Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  Micah nodded, but the only thing she understood was that there was something man-made up ahead. She didn’t know if it was a trap or a building or what. What mattered most was that they knew it was there. Bronwyn put her hand on the Hawkoid’s shoulder, nodded, and then looked to Micah.

  “There’s a door set into a small mound. It looks like it leads underground,” the girl whispered. Bronwyn was gifted in ways that Micah could only guess. She hadn’t used the mindlink, so however she learned the information, Micah was pleased to know the particulars. She wanted to check it out before they moved toward the compound. She waved at Fea and Aadi, signaling that they were going.

  Aadi hovered nearby, the rope still in his mouth as he tried to stay out of the others’ way. He was ready to do what he could, a focused thunderclap at the forefront of his thoughts.

  The ‘cat disappeared into the undergrowth, reappearing down the trail as she crouched low, listening and watching.

  Micah picked a route to the side of the obvious trail. With a blaster in one hand and her sword in the other, she walked carefully, expecting a trap. Bronwyn was right behind her, stepping where Micah stepped, moving slowly and deliberately.

  Zyena perched almost directly above the mound, watching in the direction of the compound. Micah wondered if she’d moved too close to her ultimate target. She took a knee behind a bush, not far from the door. She put her sword in the scabbard across her back and drew her second blaster. She rested one in the bush and held the other loosely as she settled in to wait until the others were on the island. Then she’d figure out what this place was all about. If she had to, she’d burn them out of the underground, send flame into the hole as if destroying a nest of ground wasps.

  Bounder Ashore

  Bounder vaulted into the wave, missing Rhodi completely. His head dunked for less than a heartbeat as the flotation device around his neck helped bring him back to the surface. Rhodi dove and came from below, easing him onto his back. He used his Wolfoid hands to grasp the Dolphin’s dorsal fin as he straddled him with his back legs, scratching Rhodi in the process. Wolfoids were ill-suited for riding Dolphins.

  Ferrer was terrified to go into the water, even though he wore a life vest. Holly watched it all using the external sensors and slowed the ship so they didn’t go too far past their drop off point. Pik finally offered a hand to help the Rabbit off the deck and onto Chlora’s back. Ferrer let go only after he had one hand firmly on Chlora’s fin. He couldn’t get where he was comfortable on the Dolphin’s back as his back legs weren’t made for gripping. He had no time to adjust for as soon as he let go of the ship, Chlora veered toward the open ocean.

  The ship immediately sped up as Holly wanted to get back on schedule for the final two deliveries. Ferrer closed his eyes, shaking as he hugged himself against the Dolphin’s slick back. He held the fin with both hands, getting wetter and wetter as she swam toward shore. Finally, the Dolphin stopped swimming and rocked gently from side to side. Ferrer opened his eyes and blinked rapidly as salt water dripped into them, burning.

  He saw that they were beyond the surf, in the shallows. He brought his outside leg over and pushed off Chlora’s back so hard that she rolled upside down into an oncoming wave. Ferrer splashed into the water that was chest-deep to him and ran as hard as he was able to get out of the god-forsaken water, and kept running once he hit the beach. There was no predicting the direction a terrified rabbit would run.

  Bounder was already ashore and could only run after the Rabbit, watching over him in case a threat appeared. He carried his spear in his hand, slapping it into the sand as he ran on all fours. Skirill flew ahead, under the jungle’s canopy, but still as high off the ground as he could manage. He bobbed and weaved between branches and trunks as he tried to keep one eye on the Rabbit and one on his way ahead.

  Ferrer stopped, eyes wide as he looked for an escape route. Bounder tackled him, both of the wet creatures rolling through the sand. He made to hop up and run, but the Wolfoid wrapped his big feet in a bear hug. This earned him a Rabbit kick in the chest, which launched Ferrer away from Bounder and into a tree trunk. He collapsed, dazed and covered in sand.

  Bounder stood up and shook, sending sand flying. He tried to brush the rest off, but it clung to his wet fur. He shook his head and adjusted his grip on the lightning spear. He poked the Rabbit in the chest none too gently. Ferrer’s eyes popped open.

  Bounder crouched near him, putting out both hands as a calming gesture. The Rabbit’s eyes darted one way and then another. Bounder gripped Ferrer’s head in both hands and rubbed noses, looking into the Rabbit’s eyes. At one point in Vii’s history, a Rabbit would have wilted in fear being nose to nose with a Wolfoid, but not anymore. They were friends, allies in the cause of freedom.

  Ferrer blinked to clear his eyes, then patted Bounder on the shoulder to show that he was okay. Ferrer stood and shook, sending sand in an arc over Bounder, who shook in return, making sure he sent sand flying Ferrer’s way. Skirill watched it all in amazement.

  He thought they’d gone ashore to rescue Braden and G-War, not undergo a male bonding experience. He leapt from the branch and dropped toward the ground before extending his wings. As he approached the two other members of his party, he back-winged, slapping both Bounder and Ferrer in the head repeatedly before landing.

  He used one wing to point the way inland. Then he pointed at Bounder, sending him behind a tree in one direction. He selected Ferrer and pointed him toward a bush in the other direction. Then the Hawkoid pointed repeatedly at the sand. “Stay put and wait,” he was telling them. Skirill flew back into the trees and tried to look inconspicuous. Other birds flew about, but they were nowhere near the size of a Hawkoid.

  Bounder’s group had the shortest trip to the compound, not shortest distance-wise, but short in that there was a wide path that led straight through the jungle. Skirill spotted a way to the open sky where he could fly above the trees and tell the others when the ship had arrived at the cove. The other Hawkoids would be doing the same thing at regular intervals to coordinate the attack on the compound.

  They settled in to wait.

  Strider Ashore

  The last two groups watched in shock as Ferrer panicked.

  They knew that they would have to go into the ocean next. Strider made Brigitte go first so she could ‘encourage’ the Rabbit from the deck. Holly prepared to slow the ship, just in case.

  They added an extra flotation ring around each of her small arms. She waddled to the edge of the deck and looked with trepidation as the ocean’s waves slapped the side of the ship and splashed the deck. Rhodi angled close, swimming easily alongside the ship as it traveled south, abeam the western side of the island.

  Strider encouraged Brigitte, who stumbled as she got close to the edge. She sat down heavily and looked at the ocean. Strider tried to be patient, but couldn’t. There was too much at stake. Strider wrapped her Wolfoid arms around the Rabbit, pinning the floaties to Brigitte’s side and with a mighty heave, sent them both overboard.

  Rhodi and Chlora were ready, stalwart in their assistance to the companions simply because Bronwyn had asked for their help. The Rabbit bounced off Rhodi’s back. With the round flotation devices on her small arms, she was unable to grip the Dolphin’s dorsal fin. Rhodi bumped her over his head where she lay on her stomach, backed up against his dorsal fin. She wrapped her arms around his head and he chittered happily. Rhodi had free use of his tail so he propelled them quickly along the surface.

  Brigitte had a great view and watched in joy as they swam along the wave-tops.

  When the Rabbit bounced off Rhodi, Strider went into the water. She sank as she remembered the device she was supposed to wear around her neck was still on the deck. She’d left it behind. She kicked and pawed, trying to get herself back toward the surface. When something big rammed into her, driving her forward, she broke the surface and kept going as Chlora came out of the water with her. When the Wolfoid splashed down, she landed on the Do
lphin’s back. She clasped her arms around the dorsal fin and they were off, racing to catch Rhodi and Brigitte.

  Zeeka was already flying over the island. When the others reached the shore, she flew back to the beach, diving and turning sharply over the others’ heads as she zoomed into the jungle along the path they were to take inland. They were to start immediately, while the other groups would be waiting. They had further to go around the hill that rose sharply on the western side of the island.

  They didn’t need to climb it to get a view since Zeeka could fly high above the jungle and then return to show them the way. From the western side, they didn’t have a clear path either. Their way forward was strewn with debris, and lined with gullies and rock falls.

  They moved out as soon as they determined a viable route. Strider went first. Brigitte followed as the Wolfoid stayed on all fours and worked her way through the brush and over obstacles. Zeeka crashed through the foliage over their heads in a controlled dive to get below the cover. She spread her wings and glided low to the ground as she zigzagged easterly toward the compound.

  Zeeka turned sharply to the right as she discovered a well-worn path heading up the hill. She followed it to a wide opening with a metal gate. She hovered in front of it, beating her wings as she let her eyes adjust to the darkness within.

  A wide corridor was beyond with a high roof. It sloped gently downward, turning and disappearing around a corner in the distance. Zeeka returned to the others, wanting to tell them, but knowing that if she spoke, the Professor would know they were there. She was afraid of the man, because the others feared him. With everything her parents had told her of Braden and the Golden Warrior, the fact that the old man had, by himself, taken them both was alarming.

  When the others reached the well-traveled path, she’d show them the entrance to the cave. Strider could determine what to do from there.

  Braden Awake

  “G? Are you there?” Braden asked, wincing at the pounding in his head. He tested his arms, surprised to find that he wasn’t bound. He was in a bed, uncomfortable and rough, but better than in the sand on the floor. G-War meowed and snarled, to let Braden know that he was there.

  Braden thought the room they were in looked dark, but found that a cloth was wrapped around his head. When he removed it, he realized there was a patch over his eye, the one behind which the neural implant had been installed. Braden tried to activate it. There was nothing.

  “Crap. He removed my neural implant. Why aren’t you in my head, G?” Braden asked rhetorically. He can block our mindlink, too? The Overlords had nothing on this guy, these guys, whatever the real story was.

  Braden threw his legs off the bed, which he found was a simple cot, padded with a thatch-work of vines and leaves. Walls of the ancients surrounded them on three sides and on the fourth, metal bars stood close together, floor to ceiling. The ‘cat was in a small cage chained at the front of their prison. Braden found the lock, but didn’t have anything to pry it open with. G-War barely fit inside. He and Braden locked eyes, but they couldn’t share a single thought. The ‘cat looked miserable.

  Braden’s head hurt less, probably because he was doing something, but he was miserable, too. “I’m right here with you, G. I wonder if they used a gaff hook to take that thing out of my eye. It feels like they split my head open.” Braden sat on the cage and G-War yowled, so he adjusted and sat on the floor next to the cage. He closed his eyes and tried to will the pain away.

  He heard a slight creak as the door outside their prison opened.

  “I hoped that you’d be awake by now,” the Professor said. Braden couldn’t see the man in the semi-darkness using his one eye. The patch covered the other and Braden hoped that his eye was under there.

  “Let us go and we won’t kill you,” Braden said, half-heartedly, as he held his head in his hands.

  “Your friends are on their way here right now,” the Professor replied. “I expect that’s exactly what they have in mind. What they don’t know is that we’ve had four-hundred years to improve how we defend ourselves. Remember that we were cut off because of the war. We never knew if or when they were coming for us. That means that we are more than prepared for your happy band of cavemen and their pets.” The old Professor moved close to the bars and looked at Braden.

  “Do you think just because someone put a neural implant in your head that you are an equal to those who came before, a peer to a person like me? I’m the Professor, and compared to me, you are no higher on the evolutionary scale than those creatures you met on the beach!” His lip quivered as he spoke, eyebrows pulled downward as he tried to control his rage.

  “If you’ve had four-hundred years to improve, why couldn’t you take out the implant without tearing up my eyeball? And if you’re so good, how come that mob of misfits even exists? You think you’re smarter than you are and that’s how you’re going to fall. Just like the Overlords, at the end, you’ll be begging for your life, begging your betters to have mercy.” Braden’s head throbbed with his efforts to think.

  He leaned against the cage, putting a couple fingers through so he could touch G-War.

  ‘That’s more like it. Now how are you going to get me out of here?’ the ‘cat said clearly into Braden’s mind. He sighed and turned toward the Professor.

  “I’d like to rest now, if you don’t mind. Show some compassion. That’ll make it easier when your time comes,” Braden said, unable to stop threatening the man.

  “I’ve already gotten what I needed from you. The females will provide the rest, but a sample from each of the species will give me enough to work with for the remainder of my lifetime, which is beyond what you can imagine,” the Professor taunted. He dropped a flask to the floor and kicked it through a gap at the bottom of the bars. “Drink it,” he said, hesitating for a moment before turning and walking from the room.

  The door closed lightly behind him. Braden saw a corridor beyond, lit by the artificial lights of the ancients, but that was all he could see before the door closed. He couldn’t judge how wide the corridor was or whether there were cells on the other side. All he knew was that he was trapped in here, but at least if he touched the ‘cat, they could talk.

  That was his sole comfort. G-War seemed to appreciate it, too, although his misery at being in the cage dominated most of his thoughts.

  Braden opened the flask and sniffed, expecting to smell a strange concoction, but there wasn’t anything. It tasted like water. Braden fed the mouth of the flask into the cage to make sure G-War was able to drink, too. The ‘cat drank more than half the flask, but Braden didn’t care. He’d do without. Once they finished the flask, he staggered back to the bed, hoping that sleep would bring relief.

  He fell asleep quickly, but his dreams were dogged by images of the Professor sticking needles into him, cutting pieces from his body, and laughing at him the whole time.

  Pik Ashore

  Holly expertly maneuvered the great ship around the rocky outcropping and into the cove, driving the ship gently onto the shore where Brandt leapt from the deck and landed knee-deep in the water. He waded ashore as Pik slipped over the side, splashing into a small wave rolling past the ship.

  Pik walked onto the beach without hesitation, expecting that the Hawkoids had seen the ship enter the cove. He watched the Warden backing out to where it would wait for the companions’ return.

  Treetis crouched atop the King’s head, watching the trail and wondering why the misfit mob wasn’t there to greet them. He thought he was ready to go to war. He’d killed much game as G-War had taught him how to hunt, and he expected those lessons would translate directly to fighting a human. Even if they didn’t, he’d figure it out when the time came. He wasn’t worried. He was a Hillcat.

  Pik waved the King forward as he walked, then started jogging along the trail to the compound. Brandt followed, matching the Lizard Man’s speed until Pik held up his trident, signaling for a halt. They stopped and listened. The Lizard Man pointed to Treetis
and held up his hands. The ‘cat looked at him for a few heartbeats before he understood.

  Treetis closed his eyes and tried reaching out as the Golden Warrior and Fealona had taught him, trying to feel if others were near. He sensed the presence of smaller creatures, not intelligent, before he found the misshapen creatures, blocking the trail ahead.

  Once he knew they were there, the challenge was to communicate to the Lizard Man and the Aurochs what he’d seen. He climbed down Brandt’s face and jumped into the sand. He scratched a line forward, then pointed along the sandy trail. Brandt and Pik both nodded. Then Treetis stabbed a claw into the sand a dozen times on the trail ahead of them. He raised a paw and staggered around on his other three, then again pointed up the trail.

  Pik nodded and tapped Brandt on the nose. It was time to execute the plan. Brandt would run at them full speed. They creatures would dive out of the way, and Brandt would continue to the compound, where Pik would hunt down the Professor. The Lizard Man was confident that the Professor held no power over him, like he’d been able to dominate Braden and the ‘cat.

  Pik joined Treetis on Brandt’s broad back. With a gentle tap, Brandt knew they were ready. He pawed the sand and launched himself forward, running faster and faster toward the compound. As Treetis had seen, the creatures stood in the way. They’d recovered their spears and clubs and shook them at the oncoming Aurochs. Only for a moment, though. As Pik had guessed, they threw their weapons away as they dove into the brush, frantic to get out of the way of the great King.

  Brandt dodged slightly to miss one who was slower than the others, bumping the creatures aside as he raced passed. He continued running, slowing as he approached the compound. Pik slid down the King’s side before he came to a stop. With his trident before him, Pik Ha’ar burst into the building from which they’d seen the Professor emerge the day prior.