Still Wet
Akhmiyar and his fellow warrior led the two Village McCullough swordsmen back north. Braden and Micah were hesitant to reveal the existence of New Sanctuary, so they asked the two women to take word of the victory back north. Akhmiyar and Pik had talked for a long time and they both agreed that the war was over. They expected no further attacks, no more uprisings, and no more coordination between the sharkfish and the cold-water crocs.
The journey from the rainforest took every bit as long as the journey in, but it went by quicker. There were no feeling of dread. They rested often and talked openly. Bronwyn was between Braden and Micah for a great deal of the trip, skipping as they held her hand. She looked much older than when they first met her. She was nearly thirteen cycles, but already had worry lines around her young eyes.
Braden felt horrible, which earned him a scathing look from his partner who, with Bronwyn, was sensitive to other people’s feelings. If he felt badly for things he’d done, then he’d drag the others down, so he was not allowed the luxury of remorse.
“But…” he started to say. He had nothing.
‘Remember when we used to enter the villages and everyone would cheer?’ Micah knew how Braden felt about that. He perked up within a heartbeat at the thought. ‘We’ll see that again, and soon. Think about the good things to come instead of what’s in the past. And you know, there’s nothing we could have changed, besides letting Dr. Johns push the button and start a new ancients’ war. You know we couldn’t do that either, so when it comes down to it, we had no choice in all of it, and now it’s over. It’ll be nice to get home and be dry.’
“When are Patrice’s babies due?” Braden asked, thinking about what waited for them in New Sanctuary a little more than a turn’s walk away.
“What?” Bronwyn asked. “We were together for all that time and you never thought to mention that Patrice and Delavigne are having babies?”
Micah shrugged as she looked at Braden.
He looked at his mate. “She’s starting to sound like you,” Braden said flatly, earning himself a punch in the arm. “I’m sorry, but yes. We will have baby Rabbits and I have no idea how soon.”
G-War strutted by, tail up and tip flicking as the rain finally stopped, more than thirty turns after they had entered the rainforest as they approached the southern border. The Security Bot was already in the sunlight, shimmering as the Bots did.
‘I think the seven little ones will be waiting for us when we arrive,’ came the smug ‘cat voice. Ferrer and Brigitte hopped with glee, running out of the rainforest into the open field and sunshine. Braden had forgotten what they looked like dry. He thought they’d been fluffy, but could only see two skinny creatures with big back legs and big ears, pink eyes on the sides of their heads. They had a small harness on which they carried their laser pistols and that was it.
“Seven babies! What about yours, my Prince?” Bronwyn asked.
‘What?’ G-War asked, looking around quickly.
‘When are you going to have little ones?’ she pressed, switching to her thought voice, where she was more comfortable speaking.
‘Are you kidding? I already have these two to look after…’ He nodded at Braden and Micah.
“I feel like I should be offended,” Braden said as the others laughed loudly, squinting in the brightness of the sun.
Micah keyed her radio, “Holly, can you send a Bot to carry our stuff back to New Sanctuary? I think we’ve carried our burdens long enough.” Micah ended her short conversation and put the radio away. Braden noticed that she hadn’t powered it down.
“Yeah, I know. The question is, how can we keep the conveniences from taking over our lives?” she asked.
Braden shrugged. He’d been asking himself that same question since the first time the fabricator delivered a brownie.
The Seven
Braden and Micah led the way, stripping down to the bare essentials. Armor, packs, even weapons lay in a pile on the ground. It didn’t take long before a Development Unit arrived, towing its small farming wagon. The companions threw everything in, and the Bot sped away. They’d been accompanied the whole way by the Security Bots, who continued to hover nearby, so they were as safe as they could possibly be. Even the Wolfoids seemed happy to be free of their spears as they loped on all fours toward the oasis. Pik and Dal kept theirs as they used them as walking sticks.
“I usually can’t read your face, Pik, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say you don’t like the sunshine and you could be miserable out here,” Braden taunted.
Pik turned his head to look at the human. The green skin on his face had already started to turn gray. ‘Yes,’ the Lizard Man said plainly. Bronwyn skipped to him and grabbed his free hand. She looked up at him and they started to talk, privately. Dal moved to the young girl’s other side, shifted his spear to his left hand, and took Bronwyn’s hand. With Pik, they swung her as they walked. It was good to see that Bronwyn was comfortable with the clone of Pik Ha’ar.
Braden hugged Micah closer. G-War walked along in front. ‘Thanks, G, for helping her. You’re the best friend any of us could ask for,’ Braden said sincerely, nodding at the ‘cat from behind.
‘Yes, yes, I know all that. When are we going back to Cornwall?’ the ‘cat answered gruffly.
“Soon, my friend, soon. We can take the horses and travel the eastern road, be there in just a few turns. The world is opened up for us, thankfully. New trade, fish, vegetables, and sweetened smoked pork. I’m pretty sure it will be a while before I eat another one of the Amazonian mushrooms. I’ve had enough of those for maybe the rest of my life.” Micah nodded knowingly. They’d picked a great quantity of mushrooms along their way through the rainforest. Even the Wolfoids had taken to eating them because there was nothing else. Hunting within the rainforest had been nonexistent.
The companions were refreshed by the walk in the sunshine, but they didn’t hurry. It took until nightfall to finally make it to the oasis of New Sanctuary. Ferrer and Brigitte ran ahead of the group to join Patrice and Delavigne and the seven new additions to the Rabbit family, the first to be born away from the ship. With the help of the humans and the Wolfoids, Pik and Dal were half-carried the final stretch and with some care, dumped into the lake where they could let the water work on their skin.
Bronwyn ran ahead to find Ax and ‘Tesh. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time, and she fancied herself their big sister. The Wolfoids figured they’d need ten days of doing nothing for their shredded pads to heal.
The Hawkoids were already perched on branches over the lake, relaxing and watching the world go by after already greeting the twins and getting to know the baby Rabbits. The little ones couldn’t talk yet, but they were delightful to be around. They looked so much like the wild rabbits that Skirill and Zyena considered taking their wild cousins off the menu. They hoped the humans wouldn’t find intelligent ground squirrels, otherwise their diet would become rather sparse.
Someone always pulled Aadi along until they were within sight of the oasis and he insisted the others go ahead. He told them that he would get there eventually and despite his apparent invulnerability to the rain, he enjoyed the dry heat outside of the plains around New Sanctuary.
Braden stripped off his shirt as he entered the oasis, heading directly for the lake to see his children. Micah stopped him and looked him over in a clinical way. “How come you didn’t get hurt during all of that Overlord business?” she asked.
“I think the others were protecting me, even if they didn’t think they were. I always found myself behind them, except on that last run when there wasn’t anyone left. You?” Braden looked at her as she started unbuttoning her shirt, then stopped when she remembered that the survivors from Cygnus VI were around.
“Me, too. I think they made sure that there was always someone between me and the bad guys.” He nodded at her. They didn’t expect it and they would have been firmly against it had they known. Maybe the others did it unconsciou
sly.
“That’s all over now. It’ll be nice waking up knowing that no one is trying to kill us,” Braden quipped. Micah nodded, not as confident as Braden that the statement was true.
She expected the twins to run to them, but they waved and stayed where they were, surrounded by four adult Rabbits. When Braden and Micah arrived, they started to reach for Ax and ‘Tesh but stopped when they saw they each cradled a small Rabbit. Five other babies crawled cautiously around the two toddlers.
“It seems like only yesterday they were the babies, now they have little ones of their own,” Micah laughed. She missed the Aurochs to make the family complete, but the rest were there and she felt at home. They all did.
A New Normal
With the return of the refugees to their home villages and a restart of the trade route, things were getting back to a new normal. Braden and Micah had ridden Max and Pack on the rainforest road to take Bronwyn home, especially since the Aurochs herd had taken residence on the plains north of Greentree and Coldstream. Three-hundred forty-seven strong, they took up a great deal of territory and then there were the incidents.
After two accidental Aurochs incursions into the fields and getting chased away by villagers wielding shovels, they needed someone to help keep the peace. Bronwyn waded into the mix and resolved things in short order. She didn’t think anything about why they were smaller or talked differently. To her, everyone was special, a lesson the adults were trying to learn.
“You need to bring my Rabbit friends up here. They’ll make sure everything grows like it is supposed to. You need to add New Sanctuary to the trade route!” the young girl exclaimed out of the blue. “Braden can get his sweetened smoked pork, and we can get some of the things that we only find there.”
“I’m not sure we can tell anyone about New Sanctuary yet, little sweetheart,” Braden whispered, making sure no one else was near.
“They will find out, and then they’ll be mad that you kept the secret from them. You are going to have to tell them sometime.” Braden sighed heavily. Of course she was right. They’d already told the Council of Elders, but it was time to let everyone know and know that it wouldn’t change anything. There would be no return to the life of the ancients, a life where people were ready to push a button to destroy others.
There was much to do for the people to be ready to accept that the power of the ancients was alive and well. The allure frightened Braden like no living enemy could.
“We’ll manage,” Micah reassured him.
“I know.” Braden chewed his lip before continuing. “With things expanding, we need regular trade using beasts of burden and not the Aurochs. I think it might be time for a trip north to buy horses and water buffalo, maybe even find some settlers. The war took its toll on us. Every life lost was one too many.”
“Never a dull moment, huh?” Micah shrugged. The horses could wait. They had trade routes to expand, and Brandt guaranteed plenty of volunteers from the Earthshaker Herd to help.
‘Cornwall?’ G-War injected loudly over the mindlink. ‘Does no one remember anything about a trip to Cornwall?’
Postscript
If you like the Free Trader and want to see the series continue, please join my mailing list by dropping by my website www.craigmartelle.com or if you have any comments, shoot me a note at [email protected]. I am always happy to hear from people who read the Free Trader. I try to answer every email I receive.
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Braden and Micah’s adventures will continue throughout 2016. Free Trader 5 – Free the North! will take you north of the Great Desert where Braden and Micah need to keep things from spiraling out of control. Has someone destroyed the trade-based civilization that Braden was raised to respect? In Free Trader 6 – Free Trader on the High Seas, Braden, Micah, and the companions go in search of the villagers from White Beach who were taken to the Western Ocean Research Facility.
The Misadventures of Jacob Wild McKilljoy
You can only get this short story for FREE! If you sign up for my email list – www.craigmartelle.com and you are three clicks away from downloading this to whichever device you want.
The first in the Rick Banik thriller series – a new patriot for a new age. America on the brink. ISIS in D.C. Bureaucracy. Individual agendas. Money. Can Rick save the people from themselves in time to stop the terror?
And now, the first chapter from the next book…
Free Trader 5 – Free the North!
A Helping Paw
“Shoot it!” Braden yelled, waving his arms frantically as the wild boar raced toward the children, both Rabbit babies and his own toddlers. An arrow raced from the bow of a young villager whose job was to watch the fields.
The arrow flew high as the young man fumbled with his quiver, trying to get off a second shot.
The boar ground to a halt as a small orange ‘cat jumped in front of Braden’s son Axial and stared it down. It seemed the two were locked in a struggle that Braden couldn’t hear or understand. He stepped to the side to clear his line of fire and pressed the trigger. A narrow beam from his blaster tore through the side of the wild beast. Both Ax and the small ‘cat dropped to their knees. The toddler grabbed his head.
Micah sprinted past Braden, high-stepping through the fields as two fuzzy white Rabbits, waist-high to her, bounded past toward their own young.
Micah slid to a stop in front of her son and kneeled down to better look into the eyes of the nearly two-cycle old boy. The small Hillcat strolled by, pausing to rub its face on the boy’s pants before continuing on. It sat nearby, using its paw to scrub at its whiskers.
Braden arrived and took his place next to his partner. Their daughter De’atesh sauntered up, a fuzzy calico following her closely. Ferrer and Brigitte, the Rabbits from the spaceship, were hugging their babies, the first of theirs to be born on the planet.
A Hawkoid flew over them, flaring to allow the Golden Warrior to jump from its back and landed softly next to the small orange ‘cat. Skirill beat his wings to gain altitude as he headed for a branch nearby.
“What were you thinking?” Braden asked his son.
‘Klytus and I had him, did you see?’ the boy said excitedly in his thought voice.
Braden and Micah both turned to look at G-War. The large Hillcat sat and stared back at the humans as he casually licked a paw and washed his face, mirroring the complete indifference of his half-Hillcat son.
Micah let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head at the ‘cats.
“Klytus said it’d be okay that both of them take on a wild boar. Because, Klytus…” Braden let the statement hang.
“They are both their fathers’ sons. I doubt we’ll ever be able to leave them out of our sight. Ever.” Micah smiled as she tried to be mad, but she was proud of her children. They were fearless, being raised by a menagerie of intelligent creatures, who treated other beings with equal respect. They were blind to physical differences.
‘Tesh looked at Micah as Ax, once freed from his mother’s embrace, bolted away. ‘Can we go to the river?’ she asked clearly. By ‘we,’ she meant herself and her bonded half-Hillcat Shauna.
‘If an adult goes with you, sweetheart,’ Micah answered, looking suggestively at Braden.
He took his daughter’s hand and she skipped as he walked toward the river nearby. Shauna ran along behind, her long hair flowing as she raced to catch up.
Free Trader Book Five – Free the North! Coming soon, exclusively on Amazon.
About the Author
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br /> Craig is a successful author, publishing in both the Science Fiction and Thriller genres. He’s taken his more than twenty years of experience in the Marine Corps, his legal education, and his business consulting career to write believable characters living in realistic worlds.
Although Craig has written in multiple genres, what he believes most compelling are in-depth characters dealing with real-world issues. The backdrop is less important than the depth of the characters, who they are and how they interact. Life lessons of a great story can be applied now or fifty years in the future. Some things are universal.
Craig believes that evil exists. Some people are driven differently and cannot be allowed access to our world. Good people will rise to the occasion. Good will always challenge evil, sometimes before a crisis, many times after, but will good triumph?
Some writers who’ve influenced Craig? Robert E. Howard (the original Conan), JRR Tolkien, Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, Lin Carter, Brian Aldiss, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Anne McCaffrey, and of late, James Axler, Raymond Weil, Jonathan Brazee, Mark E. Cooper, and David Weber. Craig learned something from each of these authors, story line, compelling issue, characters that you can relate to, the beauty of the prose, unique tendrils weaving through the book’s theme. Craig’s writing has been compared to that of Andre Norton and Craig’s Free Trader characters to those of McCaffrey’s Dragonriders, the Rick Banik Thrillers to the works of Robert Ludlum.
Craig finds the comparisons humbling. All he wants is for his readers to relate to the characters, put themselves into those situations described in Craig’s books and ask themselves, what would they do if they were there instead?
Battle for the Amazon (Free Trader Series Book 4) Page 22
