Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  The elevator slowed as it was programmed to, minimizing the impact on humans. The door opened to an access tube, identical to the one they’d used before. They floated into it, then pulled themselves toward the hatch at the other end. Micah reached it first and peeked through.

  She pulled back and sat away from the small window. Braden looked at her questioningly. She waved him away from the window.

  ‘There are two in there. I think one of them saw me,’ she said over their mindlink.

  ‘Then there’s no time to waste.’ Braden pulled himself up to the window, then bounced back as a face looked at him.

  He waved his bracelet past the access panel and the hatch rolled soundlessly aside.

  The Android reached for his blaster. Braden moved his hand toward it, afraid what would happen if the Android got there first. Micah was still crouched below the hatch, her back against the tube's bulkhead. She kicked quicker than the other two moved, driving the Android back half a step. Braden pulled his blaster and fired into the thing’s chest.

  With its loss of power, the magnetic couplings stopped working. Micah kicked again, sending it flying back into the Maintenance and Service space. A second Android was there. It fired its laser at them. It wasn’t able to hold its aim on a moving target as the humans pushed and pulled themselves out of the way. The beam danced across Braden’s chest as he scrambled for cover. Micah pulled herself to the hatch and launched herself directly at the Android.

  It changed its aim, but not fast enough. These were small spaces and Micah was there in less than a heartbeat. Braden kicked away from the back bulkhead. Micah focused on the left arm, grabbing it with both hands while she braced against the thing’s body with her feet.

  Braden came in from the other side as the Android’s right hand grabbed a strap on Micah’s harness and started yanking, trying to throw off her aim. Braden held his blaster against the things right shoulder and fired. The limb went dead. The Android looked at them without expression as it twisted its left arm, flexing its fingers and seeking a hold on Micah.

  Braden thrust his blaster forward, but the Android started bouncing and flailing, trying to throw the human off. Braden wrapped his legs around the Android’s waist and braced his wrist against Micah’s legs as he pulled the trigger quickly, sending short bursts into the thing’s good arm.

  It froze in place.

  Micah twisted the arm back and forth to make sure it was dead before she let go. They both floated around the Android, looking at it. They breathed heavily from their short, but intense, exertions.

  “I didn’t think that would kill. Let’s say I hoped that wouldn’t kill it.” They knew they couldn’t take one intact as long as it could still use its arms.

  “Wait,” Micah said. “It’s not floating.”

  ‘Holly, I think we have your victim. Its arms don’t work anymore, but I think it still functions,’ Micah said into her window.

  ‘Working on it. Yes, I see it. Attempting to access now.’ Holly went silent as he worked on the Android, in addition to all the work he was doing on the Bridge. The thing started twisting and turning its body. Then it took one step, and another as it headed toward the back hatch, the one that led through the storage space to the wide open beyond.

  Braden wrapped himself around its leg, but couldn’t keep the Android from putting it in front of him, securing it to the floor and taking another step. He pulled his blaster and shot through the knees of both legs. The Android floated free while its upper legs still worked. They used zip ties to secure it to handholds at the side of the space.

  Braden’s hand hurt. He’d grip as normal, but felt like he had no strength. “I hope I can shoot my bow,” he said between great gulps of air.

  Micah nodded and floated to Braden. She pulled him tightly to her, stroking his hair, then changed the subject so he wouldn’t wallow in despair. “Is there no limit to what Holly can do?” Micah asked as she reduced her window. She’d forgotten it was open during the Android’s attempted escape.

  “Is he the reason the ancients went to war? There’s nothing that he can’t control. Once we get the survivors from Cygnus VI here, we’re going to have a serious chat. They are used to the hologram. We want them to be slightly uncomfortable with Holly. Aadi’s purity of soul plan sounds great, but how would Holly make that happen? Aadi spent a great deal of time working with the hologram. I wonder if Holly had no intention of solving this problem?”

  Micah held her finger in front of her lips, silencing Braden. She nodded in agreement.

  “Before we work on any of that, we need him to get off this ship. I, for one, don’t wish to stay here one heartbeat longer than I have to. I may have mentioned that before,” she said. And he agreed just like he had every time before.

  They checked the storage area behind the space, expecting to find more bodies. They were pleased when they did not. The area led to the track system where parts could be moved anywhere in the ship using the central access. They saw the corridor and the bulkhead of the Bridge. Having seen the three-dimensional maps and now looking at it fresh, it all made sense. One central spindle upon which everything turned. The corridor to the bridge remained steady. The external shell of the ship was steady. Everything else rotated.

  The ancients were geniuses, industrial giants who not only devised this ship, they built it and flew it for three millennia to the Cygnus system. Braden and Micah took in the sights from the end of the parts storage area, rectifying what they saw with the maps in their heads.

  When they returned to the Maintenance and Service space on radial zero, they couldn’t tell if anything changed. Micah expanded her window and asked Holly for an update.

  He didn’t answer for an uncomfortably long period of time.

  ‘I am into their system. I didn’t want to risk failure by stopping. I’ve solidified my access, building a shielded portal. I am reviewing the coding now to answer our questions. Why and how did they lock out the main computer? What is their primary goal? How are they communicating with each other? What future attacks can we expect? How can we ‘fix’ them to keep running the ship as I need them to?’ Micah raised her eyebrows at the last part. She wasn’t happy with Holly leading an Android army. She held her tongue and reduced the window.

  “Let’s have a look at that burn on your chest. Where else are you hurt?” Micah saw Braden favoring his arm and his leg. She pulled him close to her and demanded that he take his clothes off.

  “Right here, lover? With the Android watching?” He winked at her and started gyrating as he unbuckled and unbuttoned.

  “Stop it, you! You’ve taken everything the Androids have thrown at us. I want to see the injuries you’re hiding!”

  Braden took off his harness, light armor, and shirt. His chest hair was matted and smelled rank. They’d rinsed off in the stream on Deck 2, but how long ago was that--two, three sleeps? They’d probably have to burn their clothes when they got back, unless a Server Bot came to the rescue.

  Braden’s Old Tech fabric armor had protected his chest, but his arms were uncovered. There was a thin line across Braden’s upper left arm where the Android’s laser beam had burned across. It wasn’t deep, but it looked painful. Micah rubbed numbweed on it, pleased with the relief on Braden’s face. The bandage around his lost fingers had loosened. She tightened it. The lasers sealed the wounds, so there was no blood, but the damage was extensive. She wondered if the Medical Laboratory at New Sanctuary could do anything for her mate. In addition to the scarring, he was starting to leave body parts behind.

  She checked his ankle, which was heavily bruised, but not broken. There wasn’t anything she could do to help that. When they got back to the Aviary, he could soak it in the cool stream. For now, zero-g kept his weight from it, but it was starting to swell. She knew that he would be in worse shape later.

  She expanded her window. ‘Holly, do we have to stay here? Do you need us back on the Bridge or can we go to the Aviary?’

  As the P
resident, she should have told Holly what they were going to do, not asked for permission. But they were on the ship, and he had answers that they needed. He controlled everything because the ship was just like him, a living machine.

  ‘I have things under control. I simply need time. Pik and Aadi can join you on Deck 2 if they wish. They should send the humans to their Crew Quarters. I will lock them out of the Bridge. That will be easier than trying to watch them.’ Holly was congenial, but seemed distracted, which was difficult for a disembodied hologram to pull off. Micah knew how busy he was and shut it out of her mind. Let him work his programs and systems.

  Braden dressed after Micah told him they could go to the Aviary. ‘Aadi! You and Pik will see the humans off the Bridge, then Holly will lock it behind you. Take them to their quarters and then you two join us in the Aviary.’

  ‘That sounds wonderful, Master Micah! Holly has already instructed old Treecia and Gill to leave the Bridge. They resisted briefly, but Pik has his spear and they thought better of fighting back. They are leaving. We’ll let them take the elevator by themselves, then we’ll take the next one. Holly wants Pik to mash a few more buttons before we go.’ Aadi was cordial and soon told Micah that they’d left the Bridge and were on their way.

  Braden and Micah pulled themselves down the access tube, then waited for the elevator to appear. They went to the Bridge level first where the elevator could reorient itself, then they went to Deck 2. They dropped lightly to the floor as the elevator slowed. They walked into the Aviary almost normally, although Braden limped heavily once he put weight on his damaged ankle.

  They welcomed the cacophony of sound. It was a better normal for those from the planet. The companions waited patiently, happy to have their feet under them. The Golden Warrior sprawled across a limb, his legs dangling, with Skirill and Zyena beside him. Aadi floated serenely nearby. Pik stood in the shade, looking like he wanted to enter the forest.

  “The stream and lake should be right through there.” Braden pointed at a gap in the trees. Without waiting, Braden hobbled in the direction he’d pointed. Micah caught up to him and threw her arm across his shoulders. Once Pik saw where they were going, he moved in front of them, keeping his spear at the ready. He hadn’t done a good job of protecting Braden so far and felt he needed to redeem himself.

  The Hawkoids flew from the branch over the trees and down to the small lake. They flared together, landing close on a tree branch that overhung the stream pouring into the lake.

  Aadi swam after them. He had much to discuss with the humans.

  40 – A Break

  Braden sat on a rock, dangling his foot in the stream and letting the cold water work on his ankle. The bruise was an ugly color, but the pain lessened as the water chilled his lower leg.

  Braden and Micah had closed their windows fully. When they usually closed them, it meant they were reduced in size, shoved in a corner away from their line of sight. This time, their neural implants were off.

  ‘Holly will take as much control as we’ll give him. I think he was designed that way. You, Master President, can limit what he does. I’ve seen him defer to you when I know he wants something different. He is our friend, for now.’ Aadi talked through the facts as he’d seen them. With Holly projected on the Bridge, this was the first time the companions other than the Tortoid had any long term interaction with the hologram.

  ‘How will we know if he turns and decides it’s time to take over?’ Micah asked as she swam about the lake, having washed her clothes before jumping in. They hung on a tree beside a small beach. Braden’s shirt and pants hung with them. He had a blaster at his side.

  Just in case.

  Holly was certain the Androids communicated with each other on a closed system. They’d been told that the President and her entourage of intelligent animals were dangerous. At least there were fourteen fewer Androids to deal with. He suspected that the Traveler shipped out from Earth with thousands of Androids on board. How many were destroyed before they isolated themselves? Holly didn’t know, which meant that he didn’t know how many remained.

  ‘I fear that we won’t know in time. We need to establish the failsafe before then.’ Aadi blinked slowly as he chose his words carefully. ‘You need to issue the commands.’ Micah swam closer, staying away from the cooler water feeding the lake.

  “You’re telling me I have to tell Holly to do something, but we don’t know what by a certain time, but we don’t know when.” Braden nodded and then shook his head. Exactly.

  ‘Yes, Master Micah. Before we get off this ship, we need to decide what order you have to give it. What will keep it from driving us to a new war?’

  Braden shrugged. He had thought long and hard when they were traveling on the planet and hadn’t come up with anything. If it wasn’t as simple as telling Holly not to start a war, then he was lost. He couldn’t think like the hologram. He pinned his hopes on Aadi, First Master of the Tortoise Consortium.

  The Tortoid came up with the purity test, an interesting concept coming from a mutant, but he wasn’t applying it to physical attributes.

  Micah still chewed on it. She believed the answer was there. They only had to find it.

  She got out of the water and sauntered toward Braden. He was instantly aware of her nakedness. “Now, now. I don’t think we’ll be doing anything on this ship. This place bothers me. Things here wants us dead.”

  ‘I will watch over you,’ G-War said warmly.

  ‘And me, Master Humans,’ Aadi chimed in as he swam through the air toward the far side of the lake.

  ‘And us,’ Skirill and Zyena said in unison. They took to the air and circled lazily around the opening above the lake.

  ‘And me. I will keep you safe to my last breath,’ Pik added after the others.

  “I guess we have no choice now but to let our friends protect us,” Braden offered as he stood gingerly. His ankle hurt, but not as much as before. It would all be forgotten soon.

  ‘Thank you all,’ Micah said softly as she joined her partner on the shore of the small lake fed by a trickling stream.

  41 – Aligning the Ship

  They realized that Holly had finished mastering the ship’s systems when they felt something different. Besides being pulled toward the deck, there was a new force pulling them aft.

  The ship was moving.

  They’d forgotten to turn their neural implants back on. Going through the steps, they reactivated their implants and opened the windows.

  ‘Sorry, Holly, we got distracted. We assume you are aligning the ship?’ Micah wanted Holly’s confirmation.

  ‘Yes, the ship is breaking orbit and moving to the far side of the moon. We’ll stay beyond the gravitational pull of the nearby planetary bodies so the line of sight between Cygnus VI and the ship is uninterrupted. Once there, we’ll begin the transfer process. We can transfer twelve at one time. It’ll take two full process cycles to complete.’

  ‘How long will that be, in turns?’ Micah asked.

  ‘It will take a total of five days, or five turns in your vernacular. I asked before you went aboard the Traveler that you keep your neural implants active. Please do not turn them off again. We are in a critical phase of ship operation. I may need to talk with you at any time and get permission to perform necessary actions, or if you wish, you could give me blanket access to everything regarding the ship.’

  Is he baiting me, Micah thought. Braden watched the proceeding in his own window. He shook his head as well as mouthed the word no.

  ‘Please accept our apologies. We will leave our implants active until you have saved us all. You know I can’t give blanket permission. No one, not even me, should have that much power. We need to maintain a failsafe, to avoid accidental killings and ultimately, to avoid war,’ Micah said firmly. She wanted to plant the seed in Holly’s consciousness and nurture it until it blossomed and he lived within its shade.

  ‘I understand,’ Holly said in his calm voice. ‘Here is what’s going
on. The ship is accelerating on a trajectory that takes it past the moon, away from Cygnus VII. I will cut power shortly and the gravity from the moon will pull the ship around it. I will engage the engines briefly to depart the moon’s orbit. Once our trajectory to space is confirmed, I will rotate the ship and fire the engines at intervals until the ship is stopped. I will then use the attitude thrusters to ensure the aft end of the ship is canted forty-five degrees from Cygnus VI. This will be perfect alignment to begin the matter transfer process. The people of Cygnus VI have informed me that they are standing by. We should be ready to begin transferring them in less than one turn, by your measure. I’ve added a countdown clock to your window, so that you will know the exact moment the first group from Cygnus VI is on board. I will adjust the time as necessary as I learn more.’

  Braden and Micah didn’t want to tell Holly they didn’t understand what he said so Micah settled for, ‘Thanks, Holly. You’ve done incredible work to get us to this point. We look forward to being back in the New Command Center where we can laugh and smile about this grand adventure we’re on.’

  Braden gave her a thumbs up, and then looked at the countdown clock before reducing his window.

  77:04

  Holly’s time showed that in seventy-seven hours and four minutes, twelve survivors would be puking in the matter transmission chamber. Then they’d find their way into the engineering spaces where they were told to wait until the next group arrived. Hopefully the vines were dead and not angry. They’d ask Holly to advise the group more fully on what awaited them, including Braden, Micah, and the companions.

  Holly didn’t need them on the Bridge. He was moving the ship without human or Android assistance.

  “The Androids.,” Braden said. He’d almost forgotten about them. “I think they are going to be waiting for us, trying to stop us or looking for revenge.” Braden absently rubbed his arm where the Android’s laser beam would leave a permanent mark.