Trouble on Uth 14 (Troubleshooters 64)

By Dr E J Yeaman

Hi. I’m Tony. I’m an agent of the Galactic Federation. Kikibi (a mate from the planet Etke 12) and I had the job of removing ninety-six man-eating vuhonas from the huge orchards on the planet Uth 14. But somebody was trying to stop us. And they knew where we were going before we did.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dr E J Yeaman
• Release date: Nov 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370239870

Dr E J Yeaman

I retired (early) and started a new career as a writer. I wrote short stories and articles. Some were published; some won prizes; some sank without trace.Having heard my stories, two friends suggested I should write for children. I’d never thought of that, although I’d spent my first career communicating with young people – as a Chemistry teacher, and running clubs for badminton, chess, table tennis and hillwalking.I tried writing for young people – and I loved it. It became my main occupation. I sent samples to publishers. One asked to see a complete story. In excitement, I sent it off. Then nothing. After four months, I rang, and was told the manuscript was being considered: I would be notified. Then more nothing. Now, after eight years, I no longer rush to the door when the letter box rattles.But I kept writing the stories because I enjoyed it so much. Until, in late 2013, I learned I could publish my stories and games as e-books. Since then, I’ve been polishing and issuing some of them. I hope everyone enjoys reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.Check out the series:C: Charades – party game – a new twist to the traditional game.D: Diagags – party game – gags written as plays for two people.M: My Story – novels – classical stories, told by the heroes.O: One-Offs – party game – guess the titles, not quite the classical ones.P: Pop Tales – short stories – inspired by 60s and 70s hit songs.Q: Quote-Outs – word games – can you deduce the missing words?S: Inside Story – novels – a boy’s adventures inside classical stories.T: Troubleshooters – novels – space adventures for young people.

Book preview

TROUBLESHOOTERS 64

TROUBLE ON UTH 14

by

Dr E J Yeaman

Published by EJY at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 Dr E J Yeaman

All characters in this publication are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold, or given away, to other people. If you would like to share this e-book with other people, please buy additional copies. If you did not buy this e-book, or it was not bought for you, then please go to Smashwords.com and buy your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

CONTENTS

1. HUNTING!

2. I’M ZYLL.

3. THIS WOULD BE FUN. NOT.

4. THE TRAIL STOPS HERE.

5. WELCOME TO THE PALACE.

6. COME BACK AT 28%.

7. SPY IN THE SKY.

8. TWO!

9. HE STARTED WALKING.

10. A WATER-GATHERER?

11. A NEW COMMANDER.

12. IT WAS MAGIC.

13. THE SAME ONE.

14. I DON’T LIKE HIM.

15. M.A.U.D.

16. THAT MAN!

17. IT’S DARK NOW.

18. HIS MIND ANSWERED.

19. WHAT’S THE PLAN?

20. THREE CHOICES.

21. AN EMERGENCY HERE.

22. YOU WILL OBEY ME.

23. EXPLAIN!

24. THIS IS THE TRIAL.

25. IS THIS UTH 14 JUSTICE?

26. COMPETITION.

27. ONE VUHONA.

FROM DOC Y

TROUBLESHOOTERS

HAVE YOU MET JAM?

TROUBLE ON UTH 14

1

HUNTING!

Tony, said Martin. Would you report to Wellington?

Why? I was ready to get angry.

I think he has a job for you.

You’re our leader. You’re the one who’s supposed to give us jobs.

You know Wellington. He….

Yeah. I know Wellington. He doesn’t like me, ’cause I showed him up on that Agla 5 mission. He gives me all the lousy jobs.

He was asked to supervise our early missions. Tony, can you control yourself while you report to Wellington, or must I come with you?

I’ll control myself. But it’s not right.

So I wasn’t in a good mood as I went through the headquarters of the Galactic Federation on the planet Yband 4 to Wellington’s office.

Two men were with him. One, with a happy face, looked old enough to be my dad. The other, with a grumpy face, looked old enough to be my grandad, or my great grandad. They were human-like and, with skin the colour of milky coffee, they might’ve come from Earth. But maybe not their gear. Their buff-coloured sleeveless tunics reached to their knees, with rows of black buttons on their shoulders.

Wellington put on his jolly voice to tell them, Ah! Here is the agent for your job, gentlemen.

The old one grumbled, He’s just a boy.

Wellington ignored that, and told me, These gentlemen are the leaders of a planet called Uth 14, which has just joined the Federation. This is the Alhalha. That was the young one. And this is his Justice Adviser. That was the old guy. They are troubled by beasts which lurk in their fields. When they joined the Federation, they were promised that those beasts would be removed. He leaned back, beaming at me. That, agent, is your job.

I said, Thanks a lot, sir.

The old guy, the Justice Adviser, asked me, How old are you?

Thirteen. We were using wrist units for translation. They would change my answer to an age he could understand.

He growled at Wellington, Sir, do you know what you are doing? These vuhonas are man-eaters. We send teams of twelve, well-trained men to deal with each, yet you propose to send this one little child.

This agent will use our advanced equipment, and he has experience in facing wild animals.

Wild animals! exclaimed the Justice Adviser.

The Alhalha said to him, Let us give the boy a chance, sir. The ways of the Federation are new and strange to us. He asked Wellington, When can he start?

Now, said Wellington, glaring at me, challenging me to argue.

I said, I’ll need time to prepare.

The Alhalha said, It is late in the day on our planet. Perhaps you might start tomorrow morning.

Wellington said, He will be there.

So my mood was even blacker when I left Wellington’s office, and went to my cabin. I sat on the bunk, facing the terminal of the Federation computer. Victor, wake. I’ve been sent on a mission to Uth 14. Tell me about it.

Uth 14 joined the Federation twenty-five days ago. Its gravity and atmosphere are similar to those of Sol 3. Its day is 1.14 times as long. The natives live on five islands – a large one and four smaller ones. The weather there is warm and sunny.

Warm and sunny. Knowing Wellington, I’d expected the place to be swept by storms of wind and rain, if not snow.

I said, Let’s see an aerial photo of the islands.

It came up on the screen – the cluster of five islands, with the big one in the middle. The edges were ragged, with lots of little headlands and bays. And was that…? I asked, Are those sandy beaches in the bays?

Yes.

Sunny weather and lots of little sandy bays. My leisure time might be fun, even if the job was dire.

Job: I’d better find out about that. I asked, Let’s see a vuhona.

I have no good pictures of a vuhona. Up came an aerial photo again. Apart from the tops of the hills, the big island was a patchwork of fields – like farming country in Britain. No: not quite. Between the fields were pale bands. The camera zoomed in on one of those, but it was so magnified that I could see only a hazy mottled blob. If that was a vuhona, I couldn’t see a head, feet or tail.

If I’d asked, Is that the best you can do? Victor would’ve given a sarky answer, so I asked, Tell me about the vuhonas.

The natives describe a vuhona as a bulky beast, about as high as a man’s waist. It has two long tentacles, which can whip out and grab prey, pulling it to the mouth, which can expand to devour anything as big as a full-grown man. Vuhonas cannot move quickly. They lurk in hiding, to catch their prey as it passes.

How many vuhonas are on that island?

The natives mainly rely on berry bushes and fruit trees for their food, and those give cover to the vuhonas. So the natives leave wide roads between the fields.

These would be the paler bands that had puzzled me on the aerial photo.

When the natives wish to work in a field, they post a guard at each side of that field, where he can see any vuhonas crossing the roads. They then send a squad into the field, to kill any vuhonas already there. Only then can they work in that field.

That must be a real hassle. I could understand why they wanted the vuhonas removed. I said, You still haven’t told me how many vuhonas there are.

Mistake! He said, I would do so more quickly without foolish questions. The natives have succeeded in ridding the four smaller islands of the beasts. In preparation for your mission, a ship has been in orbit above the large one. With current data, the best estimate of the number of vuhonas on it is 96.2.

96.2! What does 0.2 of a vuhona look like?

Are you requesting an explanation of how that figure was calculated?

No, no! No, thanks. I should’ve learned not to try cheap jokes on Victor.

Ninety-six! And these fields looked big. This promised to be a long, dreary job, hunting those….

Hunting! I knew just the one to help me. Kikibi! He’s mad keen on hunting. He and I had played as a team in muhunts – games where people hunt each other with stun-guns. Kikibi would just love this job. I was much more cheerful: with Kikibi helping, this might be a fun mission after all.

I asked Victor to call Kikibi. Luckily for me, he was at home. Not so lucky for him, because it was the middle of the night on his planet, Etke 12, but, when I told him why I was calling, he didn’t mind. He was so far away there was a twelve-second delay on the messages, so I told him all about the job at once.

His answer was short. I’ll do it.

Thanks, Kikibi, I said. I’ll order the kit we’ll need, and meet you in the big square at the entrance to headquarters here on Yband 4 at 35% on Day 17. Is that OK?

After the delay came Kikibi’s answer. Sounds great. Maybe we can have a muhunt while I’m there.

I told Victor the kit we’d need, and arranged to collect it at the store at 35% on Day 17. Then I lay on my bunk for a while, trying to think of anything I’d forgotten, before I had a short sleep.

By 34.1%, I was in the entrance square. It’s big and bright, surrounded by two-storey houses in cream-coloured stone. It has a fountain in the middle, and bushes in pots, dotted around. People of all shapes sizes and colours were streaming back and forward, but I found a quiet place, where I could watch the entrance to the comm centre. I knew Kikibi wouldn’t be late.

I didn’t see Kikibi, or anybody looking at me, but my senses swam. I had time to think, Some **** has used a stun-gun on me! before I collapsed, unconscious.

2

I’M ZYLL.

When I wakened, Kikibi was kneeling beside me with a reanimator in his hand. He’s about the same age as me, but looks like an ape, with short legs and long arms. His face is human-like, but blue – bright blue. A crowd of rubbernecks were standing around.

Kikibi used his wrist unit. What happened to you, Tony?

I sat up. Somebody used a stun-gun on me. I checked my wrist unit. 35.17%. Just now, while I was waiting for you.

Why?

Don’t ask me. I was just standing here. I’ve made enemies on some of my missions. Maybe it was one of them. I got to my feet, and looked around, but I didn’t recognise anyone. I concentrated on their minds: being from Earth, I can sense the feelings of people from other planets. That didn’t do me any good that time: as the people drifted away, all I sensed was their disappointment, probably ’cause I hadn’t done anything interesting.

Kikibi asked, What are you going to do about it?

What can I do? I’ll put it in my report. Let’s get on with the job.

We went through to the store, where we collected an expedition suit for Kikibi, a backpack each, and three peggies – one-person flying machines. Peggies are too high to go in transporters and shuttles, so they’re supplied partly assembled.

We took a shuttle to the planet Jiam 3, where I reported to Gypsophila, the Commander of the base, a white-haired old woman who looked like somebody’s sweet granny. Then we took three transporters – to Jiam 4, then Fewi-Vumi 8, then Uth 14, at the edge of the explored part of the Galaxy.

On Uth 14, the transporter opened into the back of a room about the