offworld in.'
'Nay, nor for the past fifty years have we,' said Siri. 'But it shows how irrational the Separatists can be.'
I nodded. Shipmaster Singh and Councillor Halmyn had briefed us on the so-called Separatists of Maui- Covenant. 'The usual coalition of colonial jingoists and throwbacks,' Singh had said. 'Another reason we go slowly and develop the world's trade potential before finishing the farcaster. The worldweb doesn't need these yahoos coming in prematurely. And groups like the Separatists are another reason to keep you crew and contraction workers the hell away from the groundlings.'
'Where is your skimmer?' I asked. The Common was emptying quickly. Most of the bands had packed up their instruments for the night. Gaily costumed heaps lay snoring on the grass or cobblestones amid the litter and unlit lanterns. Only a few enclaves of merriment remained, groups dancing slowly to a lone guitar or singing drunk-enly to themselves. I saw Mike Osho at once, a patchworked fool, his mask long gone, a girl on either arm. He was trying to teach the hora to a rapt but inept circle of admirers. One of the troupe would stumble and they would all fall down. Mike would flog them to their feet among general laughter and they would start again, hopping clumsily to his basso-profundo chant.
'There it is,' said Siri and pointed to a short line of skimmers parked behind the Common Hall. I nodded and waved to Mike but he was too busy hanging on to his two ladies to notice me. Siri and I had crossed the square and were in the shadows of the old building when the shout went up.
'Shipman! Turn around, you Hegemony son-of-a-bitch.'
I froze and then wheeled around with fists clenched but no one was near me. Six young men had descended the steps from the grandstand and were standing in a semicircle behind Mike. The man in front was tall, slim, and strikingly handsome. He was twenty-five or twenty-six years old and his long blonde curls spilled down on a crimson silk suit that emphasized his physique. In his right hand he carried a meter-long sword that looked to be of tempered steel.
Mike turned slowly. Even from a distance I could see his eyes sobering as he surveyed the situation. The women at his side and a couple of the young men in his group tittered as if something humorous had been said. Mike allowed the inebriated grin to stay on his face. 'You address me, sir?' he asked.
'I address you, you Hegemony whore's son,' hissed the leader of the group. His handsome face was twisted into a sneer.
'Bertol,' whispered Siri. 'My cousin. Gresham's younger son.' I nodded and stepped out of the shadows. Siri caught my arm.
'That is twice you have referred unkindly to my mother, sir,' slurred Mike. 'Have she or I offended you in some way? If so, a thousand pardons.' Mike bowed so deeply that the bells on his cap almost brushed the ground. Members of his group applauded.
'Your presence offends me, you Hegemony bastard. You stink up our air with your fat carcass.'
Mike's eyebrows rose comically. A young man near him in a fish costume waved his hand. 'Oh, come on, Bertol. He's just…'
'Shut up, Ferick. It is this fat shithead I am speaking to.'
'Shithead?' repeated Mike, eyebrows still raised. 'I've traveled two hundred light years to be called a fat shithead? It hardly seems worth it.' He pivoted gracefully, untangling himself from the women as he did so. I would have joined Mike then but Siri clung tightly to my arm, whispering unheard entreaties. When I was free I saw that Mike was still smiling, still playing the fool. But his left hand was in his baggy shirt pocket.
'Give him your blade, Creg,' snapped Bertol. One of the younger men tossed a sword hilt-first to Mike. Mike watched it arc by and clang loudly on the cobblestones.
'You can't be serious,' said Mike in a soft voice that was suddenly quite sober. 'You cretinous cowturd. Do you really think I'm going to play duel with you just because you get a hard-on acting the hero for these yokels?'
'Pick up the sword,' screamed Bertol, 'or by God I'll carve you where you stand.' He took a quick step forward. The youth's face contorted with fury as he advanced.
'Fuck off,' said Mike. In his left hand was the laser pen.
'No!' I yelled and ran into the light. That pen was used by construction workers to scrawl marks on girders of whiskered alloy.
Things happened very quickly then. Bertol took another step and Mike flicked the green beam across him almost casually. The colonist let out a cry and leaped back; a smoking line of black was slashed diagonally across his silk shirtfront. I hesitated. Mike had the setting as low as it could go. Two of Bertol's friends started forward and Mike swung the light across their shins. One dropped to his knees cursing and the other hopped away holding his leg and hooting.
A crowd had gathered. They laughed as Mike swept off his fool's cap in another bow. 'I thank you,' said Mike. 'My mother thanks you.'
Siri's cousin strained against his rage. Froths of spittle spilled on his lips and chin. I pushed through the crowd and stepped between Mike and the tall colonist.
'Hey, it's all right,' I said. 'We're leaving. We're going now.'
'Goddamn it, Merin, get out of the way,' said Mike.
'It's all right,' I said as I turned to him. 'I'm with a girl named Siri who has a…' Bertol stepped forward and lunged past me with his blade. I wrapped my left arm around his shoulder and flung him back. He tumbled heavily onto the grass.
'Oh, shit,' said Mike as he backed up several paces. He looked tired and a little disgusted as he sat down on a stone step. 'Aw,
'Oh, Jesus, Mike.' I tore a strip of fabric from my shirt and tried to staunch the flow. I could remember none of the first-aid we'd been taught as midshipmen. I pawed at my wrist but my comlog was not there. We had left them on the
'It's not so bad, Mike,' I gasped. 'It's just a little cut.' The blood flowed down over my hand and wrist.
'It will serve,' said Mike. His voice was held taut by a cord of pain. 'Damn. A fucking sword. Do you believe it, Merin? Cut down in the prime of my prime by a piece of fucking cutlery out of a fucking one-penny opera. Oh,
'Three-penny opera,' I said and changed hands. The rag was soaked.
'You know what your fucking problem is, Merin? You're always sticking your fucking two cents in. Awwwww.' Mike's face went white and then gray. He lowered his chin to his chest and breathed deeply. 'To
I looked over my shoulder. Bertol was slowly moving away with his friends. The rest of the crowd milled around in shock. 'Call a doctor!' I screamed. 'Get some medics up here!' Two men ran down the street. There was no sign of Siri.
'Wait a minute! Wait a minute!' said Mike in a stronger voice, as if he had forgotten something important. 'Just a minute,' he said and died.
Died. A real death. Brain death. His mouth opened obscenely, his eyes rolled back so only the whites showed, and a minute later the blood ceased pumping from the wound.
For a few mad seconds I cursed the sky. I could see the
Eventually I turned to Bertol. 'You,' I said.
The young man had stopped at the far end of the Common. His face was ashen. He stared wordlessly.
'You,' I said again. I picked up the laser pen from where it had rolled, clicked the power to maximum, and walked to where Bertol and his friends stood waiting.
Later, through the haze of screams and scorched flesh. I was dimly aware of Siri's skimmer setting down in the crowded square, of dust flying up all around, and of her voice commanding me to join her. We lifted away from the light and madness. The cool wind blew my sweat-soaked hair away from my neck.
'We will go to Fevarone,' said Siri. 'Bertol was drunk. The Separatists are a small, violent group. There will
