Rebellion (15 page)

Lockwood was almost whining. Draven glared at the manager in complete disgust. It was only luck that Sullivan didn't have a sidearm. Or perhaps it was bad luck. Lockwood's removal-even with a bullet in the head would only be a benefit. "We don't turn over our personnel to local justice," Draven said flatly. "That's company policy. And I think it's a good policy when you consider some of the rather primitive notions of justice that obtain in some of the places where we operate." His voice was flat and dispassionate. "I've seen cultures where hands get cut off for minor infractions. For all we know, the Abbadabbas might feel that the proper recompense for this Zaid person's death is to throw those responsible into the pit." Charlie Morris's gorilla-like countenance began to show the realization that he was in real trouble. Sullivan's face looked a bit pinched. "We have practical reasons for not backing down and giving our people away," Draven added. "The Elders are demanding more of a voice in running the mine, thanks to what they call your precipitate actions, Lockwood." "Mr. Draven, I can't believe you're paying any attention to these people." Lockwood sounded really desperate. "Oh, attention must be paid," Draven replied. "The company has a policy for dealing with recalcitrant governments." He smiled thinly. "We replace them. And since such operations involve military action, you may want to call for that SEAL you hired as security chief-Ballard, I believe his name is?" Draven glared at the other two men in the office. "I'm hoping you could recruit one capable subordinate. Daniel Jackson found himself still full of energy after the meeting of the Elders. Kasuf took the wired academic back to his house, where they were joined by Sha'uri. "Your husband did well," Kasuf told his daughter. "I expected no less," she said with a smile. "I'll judge my performance by its results," Daniel replied, still so full of nervous energy that his body quivered. "I think I hit Mr. Draven with my best shot. But did I convince him? That's the big question." Pushing his blond hair out of his face, Daniel began walking jerkily back and forth.

"What I had hoped-what we hoped-is that our STRIKE would force UMC to send someone to negotiate." "And it did," Kasuf said. "This Draven arrived." "Yes, but I was hoping he'd offer us a deal. Instead, all he did was attack us." "In our markets, the merchants never make an offer until they have listened to the customers and judged what they'll pay.

You gave the stranger much to think about, Daniel. Do not be surprised if he takes time for that thinking," Daniel raised his hand and bit the cuticle of his left thumb-a nervous habit he thought he'd conquered years ago. He winced as blood flowed. "I just wish we knew what Draven is thinking." Sha'uri shook her head in gentle incomprehension. "Why all this worry about one man's opinion?" "Draven represents much more than a single man. He's a troubleshooter-" Daniel went on quickly to explain the unfamiliar English idiom. "Draven acts as an agent for his company. His word can bind UMC-as it did when he arranged for the use of the mine. But his words to his superiors can also make things happen." He glanced at Kasuf. "I've told you often enough I paid little attention to the doings of corporations on my world. But even I had heard of UMC. They wield great power-more than some governments on my world." Daniel frowned unhappily. "And here they're not even hampered by considerations of public opinion. Only a handful of people on Earth know that Abydos even exists. And they're all bound to secrecy." One look, and Daniel could see that he'd lost his audience.

"Let me put it this way. Draven's relation to Lockwood is the same asRa to a Horus guard." Comprehension dawned for the Abydans. Powerful as a Horus guard might appear to a run-of-the-mill human, Ra represented infinitely more might-and danger. Kasuf gave Daniel a thoughtful frown.

"This Draven is king of the company?" "No," Daniel explained, "but he has the ear of the kings of the company. That's why it was so important for us to talk to him-to go over Lockwood's head." He sighed, realizing he had used another Englishism. "Imagine that the Elders had to make a decision on a matter of arbitration. But one side of the argument had arranged that only their case would be heard. That's the situation Lockwood had us in." "But now Draven has heard our side," Sha'uri said.

Daniel nodded. "The only other way would have been for me to go back to Earth." He glanced away from his wife's shocked face. "To plead our case we'd need someone who knew both English and the ways of my planet. The others who might be willing to help-O'Neil, Kawalsky, or Feretti-while they're our friends, they're also in the military. Their superiors have bound them by orders to stay here on Abydos." Daniel gave Sha'uri a lopsided grin. "I, on the other hand-well, their superiors know that I'm not one to take orders." Sha'uri had to smile. "Only too true, husband. Why, you wouldn't even take orders from Ra." "I can't take much credit for that," he replied. "Ra ordered me to kill my friends. It's lucky that you and Skaara were on hand to get me out of that situation-by helping us all to escape." He glanced around. "By the way, where is Skaara? I thought he'd be there for the fireworks at the council meeting." Kasuf shook his head. "My son is off practicing to be a warrior again. Something called 'night operations,' whatever they may be." "I hear that he's done great things with those boys," Daniel said.

"They may not have uniforms like Lockwood's or Keogh's men, but he seems to have turned them into an effective force." Daniel hesitated for a moment. "Maybe we should ask to see them in action. It might be time for the Elders to take formal notice of Skaara's militia." "You think we'll need warriors?" Kasuf asked in concern. "It's just that I've been talking with Skaara about his ambitions. They're bigger than this planet." "How so?" Kasuf asked. Dubiously, Daniel described his conversation with Skaara about the StarGates. Surprisingly, he found Kasuf in agreement with his son's proposed crusade. "I have often of late found myself thinking about our brothers in the stars," Kasuf admitted, 44 and what a great thing it would be to let them know that Ra was no more. How strange that my son has taken those thoughts and tried to put them to action." "Well, there won't be any action unless we find more StarGate coordinates, as I told him," Daniel said. "I don't see that happening unless we stumble across another treasure trove of ancient records." He still strode back and forth, as if he were lecturing a class. "Maybe it's just as well we don't have coordinates.

Because then Skaara would face the same problem I would if I wanted to go to Earth and plead our cause. The StarGate isn't ours anymore. It's in the hands of the military who are no longer led by our friend O'Neil." Daniel's hands bunched in his pockets. "Maybe I should have seen that coming. But with Keogh taking charge, it means for all practical purposes that the StarGate is now controlled by UMC." "They have a need for it," Kasuf said. "To what use would we put the StarGate?" "Suppose Draven hadn't come," Daniel pointed out. "If I wanted to go to UMC and tell them of Lockwood's misdeeds, do you think he'd give me free passage? Most likely, he'd refuse." He frowned. "Or, being the rat he is, Lockwood would allow me into the pyramid, where I would disappear. An 'accident' in transit." Daniel's face twisted.

"Even if I got to Earth, whom could I tell? I've explained how my colleagues thought I was too eccentric, to say the least. If I went public with a story about going to another world, I'd be put away as insane." He smiled gently as his wife began to protest. "Remember, to my people Ra is nothing but an ancient myth." Then Daniel's smile faded. "I don't know anyone at UMC. If I wanted to complain about Lockwood, I'd have to go to General West. You haven't met him. But my impression of this guy is that he's so twisty, he'd make Draven and Lockwood look straightforward. On this side of the StarGate, I learned that he uses people like tools. I was his translating tool. O'Neil was chosen to lead our expedition because he'd be West's wrecking tool, if necessary.

Should the StarGate seem dangerous, O'Neil was willing to blow it up."

Daniel glanced at Sha'uri again. "To tell you the truth, I wouldn't like to put us-or myself in West's hands. What if he's finished with this tool? If I went to talk to him, he might not let me back." "Don't worry yourself so much about possibilities," Kasuf said. "I feel that I've got to weigh them," Daniel protested. "It seems that, step by step, I've been leading you down a path to-I don't know what. I'm not a leader by nature, Kasuf. It worries me." "We can do no more until we hear a counter offer from Draven. Perhaps he will see the rightness of our concerns. We will get more of a voice in the running of the mine-and those who caused Zaid's death will be turned over for judgment." "I meant to ask about that," Daniel admitted. "What sort of punishment would those two guys face?" "It's not a question of punishment," Kasuf said. "Rather, it's a question of recompense. Zaid had a sick daughter. That girl no longer has a father to support her.

Were I to judge the case-which I can't, because I fear my dislike of Lockwood would cloud my faculties-I would have the men whose negligence caused Zaid's death take responsibility for his daughter. If they could have her cured, they should do so. If not, they should arrange that she be cared for." Daniel's eyebrows rose. "Your system of law sounds quite pragmatic. I was afraid that the penalty would be boiling in oil-something like that." Kasuf gave him a bitter smile. "The law of Ra-well, he did not rule by law but by whim. We could not live so."

Sha'uri saw her father smother a yawn. "It grows late," she said.

"Come, husband." As they walked the silent streets of Nagada, Daniel's nervous energy sent him striding ahead of his wife. Sha'uri took his arm, then looked at him in surprise. "Clashing with this Draven fellow has left you on edge. You're quivering like a mastadge sensing a sand storm." " I'm not afraid of the guy-just concerned," Daniel said. She gave him a teasing smile. "I didn't say you were trembling. Just that you're a-quiver like the difference between the night we were wed and-"

"That's not fair," Daniel complained. "With the language barrier, I didn't realize that was a wedding. When I did-" Sha'uri's smile grew broader. "Exactly." The two of them extended their strides to reach their quarters all the more quickly. The next day, Draven took over Lockwood's office, banishing him from his precious air conditioning.

Seated behind the manager's desk, the troubleshooter met with Vernon Ballard. "I'm extending feelers toward our counter force through the language teachers," Draven told the security man. "If all goes well, we'll contact them tomorrow evening." Night was always best for plotting, especially when one was plotting the downfall of a government.

Darkness brought out the best qualities in coup leaders. "You're sure these guys will overthrow the old men?" Ballard asked. "They're young.

I'm sure we can depend on them to be ... impetuous." The mercenary chief shook his head. "Just a matter of business for you, isn't it? If you can't get in from the front, you'll take the back door." "But we'll still need a key," Draven said. "And I expect you to provide it." "My great-grandad, he used to trade with the Indians," Ballard said. "There were two prime trade goods-whiskey and rifles." He smiled. "I don't see as how these folk are much in the way of drinkers. But those boys sure do love guns." Draven nodded. "But we don't want them getting their hands on guns that are too good." "Like Great-grandad and the Indians. These guys'll need something that will give them an edge over the local competition-but my boys will still have an edge over them." He squinted, thinking. "I might be able to get my hands on a couple of cases of Garand rifles.

1942 vintage-adapted for the Marines during Double-ya Double-ya Two.

Bolt-action guns, five rounds in the clip." "And fifty years behind today's technology," Draven said. "I like it." "Garand's a workhorse gun. They were using them back in 1903," Ballard said. "All the better," Draven smiled. "I didn't mention the best thing of all,"

Ballard said. "The Garand takes a .30-caliber bullet. Ammo for later guns is a lot smaller-more on the order of a .22, to fit more in the clip." "So they can't use our stocks-or the military's-for supply." "So, sir," Vernon Ballard drawled. "These boys want bullets, they'll have to go through us." "Head back through the StarGate and do your deal,"

Draven ordered. "I don't imagine it will cost us much. And I want a sample on hand for our meeting with our new friends-to-be." His smile was absolutely without mirth. "These primitives do love a big bang."

The THREE visitors from the mining camp entered Nagada disguised in homespun robes. Skaara was amused by the cloak-and-dagger aspect. What did the strangers think they were plotting at? Several of his followers had approached him the day before. Students from UMC's English classes had sought them out. The important man who'd arrived to speak with the Elders also wanted to speak with Skaara. But he wanted to do so in private. Skaara was unwilling to meet until one of his

lieutenants-another former shepherd who'd proven himself fighting the Horus guards-spoke to him about Draven. "He was smart enough to ask at our watch post for a guide to the city," the young man said. "Whatever he has to say, it might be interesting to hear. So, a rendezvous was set for tonight, starting with the entrance of the THREE disguised strangers-badly disguised, at least in Skaara's eyes. One of them simply towered over the average height of the city folk. When O'Neil and Kawalsky had pretended to be from Nagada, the tall lieutenant at least had had the sense to hunch a little. This tall man stood erect and almost strutting as he came through the gate. And what was in the long package he handled so carefully? The strangers had specified that the meeting place be secluded and noise-proof. Skaara had chosen a warehouse built against the walls. It had thick walls, but had been blasted by Ra's udajeets and not yet repaired. A couple of oil lamps provided wavering illumination as the strangers were ushered into an inner room. They threw back their cloaks to reveal the faces of Draven, Lockwood, and the head of Lockwood's guards-Ballard. "You lead the boy soldiers?" Lockwood spoke a mangled version of the local idiom. ...