Accepting the Lance Read online

  He raised his voice slightly.

  “Jeeves, please ask Mr. pel’Kana to bring today’s tin, and also a fresh pot of Morning Sunrise.”

  “Yes, Master Val Con.”

  * * *

  “Bechimo,” Theo said in bond-space. “Can you access the Surebleak Portmaster’s log back…two years? Before Clan Korval arrived on-planet?”

  “Of course, Theo.” He sounded surprised.

  Theo didn’t sigh. Between Bechimo and Joyita, no encryption in the universe was safe. She was raising a couple of AIs with no respect for personal boundaries, was what. On the other hand, the information would be…useful.

  “Look for legitimate channels for requesting the information before you…get creative,” she said.

  There was a soft knock at the door. Val Con rose from his chair, picked up the teapot and went to open.

  “Of course,” Bechimo said, like he’d never unlocked a private file in his life.

  “I know it’ll take longer that way,” she said. “We’re not on a tight deadline. And while I know you probably won’t get caught, let’s not take the chance, with the portmaster already jumpy over the survey team.”

  “Will you undertake the search of the portmaster’s log?” Val Con asked from too near at hand.

  He bent and put a small tray holding a fresh teapot and two clean cups in the center of the breakfast tray, and placed a tea tin by her hand.

  “I’ve asked Bechimo to take the search back two years, assuming the records are available, so we can compare.”

  “Thorough,” Val Con said, reaching for the pot. “I will be interested to learn if there is anything irregular. May I ask Bechimo to keep me informed?”

  “Bechimo?” she murmured aloud for Val Con’s benefit, and heard the answer in bond-space.

  “It will be my pleasure to send your brother a copy of our analysis.”

  “Thank you,” she said, and looked to Val Con, whose whole attention appeared to be on pouring tea.

  “Bechimo will be happy to share his findings with you.”

  “I am grateful.” He handed her a cup and she took it, happy to catch the aroma of real tea.

  She sipped, sighed, and set the cup aside before picking up the tea tin.

  “Bitter Truth?” she asked, feeling her eyebrows rise. “Who names a tea Bitter Truth?”

  “Plainly, the White Wing Beverage Company does, though in earnest or in jest, I dare not speculate.”

  He settled back into his chair again, and considered her seriously.

  Theo put the tea tin aside and picked up the last bit of pastry on her plate.

  Val Con waited, sipping, until she finished and leaned back into her own chair, cup in hand.

  “I wonder, Theo, if you wish to…emancipate yourself, so that you might establish your own family or corporation. As you point out, being known as Korval kin is not necessarily advantageous and, in fact, has been dangerous for you and for your ship.”

  She stared at him. Emancipate herself? Repudiate Father, and Luken, Miri, and, well—Val Con? Even Lady Kareen was—

  “Um, no,” she said carefully, to her brother’s speculative green gaze. “I don’t want to divorce myself from the—our—family.” She sighed. “I just wish you were a little less prone to trouble!”

  He grinned.

  “One might return the compliment, were it not well known in the family that we are, as individuals and as a unit, prone to trouble.”

  She felt her mouth soften, and gave him a nod.

  “Point. But, even if I did start my own family, and formally…divorce myself from Clan Korval, I don’t think the people who’ve been hunting Bechimo are going to see—or care about—that level of detail.”

  “They do seem to find the fine print a challenge,” Val Con agreed. “And here we approach my topic. As you are yourself kin without being clan, it may have escaped your attention that Clan Korval is a very small…family, indeed. Dangerously small, one might say. For our own security, we need to improve our situation. The choices before us are to disband and allow each member to form their own alliances with other families or clans—or we might merge with another small clan and thus form a larger, to the benefit of both.”

  He gave her a wise look.

  “However, as we have just discussed, Clan Korval’s marriage portion will inevitably include trouble, and there are not many clans—of any size—who seek to add to their stores of that particular commodity. As we are now placed on Surebleak, and as Surebleak will, sooner rather than later, so I believe, evolve a hybrid culture, Miri has proposed a third solution, which looks toward the future, rather than seeking to accommodate the past.”

  He paused, head tipped to one side.

  “Mind, you will receive scarcely any benefit, save what is already yours: as safe a docking as may be managed, a home port, and a home base. Kin to draw upon. A share in all the business of the family.

  “You would also be asked to contribute—to give support and provide backup to other family members. At present, the clan is given a share in all personal business of its members, which strikes me as more equitable than assaying dues, because the clan not only shares in profits, it bears a percentage of any loss. Internally…a clan structure seems most workable to me, which is perhaps not surprising—but that may well be modified as we move forward.”

  He inclined his head with, Theo thought, a certain amount of irony.

  “I believe I may promise that you will not be bored. We would, of course, still be prone to trouble—which does make mutual aid and support somewhat risky. On the other hand, where else would you find backup who perfectly comprehends that sometimes things just—happen?”

  Theo laughed.

  “It was convenient to know a Scout Commander who could render a field judgment on the status of Complex Logics,” she said. “Having Bechimo declared a solid citizen who works for his living and benefits the community—in fact, that’s how we…might get Bechimo’s six-month citation reduced.”

  “You intrigue me. May I know the details?”

  Briefly, she outlined it, and saw with some amount of foreboding that both of his eyebrows were raised.

  “So, we figured that it would be reasonable and…forward-looking for Bechimo to contact the portmaster on his own behalf, make that case, and offer to perform a service for the community. That would demonstrate that he’s an asset to society, which is directly in line with your judgment.”

  “So, you have created a test case, here—immediately?” asked Val Con.

  “It was going to have to be tested, sooner or later. The Scouts will eventually get around to reviewing your judgment. Wouldn’t it be helpful to them if there were real-life examples already on the record of AIs actually being social and responsible?”

  Val Con sighed. “I note that there is a TerraTrade survey team on port at this moment.”

  “But that’s great!” Theo said excitedly. “They’ll be able to report that Surebleak is ahead of the curve in accommodating Complex Logics.”

  He grinned suddenly.

  “Reasoned, if I may say it, like a yos’Phelium. You will be an asset to the family, Theo, if you decide that way. Do you?”

  Theo took a breath and bowed her head.

  “Yes. I do.”

  * * *

  He had offered her another cup of tea, and she had accepted. For a little time, they merely sat, wordless and relaxed, honoring the tea together.

  Theo stirred.

  “Last night,” she said slowly, “I talked with…Father, and with—your mother.”

  He inclined his head politely.

  “I trust you found them well?”

  “Astonishingly well,” Theo said. “And…and youthened, too. Father looks like your younger brother, and your mother looks to be about Padi’s age.”

  “Yes,” Val Con said calmly. “We will need to exert ourselves to educate the youth, I fear.”

  Theo glared at him. “They said they were under the Delm
’s Order to establish new identities. Do you think that’s going to…stick?”

  “In-clan?” He shook his head. “I expect it to be a very open secret. However, we do not wish to strain the credulity of those who are not familiar with us. Better that a guildsman, or a portmaster, or a prospective client be presented with a license that matches the face. They will also each need to pass a piloting test. The tickets must be valid.”

  “Yes, they said that, too.” Theo sighed and finished her tea. “It’s going to take some getting used to,” she said, meeting his eyes.

  Val Con grinned.

  “It will, indeed. I did promise that you would not be bored.”

  She laughed, and stood up. “Yes, you did. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got a crew meeting.”

  “Of course.” He rose as well, leaned over and picked up the tea tin. “You won’t want to forget this.”

  “I could never forget this,” Theo said fervently and walked with him to the door.

  Jelaza Kazone

  • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

  “Last I heard, it was better to be doin’ something than doin’ nothin’,” Clarence said into the silence that followed Theo’s account of her meeting with the portmaster.

  He glanced around the circle of present crew, including Joyita, on the big screen at the bottom of the room.

  “Speaking only for myself, o’course. I’m the last to deny the fleshpots o’Surebleak to any who wants ’em.”

  “Fleshpots?” Kara repeated, wrinkling her nose. “A kind of stew? It does not sound at all appetizing.”

  “Fleshpots,” Joyita said, “is an archaic usage referring to a place of bold or lascivious entertainment.”

  “One readily comprehends how it came to fall out of use,” said Kara, and glanced to Theo. “Are there…fleshpots…on Surebleak, I wonder, or is this Clarence’s fancy?”

  “Listen to the woman! Isn’t there Ms. Audrey’s House o’Joy right downtown? Best of its kind on the planet, is what I hear—though Mack had some rare words to speak on the topic of Angel’s Place out in Boss Feenan’s turf, what was.” He shrugged. “Not visited myself, and I don’t doubt it’s fine, but that’s Mack’s growing-up territory there, and memories o’home are always sweetest.”

  “So it is said, by some,” Win Ton commented, not being one of those so afflicted, as Theo knew. “We assume that the portmaster will accept Bechimo’s proposal,” he continued, “but what if she does not?”

  “Borrowing trouble?” Theo asked him.

  “Planning for all contingencies,” he told her, with a little too much dignity.

  “Of course,” she said politely, and leaned back, her eyes straying to the ceiling.

  “My feeling is that Portmaster Liu knows an opportunity when it comes into port. She’d rather everything was smooth and, and unexceptionable while the survey team’s working, but at the same time, it’s hard to show yourself and your port to advantage when it’s all running glitch-free.

  “Bechimo’s proposal gives her a chance to show she’s flexible and versatile, and not afraid of change. It makes sense that Surebleak will be the test zone—the judgment was made here and the ship named in the appeal for a judgment is here, too. No better place to test it, really.”

  She sighed.

  “I want to say the survey team will be favorably impressed, but the only thing I know about this particular survey team is that at least one team member thinks that Clan Korval’s home port isn’t fit for anything but a Do Not Stop.”

  “Survey teams are theoretically objective,” Win Ton said.

  “If there’s a team bias, it’s supposed to be included in the final report,” Clarence added. “Still, that’s a long hill to climb, even grantin’ it’s one o’ three. Might be Portmaster Liu is feelin’ a little extra pressure to excel, which’ll do well for Bechimo and his crew, assuming he’ll have us along.”

  “Of course, I will have you along, Clarence,” Bechimo said, his voice originating from Joyita’s screen. “I would scarcely undertake such a project without my crew; we are a team. This is aside the fact that it will increase the value of the test case, to demonstrate that Complex Logics do, indeed, work well with humankind, and that such teamwork is beneficial to both sides of the equation.”

  “Never did agree with the premise o’the Complex Logic Law—that the AI population is set on wiping out humankind. If disgust hasn’t driven ’em to it by now, I’d say we’re safe from that quarter.”

  He paused, eyes on Hevelin as the norbear bumbled over to Win Ton and arranged himself against the former Scout’s knee.

  “As to what we’ll be doin’ with ourselves if Portmaster Liu decides she can’t afford to be bold—”

  “Your pardon, Clarence,” Joyita said, looking up from the row of screens in his supposed tower workroom. “Portmaster Liu has just called and asked to speak to Bechimo.”

  Theo grinned and leaned forward, watching Joyita’s face. There was a general feeling in the room as if the crew was holding its collective breath. Hevelin, against Win Ton’s knee, murbled and turned to face the screen.

  “Captain.” Bechimo’s voice sounded a little…rushed. Theo felt a jolt of elation; inside her head, bond-space was glowing.

  “Captain, Portmaster Liu has given me leave to pursue my service to the community. I have provided her with a map of those areas identified as most in need, and a tentative timetable. I will need to coordinate closely with her office, so that we do not disrupt traffic or cause a hazardous situation.”

  “Excellent,” Theo said, feeling the grin get wider.

  “I have been cleared to lift in three hours local.”

  There was a small pause.

  “Will my crew accompany me?”

  Theo looked around the circle of them, seeing her own eagerness reflected in their faces.

  “We’ll be boarding within the hour,” she said.

  “Yes, Captain,” came the answer four times over.

  “That,” said Bechimo, “will be satisfactory. The ship is ready.”

  • • • ✴ • • •

  The schedule here in the stronghold of the captain’s kinsman was much like the schedule Chernak and Stost had followed aboard Bechimo. In addition to language, history, social studies, and maths, they were fortunate to have gained two new sparring partners with novel and challenging methods—a real gift, as they had been too often of late sparring with each other.

  There had also arrived in their quarters a so-called field judgment which they read with puzzlement, awe, horror and, at the very last—applause. Joyita need no longer hide his nature! Captain Waitley need no longer expend energy better used in command defending her ship Bechimo—a Work, yet not of the Great Enemy’s making—from brigands and cowards such as Captain yos’Thadi. It meant—it meant that this new universe in which they found themselves had been changed in amazing new ways.

  So great was their hilarity that they drew the attention of Nelirikk, Captain Robertson’s aide, who, upon understanding the root of their joy, introduced them formally to Jeeves, not a mere security ’bot—no! Named also in the judgment, the foundation on which this new document of liberation had been raised, it was a heady few hours of discussion with like minds, and learning to know Jeeves a little.

  Truly, this was a brave new universe in which they found themselves, that such things might happen.

  There were also interviews. This was a benefit provided to them by the captain’s kinsman, so that they might be assigned where they would be of the most use.

  They had only yesterday been interviewed by Commander Relgen of Relgen’s Raiders, a mercenary force, which their studies gave them to understand was an honorable path for soldiers in this time and place.

  Commander Relgen and her second had been soldierly, displaying and expecting proper discipline. She put her questions with a commander’s sternness, giving attention not only to their answers, but how they presented themselve
s.

  Near the end of the interview, she took time to speak directly to their former service, and to praise their dedication to duty.

  After she and her second had departed, Stost had attempted to find from Diglon if he thought she might offer them a place in her troop, but Diglon, wisely, did not claim insight into the mind of command. They would need to wait, which was the lot of soldiers in all places and all times.

  Wait, then, they did, filling their time with study and with exercise.

  They missed, which they admitted only to each other, the company of Joyita and of Grakow, whom they had met on the grounds during a march around the perimeter. He had saluted them as a comrade, while introducing another of his persuasion, with orange and white fur, identified by Diglon as “Paizel.”

  They missed also Clarence, and Kara, and Win Ton, Hevelin, Captain Waitley…well, all of Bechimo, which had been their first posting in this strange new universe.

  It was only, said Chernak, that they wanted the familiar, after all the change they had endured. Likely, this odd emotion would leave them once they had found a new duty station.

  They were in the study room, working through advanced equation sets. Both were pilots and very good at math, so they returned to the maths program as a reward for having successfully completed modules in more difficult subjects.

  “We ought,” said Stost, “petition the house to allow us to train on dummy boards.”

  Chernak gave him a stern look.

  “Dummy boards, my Stost? Have we not left the creche?”

  “Assuredly, Elder. Do you think that the generosity of the captain’s kinsman will extend to ceding us a ship so that we might practice live?”

  Chernak sighed. “In truth, neither he nor Captain Robertson are fools.”

  “A request for practice boards will show our enthusiasm and—”

  The door to their study room opened. A slight figure in an overlarge leather jacket strode in, pale hair rippling in the breeze of her passage.

  Chernak and Stost scrambled to their feet, chairs squeaking across the stone floor as they came to full attention and each brought a fist smartly to the opposite shoulder.

  “Captain!” they said in unison.