As they always did, they thanked Bronwyn profusely for helping raise Ax and ‘Tesh. They thanked her parents, too, for putting a roof over their heads. They closed the link.
They checked their equipment, and arranged themselves around the door. “Look at it this way, G. Your armor will keep most of you dry.” He waved his bracelet and the door unlocked.
16 – Deck 9: Rainforest Level
Braden looked through the door and instantly a hideous screeching started. He didn’t see anything at first, but once he looked up, he saw small creatures, human in shape with long tails and covered in brown fur. One reached behind him, pulled something out, and flung it at Braden.
It splattered against the screen beside the door. Others jumped up and down. Some beat their chests. All screamed and howled. None of them had weapons. Braden could smell what had hit the door: excrement.
He ran through the door, shouting and waving his arms. The small creatures fled in terror. He found a rock and threw it at one who was bolder than the others. It jumped to the side to avoid Braden’s throw, then disappeared into the tree branches above.
G-War trotted behind Braden. Micah helped Aadi and Skirill squeeze through the door, then followed closely behind.
They were on the Rainforest Level.
The ramp entrance was mostly overgrown. Like the Amazon had tried to reclaim the road on Vii, this rainforest was trying to erase all signs of the ancients.
Braden and Micah expanded their neural implant windows to show a map of this level. The blinking dot highlighted where they were. They turned around in a circle, trying to get a bearing on the ramp to Deck 8. A line appeared on their map. They reduced the windows and pointed the way to go.
If there was once a road, they couldn’t tell. It looked like they were heading into the heart of the rainforest. They watched for the small dancing creatures. The companions wanted to avoid the unpleasant poop throwers, but if they were the worst of this deck, then the journey wouldn’t be bad.
G-War was the first to complain. It wasn’t raining, but they were soaked as if it was.
The Rainforest Level wasn’t as dense as the Amazon, so Skirill was able to fly. He had difficulty with precise maneuvers because the speed at which the land beneath him moved. He flew straight by angling slightly to the side. He worked hard to adjust, but he was also covered in a light armor. Both of these factors made flying a challenge. He often settled for riding Aadi.
The companions pushed forward. Braden and Micah’s boots helped keep their feet dry. The Old Tech of their armor and clothing made them better at what they usually did.
Another reason why the ancients destroyed themselves, Braden thought. People thought they were better than they actually were.
Micah nodded in agreement, while keeping her eyes moving, left, right, up, down. There was movement. The rainforest was alive, but nothing challenged them directly.
Even with their advantages and the neural implant’s guidance, the heavy undergrowth made for slow progress. They stopped when they thought they’d made it halfway, tired from the walking, climbing, and crawling. Holly told them they’d been awake for nearly a full turn. In a small opening, they ate and drank, while leaning heavily against the trees.
“Camp once we get off this deck?” Braden asked. Micah agreed. They couldn’t sleep in the rainforest. It was too wet, too alive.
They adjusted their packs and equipment. With blasters in hand, the companions continued their journey. Before Micah took her first step, a Lizard Man appeared out of nowhere.
He was smaller than his Amazonian cousins, more like the one they’d seen in the minds of the cold-water crocs. His skin was a heavier green, and his eyes were more toward the front of his face without bugging out. His hands were five-fingered, but his feet were three-toed, with a heavy nail at the end of each.
Aadi swam forward until the Lizard Man leveled his spear. G-War raised his hackles. Braden and Micah froze, giving Aadi time to communicate.
‘…you cannot pass. Leave now or face our wrath!’ G-War was able to communicate with the Lizard Man and had opened the mindlink. Aadi switched to his thought voice.
‘Mighty warrior of the rainforest! We’ve come from the rainforest on Planet Vii, where your brothers number in the thousands. They consider us friends. We have open trade with them. We are equals. Please know that we do not seek your territory, only the ramp to take us from here. We humbly beg you to let us pass.’ Aadi used his most soothing and diplomatic tone.
‘Thousands of our brothers?’ Do they rule the planet?’
‘They rule the rainforest, absolutely. They don’t travel outside the rainforest because it is too hot and dry, but their leader, Zalastar has committed to finding a way. We trade with the Amazonians. We’ve fought side-by-side with the Amazonians against our mutual enemies, the cold-water crocs.’ The humans felt like Aadi was making progress. They relaxed, but stayed still during the delicate give and take of the trade.
‘We will consider allowing you to pass. We shall eat the bird at a celebration of our new partnership,’ the Lizard Man stated. They felt Skirill’s rising anger over the mindlink.
‘That’s not going to work for us,’ Braden said, finally stepping forward and resting a hand on Skirill to calm him. ‘Master Skirill is our representative from the Hawkoid nation. He is an equal, as your brothers on Planet Vii are equals. As Aadi, First Master of the Tortoise Consortium is our equal, as the Golden Warrior of the Stone Cliffs, a Prince among his people, is an equal. We don’t eat our sentient brothers, no matter whether they have fur, shells, or feathers.’
The Lizard Man turned slightly to look at the human. ‘Now those little brown creatures that stay in the trees, maybe we can have one or two of them at the celebration?’ Braden assumed they had a mutual dislike for the crap throwers.
‘They are very hard to catch, but if you can bring us two of them, you may pass.’ The Lizard Man walked backwards until he melted into the rainforest.
“Well, Ess, looks like we’re on a mission to keep you from being eaten. They didn’t consider G-War, who is clearly the tastiest among us. They must have a secret agenda…” G-War looked at him, cocking his head in his dog pose. Then he waved his furry paw rudely at the humans.
Micah watched it all and chuckled, then doubled over in laughter, tears rolling down her face.
“We’re on a ship that flies between the stars. Everything up here wants to kill us. And you think they erred because they want to eat Skirill instead of G-War?” Micah spluttered.
“Well, yes,” Braden answered firmly.
“Misfits. I’m President of the Misfits.” She stood up and pointed back the way they’d come. “Well then. Shall we?”
17 – A Better Plan
Holly informed them that the small brown creatures were called monkeys. He even suggested that humans had descended from them.
“If we did, then why are there still monkeys?” Holly couldn’t answer Braden’s question, so he left it alone. The monkeys were semi-intelligent. In a normal situation, they wouldn’t kill them, but they were another obstacle to reaching the Command Deck. Two monkeys had to sacrifice themselves for the survivors of Cygnus VI.
“Are we going to have to go all the way back to the ramp?” Braden muttered as they slogged through the swamp-like rainforest.
They watched, moving slowly and occasionally stopping to listen for any sign of the monkeys. They were exhausted by the time they reached the ramp. Without hesitating, Braden opened the door and they went through. They closed the door behind them. Braden turned on his flashlight as they took off their packs and wedged themselves into the corner of the screen and ramp. G-War curled up on one of the packs, while Braden and Micah used the other for their pillow. Before they knew it, they were fast asleep.
They awoke to the darkness. Braden fumbled around until he found the flashlight. He turned it on with a shaking hand. G-War blinked in the bright light and quickly looked away. Aadi was on the ramp asleep w
ith Skirill perched on his shell. Braden opened his neural implant. Holly confirmed that Braden had been asleep for four hours. Braden converted that into time he understood. He’d slept for half the night. That was a normal amount of sleep for him on the road. He stood and stretched.
He had to relieve himself, but didn’t want to leave the ramp. He went to the far corner and took care of his business. When he returned, Micah was awake.
“How much longer will we be here?” Micah asked.
“As soon as you’re ready, we can go.” Braden busied himself with waking Aadi and Skirill.
“That’s not what I meant. Here, aboard this ship. In one full turn, we’ve gone almost nowhere.”
Braden stopped what he was doing. He felt the same way. He didn’t know what this turn would bring. Twenty-three people were counting on them. Twenty-three from a planet where they no longer had the resources to provide for themselves.
Braden selfishly wanted the ancients to help him find a way to end the Amazonian War.
And then what? No more war anywhere on Vii. Now that they had children of their own, he was fanatical to see the goal achieved.
“There’s no one else to do this. We have to. Axial and De’atesh are counting on us, and they don’t even know it. Cycles from now, they’ll accept a peaceful world as the only thing they remember. That means we have to finish this. So it’ll be two monkeys, we take them down and keep going. Then we cut more vines. We dodge electric humans and dogs who walk upright. We run and hide, wait for them to pass, and then we move on.
“We’ll align the ship, transport them in, and then realign the ship to send them to Vii. I’m not convinced we need to run back and forth. The Engineering spaces are safe enough. Holly can tell them to stay there. If they can’t figure that out, then maybe they aren’t the ones who can help us.”
The companions agreed, getting excited as Braden refused to expose them more than they already were. The RV Traveler was a dangerous place.
The ‘cat sat, watching stoically. Maybe he knew all along that they wouldn’t make this trip twice. Or maybe that smug look on his ‘cat face was because he mentioned the children’s names. The Golden Warrior would always be proud of himself for pulling that one over on the humans.
Braden expanded his window. ‘Holly, here’s what you’re going to do and what we’re going to do…’
18 – Monkey Crap
With renewed vigor, they prepared to go through the door to the rainforest. Braden had an arrow nocked on his recurve bow. Micah dialed a tight beam into her blaster.
With a nod and a bracelet wave, Braden rushed through the door. Micah leaned around the door to steady her aim.
Braden was hit immediately by mud balls that weren’t made of mud. He blinked once and then sent an arrow into one of the throwers. Micah shot the first monkey she saw. It had been jumping up and down on the branch, so her head shot hit him mid-chest. He crashed to the ground. The other, an arrow lodged deep in his abdomen, staggered along the branch before falling.
The remaining monkeys stopped screaming and glared at the humans. Skirill leapt to the air and flew at them. They panicked and fled. Skirill chased them a short way, making sure they were gone.
The companions had seen that look before. It was the hateful glare the Bat-Ravens had given them. The cost for an ally was another enemy.
They knew that speed was their friend. They had to get away before the monkeys could rally. How did they know when Braden was going to come through the door? They’d been waiting. Maybe they were more intelligent than they’d been led to believe. Braden felt sick to his stomach for killing one.
Time for the companions to run.
Braden used the power feature of his boots to move quickly over the rough ground of the rainforest. Micah joined him. Aadi clung to the rope tied to Braden’s pack. Skirill flew back and forth in the tight confines of their path ahead. G-War ran along lower branches, leaping from tree to tree.
They stopped when they reached the place where they had met the Lizard Man the previous turn. They waited, weapons at the ready, watching behind them to see if they were followed.
Nothing. They had expected the Lizard Man to be waiting, but that wasn’t his plan. Braden and Micah each carried a monkey carcass as they walked forward on the path toward the next ramp. Two steps on their way, the Lizard Man appeared. He’d been standing there the whole time, blended perfectly into a tree.
“Two monkeys,” Braden said and they held them up. The Lizard Man looked at them, unmoving.
“I am Free Trader Braden. We had a fair trade. We are delivering our half of the bargain. We’ll need you to do the same.”
They looked at each other for what seemed an eternity. Then other Lizard Men materialized from the rainforest. One, larger than the first, walked close and bowed as he stopped.
‘I am Pik Ha’ar, Commander of the Lizard Force. We applaud your cunning in being able to bring down not one but two of these foul creatures. If we could, we would eradicate them from our land. Maybe you can show us how?’
Braden nodded to Aadi. The Tortoid had more insight into the inner thoughts of the Lizard Men. Braden found it repulsive thinking about killing all the monkeys.
‘Pik Ha’ar, I am Aadi, First Master of the Tortoise Consortium. My compliments to you.’ Aadi paused as he bowed his head. ‘We are simple travelers, passing through to the next deck. We appreciate your courtesy in allowing us through your land.’
‘The next deck? If you can get to the next deck, you are not simple travelers. You carry weapons of the caretakers,’ the Commander said.
‘We carried these weapons the last time we were here. The bargain was struck then. I would ask again that you fill your part of our agreement,’ Braden interjected.
‘Yes. Our agreement. That was made by Tup Lar. He has been appropriately punished for leading you astray.’
Braden was furious. He grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on his blaster. Micah had her blaster loose in its holster. Eradicate was the term they used. She wondered how they’d like to be on the receiving end of that.
Aadi swam forward slowly. ‘Pik Ha’ar. We are happy to make your acquaintance. Tup Lar’s trade was a good agreement. We cannot agree more. They are foul creatures. You can smell their stench on the human from here, can you not?’ Aadi moved closer. Skirill watched from a nearby branch. Two Lizard Men moved below, but their spears couldn’t reach him. G-War sat on another branch, close to Braden and Micah, within two bounds of the Lizard Force Commander. The ‘cat was confident he could kill him if he needed to. He patiently awaited the outcome of Aadi’s negotiations.
The Lizard Man nodded and grinned. Their facial expressions were more human than their Amazonian cousins.
‘Maybe we can help you with your monkey problems, but we need assurance that when we make a deal, both sides comply. It is the law of the trade – negotiate, agree, deliver.’ Braden smiled, happy that Aadi remembered.
‘Throw the monkeys to them, Master Humans,’ Aadi directed. They threw the small bodies into the puddle at Pik Ha’ar’s clawed feet. Micah rubbed her hand on her pants. She didn’t know if the monkey’s stench would ever leave her.
‘That’s not our law of the trade.’ He nodded and a couple of the Lizard Men dropped their spear tips toward the humans as they moved forward.
Micah was first. Her blaster was out in an instant, flashing a thin beam into the nearest Lizard Man. He clutched futilely at his chest as he dropped to his knees, gasping. Braden finally had his blaster out. Micah shot the second Lizard Man in the head. He was long dead before his body fell into the muck.
Aadi delivered his focused thunderclap in the face of Pik Ha’ar. The Lizard Man fell over clutching his head as his eyes rolled backward. The other Lizard Men leapt toward the humans. The blasters sang as Braden and Micah each picked targets, firing as quickly as they could pull the trigger.
It was over before the last Lizard Man knew to run. Only one remained alive, Pik Ha’
ar, rolling on the ground and holding his head.
“How come they never know that talking with us is the best way to stay alive?” Braden asked, shaking his head. “So now we have the monkeys as our enemies AND the Lizard Men. I really don’t want to burn our way to the Command Deck, but I will if they make me.”
Braden slopped through the puddles until he was looming over the Lizard Man. He kicked him in his green chest, then stood with his foot on the creature’s throat.
“Maybe now you’re willing to talk with us?” Pik Ha’ar tried to force Braden’s foot off his neck, but that only made the human push harder. “You are just like the worst on the planet. No wonder creatures there act like you! You’ve infected them with your evil before they had a chance. How have your people survived here without having any honor? How can you do anything if you don’t trust one another?”
‘Pik, I recommend you talk with the human. He will kill all your people and burn your forest down.’ Braden looked at Aadi sideways. That wasn’t what Braden would do. The Tortoid blinked quickly to show Braden that he was exaggerating.
‘Yes. I can guarantee your safe passage. But you must take me with you. As a Commander, when they discover I’ve lost my warriors, they’ll kill me,’ he pleaded in a weak thought voice.
“G? What do you think? Do we have another Elder McCullough crying at our feet?”
‘No. He is sincere. We may need him.’
“He violated the trade!” Braden made a fist and with the other hand waved his blaster around, until Micah put a hand on his arm to keep it pointed away from her.
He holstered the blaster. ‘I suggest the Golden Warrior is correct. Having an ally may be important. This ship is dangerous. If he tries anything, we can lock him behind a door. He doesn’t have a bracelet.’ Aadi’s arguments were usually persuasive.
“Pick up your spear and lead on. You will not stop until we reach the ramp. Do you understand? We know where it is. If you try anything, you won’t have to worry about your fellows killing you.”
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