Free the North! (Free Trader Series Book 5) (10 page)

The King of the Aurochs shrugged. He was sorry for holding them back and felt even worse that they had to bring food to him.

“Think nothing of it, my large friend. Sometimes you just have to sit back and be pampered,” Braden said as he leaned against the Aurochs, absentmindedly rubbing his great neck with his good arm while the shoulder of the other wore an ice pack.

“Don’t you two look the pair?” Micah taunted. Braden chuckled.

“I’m glad nothing’s broken. Holly thought we might be good to go in seven turns. In the interim, I guess we’re on vacation.” Braden leaned back and let the ice do its work. He watched the Wolfoids build the fire with help from the recently gorged Rabbits. Aadi floated over the lake, enjoying the moisture it gave off. Skirill, Zyena, and G-War were already asleep, having eaten the raw bits until they were full.

Arnie finally waddled back to where the companions were relaxing on the small beach surrounding the lake. He collapsed in a heap, struggling to keep his head up for a few heartbeats, before giving up and falling asleep.

As usual, the companions chatted, as friends do, while they ate and watched the fire snap and pop. Micah retreated to their room to fire up the fabricator for wine and brownies for the humans. She took Zeller with her to show her how everything worked.

Zeller was still hesitant to accept that Old Tech was so prevalent in her fellow villager’s world. In her world too, it seemed. She was fearful of it, but Micah’s assurances and the ease with which she accessed and used it started to put her mind at ease. They had the companions to keep them from abusing its power.

Although she was warming to the idea of Old Tech, Zeller still slept outside with the others when night fell. She didn’t even wake up when one of the Bots cleaned up the fire or brought more ice for the King of the Aurochs.

By the third turn resting at the oasis, Zeller had her own room and had fallen in love with the fabricator. She liked trading and she was getting better as a swordsman every day, but she hunted only out of necessity. Finding a place where food simply appeared made her giddy, especially food like the brownies. Her fear of all things ancient evaporated.

By the sixth turn after their injuries, Braden’s shoulder was black and blue, but it felt far better than it looked. He had full use of his arm and had joined Micah and Zeller in their sparring practice. Brandt was walking gingerly, putting more and more weight on his leg with each day, but he wouldn’t be able to run yet. Braden and Holly spent a good amount of time looking at and discussing the King’s knee. The hologram suggested a knee brace and directed the Maintenance Bots to fabricate one.

Braden couldn’t fathom what Holly recommended. He’d never heard of such a thing before.

Old Tech was so much more than blasters and weapons. Numbweed came as a surprise to Holly, but the ancients’ medical technology seemed almost like magic to the backwards survivors of the civil war. At times, Holly was surprised that anyone survived at all, having lost nearly all the combined knowledge of the ancients. Braden and Micah took offense at that, as usual, since the most important knowledge was retained, and that was how to live.

On the seventh turn after arriving at the oasis, Arnie looked like he needed to run off some of the fat he had quickly added to his body. The Rabbits always looked round, but the humans expected that they had also softened a bit with access to a massive field of freshly grown vegetables. The Rabbits made recommendations to the Development Unit, which Micah had to send to Holly so he could send the instruction back to the Bots in the oasis. A roundabout way, but Patrice and Delavigne got to make their point for improvements in both the quantity and quality of what was grown in the field.

The brace was a massive contraption of lightweight metal and carbon fiber. Braden’s first attempt to strap it onto the King’s leg was a miserable failure. He had to open his neural implant and ask for help. He’d had the thing upside down. Once righted, he tightened the straps, then loosened them just a hair as Brandt said it was making his hoof numb. After testing it, the King of the Aurochs declared it sound and appreciated the vast improvement it instantly made in how well he could move. He happily trotted to the far end of the field to find what Arnie had left behind.

“We leave at sunset?” Braden asked, already knowing the answer. With the night, they’d be underway to Oasis 02 where they’d find water, but no other provisions, no other comforts. They would take it easy and planned for a two-turn trip. Holly helped them find a mid-way point where they planned to camp in a small ravine. It would be good practice for when they traveled south with a herd of water buffalo.

Braden looked forward to that challenge, but he needed the Aurochs to both be healthy. They and the Wolfoids had important roles to fill as shepherds of the herd. Bounder wasn’t sure, a little annoyed that he wouldn’t be able to use his lightning spear on the water buffalo, but willing to give it a try. Gray Strider had no such reservations.

With all of that on their individual minds and a wagon filled with provisions for the journey through Oasis 02 to Oasis 03, they headed out as the daylight waned. They knew they could resupply foodstuffs of sorts at 03, but the meat eaters would be going without for the last half of the journey north of the Great Desert. They’d persevered through hardship before. Braden seemed unconcerned. G-War hated this part of the trip.

He decided that he’d share that with everyone and keep his discomfort in the forefront of their minds until they were back north where he could hunt ground squirrels with the Hawkoids and deer with the Wolfoids.

Arnie started walking and the wagon obediently followed him. The humans collectively took one last deep breath of the fresh air from the oasis as they entered the heat of the desert.

G-War entered all their minds using the mindlink and asked one simple question, “Are we there yet?”

The Heat

This night was hotter than usual and despite Brandt’s best effort, as morning approached, they realized they wouldn’t reach the halfway point. Braden and Micah both started working with Holly to find a reasonable place to set up the tent.

As the first rays of light peeked over the horizon, they still hadn’t stopped. Skirill and Zyena leapt into the air and flew to the sides of the wagon, weaving a semi-circle  around the caravan and extending forward with each pass as they looked for a place to shelter. They were greeted by wide open areas and shifting sands. They couldn’t see any rocky outcroppings or dry river beds.

The sun rose and continued into the sky. The heat built, to where it pressed in on the Aurochs, forcing them to move slower and slower.

“Right here. Let’s get the tent up, so we can drink plenty of water and rest.” Arnie was thankful for the break. He hadn’t slept the previous daylight and was bone tired. Brandt was as well, plus his knee ached. He wished he had more ice to put on it.

The humans were able to erect the tent much quicker than the first time, and they figured they’d get it done even faster the next. With everything out of the mid-morning sun, Braden started digging, but he only found more sand, never reaching the coolness of the hard earth beneath. He gave up and tried to find comfort within the wagon, but there were already too many furry bodies radiating heat in there with the provisions taking up the rest of the space. He opted for sleeping beneath the wagon.

Trying to sleep, that was. He started to question why he thought they needed water buffalo without having fully explored the south in search of them. They’d heard the animals were there, but how hard did they search? Braden, on his own, determined that heading north was the best course of action. He’d imposed his will on all the others, something he’d vowed not to do.

The King was on his side, taking all the pressure off his knee. Braden got up and used his water flask to pour water through the knee brace. It cooled as it evaporated. Once dry, Braden did it again. He kept at it until he couldn’t stay awake anymore. His efforts helped them both.

They drank heartily of their water, before Braden realized they’d go through it all in less than three turns. Since they didn’t expect to get to the Oasis 02 by morning, they needed to start conserving. Otherwise they’d arrive with no water left. If anything was wrong with the water at the oasis, then they’d be without and have to try to make it back to Oasis 01. He thought he’d keep it to himself, but knew that everyone had just heard his loud thoughts.

Better that they know. No more water than they needed and when the time came, they’d head out as fast as they could go.

As the sun was setting, they collapsed and packed the tent in no time at all. They harnessed Arnie and headed out, hoping that the terrain cooperated and that they’d make it to the oasis before sunrise.

Halfway through the night, they knew they had no chance of making it. They were probably only going to cover half the distance. Brandt’s knee was starting to swell again, requiring Braden to loosen the straps on his brace. Everyone was unhappy, but at least G-War stopped complaining. Brandt probably threatened his small orange life. Braden didn’t care what brought the annoying noise to a stop, just that it stopped.

That wasn’t to say the Golden Warrior wasn’t miserable. He was, probably more so than anyone besides Brandt. They traveled together in the dark, G-War using his eyes to keep the Aurochs from stepping where he shouldn’t. Brandt soldiered on, despite the agony he had to be in.

They stopped early, counting on falling asleep before it became too hot so they could rest longer and better. It took them a while to set up the tent as they were tired, thirsty, and in foul moods. The trip so far had been short, but they all suffered in different ways.

‘My fellow companions,’
Aadi started, using a soothing tone for his thought voice.
‘The Great Desert is my home. For me, it is comforting to be here, but for others, the desert is harsh and unforgiving. Accept that you will never master it. You can only hope to survive it, every time you travel here.’

The others stopped what they were doing and looked at the Tortoid, giving him their full attention.

‘I never imagined such things as you seem to do with great regularity, Master Braden. You defeated the desert when you had nothing. You now have everything, but the desert continues to fight you. Don’t let it win! Only through force of will can you best this wasteland. No amount of Old Tech will hold the desert at bay. Just you and your stubborn refusal to quit,’
Aadi ended. He floated downward and started digging his sleeping hole as if nothing had happened.

Nothing had. The companions needed to do what they always did: whatever they had to in order to win. Braden crawled under the wagon, lying on a blanket in just his shorts. Micah was there, too, but not touching him. It was too hot for that. She wore just her shorts, too. Braden looked at how hard her body was. And the scars. He rolled to his side and traced a finger along the scars on her neck and shoulders. Her eyes fixed on his chest where the Lizard Man spear had sliced viciously. She did her best, but the scar was thick and jagged. His hand missed two fingers. Only the stubs remained as the laser cut cleanly through both at the second knuckle.

She giggled as he tickled her under the arms, while his eyes took in all of her. “I’m nothing to look at,” she toyed. “Zeller is the good looking one from the village.”

He knew how the game was played and this was dangerous territory. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I’m pretty sure that I’m looking at the best looking woman in the whole south.”

Her expression turned cold. “No!” he blurted out. “I can never get it right, and you know what I’m thinking, too!”

She threw out the bait like the expert fisherman she was. He took it and she reeled him in. She laughed heartily. He was confused.

“There are more women in the north and then there are clones on the  ship. You were supposed to say ‘in the whole universe,’ lover,” she guided him.

“What if I don’t mean in the whole universe?” Braden taunted in reply. She pushed him playfully.

They heard the others laughing from inside the wagon. Zeller was the loudest, snorting occasionally, which made Braden and Micah start laughing again.

‘Aadi, you are a genius,’
Braden said over the mindlink.

‘Indeed, Master Human. Tonight we rise again and the new daylight will show us the oasis. Fear not. The desert is done with us for now,’
Aadi said in a tired thought voice.

A Refreshing Break

As Aadi predicted, they arrived at Oasis 02 with the sunrise. They snuggled up close to the sparse vegetation while refilling their water stocks. It was only slightly cooler around the lake as only some of the vegetation had revived with the restoration of the water’s flow. Micah looked at the small lake and disrobed, slowly climbing into the water to cool off. Brandt lay with his front legs in the water. The Wolfoids and Hillcat lapped noisily while the Rabbits drank daintily, pink noses twitching.

As Braden refilled their flasks, he watched as Zeller stripped naked and joined Micah. He looked away, but it was too late. Micah shook her head. “Shame on you, partner mine.”

“What’s with you people from Trent?” he asked. “My life used to be so much simpler.”

“And less exciting,” Micah responded. “We’ve had this conversation before.”

“Yes, we have and I always reach the same conclusion. G-War and I used to have it so easy.” He finished filling the flasks and with his back turned modestly, removed his clothing and joined the women in the small lake.

“You cleared this yourself?” Zeller asked.

Braden felt proud, thinking back on Aadi’s words. “I did. I refused to let the desert beat me. We needed water. Max and Speckles needed water. G-War needed to eat. We came here from Oasis 03. Skirill burned himself up trying to find it. We made it late in the morning and spent the day in the sun clearing the sand away from the solar panels. Once they took in enough energy, the pump started and water began to flow again.”