Adventures on RV Traveler (Free Trader Series Book 3) (16 page)

37 – Controlling the Bridge

“We’re going to align the ship and then we’re going to put it right back here, so you can continue your dismal existence doing nothing.” Braden looked hard at the old Captain Atwood. G-War continued to hang onto the oldster.

“If you are willing to help, this will go so much better. Your Android masters are no more, so you’re in charge. You have to be in charge. So help us!” Braden wasn’t asking a question. He was in no mood for more intransigence. He watched the old man slump against his restraints.

“I don’t know how. None of us know how. The Androids never taught us what this stuff does. They took care of everything.”

Micah opened her neural implant and asked Holly what she needed to do so everyone could hear him. He told her that it was easier than that. The Bridge on the RV Traveler had a functioning holographic projection system. All she needed to do was type in the commands to give his program access.

She powered up the system, typed the commands, and watched as Holly appeared, smiling and looking confident.

“Good morning, everyone. You can call me Holly. I’m going to guide you through the steps you need to align the ship with Cygnus VI so we can activate the matter transfer system. I am quite well practiced with these maneuvers. I have the technical knowledge of the designers and the updates through the flight practices of the Traveler’s three millennia-long journey. Have no fear. We will do this without any issues.” Holly smiled broadly.

Braden held a rag against the stumps of his fingers. G-War floated over and hooked a claw into Braden’s clothing. He rubbed against Braden’s face and purred. Braden tried to pet him, until he floated free, then frantically grabbed for the handhold.

Skirill was fine. He lost a couple feathers, which Zyena treated as if he were near death. Pik held vigil by the hatch. He liked being closer to a place where he could put his feet on the ground. The corridor led to the magic room they called an elevator. And that took him to a place he liked.

Aadi swam around, looking at things. The workstation of the last Android killed scrolled rapidly.
‘Master Braden, there seems to be something going on here.’

“Holly? Can you look into that?” Braden stayed where he was, holding his hand. The pain was immense and he was sick to his stomach. He thought if he moved, he’d throw up.

Holly disappeared from where he was and reappeared in front of the terminal. “I’m afraid I’ll need someone to take this terminal off line. Right now please!” he shouted.

Pik pushed toward Holly, spear in front of him. As he got close he readied his thrust and drove it with all his upper body strength into the box that Holly was pointing at. It popped and sparked. The screen went blank. Pik held himself in place with his spear, looking closely at Holly. He looked one way, then the next. Finally, he reached out a green hand and put it through the hologram. He struggled to pull out his spear, standing on the box and launching himself toward the window screens when it came free. He found a handhold and starting pulling himself back toward his place by the hatch, keeping one of his large eyes always focused on Holly.

Micah laughed softly. “That’s just Holly. He’s okay. He’s our friend. He doesn’t really have a body, though. You’ll get used to him, Pik.” The Lizard Man nodded noncommittally.

Holly reappeared next to Gill and started giving him instructions on piloting the Traveler.

Micah took the opportunity to join her partner. She looked over Braden’s hand, then applied the numbweed she always carried with her. He kept her from floating away as she slathered it on his fingers, then wrapped the bandage more tightly. The relief was instantaneous. G-War flew off, bouncing haphazardly off things as he slowly propelled himself around the Bridge.

Micah gave Braden a long, slow kiss that promised more, then pulled herself toward the Captain.

“We didn’t want to kill the Androids, but we prefer people over things. Those are the tough decisions you have to make when you’re President. Or you could have convinced them that we needed to do this to save twenty-three lives.” Micah tried to make her points calmly, but she could see Treecia’s growing agitation.

“What about the thousands and thousands of lives aboard this ship? And what about us? Without the Androids, when we die, there will be no one to take our places. The ship is doomed, thanks to you.”

“I think you underestimate Holly and the desire of humanity to carry on. Since you’ve told us that you serve no useful purpose here…” She let that linger. He immediately glanced at her holstered blaster, looking at it like it would jump out of its own volition.

“Get something to capture Phil’s blood before it spatters everything and then gather up those bodies and wedge them somewhere.” He stayed where he was, making no move to follow her orders. As she balled her fist, Braden flew in and crashed into the Captain. With his good hand, he grasped the man’s collar and pulled himself in close.

“I think the President told you to do something,” he growled. Treecia slowly undid his restraints and with well-practiced movements, pulled himself toward the rear bulkhead. He opened a panel, under Braden’s watchful eye, and pulled out a bag and a towel. He launched himself lightly toward the blood, which had consolidated itself into a single pool. As he slowly floated past, he wrapped the bag around the blood until it splashed into the bottom. The clone wretched, thankfully into the bag. The remains of his vegetable omelet, hash browns, and wine splashed into the blood. He tied off the bag while gagging. Braden looked satisfied.

The Captain looked daggers at Micah, who held her hands out as a way of saying sorry. Braden shrugged, feeling almost normal since the pain in his fingers was gone. The Captain could help clean up the bridge until the ship started moving. They’d take turns standing watch over the other humans until the transfer was complete, or Holly confirmed that he had full control.

The ‘cat was playing with something at a distant console. With a back claw hooked into a chair, he batted something back and forth, then launched it toward Braden, floating after it as he flailed for more speed. Braden pushed away from a handhold, heading to intercept G-War’s new toy. The ‘cat’s eyes went wide, his legs splayed, paws spread with claws out as he floated through the open space. Braden locked his eyes on the object of G-War’s affection. He caught a handhold, then let it float to him. He was instantly disgusted. “Hey! This is one of my fingers. Is this a bite mark, G?” He gagged, bile rising into the back of his throat. “Were you trying to eat my finger?”

The ‘cat hooked a claw into Braden’s clothing as he passed and pulled himself back to his human.
‘Of course not. Now give it back to me. I found it.’

“No.” Braden stuffed it into his belt pouch. The stumps of his fingers started hurting again. He undid the bandage and rubbed on more numbweed. The pain didn’t go away.
It must be in my head,
he thought. He looked at the ‘cat’s big eyes as he floated there.
‘Damn, G! You are such a ‘cat.’

G-War’s pupils grew large and his look softened into that of a lost kitten.
‘Stop it. I know you better than that,’
Braden said in his thought voice.

‘It was worth a try. So, what’s next?’

They wanted to be at the aft end of the ship and ready to go when the time came. It had taken four full turns to get to the Bridge, and Braden suspected it would take as long to get back, unless they could transit using the pods and tubes that traveled not only between the core modules, but between the decks too.

They’d check on that later. In the meantime, they had a lot of buttons to push since Holly, like the ‘cat, didn’t have fingers.

38 – Taking Control of the Ship

“Holly, do you know what that last Android was doing?”

“I’m afraid I do, Braden. He was deleting commands and protocols to operate the ship. I will have to reload them before we can proceed.”

“Do you have that stuff?” Braden asked. On Vii, when something complex was destroyed, it wasn’t easily replaced.

“I can reconstruct the information. Do not worry. I will not move the ship until I know that it is under my complete control. There were multiple redundancies built into the control systems of the RV Traveler. I will trace them all and build a new primary control. It will have one less redundancy which leaves us with an acceptable risk of .oo31 percent.”

“What’s that mean, Holly?” Micah asked, getting interested in the hologram’s repairs.

“It means that we will accomplish this maneuver flawlessly, nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of ten thousand.” Holly made hand gestures that didn’t mean anything to Braden or Micah. They both shrugged. It sounded like he knew what he was doing.

“At each work station, as you help me gain access, I’m expanding my control over the ship. I’m now in a position to share my consciousness with the Resettlement Vessel. The Androids purged most of the old system. They made themselves critical to the continued functioning of the ship. With a planned three millennia journey, there is very little on this ship that isn’t automated. I will return it to that condition. Too bad that all Androids will have to be destroyed. It would be easiest if you could capture one so I can figure out how to get into their systems. Then their imminent demise may not be so imminent. I can enlist their help to return the ship to full functionality.”

“You know, Holly, I’m not sure what you said, but it sounds positive, like things will go well here. Maybe you can fix some of the decks that have gone astray, too. That Deck 3 tried to kill us. It serves no useful purpose. Besides all that, it sounds like we’re on an Android hunt,” Braden said.

Micah nodded. They didn’t need to recharge their blasters. They’d only taken a few short bursts. She thought of their next steps.

Holly needed time to work with the ship. Gill was cooperating fully. As long as Aadi and Pik stood guard, he would continue to cooperate. Skirill and Zyena were better suited in the open air of the core decks. G-War needed to feel the ground under his furry paws. Even Pik would be better on solid ground, but someone needed to watch Aadi’s back, especially since he’d used his thunderclap twice, so he was spent. The humans didn’t know that and neither did Pik, but as long as Pik Ha’ar stood guard, the humans wouldn’t do anything untoward. Holly would know if they tried to sabotage any systems, but Braden didn’t think they had the knowledge to do it.

“We’ll get you back to the Aviary soon, my friend, where you can hunt, fish, catch something fresh.” The Lizard Man nodded to Braden.

They continued to make entries on various workstations. They jumped from one to the other, inputting access codes and helping Holly interface to take over each of the ship’s critical systems. At the same time, Holly was drilling Gill on flying the ship should something go wrong, because Holly hadn’t ruled out Android interference. With Gill, they set up a failsafe to fly the ship away from the planet. Once away from the planet’s gravity, they could fix critical systems, make adjustments, and return to orbit. If they failed the other way, everyone died.

Once they’d activated enough systems, they sat back. Holly was starting to bog down. They couldn’t imagine the effort it took to fly a ship this large. In space, between a moon and a planet. Doing it all from thousands of kilometers away.

39 – Hunting an Android

They opened their neural implant windows together.
‘Holly, where do you suggest we go to find an Android?’

‘The Maintenance and Service spaces appear to be a good place to start. The elevator that opens into the corridor is on the center axis of the ship. The elevator can go any radial direction. Simply tell it which radial you want. The radial you’ve been using has been established as the default. It is the 185 degree radial. There are Maintenance and Service spaces starting at zero and every five degrees after that. Tell the elevator which radial you want and it will take you there, to Deck 2, Deck 3, Deck 4, Deck 5, and the cryo shell. You can go between decks if you wish. All you have to do is tell it.’

‘Thanks for all that, Holly. Why don’t you just upload the more detailed map to our neural implants? We’ve only been using the general maps. Why didn’t you give us the more detailed maps?’
Braden was losing patience. He heard the words but couldn’t visualize what Holly was talking about. He needed to see it.

Without further discussion, Holly started uploading the maps. They were highly detailed and it took Braden a great deal of shrinking, expanding, and panning in order to find where he was and where he wanted to go.

“I see why Holly didn’t give these to us before. They’re a bit of a handful, aren’t they?” Micah said aloud. Braden crossed his eyes as he tried to make sense of them. Micah did the same. They both closed their windows when the headaches became too intense. They drank from their flasks, hoping the water would refresh them.

They only needed one Android intact. In the closet where Treecia had gotten the bag, they found plastic zip ties. Holly considered these to be strong enough to restrain an Android. They took all of them.

The question was, were Braden and Micah strong enough to restrain an Android while putting the zip ties on?

They’d soon find out. They decided to start at zero, or straight up as the map showed.

“Mister Elevator, Radial zero, Maintenance and Service space, please.” The elevator rotated slowly in place, then accelerated away from the central hub. “I expect there are crew quarters and all kinds of things on these radials. The map looks like it’s filled.”

The elevator slowed as it was programmed to, minimizing the impact on humans. The door opened to an access tube, identical to the one they’d used before. They floated into it, then pulled themselves toward the hatch at the other end. Micah reached it first and peeked through.

She pulled back and sat away from the small window. Braden looked at her questioningly. She waved him away from the window.

‘There are two in there. I think one of them saw me,’
she said over their mindlink.

‘Then there’s no time to waste.’
Braden pulled himself up to the window, then bounced back as a face looked at him.

He waved his bracelet past the access panel and the hatch rolled soundlessly aside.

The Android reached for his blaster. Braden moved his hand toward it, afraid what would happen if the Android got there first. Micah was still crouched below the hatch, her back against the tube's bulkhead. She kicked quicker than the other two moved, driving the Android back half a step. Braden pulled his blaster and fired into the thing’s chest.

With its loss of power, the magnetic couplings stopped working. Micah kicked again, sending it flying back into the Maintenance and Service space. A second Android was there. It fired its laser at them. It wasn’t able to hold its aim on a moving target as the humans pushed and pulled themselves out of the way. The beam danced across Braden’s chest as he scrambled for cover. Micah pulled herself to the hatch and launched herself directly at the Android.

It changed its aim, but not fast enough. These were small spaces and Micah was there in less than a heartbeat. Braden kicked away from the back bulkhead. Micah focused on the left arm, grabbing it with both hands while she braced against the thing’s body with her feet.

Braden came in from the other side as the Android’s right hand grabbed a strap on Micah’s harness and started yanking, trying to throw off her aim. Braden held his blaster against the things right shoulder and fired. The limb went dead. The Android looked at them without expression as it twisted its left arm, flexing its fingers and seeking a hold on Micah.

Braden thrust his blaster forward, but the Android started bouncing and flailing, trying to throw the human off. Braden wrapped his legs around the Android’s waist and braced his wrist against Micah’s legs as he pulled the trigger quickly, sending short bursts into the thing’s good arm.

It froze in place.

Micah twisted the arm back and forth to make sure it was dead before she let go. They both floated around the Android, looking at it. They breathed heavily from their short, but intense, exertions.

“I didn’t think that would kill. Let’s say I hoped that wouldn’t kill it.” They knew they couldn’t take one intact as long as it could still use its arms.

“Wait,” Micah said. “It’s not floating.”

‘Holly, I think we have your victim. Its arms don’t work anymore, but I think it still functions,’
Micah said into her window.

‘Working on it. Yes, I see it. Attempting to access now.’
Holly went silent as he worked on the Android, in addition to all the work he was doing on the Bridge. The thing started twisting and turning its body. Then it took one step, and another as it headed toward the back hatch, the one that led through the storage space to the wide open beyond.

Braden wrapped himself around its leg, but couldn’t keep the Android from putting it in front of him, securing it to the floor and taking another step. He pulled his blaster and shot through the knees of both legs. The Android floated free while its upper legs still worked. They used zip ties to secure it to handholds at the side of the space.

Braden’s hand hurt. He’d grip as normal, but felt like he had no strength. “I hope I can shoot my bow,” he said between great gulps of air.

Micah nodded and floated to Braden. She pulled him tightly to her, stroking his hair, then changed the subject so he wouldn’t wallow in despair. “Is there no limit to what Holly can do?” Micah asked as she reduced her window. She’d forgotten it was open during the Android’s attempted escape.

“Is he the reason the ancients went to war? There’s nothing that he can’t control. Once we get the survivors from Cygnus VI here, we’re going to have a serious chat. They are used to the hologram. We want them to be slightly uncomfortable with Holly. Aadi’s purity of soul plan sounds great, but how would Holly make that happen? Aadi spent a great deal of time working with the hologram. I wonder if Holly had no intention of solving this problem?”

Micah held her finger in front of her lips, silencing Braden. She nodded in agreement.

“Before we work on any of that, we need him to get off this ship. I, for one, don’t wish to stay here one heartbeat longer than I have to. I may have mentioned that before,” she said. And he agreed just like he had every time before.

They checked the storage area behind the space, expecting to find more bodies. They were pleased when they did not. The area led to the track system where parts could be moved anywhere in the ship using the central access. They saw the corridor and the bulkhead of the Bridge. Having seen the three-dimensional maps and now looking at it fresh, it all made sense. One central spindle upon which everything turned. The corridor to the bridge remained steady. The external shell of the ship was steady. Everything else rotated.

The ancients were geniuses, industrial giants who not only devised this ship, they built it and flew it for three millennia to the Cygnus system. Braden and Micah took in the sights from the end of the parts storage area, rectifying what they saw with the maps in their heads.

When they returned to the Maintenance and Service space on radial zero, they couldn’t tell if anything changed. Micah expanded her window and asked Holly for an update.

He didn’t answer for an uncomfortably long period of time.

‘I am into their system. I didn’t want to risk failure by stopping. I’ve solidified my access, building a shielded portal. I am reviewing the coding now to answer our questions. Why and how did they lock out the main computer? What is their primary goal? How are they communicating with each other? What future attacks can we expect? How can we ‘fix’ them to keep running the ship as I need them to?’
Micah raised her eyebrows at the last part. She wasn’t happy with Holly leading an Android army. She held her tongue and reduced the window.

“Let’s have a look at that burn on your chest. Where else are you hurt?” Micah saw Braden favoring his arm and his leg. She pulled him close to her and demanded that he take his clothes off.

“Right here, lover? With the Android watching?” He winked at her and started gyrating as he unbuckled and unbuttoned.

“Stop it, you! You’ve taken everything the Androids have thrown at us. I want to see the injuries you’re hiding!”

Braden took off his harness, light armor, and shirt. His chest hair was matted and smelled rank. They’d rinsed off in the stream on Deck 2, but how long ago was that--two, three sleeps? They’d probably have to burn their clothes when they got back, unless a Server Bot came to the rescue.

Braden’s Old Tech fabric armor had protected his chest, but his arms were uncovered. There was a thin line across Braden’s upper left arm where the Android’s laser beam had burned across. It wasn’t deep, but it looked painful. Micah rubbed numbweed on it, pleased with the relief on Braden’s face. The bandage around his lost fingers had loosened. She tightened it. The lasers sealed the wounds, so there was no blood, but the damage was extensive. She wondered if the Medical Laboratory at New Sanctuary could do anything for her mate. In addition to the scarring, he was starting to leave body parts behind.

She checked his ankle, which was heavily bruised, but not broken. There wasn’t anything she could do to help that. When they got back to the Aviary, he could soak it in the cool stream. For now, zero-g kept his weight from it, but it was starting to swell. She knew that he would be in worse shape later.

She expanded her window.
‘Holly, do we have to stay here? Do you need us back on the Bridge or can we go to the Aviary?’

As the President, she should have told Holly what they were going to do, not asked for permission. But they were on the ship, and he had answers that they needed. He controlled everything because the ship was just like him, a living machine.

‘I have things under control. I simply need time. Pik and Aadi can join you on Deck 2 if they wish. They should send the humans to their Crew Quarters. I will lock them out of the Bridge. That will be easier than trying to watch them.’
Holly was congenial, but seemed distracted, which was difficult for a disembodied hologram to pull off. Micah knew how busy he was and shut it out of her mind. Let him work his programs and systems.

Braden dressed after Micah told him they could go to the Aviary.
‘Aadi! You and Pik will see the humans off the Bridge, then Holly will lock it behind you. Take them to their quarters and then you two join us in the Aviary.’

‘That sounds wonderful, Master Micah! Holly has already instructed old Treecia and Gill to leave the Bridge. They resisted briefly, but Pik has his spear and they thought better of fighting back. They are leaving. We’ll let them take the elevator by themselves, then we’ll take the next one. Holly wants Pik to mash a few more buttons before we go.’
Aadi was cordial and soon told Micah that they’d left the Bridge and were on their way.

Braden and Micah pulled themselves down the access tube, then waited for the elevator to appear. They went to the Bridge level first where the elevator could reorient itself, then they went to Deck 2. They dropped lightly to the floor as the elevator slowed. They walked into the Aviary almost normally, although Braden limped heavily once he put weight on his damaged ankle.

They welcomed the cacophony of sound. It was a better normal for those from the planet. The companions waited patiently, happy to have their feet under them. The Golden Warrior sprawled across a limb, his legs dangling, with Skirill and Zyena beside him. Aadi floated serenely nearby. Pik stood in the shade, looking like he wanted to enter the forest.

“The stream and lake should be right through there.” Braden pointed at a gap in the trees. Without waiting, Braden hobbled in the direction he’d pointed. Micah caught up to him and threw her arm across his shoulders. Once Pik saw where they were going, he moved in front of them, keeping his spear at the ready. He hadn’t done a good job of protecting Braden so far and felt he needed to redeem himself.

The Hawkoids flew from the branch over the trees and down to the small lake. They flared together, landing close on a tree branch that overhung the stream pouring into the lake.

Aadi swam after them. He had much to discuss with the humans.