Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (182 page)

[ No. This will
be fine. I may move if I get into a block of some sort. ]

Maita withdrew
so the little empath could submerge itself in the unbelievably
complicated abstract math.

*

Kurk and Ehrak
found some caves that were used at various times for various
purposes, then found a large one that appeared to have never been
explored. It was foregone they would explore that one first. Z was
in a river valley a few kilometers away studying the plants. He
told them Thing was working on a solution to this, that the act at
the Jornian ship accomplished most of what they set out to do. The
problem didn't seem insoluble anymore. It was going to work out if
things didn't suddenly turn sour for some reason. It looked
good.

What a crazy
omniverse!

Kurk checked
the lights carefully, then he and Ehrak went into the cave. There
were some beautiful formations which they photographed. There were
also some strange phosphorescent insects and plants in spots which
they recorded. They found some minerals that were a bit rare in
their forms, collecting a few of the crystals for souvenirs. They
would be something with which to remember each other and this
world. They became fast friends at the same time. They could never
really understand one another, but they did have quite a lot in
common. Ehrak was more interesting than Kurk had first thought
while Kurk was much more honest and open than Ehrak had first
thought. The traits they shared were all good ones.

The following
day Kurk went with Z to the valley where he was surprised to learn
Z was truly an expert on certain types of plants. He was also much
more the person he seemed to be than Kurk had believed to that
time. Being a biologist himself Kurk shared a lot with Z and his
enthusiasm for certain plant forms.

Z found Kurk
was easy to be with and was interesting in a lot of ways while Kurk
found Z to be basically shy. They became fast friends very quickly.
Z even invited Kurk to come to EC!

Then the word
came from Maita. Thing had confirmed that the problem was solved
with the Prlnth. Z had been right!

"Now the real
work begins," Z said as they headed back to the floater.

The
Answer

Maita received
the math from Thing much sooner than it had hoped. The readings
from the Jornian ship helped tremendously. Now a way to use it must
be devised. The danger here was postponed, not negated. Unless and
until one contact point was closed permanently the danger
remained.

Maita sent
floaters to all of the crew telling them to come in for a meeting.
The math was done.

The spy
floaters on the Jornian ship weren't too reliable as the direct
beams they used were too often cut off by various things such as
closed doors, but Maita learned enough to know Nrkll was in a much
deeper stasis now, though not by any measure in full stasis. It was
thinking and scheming at a very reduced pace. Z's little act still
hadn't become totally clear.

Maita was sure
a major part of it was simply for fun. Z was like that. Much of
what he did was a mystery even to himself.

Kurk was more a
part of the team than Ehrak was. That was plain. Maita was going to
offer him a place among the permanent crew if no one objected – and
no one would. Thing had already agreed and Z was obviously fond of
him. They were in the Valley of Mists right now collecting
plants.

Kurk was a very
hard person to understand. He was amoral, yet sensitive. He was
compassionate, yet was capable of cruelty. He was tender, yet
extremely violent. He was also fiercely loyal, absolutely
trustworthy, honest. What more could anyone be? Who were the crew
of the Maita to point at anyone? They were collectively everything
that Kurk was individually!

What?! A
distress call from the Jornian ship to Fleet?

Maita
immediately intercepted, but left it for Fleet HQ to hear.

*This is
Emperor Maita. I am in the area of restricted planet N seventy four
SAN P two twenty one seventy one C with my crew. We are en route to
Tlorg now where we will ask them to become provisional members of
the Maitan Empire if they will so vote. What is the nature of your
emergency?*

"Emperor
Maita!" Nite replied. "We were hijacked – repeat hijacked – almost
one MGS year ago by a creature from another plane! It had a scheme
to make power from dimensional interstice planal interface tension.
It was stopped by – believe this or not, Emperor Maita, and I won't
be surprised if you tell me I'm nuts! – by some local wizards and
what they call demons here. Beings from other planes. One of them
is ... well, terrifying, really. But he didn't do anything, really.
The women think he's the sexiest ... I'm sorry. I'm still in some
kind of shock, I think.

"It seems there
is a talent on this world...."

*I am aware of
the wizards of Tlorg. I was on the planet a time ago and have met
interplanal visitors there. They are part of the reason I wish
Tlorg in the empire at such an early stage of development. Which
plane was the hijacker from?*

"I don't know,"
Nite sent back. "It was a complicated one. Nrkll had to stay in a
partial stasis chamber. The wizard they call Boss said the power
drain from Tlorg would kill everyone on the planet!"

*I see. A high
plane. If it is one above sixteen it could be the.... It would have
to be. I have visited all of the others with beings who can survive
in N space even in stasis. Jornian ship, place a T-transmitter to
mark your present exact location and place complete records of your
experiences since the beginning of your trip out, including all
readings from all ship's computers and statements from as many crew
members and passengers as wish to make them on the empire
satellite. Your ship is operational?*

"Yes, I believe
so," Nite replied. "We are using the fission generators at the
moment. Our power sphere is exhausted."

*Fleet, this is
Emperor Maita. Transport a power sphere to meet specifications of
the Jornian ship to high orbit above that planet. Rendezvous with
said ship, replace their power sphere and get specifics on how that
much power was possibly exhausted in such a short time. I am
assuming you undertook your journey with a full charge, Jornian
ship?*

"Ninety seven
point six percent, according to our records," Nite answered. "The
Wizard Boss and a demon they called Maybe simply grounded the power
from the sphere."

*Demon? Oh yes,
an otherplaner. How could even a wizard of Tlorg hold a spell long
enough to ground a power sphere? It would take on the order of ten
days with the total capacity ground flow.*

"It took one
lousy second, believe it or not!" Nite replied.

*Oh, I do
believe it. I know those wizards and I have seen that spell worked
once a hundred years ago or so. You have not interfered with the
culture there?*

"No. Only one
family and one sorceress were ever aboard the ship. We did meet a
few other sorcerers, but not near here," Nite answered. "They
didn't seem to be in the least surprised that we were from another
world. If you've seen one of those Plutons you can understand how
we wouldn't scare them at all!"

*I plan to take
a Pluton as a crewmember. I know the people well. Fleet will aid
you in any way possible. Report to Hospital for a checkup. I will
handle this personally, though I suspect the Wizard Boss, who I
have also heard of – Thing met him, I believe, a couple of
centuries or so ago – will have solved any problems on his own.
Good fortune, Jornian ship. Fleet, I will not hesitate to call you
if you are in any way needed further.*

Ehrak came to
the clamshell first, then Thing, then Kurk and Z.

*Get in. I
think we can work something out. We have time and I have a lot to
report while you're on the way back to Teeme. This is one hell of a
surprise to me, but maybe Z can explain. The Prlnth is gone, the
math is worked out and the Jornian ship is leaving Tlorg. Why the
silly grin, Z?*

*

Ehrak climbed a
nearby peak to lay on a wide boulder in the warm sunlight while the
rather cool breeze teased at his fur. He needed to think.

If they
survived this, and he was sure they would, he had accomplished
tremendously more than what he had set out to do. Ehrak of Zeena
had lived through this wild legend-making time with legendary
figures and hadn't been found wanting. His heritage was not to be
denied. He would have these true stories to tell his children and
grandchildren of other worlds and of other planes as well as of
Emperor Maita and its crew. He had some souvenirs to give them. He
would have to work out a way not to mention Maita was a machine.
That was a sacred trust that would never be broken under any
circumstances.

He had really
enjoyed it. It was something few would ever experience in this or
in any universe. It may be routine for Maita, Thing and Z, but it
was tremendously exciting to Ehrak! Ehrak didn't believe that any
of them would hold it against him that he would want to return to
Zeena and to a normal life after this. He WAS much too civilized,
after all! If it had just been the planned vacation on an evolving
world it might be different. He might want to continue on, but it
WASN'T a normal vacation by any comparative he could mention.

Maybe Maita
would allow Tlorg into the empire as Z wanted. He could then visit
sometime in the future. He would certainly like to bring his
children here to meet a Pluton and to have a few centimeters scared
from their growth, though children didn't seem to find the Plutons
frightening.

Ehrak of Zeena
would like to meet other Plutons. He liked the ugly Fromes, too,
and the one Targ he had met. The difference of these beings was of
a very different kind than the differences of the various
otherworlders he had met in the empire or even of the Tlorgians,
who were not unlike Z in physical ways. It wasn't an explainable
difference. One sensed it more than one saw it.

This was a good
world with good people – that would remain unspoiled. Maita would
see to that.

Z had noticed
something about the Prlnth and had acted on whatever it was. Thing
would know beyond question what it was, most probably. One couldn't
have any secrets from an empath and Z and Thing were always
touching. Maita was in constant contact with Thing, but Ehrak
wasn't so sure Maita knew what was happening. Maita didn't really
understand organics such as Z.

It would be up
to Maita to do whatever they would eventually have to do to put an
end to the threat from Prlnth, though. That was another thing Ehrak
was very damned glad wouldn't fall on his shoulders! Responsibility
of that kind was demanding too much!

Kurk wouldn't
mind in the least if he had the resources to handle it in his
fashion. He would simply blow Prlnth out of existence. It might be
a bit brutal and was definitely against every principle of the
crew, but there were times when such tactics were called for. Ehrak
got the feeling from Thing it would reluctantly agree to that, but
that there was something ... some reason it couldn't be done that
way. Something other than a moral thing.

Ehrak was
beginning to drowse into a half-sleep state when a floater came to
tell him to go to the rendezvous point. Something had happened. He
was instantly alert and on the move.

When he reached
the floater he found he was first, though Thing came in a bit
later, then Kurk and Z together. They climbed aboard for the trip
to Teeme. Even Maita noticed the smug look on Z's face when it
announced the Prlnth was gone.

Just as Ehrak
thought. Z had a plan.

*

Thing finished
the math very quickly – in a relative sense – and reported it to
Maita. Maita would call the others back, they would go to Teeme,
they would discuss it from every angle and they would act on it.
Now there was a need to rest, but first a quick dip in the deepest
nearby part of the ocean. Thing, being from a very high-density
planet, enjoyed the pressures at several kilometers depth. Its
breathing membranes were as effective in water as in air and it
could be greatly relaxed by spending time at a great depth. It
figured the time that would be taken by the others to reach the
clamshell and managed to arrive not too long after Ehrak and not
too long before Kurk and Z. It curled up close between Z and Kurk
in the floater and noted empathically the deep friendship that had
grown between them and the heightened excitement they felt at
Maita's announcement the Prlnth was gone.

Thing knew
Maita had decided to request that Tlorg join the empire. They
always discussed such major things together. It also knew the
bonding between Z and Kurk was good, though Z was already sure it
would only lead to pain. He didn't know Kurk wanted to become a
traveler with them or that Maita planned that even if Tlorg wasn't
a part of the empire Kurk would be asked.

Z tended to
become very fond of some people, then was always hurt when they
elected to live out normal lifespans and to die natural deaths. He
tried to distance himself from others as a result, but his nature
wouldn't allow it. He was a gregarious sort if a shy one. He had
loved one woman who bore him a son (he knew nothing about), but who
left long before his need was filled. The great difference in
culture between the Terran and the Maitan woman whose stock was the
same as Z's (Earth is a lost Maitan colony. How could they breed if
they weren't of the same stock?) denied his knowing she loved him
as strongly as he loved her, but many things were very different in
their different ways of looking at such things. She bore his child
which to her was the ultimate expression of love.

Hopefully he
would someday learn that death wasn't a sad thing, it was a natural
thing. Z and Thing were the "oddballs out" in that they could
tolerate this quasi-immortality Maita had given them. It was a
normal thing for the machines to go on forever so Maita could
understand both points of view.