by Ken Pence
“That was very helpful. It will save us trouble if you would call more of your crew here. We will not have to search throughout the ship if you could do that for us,” Andrew stated. “Earthers do not allow others to dictate what we will do. We do not enslave others or allow slavery in our controlled space,” he said as he handed the control unit to the humanoid.
The humanoid looked at the device for but a second and pressed a yellow button. He then reached up, unclipped his collar and pressed an adjustment on it. The collar extended enormously in length and the humanoid rapidly moved forward and clipped it to the froglike being’s neck. “He will now be more trustworthy. Who are you? Where do you come from?” He made to hand the control to Andrew but Andrew motioned for him to keep it.
“I want to know about you. What can you tell me about these beings?” Andrew asked. “You may kill this being if he gives you any trouble.
“You must know that there are over 250 soldiers on this ship and this is but one ship of many. It will be hard to take control of this ship.”
“Are there many like you with collars? Is there a way we can release them all at once?” Andrew asked just as he heard an exclamation from Desiree.
“No you don’t,” she said in English and Andrew saw her kick the froglike boss in the chest as he was reaching for a control near the wall. He saw her reach out very rapidly, grab one of his arms and snap it like a twig. The creature screamed.
“I think that is the control for the other collared beings,” said the humanoid.
“Do you understand how to release them all?” Andrew asked.
“I can understand anything these creatures use. They use my people to maintain this ship. They barely understand how to operate anything. How can two beings try to take control of a ship this large?” the humanoid asked.
“Fellows,” Andrew said. “Alle alle in come free.”
Five silver suited humans appeared around the room.
“Thanks guys. Desiree, would you be so good as to take over the control room? One of you come with us. We’ll head toward engineering.” Desiree took charge of four of the human soldiers, put on her helmet, and set her suit to invisibility. His MemDex showed the positions of all twenty of his invisible crew that had entered the cargo deck when it had first opened. What is your name?” he asked the humanoid.
“I am Xilatoi. Others call me Meddle. I can take you to where the power, drives, and environmental controls are located. There are many Allung between here and there.”
Andrew chuckled at the nickname and contacted Shiv on his Memdex. “Shiv, are you ready? Will they know the difference between humanoid and Allung?” he asked and then turned to the humanoid. Andrew saw that the chief was glaring at him while holding his damaged arm. “Will the crew obey his commands?” he asked Meddle.
“No. They advance and rule by intimidation. When the crew knew that he had lost control of this room he would be challenged by others,” answered Meddle.
Andrew reached forward and removed the two sashes the chief wore and handed them to the humanoid. “He is no use to us then,” Andrew said and nodded toward the control box.
Meddle pressed the green button on the small control and there was an audible pop – not a blast but that sounded no louder than and party favor. The Allung schief dropped with limbs jerking spasmodically.
“I didn’t want to waste this lovely cloth. Would you release the rest of the collared beings?” Andrew asked.
“I can release only some from here. Other controls must be used in other parts of the ship. I will release all I can,” Meddle said and pressed the requisite buttons.
A strident message could be heard through Andrew’s MemDex. “Captain,” LeiLei was heard to say. “We have problems here. We need backup. There is smoke and haze in the corridors here. It makes us visible and some of their crew has weapons that affect us. Samuels took a hit from some acid projector that got through his shield a bit… he’s gone. Their crew has a few portable lasers here. We can take a couple hits from those.”
“Be there when I can. Fall back if you have to…Shiv has just deployed but it will take a while for her attack to take effect. Shiv? What is your status?” Andrew queried.
“My brood is spreading out. The Allung have proven to be an acceptable medium for growth. I am proceeding to distribute them widely. We had taken a few casualties also but that has stopped in these areas while their crew is – distracted,” Shiv replied.
Desiree and her team were approaching the bridge when a crowd of humanoids attacked them. The corridors were filled with smoke that made their suits visible. Evidently, Allung in the back of the throng had shorted electrical connections to produce the acrid haze and then sent the humanoids to their death. The Allung had sent every collared slave at them with any knife they could find. The humans could easily have killed the humanoids but instead tried to knock them unconscious. Their suits took over any defense against any attacks they personally missed. The humanoids and haze slowed down the Earth team but did not stop them in their march to the bridge. One Earth soldier used a decapitated Allung corpse as a shield to protect their team from another defender armed with a hand laser. The shield was adequate and the defense was as short-lived as the defender.
“Phillip, good idea for an improvised shield. Jonathan, you dematerialize the door and Phillip follows through with his shield. That should give us a second or two while they react. Take them alive if they don’t resist. We’d like to get them before they kill all the humanoids. I’m going to see if I can kill all the lighting in this corridor. I don’t want to be backlit when we cut through to the bridge,” Desiree said. “I see a wall panel over there.” A puzzled Desiree opened the wall panel and found switches that turned off the lights. “Okay fellas. One line. Squeeze up.”
They stood in the dark. Their night vision kicked in immediately so the corridor simply appeared a bit hazy in their helmet displays. Jonathan used his molecular disruptor and cut a large opening in the bulkhead door. Phillip shoved his corpse shield through the opening and the rest of the team swarmed into the control room.
It was chaotic only for a split second as the armed defenders only had molecular disruptors that disintegrated the corpse shield but could not penetrate the Earth suit shields. That Allung defender had no shield to protect himself however. He was suddenly nonexistent.
They herded the seven remaining Allung into the center of the control room and raised the lighting level of the room.
“Who is senior?” Desiree asked.
“You can not take over any ship of the Allung Brotherhood,” said a very large individual with a scarlet sash.
“Too late,” Desiree said.
“You are female are you not? I recognize the udders,” said the large male. “How dare you even speak to a male of any species?”
Desiree reached forward quickly, grabbed the arm of the large male and threw him to the ground using the enhanced speed and power assist of her suit. She then gripped that arm and ripped it off his torso so suddenly the other soldiers with her couldn’t react.
The creature screamed and clutched his arm stub. Desiree faced the remaining Allung. “Treat his wound.”
One of the smaller Allung rushed to a nearby cabinet and removed a large metal box, opened it and took out a cylinder. She sprayed a grayish gob of foam over the wound and the bleeding stopped almost immediately. She then tore open a small packet, took out a large round patch and stretched it over the injured part. The large Allung quieted rapidly.
“We would be willing to trade for items like that trauma kit. Does it work for other species?” Desiree said.
The Allung said nothing. “How many arms and legs will I have to rip off before you answer my questions?”
“You have violated our code. We will not deal with you. You still will not control this ship. There are many of us and few of you,” said the large Allung with the injured arm.
“We have several thousand on board right now. They should start e
ating your crew any time now,” Desiree said deadpan. “Earthers do not accept threats. You are lucky we were a civilian vessel that had no soldiers on it.”
“You are not soldiers?” said the smaller Allung who had treated the injured one.
Desiree laughed which made all the Allung jerk back for some reason. “We are scientists and technicians. Our soldiers are coming to see if we need help. They should be here shortly but it will be too late for most of your crew.”
“What do you mean by eaten?” asked the injured Allung. “Surely you do not eat other intelligent species?”
“No. We do not. We enjoy battle and trade. We would much rather trade but we enjoy battle. Your species ought to be a lot of fun for us if each ship or fleet insists on fighting. You must feel the same way to turn down incredible riches in trade. Some of our allies DO eat their enemies though. Have you heard of VicVic?” she asked.
“There are no VicVic in this area of galaxy. You spin lie after lie,” said the large Allung who got slowly to his feet with the aid of the smaller crewmate.
Just then, an intercom came on with horrible screaming and pleading. It couldn’t have been timed better. Desiree indicated that the humanoid who had accompanied her team should answer.
There was much yelling and talk with intermittent shrieks of pain. It soon became quiet and the humanoid turned back to Desiree. “That was crew from the rear of the ship pleading for assistance. They said small, pale green insects were blinding them and then cutting into their bodies. They said the insects were incredibly smart and fast. Then the channel fell silent. Were those the VicVic you told him about?”
“Yes,” Desiree said.
“I have heard of VicVic but they are supposed to be as tall as you…very large and powerful,” he said.
“You are correct. Females are dominant and larger. They can produce a brood at any time. The males are smaller and have a much shorter life span but grow at an incredible rate if there is sufficient food. The Allung here are a tasty source for that,” Desiree said.
“Will they bother my people?” the humanoid asked.
“No,” Desiree said. “VicVic inherit the knowledge of their host mother and have innate memory that the mother can program at birth. They will bother no one that does not attack them,” she said and turned back to the injured Allung. “Did I mention that VicVic like to eat live prey? Now, will you answer my questions or will you feed our allies?”
“I will cooperate just to live enough to see your world die under the control of the Brotherhood. I will see you die a slow death yourself. I will…”
Before he could finish his threats, Desiree grabbed his good arm and ripped it from his body with her suit enhanced power. She then ripped his mouth open and shoved the bloody arm stump into his mouth until he started choking for air. She shoved aside the smaller Allung who went to help the larger and watched until its struggles got weaker and weaker. She then borrowed Jonathan’s disruptor and dematerialized the gory remains. She handed the weapon back to her crewmate.
“I have many questions. Who will answer?” Desiree asked.
“I will answer your questions. I told them it was a mistake to attack an Earth ship before we knew more. We had heard many rumors but they thought they were all false,” said the small Allung.
Desiree would have felt more reassurance if the small Allung had said it was a mistake to attack any ship instead of a mistake to attack until they knew more. She determined then and there not to let this Allung report their strengths and weaknesses. This Allung was too calm. Males of any species could be such weaklings… except Tod of course.
Allung The Way
Captain Andrew Williams wasn’t proud of the deaths aboard the Allung vessel. He could sorely afford to lose four crewmen. Forty-two humanoids had been killed when one of the Allung had triggered their explosive collars. He didn’t even know what species they were yet. All but twelve of the Allung had been killed or eaten. The use of VicVic had been – disturbing – to say the least. Maybe he should have run but he felt like it was the only thing to do. Earthers were getting a reputation of wonderful trading partners and terribly savage enemies. Desiree sure had earned her nickname of ‘the Ripper.’
Andrew and Desiree were about to interview the first humanoid they had liberated. Backup was going to be delayed for another 10 hours. It was a good thing the plan had worked out. Andrew realized the Junior and its crew would have been chopped liver if we had tried to fight or run.
The humanoid was still standing in the room they left him after the Allung ship had been secured. They immediately offered him a seat in the odd sling seats in an Allung meeting room. He looked discomforted momentarily but sat and waited patiently.
“Tell us about yourself and the Allung if you would,” Andrew said.
“Yes, Master. I…” started the humanoid.
“Wait. Wait. I am not your master now. You are free,” Andrew said.
“I do not understand, Master. What is to become of me? This ship is almost all I have ever known.”
“Again. I am not your Master. You may help us if you wish. We are primarily traders,” Andrew said.
“I am not a warrior like you. I saw what you did to the Brotherhood. They are strong and they have many ships. I have nothing. I have no way to earn a living. All I have known my adult life is as a slave,” he said.
“What is your name?” Desiree asked.
The humanoid acted like he had been slapped. He was definitely afraid of Desiree. “I am called Xilatoi. I do not know my family name.”
“You are in no danger from us Xilatoi. We will do our best to make sure you will be able to earn a living. We would consider it an honor if you would work for us. We know so very little about the Allung or your people. How do the rest of your people here feel about you? Do you have leaders among your people here?” Andrew asked.
“My people here are from several different worlds. I am considered fairly senior among my people here because of being the longest serving among the Allung. There is one older than me but I have been longest serving.”
“Would you like to go back to your homeworld?”
“It has been too long. I vaguely remember my native food and the sky but my world is ruled over by the Allung. I do not desire to go back to their rule,” Xilatoi said. “My race is called the Phafalotoi. Others call us the Toi since many of our names end with that sound,” he said.
“Very good, Xilatoi. Would you teach us about this ship, your people, and the Brotherhood? We value knowledge above most things,” Andrew said.
Xilatoi looked shocked. He leaned back and raised his eyebrows just like a human would have. “How did you know I was a Knowledge Master?”
“I am not sure what knowledge master means? Would you explain?” Andrew queried.
“A knowledge master among my people is a person who studies the world around them in an attempt to make sense of the physical world. I studied many disciplines in my youth – my first fifty years,” he said.
“How old are you?” Desiree asked.
“That is a difficult question because I have been in space a long time but about 150 of my planet’s years. I was only fifty when I was first pressed into service for the Allung. We thought if we cooperated, they would leave. That was not the case. They wanted more and more.”
“Your planet’s years,” Andrew thought. Maybe they had shorter years than Earth. “What is the color of your sun? What is your climate like?”
“Ah. You wish to determine if we are in the habitable zone around a stellar mass of a certain category. You too are knowledge seekers,” he said showing enthusiasm for the first time. “We too have a small yellow star very similar to Earth’s star but our star puts out more heat. Our orbit is a bit longer than the orbit of your Earth. I studied records of your planet.”
“Wow!” Desiree said. “You are over 150 Earth years old and you studied for 50 years before you went into space. We definitely want you to work with us.”
&n
bsp; “Work with you…what an interesting phrase,” Xilatoi said.
“We have a few million more questions for you but our backup ships will be here soon. Should we expect more Allung here anytime soon?” Andrew asked.
“We will have to quantify soon to our mutual satisfaction…but no…it will probably be a half year before more show up. Understand that they are quite relentless and they will come. It is not a matter of if they will come but when they will come. You can expect more ships,” Xilatoi said.
“You will have to quantify more ships for us. We will not make any concessions to the Allung,” Andrew said and paused. “I would like to assign you an escort.”
Xilatoi looked apprehensive.
“No. Please excuse me. I want someone to protect you. You are precious to us. We would like you to talk to your fellow Toi and decide what you wish to be done with your dead. We want you to reassure them and let them know that they are all welcome to work with us or we will drop them off at any planets were we trade. It is our policy to give a lamlee to every slave we liberate. Do the Allung allow anyone into their Brotherhood? Do they have known allies?”
“You must be from their species to be in the Brotherhood and they have allies but not near this sector of the galaxy. They do not pay for goods and services, ever. They use intimidation for everything. You have lamlee? How will we be compensated if we work for you?” Xilatoi asked, obviously warming to the topic.
“We have lamlee. You can be compensated in any mutually agreed on basis whether lamlee, rare minerals, or merchandize. We think that everyone should be compensated enough that they do not have worry about mediums of exchange. That way, we have them work in areas they find stimulating of their own choosing whenever possible. Intelligent beings are always more motivated if they are doing something they like to do. We desperately need to learn about the technology aboard this ship so we will not be overwhelmed when the Allung return,” Andrew said.
“The Allung use lamlee to enhance their drives and weapons,” Xilatoi announced what must have been a taboo topic for him to discuss for decades. “I gladly accept your offer of employment,” Xilatoi said and grasped Andrew’s hand before he could stop him. He pressed the back of his Andrew’s hand against his high forehead. “I will go now to find which of my people are best suited to show your people this ship’s features and problems.”