'Soon, sire,' replied n.o.buro. 'But first, there is another person I must bring to your attention." Without further explanation he unwrapped a piece of cloth to reveal the combat knife, and proceeded to tell the Herald about Steve's intervention to halt the slaughter of the camp women and his subsequent revelations.

Toshiro listened impa.s.sively, then reached out and touched the knife.

'Why do you show this to me?"

'Because it is more than a knife. It is a weapon filled with the power of the long-dogs. The . . ." n.o.buro hesitated '... power whose name we dare not speak."

The Dark Light...

Toshiro examined the knife cautiously. It was well crafted but the quality and sharpness' of the steel blade was markedly inferior to the swords and daggers produced in Ne-Issan. He offered it back to the ronin. 'Show me . . ."

n.o.buro released the hidden pressure catches and removed one of the wooden side-pieces revealing the device hidden inside. He had observed Steve's actions and had practised opening the hilt several times in order to avoid looking clumsy in front of the Herald. He had even taken out the stylus and used it to press various b.u.t.tons just as the cloud warrior had done, but he had not found out how to make the moving word-signs appear.

What n.o.buro had done - although he did not know it was to cancel the automatic broadcast of Steve's call-sign programmed by Side-Winder, plus the brief twelve-hourly transmissions Steve had keyed in himself.

The result was to take Steve completely off the air. For the last two days, the high-flying ears of the First Family had searched for his signal and drawn a blank. The last fix A'MEXICO had on him was in the area of Big D - the ronin's secret hide-out - but now, no one knew where he was, or what had happened to him.

Toshiro inspected the microcircuitry inside the handle but was none the wiser. 'Did the cloud warrior explain the purpose of this device?"

'Yes. It is like a courier pigeon without wings. He uses it to send messages through the skies - and also to receive the commands of his masters." n.o.buro shook his head in wonderment.

Toshiro also found the idea fascinating, but he was acutely conscious that they were playing with fire. The hidden contents of the knife made it a forbidden object whose power might destroy those who tampered with its mechanisms. He was obliged to take it with him in case the Shogun expressed a wish to see it, but its presence in the room made him feel uneasy. Toshiro got the ronin to show him how to release and replace the wooden sidepieces, then told him to wrap the knife up and place it in another room until they had concluded their business.

When n.o.buro returned he had the mysterious cloud warrior in tow. The tall dark-haired figure whose wrists were tied together went down on his knees before the Herald and bowed respectfully.

'Remove the mask,' said Toshiro, in j.a.panese.

n.o.buro untied the straw mask and adopted a cross legged position facing them, on the Herald's right.

Steve sat back on his heels and kept his eyes lowered until the black-clad figure addressed him. n.o.buro had given him a crash course on how to behave, stressing that this high-flyer did not owe him any favours and was apparently a stickler for protocol. Social inferiors and especially outlanders - did not sit in the company of samurai.

They knelt. Above all, they did not come on like Jack the Bear.

Toshiro studied Steve's patterned face and forearms with a mixture of suspicion and distaste. He had never been this close to a gra.s.s-monkey before. He paused, uncertain what tone to adopt in this situation. He thought over what the ronin had said about his extraordinary martial skills and his fearless responses when questioned and decided to address him in a firm, but not overbearing, manner. 'I understand you call yourself a cloud warrior. What is that exactly?"

Steve was surprised to hear the fluency with which his interlocutor spoke Basic. 'That's the name the Mutes give to the wingmen of the Federation. They are a special kind of soldier. Cream of the crop.

But instead of being mounted on horses like samurai, they ride into battle on flying machines called Skyhawks."

'Got it. So tell me - why would someone as special as that dress up as a gra.s.s-monkey?"

Steve hesitated.

'You find that a difficult question to answer?"

'No, sire, I was just wondering what words to use. You speak Basic amazingly well, but the system you operate here is so different to ours we may not share the same kind of vocabulary."

'Try me,' said Toshiro.

'The supreme ruler of your country is known as the Shogun. Is that correct?"

The Herald's throat tightened. He had not foreseen that the outlander might have the effrontery to ask him a question. He mastered his anger without changing his expression. 'Go on . . ."

'The supreme ruler of my country - the Amtrak Federation - is known as the President-General. I have the honour to be one of a small number of soldiers selected personally by him to carry out highly sensitive undercover a.s.signments. The unit, over which he exercises direct control, is known as AMEXICO. The AMtrak EXecutive Intelligence COmmando. Its operatives are known as mexicans. We are the eyes and ears of the President-General, and it is he who sent me here."

'In pursuit of two long-dogs, I believe -' Steve hit him with the big one. 'You are mistaken, sire. The couple I seek are not long-dogs.

They're Mutes." As he inclined his head, he saw the eyes of his masked questioner flicker with alarm.

Toshiro exchanged glances with the ronin. If what this outlander said about himself was true, then the position he held in his own country was more or less equivalent to Toshiro's own as a Herald to the Inner Court. If that was the case, it was little wonder that he had fought so well and spoken with such a.s.surance. But what he had just said about Clearwater and her companion could totally demolish the scenario he had constructed for the Shogun. And that could be very embarra.s.sing. A firm response was necessary.

He slapped his thigh and laughed mockingly. 'You spin a good story, cloud warrior, but I advise you to tread carefully. You come here uninvited, threaten to make war on us with fire from the sky if we do not hand over the two criminals you seek, and now you ask us to believe that, despite your appearance, you are really a long-dog, and those who look like long-dogs are gra.s.s-monkeys!" Steve bowed. It was obvious this guy hadn't heard about super-straights. 'Yes, sire, I know it sounds far-fetched, but that's the way it is. They are a special kind of Mute that you may not have come across before."

Toshiro's mouth tightened and went down at the corners. Was this possible? Hhhawwwwh! This conversation was taking a dangerous turn.

He would have to find some excuse to get rid of the ronin so that he could talk privately with the cloud warrior. It was vital that this disturbing piece of news did not reach the Shogun's ears until he had had an opportunity to prepare the ground.

'Can you prove you are not a gra.s.s-monkey?"

'Yes." Steve indicated n.o.buro. 'I gave the samurai-captain my radio-knife."

Toshiro nodded. 'Yeah, I've seen it,' he said flatly.

'The Plainfolk do not possess such devices. Neither do the Sons of Ne-Issan. Only the Federation has the knowledge and the power to create these things. I can show you how it works."

And who knows, maybe this time I might get Karlstrom on the other end of the line. That would rock them back on their heels.

'The device is of no interest to us."

Steve found his reply bewildering, but then the ronin had also shown a certain reluctance when presented with the knife. Steve recalled Side-Winder telling him the d.i.n.ks didn't have electricity. Okay.

Neither did the Mutes. But these guys were different: they were into making things in a big way. They should have been falling over themselves to find out about it but instead they gave the impression they couldn't care less. Maybe they were just scared of new ideaslike the M'Calls not wanting the Iron Masters' rifles. Never mind, if he couldn't blind this guy with science he still had a couple of cards to play. 'This skin colour comes off. But I need some water and some leaves that are in my bag."

Toshiro looked across at the ronin. n.o.buro got up and left the room.

As the screen door slid shut behind him, Toshiro said, 'What else do you know, cloud warrior?"

Steve raised his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then decided to play his hunch. 'I know that you and the samurai-captain serve the Shogun and that there are those who seek his downfall. Lord Yama-s.h.i.ta is one, his friend Min-Orota is another."

Toshiro's eyes gave nothing away. 'Go on..."

'If I'm right, maybe you and I can do business."

'What kind of business?"

'I was sent here to take out the Mute who is building flying machines for Lord Min-Orota."

' "Take out". you mean kill?"