Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition (191 page)

They decided to
try the scheme until they could learn what was happening on
Grandish or until they could come up with something better. Tab
would ride a floater down to outside of A Port while T6 would
modify Kit to be a Bentan trader.

* *

T Six modified
Kit in the medbox making empire idents while he was in the machine.
There would be records entered into the entire network of the
empire by directed order. Either Kit or Tab (Or the ships) could
enter what they chose into the records. Maita set that up from the
first with Tab and TR, then expanded it when T Six was entered into
the group and again when it made Kit. It was an important part of
many of their jobs. There would be nothing serious, but there would
be enough to give credence to the idea Kit operated on the outer
fringes of the law at times. He would be one of those lucky type
who skirted very close to the edge, but never had been caught at
it.

When he came
from the medbox Kit took the waiting papers and computer ID, placed
them into the pouch at his belt, then directed T6 to take him
aground following procedures. They were assigned pad 132 on the
open access area.

Kit was Clohk
Nate. Bentan citizen, born on Sentah, raised on Tltle with work
records from all the vacation worlds and with records of having won
seven million credits at the games. The ship was shown as a Zeenan
P class ship he bought used for five million of those credits.
There were a few gaps in his records where there wasn't any way to
tell where he'd been or what he was doing. He seemed to
periodically drop from sight, then to suddenly reappear elsewhere
after a few tenthyears.

He went
directly to the records office where he checked to see if there
were any job openings – unlikely on a restricted planet – then
checked into a cheap hotel. He went to a spacer bar where he
ordered the popular drink of the area, counted his credit chits
carefully and nursed the drink as he talked about hoping to
contract some small run to make to get back into the "round of
things" since his recent "losses" on the market, a popular way for
these people to say they were conned themselves. He was eventually
approached by a "runner" who could give him a short contract to
carry an order to a nearby world. It was small, but he could get
two thousand credits for it if he was interested. That one was
legitimate. It was the going rate, but to turn it down would bring
suspicion so he grabbed at the deal. It would take one planet day,
which shouldn't be a significant time loss. It would establish him,
too.

He took the
load of pharmaceutical supplies to Morft where he was able to pick
up a little job on the return trip. It was only three hundred
credits to deliver office supplies to two transhippers on Grandish,
but would pay for the fueling for the entire run. He could then be
"spacer rich" with the two thousand credits he collected, gambling
them away or buying something stupid – or investing it in some
scheme.

He was
approached after buying a round of drinks for the bar on his return
about a game of Stars and Comets. He acted like he was a bit dazed
by his great luck, the limits were taken off the game in his honor
and he was soon seated at the console across from a Klaft
woman.

She offhandedly
said, "Centime per point?" and he agreed, then looked a bit puzzled
after she punched the stake into the machine.

"Er, didn't you
mean centime per thousand points?" he asked.

"Why, no!" she
said with a lift of an eyecrest. "Would you prefer pauper's
stakes?"

That would, of
course, embarrass him terribly so he shrugged and said to
begin.

The game was a
difficult one, but it could be fixed if a really skillful operator
was at the control board. Kit saw immediately how she did it so he
would wait to see her ploy, then would win the last game. What he
didn't know about computers was zero.

She let him win
the first game for six thousand credits. He asked for another game,
but she said he was too good for her. She gave him the chits and
moved off.

Kit was about
to get up from the board when the Klaft male who was waiting on the
sidelines slipped into the seat opposite.

"Looking for
some action?" he asked.

"Well, I only
played one game," Kit replied with a smirk. "I win one silly little
pot and no one wants to play against me anymore."

"Well, I'll
play," the Klaft said. "I'm not very good at the game yet, but it's
only money and I can afford it. My luck's bound to change sooner or
later and I'll make it all up. I always do. My bad luck streaks
generally don't last too long."

Kit won nine
thousand eight hundred credits on the first game. The Klaft,
Givzoo, played without rationality or plan. The next game he played
a bit better, but the stakes were higher and Kit won more than
sixty thousand credits. He seemed to be literally licking his lips
as Givzoo said only one more game before he had to go. He put the
entire sixty thousand on the console in cash instead of chits.

"Shall we make
it a credit a point?" he asked. "It will be so much more of a
challenge if there's enough to give me some excitement."

"I could never
afford it if I lost!" Kit exclaimed.

"Oh, you have
that ship," Givzoo suggested. "Besides, the way I'm playing tonight
you'll probably win."

This was it!
They wanted the ship so they'd con him to get it. He acted a little
indecisive so Givzoo slid his chair back and stood.

"Okay! Done!"
Kit fairly shouted. "Game's on! One credit per point! Put it into
the machine!"

Givzoo
manipulated his console until he was more than three million points
ahead. He was grinning when Kit took his final turn. He'd placed a
secondary overrid on the circuits so Kit couldn't make more than
half a million back. It would look like bad luck – but Kit had
tapped the machine with a small lead earlier. He changed the order
as it was punched in to read that he was to receive the double on
the second and fifth sets and the triple on the final. He won four
million credits on the game. Givzoo looked very nervous and very
sick, but Kit laughed, said it really WAS more fun to play for
those kinds of stakes, but he was sure Givzoo wouldn’t have
demanded collection if he had won so he would settle for what he
already had. Givzoo laughed sickly and said he never intended to
try to collect any big win, but the large sums made the game SO
much more interesting. Kit grinned and took his seventy thousand
credits in cash to T6.

*

Tab came into
the "out" part of A Port where locals could sometimes meet spacers
or could pick up jobs for the companies. He checked into an
expensive hotel, took samples of his wares in a case TR prepared
and began calling on hotels and restaurants with his "proven
ovenproof" glass. He sold some of it, let it be known he would be
in town for ten days or more so anyone looking for top quality
wares should contact him at the Royal Crest Hotel, room 201.

Nothing much
happened for the next four days except TR made the glassware to
fill his orders, he received a few more orders and TR reported it
had caused the little quake so maybe some glassware would be needed
soon. Very special order glassware.

On the fifth
day a Klaft citizen came to his room to ask about laboratory
equipment. He agreed he could supply certain types of glassware
made to order, but why would an offworlder want Grandish
glassware?

Tab studied the
being. It was about the size and shape (K-form) Kit normally was as
a Kheth. Maybe a bit thicker in the middle, though not so thick as
the Bentans. It had crests over the eyes, which were dual-lidded
much as he was as a Swaz. He had no hair, being a reptile.

"I wish to
begin a project here on Grandish so I will wish to use all Grandish
things in its production," he explained. "My name is Givzoo. I am
known among the spacers and among some of the people here on
Sendedt. I've built a laboratory to study the project. There was a
minor quake. It broke much of the equipment. I must replace it
quickly so here is what I'll need."

He produced
some simple standard laboratory glassware, gave instructions to
make all of it from the heat proof glass, gave Tab a thousand
dorbeks deposit and left. Tab promised him the wares would be ready
in six days.

TR reported
that Givzoo met with Kit where he lost a great deal of cash money
in empire script. Givzoo was using a small private skippercraft to
travel between the laboratory and A Port. There was no tracer
beacon on it. Surprise!

"I'm running
traces on this Givzoo character," TR reported. "It seems he has a
ship, a Ternz surveyor type six, sitting on reserved section pad
eighteen. It's been offplanet six times in the past five and a
third years so that was probably where the rare hormones and
reagents came from. Givzoo is an agricultural microbiologist
working on pest control with various crops. That's all I know so
far about him.

"T Six is going
through all those files. Some of them are from other worlds. It's
tedious reading. There were as many as sixteen technicians staying
in those quarters at one time, but now there're only two plus
Givzoo and a Klaft female called Nortich. She was probably Kit's
first game partner. That's what I know so far."

"I think I'm
getting an idea," Tab replied. "Let me think it over. This may be a
case where an experiment.... We'll see. I'll deliver the glassware
to Givzoo a couple of days late, as would be normal here. Stay in
touch!"

Place Your
Bets

Kit decided to
stay aboard T6 for awhile to force Givzoo to come to him. If the
ship was so important to them they would certainly come up with
another scheme – and soon.

One thing could
be done while he waited. He could access the port's computers.
Maita could get all that information easily and immediately, but
Maita was otherwise occupied at the moment. There certainly was no
question it would be unwise to distract it when the omniverse
itself was in danger.

The following
day the chance came when the shift changed at the port information
office. Kit made it a point to be using one of the computer
stations, tapped into the system and recorded what was there. T6
and TR could sort it out later. If there was anything of importance
to be learned from those records the ships would find it.

Much to Kit's
surprise it wasn't Givzoo who contacted him late in the afternoon,
it was the Klaft woman, Nortich. She came to congratulate him on
his win over her friend and to apologize for what could have
happened had Kit not won the game.

"I tell you,
quite honestly, I would've demanded the payment from him," she
said. "It was his idea to play for such stakes. He shouldn't have
done that if he wasn't prepared to pay. From what I know of him he
would've demanded payment from you had HE won! I can't help but
feel that, as he's from my world and is in fact a colleague in our
scientific research facility we owe you something for your great
generosity in refusing to accept the money. Givzoo has the money,
but it would cramp our research terribly if he paid it.

"It's a mixed
blessing to be working with and for him. He spends most of his own
funds on the project, but he's often arrogant and difficult.

"May I be so
bold as to invite you to a gourmet meal this evening at the best
restaurant on this world? I would feel much better about your
generosity to Givzoo if you would do me the honor of accepting the
invitation. It would also be an opportunity for us to discuss a
possible business relationship – that is, of course, if your race
discusses business at mealtimes. My notes on the Bentan race are
unclear on the point. We researchers don't often conduct business
in that sense anytime."

Kit laughed and
told her that although some Bentans would prefer not to discuss
business at meals he wasn't so inhibited. "A good many are like
me," he explained. "We take opportunity where we find it. I know
myself well enough to be able to say the credits I won last evening
will soon be gone. I once went through seven million credits in
four days. All I have to show for it is this ship, which was
certainly the best thing I ever bought! I can't believe I was so
caught up in that stupid game last evening I used it as security.
I've arranged that the ship can't be used in that way again – ever.
I did that this morning so if I ever say the ship's part of a deal
you'd better check records!

"Shall I meet
you somewhere at a certain time? I'll accept your offer of a good
meal. The ship serves fine foods, but I'm always interested in a
new taste."

"Excellent! The
Emperor's Table Restaurant, nineteen hundred thirty?" she replied.
"It's by the main acceptance building entrance next door to your
hotel."

"I'll be
there," Kit replied, then Nortich went back to her little electric
cart to go to the administration building where she checked his
records (T6 had a minifloater following her to report on where she
went). She found from the modified records he had, indeed, once won
the seven million credits, as he said. There was also a recorded
legal writ of "specific non-use" registered on the title of the
ship entered that very morning. That would mean the ship couldn't
change hands or be used as security for any loan of any kind. What
would she try to do now?

"You can find
out what they're SUPPOSED to be doing here," T6 suggested. "Maybe
we can work backward from it to find out what they actually ARE
doing here. We've found that Givzoo IS a top microbiologist, you
know. We'd figured that already. I'm checking on Nortich right
now."

"Maybe you have
the records in those files about her," Kit suggested. "I'm checking
that first. I'm also ... mmmm. She's a fully qualified agricultural
chemist. More degrees than you'd care to hear about. Three full
years at University. Squeaked through, but less than five percent
of applicants can do even that. They were on Tesfort after working
on Harrii. The two of them singlehandedly saved the entire mohk
grain industry there. Harrii, that is. No records of what they did
on Tesfort."