Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction

by Terry Compton

  Gus started the robots and Ron picked up the work bench. They moved everything to the middle of the cargo bay and Gus activated the shield. Ron fired up the smelter and put some pieces of silver in it. It started smoking and stinking from the dust build-up of being unused. Shortly the smell lessened and the silver started to melt. Ron added some more and then grabbed a mold. Gus had never done anything like this, so he watched closely. Ron moved the lever and let silver pour into the mold. He held it for a few seconds and then dumped it back into the smelter. He moved the mold back under the spigot and moved the lever. He filled the mold and moved over to the bench. He waited a couple of minutes and then popped the mold open. The figure plopped down on the bench and Ron returned to the smelter. He filled the mold again and repeated the process at the work bench. He did that three more times before he set the mold aside. He indicated Gus should try his hand at it. Gus followed his steps and soon had a different figure lying on the work bench. Ron went to the bench and used a tool to move the figures around to check them out. He was looking for flaws. One of his figures had a void so he carried it back to the smelter. Gus did his five figures and Ron showed him how to check for flaws. Three of his figures had flaws so he dumped them back into the smelter and started over. Ron redid his and grabbed another mold. He and Gus alternated filling molds and dumping them as they kept adding raw silver to keep the optimum level. They would do five and then inspect them. Soon they had all the figures they needed.

  "Gus, I think we can program the robots to fill these ingot molds. I don't know if I trust them to keep the pot filled to the right level though. Maybe after we watch them for awhile, I'll trust them a little more. If we have one robot making ingots, we should have the other one taking the finished ingot to the storeroom. Why don't you start that robot making ingots and I'll take the other one to program it for storing the silver," Ron said.

  Ron went to another storeroom because he didn't want to move all of the raw silver before he could start stacking the ingots. He found a room with shelving and plenty of floor space underneath. He programmed the robot to bring the ingots and stack them on the floor. He designated how high and how large the stack should be. He told the robot to start and it began to move silver ingots.

  Ron walked over and asked, "Do you need any more help, Gus? I want to go check out a couple more molds and then I want to check out the armory for weapons for us."

  "Go ahead. There's nothing to this. I might even leave the robots and come to the armory a little later."

  Ron went to the storeroom where he had found the molds. He looked through several more but didn't see any that he wanted to use right now. He went to the armory and started investigating weapons a lot more closely than they had the first time.

  Tik remembered she hadn't started the remote sensor. She went to the computer and started programming what she wanted the sensor to do. The computer asked where she wanted to store the images. Tik was a little surprised because she had never thought about where to store images. She asked the computer if it had an image storage section and the computer said it did. Tik told the computer to store the images there and to start the remote sensor on its programmed job. Out of curiosity, she asked the computer to show her some of the images. The computer put a list on the monitor and Tik began to pick titles at random. There were pictures of galaxies and planets. Tik checked out these pictures for quite awhile before she moved on to another category. The next category had pictures of inhabitants, flora and fauna of different planets. Tik was fascinated and spent over an hour looking at these images. She found out that some of them were movies and she watched them. The inhabitants spoke in some of these and Tik discovered that she understood their speech.

  Tik had been looking at the images for several hours when she came to a category entitled 'Training Films'. She selected that category and then the film on Sipida sword fighting. The movie started by showing the swords and proper care for them. The instructor was an alien-looking creature. It announced that the next segment would demonstrate proper techniques for these swords. When the segment started, Tik's jaw dropped. There was a Mis'stear fighting the Sipidan. Tik was so surprised she inadvertently sent a thought message to Ron and Gus. She was caught so off-guard that the message she sent was that she was sword fighting a Sipidan. She was spellbound as she watched the demonstration of the larger Sipidan fighting the Mis'stear. She was so engrossed in the training film she didn't realize anything was wrong until she heard the footsteps thundering down the passageway. Suddenly the door burst open and Ron ran in, sword in hand, followed shortly by Gus who had his ax/hammer drawn.

  Tik jumped from her chair, ready to do battle. Ron and Gus stopped and looked around the room. Tik couldn't understand what their problem was and she had to look around the room to see if something had sneaked in while she was watching the video.

  Ron, who was still a little out of breath, finally said, "Where is the Sipidan you were fighting? Are you all right?"

  "What are you talking about? I've been in here watching this training video!" Tik declared huffily.

  "Then what was that message you broadcast about sword fighting? I could see you fighting some creature just as plain as day," Ron remarked acidly.

  "I saw it too," Gus attested.

  "I don't know what's up with you two; but now that you're here, look at this. I found a bunch of training videos and there's a Mis'stear in it. I don't remember hearing any tales of Mis'stears being involved with the Alcantarans. It surprised me so much I must have broadcast thoughts without even knowing it. These voorwarp units must be a lot more sensitive than the translators," Tik said.

  Ron turned to set the sword down on the comm console so Gus was the first to see the video. Ron turned quickly when he heard his sharp intake of breath. Gus was pointing at the video.

  "That's not a Mis'stear! That's a Sandghost! Look -- it even looks a lot like me."

  Ron rushed over to see what they were talking about. He expected to see Mis'stears and Sandghosts sword fighting. Instead he saw himself fighting a strange-looking creature that was a good six inches shorter than himself. Now that he was watching, he could even smell a strange scent. It wasn't terrible but it was definitely different.

  "I don't know what you two see but I see myself fighting an alien creature. Can either of you smell something funny?" Ron asked.

  The noise started as both of the other two tried to talk at the same time. Ron had to grin as he held up his hand. It seemed that each of them saw themselves in the video. The only constant was the Sipidan and the same swords. Ron asked Tik to try another one. She picked another one at random and started it. A large lizard-looking creature with a huge frill around its head was standing on two legs. It held a very long rapier in one hand and a dagger in the other. Each of the trio saw themselves fighting the creature. Gus and Ron were taller than the creature and as they called off moves, seemed to use almost the same moves. Tik was shorter and her moves were completely different. Ron asked her to switch to 3-D and play it in slow motion. At each move, they described what they were doing. Ron and Gus were slightly different with each move. Tik was radically different than both of them. Ron and Gus were watching and Ron almost got nicked in the video. Gus did get nicked and hollered as he grabbed his arm. There was no mark on his arm but he said it felt like he had been cut by the rapier.

  Ron walked over and grabbed the sword. He went to the 3-D image and took the place of his image. He told Tik to leave it on slow motion and he tried to counter the sword swings and thrusts of the alien. When his sword met the others, he felt the clash of steel in his arm. When he missed one of the thrusts, the alien roared at him to keep his guard up. After a few minutes, Ron told Tik to halt the video.

  "What did you two see?" Ron asked.

  "When you were out there, we saw you fighting the alien. We heard him chew you out for missing that thrust too." Tik and Gus answered almost in unison.

  "This is incredible. I could smell that creature's breath
when we got close. It had a fishy smell. I could feel the sword when it clanged against the rapier."

  Gus and Tik had to try it for themselves. They both reported the same sensation and being able to smell the alien. Tik got whacked by the rapier and she reported it stung like crazy. They stopped the video and looked at the list of others available. Tik found another section of movies. They looked at some of the titles and tried some of them. They had the same reaction as with the training videos. They all thought the hero or heroine looked like themselves and they could smell flowers or other scents in the scenes. Alien creatures stayed alien but some of the supporting actors were the same race as the watcher. They finally had to stop because they had other things to do. They all knew that this section of the computer would be worth a ton of money to researchers looking into the Alcantarans. They also knew that if they were to be Traders, they needed to learn some of the sword and knife-fighting techniques. Tik went back to checking out the weapons system. Gus went back to check on the robots working with the silver and Ron went back to the armory.

  Ron walked into the armory and hung the sword back on the wall where he had grabbed it earlier. He was concentrating on some of the pistol-shaped weapons and was thinking 'I wish Auntie would tell me a little about these weapons'.

  Suddenly a thought popped in his head, "Which ones would you like to know about?"

  Ron whirled around to see if Tik or Gus were standing in the doorway. Then he realized that the thought was not from either of them. There was a different feel and he wasn't sure who this was in his head. He decided to see if it really was Auntie.

  "Auntie, is that you?"

  "Yes, which weapons would you like to know more about?"

  "How can I hear you in my head?"

  "Your voorwarp unit allows you to communicate with me directly."

  "Wow, how far away can I hear you? Can you hear the same distance?"

  "We can both hear the same distance. Usually it's about 5 or 6 miles, although I do recall one time that atmospheric conditions were just right and I could hear 10 miles."

  "Who were you talking to then?"

  "That is beyond your clearance. You need to insert the key to gain that knowledge."

  "Where is the key?"

  "23456G, 456665S, 33455.66M"

  "What?"

  "23456G, 456665S, 33455.66M"

  "OK, skip it. Tell me about this weapon here." Ron said as he picked up the weapon.

  He was examining it closely and Auntie was explaining how to operate it and some of its limitations when Gus came into the room. Ron was concentrating so hard on what Auntie was saying that he didn't hear Gus come in. When Gus stepped up beside him, he saw him out of the corner of his eye. He jumped and Gus chuckled.

  "I think everybody is getting jumpy around here with all of the new things we are learning," Gus chuckled again.

  "Oh yeah, Mr. Smarty. Hold this and think very carefully that you'd like Auntie to explain about it," Ron blurted.

  Gus looked at the weapon and did as Ron had said. He jumped when Auntie started explaining about the weapon. Gus knew that he wasn't hearing the voice in the normal sense but was receiving the lesson through ESP.

  "Now I see why you were concentrating so hard. When did you find out about this?" Gus said.

  "I was just looking at the weapons on this wall when I thought it would be nice if Auntie would explain about them. Suddenly there she was in my head. She said it's from the voorwarp units. She also said that they have a range of 5 or 6 miles; sometimes, when things are just right, she can hear 10 miles. I asked who she had heard before and she said I needed the key for the next level. I asked where the key was and she gave me a string of numbers," Ron reported.

  "These units keep surprising us, don't they? How long will it take before we discover all they'll do?" Gus asked.

  "I don't know but they are incredible," Ron said.

  They turned back to the weapons and discussed which would be better for each of them. Ron asked Auntie and she picked out a different weapon for each of the three of them. Ron picked them up and asked Auntie for directions on how to load them. She explained the procedure for each weapon to him and then Ron handed the larger weapon to Gus. They both walked to the fueling station and loaded all three weapons. Auntie directed them on how to set them for practice. She said that there was a target in the armory that needed fueling and then they could fire the weapons. Gus hurried to the armory to get the target. It was only about 10 inches in diameter and he wondered how they would hold it up. Auntie told him to fuel it. Gus did and the target took off and flew to the other end of the cargo bay. Suddenly the target grew until it was 3 feet across. Ron fired his weapon first and hit the right edge of the target. Auntie told him to hold it just a little to the left. He did as he fired again and hit more toward the middle but still too low. Gus stepped up to try then. His first shot went high and to the left. The next shots walked down closer to the bulls-eye. Ron tried the weapon intended for Tik. It felt small in his hands but he could still hit the target. He switched back to his weapon and they took turns shooting at the target. After they were comfortable with the weapons, the target began to shrink. After a few more shots, the target started moving. It moved pretty slowly for awhile but gradually increased the speed of its movement. The two grew tired of the practice and decided to check out a few more weapons.

  Ron asked Auntie for suggestions for easily-concealed weapons. Auntie led them to two different weapons this time. She pointed out one type for Tik and a different one for the other two. They charged the weapons and tried them on the target. They didn't practice as long this time but were satisfied with their performance. When they checked the time, they were surprised to learn that is was suppertime and the day was almost gone. They told Auntie to put the target away. They went to the armory and found holsters for all the weapons and hooked them to their belts. Ron hid the smaller concealed weapons in his boot and Gus put his behind the crossing straps on his back. They headed to the comm room to find Tik to pry her away from the computer and then to head to the galley.

  They gave Tik her weapons and told her they would let her practice tomorrow. They were so excited about the weapons that both Ron and Gus forgot to tell Tik about ESP communication with Auntie. They fixed something to eat and were talking about the weapons during the meal. Tik asked about one of the controls on her weapon and Ron didn't remember. Without thinking he 'told' Auntie by ESP to show a picture of Tik's weapon and explain it to her.

  As soon as the 3-D image appeared, bedlam broke out. Tik leaped onto the table knocking the supper dishes onto the floor. She let out a scream of surprise before she whirled to face Ron. She saw the look of surprise on his face and whirled toward Gus. Gus was even more surprised because he had no idea that any of this was coming.

  "All right, who did that? What's going on around here?" Tik demanded.

  Ron and Gus looked bewildered and then they looked at each other. They broke out into a gale of laughter. They were laughing so hard, they couldn't even talk.

  Tik was definitely peeved and said, "That was not funny, you two! You almost scared me to death and look what happened to our supper."

  "Tik, I apologize. We're not laughing at you, just your reaction. We forgot to tell you about another amazing discovery we made this afternoon. The 3-D picture and the voice you heard in your head are all courtesy of Auntie. Apparently the voorwarp units allow us to communicate directly with Auntie. I didn't even think about not telling you when I asked Auntie to show you your weapon and explain a little about it. I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you," Ron said as he started to chuckle again. "I saw a cat touch an electric fence back on earth and that thing had the reactions of an old, old man compared to you."

  Ron and Gus started to laugh again and Tik was starting to get upset until she realized where she was. She was sitting in the middle of the table in the middle of the mess that used to be their supper. Ron and Gus had food sitting in their lap and Tik thought
of the surprised look on both of their faces when she had first moved. The more she thought of it, the funnier it got. Pretty soon she was laughing just as hard as the other two. They all joined in and cleaned the mess up. They fixed a little something more and finished their supper while they talked of their discoveries.

  Ron thought of something and asked, "Gus, did you hear anything when I talked to Auntie?"

  "No, I didn't hear anything and I had no idea what bit Tik to make her jump like that," Gus answered with a big grin as he thought about the earlier scene.

  "I didn't hear anything either when you were talking to Auntie. Did either of you hear Auntie start explaining the weapon to me?" Tik asked.

  They both shook their heads no. Ron said, "Let me try to direct something to Gus and Tik, you see if you can hear it." Ron directed a thought to Gus and Tik heard nothing. Ron then directed a thought to Tik and Gus heard nothing; but when directed to both, they both heard. They were learning a little more about the voorwarp units all the time. Gus went to check on the robots and shut them and the smelter down for the night.

  The next morning they decided they all should spend some time studying the planet they were approaching. Gus started the robots on the silver before he came down to the lower level. They spent about an hour going over the planet's information and then Ron wanted to practice his flying. He had Auntie program the screens and controls in the lower cockpit for simulation. Gus and Tik decided to practice with the weapon system at the same time. They practiced for about a half hour and then everybody switched places. With only three people, everyone had to be able to do all the jobs. After another 45 minutes of practice, during which they switched one more time, they were ready for something else. They moved to the armory where they grabbed the target. Gus thought they should get two more so they could all practice at the same time. They had to help Tik at first. They had to show her how to properly hold the weapon and how to squeeze the trigger. Once she started practicing, she rapidly improved. All three of them seemed to have a natural talent with the weapons. After they had practiced for quite awhile, Ron thought they should start learning more about knife and sword fighting. He had Auntie set them up on a regular training schedule for that. They all agreed that what they had just done would be a good routine to get into while they traveled. Auntie set it up as a daily schedule for the rest of the flight to Europaische. The flight and weapons systems training became like a fast-paced video game and became less tiring as the days went by. The weapons training soon became a competition to see who could hit the most targets. They practiced with and without their shields up and with the targets popping up erratically and unexpectedly. They were getting pretty proficient with everything except the edged weapons by the time they arrived in Europaische's solar system. They were still learning the basics of the edged weapons and it would take longer to become proficient with them. They felt more comfortable with their knowledge of the planet too. The Bugs had kept detailed records of trades and about the inhabitants. They didn't know how current the information was but at least it was a place to start.