Part 59 (1/2)

From there they were keyed directly into COLUMBUS.

A few seconds later, the required information was being bounced off the radio antenna of the orbiting signals aircraft and down into the memory bank of Steve's radio-knife.

The same information was fed simultaneously into Karlstrom's personal video-communications network, and a message announcing its presence was flashed on the screen nearest to wherever he happened to be. This was done solely to keep him informed of what was going on. Karlstrom had no need to vet the questions and answers before they were relayed to Steve. COLUMBUS, whose virtually limitless memory also contained the records of every Tracker from the First Family down to the humblest red-head, knew exactly what areas and levels of information 8902

Brickman, S.R. was allowed to access.

To Steve - who still knew nothing about the air link the rapidity and efficiency of the service was a constant source of amazement. It was also a timely reminder of the power possessed by the First Family.

There was no escaping them. No matter how far you ran, they would always have some way to reach you.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

Since the licence to build flying-horses had been granted to the Min-Orota family on the understanding that the Shogun's representatives were to be granted unhindered access to the Heron Pool, the Consul-General was duly informed of the decision to develop a system of rocket propulsion.

Consul-General Nakane Toh-s.h.i.+ba, whose interests were centred round the pleasures of the field and the flesh, reacted with only perfunctory interest as the news was read out to him, but when his letter reached Yoritomo's summer palace, the young Shogun was quick to spot the military potential of such a device.

Black powder had been manufactured for centuries, but up to now it had only been used for blasting in the mines and quarries, in rifle cartridges, and in the cannon that were employed - mainly by the Shogunate - to reduce the fortresses of rebellious domain-lords.

Designed for use in siege warfare, these large pieces were extremely difficult to manoeuvre, and in the decades of peace under the Toh-Yota, their use had been confined to delivering ceremonial salutes. Smaller cannon, such as those on Lord Yama-s.h.i.+ta's wheelboats, did exist, but in general artillery pieces were not favoured by the Iron Masters because of their limited mobility.

As might be expected of warriors imbued with the samurai ethos, they were temperamentally unsuited to long-range engagements with heavy-calibre weapons.

The clash of arms in close-quarter combat was viewed as the ideal type of warfare and, as a result, the outcome of most battles depended on the martial skills of fast-moving formations of mounted swordsmen and archers, and lightly armed foot-soldiers.

Rockets filled with black powder were employed by military formations as signalling devices, but their primary use was as harmless entertainment. Vast quant.i.ties of these, along with other types of firework, were used to enliven private and public celebrations and religious festivals, filling the night sky with bursts of coloured rain.

But if a rocket could be made powerful enough to hurl a flying-horse and its rider into the sky, it could also hurl an explosive charge into the heart of enemy formations encamped, say, on a steep hillside - or even beyond it.

And if such a rocket could be carried on the back of a fciot-soldier, then hundreds could be launched in a single volley, delivering a murderous hammer blow that would leave the enemy dazed and demoralised.

At which point...

Yes... This matter would have to be watched closely.

The message summoning the Herald Tos.h.i.+ro to appear before the Shogun reached him in the middle of a jovial dinner with Guard-Captain Kamakura. The good captain's wife and her five daughters had received Tos.h.i.+ro with their customary warmth and hospitality, lavis.h.i.+ng their attentions on him from the moment he stepped through the door, and the news that he had to depart without even completing the meal - the best of which was yet to come - threw the women of the family into disarray.

Tearful and downcast, they lined up to bend at the knee, bowing over his hand as they bade him farewell. Tos.h.i.+ro responded with the customary expressions of grat.i.tude, then apologised extravagantly for being unable to stay long enough to sample the delicacies they had prepared. Had he known of the nightcap that had been due to follow the dessert he might have felt a genuine twinge of regret. The second youngest and prettiest of the Kamakura girls had been chosen by her

ambitious mother to grace the Herald's bed. But once again her attempt to snare him had been frustrated by pressing affairs of state.

And time was pa.s.sing! Another year was on the wane. If the Herald eluded them much longer, the two eldest girls might have to be married off to low-born soldiers like her own well-meaning but slow-brained husband!

The news that field tests of the rockets were about to take place reached Tos.h.i.+ro soon after his return, at the Shogun's behest, to the domain of Lord Min-Orota.

Because Heralds acted as the confidential link between the Shogun and his regional officials, a suite of rooms in the Consul-General's residence was kept at their disposal. The estate, which to all intents and purposes was government territory, served Tos.h.i.+ro as a base from which he would often emerge in disguise to meet with agents or to mingle with the lower orders. But the residence was also a home in which he had been made welcome by Her Highness, the Lady Mis.h.i.+ko Tohs.h.i.+ba, Nakane's long-suffering wife, and her three children.