"They are still negotiating. The Bills have the second largest number of ships and their own ship owners association. They are talking now about merging and the Bills might send their own spox, or even their own ship. They have a queen who I'd call an Empress, because she is appointed for life by a bunch of local matriarchs who sound very similar to the Derf's Mothers. The Sasquatch only have a handful of ships and the Cats apparently just go on the other's vessels. Talker intimated the Sasquatch don't have very good tech or ships and probably aren't worried about Biters pirating them because they don't have much worth stealing."
"I'm surprised the Badgers didn't send a government rep before this," Lee said.
"Talker said they had to get him interested," Prosperity said. "This may sound strange to us, but they don't routinely get involved in off planet affairs. They regard their planetary territory as their interest."
"Then their government didn't build the station?" Lee asked.
"No, it's a private station." Prosperity said. "Run on company rules."
"The station at Derfhome is private too," Gordon told him, "But all the Earth habitats started out under Grounder laws, until a few of them kicked the Earthies out or went over to Lunar influence."
"Derfhome station isn't under the Mother's law?" Prosperity wondered, surprised.
"They never displayed any interest in it. It would be – awkward – to assert it as under their purview. My Red Tree Mothers went up there to negotiate with the North Americans, but they never issued law on the station about the station. Now, you bring up a very interesting point. A lot of Derf have an ownership interest in the station now. If they declared they would rather be governed by a triad of Mothers instead of by company regulation I wonder how it would go over? They would have to have a majority of course. But in a normal Derf clan there is no ownership like private cubic on a station or real estate in a city. There is no private entrepreneurial activity or even directing your own education and career as station and city people presume. It would be interesting to see if the clan arrangement could be flexible enough to adapt to the different circumstances, wouldn't it?" Gordon asked, smiling.
"That's the sort of interesting I'd rather see from afar," Prosperity assured him.
"Consider if the reverse happened," Lee suggested.
"What would the reverse be?" Gordon asked.
"What if a majority of Derf in a clan told the Mothers they wish to run their own lives, or they will leave and go to a city or to space, stripping the clan of most of the labor force?"
"What would that leave for the Mothers to do?" Gordon objected.
"A great deal. If they didn't have to micromanage what will be served for breakfast and what the math lesson for the school children will be today, they still could decide the laws about how people treat each other, they could still manage the farming and send hunters out on the clan land. It's just they'd have to recruit for jobs like that and pay wages instead of ordering people to work at this or that."
"I'll have to think on that awhile," Gordon admitted. "It's too different for me to see how it would work all at once."
"I know my knowledge of Derf custom and clans is limited," Prosperity admitted. "But I could see such a change being forced on the Mothers long before a majority of a clan spoke up and said that's what they wanted to do."
"How so?" Gordon asked.
"All you need is for the best of the young people to leave. Maybe one in ten or one in every eight, but the ones they would have wanted to retain and given the best jobs. If there is one thing I've figured out from working with your third Mother, it's that the Mothers aren't stupid. A few years of that and they'd see they have to adjust or the clan will go downhill over the long haul," Prosperity asserted.
Lee smiled. "That's already happening."
"It is?"
"Yeah, Gordon got up one morning and walked to town rather than make barrels and furniture the rest of his life. He went to space and made his fortune. They didn't kick him out when he went back filthy rich either. Has anybody else done that from Red Tree, Gordon?"
He looked uncomfortable. "There have long been a few who went to the traditional trade towns, such as Fish Town, even before Humans came. I know some never came home, or just to visit and leave again. I'd hate to see the clan structure disappear completely," he said.
"That from somebody who walked away from it," she noted. "I like the stability I saw in your clan," Lee agreed, "but I wouldn't mind it being a little less oppressive. The way so many were terrified of the Mothers is no way to live."
"Well, you made it clear when we were in discussions with our bank that you'd support using your money for some social changes. I agree with that actually, but I'm glad to hear you see some good in the clan too and don't just want to rip it out and replace it with Human ways."
"Oh, not at all," Lee assured him. "I didn't like what I saw on Earth either. I want the best parts of both cultures. Maybe the Hinth and these new folks can teach us a few things too."
Prosperity followed that exchange keenly, looking from one to the other. "Well, just warn me please, when you decide to do a make-over of Fargone," he begged.
* * *
The Derf Mozart was given a courtesy peek at the flight deck of the Badger courier, the Dart, but none of the acceleration couches would hold him. He thanked them for the tour and retreated to the common room they used for off shift and to eat. The ship was half again as big as a Human courier. On the Roadrunner he'd have been a cork in the main corridor. He brought a floor mat along as the Badgers used tables.
The human in charge of their group was Bob Morgan, a former USNA Space Marine and cook, assigned to security on the Sharp Claws, Mozart was second. The next two were of equal rank. Bartholomew Wu was a hired security man from Derfhome. He was unaccountably familiar with the armor despite claims of never having served in any military and doubled up working maintenance when his primary skill was not needed. Felicity Birkenshire, was male despite the name and a citizen of Derfhome, but of Fargone origins, who was back-up navigator and a sensor board tech, but also skilled with arms. He was unlikely to be busy with his regular duties until the Sharp Claws left this system. The Badgers made themselves known and said not to worry if they had a hard time telling them apart at first. They didn't wear rank emblems. They joked that they might get Mozart and Bob confused because they both had brown hair.
"What is your pleasure, once we dock?" Bob Morgan asked Captain Fussy. "I'd suggest we put two armored up guards on the dock just outside the lock at first, but do you want a bodyguard to accompany us on station?
Before he could answer, his XO Dauntless spoke up. "I am obligated to advise you."
"Indeed. I've never seen you shy to do so."
"I think the action Chance decided on, staying with his command, is worth emulating. I'm sure you would like to play the host and show these people around, but the situation is not normal here. We are nervous about the Biter's departure, unsure they may not return and the Bills are sounding stressed to me. I can't blame them either, they may be as worried about the Biters as we are. If it were mine to say I'd strongly suggest to Captain Chance he find another station to visit."
"But you see, the whole point of this little circuit was to show the Little Fleet we gave them a true chart and are hiding nothing from them. If I start steering them away from anything it defeats that."
"I think we've proved the chart is accurate to them. I don't see us obligated to open every corner and closet to them, but it's your call. I do object to your being one of the first out the lock on station."
"That I can agree to," Fussy allowed. "Do you have a suggestion who to send? I don't want them sent off on station alone. We have a fairly robust Trade translator now, but they are still unacquainted with the others who are not Badgers. And as you said they may have concerns after hearing of violence with the Biters. Even with them gone off station, these folks have no proof the confrontation was all the fault of the Biters. Especially
when the details of it in the plot are withheld."
"They shouldn't be sent off with a scrubber and filter changer for escort. They deserve a little more respect than that. I figured I'd go with them, first time, myself," Dauntless offered.
"Your parents named you well," Fussy said, a little jab.
"My parents named me wisely," Dauntless insisted. "I grew up challenged to fit the name."
"To answer Bob then, yes I'd like to see Mozart go out on station with you and my XO. It would be well for the station folk to see both of your races."
"I agree, but not the first walk-around. I'd like him on the lock until we see things are calm. Then later we'll do the dog and pony show."
Fussy looked at his pad and grinned. "These folksy expressions are endless, aren't they?"
* * *
"Thank you Station Control. We have positive indicators for docking lock. We are bringing pressure to slightly positive, but maintaining Badger standard with no exchange and connecting waste water service. We won't be needing station power or fresh water service for our short stay. Data dump and news will contain our docking payment information. We are not posting to the trading boards, since we are carrying no freight. This is a courtesy escort flight to familiarize the Humans and Derf with our star system mapping and its accuracy. We're on our return leg now."
"Thank you Dart. We have three ships at dock, noted on system scan. Nothing of interest to you since you have no trades to offer. Are your escorts going to want to dock later?"
"No, the Roadrunner and Sharp Claws are going to hold position and wait on us. We realize this is unusual, but as you know besides their lack of a docking collar, we have had some aggressive attention elsewhere from Biter vessels and they are being cautious. They said to reassure you they have no wish to be a problem and will maneuver or relocate if they interfere with operations. I doubt we shall be here longer than two Bill days. We would like permission to come aboard and play the tourist and do a bit of shopping if that is permissible."
"Do you have an appointment with the mining company?" Station control asked.
"No, I have spoken to them about your operations, but we did not come this way with any intent to buy an Eye. We've been letting them pick a route at random instead of any predetermined itinerary. I have no idea if they even carry sufficient exchange for that. These are two of their smallest ships and carry lesser officers of their fleet."
There was a surprising pause, with nothing forthcoming. Fussy curled his muzzle up in dimples they had come to see as a sign of frustration. He sat up straighter in the seat and the visitors thought he was going to say something to prompt Station Control, when they replied. "You have the courtesy of the Station."
"Thank you Station Control," Fussy repeated. We'll be out on dock and do a little sightseeing this shift. The new folks will have a Badger guide with them."
"I have no idea what all that hesitation was about," Fussy said unhappy. "That's not normal. They had plenty of time to object when we decided not to grapple the Roadrunner on a mast, if they didn't want the Dart docking. We aren't fueling or provisioning, so what is the point of docking if we don't leave the ship?"
"I'll ask what has been going on at a few businesses," Dauntless offered. "I'm curious if the Biters caused trouble while they were here, or leaving so abruptly. I wonder if perhaps they were negotiating to buy an Eye and our arrival disrupted that?"
"Now that's a thought. I can see they might not care to tell us that," Fussy decided.
* * *
"Have you noticed none of the ships or the station here every seem to use anything but very low powered radar?" Thor asked Gordon.
"No, it never occurred to me that was unusual," Gordon admitted. "It's just courteous in a crowded environment not to SHOUT! I mean, some stations even publish power limits in their approach procedures. They don't want inductive interference or having maintenance workers outside cooked in your beam. I don't expect to see high power modes except in combat operations. The Biters used a little higher power density, but nothing spectacular it's true. We were close though."
"I asked Jeremiah Ellis on the Retribution about it and asked him to check it out without asking the Badgers directly, he got back to me just a bit ago and what he had to say was interesting."
"Oh? He usually knows his stuff."
"Yes, well he decided to check a few of their ships out by eyeball as they passed by closely and as far as he could see with a pretty decent telescope, they don't carry all the antennas our sort of array does. Now, our elements have to be bigger the lower the frequency we wish to use, so we tend to higher frequencies to have more elements and higher total power. Also the higher the frequency the smaller the spot to which we can focus it. Sometimes we miss having very low frequency radar because it lets us look through atmosphere or water, or even soil to a certain depth. That's why we carry a couple side looking long antennas for such orbital work, even at lower power. But our regular radar is rather distinctive, round plates, smaller than my hand that show a geometric pattern on their face from the different materials side by side."
"Yes, I know there have been a few attempts to add panels to the smaller ships," Gordon remembered, "Because they don't have enough hull surface to mount them. We are about maxed out on hull hardware on the Retribution with the fuel mining drones and stuff we've added. No way do I want to start stripping radar antennas off and drop our peak power, I'd rather be adding plates to the system if I could."
"Yeah and the flat panels sticking out looked like hell and got in the way docking and all sorts of other problems. They increase your radar cross section and add mass at the worst possible place, making the ship harder to roll. If you make the miserable things fold out that's just something extra to break down and even more mass with the mechanism."
"Well, what do they use, if they don't have our sort of emitters?" Gordon asked.
"Some sort of antennas or apertures enclosed in a upright pyramid or block that stands out from the hull about like one of our drone hangers."
"Well, that's odd. I guess they went a different path to different solutions."
"The thing is, I don't think they can emit much higher power levels than what we are seeing."
Gordon looked shocked. "Then they can't focus down and paint a target hot enough to see it in detail?"
"They can steer the beam, but to focus it down to a wavelength? No. They can still use stealth features against the sort of radar they have and their electronic counter measures would be very limited. I can't imagine they could use it like a weapon, the way we captured the Sharp Claws with the Retribution."
"I'm not sure I want to offer it to them in that case," Gordon decided. "I think I'd rather give up my missiles than my radar! I can't imagine fighting near blind."
"Their computers are quite a bit behind ours too. I don't have a real physicist or a heavy hitter for electronics design with us, but looking at the tech information they have released to us, I am suspecting they have no idea how to make 2D quasi-metallic films, or engineered 3D materials that depend on the properties of Dirac Fermions," Thor concluded.
"So, radar, computers..." Gordon hesitated and thought.
"Optics, displays, imaging, memory, very short period pulse generation and storage, magnetic isolation, non-statistical fusion, surface current routing and non-blackbody emission. I doubt they can even make a decent Veselago lens. Trouble is we can't really withhold this tech. It's in so much we are going to display and sell them they'll figure it out even if we don't explain it explicitly."
Lee who was listening silently had an opinion on that. "In that case get the best price you can for it, instead of seeing how long it takes them to work it out, because then it will have no value to us at all."
"I'll tell Prosperity," Gordon promised.
* * *
Mozart and Bart had been standing on the dock about a half hour. Both were in not just armor, but vacuum capable suits. Bart had on the full USNA Space Marine rig th
at so many former users no longer needed after visiting the Red Tree keep. They had recovered enough parts and the field service equipment from three captured shuttles to keep them running for quite awhile too. The residual radiation from the neutron bomb that had killed them all was hardly detectable now. It was never high and decayed quickly.
The suit had armor, but the additional jump frame he wore was another layer protecting it that added to the wearer's safety too. It especially had an additional ballistic shield over the face that was too heavy without the powered frame. The thing that bothered Mozart was that he expected it to make noise working, but it moved so silently it was eerie unless he ran. Then it was like a horse galloping.
Mozart on the other hand had no power, but he was roughly equal in size and strength to an adult male grizzly bear. He wore a hundred and fifteen kilograms of armor in addition to his arms and didn't even think about the weight when he moved. He carried a 20mm carbine compared to Bart's 8mm and a huge double bit steel ax with a hook on the bottom of the cutting edge that was sharp on the inside too. The composite handle was seven tenths of a meter long and had a soft grip molded on the end for the claws of his middle limbs to engage. The hook and that much leverage would allow him to remove a suit of armor like Bart wore much like an old fashioned can opener peeling open a tin of sardines.
"Seems sort of dead out here, doesn't it?" Mozart asked. They had seen exactly one electric cart whine by without any trailer or freight piled on the back. A door beside the larger air curtain leading in station had opened briefly and spilled bright yellowish light on the dusky dock. The Bill who appeared looked down the dock both ways and went back inside the bright room closing the door.
"If it was full of all kinds of traffic and people going every which way I'm be a nervous wreck trying to watch everything," Bart admitted.
"But I wouldn't feel like we have some horrible plague," Mozart rumbled.
The lock behind them cycled noisily, lighting the dock just like the Bill's door had. They didn't look, no threat was possible from that side and the distraction might be noted by unseen eyes.
Family Law 2: The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet Page 27