The Merseians In Other Captain Flandry Stories

In "Honorable Enemies," the Merseians seem to be merely a vehicle to introduce Aycharaych. They are present but the focus is on him. When the Merseian ambassador, Korvash the Farseeing, and Aycharaych enter the presence of the Sartaz of Betelgeuse, Flandry, alleging an assassination attempt, attacks Aycharaych with his ceremonial sword, then Aline drops Korvash with a stun gun. It is Aycharaych the telepath that counts. Flandry must engage and disarm the Chereionite, then hold a sword at his throat to prevent him from speaking while Aline presents false evidence against the Merseians. With the benefit of hindsight, maybe Aline could have stunned Aycharaych first but Flandry had to act fast and Aycharaych and he were armed with what were meant to be merely ceremonial swords.

In "The Game of Glory," the Merseians, remaining off-stage, are represented by an agent of another species, A'u, who, unlike Aycharaych, does not live to fight another day.

On Altai, Bourtai tells Flandry:

"'It is the Merseians, great greenskinned monsters with long tails, the Merseians, I tell you, who come in secret from a secret landing field. I have seen them myself, walking these halls after dark, I have heard from a girl to whom a drunken orkhon babbled, I have crept like a rat in the walls and listened myself. They are called Merseians, the most terrible enemy your race and mine have yet known, and -'"

-Poul Anderson. "A Message in Secret" IN Anderson, Captain Flandry: Defender Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, February 2010), pp. 341-397 AT IV, p. 356.

Despite this background presence of the Merseians, Flandry deals directly only with colonials and natives on Altai.

In "A Plague of Masters," there is a welcome break from Merseians.

In "Hunters of the Sky Cave," Ruethen of the Long Hand joins our list of significant Merseians:

Morruchan

Brechdan

Ydwyr

Uldwyr

Tachwyr

Ruethen