‘That is a most logical conclusion, Master Braden. I have redirected available sensor systems. At this time, I don’t have any additional information, but we won’t have all the data until later today. Before you arrive, I will have everything I’m going to get and will share it before you go ashore,’ Holly stated.
‘Thanks, Holly. No surprises please.’ Braden closed the link, certain that Holly kept information from them until they had no choice but to continue. Braden wondered if there would be Androids.
He hated Androids.
G-War also hated them because he couldn’t sense them. Pik said he harbored no ill will toward the biomechanical creations, but Braden doubted his sincerity. Micah was merciless when it came to Androids, despite Holly’s protests.
‘Why are you thinking about Androids?’ Micah asked over the mindlink. He wondered where she was. ‘Our room, I’ll be out in just a couple heartbeats.’
‘It just feels like the work of Androids,’ he told her.
‘We have our blasters. If we see an Android, we kill it first, no matter what. Holly will want to have a conversation, but I’m not good with that. We kill it and all of its Android buddies except for one which we’ll turn over to Holly, then we go find my father.’
‘Sounds like you’ve already thought about this. What if they have Security Bots with them?’ Braden asked.
‘Then we use Holly’s devices to finish them off,’ she declared. ‘So, we won’t get there until after tomorrow’s sunrise. I’m looking forward to another night in that bed,’ she told him, sharing an image of naked, sweating skin.
‘I don’t know what’s happened to you, but I like it!’ Braden exclaimed. ‘Maybe we should make trips on the Warden a regular thing. Next time I talk with Holly, we’ll see what we can arrange. We need a harbor closer to New Sanctuary, though. Yes, I think a survey of the areas in the south are in order!’
“Once we have my father in hand, then we’ll take a look at what’s next,” she said aloud, startling him. Her mood darkened, but only for an instant. “I like the motion of the ship, the sound of the sea slapping against the hull. There’s something magical about it all, reminds me of growing up. My father was always there, ready to go to sea, he said for fishing, but I suspected it was more than that. Much more. He loves the ocean.”
“We’ll get him back. We’re on our way to the ends of Vii for him, and we’ll go farther if we have to. Whatever it takes, because I want to take you to sea on a vacation where there’s nothing to worry about except what we’re going to eat next!” Braden hugged his partner tightly, enjoying the smell of her hair, the curve of her neck. He liked how the sea drew him in, too.
The Storm
Clouds darkened the daytime sky and despite the ship’s increasing speed, the storm was faster. It circled the ship and as the evening dark approached, the sea started to rage. Braden wasn’t sure what to do. Micah had been through storms at sea, but they had no control over the ship. Micah contacted Holly.
‘The ship has survived over four-hundred years of storms at sea without a scratch. It will be fine, but you, on the other hand, I suggest you find someplace to strap yourselves in. It could get rough. I suggest the garden deck or one deck lower. If you’ve put anything out, I suggest you tie it down. Good luck!’ Holly signed off before Micah could ask any more questions.
‘We need everybody down below. Brandt, I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to tie you down up here so you aren’t swept overboard.’ While Micah and Pik positioned Brandt next to the sail and started running ropes and straps, conveniently provided by a Maintenance Bot, around his body, Braden went below to find the scientists. He yelled at them to secure their gear, which they had just finished unpacking and set up. They started to argue, but he waved them off and told them when the equipment was destroyed, they weren’t going back for more. Then he stormed off, trying to slam the door on his way out, but ancient technology wouldn’t allow such a demonstration.
He bounded up the steps, past the garden deck where the Rabbits hopped to and fro, securing both plants and equipment.
“Less than two nights. We’ve been here for less than two nights. How much stuff do we have?” Braden yelled at the bulkhead as he kept running, holding the railing as the ship started to gyrate unpredictably. Brandt was strapped in and miserable. Pik took a position next to the great King and stood, holding a hand grip on the bulkhead, the other wrapped around one of Brandt’s straps.
‘The girl,’ Pik told Braden without elaboration. The whitecaps of the waves rose high above the deck, crashing across at irregular intervals. Brandt stood tall to keep his head above water, while Pik remained stalwart, unmoving as he was pounded by the ocean. Braden went hand over hand along a railing that led to the well deck, where he found Bronwyn hanging on to the Dolphins as they fought to keep her head above the water.
Braden dove in and breast-stroked hard to get to Chlora and Rhodi. He gripped a dorsal fin and tried to talk, but the waves kept overwhelming him. The Dolphins kept swimming just to stay somewhat within the confines of the well, which was now a full body length under the water.
“We have to go inside!” Braden finally managed to yell. Bronwyn shook her head, eyes wide in terror.
‘Can you get us close to the hatch? We can hold on there until the ship heaves out of the water, then we can get inside,’ Braden asked the Dolphins, finally remembering to use his thought voice.
‘We can and we must. We have to get into the open ocean if we are to survive, get to a place where we can dive below the fury of the waves. Listen, little one. You must go inside,’ Chlora pleaded. The Dolphins powered forward, dragging the two humans along a surging wave, riding high, then diving into a trough, only to be overwhelmed by the next massive wave. The Dolphins raced downhill, building enough momentum to fly up the next swell where they bounced off the railing of the sail’s second deck. Braden threw himself over, bracing himself behind the railing while he held on to Bronwyn with his other hand. As the wave continued past, the Dolphins disappeared into the darkness.
Bronwyn reached futilely into the space where her friends had been before turning and letting Braden pull her onto the deck next to him. They waited for two more waves to pass before they opened the hatch and jumped inside. Bronwyn shivered as they slowly made their way down the steps, bouncing into the bulkhead as they descended. They stopped often as the steps turned from a climb to a dangerous fall and back to a level walk. The ship twisted and jerked violently.
The crashing of the waves. The anger with which the ship was tossed. And yet, it was quiet inside. The ship rode the turbulence, became one with the motion. In the case of the Warden, it appeared that the ancients had worked with nature and not against it. The ship was built to ride out the storm, not to bully it or bend its will to that of the ancients. It didn’t need to power through the raging sea, only wait until calm returned. Then it would continue on its way.
Braden and Bronwyn finally made it to the deck below the garden level where the mass of companions huddled in one room that looked to be specifically built as a place to weather the storm. It was well padded, without hard furniture, and with plenty of handholds and places in which a person could wedge him or herself. The ‘cats were clinging to one piece of furniture that would probably have to be replaced. Their claws had dug deeply as their bodies were yanked back and forth, although the motions there were nowhere near what they were on the second level where Braden and Bronwyn had just been.
Brandt suffered mightily. He was thrown hard one way, then the other. The straps and ropes cut into his hide. He couldn’t maintain his balance. He puked green mash, again and again until only bile came up. He felt weak as a kitten. Pik Ha’ar never wavered. He stood tall against the storm, seemingly immune to the deck’s constant motion. Brandt focused on the Lizard Man, taking strength from his nearness. The companions shared their support over the mindlink while they were bounced around within the padded room.
Braden couldn’t stop th
inking about the Aurochs on deck, or the Lizard Man. As he and Micah held each other, he had an overwhelming urge to check topside, but Micah wouldn’t let him. She was right. There was nothing he could do up there except be swept overboard. Aadi remained inside on the first level, keeping himself centered so he had the smoothest ride of all.
At least they had light. On the deck, darkness seemed to surround Brandt and Pik, press in on them despite the deck lights having been turned on, blazing into the storm.
The sea continued to rage well into the night.
No one realized when the storm had passed as they’d fallen asleep. Braden woke first, as usual, while the others were passed out from exhaustion. Braden’s first steps were stiff and sore, his body abused from fighting with the ship against the raging sea. He left the room and jogged through the corridor, quickly climbing the steps past the garden level to the main deck.
The King of the Aurochs was on his side, soaked through and through. Braden’s breath caught, until he saw the chest slowly rise and fall. Trying not to disturb the great King, Braden unlashed him, loosening the bonds and wincing at the raw flesh beneath, already white around the edges from constant exposure to the salt water.
Pike Ha’ar was leaning against the bull’s leg, sound asleep, skin pale from starting to dry out. Braden ran into the sail and up to the third level above the deck where the captain’s quarters were located. He recovered his pouch of numbweed, noting that the quarters had already been straightened and cleaned.
When he returned, Pik was up and stripping off his skin suit. There was an on-deck shower that Braden guessed was to rinse a person who had gone swimming in the ocean. Pik turned on the water, adjusted the temperature as Braden had shown him, and stood beneath the spray, turning slowly to let the fresh water bring the joy of the rainforest to him.
Braden started rubbing numbweed into the King’s wounds, taking care to do the worst ones first. Micah and Bronwyn appeared, and joined Braden in taking care of the Aurochs. Brandt’s eyes fluttered open, the whites bloodshot. He tried to focus, but found it difficult.
‘My friends,’ he said softly. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in my entire life.’
Bronwyn put her hands on his head, helping to relieve some of his pain. It wasn’t as great as they thought for he was mostly bone weary. Even though Holly told them that they’d arrive at the island that morning, Braden and Micah agreed that they needed to recover from the storm. The King needed time to recover. Pik looked ready to go, even though he continued to stand in the shower’s spray, letting its healing waters run over his body.
‘I feel better already,’ Brandt told them as he struggled to stand.
“Food?” Braden asked. The King nodded with a snort.
‘As much as you can carry, my friends!’ he said, his thought voice rising in volume. Braden slapped the great creature on his uninjured shoulder.
“Your will shall be done, my King! By the way, you know that when you get wet, you smell really bad?” Braden added.
‘The cows love the smell of a wet bull, my friend. You should rub some on yourself and see the change in those around you,’ Brandt replied without hesitation. Micah coughed and covered her mouth with a fist, shaking her head vigorously at her partner.
With a final slap, Braden and Micah went to the garden level where they met the Rabbits, who were unwilling to share as much food as the King required. They reluctantly parted with all the injured plants and about a third of the vegetables, but no more. Once they carried that upstairs and turned it over to Brandt, Braden went the galley, where he ordered a couple different vegetable dishes.
It turned out that the King of the Aurochs liked the meals from the fabricator, so Braden and Micah took turns ordering food. They wondered if they could shortcut the system and get a mass of edible sea plants directly.
The Evil Ones
The remainder of the companions made an appearance, leaving the padded recreation room behind to enjoy the calm of the morning sun.
The Hawkoids took to the air as soon as they were outside, flying high into the air, circling the ship, and floating on the ocean breeze.
The ‘cats wanted nothing to do with the wet deck or the ocean. They suggested that if Braden and Micah ever tried getting on board a ship again, they would die mysteriously in their sleep before they could take one step away from shore.
Aadi slowly made his way up the stairwell, deciding to stay indoors so he wasn’t left behind as the ship sailed ahead. The Wolfoids walked onto the deck, stretching and smiling into the sunshine.
‘I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,’ Strider said in her thought voice, ‘but you have dragged us on some of the craziest adventures. There we were, in our village, roast pork almost every night. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened, then all of a sudden, here comes the humans and since then, one adventure after another, each trying to kill us in a different way. Next time you go to sea, it’s okay if you don’t tell us about it,’ she chided.
“Come on, Strider! You wouldn’t have it any other way. If we went without you, next thing we know, we’d be the ones getting chased at the next blooding of the pups. And if anything happened to us, you’d feel bad and you know it,” Braden told them as he took the time to scratch behind her ears, hugging her neck in the Wolfoids’ sign of affection.
She nuzzled him back, squinting into the sun.
‘How long until we get there,’ Bounder asked. Braden shook his head as he opened the neural implant.
‘So good to hear from you, Master Braden! I trust all is well?’ Holly’s good cheer was always expected.
‘We’re fine, no one went overboard, despite the Western Ocean’s best attempts. All here, all alive, all is well. How long to the island, Holly?’
‘You were pushed off course, so you should arrive later this afternoon. I promised the latest information and here’s what I have. Nothing. We don’t know if there is a direct link to the undersea facility or not. We believe that there are twenty people and hundreds of animals. I can’t tell you if the animals are intelligent or not.’
‘That’s more than we had, Holly. We’ll take care of things. Let us know if you find anything else.’ Braden minimized his window without closing it, which allowed Holly to contact him at any time. He had grown used to having the small window at the periphery of his vision.
“This afternoon, according to Holly,” Braden stated, loud enough for all to hear, all except the scientists. He didn’t know if they would ever see them topside or anywhere else for that matter. The laboratory levels were completely self-contained with a fabricator, rooms, and facilities.
The plan for the day was to rest and do nothing. There was some excitement when Rexalita arrived and made a celebratory circle around the ship. She swam alongside as she was far too large for the well deck and the Warden’s stern extended much farther behind the ship than anyone realized. Bronwyn took a full run off the deck and jumped into the ocean, dog-paddling until the Whale eased the girl onto her head, then lifted her skyward as she used her powerful tail to propel her forward. The ship picked up speed as if it seemed to know that the Whale wanted to race.
Bronwyn howled and pumped her fist from atop the Whale while those on deck leaned into the wind as the ship accelerated. They cheered as they encouraged the Warden, but the ship was no match for the largest creature on Vii. The Whale surged ahead, leaving foam and the Warden far behind.
The ship slowed as it conceded the race. It assumed a leisurely pace northeast toward the island where Braden and Micah hoped to find answers regarding the disappearance of her father and all the villagers from White Beach.
The Dolphins appeared in the water between the Whale and the ship, returning with a splash by leaping and dancing on their tails. The Whale dipped into the sea, turning Bronwyn loose to join her small friends. As she swam, two new fins appeared in the water, black, cutting the water as they headed directly for Bronwyn. The sea dance stopped, and the Dolphins sh
ot like arrows toward the girl.
Rexalita vaulted nearly completely out of the water, crashing back in and sending a tidal wave with Bronwyn surging away from the new fins. The Dolphins came in from behind and leapt over her head, landing in the water between her and the newcomers. The fins split up, two became four and Bronwyn screamed.
The Dolphins abandoned their blocking maneuver, turning to swim forward, catching the girl as they sped toward the Warden. The fins lined up as they pursued. The entire ocean to the side of the Dolphins seemed to rise up as Rexalita broke the surface again, opening her mouth, sharp teeth sweeping under and over Chlora, Rhodi, and Bronwyn.
The Dolphins swam out the other side of the Whale’s open maw. Then she clamped down, trapping the sharks. Three of them disappeared into that huge gullet, while the fourth made a sharp turn, swimming away from the Dolphins and the young girl. They continued to the ship and around aft, swimming smartly into the well deck and depositing Bronwyn where she could easily climb from the water.
‘We are so sorry, little one! We didn’t see the evil ones until it was too late,’ Rhodi apologized.
‘There’s nothing to be sorry for,’ Bronwyn said happily as she jumped back into the water to hug the snouts of her two friends. ‘You saved me from them, and you, too, Rexalita. You were all magnificent!’
Micah hugged Braden as they watched and listened. They always had friends with them, friends willing to fight to keep them safe, just like they’d done, so many times.
Pik appeared next to them carrying his skin suit. He pointed to them and to his own chest. Since Pik was a clone, the terrible wounds he’d suffered fighting the Androids weren’t there. ‘I died for Aadi, just like I would have for any of you. And I’d do it again, too,’ Pik said matter-of-factly.
Free Trader Box Set - Books 4-6: Battle for the Amazon, Free the North!, Free Trader on the High Seas Page 51