Escape 3: Defeat the Aliens

by T. Jackson King

  “Well, guess we can’t sneak aboard that ship in collector pods,” Chester said in his trademark low baritone.

  Jane gripped the armrests of her Command seat. She looked their way, scanning Chester, Bill, Bright Sparkle, Time Marker and their other crewmates. She stopped, her gaze fixing on the far right side of the line of control pillars and facing holos. “Navigator,” she called to the brown-furred flying squirrel who belonged to the Aelthorp species. “Set a vector for Notter, which is the second world in this system.”

  The human-sized flying squirrel turned her pug-face to her Navigation holo, tapped on the top of her control pillar, then flared her long tail. “Vector laid in. Vector parameters shared with other fleet ships. Estimated time to arrival above Notter is 31 Earth hours.”

  A loud hum sounded. “Not accurate. Travel time is 31 point five four seven Earth hours,” the AI said, sounding pleased at its ability to correct a bioform.

  Jane closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then looked up at the ceiling. “Star Traveler, thank you. Now, tell us about this star system. The planets, their distances from the local star, the size of the liquid water habitable zone, the stuff we need to know before arrival.” She paused. “Also, do you know where this Enveloping Cloud star is located?”

  A quick hum sounded. “I know all the stars occupied by bioforms in the Orion Arm. Recall that I have lived for 3,124 Earth years?”

  “I do recall that,” Jane said patiently.

  Bill saw a quick grin appear on Chester’s face. Which disappeared almost as quickly as the grin on Bright Sparkle’s human-like face. The nearly-naked woman who spoke by shifting color bands and spots on her bare skin was facing forward, so her expression could not be seen by his wife. Their other non-human crewmates either did not smile, or expressed their humor in body language unique to their species. He looked back at Jane. To her left sat the color-banded form of Learned Escape, a male of the Megun species and sometime lifemate of Bright Sparkle. His wife ignored him, keeping her gaze uplifted.

  “So, where is this star where a giant fleet of Collector ships is now gathering?” she prompted the AI.

  “Enveloping Cloud star is listed in Human astronomical records as Kepler 62. It is an orange K2V main sequence star that is seven billion years old,” the ship mind hummed, its tone professorial. “It is located 1,200 light years distant from Earth, in a direction opposite that of this star system. It is six-tenths the size of your Sol. Which is why its five planets orbit closer to the star than Earth. Two rocky planets orbit within the liquid water habitable zone, at 0.427 AU and at 0.718 AU. The other three planets lie inward from the Earth-like worlds. Do you require more data on this system?”

  “No,” Jane said quickly. “Tell us about the Slinkeroo system. And adjust the current system graphic display to show the habitable zone, local spaceships, large asteroids, anything else you feel is useful.”

  “Complying,” the AI said. Bill’s system graphic hardly changed, only adding a green band to indicate the liquid water zone. And also three red dots for local spaceships. “The Slinkeroo system is listed in Human records as HD 10647. It lies 56.9 light years distant from Sol,” the AI hummed. “As you can see, five worlds occupy this F9V main sequence star system. The inner three worlds lie within its habitable zone at distances of 0.9 AU, 1.3 AU and 2.015 AU. Planet four lies at six AU while planet five lies at the inner edge of the system’s first circumstellar dust disk, at 25 AU. A second dust disk lies at 300 AU. Both disks are similar to the Kuiper cometary zone of Sol system.”

  “Captain,” interrupted Time Marker with an impatient hiss. “All this system data is known to me. My people have long watched our night skies. The disk at 25 AU is the source of comets and asteroids that too often threaten our world,” added Bill’s crewmate. “Their existence is why my people recently built spaceships and have erected ground-based lasers to vaporize such objects before they hit our world.”

  In his comlink holo he saw Jane look briefly irritated before adopting a patient expression. “Thank you, Engines Chief. As you know from your service during prior system entries, I prefer to rely on the ship’s computer for this data. It is often more exact in its information.”

  “Of course I am,” the ship mind interrupted. “You are bioforms. I am an electronic mind of great antiquity. No bioform can equal my knowledge base.”

  “No doubt you are very smart,” Jane said patiently, her expression bemused.

  Bill noticed how his other crewmates up front reacted to the AI’s well-known propensity to loudly declare its mental superiority. Bright Sparkle’s goddess-perfect face was still as she pretended to watch the holo that reported on the condition of the ship’s three fusion power reactors. Beyond her, Time Marker blinked hurriedly, then fixed his attention on his own set up Engine status holos. But his yellow electrical nimbus grew outward to a radius of four feet. Sitting atop his own bench and well beyond their walking snake’s electrical glow was the eight-legged form of Long Walker. Who resembled a giant worm. But no worm ever possessed a circular mouth filled with dagger-like teeth. The member of the Zipziptoe species fixed his two black eyes on his own group of holos, no doubt inspecting closely the holo that advised on the status of the 24 collector pods that filled the ship’s Collector Pods Chamber. The low-slung critter had played a vital role in helping his saloon buddies infiltrate enemy Collector ships by occupying pods which pretended to be pods launched by the six Collector ships that had come to Earth. While the ships zapped Earth’s rocket launching sites with pinpoint laser fire, each Collector ship had sent down collector pods to capture humans in isolated locales. Long Walker had also joined Bill and his spec ops buddies in the attack on the Buyer compound, putting his own life at risk. He respected that. Beyond the walking worm stood the silver scaled form of Wind Swift. The kangaroo-like reptile was smart, sneaky and deadly dangerous, whether using her forearm claws, her thick whiptail or a laser tube. For the moment she pretended to focus on her Life Support holos. Beyond her stood Lofty Flyer the flying squirrel lady. Like his other crewmates she too pretended to be focused on her Navigation holos. Behind her sat her life partner, Builder of Joy, a fellow flying squirrel whose piloting abilities had aided in the destruction of the Buyer compound. He owed that squirrel a bottle of Johnny Walker Red scotch for the speed with which the critter had piloted the transport ship that had taken his dead body up to rendezvous with the Blue Sky.

  “To continue,” Star Traveler hummed. “The bioform-occupied planet of Notter is the second world out from the star. Its population is four billion Slinkeroo. They occupy the world’s four continents. Other lifeforms occupy Notter’s oceans, forests and two large deserts. Three local spaceships are in transit to the planet’s nearby moon. An orbital station lies just below the orbit of the enemy ship. Which is now sending down collector pods.”

  “Thank you.” Jane looked forward and down. “Time Marker, does your world have a planetary authority we can contact by ship radio? If so, what frequency would be best for our warning transmission.”

  The yellow nimbus englobing the walking snake shrank slightly. “Our world has been unified for seventy years,” hissed the black-skinned snake. “The frequency is being sent to you. A leadership group of seven occupies our Hall of Silver Scales, on the northernmost continent. Call to the Prime Elder. Whomever serves that role today will receive your message. Though it will take eight Earth hours to arrive!”

  Bill winced. He wished there was a faster way to warn the Slinkeroo people of the danger from white-glowing collector pods. At least the message would arrive well before their five ships arrived. Radio traveled at lightspeed. Their ship’s top speed was one-tenth lightspeed. Which came to 67.1 million miles an hour. Fast by any measure. Or so he thought. Jane leaned forward.

  “Star Traveler, set up a radio broadcast at the frequency now being entered by Time Marker at his work station,” she said calmly.

  “Frequency established. Ready to transmit.”

  Jan
e nodded. “Transmit my translated voice over radio. Do you detect audiovisual signals from the planet?”

  “I do. Eighty-three of them,” the AI hummed.

  “Good. Also select the strongest AV frequency and transmit my image and voice to the world of Notter.”

  “Ready. You may speak,” the AI hummed low, its tone distracted, as if it were wondering why Jane had been so agreeable about its intellectual superiority.

  Jane looked forward. “Prime Elder, my name is Jane Yamaguchi. I am a human from the planet Earth, which orbits a yellow star lying not far from your home star. Aboard my spaceship is one Time Marker, a member of your Slinkeroo family. He was captured months ago by nearly invisible starships we call Collector ships,” she said, her tone calm and measured. “A Collector ship now orbits above your space station. It is invisible to detection by radar, infrared, ultraviolet, optical and other sensors. It is sending down small pods to collect isolated Slinkeroo. Your people will be electrically knocked unconscious, then picked up by the manipulator arms of a pod. Each Slinkeroo captive will be taken back to the starship and put into a containment cell. Your people will be sold to Buyers on distant Market worlds, never to return home. My ship Blue Sky, and four other ship allies, now fight this Buyer society! You can fight too. Aim your comet lasers at any white-glowing orb that you see in your day or night sky. Kill it! Perhaps if you destroy enough pods, the Collector ship will leave your star system.” Jane paused, then gestured with her hand. “On my Command Bridge are bioforms from many other stars, including your Time Marker. These people, together with our ship’s artificial mind, have fought battles against Collector ships. We destroyed 37 Buyer compounds on a nearby Market world. We released more than a hundred Captives held in other compounds. We will arrive above your world in 30 hours. One of my fellow humans is our Negotiator. He seeks to gain you Slinkeroo as allies in our fight against these Collector ships. He and I will come down to your Hall of Silver Scales to discuss this interstellar alliance. And our crewmate Time Marker will come with us so you can see he is healthy, and learn why he has volunteered to be crew on my starship.” She paused, then snapped her fingers as if remembering something. “You may reply to us by radio or by audiovisual signal. Or you can await our arrival. I wish we could instantly arrive above your world to stop these collector pods. We cannot. But our ship is powerful. We will hunt this ship that is taking captive your people!”

  Jane gestured for the broadcast to end.

  “Transmission ended,” Star Traveler hummed.

  To Bill’s left Chester turned in his seat and looked back to her. “Captain, when we finish our talks with these Slinkeroo people, do we travel to this Enveloping Cloud system and attack the ships there? Or do we return to Earth and warn the Joint Chiefs of this new threat?”

  Jane looked their way, her expression intense. So intense Bill almost recoiled. His wife looked ready to eat someone for lunch.

  “Admiral, that is a question I will discuss with the captains of our four other ships. They have a right to share their views with me. I need to hear all perspectives. Including yours.” She glanced aside, her gaze fixing on Bill. “And also the views of my Executive Officer. Whichever choice I make, the future is going to be dangerous.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Thirty hours later our five ships orbited above Notter, not far from the ball and ring shape of its orbital station. Lacking gravity plates like those in all Collector ships, the station spun so its inhabitants could enjoy centrifugal gravity in the outer ring. The central globe had openings at the north and south poles for entry by local spaceships. The Blue Sky, at a thousand feet long, was far too big to enter the station’s docking tunnel. Anyway, Jane wished to go directly to the Hall of Silver Scales. Which was why the two of us, with Chester and Time Marker, were seated in a transport being piloted by Builder of Joy. It was nice to once more fly through the white clouds of a world, a place where people lived. Walking snakes people, that is. Bill looked at the man-size holo that filled the aisle between the rows of bench-seats that filled the cargohold of the transport. In the holo was a beautiful world of blue oceans, green forests and purple mountains. Actually, the northernmost continent now filled the holo as they descended quickly on the ship’s Magfield drive. Using a spacedrive that interacted directly with the world’s magnetic field made for well-controlled landings. And this time they didn’t have to worry about someone down below shooting an anti-comet laser at them. An hour of talking with the Prime Elder as we passed the world’s large moon had gone a long way toward ensuring a positive reception by their crewmate’s kin.

  Seated opposite, Time Marker swung his snake-like head toward me and Jane. The yellow electrical nimbus that always enveloped his body had shrunk greatly. Clearly he was pleased to be home. He fixed blue eyes on Jane. “Ship captain, my parents and clan leader will be in the hall. I wish to see them after our talk with the Prime Elder and our council. Will you and your mate come with me? I wish them to know the . . . people who saved me from forced labor,” he hissed.

  Jane squeezed his left hand. Which he felt even through the memory fabric of the tube suits they each wore. Wearing a suit whenever we left the ship was a habit we’d all grown used too. Even Time Marker, whose low-slung body had stretched the flexible fabric in ways that amazed Bill.

  “Sure, Time Marker,” Jane said over the suit comlink that connected all of us with each other. Including Builder, whose suited form was visible in the forward piloting bubble of the transport. “Bill and I, we would love to meet your relatives.”

  Their crewmate looked aside at the holo. A long curving peninsula now filled it, a landform that reminded Bill of the southern tip of South America. But this landscape pointed north. The silver sheen of a large city filled the tip of the peninsula. It was the site of this world’s planetary government. While cold due to its far northern location, the peninsula tip nearly touched the adjacent continent. Kind of the way Alaska nearly linked with Siberia. It had been the site of the first trade empire built by the walking snake people, millennia ago, long before they’d invented aircraft.

  “It has been nearly a year since I was captured by that terrible insect,” hissed our friend. “Seeing my world, seeing the Eastern Ocean that I once sailed in a small craft, it enlivens my spirit.”

  Jane’s helmeted head was also focused on the holo. “Time Marker, where is the cave that you were exploring when you were captured by a pod? Is it on this continent, or another one?”

  “This one,” their friend hissed low. Two of his neck fringe tentacles, which had protruded through the suit fabric along with his short legs, now gestured at the lower end of the holo. “In the center of the continent is a range of mountains similar to the Rocky Mountains and Andes of your Earth. I was exploring a cave reputed to contain the remains of our earliest ancestors. Like you Humans, we Slinkeroo evolved from primitive reptilian forms to people with awareness. This cave held fossil remains from two million years ago, according to those Slinkeroo who study such things. I was curious and wished to explore a cave that had been the earliest home of our people.”

  Their friend’s words were soft-toned. Or so Bill heard them that way, thanks to the ear buds he wore. They too were a standard part of the tube suits. He and Jane had worn such suits after their escape from their cells. Wearing suits had activated Star Traveler’s emergency programming. Now, it was second nature for them, for nearby Chester, for everyone on their five ships to wear them whenever they moved outside a ship. He leaned forward. “Time Marker, were there dangerous animals in these high mountains? Did you have a weapon with you?”

  The walking snake shook his head from side to side, imitating the human behavior pattern he’d learned from close watching of Bill and Jane. “No, there were no large predators near the cave I explored. Just flying avians, small insects and squishy things that emerged from the soil. It was quite different from the jungles in which our ancestors lived, hunted, died and grew plentiful.” Their crewmate gestured
at the revolvers on his and Jane’s waists. “We have not needed pellet-shooting devices like those you wear. Electricity serves as a fine defense, when needed.”

  Across from them Chester lifted sandy brown eyebrows. “Were you Slinkeroo always able to project electrical charges?”

  Time Marker looked away from the holo, which now showed tall steel towers, domes and elevated walkways connecting all parts of the capital city. While ground level roads curved and twisted between the high buildings, there were few transports on the roads. But thousands and thousands of black-skinned Slinkeroo moved about on the walkways and ground routes. It was midday, so perhaps these different people were going to lunch. Or heading home. Or doing whatever walking snakes liked to do in the middle of the day.

  “We were,” Time Marker hissed. “It has been our nature since before we made images on cave walls, long before we produced written records. Projecting charges was how we shocked small animals into senselessness. So we could eat them.” Their friend blinked slowly. “Now, in our modern society, everyone uses their charges to control electrical devices. Including the cesium-based atomic clocks that I used to make. My devices helped regulate our world’s broadcast power grid and the time signal sent out from our central Marker Hall. Your U.S. Naval Observatory does the same.”

  Chester looked intensely curious. His gray eyes glanced at Bill and Jane, then looked to Time Marker. “That’s amazing. You have enough fine control to turn stuff off and on? To interact directly with this transport’s control panel?”

  “We do. I do,” their friend hissed. “All Slinkeroo do. Look! We are arriving at the hall!”

  The holo was now filled by a silvery steel spire as tall as the Empire State building. Projecting from the upper portion of the skyscraper was an oblong sheet of metal. Two small helicopter-like craft sat at the end that attached to the spire’s vertical walls. Which left plenty of room for their hundred foot long transport to set down.