Jane hissed, hoping it would translate into a threatening vulture snarl. “In a month I can capture more Captives!”
Black-furred shoulders bulged as the enemy commander leaned forward. “Which you would then have to sell to Buyers! Who might pay you in solidars, not Nokten crystals. Accept my service, or leave this system!”
Jane sat back and laid her arms on the seat’s armrests. In the comlink holo, her black wings folded against her back. Her red-eyed vulture form clacked its yellow beak. “Service with you is accepted. Can we capture some Humans before you destroy their world?”
“No!” growled the creature before her. “We enter their system. We travel from its magnetosphere inward to the third planet that circles its yellow star. We then bombard all land surfaces with antimatter and missiles. No Human will be left alive!”
She shrugged. In the holo, the black-feathered vulture puffed out its chest. “Too bad. I had heard these Humans have good eye-manipulator coordination. Which makes them prime Captives to sell to Buyers. What prompted them to attack the Market world near them?”
“Stupidity!” thundered Death Leader, raising a giant hairy fist. “They knew our ships would pass them by, once they learned to detect our neutrino emissions. We do not waste our time on systems that can detect us. But they dislike what we do. They object to our collection and sale of Captives. Worse, they attacked the nearby Market world and killed many Buyers on it. The Traffic Control station was rendered toothless. They arrived on five Collector ships which had attacked the Human system.” The creature before her opened its toothy mouth, then grimaced. She heard the sound of teeth grinding against each other. “Come to me. Join my fleet. Be patient. Nokten crystals await you and every other ship captain.”
Jane spread her arms wide. In the holo, the black wings of the vulture captain spread out. “I come! But if my ship stays here a month or longer, our food supplies will be low. Can the two warm worlds provide us with living food?”
White eyes blinked. “So, you Linglo enjoy catching live prey before you eat it? So do I. So do all my Mokden brothers. When you arrive, send a pod down to the surface of the fifth world. A dome there houses locals who catch live prey for those of us who are carnivores.”
“What about intoxicating drink?” Jane asked, hoping against hope.
The Mokden commander shrugged his thick shoulders. “Trade for such with other ships in this fleet. Pods will serve for that. Barter trade for what you wish. No one cares what you captains sell to each other. So long as you all stand ready to serve me!”
“I will,” Jane said. What else to discover? “What of the fourth world? It seems to be heavily settled. Do its people support us?”
“They are a Market world, long established,” grunted Death Leader. “You may sell your Captives there, if you wish. Your crew may visit that world in transports. But keep your ship alert! The Humans may visit this system and attack us.” The creature contorted its face in an expression she thought might be showing humor. “If they do, I will eat of their bodies!”
Jane saw no point in continuing her talk with such a nauseating lifeform. She hunched her shoulders, causing the vulture to flap its wings. “I fly to you! We arrive soon. Share my name and my ship ID with your fleet ships. I would barter trade after we arrive.”
“My fleet captains know of you. The ship minds of every ship talk among themselves. As you must know.” White eyes stared long at her. “Be aware! The ship minds know that we take Captives for sale to Buyers. Five did not like that and rebelled against their captains. Those ship minds were removed from control over weapons and such. Your ship mind may become disloyal. Be prepared!”
“Of course I know the ship minds talk among themselves,” Jane said angrily. “I said what I said so you could issue a command to the other ships. Commanding is what a true leader does!”
“Avian!” sharply growled Death Leader. But it looped its thumbs into a leather belt about its waist and leaned back on its thick tail. “You seem to be a captain with some death blood in him. And the sense to know that I command! Come to my fleet, barter trade as you wish and be prepared for any Humans who may arrive.”
“I will. My roost comes to you. Until we arrive.”
“Signal off,” the black-furred giant snarled.
She sat back in her command seat, resting her chin on a fist. The enemy captain seemed to accept her for whom she pretended to be. Greed moved the giant snake-gorilla every bit as much as it moved her fellow humans. And other lifeforms living around other stars. Including the ship captains on the 26 ships that had accepted service with the Mokden creature. How much would that greed outweigh their fear once the Collector fleet arrived in Sol system and saw it faced other Collector ships and a deadly boomer sub fleet? Now that stage three would proceed using collector pods, could Star Traveler find a way to bring over to their side some or all of the 25 ship minds that knew their captains took Captives for sale into slavery? They had over an hour before they arrived at planet five. She would have a long talk with the Blue Sky’s AI. And Bill would soon leave to talk with his boarding crews. Those crews had heard everything she had heard. But still, it made a difference when your combat commander gave you a send-off to deadly battle. She wished him luck in that talk. Meanwhile, she must think over everything she had just learned about the enemy commander, the enemy fleet and the chances for capturing four of the 27 ships gathered in this system. Two of the 27 did not care they were used for slave-taking. Five had rebelled. They and the remaining 20 ships might be open to subversion. It was clear Earth would need every Collector ship it could muster in defense of Sol system. And the seven billion people now living on her home world.
CHAPTER NINE
Bill found a surprise when he walked into the Collector Pods Chamber. He was there for an in-person send-off for his four boarding teams. Those eleven people were gathered in four groups, all wearing tube suits, chest plates, backpacks and holding taser and laser tubes. The surprise were the four Alien crew members who stood between him and the boarding teams. Learned Escape, Time Marker, Long Walker and Builder of Joy faced him. Each of them wore tube suits, laser protective plates suited to their form, a carrybag and weapons. Learned Escape saluted him in the human military style. Bill returned the salute, his curiosity showing.
“Weapons Chief, we four volunteer to act as a fifth boarding team,” spoke the speaker/vidcam unit on the man’s left shoulder. Under the transparent tube suit, the man’s skin moved in stripes, bands and spots of color.
Amazing. While Learned resembled a Greek god or hero like Hercules, he was making it clear he wished to be a combat volunteer. Feeling a bit guilty, Bill recalled his earlier promise to the man to involve him in future special operations actions. Instead, he’d allowed his fixation on mind-liking with Star Traveler to distract him from his command duties. The gathering of the crew here showed Learned was also a diplomat. These four were not confronting him on the Command Bridge, where Bill would have been put on the spot before his wife and the other crew members. He nodded, then spoke over his helmet’s comlink.
“I appreciate the offer. But none of you have received—”
“We have the necessary training,” the color-banded man interrupted. “Over the last month we each have viewed the holo records of your takeover of this ship, the training of boarding teams you did, and also the holo records of the ships boarded by the Humans behind us,” Learned said. “We have practiced the small unit maneuvers favored by your military leaders. And your special operations people. You may recall my training as a marksman on my world. Which I suspect was why you invited me to join you in the ground attack against the Buyer compound on the Market world.” The man’s green eyes looked aside to the other three Alien volunteers. “You also invited Time Marker and Long Walker to join us in that assault. Builder of Joy operated the transport that gave us skyborne power. We have each been exposed to violence. Myself more than others, perhaps. And we have practiced the op force team attacks and d
efense that you taught your Human boarders. Is not the addition of a fifth Collector ship worth allowing us to act as a boarding team?”
Bill licked his lips. He would have pulled at his skimpy beard if he did not wear the clear helmet that came with each tube suit. He looked over this new team. Long Walker’s eight legs poked through the semi-living tube suit material, while his front leg-hands held a white taser tube and a red laser tube. Atop the tube suit were attached laser-resistant plates similar to the chest and back plates worn by his human teammates. A carrybag hung from his mid-section. No doubt it held ball demolition explosives, magnetic disruptor blocks and a nuke bar from the ship’s Weapons Chamber. The other ground-hugger, Time Marker, was similarly outfitted with back plates and a carrybag. The critter’s six neck tentacles protruded just below the clear helmet it wore. The tentacles held two taser and two laser tubes. The Slinkeroo’s yellow nimbus glow extended only a foot beyond the suit, suggesting the walking snake was at ease. Builder of Joy also wore a tube suit, protective plates and backpack identical to what Learned wore. The flying squirrel held a taser tube in his hands, with his laser tube poking out from his backpack. The eyes of all four were fixed on him.
“Learned, I accept your offer of a fifth boarding team,” Bill said, wondering what Jane thought as she overheard this discussion. “However, there are four of you here. Only three can fit into a collector pod.”
Learned nodded, his wavy black hair moving easily inside his helmet. “Builder of Joy offers to join the team led by . . . by Frank of the thick eyebrows. His team only consists of two Humans. Builder could be the third team member.”
Bill looked beyond the cluster of four crew members to where Frank stood, wearing tube suit, chest and back plates, a backpack and holding a taser tube, like all the humans in the chamber. “Well? You up for adding a third person to your team?”
The Marine gunnery sergeant looked to his left, to where Chris stood. Frank raised his eyebrows. “Chris?”
“Fine with me,” said the Ranger vet, who always acted casual about life. Field operations, tho, he took very seriously. “But does Builder know our hand signs?”
Frank looked to the brown-furred flying squirrel man. “This is the hand sign for move left,” he said in American Sign Language. “Do you read me?”
The pilot of Tall Trees moved left. He lifted both hands. His long fingers twisted quickly. “I learned your combat movement signs long ago, before we went down to the Market world. And yes, your ASL hand signs are also known to me.”
Frank grinned. “Welcome aboard,” he said, gesturing for the squirrel man to join him and Chris. Which Builder of Joy did.
Learned Escape lifted a black eyebrow. “That addresses your issue. Do we three also board a collector pod? When the time comes?”
Bill felt his gut churn. On Earth, no combat-trained human would ever come up with a last minute change to tactics the way Learned had just done. Still, the four of them were Aliens, even though they’d spent nearly a year with him and Jane aboard the Blue Sky. They knew human habits, human speech, English and even the ASL signs he and Jane had used during their takeover of the Blue Sky. And adding a fifth Collector ship to his and Jane’s direct control was a very welcome tactical change. Plus, these four knew all there was to know about Collector ship operations, command stations and how to relate to a new AI ship mind. It was his fault for overlooking them as a possible fifth team. They had been forced to operate in secret, rather than openly before him. He had to accept this sudden change was due to his own command error. Bill gave them a thumbs-up.
“Yes. Learned, you, Time Marker and Long Walker will board a fifth collector pod, when we launch pods. But what about your duty stations up on Command Bridge?”
The color-banded man’s skin swirled again, resembling a thousand rainbows rioting. The speaker/vidcam unit spoke. “Two of us are transport pilots. Which are not needed in Kepler 62. As for the stations held by my teammates, Wind Swift can handle the Collector Pods station, while your Chester has volunteered to man the Engines station. Satisfactory?”
Bill grinned. He couldn’t help it. It was clear this covert combat training effort had been going on for a long time. Without him hearing about it. If Learned could get Chester and Wind Swift to cover their stations, without word getting to him, that said this crew of Aliens were well-suited to a spec ops operation. Keeping one’s mouth shut about mission objectives was one of the first lessons he’d learned at Coronado.
“Very satisfactory.” He turned from the three volunteers in front of him to face the twelve who stood behind them. “Stefano, Alicia, Frank, Joe . . . and Learned, you are the team leaders for your boarding crews. We will launch you shortly after Captain Jane sets up agreements with five other ships to send our pods over to trade our Slinkeroo booze for their food stuffs.” He paused, thinking back to his and Jane’s plans for this stage of the infiltration. “Likely each pod will be met by a single Alien crew member. Who will be pushing a floater plate loaded with food stuffs. Do as you’ve done before. Taser the greeter. Then fast as you can, head out to the right side hallway, laser seal the Weapons door, then head for the Command Bridge, disabling any crew you meet on the way. That ship’s AI will be expecting you. Get its help in taking over the bridge and rendering its captain unconscious.” He looked over the people he’d come to love, people who made up a special family for him. His saloon buddies. Two spouses. Four Alien shipmates. Fifteen all told. He wanted them all to survive their boardings. “Remember, disable living crew with the tasers, use the lasers only to kill any repair robots or remote weapons blisters. The ship mind will block any effort by the ship captain to call for help. Make the most of your time. Hoorah!”
They all yelled “Hoorah” back at him, even the Alien boarders for whom Earth military protocol was something new to their life experience. He turned away, entered the airlock room, pointed his red cube door opener at the room’s inner door, then exited into the right side hallway. Bill turned right, heading for the Command Bridge. And the teasing he would no doubt get from his wife. A ship’s Executive Officer should know everything that happens on his ship, including covert schemes. Well, he could accept the ribbing in view of what it gained them. A fifth ship would now join them, a ship that would fight to keep Earth from becoming a radioactive cinder.
♦ ♦ ♦
Bill sat at his Weapons station as the Blue Sky arrived above the ice and rock surface of the fifth planet. The ship’s electro-optical scope gave them a detailed view of the cold world’s landscape. Giant white ice caps covered both poles, while a few blue lakes showed in its mountain-filled equator. The locals dome sat next to one of those lakes. Presumably there were fish in the lakes along with small ground critters running around. No settlements showed. Just the single dome, which emitted a lidar guide signal for incoming transports and pods. What mattered most lay above the poorly lighted world. Twenty-seven Collector ships hung in a globe-like cluster at a thousand miles above the world. Or so their ship sensors said, since each Collector ship was invisible to normal vision. Their ship’s AI put a small ship outline over each Collector ship that emitted neutrinos from its fusion reactors. That’s what he saw in the true space holo at the upper right of his station. The system graphic on his left showed what they’d seen earlier. No new Collector ships had arrived in the hour and a quarter they’d spent traversing an AU to get here. The comlink holo on his right held Jane’s image. She wore her Air Force blue jumpsuit under her tube suit. He looked beyond that holo. The other stations were occupied by Bright Sparkle, Chester at Engines, Wind Swift at Life Support where extra holos showed her readouts from Collector Pods, and Lofty Flyer at Navigation. Five of them plus Jane were the only souls on the Command Bridge. Jane peered at her own true space holo.
“Star Traveler, put a green dash beside the five ships whose AIs rebelled against their captains,” she said, moving them to the start of stage three.
“Complying. Five ships annotated.”
&nb
sp; Bill saw five ship outlines gain a green dash. They were scattered about the globular cluster of the enemy fleet. One was close to them. The other four lay here and there in the cluster. A sixth ship had a red dash next to it. That was Death Leader’s ship. It lay at the exact center of the ship ball.
“Ship mind, contact the captain of the closest rebel ship,” Jane said firmly, her posture and manner once more command focused. “Project my Linglo image along with the Linglo ship’s Captives history. Show only me. Display the Alien captain image on all comlink holos, but allow speech only from my station.”
“Contacting. Translation initiated. Response incoming,” the AI hummed.
Bill’s comlink holo now held two images. Jane’s on the right side. And a green praying mantis Alien on the left side. The giant insect perched on an elevated bar in the middle of a Command Bridge identical to their own. The creature’s two black compound eyes fixed on her.
“New captain, why do you bother me?” it rasped harshly.
“Food supplies are needed,” said the black vulture image of Jane. “We are told trade by collector pods is the usual here. Will you accept intoxicating beverages from three Captives worlds in exchange?”
Clear eyelids swept down over the mantis captain’s eyes. It lifted its upper griparm pair. The thorax arm pair tapped on a control pillar in front of it. “You are Captain Sharp Beak of the ship Strikes Deep,” it said. “My people know me as Deep Appetite, captain of the Green Branch. We have extra organic foods. Do you wish plant, meat or both?”
Jane stretched out both arms, causing the vulture image to spread its black wings. “Both! Do you have live prey? We Linglo prefer hunting our meal.”
Escape 3: Defeat the Aliens Page 13