Flux Runners

by William Joseph Roberts

  “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Rachel said, frantically fanning herself. “You like me! You really do like me!”

  “Yeah, something like that,” Doug said then turn to Trae. “Trae, Fergus and Geek, I want those satellites operational. At a minimum, I want them functional for system-wide surveillance and communications. You can take Betty up, get a better fix on our location and capture one of those satellites. But really dig in and see what you can do to get those satellites functional and armed if possible, not to mention establish our own planetary intranet if their systems will support it.”

  Trae flashed a thumbs-up toward Doug. “You got it, Cap.”

  “Willy,” Doug continued. “I want to know what it would take to duplicate that flux drive and retrofit Betty, or any other ship for that matter. If we reproduce the drive, can we control the drive? Also, pick a space down here as your workshop and we’ll get you anything that you need to get started. The more ships that we have available with jump capability, the better. Which reminds me, Geek,” Doug added, turning to Wes. “I want you to come up with a plan to hunt down and wipe any files that the Martians may have in the computer core about the ship or the flux drive. Let’s not make it easy for anyone to reproduce the ship or drive should it fall into the wrong hands.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Wes said with a two-finger salute.

  “Hey, Cap,” Trae butted in. “Here’s a random thought. Have you thought about hitting up the major universities and such for funding? They might pay a pretty penny for their egg heads to have first dibs on an alien world. You know someone out there will want to study everything about this place. It could be a good bit of seed money for us.”

  Doug and Lizz smiled at each other. “I’ll add that to the to-do list,” Lizz cheerfully said.

  “Great idea Trae,” Doug said. “Keep them coming too. It will only benefit all of us in the end.”

  “While those of you space side are out of pocket, the rest of us will begin setting up base camp down here. This is cozy,” he motioned to the little area they had built over the last month, “but in the long term, it’s not very functional. If we are going to have a lot of traffic coming and going, we need to set it up as such before things start to get crowded. We need to move base camp further back toward the core of the starport. That’ll give us direct access to the upper levels of the concourse and the smaller hangers as well. Eventually, we may even get this place looking like a functional spaceport again. But it’ll take lots of time and lots of manpower.”

  “Well what about the rest of us, Cap?” Tiff shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

  “I’m getting to that.” Doug laughed. “Mel, I want you to head up general services. You’ll be in charge of food, lodging, company store, that sort of stuff. When we go back Earthside we’ll get you some help to run everything. Then once we have an idea on the number of bodies returning, I’ll let you know so that you can set up bunks and make adjustments to meals. We’ll need a temporary barracks area I suppose until we can set up permanent quarters for the folks coming in. We’ll all have to pitch in where we can to make it all happen.” He tapped at his lower lip as he drifted away in thought then returned with an abrupt breath. “Witches, you’ll be in charge of our foodstuffs here. Plan to grow everything a small colony may need to survive and thrive on its own. And I mean everything. From fruits and vegetables to grains to flowers to even mushrooms and medicinals. I want you to really sit down and figure out what we will need, tools, seeds and supply wise in order to feed a small army with that garden of yours. Even if we need to hire a few gardeners and bring them back. Our survival will ultimately depend on you.”

  “Are you sure that you want to put so much faith into us,” Krista hesitantly asked.

  “Absolutely,” Doug said, then turned to Andy. “When we get the extra manpower, you’ll be in charge of a crew doing planetside salvage. For the time being, I want you to take a vehicle or one of the shuttles. Scout things out around here to see what’s available and start mapping the place. We want raw materials, tech, and especially anything that looks immediately useful. Hell, we could even get down to stripping the wire and pipes out of wreckage if we get to it, but I doubt we’ll need to do that any time soon.

  “Ooo, Ooo, Ooo,” Tiff grunted, holding her hand above her head.

  “Yes, Tiff,” Doug said.

  “Can I be in charge of training and entertainment? I could set us up one badass gym with the VR systems and all.

  “Um… Sure. You can coordinate with Melanie and take care of securing a perimeter while you’re at it. Map out and lock down a defendable perimeter around the heart of the hangar.

  “Sweet, I can do that,” Tiff said.

  “And what about me?” Kara crossed her arms and glared at Doug. “I suppose you want me to go dig for mushrooms or service the waste systems?”

  “Actually, no,” Doug said with a smile. “I want you to look through the derelict ships left in the hanger and pick one as your own. That ship will take priority for repairs and you’ll be in charge of transportation around the system.”

  “So, you want me to be a taxi?” Kara huffed.

  “For now, yes. Now, by the rights of the salvage charters, we can stake a claim to anything not already claimed and file it with the I.A. claims office.”

  “The only downside,” Lizz interrupted, “is that to file the claim we would have to pay a fee of 0.001 credits per cubic ton listed on the claim.”

  Trae burst out in laughter. “That’s a lot of upfront dough if you are going to stake a claim to an entire star system.”

  “No shit, ummm…,” Fergus started. “This might sound retarded, but if we’re here and they are there, why are we even bothering with filing a claim in the first place? It’s not like they can come to take it from us or anything. I mean, we are the only ones in the known universe with a flux drive. Right?”

  “He does have a valid point,” Doug said looking over to Lizz.

  “I say fuck the man!” Fergus proudly flashed both of his middle fingers at the universe.

  “I second that. Fuck the man,” Trae said. Unanimous murmurs and chatter erupted from the rest of the crew.

  A deep baritone choir voice suddenly burst out in a singsong from seemingly nowhere. “Fu-u-u-uck the man, sooo-oo-o say we all…,” Wes sang.

  Everyone stared at Wes in disbelief.

  “What?” Wes said defensively.

  “Oh my God, Wes. That was amazing,” Tiff squeaked. “I didn’t know that you could sing.”

  Fergus chuckled. “So how many years did you work under,” Fergus said motioning with air quotes, “the priest to learn how to sing like that?”

  Rachel smacked Fergus in the back of the head so hard that he fell face-first onto the ground. “That was rude and uncalled for!”

  “Shit, I’m sorry,” Fergus said, rubbing his head.

  “That was really beautiful Geek,” Rachael said, her eyes becoming moist.

  “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here till Tuesday.” Wes bowed, then took his seat again.

  “So, I take that as everyone is in?” Doug looked about at each of them.

  The crew replied with nodding heads, Aye, Yup, Yes, and an enthusiastic hell yeah from Trae.

  “Well okay then.” Doug smiled. “We need to have a little talk with our Martian prisoners, then figure out what to do with them.”

  Wes chuckled, “Lizz as overseer, Doug running things, the Witches in charge of growing supplies and meds, and Mel in charge of services. Doesn't sound like a total disaster to me,” he said.

  A cacophony of alarm bells and sirens suddenly echoed from the distant darkness.

  “What in the hell is that?” Doug asked Willy.

  “Hell, if I know.” Willy scratched his head. “It isn’t any system alarm that I know of.”

  “It isn’t coming from either of the ships,” Ferg shouted.

  “Oh shit,” Andy jumped to his feet and sprinted in the direction of th
e alarm. “That’s one of the traps that I set!”

  The Labyrinth

  “I

  t is true,” a youngling’s voice excitedly whispered.

  Casraownan spun around, surprised to find his only son crouched down behind him, staring wide-eyed at the creatures. “By the light of the great flame, Jouqon, did I not tell you to stay with your sisters? The labyrinth is a dangerous place to wander all alone.”

  The young Chinchasan stared at his father. “But you come here by yourself all the time. And I wasn’t alone,” the youngling huffed as he crossed his arms,” you were here the whole time with me, even if you didn’t know it.”

  Cass inhaled as if to speak then stopped himself. “Your mother will have my head for this.”

  “Oh no father, it was her idea.” The small Chinchasan said proudly. “She suggested that I should keep my eyes on you to keep you out of trouble.”

  “Then I must have a talk with your mother when we return.”

  “Oh,” the youngling shouted with fright at the sound of multiple Kaowla’s barking. He leapt for Cass’s leg and tightly latched on.

  “Calm yourself Jouqon, these beings have taken in the pups of the Kaowla mother that they killed after arriving. See there,” Cass pointed, “that’s the one that I told you about.”

  “Which one father?”

  “That large one surrounded by the pups. That is the one that killed the Kaowla mother with his bare hands. Yet he took in the babes as if they were his own. A true warrior this one is. Honorable, kind, but deadly, nonetheless. Cass stared at the being in awed reverence.

  “What do you think they want father?”

  “I could not even begin to guess, son. Perhaps they are just passing through. Others of our kind have passed through before. Though it is extremely rare, it does happen once in a lifetime or so, but otherwise very few ever leave their home dens.”

  “Could they be like the ancient travelers that Fowembes spokes of?”

  “Exactly,” Cass beamed. “That is exactly what I think they are.”

  A loud banging and unintelligible shouts erupted from one of the creatures. Jouqon clung tightly to Cass’s leg as they both ducked low.

  “Have they spotted us, father?” the youngling shakily asked.

  “I don’t think so. It looks as if they are gathering for a meal. See, the one with dark hair,” Cass said as he knelt down and pointed over Jouqon’s shoulder. “She keeps checking that pot. She must be like your mother and be in charge of the clan meals.”

  “Ah, so that noise is her meal bell, like mother’s?” Jouqon shifted and moved around to the left of the barricade that they crouched behind.

  “Most likely,” Casraownan speculated. “And look, more of them are coming out from the lights.” He turned to see if Jouqon had looked at where he had pointed, but to his surprise, the youngling had vanished. “Jouqon,” he loudly whispered. He looked back toward the encampment of creatures, then back to where the youngling had been just a moment ago. He quickly stepped to the left of the barricade and peered around its edge. “Jouqon,” he whispered once more. His eyes caught a glimmer of movement in the darkness that surrounded the creature’s encampment.

  “Father,” Jouqon whispered. “What is this?” The youngling sniffed at a strangely constructed thing. “It smells so delicious, Father.”

  Casraownan dashed forward at his full speed. “Jouqon, no,” he loudly whispered.

  “But, Father,” the young Chinchasa said as he reached into the thing. “It smells so sweet and tasty.”

  Casraownan dove toward the youngling. He shoved Jouqon to the side as his momentum carried him into the strange alien construct.

  A cacophony of noise enveloped and pummeled his senses.

  “Father,” Jouqon shouted.

  “Run son! Run! Tell the others and do not return!”

  cHAPTER 20

  Unknown Red Giant System

  2nd planet, Northern Hemisphere

  Alien Starport

  July 1st, 2176 / Evening (Betty Time)

  F ergus grunted as he pushed against the makeshift cage. “You know, Andy, if you had built this cage just a little lighter, it might not be such a pain in the ass to move.”

  “It is what it is,” Andy said, “I used what we had available. Just be glad that I welded on a set of retractable wheels. At least we didn’t have to lift it or put it on a dolly.”

  “God,” Willy said with a sigh. “Will both of you just shut up and push.”

  “Hey here’s an idea,” Fergus said. “Why don’t we just shoot him and drag him out of the cage instead?” He pointed a finger at the creature. “Tap tap, two to the head baby.” He blew on the tip of his finger as if it were a smoking gun barrel.

  The creature trapped in the cage glared at Fergus and emitted a low growl-like sound. It swatted at Fergus’s probing finger.

  “Bad kitty!” Fergus shouted at the strange cat-like creature. He took a step back and kicked the makeshift cage.

  The creature forced its face against the bars, grasping the inside of the cage it growled, baring its teeth toward Fergus.

  “Oh, you really think so, do you?” Fergus unzipped his coveralls and stepped forward. “You won’t growl at me again, ya little shit.”

  “Fergus! Enough!” Doug quickly approached from the base camp.

  The creature hissed a laugh through its teeth as it lifted its kilt like covering and released a pungent stream that arced across the distance, onto Fergus.

  Fergus immediately drew his pistol, racked a round into the chamber and aimed the weapon at the caged creature.

  “Fergus!” Doug stepped in, nose to nose with Fergus. “I said enough!”

  “But it pissed on me, Cap.” Fergus growled through clenched teeth.

  The creature hissed and again pressed its face against the bars of the cage. It glared at Fergus with deep, emerald green eyes. A low, growl rumbled in the creature’s throat.

  Doug drew his revolver from its holster and aimed at Fergus’s head. “I will only say this once,” Doug said. He drew in a deep breath and cocked the hammer of the .45 caliber weapon. “This is not the way that mankind’s first contact with aliens is going down. Put down your weapon or I swear that I’ll put you down!”

  Both Fergus and the creature unblinkingly stared at Doug in astonishment.

  “Cha baad’a,” the cat creature said in a low murmur.

  “If that’s equal to fuck me running, then I totally agree, furball.” Fergus uncocked and holstered his weapon.

  “He can speak, that’s at least a start,” Doug said with a nod then holstered his revolver and stepped to the cage.

  “My name is Captain Douglas Rackham,” he said calmly, placing his palm on his chest. “I know that you don’t understand a word that I’m saying, but no man deserves to be caged without a good reason. I’m going to open the cage and turn you loose.”

  Willy shifted nervously. “Are you sure about that, Cap?”

  “Yeah, I’m pretty damned sure. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d rather not have our first contact remembered for abduction or imprisonment.”

  Doug held both hands out in front of himself, palms open for the cat creature to see. “Friend.”

  The creature stared at Doug, momentarily motionless as it pondered the situation. “Fff...Frr...Fr...end...Frend,” the cat creature slurred and spit as it wrapped its lips around the word.

  “I’m going to go out on a limb here and let you out.” Cautiously, Doug lifted the locking mechanism and swung open the cage door open. He took a slow step away from the opening, palms open and exposed. “You see, we’re all friends here.”

  The creature nodded at Doug in understanding and cautiously stepped out of the cage and stood before them.

  It was easily six feet in height once it was out of the cage and could stand upright. Very feline-like facial features along with a long, lemur-like prehensile tail. Its fur was a thick black with a red iridescence that seemed to
almost glow in the low light. It took another step from the cage and stretched, then turned its attention to Fergus. Its short fur stood on end as a low rumble emanated in the throat of the creature. It flexed its already impressive muscles.

  Fergus instinctively leapt away, drawing his pistol and bringing it to bear on the cat creature.

  “Fergus! I fucking said to stand down,” Doug ordered.

  The creature turned back, looking at Doug. It blinked rapidly, then turned back to Fergus and let out another chuckled hiss.

  “Laugh it up, fuzzball.” Fergus reluctantly holstered his weapon, again.

  “Come, sit, eat.” Doug motioned for the creature to follow as he backed away toward the camp.

  The cat creature followed cautiously, one slow, soft-padded step at a time. Within moments, Doug and the creature had crossed the dark distances and entered the light of the base camp area. A red iridescent danced across the cat creature’s otherwise charcoal black fur.

  “Please sit.” Doug sat at one of the makeshift tables and motioned for the creature to do the same.

  “Mel,” Doug said quietly without turning his gaze from the creature. “Please bring our guest a bowl of stew. We may have initially been rude, but we can still attempt to show our hospitality.”

  “On it Cap.” Mel quickly made her way around the work table; she ladled the stew into a bowl and placed it on the table next to the cat creature.

  Doug waved the crew back as they started to gather around. “Everyone give our guest a little room. We don’t want to make him think we’re surrounding or about to attack him.”

  “Oh my God, you weren’t lying about them,” Wes said as he approached. “He looks so damn familiar, but I can’t place them.” He intently stared at the cat creature. “Me...Wes...You,” Wes said questioningly.

  “What the hell, Wes? Are we playing space pirates and Indians now?” Trae laughed as he walked down the Betty’s loading ramp. “The pups are all locked away, Cap.”