Adventures on RV Traveler (Free Trader Series Book 3)

by Craig Martelle

  Braden and Micah both looked back at the hover car which sat on the ramp, powerless.

  “We walk from here.” Braden announced in a loud voice. “Back to the Aviary.”

  Skirill jumped into the air and flew with long slow strokes. Zyena was close behind him. G-War jogged up the ramp and Aadi turned, swimming slowly.

  A door panel opened in the wall and two laser beams lashed out, striking Aadi’s armor cover. They burned hot, scorching the covering, which increased its own feeble power in an attempt to fight off the attack. Aadi swam in a panic, but he was a Tortoid and relatively motionless. Braden pulled his blaster and ran toward the doorway, firing as soon as he saw the Android hands with their laser finger pointed outward.

  They stopped firing after Braden burned off an Android hand. The door panel started to close. Braden reached it just in time to shove his blaster barrel through, blocking the door from closing completely. He pulled the trigger, holding it as he rocked the barrel back and forth, up and down.

  Smoke from behind the door told him he’d done some damage.

  “Micah, bring a flashlight. I want to see what’s in here. And my blaster’s stuck.” He let go and it stayed where it was, wedged in the door.

  The companions took up positions above and below the door on the ramp. They didn’t want any more surprises, so they watched and stretched out with their animal senses, looking for the enemy.

  The flashlight showed smoke and two dead Androids. The space behind the door was large, angling upward slightly before leveling out into a hallway that extended beyond the range of his flashlight. He saw doors lining the hallway, material scattered haphazardly along the walls; the center area was clear. Braden wondered if the Androids were using it as a private passage to move back and forth between the Command Decks and the ship’s interior.

  How many other Androids waited behind doors on the ramp or behind the doors of that hallway?

  Micah held the blaster as Braden used his foot to push the door open. Something snapped, and it sprang all the way open. Micah’s hand steadied him as he fell against the door frame.

  “Let’s get out of here. To the Aviary!” Braden shouted. Micah handed him his blaster. He held it around the side of the doorway as the others went past, up the ramp. When they were safely around the bend, he walked backwards, hugging the wall to keep it between him and the open doorway. Once he was well up the ramp, he turned and jogged to his companions.

  They stood at the screen while Micah waved her bracelet in front of the dead panel. The door remained closed.

  ‘Holly, we have a big problem…’

  43 – Trapped

  Holly ran a number of diagnostic checks. His access to ship systems was growing. Everything he touched, he locked out, preventing the Androids from getting back into the systems that Holly controlled.

  The Androids hadn’t accessed the door control system. They couldn’t supersede the President’s bracelet, but they could keep her from accessing it by burning out the controls. The Android box on the ramp generated rhythmic electronic pulses, focused directionally up the ramp. It built in magnitude, frying systems within range. If Aadi hadn’t killed it, Braden and Micah’s neural implants may have exploded. As it was, the implants were sheltered within their bodies, and the humans had endured pain, but were unharmed.

  This go-around at least, but it wouldn’t be the last time they tangled with the human-looking robots.

  Their disagreement with the Androids had taken a dangerous turn. They were at war, and the Androids had the advantage.

  The companions looked at each other. Braden had no plan beyond this. Without the hover car, they couldn’t cross Deck 3. Without opening the door, they couldn’t get to Deck 2. If Braden hadn’t blocked the door between decks with his blaster, that too would have been closed, and they would have been trapped.

  ‘Well now, isn’t this interesting,’ G-War said calmly. Braden kneeled down to pet the ‘cat while he thought.

  “We have to take the route between decks,” Braden said in a low voice. He hung his head. It didn’t sound any better out loud.

  “And walk into another trap, then another, and how many beyond that?” Micah started to panic.

  “Assuming the door to Deck 3 opens, Skirill, Zyena, G-War, and Aadi can all make it across. Me, you, and Pik? We can’t. The beetles will be waiting and this time, they’ll feast on us.” He reached out to her, but she pulled away. She’d grown up in the outside world. She liked it outside. Even though she and Braden had spent almost a full cycle at New Sanctuary, she was never completely comfortable with the Old Tech indoors.

  And the Androids were a faceless enemy that G-War couldn’t feel. The thought of an Android appearing from behind a door terrified her. With their children on the planet below, she saw the hallway between decks as a box holding her in, like trying to cross the ocean without a boat.

  Her breath caught in her throat and she started to feel lightheaded. Braden helped her to a knee. Even Pik put a hand on her back.

  ‘It’ll be okay, Master Micah. I will lead the way. If they surprise us, let me be first to save you and all my friends.’ Pik raised his spear and looked to each of the companions. He’d never had friends before. He didn’t want to lose any of the companions. It would be easier on him if he was the first to die. Yes, it made perfect sense. He needed to be on point as they traveled between decks.

  Pik Ha’ar nodded and pointed down the ramp with his spear. He started to walk, but Braden put a hand on his arm.

  “We all go together, my friend, and we’ll take turns leading this parade through the hallways. When we get to the other side, we’ll all be there. It’s not important that we go fast, just that we go together.”

  ‘If I may, Master Humans. Maybe it is important to go fast. What if the Androids never expected us to open the door between decks? The Androids tried to close it. You burned them after they tried to close the door. They might have died without telling the others.’

  “Okay, Pik. I stand corrected. We need to go fast!”

  Braden helped Micah up. She was calmer. Aadi’s observation gave her new hope. ‘There’s always hope, lover. We’re going to make it home. There is no other ending to this story. Do you hear me?’ He sounded confident with his thought voice. He believed he told the truth.

  And she believed in him, ashamed at her lapse, her weakness. He shook his head at her.

  “No. We all care. We’re all afraid. And we’re also the most dangerous group on this whole ship, and this is a big ship.” He smiled broadly and danced backward until he turned and jogged after Pik and G-War. Aadi swam ahead while Skirill and Zyena waited for Micah.

  “Time to go, you two. We have a war to fight.” She hesitated for only a heartbeat before correcting herself. “We have a war to win.”

  44 – D2-3, Subdeck 7, Radial Passage 140, Frame 8553

  The companions clustered around the doorway. Pik went in one step, then stopped. The darkness was near total. Little light penetrated the depth of the hallway. Braden turned on his flashlight and handed it to Pik. Aadi swam through the doorway and floated beside the Lizard Man. Pik tucked the flashlight under the rope around Aadi’s armor and shell. He adjusted it until it shined forward. He looked back at Braden and nodded.

  With a small bump of his shell, Aadi encouraged Pik to take the next step and then the next.

  The light showed a seemingly abandoned hallway. Ten people could have walked abreast and a tall man could have jumped and still not touched the ceiling. There was space, but he didn’t think it was enough for the Hawkoids to fly freely. Braden carried Skirill and Micah carried Zyena.

  They apologized profusely for being a burden. Both Braden and Micah laughed at their beaked faces. ‘Skirill’s taken his turn saving us. He doesn’t think I know how much pain he was in flying over the Great Desert, but I know. He never complained and he kept us from getting lost. I can’t wait until you meet Max and Speckles, our horses. And Brandt Earthshaker, King of
the Aurochs. These are great creatures.’ Braden spoke over the mindlink. They traveled nearly without sound. They could only hear the swishing of the human’s gear and the click of Pik’s three-toed claws on the deck plating.

  Braden and Micah carried a Hawkoid on one arm. Their blasters in their free hand, covering the doors on both sides of the hallway. Aadi’s light shone down the hallway. Micah’s flashlight was held tightly in Zyena’s beak. Hawkoids could turn their heads nearly around in a circle, so Zyena was able to shine the flashlight anywhere they wanted. She kept the light moving, showing the doors on each side, the ceiling and occasionally down the hallway behind them.

  They moved as fast as Aadi could swim, but Aadi wanted to go faster. Pik grasped the Tortoid’s shell in one hand and started jogging. The others sped up, loping at a pace they knew they could sustain. They wanted to put more distance between where the Androids thought they were and where they really were.

  ‘Holly, can you track where we are? Do you know if there are Androids anywhere near?’ Braden asked as he jogged, trying to keep one eye on his way ahead.

  ‘Yes, Master Braden. I see you currently at D2-3, Subdeck 7, Radial Passage 140, Frame 8553. You just passed officer country, a mess deck, a machinery space, and pipe repair.’

  Before they boarded, Holly tried to teach them the ancients convention for delineating spaces aboard the ship. It was based on vertical, radial, and horizontal geography. D2-3 meant they were between Decks 2 and 3. Subdeck 7 was the 7th of 10 subdecks between each core deck. The radials started at zero, the stationary top of the ship as one would see from the outside and 180, the bottom of the ship as one looked aft. These locations became arbitrary once the inner cylinders began rotating. 140 meant they were right of center, toward the bottom on the arbitrary scale. Bulkhead 8553 was closer to the front of the ship than the back. There were exactly 13115 frames, 2000 of which were in front of the forward bulkhead of Decks 1 through 5.

  For reference, the hatch to enter the Bridge was bulkhead 12004.

  ‘Why?’ was all Braden could ask.

  ‘Engineers. That’s why. It made sense to them and they probably never flew on board the RV Traveler. There should be a law…’ Holly drifted off. Maybe Braden stopped listening.

  ‘Holly, Androids or no Androids?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Master Braden, I have no way to tell.’

  ‘How about a place to stop and rest where there probably won’t be any Androids? Or electric crewmen for that matter?’ Braden pleaded.

  ‘The Mess Deck that you just passed is probably the best choice. There’s no reason for any Androids to be in there.’

  ‘Everybody! We need to take a break. Right back here is a Mess Deck, that means a dining area. Holly assures me that it should be free of Androids.’ Braden stopped and turned around. Micah turned so Zyena could shine the flashlight. The hallway behind them was clear for as far as the light shone.

  Braden put Skirill down as he prepared to open the door. Micah put Zyena down and raised her blaster. She dialed up a tight, Android-killing beam, braced the blaster in two hands, and stood beside Braden. When Pik, Aadi, and G-War arrived, Braden opened the door. Zyena leaned her head this way and that, shining the light past Micah.

  Tables were arrayed neatly with chairs around them. A kitchen and serving area could be seen in the background. Micah leaned in quickly and pulled herself back out. She didn’t see anything. Braden took the flashlight from the Hawkoid and stepped into the room, facing one way while Micah looked the other. Aadi swam in and slowly toured the room. Holly activated the lights.

  On one side of the room there was enough foliage to start a mini rainforest.

  “I say we stay away from that, because it shouldn’t be here. It’s creepy, like the vines in Engineering,” Braden said, then went back to retrieve the Hawkoids, carrying them in one at a time and putting them on the tables, where their tail feathers could hang down. Skirill looked embarrassed and shook his head every time someone had to carry him.

  Braden scratched the Hawkoid’s neck feathers as he looked into his eyes. Large black pupils stared back at him. “It’s okay, Ess. Everyone needs a little help. Keep your eyes on that stuff over there. We don’t need any surprises.”

  ‘Holly, every time we’ve run into Androids, they’ve been at work stations, making hand gestures in front of the screens and tapping commands into the systems. Maybe you can see which computers are actively being used?’ Braden felt trapped. Micah’s expression said she felt the same way.

  ‘I am accessing the systems on D2-3, Subdeck 7, between Frames 7000 and 9000. Standby.’

  “Is it just me or is Holly using more and more technical language?” Braden asked Micah, putting his gear on the table as he sat.

  “No, it’s not just you. He’s getting where I can hardly understand him. As he’s taught us more about the world of the ancients, maybe he thinks we can talk with him like we’re them.” Micah pursed her lips and shrugged. She sat heavily on a chair.

  “Check in with Bronwyn?” Braden asked, hoping to lighten her mood. He watched her eyes unfocus as she used her neural implant to talk with Bronwyn and the kids.

  The first thing she saw was the countdown timer: 73:17.

  Braden took one flashlight and explored the space. G-War went with him. Pik walked straight to the vegetation and stood before it, spear ready. For what? Braden couldn’t guess.

  “What do you see, Pik?” Braden asked as he headed for the kitchen area.

  ‘These look like they are from my home, but they are different. They don’t feel right.’ Pik watched the plants warily. Akhmiyar had showed the humans that the Lizard Men could feel the rainforest around them. Since the Amazonians were descended from the Lizard Men on the ship, Braden assumed they had the same attributes and could do the same things.

  Braden went into the kitchen. It looked long abandoned, unlike other areas of the ship. For the final leg of the journey, the entire populace of the ship would have been awake, upwards of 100,000 people. During the journey, only thousands would have been awake at any point in time and many of the subdecks would have remained empty, running on limited power only. And then some crew stayed on board after the rest moved to the planet.

  This was probably one of those, only used for the last two years of the trip. Its decorations were sparse. It also may have been stripped to provide additional Old Tech for the planet. If he understood what Holly showed, there was as much technology in Sanctuary as there had been on this ship.

  Micah closed her window, tears flowing down her face. Braden abandoned his fruitless search and joined her, on one knee, holding her hands in his.

  “Nothing’s wrong. The kids are great. Bronwyn’s great. Brandt’s calves are getting big.” Braden didn’t understand. Why the tears?

  “I’m afraid that I’m not going to see them again.”

  Braden tried to comfort her by sounding confident that they were going to get home. He looked at her, not knowing what else to do.

  G-War jumped into the seat next to her, then climbed on the table. He rubbed his body against her, purring as he rubbed his head against her face.

  ‘We’ll get home to our children.’ G-War was judicious in his use of words. His actions showed how he felt. Maybe he wasn’t an ass.

  ‘Once we’re home, I will wait for you to be sound asleep, then I’m going to give you both a sound scratching for bringing me up here.’ G-War sat up and used a paw to wash his face. He was probably trying to clean off the human smell.

  “Thanks, G. I thought we’d lost you, but no. It’s you. Your motivation in getting off this ship is solely to exact revenge from the stupid humans. That’s what I heard, anyway.” Braden gave the ‘cat’s ears a quick rub, lingering at the bite mark. Micah smiled and returned to the moment. They had a long way to go. She needed to be at her best for every step of it.

  “Thank you, Prince Axial De’atesh, for your companionship. I shall look forward to our return, so that you can get a ni
ce bath. You’re looking a bit shaggy.” Micah wrinkled her nose as she ran her hand across the ‘cat’s scarred sides. He stood and thrust his nose in the air.

  ‘It’s musk. The lady ‘cats love it,’ he answered. Maybe they’d make a trip into the hills when they went back north. It had been forever since G-War had seen any of his own people.

  “I don’t see any lady ‘cats around, G. I’m just making a casual observation, no need to whip out the claws…” Braden taunted.

  They heard a spear point scratch against the deck, then again, and again. They looked toward Pik and saw his legs spread, in a fighting position as he thrust his spear at something beyond him. Micah pulled her sword as she jumped up and ran toward him. Braden took his time, holding his blaster in front of him and looking elsewhere in the room for threats.

  Pik stabbed at vines snaking toward him. They moved slowly, but with purpose. As he stabbed one vine and pushed it away, two more appeared in its place.

  Until Micah showed up. With a few quick swings of her sword, all vines were severed. She braced herself for the deluge that she experienced in Engineering.

  These were different vines.

  “Crawlers,” Braden said matter-of-factly. “They can only get you if you aren’t aware, and that’s not us.” He holstered his blaster and slapped each of them on the back.

  Micah and Pik backed away from the heavy foliage, retreating to their side of the dining area.

  They relaxed, but no one was going to sleep. Maybe it was time to move on.

  ‘Holly? Any luck finding active work stations between here and the forward bulkhead?’

  ‘Yes, Master Braden. There are a significant number of systems operational on this subdeck. I recommend you backtrack about four hundred meters where you’ll find an elevator to Subdeck 5. There are no active systems anywhere along that hallway.’

  ‘I don’t like backtracking, but if it gets us a clean route up front, then I’m all for it.’