Cumberland
Caripare
Irece Prefecture
Draconis Combine
30 July 3152
"I do not like this, Po. Not at all"
Po Ding remained motionless. "Of course you do not. We are meeting with people we were fighting just yesterday and hoping that we can turn them into allies in order to survive against the machinations of a crazed Clan attacker."
Maxwell Ma laughed. "You have such a way of making things better. You know what I mean. We are going to them, it is most uncomfortable. I am not well versed in Kuritan manners."
The air was stale inside the Maxim hover transport as they rode toward the appointed location. There were no windows to look out, as they were riding in a military transport, but Po knew they were nearing their destination in the nearby city of Cumberland, where Kuritan Military headquarters were located.
"Do not worry Max, I highly doubt that the Sho-sa will subject us to a tedious tea ceremony if that is what you are worried about."
Max shrugged. "It is more than that. They are so uptight at times. It's as if one misstep will derail everything"
Po nodded. "Just follow my lead. People probably say much the same about us when they are forced to meet with us. You have been to court on Sian before with me, you know your way around these things. Treat it like that and everything will be fine."
He felt the transport slowing.
"What if there are surprises?"
"There will be no surprises. And besides, you like surprises."
By now the transport had come to a halt. Two House Po infantrymen opened the door and checked to make sure everything was safe. They signaled to Po, who rose from his seat, followed by Max.
They stepped out into the cool air. It was summer time here on Caripare, and the harvest was in full swing. The air still smelled fresh, not like some industrialized city where smog might dominate. In spite of being in a city, Po could look out and see the vast plains of grains for which this world was famous. For which they had initially come to raid it.
The streets were clear of citizens, the Friendly Persuaders of the local police had seen to that, and a few of them were visible, as were a few soldiers. Their path was clearly marked, leading up to a large building which obviously normally served as some government building on this world in peacetime. For now, the Sword of Light had commandeered it for their command center, and it was lightly fortified with a scattering of troops at all the right positions to dissuade anyone from causing trouble.
Not that anyone would cause trouble on a Combine world. Po had not visited the Combine before, but he was familiar enough with the rigid culture of the Draconis Combine to know that much.
They made their way up a set of stairs at the front of the building, leading to two large glass doors which were open and manned by soldiers. There was a checkpoint of some kind, but it had been abandoned and Po and Max were waved through toward a large set of wooden doors.
These doors were guarded, and he paused as they approached. One of the guards opened the door slightly and slid inside, then swung the door closed again.
"Warm welcome." Max said softly.
"You would have preferred a parade?"
"You know I would not. "
Po nodded. The door swung open and the guard walked up to Po. "You are expected."
Po nodded and walked forward, and Max reluctantly followed him in. The room was dominated by a large holotable in the center, which currently displayed the spinning world of Caripare as a large globe. Tiny lights could be seen at both the Zenith and Nadir Jumppoints, as well as a few triangles of light throughout the system. One was surrounded by a highlighted circle pulsing a bright red, obviously denoting the inbound enemy vessel.
Surrounding the table was a cluster of officers, each clad in traditional DCMS uniforms and several sporting the twin swords of a Combine samurai. As Po entered, they all focused their attention on him. He was clad in his green ceremonial warrior robes rather than a traditional uniform, as was Max who walked dutifully behind him.
Po Scanned the crowd of officers as he slowly approached, He read a mixture of confusion, contempt, and disdain on their faces. No doubt they were not particularly happy to be meeting with a Capellan Mercenary, and they did not bother to hide their feelings.
As he reached the center of the room and came to stop at the empty side of the table, his eyes came to rest on what he thought was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It was not that she was physically attractive, Po had been at Court most of his life and dealt with courtesans and all manner of beautiful people and this did not affect him. Rather it was her entire demeanor. She carried herself with an incredible grace and poise that was palpable. She was dressed in the uniform of a DCMS Officer, adorned with the rank of Sho-sa and carrying the twin swords that marked her as a samurai and a graduate of one of Kurita's prestigious academies.
He waited a moment for his pulse to steady once more before he spoke. "I am Po Ding. Shao-zhang of House Po. I am honored by your welcome, and trust that we can reach some amicable agreement in our fight against a mutual aggressor." He bowed his head slightly in respect to the woman.
One of the officers made a comment in Japanese and several of the surrounding officers smiled slightly at his comment. Po was fluent enough in Japanese to know what the man was saying, but he made no visible response to the man's insult.
The woman rebuked the officer with a quick word, and he seemed suitably chastised, if not satisfied. "Apologies, Shao-zhang for the comportment of my officer. He forgets his manners. We are honored to have you as a guest here, and we too look forward to seeking an agreeable settlement here."
Po nodded respectfully to the Sho-sa. He then turned his gaze slightly to the officer that had insulted them. He spoke up in his best, if somewhat slow and imperfect Japanese. "If one holds a key, one may infer the existence of a lock. Do not, however, assume that yours is the only key."
The man was taken aback, clearly shocked at Po's use of traditional Japanese. It took him a moment to steady himself before he responded, this time in English, addressing himself to his commander. "This man speaks in riddles. It is as I said, Sho-sa, Capellans are not to be trusted."
The woman turned her head ever so slightly in the man's direction, keeping her eyes locked on Po. "And yet with his riddles, he rebukes you for your ignorance, as well as your lack of manners. I will suffer no more on this, Tai-i Hiroshi."
She nodded almost imperceptibly to Po. "My officer, though he makes the point in a crude manner, raises a valid point. Just yesterday you were here as our enemy. Why should we proceed on the basis of trust now?"
Po did not take his eyes off of the woman. "I have not hidden anything of what I am. I came here to raid on a lawful mercenary contract, duly bonded, from the Alyina Mercantile League to secure an amount of your high-yield corn seed. I do so for the benefit of their people, with the only tools available to me as a humble warrior. I hide nothing of my intent." He paused for a moment and looked at the assembled officers around him before returning his gaze to Sho-sa Takahashi. "It is unfortunate that we battle here in the sight of such beauty, this world a gem as it is. I can appreciate that beauty, and would make no move to stain it's honor but that which is required of me by the duties of my contract."
He paused once again, trying to read this woman through her eyes, but finding himself still unable to gauge her intent. This is no time for idle infatuations, Po. "I would also point out that our opponent, who is known to me, also makes no attempts to hide her intention. She is here to destroy. To Destroy me, you, and anything else she wishes. It is the taint, this Mongol Doctrine that so sullied the Jade Falcons that also clouds the actions of the Hell's Horses. We can only deal with the situation that is dealt to us. On this, we must focus and agree. The Horses must be defeated. I offer that cooperation is the best way forward on this matter."
Takahashi let her gaze wander for the first time from Po Ding to that of the officers gathered around her. "There is wisdom in your words. Make your case and we shall see."
Po nodded to her, turned and nodded at Max, and then began.
It took almost three hours of arguing and debate, mostly with Po having to defend himself to the officers around him. Takahashi would wade into the discussion only for brief periods, letting her junior officers make their attacks, allowing Po to handle their objections, before bringing a voice of reason to the debate. It was clear to Po that she was in favor of cooperation, but it was equally clear that her staff were not on board, and she was going to rely on him to make the case.
And ultimately, he did. By the time he walked out of the room and the doors closed behind him, he had secured an agreement to work together to defeat the Horses. Now they simply had to make the alliance work in the practical sense. He was under no illusions that it would be easy, but this Jade Takahashi was someone that he could work with.
He closed his eyes as the door slid shut behind him When he opened them, Max was standing beside him, waiting. "Well?"
Po shrugged. "I told you, no surprises."
Max smiled. "Oh no. I am not speaking now to Master Po, I am speaking to Po. You know what I am talking about."
Po began walking towards the exit, and Max followed him. "You did well. There were no surprises. We got what we want. Now we must make it work."
Max shook his head. "I am not playing your game Po. You know that I am talking about the Sho-sa."
Po nodded. "We are lucky to have found an ally in her. Most Combine officers would be more rigid and perhaps harder to work with, but I feel as though we can trust her."
Max walked ahead of Po and turned so that he could walk backwards and face his friend as he smiled. "And you have the hots for her."
Po made no change in his expression. "Whatever you are talking about is pointless. There is a mission to focus on. The Sho-sa and I will both do our duties, and with luck, we will defeat the Horses."
"In all things, balance, Master Po. Is this not what you preach every day? Well when was the last time you liked someone like that?"
"This is pointless Max."
"It is not pointless Po. You have the weight of the entire House upon you day and night. Allow yourself some simple pleasures now and again."
Po raised his eyebrow. "Simple pleasures?"
"Yes. Allow yourself to be a person and just like someone else. It doesn't matter that it might never happen. It matters that you let yourself feel whatever it is that you are feeling. What would Nyxie say if she were here? After all the lessons you have given her about dealing with emotion and embracing things. Master Po is not immune to his own advice."
Po allowed himself a slight smile. "You are hopeless, Max. Even as a child, you were always hopeless."
Max laughed. "And look where it has gotten me! From living on the streets to being Lien-zhang of a great group of warriors with my best friend. I'm not saying you have to run off and start a family with this girl. I'm saying you're allowed to like her. Don't make things harder than they have to be."
Po put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Things are always harder than they have to be. For now, we have a battle to win, a battle for our survival. After that, we can talk about 'the girl'. Are you satisfied?"
Max smiled wryly. "For now, Po. For now."
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