Jane gave a slow nod. “Understood. What ship systems can I affect? From this command post?”
“So long as you are the primary bioform that is aware and alert, Protocol Four dictates that I respond to any order or request by you so long as it does not endanger ship operations, or ship crew,” the AI said, its tone sounding curious. “That means you can alter internal gravity, increase a chamber’s oxygen content, request food sustenance from the Food Chamber, reassign Habitat Chambers as you wish, order ship systems into self-check and correction mode and review normal-space navigation options. You may also carry out other functions that do not impede the course of this ship, its structural integrity or its internal habitability.”
Jane gestured to Bill to join her. He walked over and stood to her left, next to one of the pillar modules. He gestured ahead at the swirl of stars and gave Jane a questioning look. She nodded approval of his questioning.
Bill thought fast. “Star Traveler, is that orange star our target star?”
“It is.”
“How soon will we arrive at the star?”
“In ten hours, forty-three minutes, thirty-nine seconds this ship will emerge from Alcubierre space-time,” the AI said calmly. “We will arrive outside the orbit of the star’s outermost planet.”
Bill frowned. That gave them barely two hours in which to convince Diligent Taskmaster to transfer ship control to them.
“Thank you,” Jane said as she looked ahead intently. “Can you project another holo which shows the star itself, its planets, their orbits and any known spaceships that were active in the star system, according to your Library datafiles?”
“I can. Observe.”
The front swirl of stars holo moved to the left, with a new holo taking its place. The other holos moved to either side to make room. Bill looked between two holos, fixing his eyes on what Jane also saw.
An orange globe flamed brightly in the middle of the holo. Above it and below it were six white dots scattered about the star. Barely visible red spots moved in the holo. Jane sighed. “Star Traveler, change from a true image depiction to a graphic depiction of the system. Orient the system’s plane of ecliptic so it faces me, with the star at the center. Adjust planetary orbital distances so that the outermost part of the system is still visible. Exact distances are not needed. However, this holo should display the planets, asteroids and ships known to be present in this system. Overlay the orbital distance at which water will be liquid on a planetary surface. Make that zone green.”
“Adjusting,” the AI said. “Does this depiction satisfy?”
“Damn!” Bill whispered. “That is amazing!”
“It is, isn’t it?” Jane murmured softly.
In front of them hung six planets of varying sizes, their orbits centered on the orange star at the center. Planets one and two lay close to the star. A swath of green overlapped planets three and four. Between planets three and four, an asteroid belt showed as a swath of violet dots. Planet five lay just beyond the water zone. Planet six looked lonely, lying five times further out from the star than the inner five planets. Between planets three and four there moved six red dots, coming and going between the two planets that lay within the liquid water zone.
“Star Traveler, this depiction is outstanding,” Jane said. “However, if we label the distance from our Earth to our sun Sol as an AU, what are the distances of these planets from their star? Put the numbers up in the holo beside each planet. And put to one side a depiction of our planet Jupiter, which is the largest planet in Sol system.”
Numbers suddenly appeared beside each planet. “Adjusting. Planet one orbits the star at two-tenths AU. Planet two orbits at five-tenths AU. Planet three orbits at seven-tenths AU. Planet four orbits at one AU. Planet five orbits at 1.76 AU. Planet six orbits at seven AU.” The AI paused. “Like most star systems there is an outer belt of comets that orbit the star. Your Earth astronomers call it the Kuiper Belt.”
“Exactly so,” Jane said softly. “I see planet four is the size of our planet Saturn, while five is a bit larger. Are they gas giants? If so, do they have moons in orbit? And which planet is the Market world?”
“Multiple questions again,” the AI said patiently. “Yes, planets four and five are gas giants similar to the Saturn and Jupiter planets of Sol system. Each has dozens of moons in orbit. One moon orbiting planet four has an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, expanses of liquid water and is listed as the Market world for this system.”
Jane frowned. “What about planet three? It is small enough to be similar to our Earth. Is it inhabited? And why are ships visiting it?”
A low hum sounded. “Planet three is occupied only by multi-celled cyanobacteria who have produced the oxygen that makes planet three habitable by bioforms such as yourself,” the ship mind said patiently. “However, the planet is too young to have evolved animal life. The local star age is just 390 million years so this system is in the early stages of life evolution. Ships visit planet three to obtain lithium and rare earth ores for space industry use.”
Jane nodded slowly. “So the Market world moon that orbits planet four was recently occupied by bioforms?”
“Correct,” the AI said. “The Market world contains 12,137 bioforms of various species. At least 410 Buyers are normally present within that population.”
Jane looked at him, bit her lip and sighed. “What will happen when ship master Diligent Taskmaster regains awareness?”
“Protocol Four dictates that I accept him as the primary bioform in control of this ship’s functions,” it said. “Crèche Master Diligent Taskmaster is listed in my records as this ship’s only ship master.”
Jane looked thoughtful. “Can Diligent Taskmaster transfer ship control to another bioform? If so, what mode of transfer do you accept?”
A low hum echoed through the room. “Such a transfer can occur. That is how control of this ship passed to Diligent Taskmaster. If he transfers ship master status to another bioform, his status will revert to crewmember. Such a transfer can occur upon verbal notice to me by him, as verified by my biosensors. Why do you inquire?”
Jane reached forward and ran slim fingers through the swirl of stars holo that lay next to the graphic of the target star system. “Because I like sitting on this bench, with ship systems responsive to my requests. I think Crèche Master Diligent Taskmaster may wish to take a vacation from the demanding duties of managing this starship.”
“Bioforms are known to experience fatigue while performing life functions,” the AI said, then hummed deeply. “What will be the role of the Bill MacCarthy bioform, if such a transfer happens?”
She smiled softly. “I think senior crewmember will be a useful designation for the man who managed to do the impossible.”
Bill looked back at the body of the giant cockroach and thought it would eventually surrender to the persuasions of Jane Yamaguchi. He had no doubt of the woman’s fortitude and determination. It was as strong as his determination to free the other captives and then return home to Earth. But would they first need to return each captive to their home planet? That was something he’d have to discuss with Jane. In the meantime, he would transport the giant cockroach to its habitat room. But soon they both would need to eat and rest before the ship arrived at the Market world star system. A place where they might face violence from other Collector ships. He looked forward to that moment. His training would then be useful. Jane saw his smile and lifted an eyebrow inquisitively.
“Question?”
“Observation first,” Bill said. “We have nine hours until Diligent regains awareness. We should both eat something and rest. Maybe in shifts?”
Jane gave him a quick nod. “Good idea. I am hungry. Plus we need some rest before I interrogate Diligent. And before we meet these other Collector ships. But you look as if you have another question. What?”
Damn but the woman could read him! “Uh, when do we release the other captives?”
She turned thoughtful, scanned the ho
lo displays, then looked his way. “Let’s see what they look like first. Maybe that will guide us in who we release first. As you said earlier, we need people who will assist us in our ship takeover, rather than be a problem.” She turned away. “Star Traveler, can the room wall in front of me be made to portray visual imagery?”
“It can. However additional holos can be displayed between your pedestal and the front wall.”
Jane blinked. “Right. Please lower my current status holos to below my shoulder. Then display holo images of the sixteen other bioforms who now reside inside containment modules. Arrange them by species. Provide a species name beside each species grouping. To one side put up a human male outline to provide size comparison,” she said. “I want to have a look at the people your boss calls guests.”
“Displaying.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Amazing,” Jane said softly as holos of sixteen Aliens who belonged to nine species now appeared before them in a lineup that never graced any police station Bill had ever visited.
He agreed. “We’ve got some wild and weird neighbors.”
Looking from left to right, Bill did his best to see truly the Alien forms before them. While he immediately thought of Earth animal analogues, he did his best to remember these were people who evolved on other worlds under other stars.
At the far left stood two brown-furred Aliens who resembled a giant version of the flying squirrels that populated some Earth forests. Bags hung from their necks. Like humans these people of the Aelthorp species were two-legged, two-armed and had two yellow eyes arranged so binocular vision was normal to them. A long furry tail curled up behind them. One Aelthorp was two-thirds the size of the other flying squirrel. They resembled mammals. But he wouldn’t know their animal type until they talked to these people.
Next were two people who looked totally human but their body skin was banded in a dozen different colors. They wore only cargo-type pants. One was clearly a woman judging by her naked breasts while the other appeared to be a man. Of nearly equal height, these people had green eyes, black hair and each was as tall as Jane. The species name was listed as Megun.
“Wow!” Bill said. “Look at that multi-legged critter.”
“I see it,” Jane said. “Just one of them too.”
Beyond the first two groups of Aliens there hunkered an eight-legged, ground-hugging critter who resembled a segmented worm. Each foot had ferocious claws, while the front leg pair were uplifted and the fleshy arm-legs held out. Three fingers and a thumb adorned the end of each arm-leg. The head was what shocked him. It had a circular mouth filled with dagger-like teeth clearly made for latching onto prey and munching. At the top of the bulbous head were two black eyes. The species name was listed as Zipziptoe.
“That third Alien sure looks like a giant tardigrade,” Jane murmured.
“What’s a tardigrade?”
“A tiny animal smaller than your fingernail that cannot be killed. Squash it, dry it out, expose it to radiation or vacuum, and tardigrades reanimate, lay eggs and keep on living.” She glanced down at him. “Learned about them in my UC Boulder biology class.” She looked back at the lineup.
A kangaroo-like creature was the next imposing Alien. It had two arms with long fingers adorning each hand, two strongly muscled legs, a yellow abdomen, two red eyes and a thick tail that served as a third balance point. Straps ran from its shoulders to its waist, where a belt supported small bags filled with metal tools of some type. Fabric skirts hung from the belt. The Alien was covered in silvery scales, which made Bill class it as a reptile. Whatever it was, two of the scaly kangaroos were displayed next to the species name Cheelan.
The fifth critter was a four-legged, black-skinned walking snake that had a ring of six tentacles around its head. The head was triangular, like the heads of poisonous snakes, and sported two blue eyes arranged like the eyes of a snake. Only one walking snake was shown next to the species name Slinkeroo.
The other four species made up the remaining eight individuals. Something that resembled a mole-like creature with armored skin like an armadillo was called a Doman. There were two of them. Next to it was a giant flying critter with brown wings, narrow head, dagger-like beak and deep red eyes. It resembled a picture he’d seen of an ancient flying creature that was called a pterosaur. Winglo was the name of two specimens. The third species resembled a walking cougar. It had yellow fur, golden eyes, long white fangs, two paw-hands, and claws on its feet and fingers. Two of them stood side by side. Mok showed as their name. The last of the nine species was called Ludeen. Two of them stood hunched over, their long naked tails wrapped around their pink-skinned legs. They resembled marmoset monkeys thanks to their short fur and super-large brown eyes. Which for most Earth animals indicated a critter who moved about at night. Bill wondered if the Ludeen might also be mammals.
Jane looked to him. “Some of those folks look very deadly. Who do we talk with first?”
He shrugged. “Let’s try the first five. If they understand tech, don’t call us gods and know how to work cooperatively, we could have our five crew people in that first group.”
Jane nodded, turning back to again scan the lineup. Once more her command manner showed. “I don’t blame you. That flying reptile and the cougar biped are not the folks I’d like to have covering my back. The marmoset people look small and harmless. As do the armadillo Aliens.” She paused, looking thoughtful. “Let’s go with your first five Aliens. Those being the Aelthorp, Megun, Zipziptoe, Cheelan and Slinkeroo folks.”
“Agreed.” Bill gestured back to the still quivering body of Diligent. “Time I moved him into his habitat room. There’s one just across the hall from the entry to this place. Bet that is his place.”
“It is,” Star Traveler said over Bill’s helmet comlink. “Crèche Master Diligent Taskmaster has always resided in the habitat directly across from this chamber.”
“Thank you, Star Traveler,” Jane said, her tone musing. “Bill, go deposit our captor in his room. Leave him tied up but arrange him so his breathing holes are not blocked. Then come back. I want to spend a few hours out of this suit! I need a shower. And some of that food in our backpacks. You willing to sit up here? I think it wise for one of us to always be wearing a suit.”
Bill understood her point. Wearing the spacesuits had gotten them the help of the ship AI thanks to its emergency protocol programming. It made sense for them to stay in a suit until after Jane got Diligent to transfer ship captain status to her. Then, once they sent off the captain and his crew in one of the exit vehicles, maybe they could stop wearing the suits. Maybe. “Agreed. I’ll deposit our captor then come back to relieve you.”
“Thanks,” she said, her tone and look tired. “Give me a few hours of rest and food and I’ll give you the same break.”
Bill gave her a No Matter wave as he turned and headed for the quivering form of Diligent. “I can go three days without sleep. Or a shower. Though I’d love to add some of your jerky meat to my pasta packet.”
Jane laughed softly, reminding him of how nice it was to be in the company of a woman who felt at ease with men. “We both get some sleep! And sure, help yourself to some of my jerky when you get back here. My pack is on the floor near you.”
“Thanks.” She sounded friendly. Was there any chance of having some kind of personal time with her? Working together to defeat the crew folks and then capture the Command Bridge had felt great. She was tall, her features looked more Eurasian than pure Japanese, and her curves kept reminding him how long it had been since he’d made love with a willing woman.
She looked down at him, her expression command intense. “Bill? Thought you were going to take Diligent to his habitat.”
The woman who now looked at him had the manner of an officer born to command. And he was enlisted.
“Just daydreaming. Those Alien holos really make you wonder about the kind of universe we live in.”
She raised one thin black eyebrow. “Oh? I agree. But we o
nly have eleven hours before we arrive at this Market world star system. Time to get a move on.”
“Captain, you’re right.” Bill grabbed the carcass of the giant cockroach, lifted it easily thanks to the half-gee ship gravity, and headed out the still open door to the Command Bridge. Twenty feet in front of him lay the far side of the hallway. An eight foot high oval door outline showed on the metal. Digging out his red cube, he aimed it at the wall and pressed the round spot. The metal door slid up faster than a blink. Briefly he wondered if human-sized cockroach males were as messy in their rooms as most guys.
They were worse.
♦ ♦ ♦
Eight and a half hours later, Jane joined him in the habitat room of Diligent. Stepping through the rising door she looked around, then slowly shook her head. “What a mess! I thought men were bad. But this giant cockroach lives like trash is his nest!”
“Agreed.” Bill sat on a metal bench that had risen from the floor of the square room when he had prompted the ship AI for help. Behind him was a wash and waste room that looked even dirtier than the sleeping and work space in the front room. At least there had been a soft-topped metal bed when he’d entered. On top of the bed platform was a pile of smelly sticks arranged in an oval. Clearly the ship captain climbed into the nest, laid down with his belly breathing holes upright and slept. Which the giant cockroach had been doing ever since Bill entered the room a half hour earlier, after he’d risen from his own nap. He’d found the nest block on the left side of the room while the right side held an elevated platform with a flat screen sticking up from it. He thought it was some kind of computer desk station. “Star Traveler, please elevate a bench platform for Captain Yamaguchi to sit on. We hope to speak with Crèche Master Diligent Taskmaster when he awakens.”
“Bench elevated,” the AI said.
Jane nodded her thanks and sat at the other end of the nest bed. Looking around she saw the same flat wall pictures of what resembled an ant-hill surrounded by tall green trees. Tech transport that resembled a train running on a single rail showed in three images. He guessed the rail was actually for magnetic levitation of the train cars. Which were open topped and filled with cockroaches of various sizes. She looked down at the ship captain, who was still secured by Bill’s belt on his legs and his t-shirt securing the two pairs of thorny arms. “Any sign he is awake?”
Escape 1: Escape From Aliens Page 10