Bots and Old Tech. This was a laboratory of the ancients.
Bounder and Ferrer to the Rescue
Bounder and Ferrer threw caution to the wind once they heard the King of the Aurochs bugling his dismay. They raced together down the path while Skirill flew before them, back and forth across the trail looking for hidden enemies.
What the Hawkoid didn’t see was the net buried under the sand, its supports hidden against the trees. The net sprang up as the Wolfoid and Rabbit ran by, wrapping itself around them and bundling their limbs.
Their momentum carried them forward until they both landed in a heap, side by side in the sand. Bounder twisted his head to look for enemies who might attack them while they were held tightly within the net. Skirill circled above the trap, watching, wondering if the two could extricate themselves. Skirill expanded his circles, flying farther and farther from the Wolfoid and the Rabbit. When he was certain there were no creatures nearby, he returned to the trap, back-winging to land next to it, where he started using his talons to pull the net from his friends.
The Wolfoid grumbled his dismay, wanting to howl at his failure, but he stayed quiet and started chewing on the rope before his muzzle. He couldn’t move anything else, so Bounder fought back in the only way he could.
Ferrer shivered in fear. Once again, the world conspired against him. He closed his eyes and rocked, thinking of being home in his garden. Even the ship’s garden sounded warm and inviting compared to this. He convinced himself that he’d made a mistake in coming.
Bounder started jerking his head as he made way through the rope, hoping it would tear apart. Ferrer made himself as small as possible, keeping his eyes shut. He thought the Wolfoid was panicking.
Skirill found the clasps that held the net closed. He started undoing those, one at a time, and the rest was easy. With the edge of the net held in his claws, he flew upwards and pulled half the net away. Bounder kept scrabbling to get out, but Skirill shook his head. The Hawkoid took the other edge and unfolded it from the top of his two friends. Bounder jumped up, ripping the lightning spear from his hand. He untangled the spear, then grabbed a handful of Rabbit harness with his other hand and pulled Ferrer upright.
Bounder nodded down the trail and with one leap, cleared the edges of the net and started running anew toward the compound. Ferrer leapt as only a Rabbit can, easily sailing over the trap and into the sand beyond. He bounded after the Wolfoid while Skirill flew overhead, encouraging him to catch up.
At that point, they hadn’t been too far away. Bounder ran into the area as Pik and Brandt stood back to back facing the misfits in a loose circle around them. Bounder leveled his spear at the nearest and Pik raised his hand to stop him.
The Wolfoid refrained from activating the weapon, but kept it trained on the creature with tentacles for arms.
Bronwyn burst into the compound from the jungle and yelled. “No!” She ran first to the man-horse, stroking his thick neck and cooing to him. The other misfits dropped their weapons as they ran to be close to the girl. Pik and Brandt looked, eleven bodies pressed in on Bronwyn. The twelfth lay crumpled next to the wall, forgotten. The misfits lifted the girl onto the back of the man-horse, who beamed at being the center of attention.
Skirill landed atop one of the buildings and watched the others.
‘Where’s Strider?’ Bounder asked.
Strider is Coming
Strider jogged upright alongside the path while Brigitte bounded along, looking at the foliage. Zeeka was up ahead, vigorously pointing at something. Strider slowed and leveled her spear, but Zeeka shook her feathered head. Brigitte sprinted ahead to catch up, or rather, she sprinted to avoid being left behind.
Strider saw the heavily-used path beyond the Hawkoid. It led directly toward the compound, turning at the point before them and going to an opening in the hill above. Strider indicated that Brigitte should stay there with her pistol aimed down the trail leading into the jungle. Strider dropped to all fours and ran up the hill, stopping at the metal gate that blocked the entrance to the tunnel. It was locked with a device that could be accessed from either side. Strider expected that she could blast it open with her spear, but didn’t want to do that.
Not yet anyway.
The plan called for them to converge on the compound. Strider knew that Braden and Micah would want to know about the tunnel. Maybe this was the access to the undersea facility they were looking for. She tried to peer through the darkness, but could only see to the bend. Many feet had gone that way many times. She was wondering who had traveled that path when she heard Brandt bugling in the distance. The compound was further than she’d thought.
She turned and bolted down the hill, waving at Brigitte to follow as she passed the Rabbit.
Zeeka jumped into the air and flew hard down the trail, leaving the others far behind. She realized she’d made a mistake when the rocks started pelting her from above. She dodged and weaved, trying to get away, but one hit her in the head, stunning her. She careened off a tree and into the undergrowth. Strider and Brigitte raced forward, oblivious to what happened to the Hawkoid.
Rocks started pelting them, too, but Strider had seen this before. She leaned back, braced her lightning spear and sent bolt after bolt into the trees, scattering the monkeys in all directions. She and Brigitte jogged forward, carefully watching as they passed. They continued ahead, unaware that a mere two strides away, Zeeka was unconscious and crumpled within a bush.
They saw no more monkeys as they followed the wide and well-used path straight to the compound. When they finally arrived, Bounder and Ferrer were there, with Brandt and Pik. Zyena and Skirill perched on the roof of one of the ancients’ buildings. Bronwyn was in the middle of the misfit mob, talking animatedly with them.
‘Where’s Zeeka?’ Zyena asked.
‘Oh, no!’ Strider cried. ‘The monkeys!’ She turned and ran on all fours back the way she’d come. Skirill and Zyena quickly caught up to her and flew past. They continued along the path until they broke into the opening beyond, at the bottom of the hill. They flew back, meeting Strider at the site of the monkey ambush.
Zyena was first to see her, squawking loudly and hovering directly over the bush. Strider dug in and carefully tore the branches away from Zeeka. When they looked at the young Hawkoid, they saw that her wings were sound and her body seemed uninjured, but one trickle of blood escaped from a cut over her eye. Strider cradled the Hawkoid’s head in her hands.
Zeeka came to with a start, pecking the Wolfoid’s foreleg. Strider yipped in pain, dropping the Hawkoid’s head into the sand. Zyena and Skirill cooed to their daughter, happy to see her eyes open. She turned her neck to and fro, worked out the kinks, then tested her wings. She nodded to her parents as she ran a few steps and launched into the air, but struggled to maintain altitude.
‘Go back to the ship and wait for us there,’ Zyena said, breaking the silence.
Zeeka didn’t bother to nod as she slowly climbed, catching an updraft from the hill, then headed southeast toward the easily recognizable sail of the Warden.
Skirill inclined his head toward the compound and the three of them raced back. Skirill couldn’t help but feel that he was wasting time. Where are Braden and G-War? For that matter, where are Micah, Aadi, and Fea? Wasn’t Bronwyn supposed to be with them? he thought.
The Underground Complex
Micah saw the Professor. Without turning, he said in a voice far too loud, “Welcome to my laboratory. I’ve been expecting you, although it took you far longer than I thought it would. Shame. I had hoped you were more intelligent, but no matter. Come in, come in.”
‘We found him. Zyena will show you the way,’ Micah said over the mindlink.
“That won’t work in here, but I appreciate the effort. I will have to more thoroughly examine how that works in the genetically engineered creatures and how a human can use it. So very interesting.”
The sound of equipment humming pulled their attention away from the Profes
sor. A Security Bot slowly approached from the side. Unlike the ones at New Sanctuary, this Security Bot was more human in shape, with tentacles and various weapons attached. It even wore rough clothing, making it even more hideous to behold. It reminded her of the misshapen creatures outside, but she was under no illusion about the deadly nature of the Bot.
A dual laser beam looked at her from over its left shoulder. Each arm ended in a vicious-looking knife attached to large, multi-barreled blasters. There was a tentacle that carried another weapon of some sort.
And Brandt was in the compound with the shield generator. Micah carefully put her blasters on the floor and held her hands up. Aadi floated serenely, blinking quickly as a testament to his anxiety. He felt the same way he did when the Androids took him–helpless and afraid.
Fea was gone, having dodged back out the door. The Professor looked at the floor and under the tables. “Find it and bring it back here,” he barked at the Security Bot. It opened the door closest to it and moved into the hallway, still humming with the power it exuded.
They could hear popping sounds as it fired a myriad of weaponry in the corridor. Micah hung her head, biting her lip at the thought of Fea getting killed.
The Security Bot returned, the limp ‘cat held loosely in the tentacle arm. The Bot hovered past Micah and Aadi until it was before the Professor, where it deposited Fea on the table in front of him.
“She’s still very much alive, just rendered unconscious. She’ll awake shortly, after I’ve taken what I need, of course,” the Professor said as he put on a pair of glasses and studied the prone form of the Hillcat. He pulled a razor and shaved the hair from a leg, her abdomen, and a spot on her lower back.
Micah watched in horror as he produced a keen knife and number of needles. As he made an incision on the ‘cat’s abdomen, Micah jumped toward the table, getting caught mid-leap by the Security Bot’s tentacle, who held her, dangling in the air as she struggled mightily to break free. Aadi started swimming to the side, away from the Security Bot. When he had his angle, he delivered his focused thunderclap at close range directly into the face of the Professor. The young man flew backward, scattering a table of instruments and equipment, and landed roughly.
Sparks and lightning erupted from the Security Bot. Micah spasmed uncontrollably as the world turned black all around her. Sparks danced across Aadi’s shell and over his neck, affecting his ability to float. He started dropping to the floor. A second round of electricity turned him limp. He bounced off the floor once, before settling upright, his thick legs splayed to the sides. His beak-like mouth rested on the floor, his black tongue hanging out sideways.
The Companions Unleashed
‘Micah and Aadi have been captured by the Professor. There’s a Security Bot down here. There’s…’ Fea told them, getting cut off mid-thought as she screamed over the mindlink.
The companions looked at each other.
‘Bronwyn, how did they get underground?’ Pik asked.
‘There’s a door and stairs down, the way we came,’ she replied, alarmed at the tone in the ‘cat’s voice and the way her ‘shout’ was cut short.
Pik looked at the compound. He was furious, but no one could tell. Lizard Men carried their emotions inside. His plan had failed because the Professor had a secret hideaway below ground. He had a Security Bot and he had a way to block the mindlink and the neural implant. Pik didn’t know how any of it worked, but he knew what happened when those things didn’t work.
Panic and chaos. The only way the companions could communicate was because of the Hillcats and Bronwyn. Pik had already dispensed with their silence, but now was the time for something different since his plain had failed so spectacularly.
‘Brandt, we need the device you carry. We’ll take it with us as we go below. Bounder and Strider, Ferrer and Brigitte, and Treetis, you’ll join me. Brandt, Skirill, and Zyena, please watch over Bronwyn as you must remain here. There’s no room for you below,’ Pik said passionately. They were running out of people and they had yet to make any headway against the Professor. ‘Wish us well.’
Pik shambled through the sand, carrying the field generator in front of him. His spear dragged beside him as he pinned it between his arm and his body. His skin suit was preventing him from moving freely, but without it, he’d dry out and die. He continued running, not fast, but faster than if he wasn’t trying to run.
Skirill flew ahead of the group, on the lookout for monkeys and other threats to the companions as they made one final attempt to save the humans. Skirill landed on the branch over the mound, the same one that Zyena had used not long before.
The others came running, stopping to look through the open door at the dark stairway beyond. Bounder hesitated only for a moment, enough time for his eyes to partially adjust. He lumbered down the steps, his Wolfoid legs not made for descending, although he could run up them as fast as anyone. Pik followed, then the Rabbits and Strider brought up the rear. Skirill glided to the sand and hopped to the top step.
They need me, the Hawkoid reasoned as he hopped to the next step, then the next, taking them one at a time, hurrying to catch the group as they headed toward the bottom.
Strider saw Skirill coming. Who was she to deny one of Braden’s oldest and closest friends? She nodded to the Hawkoid as she continued descending the stairs.
At the bottom, they saw what Micah had seen, but what they didn’t have was the keen nose of a Wolfoid, who hunted by tracking the scent of their prey. Bounder dropped to all fours and sniffed the floor. He followed Micah and Fea’s trail easily down the corridor, to the first door, but not going in, the second door, and then the rest. They hadn’t entered any of the rooms. The door at the end was different, sturdier, bigger.
And it was open. The bright lighting from the corridor beyond told them clearly they were entering a better used section of the underground complex. Pik looked at the device he carried. He usually shunned Old Tech, but in this case, he needed it to work or they would all be at the mercy of the Professor and his Security Bot. He pressed on the spot that Micah had showed him and the thing came to life with no fanfare. One light shone on the simple panel. Green. Pik’s favorite color.
He nodded to Bounder. It was unfortunate that they didn’t have the spear device that was supposed to work with the field generator to neutralize the Security Bot, but they’d make do with what they had.
Bounder jumped into the hallway and fired quickly when he saw the Development Unit. Unlike Micah’s, his shot blasted into the chest of the unit, exploding it from within.
He stalked forward to make sure it was dead. Brigitte squeezed past Pik and went left down the corridor to cover Bounder’s back. The Lizard Man entered the bright space, walking slowly toward the destroyed Bot. The last members of the group entered the corridor--Rabbits left, the young Hillcat in the middle, and Wolfoids right. Bounder stood up straight, relaxing, until he realized that the Bot he killed wasn’t a Security Bot.
The door beside him started to open and he dove out of the way, rolling to come up facing it with his spear aimed and ready to fire. Strider jumped backward into the wall, knocking the spear from her own hand. Both Rabbits fired their small lasers into whatever was coming through the doorway. Bounder’s view as blocked.
Lightning sparks filled the corridor, engulfing the Rabbits and the ‘cat. The laser pistols flew from their small hands as they twitched and contorted, falling to the floor and jerking spasmodically.
Bounder thrust his spear around the door and fired at whatever was inside. He kept firing, low, middle, high, middle, until his spear grew hot from his efforts. An explosion threw the door open, crashing against him and sending him flying down the corridor. Strider was in the middle of the blast, getting jammed into the wall. She slid down and collapsed on the floor. Pik was thrown backward through the doorway into the first corridor.
He threw the field generator from him and tried to climb to his feet, but his ears were ringing and his head felt thick. A b
lazing white streak with brown wings flew above his face. Skirill tucked his wings as he went through the doorway, banked hard right then hard left and through the doorway where the remains of a Security Bot still arced and sparked.
Skirill raced in a circle around the laboratory. The Professor lay on the floor, with blood flowing freely from his head. Fea was on the table, with spots on her body shaved. A cut on her abdomen trickled blood. She was out cold. Micah and Aadi were both on the floor, also unconscious. Skirill circled one more time. He had no idea what he was looking for, but nothing alarmed him more than the sight of his friends.
He landed next to Micah and pecked at her cheek until she twitched. He used his wings to fan her, not knowing what else to do.
Bounder pulled himself upright. He hurt all over, but his mate had been right in the middle of the explosion. He went to her, cradling her head as he whimpered and whined like a pup. Her tongue appeared as she tried to lick her nose. Bounder pulled his flask and dribbled water on her muzzle, onto her tongue. She opened her eyes.
“I’m all right,” she said in the spoken Wolfoid language. Bounder didn’t believe her. Small cuts covered her chest and stomach. Her eyes wouldn’t focus. Bounder licked her wounds, knowing that Wolfoid saliva would hasten the healing. Almost as good as numbweed, he’d told Braden a number of times, although the Free Trader never opted for licking when he had numbweed on hand.
She tried to stand but her legs wouldn’t support her. She sat back down, then laid down, head between her front paws. “Go and check on the others,” she told him. He left his flask and took her spear, unsure of the charge remaining in his.
Free Trader Box Set - Books 4-6: Battle for the Amazon, Free the North!, Free Trader on the High Seas Page 57
