Holly pointed to the screen which showed a black and white image of the two babies, curled against each other. The final verdict was that they were healthy and they would be born in four to five moons, months as Holly called them.
But then Holly suggested something they hadn’t thought of: have the babies at New Sanctuary where the medical equipment could guarantee that both mother and children would survive the process with the least amount of pain. In fact, Holly insisted that the President not risk her life by giving birth in the wild.
“We’re going to have to think about that, Holly. As long as the decision is ours, we will consider it. If we feel pressured, we’ll have this whole facility dismantled. Do you understand?” Braden asked.
“I shall only offer options,” Holly conceded.
“It’s not you, Holly. We don’t want any Old Tech to make us like the ancients, where they decided a war was the best course of action. Whatever they did to get there, we don’t want to repeat. Can you understand that?” Braden tried to reason with Holly, thinking of him as a human who lived somewhere else.
“Can you talk with our Tortoid friend, Aadi?” Micah asked Holly. “If not, what would it take so you could? I want you two to talk about the failsafe, the procedures we have to follow where war cannot happen. That is my number one priority.”
“I will explore options and will return to you with them.” Holly seemed firm in his commitment. Micah reclined on the laboratory examination bed. The relief of hearing that the babies were healthy combined with the warmth of the room was making her drowsy.
“Let’s go to our room so you can get some rest.”
78 – Change Is Constant
They decided to stay, with conditions of course. The south could do without books and Old Tech wheel hubs for another six or seven moons. He wondered if Skirill could fly over the rainforest if he needed to talk with them.
Braden used the Command Center to look in on the villages. With Holly’s help, he watched each village go about their business. The view was from far above, as if Skirill flew high. He even found River Crook and dedicated a monitor to them. With the Old Tech, he could watch everything and know that the world moved on without him and Micah.
He never saw a human on the monitors showing White Beach. The people were all gone. Holly tried to contact the underwater vehicle, but once it had gathered the last of the humans, it disappeared. Thanks to Braden and Micah, the villagers were willing to go, and it expedited the process.
Braden hadn’t intended that to happen. He wasn’t sure if he liked being obsolete as a trader either. He sat in the New Command Center by himself, his unhappy thoughts poor company.
He also watched the villages and towns in the north. It was hard to tell if things were normal or not. He didn’t see anything that looked like war, but the market squares were less crowded than he thought they should be.
The elevator arrived and Micah stepped out. She walked with a purpose, a scowl on her face. The babies were growing well. They were at a size where she could no longer walk like a warrior. He stood, scolding himself for looking at another world, when everything he needed was walking toward him.
She brightened as she heard his thoughts.
“There’s no need for me to be down here. Let’s go outside and enjoy the sun.” Braden took her hand, but she led him to the wall of monitors instead.
“Tell me what’s going on in all the trade villages, then we’ll go outside.” He hesitated. She was showing him that if it was important to him, it was important to her, so he talked through each monitor. Holly blew up the pictures for each village, where nine monitors showed one view. They panned the view until they could see the Aurochs herd. They saw the wagon in Coldstream’s market square. River Crook had its first two buildings. New buildings had appeared in Westerly. The smoke from Tom’s forge obscured much of Dwyer.
“We might have to move the village or move Tom.” They both saw the humor in trying to root Tom out of his smithy. It would probably be easiest to move the village. They were sure there were plenty of engaging conversation between Tom and his nearest neighbors.
Braden even dedicated monitors to Trent and Cornwall. Both villages looked normal, people doing what they do. They looked peaceful from the view Holly provided.
The rainforest was impenetrable. They wouldn’t know how the Amazonian war went until they returned through the rainforest.
“What did the lab say?” Braden asked.
“It said any day now. I have to keep my neural implant open for it, so I made it small and stuffed it in the corner.”
They went outside and walked. They stripped naked and swam. Micah’s back hurt. Swimming helped, so she was in the lake or in their suite’s pool whenever she got the chance. Her fingers seemed to be permanently shriveled. They floated by the shore, teasing fish that came too close.
“A little more than a cycle ago, G-War and I planned to cross the Great Desert. Look at us now.” The ‘cat sat upright in the shade on the beach, watching his humans carefully. “What are they saying, G?”
‘They are ready to greet their parents. The time has come. Aadi and I will be with you, down below. We expect you need a great deal of help.’
Braden helped Micah out of the water and into the robe she’d been wearing, while he threw on his clothes without drying off. “I don’t know what you’re worried about. Micah will be fine,” he told the ‘cat as they waddled toward the building with the elevator.
‘You are correct. Micah will be fine. It’s you who will need help.’ G-War padded after them and Aadi met them at the door. In order to fit, the humans crouched while Aadi floated over their heads. Micah started to get uncomfortable. She hadn’t had her freedom of movement for a couple moons, but this was different. The children were taking over her body and the contractions were painful.
They made it to the Medical Laboratory, where the Bots took charge of making Micah comfortable. Braden was surprised at how quickly it was happening. After moons of waiting, all of a sudden, it was time.
He wasn’t ready.
Micah started screaming at him. “You better be ready!” She followed that with a long howl of pain. Braden stood still, his mouth open, eyes wide, heart pounding. The color left his face. Darkness crowded the edges of his vision until he only saw two pinpoints of light. There was no sound.
Micah watched as the Tortoid, perfectly positioned thanks to G-War, let Braden fall on him. Aadi slowly dropped until the human rolled gently to the floor.
“You didn’t!” she yelled at Braden’s unconscious form. Then she laughed as G-War appeared at her side, finishing the laugh with a contortion and a gasp as another contraction came.
‘I told you,’ was all the ‘cat said. He purred and nuzzled her cheek as the Bots took over. She drifted as they injected her with something. She felt the pain, but it didn’t hurt. She watched dispassionately as first one baby, then the other appeared. Bots with arms held them securely as the babies were cleaned and swaddled.
The table moved itself to where Micah was sitting upright. The Bots handed her the babies and for the first time, she heard their voices in her head.
Aadi banged against Braden once again and he finally shook himself awake. “What happened?”
‘Go see your family, Master Braden. They require your presence. And yes, before you ask, you missed it.’
He hurried to his feet, clearing the cobwebs from his mind. He staggered to the table where Micah looked tired, but refreshed. She held a small bundle in each arm while the ‘cat lay curled on her chest. Aadi followed him.
“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled as he tried to look at his children. They were both sleeping peacefully. She smiled at him.
“Moons ago, G-War told me you’d do that. He even suggested you wouldn’t last thirty heartbeats. Holly checked. From the time I got on the table until you hit the floor was thirty-seven heartbeats.” Braden snorted and shook his head. There was nothing he could do about it now. The ‘cat knew
him better than he knew himself.
“We never decided on names.” They had talked, but hadn’t been able to agree.
“I think they’ve made that decision for us. The Golden Warrior and Bronwyn have been talking with them for ages. They’ve picked their own names.”
Braden brightened. “You can hear them now?”
“The second they were born.” She beamed up at him. They both felt as new parents should feel.
Then it hit him, his smile faded from his face. “No. Please,” he pleaded.
She threw her head back and laughed. “Meet your son Axial.”
“No,” he said weakly.
“And your daughter, De’atesh.” G-War purred louder, until Braden swore it shook the whole room.
Postscript
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Thank you for reading The Free Trader of Planet Vii. This book adds some detail to Braden’s southern adventures. The Free Trader and his companions are now prepared for their next great adventure on board the RV Traveler.
The next book fulfills a dream that I’ve had nearly forty years and that was to take my love of Brian Aldiss’ Starship and Robert Heinlein’s Orphans of the Sky and create an adventure on an interstellar ship that has been abandoned, yet teems with life. The Free Trader’s world expands to the skies! Adventures on RV Traveler will be available in April 2016.
There are other things we need to learn about Planet Vii. We need to find out what’s happening in the north. Has someone destroyed the trade-based civilization that Braden was raised to respect? What about the villagers from White Beach who were taken to the Western Ocean Research Facility? How is the Amazonian war going to play out? Will the survivors from Cygnus VI make Vii a safer place?
Before I answer those questions, I need to write the lead book of the Rick Dayman Thrillers. Can petty politics keep Rick from stopping the next terror attack? Taken from today’s headlines and my twenty years of experience in the intelligence community, the world is never from tipping out of balance. The smallest events can have the greatest impact. Finding these and stopping them is an ongoing challenge to a free society. And your average citizen doesn’t even know what’s been done to protect them.
The Adventure on RV Traveler
The following excerpt takes place after Braden and his companions are aboard the RV Traveler…
10 – Transfer to the Traveler
It was time. They crowded into a new room tucked into the manufacturing level. The companions were noticeably upset. The machinery and depth underground weighed heavily on them. Like Braden and Micah, they preferred the outdoors. They hoped Holly was correct, that the spaces would be open and they’d feel free. Otherwise it was going to be a very long trip. G-War told Braden that he’d kill him in his sleep if he was trapped inside for more than a single turn.
Micah told G-War that she wouldn’t allow that, so they settled on a simple maiming.
Braden looked to Aadi and Skirill for support, but they avoided his gaze.
“Fine.” He wanted everyone to relax. He’d seen pictures and even moving pictures of the ship. With basic maps in his head, he didn’t expect any surprises.
They’d arrive in a small room at the aft end of the ship. The matter transfer system consumed great amounts of power, so it was best situated close to the engines. From there, they needed to travel to the bow, where they would change the orientation of the ship to align it for transfer to Cygnus VI. Once the survivors on Cygnus VI were safely aboard, they’d realign the ship for transfer to the New Command Center.
The details of why were lost on Braden. Appear in the back of the ship. Go to the front. Move levers, mash buttons, turn wheels exactly as Holly tells them. Go to the back, prepare a safe place for the people of Cygnus VI. Then back to the front to do as Holly commands. Then one last trip to the back. For perspective, Holly said that it was more than a single turn’s walk one way. They had to cover the distance four times.
Through possibly hostile areas.
Four times…
They entered the circular room and the wall slid into place behind them. Braden helped Skirill off Aadi’s shell, then carefully put him in one of twelve reclining metal chairs. Aadi floated down until he stood on his chair. G-War jumped into another of the recliners and crouched on it. The two humans got into their chairs. The feet of the chairs pointed inward to the center of the circular room where a single cylinder stood from floor to ceiling. No matter which way they looked, their reflections looked back at them.
They stood in the room while Holly’s disembodied voice talked to them. “The panels will shimmer. Stay in your seats and do not move. Do not touch each other under any circumstances. Space between you is important as the device catalogues and deconstructs you. You will be reconstructed on the Traveler. For you, it will seem as if only a moment has passed, while the entire process will take one to two days. Relax. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.”
The mirror-like panels on the wall shimmered, as a Mirror Beast might. Then a deep tone pressed in on them. The ‘cat struggled to remain still. ‘Relax G. We’re here together. We’ll be there soon and then we can find the open air, maybe bag a rabbit together. Rabbit sounds good…’ Braden’s thoughts calmed them all as they thought of their next meal.
11 – Controlled Chaos
‘…Rabbit.’ Braden opened his eyes. He had a massive headache. The room was the same but different. The ceiling colors had changed. The panels shimmered until they didn’t. “Holly?”
Braden opened his neural implant. Holly appeared in the window. The transfer was complete.
They were on the RV Traveler.
They needed to exit this room. Next door, there should be people controlling computer systems and maybe engineers keeping the engines running. A door up one level and to the right would put them in a corridor that would take them to a rear core access door. From there. Once they crossed, there would be a pod system, a vehicle to take them to the forward core world access. Across that, into the central non-gravity area, they’d find the Command Decks.
Or so Holly assured them.
“Is everyone okay? Micah?”
She opened her eyes. They remained unfocused as if she had just woken from a long sleep. She flexed her fingers then hands and started stretching each of her muscles. “Yeah. I feel like Brandt ran me over, but besides that, feeling great.” She leaned over the side of her chair and heaved her breakfast onto the floor.
Aadi remained motionless, unblinking. “Aadi?” Braden asked as he threw his feet from the chair to the floor. The room started to spin and he dutifully puked up his breakfast. Holly hadn’t suggested they’d be sick.
Skirill blinked rapidly and started to flex his wings. ‘I’m afraid there’s no room to fly yet. I shall continue to be a burden to poor Master Aadi.’ The Hawkoid didn’t get sick as he flexed his muscles and was soon moving freely.
Braden stood on shaky feet. He staggered to Aadi and held his head in both hands, looking closely at his eyes. A slow blink and a deliberate shake of his head. Braden rubbed the Tortoid’s neck. ‘Sorry. Fell asleep. What a strange sensation. I dreamed of cactus weevils and water.’ He floated upward and swam around the room without a problem.
Braden shook his head and tapped Aadi’s shell. “Holly, can you open this door for us?” They placed a large device Holly had given them so he could directly access system
s. He called it a broadband transceiver, whatever that meant. The device needed to be close to the computer and Holly could then talk to it. Without it, he could only access the systems that let him in.
G-War jumped from his chair, hairs on end. Only the humans had gotten sick. ‘We were all sick, but we’re tougher than you humans, that’s all.’
“We’re here ten heartbeats and you’re already an ass. Remember, we’re guests. Be kind.” Braden smiled at his friend. He was happy to see the ‘cat more calm than when they left.
“Holly? We’re ready to go.”
‘Almost there,’ Holly sent to the window before Braden’s eye.
“Holly says he almost has the door open. This is the only one we need him to open. After this, our bands should give us access everywhere we need to go. Be ready.” Skirill hopped onto Aadi’s back and grasped the harness strap. Braden and Micah pulled their blasters which they’d previously dialed to the weakest setting.
Three panels moved inward and slid along the wall.
Darkness greeted them, darkness speckled with small colored lights. Again, Holly hadn’t suggested they’d operate in the darkness although one of many Old Tech toys in their backpacks would help. They stepped to the side of the door, slung their backpacks to the floor and started digging.
‘G? Aadi?’
‘It’s like the New Command Center. I see workstations and screens. No people. There’s vegetation in the back, looks like vines. The air is wet, like the rainforest.’ G-War told them after looking through the opening. Braden and Micah thought they were hot from the excitement of the transfer. ‘I don’t see danger. Not right now.’
The humans pulled out the portable lights from their backpacks and turned them on. It was odd that they didn’t flash, but that’s what Holly called them – flashlights. The beams penetrated the darkness. With a shrug, the humans walked into the next room, shining the beams left, right, up, down. An empty Command Center. Micah opened the window of her neural implant. ‘Are you seeing this Holly?’
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