Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  Zeller was first to the door and slammed into the wall since she didn’t bother slowing. Her braceleted hand bounced from the pad and the door started to open.

  Tom felt Android hands grab at him. He dodged left, jumped into the air, kicked off the wall, then kicked off the wall beside the door, narrowly missing Zeller, and threw himself into the two Androids. The three went down. The creations grabbed at him as he pummeled their metal heads with his massive fists. A sword point slid past to skewer one of the Androids. It sparked and froze.

  Zeller cried out in pain. Tom struggled to his feet, dragging the stronger Android with him. He leaned backward, letting his momentum carry the Android up and over. With an extra effort, he slammed the creation into the wall. Stunned, he slammed it a second time and then stomped on its neck. Zeller stepped through the door and onto the catwalk. Tom backed through and watched the door close.

  “What the hell was that?” he yelled at the door.

  Zeller massaged her wrist where the electric shock had passed up the sword’s blade. “Adventure. Braden and Micah said they had a big problem with the Androids. Have you looked at Aadi’s shell?”

  She started to get angry.

  “But Holly fixed it!” Tom looked up the stairs.

  “Obviously not.” Zeller pulled the comm device from her pocket. “Holly! We were just attacked by Androids. What are you doing down there?”

  “Androids. Neeson!” Tom ran up the stairs, vaulting them three at a time to the next landing. He used his bracelet and was through. Zeller rushed after him, listening for Holly’s reply.

  “There may be some rogue elements, but the medical section is completely under my control. I would encourage you not to explore the ship.”

  “Tom!” Zeller yelled, ignoring Holly as she wanted to get to him before he interrupted Neeson’s procedure. She chased him down the corridor, but he was faster.

  She heard him yell as she rounded the corner. Neeson was hooked up to a mask and floating freely within the tank’s recovery gel. Tom had the Android by the throat. The Android’s expression remained unchanged.

  “Holly says he has this completely under control,” she panted.

  “We are in the final stages of the procedure. You will have to wait a few hours and then you’ll be cleared to leave. Between now and then, there is nothing anyone can do.” The Android spoke calmly. The pressure on its throat was meaningless to it. An Android didn’t draw breath. The neck was a conduit housing circuitry and fiber cabling.

  Tom pulled his hand back when Zeller tapped him on the shoulder. “Holly says this one is fine.”

  “I think we’ll stay here and wait until Neeson is ready to go and then we’ll leave together.” Tom continued to glare at the Android’s lifeless eyes.

  A Hawkoid swooped into the area where the tension was so thick that no one noticed the newcomer. Zeeka backwinged to land on the building in front of which Bounder stood. The King of the Aurochs, Braden, Aadi, and G-War were facing an angry mob.

  ‘The other four are running in this direction,’ Zeeka told them.

  “Zeeka?” Braden said out loud.

  ‘The leader is not with these men,’ G-War replied.

  ‘Then he must be coming, and he’ll rally this bunch to join him. It’ll be a bloodbath.’ Braden didn’t want that.

  He didn’t want that at all.

  Aadi floated backwards. ‘You may want to duck and cover your ears.’

  Brandt danced nimbly out of the way. G-War bolted. Braden hit the ground and covered his ears. The men in the front were wholly unprepared for the sonic blast that hit them. They screamed and cried as blood dripped from ears, heads pounded in pain, and brains seemed to explode from within.

  The first half of the small mob staggered in circles, disoriented. The men in the back winced, but could still see straight. Fear of the unknown seized them. When the first man ran, the ice was broken and the others joined him. Brandt ran in front of them, turning the stampeding herd of humanity away from the direction where the other four could be found.

  The last four would be met without interference from the others. The Wolfoid spears were collected and counted. Twenty in total. One was destroyed. The rest were coming their way.

  “Do we ambush them?” Braden asked.

  Aadi drifted slowly, exhausted from his efforts. ‘I’m usually the one who counsels patience and understanding, but we cannot in this case. G-War has already touched the mind of this one and he must be disarmed quickly,’ he said tiredly.

  ‘I will deal with him. You disarm the others,’ G-War replied. His paws were red from the blood he’d spilled. Two men lay dead and another maimed. The Golden Warrior had kept the spears from falling back into the raiders’ hands.

  Mercilessly so.

  “Go,” Braden said and the ‘cat was off like a shot. “Ess? Keep an eye on him.”

  Braden leaned against the wall next to Bounder. ‘Now what?’

  “I’ll check in with Holly, see how much time we have, and then we’ll find places to hide.”

  Braden accessed his neural implant and the map showing the men’s position. “Damn! They’re almost here.” Braden waved at Bounder to hide inside the door of the ad hoc armory. Braden ran to the other side of the open area, kicking at those still writhing on the ground. “Micah and the others are right behind them.”

  On cue, lightning spears flashed in the darkness of the forest. Flames licked quickly into the trees.

  “I’m starting to hate that guy.” Braden’s lip curled as the fury rose within. Beyond the expectation of combat, it came from the emotions that he fought so hard to control.

  He removed the blasters from their holsters, dialed a narrow beam for each, and waited.

  The Aurochs were closing. ‘Slower,’ Micah told them as she watched the map before her eye. She started to believe that the men would get to the village before the Aurochs caught up to them. She was fixated on the map before her eye when the lightning exploded into the tree next to her. The Aurochs bolted in three different directions. Fea and Treetis jumped and disappeared into the flame-torn night.

  Micah, Bronwyn, and Strider hung on as the great creatures maneuvered deftly through the trees and undergrowth to put as much distance and cover between them and the next bolt. When the men fired again, the Aurochs and their riders were nowhere near the trees that burst into flame.

  The Aurochs kept running at an angle away from the men.

  ‘Braden? We failed to catch them,’ Micah called over the mindlink. ‘They are almost on top of you.’

  Braden didn’t answer.

  He heard the men yelling.

  “Send a bolt that way and one over there,” someone shouted.

  Has to be the leader, Braden thought.

  Lightning slashed into the trees. A second bolt, and then a third.

  “That’ll do ‘em,” the gruff voice added. “Come on!”

  Braden could see the outline of three men as they emerged from the forest. Where’s number four? Braden started to panic, quickly pulling up the map with his neural implant.

  To the side. ‘Skirill, there’s a fourth one wide. We won’t be able to corral him with the others. Can you take him out? We can’t have him come up behind us.’

  ‘Leave it to us,’ the Hawkoid replied. Braden could hear the faint flapping of wings, but couldn’t tell from where.

  ‘Where are you, G?’ Braden asked as the leader boldly strode into the area, stopping when he saw the blood and the bodies.

  He started to raise his spear. A shadow threw itself from the nearest roof. G-War wrapped his claws around the man’s face and ripped backwards. The men behind aimed their spears, but didn’t dare fire.

  “Throw him off and we’ll dust ‘em!” one man yelled. Fea and Treetis raced from the forest, leaping together to slam into the backs of the two men. One triggered his spear as he fell forward. The bolt vaporized the leader’s legs. G-War snarled and leapt, catching the building’s overhanging roof a
nd scrabbling upward.

  Fea and Treetis raked their enemies until the men fell, screaming in pain. The ‘cats continued until no further sounds escaped the men’s lips.

  The fourth man appeared as two shapes descended from the sky, claws outstretched. One Hawkoid tore into his face and the other gripped his firing arm in razor-like talons. He tried to lift the lightning spear, but the tendons in his arm were severed and he lost his grip. The spear fell from numb fingers. The Hawkoids flew away as Braden ran toward the man. He held his face with his good hand, cursing through shredded lips.

  Braden picked up the spear and walked away. Fea and Treetis stood over their victims, breathing hard and eyes darting back and forth, looking for the next enemy.

  Cygnus Standing and Rainy Forest appeared from the darkness. Braden had told them to stay clear. They hadn’t listened as they crept closer and closer to the village during the fight.

  “It’s over,” Braden told them. Pounding hooves marked the arrival of the Aurochs. Gable slid to a stop and Micah vaulted from him. She hit, rolled, came upright, and ran into Braden’s arms.

  Recovery

  The Android stood by the tank, staring into the gel. It turned and walked with purpose toward the doorway. Tom and Zeller jumped off the gurney and followed. Zeller had never sheathed her blade. She carried it before her.

  In case it was needed to deal with another Android. “I hate these things,” she said within earshot of the creation.

  “You join Braden and me. If Neeson were awake, I expect he’d be a vocal member of the club.”

  It walked down the corridor a short way before entering a side room. Tom rushed forward and held the door while Zeller jumped to the middle of the corridor, assuming her fighting stance. The storage locker contained towels, perfectly folded and neatly arranged. The Android lifted a stack from the shelf, turned, and headed back toward the medical facility. It ignored its human shadows.

  “Hey!” Tom yelled. The Android stopped and turned its head to the side, listening. “What are you doing?”

  “The Hillcat called Neeson is almost finished. I am preparing to towel the gel from him before he gets rinsed and dried.”

  “We’re almost done?”

  “The rest of the procedure will take approximately fifteen minutes.”

  “That’s a relief. Don’t let us stop you,” Zeller replied.

  “You already have.” The Android faced the front and continued on its way.

  Tom ground his teeth, but followed. Zeller joined them.

  The Android unfolded two of the towels and placed them on the table. It carefully lifted Neeson from the tank and laid him gently on the towels. It removed the mask from around the ‘cat’s head, then toweled the majority of the gel from his fur. Tom looked sideways at how straggly the ‘cat looked. He also appeared to have lost weight, but that could have been the matted fur.

  In a space to the side, the Android put Neeson in a human-sized tub. He looked small, almost like a baby. It pulled at Tom’s heartstrings. The Android held Neeson’s head in one hand as he rinsed him using a tool that looked like a brush but sprayed water from its bristles. The Android worked efficiently.

  Neeson remained unconscious as the Android carried him back to the table where the final two towels were folded. It wrapped the ‘cat and briskly rubbed him. The final stage was a fan that blew warm, dry air onto the table where Neeson was lying, sphinx-like.

  The last thing the Android did was to pop a small capsule and wave it in front of the ‘cat’s nose. Neeson’s eyes slowly opened.

  ‘I feel different,’ he admitted.

  “Time to go, buddy. Not spending one extra heartbeat in this place.” Tom picked the ‘cat up. “You lost weight.”

  Tom and Zeller turned to the Android. “It was an easy addition to the procedure. Holly said it was necessary to return the Hillcat to his pre-injury condition.”

  Tom reluctantly held out his hand. The Android looked at it without taking it. Tom shrugged. “Just want to say thank you. I’m sorry that we had a run-in with some of your kind.”

  “I think you believe that I have motivations beyond my programming. I assure you that my purpose is different from the purpose of other Androids. I know what I am supposed to do. If you get injured in any way, I will be here, ready to do what I am programmed to do. The equipment will be cleaned and ready as it has been for the past thousand years and will continue to be that way for the next thousand years.”

  “I believe you,” Tom replied.

  Zeller was first out the door, sword held before her. She headed straight for the elevator, summoned it with her badge, and looked tentatively inside to make sure it was empty. Once Tom and Neeson were aboard, she gave it instructions on where to go. “Deck Ten, lowest level.”

  The doors closed and the elevator started down.

  Brandt chased the curious away by swinging his massive horns back and forth as he walked around Braden and Micah. G-War vaulted from the roof of the building, landed on Brandt’s back, and jumped to the ground. He raced to Fealona and the two ‘cats intertwined their bodies as they rubbed against each other.

  “I’ll be damned,” Braden said, watching over Micah’s shoulder.

  “How could you not know?” she asked.

  “Know what?”

  “Hopeless!” she declared. “You are hopeless. So what’s the plan?”

  “Ax? ‘Tesh?” Braden asked.

  “In Southport with an army of bodyguards.”

  Strider and Bounder nuzzled as Bronwyn stood, uncomfortably trying not to look at anyone. She settled for talking with Brandt.

  Treetis strutted through the area until Bronwyn scooped him up and cradled him in her arms.

  ‘Thank you for being a hero to us all, once again, but this time, you don’t have scars as a reminder of your bravery,’ she trilled softly into his mind.

  ‘It’s what I do,’ he replied. She smirked at his bravado before lifting him to the King’s face, where he walked up to assume his position on the Aurochs’ head.

  “Grab the spears and let’s go.”

  “What about us?” someone called out.

  “What about the fire?” someone else shouted.

  Braden held Micah’s hand, and together, they addressed the onlookers. “We didn’t start the fire and we didn’t raid someone else’s village to steal their property. We owe your village nothing.” Braden clenched and unclenched his fist.

  Micah stepped forward. “You’ve been led astray by someone who promised power. That person and his inner circle are now gone. You have to take control of your destiny. That means making amends with the people of Southport. It means establishing Dunk’s Town as a self-sufficient community. Put yourselves on the new trade route and find what you can provide, trade with others, grow, become more than you ever thought possible.”

  “How do we do that? We have nothing.” One man stood in front of the others.

  ‘G?’ Braden asked.

  ‘He was one of the raiders,’ the ‘cat replied. ‘He doesn’t know any other way.’

  “You went north, raided Livestel. How did you know? You traveled that whole way and then came back.”

  “We hunt for food. Nothing can live on the grass of the plains. It’s poison.”

  Braden looked at Brandt.

  “If you can hunt, you can trade. How about fish for venison? How about a way to smoke the meat, season it. How about wood-working? Few people have access to the good wood that you do.” Braden looked into the forest. Many trees were burning, but many more were not. Without a wind, the natural breaks were keeping the fire contained.

  “I’ve seen the construction of these buildings. Your people are gifted. There are many north of the Amazon who would trade well for someone to build nice homes for them. You could bring back wagonloads of food, clothing, and nice things for your families.”

  “We’ll have to think about that,” the man said, but the curl of his lip was gone. The hostility in the crowd was
dissipating.

  “You can do whatever you want, except make war. We can never allow that. We can never allow the theft of weapons, especially Old Tech. You see the problems that will cause. I hate bringing the thunder. I would much rather be at home with my family.”

  Micah nodded and walked away. The choice was theirs if they wanted to join a greater society, one of free trade.

  “Load up the spears, separate them between the four Aurochs, and let’s go.” Micah waved her arm in the air to signal that it was time to leave.

  Bronwyn, the Wolfoids, and Micah separated the spears, tied them in small bundles, and passed them around. With the Aurochs’ consent, the group climbed aboard and left the villagers to their own thoughts and conversations.

  They also left them with the responsibility to bury their dead.

  “They brought it on themselves,” Micah reasoned. Braden agreed.

  “I expect we’ll hear from them soon. They’ll show up in Southport with hat in hand. We’ll make sure that we send extra. Gailey will be ready for them. Nothing like a good meal to make people fans of trade.”

  “What do you think, G?” Braden asked.

  ‘I think Fea and I need some alone time,’ the ‘cat replied.

  “You sound like me,” Braden said.

  ‘Where do you think I learned it from? It doesn’t change the truth.’

  “No, it doesn’t, little man.” Braden hugged Micah as they rode on Brandt, with Aadi hanging onto one of Braden’s pack straps. G-War had chased Treetis away so he and Fea could ride together. The scraggly orange ‘cat sulked until Bronwyn had him join her on Cragmore. Bounder and Strider rode together on Tally. Gable carried the two pups, staying close to Tally, because they were friends and would remain together in Southport.

  The Hawkoids had taken flight and flown southwest in the intermittent moonlight. They agreed to meet the others at the ship.

  “I can’t wait to go home,” Braden admitted.

  “Maybe we can take a different route home,” Micah answered mysteriously.