Adventures on RV Traveler (Free Trader Series Book 3) (10 page)

22 – The Rabbit People

“Back on the ramp!” Braden yelled. He was close to the door and waved his bracelet at it. As the door slid open, he pulled Micah to her feet and pushed her through. He waved Pik forward. The Lizard Man ran, hopping foot to foot, his clawed feet more accustomed to stomping through a swamp than running on a hard surface. Skirill flew toward the door, nearly hitting Braden with his wings as he landed and hopped through. Aadi couldn’t get there in time and G-War was nowhere to be seen.

“Micah! Blasters on flame.” He stepped aside to let Micah out as he pulled his blaster and dialed up the wide, short-range flame setting.

The Bees approached in a slow-moving cloud.

‘G, where are you?’
Braden asked as Micah moved onto the ramp, leaving the door open between them. With her mouth set and eyes scanning the cloud, she held her blaster at the ready, her pulse racing. The cloud looked too much like the Bat-Ravens.

‘I am here. I will wait and talk with the Rabbits. Aadi will join me,’
the ‘cat responded without the emotion that Braden felt.

Pik bounced through the doorway and disappeared behind the screen. He and Skirill were safe. The humans wouldn’t leave the ‘cat and Tortoid behind. They remained where they were, ready to face the Bee Army and the as-yet unseen Rabbit People.

The Bee Army stopped its advance. The cloud moved, sometimes growing long and thin, sometimes getting small, dense, and round. Braden looked at Micah and shrugged. He trusted G-War and Aadi to come through.

“Allies,” Micah said softly. “We need allies if we’re going to make it. Aadi is usually right about these things. I think he’s rubbed off on your ‘cat.” Micah holstered her blaster and leaned back against the door frame. Braden was torn. He kept the blaster in his hand, but lowered it. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the mindlink. He wanted to hear what they were saying. Micah was already there.

‘This is most unusual. We don’t often get visitors and alas, we have to protect ourselves. We’ve learned over time how to and the Queen has joined us. We live in peace and harmony, except when visitors come,’
a soft thought voice spoke. Braden imagined the speaker as a Rabbit, standing on its back feet, nose twitching, eyes big and pink.

‘I assure you, Master Tekel, that we come in peace. Yes, we are armed for war. One would be foolish to move through this ship without being ready to fight,’
Aadi said to the unseen Master Tekel. Braden wanted to join the conversation, but thought better of it. Micah moved next to him and grasped his hand. He looked down, alarmed that she blocked his blaster.

Then she did a strange thing. She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him passionately. He resisted at first, but then was overcome by her feelings of love and warmth that overwhelmed his mindlink. When she released him, he couldn’t hear anything, either over the mindlink or with his ears.

‘G?’
he asked tentatively. The Bee cloud remained in place, continuously reshaping itself.

‘And that is how you do it,’
Aadi said with glee. Micah smiled and started walking forward, still holding Braden’s hand. He followed as she wouldn’t let go.

The image of rafting whitewater rapids popped into his mind. He was hanging on with everything he had, watching the world go by as the river splashed over him. The companions shared their mirth at his image. Sometimes he projected when he didn’t intend to, like now when he was confused as to why everyone else was so pleased with themselves.

‘Master Tekel, please meet Masters Braden and Micah.’
G-War appeared from under a bush, followed by a Rabbit, walking on his hind feet, wearing a harness and carrying a blaster. The Rabbit’s head was even with Braden’s waist.

The Rabbit moved close and leaned forward, his pink nose wrinkling and twitching.

‘Rub noses with her,’
G-War said. Micah was the first to move, going to one knee and leaning her face forward. She smelled carrots and green beans as she gently touched her nose to Tekel’s. She slowly reached a hand around the Rabbit and scratched behind her ears and on her neck.

Braden finally holstered his blaster and kneeled down, following Micah’s lead.

‘Affection,’
Aadi answered Braden’s unasked question.
‘The rabbits thrive on love and affection. Micah’s actions convinced them more than any words. Thank you, Micah. We need allies like the Rabbit People.’

Braden looked up. The Bee cloud dispersed, like smoke in a strong wind. The Bees separated, each going their own way into the flowers and bushes of the Garden Level. More Rabbit People edged into the clearing on the ramp. Aadi urged Skirill and Pik to join them. Skirill used his bracelet to keep the door open. Pik stepped through first and Skirill hopped after him.

The Rabbit People each held a blaster. They wore harnesses with various pouches and gardening tools attached. They watched the Hawkoid and Lizard Man warily.

Pik learned quickly. He kneeled and bowed to Tekel. He didn’t have much of a nose, but leaned forward until the flat part of his face and the Rabbit’s nose touched. She quickly withdrew.

The Hawkoid didn’t attempt the nose-rub greeting, choosing instead to bow until his beak touched the ground. Skirill had eaten too many rabbits in his life to risk getting close to them. He wasn’t going to attack them, but didn’t want them to see him as a threat.

‘Master Human, I am Tekel, leader of the Rabbit People, Commander of the Bee Army. I bid you welcome to The Garden. We maintain it for the People.’

The humans sat down on the ramp and explained to their new friends what their mission was, how they needed to get to the forward part of the ship. The Rabbit People were curious about Planet Vii. Could they live there?

‘I don’t see why not,’
Braden answered.
‘You are small enough to fit in the corridors and in the transportation room recliners. Only twelve could travel at a time, but I don’t see why not. If you can do this with a garden, your skills would be most welcome on Vii.’
Always the trader, he saw their place on the trade route. Rabbit People guiding humans on how to improve the quality and quantity of their gardens and fields. Food aplenty. Prosperity for all!

“If you went to Vii, what would you want? What motivates you?” Braden asked.

‘I haven’t really thought about it that way. Let me think.’
The Rabbit wrinkled her nose and twitched her rather substantial ears, then continued.
‘We enjoy each other and our children. We want gardens to tend, good food to eat, and space to play. We are rather simple creatures.’
She looked at the other Rabbits on the ramp. They bobbed in agreement with her.

“I would never describe you as simple. Everyone likes something a little bit different, that’s all.” He shrugged and looked at the sky. The gentle breeze rustled the tops of the bushes.

“I hope we can make this deal. I’d like to see your people on Vii, carving out your place on the trade route, partners with the rest of us.” Braden looked at each of the Rabbits and then at his own companions, pleased with their friendship and relieved at the quality of their new allies. What would it take for others to understand that friendship and trust was a better way?

“We need to get forward. We’d like to go that way and then pass through one of the doors. Can you help us?” Micah pointed at the far wall. The ramp from Deck 9 ended in a forward area of Deck 8. The bulkhead stood close by, maybe no more than two kilometers, as Holly would measure it.

Tekel nodded. With a  wave, the Rabbit People walked and hopped into the brush.
‘Follow me,’
she said.

Braden motioned for Micah to go first, then Pik. Aadi floated above everything, while Skirill flew ahead. G-War walked at Tekel’s side. With one last look at the wide ramp with the great screen for a door, Braden plunged into the bushes.

23 – Forward, Ever Forward

Tekel was a joy to be around. She radiated warmth and happiness. They couldn’t imagine how she could command the defense of Deck 8, should it be necessary. Then again, the Bee Army, once unleashed, could probably take care of an enemy without Tekel having to direct death and destruction in any way.

Braden wondered how the Rabbits acquired the blasters. They were left behind by the crew long ago. Tekel said that they still saw crewmen, once or twice a generation. She didn’t know the length of a Rabbit generation in cycles. She had no frame of reference for time.

It gave Braden and Micah hope that someone still operated the ship. No matter what happened as they continued forward, Deck 8 was friendly with plenty of food. The Rabbits led them forward, unerringly through the heavy brush of a garden gone mad. As far as the eye could see, vegetation grew densely.

“How many Rabbit People are there?” Micah asked as they plowed forward.

‘Ooh. That’s a real question. I don’t know. We are Rabbits and there’s enough food.’
Braden smiled at Tekel’s answer. He was envious at how they measured their existence. He would remember what she said and use it himself.

We are humans and there is enough food, so why would we fight?
he thought.

‘How did you come to work with the Bees?’
Micah asked, switching to her thought voice as she snagged a plump tomato and took a huge bite.

‘That took a long time, many generations. We fought with the Bees, killing them when they flew near. The more we killed them, the less food there was. The more of them, the more food. You follow?’
Tekel hesitated, looking at the humans through the vines and leaves of a fine tomato bush.
‘The Bees can’t talk whey they are alone, only when there are many and they are with their Queen can we speak to them. Once that happened, we found that we needed each other to survive. It only made sense for us to partner in defense of the Garden.

‘You say there are many levels and that we are on a ship? How magnificent! The world I see, this world, is only a small part of a much bigger world. I will share with my mates and see what they think. We will talk more when you return.’

The forward bulkhead loomed before them. Catwalks and stairs hung on the structure like cobwebs, disappearing as they approached the ceiling that curved away to both the right and the left. The gardens looked much closer as they extended away from them, and up, beyond the edge of the ceiling. Being in a rotating cylinder was confusing. The ceiling was nine hundred meters above them. It was a long way up the wall to the top catwalk.

They decided to try a door a little closer to the deck. They found the first stairway up and started climbing while Skirill flew to the door. When he backwinged to perch on the rail, the door slid open. He almost fell backward over the rail, catching it with one claw and beating his wings hard to regain balance.

He was surprised that there was only a small, empty room beyond. He thought it may have opened because of something on the other side, but realized it was his own bracelet that had activated the door.

He shared with the companions what he saw. They decided to check it out, then move to the next door and the next until they found a way forward.

They stopped as the stairway reached the first catwalk. They weren’t winded. Climbing got easier with each step.

The ship and Holly’s description of it confused G-War. He couldn’t understand why the walkway along the wall would be called a catwalk. He was a ‘cat and he hated walking on it. Like flashlights that didn’t flash, only showed a steady beam of light.

‘Holly, which of these doors will take us forward?’
Braden looked from the Garden Level to the catwalk system, then left and right. Micah opened her window and followed along.

‘The door to your front opens to a transportation pod. Climb aboard and tell it Deck 3. It will travel the twenty kilometers and deliver you to a door and then a catwalk that will look identical to what you are standing on. From there you can cross to the forward bulkhead and climb the next three levels using the steps and catwalks or you can take the elevator. Of course, I recommend the elevator as climbing two thousand, five hundred meters of ramps could be both time-consuming and tiring.’

They reduced their windows and tucked them away, but kept them active. Micah motioned for Braden to lead the way. He took a step then stopped.

“How did you know?” he asked.

“Know what, lover?”

“About the Rabbits and the kiss.”

“I could feel their love, their fear of confrontation. I thought by showing them how we felt, they would realize that we weren’t a threat.” She smiled, cupping his face in her hands.

“You felt all that while they were talking? The only thing I could feel was Bat-Raven eyes looking at us. I don’t feel others’ emotions like you do.” He shook his head.

“Of course you do, lover, you just don’t realize it.” She shrugged, then continued. “You see things that I don’t. We’re better together, more whole. We have a great family and some incredible allies. Look down there! Too many Rabbits to count. More food than they can eat, yet they continue to tend the garden, grow more.”

Braden nodded and threw his braid over his shoulder as he thought about her words. Micah was right. He knew they were better together. All of them.

Braden led the way as they joined the Hawkoid at the door.

“Holly says this will take us to Deck 3. All aboard!” He waved his bracelet at the door and it opened. The small room that Skirill had seen was a vehicle with chairs along the walls, windows, and extra poles in the middle. He held the door as Micah tentatively entered.

Then Pik. Then Aadi needed help as the doorway was too narrow. Braden angled his shell as he squeezed through. The armor’s extra size didn’t help, even though it was tied down. Skirill danced and slid as he tried to hang on through Aadi’s gyrations. Once through, everything settled back down.

G-War trotted through the door in front of Braden and jumped on a seat. He crouched, digging his claws into the cushion. He knew it was a vehicle, which meant it was going to move.

Braden entered and took a spot in the middle, wrapping both hands firmly around the center pole.

“Deck 3,” he announced in a bold voice. The vehicle started forward slowly, then picked up speed. There were no jolts or clunks or bouncing. It was nothing like riding in a wagon or a cart. Leave it to the ancients to take all the fun out of traveling in a vehicle.