AmerIndian 2192

by J. Scott Garibay

CHAPTER 05

  In the liberty Galaxy Cluster, fifty-six million light years from Earth, shuttle traffic was brisk between the gathered Nez Perce lodge ships. Dean, one of seventy AmerIndian Confederacy recruits, peered out the shuttle’s glasteel hull section. An amazing spectacle. So much different than the crowded urban outpost he had escaped from. He thought back to his friends, Lucas and Derek and the gaming group that saved for months to fund his escape from UDA outpost New Angelos. They had worked hard to facilitate his departure, to allow him to serve the AmerIndian Confederacy. He smiled as he thought they might be thinking of him now too, galaxies away.

  He turned away from the view and slipped on the comp set a liaison tribal had given him. He softly spoke the commands to link him with the shuttle server. He had practiced with the keying bands but was not yet adept enough to use them effectively. Soon he was linked and he started to explore the AC nets his limited access would allow. A section on new candidate training scrolled up and he read it slowly.

  The section explained it was the task of the Nez Perce tribe to take in new candidates and mold them to tribal life. Weeding out the chaff from the wheat was relatively easy. Hundreds of eager new recruits arrive by dedicated shuttles every week to Nez Perce lodge ships. New candidates first went through the Trial, a six-week physical and mental training session. Approximately ten percent of the new candidates left due to the rigors of the Trial.

  Starting with the first day on lodge ship all new candidates were subject to the Three Laws. Every tribal was expected to live by the Three Laws. Dean read them carefully.

  LAW ONE - No tribal may own more than he can carry on his back or be in debt to another tribal.

  LAW TWO - No tribal may harm another tribal or his environment purposefully.

  LAW THREE - Work will be the daily contribution for every tribal.

  Dean read on. Kichai judges were specifically tasked with addressing infringements of these laws. Dean saw quickly that judges had a great deal of flexibility in dealing with infringements. A judge could rename a tribal, strip him of possessions, separate him from friends and family or assign him as crossworker. Tribals could be sent to a contemplation room for as little as one hour or as much as one year to sit and contemplate their transgression.

  Every lodge ship had a number of contemplation rooms, which contained no doors or furniture. A tribal had no contact with other tribals while in a contemplation room. Dean reread the section explaining that a tribal could leave a contemplation room at any time but if she did not stay for the time the judge suggested then she was marked as not truly wishing to improve her behavior and could be quickly banished from the Confederacy for even minor infringements.

  Dean shook his head when he read the AC had no police force. Every tribal was expected to follow the laws and stop other tribals from breaking them. Kichai Judges banished a few hundred tribals each year. Solvers, Zuni investigators, aided judges in determining the truth when tribals lied to avoid banishment. Capital and corporal punishment were not practiced in the AC. Banishments were not uncommon, however.

  Beyond the Three Laws, recruits also fell under the Cleansing Law, which forbid the use of drugs (narcotics, alcohol, tobacco) and sation chips. If a recruit violated any of these laws they were immediately banished from the AmerIndian Confederacy, shipped out and dumped at the nearest UDA outpost. Dean marveled at the frankness of the AC data files. It stated plainly that twenty percent of all new candidates were banished during the Trial due to violations of the Three Laws. Another twenty-five percent of new recruits were shipped out due to violating the Cleansing Law. Still, some junkies were pulled through their addictions by the Trial. Most of these proved to be die-hard tribals who served the AmerIndian Confederacy out of gratitude for their new lives.

  Recruits were put on a strict diet of fruit, vegetables and small portions of protein. In addition all contact with non-AC personnel was forbidden. The first two years were a tempering period that produced healthy, capable tribals. Thirty percent of all recruits made it through this tempering. Those who endured the tempering were embraced into the AmerIndian Confederacy as full members of any tribe they chose. The Nez Perce received most of the black recruits after tempering. Early on in the AC the elders recognized that black recruits excelled as pilots. The Nez Perce tribe naturally attracted more and more black tribals until it was comprised of mostly black members and led by a black chief.

  The AmerIndian Confederacy also actively watched for UDA spies posing as recruits. During its twenty-eight year history four UDA plants had confessed their identities during tempering and joined the AmerIndian Confederacy in earnest.

  Dean pulled off the comp set and rubbed the back of his neck. He was ready to begin. The shuttle zipped between the many outrider ships that surround each of the lodge ships and began to close on the largest, Wanderer. Over fifteen hundred meters in length and sixty decks in height, Wanderer cut an imposing figure amongst the smaller lodge ships. The shuttle easily maneuvered into one of Wanderer's large docking bays. The bay was meticulously clean and unobstructed. At the side of the shuttle ten dog soldiers in full ceremonial dress stood at attention behind AmerIndian Confederacy officers.

  A soft hiss from the airlock signaled the recruits to begin exiting the shuttle. Stepping onto the bay's floor, Dean noticed Nez Perce bay workers on the level below, already preparing for maintenance on the heavy shuttle. One of the Nez Perce waved to Dean kindly when she saw him watching. Dean did not have time to return her greeting.

  “Gather round.” The old Russian stepped forward and walked slowly down the line of new recruits. He reached the end, turned and smiled. “A fine group of recruits, men and women worthy of the blood. Welcome one and all to the AmerIndian Confederacy. From this moment forward your lives will cut a swath of consequences across galaxies.

  “I am Wolf Plume, Senior Guide, member of Jade Dagger Pack. In your initial orientation, I and other guides will show you many facets of life as a member of the AmerIndian Confederacy. I will show you the resources, customs, people… the diversity of the greatest independent fighting force of the twenty-second century.”

  Wolf Plume noticed one of the recruits shivering despite the insulated three-quarter length coat she wore.

  “Indeed it is cold,” Wolf Plume smiled. The integrated mike on his comp set ran his voice through the ship’s intercom system so everyone could hear him clearly. “All AmerIndian Confederacy ships are heated only in living quarters. This allows the energy normally allocated for heating other areas of the ship to be diverted to propulsion, weapon systems or other necessary functions. This is just one of many ways we make our ships more efficient than those of the UDA.”

  Dean saw tribals dressed in functional black cotton pants and lightweight micromesh jackets already taking the recruits’ luggage off the shuttle on anti-grav skids. Two of the dog soldiers scanned the luggage carefully as it was loaded. The rest of the dog soldiers stood at attention, watching the recruits.

  “All of you are scheduled for a battery of tests to help the AmerIndian Confederacy assess your strengths and weakness and begin the process of embracing you as productive tribals. You have all traveled great distances and overcome many obstacles to be here. Nevertheless I need to ensure that you understand what the AmerIndian Confederacy is and why it exists.

  “The AmerIndian Confederacy is the collective resurrection of the mighty Native American nations that inhabited Earth's North American continent for seven millennium before the year 1492. The AmerIndian Confederacy is the product of the indomitable will of one man, Potlatch Weaver. May Wambli carry his spirit eternally. Since the AmerIndian Confederacy's birth in 2164, twenty-eight years ago, over fifty thousand tribals have given their lives in her service. Still the AmerIndian Confederacy now stands 416,000 tribals strong.

  “Our organization is simple. We are divided into eight tribes, each tribe specializing in one service. The Apache are the army, no more or less than the grunts tha
t fight and win land battles. The Brule are our elite forces, performing demolitions, assassinations as well as other tasks.

  “The Diegueño are the preservationists, collecting and protecting plants and animals assaulted by the relentless expansion of the UDA. The Haida are the shamans of the Confederacy, healers, prophets and Cybershamans. The stories you have heard are indeed true. They wield incredible spiritual power. The Kichai are the merchants. They sell, buy and invest for the Confederacy. Every cred the Confederacy accrues, and that is no small amount, flows through them.

  “The Nez Perce control our navy. They pilot and maintain the 30 lodge ships, 620 outrider ships and 5,100 space and aero-fighters in the Confederacy's convoy. The Tsimshian are the Confederacy's comp warriors. They are charged with building and maintaining the Confederacy's vast comp resources as well as penetrating and destroying those of our enemies. The last and smallest of all the tribes is the Zuni. They are the intelligence of the AmerIndian Confederacy, gathering and disseminating information and disinformation from all of the inhabited galaxies. They maintain an intricate network of spies, sympathizers and UDA traitors.

  Each of the eight AmerIndian Confederacy tribes is lead by a chief. The chiefs are in turn advised by the five member Elder council. As can be attested by your varied ethnic backgrounds the AmerIndian Confederacy tribes are made up of pure blood Native Americans, as well as minorities. There are even some Caucasians, like myself, who have sworn loyalty to her. Once you complete the tempering period and are accepted as a tribal you are considered equal with every member of the AmerIndian Confederacy, whether your blood is pure Native American or lacks even a drop of Native American lineage. The fact that the AmerIndian Confederacy has opened her tribes to members of other races has allowed her to remain as change-tolerant as is demanded by the times we live in.”

  Wolf Plume finger tapped, the movement of each finger read by his keying bands. “I will now send to your comp sets.” Wolf Plume transmitted a graph statistically detailing the tribes to each recruit.

  APACHE / Chief Coganthan / Service: Infantry / Total Population: 130,000 / Lodge Ships: 10

  BRULE / Chief Satyr / Service: Special Forces / Total Population: 12,000 / Lodge Ships: 1

  DIEGUEÑO / Chief Sequoya / Service: Preservationists / Total Population: 65,000 / Lodge Ships: 4

  HAIDA / Chief Auspice / Service: Healers / Total Population: 22,000 / Lodge Ships: 1

  KICHAI / Chief River Bull / Service: Merchants / Total Population: 41,000 / Lodge Ships: 2

  NEZ PERCE / Chief Rail / Service: Navy / Total Population: 54,000 / Lodge Ships: 7

  TSIMSHIAN / Chief Shakespeare / Service: Comp Techs / Total Population: 52,000 / Lodge Ships: 3

  ZUNI / Chief Koqua / Service: Intelligence / Total Population: 40,000 / Lodge Ships: 2

  TOTALS / Tribes: 8 / Population: 416,000 / Lodge Ships: 30

  Wolf Plume allowed the recruits a moment to scan the numbers. “But why did the AmerIndian Confederacy form? Why do we exist? The answer is one word. Homeland. The AmerIndian Confederacy exists to reestablish the Homeland, the natural balance of man and nature that our ancestors enjoyed over seven hundred years ago and for seven thousand years before 1492. Homeland, where rivers and streams are the blood of each tribal that inhabits the land. Homeland, where each tribal living with the land knows damaging that land is akin to spilling his own blood. The AmerIndian Confederacy was created to fight for our land, the North American Continent of Earth. Homeland has been denied us for too long.

  “To understand why we fight requires an understanding of what we fight. Potlatch Weaver, the creator of the AmerIndian Confederacy, forged the people's resolve, banded hundreds of thousands of tribals together in the quest for harmony and peace by sheer will. He did this in response to the actions of another man, Silus Mar. In 2056 Silus Mar transformed the United Nations into the United Democracy Alliance. Today, the UDA stands as the sole government of humanity, controlling thirty-five billion human lives on Earth, eight habitable colony planets and eight hundred outposts across seven settled galaxies. Now, why does the AmerIndian Confederacy oppose this government?

  “The primary reason the AC fights the UDA is for the return of the North American Continent as I have said. It is important to understand the UDA values each inch of land on Earth as though it were paved with gold. Its true economic value is actually close to this extravagant concept. The land is priceless because, with the exception of only Periphery radicals, everyone wishes to live on Earth.

  “There are many other reasons why the AC fights the UDA. The UDA's treatment of Genetically Engineered Beings, the rampant corruption of the government, particularly the Intergalactic Lottery, which the UDA uses to double and triple tax its constituents, are just the beginning.

  “The UDA does not have a balanced environmental policy. While the UDA is taking large steps to halt the ravaging of Earth, it has allowed strip-mining on all eight habitable colony planets. The UDA employs a standard policy of jettisoning refuse by the barge load into the nearest sun from all colonies and outposts. The UDA has destroyed the two habitable planets that had been discovered after the inception of the Core Space Policy in 2142. They have used the destruction of two habitable planets by asteroid targeting to declare an end to further colonization by the human race. This is an assault on nature that the AC simply cannot ignore.

  “We also believe the UDA and the megacorps have systematically developed an economy in which most citizens are debt slaves. This situation is compounded by the policy of icon literacy. Less than fifteen percent of the UDA populace can read.

  “For the first fifteen years of the AC we strove to make the war we waged as bloodless as possible. The memory of the White Earth Massacre has eroded that peaceful resolve. While Potlatch Weaver laid siege to White Earth in 2179 with four hundred AC outrider ships, UDA Captain Gavon Lige lead fifty prime ships to NGC 3703 where our lodge ships, filled with non-combatants, women and children, were hidden. Lige destroyed eleven lodge ships, slaughtering 18,000 tribals. From that day forward we adopted aggressive combat styles and have engaged in merc work.

  “If you have come here to join us in this fight, if you are willing to dedicate the whole of your life to these goals, I welcome you. You are embarking on a life of purpose, friendship and beauty laced with sacrifice. If you do not share the urgency we feel to achieve our goals or you wish only to escape the doldrums of the UDA without giving of yourselves then I urge you now to step forward and we will escort you to the nearest outpost.”

  Wolf Plume stood silently. No one stepped forward. “Excellent, I leave you to your next guide, Coronado, who will answer any questions you have and continue your orientation. If any of you wish to see me during your free hours I will be available for the next two days. Simply ping me on the comp set or come down to Deck 36, Sector 7, where I will be spending most of my time.”

  Coronado stepped forward and addressed the group with a slight Hispanic accent. “You are all blessed. Today, the Diegueño have brought a unique and wonderful specimen from one of their lodge ship zoos. A perfect albino buffalo has been born and the Diegueño are joyfully taking him to each lodge ship so that all the tribals may enjoy seeing this precious baby. Follow me please. It is said that Okala prophesied…”

  “Brother, I applaud your clarity and sincerity.”

  Wolf Plume turned to see John, Elder Wisdom of the AmerIndian Confederacy. A thin, handsome black man, dressed plainly in dungarees, a cotton T-shirt and an insulated, light denim jacket.

  A body tank warrior loomed behind the Elder. The armor was Heavy Hammer grade, painted in gleaming white interrupted by jagged red runes. The integrated helmet hid the body tank warrior’s face. A rail gun was clutched in the neoprene and metal grip of the suit's gauntlets. A fine mist hissed out of the helmet as the sealed environmental system cleansed the air for the tribal inside.

  “Thank you, Elder John,” Wolf Plume opened his arms and hugged the man.

>   “Please, I've told you Wolf Plume, just John. Please excuse us a moment.” At Elder John's request the body tank warrior clanked heavily away toward the corner of the docking bay.

  “Wolf Plume, you old dog. Where have you been the last three months?”

  “Jade Dagger has been assigned to several missions since I have been back. I've probably seen all seven settled galaxies since I've slept in my own berth.”

  John shook his head. “Infiltration missions, right? Sneaking in and out of UDA facilities, megacorp strongholds, blasting your way out if something goes awry. Wolf Plume, do you know how many young bucks I have that can take care of those tasks. Really! What are you doing flying a hopped-up shuttle for an Infiltrator pack? I could have used you here with the convoy. You are one of my best guides and you hardly ever teach. If you were here with the convoy more I could start to groom you for what you really should be doing.”

  Wolf Plume smiled broadly. “I'm a pilot, not an advisor.”

  “Brother, there are many questions facing the Confederacy. Celetain Prax warns of important changes coming. I could use a brilliant, open-minded advisor to help me through and a friend to lean on.”

  “My pack needs me, John. I enjoy working with them. They're good boys. A strong team, capable, bright.”

  “That's right and I guarantee you they will remain in the prime slot without you. Have you seen some of the cross-tribe pack drafts this year? They are all true walkers, strong as Grizzly and wise as Owl. Give it some thought, old man. The Elders need you more than your pack. Now we have a few more days before the Steel Circle begins. Promise me you'll come and take a walk with me through the viewing decks. Antares' Comet is just coming into view.”

  “I promise. I will think over your words, John. I missed our Stones games this last year. I missed you, too.”

  “Thank you, old friend. Call when you have time. We will walk.” John hugged Wolf Plume again before exiting with his assigned body tank warrior following closely.

  Wolf Plume shook his head and walked across the bay, close to the force field that kept the vacuum out and the artificial environment in. He looked at the dozens of outrider ships and the other Nez Perce lodge ships and thought of his brother and sister tribals on those ships. Wovoka, Cavaho, Slow Turtle and his hopped-up Trighter were all he could see.