Free the North! (Free Trader Series Book 5) (28 page)

As the sun was setting, Braden finished his grim task, covered in blood that he wouldn’t be able to clean off until they reached the oasis. He apportioned the water to those drinking. With what they ate, the ‘cats and Zyena didn’t need to drink. The water buffalo got their water, with the sickly one getting a double portion, and Brandt tried not to take any, but Braden didn’t give him any choice. Nearly all the water was gone, but there was enough that Braden drank a small amount, making him feel much better.

He scratched the ears of each of the ‘cats, taking time to tell Treetis that he was especially fond of him and hoped he would be near when they chose their homes in the south. The young ‘cat was relieved that he’d been forgiven and pleased that G-War’s bond liked him.

Braden opened his neural implant and with the oncoming darkness, they stepped off. The ‘cats urged the water buffalo to a fast pace, sometimes running wildly, but unerringly, toward the oasis. It was as if the water buffalo could smell the water and the soybean fields. Braden was light headed and started to fade. He knew that he couldn’t fall off Brandt. There was no one to put him back up there.

‘
Stay with us, my friend. It’s not much farther,
’ Brandt boomed in his thought voice. The kittens started complaining about the noise. G-War complained about their complaining and Fea tried to calm everyone down. It was the chaos that Braden found so comforting. It felt like home.

One Down, Two to Go

Braden awoke with a start. He began to fall, catching himself with a handful of Brandt’s back hair and startling the two ‘cats crouched on the King’s head. Sunrise cast long shadows from the trees of the oasis up ahead. Brandt was staggering. The six water buffalo were spread in a long line behind him. Braden slapped the King of the Aurochs on the neck, feeling the great creature’s pulse racing beneath his hand. Braden slid down the Aurochs’ side and dropped to the sand. He urged Brandt forward, straight to the lake, avoiding Tiskanay and the Seeders.

Braden yelled for the others, then used his thought voice to talk with all the ‘cats, telling them that all the water they could drink was only a few heartbeats away. Brandt continued as if in a daze, straight to the lake and into it, drinking until he puked, then he drank some more. He knew it wasn’t healthy, but his body demanded the water. At least it wasn’t as hot as it could have been.

The water buffalo showed up one by one. Treetis was on the lead beast, but he waited to guide the others in, pointing the way for the younger kittens. G-War and Fea drank their fill and returned to the edge of the oasis to see the others to the lake.

After the last water buffalo arrived, Braden stumbled along with Treetis and his ride. He watched the kitten’s eyes roll back in his head as he started to fall. Braden caught him and carried him to the lake, dabbing water on his nose and mouth. The water buffalo had waded into the lake and muddied it, but Braden didn’t care. The water was wet. He drank his fill while continuing to wet Treetis’ mouth. A pink tongue slowly snaked out and licked the water off. The tired eyes opened and he softly yowled.

“You did great, little man. Now drink bit by bit, then some more, then find shade and rest.” Treetis stood, not quite stable, but lapped at the water and then did as he was told. Fea and G-War corralled the kittens in one spot, keeping the young between them.

Braden opened his neural implant before he realized it had been flashing. Holly awaited, worried about Braden’s life signs during the night. He reassured Holly that he was fine, just dehydrated, but he wanted to talk with Micah. Holly said that she wasn’t far at all and then patched Braden through.

‘We’re at the oasis. We have some water buffalo for the ‘cats to eat and there is plenty of water,’
he said with a smile. Micah was surprised that he couldn’t see them, but he apologized as he hadn’t been looking. He ran for the edge of the oasis, but his head was pounding, so he slowed to a walk.

The sand shimmered under the morning sun. The outline of the wagon stood tall with the dark shapes of the water buffalo arrayed around it, seeming to materialize out of a nonexistent body of water.

They approached steadily. Arnie was still in good shape when he arrived, as were nearly all the water buffalo. The first thing they did was count heads, relieved to find that everyone had arrived. The water buffalo mercilessly waded into the lake. Bounder and Gray Strider were pleased to see Braden. Skirill and Zyena reunited happily, but both needed time to heal from flying in the bright sunlight looking for the lost kittens.

The humans met and hugged, shaking hands heartily. The desert could be unforgiving and it could also show what creatures are made of.

Until they realized that they forgot to pick up Aadi when they passed.

‘Aadi! Master Aadi, can you hear me?’
Braden called over the mindlink as he looked into the desert, squinting against the sun and shimmer. Something bumped against his back. He turned to see Aadi behind him, blinking slowly.

“Aadi! Why didn’t you tell us you were here?”

‘I told the Golden Warrior as you approached. When you awoke, you seemed quite preoccupied with the health of the others, as you always are. So I left you to it. We finished early and I’m sorry to say that none of the others showed any interest in the affairs of the humans. Oh my! What do we have here?’
Aadi said as they moved toward the lake. It seemed as if all thirty-four ‘cats were sleeping in one pile under the shade of a tree and a bush at its base.

“G was more than a little successful convincing some of his fellow Hillcats to join us. We have some water buffalo, a couple horses, and a blacksmith, too.” Braden waved at Tom, who nodded pleasantly. G-War hadn’t worked with Tom’s mind to help him hear the other creatures, so he watched and was cordial, but didn’t hear the vast majority of conversations around him.

Braden didn’t worry. G-War would make it happen in his own time. Maybe Fea could do it. But that was an affair best left to the ‘cats.

Another Sacrifice

The caravan spent an entire turn at Oasis 03. The Development Unit started acting quirky, finally giving up trying to save the field from the animals enjoying its guilty pleasures. If Braden and Micah didn’t know better, they would have thought that its feelings were hurt. In the end, it locked itself in the maintenance shed and refused to come out until the caravan left.

Braden felt so bad that he called Holly.
‘Can you let the Development Unit know that its field served a magnificent purpose, as it was supposed to in feeding those who travel the Great Desert. This oasis has saved our lives for a second time. Please tell him that his efforts made it possible,’
Braden pleaded.

‘I assure you, Master Braden, that the Unit has no such feelings and does not need your platitudes. I don’t know how it could even process your gratitude. It doesn’t have the programming for it,’
Holly replied, confused at Braden’s odd request.

‘Holly! It locked itself in the maintenance shed!’

‘I’m sure it did not, Master Braden. You are always kidding with me. If it’s in the shed, it probably needed maintenance. It can follow no other course of action,’
Holly replied, confident in its understanding of how the Bots on Vii worked.

Braden remained unconvinced and closed his neural implant. Micah watched in good humor. “It’ll come out when we leave and start working to repair the fields. It saved our lives, whether it can know that or not. It looks like the water buffalo won’t be leaving a whole lot behind. We’ll bundle some of the plants to take with us, but not too much. Did you give some of the fresh meat to Tiskanay?”

Braden nodded. He’d done that before Micah had arrived with the rest of the livestock, just in case any of the beasts wandered too close. The Gila Monster had eaten her fill and had been sleeping ever since. Braden was still surprised that he hadn’t seen or heard from Aadi when he arrived. He was busy, but never too busy for his friends.

Aadi was less than forthcoming about the Tortoise Consortium, but Braden and Micah kept after him. Even G-War seemed interested.

‘I’m afraid there’s not much to tell. There are still only four of us and that was the main topic of discussion. They didn’t care about my adventures with the humans and compared to that, they have done nothing,’
Aadi said, sounding frustrated.

“What were you expecting?” Braden asked honestly, but earned him a punch in the arm from Micah.

‘I was expecting them to listen and that maybe even one or two of them would want to meet you. I was not expecting their complete disdain.’

“I’m sorry, Aadi. I didn’t mean to sound like I was judging. That wasn’t it. I have no idea what to expect, and guess that I never will since the other Tortoids will avoid us,” Braden said as a way of apology.

‘I’ve decided that it is my responsibility to bring new Tortoids into the world. So I shall begin that process when we arrive back south. I will need heat and the desert when the time comes.’

“Holy crap!” Braden blurted. Micah rested a hand on his shell and congratulated him. “Don’t you need a lady Tortoid or something?”

‘Sometimes, Master Braden, I think you don’t listen to me at all. We’ve already covered this. Tortoids reproduce individually. I will create the eggs and carry them for a certain time, then I need to deposit them in hot sand for the final stage. I should have something like ten hatchlings, but being much older than the norm, I may have fewer,’
Aadi stated.

Braden couldn’t reply. He always thought of Aadi as a grandfatherly type, not an individual who could produce a new family. Braden settled for slapping Aadi on the shell and congratulating him, hoping to get the chance to name one of the little guys.

‘No,’
was all Aadi said to that request as he turned and casually swam toward the lake, floating higher to avoid getting bumped by the water buffalo.

One of the kittens started howling and yowling. Fea was off like a shot with G-War close behind. Braden and Micah ran after them, not knowing what had happened but that something was wrong.

They raced around the lake toward the area where the Seeders had been isolated. A water buffalo had wandered too close and had been peppered with seeds from all three plants. The ‘cat who was linked to that beast was in a bawling mess as the water buffalo staggered back toward the lake, stumbled, and fell.

“We need to get that out of here. We don’t need any more Seeders and especially not right here on the beach,” Braden told them, waving at Brandt. He had the strength to drag the dying beast into the desert, although he didn’t want to do it. The other choice was to burn the beast using their blasters right there, but what would that do to the rest of the ‘cats and livestock?

“I’ll go with you,” Braden offered as he used some of the northern rope to tie the water buffalo’s legs together with a loop on the other end to throw over one of Brandt’s horns. The kitten cried intensely as he watched his beast dying. Fea and G-War asked if they could come along and bring the kitten.

Brandt started pulling. The water buffalo left a rut in the sand as Brandt dragged it. Its life force faded as they made it past the lake, along the widest trail, and away from the oasis into the desert. The kitten got to say its goodbyes and then Fea and G-War walked it back into the oasis. Braden untied the rope, thanking Brandt for his help, and waited for him to return to the oasis. When Braden and Micah were the only ones left, they stood with their backs to the oasis, dialed the flame setting on their blasters and fired, burning the dead beast and killing the Seeders within.

A dark cloud of smoke trailed into the sky.

02, then 01, then…

The caravan made its way as quickly as possible, hoping to make Oasis 02 in one night. That didn’t happen.

The water buffalo ate too much and then drank too much. They moved sluggishly the first night, so they had to erect the tent and everyone piled underneath it. Although it was a big tent, Holly only constructed it for an exact need. There was no spare room and over fifty very large animals generated a great deal of heat, and as it turned out, methane from ingesting such quantities of soybeans. The humans could barely tolerate the smell, but the ‘cats were even less able to deal with it. Everyone suffered except the water buffalo, horses, and Aurochs. Arnie and Brandt seemed unfazed and although they didn’t admit it, probably added to the noxious gases that refused to leave the confines of the tent.

They left well before sunset, braving the heat of the desert, knowing that they’d arrive at the oasis halfway through the night. They passed around the water, making sure everyone drank. G-War worked his magic and declared that he didn’t think any of the animals were at risk of dying.

Oasis 02 was a disappointment for the kittens since there was nothing for their animals to eat and very little shade. The humans set up the tent partially over the lake to provide both shade and water while they rested, but as soon as evening came, they’d be on their way.

The livestock picked up the pace as they had nothing to hold them back and everything waiting on them at Oasis 01. The kitten who’d lost his water buffalo found a new friend and they moved smartly with the herd. G-War and Fea were pleased with the efforts of the young ‘cats. Fea told them all, but G-War didn’t, thinking it would make them soft giving them praise for the mundane. This led to a healthy argument between all those listening as they each contributed their own definition of “mundane.”

G-War refused to be persuaded, although he was significantly outnumbered. His point was that they needed to learn that although this wasn’t mundane until recently, it was their new world. He wanted them to toughen up. He pointed to his scarred body. How could any of the ‘cats be ready for this if they received a thank you for casually riding a water buffalo? Fea gently stroked his scars with a paw, suggesting that she hoped none of the ‘cats had to deal with anything like that, but expected they’d surprise Prince Axial De’atesh with what they were capable of.