Braden loved two things – his family and trade.
His family included all the creatures that traveled with him, too. The Golden Warrior was a completely different ‘cat after having found felines in the south, even though they were smaller domestic cats and not Hillcats. No one was a bigger fan of trading with Cornwall than G-War.
They slept that night and at daylight, they left, heading south. They followed the maps that Holly provided, which showed an ancient’s road south of the rainforest that led directly to the destroyed city of Sanctuary. They knew that they’d try the road and see if it was passable.
They needed to go to New Sanctuary for a number of reasons. They wanted to check up on the survivors rescued from Cygnus VI and see if they made any progress on the programming to improve how the sensors looked at the rainforest. The survivors had to find a way to locate the Overlords. Braden and Micah also wanted to find out what they needed to do to get Pik’s clone from the ship to Vii.
So much to do and so little time, but they’d detour as necessary to do things right, like let the Hawkoids fly south and see if they could find the rumored Aurochs herd. If not Aurochs, then other creatures. Braden and Micah didn’t care as long as there was the thrill of exploration.
G-War slept in the wagon, out cold from a long night of dawdling with the female cats. They weren’t Hillcats, but it seemed they appreciated the attention that the Golden Warrior lavished upon them. He told them all he’d return, even though they didn’t understand him.
Even the children playing nearby couldn’t wake him.
The Aurochs
Braden opened his neural implant so he could find the ancients’ road west. He assumed that it would be overgrown like the one through the Amazon, but after two turns of quick travel on the rolling hills overlooking the Eastern Ocean, they found the road as it was untouched by nature, looking like it must have during the time of the ancients.
The road was free of weeds and bushes, cutting a smooth line into the hills to the west, the scars of the road’s passing clearly visible after a millennium. It was hard not to marvel at the power the ancients wielded over nature, as they ripped hills in half to force a road through. Marvel, yes, but Braden felt sorry that the ancients chose to dominate nature rather than live in harmony with it.
They camped on the road as they waited for Skirill and Zyena to return from their trip south. Braden didn’t know how far they would go, but expected that they would try their best to discover if the Aurochs herd was real. They owed it to their friend to give it their best effort. They also looked for anything else that could be of interest, like a settlement, other intelligent creatures, or even beasts of burden.
With this road, travel south of the Amazon should be easy, Braden thought, an alternate route away from the rain and the fighting.
‘How are you two doing out there?’ Micah asked, wanting to hear something besides Braden thinking about trade.
‘We have passed two small villages and a herd of creatures that look like your water buffalo from the north,’ Skirill answered.
Braden told Micah about water buffalo, though she hadn’t seen one for herself. G-War had shared his memory with her, but it included his perception of their smells and small, dense minds. She smiled and shook her head.
‘We are now flying away from the rising sun. The hills end and rolling plains begin. It is wide open here, with good grass, very green. It looks like the plains between the human settlements and the mountains where I was hatched,’ Skirill told them. ‘My mate is between me and you, so we can cover more ground.’
‘I am here,’ Zyena told them. ‘It is a beautiful land. I see something and need to get closer. Skirill, to me!’ she sent over the mindlink. Despite the words, she didn’t say them as if she was in trouble. Braden and Micah waited anxiously as she flew lower. Skirill dove toward the ground, beating his wings hard. Soon, he could see what she saw and shared that with the companions.
‘Ha!’ Brandt yelled in his thought voice, more loudly than usual. The others all winced together as if shocked by thunder. ‘We must go meet them. Look at that! There are hundreds,’ Brandt’s voice drifted away as he focused on what the Hawkoids were seeing. The plains were covered by a vast herd of Aurochs. The King was overjoyed.
“Well then, it looks like we’re not going to New Sanctuary just yet,” Braden said as they played with the twins. The Rabbits had run toward a patch of trees to find some fresh grass. When they heard Brandt’s call, they hop-walked back. G-War wasn’t happy to be roused from his nap, but he felt for his large friend, knowing what it was like to be in a land away from one’s people.
Aadi took it in stride, but the Wolfoids had a different goal. They wanted to find the water buffalo, which they saw as a new challenge to their hunting prowess. Since the initial debacle with the buck, they’d improved their skills but knew they had more to learn. They admired how effective the ‘cat was regardless of his small size. They couldn’t mimic his dexterity, but they were learning how he prepared the final attack on his prey.
The Wolfoids determined that there were three types of creatures: friends, hunters, and prey. Bounder and Gray Strider considered the Rabbits to be friends, ones who would prefer not to hunt, but weren’t prey. They’d seen the Rabbits defend themselves in the fields outside Dwyer. The human attackers? They were prey, deadly but prey nonetheless. The humans Braden and Micah were not just hunters, they were the deadliest creatures the Wolfoids had ever met. Old Tech gave the humans an edge, but it didn’t change how they could best any opponent, any prey. All the companions and even the horses owed their lives to Braden and Micah.
“I wonder if the water buffalo are domesticated?” Braden said out loud. “If they aren’t, I wonder what it would take to train them to pull a wagon?”
They put Brandt into his harness, made more difficult by his anxious foot stamping and continuous leaning forward. He wanted to get going, see a herd of his people. They couldn’t calm him down. When they finally got the harness on, he took off, dragging the wagon at a dangerous rate over the open and rough ground.
The twins and Rabbits were inside! Braden and Micah jumped on the horses and galloped after him.
‘I got this,’ G-War shared as he deftly jumped to the buckboard and ran down the harness and up Brandt’s back. He continued until he was on Brandt’s head, then crawled down his face, using his claws extensively to hang on. With one a quick move, he dug one claw deeply into the middle of the King’s nose. With a snort and violent shake of his head, the King of the Aurochs was brought to a violent halt, sliding the wagon sideways as it stopped rolling.
Brandt bugled in pain. The twins were crying in the furry arms of the Rabbits as the horses raced to catch up.
‘Shut up!’ G-War roared in his loudest ‘cat voice. ‘You’re scaring the children.’ He retracted his single claw, much to the King’s relief and calmly walked back up Brandt’s face to sit on his head, licking a paw and grooming his face. ‘And there’s more where that came from if you run off out of control again.’
‘We are blessed to be in the orange creature’s presence,’ Bounder said as he arrived at the wagon a few heartbeats ahead of Max and Speckles. G-War started purring while Brandt apologized, ashamed at what he’d done.
‘We’re all children at heart, Brandt,’ Micah offered, putting her anger aside and letting the mother in her speak. ‘Please, keep our children safe or let us know you’re going to do something dangerous so we can get them out of the wagon. If the wagon overturns, you could kill them all, and I can’t have that. I wouldn’t survive that.’
She rode forward so she could touch Brandt’s head but Speckles shied away from the great horns. Micah looked him in the eye instead. ‘We’re here for you. Whatever it takes us to get there, we’ll get there. I suspect they’ve been grazing that land for hundreds of cycles. What’s a few heartbeats more? They’ll still be there when we arrive. I would like us to go at a more reasonable pace, if you don’t mind.’
She winked at the ‘cat as Brandt leaned forward, setting out at his normal walk, forcing the horses to trot. He looked back often for Micah’s approval of the speed, while simultaneously apologizing.
‘Thanks, G,’ she said privately.
‘My namesakes! You think I’d let anything happen to them? By the way, I knew we’d be safe, because, well, me,’ he said confidently. Some might consider it arrogance, but the ‘cat could see a short distance into the future, far enough that he could and had saved their lives on previous occasions. On the ship, they would have walked into the middle of an Android patrol without G-War. He also had a special bond with the twins since he’d been talking with them well before they were born. With mental caresses, he calmed them and they settled in for the continued ride south. The Rabbits held them and Aadi counselled them on whatever he determined was the topic of the day.
Skirill and Zyena continued circling the herd, trying to count the numbers, but they couldn’t beyond believing that it was in the hundreds. From new calves to old bulls, they were all there.
“Is this what the Earthshaker Herd would have looked like without the Bat-Ravens?” Braden asked.
Brandt had gone from the peak of excitement to a deep pit of despair in just a few heartbeats. The others were worried that something was bothering him that he hadn’t shared. Their friend had stormed into the rainforest during a Lizard Man battle, so getting emotionally overwhelmed wasn’t beyond him, although they’d seen nothing like that since.
Aadi and Brandt were usually the wisest among them and led the conversations with Amazonian leader Zalastar. Aadi thought it best that he approach his fellow companion to find out.
‘Brandt, my friend. What ails you?’ Aadi asked. The King of the Aurochs didn’t answer, even after Aadi waited. ‘I know there is something wrong and you must share, or we can do nothing for you. You know that is not our way. We don’t let problems fester. We can’t. And we don’t let our friends suffer.’
After another long pause, Brandt started to talk. ‘My herd grows but we travel. My people are now spread from shore to shore, barely more than beasts of burden as the trade route expands. And now the war, in the rainforest where we can’t go. I have lost control of my people, and I cannot help my friends, except as the only one who can pull this wagon. I cannot fight for you. I can only work for you. I am Brandt Earthshaker, King of the Aurochs, Master of Nothing,’ he ended with his thought voice barely above a whisper.
“What have I done?” Braden asked as he looked at the sky, tears welling into his eyes.
‘You’ve led the King to the rest of his people. They will soon know that he exists. That’s what you’ve done,’ Skirill told them all. ‘Just a little farther, my large friend, and you will see something magnificent.’
The Great Southern Plains
Braden and Micah slapped Brandt on his scarred sides as they rode past, urging him to greater speed as the hills gave way to smooth, rolling plains. The Rabbits propped the twins against the buckboard as they watched the landscape change. Even the horses were excited by the tall grasses, their riders fighting with them to keep their heads up as they ran forward. The Aurochs at the edge of the herd became visible in the distance.
They were smaller than Brandt. Where the grasses came to his knees, it touched the bellies of the largest from the new herd. Braden and Micah jumped from the saddles, letting Max and Speckles graze freely, while they quickly unhooked Brandt.
Braden looked his friend in the eye. “I’m so sorry that we made you feel that way. We’ll do anything for you. We’ll do what’s right by you. Just tell us what that is, Brandt Earthshaker, King of the Aurochs.” Braden slapped the beast’s great neck, and if the King could smile, the bobbing of his head said that he was doing just that. G-War leapt from Brandt’s head as he started forward.
He jogged at first, then ran toward his people, who heard him coming. They ran from him at first, but then turned and lined up to face the newcomer. Brandt bugled his arrival, stopping before them, standing tall and towering over them.
‘My people,’ he said. ‘The Earthshaker Herd from the north has arrived and greets you as the last remaining Aurochs of Planet Vii. You are not alone.’
The herd opened as a grizzled oldster shouldered his way through. His horns were yellowed from age. ‘Who talk? Why herd?’ he said in a rough thought voice.
‘I don’t understand, my fellow Aurochs. I bring greetings. We are thirty-five strong and graze the plains south of the Great Desert.’
‘You different. Not us. Go!’ the oldster commanded.
‘I will not. Who leads this great herd?’ Brandt asked, starting to get angry.
‘I. You challenge I?’ The oldster stamped once. Brandt looked at him suspiciously.
‘Do you believe you would survive a challenge from me, old one?’ Brandt pawed the ground and turned his head back and forth, showing the size of his horns to the old Aurochs.
‘I more than you see,’ he taunted as he casually backed up. The cows separated further, letting some young bulls pass through. Although smaller, there were six of them and they were probably faster.
“Oh, no,” Braden whispered. “Their king doesn’t fight his own battles. What’s wrong with these Aurochs?” he asked as the youngsters jockeyed into a horseshoe around Brandt.
“They aren’t as evolved as the Earthshaker Herd. If only Bronwyn were here to talk sense into them all,” Micah answered, shaking her head, knowing that Brandt was going to fight for control of the herd.
Brandt took one step forward then turned sharply to run away from the young bulls. He tore up the ground as he passed. They hesitated only for a heartbeat before racing after him. The King turned in a lazy loop until the bulls were just a disordered group of Aurochs gaining ground on him.
Brandt turned and ran directly toward them. The fastest bull understood that he couldn’t charge the King head on, so he started to swerve away. The others behind him were bunched up and in no mood to be on the receiving ends of the horns that barreled toward them.
Brandt swung his head violently as he passed the first bull, shredding his side and throwing him to the ground. The next two bulls saw how quickly their fellow was dispatched and tried to turn away. Both slipped in the grass and exposed their sides to the great King.
He hit the two of them at the same time, driving them backwards into those still charging forward. The two died, crushed between the horns of their friends and of the massive horns of the challenger. The three behind crumpled under the King’s charge, but he went down, too.
They were quicker getting to their hooves, but that didn’t matter. The King held them off by raising his head, keeping the tips of his horns pointed in their direction. He slowly got up and stamped, feinting toward the bull to his left, then turning right.
Both young bulls turned and fled back toward the herd. The last bull, little more than half Brandt’s size, stood face to face with the King of the Aurochs.
‘You will yield to your King. There are too few of us left for us to fight each other. There is fodder here for all,’ Brandt shouted at the herd in his booming thought voice.
‘No,’ came the oldster’s reply. ‘More fight.’
Brandt started running forward, throwing the young bull out of the way with a small flick of his head as he ran past. The cows stampeded from his path as he made a beeline for the oldster. The King saw only one way to stop the young bulls from throwing their lives away at the whim of the aged Aurochs.
Brandt weaved away from others who would stand in his way. The oldster realized the danger he was in and tried to turn and run, but he limped and was old and slow. Brandt didn’t bother with his horns but ran the old bull down instead, stomping on him as he passed.
He turned and looked for anyone coming to the oldster’s rescue. The young bulls shied away. The cows were in shock. The King walked in a circle around the oldster, preparing to make his final charge, but he didn’t want to. How many Aurochs had
to die? The question weighed heavily on him. He hesitated as the oldster struggled to breathe. In the end, the King stood and watched the oldster succumb to a minor wound, old age, and his hubris.
‘I didn’t want that, but I’m glad that it’s over. Will you listen to me now?’ he asked the group. More Aurochs arrived until row upon row surrounded him. He never thought there might be more of his people, let alone in numbers so great. He looked them over, understanding that maybe they were not as mature as those in the north. But that didn’t matter. They were Aurochs.
‘Who thinks they lead this herd?’ Silence greeted his question until a large cow spoke.
‘You,’ she said. There was agreement through the tossing of too many heads to count. To those who couldn’t hear, they might assume that the Aurochs were chasing flies away. Braden, Micah, and the companions heard it all, proud of their friend.
‘Who are you?’ he asked.
‘I Queen,’ she said in deference to Brandt.
‘Well, my Queen, I need your help. What is this great herd called?’
‘We Aurochs,’ she responded in her simple language.
‘You are now part of the Earthshaker Herd. We are the last of the Aurochs. I need three strong bulls to join me as we continue our travels. You, my Queen, will lead the herd until my return,’ Brandt directed, using the full authority that he’d earned through his fight with the oldster and his lackeys.
There was some shuffling as many Aurochs were uncomfortable with a cow in charge, but Brandt put that to rest quickly. ‘I am your King and you will do as I tell you!’ he shouted. He knew that no one from this herd would challenge him.
He wanted to bring his people from the north here to help this group learn and grow. His bulls would be pleased to find so many young cows available and his cows could readily lead them, too. He needed to integrate the two herds if they were to learn and grow. As he walked back toward his friends, his mood was somber.
Free Trader Complete Omnibus Page 79