Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  “How are you doing, Bronwyn?” Micah asked while rubbing the girl’s back with her hand. Micah thought the little girl had gotten taller; her head was already at Micah’s shoulder. How long had they been gone? How much had they missed?

  Bronwyn didn’t respond.

  “What did you hear from them? It’s bothering you, I can tell. Share it with me and I won’t tell Braden,” Micah promised, knowing that Braden would hear the little girl’s voice directly.

  “They wanted us dead, and they wouldn’t say why. I asked them, told them we only wanted to be friends. In their minds, they had the image of one who looked like Pik, very much like Pik.” She’d taken the picture of Pik from the mind of one of the companions. Unfortunately, she would never get to meet the stalwart Lizard Man.

  “The Overlords. Ancients of the Lizard Men. They started this war. If we’re to end it, they need to go. Maybe we could send them back to the ship?” She smiled at her own joke. On Deck 9, the Overlords wouldn’t be anything special. She fantasized about capturing them and turning them loose between the Lizard Man patrols. “We’ll find Zalastar or Akhmiyar and talk with them, find out what is going on and how we can help.” Micah hesitated, then continued.

  “I think their war is our war. I’m not sure we can stay out of it anymore as I know we have to return to New Sanctuary. There are twenty-three people counting on us and we’re counting on them, too.”

  Braden watched Brandt’s sides heave with his efforts to walk. His wounds were no longer bleeding, but he was hurt. Although he couldn’t feel the pain because of Bronwyn’s empathic touch and the effects of the numbweed, he still needed to eat and rest. Braden called a halt when the rain let up sufficiently that he could see fodder on the eastern side of the road. The King turned to, ripping a huge swath through the heavy grass and bushes. They positioned themselves around him, humans, Hawkoids, Wolfoids, Rabbits, a Tortoid, and a Hillcat protecting their friend.

  Soon, Brandt was resting. They settled in for as long as it would take for the King of the Aurochs to recover sufficient strength to finish the journey to Greentree.

  The sun set and the sun rose anew before Brandt awoke, greatly refreshed. The numbweed had been cleaned out by the rain, so Braden used the last of Max’s tail hairs to sew up the worst of the wounds. They sparingly applied the last of the numbweed. Braden demanded that no one else get hurt. Everything they carried was soaked to the core. The Hawkoids flew from their perch in a nearby tree so the humans could carry them again.

  They hadn’t walked more than twenty strides when Lizard Men appeared in the road before them. Braden and Micah pushed the Hawkoids into the rain-sodden air, so their hands could be free. The two flew to a nearby tree, landing heavily.

  Aadi swam ahead.

  Brandt and Bronwyn sighed in relief as they saw the Amazonian’s coverings.

  Zalastar. He jogged forward with the rest of his warriors. The Wolfoids pointed their spears in alarm, the Rabbits joining them in preparing to fight. Braden calmed them with a gesture. “These are friends,” he said with a smile as Zalastar and his warriors formed up around them, spears pointed toward the rainforest. He said he would escort them all the way home. There would be no more problems for Braden’s caravan. Zalastar also suggested that his people would move the wagon closer to the edge of the rainforest, making its retrieval at another time more convenient.

  Zalastar was frustrated by the war as the enemy refused to be pinned down. They traveled in small groups, striking at rear areas, like the road where Brandt pulled the wagon. He expected to find one of his villages ransacked, its people killed. And that’s where the evil ones were able to intercept the companions. Zalaster was upset with the attack on his friends in an area where he had guaranteed their security.

  Then Bronwyn got between them and held the hand of the Leader of the Amazonians. She refused to hear anything else about the war, insisting on talking about fields of flowers, children, and all things pleasant. She perked up as Zalastar accommodated her. The humans couldn’t hear what they talked about, but she started skipping and they could feel her joy returning.

  Brandt walked boldly forward, forcing the others to jog to keep up. The rain stopped as they approached the northern border of the rainforest. The sky shone through the trees ahead. Skirill and Zyena flew down the tunnel and into the open. They soared, climbing higher and higher until Zyena was light headed, then they plummeted toward the ground.

  Zalastar and his warriors turned to travel within the tree line while the companions paralleled it to the north, heading to Greentree, their home, where their children waited for them.

  They’d talk with the Amazonian leader about the war later, when the time was right. For now, they’d enjoy the sun. Their pace quickened as they knew home was finally within reach.

  The End of Free Trader 3

  Humans and the Intelligent Creatures

  The Hillcat

  The Golden Warrior – also called G, G-War, and Prince Axial De’atesh, can share his mindlink with others

  * * *

  The Humans

  Braden – The Free Trader

  Micah – The Warrior, Partnered with Braden

  Axial & De’atesh – Braden and Micah’s twin children

  Bronwyn – Gifted child, able to speak with all creatures

  Dr. Johns – a clone, leader of the survivors from Cygnus VI

  Chrysalis – Dr. John’s son and budding leader

  Candela & Tanner – the first Free Traders born in the south

  Dantan – Elder from Village Coldstream

  Ditarod – Elder from Village Greentree

  Mick, Destiny, & Fen – Elders from Village Dwyer

  Ipso-Ter – Elder from Village McCullough

  * * *

  The Hawkoids

  Skirill – also called Ess

  Zyena – mated with Skirill

  * * *

  The Tortoid

  Aadi – First Master of the Tortoise Consortium

  * * *

  The Aurochs

  Brandt Earthshaker – King of the Aurochs

  Lomen – young bull, taken by Brandt from Toromont’s Run

  Denon – young bull, taken by Brandt from Toromont’s Run

  Malo – young bull, taken by Brandt from Toromont’s Run

  * * *

  The Lizard Men (Amazonians)

  Zalastar – Leader of the Amazonians

  Akhmiyar – one of Zalastar’s best warriors and leader in his own right

  Pik Ha’ar – Lizard Man from the ship RV Traveler and friend

  Tup Dal – Lizard Man from the ship RV Traveler, supporter of Pik

  * * *

  The Rabbits

  Ferrer & Brigitte – a Rabbit couple moved from the ship to Vii

  Patrice & Delavigne – a Rabbit couple moved from the ship to Vii

  Hand drawn map of the southern region of Planet Vii.

  The Line Is Drawn

  “Another attack?” Braden kicked the dirt in anger. Bronwyn hung her head. She was only twelve cycles old, and they asked too much of her. Being able to speak with all creatures, she was the group’s interpreter and had just shared what the Lizard Man had told her.

  The Amazonian called Akhmiyar stood before them, showing no emotion while Braden continued his tirade.

  “How much longer will this go on?” he asked no one in particular. Micah, his life partner, let him rant. She knew that he had to get past his initial anger so they could rationally discuss what needed to happen next. What could they do about it?

  Braden was leading the Council of Elders, a new group started after the companions returned from the RV Traveler. They initially thought about calling it the Council of Leaders, but Elder was the term that the leaders themselves preferred and what their people understood best. When additional intelligent creatures joined the group, the humans needed a way for all to have a voice, to have equal say in what happened in the world they shared.

  The Wolfoids bo
unced, their hackles raised as they embraced the anger at an enemy they’d only seen once but despised with a special canine ferocity. The Hillcat, Golden Warrior, laid on a tree branch outside the circle, but he was in almost everyone’s head. He was one of the most critical participants. The other was Bronwyn, but he could do what she could not. He opened the minds of most creatures so they could talk with each other using their thought voices.

  G-War saw humor in the Wolfoids’ rage. He knew it would be short-lived. After the meeting, they’d run down a deer and be sated, but the war with the Lizard Men Overlords had only just begun. With each day, the attacks came, punch and run attacks to destroy a hut, kill a pig, kill a human. A little here and there, but over time, it built up. And the attacks were getting closer. The village of Bliss had long been abandoned because it was too close to the front lines. The rescue of its inhabitants was legendary, but the people were refugees, surviving on the charity of others until they could build new homes farther from the fighting.

  How far away was far enough? Would all of the villages along the northern boundary of the Amazon Rainforest have to move? Coldstream? Greentree? McCullough or Dwyer?

  Hearing Braden’s thoughts, Micah stepped forward. “Where do we draw the line?”

  The Rabbits hopped from foot to foot, anxious from the seething emotions within the group. They usually provided a calming effect, but not this day. Two people had died in the latest attack, a couple new to trading who tried to spend the night a little too close to the rainforest. The Aurochs pulling their cart was injured, but managed to run to safety and then made her way back to the Earthshaker Herd. Brandt, King of the Aurochs, along with Akhmiyar of the Amazonians, delivered the report to the Council the next day.

  The humans had yet to recover the bodies, a task no one looked forward to. Braden was torn, furious at the loss of life and afraid for their future. He turned to the Rabbits, kneeled down, and stroked Brigitte’s neck fur as he tried to calm himself. The Rabbit leaned into his hand and flicked her ears.

  Skirill and Zyena watched from a tree branch not far from G-War. They wanted to add something to the conversation but could only volunteer to fly over the attack site and try to find the victims. Braden nodded, agreeing that would be the best and quickest way to recover the bodies of the new traders.

  Besides Braden and Micah, the other humans represented the four villages on the edge of the rainforest. They didn’t want to fight a war, but they didn’t want to move either. That meant they wanted and needed someone to solve the problem for them.

  Aadi, First Master of the Tortoise Consortium and Braden’s mentor in diplomacy and negotiation, floated at the perimeter of the group. He asked politely if he could speak. Braden waved the Tortoid forward as he squeezed between two of the four Rabbits and buried his hands in their soft neck fur.

  ‘Distinguished group of the intelligent species of Planet Vii, I bid you welcome amid these turbulent times.’ Aadi paused while Bronwyn passed his thoughts directly to Akhmiyar. Aadi could talk with the Amazonians, but in a different way than the gifted young girl.

  ‘I think it’s clear what our goal must be. How we get there will take time and commitment. Our choice has been made for us, although saying the word ‘choice’ implies we had more than one. We did not. Whether we like it or not…’ Aadi stopped mid-sentence and swam in the air in a small circle so he could look everyone in the face, whether it was furred, feathered, human, snorting, or green. ‘This is a life and death struggle none of us asked for, but it is ours to finish. War has been thrust upon us, a war that we must win if we are to survive!’

  War It Must Be

  Brandt stamped and bobbed his head, slashing the air with his great horns. The other Council members moved aside to give him room. His thought voice boomed, ‘We will make them pay for destroying the peace of this world!’

  Braden went to the King of the Aurochs and put his hand in the middle of the broad forehead, hoping to calm the massive creature. “They will pay, my friend. When we are ready, they’ll pay,” Braden said calmly. The Council of intelligent creatures didn’t need a fanatic leading them. They needed someone who would make the Lizard Men Overlords pay for every life they had taken.

  Braden called for quiet both aloud and in his thought voice. He signaled for Aadi to continue. The Tortoid turned around, once again looking at the assembled faces, the leaders of the free south.

  ‘Esteemed members of the Council, I think we need to formalize a declaration of war. We need everyone to agree with what we want to accomplish.’ Aadi ended his speech by swimming to a spot outside the circle and taking his place as one of the Council members.

  ‘Our goal has to be to eliminate the enemy!’ Bounder offered to get the conversation started. Many shuffled uncomfortably. The Rabbits froze in place, shocked at the direction of their future.

  “No, my fearless friend. I think we’re better than that, better than them,” Braden intoned. “Who is the enemy? I suggest that it is the Overlords and the Overlords alone. We eliminate them, and the others will lose the stomach for a fight.”

  Zalastar, leader of the Amazonians, stood in the shade of the tree, having let Akhmiyar talk for them. Until now. Bronwyn’s head turned as the Lizard Man ‘talked’ with her and her alone. She started speaking without taking her eyes from Zalastar’s. “Honorable members of the Council of Elders, I wish for peace as much as I demand to remain free. I won’t trade the freedom of my people for peace with the Overlords. On them, we must make war. The Amazonians that they use for their army don’t know they are being manipulated. I must insist that we kill as few of my fellows as possible. They are not our enemy, although they fight against us. We must find and destroy the Overlords.” The strong and thoughtful words sounded odd in the little girl’s voice, but no one gave them less weight because of how those words were shared.

  Aadi nodded slowly, agreeing completely with the leader of the Amazonians. The Rabbits started hopping excitedly from foot to foot. A war where they were saving the lives of the enemy was one the Rabbits could get behind. Even the Wolfoids agreed with Zalastar.

  G-War appeared to be watching attentively, but was thinking about the last time he’d seen a lady cat. There don’t appear to be any in the south, and that is the real tragedy, is it not, he thought to himself.

  The Hawkoids agreed with Zalastar as well. They wanted the war to end quickly so they could get back to their nest and start expanding their family.

  The humans were relieved as well. They didn’t have enough people or supplies for a war against half the creatures living in the rainforest.

  Braden walked back to the middle of the group, thanking Aadi and Zalastar for their wisdom before trying to articulate the goal of the war and maybe a way to achieve it.

  “The goal is to preserve as much life as possible while finding and destroying the Overlords. I suggest the following. First, we secure the people by moving them to a location where they can be protected, like to Villages McCullough and Dwyer. Second, we use all the resources available to us to find the Overlords. Third, we take a small, select team into the rainforest to destroy them. Part of that is we’ll need our own Overlord to help us gain passage through areas held by the enemy,” he said. Many didn’t understand, but Aadi did, instantly taken back to the spaceship and Pik Ha’ar. They needed him, but he was dead.

  The Androids cloned people. The Artificial Intelligence at New Sanctuary known as Holly directed the Androids.

  Micah was one step ahead of Braden and was already talking with Holly via her neural implant. Holly considered the date of his death and the manner of his burial. The fact that he was put in moist ground was to their benefit, or so Holly thought. He contacted the Androids on the ship and in less time than it took to blink, had redirected a work party to collect the material necessary and start the process of cloning their Lizard Man friend.

  Braden watched as Micah’s eyes refocused. “Holly has already started the process. We won’t know if they’
re going to be successful for a few days. If not, we’ll have to think of something else,” she said conversationally.

  “Successful at what?” Ditarod, Greentree’s Elder, asked.

  They hadn’t shared with the humans that the spaceship, or even New Sanctuary, even existed, although the strange conversations that Braden and Micah had with the invisible Holly were making them wonder. If Braden wanted their complete buy-in to a war, he had to tell them the truth.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s time for you to know.” He shuffled his feet, seeking the words that would help them understand without making them angry. Only the truth mattered. “We didn’t want anyone trying to find the Old Tech, take it and set the world on a new path of destruction. I know, it was selfish, but if people saw what it could do, they’d be afraid and envious. The wrong people would try to get it and we’d be at war with ourselves once again. That’s not what we want. No one can know that New Sanctuary exists and that it is thriving with ancients and Old Tech. The people aren’t ready.”

  Braden looked for confirmation from the humans that they understood. Dantan, the youngest of the Elders, spoke.

  “I understand, and I take no offense. Most people aren’t like you, selfless, with your companions to help keep you that way. We can barely be trusted with this revelation, but we know what it would do if others became aware. No creature will hear from me anything you say. I challenge the other human members of the Council to do the same!” He looked deliberately from face to face, waiting for a nod before moving on to the next.