Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  Last time across, Braden had traveled slowly under a full moon. This time, the waxing moon only showed half its light. The horses were more careful in picking out their paths. Brandt wasn’t afraid and plowed ahead with reckless abandon, staying true to the track that only Braden and Micah could see owing to their neural implants.

  The front right wagon wheel caught first, wedging into a pair of half buried boulders. It stopped instantly, twisted, and shattered as Brandt’s momentum continued to pull the cart forward. The broken axle wedged into the ground and the cart became an immovable anchor. The harness was made with the Amazonian rope, so it didn’t give. The weakest point became the cart itself. It exploded in a shower of splintering wood as Brandt pulled it apart before he could stop. In his efforts to stop, he trapped a hoof in more rocks of the dry river bed. His knee twisted viciously as his body carried him past the trapped leg.

  Braden was launched high into the air, slamming into Brandt’s back before bouncing off and falling to the ground. The sand was soft, but he hit heavily.

  Brandt went down, his long keening cry cutting into the relative cool of the desert night. Arnie swerved wide of the other wagon and stopped beside Brandt, snorting and puffing in fear.

  Braden pulled himself forward with his hands as he struggled to reach Brandt. The King stopped howling and tried to stand. Braden got to him when he finally lurched upright.

  ‘I’m sorry, Braden. I must be getting old or something because my leg really hurts.’

  “It’s too dark, Brandt. I can’t see anything. Micah!” Almost immediately, a small light sprang into existence, then slowly waved into a larger flame. Micah brought her makeshift torch to them, walking carefully in the soft sand. She held it to the side of the King’s injured leg as Braden leaned in for a closer look. He ran his hand up and down Bradnt’s leg, knee to hoof and up to the Aurochs’ shoulder.. “I don’t think it’s broken,” Braden finally stated.

  Braden started squeezing around the knee, until Brandt coughed in pain. ‘Right there! What do you feel?’ the King asked.

  “I don’t feel anything, except it’s starting to swell. I wish there was a stream of cool water you could put it in. I think it might only be sprained. Can you put any weight on it?”

  ‘Just a little, but it hurts a great deal.’ Brandt tested it gingerly, taking a few steps but the leg didn’t seem like it wanted to support him. He hopped forward on three legs. ‘I can continue like this. We won’t be going fast, but at least we’ll be gaining some ground. I’m afraid we won’t make it to the oasis before sunrise.’

  Braden rubbed his shoulder. He’d hit a rock when landed in the sand with all the momentum of a running Aurochs. He didn’t want to mention it after feeling Brandt’s pain. His wasn’t bad and as long as he didn’t have to shoot his bow, he wouldn’t have to tell anyone.

  “Let me see it,” came the stern voice from the other side of the torch.

  “Really?” Braden replied. He should have known better.

  “Yes, really.” Micah started pulling on his shirt, which he unbuttoned with one hand. “Would you look at that? You’re going to have a winner of a bruise.” After further poking and prodding, she declared that nothing was broken. Braden winced throughout.

  The other companions had gathered around Brandt, giving him moral support. He tucked his bad leg against his chest and hopped around the best he could. G-War climbed onto his head to help guide him in the darkness. Brandt would have to set the pace until they reached Oasis 01.

  Zeller appeared next to Micah, waiting patiently for the torch. When she had it, she used it to survey the remnants of her wagon. She hung her head as she realized it was a total loss.

  “C’mon, Zeller,” Braden said after a few heartbeats. “Time to go. We won’t get there this night which means we need to find a place to rest. We have to set up the big tent so Arnie and Brandt have shelter, and we need to do that before the sun gets too high. Building a shelter in the daylight is difficult, to say the least.”

  The Oasis

  Brandt stopped emanating waves of pain shortly after they started moving again. Braden expected G-War had something to do with that.

  Brandt refused to stop. He kept plodding forward, hopping on three legs like an old dog. The Wolfoids ran beside him to keep him company once the sand cooled enough for their paws.

  As it turned out, Brandt ran faster on three legs than the horses moved at their best through the desert. But it wasn’t good enough to get them to the oasis by daylight.

  Braden kept his neural implant active so they could follow the shortest path to the oasis. They weren’t far, but it would have taken them half the daylight to make it the rest of the way. They couldn’t travel in the sun and heat for that long.

  Setting up the tent was more difficult than they thought. Holly made it sound like it would almost set itself up. Braden and Micah should have known better. At least with Zeller, the Rabbits, and the Wolfoids, they had plenty of extra hands. They started in the predawn light and finished well past sunrise. The wagon fit underneath easily as the tent was made to cover fifty water buffalo.

  Brandt rolled onto his side, an unnatural position for an Aurochs, but he wanted to take all the pressure from his injured leg. Braden placed a pile of empty water saddle bags to act as a pillow for the King’s knee. It had swollen during the night and was three times its normal size. Brandt was in pain, but doing his best to hide it.

  G-War helped his large friend to sleep in the ‘cat’s special way.

  Braden had a difficult time sleeping as well. In the past three cycles, he’d forgotten how harsh it was traveling at night and trying to sleep in the heat of the daylight. His shoulder hurt, too. Micah could do nothing for him, so they both tossed and turned, drinking water often to try and keep themselves cool.

  The Wolfoids, Rabbits, and Hawkoids suffered in the desert conditions. Feathers and fur were horrible at keeping heat out. Aadi dug himself a hole to nestle into. For those who made the desert their home, they found ways to not just survive, but to make it comfortable. Next time they spent the daylight trying to sleep, Braden vowed to dig a hole in which they could find a cooler way to sleep.

  When the sun dipped toward the western horizon, they labored to rouse themselves enough to take down the tent. As the sun set, they knew they had to hurry. They all moved slowly, until Braden quipped that since they were in the desert, they’d adopted Tortoid speed. That raised everyone’s spirits and helped them finish the task before the darkness enveloped them.

  Brandt was no better, but he shook it off, saying that he’d been injured worse before. Braden and Micah weren’t sure about that, while G-War openly scoffed at the great King’s statement. To prove a point, he set a strong pace from their camp site, hopping on three legs. It hurt the humans to watch him. G-War was crouched low on his head, pointing the way forward. Braden and Micah took turns watching their location on the window before their eyes.

  Holly was concerned with the injury but not with the loss of the wagon. He considered the second one to be superfluous in any case, although he appreciated the addition of another human. He’d run simulations with the help of the survivors and determined that a human presence alone would be least alarming when making the livestock trade. Braden rolled his eyes at the extent Holly went to achieve the conclusion that the Free Trader had known from the start.

  Braden was loaded down with platinum and gold in the style of the north. He’d shared his wealth with Holly, who had replicated it and vastly expanded what Braden considered to be a respectable horde. As he thought about it, everything he went south for was currently in his possession, but he was still headed north on a trade mission, on behalf of others, with no thought of personal gain. For him, he had a wagon better than any that ever existed, great creatures to pull it, incredible wealth, Old Tech, and a partner who made him more than he could have ever been by himself.

  ‘And Prince Axial De’atesh, of course,’ G-War added.

  �
�Would you all stop doing that!” Braden said loud enough for everyone to hear. “And no one tell me that I think too loudly!” Micah shrugged and looked away. The Wolfoids and Rabbits took a great interest in something behind the wagon. Only Zeller jumped into the fray.

  “I didn’t hear anything,” she said.

  “Thank you. Finally, there’s someone who’s not in my head,” Braden said sarcastically. He reached for Micah’s hand, caressing it until she let him hold it. She looked at him sheepishly. He started to smile.

  “It’s really loud, Braden,” she finally said. He frowned instantly and then pursed his lips.

  “At least can all of you make believe like you can’t hear me?” Braden asked.

  “It would probably be better if you learned to reduce the volume yourself. Maybe try to think in whispers,” Micah offered. Braden was angry, not because of what she suggested, but everyone else in the mindlink easily controlled their thoughts, controlled what they projected. It seemed that only he was incapable.

  “These are private thoughts!” Braden countered more loudly than he intended.

  ‘Well, not really, Master Human,’ Aadi whispered, hoping to not ignite Braden’s ire.

  ‘They are very pleasant thoughts. You think great things and small things, too,’ the soft-spoken Delavigne added. Micah nodded.

  ‘Remember when I learned to speak your language?’ Skirill inserted himself into the conversation. Braden tipped his chin toward the Hawkoid so he’d continue his thought. ‘Well, your gifts lie elsewhere. I will endeavor to not listen, my friend.’

  “A feathered gentleman you are, Master Hawkoid!” Braden bowed to where Skirill was perched on a roof bar of the wagon. Braden looked around to see if anyone else would make the same offer, then it dawned on him. “You can’t shut out my thoughts just like I can’t keep them to myself. So it’s not just me who can’t do something. Ha!” Braden looked smug, most of which was lost in the darkness as they pressed onward.

  Braden watched their location using his neural implant as they approached Oasis 01. With Brandt’s renewed vigor, much of the night remained as they rolled toward the lights, stopping at the edge of the trees marking the boundary between the wasteland of the desert and the life of the oasis.

  They unhooked Arnie and left the wagon where it was. The humans lifted the Rabbits to the ground, while the others jumped or flew. As a group, they strode into Oasis 01, heading directly for the building where travelers could check in.

  Braden opened the door for Micah and Zeller, but Zeller stopped when she felt the cold air rush out. Braden took a deep breath of the cool air, happy to feel it blowing on him.

  “Welcome to the world of the ancients,” Braden offered as he ushered her in.

  Recovery

  Braden stood in front of the counter as he’d done many times before, and the hologram appeared.

  “Welcome back to Oasis 01, Braden. Would you like a room? I see that the President is with you, but unfortunately, we do not have a Presidential Suite at this facility. I hope that the standard room will do,” the disembodied female voice spoke pleasantly.

  “But you’ve never met Micah before,” Braden countered.

  “I am now in constant contact with the Artificial Intelligence you know as Holly. I have been expecting you. I’ve also been informed that both you and the King of the Aurochs will need a substantial amount of ice to put on your injuries. That will be brought to your room.” The hologram hesitated for a moment. “One Aurochs is in the fields along with two Rabbits. I have instructed the Development Unit to stay clear. The Aurochs you know as Brandt is in the lake.”

  Braden looked at Micah in alarm. “Have the ice delivered to the lake,” he shouted as they ran from the building, fearing that Brandt couldn’t swim. Zeller stood confused. She didn’t know what ice was. Braden knew about it from the north, and Micah learned about it when they spent a cycle at New Sanctuary after their children were born.

  They realized that they shouldn’t have been alarmed when they arrived. Brandt was standing in the deepest part of the lake, but his nose was still out of the water. They waited until the ice arrived before asking him if he could join them on the beach. He did, lying down as an Aurochs normally would, upright with his front legs forward.

  Braden piled the ice bags on Brandt’s swollen knee. The King flinched initially, but with the cool came relief from the waves of pain. Micah held one of the ice bags against Braden’s shoulder while they sat on the beach, letting the ice work its magic on their injuries.

  Soon, a Wolfoid appeared dragging a javelina. Gray Strider looked back after dropping her prey on the beach. Bounder jumped over a bush, a smaller javelina held firmly in his mouth.

  ‘Could you do the honors?’ Bounder asked Micah over the mindlink. G-War rolled onto his back, letting the sun warm his belly fur. Arnie, Patrice, and Delavigne were still in the fields, so Micah could clean the small wild pigs without having to do it under the harsh stares of the fuzzy white Rabbits who maintained that they would eventually convert everyone to consuming only vegetables.

  G-War was always first to scoff, followed quickly by the Wolfoids. Even Braden was skeptical, even though he was under some pressure from Micah. The Aurochs were believers. Even Aadi said he was willing to try it, although he loved his bugs and beetles.

  No one was going to do anything differently, although everyone was polite to the Rabbits, except for the Golden Warrior who was the exact same way with everyone, straightforward, but mostly disconnected unless it concerned his personal comfort. Hillcats were carnivores. They only ate meat and it provided the complete range of their nutritional needs.

  On cue, G-War showed up and rubbed his scarred body against Micah as she made quick work of the javelina. She left the skin on as it helped it cook better while rotating on the spit. Braden opened his neural implant to ask Holly to stop the Maintenance Bots from putting out the fire once they had it going. Micah tossed certain pieces from her cleaning efforts into the air where Skirill and Zyena took turns swooping in to catch them. G-War helped himself to his favorites from the entrails.

  As much as they all loved the ‘cat, no one could stomach watching him eat. Although he was one of the more intelligent creatures, he was still a feline predator. He attacked his meals with a genetic viciousness, usually throwing blood and bits in all directions. The Wolfoids had become more cultured, preferring their meat cooked, but they were also omnivores so they ate vegetables and grains along with the main course.

  In true G-War fashion, he absolutely didn’t care what anyone thought about his eating. He ate. He meticulously cleaned himself. Then he moved on.

  He encouraged others to be more like him and stand less on ceremony. Brandt thought that was both hilarious and insightful. When the King of the Aurochs was hungry, the humans stayed out of his way. He’d clear wide swaths of turf when left alone after a hard run. He was hungry at the moment, but immobile.

  “What am I thinking?” Micah cursed herself. She opened her neural implant to contact Holly to have the Development Unit gather a feast for the King of the Aurochs and bring it as soon as possible to where he rested on the shore of the small lake. “Relax, Brandt. We have some food coming for you,” Micah apologized.

  The King of the Aurochs shrugged. He was sorry for holding them back and felt even worse that they had to bring food to him.

  “Think nothing of it, my large friend. Sometimes you just have to sit back and be pampered,” Braden said as he leaned against the Aurochs, absentmindedly rubbing his great neck with his good arm while the shoulder of the other wore an ice pack.

  “Don’t you two look the pair?” Micah taunted. Braden chuckled.

  “I’m glad nothing’s broken. Holly thought we might be good to go in seven turns. In the interim, I guess we’re on vacation.” Braden leaned back and let the ice do its work. He watched the Wolfoids build the fire with help from the recently gorged Rabbits. Aadi floated over the lake, enjoying the moisture it gave off.
Skirill, Zyena, and G-War were already asleep, having eaten the raw bits until they were full.

  Arnie finally waddled back to where the companions were relaxing on the small beach surrounding the lake. He collapsed in a heap, struggling to keep his head up for a few heartbeats, before giving up and falling asleep.

  As usual, the companions chatted, as friends do, while they ate and watched the fire snap and pop. Micah retreated to their room to fire up the fabricator for wine and brownies for the humans. She took Zeller with her to show her how everything worked.

  Zeller was still hesitant to accept that Old Tech was so prevalent in her fellow villager’s world. In her world too, it seemed. She was fearful of it, but Micah’s assurances and the ease with which she accessed and used it started to put her mind at ease. They had the companions to keep them from abusing its power.

  Although she was warming to the idea of Old Tech, Zeller still slept outside with the others when night fell. She didn’t even wake up when one of the Bots cleaned up the fire or brought more ice for the King of the Aurochs.

  By the third turn resting at the oasis, Zeller had her own room and had fallen in love with the fabricator. She liked trading and she was getting better as a swordsman every day, but she hunted only out of necessity. Finding a place where food simply appeared made her giddy, especially food like the brownies. Her fear of all things ancient evaporated.

  By the sixth turn after their injuries, Braden’s shoulder was black and blue, but it felt far better than it looked. He had full use of his arm and had joined Micah and Zeller in their sparring practice. Brandt was walking gingerly, putting more and more weight on his leg with each day, but he wouldn’t be able to run yet. Braden and Holly spent a good amount of time looking at and discussing the King’s knee. The hologram suggested a knee brace and directed the Maintenance Bots to fabricate one.