Alcantaran 1: Alien Abduction (32 page)

"Auntie, is that you?"

"Yes, which weapons would you like to know more about?"

"How can I hear you in my head?"

"Your voorwarp unit allows you to communicate with me directly."

"Wow, how far away can I hear you?
 
Can you hear the same distance?"

"We can both hear the same distance.
 
Usually it's about 5 or 6 miles, although I do recall one time that atmospheric conditions were just right and I could hear 10 miles."

"Who were you talking to then?"

"That is beyond your clearance.
 
You need to insert the key to gain that knowledge."

"Where is the key?"

"23456G, 456665S, 33455.66M"

"What?"

"23456G, 456665S, 33455.66M"

"OK, skip it.
 
Tell me about this weapon here." Ron said as he picked up the weapon.

He was examining it closely and Auntie was explaining how to operate it and some of its limitations when Gus came into the room.
 
Ron was concentrating so hard on what Auntie was saying that he didn't hear Gus come in.
 
When Gus stepped up beside him, he saw him out of the corner of his eye.
 
He jumped and Gus chuckled.

"I think everybody is getting jumpy around here with all of the new things we are learning," Gus chuckled again.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Smarty.
 
Hold this and think very carefully that you'd like Auntie to explain about it," Ron blurted.

Gus looked at the weapon and did as Ron had said.
 
He jumped when Auntie started explaining about the weapon.
 
Gus knew that he wasn't hearing the voice in the normal sense but was receiving the lesson through ESP.

"Now I see why you were concentrating so hard.
 
When did you find out about this?" Gus said.

"I was just looking at the weapons on this wall when I thought it would be nice if Auntie would explain about them.
 
Suddenly there she was in my head.
 
She said it's from the voorwarp units.
 
She also said that they have a range of 5 or 6 miles; sometimes, when things are just right, she can hear 10 miles.
 
I asked who she had heard before and she said I needed the key for the next level.
 
I asked where the key was and she gave me a string of numbers," Ron reported.

"These units keep surprising us, don't they?
 
How long will it take before we discover all they'll do?" Gus asked.

"I don't know but they are incredible," Ron said.

They turned back to the weapons and discussed which would be better for each of them.
 
Ron asked Auntie and she picked out a different weapon for each of the three of them.
 
Ron picked them up and asked Auntie for directions on how to load them.
 
She explained the procedure for each weapon to him and then Ron handed the larger weapon to Gus.
 
They both walked to the fueling station and loaded all three weapons.
 
Auntie directed them on how to set them for practice.
 
She said that there was a target in the armory that needed fueling and then they could fire the weapons.
 
Gus hurried to the armory to get the target.
 
It was only about 10 inches in diameter and he wondered how they would hold it up.
 
Auntie told him to fuel it.
 
Gus did and the target took off and flew to the other end of the cargo bay.
 
Suddenly the target grew until it was 3 feet across.
 
Ron fired his weapon first and hit the right edge of the target.
 
Auntie told him to hold it just a little to the left.
 
He did as he fired again and hit more toward the middle but still too low.
 
Gus stepped up to try then.
 
His first shot went high and to the left.
 
The next shots walked down closer to the bulls-eye.
 
Ron tried the weapon intended for Tik.
 
It felt small in his hands but he could still hit the target.
 
He switched back to his weapon and they took turns shooting at the target.
 
After they were comfortable with the weapons, the target began to shrink.
 
After a few more shots, the target started moving.
 
It moved pretty slowly for awhile but gradually increased the speed of its movement.
 
The two grew tired of the practice and decided to check out a few more weapons.

Ron asked Auntie for suggestions for easily-concealed weapons.
 
Auntie led them to two different weapons this time.
 
She pointed out one type for Tik and a different one for the other two.
 
They charged the weapons and tried them on the target.
 
They didn't practice as long this time but were satisfied with their performance.
 
When they checked the time, they were surprised to learn that is was suppertime and the day was almost gone.
 
They told Auntie to put the target away.
 
They went to the armory and found holsters for all the weapons and hooked them to their belts.
 
Ron hid the smaller concealed weapons in his boot and Gus put his behind the crossing straps on his back.
 
They headed to the comm room to find Tik to pry her away from the computer and then to head to the galley.

They gave Tik her weapons and told her they would let her practice tomorrow.
 
They were so excited about the weapons that both Ron and Gus forgot to tell Tik about ESP communication with Auntie.
 
They fixed something to eat and were talking about the weapons during the meal.
 
Tik asked about one of the controls on her weapon and Ron didn't remember.
 
Without thinking he 'told' Auntie by ESP to show a picture of Tik's weapon and explain it to her.

As soon as the 3-D image appeared, bedlam broke out.
 
Tik leaped onto the table knocking the supper dishes onto the floor.
 
She let out a scream of surprise before she whirled to face Ron.
 
She saw the look of surprise on his face and whirled toward Gus.
 
Gus was even more surprised because he had no idea that any of this was coming.

"All right, who did that?
 
What's going on around here?" Tik demanded.

Ron and Gus looked bewildered and then they looked at each other.
 
They broke out into a gale of laughter.
 
They were laughing so hard, they couldn't even talk.

Tik was definitely peeved and said, "That was not funny, you two!
 
You almost scared me to death and look what happened to our supper."

"Tik, I apologize.
 
We're not laughing at you, just your reaction.
 
We forgot to tell you about another amazing discovery we made this afternoon.
 
The 3-D picture and the voice you heard in your head are all courtesy of Auntie.
 
Apparently the voorwarp units allow us to communicate directly with Auntie.
 
I didn't even think about not telling you when I asked Auntie to show you your weapon and explain a little about it.
 
I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you," Ron said as he started to chuckle again.
 
"I saw a cat touch an electric fence back on earth and that thing had the reactions of an old, old man compared to you."

Ron and Gus started to laugh again and Tik was starting to get upset until she realized where she was.
 
She was sitting in the middle of the table in the middle of the mess that used to be their supper.
 
Ron and Gus had food sitting in their lap and Tik thought of the surprised look on both of their faces when she had first moved.
 
The more she thought of it, the funnier it got.
 
Pretty soon she was laughing just as hard as the other two.
 
They all joined in and cleaned the mess up.
 
They fixed a little something more and finished their supper while they talked of their discoveries.

Ron thought of something and asked, "Gus, did you hear anything when I talked to Auntie?"

"No, I didn't hear anything and I had no idea what bit Tik to make her jump like that," Gus answered with a big grin as he thought about the earlier scene.

"I didn't hear anything either when you were talking to Auntie.
 
Did either of you hear Auntie start explaining the weapon to me?" Tik asked.

They both shook their heads no.
 
Ron said, "Let me try to direct something to Gus and Tik, you see if you can hear it."
 
Ron directed a thought to Gus and Tik heard nothing.
 
Ron then directed a thought to Tik and Gus heard nothing; but when directed to both, they both heard.
 
They were learning a little more about the voorwarp units all the time.
 
Gus went to check on the robots and shut them and the smelter down for the night.

The next morning they decided they all should spend some time studying the planet they were approaching.
 
Gus started the robots on the silver before he came down to the lower level.
 
They spent about an hour going over the planet's information and then Ron wanted to practice his flying.
 
He had Auntie program the screens and controls in the lower cockpit for simulation.
 
Gus and Tik decided to practice with the weapon system at the same time.
 
They practiced for about a half hour and then everybody switched places.
 
With only three people, everyone had to be able to do all the jobs.
 
After another 45 minutes of practice, during which they switched one more time, they were ready for something else.
 
They moved to the armory where they grabbed the target.
 
Gus thought they should get two more so they could all practice at the same time.
 
They had to help Tik at first.
 
They had to show her how to properly hold the weapon and how to squeeze the trigger.
 
Once she started practicing, she rapidly improved.
 
All three of them seemed to have a natural talent with the weapons.
 
After they had practiced for quite awhile, Ron thought they should start learning more about knife and sword fighting.
 
He had Auntie set them up on a regular training schedule for that.
 
They all agreed that what they had just done would be a good routine to get into while they traveled.
 
Auntie set it up as a daily schedule for the rest of the flight to Europaische.
 
The flight and weapons systems training became like a fast-paced video game and became less tiring as the days went by.
 
The weapons training soon became a competition to see who could hit the most targets.
 
They practiced with and without their shields up and with the targets popping up erratically and unexpectedly.
 
They were getting pretty proficient with everything except the edged weapons by the time they arrived in Europaische's solar system.
 
They were still learning the basics of the edged weapons and it would take longer to become proficient with them.
 
They felt more comfortable with their knowledge of the planet too.
 
The Bugs had kept detailed records of trades and about the inhabitants.
 
They didn't know how current the information was but at least it was a place to start.

The silver was all done before they dropped out of hyper-space.
 
Ron had found ten more molds of small figures that could have been bracelet charms.
 
They made a bunch of those up for 'eye candy'.
 
All the smelting gear had been put back into storage and the robots were secured.
 
Ron and Gus had loaded more weapons in the armory while Tik had researched more about Auntie.
 
They were all nervous about the upcoming meeting but were excited too.

Auntie dropped out of hyper-space outside of the solar system.
 
Ron wanted a chance to actually fly before he tried to set down on an inhabited planet.
 
Auntie found a small barren planet on the outer rim of the solar system where they all practiced landing and 'touch-and-goes'.
 
Once they all felt confident of their abilities, they started in towards the planet.
 
Tik thought they should drop a remote detector along their route; so about half way to the planet, they dropped the detector.
 
They also sent out
Kota
's message again but they received no response.

They continued cruising toward the planet until they received a radio transmission asking who they were and what their intentions were.
 
Ron answered them and told them they were the Galactic Antiquarian here to trade.
 
The radio transmission directed them to the space port and where to park.
 
Ron did the piloting and was super nervous landing on an inhabited planet for the first time.
 
It was all worry for nothing because he set Auntie down like a feather, right on the designated spot.
 
The radio directed them to the manager's office to fill out the necessary paper work and to get their trading permit.
 
Auntie had been scanning the planet and said they could breathe the air with no problem.
 
She said there were bacteria and viruses that could be harmful but none were close at hand.
 
They would be able to move around the planet without space suits.