Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  Micah’s implant blinked to the point of distraction. She wanted to shut it down, but wondered if Holly had information on Braden. She opened the window before her eye as she held her partner tightly.

  ‘Is Braden with you? I’ve lost contact with his implant, and I am very concerned,’ Holly said quickly in a tone approaching panic.

  ‘He’s right here, Holly. The monkeys attacked us, and Braden was hit in the side of the head by a rock. He’s dazed, but appears to be okay. He has a huge knot on his right temple,’ Micah answered.

  ‘I am so relieved, Master President. Please send my best wishes for a speedy recovery to him. The implant has been damaged and will have to be replaced. I can have the Androids do that if you wish?’ Holly asked.

  ‘I don’t think we’ll have that done up here. I’m not sure we’ll replace it, to be honest. I’ll keep the window while we’re on the ship so you can talk with me if you need to.’ Micah reduced the window and put it to the side of her eye, outside her line of vision. She was briefly envious of Braden that he no long had Holly inside his head. Micah knew that he’d be envious of her since he loved the maps that Holly shared, always showing them exactly where they were.

  Braden was out of it, and that meant the decision to replace the implant was hers alone. She’d made it and was comfortable that Braden would have done the same thing in her place. She didn’t trust the Androids to mess around inside her partner’s brain.

  “Can you walk?” she asked tentatively.

  He started to nod, but stopped himself, grasping his head again. “I don’t know,” he finally answered. “If you could stop the world from spinning, I’d probably be fine,” he muttered.

  “Let’s find a place to camp. The monkeys are probably angrier than they were before. I’m afraid that if we run across them, we’ll have to fight them off and keep driving them away.” She stroked his head gently as the Wolfoids each offered a foreleg to support him as he stood. He wobbled once upright, so Micah threw one of his arms over her shoulders and held tightly to his waist.

  Pik Ha’ar slowly approached, shifted his walking stick to his other hand and put Braden’s arm over his green shoulders. Micah tried to stop him, but he waved off her concerns.

  ‘This is what we do, no? Or has something changed since I’ve been gone?’ he asked, looking at her. She had no answer for him, besides muscling Braden toward the opening where they passed through last time they entered the ship’s rainforest.

  After a short way, Pik suggested that he lead, as he knew a better way to a place where the Lizard Men did not patrol, where they’d be safe to rest.

  Micah didn’t hesitate as Pik guided them in a different direction to a spot where the trees grew densely, letting little sunlight filter through. The moisture was thick, but there was sparse undergrowth. At an opening between two of the largest trees on Deck 9, Pik called the group to a halt and gently put Braden down. Braden leaned against a root as Pik pointed to where they could find fresh water. Gray Strider took their flasks and went with Aadi to fill them. Bounder and G-War stayed close to Braden, watching the trees for any signs of the chameleon-like Lizard Men, even though Pik assured them that no one was around.

  The Lizard Men of the Rainforest Level

  After a long rest where Braden slept peacefully cradled in Micah’s lap, the companions ate of their supplies and prepared to begin the second half of why they came to the ship. They wanted to know if more Lizard Men could join them in the Amazonian War.

  Aadi and Pik Ha’ar would be critical during this time. Aadi floated near Pik and they talked extensively over the mindlink. Micah only partially listened as she faded in and out of sleep. G-War jumped into the conversation on occasion, to highlight one piece or another as they gave Pik the background on the Amazonian War. Micah expected that the ‘cat shared images of the good Amazonians like Zalastar and Akhmiyar and images of those they’d been attacked by as well as what they knew of the Overlords, from the information taken from the minds of their minions.

  Pik used a knife that Micah had given him to whittle his walking stick into something sized for his hand and height. She let him keep the knife until he found a more suitable weapon. Even though Braden left his bow in the New Command Center, he carried two blasters and his short sword. Micah carried her blasters and her full-sized sword. The Wolfoids carried their lightning spears. They had a great deal of firepower, especially since the ship was supposed to be completely under Holly’s control.

  Which wasn’t the case as she looked at the apple-sized bump on the side of Braden’s head. The first thing he did when he was able to stand on his own was go to the stream and dunk his head in the cool water. He held his head to the side and let the coolness ease the pain throbbing within the bump.

  “Monkeys,” Micah said, shaking her head as Braden squeezed the water from his long braid. His eyes looked clear. To be sure, he dialed his blaster to the tiniest beam and tried to fire a few shots. “I think your brain is still spinning inside there.” The pinpoints from his shots covered an area larger than a man. Micah was impressed that he hit the broad tree trunk and would have been amazed had the shots been anywhere closer together.

  “Don’t shoot unless it’s life or death,” she cautioned. “We don’t want you to hit one of us.” She smiled at him and they walked back to the clearing together where they found the others ready to go.

  “Pik, my friend, are you ready?” Braden asked.

  ‘I am. We will find a patrol and with Aadi’s and the Golden Warrior’s help, convince them to join us in freeing the intelligent creatures of Vii,’ Pik stated with conviction.

  Braden invited Pik to lead the group forward. Aadi swam close behind him while G-War bounded into the trees, keeping pace by jumping from branch to branch. The humans walked next and the Wolfoids brought up the rear. Braden walked without assistance, but stumbled often as his dizziness came and went. Micah tried to keep a hand on him just so he wouldn’t fall. The rainforest was wet, and they couldn’t be sure what was hidden beneath the slimy surfaces of the stagnant ponds.

  Pik set a slow pace. He was getting stronger, but still needed to take his time. It took a while before they entered the territory that was regularly patrolled. He asked the others to wait while he disappeared into the trunk of a massive, heavy-branched tree. They knew he was there, but couldn’t see him, no matter how hard they looked.

  G-War informed them that a patrol approached. They waited, trying to look calm and relaxed, but when the Lizard Men spotted them and spread out, approaching deliberately by using the nearby trees to conceal their presence, the companions circled and assumed defensive stances. The Wolfoids lowered their spears, ready to fire. Braden and Micah had their blasters ready.

  ‘Put down your weapons,’ Pik begged them. ‘If you don’t put them down, they will fight as soon as they arrive and we will not be able to speak with them.’

  The companions struggled with complying, but finally, the humans holstered their blasters. The Wolfoids raised their spears, but their muscles tensed as they prepared to fight.

  Pik Ha’ar revealed himself when the Lizard Men smoothly entered the area, surrounding the companions. He found the Pik, the leader, after pushing his way past one of the patrol members, a Tup.

  Pik raised his hand to the other leader, who grew agitated and kept pointing at the Wolfoids and the humans. Aadi swam close by, but two Tups put themselves between their leaders and the Tortoid. They pushed him away with their spears.

  Even with Braden’s addled mind, he realized that besides being a long shot, it was extremely dangerous. ‘I think we may have to fight our way out of this. I hope the monkeys don’t decide to show up,’ Braden told Micah in his thought voice. She didn’t answer as her attention was focused on the eight patrol members surrounding the group. Although their spears couldn’t shoot a lightning bolt like the Wolfoid’s, the Lizard Men were so close it didn’t matter. If a fight broke out, someone was going to get hurt.

  The W
olfoids shifted back and forth behind Braden and Micah as they anxiously awaited the call to attack. They’d each picked their targets and itched to fight. The humans hoped the negotiations were going well. To them it looked like an argument. Aadi swam back and forth as he tried to maintain his view of the two Piks. The patrol members continued to block him with their bodies.

  And then the fight began. As Pik had done on their previous trip to the ship, he physically challenged the patrol leader by giving him one mighty shove. The other Lizard Man did not fall down because Pik Ha’ar was weaker than he was before. But he stepped back and taunted the other Lizard Man, who charged him. Pik Ha’ar stepped aside and pushed the other to the ground as he passed.

  Pik casually stepped back. Pik Ha’ar stood up straight and closed his eyes, waving the other Lizard Man to come at him. Braden looked into the trees and saw G-War, crouched, focused intently on the other Lizard Man.

  ‘G-War is helping him fight because he can’t overpower the other Lizard Man. He has to beat him in a match of intelligence and willpower,’ Braden said over the mindlink.

  The patrol leader looked at Pik Ha’ar oddly, then walked in a circle around him. Pik remained facing where the other Lizard Man had been. The other picked up his spear and pointed it at Pik’s back. The patrol leader’s face twisted into a snarl and his muscles tensed as he prepared his death thrust. He took a heavy step forward and then lunged.

  Pik twisted his body away and grabbed the spear as it passed, redirecting the point into a tangle of tree roots where it wedged tightly. The other Lizard Man was pulled forward. He stumbled and fell, splashing face first into a puddle. Pik jumped astride his back and held the other’s head under the water. He thrashed about, then with a mighty heave, he bounced Pik into the air. Not letting go, Pik forced the other’s head back under the surface while he was trying to gulp air. He thrashed, but his lungs, already filled with water, gave out and he stopped breathing. Pik braced himself and then twisted the other’s head until the neck snapped.

  Pik stood, tottering from his exertions. He pulled the spear from where it had wedged and used that to support himself. He breathed heavily as G-War jumped from the branch and hopped from dry spot to dry spot until he stood next to the Lizard Man. Aadi swam forward and turned around, taking a position on the other side of Pik Ha’ar.

  He waved the others in the patrol to him. The Wolfoids were both relieved and disappointed. Micah turned and gave Bounder a push. “You’ll get your chance. When we enter the Amazon in search of the Overlords, you’ll see what it’s like to fight a Lizard Man on their terms. You won’t like it,” she told him, then reached up and scratched the fur behind his ears.

  The humans and the Wolfoids stood outside the circle of Lizard Men. G-War could hear the ones from the ship, but not those from the Amazon. Pik Ha’ar started talking with them by telling the tale of a great rainforest where the forces of good and evil battled for control. Pik dropped the spear as his body gestures became more and more animated. The other Lizard Men watched, eyes fixed on their new Pik.

  He finished with a two-footed stomp into a puddle, and G-War jumped to the side to avoid getting splashed. Pik retrieved his spear and sent the Lizard Men to talk among themselves.

  Braden wanted to know. “How’d it go, Pik? That was some fight, by the way,” Braden said in a lowered voice. Pik waved his hand and shook his head.

  ‘It was a bad fight. I cheated because I could not beat him fairly. What we must do is just, but it still doesn’t make it right. The means do not justify the end,’ Pik replied.

  “The most important thing is that we shouldn’t have brought you here in the first place. If there is blame, it is ours for putting you in a position where you had to resort to, let’s say, an innovative fighting technique in order to win over the others. We shouldn’t have risked your life that way. Had you died, this trip would have been for nothing. And look at me.” Braden pointed to the knot on his head. “I’ve gotten hurt, too. You know what I hate about this whole thing? That Holly was right! We need an escort to protect us from ourselves. Damn computer…” Braden looked away. Micah patted his shoulder in complete agreement.

  “I blasted that Android just because he was returning to his workstation in the same direction that we were going,” Micah offered.

  “You blasted him because you told him to stay and he didn’t. He could have followed us after thirty heartbeats and we wouldn’t have known he was there,” Braden said. Micah started to nod, then shrugged.

  “What next, Pik?” she asked.

  ‘We wait until they decide. We have room for five, yes?’

  “Five, yes. So we wait.” Braden sat down on a root, bending over to put his head between his legs until the bump started to throb, then he sat up straight. He couldn’t get comfortable with the pain in his head. Micah tried numbweed, but it had little effect on the bruise.

  The companions finally broke out their rations and ate a meal while the Lizard Men continued to argue. The humans and Wolfoids were taking turns sleeping when the patrol finally came to a decision. One of them stepped forward. Micah and Bounder roused their partners to listen.

  ‘Although we believe you and wish you well, we are not convinced that there is a place for us outside of our world, which you tell us is only a small place within a bigger place within a whole universe. The youngest of our group, Tup Dal, would like to join you. The rest have graciously declined. Do you require anything else of us, Pik Ha’ar?’ the new Lizard Man patrol leader asked.

  ‘No. Be on your way,’ Pik said tersely. He watched as they walked off, leaving one behind–the smallest, youngest, and most frightened looking former patrol member. ‘Welcome, Dal. Do not be afraid. The group here are the fiercest fighters you will ever meet. They will keep you from harm, mostly. But you have to earn your way, too. Now, walk beside me as we return to the ramp. Tell me about yourself...’

  The young Lizard Man seemed surprised that Pik asked him a question instead of simply issuing orders. He relaxed as the group moved rapidly through the woods. Pik Ha’ar’s vigor had returned during the extended time of the patrol’s deliberations. Even Braden felt better, but his head would throb at various times, making him dizzy and nauseous. He had plenty of help to limit the stress as the others took turns giving him a shoulder to lean on. Dal watched this with fascination and surprise as the culture he was raised with was one where the weak were weeded out, the injured carried their own weight, or they died.

  A Run to the Village

  The Wolfoids wanted to test their skill with the spears at the agile monkeys, but the foul little creatures were nowhere to be seen as the group moved through the rainforest to the ramp, where they wasted no time exiting the Deck 9.

  After Micah helped Aadi through, the others bolted from their hiding places and one by one, ran through the door. Braden went first so the others could protect him if the monkeys attacked. But there was nothing. They each ran through, with Bounder coming last. He stopped before the door and faced the forest, howling long and loud. The Wolfoid didn’t like the Rainforest Level or its inhabitants. He didn’t like the feeling of being constantly wet. He and his mate smelled.

  Micah shook her head at the demonstration of bravado and displeasure.

  Once the door closed behind them, they collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They slowly walked down the ramp toward the Livestock Level.

  ‘Hungry,’ the ‘cat told them all. As G-War expected, none of them seemed to care. He ran ahead and leapt onto the back of the first vehicle where he readied his most piercing glare. As the others approached, only Bounder acknowledged his efforts.

  ‘Come, my little friend, we’ll cull out a pig for us to hunt together.’ Bounder bobbed his head and snarled with the thought of the kill. ‘Maybe not as good as a hunt on Vii, but we’ll be back home soon. The deer grow fat waiting for us, no?’

  G-War jumped from vehicle to vehicle as they approached the door at the bottom of the ramp. Braden and Micah watch
ed the Wolfoids and the ‘cat vibrate in anticipation. Micah opened the door and the three with fur bolted through, racing each other into the grasses of the plain before them. The Lizard Men watched in fascination. Pik had been to other areas of the ship, but his memories were vague. Dal’s eyes grew wide as he looked into the brightness of Deck 10.

  Braden and Micah wedged Aadi through to his usual profuse apologies at being such a burden. They waited for the Lizard Men. Pik had never been on the Livestock Level. It was all new. Micah encouraged them to drink deeply before they began the run to the Wolfoid village.

  ‘Deck 3. The pain?’ Pik wondered as a memory drifted through his mind.

  “Yes. Deck 3 was painful. Hot and dry with the beetles that wanted to eat us. It was painful for all of us, except Aadi and Skirill, of course. I think Aadi would move there if he could–unlimited beetles to eat and the dry heat where he spent most of his life.”

  ‘You carried me. Thank you,’ Pik said simply in his thought voice. ‘Skirill, a Hawkoid, where is he?’

  “Skirill and his mate Zyena are waiting for us on Vii. You’ll get to see them soon. But first, we have stop by the village because we have space to take four Wolfoids with us.”

  Pik nodded and Dal obediently followed him into the ship’s artificial sunlight. They both ducked their heads as their eyes were meant for the semi-dark of the rainforest. They shielded their faces with a hand and trudged forward with Aadi swimming along beside them.

  Braden and Micah followed, ensuring the door closed as they passed through. Braden wasn’t up for running, so Micah helped keep him steady as they walked at a brisk pace across the grazing lands for the livestock on this deck. They wondered why the Wolfoids didn’t hunt any of the other creatures found there, of which there were many. They only ate pork from their own herd.

  Bounder had been angry when he first discovered Braden and Micah had killed one of the pigs from the Wolfoid herd. That seemed like cycles ago, when it hadn’t been anywhere near that long.