Free Trader Complete Omnibus

by Craig Martelle

  “I’ve had a lot of time to think about it.” Braden talked while he worked. “I think he is. People are free to do as they individually want and that doesn’t threaten the planet as a whole. When they start trying to take over, the ‘cats can stop them cold. What will make it work is that humans can’t know that the ‘cats are in charge.”

  ‘Humans don’t know too much.’

  Braden turned to reply, but Treetis was face down in gore. Braden winced and looked away. “We know what we know, but I fear that we are less concerned with what we don’t know than we should be.”

  Braden adjusted his position so he wouldn’t accidentally see the ‘cat again. He continued working, wondering how he was going to get the beast to the hovercar. He remembered that he wasn’t alone. Thanks to the Golden Warrior, he was never alone. He concentrated his thoughts.

  ‘Bounder? I could use your and Strider’s help, please.’

  A Welcome Unwelcome Surprise

  Skirill and Zyena soared high over a farmer’s homestead. A few buildings were set within a vast pasture where water buffalo grazed. Skirill had his eyes on the barn while Zyena watched for people. Skirill dove toward the barn when he received the all-clear from his mate.

  “Can anyone hear me?” he called.

  Two men came running from one of the buildings. One carried something that looked like a rifle.

  ‘Watch out!’ Zyena cried out.

  Skirill increased his speed and started to dip and turn. The man fired and missed. He cocked his weapon, but it jammed. Skirill turned and glided low over the barn’s roof. He screeched again and was rewarded by screams from within. The Hawkoids were there.

  Skirill flew away from the men, keeping the building between him and them. He dropped one wing to make a tight turn and flew back toward the barn.

  ‘They are coming around to your left,’ Zyena said. Skirill flew the other way, increasing speed as he banked around the barn, flying in from behind the men. He dove over the man’s shoulder, shredding the man’s hands with his long claws and ripping the rifle from the man’s numb grip. Skirill dodged the second person and flew away, holding the rifle firmly.

  He beat his wings hard to fly toward a pond where the water buffalo were drinking. The Hawkoid dropped the rifle into it and headed back. Even at that distance, Skirill could see the whites of the man’s eyes, the terror he felt.

  Skirill screeched anew to give his people hope as he raced in. The man turned just as Skirill hit him from behind. Hawkoid claws tore at the man while his partner looked for a weapon. The man went down. The other was ready to pounce on Skirill’s unprotected back when he was hit by the full weight of a Hawkoid in a high-speed dive.

  He tumbled and rolled. Zyena hit the ground, hopped twice, and flew back into the air. She hovered over the cowering man. Skirill’s target was out of the fight, unconscious at least. Skirill didn’t care if he was dead.

  With G-War’s gift of thought speech, Skirill spoke directly to the man. ‘Open the barn and release my people.’

  Their captive looked around, eyes wild as he tried to find who was speaking.

  Zyena thrust her beak at him and screamed. ‘He said open the barn!’

  The man scrambled to his feet and ran toward the door. He undid the latch and opened it, jumping aside. Zyena stayed behind him in case it was a trap. Skirill took to the air to watch from a safe distance.

  ‘Go inside and let them out.’ Skirill assumed they were caged since none had flown free when the door was opened. The man’s eyes darted toward the body on the ground. ‘DO IT NOW!’

  He bolted inside and one by one, Hawkoids started to fly out.

  “Tell me when the last is free, and we will leave this cursed place,” Skirill told them.

  The Hawkoids didn’t answer. They waited for the man to reappear. They never gave him a chance to run.

  “I’m glad you agreed to join me, Master Aadi. These trips are wearing me down. All I’m doing is sitting and it is exhausting. I try to read using my neural implant, but who can sit and read for ten hours straight?”

  ‘I wouldn’t know,’ the Tortoid replied from where he rested in the passenger seat. Braden had laid it back to create an open space where he fit. ‘Treetis preferred not getting back in the hovercar, and you seemed like you needed the company.’

  “Treetis preferred. I like that interpretation. His words were more along the line of ‘I’ll scratch your eyes out if you try to stuff me in that box.’ I took him at his word.”

  ‘Probably safest that you did. The Wolfoids appear to prefer the great outdoors as well.’

  “They looked comfortable sitting in the seats, air conditioning blowing in their faces. That reminds me—I need to clean the windows.”

  ‘I didn’t want to mention it,’ Aadi said slowly as he watched out the front window.

  “Can you see anything out there?” Braden wondered aloud.

  ‘Not much. Too many clouds. Is it cooler outside?’

  “No. Still plenty hot out there. At least the deer is cleaned and ready to be dinner.”

  ‘Did you bring something for Tiskanay?’

  “The creature at Oasis Zero Three,” Braden clarified as he chewed on his lip. “We better throw her a bit of the carcass before the ‘cats get to it.”

  ‘It is best to stay on her good side.’

  “Do you think any Seeders came back to life?” Braden asked. “That would be bad with a herd of Aurochs coming through.”

  ‘I don’t know. We will have to assess things when we arrive. If the herd arrives first, then the Golden Warrior will ensure everyone’s safety.’

  “Holly, will we arrive before the herd?”

  “By many hours,” the AI replied.

  “I think that settles it, Aadi. I’m going to get some shuteye. Wake me if you see anything interesting.” Braden wedged himself sideways, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

  I think everything is interesting, which creates quite a dichotomy, Aadi thought.

  Dawn found the hovercar outside the oasis. At Braden’s command, Holly did not drive it in. They waited until they could see because of their previous encounters in the place known as Oasis Zero Three.

  With the sun’s light came awareness that much had changed. A building stood to one side of the lake clearing. A green field lay beyond the original oasis and into the desert. Trees looked full and healthy. It was starting to look like Oasis Zero One.

  Braden waved at Aadi to follow. Together, they moved toward the line of trees that created a physical barrier between the green of the oasis and the desert sand. Braden pulled his blaster and set it to the wide flame setting before passing the trees. He kicked at bushes, looked under heavy leaves, and walked agonizingly slowly.

  A Sand Crawler would ruin his day, and he wasn’t about to let that happen. Braden stopped and listened. Aadi swam past him and took the lead. Braden didn’t know why he was having such a hard time moving forward. Maybe it was being alone. If he was injured, Aadi couldn’t help. Braden would have to survive until Micah arrived.

  He didn’t want her to find him that way.

  ‘Braden, the way is clear. Please hurry.’

  A Tortoid encouraging a human to move faster. Braden missed the irony as he bolted down the path to where Aadi floated. Before him was an emaciated Gila Monster. Tiskanay, alive but only barely.

  “I’ll bring some venison. When’s the last time she ate?”

  Aadi remained and tried to talk with the creature.

  Braden ran back to the hovercar, unstrapped the buck from the outside, and let it slide onto his shoulder. He struggled with his footing until he reached the firmer dirt of the oasis. He hurried as much as he could. When he reached Tiskanay, he started to hack off chunks of meat and feed them to her.

  He started with small pieces at first. She chewed mechanically a few times before swallowing and holding her mouth open for the next morsel.

  And the next and more until a quarter of the buck had disap
peared into her ravenous maw.

  “You’ve eaten your own body weight,” Braden exclaimed, holding his hands up to show her that they were empty. “That’s enough for now. What happened?”

  ‘Nothing to eat. An oasis for everyone but me,’ she said softly.

  Aadi swam close. ‘When is the last time you ate?’

  ‘One, maybe two cycles ago? Even the beetles have abandoned me.’

  “But we have not. You will come with us to a place where there will always be something for you to eat.”

  ‘I think I’ll stay here. This is my home. If you bring me something to eat, once a cycle should do it, and then I can stay in my home.’

  “I can arrange that with the Free Traders when regular traffic begins between the north and south. I will have them bring a haunch for you. I hope that you would see something once a season at least. I hope you don’t have to go a full cycle without eating again.”

  ‘It is how we are.’

  “We? How many of you are there?”

  ‘There used to be more, my brothers and sisters, but where they have gone, I don’t know. Maybe it is just me now.’

  ‘That would be a tragedy. You are a fixture in this place and a welcome sight for these old eyes. You have been here for as long as I’ve been alive,’ Aadi replied.

  ‘That and longer. If you’ll excuse me, I need to sleep.’ Her eyes closed and to Braden, it looked like she was dead.

  “Seeders?” Braden asked. He left the deer where it was as he searched the oasis from one end to the other. His last battle with the seed-shooting plants had wiped them out. They had not been able to recover from the flames. The greenery of the oasis had filled in where they’d been.

  It looked entirely different from the last time they’d come through. In the fields, the bot worked diligently. Braden accessed his neural implant. ‘Holly, can you let the bot know that the Aurochs are going to arrive shortly and that it is best if he stay out of the way?’

  ‘I have updated his programming with that information. The construction bot will cause no trouble for the Aurochs.’

  The bot’s shield shimmered as it moved from the field and started working on something behind the building.

  ‘Are you there, lover mine?’ Braden asked.

  ‘I am, moon-pie, man-burger,’ G-War replied.

  “I’m not talking to you!” Braden yelled toward the desert. He could hear the ‘cat laughing in the back of his mind.

  ‘We’re not far. The oasis is on the horizon,’ Micah answered. ‘We’re pretty tired.’

  ‘Maybe I’ll take the kids with me back to the north? There are only two legs remaining.’

  ‘Maybe that’ll be best. We’ll talk about it when we get there.’

  ‘Tiskanay says hi,’ Braden added after a brief pause. He didn’t know what else to say. Micah’s thought voice sounded beyond tired.

  Braden moved the rest of the carcass away from Tiskanay and strung it up. There wasn’t much left. Not enough for all the ‘cats. Some would go hungry. Braden didn’t want to hear the inevitable complaining.

  ‘Cats.

  There were times when he wished he couldn’t talk with them. He expected this would be one of them.

  The dust cloud in the distance signaled the herd was closing, running the last leg to Oasis Zero Three.

  Braden moved the hovercar to the edge of the trees, angling it to make sure it absorbed as much of the morning sun as possible. He took a moment to appreciate what the ancients had accomplished. All the technology, but they ended up using it to kill each other. G-War didn’t care about the technology. He cared about humanity, about the peace. The ‘cat was right. Humanity’s maturity needed to catch up to the technology.

  ‘It’s what I’ve been saying all along. I believe you’ve stiffed us on breakfast.’ G-War didn’t sound happy. Braden stayed on the desert side as the Aurochs worked their way toward the lake.

  The Golden Warrior and Fealona appeared from the brush and stood next to him. ‘Tiskanay is pleased with you, so I guess we’ll let it go. This time.’

  “Only one more, G, and then you’ll be on the home stretch. The north is close.”

  “We’re thinking of skipping Oasis Zero Four and going all the way to the north. Brandt thinks if we rest here for two days, they’ll be able to make the run in less than a full turn, less than a full day. We have yet to drink any of the water they’re carrying.” Micah hugged her partner and kissed him on the cheek.

  ‘I agree with this plan,’ Brandt said in his booming thought voice. ‘All this sand is wearing down my hooves. I’m ready to be somewhere else.’

  Braden was lost in thought.

  Aadi swam from the oasis to join the humans.

  “I can make one more run, see if I can find more game to feed all the ‘cats one last time. This is a short leg and only took the hovercar six hours to get here. If I go now, I might be back before nightfall.”

  He shuffled his feet as he looked at the sand.

  “You want the twins to come along?”

  Braden nodded.

  ‘If I may stay, it has been a while since Tiskanay has had any company. I shall talk with her about events from the past cycle or so. It will be time well spent.’

  “You are a good friend, Aadi, a friend to all,” Braden replied. “Are you two ready to go for a ride? I have air conditioning!”

  The twins worked their way through the brush, their shoulders were slumped and their eyes bloodshot. “As long as you don’t mind us sleeping,” Ax replied through a yawn.

  “As soon as Klytus and Shauna are finished getting a drink, we’ll be on our way.” Braden and Micah put the children into the hovercar, keeping the doors open for the ‘cats.

  ‘Hungry,’ Klytus said when he arrived.

  “I’m sure you are. The sooner we get going, the sooner we’ll get to where there’s food.”

  ‘Hungry now,’ Klytus said louder. Braden offered a piece of smoked meat. Klytus sniffed at it before putting his nose in the air. He jumped into the front seat with Ax. Shauna took the meat from Braden’s hand and chewed it. She continued to chew, contorting her face as she struggled with the oversized bite. She was finally able to swallow. She looked at Braden through narrowed eyes before kicking the sand on her way into the hovercar. She climbed in the back with ‘Tesh.

  Braden held up his hands in surrender. Micah waved good-bye as she headed for the lake to clean up before a long day’s sleep. Aadi turned and swam away.

  “Later, G, Fea” Braden said, but the two ‘cats were under a bush, already curled up together and sound asleep.

  Braden looked at his children as he climbed in and shut the doors. The hovercar started, the only sound the fan blowing cool air within the vehicle. He slowly moved into the desert before turning over control to Holly.

  “I’ve had about enough of riding in this thing. It’s too much like work!” he complained, but no one was listening.

  Focus on the Objective

  “We want to go home,” a Hawkoid named Kacherin stated.

  “Home. As Hawkoids, the entirety of Vii is our home. We are free to go anywhere we want, live free. The humans need our help, and I aim to give it to them,” Skirill replied.

  “We have no love for the humans.” Kacherin hovered using an updraft. Skirill had earned the right to say his piece, so the other Hawkoids waited respectfully.

  “Those humans, yes, but they were punished for what they did. The rest of humanity needs us. The Hillcats are leading the way.”

  “The Hillcats are food,” Kacherin declared dismissively.

  “How many of you have eaten a Hillcat?” Skirill shot back angrily. None. That was what he thought. “Hillcats are equals, like the Aurochs, like the Lizard Men, the Tortoids, the Rabbits, and the humans.”

  “Rabbits?” one of the others asked.

  “Not those rabbits. They are food. The Rabbits that walk upright and are sentient are our partners.”

  “Where do you get such s
trange ideas?” Kacherin asked.

  “From having been with a group of these creatures for the past six cycles. We could learn a great deal from them, and I challenge you to join us, join us in taking our rightful place on a council of elders.”

  “We have our own council.”

  “Not like this, you don’t. Imagine having an equal say with the other species.”

  “Would it be equal as long as man carries thundersticks and kills us on sight?”

  “It would be equal when man and creatures band together to remove the blight before it happens. Only then can we truly live in peace. Go now, back to your mountain homes, but you will stand by for the day I call in the favor for saving your lives.”

  “We soar free because of you. We will not forget what we owe. May your hunts always find game, fellow Hawkoid,” Kacherin said before beating his wings and flying east, toward the foothills of the Bittner Mountains. A place of refuge for the Hawkoids, but not where they would always call home.

  Skirill had a different idea of where Hawkoids would need to go in order to thrive.

  ‘You’ve captured tiny humans,’ Strider said when ‘Tesh and Ax fell out of the hovercar and ran toward them. Klytus and Shauna trotted to the rock where Treetis seemed to be a permanent fixture.

  The twins nearly bowled the Wolfoid over with their exuberance.

  “Easy now,” Braden said, joining the others by the small lake. He kneeled, cupped his hand, and drank. “Get some water, tiny humans.”

  The children laughed as they extricated themselves from Strider’s embrace and plowed their faces into the water.

  “Where’s Bounder?”

  ‘On the hillside. The game knows we’re here and they have run. He has had to search farther and farther, but he’ll soon make a kill, and then we’ll join him.’

  “I have to go back quickly. Tiskanay ate most of the deer that I took and the ‘cats are hungry.”

  As if to emphasize Braden’s point, Shauna and Klytus ran into the woods, looking for trees with heavy branches where plump squirrels could be found.