Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  They wrapped up the celebration and the six of them–Braden, Micah, Bounder, Gray Strider, Aadi, and G-War–headed to the ramp. Bounder bared his fangs at some rather insistent young Wolfoids who thought they’d tag along, hoping they’d be the first to join Bounder on the planet.

  He told them repeatedly that Shredder would make the decisions and keep order during the transition. Braden wondered since Holly hadn’t given them a plan yet on the proposed relocation of the settlement from their home of Livestel to somewhere on Planet Vii.

  Braden and Micah would have to talk with the Council of Elders to find a suitable place for the Wolfoids, but the final say would have to come from the Alpha, from Bounder. He’d earned Braden’s and Micah’s trust so they left it at that.

  The group started jogging to cover ground more quickly. The Wolfoids found the difference between the planet and the ship to be disturbing. They finally understood why the ‘cat didn’t want to come back. G-War was used to knowing exactly what his body could do. On the ship, he felt like he was out of control. That’s why he played with the pups, he was practicing and learning. He was more agile than they were but he still wasn’t comfortable.

  On cue, the ‘cat let everyone know what he was thinking. ‘Why aren’t we done and on our way home yet?’

  “G-War, my fuzzy orange friend! We just ate a great meal. No one has tried to kill us, yet anyway, and we are in good company. What is the rush?” Braden said boldly, sweeping his arm across the land as it swept upward toward the sky.

  The group stopped and watched as the Golden Warrior coughed twice and retched a foul pile of pork and gray hair onto the ground.

  “Is that Wolfoid fur?” Braden asked, as the hairs sticking out weren’t orange.

  ‘Some of the youngsters needed harsher lessons than others. It’s nothing that won’t grow back,’ the ‘cat said, looking sideways at Bounder who returned G-War’s gaze.

  Smirking, Braden and Micah started jogging again, this time lengthening their strides as they pulled Aadi between them. The Wolfoids bounded out to the sides and ran ahead. G-War easily caught up, following his humans closely.

  As expected, the Android was waiting for them. Androids had no mannerisms so they couldn’t tell if it was impatient or not, and they didn’t care.

  “Lead on, Mister Android,” Micah said as they arrived, refreshed from the exercise. The Android waved its hand and the human-sized door opened. They headed in and it was a world of difference over their previous venture. This time, the ramp was fully lit, which made working their way past the jumble of vehicles much easier. Once through, they continued up the ramp. The rotation of the ship made it seem like they were walking on the level.

  The Android stopped abruptly and pointed at what looked to be a blank wall. He tapped a spot to open an access panel. He typed something onto a small keypad and the door unsealed and slid aside. It looked eerily like the one they entered in the forward section that led to the battle with the Androids. Braden and Micah took deep breaths and steeled themselves while the Android waited. G-War peered into the well-lit room, beyond which the corridor traveled the length of the aft core section. Somewhere in there, Pik Ha’ar’s clone waited for them.

  “After you,” Micah urged. She wasn’t comfortable with the Android behind her, despite Holly’s assurances. The Android stepped through, and they followed. The door slid silently shut after the last of them was through. Bounder and Gray Strider fingered their lightning spears as they walked behind the rest of the group, looking back down the corridor every few heartbeats. The Wolfoids didn’t like being in such a cramped space, even though the corridor appeared to be nearly endless both in front of and behind them.

  The Android strode briskly forward. Androids never tired, never lost focus, and never showed emotion. Braden wished they were on his side, but he could never trust them. So they followed the Android, warily, with hands ready on blasters while the Wolfoids kept their spears primed for action. Even Aadi was prepared to act. G-War stayed where the others could protect him. The only one defenseless against the Androids was the ‘cat. The only way he could protect himself was by seeing so many heartbeats into the future. To some, that might be comforting, but to G-War, it only meant that he might see his death coming and not be able to do anything about it.

  The Clone

  The Android didn’t even hesitate as they reached the double doors to the laboratory. He swiped his hand past the scanner and the doors opened together into the hallway. A sprawling complex of tanks and bright white equipment filled the room. The Android walked inside, veering to the left toward an area where two more Androids diligently studied the screens surrounding a setup that looked like the med lab in the New Command Center.

  The companions tentatively followed their Android escort, making sure not to touch anything as they passed. They didn’t understand any of it, except that the Androids used the equipment to make copies of people and, it seemed, intelligent creatures. Braden walked with his mouth open, unsure of how he felt.

  Micah knew how she felt; she didn’t like any of it. If it weren’t for the war, then Pik Ha’ar would still be at peace, resting in his shallow grave on the Rainforest Level.

  They walked to an area where their escort waited. He waved them to the platform that doubled as a medical bed. On it, a Lizard Man rested, eyes closed. Braden and Micah thought they were prepared to see their friend, but they couldn’t get the image of his death out of their minds. The very Androids that killed him could be in this room. The combination of factors was overwhelming. Micah turned her face away and pulled Braden close, burying her head in his chest.

  “The ancients mastered life itself. They created the Lizard Men, gave them life, watched them die, and then brought them back from the dead. That’s too scary to contemplate. I think we need to have Holly and the Androids destroy everything related to cloning. We abide by the laws of nature or we don’t deserve to live.” Braden hesitated as he felt Micah shiver in his arms. “Let’s do what we came to do and then go home,” Braden whispered as he held his partner’s head and looked at the copy of their friend.

  Micah turned back to the table, steeling herself for the next step in the process. The Wolfoids stood so close to the humans that they touched. Aadi floated over the end of the bed, while G-War unashamedly jumped onto the bed, walked to Pik’s mid-section, and sat down. He licked a paw and scrubbed his face.

  Even the Android watched as the ‘cat seemed oblivious to the enormity of it all. Or maybe that was exactly why he did what he did.

  With a nod to their Android escort, it touched a panel and Pik Ha’ar took deep breaths, chest rising and falling more quickly as he raced to consciousness. With a final sigh, he opened his eyes, gazing intently at the orange creature sitting on him. He tried to move an arm, but he wore restraints. Pik then looked at Aadi, who looked back without blinking. The Lizard Man cocked his head as the two communicated without words.

  Pik looked to the Wolfoids and recoiled backward into his pillow, not able to get farther away. The humans waited and finally their friend’s eyes settled on them. He leaned closer, examining every feature of Braden’s face, then Micah’s. He looked back to Aadi, then to G-War.

  ‘I know you,’ Pik started slowly, speaking thickly with his thought voice. G-War only nodded. ‘And you.’ Aadi nodded and blinked.

  Pik said nothing when his gaze passed over the Wolfoids. He stopped at Braden. ‘I have sworn my loyalty to you,’ he said, making it sound like a question. Braden nodded as tears welled in his eyes. ‘And you,’ Pik raised his chin to point at Micah.

  “I am Braden, Free Trader, and this Micah, my partner and President of Planet Vii. And you are Pik Ha’ar, our friend,” Braden said out loud.

  ‘I am Pik Ha’ar,’ the Lizard Man repeated over the mindlink.

  “We are all friends. We trade together, and we fight together. This is Bounder and his mate, Gray Strider. They are Wolfoids from the Livestock Level. They will help keep you safe a
s they have protected us, helped us see things we would not have otherwise seen. Aadi, First Master of the Tortoise Consortium is a friend to all Lizard Men. The Golden Warrior, sitting on your stomach, makes it possible for all of us to talk and be understood. Aadi and G-War make sure we stay true to our moral compass. Maybe you can tell us something about yourself, Pik. What do you remember?” Braden asked the question they all wanted the answer to.

  Pik looked again from face to face, examining them, committing them to his new memory. ‘Friends,’ he said with a slight upturn of his lip. ‘I was willing to die for my friends, but it seems that I have survived somehow. I remember flashes of green and red light and pain. Much pain. I was fighting for you, my friend!’ The Lizard Man’s eyes brightened as he looked at Aadi. He twirled his finger for Aadi to turn and show the damage to his shell. Pik nodded.

  ‘The evil Androids. You were there and you and you, little orange man.’ Pik looked to Braden, then Micah, and finally G-War. The ‘cat showed his claw for a heartbeat, then started biting at it. Pik chuckled. ‘I don’t know how I know, but you saved us all, didn’t you, Prince Axial De’atesh?’

  Braden looked quickly to Micah. How does he know that? he mouthed. She shrugged and looked back at the Lizard Man, then to the Android who stood as still as if it was just another piece of medical equipment.

  “Release the restraints. It’s time for us to go,” she ordered.

  “Master President, we recommend that he remain in our care for two more days before he is fully functional. You will be able to visit as often as you’d like during that time,” the Android responded without moving.

  Micah flushed red. “Thank you for your recommendation. Release him now.” She pulled her blaster and aimed it at their Android escort. It wasn’t intimidated, as it had no emotions, but it stepped forward and touched a button on the panel over the bed. The restraints retracted into the bed. G-War jumped down and started back the way they’d come. The Wolfoids moved away from the bed as well. Aadi backed up and the two humans supported Pik by his arms as he tried to sit up.

  He was weak, but they didn’t believe that he’d get stronger lying in bed. Eating and moving would bring him strength. They could travel at his pace until he could keep up with theirs.

  ‘Thank you, for the help. I do not trust the Androids. I feel that they should be my enemy, but they have treated my wounds and brought me back to health.’

  “They’re not your enemy, but they bear close watching. We are of the same mind, Pik. We don’t trust the Androids either. I think we’re all safer not trusting them,” Micah said, looking back and seeing that the Android escort followed. “No. You will stay here until we call for you. Don’t answer, just stay,” Micah commanded. They took two more steps with Pik’s arms draped over their shoulders for support.

  The Android continued to follow. Micah nodded to Braden, who leaned Pik toward him so that he could hold all the Lizard Man’s weight. Micah pulled her blaster out, quickly aimed, and pulled the trigger. The Android’s death was unspectacular. It sparked twice and fell over.

  Braden’s minimized neural implant immediately started flashing. “It seems Holly has something to say about the recent and unfortunate demise of our escort. Hold on a heartbeat while I set him straight,” Braden told Micah.

  He expanded the window floating before his eye. ‘Holly! You wouldn’t believe it. Our escort refused to follow the President’s orders and then it died right in front of us. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.’

  ‘I guess that passes for humor. I must ask that you not eliminate any more Androids. The number I need to run the ship is dangerously limited,’ Holly pleaded with Braden.

  ‘You know, Holly, I was going to tear into you about these crapping Androids. If you need them to run the ship, that’s fine, but this one wasn’t doing that. It followed us despite the President telling it not to. So obviously there was a problem with its programming and we couldn’t allow it to interfere with your ability to run the ship. I think we did you a favor!’ Braden ended on a high note.

  ‘It was returning to its work station, which happens to be in the direction you were going.’ Holly’s voice was calm as he tried to make his point with Braden.

  ‘Holly, the President told him to stay. When she gives an order, they have no choice but to follow it. They follow orders from you until they are superseded by orders from us. That’s how it was supposed to be, Holly. Make sure the Android programming reflects that, otherwise there will be a trail of dead Androids between here and the matter transfer chamber.’ Braden minimized his window without waiting for an answer.

  “Maybe we should knock off a few more to show him we’re serious?” Braden said.

  “I think he knows,” Micah said as she pointed. Two Androids were moving away from the direct route to the door. Others stood perfectly still in more distant areas of the large room.

  They supported Pik between them as they made a beeline for the door. The Wolfoids and G-War ran ahead and stood outside the doorway, watching the corridor. Aadi swam behind them, watching Pik carefully for any sign that he was overexerting himself.

  After entering the corridor, they closed the door to the cloning facility, watching as if something else was supposed to happen. Micah shuddered with the memory of what she’d seen in there. She resisted the nearly all-consuming desire to use her blaster and flame the entire laboratory. “Some things should not be messed with,” she said. She understood that without the cloning facility, they wouldn’t have been able to get their friend back. She wrestled with herself over the cost versus the benefits.

  Was she succumbing to the attraction of the Old Tech and the power it held?

  Yes, It Will Hurt

  They reached the doorway to the ramp without any interference. Pik’s legs strengthened as he walked until the humans were barely supporting him. During their stroll, he talked with them about how he grew up and who his other friends were, what his role as Pik was. They’d heard most of it before, but listened quietly as Pik became reacquainted with himself.

  They stood in the small room together as Pik asked if they would let him walk without help. He took a few tentative steps, but needed an arm to lean on. “We’ll get you a walking stick on the next level. We’re going there to try and recruit a few of your fellows to come with us to Vii, where some bad Lizard Men started a war. We need your help to end it, and I’m sorry that we didn’t ask you. Will you help us end the war between the Lizard Men on Planet Vii?” Braden asked, pleading for Pik to commit.

  ‘Of course, it’s what friends do for each other,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘The Golden Warrior has already asked this of me, while sharing some of his memories. It will be a great honor to help the Amazon rid itself of the scourge known as the Overlords. I am ashamed that they look like me. We weren’t born and raised for the evil they are doing. I will help you, and I will convince the others on the Rainforest Level.’ Pik leaned on Braden’s arm as he shuffled toward the door.

  Bounder waved his bracelet at the panel and the doorway appeared. They went through and headed upward, jogging to keep pace with the ship’s rotation as they circled higher and higher. When they reached the top of the ramp, Bounder was ready to go through, but Braden raised a hand to stop him.

  “They know we’re coming, don’t they, G?” Braden asked. The ‘cat lifted his head and nodded once. “It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?”

  ‘Yes,’ was all G-War said.

  Braden described the antics of the monkeys and the foulness of what they would throw. They were hard to kill and clearly, they held a grudge. They were hostile and couldn’t be reasoned with. They Lizard Men were at war with the monkeys, but couldn’t kill them as the Lizard Men only had spears.

  They prepared themselves by readying their weapons, counting on speed when bursting through the door to get into the cover provided by the rainforest. Braden asked the others to shoot near the monkeys, but try not to hurt them.

  Braden waved his
bracelet. When the door opened, he pushed it outward and ran toward the rainforest, immediately getting pelted by something hard. The foul little creatures were throwing rocks. Braden covered his head with an arm and saw that the others were running toward the rainforest on different paths. Only Braden was getting pelted.

  He turned, hoping to increase speed, but the monkeys were faster. A barrage of rocks flooded the space in front of him, and he was pummeled when he ran into it. His body armor protected some of Braden, but his exposed hands and head took the worst of it. The explosion in his head from the projectile violently impacting temple was the last thing he remembered.

  Micah saw Braden go down and ran toward him. She fired her blaster, on the wide flame setting, raining destruction into the trees. She waved it back and forth toward anything that looked like a monkey. Most fled into the higher branches and disappeared. Those who died, did so horrifically as they tried to run while their short hair was on fire. They fell as their bodies gave up. The attack ended as quickly as it had begun.

  The Wolfoids joined Micah at Braden’s unconscious form. They faced outward with their lightning spears at the ready. G-War moved in close to check on his bonded human. The ‘cat pronounced him to be fine, although Micah couldn’t take her eyes from the growing knot on the side of his head.

  Braden started coming to. His head rolled on the ramp surface as he tried to gather his wits. Braden felt the ship spinning more than usual and needed help to sit up.

  Pik Ha’ar rummaged in the undergrowth until he found a heavy stick almost as tall as he was. He used it to walk slowly back to the companions.

  Braden held his head in both hands, gently running his fingertips over the growing welt where the rock had bashed him in the temple. He blinked rapidly as he tried to focus. His vision slowly returned to normal, but the dizziness did not go away.