Текст книги " Lethal Heritage "

Shin smiled. Your mouthing the old courtesies is music to my ears after the weeks spent traveling here in that independent freighter.Shin noticed the absence of several joints on the man's little fingers and the multi-colored head of a snake against the yellow flesh of his neck. But I should not have expected anything less of you, should I?

"That will not be necessary," Shin said, "but I am honored by your concern. I will see to the unpacking later." Glancing at the full-length mirror on the back of the door, he straightened up, trying to shake off the slump of weariness left from a week traveling to Turtle Bay from the system jump point. There were slight discolorations beneath his eyes, too, but no one else would notice them. He combed his short black hair with his fingers, then smiled at Yamashima. "I think I should pay my respects."

Yamashima smiled like a tutor pleased with a pupil who has learned his lessons well. "Tai-saTarukito Niiro asked that you join him for chaonce you were settled. While you are meeting with him, I shall arrange your visit with the Old Man."

Shin cocked his head inquiringly. "Old Man?"

Yamashima began to speak, then caught himself. His dark eyes darted from Shin's unblemished hands to the lapel of his black service tunic. "Excuse me, Tai-i.I presumed knowledge where I had only rumors. I meant no offense."

Shin returned the sergeant's deep bow. "You were not rude, Yamashima-san. You were not in error. I was not aware that the yakuza in Edo used that title for their lord." Yamashima straightened up, relief clearly visible on his seamed face. "So, after you take me to the Tai-sa,"Shin said, smiling, "please do arrange my visit to the Old Man."

* * *

Shin Yodama entered Tai-saTarukito Niiro's office and knelt on the tatamimats before sliding the shoji-paneleddoor closed. The translucent panels of lacquered paper, especially those forming the southern wall opposite the door, let in enough light to brighten the entire room. He keeps his sanctuary uncluttered and simple. He draws his strength from this room. I can feel it.

Shin bowed first to Tarukito Niiro. Easily twenty-five years Shin's senior, the Tai-sahad not let vanity get the better of him. Instead of dyeing his salt-and-pepper hair black, as another might have, he wore it short and shaved back away from his temples for better contact with the neuroreceptors in his BattleMech's neurohelmet. His dark eyes met Shin's direcdy and without judgment, then he lowered his gaze so that his subordinate would not think him illmannered. Though the Tai-sadid not smile, Shin felt instinctively that he appreciated the depth of his bow and the respect it implied. Tarukito returned the bow fully and gracefully.

Shin men bowed to the other man in the room. It was slightly disturbing to Shin that this man, who was obviously his junior, should hold the rank of Sho-sa,making him a superior. The only reason he would be here is because he is my commanding officer. I thought the reforms had done away with commissions being awarded on the basis of social rank alone. All I need is this kid giving me orders inspired by flower arrangements or using plans concocted as a result of consultation with the entrails of a teyexta.Despite his misgivings, Shin took comfort in the grace and respect in the younger man's return bow.

Tarukito spoke in a low voice, but one resonant with power and self-control. "I trust your journey in-system was not too difficult."

"No, Tai-sa.The pilot was most skilled and successfully threaded the needle between two bad storm systems."

"Good." Tarukito turned and drew Shin's attention to the other man with a casual gesture. "Forgive my poor manners at delaying the introductions. This is your immediate superior, Sho-saHohiro Kurita."

Shin's heart leaped to his throat, and he failed utterly to keep the surprise from his face. Theodore Kurita's eldest son! He looks so different from holographs I've seen.Shin bowed again, this time deepening the gesture and holding it longer. "Excuse me, Kurita-sama.I should have recognized you."

Hohiro returned the bow, a smile beginning on his face. "There is no reason you should have known me, Yodama– san.Most of the official holographs were taken years ago and not been updated for security purposes."

Though the smile remained, the look in Hohiro's eyes and his tone of voice shifted the conversation to a more serious level. "I should also tell you that, even as your superior officer, I would appreciate all advice and help you can give me. In addition to your skill with a BattleMech, I hope you will avail me of your vast combat experience as well."

Shin bowed his head. "You honor me, Sho-sa,but I am not worthy of such praise. I am, after all, only two years your senior, and I have not had the benefit of a Sun Zhang Academy education."

Tarukito Niiro smiled and opened a folder lying on the low, black-lacquered desk. "Your lack of a formal education would be considered a plus in many categories, Yodama. As Hohiro has aptly pointed out to me, your career as a warrior already spans twenty years. That means you possess a considerable storehouse of martial knowledge."

Shin shook his head. "Again I am honored, but I think you read too much into the accounts of my early life. Yes, I was orphaned during the fighting on Marfik in 3028, but I was only seven years old at the time. I was among those who fled the advancing Steiner troops, but it was only by purest luck that a group of guerrillas found and kept me with them as an omen of luck. I will admit to planting the satchel charge that destroyed the bridge at Pawluk's Ford, but that was because I was the only person small enough to crawl through the drainage pipe."

Hohiro shook his head slightly. "Neither of us placed much weight on the accomplishments on Marfik, because we realized that, while they required courage and cunning, they merely attested to your ability to follow orders. No, we were more impressed by the raid you organized against the stronghold of renegade units on Najha during the Ronin Wars. It was an extremely well-organized and executed 'Mech action for a leader who was only eighteen years of age."

"Again you credit me for what was my good fortune." Shin felt the hot flush of embarrassment over his cheeks. "When the renegades tried to destroy our unit's training center because they hated us for being yakuza, it came down to giri.It was my dutyto my compatriots and to those who had given us the honor of becoming MechWarriors to lead my cadet company's defense. Had the renegades known the base area as we did, or if their 'Mechs had not suffered equipment failures during the fight, I would not be here talking to you." The memory of a Centurionpointing its autocannon at the cockpit of his Panthersuddenly hit Shin. If that cannon hadn't jammed I would have been killed.

Tarukito watched Shin for a moment, then bowed his head slowly. "After so many years of soldiering with arrogant warriors who seek nothing but personal glory, your humility is as refreshing as it is undeserved. Your career since Najha has been exemplary. I look forward to your taking command of Hyo company."

Hohiro nodded in agreement with Tarukito's assessment. "We will have it your way, then, Yodama– san. I hope, in addition to your skill and experience, you will grant me some of your good luck as well."

Shin bowed. "I pledge all that I have and am to your service."

Tarukito smiled broadly. "Excellent! Now we need fear no one." He clapped his hands twice. "You were summoned here for tea, and that is what we shall have. After that, Tai-iShin Yodama, you will have the run of Edo and a chance to become acquainted with your new home."

* * *

The rings around the world of Turtle Bay were etched across the night sky from horizon to horizon. The world's shadow slowly blackened the rings as evening wore on, but the furthest reaches still caught enough sunlight to burn brilliantly in crimson, purple, and gold. Though Shin had witnessed the effect during the DropShip trip coming insystem, it was entirely different looking up at the colors from the ground than from in space.

Shin stopped where he was, gawking like a tourist. This world is certainly more beautiful than any other where I have lived. I hope never to lose my sense of wonder for a sight so magnificent.

After some moments, Shin shifted the unopened bottle of sakefrom his left hand to his right and set off again, carefully reading the street signs directing him through the hilly Edo landscape. With all the planet's heavy industry in space, mining the asteroids in the rings and refining the ore into the raw materials, the city of Edo was lovely and serene and free of large industrial complexes. He caught himself remembering the words of his oyabunback on Marfik. "We are civilized, Shin," his chief used to say, "and therefore should live in a civilized way." Myoyabun would have loved this place.

Shin's path took him down a hill and through a darkened gate. He heard the hum of electronic equipment in the shadows, but nothing and no one kept him from passing through.

The roadway wound off to the left and up the hill. As he turned the corner, his destination came into view.

The building had been styled after castles raised in Japan fifteen hundred years before. Massive stoneblock walls formed the foundation of the seven-story-high tower. Each level covered slightly less area than the one below it, tapering the structure gracefully to bring the hill's natural lines to fulfillment. The eaves of each level curled up at the corners into ferocious dragons'-heads that stared down at the approaching MechWarrior. Beneath the eaves, the gentle flickering of candles showed through the shojipanels to silhouette the intricate patterns of the wooden guard-rails around each level's balcony.

Shin let himself smile with true pleasure at the building. The way the rings hovered overhead and the two stands of pine on each side balanced the castle is perfection. The architect was a genius and the landscaper an artist.He mounted the steps up to the broad, flat courtyard before the towering building, then soundlessly crossed the wooden bridge over a white-stone river to the entrance.

Two men bowed to him as he entered the foyer. As Shin returned their bows and slipped his boots off, one man carried the bottle of sakeaway. Shin frowned, but a reassuring look from the remaining man told him the rice wine would be decanted and presented at the appropriate time. Just so long as they satisfy themselves it is not poisoned.

Shin pulled a pair of black slippers from an alcove above where he had placed his boots and donned them. Wordlessly, he followed the remaining servant through the house, marveling at the beauty of the place. Someday, somehow, I will live in a palace like this.

The beautifully painted shojidivided rooms from the wood-floor hallways. In some rooms, the furnishings were quite modern and contained everything from tables and couches to holovid viewers and even holographic gaming tables. With one exception, the young men lounging in the room laughed and drank raucously.

The one dour individual wore no shirt, but Shin had to look twice to be absolutely certain of the fact. Though the man was attempting to be stoic, his expression suggested that he wanted to scream aloud, and that he probably would have if his peers were not in the room. On the left side of his chest, a black line-drawing of a dragon coiled from shoulder to waist and around—Shin surmised—to his spine in the back. The dragon's tail ran down the man's arm to just below his elbow.

That is the first stage in getting a tattoo in the old way, with paint and a bamboo needle. If that fellow thinks it hurts now, wait until they go back in to give the dragon color and life.Shin grinned and nodded a salute to the man, which seemed to briefly relieve his pained expression. He must have done something special for hisoyabun to authorize a tattooing.

Shin's guide led him up a cedar stairway, then paused next to a shojipanel. He drew it aside and waited for Shin to pass into the chamber before closing it and departing silently.

Shin knelt and bowed to the room's only other occupant. "I apologize for intruding on your valuable time. My gratitude knows no bounds that you have made this visit possible." Shin brought his body up, but did not make eye contact with the other man. "I am Shin Yodama, born on Marfik in the seventeenth year of Takashi Kurita's reign."

The skeletally thin old man across from him bowed respectfully, but remained aloof. "In the name of the Ryugawa-gumi,I, Ryoichi Toyama, welcome you to Turtle Bay and Edo." He slipped his left arm from the gray silk kimono he wore and bared the left side of his body. 'This I got when admitted to the Dragon River Gang in the first year of Takashi Kurita's reign."

Though similar in design to the infant tattoo Shin had seen downstairs, the oyabun'stattoo showed an artistry from another era entirely. Even the bullet-wound scar on the older man's stomach could not rob the forty-five-year-old design of its exquisite power. The dragon, as it rose and fell with the old man's breathing, seemed to come alive. Shin could have sworn he heard the rustle of scales and the scraping of the beast's talons across the man's ribs.

Shin forced himself to look away. "Excuse me, Toyama sama.I am a lout who knows only gutter-etiquette. It is beautiful, but its power comes from you."

Toyama said nothing as he pulled his kimono back into place. He tightened the obisash once again, then looked at Shin expectantly. "I see you have lost no fingers."

Shin bowed his head. "My masters have turned a blind eye to my failures."

"You do not wear a lapel pin to mark your affiliation."

"Forgive me, Toyama-rama, but the commander at my last station forbade us to wear tokens of our families."

Toyama smiled and bowed his head. "Tai-saNiiro and I have reached an understanding about that. Here, however, you must wear a device that identifies you with us in Edo. I will grant you such if you do, indeed, prove to be Shin Yodama."

Shin sat up straight and removed his uniform jacket. He folded it carefully and set it down on the tatamito his right before unfastening the buttons on his shirt. As the Chief of the Ryugawa-gumihad done before him, Shin bared the left side of his chest. "I am Shin Yodama and I belong to the Kuroi Kiriof Marfik."

"The Black Mist!" the old man hissed in awe. "I have heard, but could scarcely believe ..."

Shin's tattoo entirely covered his left torso and arm to just above his wrist. Stylistically traditional, the design consisted of a boiling black cloud. Gold flecks and lines curling in and out of the design defined the cloud's different parts and levels. Yet, even as the gold was very much part of the cloud, it was also something on its own. Its curving, sometimes jagged, lines followed the smooth muscles of Shin's chest, stomach, and arm, mechanically marking him as a man, yet clearly transforming him into something else, something more.

Toyama bowed deeply. "Then it is true. You areShin Yodama and you are a buso-senshi."A proud smile spread across the old man's face. "It is I who am honored by this visit."

Shin returned the bow, relishing the respectful tones in Toyama's voice. Buso-senshi—a MechWarrior. I am part of the bargain struck between the yakuza and Theodore Kurita in his drive to save the Draconis Combine. Because of the services of theKuroi Kiri in the war, we were given the honor of supplying the first of the new yakuza Mech-Warriors. I am one of those—one who fights for more than honor.

The sharp clap of Toyama's hands snapped Shin from his musings. "Come, Yodama-san, we will drink your sakeproperly and then I will show the wastrels working for me what a real yakuza is like. You are one of us now, one of the Ryugawa-gumi.Whatever you need, ask, for you embody the hope of the Dragon—and we will not let that hope die."

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