The Seeds of War- Omnibus Edition

by T S Hottle

  The corpses smelled horrible. He had heard they didn’t smell too good when alive either, and he’d already had more than a whiff of their manure. Some things never changed, even across ecosystems.

  The barn itself had been reduced to ash, blackened goo, and charred metal. More experienced hands dealt with the livestock corpses. The goo they shoveled into large bins on wheels that would then be dragged off by tractbots. The metal they threw onto self-driving farm wagons. These flat solar-powered vehicles had AI like the tractbots, only not as intelligent. If a tractbot had the intelligence of a dog, the wagons might aspire to have that of a cockroach. It did not surprise JT to find that they were easier to manipulate and control than the tractbots.

  He had been working for a couple of hours when he picked up a blackened chunk of metal that looked odd. Unlike the collapsed, twisted portions of beams, this had no jagged edges. It fit in the palm of his hand. JT looked around to see if anyone was watching, then put it in his pocket. Constable Kray would want to see it.

  He would show it to Mr. Parker instead. As he started clearing debris again, a series of loud pops caught his attention.

  ***

  Kray paced the top of the hill above the makeshift firing range. Two of his volunteers had saved a couple of Wallek’s moosalo before lighting up the barn. The full squad now used the slow lumbering animals for target practice. They would all eat good tonight.

  One of the volunteers, Kasumbo, broke off from the group and approached Kray. “You know someone’s bound to hear us firing automatic weapons. We need to find a little more privacy.”

  Kray sized up Kasumbo, a lumbering Tianese man from the looks of his Asiatic features, but with surprisingly quick reflexes. Kray had seen such men before. They looked large and slow, but could move with a grace and speed that seemed impossible. When Kray had been a raw recruit, he picked a fight with one such man, an Earther who outweighed Kray by fifty kilos. The Earth man bested Kray with a single blow and had him in a lock that nearly broke his arm. He also earned Kray’s respect. Kasumbo, despite his bulk, moved rather gracefully like that recruit.

  “Do you have a suggestion? Now would be the time while our numbers are small,” said Kray.

  “North of the township is unincorporated. There are some properties in the foothills, but most of the land is unclaimed and secluded. And there are enough hollows to conceal the sound of our guns. Speaking of which, when do we get more guns and ammo? Twelve people on a week’s supply is not going to hold us in an emergency.”

  Kray placed a hand on Kasumbo’s back and guided him away from the dip in the land and down the path leading away from it. “Our friend has arranged a source in Riverside. We will be getting supplies from off-schedule maglev runs.”

  “When?”

  “Soon. In the meantime, I need you to do something for me.”

  “What?”

  “Find me our next two dozen recruits. We’re going to have to get real big, real fast.”

  Kasumbo smiled. He had the king’s ear, Kray thought. All well and good. The man had probably just placed himself in his own mind above Saja in the pecking order. Let him think that. He will still be useful.

  “Keep one thing in mind,” said Kray. “Anyone who says no to us will be the enemy when Amargosa is seized. It’s the only way we’ll be able to fight for liberation.”

  Kasumbo appeared to pondering his words. Kray could guess the arguments against them. Wouldn’t they be the ones we are liberating? Won’t we need allies? What about the Colonial Guard?

  “Don’t worry,” said Kray. “In time, they will join us. But we may have to make examples of some when we’re actually at war.”

  “Do you think we’re going to have one?”

  “Which would you rather be wrong about? War or peace?”

  ***

  Parker retrieved JT late in the afternoon. On the way back to the house, JT showed him the magazine he’d found.

  Parker whistled. “That’s from a KR-27. Know what that is?”

  “Sure,” said JT. “My dad has one in his den mounted on the wall. Said he used it during the riots on Bromdar when he was a recruit.”

  “I have one, too,” said Parker. “And even if your father’s an admiral, I’m pretty sure that weapon has its firing bolt removed like mine. Compact Defense is pretty strict on civilian possession of these. Where did you find it?”

  “Wallek’s moosalo barn.

  Parker reached over and took it. “Haven’t seen the magazine for one of those in years.” He turned the black metal device over while dividing his attention between it and the dirt road ahead. “This is a knock-off.”

  “How do you know?”

  “See a sunburst imprint anywhere on it?”

  JT took the magazine and turned it over several times, looking for a sunburst design etched into the metal. “There isn’t one.”

  Parker laughed. “The sunburst would be the logo of Taiyang Huo, a Tianese weapons manufacturer. Ever see their actual logo? It looks a lot like the sunburst symbol for the Compact.”

  As a matter of fact, JT had seen that logo before. And in some odd places, like handheld com units, the restraints on commuter craft, even kitchen gadgets. It could be a little unsettling to see the logo of humanity’s largest weapons maker on a food processor. Were it not for the altered color scheme, Taiyang Huo’s logo would look exactly like the Compact’s symbol of state. He’d heard more than one conspiracy theorist suggest that the Compact was less a solution to the problem of Earth-Mars relations during the early Colonial Era than the means by which Tian, under the thumb of Taiyang Huo, had usurped authority over humanity.

  “It’s a knock off. You can have all the KR-27’s you want, but Compact Defense mandates that the firing pin and the magazine have to come from Taiyang Huo. And woe to the person caught firing counterfeit ammo from an unauthorized magazine with an unauthorized pin. Although this one is probably Polygamy War surplus, when Deseret overrode the Compact so they could arm their militias quickly and put down the radical sects.”

  The politics of that era made JT’s head swim. He was just old enough to remember the wars, but he didn’t understand them. He could recall his mother telling him it was because one group of people wanted to marry more than one woman. When JT said people on Deseret and The Caliphate and Heinlein did that, his mother said, “You don’t understand. Those women – or men – can say no. These people want to kidnap wives.”

  “Why not husbands?”

  He remembered the question had made his mother smile. Apparently, she thought her little boy respected women. Of course he did, he thought as the memory swam up in his mind. He kept trying to sleep with them, all previous prospects happy to help JT become a man. Or so he had believed. With the exception of his little sister’s au pair, he suspected money was their main motivator. The au pair had been a Laputan teen and wanted to know what it was like to be with a human. Too bad his parents caught them.

  “So why would Wallek have a KR-27?”

  “It’s not the rifle that bothers me,” said Parker. “It’s the magazine. If there’s a magazine, there’s a firing pin. If there’s a firing pin…”

  “Someone’s bringing weapons to Amargosa,” JT finished.

  “At least to Dagar Township.”

  JT realized that Parker had not asked why he did not show it to Constable Kray. That told him all he needed to know about the man.

  ***

  “He is the son of Tessa Dasarius, alias Tedessa Dazar,” said Saja. “That’s huge.”

  Kray almost froze at the name Dasarius. If it came through the hypergate, or especially if it came through its own wormhole, it was probably a Dasarius Interstellar ship. The company, depending on who one talked to, was an Etruscan, Tianese, or Caliphate-based company, one that sprawled across the Compact. Nominally, its headquarters had once been an independent city near the capital of Cascadia. Deming, near Amargosa’s northern pole, was considered a Dasarius company town. While its location and
exact nature were hard to pin down, the company remained under the control of the Dasarius/Dazar family. They simply ran it the way benign royalty ruled over their worlds and kingdoms.

  And this kid’s mother was the equivalent of Queen Elizabeth I. He sure as hell didn’t strike Kray as the second coming of William V. “So why’s he with Parker?”

  “You’ll have to ask the governor,” said Saja, “but apparently, his father, Admiral Quentin Austin – Yes, that Quentin Austin – is taking his sweet time arranging the next Naval visit to Amargosa to retrieve him. Seems he thinks the boy needs the discipline of flatland farm life.”

  “Really? So he’s a runaway?”

  “A stowaway. If she were so inclined, Ms. Dasarius could declare her own son property and indenture him upon conviction of unlawful presence.”

  Kray frowned. Indenture was more a punishment for identity thieves in the Compact, a Draconian measure left over from the end of the World Wars. Stowaways essentially became unpaid employees of the shipping line, usually ending up on the payroll or resource allocation before their sentences were up. Something told Kray that forced employment for his mother’s company would only make matters worse for both the parents and the boy.

  He took out his pocket com and held it out screen-first for Saja. “Summoned to another meeting, this one in Riverside. All the Plains constables have to attend.”

  “Governor’s orders?” When Kray simply pressed his mouth thin, Saja continued. “Mr. Croix seems to forget we have duties here.”

  “That’s why I need you to stay here and make sure Wallek is given a proper send-off. I also don’t want that kid back in our township.”

  “Will your wife be joining you?” Her eyes had a hard look as she asked.

  Kray wondered, after helping Deseret put down its more radical sects, how ironic it would be if he took Saja to Deseret. And how long would Brendie tolerate having a sister wife? “She will stay here. This is purely business, and Brendie doesn’t like to travel much anymore. Do me a favor.”

  “Anything.”

  “Visit the Parker farm. Try and get a sense of how the boy is doing there. I want to know if he’s going to be a problem.”

  “I’ll stop by the house tonight before I go home.”

  Home. Kray knew Saja slept on a cot in the duty room. The constable’s office was her home.

  ***

  Quan grabbed JT by the arm and spun him around as he walked across the Parker’s yard. “Where do you get off stealing one of my tractbots?”

  JT stared back at the ex-Marine, holding Quan’s hard glare with his own gaze. “I thought they were Mr. Parker’s tractbots.”

  “Don’t get smart, kid. You got lucky getting put on clean-up detail this morning. But if you hadn’t, you’d have worked under my close, personal supervision.” He looked around. “John Parker’s a good man, a patient man. And he knows all about you. If it were me, I’d have sent you to work in a factory in Deming. You could freeze your ass off loading transports and wrangling factory bots.” He released JT’s arm. “We’re taking four wagons full of hardened wheat to the maglev tomorrow. Why don’t you put some of that criminal intellect to work getting the wagons and the bots to listen to instructions?”

  JT watched him stalk away.

  “Hey, Earth man. Think fast.” JT turned just in time to see Lizzy toss a basketball in his direction.

  “How about a game before dinner? There’s a hoop by the supply barn.”

  JT dribbled the ball, threw it back to Lizzy, and followed her to the barn. As he did with most women, he focused on Lizzy’s behind as it moved beneath her shorts. She had nice legs and…

  Shame washed over him. Right now, he depended on the Parkers, and the last thing he wanted was to use and discard Lizzy like another gold-digger willing to overlook his age. At the same time, he couldn’t help but notice the strong legs. He bet she could outrun him.

  They had just reached the hoop when Lizzy spun and fired the ball back at him. He barely caught it. She assumed a defensive posture.

  “Let’s go, Earth man. Let’s see how soft you really are.”

  JT charged the basket, weaved, and slipped around Lizzy. As he went to layup the ball, he found it blocked as Lizzy maneuvered in front of him and leapt into the air. She turned and laid up the ball from the other side. He took the ball, dribbled it back to the imaginary line that marked the end of their “court,” then charged again. This time, she blocked him from further out, backing into him and making dribbling impossible. He could not move. If he did, it was traveling. Then again…

  He slipped around her and started charging for the basket again. Lizzy tackled him. They got to their feet and started shoving each other, Lizzy laughing, JT angry. She slipped away from him and dove into a stand of bushes. JT followed her only to find himself grabbed by the shoulders and pulled inside. He landed on top of Lizzy, who covered his mouth with hers.

  “Kiss me, Earth man,” she said. “And maybe touch me some place I’m not supposed to be touched.”

  He pushed her back onto the ground and began kissing her again. His hand went up her side, brushing part of her shirt up with it. She grabbed his hand and moved it to her breast, then made a moaning noise.

  “Like that?” she asked.

  JT pushed up from her. “I do. But I don’t want your father dragging me off to the woods with a rifle in one hand.”

  Lizzy reached up and stroked his cheek. “I turn sixteen tomorrow. On Amargosa, that means I can do what I want.” She raised up enough to kiss him. “And what I want is my first time to be with an Earth man.” She pressed against him. “What do you say?”

  JT realized that, if he removed her shorts and opened his jeans now, she would surrender to him without any resistance. Instead, he said, “I’m a bad guy, Lizzy. You should find a nice local boy. Get married. Start a farm. Raise a family. I’m bad news.”

  Lizzy squirmed out from underneath him. “Who says I want a nice boy? Maybe I’m sick of them.” She crawled out of the bushes then stuck her head back into the opening. “You coming? You should get a cold shower before dinner.”

  ***

  In the yard sat a familiar bat wagon. JT recognized it as Constable Kray’s. That woman who shadowed Kray everywhere stood in the yard talking to John and Sarah Parker. Sarah looked upset, but John actually seemed animated. JT noticed Lizzy had slowed down, her hands on her hips.

  “I don’t like that woman,” she said. “I always feel like I’m being spied on when she comes here.”

  JT did not like her either but kept it to himself. As they approached, he could hear the woman Saja refer to Kray in reverent tones as “the Constable.” Each time, John Parker rolled his eyes. When he spotted JT and Lizzy walking up to the house, he took Saja by the arm and walked away. JT could not hear anything they said after that.

  Sarah Parker wrung a dry towel in her hands. JT half expected her to be upset to see debris from the bushes in their clothes. Instead, she said, “Why don’t the two of you get washed up? Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.”

  As they started for the house, John Parker came up alongside them. “Well, that’s just great. The governor wants all the Plains constables in Riverside for a couple of days. Think you can stay out of trouble that long, JT?”

  “It’ll be a struggle, sir,” he said. It would be.

  “Good. Lizzy, mind your mother. She might need you to handle some chores so let the school know you’re tending the business.”

  JT had never heard of such a thing. Then again, JT had never attended traditional schools either. As for himself, he wasn’t worried about the Parkers. As long as he did not give in to Lizzy’s temptations, he would be fine. It was Quan he worried about.

  ***

  Kray leaned back in the bath Brendie had drawn for him and enjoyed himself as she bathed him. Some people criticized him for keeping his wife so submissive, but they overlooked the fact that she liked waiting on him hand and foot. What man would not enjoy such
attention so freely given?

  The door chimed. Brendie’s serene expression and tone vanished as she stood and marched out of the room, leaving Kray wearing only the suds in his water. He hoped it was not one of the farmers or the townies come to complain that his deputies weren’t moving fast enough. He had spread the word in Dagar Township. The Kray house was off limits to all except…

  “I thought I told you never to come here this late,” Brendie snapped. “When will you let me have my husband back?”

  “Who is it?” Kray already knew.

  “That woman,” said Brendie, her anger tinged with resignation.

  “Send her in,” he said. “I’ll talk to her.”

  He heard Brendie mutter something under her breath then slam a door. Saja appeared in the bathroom doorway.

  “I’ve been to the Parker farm,” she said. “Our friend the constable is considering taking custody of young Mr. Austin if he agrees to work off the charges filed by his parents.”

  “How?”

  “By working on the Parker farm. Seems the boy has a talent for hacking AI. Rather handy if you have a bunch of wayward farm equipment.” She sat down on the toilet next to the tub and idly dragged a finger in the water near Kray. “He’s going to be trouble, Lucius. Even if he doesn’t know it yet.”

  Kray leaned back, tempted to invite Saja to indulge herself. He would not, though. It had nothing to do with Brendie. Like Brendie, Saja was submissive to him. But Saja’s submissiveness only bolstered the authority she had as his second. The moment their relationship became physical, it would destroy the dynamic between them. Though part of him wanted to replace Brendie with Saja, he needed Saja to be an extension of him. So he simply said, “The boy might also be useful to us. Even if he doesn’t know it yet.”

  Saja rose and shook the suds off her fingers. “I’ll leave you to your bath, sir.”