Micah watched in horror as he produced a keen knife and number of needles. As he made an incision on the ‘cat’s abdomen, Micah jumped toward the table, getting caught mid-leap by the Security Bot’s tentacle, who held her, dangling in the air as she struggled mightily to break free. Aadi started swimming to the side, away from the Security Bot. When he had his angle, he delivered his focused thunderclap at close range directly into the face of the Professor. The young man flew backward, scattering a table of instruments and equipment, and landed roughly.
Sparks and lightning erupted from the Security Bot. Micah spasmed uncontrollably as the world turned black all around her. Sparks danced across Aadi’s shell and over his neck, affecting his ability to float. He started dropping to the floor. A second round of electricity turned him limp. He bounced off the floor once, before settling upright, his thick legs splayed to the sides. His beak-like mouth rested on the floor, his black tongue hanging out sideways.
The Companions Unleashed
‘Micah and Aadi have been captured by the Professor. There’s a Security Bot down here. There’s…’ Fea told them, getting cut off mid-thought as she screamed over the mindlink.
The companions looked at each other.
‘Bronwyn, how did they get underground?’ Pik asked.
‘There’s a door and stairs down, the way we came,’ she replied, alarmed at the tone in the ‘cat’s voice and the way her ‘shout’ was cut short.
Pik looked at the compound. He was furious, but no one could tell. Lizard Men carried their emotions inside. His plan had failed because the Professor had a secret hideaway below ground. He had a Security Bot and he had a way to block the mindlink and the neural implant. Pik didn’t know how any of it worked, but he knew what happened when those things didn’t work.
Panic and chaos. The only way the companions could communicate was because of the Hillcats and Bronwyn. Pik had already dispensed with their silence, but now was the time for something different since his plain had failed so spectacularly.
‘Brandt, we need the device you carry. We’ll take it with us as we go below. Bounder and Strider, Ferrer and Brigitte, and Treetis, you’ll join me. Brandt, Skirill, and Zyena, please watch over Bronwyn as you must remain here. There’s no room for you below,’ Pik said passionately. They were running out of people and they had yet to make any headway against the Professor. ‘Wish us well.’
Pik shambled through the sand, carrying the field generator in front of him. His spear dragged beside him as he pinned it between his arm and his body. His skin suit was preventing him from moving freely, but without it, he’d dry out and die. He continued running, not fast, but faster than if he wasn’t trying to run.
Skirill flew ahead of the group, on the lookout for monkeys and other threats to the companions as they made one final attempt to save the humans. Skirill landed on the branch over the mound, the same one that Zyena had used not long before.
The others came running, stopping to look through the open door at the dark stairway beyond. Bounder hesitated only for a moment, enough time for his eyes to partially adjust. He lumbered down the steps, his Wolfoid legs not made for descending, although he could run up them as fast as anyone. Pik followed, then the Rabbits and Strider brought up the rear. Skirill glided to the sand and hopped to the top step.
They need me, the Hawkoid reasoned as he hopped to the next step, then the next, taking them one at a time, hurrying to catch the group as they headed toward the bottom.
Strider saw Skirill coming. Who was she to deny one of Braden’s oldest and closest friends? She nodded to the Hawkoid as she continued descending the stairs.
At the bottom, they saw what Micah had seen, but what they didn’t have was the keen nose of a Wolfoid, who hunted by tracking the scent of their prey. Bounder dropped to all fours and sniffed the floor. He followed Micah and Fea’s trail easily down the corridor, to the first door, but not going in, the second door, and then the rest. They hadn’t entered any of the rooms. The door at the end was different, sturdier, bigger.
And it was open. The bright lighting from the corridor beyond told them clearly they were entering a better used section of the underground complex. Pik looked at the device he carried. He usually shunned Old Tech, but in this case, he needed it to work or they would all be at the mercy of the Professor and his Security Bot. He pressed on the spot that Micah had showed him and the thing came to life with no fanfare. One light shone on the simple panel. Green. Pik’s favorite color.
He nodded to Bounder. It was unfortunate that they didn’t have the spear device that was supposed to work with the field generator to neutralize the Security Bot, but they’d make do with what they had.
Bounder jumped into the hallway and fired quickly when he saw the Development Unit. Unlike Micah’s, his shot blasted into the chest of the unit, exploding it from within.
He stalked forward to make sure it was dead. Brigitte squeezed past Pik and went left down the corridor to cover Bounder’s back. The Lizard Man entered the bright space, walking slowly toward the destroyed Bot. The last members of the group entered the corridor--Rabbits left, the young Hillcat in the middle, and Wolfoids right. Bounder stood up straight, relaxing, until he realized that the Bot he killed wasn’t a Security Bot.
The door beside him started to open and he dove out of the way, rolling to come up facing it with his spear aimed and ready to fire. Strider jumped backward into the wall, knocking the spear from her own hand. Both Rabbits fired their small lasers into whatever was coming through the doorway. Bounder’s view as blocked.
Lightning sparks filled the corridor, engulfing the Rabbits and the ‘cat. The laser pistols flew from their small hands as they twitched and contorted, falling to the floor and jerking spasmodically.
Bounder thrust his spear around the door and fired at whatever was inside. He kept firing, low, middle, high, middle, until his spear grew hot from his efforts. An explosion threw the door open, crashing against him and sending him flying down the corridor. Strider was in the middle of the blast, getting jammed into the wall. She slid down and collapsed on the floor. Pik was thrown backward through the doorway into the first corridor.
He threw the field generator from him and tried to climb to his feet, but his ears were ringing and his head felt thick. A blazing white streak with brown wings flew above his face. Skirill tucked his wings as he went through the doorway, banked hard right then hard left and through the doorway where the remains of a Security Bot still arced and sparked.
Skirill raced in a circle around the laboratory. The Professor lay on the floor, with blood flowing freely from his head. Fea was on the table, with spots on her body shaved. A cut on her abdomen trickled blood. She was out cold. Micah and Aadi were both on the floor, also unconscious. Skirill circled one more time. He had no idea what he was looking for, but nothing alarmed him more than the sight of his friends.
He landed next to Micah and pecked at her cheek until she twitched. He used his wings to fan her, not knowing what else to do.
Bounder pulled himself upright. He hurt all over, but his mate had been right in the middle of the explosion. He went to her, cradling her head as he whimpered and whined like a pup. Her tongue appeared as she tried to lick her nose. Bounder pulled his flask and dribbled water on her muzzle, onto her tongue. She opened her eyes.
“I’m all right,” she said in the spoken Wolfoid language. Bounder didn’t believe her. Small cuts covered her chest and stomach. Her eyes wouldn’t focus. Bounder licked her wounds, knowing that Wolfoid saliva would hasten the healing. Almost as good as numbweed, he’d told Braden a number of times, although the Free Trader never opted for licking when he had numbweed on hand.
She tried to stand but her legs wouldn’t support her. She sat back down, then laid down, head between her front paws. “Go and check on the others,” she told him. He left his flask and took her spear, unsure of the charge remaining in his.
When Bounder entered the laboratory, he saw the H
awkoid working with Micah. She was starting to come to. Her head lolled on her neck as she tried to regain control of her senses. Her arms flopped uselessly at her sides. Bounder was unable to use his thought voice in the laboratory. He was sure that there was a piece of Old Tech that needed to be turned off, but he had no idea what to look for. The easy answer was to leave the room.
Pik Ha’ar, using his trident to keep himself upright, staggered into the laboratory. He looked around until he saw the Tortoid. Pik stumbled past Micah, Bounder, and Skirill to get to Aadi. Pik checked his shell, then his body. There was a faint smell of something burnt, but beyond that, Aadi seemed unharmed. Still, he was on the floor, his head and legs limp.
Bounder went to the table where Fea lay, partially shaved and injured. He returned to Micah and removed a small amount of numbweed from her pouch. He returned to the ‘cat and applied it, letting it settle, stopping the bleeding and taking away the pain from the small wound in the middle of her shaved stomach.
She jerked once, twice, and then lifted her head. She blinked at Bounder, who stroked her head gently.
‘What happened?’ she asked, much to Bounder’s surprise. He stopped petting her and tried to respond, but the mindlink was gone. She looked at his half-hand/half-paw and nodded. He started petting her again.
‘What happened?’ she asked again, stronger this time.
‘I don’t know. The Professor had you, but he was stopped. It looks like Aadi finished him.’ The ‘cat shakily lifted her head, trying to see around her. The Professor was in the middle of the lab, unmoving. It finally dawned on Bounder to check him.
The Professor was dead.
Fea was trying to roll over so she could stand up. As soon as Bounder put his hands on her, she asked him the hard question. ‘Ax?’
‘We haven’t found them yet. Micah is just coming to. Pik is hurt, Strider is down, the Rabbits are down, Aadi is out cold. He hurt us, Fea, but we’ll keep looking until we’ve searched this whole place.’
Two shaky Rabbits stumbled through the door and looked at Bounder, their noses were twitching and their normally upright ears had flopped down the sides of their faces. They carried the young, orange ‘cat. Bounder went to them, hugging both of the Rabbits and nuzzling their soft white necks.
Treetis was still out from the Security Bot’s weapon, but he was alive. The Rabbits put him on the floor next to Aadi.
While Bounder touched the Rabbits, he talked. ‘I thought you were dead,’ he said in surprise. ‘I’m so happy that you are alive!’ He hugged them one last time and went back into the corridor.
Strider was still on her stomach, laying on the cool floor. Her eyes looked clear, but her ears suggested she was in pain. He nuzzled her again and looked for another flask of water. Not finding one, he went into the laboratory and asked Pik for his. He readily gave it to the Wolfoid. Bounder’s appreciation was beyond words.
With the second flask, she started to feel strong enough to stand. Once upright, Bounder looked her over thoroughly. Since she was already flat against the wall, that probably saved her from real injury. He expected she’d have a bruise that covered her whole body. She walked, stiffly, then went to all fours where she seemed to be more comfortable. Bounder carried her lightning spear as well as his own.
They entered the laboratory, where Micah was standing, Fea was standing, albeit shaky and weak. Aadi was finally lifting his head. Micah tried to walk and nearly fell, then she kneeled next to Aadi and cradled his head in her hands.
“Aadi, my friend, how are you?” she asked gently.
‘I’ve never felt anything like that before,’ he said roughly, his thought voice fuzzy.
“I have to ask, how are your eggs, Master Aadi?”
‘I am afraid, Master Micah, for my children. I don’t have my senses back, yet, but soon, I hope, and then we’ll know.’
Pik lifted Fea off the counter and put her on the floor. She staggered a few steps before gaining more control over her muscles. She made it to the corridor before she stopped and leaned against the door.
‘Are you coming?’ she asked Bounder once clear of the field that prevented them from using the mindlink when they weren’t in physical contact.
‘Where?’ Bounder asked.
‘To find our mates, that’s where,’ Fea replied. She took a deep breath and staggered down the corridor, past the exploded Development Unit and toward a different part of the underground complex.
The Old Professor
Micah stumbled into the corridor, with Pik close behind carrying Skirill in his arms. Ferrer stayed with Aadi while Brigitte joined Strider, just sitting with her, keeping her company.
Bounder took the lead as he was the only one even remotely healthy. The others shuffled and stumbled behind him. He put his nose to the ground and sniffed his way ahead. There were a number of strange smells, but in the background he found what he was looking for: Braden. He followed the scent, feeling odd as he’d never trailed the human before.
But it confirmed that Braden had been in the laboratory. He couldn’t smell G-War, but that could have been because someone carried the ‘cat through the corridor. First Braden, then they’d continue searching until they found the ‘cat.
The underground complex was huge. There was even a small factory with Maintenance and Server Bots producing mysterious parts and pieces. They found another huge laboratory with large clear tanks filled with fluids of some sort. Half-grown creatures were in most of them. Micah was repulsed by the sight and wanted to shoot the tanks with her blasters, but she didn’t want to get splashed with any of it. Without the Professor, she hoped that the creatures would never see the light of day.
She closed the door as they left the large lab, a look of disgust on her face. Bounder made a final turn into a corridor similar to the first one they used where half the lights were off. Maybe that was a conservation measure and not a reflection of poor maintenance.
Micah had kept her blaster ready throughout the entire excursion through the complex and she was wearing down. Whatever beam the Security Bot had used on her had sucked the life out of her. She felt exhausted, enough so that even the smooth stone floor looked like a welcoming bed.
Bounder stopped at one door and nodded. Braden’s fresh scent wafted under the door, along with G-War’s ‘cat smell. Fea yowled as she could smell her mate.
G-War’s long cry came from the other side of the door.
“No!” Braden shouted as Bounder opened the door and Micah looked inside. She ran straight to him and reached through the bars, but he only hung his head.
“What’s wrong?” Micah asked, looking confused.
“There’s nothing wrong,” a voice said from the corner. The old Professor stepped out and leveled a strange looking weapon at them.
Micah’s blood surged, her head throbbed, and she fell to her knees, spent. She couldn’t even lift her arm to fire one blaster shot. It was nothing the Professor did, but the complete failure that she felt. Bounder leapt toward the Professor but was caught by a crackling charge from the Professor’s weapon. The old man grunted as the Wolfoid’s heavy body slammed into him.
Pik dropped the Hawkoid and rushed into the room.
The Professor had turned, just enough to avoid the Wolfoid’s full impact, but he was thrown into the wall. Without waiting, he fired at the Lizard Man, who sparked magnificently. The water in his skin suit magnified the light show from the weapon’s discharge. Skirill remained in the corridor, out of sight. Fea stood next to her human, then sat, exhausted from the events of the day.
They found that the mindlink was dampened in the cell area, too. But Braden and Micah were holding hands.
‘Good to see you, lover,’ Micah said without taking her eyes from the old Professor. ‘It looks like there were two of them, a mistake that seems to have cost us.’
‘Don’t count us out, yet. Where’s the other one?’ Braden replied.
‘He and the Security Bot are both dead, thanks to Aadi and Bo
under. They hurt us, but nothing that time won’t heal,’ Micah said, looking at her partner through sad eyes. Braden nodded. Fea rubbed against the bars. Braden scratched behind her ears.
‘Tell my mate that I will kill the foul creature, as soon as I have enough energy. Find out where Caleb is, so we can finish this,’ Fea told Braden. He looked into her eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly.
“Don’t you look all straggly, just like G-War,” Braden said casually. “So, Professor. You never answered my question. Where are the people from White Beach?”
“Why, they’re in Atlantis, a quaint name we gave the undersea laboratory that has become an undersea city! It really is quite magnificent down there.”
“Will we get a chance to see it, see for ourselves how magnificent it is?” Braden prodded.
“Maybe.” The Professor committed to nothing.
“How can you get there? We didn’t see any kind of ship or place to dock a mini-sub. Do you have the mini-submarines from the Warden? Can you talk with the vehicles from down there, summon them?”
“Oh my!” the Professor exclaimed. “Do you really think you can escape? I’m afraid that your time is up. Let me crush your final hopes. I am going to take your DNA, rip it from you and all your mutant friends, and then I’m going to build a new civilization, new creatures that will respond to my commands and my commands only. The human livestock in New Sanctuary is the base material and with your new genes, they will become invincible. We will return to the continent and rebuild Sanctuary as I see fit. I have Security Bots, I have Gloria. And you? You have no chance at all.”
Braden hung his head, nodding solemnly. He looked up. Fea’s eyes showed anger, her ears flat against her head as she worked her way between Micah and Braden. Micah and Fea were talking, but Braden couldn’t hear. The Professor had moved closer to deliver his diatribe. An angry sneer split his face, his eyes maniacal as he shook his weapon at them.
Free Trader Complete Omnibus Page 129