Escape 1: Escape From Aliens (22 page)

Bill had thought the same thing when first he’d seen the cities, ships and black-smoking industrial plants. Artillery was not that hard to make, nor was black powder a great mystery. But they knew nothing of the Doman culture. It was possible the armadillo folks were passive to a degree where they never thought of defense by way of a good offense. In his right holo Jane shook her head slowly.

“I wonder the same. But it is something we will not know.” She paused, turning thoughtful. “Star Traveler, the spark gap radio transmissions. Are they coming from one or more of the cities? And can you decipher their words based on the language spoken by our guests?”

“I can. And they are,” the ship mind said, sounding bored. “Two cities on the continent below seem to be signaling to each other. Three cities on the continent on the night side are also transmitting to each other.”

“Good to know there will be someone listening when I broadcast my warning.” She looked forward. “Navigator Lofty Flyer, what is the estimated arrival time for Collector ship
Warm Nest
?”

The flying squirrel leaned forward as she scanned her status holos. “It is coming in from north of this planet. Or from treetop level, as we Aelthorp call it. Arrival time to low orbit is nine minutes.”

His captain gave a sigh. “Damn. Wish those collector pods went as fast as this ship! Guess we wait.”

Long moments later Long Walker bent its worm head to scan something on its control pillar. It looked up at one of the holos in front of it. “Captain, the two collector pods have returned from the world below. They are intact. Now entering the Collector Pods Chamber. They . . . are locked down in the chamber,” the Zipziptoe creature moaned.

“Yes!” Jane snapped. “Star Traveler, transmit my usual warning about Collector ships, white glowing pods in the night sky and the need to protect their people from folks like Diligent Taskmaster. Warn them about the arrival of
Warm Nest
!”

“Transmitting on the spark gap radio frequencies,” the AI said.

“Captain,” called Bright Sparkle with a soothing flow of rainbow colors. “Will your warning do any good? If these people do not fight against the Sky Birds, will they make any effort to oppose collector pods sent down by this Collector ship?”

Jane turned and focused on Bill’s neighbor. “Fusion Chief, your concern is my concern. But the warning is sent. The Doman will do, or not do, whatever they choose.”

Bill had his eyes fixed on his system graphic holo. It showed the planet below them and space out to a million miles. A small moon orbited at 130,000 miles out. Nothing else showed on the graphic—but the purple spot of the Collector ship suddenly appeared on the outer edge of the zone. Moving at a speed of 67.1 million miles per hour, it would arrive at low orbit in a little less than one minute. Then he saw what he’d feared.

“Captain! The Collector ship will be here in ten seconds! It’s at 90,000 miles out. And its vector course has jinked sideways to aim directly at us!”

“Damn!” she cursed. “Engineer, move us—”

“Incoming neutrino signal!” called Star Traveler.

“Accept it,” Jane said while gesturing to the electrified snake that they should move downward, out of their equatorial orbit. More seconds passed.

“Ship
Blue Sky
, you betray all Collectors!” roared a loud mech voice. “But your betrayal will be short-lived! Taste the anger of Captain Dok Torsen!”

Bill’s true space holo flared greenly.

“Ship is hit!” Star Traveler said. “Hull is ruptured above the Containment Unit Chamber!”

“Take us down and behind the planet!” Bill yelled. Then he tapped Fire for the two nose lasers. The true space holo showed two green beams lancing out at the oncoming Collector ship. Which was now at 9,000 miles out and closely faster than he could think. But his instincts worked faster than thought. A second tap sent a stream of black antimatter directly at the enemy ship.

Much happened nearly instantly.

The
Blue Sky
sped south at one-tenth lightspeed, its vector curving to skim the planet’s atmosphere.

A second volley of green laser beams came at them but were disrupted by the Doman world’s upper air.

Just before they lost direct line of sight, Bill saw a yellow-white flare. Which disappeared. But his two drones had electro-optical eyes on the enemy ship. They told him what had happened.

“Captain! The
Warm Nest
is totally vaporized! It ran right into my antimatter beam!”

“Hoooly shit,” Jane whispered. “That was close. Too, too close. Navigator, put us on a vector heading south out of the ecliptic! Engineer, move us at full speed! I don’t want to be around in case that Collector launched thermonuke torps our way!”

“New vector established,” chittered Lofty Flyer, her voice tone shaking.

Looking right Bill saw the electric nimbus field around the walking snake expand to six feet out from its black skin. The field nearly touched Bright Sparkle on one side and Purposeful Guide on the other side. “Maximum ship speed accomplished!” hissed the four-footed Slinkeroo.

Bill checked the system graphic. As they pulled south of the planet, the graphic scale changed to show the planet, the nearby moon and all space out to a million miles. No purple spot. However, his two drones, left to orbit the Doman world until some other ship arrived, showed a view of the world’s northern hemisphere. Bright red and yellow streaks filled the air above the continent with the spark gap transmitters. The sweat on his neck felt cold. But welcome.

“Captain, the drones confirm the destruction of the Collector ship. Some fragments are now descending through the Doman atmosphere. They will look like meteor streaks to folks on the ground.”

Jane, her expression worn and a bit haggard, gave him a wave of acknowledgment. “Bill, thank you. You saved us with that antimatter blast.” Her hands, which were white knuckle bright from her gripping of the armrests, relaxed. “Star Traveler, dispatch repair robots to seal the hull rupture above the Containment Unit Chamber.”

“Robots dispatched,” the AI said, its tone sounding worried. “The ship’s hull integrity will be restored before we depart for another star system.”

“Damn well better be!” Jane said loudly. Looking his way, her manner softened. “Weapons Chief Bill MacCarthy, thank you. Consider yourself commended for superior performance.”

He gave her a grin and a nod. “Captain, it is your leadership that motivates me. Freedom is what we sought when we escaped from our cells. Freedom is what we have given to our returned captives. And freedom is what other planets and other people deserve!”

“Agreed.” She sat back and closed her eyes. “But that discussion can wait until we reach the edge of this system’s magnetosphere. Until then, I’m standing watch.”

Bill scanned his system graphic and true space holos once more. The graphic’s scale had expanded to cover the entire system. Nothing showed, even as far out as the seventh planet’s orbital. Once more the Doman system was quiet, peaceful and contained only their ship. And their people. He tapped the pillar controls. “Captain, I’ve set my station to automatic monitoring. With your permission, I’m heading back to the Food Chamber. There’s some bottles of Alien beer in the room’s cooler. Want a drink?”

“Damn right I do!” she said, opening her eyes and giving him a smile. “Maybe we all do. Bring back enough bottles for everyone on this Command Bridge!”

Bill got up and headed aft for the hallway access door. “Will do. Until then, how about running another podcast from Prairie Home Companion? I think our shipmates need some light humor.”

His Alien crewmates made a variety of sounds in response to Bill’s suggestion. The sounds were hard to decipher. No matter. For him and Jane, Garrison Keillor was just right!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

An hour before they reached the seventh planet’s orbital track, the surprise happened.

“Captain,” barked Purposeful Guide. “Before this ship departs for the Market world home system, should we not consult with our three passengers? They may wish to be returned home, rather than share our long trip out to Kepler 443.”

Bill felt surprise at the comment by the kangaroo reptile. When the crew had gathered together for meals in the Food Chamber, or for relaxing in the Greenery Chamber, the Alien had said little. He’d wondered if the male felt put down by his assignment to monitor the Life Support functions of the
Blue Sky
. That work involved frequent monitoring of the Air Production and Recycling. Which meant paying attention to the oxygen to CO
2
ratios, infusion of fresh oxy from the Greenery Chamber, and being sure the Waste Recycling Chamber conveyed fresh manure to Greenery. From his work with scuba regulators and air mixtures he had a sense of the delicacy of such work. But the Alien had managed an orbital complex in his home system. Perhaps he felt managing the systems of the
Blue Sky
was too simple a job. Or maybe he was just homesick.

Jane sat forward in her elevated command seat and fixed on the Cheelan. “Purposeful Guide, thank you! Of the ten of us now left on this ship, three have not been needed at crew functions.” She looked Bill’s way briefly, gave him a nod, then pursed her lips. “Star Traveler, connect me with the habitat rooms or other locations where the bioforms not in this room are now located.”

“Audio link established,” the AI said, its tone now sounding curious.

Bill had wondered for days whether the AI’s tone changes were due to thought and emotion, or simply a random algorithm that guided the AI in its imitation of biological life. A check of the system graphic showed them far south of the planetary plane of ecliptic. In an hour they would reach the seventh orbital. At which point they could go FTL. That hour gave plenty of time for a chat with their three passengers.

Jane crossed hands over her lap. “Wind Swift, Learned Escape and Builder of Joy, please come to the Command Bridge. We have delivered the last of our captive guests to their home world. And one of my crew has pointed out that some of you may wish to be returned to your home world before the
Blue Sky
sets off for a confrontation with the society that created this system of Buyers, Collector ships and Market worlds. Please come to the Command Bridge so I can learn your wishes.”

“On my way,” barked Wind Swift.

Chittering echoed through the room. “This one just awoke,” said Builder of Joy. “I respond to your invitation.”

“Captain, with reluctance I depart the Water Pool,” said the color-coded voice of Learned Escape.

Jane nodded to the silvery scaled reptile who’d brought up the issue. “Purposeful Guide, I’ve called them. Shortly we can all hear the wishes of our other guests.”

To Bill’s right Bright Sparkle shifted in her seat to face him. The black-haired woman fixed jade green eyes on him. She smiled. It was a normal, human-like smile which he’d learned was also natural to her Megun people. “Weapons Chief, I doubt my friend Learned Escape will wish to be taken home. Like me, he finds this ship and its effort to spread freedom within the Buyer system to be the adventure of a lifetime. As do I.”

Turning to face the nearly naked woman whose color bands flowed in complex shapes over her body brought him into sight of his captain. Who was watching him and Bright Sparkle with a look he might have labeled jealousy. Biting his lip, he gave the Alien woman a return smile.

“Thank you Bright Sparkle. I’m glad to hear that. It seems to me that having someone onboard who teaches survival to young Megun will be valuable when we enter the Market world home system.” Bill gave a nod to the holo of Jane. “And Captain, I think it would be useful to include all crew, and all guests who wish to help, in our planning discussions for what we might do in the Kepler 443 system.”

The woman who led them all gave him a speculative look. Then a half-grin. “Once more you escape, Senior Crewman MacCarthy.” She paused, licked her pale lips, and glanced around the Command Bridge. “Crew, I agree with our Weapons Chief. Once we enter Alcubierre space-time, headed wherever, let us gather for a meeting to discuss both strategy and tactics.”

Behind Bill came the sound of a door whooshing open. He looked back.

In came Wind Swift, wearing a fabric skirt. Her silvery scales glowed in the room’s yellow light. Her red eyes scanned the room, then she moved to stand next to Jane’s elevated command pedestal. Behind her came their second flying squirrel person. Builder of Joy’s brown-furred tail and arm flaps flared out widely, as if he were excited. Third and last in was the human male form of Learned Escape. The Megun’s color-banded skin flowed in a pleasing mix of green, yellow, gold, red, purple and black. The Alien man who taught jungle survival skills to young Megun waved at everyone, then came to a stop beside Jane’s pedestal. He looked up, green eyes fixing on their leader.

“Captain Jane Yamaguchi, I and the others respond to your invitation,” he said, his shoulder speaker and vidcame translating his body’s color speech into English.

Jane looked down at the new arrivals, then out to the other crew members. “People, former captives, I thank you all for your service to the
Blue Sky
. Your help has made it possible for us to return former captives to their home worlds. The two Doman, who we returned today, were the last of the captives who wanted to go home.” She looked down at the three gathered next to her captain’s seat. “But what are your wishes? We will return any of you to your home star. Or you can travel with us to Kepler 443, where we will seek to undermine the system where the taking of captives for sale as slaves first began.”

Wind Swift stirred. She stood up straight, leaving her thick tail to hover just above the room’s deck plates. “Captain, I enjoyed my work as a mining engineer,” she barked softly. “While I cherish my freedom from captivity, and have enjoyed the travels of this ship, I do wish to return home. To my world of Vibrant.”

Jane blinked. “Star Traveler, what is the home star of Wind Swift? In human terms.”

A low hum sounded. “The Cheelan star is recorded as Kepler 22. It is located 620 light years from your Earth. Its star is a G5V yellow dwarf slightly smaller than Sol. Five worlds are known to orbit the star.”

She paused. “Does it lie in the direction of Kepler 443?”

“It does,” the ship mind said calmly. “Both stars lie in your Cygnus constellation grouping.”

“Good.” Jane scanned the two other guests. “Learned Escape and Builder of Joy, what are your wishes?”

The flying squirrel’s brown fur fluffed out. “To stay on this ship! It is the adventure of a lifetime,” chittered Builder of Joy. “Perhaps I can assist our Weapons Chief in building new drones or other devices for protection of this ship.”

Learned Escape looked at Bill, next to Bright Sparkle, then back to Jane. “Captain, guider of this ship, our Megun people have long hoped to do what this ship now does. Travel star to star and meet new, exotic people! I am willing to stay on this ship forever! And I offer my survival lessons to any crew member who wishes to study them.”

Jane looked pleased. “Thank you, all three of you, for your patience as we returned other captives to their home worlds. The two of you who remain are welcome and I am sure we can find work for each of you.” She looked to Wind Swift. “As for you, young lady, when we reach the edge of this system’s magnetosphere we will set course for Kepler 22. It is on the way to our target star. And perhaps your people will supply us with hydrogen isotopes for our engines and fusion plants.”

Wind Swift clapped together her four-fingered hands. “Thank you! My gratitude is boundless. And I volunteer to speak to our Cheelan authorities on your behalf. Although my fellow Cheelan Purposeful Guide may be a better help. His work managing the orbital complex above our world makes him an ideal helper for your refueling needs.”

Jane struggled to maintain her officer’s composure in the face of the Cheelan’s excited manner. “Thank you, Wind Swift. Once we arrive at Kepler 22, and see what the situation is, I will decide then on how to contact your Cheelan authorities.” She looked at the other two guest captives. “Meanwhile, all three of you are welcome to stay on the Command Bridge until we enter the Alcubierre space-time modulus and go FTL. Star Traveler, generate benches or seats for our three guests.”

In the back of the room there rose three silvery metal blocks. Two of them became open-backed seats while the third became a bench suitable for use by the kangaroo-like form of Wind Swift.

Jane folded hands in her lap. “Star Traveler, what is the distance from the Doman star of EPIC 201367065 to Kepler 22? And the estimated travel time?”

The AI’s standard hum was brief this time. “Distance from this local star to Kepler 22 is 681.687 light years. Travel time will be 27.27 days.”

“Almost four weeks,” Jane murmured. “Well, that gives us plenty of time to rest, relax, repair stuff and consult on our battle plan for Kepler 443.”

Bill felt pleased by the long travel time. He could get in a true regime of endurance and strength training. For endurance he ran laps along the two main hallways, which came out to a half mile of running and ducking through hatchway doors. For strength he did pushups and sit-ups under a two-G gravity field. For breaks he alternated between a dip in the Water Pool Chamber and a relaxed lie-about on the green grass of the Greenery Chamber. While Greenery had no crickets or birds or buzzing dragonflies like he was used to from the Colorado Rockies, still, it was a large chamber filled with aspen-like trees, dark green bushes that resembled sagebrush and red-barked, gnarly-trunked small trees that resembled the madrone of the West. Plus there was a small blue pond in the middle of the meadow. Both the meadow and the pond were near the entrance from the hallway. While he often met fellow captives in both chambers, the sleep periods of most Aliens on the
Blue Sky
were similar to Earth’s night-time, since nearly all of them hailed from G-type yellow stars. He’d learned that visiting the Water and Greenery chambers in the middle of the ship ‘night’ guaranteed him some privacy. In particular he enjoyed lying on his back in the Greenery Chamber. A request to Star Traveler led to night’s darkness and a ceiling that glowed with the white star band of the Milky Way and other star clusters as seen from the high Rockies. He found it relaxing to lie there and stare up at the stars, wondering which ones might be friendly and which might be dangerous.