I'd be very surprised if it wasn't news of our being in orbit that brought you back here in that aircraft just now. You wouldn't have messaged ahead, telling your children and able-bodied adults to scatter and hide?"
"No," said Amanda. "I didn't; and no one here gave any such direction."
"Then maybe you'll explain why they're all gone?"
"Do you want a few hundred reasons?" Amanda said. "It's the end of summer. The men are gone. This town is just a supply and government center. Who's young and wants to hang around here all day? The younger women living in town are up visiting at the various homesteads where they've got friends and there's some social life. The babies and younger children went with their mothers. The older children are off on team exercises."
"Team exercises?"
"Military team exercises," said Amanda, bluntly and with grim humor, watching him. "Otherwise known as 'creeping and crawling'. This is a world where the main occupation, once you're grown, is being a mercenary soldier. So this is our version of field trips. It's good exercise, the youngsters get some academic credit for it when they go back to school in a few weeks, and it's a chance for them to get away from adult supervision and move around on their own, camping out."
Dow frowned.
"No adult supervision?"
"Not a lot," said Amanda. "There's one adult-called an "Ancient", with each team, in case of emergencies; but in most cases the team makes its own decision about what kind of games it'll play with other teams in the same area, where it'll set up camp, and so forth."
"These children," Dow was still frowning, "are they armed?"
"With real weapons? They never have been."
"Are they likely to get any wild notions about doing something to our occupying forces - "
"Commander," said Amanda, "Dorsai children don't get wild notions about military operations. Not if they expect to stay Dorsai as adults."
"I see," said Dow. He smiled slowly at her. "All the same, I think we better get them and the able-bodied adults back into town here, where we can explain to them what the situation is and what they should or shouldn't do. Also, there's a few of your other people who're conspicuous by their absence. For example, where are your medical people?"
"We've got one physician and three meds, here in Foralie District," said Amanda. "They all ride circuit most of the time. You'll find them scattered out at various homesteads, right now."
"I see," said Dow again. "Well, I think you better call them in as well, along with any other adult from the homesteads who's physically able to come."
"No," said Amanda.
He looked at her. His eyebrows raised.
"Courage, Amanda Morgan," he said, "is one thing. Stupidity, something else."
"And nonsense is nonsense wherever you find it," said Amanda. "I told you, you couldn't bully me - or anyone else you'll find in this town. And you'll need one of us who's here to deal with the people of the district for you. I can bring the youngsters back in if necessary, and with them such adults from the homesteads who don't need to stay where they are. If the medical people are free to come in, I can get them, too. But in return, I'll want some things from you."
"I don't think you're in a position to bargain."
"Of course I am," said Amanda. "Let's not play games. It's much easier for you if you can get civilian cooperation - it's much faster. Difficulty with the populace means expense, when you're carrying the cost of enough troops to nail down a planet - even as sparsely settled a planet as this one. And you yourself said once you get Cletus you'll be taking off without another thought for the rest of us."
"That's not exactly what I said," Dow replied.
Amanda snorted.
"All right," he said, "what was it you had in mind?"
"First, get your troops out of our town unless you were thinking of billeting them in our homes, here?"
"I think you saw camp being set up just beyond the houses a street or two over."
"All right," Amanda said. "Then I want them to stay out of town unless they've got actual business here. When they do come in, they're to come in as visitors, remembering their manners. I don't want any of your officers, like that brigadier just now, trying to throw their weight around. Our people are to be free of any authority from yours, so we can get back to business as usual - and that includes putting the manufactory back into operation, immediately. I noticed you'd had the power shut off. Don't you realize we've got contracts to fill - contracts for manufactured items, so that we can trade with the rest of Dorsai for the fish, the grain and other things we have to have to live?"
"All right," said Dow. "I suppose we can agree to those things."
"I'm not finished," Amanda said, swiftly. "Also, you and all the rest of your forces are to stay put, in your encampment. I don't want you upsetting and alarming the district while I go find the teams and get people back here from the homesteads. It'll take me a week, anyway - "
"No," said Dow. "We'll be putting out patrols immediately; and I myself'll be leaving with an escort for Foralie homestead in a few hours."
"In that case - " Amanda was beginning, but this time it was Dow who cut her short.
"In that case - " his voice was level, "you'll force me to take the more difficult and time-consuming way with your people. I didn't bargain with you on any of the other things you asked for. I'm not bargaining now. Go ahead and take back your town, start up your manufactory, and round up only those you feel can come in safely. But our patrols go out as soon as we're ready to send them; and I leave, today, just as I said. Now, do we have an agreement?"
Amanda nodded, slowly.
"We have," she said. "All right, you'd better get those officers of yours back in here. I'm going to have to move to cover the district personally, even in a week. I'll go right now, but I want to hear that manufactory operating before I'm out of earshot of town. I suppose you've got Jhanis Bins closed up in his house, like everyone else."
"Whoever he is," said Dow. "He'd be under house quarantine, yes."
"All right, I'll call him," said Amanda. "But I want your General Amorine to send an officer to get him and take him safely to the manufactory, just in case some of your enlisted men may not have heard word of this agreement by that time."
"Fair enough," said Dow. He stepped to the desk and keyed the com system there. "General, will you and your staff step back into the office, here?"
"Yes, Mr. deCastries." The voice from the wall came promptly.
Twenty minutes later, Amanda reached the air-pad in the same staff car that had brought her in from it. Under the eye of the two enlisted men on duty there, her skimmer stood waiting for her.
"Thanks," she said to the young lieutenant who had brought her in. She climbed out of the staff car, walked across the pad and got into her skimmer.
"Just a minute," called the lieutenant.
She looked back to see him standing up in his staff car. There was a shine to his forehead that told of perspiration.
"You've got a weapon there, ma'm," he said. "Just a minute. Soldier - you!" He pointed to one of the enlisted men guarding the pad. "Get that piece and bring it over to me."
"Lieutenant," said Amanda, "this is still a young planet and we had lawless people roaming around our mountains as recently as just a few years back. We all carry guns here."
"Sorry, ma'm. I have to examine it. Soldier…"
The enlisted man came over to the skimmer, pulled the pellet shotgun from the scabbard beside her and winked at her.
"Got to watch you dangerous outworlders," he said, under his breath. He glanced over the pellet gun, turned it up to squint down its barrel and chuckled, again under his breath.
He carried the weapon to the lieutenant, and said something Amanda could not catch. The lieutenant also tilted the pellet gun up to look briefly into its barrel, then handed it back