The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle

by John Thornton

  “Why did you have my people killed?” Brinley demanded as she rushed forward dodging around the automacube. She was trying to see where Larissa had gone. The upturned table was blocking her view.

  “They deserved to be killed!” Larissa stated bluntly as she leapt from behind the table and threw the contents of a mug of scalding hot liquid onto Brinley. The nearly boiling liquid burned through her clothing and down her side. Brinley wailed in agony. She fired the handgun at the nimbly moving Larissa, but missed.

  “They have killed the Governor! I am trying to fight them off!” Larissa screamed as she ran for the doorway.

  Gretchen tried to block her way, and swung a fist at her. Larissa ducked. Larissa then planted a hard slug into Gretchen abdomen, and she buckled over in pain. Larissa’s knee came up and effectively knocked Gretchen onto her back. Larissa vaulted over her.

  Paul regained his feet, but was covered in wet and sloppy foods. He considered chasing Larissa, but seeing Brinley in anguish and Gretchen on the deck, he did not pursue Larissa as she sprinted away. She was still calling for help. “Smugglers have killed the Governor!”

  Alarm sirens sounded all over the palace.

  Doctor 147 extracted itself from under the dead governor, shoving the steaming corpse off and rolled up to the others. “I suggest immediate withdrawal.”

  “Gretchen, how badly hurt are you?” Paul asked. He saw she was struggling to her feet.

  “She hits very hard,” Gretchen said as she gasped to regain her breath.

  “Brinley?” Paul asked as he turned to her.

  “My arm and side are burned,” Brinley replied. “But I am not a Roe.” She tried to laugh a bit, but that pulled on her wounds. “I still have the handgun, but I missed her.”

  “Not completely,” Paul said. “Something grazed her forehead. She was bleeding.”

  Brinley gave a weak smile.

  “Security automacubes and human troopers will be here soon,” Doctor 147 stated. “It is essential that we depart now.”

  Brinley nodded and said, “We should go. It was a mistake to come here. I was wrong.”

  “Paul, get the Willie pistols,” Gretchen encouraged.

  Paul rummaged around in the mess of food, plates, and drinks. He found it under a lumpy mount of fruits and yellow gelatin.

  “Got one.” Paul holstered the sloppy pistol. He continued to look for the second pistol.

  “My acoustics register that a security automacube is racing here at full speed. Additionally, several people are coming up the stairway. If we depart via the service elevator immediately, we can still make our escape,” the white automacube stated. It then turned and rolled away on its own.

  Brinley stood and followed. “You have the medical kit, right?”

  “Yes.” Gretchen patted the pouch on her belt where it was contained. “Paul, we must leave now. I only saw the one pistol.”

  “I only saw one of them as well. Where is the second one?” Paul asked as he tossed over a bowl which had held vegetables.

  “No time to look anymore! Come on,” Gretchen grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

  Running as best they could, they entered the supply room. Doctor 147 had the elevator already open and was waiting inside. A cable was strung between the control panel of the elevator and the automacube. Brinley entered it, but winced as she brushed her side against the door. Paul and Gretchen entered together. The elevator door shut. Paul could hear shouting down the hall toward the patio, but did not make out the words.

  The elevator shook a bit as it began to descend.

  “Where are we going?” Gretchen asked. “Larissa has probably called out all the troops.”

  “Why did she kill them?” Paul asked. “I thought that was her superior, or leader, or something, right?”

  Brinley winched again, but replied. “Larissa did not kill the Governor.”

  “What? I saw it happen. We all did,” Gretchen said.

  “And she shot those others as well,” Paul added.

  “No, that is not what will be reported. Did you hear her saying ‘smugglers killed the Governor’? That will be the official story. As of now, we are who killed the Governor. Larissa was injured and will probably be lifted as a hero for getting hurt trying to save his life,” Brinley answered. “Hey, I am in pain here. Will you help? I could use some medical care.”

  Doctor 147 and Gretchen both reached out to aid Brinley. The automacube cut away the fabric of Brinley’s clothing to reveal black charred skin surrounded by fiery red tissue. Gretchen connected the wires from the medical kit, and the small machine produced a stream of gel as well as two tablets. Gretchen quickly smeared on the gel, and had Brinley swallow the tablets.

  “I have finished a diagnostic assessment and am ready to administer treatment,” Doctor 147 stated. “However, I see that treatment measures have already been applied. I would be very interested to link to your medical kit.”

  “Not until we have Tiffany check out what will happen, if, and I mean if, we allow you to do that,” Paul said roughly.

  “And we still need to know what we are going to do now,” Gretchen replied.

  “If I may offer my plan?” Doctor 147 asked. The machine then went on, “This elevator will descend to sublevel 3. That area has not been used since the Outbreak. It was sealed as part of the containment efforts against the virus. I believe you have the means to open that area up. Once open, I propose that we access the emergency medical transport system. I should be able to operate an emergency transport vehicle, if there is one, and if the system is still functional. That vehicle can carry us to a safe location. Alternatively, we can proceed through the corridors toward a safe destination. In either event, I propose disabling the elevator upon on arrival at sublevel 3.”

  “But where to go?” Paul asked. “I mean, if this elevator gets us to this sublevel 3, and if a transport whatever is able to take us away. Where do we go? And if we have to walk there, well, we will need more food supplies, and some way to defend against the Roe and other infected beasts.”

  “Come on Paulie, this cannot be harder than you carrying me somewhere when I was a Roe. And it certainly is better than freezing to death,” Brinley said. The medications were already reversing the burned flesh and new healthy flesh as growing in its place.

  The elevator descended and then came to a trembling halt.

  “The door refuses to open,” Paul complained.

  “As I stated, the level is sealed,” Doctor 147 said. “I suggest cutting the elevator doors to gain access.”

  “I am contacting Tiffany again. Or at least I am going to try,” Gretchen again activated the communication link. There was no response. Looking at the automacube, Gretchen asked, “Why can I not contact Tiffany?”

  “I am a medical automacube. I no longer have the capacity to link or couple to the lattice. I am unable to answer your inquiry,” the machine replied.

  Paul pulled his backpack off and took out a cutting torch. “So we cut apart another elevator. This is getting familiar. I sure hope there is no wild beast behind the door.”

  “Or snow, vacuum, or toxic gas,” Gretchen added. “Brinley, any thought on why we cannot contact Tiffany?”

  “I was unsure how you were doing it in the first place,” Brinley replied. “The Vanguard’s external communications have been disabled since the Outbreak. Tennard said that was due to the loss of macroactinide capacitor enhancers. And I have not had much time to analyze and examine your equipment which works on a different system. I could disassemble it, and maybe get some ideas, but right now I am not sure why it is failing.”

  “So we blindly cut open this door?” Paul asked. “All on the recommendation of this automacube? Remember Ferdinand?”

  “Paul, we do not really have any other choice. Doctor 147 did rescue us,” Gretchen said and laid her hand on Paul’s shoulder.

  “Better to cut our way out than be trapped in here. We are already trapped on the Vanguard anyway,” Paul mutte
red as he put the cutting torch together and applied it to the elevator door. “You are sure this is the correct level?”

  “Yes. The transport terminal will be right beyond these doors,” Doctor 147 answered.

  “Terminal. Yes, that sounds about right. Terminal something. I hope it is not me.” Paul deftly severed the side of the elevator door and then moved the cutting beam around to cut horizontally. He kicked the section of the door. It clanged onto the floor beyond. “Nothing exploded, and it is not freezing in there. But it is dark.”

  Gretchen turned on the fusion pack’s light and the beam shined into the chamber. It was a transport terminal.

  The air was old and stale with a dried and brittle smell. The beam of light shined over the hatches which were along one side of the terminal. On the other side of the room were three skeletons clothed in tan utility type coveralls. They were in front of a bulkhead door which was closed.

  “Well, they did not get away,” Paul muttered. “And now that I cut off its door, the elevator will never take us back up, for all the good that would do anyway.”

  The white automacube unjacked from the elevator’s control panel. It then rolled across the room and its manipulation arm came down and hovered over the skeletons. “Limited field assessment complete. These three died sixty-two years ago. The remains show significant signs of malnutrition, and severe catabolysis.”

  “You mean these people starved to death?” Paul winced. “Oh wonderful.”

  “Paulie, consider, in a way that is a positive sign,” Brinley said. “They are not Roe. They were not murdered. There must be a water supply somewhere close. They were not eaten by Roe or tagalongs.”

  “Yes, there is a toileting area back there, with flowing water. I wonder if they used red or blue paper?” Gretchen said.

  Paul gave her an eye-rolling look and blew out a long breath.

  “We can cut our way out, if needed. These poor souls had no tools I can see,” Brinley observed. “Besides, Doctor 147 said something about a transport vehicle. I know this is one of the places the old transport system would connect to, but that has not functioned for a long time. Except for Tennard and Sigmond, I know of no one who actually ever used the transport system.”

  The automacube rolled over and connected a cable into a port near the hatches. A weak blue light came on over the hatch furthest away.

  “There is an emergency medical transport vehicle here. It registers as ‘marginal’ by the system’s diagnostics. I will open the hatch and door,” Doctor 147 replied. “There are no other transport vehicles at this terminal, and I had to use a command level override to get admittance to the emergency vehicle.”

  The inside of the vehicle had two rows of seats which faced each other, along the sides, with a display screen at the other end. Gretchen walked in, and connected a fusion pack to an access port.

  “The system now reads the vehicle as ‘ready for operation’ so that equipment you added corrected the discrepancies. What destination do you desire?” Doctor 147 inquired. The automacube rolled into the emergency medical vehicle and placed a cable into a slot near where the fusion pack was connected.

  “I have no idea,” Paul replied. “Everywhere we have gone we are trapped.” He stepped into the vehicle and sat by Gretchen. “But anyplace will probably be better than here.”

  “Take us to Oasis, to the same place Tennard used,” Brinley suggested. “We know that part of the system worked. And I owe someone a runabout.”

  “I am not familiar with the one you call ‘Tennard’ but I am scanning for links and couplings to the location you call Oasis,” Doctor 147 replied. After a brief pause, the automacube said, “I have located one isolated artificial intelligence system: TSI-981.”

  In the nonphysicality Doctor 147 connected to TSI-981. It was cooperative. “Course set. Destination: A Habitat: Hydrobiological Research.”

  The rear hatch of the vehicle closed. There were a series of clanging noises, and a jolt as the vehicle disconnected from the terminal. It moved away and there was another jolt. Then it steadily increased speed heading for A Habitat.

  Epilogue

  The sky tube was just starting to fade high over Inaccessible Island. The birds were flying along soaring up and down. The grasses swayed a bit as air moved them. One of the few non-biological things in sight, the permalloy dome which capped the freight elevator was closed. As darkness was descending, there were new and unidentified chirps, shrill cries, and other sounds from the biological zone all around. Even the vast sea seemed to make its own gentle kind of sounds.

  “It is so different without Jodie’s Minstrels here,” Gretchen said as she sat on the chair outside of the tent they had set up that morning.

  “I know that is right. And this will be our first night here, in this habitat, or island, or whatever. What should I call this place?” Paul replied. He too sat in a chair outside their tent. The supplies they had brought with them were stacked on the sides or stored inside the tent.

  “Brinley and the other Free Rangers call it Inaccessible Island. I guess it is still that way, since they left the bridge closed. Apparently, none of the CPO troops or automacubes stayed here, after the Free Rangers left,” Gretchen stated.

  “Maybe because of ferocious beasts?” Paul asked, not entirely in jest.

  “Brinley assured me that there are no large carnivores at this location. She did warn of things in the sea, but I am not going down from this plateau for a while,” Gretchen said with a yawn. “She also said there were no poisonous snakes or other creatures like that on this land. But there are in the sea.”

  “And would you have to actually get out into that water, right? They would be creatures like we saw from the transparent tunnel?”

  “I imagine that would be correct. But maybe something can fly out of the water?” Gretchen replied. “Up here on the land we do have the one Willie pistol if something does come our way and is dangerous.”

  “Yes, we only have one pistol. Where is the other?” Paul asked.

  “We assume Larissa has it. Brinley thought so,” Gretchen replied.

  “We can run away into the elevator if need be,” Paul commented. “That is something, I guess.”

  “On a positive thought, this place will not freeze at all according to Brinley.”

  “That is something to be grateful about,” Paul replied. “You know the Free Rangers do not really accept us as part of them. They seem to barely tolerate Brinley. If not for Jodie leaving a credit balance for us, we would not have this tent, supplies, and the food stocks.”

  “Yes, that was wonderful for Jodie to do. She is one of the few who believes our history. But I guess to people who were born on the Vanguard our saga seems really outrageous,” Gretchen smiled as she said that.

  “True enough. The Free Rangers seem concerned about what Larissa may do next. They set up tighter defenses," Paul said thoughtfully.

  "Our interactions with those CPO people have not been good and we have not met many people who just live in the habitats." Gretchen gestured about beyond the sea. "There are other places out there with people. Is the Vanguard only divided into CPO and Free Rangers?"

  "And the Roe. Who could ever forget them," Paul stated. "We are pretty ignorant of how these nature places work, and what the common people do in these habitats.” Then changing the subject he said, “I have not been able to contact Tiffany at all. I hoped from in here the communication links would work again,”

  “Me too. They seem to be functioning on this end, as far as I can tell. We can use them to contact each other, and talk to Brinley, but we get no response from Tiffany. There might be interference, or some problem on the other end.”

  “Could it be the same reason the data sticks do not work?” Paul wondered aloud.

  “Perhaps. Brinley said she would look at the data sticks and the reader we left with her. I would not be surprised if she and Tennard tear one apart and rebuild it,” Gretchen said. “Getting the data sticks running
would be helpful.”

  Neither one wanted to say how important the data sticks were if Tiffany was lost.

  “We might have to go back to the scout ship to check on Tiffany,” Paul said after a while. He shuddered a bit at verbalizing that course of action. “If we could find it.”

  “That is a big if. I was counting on Tiffany mapping everything for us.”

  “Me too. I only have a general idea where the scout ship is. We might be able to find it easier if we flew a shuttle around the hull of the Vanguard.” Paul yawned as well.

  “That would be a huge job too. Just getting a shuttle from the Free Rangers might be a problem. Brinley is still negotiating with Rodgeeri about payment of the lease on that runabout we lost. So, even if we got a shuttle, finding the scout ship somewhere on the vast hull would mean a tedious search. That sounds tricky,” Gretchen answered. “Without Tiffany we would have to rely on Brinley’s knowledge and skills for flying around the hull.”