse for intervention is to assure our supplies of fuels. I could do that easily by simply taking over Gutien and Nan and declaring them protectorates of Meng-shi-jie, and it's only a promise I made to my mother that prevents me from doing it." Yesugen's voice was nearly a growl, and her eyes blazed red as she said it.
"There is little we could do to prevent it," Wizera said humbly, and lowered his eyes. "All our armored vessels are now fully occupied with the protection of our city from what Yesui has done to our alpha ring."
Yesugen made a rude sound. "You asked for new life to be brought to Lan-Sui, and now that it's happening you can only complain. Did you think it would be an easy thing?"
"The people fear what is happening. It inflames them, and the rebels have used it to strengthen their position. If Yesui could cease her efforts for just a little while I could"
"She will continue what she does until her mission is completed; the people will have to live with their fears, and it's up to you to lead them. If you think you can't do that, then appoint someone else who can."
Wizera felt a surge of adrenaline that quickened his heartbeat, and brought him a rare anger. "That's exactly what the rebels want! Are you now sympathetic with their cause?"
"I'm sympathetic with none of you," said Yesugen, her eyes still red. "You've lived soft lives for generations, and now that things are not so easy you react like small children. I have no patience for that. You have problems. Now solve them. You have complaints. Now act on them. There are rebels, yes, and we know their leaders. We know where they are, and I can have them killed with a single command. Do you think that will solve all your problems?"
What she said confused him. "I don't condone assassination for any reason, of course, but without leaders the rebellion would surely falter. I don't see what"
"Wizera! Open your eyes! Do you really think a former police chief and a few henchmen are behind all of this? Can you possibly believe that one man can work to put himself in your office without commited support from important people in your own city?"
"I'm aware of sympathies for the independence of Gutien and Nan. Many people have relatives there. We have a democracy here, Madam. I do not dictate how the people must think." He said it indignantly, then winced as Yesugen exploded back at him.
"I'm not talking about that, you fool!"
"Then please enlighten me," he muttered, shaking all over with rage.
Yesugen's face was a frightening thing, her tusks bared, hands clenched tight into fists, but then the hand of someone else appeared and grasped her shoulder. She turned to her left, and said, "Yes, YES! I'm trying!" When she looked back, she leaned forward, so close he could see her tongue moving.
"Listen to me, Wizera. For the past few months, several shipments of arms have been received on both Gutien and Nan, and another arrived just yesterday: laser rifles, battery packs, and now even heavy stuff for ships. You worry about asteroids. Are you aware that only half of the debris control ships are on patrol now? The other half are on the ground, being outfitted with additional tight-focus weaponry designed only for the penetration of armored hulls. My hulls, Governor, and the shutters of your own city. While you sit around and wait for a strike to be settled, the moons ready themselves for war against you and your city, and your real enemies are there with you, undoubtedly preparing to flee when the time comes."
"But who?" he asked.
Yesugen held up a thick folder. "I have all the manifests, bills of lading, the dates, the ports of exit and entry, everything shipped as machine tools. I've even broken it down so you can see which tool is what kind of weapon. Everything here is on cube. I'm sending it to you as soon as we're finished here."
Now she smiled, and fluttered the file at him. "Would you like to know what shipping company is exclusively involved?"
He nodded.
"Inayo Industries, a subsidiary I believe you're acquainted with."
"But that's owned by Bator Corporation!" he said, astounded.
"Really. Well, they own most of Lan-Sui and its moons right now. It looks to me like they want all of it. Have you been having problems with them?" Her smile was now a smirk.
"Only the usual complaints about taxes and subsidies, especially since the start of the strike, but they've been private. In public, the company has always supported me."
"It seems you must have a private chat with them, Governor, but not before you've gone over what I'm sending you, and ferreted out the labryinth of accounts undoubtedly used to pay for all those weapons. Your tax people can quickly do it for you. And while they do that, you might also let it be known that as of today I have placed a blockade around both Gutien and Nan. Any approaching ship will be ionized without warning, and that includes any vessel on debris patrol. And any vessel leaving the moons will be immediately destroyed."
"This is an act of war," he gasped.
"Your war, not mine. Like it or not, what I'm doing is in support of your office. The next steps are yours to take. Your little democracy isn't working, Wizera. You've allowed it to approach anarchy, and the next step is a dictatorship under a few people who only think of their own profits. Your powers are hereditary, going back thousands of years. It's time for you to use them, or else you are lost, and then your moons will be mine. Is that clear enough?"
"It's clear that the moons now have an excuse for revolution, and the people here will support it. They will see me as your puppet." Wizera's voice shook with emotion.
Yesugen laughed at him. "Oh, how soft and simple your life has been, and how unfortunate for you to be such a humanitarian. Mother always admired you for your good heart. I do not. You are Governor of Lan-Sui. Now use your political mind, for once. You have called in my forces to suppress a rebellion that threatens your city with destruction. We act on your orders. You have uncovered a sinister plot behind it, a plot by the very corporation that controls all moon operations.
"If you truly believe in democracy, and I think you do, then no single corporation can be allowed to have the power Bator has accumulated. You must nationalize it, or regulate its operations. You have caught them attempting to overthrow the government! And if the moons want independence, give them the semblance of it. Let them have mayors or councils, but as protectorates of Lan-Sui. Simple solutions, Governor, but your belief in pure democracy has made you blind to them."
Her voice was softer now, even conciliatory, as if speaking to an ignorant child. He wanted to be angry, but couldn't do it. His mind whirled with projections of how the people would react if he followed Yesugen's suggestions. How would he feel in their place? What did they want? A safe, comfortable place to live, food on the table, interesting work, a few luxuries, these were the basic things. And as Governor, he was expected to provide them the opportunities they required. It was not the political system that mattered, but the quality of peoples' lives, and that was now surely threatened.
"Very well," he said. "I will say you act on my orders, but if what you send me does not implicate Bator Corporation in backing the revolution, I will be finished here."
"Then you must move quickly," said Yesugen. "I will not wait for you. At the first sign of armed camps on the moons, I will occupy them and take military control. That could happen soontoday, or tomorrow."
"I understand," he said. "We've said enough. Please send that material right away."
Yesugen was nodding at him when her image disappeared from the screen.
The material she'd promised was already coming through when he awoke his Chief of Staff. "Dorvod, I'm sorry. Come to my office right away. We have an extreme emergency on our hands," he said, and hung up before the man could answer him.
Dorvod Tolui arrived minutes later; Wizera showed him what Yesugen had sent, and told him everything.
Dorvod did not seem surprised. "Our investigators drew blanks in finding the backers of moon independence, but we were beginning to see the true extent of Bator's holdings and influence. They now control nearly seventy percent of the commerce in Lan-Sui City, and essentially everything on the moons. This has been building for years, sir."
"Well, it's going to stop right here!" said Wizera, with a new rush of determination.
Two accountants were called in from Treasury, and they worked with extreme security at Wizera's private terminal. Passwords were of no consequence; the tax people had all of them, even for the elements of the conglomerate that was Bator Corporation. For hours, they followed a maze of shipping orders, purchase orders, work orders and payment vouchers from one Bator subsidiary to another, then back again, looking for convergence to a single order, letter, anything that had initiated all of it.
Wizera waited tensely in his office, stomach grumbling over a missed breakfast. He filled it with strong tea until he was shaking, and busied himself with minor things. When Dorvod arrived with a thin folder in his hand, Wizera looked up expectantly, and his heart was thumping hard. Dorvod was frowning, and he laid the folder down by Wizera's hands. "The news is not good, sir."
There was a sharp pain in his chest, but only because he'd forgotten to breathe. He opened the folder, read its contents quickly, and the pain went away. He smiled.
"No, Dorvod, the news is good. It is excellent, the best I've ever received."
Tolui looked at him strangely. "Sir?"
Wizera laughed, and slapped the folder closed with the palm of his hand. "I'm fine, Dorvod, but there's one more thing. I need copies of the letter, and all the signed checks. Get those, please."
"Yes, sir," said Tolui, and as the man turned to leave, Wizera was already punching numbers into his tele-module. He made three calls, but it was the third one he savored the most.
"Bator Associates," said a lovely young woman from the screen.
"Mondo Bator, please. This is Governor Antun Wizera calling."
"He's in a meeting, sir. Can I have him call you back?"
"No, you can get him right now. Tell him it involves the doubtful future of his company. Say it exactly that way, please."
She stared at him for one instant, then went away, and the beefy face of Mondo Bator was on the screen a minute later.
"What is this, Antun?" growled the man.
"Something unfortunate for you," said Wizera. "Treasury agents and police will be at your office within minutes. All your files have been downloaded, so you needn't bother to erase anything, or try to hide yourself. The charge is treason, Mondo, treason against Lan-Sui, but there's a secondary issue involving misappropriation of funds that the union on Gutien and Nan will find most interesting."
"You're insane," said Bator. "You've finally gone over the edge."
"I suppose I have," said Wizera cheerfully. "Oh, there is another thing. As of this morning, I've used the ships of Meng-shi-jie to set up a blockade around Gutien and Nan. Warn your people there, Mondo. Any ships that attempt flight will be destroyed on sight, and debris control ships attempting approach will be treated likewise. And you can expect ground forces to land on the moons at the first sign of armed men there. You must tell Tokta Kuril, or Oghul Ghaimish, whatever you call him, that he should keep your weapons safely in their crates."
"This is the end of you," said Bator, jowls flapping, his forehead glistening with sweat. "The people will be swarming at your gates by noon."
"It will be a wonderful opportunity for me to explain everything, Mondo. I'll get right on it. And I look forward to seeing you in court."
The screen of the tele-module went blank with the snap of a finger striking a key. His energy had returned. He felt refreshed, renewed, but his stomach still grumbled, and it was time for lunch. He went down the hallway to the dining room in his living quarters, whistling a little tune to himself. Lunch had been served an hour before, but the remnants were still there: some bread, a few slabs of vegi-meat, a serving or two of cold noodles congealing in a tureen. Nokai was still there with his tea, reading a book.
Wizera served himself a plate of food, and ate greedily, oblivious to the slimy consistency of the noodles. He caught Nokai peeking at him from behind the book, frowning, yet smiling at the same time.
"You have a question, son?" he asked, tearing off a chunk of bread with his teeth and chewing vigorously.
"You're strangely happy at a time of great danger, Father. I've never seen you quite so pleased with yourself."
Wizera looked at his son, now a man, and beautiful, both in body and soul. "No question, then. You see everything, and not just from the expression on my face, or the color of my emotions. You know my every thought, including what has happened this morning. What else do you see there? Here, I'll think it strongly for you."
Nokai smiled, and put down his book. "I see how much you love me," he said softly.
"There, you see? On Shanji you would be called Moshuguang." He scraped the remaining mess of noodles onto his plate, and twirled some on a fork.
"They're not empaths, Father, and so far there's only one person I talk to without words."
"Ah, yes, Yesui, the supernatural mystery woman who brings mass to Lan-Sui. Is that why she's interested in you, because you can talk to her?"
"Itit's more than that," said Nokai, nearly stammering.
Wizera stuffed the last of the noodles in his mouth, and swallowed them whole. "You love her," he said. "I see it in your eyes when her name is spoken."
"Yes," said Nokai, intertwining his fingers on the table. "I love her very much."
"Have you told her that?"
"She is the Mei-lai-gong, father. She sees everything in me."
Wizera wiped his mouth, and stood up. "She's also a woman, and if you love her you must say it! Ask your mother, if you doubt me. Do it today! Today is a day of action for our family!"
Antun Wizera marched out of the room to rejoin Tolui, leaving the agony of personal decision-making to his son, and without thought of consequences.
There was no coup, no internal takeover by Oghul Ghaimish and his followers, when word of the blockade arrived. Even those who'd still remained loyal to Lan-Sui were suddenly on his side, for all they could see was armed conquest of their world by the Empress of Meng-shi-jie, and a dictatorship to follow it. Despair had turned into grim resolve when they heard of the cache of arms Ghaimish had obtained for their defense, and they cheered as he cracked open the first crates to show them what was there. Now they had formed orderly lines, each man receiving laser rifle and power pack, and going to his designated platoon as assigned by Chief Steward Jumdshan. For the moment, weapons in hands, there was no fear, only resolve in defending their homes and families. They did not yet think about the force coming against them.
The news, however, was not good when Jumdshan returned from Communications, frowning.
"Well?" asked Ghaimish.
"I couldn't reach them on either frequency, and then I called my brother. Bator and the others have been arrested, and charged with treason and fraud. It was all on television. There was a huge protest at the palace gates, and Wizera used it as a forum to explain what has happened, and now the people are cheering him."
"He was not supposed to be alive," growled Ghaimish.
"The blockade was so sudden, without provocation or warning," said Jumdshan. "I doubt that the team to take out Wizera had even been set up yet. We weren't expecting this for months!"
"Are you aware of any television sets here, Jumdshan?" asked Ghaimish, watching the ranks of platoons growing around the walls of the great warehouse. The men were fiddling with their weapons like children, and laughing.
"No."
"Then the men have no need to know what has happened. To know that Yesugen's monsters come to invade their homes is enough."
Jumdshan grasped his arm hard. "But now our situation is untenable. Yesugen's surprise move has destroyed our timing, Oghul. Half our ships are still here, Wizera is alive, and Bator's arrested. The coup in Lan-Sui City has been snuffed before it could start. Now what do we do?"
"Proceed as planned," said Ghaimish, "and if you don't let go of my arm, I'll break your wrist right in front of the men."
Jumdshan released him. "How can we?"
"Threaten the city. Force a compromise. I have no illusions about resisting Yesugen's forces. The best we can do here is buy time. Her blockade can work for us, now that our debris control crews remaining on station have declared their strike to protest it. She will see soon enough that all her ships must be used to protect the city, but we must have time!"
"That could be days! The shutters around the city can withstand the impact of anything smaller than a meter, and most of the major debris has been cleared out again."
"Then we must arrange something larger," said Ghaimish. "There's still a pilot out there who owes you a favor."
"Zedenbal, yes. He initiated the strike vote by the pilots, and they respect him."
"I will go with you to call him. It's time for you to collect that favor," said Ghaimish.
He pointed at the men in their ranks. "Look at them. Most have never held a weapon in their hands. It was all intended to be posturing, a show of determination to win the sympathy of the city people when Bator was Governor. Damn Yesugen. Damn her and her unborn child! The pilots are our only hope now, Jumdshan. I want to talk to your man."
They left the cavern and went below to Communications, ordering the men there out of the room. They moved like loyal sheep, seeing Ghaimish as leader of their defense. Jumdshan worked the transmitter and soon had Captain Lingdan Zedenbal on the air, voice only, for visual transmissions would be open to interception by Yesugen's ships.
"Lingdan, it's Jumdshan again. Our situation is very bad here, and we need your help."
"Anything, sir. What is it?" came the immediate reply.
"Oghul Ghaimish is here with me, Lingdan. Your instructions will come from him. I've assured him of your loyalty to our cause, and he has trusted my judgement. Please do your best for him. We need your best if we're to survive."
"You've got it, sir!" said Zedenbal, then, "Good evening, Mister Ghaimish. A pleasure, sir."
"It's my pleasure, lad," said Ghaimish, "to be speaking to the man who saved Lan-Sui City. I can think of no other person brave enough to do what is required at this time, and I will not mince words with you. The conquest of Lan-Sui is now underway. Meng-shi-jie's blockade was sudden, and now we have word that Governor Wizera has become the puppet of Empress Yesugen. The government has fallen. We expect an invasion by ground forces at any moment and have armed ourselves. We can hold out for a day or two before being overwhelmed by Yesugen's monsters, and I don't have to tell you what they'll do to our women and children after the men are dead. We need time, lad, time to force a stalement and negotiate a compromise, and it can only be done from space. You and your fellows are the only people we have there, Captain, and our survival now rests solely on your shoulders."
A pause of two beats, then a quiet voice, "I understand, sir. Just tell me what must be done, and I'll do it."
Ghaimish allowed a quiver to infect his voice. "Oh, if only there were more like you I could call to action now. We're all very proud of you, Captain. Our situation is so desperate, but there is one hope, and it relates to Empress Yesugen's greed. She seeks to conquer the moons and assure her world a supply of free fuels, but she also wants the city, with all its manufacturing facilities and workers who can be her slaves. She wants all of it. She needs all of it, Captain. What I plan is a real, physical threat to destroy what she needs and at the same time to create a diversion that will allow us to get our newly armed ships off the ground with weapons that can penetrate the hulls of her ships and give us a fighting chance."
"We have such weapons?" asked Lingdan.
"Yes, from friends in the city, dear friends now imprisoned by Yesugen and her puppet governor. The weapons are installed, and the ships ready to fly if we can somehow draw ships away from the blockade. The task of doing that must fall to you and your fellow pilots. There's no other choice for me, and I hesitate to ask it because there will be a terrible risk to your lives. Only someone like yourself would even consider it, Captain, and now you're our only hope." His voice cracked and faltered as he said it.
Ghaimish hesitated, waited several seconds until he heard that calm yet firm voice once again.
"What are your orders, sir?"
"Where are you now?" Ghaimish asked quickly.
"The inner edge of the alpha ring. We've been picking off the larger stuff as it comes out on trajectories that pass close to the city, and leaving the smaller things to remind the Governor we're officially on strike. We'd heard he ordered the blockade, sir. Now I see we were wrong."
"He carries out Yesugen's orders, Captain. He's betrayed all of us. You once saved Lan-Sui City from destruction, and now I'm asking you to threaten its destruction to create the diversion we need."
"Sir?"
"I want you and your fellow pilots to seek out several bodies large enough to shatter the thick shutters protecting the city, and guide them there on a collision course. When you're certain of the trajectories, release your asteroids and return to a station we'll assign you at the edge of the blockade zone."
"You're asking me to destroy the city, sir. I can't kill innocent"
"Do you think Yesugen will allow destruction of her city, Captain? She will respond quickly by pulling her small cruisers from the blockade to blast those asteroids, and it's the small cruisers that keep our ships on the ground. Once they've lifted off, our ships can attack her heavy cruisers and her flagship, destroy her infantry, and put her on the defensive. The city will be in no real peril, Captain. I've studied the woman's history. I know how she thinks. But you must move quickly. Begin right now. Your threat against the city must be obvious within the next two days, or we'll all be either dead, or slaves of Meng-shi-jie. You're our only hope! Please!"
A few seconds of silence was an eternity. Ghaimish held his breath.
"All right, sir, I'll do it. I can only speak for myself, but I'm pretty sure the other pilots will go along with it. They all have families on Gutien. I'll contact you on this frequency for any updates."
"Thank you so much, lad. I I" Ghaimish felt dizzy with relief, his voice gone.
Jumdshan leaned close to the transmitter, and said, "He's filled with emotion, Lingdan, and so am I. The Mother has sent you to us for this day, and She will be with you. Good hunting, son."
"Sir!" said Lingdan Zedenbal, and he was gone.
Ghaimish sighed, and wiped his brow. "What a relief! That was close."
Jumdshan was frowning at him. "Why? He believed everything you told him. You lie very well, Ghaimish. Mondo Bator is even better at it. Did you know all that money he held back from my budget went into his pockets, and those of his major investors?"
"Of course not," he lied. "Another lie, Jumdshan? Or a coverup? You're in the best position to know if it's true or not. Our cash is kept in your vaults. Now let's get back to the men."
They left Communications and climbed the stairs again, Ghaimish thinking, Twenty thousand new shares of company stock down the drain, but that cash would be useful if I can get away. But where? Nan? Not the city, or Meng-shi-jie. It must be Nan. It must be soon. Damn that Yesugen! Damn her to slow death and eternal pain! If only I could be the instrument of it!
The words of Nokai's father burned in his mind as he returned to his room. Nokai tuned out everything, the muted babblings of his fellow Empaths, the excited conversation between his father and Tolui, and he opened the windows to look out at the city. There was a crawling sensation in his stomach, and he breathed deeply to calm it. What am I feeling? he wondered.
There was sympathy, for his father, a good man who loved him, a man of peace, but slow to make decisions until subconsciously pushed by his own son. Nokai felt guilt in the doing of it, though he'd always followed what his father wished to do. What he regretted was the necessity of pushing his father into action. I do not want such control over people, he thought.
But you have it, came a reply from within him. It's not a bad thing, if you use it for good. You are a Searcher, and more. Yesui sees it in you. You are noticed.
Nokai closed his eyes, exhaling slowly and seeing a matrix of purple dots twinkling in blackness, a vision that had often been there since his first contact with Yesui. Meeting her, then loving her had opened up something new within him, and lately there had even been visions of roiling, colorful clouds sprinkled with points of light from blue to red. He sighed, and the vision was suddenly there again, a point of light bursting forth at the end of a protuberance from a roiling mass of greenish brown mist.
You see far, Nokai. There are wonders within you yet to be explored, yet you hesitate to tell Yesui of your love for her, even when she sees it. She waits to hear such words from the one she loves, and grows impatient over it. Tell her what you feel.
The thought was like a soft whisper close to his ear. Nokai's face flushed, and he sank to his knees, bowing over, and covering his face with his hands. Oh, Mother, I'm only your servant! Please give me the courage to follow your will, and guide me in your ways. I am obedient to you.
All are within The Mother, Nokai, and are Her servants. I will watch over you, and also Yesui, for both of you are important to us. You will bring new life to Our Creation. Rest, now. Yesui will soon come to you again, and you must speak your heart. Know that I will be with you.
The vision of green mist flared brightly with a single pulse, then faded to blackness as Nokai's heart raced. A tingling sensation flowed down his arms to his fingertips, lingering there for a moment. His eyes stung, and he blinked several times, then stood up, breath rapid, and leaned on the railing of the balcony. Blackness above him, city lights far out and below his place, and he could hear the faint sounds of traffic in the streets, the clatter of dust and pebbles on the shutters overhead. Nokai held out his arms towards the lights, thinking of Yesui.
"We are within The Mother," he whispered solemnly.