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    Characters From the Flight of the Maita Science Fiction Series
    Characters From the Flight of the Maita Science Fiction Series
    Characters From the Flight of the Maita Science Fiction Series
    Ebook113 pages1 hour

    Characters From the Flight of the Maita Science Fiction Series

    By CD Moulton

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    About this ebook

    Short stories and excerpts to demonstrate the personalities of the continuing characters in the Flight of the Maita series

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCD Moulton
    Release dateApr 8, 2013
    ISBN9781301025534
    Characters From the Flight of the Maita Science Fiction Series
    Author

    CD Moulton

    Born in Florida, travelled the world as a rock guitarist with some big names in the late sixties, early seventies. Been everything from a high steel worker to longshoreman, from musician to bar owner, and much more. Educated in botany and genetics. Now living in paradise (Panamá!)

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      Book preview

      Characters From the Flight of the Maita Science Fiction Series - CD Moulton

      Characters From the Flight of the Maita Series

      A collection of shorts featuring each of the continuing characters in the series.

      Featuring Z:

      Featuring Thing:

      Featuring the Golems:

      Featuring Tab/TR:

      Featuring Kit/T6:

      Featuring Kurk:

      Smashwords edition © 2013 by C. D. Moulton

      all rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, either electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder/publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

      This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to persons, living or dead, or events is purely coincidental unless otherwise stated.

      About the author

      CD Moulton has traveled extensively over much of the world both in the music business, where he was a rock guitarist, songwriter, and arranger and in an import/export business. He has been everything from a bar owner to auto salvage (junkyard) manager, longshoreman to high steel worker. He started writing books in 1983 and has published more than 200 books as of January 1, 2013. His most popular books to date are about research with orchids, though much of his science fiction and fantasy work has proven popular. He wrote the CD Grimes, PI, series and the Det. Nick Storie series, among other works.

      He now resides in David, Panama’, where he writes the Clint Faraday mystery series and plays music with friends – and pursues his favorite ways to spend his time: beach bum and roaming the mountains.

      He is lately active in civil rights concerns for the Indigenous people, the Indios, who he has learned to love.

      As this is a series based on an intelligent spaceship, Maita, who has become emperor of a vast empire by the end of the series, I will not feature Maita alone.

      Each of the characters has a personality of his (hers or its) own. I think a series this long must have distinct and different personalities, else it becomes boring. The main reason for not continuing the series after 45 books was because there simply wasn’t enough to base interesting stories on and the addition of Gloria and Iggy would not be enough.

      Featuring Z.

      Z is the first character, along with Thing, who is a continuing character throughout the series. Tom, Tranz, Joe, etc. were only in the first few books. This is part of one story in Like Old Times. The crew, as everyone called Maita and friends, were exploring in the galactic dome when they found a very beautiful world. Z collects orchid-like plants and is exploring in a section where many were found.

      Z made one more full trip back to Maita four hours later, then decided to make a short trip before returning at the six hour mark.

      He had returned to a rain river in a small valley where he was collecting an orchid that much resembled the familiar Epidendrum fragrans of Earth. This one looked – and even smelled – like the Earth species, thrived in almost full sun much like its Terran counterpart and grew on rock faces like the ones on Earth. The quick gene scan the floater made for the records showed it had almost no genetic patterns that were exactly like the Terran species, but that was expected. Much the same thing had happened many times before.

      Z went around a rock face, wading in the edge of the shallow stream. There was a narrow cleft with a number of what looked much like Earth's Maxillaria orchids growing in the moist shade. He took several smaller parts of the various varieties, then turned to take them back to place them on the floater waiting around the bend.

      There were eight beings with long spears in a semicircle, standing there watching him. The reptilian people looked much like the Klifts, a race Z had met many years ago who were now respected members of the empire. Z could see the curiosity and intelligence in them, but knew he was an unknown quantity to them. He was a mammal, he was somewhat larger than they and he was alien. They had never seen anything vaguely like him before in all probability.

      Z never had any serious trouble communicating with people, witness the fact he had pulled the original group together so well they were able to overthrow a vastly superior force and to take Maita over from the Pweetoos – even though there were five distinct races among them.

      Okay, so that was ninety percent luck. Everyone there was in an impossible situation and really had nothing left to lose, but there was one very important lesson impressed on him at that far moment that served him well many times since: Take charge of the situation as though it was your natural right.

      Other lessons learned had to do with cultural customs. It was his natural inclination to smile, but that was the showing of the teeth. Showing of the teeth is an open invitation to a fight in many cultures. Z's father had impressed on him back on Earth more than three hundred fifty years ago that the stupidest possible thing anyone could do who was confronted by a vicious dog was to smile, thus showing the teeth, thus inviting a charge from the dog. Dogs, other mammals, showed enmity and defiance by showing the teeth. The best thing to do was to give the other something to do. Ask – never demand – help in something.

      Think fast!

      Z held up the small samples of the plants, turned to point to some that were a bit out of his reach up in the cleft and indicated the spear of the nearest person. That person handed Z the spear before he thought. The others tensed so Z quickly used the spear point to prod a couple of the plants from the rock, then handed the spear back to the one he took it from, holding the plant he had pulled off of the rock proudly. The little party looked around at one another, then started to discuss Z.

      Z spread his collection out on the rocks, looked over the various types and went back to the rocks. He took a small piece of a plant that was a bit different from the ones he had laid out on the flat rock (That was of a species he'd collected earlier), compared it, nodded to himself and wrapped the plants in a rag he carried for that purpose. He looked up to find the apparent leader of the hunters and the one who had handed him the spear staring at the plants and at him from a little closer than the others.

      Now what? Should he trigger the automatic emergency caller implanted in his chest?

      The leader pointed to the plants and said something.

      I'm afraid I don't understand your language, pal, Z said. I wish Maita had gotten it on general principles.

      The leader then pointed to the plants again, placed a palm upward and shrugged. THAT was almost universal!

      Z nodded, then placed the plants into a star-shaped pattern, the deep brown, the lighter brown, the brownish yellow, the deep yellow and so on around to the red. There was one with green sepals, brown petals and a bright red lip that he placed in the center.

      Art is also almost universal. The fellow understood.

      Z placed a hand on his own forehead and said, Z. He then pointed toward the leader and made the palms upward shrug. The leader shrugged in return.

      Z repeated the palm to the head and the Z, then took a BIG chance. He placed his hand on the leader's head and looked as questioning as he could.

      The fellow suddenly nodded, placed a palm on his own head, said, Imu, placed his palm on Z's head, said Z, then placed his hand on the spear carrier's head and said, Lix.

      Lix repeated the process, then Z did it with all eight.

      Okay. Introductions over. Now what?

      Imu pointed to Z, then pointed downstream. Z put a palm up and shrugged. Imu pointed downstream, said, Imu, Lix, Z.

      Z shook his head and pointed upstream.

      There were suddenly eight spears pointed at him. Imu pointed downstream and turned to walk that way.

      So much for who's in charge!

      They started downstream with Imu leading. Lix walked along beside Z and looked to Z a little apologetic. The six others were behind them.

      Was this interference? The rules were suspended, but Z felt a little guilty. He had grown a bit lax, a bit careless and the floater was left back a bit where Maita couldn't keep watch on what he was doing. Now by the time he was missed and the floater came looking for him he could be kilometers away!

      There wasn't any way he could mark anything. How would Maita know where to find him?

      There was, about fifteen minutes later, a slight tingling in his chest.

      The location beacon! He had worn the thing for hundreds of years, had even mentioned it a few hours ago and had as much as forgotten about it! He could easily activate it without making an emergency call so he did. Maita would

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