Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction (3 page)

We were three days from
WuxiCity
when the Bugs flew over us.
 
They flew so low that the kamaals spooked and ran away.
 
My kamaal threw off its pack and me and then followed the others.
 
We had never seen space ships before and I wasn't sure what had just happened.
 
I picked up the pack and started to track my group.
 
I didn't dare leave the pack because the wind could come up at any time and would bury it so I could never find it.
 
The Bugs needed someone strong enough to lift large objects and move them around.
 
When they saw me pick up the pack, they stunned me.
 
I didn't remember anything until I woke up in a cell on the mother ship.
 
They kept me moving large objects without the proper nourishment until I was so sick I could hardly move myself.
 
That's when you came in.
 
Tik, where and how did they get you?"

Tik told her story, "I'm from the galaxy Melpomene and the planet Vesta IV.
 
My people, the Mis'stears, all seem to have a knack for electronics.
 
We can make about any kind work and computers are my specialty.
 
I don't care who makes them or what different types they use; I can fix them and program them.
 
I don't know how to describe it but I can almost feel what needs to be done.
 
I was working at the space port at Anbang when the Bugs landed with one of their planetary space ships.
 
They asked about a computer technician and the space port directed them to the company I worked for.
 
My company sent me out to work on their computers.
 
I worked several days and had most of their problems cleared up.
 
The last day I went to the space ship thinking I would be finished that day.
 
Just before I was finished, they took off and headed to the mother ship.
 
They grabbed me about six months before you, Ron.
 
Someone on that mother ship owes me a lot of back wages and it sounds like they will owe both of you also."

"Well, this space ship is a down payment on what they owe.
 
I, for one, want to make sure they leave Earth and other planets alone.
 
They need to be taught that they can't kidnap a being every time they have a job they can't do," Ron stated emphatically.

Gus growled, "I agree.
 
How do we teach them to stay off our planets?"

"I don't know.
 
We'll find a way.
 
Right now, we just need to make sure we get away and get fuel for this ship," Ron replied.
 
"We need to get those rockets ready to use, and Tik, you need to check those computers and comm units we patched into the console where the Bugs ripped out the old ones.
 
They seem to be working right now but we need to make sure that all of the computers are talking to one another and everything is secured in place.
 
We'll need those comm units later but, for now, we have to keep complete radio silence.
 
Once you're sure everything is all right maybe you could run checks on the ship's computer memory banks and see if you can find anything the Bugs missed.
 
Gus, we can explore more of the ship with the same thing in mind.
 
There are still some areas we couldn't get into and I don't think the Bugs had any better luck."

Ron and Gus walked to the hold of the space ship and started setting up the rockets.
 
Ron checked the computer and found out what settings they needed and made the necessary adjustments.
 
Gus helped move the rockets when needed and explored more of the space ship.
 
Finally, Ron had everything adjusted to his satisfaction.
 
All they needed to do was fuel up the rockets and load them into the external tubes on the space ship.
 
He joined Gus in exploring areas they couldn't get to while they were on the mother ship.

Tik double-checked all of her installment and redid some of the temporary connections.
 
She agreed with Ron about not wanting something coming loose during a crisis.
 
She made sure the computers themselves were securely fastened into the console.
 
Then she ran diagnostic checks to make sure all the computers were working together.
 
One computer had some quirks she didn't like so she tweaked some of the programming and it worked a lot better.
 
Next she started checking the data bank in the original space ship computer.
 
There were parts of it that had been encrypted and she was certain the Bugs hadn't seen any of those files.
 
She tried several different ways to get into the files but she was not having much luck.
 
After several hours of straining, she had to move away from the computer.
 
She decided to see if she could find Ron and Gus.
 
The space ship was set to warn them if anything approached or if there was any other anomaly so they didn't really need anyone to stay in the flight cockpit.

Tik found Ron and Gus working on a locked door in the level just above the hold.
 
They had Gus' and Ron's computers and had been trying for over an hour to get the door unlocked.
 
Tik looked closely and couldn't see any progress on the computer.
 
They decided to put the computers away for now and to go get something to eat and then get some rest.
 
The last two or three days had been very intense and nerve-wracking and they were all feeling it.
 
As they headed to the dining area, Ron said they needed to tell their story and have the ship's computer record it in case they ever had a chance to use it against the Bugs.

Each one of the trio fixed the nourishment their body needed.
 
After they had finished eating they cleaned up the galley and sat down.
 
Tik called to the computer and told it to record their story.

Since Gus had been captured first, he started the tale.
 
Gus woke up feeling confused.
 
The surface he was lying on didn't feel like the desert he had been on.
 
He opened his eyes and looked around at the 10 foot by 12 foot room.
 
The ceiling looked to be about nine feet tall and had a diffused light coming from the center section.
 
The walls were bare, smooth and a pale tan color.
 
He sat up from the large bunk he was lying on and bumped his head on the bunk above him.
 
He smoothed the kilt he was wearing and checked the crossed straps that went over his shoulders.
 
The straps were attached to the belt holding his kilt and his personal pouch.
 
The straps had small pockets that held his personal tools.
 
Besides the personal pouch, he had a knife and a hammer/ax hanging from the belt.
 
All his tools and weapons seemed to be intact and everything was still in his personal pouch.
 
Once he had checked his personal belongings, he looked across the room and saw another stack of bunks.
 
The bunks all had three drawers underneath and when Gus opened the drawers under his bunk, they were empty.
 
He checked the other drawers and they were empty also.
 
The rest of the room was bare except for a door and a small depression in the floor against the wall opposite the door.
 
Gus tried to move the bunks and found they were fastened to the floor.
 
He went to the door to try it but it was locked.
 
Gus grabbed the handle and strained for all he was worth.
 
The door didn't budge.
 
Next he went to the bunks and tried to move them again.
 
He looked closely but couldn't see any thing attaching them to the floor.
 
He paced the room for several minutes but could see no way out or any way to communicate with those outside the door.
 
He went back to the door and pressed his ear to it.
 
He listened intently but could not hear anything.
 
Finally he returned to the bunk and sat down.

The light never varied so Gus had no idea how long he sat there.
 
Suddenly the door swung open and a small creature stepped in.
 
The creature was in a dark gray robe with a hood.
 
The hood was up and there appeared to be a face shield covering the entire opening of the hood.
 
The creature was about four feet tall and the robe went clear to the floor so Gus couldn't see what its feet looked like.
 
The robe had two sleeves on each side of the body and the sleeves were long enough that no hands showed.

Gus stared for a few seconds and then roared loudly, "Who are you?
 
Where am I at?"

The creature stood and stared impassively.
 
The creature saw a Sandghost from the planet Prokne.
 
The Sandghost stood over seven feet tall with very broad shoulders and long thick arms.
 
It had a large barrel-shaped torso.
 
The hands on the ends of the arms were enormous with four fingers and a thumb on each hand.
 
The head was almost a cube with almost square corners like a block of stone that an artist had just started carving.
 
It had the eyes, nose and mouth but it hadn’t been rounded like a human head yet.
 
It was very massive, in proportion with the rest of the body.
 
Each leg was bigger around than the creature in the robe.
 
The Sandghost's skin looked like someone had made a giant statue out of sand and then had given it life.
 
The creature didn't know it but Gus weighed over 400 pounds.
 
The creature slowly took all of this in and didn't make a sound.

This infuriated Gus even more and he roared even louder, "Listen, you pile of kamaal waste, I'll split you in two."
 
Gus started to take a step toward the creature.

The creature moved the lower limb on the right side and reached into a fold of the robe.
 
The limb moved quicker than Gus' eye could follow as it pulled a small slender rod with some sort of grip.
 
The creature held the grip in something like a hand with two fingers and a thumb.
 
The fingers looked like they had small suction cups on the ends.

He had barely completed the step when he saw a bluish light on the end of the rod.
 
He dropped to his knees as he felt an excruciatingly intense pain.
 
The pain was so bad he could hardly breathe and he definitely couldn't move.
 
After what seemed an eternity, the pain stopped and he gasped for breath.
 
He was so weak all he could do was kneel there, trying to get air into his body.

"I am Nansha of the Challeka Traders of Elgebar V.
 
Our supreme commander is
Zibo
ao Te and you are her prisoner.
 
If you do as I say, we may, at our discretion, offer you a chance to purchase your freedom.
 
If you threaten us again, the pain will be worse next time.
 
We have work for you to do to earn your keep.
 
You will follow me now to see where you will work," the small creature said in a quiet voice in Gus' language.

The creature turned and stepped from the room, where it mounted a small disk that sat on the floor.
 
Gus dragged himself to his feet and followed.
 
It was all he could do to put one foot in front of the other but shortly he felt himself returning to normal.
 
The disk rose about six inches off the floor and moved down a large passage-way.
 
Gus followed as best he could until his limbs started moving normally again.
 
As he started moving better, the creature moved the disk faster down the passage-way.
 
Gus thought about attacking the creature again but the memory of the pain was too fresh.
 
He decided to bide his time and would get this creature the first chance he got.
 
Sandghosts were known for their long memory.

The creature led Gus down the passage-way to an elevator and they dropped several levels.
 
When the elevator opened, they moved into another passage-way.
 
There were more of the robed Challekans and several other aliens moving in both directions.
 
The creature led Gus to a doorway that swung open as they moved up to it.
 
When they stepped through, Gus saw a huge room with several of the flying machines that had spooked his kamaal.
 
Gus saw that some of these machines had a ramp down in the back and different species of beings were loading and unloading boxes, bags and equipment.
 
Nansha directed Gus to one of the flying machines where another robed creature was directing the unloading process.
 
Nansha waved toward Gus and then chirped, clicked and rustled to the other robed figure.

The robed Challekan came over to Gus and said, "My name is
Sabah
.
 
You can start carrying those sacks to the grav-sled over there.
 
I'll be over on that platform observing so don't try anything."

Gus debated in his mind about smashing this creature or doing as it said and looking for a better chance to escape.
 
He decided to comply for now and bide his time.
 
He really didn't want to be zapped with that ray again.
 
He slowly walked up the ramp and grabbed a bag.
 
He carried it to the grav-sled and threw it down.
 
He turned and slowly walked back into the flying machine and repeated the process.
 
When all of the sacks were unloaded,
Sabah
took Gus to a grav-sled and told him to start loading the boxes in another flying machine.
 
He showed him where to store the boxes and told him to make sure that the stacks were tight and neat.
 
Gus got all of the boxes in the flying machine and then
Sabah
showed him how to put a net over them and secure them.
 
Another grav-sled arrived and
Sabah
told Gus to start loading these items next to the boxes he had just secured.
 
Gus noticed that
Sabah
was supervising about 20 other large alien creatures.
 
Gus didn't see any other Sandghosts but some of the other creatures were as big as he was; however, they didn't seem to think on their own.
 
They acted more like the robots Gus saw occasionally.