Jack looked all the way back to Max’s Drive Engineer post. The gravity-pull drive armrest panel hovered above the man’s lap, while the Main Drive control module had lowered from the cabin ceiling. He grinned. “Keep doing what you’re doing. And move our fusion cylinder from Hot to Pinch Mode. Just in case we need to flare-melt any unwelcome visitors.”
“Will do.” Max rubbed at his clean-shaven, dark brown face. The dark skin was thanks to the rad-tan he and every other Belter citizen developed by the time of puberty. Including Jack. And Elaine. And Maureen. Only young Denise had facial skin pale enough to show her brown freckles.
Jack looked back at the front screen, the live light scope image gone thanks to the grav-pull distortion. But the side panel showed the ecliptic plan view of Sedna, the two clusters of Alien ships, and their fleet formation blipping close faster than he could tell. A yellow glow from his Tech panel told him seven minutes had passed since they began blip jumping.
“Crew, be ready for contact from Sedna upon arrival. I’m sure the Aliens have a standard Arrive and Identify protocol similar to that at the Deimos Yards and at the Unity’s Copernicus Moon base.” He paused, wondering what else he needed to anticipate. “Denise, make sure our outgoing AV signal focuses just on me. If I ask for one of you to give input, then widen the motion-eye to include the rest of the Pilot cabin.”
“Will do,” Denise said. But her tone made him look back. She was twisting one of her red braids.
“Problem? Issue? Speak up now!”
“Just my Animal Ethology stuff. We are going to arrive like a pack of wolves ready to jump on anything edible. Is that your intent?”
“Yes! Exactly. Why?”
She smiled a young woman look. “No problem. Just wanted to be sure our arrival mode was what you intended. Which is what I would have recommended if asked.”
“Oh.” The yellow glow had begun blinking. Normal space resumption was in one minute. “Why would you have recommended what I am now doing?”
Denise looked up at the front screen with its plan view of the Sedna area, then back to him. Her look was now somber. “Because if we intend to drive these Aliens out of Sol system, then we have to appear exactly like a pack of wolves ready to jump on anything edible!”
Jack turned back to face the front screen, not bothering to hide his smile.
The screen suddenly filled with Sedna, its scores of melt basins scattered across its methane ice crust as if it had a bad case of measles. Only this time the whole face was solid red, with the basins a darker red. At the top of the screen came the AV images of the other ship captains, while the side panel plan view showed their fleet formation in a slow orbit above Sedna. The nearest yellow Alien ship lay a thousand klicks below and three hundred klicks retrograde to their movement. The colony ships were out of view on the opposite side of Sedna. A purple light came on above the screen, alerting them to an incoming AV signal.
“Accept the signal Denise.”
“Accepting.”
The image of Sedna vanished. Replacing it was the bodyform of an Alien. Something like a cross between cheetah and a leopard looked out at them. Golden yellow eyes focused on them as its blunt snout moved.
“Human ship Uhuru, and allies, welcome to . . . you call it Sedna. We HikHikSot called it . . . Racetrack when first we came here,” the Alien said in a throaty-cough.
“Are you Menoma?” Jack interrupted.
The cat-being blinked quickly. “No! The . . . Manager leaves Arrival and Identify duties to me.” The HikHikSot alien peered closely at Jack. “You are alone on your ship?”
“No. My crew is present with me. Denise, expand the view.”
“Ah.” The Alien looked quickly at each of Jack’s crewmates, then back at him. “Our arrival customs are simple. Do not trouble the colony ships on the far side of Sedna. Do not attack any other ship in orbit above this ice ball. And do not land on the surface of Sedna with thermonuclear devices, such as the torpedo lying in your ejector device. Understood?”
Clearly there were stealthed sensor satellites sharing the orbit of his ships and likely those of the other twenty-nine Alien ships that also orbited Sedna. “Understood. Accepted. I wish to visit with your Manager and discuss items of possible trade with him or her. And perhaps with other species representatives.”
The Alien, who seemed built for speed and flexibility, crossed black-spotted arms over his narrow, tan-furred chest and gave Jack a look of . . . hunger. “Trade is something we HikHikSot specialize in. What do you bring to trade?”
“Frozen red meat of the elk and cow species of Earth. They are quadrupeds of large size who—”
“Understood,” interrupted the Alien. “We have long studied your television broadcasts including those that depict the wild animals of your world. And those animals raised for food. Continue.”
Jack grinned toothily. “We also have recordings of whale songs and parrot chatter, preserved octopi as trophies, blocks of iridium, interactive video battle games, Scotch and bourbon whisky, some red and white wines, some preserved animal skins, gems such as aquamarine, ruby, sapphire, tourmaline, peridot, alexandrite, diamonds, citrine and similar stones,” Jack said. “We also carry some spices unique to Earth.”
The Alien licked his stubby white canines with a pink tongue. “Any competitor will value the animal meats. Some enjoy Alien games of competition. Others value exotic items such as your animal skins. The wines and whisky are of no value here. Different biochemistries require different intoxicants. When you land, bring a cold box with the meats. Bring a sample of your gems. The games will likely appeal to many. As you may have guessed by now.”
Jack had been looking past the Alien greeter at the room it occupied. Beyond the beige color, curving walls and outline of what might be a pressure hatch, he detected nothing else. He raised one hand. “Greeter, when Humans first meet, we offer names preparatory to discussion. My name is Jack Munroe. Do you have a personal name to share?”
The golden yellow eyes of the cheetah-leopard Alien blinked quickly. Then held open. “Some competitors do the same as you Humans. My . . . function term includes your Greeter term. My personal identifier is Howler.”
Jack grinned again. “Good. We will use this ship’s Lander to visit the surface of Sedna. Howler, where is your entry point? To this meeting place we have heard about. And are the heat and air similar to our—”
“To that of your Earth? Yes,” said Howler. “At the Gathering Hall we maintain an oxy-nitro atmosphere similar to your composition and pressure. Temperature is kept at your 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The local gravity field is mild, as you already know from your orbital track. But we maintain what you call a one gee field in occupied locations. As for our entry point, it lies at Sedna’s equator, just where light-rise is now occurring. It emits a blinking ultraviolet signal. You cannot miss it.”
Jack thought this Arrival and Identify chat had been all too innocuous, coming as it did from an Alien lifeform who had secretly set up a base on one of Sol’s largest comets, and now played host to various Alien species who competed to claim Earth and Sol as part of their Hunt territory. “We never miss our aim. As the dead bodies and ships of your Rizen, Yiplak, Nasen, Gyklang and Lizard aliens testify.”
“Lizard?” Howler said with a purr that sounded puzzled. “Oh. You mean the competitor species Hackmot. Yes, we observed your encounter with them at a comet closer to your home star.”
Jack ignored Maureen’s silent waving at him. “What are your protocols for visiting your Gathering Hall?”
The look in Howler’s eyes grew intense. “Reasonable. In the eyes of my Manager. Personal energy weapons must be left on your Lander conveyance. Portable explosives are forbidden in occupied habitats. Other items of body adornment matter not to us. Bring the cold box and your other trade items. Bring your own food and drink as desired. The Gathering Hall is open to all competitors at all hours. It never closes.”
“You and your fellow competitors will never def
eat humanity,” Jack said abruptly. In the small holo Maureen nodded sharply. “We are the apex predators of this star system. Any Alien species that seeks to contest our control will be meat to us! Understood?”
The Alien with the name Howler licked his pale brown lips slowly. “You are free to share your opinions with the Manager. And with any visiting competitor who cares to listen to you. Every lifeform here understands your English. How you will be received is up to each competitor lifeform.”
“So someone may try to kill me?”
The triangular ears of Howler moved backward, as if in a wind. “Life may try to kill you. The Manager tolerates all social predator behaviors, so long as they do not endanger the Gathering Hall or the HikHikSot habitat below this world’s surface. What happens to you when you visit is up to you. And to the other visiting competitors. You may face personal combat challenges to your species’ right to independence, as happened with the Rizen. Understood?”
“Fully,” Jack said, leaning forward to fix in his mind the image of an Alien who acted like a trader but behaved like the sneakiest corporate CEO he had ever studied. “We humans will arrive ready for any behavior. Friendly. Unfriendly. Deadly. Stupid. Survival will be up to those who choose to visit with us. Will your Manager be available to meet with me?”
“Yes,” Howler said, one forearm moving to a touch panel. “Assuming you survive your arrival at the Gathering Hall. Until then, obey the rules I have shared with you.”
The Alien’s image vanished, to be replaced by a live light image of Sedna.
“Jack!” yelled Maureen from her holo. “I don’t like entering any place without a laser at my side.”
He smiled at her, then waved to the watching ship captains. “My allies, I invite each ship captain to join me and Maureen in our Lander for the trip down to this Gathering Hall. Bring your personal arms, as we discussed earlier. And leave your ships ready to attack, leave or change orbit on a moment’s notice.”
Elaine looked at him. “Jack, just you and Maureen are going down there? What should Max, Denise and I do if something happens?”
“Use your judgment. Use any weapon needed to preserve this ship and to protect our fellow humans. Good enough?”
His sister smiled winningly. “I will! And tell Ignacio hello for me!”
“I will. And he may come visit you on our return.”
“I hope so,” Elaine said softly.
Jack unlocked his straps, stood and headed for the Spine corridor to meet with Maureen. Aside from donning their EVA suits and grabbing personal weapons, they had a cold locker to fill and trade goods to collect. Then would come a trip in the Lander as they visited each ship, took on board the captain, and then headed down to Sedna. He wondered if the Gathering Hall had live music. Or was it simply a location where social carnivores just ripped and clawed at each other? In an hour they would know. Whistling to himself and pushing away the memory face of Nikola, he set about doing his duty.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Alien entry point was a metal dome the size of a normal office habitat on Ceres Central. Jack brought the Lander down on chemfuel thrusters, setting the boxy contraption down among fifteen other landers. The Alien landers included some with chemfuel thrusters like their Eight Pack, but most had none, which Jack took to mean they used grav-pull drives to move about. A back part of his mind counted up the likely number of grav-pulls he could scavenge, including the ships in orbit. And maybe one of the orbiting ships would have an FTL drive they could understand. The Rizen ship hulk he’d left in Charon Base orbit had defeated the best efforts of Max and Archibald to decipher how its FTL drive worked, let alone how to detach it from the ship body. Perhaps here, at Sedna, he and his allies would have another opportunity.
“Shogun Jack, we are all ready,” said Captain Akemi from behind, where she like the others sat on benches that ran along both sides of the Lander interior. “How do we depart and approach?”
“Together,” he said abruptly over his EVA suit’s comlink. “Like a pod of killer whales. Or a pack of hungry wolves.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Maureen as she stood up from her seat next to Jack, and low grav slow-walked to the cargo hold of the Lander.
Jack tapped the Navpanel to engine shutdown and ecofield-maintenance. The control module’s display screens shut off, leaving only a few manual buttons and switches to say the metal block did anything. Tearing his eyes away from the front window of clear quartz, he unlocked his seat’s restraint straps and stood up slowly in the low gravity of Sedna. He looked back at his fellow captains and Maureen as she walked into their midst. Everyone wore transparent bubble helmets, along with backpacks carrying their personal weapons, comlinks to each ship and enough food and drink for a day. With a grin he slow-walked toward his friends and fellow fighters.
Captain Aashman lifted a yellow and red-striped arm that matched the colors of his suit. “Captain Jack, do we leave someone aboard this Lander? To guarantee our ride home?”
Maureen guffawed openly, her short black curls lifting slightly in the microgee environment of the Lander’s hold. “Aashy! If someone damages our Lander we’ll simply take over someone else’s lander. Right Jack?”
“Very right,” he said, grinning at the swarthy Hindu to take away any sting from Maureen’s blunt reaction. He scanned the faces of everyone present. “Maureen, Minna, Ignacio, Akemi, Júlia, Aashman and Kasun, we are a wolf pack visiting a new Hunt territory. Which means we move as a unit. We act as a unit. It also means Maureen and I are the alpha female and male leaders of this pack. Yes, we are all captains and crew bosses in our own right. But today, and for every moment we are in or near Sedna, we are a pack of humans on the Hunt!”
Akemi bowed to him. “My shogun, no one here will take unilateral action. You lead. If you fight, we fight. If you talk, we await your command. If you give orders, we obey.”
Jack appreciated Akemi’s simple statement of allegiance. It was an allegiance they had all earned in recent battles, and a relationship that made them different from the actions of the Aliens, who pursued an ‘every species for its own gain’ approach to claiming Sol system. He tapped his suit chest in acknowledgment.
“Captain Akemi Hagiwara, you bring honor to your clan. As you did in our last battle and in battles earlier.” He gestured. “Let’s exit. Me first, followed by Maureen and Ignacio hauling our cold locker. The rest of you come after us.”
Jack turned, pulled open the Lander airlock hatch, entered with Maureen, Ignacio and the locker, then shut the hatch so they could open the outer hatch.
Walking down the extruded ramp to the reddish-brown soil of Sedna, Jack felt light. Light in both weight and in mind. He had a feel for what might happen. And a hope that he could gain information from the Menoma guy before he had to kill him. And everyone else in the Gathering Hall. Or not.
A slow-walk of a hundred meters took the eight of them to the entrance archway to the Entry Dome. A lighted graphic showed how to open and enter the dome’s own airlock. Jack tapped three times on the contact panel. Before him the archway metal slid sideways into the curving wall of the dome. A yellow-orange light illuminated the broad interior of the airlock. Maureen, Ignacio and his fellow captains followed him into the chamber. At the far side of the room, where a similar archway was outlined in red, he double-tapped the contact panel. Behind him the entry archway closed tight, separating them from the Lander and from the icy surface of Sedna. Around him gathered his captains, ready to protect him if someone tried to attack them once the inner archway opened.
When his suit sensors reported full Earth-normal air pressure, the archway slid open. Beyond lay another empty room, twice as large as the airlock. Hooks and shelves lined the circular walls of the room. On them lay helmets and suits that belonged to many different Alien bodyforms. Jack gestured to an empty shelf and attachment hooks.
“Take off your EVA suits. Rack them over there. Then don your personal arms.”
Jack opened his
backpack and pulled out Old Roy, then leaned the two-handed Viking long sword against the cold metal of the change room wall. Next he pulled a Kevlar vest over his jumpsuit, slipped his feet into soft shoes with a sucker-grip sole like they wore at home in the Belt, then belted his Smith and Wesson .45 caliber six-shot revolver about his waist. Clips of speedloader bullets were velcroed to his left hip. After tying his pack to his waist so it rode like a fanny pack, he snapped thin steel throwing knives to each shin. Then he picked up Old Roy and lifted it up and over his head so it slid point-first into a cross-back scabbard built into his sleeveless vest. Turning, he scanned his allies.
Captain Akemi wore a black ninja-style bodystocking. Like him and everyone else she wore a Kevlar vest to protect against claws, talons and knives. Her katana sword hung at her left side, secured by a cotton belt that supported a dozen throwing stars. Her black eyes noticed his look and she rested one hand on the hilt of the katana.
“Like it?”
“Yes. How old is it? And does it have a maker’s mark?”
Akemi pulled the katana partly out of its wooden sheath, letting him see its matte finish on the curved edge. “It is ancient. A koto sword made by Masamune himself. From the late 1300s, the early Muromachi period. Its gold inscription was dictated by him. It measures 70 centimeters in length. I usually practice with a shinsakuto modern sword, but this fight against Aliens demanded my best. I brought it.”
Jack bowed slightly to her, to honor the sword she wore and the respect she showed to her ancestors. Straightening, he checked out the personal arms of his other captains.
Ignacio wore short pants and a red wool shirt under his Kevlar vest. A Roman short sword hung from his revolver gun belt. The man now donned his boina, a sign he was ready for formality or fighting.
Aashman, his lanky frame covered in short dhoti and a white cotton overshirt, wore spike-gloves on both hands. The steel spikes reached out a good five centimeters. He too wore a gun belt with a Teflon-coated revolver.
Earth Vs. Aliens (Aliens Series 1) Page 18