Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction

by Terry Compton

  "Tik, the first thing you need to do is get UV lights at your work station. The reason you're so sick is that you need UV light for your body to properly digest your food. Maybe you can convince Wurden that there are bad bacteria on the used parts and the Bugs might get infected if they don't install the lights. The next thing is we need to get Gus somewhere he can touch sand or dust for at least two hours each week. Are there any dust filters in the air ducts leaving the repair hangar? Check on the computer and see if you can get Wurden to assign Gus to clean them. Make sure he is assigned to clean any dirty equipment or space ships coming into the repair hangar," Ron stated matter of factly.

  "How am I supposed to do all of that by myself? Do you think I am some kind of magician?" Tik snorted derisively.

  "Oh, I've seen how you have Wurden wrapped around your little finger. You'll find some way," Ron teased with a grin.

  "Stick a finger out here and I'll show you something wrapped around a finger," Tik growled.

  "Every chance you get, you need to start checking out those two space ships in the incoming hangar. We need to know everything we can about them so we can start planning on how to get out of here. Also there are two other things you need to check. Number one is, are we being spied on in our cell? Can you erase it or change what the Bugs will see? Number two is, the healer said all three of us had some kind of foreign substance in our systems. Are the Bugs giving us more than food in our meals? Is there a way to delete it from ours or to counteract it?"

  Tik stiffened as she considered for the first time that the Bugs might be spying on her in her own cell. Ron could read the determination in her posture as she started planning on how to defeat any spying. The meal this morning was especially unappetizing to all three since the question had arisen about drugs in the food. None of the trio finished their meal.

  The work group filed into the repair hangar and Ron carried Tik to the counter again. Wurden was right behind them and commented, "Is that beast's ankle still causing trouble?"

  Tik snapped peevishly, "Its better, just not completely healed. By tomorrow morning I'll be walking on my own."

  "That's good because I would hate to waste time taking you to the medical facilities," Wurden stated aloofly.

  He led Ron to a piece of equipment midway on the hangar deck. Ron was working away when he heard Tik scream. She went into a tirade that brought Wurden rushing over to see what the trouble was. She was screaming that her scanner showed there was dangerous bacteria on the last part the messenger had brought. She said that there appeared to be high levels of dust also. The perfect breeding grounds for the bacteria! The next thing would be all the workers, as well as the Challekans, getting sick and then they all would die. Wurden screeched to a stop several yards from the counter. He asked what was wrong and Tik proceeded to unload on him again. Wurden edged a little further away and asked her what her scanner recommended. Tik told him that the counter needed two UV lights to kill the bacteria and the filters in the air ducts needed to be cleaned on a regular basis. Gus walked up with a fuel canister just then and Tik pointed at him and said, "Make him clean those things. He already looks like he's covered with dust and it wouldn't hurt him at all."

  Wurden got on his personal computer and put a rush, immediate action order in for the UV lights as he directed Gus to hurry up with his fuel and then follow him. Wurden was pushing Gus to take the fuel canister back to his work station and get out of the protective gear. As soon as he was out of it, Wurden took him to a grav-sled and showed him how to operate it. He flew him to the ceiling and they started checking the air ducts. They were very dusty and Wurden directed Gus to start cleaning them. He looked up the filters and showed Gus where they were at. He told him to make sure they were thoroughly cleaned and then he made a note to make sure Gus cleaned them on a regular basis.

  Later when they were back in their cell, Ron commented with a grin, "I was wondering, what took you so long to get the light up and Gus in the middle of the dust?"

  Gus chuckled as he joined in, "Yeah, I was sure it would take days to get the light and in less than an hour, there I was elbow deep in dust. What did it take to get the light? Two hours? Three?"

  "Listen, you two big apes…." Tik snapped heatedly until she realized they were teasing. "I thought you said it was important and needed to be done right away. If I'd have known that you could wait, I'd have put in a work order and we'd see results in a couple of months."

  The trio laughed. They were starting to become more than friends and it felt good. Tik was definitely feeling a lot better and her fur didn't look so tangled and matted. Gus had been in enough dust to really feel good and life suddenly showed some hope.

  Ron asked, "Are we being spied on?"

  "Hey big boy, I'm good but I'm not a miracle worker. I was planning on checking that right now," Tik said as she pulled her mini-computer out of the bag.

  She gave a few commands and shortly she was searching the mother ship computer. She found what Ron had feared. The Bugs were spying on all the captured creatures. Tik checked the different cells quickly and she could see what each one was doing. She checked a little further and saw that the Bugs weren't currently monitoring any of the cells. The record showed that a Bug would skim through the recordings once a quarter. The skim had happened just before Ron arrived so it would be a couple of months until it happened again.

  "What do we do? Will we be out of here before they skim again?" Tik asked.

  "I don't know if we'll get out of here by then. I hope so but we need to make sure that someone doesn't accidently stumble onto this in the meantime. It looks like the drugs have worked so well that the Bugs are complacent. That's something else that we may be able to use to our advantage. Can you replace the pictures or create some kind of interference? Can you do anything with the voices?" Ron anxiously asked. "There's a particular scene last night that I don't want any of the Bugs to see."

  Tik rewound the scene in their cell to last night. She watched the healer do its work on Ron, herself and then Gus. She could see that wasn't a good thing for the Bugs to see. They would want that healer. Then she saw herself go to sleep. When Ron pulled the cape out of his tool pouch, she was watching with curiosity to see what he was up to.

  When Ron's legs disappeared, Tik yelped, "What in the world just happened? What are you doing there?"

  "That's part of what I don't want the Bugs to see. Whatever you do needs to be across the board. If our cell is the only one that has trouble, the Bugs will start checking closer," Ron answered.

  Tik really got excited when Ron put on the cape and she saw his head floating in mid air. She saw possibilities just as Ron had. That cape could open up the entire ship to someone wearing it; especially, if they had access to the mother ship computer. Tik thought for a little bit and then gave a command. All the scenes of the cells jumbled together. All of the audio and video was jammed together so that nothing made any sense. There was a period of the jumble and then the scenes changed to creatures sleeping. Tik worked a little more and the scene in their cell changed to one of the three of them asleep in their bunks. Tik said she would have to work at it over the next few days but she would show scenes where they came in, moved around before they went to bed and if Ron wanted, she could even show little spats between the three of them. Ron thought that would be a great idea; instead of a team working together, make it appear that they had an uneasy truce and just barely got along.

  Ron asked, "Hey Tik, how hard would it be to unlock that door? Could you get us out of here?"

  Tik replied, "Watch."

  The door swung open and the trio looked out in the passage-way. Gus walked over and looked both ways to see if anyone had noticed the door swing open. He pushed it shut and turned. There was a grin on all three faces. Things were starting to come together. Right now, Tik was doing most of the work on the computer. The other two gave ideas but Tik had to do the actual work. They started planning on checking out the two smaller space ships. Tik wan
ted to don the cloak and head there right then but the other two voted to make her wait until she had more strength. Ron suggested that they needed to come up with some sort of harness that could carry her mini-computer, some tools and the stingerray. They would all start looking for material that they could sneak back into their cell. Tik researched the stingerray and found out how to operate it. She practiced a little bit and then showed the other two. Gus commented that he might have trouble since the stingerray was so small and his hands were so big. Tik put on her list to search for a weapon that would fit Gus' hand. They stayed up late that night discussing different options and how quick they could put them into action. When they finally laid down, they all had trouble getting to sleep.

  The next few days settled into a routine of working and trying to find items for their escape during the day; then at night, they would plan and check more of the computer knowledge. Tik's health rapidly improved, thanks to the UV lights and Gus was doing much better since he was in contact with dust and sand so much. Ron used the healer every two or three evenings to keep his blood sugar in control. He noticed that he was starting to lose weight also. Tik found a way to neutralize the drugs in the food and everybody felt better about that. Finally, they decided that it was time. Tomorrow night Tik was going to head to the space ships to check them out.

  Chapter 4

  When the bell went off, the three were already up and ready to go. The day dragged on forever. Tik snapped at everybody and even Ron was tense. Gus just buried himself in his work and tried not to think. Finally the shift ended and they were back in their cell.

  "How long do you think we should wait?" Tik asked nervously.

  "Why don't you check the spy devices in the passageways around here and at the inbound hangar? That should give us an idea." Ron answered.

  Gus said, "We've got this far, don't blow it now. I might have to go on the rampage if the Bugs found out. I have to think I have a chance to get out of here or life is not worth living."

  Tik pulled out her computer and saw that there was still a lot of traffic in their passageway so she did some more research while they waited. She found the schedule for the space ship Yaota and it showed that it would be heading to Bamberga next week. The other space ship had nothing scheduled for the next month. Tik checked the supplies and fuel on board both of the space ships. She was surprised to see how little fuel was on both ships. She checked past flights and saw that the fuel was loaded just a day or two before the ships flew. There was a minimum of supplies and it didn't look like there was much of anything for the three of them on either ship. Something was wrong but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

  Tik checked the spy devices again and saw that the traffic in their passageway and around the inbound hangar was pretty low. The trio agreed now was the time to try. They helped Tik into the special harness they had made from stolen parts. She had a place for the stingerray and her computer right close to the reach of her hands. They took tools out of Ron's tool pouch and Gus' belt to give her the best chance for whatever came up. Finally Ron helped her into the cloak. He fussed nervously, showing her again where the on/off button was.

  Tik snapped at him, "I'm not some helpless child. Let me alone! I know how to turn it on and off and I know how to work the tools I have."

  "I know. I'm just nervous and I want to be able to go," Ron snapped back.

  "Well, unless you cut your legs off, you won't fit in this cloak and I know two of us won't fit and I can't carry you," Tik said.

  "Easy, you two. All of us are nervous and want this to succeed. Tik, don't let your temper get the best of you. We want you back here," Gus interjected.

  The group had decided that they didn't want to risk the translator so Tik was going to try thought transfer. They had been working on it across the hangar and it seemed to work pretty well now. They were still learning about the process so this would be a good chance to test distance.

  Tik stepped up to the door and her heart was pounding so loud she knew that Ron and Gus could hear it. She spoke softly to her mini-computer as she turned on the cloak. Gus held the door so it only swung open a crack. Tik looked both ways in the passageway and didn't see anything so she quickly stepped through. Gus pushed the door shut. Ron and Gus' faces showed the strain. They weren't in the passageway but their pal was and she could be in danger at any second. Neither would breathe easily until she was back. Gus came over to Ron so he could feel the thought transfer if Tik sent anything.

  Tik slipped along silently for awhile and then picked up her pace. She wanted to get to the inbound hangar, check it out and then get back to the cell to tell her cell mates. She dropped to all four legs so she could make as much speed as possible. She moved as fast as she could and still keep it fairly quiet. The group had all agreed it would be dangerous to use an elevator unless a robot or some equipment was already on it. If a Bug got on and bumped her, all their plans would be for naught. Tik made it to the stairway with no problems. She had to descend 15 levels so she started down. She made the inbound hangar level with no problems and she did a thought transfer to let Ron and Gus know. She felt the affirmative answer in her mind and felt reassured. Now all she had to do was cross to the other side of the mother ship. The trio had looked at the diagrams of the mother ship and figured she would have to travel more than a mile and a half.

  Tik was making good time down the passageway when she saw the two Bugs gliding toward her. She quickly moved to the right, closer to the wall, and waited as she held her breath. The Bugs appeared to be talking and glided closer and closer. The Bug nearest her wall didn't seem too steady and was gently weaving back and forth across the passageway. He would get closer to his companion and then veer closer to the wall. Tik was watching with every nerve telling her to run. The Bug veered away from his companion again and Tik saw that it was going to hit her. She noiselessly ran forward 10 steps and stopped. The Bug swerved next to the wall where she had been standing. She wanted to sit down and shake but she knew she didn't have time. She continued moving, glad to be away from those two.

  Tik was almost to the last passage when she saw the four Bugs coming down the passageway. They were abreast across the entire passageway and Tik didn't see any place to go. She moved to the center of the passageway because she wanted as much room as possible to dodge the oncoming danger. The Bugs were close enough together that she couldn't let them squeeze past. As they moved closer Tik tensed. Just as they got to her, she leaped over the gliders and between the Bugs on them. She had thought about jumping completely over the Bugs but then her belly would be exposed and it would not be invisible.

  One of the Bugs she had jumped between suddenly accused his companion of touching his leg. They started arguing about it and Tik crept away. She found an intersecting passageway and had to sit down to calm her nerves. Her heart was racing and she felt like panting because her breathing had been so shallow. At last her breathing and heart beat returned to almost normal. She started moving toward the hangar again.

  There it was -- the inbound hangar door. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get in without raising suspicions or causing an alarm to go off. Tik decided to wait for just a little bit to see if a robot or something would go in or come out of the door. She sat waiting nervously for any kind of traffic. She felt like she had been waiting for hours and was about to give up when she heard a robot coming down the passageway. It came up to the door and gave a series of beeps. The door swung open and Tik jumped right behind the robot as it rolled into the hangar. Tik quickly moved next to the wall to avoid any traffic. She sat quietly looking around. Suddenly she tensed in alarm. There were Bugs with blasters around both galactic space ships. She looked at the ceiling and saw a turret with multiple blasters sticking out of it. The turret looked like it could spin in a 360 degree circle. It could cover every square inch of the hangar. None of this had shown up on the mother ship diagrams. What was going on here? Tik moved around the hangar to see if there was another way to
approach the two space ships. Every place someone could hide was guarded by Bugs with blasters! Tik found a place she could safely use the camera on her mini-computer and filmed the entire hangar. Maybe Ron could see something she didn't. Right now she didn't see any way for them to get anywhere close to those space ships, let alone inside of them.

  Tik felt completely discouraged. What were they going to do now? She started moving back toward the door she had come in. Some Bugs went out and she followed as closely as possible. She slunk back down the passageways that she had just moved down with such high spirits and hopes. She couldn't even concentrate enough to send a thought transfer back to her waiting pals. She was so deep in her fog she almost missed the robot coming at her. At the last moment, she spotted it and jumped to the side to let it pass. She reached the stairway door and slipped in. It took her a lot longer to go up the stairs than it had when she came down. She finally got back to her level and sneaked a look out in the passageway. It was clear so she headed back to her cell. What was she going to tell her cell mates? Would Gus do something crazy?

  Tik sent a thought that she was opening the door and coming in. The door swung in and she hurried inside. Gus was there to push the door shut. Tik turned the cloak off and slowly took it off. She took items out of the harness and handed them back to Ron and Gus. Then she took her mini-computer out and took the harness off.

  "Well, what's the verdict? Can we get out using either of those ships?" Gus inquired anxiously.

  Tik was almost afraid to look at him. She slowly said, "The Bugs have guards in there with blasters. There is a turret in the ceiling that looks like it can spin 360 degrees and it can cover the entire hangar."

  "How was the turret controlled? Were there Bugs manning the blasters or do you think they were controlled by the computer?" Ron quickly asked.