Part 19 (1/2)
Crust-Crawler turned off the magnetic barrier and stood beside Dented-s.h.i.+eld as they waited for the Taker and her party to approach. The five Swifts each carried a heavily speckled cheela. The random dark red and yellow-white speckled pattern even extended to their eyeb.a.l.l.s. Behind the five Swifts plodded a line of porters, their pouches overloaded with cargo. Some were speckled, but nowhere near as much as the five warriors. The warriors kept their eyes looking in all directions, since they were in strange territory, but they seemed unimpressed with the huge gravity catapult off in the distance and the s.h.i.+ny machines scattered about the base.
”I don't see how they can see out of those pink eyeb.a.l.l.s,” Engineer Thermal-Conductor whispered.
”That would put them at a great disadvantage in a battle.”
”They can't see well,” Dented-s.h.i.+eld explained. ”But the speckled ones make up for it by their control over animals. It is rumored that the Emperor can talk to animals.”
”I can see how riding on a Swift would be a significant advantage in a battle,” said Otis-Elevator. ”One warrior on a Swift would be much more than a match for a dozen warriors on the ground.”
”Two dozen,” said Dented-s.h.i.+eld quietly. ”I know.” Her eight eyes looked down at the deep dents in her s.h.i.+eld. She dropped the s.h.i.+eld on the ground and moved forward to meet the Taker, unarmed.
”Greetings, Taker of the Emperor,” she said. ”I am Dented-s.h.i.+eld, Leader of the Dusty Crust Clan.”
”You failed,” said the Taker. Her harsh voice was slightly m.u.f.fled by the body of her Swift.
”We have come to take the 132 Zebu Slinks that belong to the Emperor. You are four short. You know the penalty.”
”Yes, Taker.” Dented-s.h.i.+eld moved closer.
”What is the penalty?” Crust-Crawler whispered to Letter-Reader, who was standing next to him.
”An eye,” said Letter-Reader. ”One eye for each Slink.”
”But she only has eight eyes now!”
”I will move forward with you, Dented-s.h.i.+eld,” said one of the elders of the clan.
”I will too,” said another.
”Wait!” said Crust-Crawler. ”We are visitors from the stars in the sky. When our great s.h.i.+p came down from the stars we accidentally killed some of the Zebu Slinks that the clan was guarding. We would be more than willing to pay the Emperor for his loss.”
”It is good for you that you admit your crime, slave,” said the Taker. ”You are indeed a stranger.
Otherwise you would know that the Emperor has no need of money. Money is for trade between slaves.
What the Emperor wants, he takes.”
”We can give him a machine that makes food,” said Crust-Crawler. ”It will make more food than a great of food Slinks.”
The Taker paused, her eye-stub waves switching from one pattern to another as she considered.
Crust-Crawler took advantage of the hesitation.
”I have some samples right here,” he said, moving over to the food mats. He picked up a half-dozen each of the red b.a.l.l.s and the golden cubes and brought them back. Forming a strong manipulator he reached up over the back of the Swift and handed them to the Taker. The Taker took one each and looked them over carefully. Then she glared down at Crust-Crawler.
”Eat them!” she commanded. ”Now!” She watched carefully as he took them back from her and put them in a feeding pouch. After a few sethturns he opened his pouch to show her that they were gone. He then raised the rest up for her to choose another. She sucked carefully at the golden crystal, then dropped it in her eating pouch.
”The Emperor will take the food machine,” she said.
”I will place it on another machine that will carry it for you,” said Crust-Crawler.
”I had better give them a cargo-glider,” said Power-Pack. ”It has a large acc.u.mulator. We don't want the Emperor to run out of food.”
Within a few methturns a cargo-glider was loaded with a second food machine and brought before the Taker.
'This is the box that controls the glider,” said Crust-Crawler. ”I have set it for automatic. Wherever the box goes, the glider will follow.”
The Taker took the box, then called over the leader of the porters.
”Here, slave,” she said. ”You carry the box. Be careful you do not damage the Emperor's food machine.
The penalty will be severe.”
”Yes, Taker,” said the porter. Crust-Crawler noticed that he only had nine eyes.
Crust-Crawler then handed up a scroll. 'This scroll contains the instructions for the operation of the food machine. In there the Emperor can read how to produce over a dozen greats of different kinds of food with the machine.”
The Taker took the scroll and placed it in a pouch without deigning to look at it. ”The Emperor has more important things to do than read,” she said. ”I do his reading for him.”
”There is plenty of room left on the cargo-glider,” said Crust-Crawler. ”Your porters could unload their cargo and let the glider carry it for them.”
”Ah! Yes. The cargo,” said the Taker. ”Unload the eggs!”
Each porter emptied three or four pouches, and soon there was a pile of black and white striped Slink eggs on the crust. The porters were still fairly bulky, however. They were probably still carrying the food supplies for the party and the Swifts, as well.
The Taker looked down at Dented-s.h.i.+eld. ”Here are 144 Slink eggs. They belong to the Emperor. In 72 turns I will return. If you have taken proper care of the Emperor's 144 Zebu Slinks he will magnanimously give you twelve of them to feed the clan. If you fail, you know the penalty.”
”Yes, Taker,” said Dented-s.h.i.+eld.
”Speaking of penalties,” said the Taker. ”You have not yet paid your penalty for the last failure.”
”But we gave you the food machine!” Crust-Crawler objected loudly.
”Silence, slave!” the Taker roared. ”You do notgive the Emperor anything. The Emperortakes.”
The Taker brought her eyes to focus on Dented-s.h.i.+eld. ”The Emperor also does not accept excuses,”
she said, pulling a long whiplike sword from its scabbard along the flank of her Swift.
”I understand, Taker.” Dented-s.h.i.+eld raised four eyes up on elongated stubs.
”I will stand beside you,” said an elder.
”I will too,” said another, moving forward with an eye-stub erect.
”I, too,” said Captain Otis-Elevator. He moved bravely forward to stand next to Dented-s.h.i.+eld. He held up an eye-stub, the eye glaring at the Taker.
”This affair is no concern of yours!” whispered Dented-s.h.i.+eld so loudly the electronic wave tingled Otis-Elevator's hide.