Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  ‘I can check their vitals and access their condition at any time through their neural implants.’ Holly continued talking to himself about preparing the survivors for a long and fruitful stay at New Sanctuary, but Braden didn’t hear anything after ‘neural implants.’

  ‘Wait, Holly. You said they have neural implants? Then why did we give them a communication device and how do we keep them from getting into the system?’ Braden was alarmed. His pulse raced. He was losing control and they hadn’t arrived yet.

  ‘They have the communication device because I haven’t granted them access to my system,’ Holly said smugly.

  ‘Why, Holly, I think we finally understand each other.’ Braden smiled and nodded while Micah watched him, knowing he was talking with the hologram because she couldn’t hear his mind. He reduced his window, then thought better and closed it completely. The only voices he wanted inside his head were those of the companions.

  They joined the Wolfoids at the buck and began cleaning it, feeding some of the choicer parts to Aadi, while the ‘cat dabbled in the giblets. A Server Bot hovered nearby, and the Wolfoids followed the humans’ lead in ignoring it. The Bot cleaned as they went, but to cook the venison, they had to build a fire beyond the oasis. The Rabbits stayed in the fields; being perpetual vegetarians, they found the killing and eating too distasteful to watch.

  The Wolfoids had never seen a deer before or tasted venison. They were instant converts. They determined they would enjoy venison whenever they could. G-War didn’t partake of the cooked meat. Skirill and Zyena declined as they were determined to dine on fresh rabbit, then thought better of it, looking around quickly for the Rabbit People. Fresh ground squirrels would have to be their new staple.

  Skirill made Zyena fly until she could barely move her wings. He wanted her to get used to flying on Vii. She improved, but not enough to kill a squirrel for herself. Skirill bagged two, happily providing for his mate.

  Braden smoked what they didn’t eat to provision themselves for their trip. Then they waited.

  62 – Heading Home

  After the other survivors arrived, Braden and Micah hurried to leave, although it had been only two turns since they asked Bronwyn to send Brandt. He’d previously made the trip in three turns carrying the two humans, the ‘cat, the Hawkoid, and pulling Aadi. It was going to be a tight squeeze heading home and they apologized profusely to Bounder and Gray Strider, who wouldn’t be able to ride. The Rabbit People, couples Delavigne and Patrice and Ferrer and Brigitte, would have to ride as they couldn’t run far. They were Rabbits, after all.

  The Wolfoids couldn’t contemplate why they’d need to ride, even after the humans tried to explain the vast distance they had to go. The Wolfoids’ entire world had been inside a cylinder ten kilometers long.

  It was unnerving for them to look from the oasis and not see the horizon curving up toward the sky.

  “It turns the other way, away from us. And no, I have no idea why we don’t fall off. Yes, it feels different than the pull on the ship. Here, it just is. We stand upright and we’re held in place. On the ship, you get pulled a little to one side while standing upright. I felt lighter there, too. Do you feel heavier here?” Braden wanted them to be comfortable, knowing that talking about concerns made them less mysterious.

  ‘We feel heavier. It seems so unnatural. I keep thinking I’m going to fall over,’ Bounder answered.

  “I don’t feel the ship anymore. Holly called the condition sea legs. When sailors ride on a ship, they have to balance differently. That’s all this is, different. I think you’ll get used to it soon. When we first arrived on the ship, it felt funny, but within a turn we had our sea legs. Give it a little more time. You’ll be fine, running and jumping with the best of them,” Braden said.

  They looked at the dry grasses of the recovering wasteland, watching the breeze ripple along. They weren’t good at waiting, but they had to. Both Braden and Micah were itching to go.

  So they hurried up and waited.

  And waited some more.

  On the fifth turn after contacting Bronwyn, they watched the dust cloud rising in the distance. They thought Brandt was running hard toward the oasis.

  They were half-right. Brandt was running hard, but he pulled the wagon behind him. Though they told her not to, they were instantly excited to see their children.

  The companions rushed into the rolling grasslands to meet Brandt and Bronwyn while the Hawkoids soared over head, diving close to Brandt as he passed. Even though the wagon would have been more comfortable, she rode astride his neck, sitting awkwardly on the harness straps.

  As the King of the Aurochs slid to a stop, the wagon tipped precariously, while Bronwyn scrambled down Brandt’s face to the ground. She ran past Braden and Micah to the Wolfoids.

  The humans raced to look into the empty wagon. Such excitement followed quickly by disappointment. They should have been happy that Bronwyn followed what they wanted by not bringing the children through the rainforest. She’d done better than they asked for. They gripped hands tightly as they walked back to see what kind of havoc the young girl was wreaking.

  She was hugging the Wolfoids, her arms almost able to reach around their necks. The Wolfoids’ tongues lolled as they smiled and leaned into the hug. The Rabbits squeezed into the mix, getting their share of the young girl’s time.

  “And this is Bronwyn, which you already know,” Micah said.

  ‘She radiates pure joy. I’ve never felt anything like it! We shall add her to our pack,’ Gray Strider said as she nuzzled her way back under Bronwyn’s arm.

  “I think you’ll see that she’s added you to her pack. You are powerless against it. Meet Brandt Earthshaker, King of the Aurochs. He’s in her pack, too. We’re in her pack, but we are the lowliest members. The ones she sends to bring food for the others.” Bronwyn gave Braden a mean look, which he responded to by sticking his tongue out. G-War rubbed noses with the King, before running up his face to sit on his head.

  The Wolfoids finally extricated themselves from Bronwyn’s embrace. She took turns hugging each of the Rabbits. She walked between the Wolfoids, her hands wrapped within their neck fur so she could introduce them to her best friend.

  ‘Greetings! I am Brandt. Welcome to our little part of Vii. We look forward to showing more of it to you,’ he thundered in his thought voice. Bronwyn’s excitement always affected him. Then he turned to Braden, ‘If you could unhook me from this harness, I need to feed!’ The least important member of the pack, Braden, turned to the harness and set Brandt free in record time.

  Aadi floated near Brandt’s head as he attacked the grasses within the oasis, making his way toward the fields. The Development Unit seemed to be waiting for him. The companions turned away so they didn’t have to watch the showdown.

  Bronwyn skipped as she watched Skirill and Zyena dance in the sky. “I’m so happy you found your mate!” she cooed. They landed on a low branch just inside the green of New Sanctuary, where Bronwyn scratched Zyena’s chest feathers. “You are such a beautiful bird! I can’t wait until you have little ones. Will you name one of them after me?” Skirill managed a very human cough, although he blinked at his mate as she looked back.

  The innocence of youth. The truth that she saw within their minds. Braden knew Skirill wanted to build a community and that he wanted to have his own children. Now he could do both from their home in the south. Skirill the Patriarch. It had a ring to it. As with all the new young ones, they’d be brought up in a world where all intelligent creatures were treated with respect, at least in the world they controlled.

  The survivors from Cygnus VI watched in awe as the great King rumbled through New Sanctuary, grazing as he passed.

  When Braden and Micah returned, they introduced Bronwyn to Doctor Johns. She shied away from him. The only one she was happy to greet was Riyanna, the last human. Bronwyn could tell the difference and she instantly didn’t like or trust the clones. She pulled hard on Braden and Micah’s hands,
calling Brandt back so they could leave.

  ‘What’s wrong? What do you see in them?’ Braden asked over the mindlink.

  ‘There’s a darkness in their souls that I don’t like,’ she said quietly.

  ‘They’re clones, little sweetheart. Maybe something was lost when the humans were copied. I think they are good people. Holly will keep them here and they will help us keep Vii at peace,’ Micah answered. She nodded, her brown hair bouncing up and down as she continued leading them toward the wagon.

  “Now is as good a time as any to leave.”

  ‘Holly,’ Micah said using her neural implant. ‘Send a Development Unit to load vegetables into the wagon for Brandt. We’ll be leaving soon.’

  Braden ran back to their room to pick up a few things they had left behind, like his bow and pack. They put everything into the wagon and hooked Brandt into the harness. The Wolfoids, four Rabbits, and G-War jumped in with the humans. Aadi swam in through the back gate, and they closed it behind him. He drifted downward until he was braced within. He knew Brandt would move quickly and he’d be thrown about if he wasn’t ready.

  The Hawkoids flew overhead. They wouldn’t ride in the cart until the caravan entered the rainforest.

  Brandt wouldn’t spend much time in the rainforest. He didn’t like being wet and the road was good. He committed to make quick work of it, and they’d be home in just a few turns. They’d sleep in their own bed with their children beside them. They couldn’t wait.

  “Did we tell you about the endless rain?” Braden asked Bounder, wrinkling his nose at the thought of a wet Aurochs.

  63 – Battle for the Amazon Road

  Brandt plowed forward through the second day of torrential rain, slower than he wanted as he wasn't able to see very far ahead. Everyone else cowered in the wagon, staying as dry as possible. The Wolfoids were miserable. They’d never been wet like this. G-War secured the one completely dry spot in the wagon, not surrendering it to anyone no matter how hard they tried to move him. Water flowed from the Hawkoids, and the head feathers puffed from the constant moisture.

  Everyone looked miserable, except for Aadi, making it a perfect time for the Amazonians to show up.

  The warriors stood across the road, barring Brandt’s path. They didn’t wear the armor woven by the McCullough villagers, and that raised concern. The King of the Aurochs snorted and stamped. Braden and Micah stood in the front of the wagon, in front of the covering so the rain poured on them. They loosened the blasters in their holsters.

  Bronwyn was the only one unperturbed. “Let me talk with them,” she pleaded.

  “Not yet, little sweetheart. None of these Amazonians look familiar,” Micah said, keeping one hand on the little girl.

  ‘This doesn’t look good. Aadi, is there anything you can do? Bounder and Gray Strider, I suggest you get your spears ready, we may have to fight our way through. Those with blasters, get ready.’ The Wolfoids dropped the rear gate of the wagon. G-War slipped out and disappeared underneath. The Wolfoids prepared to jump. The Hawkoids sat inside, feeling useless. They could barely fly in a rain like this, let along contribute to a fight. The Rabbits leaned over the side boards, blasters at the ready.

  Aadi swam out the back, around the wagon and past Brandt. Lizard Men appeared from the trees on their left, stepping out to be seen, then standing and brandishing their spears. The tension increased as the Tortoid swam forward, agonizingly slowly.

  The Wolfoids could wait no longer. They jumped into the rain and walked slowly alongside the wagon, taking a position below the humans. They stood like the Lizard Men, tall, spears on the ground like walking sticks, but gripped tightly like the weapons they were.

  The Amazonians didn’t move. Either they weren’t impressed or they were well disciplined. They didn’t understand that the Wolfoid spears were different than theirs. They should have been afraid. Brandt continued trying to talk with the Amazonians that blocked his path. His muscles tensed as he stood ready to run over the smaller creatures.

  Aadi finally floated before the unknown Lizard Men. They readied their spears, pointing them at him and menacing him. Brandt moved forward a couple steps, straining to run, but Aadi asked him to stop.

  The Wolfoids stood close to the wagon as the Amazonians along the trees repositioned themselves. More appeared and moved across the road behind them, blocking a retreat. The wagon was almost completely surrounded. Two of the Rabbits aimed their blasters out the back of the wagon. They didn’t seem afraid to fight.

  ‘Get ready to take those behind the wagon. Micah and I will cover the Lizard Men to our side. We’re coming down, and Bronwyn, you stay in the wagon,’ Braden said over the mindlink. The Wolfoids moved to the back as first Micah then Braden climbed over the side, splashing into a puddle on the road. They held their blasters, one in each hand, and aimed them at the Amazonians.

  ‘Aadi, how’s it going up there?’ Braden asked.

  ‘They say that they are allies of Zalastar and they are asking for our help. They want us to leave the wagon and follow them into the rainforest.’

  ‘That’s not going to happen, Aadi. If Zalastar or Akhmiyar made the request, we’d consider it, but not from someone we don’t know who surrounds our wagon, threatens us. We don’t respond well to threats. If he wants us to trust him, then he moves aside and lets us pass. If not, then he risks the lives of all his warriors. He has no other choice. If he’s allied with Zalastar, then he’ll know that we are more than willing to fight.’

  They waited while Aadi passed Braden’s conditions. They communicated, but it took an uncomfortably long amount of time before anything happened.

  Bronwyn stood in the front of the wagon, towering over Braden and Micah’s heads. Braden risked a look. He thought she was trying to talk with the Lizard Men. Anything that got them out of this without killing potential allies was a good solution.

  The warriors behind the wagon drifted back toward the trees, disappearing the heartbeat they entered the rainforest. The ones alongside the road were next. Those in front finally walked aside and stood at the edge of the trees.

  ‘Hop in, everyone. Time to go,’ Braden told them all. The Wolfoids climbed in, then G-War reappeared. The humans climbed into the front of the wagon. Aadi waited for the wagon to come to him.

  ‘Go!’ G-War yelled using his thought voice.

  Brandt leaned forward and the wagon began to move. Then he bugled in pain as the rainforest belched a volley of spears, most heading directly into Brandt’s great side.

  “Duck!” Braden yelled as Micah pulled him down with her. The Wolfoids ducked in time as spears ripped through the wagon’s cover. The planking on the sides held firm under the onslaught. Braden and Micah took aim and depressed the triggers of their blasters. They waved the flaming light from right to left, then left to right, engulfing the rainforest. The Wolfoids pointed their spears out the back and launched lightning bolt after lightning bolt at unseen targets hidden among the trees of the rainforest. The Rabbits recovered and added their blaster fire at the trees.

  “Go, go!” Braden yelled, encouraging Brandt while continuing to fire into the rainforest. Bronwyn screamed, covering her ears with her hands.

  Brandt struggled and the wagon moved, slowly at first, then faster. They stopped firing as the ambush site dropped far behind them. The King of the Aurochs ran until he could no longer. The wagon slowed. Spears hung from his side and he bled heavily. The humans jumped from the wagon and ran to him, saddle bag of numbweed in hand.

  ‘I’m sorry I need to rest. I wish I could pull the wagon further away, closer to safety.’ Bronwyn hugged his great face, tears adding to the rain’s torrent. They pulled spear after spear out, packing numbweed into the wounds to stop the bleeding and reduce the pain before they could sew up the worst of them.

  Bounder and Gray Strider traced a semi-circle around the wagon, holding their spears ready and sniffing the ground occasionally for signs of their enemies. The Rabbits stayed in the wagon, but a
imed their blasters outward, ready to fire if needed.

  Brandt sighed as his pain melted away. They thought he could walk, but pulling the wagon was out of the question. Braden accessed his neural implant and found their location on the map of the road through the rainforest. They were more than two thirds of the way through. They could walk the rest of the way. What bothered Braden the most was that this area should have been solidly in Zalastar’s control.

  What had happened while they were gone? Bronwyn didn’t know and that bothered him, too.

  “We’ll leave the wagon here and walk the rest of the way.” They’d sew up the King’s wounds later. Distance between them and the unknown Amazonians would be their best protection, Braden reasoned. As long as Brandt’s wounds weren’t leaking, they assumed he wouldn’t get worse. They unhooked the Aurochs from the harness, took what they could carry, including the two Hawkoids, and set off at a brisk pace.

  Bronwyn pulled Aadi along, although he suggested he could hang on to the King’s tail in order to keep up. The little girl would have none of that. She wanted Brandt fully unencumbered, although that didn’t bother G-War, who rode on the King’s great head, completely soaked and looking miserable.

  Bronwyn cooed to them all as they walked. Micah watched the little girl closely as Braden looked toward the trees, blaster in his non-Hawkoid hand. Bronwyn rocked slightly as she walked, trying to comfort herself as much as the injured companions.

  Zyena turned her head almost all the way around to look. She felt helpless, but sympathized with the small human. Her perpetual joy was gone, lost somewhere within the Lizard Men’s dark souls. Zyena had seen Pik Ha’ar defend the humans, all the companions. He was the only Lizard Man she’d met. She hadn’t feared them at all, until now. As with all creatures, some were good and some weren’t. When they arrived at the promised open air, she would do more to protect them all. She swore to herself and her mate.