Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (168 page)

"I think you're
overlooking one very important point," Kurk said. "They sent that
stupid note. That would bring the empire down on them like mass to
a black hole if you really were empire agents."

"If they
thought we were unauthorized agents who were here after the same
thing they're here to get it would be designed to scare us away," Z
explained. "They found themselves in a situation that was bad no
matter what they did. If they stayed silent until we left we might
take whatever it is they want with us. If they made a lot of noise
about the empire we would run – if we were illegally here.

"Believe me,
Kurk. Maita considers cultural interference to be among the worst
of all possible crimes. The results can doom generations. When the
empire places a beacon satellite to warn against approaching a
given world the empire's usually the very last to break that rule
so they would be safe, if suspicious. It's their bad luck we ARE
from the empire! We could go to the....

"Oh, for
Christ's sake!"

"I take it
you've thought of a couple of the things that've occurred to me?"
Kurk suggested, grinning. "Such as how did they know you were here
so quickly, half a continent away? Or maybe what they want is rare
enough that one ship could take it all?"

"Or several
other things," Z agreed. "They had the time to find out about us.
This Zaft would've been notified by the Fromes. They then put out
the radio sensors. That's one of the things that worry me."

"Radio
sensors?" Kurk asked. "It seems logical to me. Anyone from space
would certainly be using radio to communicate among
themselves."

"You mean your
people are still using radio?" Z asked. "It's normally only used
for a short relative time in a society. The other things, light,
gravitics and such are more efficient and are, in the cases of
gravitics, infinitely faster. I worry because they would even try
to detect radio. Very few ships are equipped to detect it anymore
except on a limited few wavelengths that are used to control
servos."

Maita had been
listening to everything through the floater.

*I wouldn't
worry about that, Boss. They would know these people have developed
the lens and other things like that, which would put them centuries
ahead of like cultures in ways. They would seek radio. I worry
because you seem to think those two are the only ones here or even
to think they're necessarily representative of all of the ones who
may be here. You haven't taken the size of that ship into
consideration.*

"I'm aware
there are more just to run that class of ship," Z replied. "I can
see what you mean, though. They would send the easiest ones they
had to get along with as a diplomatic move."

"Maybe trained
diplomats?" Kurk asked. "They might have even ... oh."

Ehrak and Thing
flew in just then. They were listening to the exchange on the
built-ins on their floaters.

[ There's
obviously someone there who's very different in temperament than
those two. Neither of THEM sent you that stupid threat. That was
the kind of mistake the Jornians would never make. It might lead to
exactly what they don't want – getting the empire's attention!
]

"Now they have
to try to cover for that stupid mistake," Ehrak said.

*You begin to
see. There's obvious instability in anyone who would make that kind
of screw-up. We're left with something that's a bit more scary than
a simple little hijacking job on a developing planet. Does it say
anything to any of you they would use Tab's name? That's beyond
belief. Of all the choices they could make only the Terran or the
Mentan would be MORE designed to catch the attention of the
empire!*

"You know
something I don't about this," Kurk interjected. "What are you
saying?"

[ That there's
someone giving the orders there who is either not quite sane or is
of some other race. We have to find out which one it is. If it's
someone who's insane we have to remove them before they do any
damage here. Tab, or Tabori R. DeSixtee, is a close friend of ours
and is Maita's personal detective and troubleshooter, as Boss calls
him. To use his name on that note was not something that anyone
familiar with.... Maita, there's a thought! ]

"Why not remove
them from this world, then?" Kurk asked. "Maybe they want the
empire's attention for some reason. If their leader’s crazy maybe
they're looking for a way out."

"Because if the
Jornians are being directed by another intelligence we have no idea
of what they have in place on this world. We can't defense
something we aren't even aware of," Z replied.

[ Which means
we have to find their motivation before we can act. If, as suddenly
seems rather likely, the leader's from a nonmember world we may not
have a clue to their psychology, thus we have no clue as to what
they've done or will do in any given circumstance. ]

"Things become
more and more complicated," Ehrak said. "In the old pirate days we
could've ended it right then and there! No one would wait around
trying to find what's behind something like this. We would put an
end to it."

[ Yes. It was
blind luck we didn't do inalterable damage to some of those races.
There weren't thousands of cultures out there with the ability to
move at will around the galaxy so it was much safer then. There
weren't any with an ability to move those distances except for us,
come to think of it. Only those worlds relatively near this one
could have come here back then. We knew about all of them so knew
how to react. Maita gave the galaxy the drive that lets us all go
anywhere we please. Maita and ... his friends invented the improved
drive. ]

*So what did
you two find? Anything?*

"There's a
route into the mountains and to the seashore," Ehrak reported.
"There are branches from the main trail in all directions not far
from here, but only those two seem much used."

"Which means?"
Kurk asked.

"It's something
that can be brought from the sea and from the mountains in one
direction," Ehrak replied.

"If it's a
spice it could be seasonal," Kurk suggested. "The side trails won't
be used much until harvest time. I'm a biologist studying the crops
and the methods here so I can help with that sort of thing."

*Very true.
It's good to have someone who can see more than one perspective in
all this – unlike certain tentacled types!*

[ Stick it in
your ass, Maita! ]

"Hey! You two
don't start now! You aren't the damned golems!" Z snapped, but the
mood lightened. "You could send floaters along the trails to see
where they lead. I want to locate this Zaft character. Maybe she
knows what they're up to. Maybe she's not too very happy with
what's happening herself. They may have some way to force her to
make people gather the stuff."

"I don't think
it's a spice," Ehrak argued. "I don't think they want any product
or mineral from this world. It's something else they're after. I
feel it. We have to find out who's behind it. That might tell us
why they're here."

[ So you're a
psychic as well as a demon? It just doesn't feel right? ]

*It doesn't
really seem reasonable to me, either. There's something we don't
know about this – I'm afraid it's something that we HAVE to know to
proceed with any safety. I'll direct floaters along all those
trails. Maybe and Extrx can go into the mountains to see what's
there while Boss and Kurk can seek Zaft at the seashore. Perhaps,
as Boss says, the she-sorceress will know something more.*

Thing and Ehrak
gathered up what they thought they might need from the clamshell,
then headed back to the joining of the paths. Z took a few things
from one of the other floaters Maita had placed there for them,
then he and Kurk headed toward the seashore.

"Maita, we have
to locate this Zaft character fast if I'm to have credibility with
the Jornians," Z warned. "I hope you've got some ideas? I should be
able to go directly to her. You can be very damned sure they'll
have some detectors to let them know when we reach her."

*She's carrying
a little gravitic responder. I can – I AM – taking you directly to
her. I rather imagine the Jornians DO want to keep tabs on her.
They aren't the type to trust anyone. Kurk, our first order of
business is to find out exactly who's running this show out here.
As a known form of demon you should be able to get some information
from this sorceress, but bear in mind she's probably armed with
some kind of weapons from the Jornians. Boss, I'll leave it to you
to try to find what they're after here. This continent is only
spottily settled in a few large towns and a lot of little villages.
It's not unlike the continent of South America two hundred years
before you were abducted. There has to be some reason they
contacted this woman. They're trying to use her to get whatever it
is they're after, but she can't get it herself so she's acting as
their agent. I've secreted spy floaters in various likely spots,
but there doesn't seem to be any widespread knowledge of anything
to this point. You'll have to compose your plans as you go
according to what you discover.*

"May I suggest
we don't use radio so much?" Kurk asked. "These long transmissions
are likely to make them suspicious. They'll believe I'm making a
full report right now. It may be good they believe that, but it may
not."

*I'm using
tight-beam light from a relay floater so they can't intercept in
any way. We'll use radio only when we want to decoy them. You're
very nearly to the little town where Zaft is staying. It's on the
coast and is a small seaport, though not an important one.*

"Hmm. So small
boats can come and go without arousing undue suspicion," Z
suggested. "I think we've agreed whatever they're after won't be
very bulky and isn't in large supply."

"Unless we fail
to understand the psychology of who or whatever's behind it," Kurk
cautioned. "Did you consider the possibility they don't want
anything? They may be here for some completely different reasons
than we've thought of?"

*The worst
danger isn't from what they're after, but what they could do to the
evolving society here. There's a small building three kilometers
outside of town on what appears to be a farm. Zaft is inside that
building. I'll leave it to you to decide how to approach this,
Boss.*

The clamshell
sat in a field about two hundred meters from a large frame house.
There were various grazers and birds around as well as the tilled
fields behind. When the floater top opened Z and Kurk stepped out.
Two small children and one adolescent boy stared at them from near
the house. A door opened to allow a woman and a man to come
out.

"I am here to
converse with the sorceress, Zaft," Z greeted pleasantly. "Would
you be so kind as to tell her Boss is here?"

"Is that a
Pluton demon?" the boy asked, awed.

"Yes, I'm a
Pluton," Kurk replied. "My name's Kurk. What's yours?"

"Uh, I'm Bettor
– Bet – and this is my sister and brother, Klee and Men," the boy
answered. "Do you really tear people in half?"

Kurk grinned
and replied, "Not as a general rule. I have to admit I've got a
temper and would probably do something like that if anyone attacks
me. I get stupid when I get mad and do things I regret later.

"You've got
some really fine looking stock! Want to show me around while Boss
talks with Zaft?"

"Will you eat
one of our grazers alive for us?" Klee asked, taking the huge
demon's hand and pulling him toward the neat pasture. The others
tagged along, Bet reaching timidly to touch the demon.

"That's only a
story," Kurk replied lightly. "You can see a grazer's bigger than I
am. I couldn't hold a whole one, but I do like a large juicy steak
about this thick with a bit of ground spicenut and salt cooked over
a hot fire 'til it's medium crispy on the outside and nice and red
on the inside!"

"So do I!" Bet
said. "I'll bet you could eat a lot bigger one than any of us! I
bet you could eat a bigger one than ALL of us!"

They went on
toward the pasture, the parents watching them nervously. "Have no
fear of Kurk with them," Z reassured them. "He is very gentle with
children.

"May I speak
with Zaft?"

"Come along,
wizard," the man replied. "She's expecting you. The bird-demon came
to tell her you were coming."

Bird-demon? A
Frome? Here? It couldn't be! Fale would have known and would have
told them! Just what WAS going on out here?

Magic Show

Thing took the
path to the left while Ehrak took the one to the right after
agreeing to return to their point of separation in no more than two
hours.

Ehrak seemed to
be fitting very well into the way the crew operated. He was quick
to see what must be done and quick to react. His great great
grandfather, Tom, had been with the original crew on Tlorg. Ehrak
had the memories, but was acting on his own now. This was quite a
different matter than what the group faced back then.

Thing knew Z
very well after three hundred plus years and could see his friend
would begin to argue that Tlorg be taken into the empire if the
various peoples using the planet wanted it that way. Z's strange
prejudices were now well under control – enough that he had quickly
befriended the strange Pluton. Not so very long ago he wouldn't
have been able to overcome instinctive fears of the being.

Would it be a
good thing to bring this world into the empire at this time?

No one could
very well deny it was certainly unique among the worlds yet
explored! Taking in Tlorg would be the same as taking in one of
those groups of worlds. Maybe expansion into other planes would be
a good thing. Knowledge always was good. There was always a use for
knowledge of any type.