Family Law

by Mackey Chandler

  Lee decided any further objection after such praise would be ungracious and sat silent.

  When the sun was noticeably low they retraced their steps to the hilltop shelter. The carbine was gone and the wood unused. She slept easier than the last time.

  Chapter 15

  The keep seemed much as when they left it, but Lee didn't feel as apprehensive coming in as she had leaving. She understood how the clan worked much better and was starting to see how she might have a place in it. But it was probably a good thing they'd be leaving soon, because if they stayed she'd be like Gordon and want to change things.

  There was a better chance they could make small changes on rare visits, than settling in and being a constant source of conflict. The three day pilgrimage had given the Mothers time to settle down and discuss the new order of things among themselves too. The First Mum seemed a whole lot more relaxed, when they went to breakfast the morning of their fifth day.

  "Mum dear," Gordon greeted the First Mum and gave nods to the other two. The new Third Mum was visibly younger and had a light coat very different than the dark color of the older Mothers. It looked like William's suggestion to look beyond close kin had been heeded.

  "Lee and I have not cashed out any earnings from this last trip," Gordon said in a voice that didn't carry beyond the first table, maybe not even to the end. "We intend to stop at the bank before leaving Derfhome and arrange an advance against what we anticipate getting when we make landing in the Earth system. We'll leave a contribution toward the clan with your bank. I'm not sure how much it will be," he admitted and the worry was plain to see in the Mother's eyes, "but I'm sure it will be more than the previous visit I made and that's for each of us, not just me."

  The relief that showed was almost comical. If there had been a breach before, this confirmed it was healed.

  "That's fine clan-son. I'm glad fortune has smiled on you to that extent. We need you and the ones that labor in Fish Town and on the boats and such. Without them we'd have to live by our own hand like we did for generations, without the protection of cash money for hard times. It was hard back when there was nothing to buy if the hunt was sparse."

  That was as much thank you as they were going to get and plenty enough for all Gordon cared. He'd have been embarrassed by a big fuss.

  "If you can visit again before another fifteen years it would be good. You will be much the same, but this kin," she nodded at Lee, "won't be recognizable in fifteen years. She's hardly gotten a chance to know any of her family in such a short visit. Be assured you are welcome clan-daughter. Whatever happens out there, if gods forbid something should happen to this clan-son, we still expect you back at our table and any who travel with you, they will be made welcome to guest too. I've said so," she formalized and looked down the table gathering acknowledgments. There was a low chorus of variations on 'I hear' and 'Yes Mother'. That easily it was law.

  "I hear too," Lee said as Gordon had couched her. He wasn't sure if she'd be so openly acknowledged, even after William's instructions, but he'd prepared Lee how to respond and that it wasn't quite form to say thank you. The ruling would be entered in the day book by the Third Mum and shared in a monthly letter of births, deaths and rulings of law to the other clans.

  "Would you help me set the lanterns out in the sun to recharge?" Rebecca asked her after breakfast. The lanterns were the sort humans used for camping, but the Derf adopted to use for interior lighting rather than put a central system in the buildings. It seemed odd to Lee because they went in every room in the keep, to remove the lights to an open knoll that was not shaded. None of the rooms were locked, not even the rooms Rebecca casually mentioned were the private quarters of the Mothers, although a few rooms had the lantern set out in the hall.

  It seemed a waste to have someone assigned full time to put them out and then about five hours later start putting them back, but Gordon explained it was much easier than keeping mineral oil lamps, filling them, trimming the wicks and cleaning the glass. They were happy to only have one doing it, when there used to be three to keep the lamps. If one lamp quit it was less a problem than a central system failing too. There seemed no shortage of hands to do things.

  The lamps took as long to do despite Lee working, because Rebecca introduced her to everyone whose path they crossed. Lee suspected that was the real reason for her helping.

  By supper Lee was sweaty and dusty enough to need a bath and fresh clothing before eating. In the privacy of their room Gordon lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone and informed her, "You know, the First Mum really made a break from previous custom for you this morning. It's her prerogative to say who can guest in the keep and she gave you the right to drag anybody you choose back with you and they won't be turned away. That's a really big deal."

  "Then we should be nice to her," Lee decided. "We should be generous with the funds we transfer to the clan."

  "Agreed," Gordon said, hesitating. "The hard part with that, is deciding how much we can give without overdoing it. We could make the others that support the clan feel like what they do is pointless. We don't want to dishearten them."

  "What did you give before?"

  "When I came back from the water world find, I had to use most of my funds to buy in with your parents. The investors in that expedition were a mixed lot so the payout was too." I gave them thirty thousand EuroMarks, ten thousand Dollars Ceres and ten thousand North American dollars and a thousand Rand.

  "That's all since you've been away?" Lee asked dismayed.

  "No, no. I've sent funds to their bank now and again, when I had extra to spare. I didn't just give them some when I visited. We can do that too. No need to give them everything all in a lump. We can send some from time to time."

  "Good. Let's get to supper before we're the last ones staggering in."

  * * *

  "We'll be leaving in the morning," Gordon mentioned near the end of dinner. "If you have anything to send to Earth we have empty capacity and will carry it for the clan free."

  "Thank you. Nothing the clan is trading in is exported. If we find something advantageous do you know when you'll be back?"

  Gordon spread his true hands in a very human gesture of indecision. "No idea at all."

  "Then I doubt we'll look very hard for something to trade direct. It might sit so long waiting for transport, that the tied up value overcomes the cheap shipping."

  "I can see that, too bad you don't already deal in something to Earth."

  "Mum?" The newest young Mother of their trio spoke hesitantly.

  "Yes dear?"

  "If you have free transport, might you not buy goods here where they are cheap and still make out well selling them on Earth?"

  "If we knew the market and had time," she said, giving the new member an appraising look. "You, Gordon, are you straight for your ship and away?"

  "No, Mum. We have to do banking and post public documents. I know we have a ten cubic meter hold open. Send anything you please that will fit that volume to the yard, care of High Hopes and it will be accepted."

  "Well then daughter, research what sort of goods are common to Earth trade and see if you can buy them at a good price. We don't want to speculate on something novel, being new to it, just something already known to have a market. If it can be done quickly speak to me before supper and we will buy the goods and have them forwarded. You need to find an Earth agent too. We are presuming on kin's kindness already for transport. No need to make him search about and haggle to dispose of it too."

  "Thank you Mum, I'd get right on it," she said, pleased as could be.

  "First Mum?" Lee inquired.

  "Yes Lee?"

  "When Gordon and I walk out we will pass a watch tower on a hill, that looks down on the saddle that is the edge of your territory. Might we be allowed to walk up and look at it? I am told by Gordon it is special and would treat it with every sort of respect. I know Earthies have asked to dig there, but we wouldn't disturb anything."

&nbs
p; "That would be refreshing; there is a millennium of youngster's names and dates scratched in the stone. The walls haven't fallen over yet from that, so I doubt you could add much harm."

  "Thank you Mum. To do that I'd feel like a," she stopped because there was no word in Derf for what she wanted to say. "Uh, in English we'd say vandal."

  "Don't worry about it. I've seen the names of Clan Mothers on the walls from when they were ten years old or so. In a way it has become part of the tower's history too." She seemed amused and considered Lee with the oddest expression. "Are you done eating?"

  "Yes Ma'am, uh I mean Mum," she said switching back to Derf.

  "Come then, you too Gordon and I'll show you something."

  The First Mum stood and exited to the kitchen. They followed with no idea where she was going. Everywhere she went the workers stopped what they were doing long enough to see if she was there for them. Lee could read Derf faces enough she was pretty sure the commonest expression was one of relief, when they marched past. She turned right in the kitchen, which was the side that went deeper into the hill on which the original keep sat. The door she went through was open, but it was copper and about as thick as Lee's hand was wide.

  "Watch your head," she warned Gordon.

  The hallway was a tunnel, chipped in stone, with dark storerooms on each side. Enough light came from the hall to see there were foodstuffs on shelves, or in bags on raised pallets. The hall was big to Lee, but tight for two Derf to pass, which they did with a couple kitchen workers carrying things out. After another door it got wider and the stone was natural, not chipped out. It was cool and there were features of a natural cavern, to the point the path they were on was forced to curve around stone shapes too big to remove easily.

  The last door they came to was a copper alloy also. So dark with the matte patina of age it was almost black, but with a hint of green and the floor was tainted green from when the metal sweated and dripped in some distant past. There were weapon ports set on each side with some sort of plug in them from the other side and a huge grill filling a window in the top part of the door, with bars as big around as her wrists. The window had a backing plate the same material as the door. It also had something Lee was starting to doubt the Derf had invented - a lock.

  The First Mum reached overhead in the irregular stone above the door and produced a key. It was bright brass or bronze and looked exactly like the icon of a key Lee was used to seeing on her computer screen, but had never seen in real life. It was Derf sized of course, with a twenty centimeter diameter rod, terminating in a fancy handle about the size of a tea saucer. The other end had a flat plate riveted in a notch in the rod. It had complicated steps and notches on all three sides.

  As she turned it, the sound of a heavy catch withdrawing sounded first by the floor, mid-door by the key hole and then overhead. It wasn't a door anyone was going to kick down. Not even Gordon. The Mum grabbed one of several rechargeable lanterns sitting to the side. Gordon grabbed one too and she made no objection. Lee didn't bother since she intended to stick close to them. There was a definite cool breeze in her face through the door. The floor inside was sand and had been raked smooth. Since there was no rake visible any footprints would document who entered. Given most Derf went barefooted indoors, it was as effective as a camera surveillance system, as every footprint was unique.

  There was a paper log book at a Derf desk and a couple chairs. The First Mum felt no need to sign in and didn't suggest they do so. It appeared that was for different circumstances than a casual visit by the Mum. A rack ran down the left wall. Nothing here was anachronistic like the paper log book. It was filled with about half a hundred heavy battle rifles, like the one William carried to guard the keep gate. Shelves under the rack carried battle packs of ammo and packs and harnesses pre-loaded with magazines. Shelves on the other side held pistols of various sizes and cleaning equipment and accessories.

  Past the weapons there were pegs and lockers, with body armor and helmets. Each set of armor was festooned with things like binoculars and night vision sets, utility knives and canteens. To the right was a small gunsmith bench with tools and racks of spare parts. A very small collection of heavy weapons stood against the wall end to the right. A couple anti-armor rocket launchers and Derf portable anti-air missiles were propped against the wall with a pair of lasers that were Derf portable, but definitely not man portable.

  The hall terminated in another door. "This isn't what I wanted to show you," the First Mum indicated all the modern weaponry with an inclusive gesture. She opened the next door with the same key that opened the front door.

  "You mentioned the Earthie scientists wanted to dig up all around the watchtower. They went on and on about how they can screen the dirt and come up with all sorts of discarded artifacts. They imagined they'd find a few arrow heads and bits of broken pottery and such. The last time the tower was removed from service the Mothers went through with broom and basket and didn't leave so much as a bottle stopper or a nail, much less metal that is too precious to leave it to rot away over the years, even more so then than now. Here's what they imagined they'd be finding," she chuckled in amusement.

  The light gleamed off baskets of bronze arrow heads and racks of gleaming golden swords. Derf sized suits of armor looked surprisingly like the bulletproof ones they'd seen out front, but these were chain mail of golden colored links, with solid plates reinforcing critical areas. Helms with chained chin straps and enameled decoration sat on top of fantastic shields, studded with bronze rivets and enameled panels of art.

  On the wall were racked firearms, but these had bronze barrels and falling blocks to close the breech. Some even had ram rods to load them from the muzzle. A few of the pistols were small enough Lee might actually be able to lift them. Firing them would be an entirely different matter. Only a few pieces showed the silvery gray gleam of steel. The light failed to show how far back the natural cavern extended.

  "I've never seen any of this," Gordon said in wonder, more to Lee than the Mum. Obviously the First Mum would know it was new to him.

  "You left two years before we start giving the males military training or you'd have seen this. You have to fill out big enough to fit the gear and we want our soldiers to have some maturity before we start them in on training that can get folks hurt. We haven't had a war in twelve hundred years, but that doesn't mean we don't retain the capacity. If you had a neighbor get suddenly aggressive that would not be the time to call up an arms dealer and ask for a catalog."

  "Wow, this is great stuff," Lee gushed. "I bet no museum on Earth has as nice a collection of antique weapons.

  "The First Mum who just stood down, talked about scrapping all this old junk out for the metal. She thought the junk dealer would give a few thousand EuroMarks for the copper, if it was all stripped of the wood and fitting. It took a lot of stubborn resistance to keep her from doing something that stupid. So you see from such judgment, that it was time for her to step down over many other matters besides you."

  "Scrap?" Lee said a bit too loud in the stone walls. "That would be criminal. There are Earth museums would kill to have one item from this room. You'd get more for one item as an antique, than the whole lot as metal. If you want to make some money off them, just let them bid on a few items at auction. But you don't want to let them know what a treasure trove you have. Like those brass muskets there. You must have thirty of them all the same, but if you sold just one they wouldn't be any the wiser that it wasn't a unique artifact."

  "Do you think that would be honest to sell one and not disclose there are others?"

  "Sure. I think it would be honest, unless you are going to flood the market later with the others and drive down the value of the one they bought. You aren't in any great rush to get rid of all of them like that, are you? You've held them all these years. Why can't you wait years, decades even and maybe sell some of the others to different worlds even? The colony worlds in time will have money for luxuries like museums."


  "Indeed we are in no hurry at all. In fact we want to choose very carefully and not sell off anything we'll regret letting go later. Perhaps some of the duplicate items, such as the muskets you mentioned. But the armor with the enameling, for example, each piece is unique and has a history worth keeping it."

  "Maybe you could build your own museum," Lee enthused. "I can see a guided tour for small groups, fifteen or twenty people who would be guided around the watchtower and the keep. Explain the history to them and maybe do some simple reenactments for them. I'd love to see Gordon in reproductions of that armor. There were hundreds of Earthie tourists on the station when we came in and if they had the money to get this far from Earth, nothing you could charge for an overnight stay and tour would shock them," she predicted.

  "It might open some eyes too. We had a young lady on the station telling us some Earthies look down their noses at Derf. When they see the workmanship and progression in the designs, they'd have to be idiots to still think you are not their peers."

  "Do you think so?" First Mum asked, amused. "My counterpart over at Black Rocks clan, showed an Earth scientist an early firearm. The fellow informed her that Prescott and Hartug's definitive text on alien cultures says the Derf were not known to use firearms before the coming of humans. Therefore, what she was showing him was some poorly executed fake, cobbled together from pictures in a text book, or descriptions of early firearms from traders. He assured her that you needed steel for firearms and if the gun she was showing him was loaded up it would likely burst on the first shot."

  "The idiot - humans made bronze cannon and brass pistols too! I've seen them in the history books my father was having me study."

  "Well, I'll leave it for you to inform the professor of alien history, if you should meet him some time. You can see why the Mothers at Black Rock tossed him out on his ear. If he wasn't shy to accuse his hostesses of fraud, I doubt the fool would take instruction from a little girl of his race, but you're welcome to try."