Free Trader Box Set - Books 4-6: Battle for the Amazon, Free the North!, Free Trader on the High Seas

by Craig Martelle

  ‘You’re killing him,’ Gloria prodded.

  ‘No. You’re killing him. Clearly, you missed my last point. You kill him, then you will have to kill them all. Your actions so far suggest you need all of your subjects to be alive in order to successfully take the genetic material you need for your experiments, which have all failed, by the way, judging by the quality of the creatures on the island. You will finish your existence without power, at the bottom of the sea where no one will ever find you. I say again, your position is untenable,’ Holly pressed.

  The Security Bot ceased its actions and it raised Braden into the air before hurling him against the wall. Something crunched when he hit, and he gasped in pain. He crumped to the ground, holding his shoulder. It felt like it was on fire. His arm wouldn’t work right, his shooting arm. He tried to stand, but found the effort exhausting. He pulled his blaster across his body with his left hand, and held the weapon pointed at the Security Bot.

  The Bot moved to the King of the Aurochs and lashed a tentacle toward G-War. He was gone an instant before the tentacle whipped through the air. The ‘cat disappeared under and behind Brandt. The Security Bot moved forward, then stopped, tentacle raised.

  “Come on, Holly!” Braden cheered, holding the thin cut on his throat. The Bot stopped shimmering. “Stand back, Brandt!” Braden aimed his blaster from a range of two strides, focusing on a gap where the tentacle exited the Bot. A few short blasts and the thing arced and sparked, dropping to the ground. Bounder fired into the mass of Bots on the other side of Aadi, Pik, and Micah. Pik pushed Aadi out of the way and started firing lightning bolt after lightning bolt. The flashes were blinding in the near darkness. Relentlessly they attacked the disoriented Security Bots. Braden fired at the targets that the lightning showed. Pik wasn’t a good shot and sprayed lightning as much into the wall as he did the Bots.

  The lights came back on and the sirens started to wail. The Security Bots in the back of the mass shimmered and surged forward, pushing the dead and damaged Bots in front of them. Braden dove for Micah, using his body to protect his partner. It was the only thing he had left. He hugged her to him, his muscles tensed for the inevitable shock.

  When the Bots broke through, Pik assumed a fighting stance, ready to fight them. Bounder followed his lead and prepared to stab at the lead Bot.

  Micah inhaled a great gulp of air and gasped when she exhaled. She started breathing heavily and opened her eyes. She wasn’t able to focus as her eyes seemed to roll around of their own free will. Braden hugged her to him. She weakly pushed him back and blinked as she tried to bring the world back into focus.

  “I guess we won,” she said, barely above a whisper.

  Recharging to Go Again

  Pik didn’t budge. He stood ready to engage the closest shimmering Security Bot. Bounder stepped forward, ready as well. The Bots turned and pushed through the wreckage, clearing a path for Brandt and the others. They watched in surprise as the Security Bots kept moving forward until they were in the street, then they returned inside the gate, took up positions to the side, and deactivated themselves.

  “I’m done. I had to shut the implant down. Maybe later we can talk with Holly about it, but not now. There’s no threat so we can take our time, maybe free some of the others from White Beach. Holly has control over the systems here. He’s locked Gloria into her room, whatever that means.”

  “Bronwyn has taken Caleb to the island,” Braden said as the rest of the companions moved in, muzzles, snouts, and faces leaning closer to see her. She smiled and touched each one of them.

  “What next, partner mine?” Micah asked.

  “I don’t know, Micah. There are a lot of people down here and they need someone to show them the way.”

  “You’re not volunteering, are you?” Micah asked tiredly.

  “No, not at all. Maybe some of the people from White Beach, but I don’t know how they’ll feel when they are free. I really need to talk with Holly. Maybe we can go inside? There are plenty of empty beds in that creepy laboratory of theirs. There aren’t a whole lot of Med Bots left if that’s what Holly needs to revive the people,” Braden said, having made up his mind to return to the huge medical room.

  “If there’s a bed, I want to be in it. With you and the others, I know that I’ll be safe, no matter where I am.” Micah started to drift off. With Pik’s help, Braden lifted Micah and supporting her between them, they walked down the cleared path, out of the alley, around the corner, and into the building. The people were still there, waiting to be summoned.

  “No one’s going to call you. You might as well go home,” Braden announced in his Free Trader voice. He knew what their answer would be. They ignored him. He pushed through them and into the hallway, where he found it completely blocked.

  “Holly!” he yelled as loud as he could.

  “Wait, before you wake the dead,” Micah slurred. “What do you need?”

  “This hallway cleared so we can get in and then get the people out. G-War never found another exit. It doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but G didn’t find it.”

  “He said help is coming,” Micah said slowly before drifting back to sleep. They waited until a Security Bot forced its way through the door. It was too big for the frame, but it simply ripped the doorway out to get through. It moved through the open area, chasing the people out of its way as it passed Braden and the others on its way to force the Med Bot wreckage back down the hallway and into the laboratory.

  “Nice work, Bounder! That was a lot of damage,” Braden complimented his friend. Bounder pointed his staff at the Security Bot and fired. Nothing.

  ‘Emptied it into the Security Bots in the alley. Pik, too,’ the Wolfoid told them. The Lizard Man shrugged, a mannerism he adopted from the humans that he liked using.

  The Security Bot used its laser to cut up some of the more recalcitrant wreckage in its path, then pushed the mass forward. They followed as it progressed down the hallway until there was a path leading into the room. When they entered, Pik looked around.

  ‘I can tell you were here, Braden,’ he said simply. Braden looked at Bounder, his head bobbing as he chuckled. The destruction in the laboratory was rather extensive. Med Bots were exploded, broken, charred, or destroyed in nearly every aisle. One wall of destruction stood toward the back left of the room. They angled away from that.

  Braden was happy to see that the machines were still working. He wondered if they worked when the lights were out. He put a hand on one of the people. She was warm.

  They found a bed far away from the closest people and Braden put Micah into it. He kissed her forehead as he covered her with the sheet. Each bed had one neatly folded on it. He took the next bed over. “Is it okay if I get some sleep, G?” Braden asked.

  ‘Of course. Treetis will watch while we rest,’ G-War said sarcastically. Braden laughed as he covered himself, closed his eyes, and was fast asleep. Aadi took the next bed, then Bounder. Pik and Fea went in search of fresh water. G-War jumped onto Braden’s bed and Treetis jumped in with Micah. They both crouched, tucking their paws under their chests as they assumed their watchful poses.

  Pik found a sink and refreshed his skin suit. He helped Fea get a drink and then brought a dish back for the other ‘cats. After that, Pik climbed into a bed, feeling weird with all the medical equipment around. He preferred being in a forest. It took him about thirty heartbeats before he decided to go back outside and join Brandt, who was going to the park where they entered Atlantis earlier that morning.

  It had only been one day. Pik thought there was something wrong with the island that time seemed to pass so slowly.

  Once in the street, he ambled toward the park. He stopped when he saw what looked like a Gloria Bot coming from an alley. It didn’t register. Holly said they won. They were free. The Bot hovered to get in front of him, then stopped. He continued to look at it, confused.

  He did the only thing that came to mind. He walked around it and continued on his way. He hadn�
��t thought the Bot was armed, but the laser that hit his skin suit suggested otherwise. It burned through the outer skin and boiled the water within. He was saved from the direct beam, but the boiling water burned his sensitive lizard skin. He dodged and ran, shambling as he did, ducking and changing directions to defeat the machine. Another laser hit him as he stopped to open a door and go inside.

  He limped in and slammed the door behind him. He looked for cover, finding a heavy chair and jumping behind it. The laser beam danced through the windows, burning the wall and the chair. The Bot hovered out front, firing its small laser beam at everything within the room. Pik felt safe behind the chair. Nothing seemed to catch fire, as it was all made from a strange material that Pik suspected was mined from the ocean.

  ‘Gloria is back,’ Pik said over the mindlink, unsure of who would hear him. ‘She’s in one of those round Bots and it has lasers.’

  ‘I’ll wake Braden,’ G-War replied.

  A Final Battle

  G-War stood on Braden’s chest and slapped his face. Braden was not waking up, so G-War jumped into the air and came down on the human’s groin, jumping away at Braden’s violent reaction.

  Braden sat up, swinging his arms, unable to focus. “What the hell?” he yelled, looking around, trying to find the perpetrator. “I feel like I just fell asleep.”

  ‘You did. Gloria’s back and she’s trapped Pik in a building. We need to go,’ the ‘cat told him. Braden sat, dangling his legs off the side of the bed, trying to shake the cobwebs from his mind. He looked at Micah and Aadi, both spent. Bounder was snoring lightly, looking ridiculous as he was on his back, twisted sideways with his legs in the air. Fea was at the end of Micah’s bed, watching intently. Treetis was with Aadi.

  Braden stepped on the floor and stood. He felt horrible, beyond horrible, but a friend was in trouble. “Come on, Bounder, Treetis. We have work to do.” Bounder didn’t budge until Braden rolled him off the bed. The Wolfoid scrabbled for purchase, but failed, and fell to the floor. His eyelids fluttered, as Braden’s had heartbeats earlier. Bounder’s eyes rolled around in his head as he fought to gain control over his senses.

  “We have to go, Bounder. Gloria is back and she’s got Pik,” Braden said as he helped Bounder upright.

  ‘Spear’s empty,’ Bounder replied, tired, but not as tired as the others, he rationalized to himself.

  “I know. I have some left in the blaster. Not much, but for a Gloria Bot? It’ll be enough.” They walked, determinedly but not boldly. They didn’t have the energy for it. The ‘cats ran ahead, checking the hallway before they disappeared into it. Braden and Bounder started to jog, hoping the blood flow would help wake them up. They didn’t hesitate at the corner because G-War and Treetis were clearing the way.

  They dashed into the reception area where the other humans still waited.

  “They’re not coming,” Braden yelled as he passed. They ran through the open doorway where the Security Bot had crashed through. Braden thought that a Maintenance Bot should have already been on its way, except Gloria was no longer running Atlantis. Braden had no way of notifying Holly. And in the short term, it didn’t matter. They needed to find Pik.

  And Gloria.

  They jogged down the street that led to the park, the way that Pik had gone, as Skirill and Zyena flying overhead indicated. With the threat of the Security Bots eliminated, they were free to fly and be Braden’s eyes. Brandt was eating the park’s bushes when he heard Pik’s call. He walked cautiously down the street, waiting for Braden to share the plan with him. He was ready and willing to join the battle whenever they needed him.

  The ‘cats raced ahead, and Braden and Bounder picked up their pace. Pik wasn’t far, about halfway to the park. They only ran for a few heartbeats before they saw the Gloria Bot at the window of the building, mercilessly firing her laser. Braden sent Bounder to the other side of the street while he walked, calming himself to make a better shot. He braced the blaster against a building and fired, barely missing the Bot.

  It backed away from the building and started flying in random directions, spoiling Braden’s aim. It rose and dove, jerking back and forth as it moved closer to him. Bounder’s lightning staff was out of juice, so he stayed out of the Bot’s way. Braden ran to the middle of the street, dodging as the Bot dodged. The duel had begun and Braden’s confidence was shaking. He kept firing, but kept missing.

  The Bot struck first, hitting Braden in the leg. He tumbled, then rolled out of the way as the follow-up laser sought to finish him. He hopped up on one leg, feigned one direction, then hobbled another, then turned back. The Bot was closing. Braden was desperate to find cover. A building. Too far away. He made like he was running for it, then pulled up. A laser slashed through the air in front of him. He rolled backwards, coming to a sitting position where he aimed carefully.

  The Bot’s laser hit his blaster, sending flaming debris up his arm and into his face. Braden rolled back, screaming. The Bot dipped toward him.

  An orange flash appeared in the street, leaping and landing on top of the dome. Treetis raked it with his claws, looking for anything he could rip out to stop the Bot’s attack. It jerked and threw him to the ground, but he landed on his feet because he was a ‘cat. He dashed away as the laser beam burned the spot where he’d been.

  Treetis jumped underneath the Bot and hooked a claw into a crevice. He pulled, trying to find a way to rip it open, but the sharp metal cut through his claw and removed it cleanly from his paw. The ‘cat fell and this time, the laser was faster. It hit the spot as he landed, burning a long gash through the orange fur and into his side. Treetis jerked and fell.

  The Bot couldn’t feel the ground shake like Braden could. He rolled to get out of the way as an Aurochs bull launched itself into the air, coming down with its front hooves trapping the hovering Bot, smashing it into the ground. Brandt pawed it apart.

  Bounder sprinted on all fours to Braden. The burns on his arms were worse than the small spots that pocked his face. Treetis lay on his uninjured side and yowled weakly. G-War was there, nuzzling him. Braden sat up, then dug into his pouch and used all the numbweed he had on the ‘cat’s side. The laser had burned the flesh away, through a layer of muscle and exposed the ‘cat’s ribs. Numbweed. And he knew where there were bandages.

  Braden carefully picked up Treetis, who had stopped yowling once he passed out. Braden walked back toward the large building that dominated the center of the undersea city. He was careful not to make any quick motions or stress the ‘cat’s body.

  “He’s heavier than you, G,” Braden said absentmindedly, not looking for a conversation but a way to break the tension. “And he came to my rescue. That kind of makes up for all the kitten shenanigans, if you ask me. We’ll get you bundled up in just a bit, little man, get you on the road to health.” G-War rubbed against Braden’s leg as they walked. Pik at one side, limping and favoring his back and leg. Braden was injured, too, but refused to limp. The pain was great, almost too much to bear, but he had work to do. The others were counting on him.

  He continued into the reception area of the building where the Atlanteans waited with infinite patience. “Anyone want to help me?” They looked at him blankly. He wanted to scream, but that wouldn’t change anything. Even with the damage to the door, Brandt still couldn’t pass through. He waited outside, laying in the street. Skirill and Zyena flew overhead, then perched where they could see the approaches and warn the others in case another Gloria made an appearance.

  Bounder helped as he could to carry the injured ‘cat to the laboratory, where Fea met them at the door. They returned to the far corner where Micah and Aadi continued to sleep as if dead. They laid Treetis on a bed with a tray of materials next to it. Braden wrapped the bandage around the ‘cat’s body, holding the numbweed in place to help fight the pain while the injury healed.

  The wound was bad, one of the worst Braden had seen. Even G-War’s injuries from the Bat-Ravens weren’t as bad singularly, although the older
‘cat had suffered from loss of blood during that battle. Treetis’ injury didn’t bleed much, but it was deep. Braden didn’t know what other damage it caused. He could only hope there was nothing else, but hope was a lousy plan. He needed to talk with Holly, see if the AI could activate a Med Bot to properly treat the ‘cat’s injury.

  All of that had to wait for Micah to rest, wake up on her own. Fea and G-War both jumped onto the bed with Treetis, one crouching at each end, watching over their adopted son with pride on both their ‘cat faces.

  “Is he going to be okay, G?” Braden asked, knowing that the ‘cat had a special ability to know how healthy creatures were.

  ‘He is now,’ the ‘cat replied. Fea nodded to him. Braden took a deep breath. The battle had taken the last of his energy. Bounder helped him into bed, but Braden pointed to Micah’s pouch. The Wolfoid understood, taking out numbweed and bringing it to Braden. He applied it to the laser wound on his upper leg and was finally able to relax. He wrapped his leg with the bandage and lay back, drifting off to sleep.

  Bounder delivered some of the numbweed to Pik too, who pulled his damaged skin suit off and applied it. The Wolfoid took a couple dishes to the sink and filled them with water. Pik used one to partially hydrate his suit, which he pulled back on as best he could. Bounder used bandages to hold it together. It was the best anyone could do. Pik thanked the Wolfoid and they both declared their day finished. The Lizard Man leaned back on his bed, feeling the cool of the fresh water that had just been added to his skin suit.

  Bounder finally climbed onto his bed and joined the others in the dream world.

  Bronwyn to the Rescue

  Micah woke up first. She moved slowly, because her head was pounding. There was a dish of water next to her and she drank it. It tasted like Bounder had been drinking from it. At least she knew they could get water somewhere in the laboratory.