Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction

by Terry Compton

  Ron was pacing and stopped in mid-step. He quickly came over and pushed the door shut. He and Gus quickly helped Tik out of the cape. Ron folded the cape and put it back in his pouch. Tik gave him his translator back and started pulling the items out of her harness. She laid them on the bed and was quickly transferring them to her tool bag. The 'rise and shine' bell rang and all three about jumped out of their skins. Tik didn't even have time to take her harness off. She just made sure all the items she had stolen were safely hidden in her tool bag. Gus grabbed the bag as was his custom and the three lined up to head to the dining hall.

  The door swung open and the trio fell in line. Tik was too excited to even be able to broadcast her thoughts coherently. She did manage to send the message to Ron that she got what they needed and they could check it out later. Ron passed the word to Gus.

  When they got to the repair hangar, Gus and Tik went back to their usual jobs. Ron found his workstation had been moved as far away from the ancient space ship as possible and still stay in the hangar. He went back to his usual routine of repairing robots and equipment. He watched the hum of activity around the space ship but he couldn't see any details. Tik managed to pull one of the computers and one translator out of her bag and get them recharged. She didn't have a chance to get the others. She wore the harness all day and Wurden didn't even notice or if he did, he didn't say anything. This was a good thing because Tik needed something to fasten a translator to.

  Their normal work kept the trio busy so the day didn't drag too badly. At last they lined up, went to eat and got back to their cell. They decided to do a normal routine and get to sleep at the same time. Tik set her alarm again and they all got up two hours early so they could talk and check out the things Tik had removed from the storeroom.

  The alarm went off and the three eagerly jumped out of bed. Tik opened her tool bag and pulled everything out. She told the story of what happened as she laid everything on her bunk. The only things that worked were the translator and computer she had charged with fuel. The other items were completely discharged.

  They tried the translator but it wasn't translating like the one Ron had. They were all disappointed and Ron picked it up to look at it. He noticed a small bump and depression on the back. He took his out and noticed the same thing on the back of his. He pushed the two together and found out the bump on his translator fit the depression on the other. The other translator's bump fit the depression on his. As soon as he touched the two together, they all three felt something in their minds. The two machines whirred for a bit and then were silent. Ron handed the new translator to Gus. Gus put it on his harness and asked, "What now? Can you understand me?"

  Tik and Ron both grinned and nodded yes. Maybe the translators just had to be programmed after they were fully discharged. Tik took the computer and quickly set it to her link and protected it so the Bugs couldn't hack into it. She quickly gave Gus a course on computer use. He happily returned to his bunk and started trying some things. Ron and Tik talked about getting the rest of the items charged over the next several days.

  Ron asked, "Tik, why the extra translators and extra computer?"

  "I don't know. I just saw them lying there and I felt that we could use them."

  "That's all right. I'm sure we can find a use for them. You'd better get this back into your tool bag. It will soon be time for the bell," Ron said.

  Gus put his computer in his personal pouch too. He had the translator in a small pocket on his harness. He and Ron tried the thought transfer and found it was stronger and clearer than ever. Ron cautioned him about using it too much until they had a chance to experiment a little in private. Gus said he understood.

  The bell rang and they got ready to head to work. That day was a repeat of the previous day and they were not allowed anywhere close to the ancient space ship. Tik was dying to check the mother computer to see if they were finding anything but Ron told her to wait. There were too many eyes watching that right now. Tik got two more items recharged.

  When they got back to their cell, Ron reprogrammed another translator for Tik. They found out that all three could now hear all of the conversations. They settled into a routine. Ron was doing the flight training, Tik was researching Alcantarans and other species on the computer and Gus started getting acquainted with the different space ships. He studied everything he could find out about them.

  The mental transfer improved every day and they found out that they could communicate much greater distances than they had before. They practiced with it every day at work and studied at night. Three months went by and they didn't seem any closer to their goal of escape. The trio was sinking toward despair.

  The morning started like all the rest. The trio was working at their jobs without enthusiasm while trying to watch the activity around the ancient space ship. It appeared that something was about to happen because they could see the anticipation and the big wig Bug had come to the hangar. It was behind the counter by Tik. Suddenly the shield went up on the old space ship. The group of Bugs close to the ship scurried away as fast as they could, forgetting all about their disks. There was shouting, shrieking and tools and equipment were knocked over as they ran. The Bug with the fuel control was dancing around and seemed to be pushing the button on the fuel dump. Ron and Gus stopped work to watch the commotion. The other slave laborers were edging away from the space ship. They didn't like the look or feel of the shield activating. Tik saw the big wig Bug give a start and move further away from the window opening to the hangar. All three pals knew something bad had happened to the Bug scientists, but what!

  The shield slowly faded as the remaining fuel was used up. There was a mad rush of Bugs out of the rear door of the space ship. They ran to the doors on the hangar and rushed outside. All eyes in the hangar were now on the space ship to see what was going to happen next. The big wig Bug fairly streaked out the hangar door on its' disk. Ron was close enough to the door to see that there was a big confab going on out in the passage-way. Shortly Wurden slowly glided back into the hangar and came over to Ron.

  Wurden kept one eye on the space ship as he commanded Ron, "Take the sand creature and go inside the space ship. There are two dead Challekans on the flight deck. Remove them and bring them over here to the hangar doors."

  "What killed them? Will it kill me too?" Ron asked.

  "I'm sure nothing will happen to you. Just hurry up and remove the dead," Wurden said.

  Ron thought, "Yeah, nothing will happen. You don't care if it does. All you slimy sewer crawlers are scared to death to go in there!" He took his time walking over to Gus and winked at him as they went to the back of the space ship. They slowly entered the ship and headed for the flight deck. They proceeded with caution because they had no idea what they would find or if the danger was still there. Gus pulled his hammer/ax and led the way. The cargo bay was a shambles of overturned test equipment and cords that had been jerked away as the Bugs tripped on them trying to get away. Gus and Ron climbed the ladder and cautiously peered across the flight deck as soon as they could see. They surveyed the scene for several minutes before they moved. They could see no obvious danger but they were wary.

  They both stepped on the flight deck and looked around. There was more overturned equipment and chairs. The Bugs had brought in a couple of tables and these were overturned as well. They peered into the cockpit and saw the two Bugs. They were lying on their backs and had been charred all over. It must have taken a lot of energy to burn the bodies that badly. There was a rotten stench of burnt flesh and Ron's stomach was getting a little queasy. Neither of the two was going to touch those grisly remains. Ron sent Gus back down to get two tarps or something similar, ropes and a shovel or broom to use to push the bodies with.

  Gus left and Ron looked around. He saw that the spy devices they had put up were blasted by the same energy. The computers and equipment in the cockpit were all charred as well. He tried his computer to see if he could access any of the test equipment in the c
ockpit. His computer couldn't find any signal from any of them. Ron broadcast a thought to Tik. He told her to see if she could get in the computer and download copies of the information from the spy devices up to the point of the energy discharge. He told her to see if she could get any notes the Bugs had made as well. Ron stepped back out on the flight deck and looked at the equipment there. The equipment there wasn't burnt but it wasn't working either. It had been hit by the surge of energy. He checked on the cargo bay level and it was the same story. Just then, Gus came back into the space ship hauling the equipment they needed.

  They returned to the cockpit and rolled the Bugs bodies into the tarps. They wrapped them with the ropes and carried them to the railing overlooking the cargo bay. Gus lowered the remains over the side and let them down with the ropes as Ron stood on the floor and guided them. When they had the remains on the cargo bay floor, Gus came down and they proceeded to pack them out of the space ship. They let the remains down to the hangar floor and then climbed out of the space ship. Wurden yelled to them to shut the door. Then they packed the remains to the hangar door and laid them on a waiting grav-sled. The Bugs had a robot to push it and all of them except Wurden and the other supervisors disappeared down the passage-way.

  Wurden and the supervisors were reluctant to reenter the hangar but they moved just inside the door. Wurden told Ron and Gus to go back to work. Tik had downloaded all of the information Ron had asked for plus a couple of things she thought might be important. The trio used ESP to talk over what could have gone wrong. Tik said it would have to wait until tonight to study the files. The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever.

  When Wurden dropped them off at the cell, the first thing Ron and Gus had to do was wash themselves. The washed their clothes also, hoping to get rid of the smell from the space ship. They both knew it would take awhile for that odor to dissipate. When they were as clean as they could get, they returned to their bunks. Tik sent a file to each of their computers and they all started studying them to see what had happened. They studied until they had to go to sleep.

  The next morning they returned to the hangar but there was no sign of the scientist or big wig Bugs. They went about their normal routine. They finished the day and returned to their cell where they studied more files. They did this for the next 10 days. They didn't have a clue yet about what had happened but they were learning what the Bugs did for experiments. None of the Bugs returned to the hangar and Tik risked a check on the computer to see if she could spot what they were doing. It appeared that they were doing the same thing, studying the files and experiment notes.

  Tik had arranged to have two spy devices installed just outside their cell door. They pointed up and down the passage-way. The devices only fed to their computers so the Bugs had no idea they were there. She set them to trigger an alarm when Wurden or the big wig was heading to their cell. She also set them to trigger the alarm if a large group of Bugs were headed their way. They had been studying the tapes for another month when the alarm sounded. The big wig was headed their way. Everyone put their computers away and laid down.

  The door swung open and the usual procedure of the guards entering happened again. The big wig followed and looked suspiciously at them. The big wig said, "You will go back into the space ship tomorrow and clean up the equipment and get ready to start your experiments again."

  Ron asked innocently, "Did you find out what happened to burn everything like that?"

  "We think one of the technicians set the switches wrong on the last experiment. We will let you know what the settings were and you can make your own adjustments. What will you need to start your experiments?" the big wig said noncommittally.

  "I don't know what equipment you had on board or if any of it is damaged. The stuff in the cockpit all looked burnt but maybe it still works," Ron answered. "After we get started on the clean-up, we will know more. Are you going to let Kota come back to help us?"

  "You won't need him for the clean-up. The three of you will be enough. When you get everything set up, we will see about bringing him back."

  The group turned and left. The trio almost cheered at the prospect of getting back in the space ship. They had come to the conclusion that there was a safety circuit to keep someone like the Bugs from stealing the space ship. They didn't know where the energy pulse had come from but they might find it in the next few days. They all had trouble going to sleep that night.

  The next morning Wurden took them directly to the space ship and opened the door for them. He then had pressing business across the hangar. The smell inside hadn't improved in a month so the first thing they did was to set up ventilation equipment to start moving the air around. Gus said there were masks for working in areas where you shouldn't breathe the atmosphere. They all went to the storeroom and got a mask that would fit them. There was a small unit attached to the back to make sure they had a good oxygen supply and it filtered any air from inside the space ship. They had to use the masks for the next week until the mess in the cockpit was cleaned out and the air circulated and was cleaned by the scrubbers.

  Just as Ron had suspected, all the equipment in the space ship was toast. They cleaned it all out and started setting up new. Ron was glad to see their idea of dumping the fuel worked. He would make doubly sure that it was in place again. It took more than a week to get everything cleaned out and another 10 days to get the new equipment back into the space ship. Everything was finally ready. Now all they needed was fuel and Kota.

  The next morning, Kota was in the hangar. They had permission to load fuel again and they hurried to get everything prepared for the fuel. While Gus went for the fuel, Ron, Tik and Kota headed for the cockpit. Ron could tell Kota was excited because his hair, which looked like fine feathers, was wiggling all over his head. They reached the cockpit and Kota looked at the other's faces. He sensed that they were up to something and both of them had a big grin.

  "What's up with you two? Why are you grinning at me like that?" Kota asked.

  "We have a present for you. Tik, would you do the honors?" Ron asked as he bowed and waved his hand toward Kota.

  Tik reached into her tool bag and pulled out the Trader translator. Kota's eyes widened in surprise. His hand was shaking as he reached for the translator. It was the one the Bugs had taken from him when he was first kidnapped. He was still shaking as he put the chain over his head and touched the translator to turn it on.

  "How in the world did you get this? Do the Bugs know that you have it?" Kota asked in shock.

  "We found this unattended and Tik recognized it as something that might belong to you. We don't believe the Bugs know that it's gone yet, so if I were you, I wouldn't advertise that you have it. Keep it out of sight and don't let on that you can understand any other languages," Ron said quietly.

  Kota was too choked up for words so Tik started filling him in on what had happened over the last 5 months. He looked around with interest when he heard about the Bugs being fried and all the equipment zapped. He asked if they knew what had happened and why. They told him they had a theory but they had to refuel the space ship to test it out. Kota looked a little worried about that and Ron assured him that they had a plan.

  Gus loaded the fuel in and Tik started checking the ship's computer as soon as it came on. She pointed to a warning on the screen and Ron said, "Just as we suspected. The Bugs' translator didn't translate right or the Bugs ignored the warning. I suspect it was the wrong translation because they are deathly afraid of the Alcantarans."

  Tik continued with her checks and shortly announced that all was clear. The group immediately started on the next round of experiments that they wanted to try. They energized the shield and then shut it off. They asked the ship's computer for a check on all instruments, gauges and controls. The computer blinked for several minutes and then started listing all instruments, gauges and controls and their status. Tik saw a problem with this. She couldn't access this with her computer so she needed to shut the ship's comp
uter down for a while to install a link to her computer. While she was doing this, Ron let Gus know what was going on. He and Kota went to the cargo deck below and they started looking at the locked doors. Kota explained that the Traders sometimes kept locked doors like this if they had some sort of valuable merchandise. Ron was asking questions about trading experiences until Tik called out that she was ready to proceed.

  Tik explained that she had set the computer up with a link that required a biometric signature from her to be able to link to the ship's computer. She would set it up for the other three later. The link only had a range of about 1000 yards; but with a link in the mother ship's computer, she could access the ancient ship from anywhere in the mother ship. Right now she restarted the ship's computer and checked her link. Everything worked! She ran the same test as before and had the results sent to her computer. Now they had something to go on to start making sure the ancient ship could fly.

  Kota asked her to put in a series of signals and codes. He told her that once the ancient ship was outside the mother ship and clear to broadcast, it would signal for help from the Charter Navy. He said it described what had happened to him and gave what information he had about the Bug's mother ship. Tik gave him the present location and heading and he added that to the code. He said the Charter Navy took a dim view of someone like the Bugs setting up slave labor, especially if it involved Charter Alliance citizens. Kota cautioned that they would have to be close enough to an Alliance planet or ship for the signal to be relayed to the Navy. Tik programmed the ship's computer to send the signal any time it received an indication of Charter Alliance activity.