Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (166 page)

They jumped out
of the floater as soon as it was down and headed for the palace.
The Targ guard trotted along with them, saying that King Dihn would
come to them if they preferred.

"I think it'll
be more fun to see his and Yilv's faces when Kurk comes running
in!" Z answered.

[ I'm sure they
know Plutons. Is there anything new to tell us since the message,
Linx? ]

"Not really,"
Linx replied. "It is yust a message that vas sent to King Dihn by
Frome. He sent the Frome on to Teeme. It must 'ave been exhausted
py the time it arrived!"

[ It was. It's
recuperating at the castle right now. There's Kar now. ]

The king ran
out to meet them and quickly explained that some sorcerer on the
continent had sent the message that he was going to invade the
Kingdom of Loosta and destroy the great wizard, Boss. There was a
paper with wizard's writing on it that was to be given to Boss.

Z read the message in Maitan:
Get off of this planet. You are here
illegally. If I must warn Fleet of your presence I will not
hesitate to do so. Wizards do not use radio. You are discovered.
Leave at once or face consequences of cultural interference. I am a
close friend of Emperor Maita, as you will know from my signature.
Get out!

Tabori R.
DeSixtee

Thing placed
the floater so Maita could read the paper as it and Z read it. Z
could feel Maita using the direct channel to Thing so waited,
pretending to be having trouble reading the thing. Thing spoke in
Maitan.

[ Tab, TR, Kit
and T Six are halfway across the galaxy. The emperor called them to
confirm that. Chose your own course. ]

"This isn't
wizard's writing," Z said. "It makes no sense to me. It's nothing
but trickery by some half-educated moron. It's possible this
socalled wizard has some small power. I'll go to the dark continent
to face him. If necessary I'll do to him what I did to the
sorcerer, Tee, two hundred years ago!

"If my friends
wish to come along they will be most welcome."

"The threats
aren't serious?" Kar asked.

[ They're
probably meant seriously, whatever they are. If the fellow can't
write in the wizard's script he isn't a member of the group that
Martin taught. That isn't to say he won't be extremely powerful.
Kene explained about the psy power to your ancestor. It's real and
it's deadly dangerous. If this self-made sorcerer has such powers
this could be very serious by any reckoning. The danger is very
real! ]

"But you will
defeat him?" Kar asked.

"One way or
another," Z promised, thinking the fleet may really be brought in,
but NOT by whoever was doing this!

"We'll go right
on to the dark continent. I want to spend some time in Teeme so
I'll get it over as quickly as I can. If I get angered by some
idiots who think they can scare me I'll probably do something
enormously stupid so anyone who comes along will have to watch me.
Most of you know how vile my temper can be!

"All aboard
who's gettin' aboard!"

They went back
to the clamshell where Linx offered to go with them, but there
wasn't enough room. He grinned and said he really was scared to go,
but thought he should offer.

Then they were
off heading directly across the straits and northward toward the
dark continent.

[ Maita, have
they possibly heard our broadcasts in Maitan? ]

*There's
automatic scrambling on all of our channels so all they know is
we're using radio. I have the floaters waiting for you and have
your destination programmed. This is one of those times Z will have
to come up with a plan. First project is to find who they are and
what they're doing.*

"Let's speak in
Tlorgian and keep it in character so far as names go," Z said, then
shifted into Tlorgian. "Okay, here's what we'll do. They think
we're from the empire so we'll be a wizard and his demon friends
who can't understand their writings. They'll think the magic bit is
typical trickery so we'll use it against them. None of their
machines can fight it.

"I wish T Six
were here – that's a friend of ours, Kurk – because it knows the
spell a magician used on a ship to remove the energy from it so
completely even the hundred year emergency torches wouldn't light.
THAT was magic of a kind we could really use! T Six learned it from
a magician on a world halfway across the galaxy from here."

"T Six?" Kurk
asked. "That's a number!"

[ T Six is a
machine. It's very intelligent and is a close friend of the
emperor's and of ours. There are a few known machine societies.
]

"They made a
big mistake when they signed the name they did to that note," Z
said. "They signed the name of another friend of the emperor and of
ours. We happen to know exactly where he is right now. The emperor
called and confirmed he's there. That shows that they know nothing
at all about us. They threatened to call the empire fleet in, which
only the emperor can do."

*And I damned
well might have to, but against them! What's your plan, Boss?*

"I'll go in
totally confused and ask them what in the hell this squiggly script
crap is about. I'll want to know why they can't write in the true
wizard's script. Meanwhile, Maybe and Extrx can be placing various
sensors around and can chart the entire area. Kurk can go along
with me to scare them a bit. We'll need some good shielding, of
course. They might fire on us."

[ Maita sent
some spy units. They're waiting for us. I take it we'll be making
our plans as we determine their weaknesses? ]

"Yes," Z
replied. "Extrx, you'll be able to climb trees and so forth while
Maybe can climb off of that floater and use its tentacles. I think
Kurk's figured the body's false."

"I wasn't sure,
but it didn't seem to have any substance to it," Kurk agreed as
Thing dropped the flowing robes and climbed onto Ehrak's
shoulder.

[ It may be
necessary to leave my floater at times. I have to admit I'm getting
tired of sitting there so much. We're near the shoreline now.
Maita, lift the holoscreen and show us whatever you've found with
the floaters. ]

A little
holoscreen came out of the center of the table showing the progress
of a TV camera through jungle.

*Maybe half a
kilometer ahead is the main camp. I've located it through energy
emissions and haven't scanned it yet. This is as new to me as it is
to you. Ah! There they are! Maybe we'll have an answer or two
before we.... They're....*

[ Jornians!
]

"You know of
the race? They aren't like those Immins?" Kurk asked.

"No, they're a
mixed bag. Some of them are as fine as any people in the galaxy and
some are almost as bad as an average Immin was," Z said. "We know
they're here for profit. Their general motivation is greed for
material things. They aren't power-hungry like the Immins
were."

"You could
almost pass for one," Ehrak said. "You're a bit thin and have the
Tlorgian hair patterns...."

*He'll do
better as a wizard. It'll explain his demons. I can send a couple
of the Fromes over if you like. They can be useful for airborne
reconnaissance. Fale and its friend at the castle are very worried
about you. They're asking the golems to remind you that Fromes
helped against the old Count Gess and that Fromes stand ready to
aid the people of Tlorg and the great demon-wizard Boss at any
time.*

[ That was with
Kene. The Frome, Wruk, the Targ and Kene fought a major war against
the old count’s army and won. Tell them many thanks, but this is
something that we must do alone. We don't want it spread about that
so many otherworlders come to Tlorg. I want to know why. Immins
were hiding here, but these Jornians are after something! I can't
think what it could be. ]

"There isn't
psiltripium here is there Maita?" Ehrak asked. "That or blood
diamonds are the only things with so much special value that I know
of."

*Neither is
found here. We'll have to study this to know what's happening. I
begin to understand some of the readings from the satellite. They
aren't after blood diamonds or psiltripium.*

"Then it's got
to be some kind of organic compound," Z suggested. "A drug? A
spice?"

[ The Jornians
aren't above dealing in addictive drugs, but there's very little
market for them in the empire. An unhappy people turn to drugs.
That means a spice, most likely. We know about the spicenut. It's
flavor is like Z's garlic, which can be grown on any of millions of
planets. What would it be? Can you trace back, Maita? ]

*It's possible,
but you'll know soon enough. You're landing. The floaters are
waiting nearby in the small cave where I'll hide the
clamshell.*

"Kurk and I can
fly the clamshell right to them! A bit of shock value!" Z said.
"That should shake them up!

"It's got
plenty of defenses, hasn't it?"

*More than
you're likely to need. I'll activate the special shields so they
won't be able to use most of their longrange sensors on you.*

"Good!" Z
replied. "Extrx, you and Maybe try to locate any out-camps and try
to find what they're getting here. Kurk and I can take this note to
them and say they sure don't know much about wizard's script and
what in hell do they want that they'd threaten a sorcerer who had
proven to be stronger than any other person on the planet two
hundred years ago?

"I'll point out
they're obviously not Tlorgians. Kurk can maybe mention that they
aren't demons either because demons don't need or use what are
obviously spaceships. Coming from a culture that has some space
travel, he would know. If we can get them off guard and off balance
and keep them that way we can accomplish a lot. I want to avoid
using weapons on Tlorg if I can. Ready?"

They all nodded
in their own ways.

"Let's get this
play on the stage!" Z said.

Thing and Ehrak
climbed out of the floater, the lid closed and they were off.

Boss Rides Again!

Z grinned at
Kurk as they flew toward the encampment Maita's floaters had
discovered. He explained about the Jornians. "They're mostly all
right. "They're from a planet quite a distance from here. They're
not greatly evolved socially. They found interstellar drive through
a system of accidents and luck. We've found most cultures move past
these sorts of things by the time they discover the drive.

"Jornians – a
percent of them – are motivated by greed for material things and
for personal power over their fellow beings. That leads to any
number of things, none of them positive when viewed on a larger
perspective."

"Then your own
world is far advanced over them and doesn't find motivation in such
things?" Kurk asked. "I have to say, in the interest of honesty,
that my own race is in that trap, but we haven't discovered the
interstellar drive yet. Our personal greeds are why I like this
plane and this world. It seems that material gains are more
important than even the survival of our children. Hades is becoming
polluted. Dangerously."

"We're evolving
on Earth," Z answered. "I'm afraid that at this particular stage
we're as bad as the Jornians. We almost destroyed the Earth. We
still tend to fight among ourselves a lot. There are a lot of
people on Earth who are motivated by greed AND by power. We have
the TTH drive, but we can't seem to conquer our own selves. There
are some very good people as well as some who're unbelievably
disgusting. I claim to be somewhere between the extremes, but I've
had the experience of maturing with the emperor and friends from
many worlds. I've had to conquer my own worst instincts.

"There were
times when I've embarrassed all of them with my stupid prejudices.
The proof I've overcome that is right here with me right now. It's
you."

"Your horrible
demon?" Kurk said, grinning a mouth full of frightening teeth. "I
think we get along pretty well for only knowing one another for a
few hours."

"It seems like
forever," Z replied. "There's the camp. What we'll do is go in
where you can tell them it's the Plutons who are using radio, not
us. I can play a game of not knowing what's going on while knowing
more about reality than they do.

"These are
shields. I can wire myself under the robe, but I can't see how you
can wear it. Stay very close. I can expand the force field enough
to protect you to an extent."

"I think we'll
be safe if they don't try to shoot down this clamshell," Kurk said.
"We'll have them wondering. They'll hold off trying anything to
bring anymore trouble on their heads. If they came to the realm to
attack you in the guise of sorcerers it would be explainable. Here
they'll wonder how you made it so fast and who else knows you're
here. If they're worried about your empire they'll be careful."

"We can hope,"
Z agreed as he landed the floater beside the Jornian ship. There
was no attack, but there was no obvious sign of life, either. Z had
the shell opened for a few minutes before he and Kurk slowly
climbed out. They pointed at the ship and talked, walked all the
way around the encampment, returned to the floater and waited
another few minutes. Finally Z walked to the base of the entrance
ramp of the ship where he called, "Otherworlders! Boss is here! You
have challenged and I have answered! Will you cower in your metal
ship or will you come to face me?"

The port slowly
opened. Two Jornians came slowly down the ramp, showing their
obvious fear of Kurk and curiosity about Z.

"You were
ordered to leave here," one of the Jornians said in Maitan. "This
is a restricted planet."

"I do not speak
your particular demon tongue," Z replied condescendingly. "Dardeesh
Frome?"

"Get us a
translator, Froh," the first Jornian said to the other. "This one
doesn't speak Maitan. Something's very wrong here. Nobody from the
empire would be in the company of one of those demons!"