Binary

Chapter Six: New Orders

"Yes sir," she said, "I'll give the order."

***

Tatsu's soldiers marched under the portcullis of Summit Castle. Night had fallen, and the desert was an eerie white in the light of the Rings. The samurai herself watched carefully from the side.

"It's good to see you again, samurai!" hailed a tall figure, dressed in the armor of a StarKnight, "I don't know if you remember me, we met shortly before you left for Strom. I'm Grenda, a knight of these lands."

Tatsu jumped in surprise, as she spun around to face Grenda, but she relaxed as she saw the knight's face.

"Oh, Grenda, of course I remember you. It's good to see a friendly face," she said, then with hesitation, "you're a StarKnight, aren't you? So you've pledged yourself to the Lady of these lands?"

"My loyalty is to the resistance, to this planet's continuing battle for freedom," said Grenda, "but yes, after all of that, I have an oath to Lady Argus or something. Most of our agents working under the various Starling offices and in their government have taken some oath or other, but those oaths are secondary to the ones we took for the Hatred. And between you and me, any oath taken for Lady Fiona isn't one worth taking seriously."

The samurai sighed and removed her helmet. She massaged her temples.

"Normally I'd find such disloyalty to any oath insulting, but in this circumstance, I'm a little relieved. I'm not sure I trust Lady Fiona Argus."

"I guess that figures, she's not quite as competent or as trusting as we had hoped she would be."

"My men were starving, Grenda," muttered the samurai, "and the food they had been promised was nowhere to be seen. That's not an act of incompetence, is one of downright aggression."

Grenda frowned up at the towers and spires of the castle.

"I know it might be hard to believe, but I really do think it was an honest accident," said Grenda, "I've worked with the Lady of the Desert for a long time now, though she still doesn't suspect that I'm a member of the Hatred. I've known her to make worse blunders. We should let it go."

Grenda frowned as Tatsu let out a humorless chuckle.

"I don't think so. She's going to answer for this," said Tatsu.

"Easy now," said Grenda, "we've already started making moves on the Light, we can't go endangering this alliance, not after all the preparation that has gone into making it!"

"What, are we just supposed to pretend nothing happened? Like she didn't just completely ignore her end of the bargain?"

"Strategically speaking, yes," said Grenda, "all we need from her is a letter of recommendation. That recommendation doesn't hold up well if she dies under mysterious circumstances, or if you destroy her whole castle. Let her act like the spoiled beast that she is so we can use her and end this!"

"Strategically speaking," said Tatsu quietly, "yes, I guess you're right. It just bothers me to see such an unworthy ruler. Imagine how her subjects must feel."

"What, the ranchers that live out here?" chuckled Grenda, "they hardly matter."

"The other thing I'm worried about, strategically speaking," said Tatsu, "is that if she did 'forget' to leave the food out there for us out of willing disobedience, we could be walking right into her trap. How do we know she didn't decide she was going to starve us out, so we'd be weakened and then slit our throats as we slept?"

"I don't think you need to worry about that," said Grenda, "you weren't the only one who's been busy over the last ten years. Lady Argus doesn't realize it but the Hatred all but controls her castle.