Old Mars

Are they smart enough for you to read their thoughts?

They’re not sentient, Scorpio. The only thing I read is hunger. It’s been a few days since they made their last kill.

How many are there?

Five. Maybe six.

You can’t tell?

There may be one who’s too weak from hunger to be transmitting.

Scorpio walked around to the cargo hold, opened it, and pulled out a sonic blaster. He checked it to make sure it was fully charged, then carried it over to the Martian.

“You know how to use one of these?” he asked.

“No,” said Quedipai.

“Ever seen anyone use it in an entertainment video?”

“Yes.”

“Same thing. This is the firing mechanism. Just aim and push this button.”

“Who are you expecting?”

“It’s more a bunch of whats than a who,” answered Scorpio. “And make sure you don’t hit Merlin.”

“Why would I fire at Merlin?” asked Quedipai.

“He’ll be our first line of defense. If we’re attacked, he’ll be fighting whatever’s attacking us before you even raise the blaster to take aim.”

Soon. They know we’re here.

“I’m going to get another weapon out of the cargo hold,” said Scorpio. “Keep on your toes.”

Quedipai looked puzzled. “I don’t have any toes,” he said.

Damn! They’re big!

Before he could even open the hold the Earthman turned to see five shaggy, bearlike six-legged creatures, each a dull gray, armed with vicious canines and long, curved claws on each foot, slinking out of the city and spreading out, as if to cut off all escape routes.

Quedipai was shaking like a leaf, so Scorpio walked over to him and took the sonic blaster, which the Martian relinquished gratefully.

Who’s the leader? he asked Merlin.

Second from the left.

He’s the smallest of the lot.

He’s a she, and the Martian duxbollahs live in matriarchies.

Scorpio aimed the blaster at the female and pressed the firing mechanism. She screamed in pain and surprise as she was hurled ten feet through the thin Martian air by an almost solid wall of sound. The other duxbollahs looked around nervously, trying to pinpoint the enemy that had sent their leader flying, never associating it with Scorpio and his weapon.

No sense letting them get organized. Wish me luck.

No sooner had Merlin sent the thought than he launched himself at the still-groggy female, ripping into her with claws and fangs. She tried to fight back, but it was clear that the Venusian was slowly tearing her to pieces. Finally, uttering a shrill scream, she turned tail and raced back to the ruins. The four males hesitated for a moment. Then Merlin charged the largest of them. He immediately followed the female, and the other three also raced back to the ruins in a wide semicircle that took them as far from Merlin as possible while still heading for safety. The Venusian loped after them in a leisurely manner to make sure they didn’t change their minds, then turned around and returned to the ship.

“Still wonder why he came along?” asked Scorpio with a smile.

“He’s quite awesome,” said Quedipai. “I didn’t think there was any animal around that could scare off five duxbollahs at once.”

Did I hear right? Did he just call me an animal?

For what he’s paying, he can call you a lot worse than that. Just keep an eye out in case those things return. They’re not going to get any less hungry in the next couple of hours.

“Let’s keep alert for hungry visitors,” said Scorpio to Quedipai. “And in the meantime, tell me a little more about what you think you’re going to find.”

“As I told you: the Tomb of the Martian Kings—and hopefully, inside the tomb, the Book of Blaxorak.”

“There have been a lot of Martian kings over the eons,” said Scorpio. “Why are these so much more difficult to find? This isn’t a very big planet, and it hasn’t got all that many weird places where you could successfully hide a tomb for thirty or forty thousand years.”

“They are more than well hidden,” answered Quedipai. “If my research and our legends are correct, they are protected.”

“Protected?” repeated Scorpio. “By who or by what?”

“They are the tombs of the Krang Dynasty,” said the Martian. “The Krang were a special race. Some say they were not even native to the planet but that a small handful came here and conquered the entire world in something less than a year. They built no cities and left no edifices, which suggests that they were … visitors.”