Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (176 page)

At this point Z
wasn't sure exactly what his idea may be. All he really knew was
that there was something on the fringes of his consciousness that
could solve their main dilemma. The idea would come forth when he
had the remainder of the puzzle. The Prlnth, as the otherplaners
called themselves, would have to give him that key. For them to do
so he would have to be there.

Simple
enough!

Z announced
himself as he climbed the ramp, was instructed to come directly
through to the cell where Nkrll and Krll would enjoy conversing
with him and was welcomed by Froh, if a bit coldly.

The Prlnth were
in the partial stasis chamber, the process was slowed so they could
carry on with normal conversation in normal time, their translators
were turned on and the meeting began after greetings, such as they
were.

This reminded Z
of the old meetings between various heads of state back in his
youth on Earth. No one said anything of importance, the entire
session being spent in some strange kind of jockeying for position.
Something as silly as where one was seated at the table could give
that one status or take it away.

Okay, he'd play
that silly game. He was good at it. He was sure the Prlnth had as
much trouble reading his body language as he had with theirs. He
was aware of how much he could give away so was careful. Thing had
taught him something about blocking empathic sendings, though it
also said that these beings had little or none of that talent so he
could protect there, too.

Maita said the
particular dimensional angles these Prlnth contained might be a bit
easier to view through polarized lenses so he managed to enter with
such a pair of lenses in place inside of a wizard's headgear he
affected for the meeting (These aliens and otherplaners wouldn't
know that the Tlorgian wizards didn't use such things anymore. They
were simply normal people who looked like normal people and dressed
like normal people).

He did learn
something startling from the lenses if he was seeing correctly.

"Greetings,
wizard," came from the translator. "Become now comfortably
reclined. The Jornian Froh will beverage bring. Ask for what is
wished by yourself which will thence be supplied should it be to
our availability.

"It is speaking
Nrkll. Krll will abstain from vociferations for the time presented
here and now to this place."

Z decided he
would test his new knowledge immediately.

"Oh, I saw from
our first meeting there is but one of you," he replied airily,
waving a hand. "Perhaps you derive a strange kind of pleasure from
fooling these others with your dimensional extensions, but please,
let's not waste time with such foolishness between us. It serves no
good purpose.

"Have you
decided to tell me what it is you seek here or shall we pretend I
haven't the mental facilities to have figured it out?"

"Figured it
out?" Nrkll asked. "I have that terminology not here in my
translation with the Maitan from Jornian into Tlorgian at this
time."

"Determined the
true answer through logic," Z replied. "That is a figure of speech
among us Tlorgians. I tend to overuse them at times. It is
habit."

"Well this I
understand," Nrkll answered. "Also it is I who sometimes use
not-translatedable terms rarely upon some occasions.

"So you it is
who believe that the deep secrets of we Prlnth discovered are?"

"Well, it is
rather more than apparent you are not fitted for any use of this
plane as we are not fitted for the use of your own," Z mused. "You
are therefore not comfortable here. You are in great danger here as
was demonstrated when I removed the energy from your spaceship. You
are building a large portal and are manufacturing a great many
places that could be used for the storing of energy. You are
seeking wizards and sorcerers who know basic power retention and
gathering spells. Anyone who has ever opened a portal knows power
moves from one plane to another whenever the doors are opened. That
is why one must be most careful of which ones he uses. Some take
far too much power for safety and some give far too much.

"I made a small
portal such as the large one you have built near the Toothy Hills.
It is at the limits of my abilities to use such a complicated
portal, but I learned that very dangerous amounts of energy are
drawn through it before it is even fully opened. I may deduce from
that that you do not understand some important things about energy.
I think you believe you can use the energy that you receive through
the large portal because you can use it from the small ones.

"You are very
wrong. To open that portal here would drain away energy we will
need even to survive for long. I can't, therefore, allow that to
happen."

"Know about
energy we do," Nrkll replied. "Should that our purpose be I can
assure that you will be known that control it we will. Too much not
will be drawn. Stop us you cannot."

"There isn't
any realistic method to control the amount of energy flowing inside
of the portal," Z said stubbornly. "That fact is determined by the
physical size of the door. You do not understand where the energy
goes. You think you can put it in a place not unlike the ones here
in this spaceship. That you cannot do on your plane. The fact I
could remove the energy from this ship should show you I CAN stop
you and that I DO know more about energy than you do!"

"About the
plane of ours you know nothing!" Nrkll replied haughtily (Even
through the translator!). "Store it we can the energy. Store it we
can in a way that safe is! Control it we can!

"This important
is not here. Such a plan is not ours. Research this is, no more
than. The energy removed you from this ship of space cannot again
you do but once. Problem that was there is it not now. Fission
generators many of which have we, thus is not now we so need the
wizards Tlorgian. Cannot ground you energy of fission generator of
Jornian manufacture."

So he was right
about that part. They had seen the emergency fission generators
used and were copying them.

"Oh, I think I
can stop your fission generator, as you call it," Z said easily.
"It is the thing with the very heavy metal that makes small sparks
inside of itself of pure energy. It is a metal that changes from
one thing to another. I can make it all change at one time, then
there will be no more energy from it. Ever!"

"No!" Nax and
Froh shouted at once, Froh in Jornian and Nax in Maitan. Nax
continued in Maitan for the translator, "Nrkll! No! If he can do
that it's forming an immediate critical mass! The generator will
all go at once! There won't be anything left of this part of the
planet!"

"I understand
not," Nrkll protested.

"Nrkll, we've
explained very carefully that the fission generator would produce
energy at the rate it is now producing it for more than sixty
cromins. It will then produce half that much energy for sixty more
cromins, half that for sixty more and so on. You are a genius about
math and about energy. You've said that many times. Calculate what
would happen if all that energy were to be released in one tenth of
a mok!

"All of
it!"

There was
silence for a moment, then Nrkll ordered Froh to bring in the
guests. Froh left the room.

"Wizard Boss,
something have I to you to say," Nrkll said. "Smart be you to not
anything do eliminating reason until it is you know what say I must
now. Nothing what it is you will do to stopping me. Nothing do will
you to stopping energy. Nothing do at all will you with fission
generators maybe except with orders from me given. If anything you
do these will not another mok live to say happened it did!"

Froh entered
with the family from the farm and with Zaft. Froh had a phaser
pistol to threaten them. Bet, Klee and Men were very obviously
terrified, but they were also defiant.

"Boss!" Bet
yelled. "Where is Kurk! He'll fix you! All of you! You're really in
for it now! You don't mess with a Pluton's friends! He'll tear
every one of you in half!"

"Silence from
the child make!" Nrkll ordered.

Froh raised a
hand.

"If you strike
the child I will stop your heart," Z warned evenly. "If anyone in
that family is harmed in any way there will be no more talking. I
will make the energy in the fission generator come out at once. I
will not merely send it into the ground. I will send it through
every single part of this ship. I will send most of it into your
life chamber, otherplaner! Am I understood?"

There was a
heated conference in Jornian, but Froh stopped threatening the
child.

"Wizard, it is
a thing I will say," Nrkll said. "Psychology is of yours that you
will allow not harm to any useless cattle these here. Reputation
yours is that stop you will first. Reputation also is of you that
revenge have you will.

"Reason there
is that no harm need come any of this from. Useless growers of
plants and animals to station theirs may return. Sorceress remain
here will. Go too you will – showing power movement before this any
is done. Understood am I?"

Z had to get
outside where he could report to Maita!

"I will go to
my chariot," Z answered. "I will consider what you say. I think
probably that you do not estimate my potential at all correctly. I
wish that no harm comes to any of these people. That is true. I
also will abide no orders from such as you.

"These people
are not useless. They are very important to the scheme of things
here on Tlorg – even Zaft, who you have deluded into thinking you
are much more than the petty, greedy, thing you are.

"I must
meditate. If anyone is harmed in any least way before I return I
will totally destroy you! Make no mistake about that simple
inalterable fact, otherplaner! You otherworlders had best consider
that I can stop your hearts instantly. Act in haste and repent at
leisure!"

Z swirled the
robes around himself and headed for the door. Froh and Nax were
undecided, but let him pass. Z strode directly to the floater,
slipped the tiny passive recorder into its reader slot, then sat on
the grass in a lotus position (Which he found to be most
uncomfortable) until Froh and another Jornian came timidly to
him.

"Er, Boss, we
have to take you back inside," Froh muttered. "Uh, we have orders.
We have to do what Nrkll says."

"I know," Z
replied. "I am ready. I have reached my decision. It is now up to
that ... thing in there.

"What is your
name?" he asked of the new Jornian.

"I'm Lahst
Farks," she replied. "My lifemate, Nite Quant, is pilot of the
ship.

"We were
hijacked! We have no choice in this! If I don't do what Nrkll says
he'll kill my mate!"

Z nodded, then
followed them into the ship.

*

Maita wasn't at
all in favor of allowing Z to go alone to the Jornian ship, but it
also knew well enough the Terran's crazy ideas had a way of working
out.

Still, machine
or not, it would worry. Even Thing was nervous and fidgety which
was, to understate it horribly, unusual. The love shared among
those three was a thing that must not be broken. All their tricks,
remarks and seeming cruelty to one another was really based on the
understanding of a long and close relationship bonded with a very
deep caring.

The floater had
landed, Z had gone aboard, Froh had seemed as cordial as he ever
was. They had waited while Kurk went to the court with Ehrak to
watch the golems in action. While the courts were doing well some
straying had taken place. Thing was really the best one to handle
it, but the golems would do as well. Thing wasn't going to leave
Maita until Z was safe.

When Z came
back out of the ship Maita would have sighed in relief – if it
could – until it noted the tension the Terran was displaying. Z was
also angry. Furious was more the word. There was deep moral
indignation written all over him as he strode to the floater to
place the passive recorder in the sender.

Maita called
Thing over the internal circuits to its empathy as the recorder
played all that had transpired inside the ship. Z hadn't time to
add anything before the Jornians came to take him back inside the
ship.

[ Get Kurk and
Ehrak back here! Now! Get my floater out of here! They can meet me
on the dark continent! Send any other help you can find. Call Fleet
if you have to. Get Z out of there! ]

Thing climbed
aboard its floater and screamed off. Maita would immediately take
direct orders from Thing or Z, thinking nothing of it (And ignoring
the bravado part). Neither of those two thought anything whatever
of taking orders from the remaining members when the situation
called for it. Maita had no idea what Thing had in mind other than
to get close to Z.

Maita took the
golems to suddenly tell the demon and the Zeenan, in the "wizard's
tongue" (Maitan), to get to the castle as fast as they could, that
Z was in trouble. They got up to run from the courtroom, causing a
great deal of comment from the watchers.

As soon as the
two were aboard (With Fale following closely, having been there in
the courtroom when they were called), Maita quickly explained what
had happened at the Jornian ship – in Z's voice for Fale's benefit
– and asked that they come as fast as they could. Maybe would relay
the orders from Boss upon their arrival.

Kurk had
started slapping the clawed fist of one hand hard into the palm of
the other as soon as the family and children were mentioned.

Maita began to
get an idea for a spectacular rescue of those people. Thing would
be apprised of the plan and could implement it. Fale was also asked
to help so would go along on the "Magic Carpet" that had also been
used on the original trip to Tlorg. It was, of course, another
powerful floater, disguised. It would carry them all inside of a
force shield. Ehrak would explain it to Fale as some kind of
wizard's power.