Perilous Waif (Alice Long Book 1)

by E. William Brown

  Eventually we came around a bend, and arrived at a wooden platform overlooking a large pond. Sakura trees in full bloom shaded most of the polished wood surface, and the flowering bushes that surrounded them gave the place a secluded feel. Akio sat at a low table on the far side, gazing into the pond.

  He looked up as we approached. “Good morning, Alice. How are you today?”

  I bowed, leaning hard on my instincts to make myself do it properly. Some insane bit of my subconscious still wanted to stop at a tiny nod, like some high lady barely acknowledging a pretentious lowlife’s existence. That would get me killed for sure. Fortunately he was still inviting me to present myself as a lady, so I didn’t have to bow all that low. Just enough to acknowledge his power over me.

  Thinking of it that way made me kind of feel funny, but it was a lot easier than telling myself he outranked me.

  “I’m quite well, my lord. How are you?”

  “Well enough, I suppose. Please, join me.”

  I sat across the little table from him, carefully going through the little ritual of folding skirts and arranging my legs just so. Then I set the little teak box I carried in the middle of the table.

  “Please, accept this gift in thanks for your kind invitation,” I said.

  He gave me an amused look, and reached over to pull apart the ribbon that held the box closed. It was dark blue along the edges and a lighter shade in the middle, to indicate respect and openness to negotiation. I carefully controlled my expression as he opened the lid, and inspected the contents. A large compartment filled with a mixture of green and amber powders, and a smaller one with a little scoop and whisk.

  “This looks interesting,” he said. “Some sort of tea?”

  “It’s an old tradition in the Tanova Sector colonies, my lord. A sort of breakfast tea they call osuno. The tea itself is a variety that was evacuated from Japan before Z Day, grown in controlled habitats by a reclusive order of monks. They harvest and desiccate by hand, then crystallize it to ensure perfect preservation of the flavor.”

  “I see. And the amber-colored grains?”

  “Crystallized honey blended with various mild spices, my lord. There are thousands of variations in the exact recipe, depending on local tastes.”

  “How interesting. Well then, we shall have to try this exotic beverage. Marissa?”

  A naga with dark purple hair emerged from behind one of the trees, and glided over to lay out a tea set on the table. At a nod from Akio she set down a kettle full of water and backed away. I poured, adding a carefully measured quantity of tea to his cup and giving it a brisk but precise stir with the whisk. I did the same with my own, feeling a little silly about making such a production out of things.

  But that was kind of the point. Japanese cultures always make a big deal out of tea, but after four hundred years of cultural drift the details have changed a lot from one colony to the next. Enacting a polite ritual from some colony he’d never heard of was at once exotic and familiar. It said I could respect traditions without being imprisoned by them, and also that I could fit in anywhere if I chose to.

  It didn’t hurt that it was really good tea. I’d bought a box for myself, just so I could make sure of that without opening the gift in advance. I was definitely going to be reverse engineering the stuff when I got back to the ship, so I could fabricate more whenever I ran out.

  Akio set his cup down, and smiled at me. “You know, I believe you’ve just demonstrated my correctness in an old argument.”

  I lowered my gaze to the tea cups. “Oh? How so, my lord?”

  “My official advisors were unanimously convinced that this would be an embarrassing fiasco. My inugami, however, were equally confident that you would pull it off flawlessly. Hence, my contention that a close connection to the palace gossip network is a more reliable resource than any amount of learned reason and third-hand reports.”

  I couldn’t completely hide my grin. “I can’t disagree with that, my lord. Who would know more about someone than their servants? Why, if I were running an enormous palace I’d probably train all my staff in information gathering just to capitalize on the opportunity.”

  He chuckled. “Indeed. Now please, haven’t I told you to call me Akio? We can save the court performances for the court.”

  “Thank you, Akio.”

  He was silent for a moment, waiting to see if I’d say anything else. I met his gaze now instead of staring at the table, but I just smiled back at him. I knew better than to take his comment as an invitation to be completely informal.

  My stomach gave a loud rumble.

  He laughed. I cringed, and hung my head.

  “Excuse me,” I said. “Oh, gosh, that’s so embarrassing.”

  “No, no, I’m the one who’s kept you busy with silly games instead of feeding you. Although as many enhancements as you have, I’m surprised you don’t have an override for that too.”

  “Mom probably thought it would be cute or something. Ugh, it’s your fault anyway. Ever since our spar yesterday my development manager is insisting that it needs to prioritize muscle growth, and the material requirements on that are just insane. I’m going to be eating nonstop for the next month thanks to you.”

  “Well, then let me make it up to you. Marissa, we’re ready.”

  The naga from before came back with a tray full of dishes, and started to lay out breakfast. It was all very traditional, which meant lots of weird food I’d never tried before, but I was hungry enough to eat anything. There was also enough for four people, so at least it was going to do more than wet my appetite.

  We made small talk as we ate, and I tried to strike the right balance. Not stilted and formal, but not too familiar either. It was hard when I still didn’t know exactly what he wanted from me, but I thought I was doing alright. He certainly seemed friendly enough.

  After a few minutes Marissa came back to collect empty plates and bowls, and another naga set out another helping. My surprise must have showed.

  “My development manager is also rather hungry for building materials,” he explained. “I suspect I have a slower growth schedule than yours, but I’m due to put on another thirty kilograms this year.”

  He wasn’t exactly small now. I tried to imagine him with another few cems of height and thirty more kilos of hard muscle. Yum.

  Wait, no, I wasn’t supposed to be drooling over the evil crime boss. Bad girl, Alice. Stop that.

  “I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to go with,” I told him. “My default template is all tiny and delicate looking, but I’m not too happy with that. I don’t want to go through my whole life looking harmless. So I guess we’re both cursed to eat lots and lots of tasty food for at least a few more years.”

  “It’s a terrible burden,” he agreed. “But somehow we shall persevere.”

  “It’s interesting that you have options,” he went on after a few mouthfuls of rice and fish. “You do realize how difficult an engineering job that would be, don’t you Alice? Making a single development path is hard enough. I can only imagine how many tech-years of work would be involved in make the process adapt itself to different cosmetic options automatically.”

  I shrugged. “You think that’s crazy? That’s barely scratching the surface. When I was on Felicity they weren’t giving me supplements, so a lot of my systems couldn’t grow in when they were supposed to. But somehow I ended up rescheduling everything so I’d look as normal as possible and still have the right tools to escape. Then when I got to the Square Deal and started eating right everything rescheduled again, this time with a priority on surviving spacer life. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

  “Nor have I, and I take an interest in such things. There are a number of places in the Kerak sector where one can find remarkably capable people, but even the largest government projects don’t have the funds to produce the sheer depth of capability that you so casually display. I think your mother must have been from the Inner Sphere. There have been
rumors circulating about a breakthrough in manipulator technology there.”

  “That would make sense,” I agreed. “They’re supposed to be a few decades ahead of the Outer Sphere, and those huge empires must have plenty of money to spend on secret projects. I don’t think Mom was an agent, though. Maybe a deposed aristocrat? I’ll have to keep researching, and see what I can figure out.”

  “Perhaps I could help you with that,” he said. “My people are quite good at ferreting out information.”

  That caught me by surprise.

  “Do you have some particular interest in my origins, Akio?”

  “I have a considerable interest in any potential source of exceptional individuals, Alice. For both professional and personal reasons.”

  “I see. You know, that’s an interesting point. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I suppose personal skills and enhancements would be a lot more of a factor in your clan’s business than they would be for most people. When you’re trying to be discreet you can’t count on being able to deploy an army of specialists, and a fleet of warships would be counterproductive.”

  “Just so,” he agreed. “The Masu-kai have generally been rather restrained in our use of enhancement technology, but that has mostly been out of a need to blend in. Something you seem quite adept at.”

  I tried not to blush at the compliment. “Thank you. That does seem to be a priority with my design. Once I’m fully grown I’ll have a few things that might trip security alerts, but it all looks like the kind of thing any normal bodyguard or spacer might have.”

  “I see. Have you considered your future, Alice? I know you only escaped Felicity a few weeks ago, but I’m sure you’ve given some thought to your prospects.”

  “I’m very grateful to Captain Sokol and the crew of the Square Deal for my rescue,” I said earnestly. “I’m planning to stay with them until I finish earning all my spacer certs, and have a chance to repay the captain for taking a chance on me. After that, I’m not sure. At first I thought I’d just want to find a safe place to live, and maybe get married and raise a family. But I’ve discovered I kind of like adventure.”

  I paused, gazing down at the pond. The surface was dotted with water lilies, and bright red and orange fish swam lazily about.

  “I guess that must be part of my mod package,” I mused. “Any of the girls I grew up with would have been in hysterics after the brainhacking attempt, let alone getting caught up in a space battle and boarding action. Maybe I’m just a violent maniac?”

  “Or perhaps Felicitan society does not have the firmest grasp on human nature?” He suggested.

  “That’s for sure. I’m still figuring out what to believe, though.”

  “I recommend the study of cognitive science for that,” he said. “The mind engineers who design androids have long since reverse-engineered the entire human mind, and their theories are well tested by their work.”

  “Not going to suggest some traditional philosopher?”

  “I once heard philosophy defined as ‘the study of things that no one understands’, and after all my instruction in the classics I believe that to be a fair assessment. When humanity comes to understand a topic it becomes its own field of study, and no longer a matter for philosophers.”

  “So I should study ethics theory and morality engineering instead? Or maybe behavioral engineering, if I want to know how people who aren’t brainwashed would act? I guess that does make sense.”

  Marissa made another appearance then, to clear away the dishes and bring us fresh tea. She set out an assortment of finger foods, mostly different kinds of miniature dumplings on sticks, and retreated.

  Akio leaned back from the table with a satisfied sigh.

  “Ah, just the way to start the day,” he said. “Good food, beautiful surroundings and a pleasant companion. We should do this again.”

  “I’d like that,” I admitted. I was a little surprised that it was the truth, but he was interesting to talk to. Very sure of himself, but he was smart and he knew a lot.

  Wait, was he getting ready to leave? That sounded like we were almost done. Had Azalea been wrong about this whole situation?

  “I imagine it could become a common event, once your obligations to Captain Sokol have been dealt with,” he went on. “Tell me, Alice, what do you think of the Masu-kai?”

  I closed my mouth, and just stared at him for a moment.

  “I suppose that was a bit unfair of me, wasn’t it? Let me start on a different tack, then. I assume you’re aware of my father’s plans regarding the headship?”

  Was he just trying to shock me? Shake me up, and see if I cracked under pressure? Well, I could play that game.

  “Of course,” I replied. “I expect things will get pretty exciting around here when you turn eighteen.”

  “My father is convinced that the transition will go smoothly,” Akio told me, in a tone that made it clear he thought his old man was nuts.

  “Well, I’m sure Lord Himura knows far more about it than I do,” I said piously. “But a wise man prepares for every contingency, right? Even the unlikely ones?”

  “Yes. Especially when there are certain parties that will clearly require careful handling, and unpleasant options that must be foreclosed. The situation has rather put a crimp in my social life, though.”

  “Oh?” I wasn’t sure whether to be pleased that he was talking to me about stuff like this, or terrified. Maybe both?

  “Yes. I’m of age to begin assembling my own household, and I’m certain you can imagine the security concerns involved. A clan head needs trustworthy retainers who can be relied on to put his orders above all others, but finding such individuals can be quite difficult. The current Himura retainers are all my father’s, which is less than ideal. But anyone from another clan or our training academies is all too likely to have compromised loyalties.”

  “Wouldn’t the same be true of a supposed outsider?” I asked carefully. “After all, how could you ever be sure that their background wasn’t a fake? Or that they really are who they say they are?”

  “Unless the outsider’s nature is itself proof that she owes no fealty to any potential rival,” he pointed out.

  “What, you don’t think your enemies could spend billions of credits on a crazy infiltration scheme without you knowing about it?” I shot back with a grin.

  “I should hope not. Although the stakes are rather high,” he mused. “You realize I’m also expected to marry before I take the headship? Father wanted me to take a wife from each of the Masu-kai clans, as if they wouldn’t murder each other within the week. Of course, no one else dares to put forward a candidate with that sort of competition waiting in the wings. Especially since I can’t expect to offer a proper lady the life she would expect.”

  I stared at him.

  “Ah, the light begins to dawn,” he said.

  “You can’t possibly be thinking… what it sounds like you might be getting at,” I said weakly.

  “Fortune favors the bold, Alice,” he said confidently. “It’s a bit too soon for making decisions, but I must carefully consider all available options.”

  “Options. Right. Um, what do you mean, ‘the life she would expect’?”

  “A proper lord is supposed to provide his ladies with a life of safety and elegant leisure, so that they can devote themselves to family matters. Unfortunately, a lady who ties her destiny to mine is more likely to find herself fending off assassins or imposing bloody corrections on a recalcitrant branch office. If I’m to carry out the reforms I intend, family will not be an option for years.”

  “You want wives who can be your lieutenants? Wow. That’s like something out of those adventure romance stories. Next you’re going to tell me you want to turn the Masu-kai into a legitimate nation or something.”

  He studied me silently for a moment.

  “I may have had some thoughts along those lines,” he said.

  “You’re way too good to be true, Akio.”

&nb
sp; “I have had the same thought about you, Alice. Hence the need for a period of consideration.”

  Part of me was ready to jump straight past all the boring judgment stuff, and get right into this life of wealth and adventure he was hinting at. But I still remembered the slave market. I hesitated.

  “In honesty, there is also a question as to how much I can safely defy tradition,” he went on. “Bloodlines are very important to many of the clans, and a certain level of support is necessary if I am to secure my position. Recruiting a highly capable retainer would be far less complicated.”

  “Simple is for wusses.”

  Oh, Gaia. Did I say that? Why did I say that?

  He smiled, and I swear my heart skipped a beat. “Is it, now? You know, it’s admirable how restrained you’ve been about showing off your abilities, but it occurs to me that what I’ve seen so far might not be impossible to fake.”

  “What, now you have doubts? Fine, I can show you something impossible if you like.”

  I took off my scent badge, and laid it on the table.

  His look of astonished horror was priceless. The badge turned itself off the moment I let go of it, ending its performance with a distinctive puff of pheromones that instantly drew Marissa’s attention. The naga slithered out of the trees, and two others suddenly emerged from the pond to my other side.

  But I’d already started my own performance. I’d been admiring the interplay between the scent badge and our surroundings during the whole conversation, and picking up on Akio’s version as well. His was very different, and a lot prettier. Sung in the key of his own DNA, if I was going to stick with the musical metaphor, while the scent badge’s responses were built around an ID code and time range.

  So I woke up the chemosynthesis system hidden in my skin, and started to play my own scent melody. Fielding hundreds of independent queries from the plants all around us, and the naga servants as well.

  This was going to be really embarrassing if it didn’t work like I expected.

  All three naga stared at me suspiciously for a long moment. Then their expressions softened, and the two in the pond sunk back beneath the water. Marissa took a deep breath, and bowed low.