Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction

by Terry Compton

  Ron turned and walked back to Auntie. He found out where the other two were and headed to the situation room. He told them about his conversation with the police and Fu. He told them that he was going to the police station to sign the report so they could leave in the morning. Ron asked Auntie if she had anything non-lethal that would discourage anyone from sneaking around outside. She replied that her shield could give off a static electric spark that was non-lethal. She said most creatures found it most unpleasant and didn't wait for a second jolt. Ron said that sounded fine and asked her to set it up to use it on their ugly neighbors, if they came too close. Tik and Gus decided they were going to tag along. Tik said she didn't want to miss any excitement if it happened again. Tik told him that there were two more creatures in the other space ship. They must travel with a crew of six. Ron asked Auntie to check with Kota to see if that would be right. She did and reported they usually had six to eight for a crew.

  Everybody went to the armory to make sure their weapons were fully loaded and then Ron grabbed some more of the silver trinkets. They headed to the terminal to wait for the driver. Kota, Zibo and their new robot chef came into the terminal and told them they were headed to town to buy some groceries that the robot wanted to round out their stores. Zibo said they should meet for supper and it would be their treat this time. Ron said they were headed to the police station to sign the report. Kota checked a map he had and said they were going to be fairly close to the station when they were buying the groceries. He said they would drop their robot off and meet them there. There was an eating place two blocks from the police station.

  Kota and Zibo had rented a vehicle and it was waiting at the curb for them. They went out, loaded the robot and headed for town. The trio's driver arrived a few minutes later and they headed to town. They felt the rumble of the Nodac-Liujia space ship landing as they headed out.

  Ten minutes later Auntie sent them a report. She said the other ship had landed and eight creatures had gotten off. She had scanned the ship and it was now empty. The two creatures from the other ship had come out to meet the newcomers. They all had headed to the terminal. Two of the group had come sneaking over to check her out. She reported that two static electric charges had helped them on their way. Ron and Tik could have sworn that Auntie was chuckling when she told about the electricity hitting the two. Auntie reported that she had launched two of the remote sensors. One was following them and the other was following the two groups from the other space ships.

  The driver embarrassed Ron by enthusiastically telling the story of this mornings events. His story made Ron into some kind of super hero and the other two were sending ESP asking Ron for his autograph and asked if he actually walked on water. Tik said they should look out for old ladies for him to escort across the street. Ron shut them up by silently giving them the raspberry.

  When they got to the police station, they told the driver they would walk down to the eating place two blocks down the street. They told him to just wait for them there and he could go eat with them. The trio went into the station and Ron read through the report before he signed it. The police asked him a few questions and then one of them; who had kids in the same class as one of the Fu boys, asked him about grizzly bears. He had to tell his Joe Meek story again to the delight of all the policemen in the station. They were all asking if the story was true and Ron said that as far as he knew; it was the gospel truth. They had been in the station about an hour by then and said they had to go meet some friends. The police all thanked him for the story and his cooperation.

  As the trio was approaching the door, Auntie told them Kota and Zibo had just pulled up outside. She also warned them that there were now eleven of the Nodac-Liujia creatures in various positions surrounding the building outside.

  Ron asked, "Auntie, is there any way to warn Kota and Zibo?"

  "I could if I had some time but I would have to research their comm frequencies and methods. There is no quick way to do it," Auntie replied.

  Tik growled, "Let me go. I'm a smaller target and faster than you two. I'll warn them and see if we have anything to fear or if those sewer vermin are just observing. They must be awfully desperate or awfully stupid to try something right outside the police station."

  "That might be the smartest place. They probably think we won't be expecting anything here," Gus countered.

  The trio quietly drew their weapons as they triggered their shields and then Tik rushed outside to crouch next to Kota's vehicle. She quietly told Kota through his open window, "Get down. We have some sewer crawlers here and I think they are up to no good."

  Kota and Zibo slid down in the seat as far as they could and drew their weapons. Two policemen started to walk up the steps into the station. Tik had just started to warn them when two Nodac-Liujias next to the police station opened fire. They hit Tik's shield which pushed her up against Kota's vehicle. She returned fire at the one in front of Kota's vehicle. The creature fell with a big hole blasted in its middle. The two policemen turned at the sound and the creature toward the rear fired a stingerray at them. One of the policemen fell to the steps while the other tried to hold him and get his gun out at the same time. Gus and Ron leaped out of the building and in front of the two policemen. Tik whirled and fired at her other attacker. That attacker fell and would not be bothering anyone again. The Nodac-Liujia creatures across the street opened fire on Ron and Gus. Some of them were not using stingerrays. They were using blasters. Ron and Gus returned fire as Gus reached down and picked up the stunned policeman. He shoved him and his partner through the door. He and Ron ran to crouch behind Kota's vehicle with Tik. Kota and Zibo started picking targets and firing at them. Tik took off down the street and Ron went the other way. Gus was firing over the hood of Kota's vehicle to keep the creatures' attention. Ron and Tik caught two of the creatures as they rushed from the back of the police station where they had been watching the rear door. They blasted and both of them dropped where they were hit. Ron and Tik had reached opposite ends of the block and now crossed the street. They had the Nodac-Liujia creatures in a deadly cross-fire now. Gus had dropped two others with his fire. Ron managed to drop one more and the creatures had all they could stand. They leaped into a waiting vehicle and sped off. As they sped off, they tried to avoid getting anywhere close to Ron because of his deadly fire.

  The street was deathly quiet. Ron and Tik started advancing to check for any creatures left behind. All they found were bodies. The police were cautiously rushing out of the door and crouching beside Gus. Some of them came out of the back door and slipped cautiously around the building. The whole thing was over in less than five minutes.

  The policemen slowly checked out the dead bodies and picked up the weapons. Ron and Tik walked back to Kota and Zibo to see if they were all right. They were a little shaken and their vehicle had been hit several times but they were not hurt.

  Ron broadcast a thought to Tik, "Can you work with Auntie from here and get those two space ships into the air before these creatures get back?"

  Tik replied, "I don't know but I'll sure give it a try. I think Auntie should be able to fly them remotely if she can get into their computer."

  "Good. We'll make it really costly for these vermin. We'll let the police chase them on the planet here," Ron said angrily.

  Tik went to the rear of Kota's vehicle and concentrated on her task. Ron and Gus kind of led the policemen up the steps to check on their fallen comrade. Gus looked at him and said he had been hit by a stingerray. He would be all right by tomorrow but he would ache and be weak for awhile. The police thanked him and got an ambulance on the way, just to make sure. The sergeant called in detectives to start investigating everything and put out an all points bulletin about the attackers who'd escaped. He told some units to block the road to the space port to keep them away from the space ships. Others were already blocking off the road and sidewalk to keep curious onlookers from contaminating the scene.

  The face of the building aroun
d the door had pockmarks and scorches from the blasters. The policeman that Gus had shoved inside came in from securing the area and saw the damage. He turned pale and then had to come to Gus to thank him for saving his life. Word quickly spread among the policemen about how Ron and Gus had put themselves in harms way to protect the two policemen. It took 20 or 30 minutes for things to settle down before detectives could start asking questions and filling out new reports. Tik came in with a grin on her face. As she stepped through the door, Ron felt the low vibrations; he assumed were two space ships taking off. Tik reported that he was right. She said that Auntie would send the ships out close to the remote detector and if she could find any asteroids, she would set them down there. Auntie had also jammed the detectors on the space ship in orbit, so it had no idea what happened to the other space ships.

  Ron remembered their driver waiting at the eating place and asked if a policeman could let him know that they were all safe but would be delayed for a while. The police were glad to comply and Ron could see that their 'super hero' status had taken a giant leap. When the questions started, they told the police that Tik had a sixth sense about traps. She thought something was wrong and had rushed out to see. She saw Kota and Zibo and warned them. She had tried to warn the two police coming in the station but the fireworks started before she could. The trio, Kota and Zibo gave their statements and the police started giving the two Traders hero status, also. They weren't sure how to take it but the trio just laughed and built them up even more. The trio gave them credit for most of the kills across the street, helping to boost it even more. Kota and Zibo tried to protest, which made them look like really modest heroes. Kota gave Ron a look which said, 'I'll get you later'. The police finished the reports and asked it the space travelers could come back in the morning to sign the new reports. The sergeant started to ask if they needed an escort and then laughed at himself. The space travelers laughed with him. He urged them to be cautious. He said the two space ships had taken off, but he didn't think their attackers had made it on them.

  Kota and Zibo asked if the trio still wanted something to eat. They all replied they did. The trio could see the adrenaline was wearing off and the two Traders were starting to shake. The trio wasn't any better and the Traders could see it in them. Ron said he needed to walk and they would meet them at the eating place. He told them he had invited their driver and the Traders thought that would be fine. Kota and Zibo drove down there and got a table for them.

  While they were eating, the driver had to hear the story of what had happened. Ron told the story this time to build up Tik and the two traders. The driver's eyes were shining brightly as he listened to the story. He was sitting in the presence of five genuine heroes. Kota and Zibo kept rolling their eyes when Ron would lay the praises on so thick but they took it with good humor. All of the patrons around them were listening just like they had with the Fu family. Ron suspected the 'word of mouth' telegraph would spread the story faster than any news media ever could. They finished their meal and headed for the parking lot. The trio remembered the last time they had walked out into a parking lot. They were especially wary but nothing happened. Kota's robot was waiting in the vehicle when they came out. Everyone headed for the space port and the trio made arrangements for the driver to pick them up again tomorrow. Kota kept his vehicle and was going to drive it in himself.

  After they walked through the terminal, Kota slowed Ron to have a chat with him.

  "Ron, even if you don't affiliate with the Charter, if you had scientists on board studying the Alcantaran relics, the Charter Navy would discourage any more antics like this. They would be waiting out in space to pick up those ships and haul everybody to court."

  "That sounds interesting. Let me ask you a question. If we had a contract with you to haul excess goods we couldn't carry, would that give us about the same protection as an affiliation? Suppose we find on the next planet that the machinery we have is a big hit and they want 500 more. We couldn't carry that many but you could in the freighter. Would that sound like something you would do? Would that affiliate us with you enough to offer some protection?" Ron queried.

  "I would definitely be interested in hauling something like that. I'll have to check on the protection. I can let you know in the morning when we go to sign the reports."

  They both went to their space ships and reported to their partners what had been said. Auntie reported there had been an attempt to establish radio contact with the space ship in orbit but she had relayed it to the terminal radio. The trio thought that was a good idea. The trio went to recharge their weapons before they headed to bed. They were all feeling more confident about their ability to defend themselves now. The personal shields were really a blessing and helped tremendously. All of them would have been seriously injured or killed if they had not had them. Tomorrow they would have to decide how they were going to get off the planet and find out what that other ship was going to do; but for now, the adrenaline was gone and they were worn out.

  Chapter 13

  The next morning after they had eaten, they went to the lower cargo bay to practice. They had decided to wear not only their concealed weapons but the others as well. Ron found special shoulder holsters for them that allowed quick access to the weapons even while sitting. They practiced getting the weapons out of the holster while they were turned off. Ron said they would need a lot more practice before they were 'quick-draw artists'. After twenty minutes of drawing practice, they switched to shooting practice. They had Auntie set the targets to a faster speed than they had been practicing with. They also walked the length of the cargo bay and had the targets pop up unexpectedly. To make sure they were only hitting their targets, they had Auntie start docking points for hitting someone else's target. After 40 minutes of this, they returned the targets to the armory and reloaded their weapons.

  They went to the situation room to see what the ship in orbit was doing. It was still sitting there. Auntie said there were six creatures in it. Ron asked Auntie what the normal procedure would be if the ship was hostile. She replied that normally she would outrun them until they reached deep space. She was vulnerable while she was in atmosphere because she couldn't move as fast as she could in space. One problem right now was the lining on the engines. It was causing a decrease in performance and was dangerous to blast at top power for too long. All of the additional weight from the new trade items was also compounding this problem. It was going to take more thrust to get off the planet. Another problem existed when firing the rail guns in the atmosphere. They couldn't get rid of the heat quick enough and could warp the rails. Once they were in space, they were designed to radiate the heat into the vacuum.

  Ron asked about the rail guns and their capability. Auntie told him they would fire 12 rounds per minute at 25,000 feet per second. They fired both a solid projectile and a ball of plasma energy. In the atmosphere, she could hit a 10 foot target at 500 miles every time. Once they were in space, that range was 1500 miles. Occasionally; she could hit the 10 foot target at triple the distance, but she had to have time to set it up and everything else had to be just right. Ron couldn't believe that she could hit something at 1500 miles, let alone 4500. He asked what kind of damage the shots made when they hit a space ship. Auntie said if the shields were up, the plasma balls would rattle everything in the ship. If she got three to four shots timed close together, it would usually knock out engine power and most of the sensors. Basically, it would blind and cripple the ship. If the shield wasn't up, the ship would look like a small nuclear bomb had hit it. The solid projectiles weighed about 10 pounds and would usually punch a hole clear through the ship even with the shield up. If it didn't go through the shield, two or three shots closely spaced would overload the shield and destroy it.

  Gus asked, "How many rail guns do you have, Auntie?"

  She replied, "There are two of the big ones firing the 10 pound projectiles and four smaller ones that fire 1.5 pound projectiles. The smaller ones fire at 35,000 feet
per second but could fire projectiles at the rate of 20 per minute. They are mounted on gimbals that allow them to rotate in different directions. There are two on the top and two on the bottom, guarding the mid-ship area completely. There are very fast motors moving them on the gimbals, so they could guard against small fighter ship attacking. I also have six pulse laser cannons that are very effective up to 300 miles away."

  The trio got the idea that anything attacking Auntie was in for a very rude surprise. Unless someone had some very advanced, military-type space ships, they were not too likely to survive.

  Knowing they had a formidable ship once they were in space didn't solve the problem of that ship sitting in orbit above them. How much pressure would the engine linings stand? How quick would that ship attack?

  "Auntie, how much will your shields withstand?" Ron asked.

  "I can take more direct hits than their shields but I'm not sure of their weapons capabilities. It is possible to overload the shields and break them down. I don't know how accurate they are either," she answered.

  "What happens if they fire down on us but miss your shield?" Tik asked.

  "They will hit the planet somewhere around us. If they have rail guns, there could be a lot of damage -- whether they use plasma balls or solid projectiles. If they use laser cannons, it will be just about as bad."

  "We can't let them fire on us as we lift off. We don't want anyone here hurt!" Gus declared emphatically.

  The other two agreed. They were interrupted by Auntie telling them that Kota and Zibo were on their way. It looked like they had some paperwork. Ron said it was probably the paperwork for the sale of the targets. He told Auntie to let them in and to tell them to come on down to the situation room.