Thomas Harlan
House of Reeds
A Note Concerning Measurements
Though her later victories rendered the full terms of the Lisbon Accords moot, the Mйxica Empire abides by the common set of weights and measures set forth by the Accords in A.D. 1724. As a result, distances are in kilometers, weights in kilograms and so on.
From the Annals of Cuauhtitlan
In the beginning was the First Sun,
4-Water was its sign;
It was called the Sun of Water.
For water covered the world,
Leaving nothing but the dragonflies above
And the fishy men below.
The Second Sun was born,
4-Jaguar was its sign;
This was called the Sun of the Jaguars.
In this Sun the heavens collapsed,
So that the Sun could not move in its course.
The world darkened, and when all was dark
Then the people were devoured.
The Giants perished, giving life to the Third Sun.
4-Rain was its sign;
It was called the Sun of Rain.
For this Sun rained fire from bleeding eyes
And the people were consumed.
From the torrent of burning stones,
The Fourth Sun was born.
4-Wind was its sign, and it was called the Sun of Wind.
In this Sun, all which stood on the earth was carried
Away by terrible winds.
The people were turned into monkeys,
And scattered from their cities into the forest.
Now, by sacrifice of the divine liquid, the Fifth Sun was born.
Its sign was 4-Motion.
As the Sun moved, following a course,
The ancients called it the Sun of Motion.
In the time of this Sun, there were
Great earthquakes and famine,
No maize grew, and the gods of the field
Turned their eyes from the people.
And all the people grew thin, and perished.
The Lord of Heaven cut the heart from his living son,
And so was born the Sixth Sun, which sustains
The universe with infinite light.
Its sign was 4-Flint.
Those who watch the sky say this Sun
Will end in annihilation, when the flint-knife
Severs the birthcord of the Sun, plunging all
Into darkness, where the people will
Be cut to pieces and scattered.
This is the time of the Sixth Sun…
Contents
A Note Concerning Measurements
Dramatis Personae
An Imperial Light Cruiser
Drowned Venice, Six Months Later…
Tadmor Station
Jagan
Landing Field Six
A Nondescript House
The Imperial Development Board Warehouse Sobipurй Spaceport
The Petrel Estate
The Cornuelle
The Imperial Legation
The Horumkel Baths
The Petrel Townhouse
A Nondescript House
Up-River
The Palace of The Kujen
A Nondescript House
Takshila
The Gemmilsky House
Parus
Within the House of Reeds
The Cornuelle
The Gemmilsky House
Takshila
Parus
Above the Sobipurй-Parus Railway
Takshila
Parus
The Fane of the Kalpataru
The Captain's Launch
The House of Reeds
Near the Boulevard of Stepping Cranes
The Junction of Provincial Route Twenty-Two and the Railway
A Sub-Basement
The District of Open Eyes
The Gemmilsky House
Aboard the Captain's Launch
Parus
The Cornuelle
Near Rural Highway Two-Fifteen
The Southbound Express
An Undisclosed Location
The Imperial Legation
The Courts of the Morning
The Main Train Station
Aboard the Cornuelle
Near the Train Station
The Cornuelle
The Sobipurй Bus Terminal, Parus
The Petrel Townhouse
Aboard the Starliner Asuka
Appendix
Dramatis Personae
The Imperials
Tezozуmoc, a Mйxica prince of low repute. The youngest son of the reigning Mйxica Emperor Ahuitzotl
Master Sergeant Lorne Colmuir, a Skawtish Eagle Knight, the prince's bodyguard
Sergeant Leslie Dawd, a Skawtish Eagle Knight, and the prince's other bodyguard
Yacatolli,Tlacateccatl (Colonel) of the 416th Arrow Knight regiment (motorized) – the "Tarascan Rifles"
The Crew of The Imn Henry R. Cornuelle
Chu-sa (Commander) Mitsuharu Hadeishi, captain
Sho-sa (Lieutenant Commander) Susan Kosho, executive officer
Thai-i (Senior Lieutenant, weapons officer) Patrick Hayes
Thai-i (Senior Lieutenant, engineering) Isoroku Oushi
Sho-i (Midshipman, communications) Daniel Smith
Thai-i (Senior Lieutenant, Marine detachment) Huйmac
Gunso (Sergeant) "Hork" Fitzsimmons, Imperial Marines
Heicho (Corporal) Felix, Imperial Marines
Captain's Steward Kusaru Yejin
Helsdon, chief machinist's mate
Imperial Citizens On Jagan
Itzpalicue (Skirt-of-Knives), agent of the Mirror Which Reveals The Truth
Mrs. Greta Hauksbee Petrel, wife of the Imperial Resident on Jagan
Soumake, Imperial attachй in charge of Antiquities, Jagan
Johann Gemmilsky, Polish expatriate, riding lizard trader
The Honorable Chartered Company
Doctor Gretchen Anderssen, xenoarchaeologist, mother of three
David Parker, Company Pilot, assigned to Anderssen's analysis team
Magdalena, Hesht communications and systems expert, also assigned to Anderssen's analysis team
The Jehanan
Bhrigu,kujen of Parus, lord of the Seven Rivers
Bhazuradeha, a poetess, client of the kujen Bhrigu
An Imperial Light Cruiser
The Hittite Sector, Beyond the Edge of
Imperial Space
Chu-sa Mitsuharu Hadeishi, captain of the Henry R. Cornuelle, was sitting in the ruins of the senior officers' wardroom when his personal comm chimed. The thin little Nisei gentleman set down his cup of tea on a utility table covered with departmental readiness reports and tapped his comm-band live.
"This is Hadeishi."
"Bridge, kyo. We've picked up a Fleet message drone on long-range scan." The ensign standing third-watch communications didn't bother to hide his anticipation. The Cornuelle had been out in the wasteland of stars beyond the frontier for nearly nine months. The tachyon relay on the Imperial Mйxica Navy Astronomer-class light cruiser wasn't quite good enough to punch through to the big receivers at Ctesiphon Station or Tadmor. Unrepaired battle damage to the ship's systems had further degraded their ability to correspond in realtime with Fleet. The prospect of fresh news from home would be very welcome to everyone aboard. Though we're not suffering cabin fever, not yet.
Hadeishi felt the crew had fallen into a good routine over the last six to seven weeks. Everyone was still sharp – no one was making silly mistakes or starting fights – and there was a certain confidence in the crisp way they'd dealt with the last two 'incidents.' The Megair weren't used to Imperial patrols ranging so far out from the frontier.