“We are rather in the dark on that matter,” Tiffany replied.
“In the dark at night? Are you using humor to cover your unwillingness to help us?” Paul snapped back. “We need to move away, and maybe we can find someone who will tell us what we need to know.”
“Paul, the town is that way, if there is a tavern or some meeting place perhaps we can talk to someone there.” Gretchen led them around the building and toward the town.
The buildings were mostly all of permalloy, but in the dimness of the night it was hard to tell. There were occasional lights in some windows, but the majority of them were dark. They moved cautiously down the roadway and entered the town itself.
A barking was heard in the distance.
“That is one of those predator animals they use here to track people down. That trooper Victor used one to hunt us, and I can still remember it pulling my arm so hard I could not move anywhere. How will we hide from that?” Paul said.
“We could fight,” Gretchen replied, “but I doubt we would get the information we need, or reach our goal. Fighting might just make us more enemies and not really help us escape. Evasion is better right now.”
They moved into the even darker shadows of one of the buildings as they heard the barking getting closer.
“Halt!” A man cried from behind them. “I have them at Seventh and Main.”
“So much for evasion.” Paul turned around. In the dim light he could see a man and animal standing on the street looking at them.
Paul glanced around seeking some place to escape or to hide. There was nowhere to go. He began to draw out his pistol.
“Hold!” the man yelled. “Do not brandish a weapon!”
The animal rushed forward at blindingly fast speed. It grabbed onto Paul’s arm and dragged him over. The pistol did not even get out of the holster.
“No!” Gretchen yelled and drew her own pistol out.
“Hold!” a female voice cried from behind them.
Gretchen was knocked down from behind, and the pistol flipped away. Another animal was clutching her arm and pulling steadily on it.
Two troopers rushed up to where Paul and Gretchen were restrained. They grabbed the pistols off of them.
“Release. Guard only!” the woman said.
Both animals let go, and Paul and Gretchen relaxed a bit. Neither of them was hurt seriously, but their arms had been tightly held in the mouths of the animals. The two animals sat back on their haunches and alertly watched. The two troopers stood behind them, one set on each side, with Paul and Gretchen in the center. All Paul and Gretchen could see were black silhouettes in the dimness.
Paul began to stand up.
“Please remain seated,” the man ordered. He then lifted a multiceiver and spoke into that. “Base, we have both of them. Each was restrained by our volkosobies.”
There was a reply, but neither Paul nor Gretchen could hear it.
“We have been watching for you. Constable Jeffry is on his way here,” the male trooper said.
“Is one of you Torio? I cannot see you in this dim light,” Gretchen asked.
“No. No, Torio is on surveillance while I am on patrol. I am Sara,” the trooper responded. “Torio dispatched us to intercept you.”
“I am Rameel,” the other trooper said.
“What are you going to do with us, now that we are prisoners?” Paul asked. “We were just…. What?”
The gray and black striped cat stepped from the shadows and began to again rub up against Paul. It did so as he sat on the ground. Paul let out several started gasps.
Both the troopers laughed heartily.
“You have been adopted by a patrol cat!” Sara said with another laugh.
“There is no accounting for what patrol cats will do,” Rameel said.
Paul started to swipe at the car, but one of the other animals growled a deep warning growl.
“Brita does not want you to hurt that patrol cat,” Sara said very seriously. “So just be gentle and nice, the cat is an ally to us.”
“Who is Brita?” Paul asked.
“Brita is my volkosoby; he will not allow you to escape nor to hurt that patrol cat. So relax until the Constable gets here,” Sara said.
“Gaddur is also on guard here, so there is nowhere to run,” Rameel said.
Paul tried to relax, but the cat kept rubbing his arms and legs which was annoying. He also glanced back and forth between the larger animals which had restrained them and the troopers.
“Brita and Gaddur? Are they the same kind of animal as Victor has? I think that animal was named Tarpay?” Gretchen asked.
“All the volkosoby trackers are the same kind of animal. Gaddur and Tarpay were litter mates,” Rameel replied. “No more talk until Constable Jeffry arrives.
12 Constable Jeffry gives a guide
The sky tube brightened over F Habitat, Steppes and shined down on the town of Perm. There were birds flying over as they started off their morning routines. Some lit on the sloped roofs of the permalloy houses and sang cheery tunes in chirps, hurried tweets, twitters, and cheeps. Other birds also added to the chorus of dawn with their peeps, chitters, chirrups, warbles, and trills. When one paused for a moment, another bird would start in. Some flew over from the boundary forest and added to the cacophony of sounds.
As the light came up, Paul and Gretchen could see their captors. They each were dressed in dark violet and deep blue colored uniforms. On the collars were brass F shaped pin insignia. Their heads had tight knit cap of deep blue color.
Sara had a medium complexion, with dark brown hair. A few wisps of hair were straying out from under her cap. Her eyes were bright and of a deep green color. Her figure was athletic and she stood with confidence.
Rameel reminded Paul and Gretchen of the animals which were sitting nearby. His face had a hard and determined look on it, and his eyes shone with intensity. His pale complexion was contrasted by the deep-set nearly black-brown colored eyes which peered out from the beneath black bushy eyebrows. He was tall with an over-muscled build.
The two animals which stood guard over Paul and Gretchen were very much like the predators they remembered. They were similar to the wild animals which had chased them, but were clearly working animals who took their lead from the people. Each of the volkosoby animals had a look of intelligence in its eyes. Their pointed faces were creamy tan colored with a large brownish nose and darker gray fur around the tan ears. They stared at Paul and Gretchen and watched every move, occasionally tipped their head sideways. Their muscular bodies were covered by soft looking fur of various grays on the back, and mixed with creamy buff colors. Their abdominal fur was almost white color. Each one had slight variations from the other, but they were obviously similar animals.
Paul moved to stand up, and asked, “May I move around please?”
Sara nodded, but then grinned as the cat mewed a bit as Paul shifted his crossed legs. The cat had curled up next to him and had been sleeping before he moved.
“Will that animal bite me?” Paul asked as he looked at the patrol cat.
“It may,” Sara said. “It just may.” She stifled a grin as she replied.
Paul shifted his weight carefully back and did not stand. The cat nestled in and began making a low buzzing kind of sound while it slept.
“Is it growling at me?” Paul asked.
“If it were angry, you would not need to ask. You would already know,” Rameel said with a chuckle.
“The Constable is approaching,” Sara said and nodded to the roadway.
The houses on each side of the road were made from permalloy and now that the light was brighter their individual characteristics were visible. Each building had a main floor with door and windows. The roofs were slanted, and there were three individual dormers with windows coming out from the sloped roofs on both sides of the houses. Most of the houses were browns or dark greens, and all the roofs were a light gray color.
Up the road, between the houses came
a pair of large animals, taller than the poitevin donkeys which Paul and Gretchen knew from the Wilds. They had shorter hair than the donkeys and longer legs, but smaller ears. They were reddish brown colored with an almost golden sheen. They had longer hair on the back of their necks, and hanging between their ears on their long noses. Their tails were also very long and thick with hair. One of the animals had a white stripe which ran down its nose, the other mount had two legs with white hair on their ends. Those white feet reminded Gretchen of a person wearing socks.
Harnesses and saddles were on the two animals and each carried a rider who used straps connected to the beast’s mouth to direct them. A predator animal, like the ones guarding them was running alongside.
“Rameel, Sara, first let me say well done,” the lead figure on the horse called.
“Constable Jeffry, well met, sir!” Rameel and Sara both said as the man climbed down off the horse.
Constable Jeffry was about Paul’s height and very slender. He was older than most of the people Paul and Gretchen had seen, and his face lined with wrinkles. His steel colored gray hair was slightly over his ears in length and thick. His dark complexion matched his eyes, but they twinkled a bit as he looked over at Paul and Gretchen. His uniform was similar to that worn by the troopers; with the exception he did not have a cap on his head.
“Please tell me you have not kept these people sitting this entire time. Come now, get up and move about,” Constable Jeffry commanded. He dropped the reins to the horse, and the animal stood exactly where it had stopped.
“Sir, we kept them here as ordered,” Rameel responded.
“You are Gretchen and Paul, and I guess that automacube is where the artificial intelligence system with the odd nomenclature of Tiffany resides, if I am not mistaken, and I seldom am,” Constable Jeffry stated.
“Yes, I am Tiffany,” the AI said from the automacube.
“I see a patrol cat is here with you. Interesting,” Constable Jeffry said as he looked at Paul. “You may remain seated since your friend is so comfortable.” He then turned to Gretchen, “First, let me assure you, you are not under threat here.”
“It feels like a threat,” Paul muttered.
Constable Jeffry looked down at him. “If there were a threat, it would have already been applied to you. But we need not talk of threats between us. We share a common threat, the Jellies.”
“Constable Jeffry,” Gretchen said as she stood. She looked carefully at the three animals guarding her, and the troopers. “You know a great deal about us, may I ask how?”
“You just did, Gretchen! You just did,” Constable Jeffry placed his arm around her and hugged her.
Gretchen stiffened. Paul pushed the patrol cat off of him and stood up next to her.
“Oh such resistance. I guess it is understandable in these trying times. First, to your question. I have known about you beginning with this man.” Constable Jeffry swept his arm toward the trooper who had ridden up with him.
“Victor?” Paul said in recognition.
“Yes, it is I,” Victor said. His youthful face, fair skin, and brown eyes were looking healthy and whole. “There is no fire raging about me now.”
“So that is Tarpay?” Gretchen asked and pointed to the newly arrived predator.
Tarpay barked.
“If I may ask, these animals are not in my historical records, although they show evidences of traits from both the Canis lupus lupus, and the Canis lupus familiaris. What is their history?” Tiffany asked.
“The volkosoby are the working dogs we use here in the Steppes, what some people also call Pampas. My habitat goes by several names. There are wild wolves and coyotes, but they have always been wild and will remain so. Our volkosoby are co-workers. They have been bred forever and are some of the best animals on the Vanguard. Of course, my habitat has some of the finest of all the animals, like our noble budonny horse, and our esteemed patrol cats which were bred and understood right here in Perm.” He gave a nod to the gray and black cat which was sitting and licking its paws.
“Can you tell me the such as kingdom, family, genus, and species?” Tiffany asked.
“The way you use those terms are not familiar to me, but perhaps would be to our scientists and geneticists. I know the animals by their names. Our scientists, those women and men are the ones who recognized that the patrol cats are immune to the Outbreak, and our breeding program has allowed us to establish colonies of patrol cats at the major entry points to F Habitat. Patrol cats are essential in keeping my habitat secure from the Roe and tagalongs.”
“That cat thing is immune to being a Roe?” Paul said in surprise.
“First, that patrol cat is hardly a thing, he is a valuable part of our civil defense and you should show him the respect he deserves. He is a descendant of the first two cats, Betty and Carmel, which developed resistance to the Outbreak,” Constable Jeffry stated in all seriousness.
“Sorry, I apologize,” Paul said meekly. He was unsure how to deal with Constable Jeffry and was trying to understand what kind of situation they were in.
“All is forgiven you. I have been told much about you. First, you both saved Trooper Victor when he would have died. He reported that, but I had my doubts. Yet it is true. He may not have been in danger had it not been for you in the first place, but that is old history now.”
“You say ‘first’ quite a bit,” Paul commented.
The was an audible intake of breath from the three troopers who were standing around. The dogs also immediately stood up and had their ears all pointed toward Paul, their tails were straight out behind them.
Constable Jeffry walked over to Paul. He reached out and ever so gently straightened Paul shirt and picked some flecks of something off of them. “I am not accustomed to smugglers speaking to me in this way.” He flicked a speck off Paul’s shoulder, deliberately and patiently. “I have been in the Steppes my entire life, and have served to keep the quarantine in place, and to protect the people who live here. You are not one of those people. You are a stranger to the Steppes. You are unaware of proper manners and etiquette.” He then brushed off Paul’s shirt a bit more. “So I will forgive your rudeness and impertinence. More important matters are at hand. Please recall this pleasant interaction we have had. It is the first and only warning you will receive from me.” He then stared into Paul’s eyes, and the twinkle that had been there was now missing.
Paul met his gaze, but refused to apologize. Their eyes remained locked for a while, and finally Paul said, “Do you deny saying ‘first’ often?”
“I do not,” Constable Jeffry replied. He then squeezed Paul’s shoulder in affection. “You will be an honorable ally.”
“What do you mean, ally?” Gretchen interrupted. “How do you know so much about us?”
Paul and Jeffry both looked to Gretchen at the same time.
“First, it was from Trooper Victor. He reported what had happened. Then we had an incursion in our river from what we learned later were the Jellies. The fighting was fierce, and Governor Zlata was killed. Her leadership is missed badly in this time of crisis. Many of our security automacubes were destroyed, and water was polluted. The general population has been shaken, yet….”
“How did that teach you about us?” Paul interjected.
Constable Jeffry tapped the pouch he wore on his belt. “The multiceiver. I tried to summon assistance from the Central Planning Office, yet they refused to believe my report. That was when Larissa contacted me.”
“Larissa!” Gretchen and Paul said together.
“Yes, let me show you. I believe she is listening as we speak.” Constable Jeffry reached out his hand to Victor who had been holding a multiceiver.
“Hello Paul and Gretchen,” Larissa said from the display on the multiceiver. “I see you have made it to F Habitat. I have informed Constable Jeffry about our findings on the Jellies and other matters. He is a precious partner in our defense of the Vanguard. He is also why you are still alive after enteri
ng his domain. Jeffry my friend, I trust you will assist these two in whatever endeavor they are pursuing. Their quest may prove to have unexpected and beneficial outcomes on our own defenses. Their friend Brinley has assumed command of the defenses in Oasis. I will leave you to your work. Contact me again whenever it is needed. Together we will win this war.”
“It is always a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you Larissa,” Constable Jeffry said, “I appreciate your confirmation and leadership.” He shut down the multiceiver link and the display went dark.
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 131