Tar Aiym Krang

by Alan Dean Foster

  ‘The three planets remain, blasted and empty. One human, two Pitarian. They are not often visited, except by the curious and the morbid.

  The scientific teams that worked on the ruins of the Pitarian civilization came to the conclusion that the race was totally unable to accept or understand terms like mercy, compassion, openness, and equality, and similar abstract concepts. They believed themselves to be the only race worthy of existence in the universe. Once they had managed to steal all the knowledge they would stoop to borrow from the barbaric humans, they set out to destroy them. The other intelligent races of the galaxy would have been next on their programme of extermination, including the thranx. Compaired to them our erstwhile modern competitors, the AAnn, are positively pacific.

  'Fortunately, in most respects the Pitarins were no-where near as sharp as the AAnn. Their weapons development far exceeded their racial maturity, and their conceit their cleverness. I've often wondered whether the Pitar-humanx war was a single boost to amalgamation or a multiple one. There was mutual hatred of the Pitarians, the gratitude mankind felt for the thranx aid, and the fear that somewhere out among the stars there might exist another bunch of psychopathic fillers like the Pitar.'

  It was very quiet in the elegant room when Tse-Mallory bad finished.

  'Well,' said Atha finally, breaking the thought-heavy silence, ‘it's my turn up front, I'd better go an relieve Wolf.' She uncurled herself from the lounge and departed forward.

  'Ndiye, ndiye,? The merchant, leaned over and leered at Sissiph. 'Come, my pakadoge, little pussy. We are only half-way through that delightful book of yours, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Even if it is mostly pictures. You'll excuse us, gentlesirs?'

  Giggling, the girl led him out of the salon.

  Tse-Mallory began setting up the levels for the personallty-chess board, while Truzenzuzex began shuffling the cards and lining up the blue and red and black pieces.

  Flinx looked up at the sociologist. 'Sir, you didn't participate in the Pitar-humanx war, did you?'

  'Pure Flux, youth, no! I’ll admit to being aged, and rarely even to old, but archaic - never! I did have a grandfather who participated, though. As I suppose alt of our ancestors of that time did, one way or another. Didn't yours?'

  Flinx rose and idly brushed off his pants. The fur from the carpet had a tendency to cling. 'Excuse me, please, sirs. I recall that I haven't fed Pip his evening meal, and I wouldn't want him to get irritated and start nibbling on my arm.'

  He turned and headed for the passageway. Tse-Mallory looked after him curiously, then shrugged and tinned back to the game. It was his move.

  Chapter Ten

  Thus far there had been no trouble. The first sign of it came three ship-days safer.

  Malaika was in Control, checking out co-ordinates with Wolf. In his cabin Truzenzuzex was rigid in a meditation trance. He utilized that technique whenever be wished to consider a problem involving extreme concentration. And sometimes just to relax. In that state he required less body energy. In the salon, Tse-Mallory was trying to explain the workings of a semantic puzzle to Flinx. Atha was nearby, attempting somewhat' boredly to beat herself at the ancient and timeworn game Of Monopoly. She moved the obscure little idols and symbols in ways that Flinx had always found dully repetitive. Everything continued normally until Sissiph, bored and ejected from Control by the busy Malaika, stomped crankily into the room, a trail of translucent pseudolace flowing behind her.

  'This is a dull place! Dull, dull, dull! Like-like living in a coffin!' She fumed quietly for a few minutes. As no one deigned to notice her, she moved to a more central location. 'What a collection! Two pilots, two brain cases, and a kid with a poisonous worm for a pet!'

  Pip's head lifted abruptly and the minidrag made an unfriendly motion in the girl's direction. Flinx stroked the back of its head until it had relayed sufficiently for some of She tightness to leave the long muscles. His own response was mild as he considered the self-uacertainty/anger/coo-fusion in the girl's mind.

  ‘It is a reptile, and bears no relation to ...'

  'Reptile! Worm! What difference does it make?' She pouted. 'And Maxy won't even let me watch while he plays with all those darling co-ordinates and standards and things! He says I "distract" him. Can you imagine? Distract him?'

  ‘I can't imagine why it should either my dear,' murmured Atha without looting up from her game. Ordinarily Sissiph probably would haven't made anything of it. Back in Drallar she'd had more than ample opportunity to inure herself to Atha's sarcasm. But the combination of the long flight and her frustrations of the moment combined to make her turn. Her voice was tight.

  ‘Is that supposed to be some kind of crack?'

  Still Atha did not look up from her game. No doubt she expected Sissiph to brush off the remark as she usually did and go flouncing from the room in a dignified huff. She returned with a slang phrase

  ‘Tis truth, forsooth.’

  'And your mouth,' rejoined Sissiph, parodying the words terribly, 'is a bit too "looth"!’ She gave the game table a quick shove with a knee. Being portable and not bolted to the fabric of the ship, it toppled easily. Small metal objects and plastic cards sailed in all directions.

  Atha closed her eyes tightly, not moving, and then slowly opened them again. She turned easily to stare at the Lynx, her eyes even with the other girl's knees.

  ‘I think, honey, that if we're going to pursue this conversation, we'd do it better on a more equal level.'

  Her forearm shot out and caught the surprised Sissiph behind the knees. She let out a startled squeak and sat down hard.

  From there on, their bodies seemed to merge so closely that Flinx was hard put to tell them apart. Their thoughts were indecipherable. Scientific combat went out the port, so to speak. Tse-Mallory left his puzzle and made a laudible, if foolhardy, attempt to stop it. All he received for his efforts was a long scratch on one cheek. At that moment Malaika, summoned hastily by Flinx with a gentle probe, appeared in the fore doorway. He took in the whole scene at a half-glance,

  'What in the name of the obscenity sewn hells is going on here?'

  Even his familiar bellow had no effect on the two combatants, who were by now too deeply engrossed in their work to notice mere mortal entreaties. The merchant moved forward and made an attempt to separate the two. Several,in fact. It was like dipping one's bands into a whirlwind. Frustrated, he backed off.

  The longer one lived m the lower levels of Drallar, the greater one's acquired knowledge of elementary human psychology. Flinx said loudly bat evenly, putting as much disgust into his voice as be could muster, 'My, if you two only knew how funny you look!' He also risked a brief mental projection of the two combatants, suitably embellished.

  There was immediate peace in the room. The cloud of hair, teeth, nails, and shredded clothing ground to an abrupt halt, resolving itself into two distinct bodies. Both stared blankly at Flinx, then uncertainly at each other.

  ‘Thanks, kijana. I'd thought you might help out here and there, but apparently there's no end' to your talents.' Maiaika reached down and grasped each girl by the remaining material at the scruff of her neck, Sifting them much as one would a pair of obstinate kittens. The two glared silently at one another and seemed more than willing to start in all over again. Perceiving this, he shook them so hard that their teeth rattled and their tippers fell-off.

  'We're on a billion-credit hunt in rarely spaced territory after something which any other company in the galaxy would gladly slit my throat for an inkling of, and you two mwanamkewivu, cretins, idiots, can't live in peace for a month!' He shook them again, although not as furiously. Neither of them looked in the mood for fighting now. If this happens again, and I'll warn you only once, I will cheerfully chuck the both of you, biting and scratching if that's the way you want it, out the nearest airlock! Is that understood?'

  The two women stared silently at the floor.

  'An ndiyo au la! Tell me now!' The voice reverberated around
the saion.

  Finally Sissiph murmured, almost in audibly. 'Yes, Maxy.' He turned to glare murderously at Atha.

  'Yes, sir,' she said meekly.

  Malaika would have continued, but Wolf chose that moment to peer into the room.

  'Captain, I think you'd better come take a look at this. There is an object or objects on the screens which I would say is a ship, or ships, i'd like your opinion,'

  'Nini?’ Malaga roared, whirling. 'What!' He let go of the two women. Both stood quietly, trying to create order out of the chaos of their clothing. Occasionally one would glance up at the other, but for now, at least, both were thoroughly abashed.

  ‘It appears to be closing on us, sir. I do wish you'd come take a look... now.' Malaika turned to face the erstwhile fighters. ‘Atha, you get fixed up and up front... upesi! Sissiph, you go back to our cabin and stay there.' Both nodded soberly and departed in different directions.

  'Sociologist, you go and get your friend out of that semi-sleep, or whatever he calls it. I want you at full consciousness in case anything untoward happens. I have a hunch both of you have had at least a modicum of experience with deep- space ship manoeuvres?'

  ‘Tse-Mallory had started off towards Truzenzuzex's cabin. Now he paused to smile back at the big trader. 'Something of the sort,' lie said quietly.

  ‘Fine. Oh, kijana?’ Flinx looted up. "You keep a close eye on that pet of yours. Things might get a little bouncy around here. I don't know how excitable that little devil is, but I wouldn't want him underfoot and nervous around busy people.'

  'Yes sir. Have you any idea what it is?'

  'Yes and no. And I'm afraid it's liable to be the former. And that's bad.' He paused, thoughtful. 'You can come up front, if you like, so long as you watch that snake. Tell our learned passengers they can too, if they so desire. There's enough room. I just don't want Sissiph around. The darling pakadogo has a tendency to get hysterical when things aren't where she can put a finger... and other delightful things... on them. But I think perhaps the others would like to be around when we find out what is what. And they might have hunches to contribute. I value hunches highly. By the way, I don't suppose you can answer that question for me?'

  Flinx concentrated, hard. It was a long way off, but there was nothing else around for light-years, so it came in strong, strong. "If was malignant/strange/picture of dry air, sun, blood/taste of salt/relief/all wrapped in cold, clear thoughts like snow-melt fitted in only one type...

  He looked up, blinked. The merchant was watching him intently, with not a little hint of concern. He became aware then of the beads of sweat on his brow. He said one word, because it was sufficient.

  'AAnn.'

  The merchant nodded thoughtfully and turned for the door.

  Chapter Eleven

  The dot that indicated the presence of an operating posi-gravity drive field was dear now and far off to their 'right' - about ninety degrees or so to the present x-plane. It was moving on a definite convergence course. They still could not be sure what it was, other than that at least one mind occupied a similar area of space.

  An ancient aphorism someone had once recited to Flinx came back to him. As he recalled it, there had been two men involved, one old and one young. The younger had said, "No news is good news,' and the other, a Terran holy man, had wisely replied, 'That's not necessarily true, my young friend. A fisherman doesn't think he's lucky if he doesn't get a bite.' He wasn't positive that the story was an appropriate analogy for the moment, because be found himself disagreeing with the holy man.

  ‘Two of them. Captain,' said Wolf. 'See...’

  It was true. Even Flinx could see that as the large dot came closer it was separating into two distinct points. At the same time he sensed a multiplicity of similar minds to the one he'd first noticed although much weaker.

  'Two ships,' said Malaika. 'Then my one guess is in error after all. Before shadows. Now, everything in the dark. Usiku. Still, it might be...'

  'What was your guess, Maxim?' asked Truzenzuzex.

  ‘I thought perhaps a competitor of mine - a certain competitor - had gotten drift of your discovery to a greater extent than I originally thought. Or that certain information had leaked. If the latter case, then I should suspect that some- one on this ship is a spy.’ There were some fast, uneasy glances around the cabin. 'That is still a possibility, but I am now less inclined to suspect it. I don't know of any combine in the Arm, neither the one I had in mind nor even General Industries, that could afford or would be inclined to put out two ships on what has a very good chance of being a profit-less venture on merely spurious, secondhand information. Not even an AAnn Nest-Corporation.'

  ‘In which case,' said Tse-Mallory, 'who are our two visitors?' I don't know, sociologist, hata kidogo. Not at all. But we will no doubt find out shortly. They should be in reception distance momentarily, if they aren't already. If there were a relay station in this area we might have found out sooner... assuming of course that they wished us to know of their presence, and knew closely enough where we were. I think that I doubt that...'

  Atha was efficiently manipulating dials and switches. I've got everything wide open, sir, and if they're beaming us, we'll pick it up, all right!'

  They did.

  The face that appeared on the screen was not shocking, thanks to Flinx's advance warning, but the garb it wore was because it was so totally unexpected.

  'Good morning to you, Gloryhole,' said the sallow-faced AAnn officer-noble who looked out at them. 'Or whatever day-period you are experiencing at the moment. The illustrious and renowned Maxim Malaika captaining, I assume?'

  'The puzzled and curious Maxim Malaika is here, if that's what you mean.' He moved into the centre of the transceiver's pickup. 'You're one up on me.'

  'Apologies,' said the figure. I am named Riidi WW, Baron Second of Tyrton Six, Officer in the Emperor Maahn the Fourth's Circumspatial Defence Forces. My ship is named Arr, and we are accompanied, in travel by her sister-ship, the Unn.'

  Malaika spoke in the direction of the omnipickup mike. 'All that. Your mother must have been long-winded. You boys are a bit off your usual tracks, aren't you'?'

  The Baron's face reflected mild surprise. As Flinx suspected, it was mock. 'Why, captain! The Blight is unclaimed space and open to all. There are many fine, colonizable, unclaimed planets here, free to any spacegoing race. While it is true that in the past His Majesty's government has been more involved in outward expansion, an occasional search for planets of exceptionai promise does sometimes penetrate this far.'

  ‘A very concise and seemingly plausible explanation,' whispered Truzcnzuzex to Malaika from out of range of the audiovisual pickups.

  ‘Yes,' the merchant whispered back. "I don't believe a word of it either. Wolf, change course forty-five degrees t-plus.'

  'Done, Captain.'

  'Well, Baron, it's always nice to hear from someone away out in the middle of nowhere, and I am sure that two of his Majesty's destroyers will be more than a match for any planet of "exceptional promise" you may happen to find. I wish you luck in your prospecting.'

  'Your offers of good fortune are accepted in the spirit in which they are given, Captain Malaika in return I should like to extend the hospitality of my ship and crew. Most especially of our galley. I am fortunate enough to have on board a chef who works wonders with the cuisine of thirty-two different systems. The fellow is a. wizard, and would be proud to have the opportunity to display his talents before such discerning gourmets as yourselves.'

  Wolf's low whisper cut across the cabin. 'They've changed course to match our new one, sir. And accelerated, too.'

  'Keep on course. And pick it up enough to match their increase. But do it subtly, mwanamume, subtly!' He turned back to the screen.

  'Truly a gracious offer, Baron, and ordinarily T would consider it an honour and a delight to accept. However, I am afraid that circumstances warrant we decline this particular invitation. You see, we had fish for supper last evening,
and I am certain it was not per pared half so well as your chef could manage, because we have all been suffering from severe, pains of the lower intestinal tract today. If we may, I'll put off your kind offer till a later date.'

  Away from the mike he whispered, 'The rest of you get back to yow cabins and strap down. I'll try to keep you up on what happens through your intership viewers. But if we have to bump around a bit, I don't want you all bouncing off the woodwork and messing up my carpets!'

  Flinx, Tse-Mallory, and Truzenzuze made a scramble for the exitway, being careful to stay out of range of the tri-dee video pickup. But apparently Truzenzuzex couldn't resist a dig at a persistent and long-time enemy. The thranx had had dealings with the AAnn long before mankind.

  He stuck his head into range of the pickups and yelled, 'Know, 0 sand-eater, that I have sampled AAnn cuisine before, and that my gizzard has found it to be gritty to the palate. Those who dine upon rocks rapidly assume the disposition and mental capacity of the same"

  The AAnn bristled, the scales along its neck-ridge rising. 'Listen, dirt-dweller, I'll inform you that ...!' He caught it in mid-curse and recomposed himself with an effort. Feigning a sigh where he no doubt would have preferred a threat, he said, 1 retain the courtesies while it is evident they have departed your ship. Captain. Have it your way. You cannot outrun us, you know. Now that we are within easy range, my detector operators will be most careful not to lose you. It will be only a. matter of time before we come within filial distance of you. At that moment T would hope that you would have reconsidered my really exceptionally polite and generous invitation, and will lower your field. Otherwise,' he said grimly, lam very much afraid we shall be forced to open you up like a can of zith-paste.