Human Company | Page 7

Get out of my sight."
Poor Tiny. She kept her dignity, bowing to Axeblade and keeping her
head up as she left the court. But I knew she was upset: she didn't say
anything at all.
I glared at Axeblade. "That wasn't fair."
"I'll do the lecturing here," she said. "We have a responsibility to
protect the mechanicals. Your actions... "
I stared at the floor. When you argued with her or tried to explain, she
went on forever.
"Blame yourself for getting Tiny fired. If... "
I discovered that if I turned my foot just so, my toes almost perfectly
matched the outline of one of the floor stones.
"I blame myself," she said at last. "I've been thinking of you as a child,
but you've grown. It's plain you need to be courting."
I looked up. "A warrior company?"
Her lips turned up in a cynical smile. "I'm thinking a good steady
company to keep you out of mischief."
I folded my arms. "Not farmers."
"Now Gypsy. Don't be stubborn. I want you to let Littlewolf take you
to the fair. Be nice, give her a chance and perhaps we'll forget this
morning's little adventure."
"You'll give Tiny her job back?"

"Well, perhaps. But you can't keep getting the girls into trouble."
#
When I left the court and looked about for Littlewolf, I spotted her long
blonde hair and bronze skin across the courtyard. She was in the stables
petting Axeblade's horses and talking with Yellowbird and Shortbull.
I crossed the yard and slipped under the rail to join them. "Victory is
my favorite," I said.
"She's got the look of a workhorse," Littlewolf said. "I bet she could
pull a straight furrow."
I patted the gray mare's neck and rubbed my hand over her flank.
"She'll not see a plow I hope. It's carrying warriors into battle she's bred
for."
"It's the same," Shortbull said. "My mom says that the best workhorses
are the steadiest in a fight." Shortbull would be steady in a fight: her
name perfectly suited her muscular build. Even her voice possessed a
solid huskiness.
"We've formed a company." Yellowbird's voice sang. Finely chiseled
features made her exceptionally attractive, but she had fair skin and
coal black hair, so it wasn't until she spoke that you understood her
name.
"So look at you," I said while tugging at Littlewolf's sleeve. All three
girls were outfitted in matching leather vests with hardwood buttons.
"Are you looking to do some courting perhaps?"
"Did the Mechanic speak to you about us?"
"I forget. Something about keeping you out of trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Come on," I said. "There's lots to see at the fair."

#
The fair was the event of the year. Everyone came: farmers to sell their
produce; merchants to hawk their wares; and craftswomen to show
their skills. And of course they offered treats to eat and prizes to win.
But the real excitement was in the arena where the girls competed for
their futures in the archery and wrestling.
Girls liked stories about old Earth because, in these stories, there was
always a boy for every girl. But I always laughed when I heard them.
"Earth's a myth," I would say. "How could just one girl properly
support a boy?"
"Oh, would you rather belong to the fems?" the meaner girls would
reply. Everyone knew that they kept us as pets.
Never mind. After the collapse of the Western Elevator, came the
Troubles, an age long struggle for survival. When the cloning
technology was lost, boys became the only means of reproduction, so
we were important now.
But in tinkering with our genes, the fems had almost engineered us out
of existence, so we were always too few. Wars were fought over us
until the One Law led the farmers' army to victory.
Looking back, one had to wonder why it took so long to work out. The
One Law required girls to ban together into marriage companies. As
company, they pooled their resources to attract a boy and fought
together to defend their claim to him. What could be more natural than
that?
#
We toured the exhibits. The girls were excited about picking out
breeding stock from the prize animals at the fair. Shortbull was
particularly impressed with the good selection of pigs. She quickly got
into an argument with Littlewolf over the merits of the Landrace versus
the Berkshire breeds. Then Yellowbird started in about how the Duroc

breed was the most adaptable.
"Let's go watch," I said when trumpets announced a competition.
A crowd of cheering and jeering girls already surrounded the wrestling
pit, but they gave way when I pushed on them. When I reached the
front row, I saw Apogee rubbing oil onto Redblood's arms and legs. He
was taking