The roads collectively referred to as the Gentryways went up into a series 
of hills, which contained one of the most affluent communities on Doozy 
Sack. Strategically situated between two Ports it was the home of 
Plutocrats, merchants and of course Mayors. Akane was always impressed when 
she entered the Gentryways proper. Compared to the Rimsides, the streets 
were crowded for a clear weather day. Since nearly everyone in the 
Gentryways could afford appropriate gear, there was little reason to fear 
the Star. And what gear! Akane felt shoddy just looking at it.

The term Mayor was a bit of a misnomer. Mayors on Doozy Sack were not 
elected officials. It was the popular euphemism for the heads of certain 
families and organizations. Bribes and corpses counted the Mayors votes.  
For the past few centuries humanity lived on Doozy Sack, the Peace Robots 
had done little about the Mayors hold over the Rimsides. Whether they 
tolerated or ignored the Mayors' path to ascendancy will never be known. If 
they took anyone it was generally the dumb ones and so the Mayors prospered 
and became respectable.

The Kunous were one of the four families that held control of the areas 
directly around the Lazy Fair in a very delicate balance. Who knew what 
would happen if even one of the houses fell.

The Kunou townhouse stood near the western end of the Gentryways and had a 
very good view of the Lazy Fair and the southernmost parts of the Rimsides. 
There were houses that were more impressive then the Kunou's but certainly 
not many. Everything was made quite lavishly out of wooden logs no doubt 
imported at great expense.  A huge tribal mask topped the huge doorway. Two 
guards stood at both sides of the door.

"Akane Tendou of Heaven's Way Freeport to see the Lord Mayor Kunou." Akane 
said formally. One of the guards nodded and led her and Ranko into the 
Townhouse.

The house steward greeted them at the door of the conference room. He was a 
little man with buckteeth and whiskers who covered his head with a brown 
hood.

"Hello, Mistress Akane, it is good to see you all grown up. Congratulations 
on your coming of age. I hope to see more of you. I am the Sasuke the chief 
Steward of this house. I apologize for the delay but the Lord Mayor is 
unavailable. Young Master Kunou is handling affairs today."

Akane somehow managed to hide her frustration, though it didn't really 
surprise her. The Lord Mayor had been "Unavailable" for almost a year now. 
Tatewaki, his son had been handling most of the family affairs, at least the 
ones that required a public face.

"Ah, Master Kunou is available. You may enter now," the steward said opening 
the door to the conference room.

The conference room was a long, ornate, chamber with the walls decorated 
with murals of large fierce looking fish. There were twelve guards dressed 
in the manner of what Nabiki had once described as Samurai. (Some sort of 
elite warrior caste from the Old World that Kunou claimed he was descended 
from. Having heard the thick freetrader patois the Lord Mayor, his father, 
spoke in, Akane doubted his claim very much.

Tatewaki Kunou sat at the end of the chamber finishing his audience with his 
last client. He looked up to see Akane waiting. He dismissed the client with 
a gesture. "Ah the fair Akane Tendou here all by herself. For what do I owe 
this honor?" He asked.

Akane bowed in submission and approached. "Heaven's Way Freeport sends me to 
provide this months payment my lord." She gestured to Ranko who came forward 
with the satchel that contained the payment.

"Ah, a fair scarlet flower. Is she part of the tribute as well?" Kunou 
asked. Ranko stared at him in shock.

"No, my Lord. Ranko serves me alone." Akane said dryly.

Kunou shrugged. "It is well. It is unseemly for one such as I to own such 
a," he paused, "but Akane Tendou. I see that the rumors are true and now of 
age you are available."

"We just require your receipt and we will be on our way My Lord." Akane 
said, trying to keep her composure.

"No, this can not be, " Kunou said, getting up from his chair. "The fair, 
sweet, unplucked Akane Tendou plays hard to get. To arouse the passions of 
those that admire her from afar and it indeed works. But it is unseemly to 
ignore the advances of one as noble and prestigious as I. Akane Tendou, I 
would court you!"

He rushed towards Akane with his arms outstretched. There was a loud 
smacking noise and he went sprawling. Ranko stood in front of her mistress 
with her fist still outstretched. For a moment there was silence.

It was broken immediately as all 12 guards drew their weapons in unison. 
Akane could smell the ozone, as the zapsticks activated, and hear the 
crackle of electricity. She knew zapsticks were non-lethal, but painful, and 
too much exposure could short-circuit every neuron in your brain.

She stepped closer to Ranko who looked as if she was ready for anything. 
Akane wasn't too sure. "Get ready P-chan," she whispered. The little black 
piglet nodded as its eyes began to glow.

"What vitality." Akane turned to see Kunou getting up and rubbing his jaw. 
"What energetic beauty." He continued, ignoring everything around him except 
for Ranko.

Akane watched as the guards backed away. Relieved that she was not going to 
get hurt, but she was far from out of danger. She grabbed Ranko by the 
shoulder and forced her down to the ground as she herself bowed low before 
Kunou. "Please take pity on this lowly one my lord! She shouted staring at 
the floor if I had her trained better you would not be harmed as such. She 
will not forget this day! When I am through with her she will beg your 
forgiveness!" Ranko hit her head against the floor in a forced kow tow.

"No, no that is quite unnecessary." Kunou said, "to have the audacity to 
strike this august form . . . I must have her. Akane Tendou, name your price 
for the pigtailed girl."

'You flatter me with your forgiveness, my lord, but my useless unworthy 
servant one is hardly fit for the likes of you I would do you a disservice 
to offer her to you." Akane pressed Ranko into another bow. Hoping that 
Kunou would not see her gritted teeth.

"Nonsense, I will give you five thousand credits for her." Kunou said, 
producing a handful of cash.

"Oh my lord, how I wish that I could indeed give her to you as a gesture of 
good faith but bondservants are the property of the house hold. You will 
have to discuss the matter with my sister, Kasumi" Akane said trying to buy 
more time. She was saved as the steward returned with the receipt. Akane 
took it with a nod of thanks and pulled Ranko up by the arm. "A pleasant day 
to you my Lord, I hope to see you again soon.  She turned and walked slowly 
out of the conference room dragging Ranko behind her.

Kunou sat down and watched the two girls leave. "They are a feisty pair 
aren't they Sasuke he said still rubbing his jaw."

"Oh yes most definitely young master." The Steward answered.

"And yet she flees from the glory of my presence. Am I to overwhelming?"

"Oh I wouldn't say that Young Master, but young ladies are timid. Perhaps 
your forwardness scared them. Perhaps an indirect approach would be more 
appropriate."

"No Sasuke I disagree. Watch how the tigress protects the doe. They think 
they are safe. If they knew just what a hard and cruel world this is they 
will run too me for my comfort and protection."

"I will get too it right away, Young Master"

				# # # # # ## # # #

Akane breathed a sigh of relief as they exited. "Why in the void did you do 
that?" She asked turning to Ranko.

"Mistress?"

"Why did you hit him? In his own house? Did you want to get us killed? Did 
you want him to take his revenge on my entire family?"

"He attacked you, Mistress. I thought you were in danger."

"I'm only going to tell you once, Ranko. You will know I am in danger when I 
shout 'Help. Ranko. I'm in danger.' Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"Good. Now, come along we've wasted quite enough time already. I want to get 
home as soon as possible. Kasumi's letting me cook." Akane turned and walked 
to the cab.

Ranko stood for a moment watching her mistress walking. Even though Kasumi 
had told her to ignore Akane in these areas it still felt like a conflict of 
interest. "Kawaikune." She muttered under her breath. She covered her mouth 
in shock. She had no idea where that had come from.

					* * * * * * * * * *

'Thomas Paine," Tobimaro Mizukoji slurred slamming his fifth whiskey onto 
the bar, was an Asshole! Fair weather patriot indeed!"

The Glass House Saloon was a popular establishment at the west corner of the 
Lazy Fair. It was known for its large mirrors, that gave the place a 
wonderfully bright and open feeling even for its size, and a wide selection 
of exotic beverages at a reasonable price. Normally, at this time of day, it 
was very crowded. However during clear weather it was empty except for a few 
customers. Mizokoji had come here after escaping the angry mob and was now 
quite drunk.

"How dare they!" he asked the empty room yet again. "All the Enforcers have 
to do is make the smallest display of power and everyone betrays me! They'll 
pay for this by all of this by damn, trust me they will pay for this."

Polly, the Tengu bartender and owner of the GlassHouse Saloon, bobbed his 
head in a gesture of understanding and sympathy. Business had been slow 
today. Clear weather was always like this. All potential customers, who 
could, stayed home, rather then risk the dangers of being roasted by the 
Star. But this male human was making up for lost revenue. Drinking, ranting 
and then drinking some more. As long as it didn't interfere with other 
customers, self-pity was very good for business.

Polly couldn't help wonder though. From the Gossip he had heard (and Polly 
loved gossip) the male human had spoken out against the governors and had 
stood up to a Peace Robot! This human had to be a slow goer Polly thought to 
himself, using one of the less flattering terms for the human first 
generation. There were rumors that that the first generation of human's had 
traveled through the void in suspended animation. Could the cold storage 
have killed their brain cells? It would explain much. Only slowgoers 
constantly forgot what the Governors were capable of.

Polly found human behavior constantly fascinating. He had found that running 
a bar was the perfect method to dabble in his hobby of xeno-sociology. There 
were things he would never understand, of course. For example, why humans 
referred to the trrYreeayllK(phrik)Kak!  as Tengu at all. Polly was in the 
debt of one female human who was willing to explain as she served him 
carrion Okonomiyaki. It still made very little sense as he had studied the 
picture she had given him. He saw no similarity other then the black 
feathers and the beak. And the description of the creature in the book, 
"Mischievous wind spirits?" the trrYreeayllK(phrik)Kak! were an honorable 
and solid people. Polly had categorized it into his collection of "cultural 
eccentricities" and filled another glass with whiskey.

"This one quite sure they not intend it, Kak! That how this one hear it, 
Kak!" Polly commented. "Fear, Kak! is most powerful motivator."

"That is not good enough!" The Mizukoji shouted. "They let their weaknesses 
get the better of them look at them they hide!"

"Is the male human sure? Phrik! It clear weather outside, Kak! Why one want 
to burn when they has shade? Phrik? Those humans over there is away from 
home too, Kak! Is they brave? Kak!" Polly gestured towards at his only other 
customers as he shook his head in a symbol of interrogation and query.

The Anarchist turned to look at the people that Polly mentioned. There were 
two other patrons at the bar right now. A man who sat in a private booth and 
a woman sitting at a table near the bar. The man wore a wide brim hat that 
hid most of his face in shadow. The rest was covered in a scrubby beard. He 
sipped his drink as he eyed the door to the saloon.

Another man entered and sat down next to the bearded man. He was young and 
handsome, dressed in the manner of one of Kunou's bodyguards. He casually 
fingered the weapon, resting on his lap, as he looked around the room. 
Neither said anything. The bearded man lit a cigarette. The silence was 
broken as Polly leaped over the bar to get the newcomers order.

Mizukoji turned in irritation as Polly's long feathered tail brushed against 
his face by accident. It brought his attention back to the woman sitting 
alone at the table. She had taken off her clear weather robes revealing a 
nice figure but she still wore the usual wide brimmed hat. She nursed a 
drink and appeared to be crying.

Mizukoji bolted down his whiskey, and smiled. "Looks like there are people 
who need help after all," he said to Polly who had returned to get the man's 
order and temporarily perched on top of the bar.

Polly bobbed his head up and down in an expression of agreement and 
conspiracy. Humans may not have sensible hormonal cycles but their mating 
rituals were endlessly fascinating. "Go and catch her, Kak! You carnivorous 
mammal, Kak! You, Kak!" Polly said trying his best to emulate what he had 
heard one patron refer to as male bonding.

Mizukoji got up and walked over to her table feeling more then a little 
concerned. "Is something the matter?" He asked.

"Go away," the girl mumbled not even looking up.

"No, you look as if you've had some trouble. I want to help," Mizukoji said 
sincerely.

"No one can help me." She burst into tears. Finishing her drink. Mizukoji 
put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't touch me!" She hissed, glaring right at 
him revealing her face for the first time. Once it had been a pretty face. 
Now it was awful. A leather patch covered what was once her right eye. It 
did not cover the terrible damage that had been done to the rest of her. 
There was no way it could have been an accident. Long scars covered half of 
her face it was like looking into a shattered mirror. Whoever had done this 
had used a knife and had been very creative.

Mizukoji jumped back in shock. "Who did this to you?" he demanded.

The girl blinked with her one good eye. "It doesn't matter, there's nothing 
you can do about it. There's nothing anyone can do about it! The Mayors' 
princelings will always get away with whatever they want. They're rich 
enough."

"Princelings?" Mizukoji asked almost shouting. For the son of a Mayor to 
abuse the power he wrongfully held was anathema. But the knowledge did not 
help the Anarchist at all. Most of the local Mayors had sons he had gone to 
school with some of them. "Which one? Mendou? Kunou?"

"Sanzenan. Pretty as god and twice as evil Mikado Sanzenan," she sobbed. "He 
wanted me, 'a mere kiss' he claimed. I refused so he grabbed he and he, he�" 
She broke down again, unable to speak through her sobbing.

"Sanzenan, typical," Mizukoji muttered.  " Mikado Sanzenan was one of the 
princelings that he didn't know but he had heard of the young playboy's 
quest to " 'kiss' a thousand girls" but he had never imagined that even the 
Mayors would stoop to this level to get what they wanted. "This is 
unacceptable," he stammered. "Why didn't the Peace Robots stop him?"

"Peace Robots?" the girl sneered. "The mayors own the Peace Robots! The 
Governors sell them wholesale. They serve anyone rich enough and step on 
anyone else. Peace Robots watched as he. . . . as he.." She broke into tears 
yet again. Shaking uncontrollably.

"Well if they won't do anything." Mizukoji growled. "Someone must. The 
Mayors must pay. That little bastard can not be allowed to live!"

"No you can't! They'll kill you!" the girl shouted. "Give up it's pointless. 
You can't do anything!"

"That is what they want you to believe!" Mizukoji shouted. "I may be killed 
but if I do nothing I have already lost. The Mayors and their masters will 
fall! Someday, soon, truth, justice and anarchy will prevail!" He turned and 
stormed out of the Bar.

"Don't go! Please!" The girl screamed. But it was too late he was gone. She 
regained her composure and removed her wide brimmed hat and ran her hair 
through her short brown hair. The two other patrons got up from their booth. 
The clean cut one walked to the door and watched the Anarchist run down the 
street. He nodded to the bearded one who went to the girl's table and handed 
her a ornate Starmask.

"Weren't you laying it on a little thick, Mistress?" he asked.

Nabiki smiled as she peeled off her scar tissue. "Jigen, Jigen, Jigen. After 
all I've taught you. If you want someone to believe you, lie loudly."



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