Japanese among your ancestors, Anya-san? You have our gift of saying nothing most gracefully.” He glanced pointedly at Kantaro. It was an unmistakable command to withdraw. The younger man did so, with a formal bow.
“Try to forget what you have learned aboard your far-travelling ship of diplomacy,” the Shogun said. “I believe you to be intuitive, Anya-san. Perhaps it is that quality you Wired Ones call empathy. Whatever it may be, I ask you to put it at my service.” He inclined his head at the daimyos gathered in suspicious groups at the forward end of the salon. “The lords of Kai and Hokkaido. With them are the leaders of the daibatsu --do you know that word?”
“It is what you call the industrialists, tono .”
Minamoto acknowledged the use of the word for “lord” with an almost imperceptible nod. “They are a good bit more than that, Anya-san. On Yamato, the daibatsu is ancient history that people say no longer exists. Yet they are powerful men and they are suspicious of you and Kr-san. Their research departments have brought the mass-depletion engine to the point where short voyages at hyperlight speeds are possible. They suspect that as Goldenwing syndics you have good reasons either to take the technology for yourselves or to destroy it. They are not convinced there is a threat--out there.” He looked somberly at the stars beyond the aligned moons. “With Kai and Hokkaido we have the worst of antiquity and modern times. Kai is arrogant and Hokkaido is impoverished. Lord Yoshi imagines he is a genuine Takeda, and Lord Genji sits on his frozen island hoarding his bloodlines and guarding his poor treasury. They both would profit by your failure at Yamato.”
“We did not come to steal,” Anya said.
“ I believe that, Anya-san,” the Shogun said. “But there should be no misunderstanding. Our MD ships represent a huge investment by the daibatsu .”
“Whereas, Shogun, we syndics risk only our lives, our ship, and the future of man in space,” Anya said icily.
“I do not blame you for resenting our caution, Anya-san. But we have always been a careful people. Please understand us. It is a great concession that our ruling caste has agreed to this conference aboard your Goldenwing.”
“I have studied your history, tono ,” Anya Amaya said. “Our definition of caution is apparently not the same as yours. Unless the Yamatan word also carries with it the inference of ‘self-interested.’ “
The Shogun remained silent, his attention fixed on the visible stars.
“Tell the daibatsu , Shogun, that we Starmen have seen the enemy close by. It attacked us because we drew near to its preserves. It attacks your MD vessels because you are crossing a border. The two acts are alike. They vary only in degree. But the stakes are the same for us all. Tell your merchant lords that, Shogun.”
“Is that what your empathic sense tells you is the best course, Anya-san?”
“It is what my every sense tells me, Shogun. There is really no other choice.”
“Surrender?”
Several of the nearer daimyos were now listening to the conversation between their Shogun and the gaijin woman. It is just as well , Anya thought. Duncan might give these people an illusion of escape. I will not .
“There is no surrender, tono .” She looked at the circle of faces that now surrounded them. “Only annihilation.”
Duncan had joined the group at the salon window. Instinctively, the Yamatans looked to him for masculine confirmation.
“What my Sailing Master tells you is true,” he said. “You have had your own reports of the disturbance when something from the Near Away swallowed still another of your spacecraft.”
A daimyo of Kyushu said, “We are by no means certain that something from the Near Away is responsible for our losses. Even if we concede that what you say is true, gaijin-sama . We have yet to hear what can be done about it.”
Duncan appreciated the adroitness of the Yamatan’s use of the term
“Try to forget what you have learned aboard your far-travelling ship of diplomacy,” the Shogun said. “I believe you to be intuitive, Anya-san. Perhaps it is that quality you Wired Ones call empathy. Whatever it may be, I ask you to put it at my service.” He inclined his head at the daimyos gathered in suspicious groups at the forward end of the salon. “The lords of Kai and Hokkaido. With them are the leaders of the daibatsu --do you know that word?”
“It is what you call the industrialists, tono .”
Minamoto acknowledged the use of the word for “lord” with an almost imperceptible nod. “They are a good bit more than that, Anya-san. On Yamato, the daibatsu is ancient history that people say no longer exists. Yet they are powerful men and they are suspicious of you and Kr-san. Their research departments have brought the mass-depletion engine to the point where short voyages at hyperlight speeds are possible. They suspect that as Goldenwing syndics you have good reasons either to take the technology for yourselves or to destroy it. They are not convinced there is a threat--out there.” He looked somberly at the stars beyond the aligned moons. “With Kai and Hokkaido we have the worst of antiquity and modern times. Kai is arrogant and Hokkaido is impoverished. Lord Yoshi imagines he is a genuine Takeda, and Lord Genji sits on his frozen island hoarding his bloodlines and guarding his poor treasury. They both would profit by your failure at Yamato.”
“We did not come to steal,” Anya said.
“ I believe that, Anya-san,” the Shogun said. “But there should be no misunderstanding. Our MD ships represent a huge investment by the daibatsu .”
“Whereas, Shogun, we syndics risk only our lives, our ship, and the future of man in space,” Anya said icily.
“I do not blame you for resenting our caution, Anya-san. But we have always been a careful people. Please understand us. It is a great concession that our ruling caste has agreed to this conference aboard your Goldenwing.”
“I have studied your history, tono ,” Anya Amaya said. “Our definition of caution is apparently not the same as yours. Unless the Yamatan word also carries with it the inference of ‘self-interested.’ “
The Shogun remained silent, his attention fixed on the visible stars.
“Tell the daibatsu , Shogun, that we Starmen have seen the enemy close by. It attacked us because we drew near to its preserves. It attacks your MD vessels because you are crossing a border. The two acts are alike. They vary only in degree. But the stakes are the same for us all. Tell your merchant lords that, Shogun.”
“Is that what your empathic sense tells you is the best course, Anya-san?”
“It is what my every sense tells me, Shogun. There is really no other choice.”
“Surrender?”
Several of the nearer daimyos were now listening to the conversation between their Shogun and the gaijin woman. It is just as well , Anya thought. Duncan might give these people an illusion of escape. I will not .
“There is no surrender, tono .” She looked at the circle of faces that now surrounded them. “Only annihilation.”
Duncan had joined the group at the salon window. Instinctively, the Yamatans looked to him for masculine confirmation.
“What my Sailing Master tells you is true,” he said. “You have had your own reports of the disturbance when something from the Near Away swallowed still another of your spacecraft.”
A daimyo of Kyushu said, “We are by no means certain that something from the Near Away is responsible for our losses. Even if we concede that what you say is true, gaijin-sama . We have yet to hear what can be done about it.”
Duncan appreciated the adroitness of the Yamatan’s use of the term
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