Free the North! (Free Trader Series Book 5) Read online

  Free the North!

  Free Trader Series

  Book 5

  By Craig Martelle

  Copyright © 2016 Craig Martelle

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN 10:

  ISBN 13:

  ASIN:

  Cover Illustration © Tom Edwards

  Tom EdwardsDesign.com

  Editing services provided by Mia Darien – miadarien.com

  Other Books by Craig Martelle

  Free Trader Series

   Book 1 – The Free Trader of Warren Deep (February 2016)

   Book 2 – The Free Trader of Planet Vii (March 2016)

   Book 3 – Adventures on RV Traveler (April 2016)

   Book 4 – Battle for the Amazon (August 2016)

   Book 5 – Free the North! (September 2016)

   Book 6 – Free Trader on the High Seas (October 2016)

   Book 7 – Cygnus Rising, Cygnus Space Opera Book 1 (Sep 2016)

  End Times Alaska, a Winlock Press publication

   Book 1: Endure (June 2016)

   Book 2: Run (July 2016)

   Book 3: Return (August 2016)

  Rick Banik Thriller Series

   People Raged and the Sky Was on Fire (May 2016)

  Short Story Contributions to Anthologies (Stephen Lee & James M. Ward)

   Earth Prime Anthology, Volume 1

   Apocalyptic Space Short Story Collection

   Lunar Resorts Anthology, Volume 2

  To the love of my life

  the sparkle in your eyes brightens every one of my days

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  A Helping Paw

  Seeing the Trade

  Back to New Sanctuary

  Meeting Old Friends

  Reunion at New Sanctuary

  A New Plan

  The Call of Old Tech

  Construction of Something Incredible

  Blooding the Pups

  Heading North

  Villages on the Ocean

  Into Devaney’s Barren

  The Wagon Exploded

  The Oasis

  Recovery

  The Heat

  A Refreshing Break

  Oasis 03 – Tiskanay’s Pause

  The Tortoise Consortium

  Taking the Plunge

  Whitehorse

  Everything’s Different, but the Same

  Cameron

  “There Will Be No Provincial Government”

  Ava

  The Warehouse

  Securing Cameron

  The Road to Jefferson City

  Can’t Abide an Outpost

  The Dark Clouds of War

  The Story of Jocelyn

  The Governor

  Jocelyn

  A New Governor

  The Power of Hope

  It’s a Man’s World

  Yowls, Nips, and Purrs

  Some Personal Business

  Missing ‘cats

  Race to Water

  One Down, Two to Go

  Another Sacrifice

  02, then 01, then…

  The South

  Cygnus Rising Humanity Returns to Space

  Chapter 1 - Fire!

  Free Trader 6 – Free Trader on the High Seas

  Postscript

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  The summer of 2016 has been filled with deadlines and publications. I’ve kept my head above water because I’m surrounded by some great people.

  James M. Ward helped me with Micah’s penultimate sword fight in this story, which helped to make things as realistic as possible. No one survives in this business alone. Having a friend like Jim to look things over is comforting and improves the quality of what we can give you, the reader. You deserve the best we can deliver.

  Michael Anderle has been an exceptional mentor and partner as I broke into the indie publishing business. He was honored to have his name as my premier protagonist in this book. Governor Anderle and Michael have nothing in common besides the name. Michael is a great man who has gone well out of his way to help others.

  I attended my 35-year high school class reunion this summer (2016). Many of my classmates from so long ago have read some of my books. You were all so kind with your words, and a couple stopped by to tell me in person – Penny Heister Sanchez and Lori Bessler Wissing. You made my day. Thanks to Chris “Shakes” Vogt, Diane Sauegling LaPier, Steve Kann, and Jackie Meyer Thiltgen for setting everything up, finding a gazillion people who didn’t want to be found, and then encouraging them to come. Fun was had by all.

  I want to thank some readers by name as they are the ones who we look to when we’re feeling a little down. Diane Velasquez and her sister Dorene Johnson are powerhouse readers, ready for anything I throw at them and always willing to give feedback. Norman Meredith is a new addition to the team and has provided valuable input to me and my process. The following people have also been very kind with their comments. Chris Rolfe, Monique Lewis Happy (also one of my editors), Norman Meredith, and so many more. You great people help make every day that much sunnier.

  One last word for my friend, Bill Rough – he helped me with some plot devices on my End Times Alaska – Return and I inadvertently left him out of those acknowledgements. There’s no excuse for that kind of oversight. Bill has always done me right and has an exceptionally keen insight into the human spirit.

  Hand drawn map of the norther region of Planet Vii.

  Humans and the Intelligent Creatures

  The Hillcats (‘cat)

  The Golden Warrior – also called G, G-War, and Prince Axial De’atesh, can share his mindlink with others

  Fealona – from G-War’s home village

  Treetis – A young ‘cat, very much like G-War

  The Humans

  Braden – The Free Trader

  Micah – The Warrior, Partnered with Braden

  Axial & De’atesh – Braden and Micah’s twin children

  Bronwyn – Gifted child, able to speak with all creatures

  Jocelyn – Governor Anderle’s wife

  Dr. Johns – a clone, leader of the survivors from Cygnus VI

  Candela & Tanner – the first Free Traders born in the south

  Zeller – a Free Trader, from Trent, the same village as Micah

  Young Tom – a blacksmith from Whitehorse

  Mattie & Caleb – Micah’s parents

  The Hawkoids

  Skirill – also called Ess

  Zyena – Skirill’s mate, born on the RV Traveler, also called Zee

  The Tortoid

  Aadi – First Master of the Tortoise Consortium

  The Aurochs

  Brandt Earthshaker – King of the Aurochs

  Arnie – Zeller’s partner in trade, pulls her wagon

  The Queen – Brandt’s queen that he rescued from Toromont’s Run

  The Lizard Men (Amazonians)

  Zalastar – Leader of the Amazonians

  Akhmiyar – one of Zalastar’s best warriors and leader in his own right

  Pik Ha’ar – Lizard Man from the ship RV Traveler and friend

  Tup Dal – Lizard Man from the ship RV Traveler, supporter of Pik

  The Rabbits

  Ferrer & Brigitte – a Rabbit couple moved from the ship to Vii

  Patrice & Delavigne – a Rabbit couple moved from the ship to Vii

  A Helping Paw

  “Shoot it!” Braden yelled, waving his arms frantically as the wild boar raced toward his children and the baby Rabbits. An arrow flew from the bow of a young villa
ger whose job it was to watch the fields.

  The arrow sailed high as the young man panicked, then fumbled with his quiver, trying to get off a second shot.

  The boar ground to a halt as a small orange ‘cat jumped in front of Braden’s son Axial and stared down the larger beast. It seemed the two were locked in a struggle that Braden couldn’t hear or understand. He stepped to the side to clear his line of fire and pressed the trigger. A narrow beam from his blaster tore through the side of the wild boar. Both Ax and the small ‘cat dropped to their knees. The toddler grabbed his head.

  Micah sprinted past Braden, high-stepping through the fields as two fuzzy white Rabbits, waist-high to her, bounded past toward their own youngsters.

  Micah slid to a stop in front of her son and kneeled to better look into the eyes of the nearly two-cycle old boy. The small Hillcat strolled by, pausing to rub its face on the boy’s pants before continuing on. It sat nearby, using its paw to scrub at its whiskers.

  Braden arrived and took his place next to his partner. Their daughter De’atesh sauntered up, a fuzzy calico ‘cat following her closely. Ferrer and Brigitte, the Rabbits from the spaceship, were hugging their babies, the first of theirs to be born on the planet.

  A Hawkoid flew over them, flaring to allow the Golden Warrior to jump from its back and land softly next to the small orange ‘cat. Skirill beat his wings to gain altitude as he headed for a branch nearby.

  “What were you thinking?” Braden asked his son.

  ‘Klytus and I had him, did you see?’ the boy said excitedly in his thought voice, the headache having mostly passed.

  Braden and Micah both turned to look at G-War. The large Hillcat sat and stared back at the humans as he casually licked a paw and washed his face, mirroring the complete indifference of his half-Hillcat son.

  Micah let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head at the ‘cats.

  “Klytus said it’d be okay that both of them take on a wild boar. Because, Klytus…” Braden said sarcastically, letting the statement hang.

  “They are both their fathers’ sons. I doubt we’ll ever be able to leave them out of our sight. Ever.” Micah smiled as she tried to be mad, but she was proud of her children. They were fearless, being raised by a menagerie of intelligent creatures who treated others with equal respect, regardless of whether they had fur, skin, or feathers. They were blind to physical differences.

  ‘Tesh looked at Micah as Ax, once over the short headache and freed from his mother’s embrace, bolted away. ‘Can we go to the river?’ De’atesh asked clearly in her thought voice. By ‘we,’ she meant herself and her bonded half-Hillcat Shauna.

  ‘If an adult goes with you, sweetheart,’ Micah answered, looking deliberately at Braden.

  He took his daughter’s hand and she skipped as he walked toward the nearby river. Shauna ran along behind, her long hair flowing as she raced to catch up.

  Seeing the Trade

  Greentree had become prominent as the center of all trade in the south. Braden expected that Dwyer should have been since they had the forge complex and were producing steel implements, items that everyone seemed to be begging for. But the Free Trader lived in Greentree and people flocked to him.

  Micah was the President and people accepted her as such, even though they didn’t know what it meant. She didn’t intrude on their lives and neither did Braden. He was pleasant at all times, giving instruction about trade and reinforcing the need to read and write. He stored numerous blank journals to share with anyone who wanted to ply the trade routes as a Free Trader.

  With nearly every daylight, a wagon was coming or going. The village had quadrupled in size, which required a new Market Square with nice stands for any trader to use. People in the village seemed to be in constant motion, tending the fields or picking up Aurochs droppings for fertilizer, because the Rabbits said there was nothing better on Vii or on the spaceship.

  Braden was content. He and Micah had not fired their blasters in a full cycle. The children had passed the age of two and continued to grow far more quickly than normal. They looked to be four cycles old and had the ability to talk almost like a teenager. In some ways, it was scary; in others, it made their parents proud, except for all the problems created by having a teenager in a two-cycle old body. Their bonded ‘cats, although young, looked out for them and thankfully called for help when needed.

  Braden thought G-War looked especially smug riding Skirill to the rescue of the boys. Still kittens, the half-Hillcats were maturing quickly, too. G-War expected them to be full size after only a few more moons, and then they could protect the human children themselves, leaving Prince Axial De’atesh out of mischief, mostly of their own making.

  A welcoming yell awakened his drifting mind as a trader approached in a wagon pulled by one of the southern Aurochs. A second Aurochs walked alongside, as they always traveled in pairs, even though only one pulled at a time.

  Brandt, King of the Aurochs had also decided with the rapid growth of the trade routes, his people would be partnered with a single caravan, becoming an integral and equal member of the team. If there were any issues, the trader would lose their support from the Aurochs herd. This had only happened once, but that solidified it for all. The humans went to great lengths to treat their Aurochs partners well. It helped the trade, too–the Aurochs and traders learned the route together, learned about each other, communicated better, and became good friends.

  Friends will do more for each other than business partners.

  Braden joined the others as they ran to the trader’s wagon hoping to see their favorite goods available. People cheered as Zeller the Free Trader waved. She was a favorite, being from Micah’s village. With Caleb and Mattie’s liberation of females following Micah’s return, she was the first to seek her fortunes elsewhere, vowing to be a trader traveling far and wide.

  Zeller was close with her Aurochs. After spending time with the Golden Warrior, he’d helped her to hear and talk with Arnie, the friendly Toromont Aurochs.

  On this trip, she was returning from Westerly and River Crook. She brought a wagonload of flour for the burgeoning bread trade. River Crook had started to grow beets for sugar, but they still needed chickens, for the eggs they produced could bake a better kind of bread. Until then, they counted on the traders to carry their special flat bread.

  Each village was finding its market niche. Hand-carved wood, jewelry, and other decorative pieces were starting make their appearances.

  Just like in the north.

  Braden beamed. Three cycles to get to this point. It could have happened more quickly, but the war held them back. And when the people from the south finally understood and were free to explore the boundaries of free trade, there was no holding them back.

  Micah sidled up next to Braden, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him to her. “It is always amazing to see how our world has transformed, thanks to the vision of one person,” she whispered in his ear.

  Braden smiled and nodded. It was his view of what the world could become because trading was all he knew. That was why he’d traveled south in the first place, to find trade items and take them back north. Then he met Micah and everything changed, he changed. The world he knew became a bigger place and his role in it took on greater importance, as much as he wanted to remain a Free Trader. He remembered his old vision of clinging to a raft that raced downriver among the rapids and churning water.

  ‘I’m not sure any of that has changed,’ Micah said over the mindlink. ‘We’re still hanging on. Look at this! And we have kids, as do the rest of our friends. Have we gotten old?’ she asked out of the blue.

  Braden looked at his hands, flexing his five fingers on one and three on the other. He dipped, bending his knees, then shook his head. “Nope. Plenty young here.” He looked accusingly at his partner.

  She shoved him, almost knocking him down. Micah was younger than Braden, although scarred and hardened from numerous battles, as was he. The past cycle had been
free from conflict, but she continued to practice her sword-play daily and improve her mastery of the bow. Chasing after the twins and the children’s minions took the rest of her energy, but neither she nor Braden would have it any other way.

  Zeller stood on her buckboard and searched the crowd until she saw Braden and Micah. She pointed, nodded, and waved them to her.

  “Who are we to deny a potential trade?” Braden said as he took Micah’s hand and pulled her through the crowd to Zeller’s wagon and where a small supply of smoked sweetened pork was waiting.

  Back to New Sanctuary

  Braden finished harnessing Speckles to the two-wheeled cart. His stalwart companion had been used by a number of people, but had been returned to him for this trip. Braden was taking his family to New Sanctuary, but the villagers thought they were going to meet their friends on the south side of the rainforest.

  This wasn’t technically untrue. No, they hadn’t told people about New Sanctuary yet. That was why they wanted to go, talk with those who lived there, and put the controls in place in case strangers started to arrive, trying to steal the Old Tech.

  Braden couldn’t allow that to happen. The survivors from Cygnus VI were unable to defend themselves from a violent attack. One person like Old Man McCullough could overwhelm all of them. The Security Bots were an easy answer, but Braden and Micah didn’t want to risk injuring a trader or a visitor who had no ill intent.