Trade World Saga 1: Manual Interpretation (25 page)

"I am Rett. You may pick me up as soon as possible. Sharing information could have advantages," Rett said and walked from the comset.

A harried General Alexander replaced him.

"What did he say? I was beginning to think that it was incapable of speech."

"His name is Rett but if I recall correctly, he gets upset when you use it," Andrew said and summarized the conversation. "If you clear an area near your camp, we will land and pick him up."

"I was only ordered to request your advice and enlist your cooperation; not turn over prisoners," the general said.

"Excuse me, General. Do you understand what he eats? We do. If he wants water, will you understand? How will you interrogate him? Have we declared war on all aliens? If he is such a threat to world security, why not turn him over to people who might get some information out of him? No matter what you think of us -- we are still human and fiercely loyal to Earth's interest. How about it?" Andrew said.

"Very well, but I will only turn him over to Colonel Kyger, as he is a representative for the World Government."

"Whatever you feel necessary. Mark the area with strobes. We will be down in thirty minutes," Andrew said and switched off.

General Alexander had followed instructions and had an area cleared for landing. There were two vehicles waiting. In one vehicle sat the general, an aide, and his driver. The other vehicle contained the alien and two military policemen. Only one person, Brad, came out of the ship wearing his suit with his belt field set on one-quarter. Brad smartly saluted the general who returned his salute, and the general had Brad sign a release form he had hastily prepared. There was little conversation and the alien, Rett, stood impassively waiting until Brad was ready to enter the ship.

A small delegation; Andrew, Susan, and Tod were waiting for them as they entered. Rett looked around as he entered and his ears twitched nervously as he surveyed his surroundings.

"Follow me," Brad said in the alien language and preceded the group toward the nearest lounge.

Rett paused and turned from side to side assessing the situation. Andrew correctly assumed Rett was deciding whether to resist or not and try to escape. Andrew knew how strong this Tros was but remembered that the Tros had come out second best in their first confrontation. Andrew had serious reservations regarding the alien and had ordered the crew to be ready for any move. If Rett had had more experience with humans, he would have seen the nervous movements and hands constantly covering the sidearm grips of the weapons around him.

They sat down in the lounge and Andrew regarded the alien for a moment. "Would you like some food? I may be able to provide you edible meals," Andrew commented.

"Yes," Rett said and then looked around him.

"Go back to your duties. Switch on your intercom if you want to listen. Tros prefer some privacy when they eat. Brad, you wait in the room opposite the entranceway and listen in through the intercom. I want to relax him but I want you nearby and ready. I trust him as far as I could throw him," Andrew said in English as the crew left.

A few minutes later, Fran brought in a tray containing foods she considered would be acceptable to the Tros. She got this information from the disk Andrew had made so she didn't know how accurate her impressions were. After setting it down on the low table between them, Andrew indicated it was for Rett. Andrew could see the alien's resolve crumble as the smells reached him.

Rett took a large swallow from the glass containing water and then began inspecting the eating utensils. Evidently, the spoon was familiar and Rett took tiny sample bites of several vegetables before gulping them down. He touched no meats but ate everything else on the large tray. Attempts to eat the meats only made him sit erect in obvious disgust. The remaining glass of grape juice seemed to intrigue him but he approached it with great trepidation. After the first sip, he tossed his head back in ecstasy. With a sincere effort of self-control, Rett finished the glass in about a minute and then pushed the tray away from him to signify that he had finished. He had enjoyed the strange meal after so much time eating the bland subsistence food aboard the Exploration Service ship.

"I want information about the downed ship. What is its purpose here and why were you running away from the ship?" Andrew asked.

"Why should I give you information? I owe you nothing. What benefit can I derive from giving you information? You have nothing I want," Rett stated.

"Why did you run from the other ship? Do you want us to take you back to them? Do you want us to turn you back to the soldiers below? It is stupid to think we could not aid you but we will do no more for you without your cooperation."

"That is reasonable. If you take me to the planet of my choice I will tell you what I can," Rett said.

"That is not a bargain. You may not have any information we can use and the planet may be too far for us to travel conveniently," Andrew said.

"My information will tell you the exact purpose and plans of the downed ship and if you show me the star maps of this spiral arm I will show you the star I seek. It is not far, even for the smaller ship you first saw, and it is a trading center for many races. On the way I will give you information on galactic history if you desire," Rett said.

"Very well," Andrew said and keyed the computer console in the lounge next to him and activated the three-dimensional viewscreen in the lounge while darkening the lounge lights. Andrew couldn't see the alien's face in the dark but if he had, he would have seen an almost human look of amazement. "We are here," Andrew indicated, "Tell me which direction we would travel and I will display it."

Rett indicated a direction toward galactic center and sat up erect as the view began to move in the direction he had shown. He indicated faster and the view speeded up. This was incredible, Rett thought; just like actually traveling. This race was talented in certain fields but Rett still had his racial superiority.

"There is the system I seek," Rett pointed.

"Hmm, about ninety parsecs away," Andrew said relieved it was so close considering the top speed of this vessel. "It is agreed. We will take you to that planet if you fulfill your part of the bargain."

Rett suddenly began spewing out information concerning Exploration Service history and his involvement with them after leaving Earth. Andrew could tell the prejudice in the story by the Tros, but realized enough was truth to make the information worthwhile. When Rett related the talk he had had with the E. S. officer about their designs for Earth, Andrew was amazed at the audacity of the alien race. Thinking more, though, he realized how helpless Earth would have been without this ship, they had built. The Exploration Service could have demanded anything it wanted in trade concessions. If one country wouldn’t trade, they would have just gone somewhere else.

"We are having a compartment prepared for you. You may come and go as you wish but a crewmember must accompany you wherever you go. Should you wish to leave your area, an assigned crewmember will be outside your door. After our dealings with these Exploration Service officials, you will be allowed full freedom within the ship subject to orders from any crewmember. You will follow my second-in-command to your cabin. She will familiarize you with your facilities. Do you understand and comply?" Andrew said in the alien language.

"Yes. That is fair," Rett said but he was not thinking in those terms. I have given them the information they need to destroy the Exploration Service ship. They cannot believe I am so uncivilized to believe that since my usefulness is over, that they will let me live. This offer of my own compartment must be to allay my suspicions so I can be killed easier. Assigning a female to lead me to my room is one step too far. Surely, they cannot believe I would accept the story that a female is second-in-command on a starship.

"Susan, you show him his room and then let him tour the ship. Brad, you stay by a monitor and have the computer check his every footstep," Andrew said in English into the intercom.

Susan came in, nodded to Andrew and she asked Rett, in his language, to follow her. If he was surprised that she could speak his language even awkwardly – he didn’t show it.

He followed her but did not notice her tension. On the walk to his compartment, Rett noticed the soft floor and soft, strange yet calming patterns of sound, which played throughout the ship. Rett would not let himself be beguiled so easily. He decided to test her reactions by stopping as if to inquire about an adjoining corridor. She then stated she must show him to his compartment first. Just as he thought… She was only leading him to his death. The best time to attempt escape then would be at the last moment.

When they finally came to
his
room, she showed him how to key open the door and told him that this would be his room until he left the ship. As the door slid open and the female stepped forward, he knew, it was time to act. He grabbed her around the neck with his left arm so he could use her as a shield and still fight with his free hand. Then things became a trifle confusing to him.

As Susan stepped into the room, she felt the rock hard arm of the alien slide under her chin. She had felt the growing tension from him as they had walked. Entering the room slightly ahead of Rett, she had kept an eye for anything like this in the mirror opposite the door. She was mentally prepared where Rett did not expect resistance from a female. He was doubly shocked when she grabbed his arms around her neck, squatted down and thrust her hip against and under his waist. As she pulled the arm across and straightened her knees as she bent forward at the waist, his forward momentum carried him sailing over her shoulder in an arc that would have made any Judo instructor proud.

It was surprise and not pain in this light gravity that kept Rett lying on his back for a few seconds after he hit the deck.

Then he rolled over, jumped to his feet, and lunged at Susan with both arms out to grab her. He thought he'd simply tripped and could not comprehend that this small, pink-fleshed female had tossed him, a Tros, over her shoulder.

Susan used the heel of her hand and hit Rett over his nose slits, between his eyes, and kicked him in the area between his legs that was sensitive, even for a Tros. As he dropped down on his knee joints and clutched himself, he let out a piteous groan. Susan pulled her razor sharp, pointed knife out of her leg pouch with her right hand and put her left hand behind Rett's head. She then took the tip of the knife under Rett's left eye that was swiveled toward her and pressed it in so it
almost
cut through the soft skin under the eye.

Breathing slowly and deeply to counteract the flow of adrenaline, she said in Rett's language, "You will consider this your last warning. If you cause any trouble, you will be dealt with in such a manner that you would wish to die but we would not let you. Do not think that because we are fair with you that we are weak." Susan then jabbed him again to get her idea across to him. "I will not tell any other member of the crew about this but you had better know that we will all be watching you and the rest of the crew is much more savage than me. We are most dangerous when we are very polite and cordial acting. That is when anything can set us off. If you try hard to please us we will even fulfill our bargain with you."

Susan then briefly walked around the room and demonstrated the purpose and function of lighting, entertainment, refreshments, and sanitation controls trying to act nonchalant.

"This black button, here, will shut and lock your door and can only be unlocked by you or by order of the ship's Captain," Susan said as she prepared to leave. "When you are ready to tour the ship or need any assistance, simply push this orange button."

As the door slid shut behind the female, Rett hobbled over to the wall, pressed the lock button, and then went to lie down on the bed. Besides being in pain, Rett had had a severe blow to his ego and was in no condition to face more of those deceptively soft creatures. Just thinking about the female, Susan, made him shudder. And she said the others were worse! For the first time in his life, Rett had a new emotion: fear.

RETT BACK WITH ANDREW

Andrew gathered most of the crew together and announced that they were going to try to contact the downed alien ship again. Steve reset for the frequency of the last contact they had had and prepared the communications equipment. The crew went to battle stations as the ship maneuvered about 35 kilometers above the alien ship.

"This is Captain Andrew Williams of the Earth ship above you. Due to a misunderstanding, we engaged each other in combat. Since the damage is already done, we should go on to matters that are mutually beneficial. It is our understanding that you are empowered to negotiate a trade agreement with your authorities. That is also our wish. Please respond on this frequency so we can choose an area for the discussions. Please respond on this frequency," Andrew said in the alien language knowing that by the time Earth officials had deciphered its meaning, the crisis would have passed. Steve set the message for repetitious broadcast and waited almost an hour before he received an answer.

"Whatever your planet of origin, we will talk with you. A suitable place must be chosen for these talks," said the E. S. officer with some misgivings about the ship above then but as he reasoned; he was not negotiating from a position of strength.