This space ship was much smaller than Auntie. It would almost have fit in one of the cargo bays. The ship was smaller than the planetary flyers of the Bugs. It had a sleek, fast look. Auntie reported that she could see two live beings on her scanners and one of them was heading to an airlock. The airlock was on the other side of the ship from Auntie, so they had to wait until the being was out and had walked around the end of the space ship before they could see it.
Fu and the driver had been apprehensively watching Ron watch the space ship. When they saw him suddenly rush out the door, they feared the worst. They rushed to the door to see what he was going to do. Ron was running straight at the figure that had come around the corner of the space ship. As they watched, Gus and Tik came running out of Auntie. All three ran up and grabbed the being standing there. At first, Fu and the driver feared for the beings' safety and then they saw that the trio was excitedly greeting the being. They hugged it and shook its hands. Everyone was talking at once, so neither Fu nor the driver could make out anything. They realized that this was a joyous reunion, so they stepped back inside to give the group their privacy.
Ron knew the figure that stepped around the smaller space ship! It was Kota. He made it to him first but just barely. Gus and Tik were close behind. Everyone was trying to talk at once. The trio wanted to know how Kota had escaped and how had he arrived here. Kota wanted to know what had happened since they had made their escape. Finally, they decided to go into Auntie to hear all the stories. Tik asked about Kota's companion. Kota gave Tik a strange look before he replied that the pilot was securing the ship and then had to go pay the landing fees. Kota said they had spotted the space ship from Nodac-Liujia and his pilot didn't trust them. She wanted to seal the ship while they were gone and set the shields. Tik told Kota he could invite her over after she was done. He relayed the message over his comm unit as the group headed for Auntie. As they walked, Tik and Kota led the way. Ron noted that Kota was armed.
As they walked in, the trio made the decision to show Kota what they had opened. They would take him through the ship. They walked into the upper cargo bay and Kota stopped in his tracks. He was staring at the robots anchored there and the other cargo crowding the space around them.
"Wow. Where did those come from? Were they on the other part of the ship that was locked?" Kota asked in wonder.
"No, we just traded for them. Right after we escaped, we found an asteroid and set down on it. We harvested oxygen and water from an ice patch on it and then we found some silver. We mined it and did some trading here," Ron explained.
"That explains why we couldn't find you guys," Kota remarked.
"What do you mean, you couldn't find us?" Ron asked.
"About a week after you escaped, did you spot a space ship cruising toward the super blue-giant star?" Kota answered his question with a question.
"Yes, we were on the asteroid and stayed put until it swung around the star away from that ship. We didn't have any idea who it was and we weren't going to take any chances. We got the fuel we needed and took what silver we could in that time and then took off. We zigzagged for a few days to mask our trail before we jumped here. Do you know what ship that was?" Ron answered.
"Yes, that was a Dar Es Salaam ship. They picked up the signal you sent and they were investigating. They weren't too far away, so they got there pretty quickly. They saw the trace of the mother ship and a short trail from that trail. Then your trace disappeared. When you attached onto the asteroid, you were moving a lot faster and they didn't even think to check it out," Kota replied.
"Well, how did you get off the mother ship and then get here in that ship?" Gus asked.
"That's a long story and my pilot is through with her precautions. She'll be here in just a couple of minutes and I'd like to show her some of the ship if it's alright with you guys. I would suggest that you lock Auntie and set shields. Those creatures in that incoming ship are not the best of neighbors and I would highly suggest that you take precautions," Kota stated firmly.
"Oh, the precautions are already taken care of. As soon as your pilot joins us, our shield will go up and only we three or an Alcantaran will be able to get in. If you don't believe that, just ask a Bug about getting through Auntie's shield. They tried for years with no success," Tik asserted.
"We'd be glad to show you and your pilot around. We've opened a lot more since the last time you were on board," Ron declared.
In just a short time, they heard a voice ask, "Permission to come aboard?"
"Come ahead. We're in the cargo bay here," Ron answered.
A tall creature that looked just like Kota; except that she was a few inches shorter and a shade darker purple, walked up to the group. She was looking around as she walked and Ron could see that she was staring in disbelief at all of the robots and other trade goods stacked on the cargo bay deck.
Kota grinned as he put his arm around her and announced, "This is the best pilot in the Dar Es Salaam fleet. Meet Zibo ao Te Kinabula. Zibo, this is Tik Michi, Ron Calvin, and Gusissi Ugde Ghaolh."
Tik caught on right away, "Is that Mrs. Kinabula?"
"Yes, she is my wife," Kota said with a shy grin.
"Were you married when we were on the mother ship?" Tik asked.
"Yes, we had only been married a short time when the Bugs kidnapped me. She has been on a mission to find me ever since. The Dar Es Salaam Traders backed her and provided that space ship. She had found some clues that the Bugs might have kidnapped me and she had been tracking and building a case when she got the message you sent. But I'm getting ahead of myself in the story…." Kota responded.
"Why don't we take you on the tour and then go to a comfortable place to catch up on all the stories. You guys can join us for supper. Do you know if your systems will handle the local food?" Ron invited.
"Yes, we checked as we came in and our database says that we can eat most of it. If there is something that will bother us, we'll just skip that part," Kota accepted the invitation.
The trio led them on a tour of Auntie. They only opened a few of the doors to give them an idea of what was in them. They went to the middle cargo bay where both Kota and Zibo were totally amazed. When they showed them the conservatory, Kota got very excited.
"What did you do with all of the dead plants that were in here?"
"Well, you're standing on a lot of it. Those Ag workers ground it up and worked it back into the soil. We had to add some composted material to get bacteria back into the soil. Everything had been shut down so long that it was sterile in here," Tik stated. She watched Kota's face fall in disappointment. "However, we did take samples of everything and put them into a sealed room until we can find someone who might be interested in them."
Kota's face immediately brightened as he eagerly exclaimed, "I know where that somebody is. Our scientists would love to get their hands on that stuff. Any of the other relics that you would be willing to part with, would be a great help also. What are you going to do with all of this stuff and with Auntie?"
The trio looked at each other and broadcast the go ahead to Tik who said, "We bought all of this to use for trade. We want to find our home planets as soon as possible but we also want to see if we can work trades. So far, with the little silver we mined, we think we have done pretty well….."
"Pretty well! You have done incredible. We have experienced Traders that would be hard pressed to even come close to what you have done," Zibo exclaimed.
Kota agreed and asked, "If you feel confident and are going to become Traders, where will you trade?"
"We only have the next planet picked out. We haven't really decided where we'll trade. We like the people here and would like to see them on a regular basis but we still want to get to our home planets before we really decide," Tik continued.
"You said you had another planet picked out. Will that be before or after you visit your home planets?" Zibo asked.
"Well, we were going to the other planet first. We were still trying
to make sure the Bugs won't find us or threaten our planets. We don't want any more kidnap victims from our planets; especially, and we'd like to stop all of the kidnapping," Tik answered. "There's one other problem that Ron and Gus don't know yet. I've been doing some computer work, trying to find the route back to our planets and I've run into a problem. When I look for the galaxy Melpomene, the Milky Way or the Coddington's Nebula galaxy, I'm not finding them. Those are the local names we know them by but they are called something else in the Bug's database. It's going to take some time for me to retrace their path and put a time line to it so I can figure out what they call our galaxies. Once I have a name and location, I can plot a flight path."
Ron and Gus looked startled at the news. Neither one of them had ever considered the name problem. None of the trio was happy at the prospect of searching over a trillion galaxies to find their homes.
"Maybe I can be of help. Let's finish the tour and then we can discuss my solution," Kota said mysteriously.
The trio showed Kota and Zibo the rest of the middle level and then they went to the lower cargo bay. Kota was really excited about the boats and airplanes. Ron joked that Gus might have to carry him just like he did Tik with the situation room. When they showed them the room with the smelting pots and the molds, Kota was very interested again and asked, "How many molds are there and how many figures have you made?"
Gus told him, "We have made about 250 trinkets and 50 of the silver figures."
Kota asked, "What do you want for a complete set?"
Tik told him, "We'll gladly give you a set for helping us escape."
He protested and they dropped the subject for the time being. They showed them the lower situation room and the flight deck. Kota and Zibo both had to sit in the pilot's chair and feel the controls. Tik had Auntie put up the flight simulator and they both tried flying Auntie. They were delighted with the experience and thanked the trio. Two rooms they had deliberately skipped were the weapons room and the electronics room. They all agreed that they could tell the Dar Es Salaam couple about it later when they knew what Kota was up to.
When they went into the galley, Dolores was there and they introduced her. They told her to bring something to drink into their living quarters and to add two places for supper. Dolores was all excited and fell into gibberish twice as she asked about the Dar Es Salaam couple's diet and calorie intake. She announced that she had a special recipe that would meet everyone's dietary needs. She wheeled off to the kitchen as the group headed for the trio's living quarters.
They settled on the couches and chairs while Dolores brought drinks. After she left, Kota told his story. He had left his cell as soon as it had opened. He was working his way to the repair hangar but kept running into Bugs or crowds of other frightened creatures. It took a lot longer to get there than it normally did. One Bug had tried to stop him and he had smashed its head and took some of its tools and its stingerray. After he had the stingerray, the creatures gave way and let him through. When he got to the passageway for the hangar, one of the Bug's devices alerted him to the radiation. He back-tracked and worked his way to the other side of the repair hangar. There was radiation that way too, so he started checking doors on the same side of the mother ship as the repair hangar. He finally found one that was next to the storeroom where Tik had worked. It was a machine shop and he used some tools to cut a hole into the storeroom. He crawled in and then piled some heavy parts in front of the hole. He worked his way to the hangar but Auntie was already gone. He was in the storeroom when the mother ship jumped to hyper-space.
He was about ready to go back to his cell when a thought struck him. He looked into the hangar and saw his space suit still on the rack. He saw the disabled robots in front of the hangar doors, so he checked for any other doors into the storeroom. He found two and piled parts in front of them to keep them blocked. He returned to his suit and put it on, except for the helmet. He didn't think they would stay in hyper-space for long and he was right. In less than a day, they came out of hyper-space. He put on his helmet and started releasing the tractor beams to the damaged freighter. He flew a fliter to the freighter and landed in the cargo bay. There was still fuel left in the freighter, so he started closing everything up. It took almost a half a day but he got it closed up tight. He had taken one of the Bug's portable shields and he used that to block off the flight deck and some of the rooms close to the nose of the freighter; including a galley close to the cockpit. He started pumping air into the area and pressurized it. Then he released the tractor beams and gave the freighter a shove away from the mother ship.
He just drifted until he could see if the Bugs noticed the freighter was missing. The mother ship picked up speed to make a swing around a star. They were trying to get turned around to make a jump back to where Auntie had left. After the mother ship was gone for a day, Kota fired the engines and headed for an inhabited planet in the star's system. He broadcast his message and Zibo; who wasn't far away, picked it up. She really lit up the engines getting to his location. He was glad she did because the mother ship had spotted him when he fired his engines and sent a couple of the planetary flyers back. Since the freighter was damaged, Kota couldn't push it too fast and the flyers were gaining. He figured he had less than half a day and they would catch up to him. Zibo popped out of hyper-space between them. He radioed that he was in the damaged freighter and the ships behind were going to make trouble for him. Kota explained that their ship had some armament that discouraged the Bug ships. When Zibo went ripping right at them and announced that she intended to blow them into the next galaxy, the Bug ships turned tail and ran for the mother ship.
Kota parked the freighter in orbit around the planet and transferred to Zibo's space ship. They radioed the Charter Alliance Navy and reported the kidnappings to them. The Navy quickly came to the area but the mother ship had already jumped into hyper-space. They gave chase; but so far, Kota and Zibo hadn't heard what the Navy had found. Kota and Zibo were claiming the damaged freighter as salvage. They had checked and, with some help from the Dar Es Salaam Traders, it could be repaired. For a portion of the profits for the next few years, the Traders would repair the freighter and set them up in business. There was still enough freight on the freighter to help pay for a lot of the repairs but they were going to use most of that for operating capital.
The trio from Auntie congratulated Kota and Zibo on their good fortune. Ron then told them the story of getting the water, oxygen and the silver. He explained about making the ingots and figures and of their experiences with the driver and the Fu family. Kota was nodding in approval and chuckling. When they told about Dolores attacking the thugs, they all laughed again. The trio was still holding back on some of the discoveries they had made on Auntie. They wanted to hear what Kota had to say and they were wondering if they would be able to keep Auntie.
Dolores came to announce that supper was ready and the group headed to the galley. As they were walking down the passageway, the aroma of the food permeated the air. The trio knew they would have a fabulous meal and they could see Kota and Zibo were starting to get that idea. The meal was all that Dolores said it would be and she fussed to make sure everybody had plenty to drink and eat. Kota and Zibo were really impressed at her expertise and dedication. They commented on this several times during the meal. Gus was the first to broadcast the idea of buying a chef for them as a present. Ron and Tik both thought it would be a good idea. They had a wonderful evening telling stories and enjoying the meal. During the meal, Auntie privately alerted the trio to the fact that the other space ship had landed and was parked about 400 yards from them. Ron told her to announce it over the speakers, so their guests would know also.
When they were through eating, they moved back to the living quarters. Tik walked to a computer station and told Auntie to put the outside view up on the screens. Dolores brought them an after-dinner tea. It was a special herbal tea that really topped off the meal. Kota got a thoughtful look and started telling th
e real reason they were there.
Kota said, "When you broadcast the message, we had several Traders alerted to keep a lookout for you. We were able to triangulate where you had broadcast from and we hot-footed it here. Let me ask a few questions and then, like I mentioned before, I might have a solution to some of your problems. First, I noticed that you had a pretty good selection of merchandise to trade. Did you pick it for a certain planet or did you just get a good buy?"
"Some of it was for the next planet we picked. We are looking at going to Fen Avholog in the Pancawarna galaxy. We thought about visiting some of the planets in this galaxy but we are still in the escape mode. We will not go back to the Bugs!" Ron answered determinedly.
"I can understand that. Do you plan to trade independently or would you affiliate with an established group? What will you do for back-up if you run into trouble with the Bugs or even local groups on a planet?" Kota asked.
"We didn't even know that you could affiliate with a group. We were just trying to trade to make sure we had food. We were set pretty good for water and air, so we thought we would try trading. We want to get back to our home planets but we kind of like this space travel and we have enjoyed trading on this planet. If things are a little tighter, can we still make good trades? That is the question we still need answered," Ron voiced the trio's concerns and needs.
"I was sent here to see if you wanted to sell Auntie and get a ride back to your home planets. Now that I've talked to you and felt your passion for her, I have my answer. You won't sell unless you completely fall on your face and can't find any other way to earn money with Auntie. I'm not authorized to offer you a deal but I think Zibo and I can twist enough arms to pull it off. My uncle was on Earth not very long ago and now has exclusive trade rights for most of the goods from there. I can get the coordinates from him for Ron's planet. We could pass information about your planets and galaxies around to the Trader Alliance. They would be able to narrow down Gus' and Tik's planets, which would help you find your planets a lot quicker."
Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction Page 27
