Page 63 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Serving the Chocolate Eclipse

their ace-in-the-hole, an easily-manipulated source of terror for the
illiterate population.
Ah, well, too late now, thought Kaga, and turned once to the
ComSet. This time he saw something ominous: it looked like a small
sandstorm coming from the direction of Joktu. It had to be a
hundred macropods. He shut off the screen and looked to his
defenses. They were pitifully few and patently feeble.
The shelter vibrated increasingly as the horde drew near. Then the
pounding stopped. Kaga tried the ComSet, but the video camera had
been trampled. He braced himself against the wall and took the safety
off his gun. A series of crashing blows came next; the macropods
were kicking through the duronite hatch cover. Then silence again.
This is it, thought Kaga. Is there anything I could say to dissuade
them from killing me? Threats of retaliation are meaningless; they’ve
never seen more than one alien at a time and they have no concept of
the firepower in a PKU deepspace cruiser. Begging for mercy won’t
help, either; they’re in the grip of religious fanaticism. Nevertheless
he switched on his Languex.
A skittering sound cut into his consciousness. A Mulo was coming
down the ladder. Kaga felt his heart thumping loudly in his throat.
Suddenly a face appeared in the hatchway. It was Dumop the acolyte!
“Greetings, confectionery merchant. I have come to tell you that it
is safe now to return to Joktu. Blorath has digested your offerings
and found them pleasing. A new clan of Mulorg rules Somogo,
cousins of our high priest; you will deal with them in future. In
addition—”
The Mulo extended a small bag of plastinium nuggets. Kaga’s face
broke into a wide grin. He put down his gun and rummaged around
the room for a piece of chocolate.
“Now,” he said, “you’re talking business.”

61