Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Merchant 2 (sci-fi 4)

“..And that is my story, Master Merchant Hamjiir.”
Yax’s recital had taken long enough that Najef had emerged from the control cabin and served drinks; Hot Khavi for Hamjiir, and a clear flask of the nutritive brew Warriors used as an herbal stimulant for Yax. Najef now squatted on another flat perch and had listened with his eyes wide to the harrowing tale of Yax’s scout squad. It was apparent to both adults present that he was brimming with questions, but his training as a merchant was well-imprinted, and Hamjiir and Yax both noted that he restrained himself without any too-obvious sign of impatience. Hamjiir felt pride at his trainee’s control, but he, too, had questions; as well as the authority to ask without impoliteness.
“A Legacy weapon? Is it likely to be dangerous to the crawler?”
Legacy tech was, by definition, ill-understood. Relics of the great races that had once resided on this world, such devices were notable for their innovation, power, and danger. The great races had seemingly only designed devices for their current needs, and rarely produced more than one of any single design. Therefore any creation of theirs was unique, and knowledge of similar devices was only a little help in figuring out the function and capabilities of a new discovery. In addition, many Legacy devices had built-in fail safes to prevent them from falling into the hands of the great races’ enemies. Sometimes the modern inhabitants of the world were classed as enemies by legacy traps, and sometimes they were not.
“Friend Merchant, I know not. We never found any sign of the weapon. But the reports our Council received said that it was inactive at this time. It is likely that it is not a danger.”
“Ah. Thank you, Scout Harpath. Your report was concise and informative. You are a credit to your Council. Would you care to join me in the control tower? I believe the Transport Guild’s Emergency Provisions will allow me to increase speed a touch to get you back to civilization.”

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