Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition

by Moulton, CD

  *It's a responsibility we could well do without, but then most of them are. I have no fear we can't stop this one thing this one time, but we have to find a way to remove the danger entirely. That means we mustn't act prematurely or all could be lost. We also can't hope to depend on convincing the otherplaners it's so dangerous because they'll try to find a way around the objections. The math in that plane CANNOT show them the danger! Someone WILL try again. We have to do something at this point or we have to find a way to move a black hole. I don't have to tell you what the odds of that amount to, do I?*

  [ Give me a minute and I'll figure them. ]

  "Did it ever occur to your amazing brilliance that numbers that have to be written as high exponentials have no meaning to most minds?" Z asked.

  [ It's basically for my own amusement. Maybe one chance in forty two sextillion times ten to the twenty thousandth power, plus or minus four thousand. ]

  *That has no meaning to me, even. We need new ideas and we need them quickly. The power charge and storage will help for a time, then the damage Ehrak and Kurk did to the facilities will give some more time, but we can't depend on buying a few days here and there forever. Time will run out that way. I don't want to damage this planet, we can't move a black hole, we can't move anything in TTH nineteen so all we can do is blast Earth to vapors so the angle will change from that end!*

  [ Sheeesh! That would be disastrous to Mars so we can't do that, either. ]

  *We do need ideas, guys. We'll go back to meet with Nrkll and Krll. Maybe something in their end of it will work.*

  Z was deep in thought, then stood, stretched, put Thing on his shoulder and announced, "I may have the faintest glimmer of an idea!"

  Relaxing Captivity

  Z came in alone in the clamshell to land at his now familiar spot near the Jornian ship. Thing, Ehrak and Kurk were still at the castle for the time, though all of them had objected to Z's going alone to the ship.

  Maita would monitor the whole thing so could move right in should help be needed. If anything went wrong inside of the Jornian ship it would be for him to find the way to signal for help. If it was truly critical all stops were out and he would signal with the call built into his skull and activated by his tongue against two teeth in a special pattern.

  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 th
em.

  "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.

  Maita wasn't particularly worried about Z for the moment because the Prlth needed him. They would definitely have some fear of him so he would be safe enough for the time being. The important thing would be the rescue of those innocent people and to make certain nothing more was done on that stupid portal.

  It might get pretty desperate, though. Thing wasn't always practical or logical when those it loved were threatened. It would be interesting to see how this turned out. Things were beginning to feel like old times. The danger was real and was there, the crew were thinking of one another a
nd there was really no set plan. They would survive on their wits alone.

  If the omniverse was going to end, as selfish as it seemed even to Maita, this was the only way to go!

  *

  Thing was greatly worried. Z was so dramatic and impetuous sometimes. He never did seem to completely understand that he was mortal. He was dealing with a being from another plane. It didn't reason the way anyone they had ever met reasoned.

  That was probably not at all true, but Z would take the most unnecessary chances at times. On another level this was like old times. Maita, Z, Thing and whoever else was around pitting themselves against an adversary who was threatening something dear to them all. This was the first time where the entire omniverse was threatened – the empire, a race, a world or collection of worlds, but this was seriously about the entire omniverse. It didn't seem at all real – but the threat to Z was very real.

  Thing was in its cubicle with the communicator on its "head" when the call came in from Z. It didn't stop to think, ordered Maita to get as much aid as possible, got aboard its floater and was heading out as fast as the floater would go toward his friend – and that was FAST! Ehrak and Kurk would follow very quickly, Thing knew. There could be a plan of action waiting for them. Maita reported that Fale was coming so could be a part of any plan.

  Maita was thinking through any number of schemes whereby Z would be saved as well as having the other aims met. When the initial panic subsided Thing had to admit Z was probably safe for the moment. Its point was that the thought patterns of the Prlnth were alien in more ways than they had encountered before so they'd have to be prepared for any eventuality. Maita made a suggestion minutes before Thing arrived near the Jornian ship that would be used, though there was going to be much more. This was going to be the kind of thing Z would really appreciate. They had done the same sort of act before in other ways so this would amuse him no end. It was the kind of thing that appealed to his sense of the ridiculous. It would also use all of the people involved on Z's immediate team.