Quest for the Conestoga (Colony Ship Conestoga Book 1)

by John Thornton

  Gretchen nodded and gave a warm smile. “That is very logical. I just wanted to thank you for being my friend.” Gretchen glanced at Paul and then back. Sadness was in Gretchen’s countenance. “Our friend. No matter which of us establishes the teleportation system, we will not see each other.”

  Cammarry swallow hard. “Yes, I know.” She tried to hold back tears as she hugged Gretchen and then hugged Paul. “No long speeches or that kind of stuff. Just some really good stories about me to the people you meet.” She wiped her eyes and walked away quickly. She had to offer some hope, so she turned and added. “The planet we land on will probably already have such good teleportation and technology that I will come looking for you and rescue you both.” She then pivoted around and proceeded toward the Quartermaster’s area. Jerome waved his own goodbye.

  “They are good friends,” Jerome said quietly as he hugged her.

  “I hope their colony ship is safe and good for them,” Cammarry replied softly. “After what Paul went through he deserves a calm and peaceful place.”

  Willie the Quartermaster was an unusual man. His clothing was unkempt, and often looked like he had slept in it. He had been significantly injured long ago and his one arm hung uselessly in a dirty tan sling. Unlike nearly everyone else in Dome 17, Willie seldom used antiseptic foams at all. His supply room had a distinct aroma unlike anywhere else, except perhaps for the elderly house complex. There was a table covered with items and shelves were all around.

  Willie also had significant eye alignment issues. His strabismus was pronounced, which many people found disconcerting. He appeared to be able to look intently at two different people at the same time. Willie used this to his every advantage. To make matters even more odd, he spoke with a bit of a wheezy nasally whine. Nothing really pronounced, but just enough to set off one’s ears. Some claimed he did that on purpose, but others said he had always been like that.

  Cammarry found him eccentric and charming, but Jerome had reservations.

  Indisputable was Quartermaster Willie intellect and creativity with tools and equipment. Many of the adventurers had discussed which person was more intelligent, Brink or Willie. Opinion was divided as each had a very capable brain, and each was a specialist in his own area. Willie had invented many of the tools, repair and reinforcement systems, and day to day items which kept the dome functioning. Brink had brilliant insights into reality but was more about theoretical and esoteric items.

  “Well come in you two,” Willie said. “I expected you. Jamie and Michael just left, and you two are next.” One of Willie’s eyes looked right at Cammarry. “Sweetheart, I hear, from some little birdie, that your artificial intelligence system was murdered.”

  “Willie, John would tell you that there are no birds flying around anywhere in the dome,” Cammarry said as she tried to turn her anger over the loss of Winchell incident into humor. She was only partially successful.

  “My system, Faraday, was disbanded as well. Both Winchell and Faraday were terminated without our consent,” Jerome said.

  “Yes, murdered. Tragic. Just tragic. Such fine machinery should never be wasted like that. Well, I have some things to give you that may brighten your day. First, Murial says you are on the second sling launch, which leaves about an hour from now. Jamie and Michael will leave in the first sling launch. You will need to get the things I have designed for you, then go to medical. That sweetie Doctor Carolyn will fix you up with all sorts of medical things. She has a medical kit which I would have been proud to build. That honey of a doctor says she wants to try some new things on this lame arm of mine, but hey, it has been this was for decades, so why change? Mark that down, I said no to a pretty lady!”

  “Thanks for letting us know about the schedule,” Jerome stated. “We have just a short time. Will we be taking a standard mission set of equipment?”

  “Well, Brink will explain about the mass limits on his flying gizmo, and will tell you about that teleporter he has rigged up. You will need to build the receiver. I have kept the weight and mass down on your gear as much as possible. Energy is where we will start. Fusion packs. You will both carry two fusion packs. Two each.”

  “Willie, you are the first person who has given us any details about this mission. Why do we need so many fusion packs?” Jerome asked.

  “Energy is key to your success. The flying gizmo will have its own power plant and get you to that old ship, but you will need portable power, sort of like in the dead domes, you need to rely on yourself. No telling what one of those crazy old ships will be like. So fusion packs for both of you. One alone will operate the teleportation receiving pad. That will be our way of coming to you, so you make sure to build me a safe sidewalk through space!” Willie laughed. “The fusion packs will adapt to most any energy system so they are nearly universally useful.”

  “I bet you are being super redundant by giving us four,” Cammarry laughed with him. Her stress was easing off now that she was getting some tools and had more information.

  “Right you are sweetheart! You are so cute. Well, you get four fusion packs, so take care of all of them.” Willie then pulled some things down from the shelves. He was adept at working with only one arm. “Here Are the RAM suits, which include goggles, hoods, gloves and shoes. Nothing to worry your pretty head about from radiation. I have also given you standard food rations for ten days, including water. After that, I hope I am there with you to scrounge around for other food supplies. Everything fits into these satchels, and they will be stored in that scout ship. So now change and put on the radiation absorbing material suits. I promise not to peek at you while you undress.” Willie winked one eye at Cammarry.

  She returned the smile as she and Jerome stepped into a vacant room and put on the blue RAM suits which had some gray accents. The pockets and compartments in the suits were handy and easy to access.

  “Willie, a questions about the power issues,” Cammarry said as she stepped back. “What if the colony ship’s power systems are down, or disrupted? What if there are vacuum areas? What if the thing is a derelict? How will we get those old systems operational? Where will we find tools and replacement parts?”

  “Sweetheart, you look wonderful, but slow down. You ask pertinent questions, but I cannot give details about what you will find. The fusion packs give you power, probably enough to run most of one of those old ships. The tools kits give you everything you will need to build most anything. The RAM suits give you protection, and now I give you added support. Weapon systems.”

  “Weapons?” Jerome asked with surprise.

  “Here are the Willie Wackers,” the Quartermaster said as he set two hand held weapons down. They were in well-tailored holsters.

  “Willie Wacker?” Cammarry asked with a smile. “My dear sir, that sounds rather naughty and indecent. Perhaps even lewd.” She stroked her hand along the side of one of the weapons.

  Willie turned bright red with embarrassment. Cammarry laughed.

  Willie sputtered for a minute. “That spunky girl Jamie called them Willie Wackers, but I did not name them that.”

  The weapons were gray on the top and about twenty centimeters long with sights on both ends. The handle was flat black and molded into a fine grip for one hand. The muzzle had a large bore. It was very simple in design. A loading chamber opened on the top side, and a trigger assembly on the handle.

  Willie recomposed himself. “Jerome, you read all those old stories and such, well, these weapons, whatever you call them, do not use chemical explosions and metal projectiles. This weapon uses magnetic polarization and depolarization. It has a battery pack in the handle and charges whenever it is in the holster. Charges last a long time, and it makes its own ammunition. You load anything into the chamber here,” He opened the top of the weapon, “and the mechanism compresses that stuff into tiny nuggets, perfect spheres, which it shoots out at very high velocity.”

  “The old fiction novels sometimes called a spaceman’s weapon a ray gun or a blaster,”
Jerome said as he examined one of the weapons.

  “Yes, this is Willie’s blaster that shoots!” Cammarry said and once more stroked the weapon.

  Again, Willie turned bright red and Cammarry laughed.

  “Willie, thank you for all the equipment,” Jerome said. “Honestly, we appreciate it.”

  Cammarry and Jerome slung both backpacks on, but Willie interrupted. “No need to carry them yourself. I will have them taken to Brink for loading into the FTL ship he has built. He will need to calculate and figure each unit of mass. You will need to go see that sweet Doctor Carolyn. No need to carry these all over the dome. What would the people say if this beautiful young woman was totting Willie’s blaster all over the place?” Willie grinned a playful face.

  “We would not want that kind of talk. We just cannot have people saying I was playing with Willie’s blaster,” Cammarry said. “So now we go to medical. Thanks Willie.”

  “Yes, scurry over to medical and get the rest of the things you need. There is not much time, and I am counting on you two to find me a new home.” Willie gestured with his one arm as the left.

  As they walked past the everyday places of Dome 17, Jerome was tempted to yell out to the general population and explain that they had only one-hundred and twenty days left, but he was torn. Certainly, the Committee objected to the news being made public, and Jerome was not one to be a slave to convention, yet to incite panic and fear was something he just could not do. For a moment, he empathized with the dilemma the Committee Members faced. If one of the missions worked, then the people would be saved, if all the missions failed, there was no hope, so why terrify the people now?

  “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood,” Jerome said. “I read that from some ancient world scientist.”

  “Well, I understand more about the mission now after speaking to Willie. We have supplies, and now we need what medical can give us,” Cammarry replied. “At least your idiom this time did not involve some animal.”

  “Oh I have one. Obstacles and fear are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you into terror if they can.”

  “You should have asked John about that one,” Cammarry grinned as they walked along. “I wonder if there will be wild animals.”

  They turned a corner and entered the medical unit.

  “Doctor Carolyn? We are to report to you,” Cammarry said as they walked in.

  Doctor Carolyn, who was five years older than Jerome and Cammarry, being that her age group was the one just before theirs, stood near the desk. Her shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes were not the most common coloring in the dome, as most people were darker skin toned, and had brown hair. Of her age-mates, only three had blonde hair. She turned to them as they entered.

  “Excellent. You see Daniel, the next team did make it here. Now I will administer what they need, but please review what I am doing so the subsequent teams can get the same treatments and supplies. That patient simply insists that I come to the senior unit immediately, the nurses have summoned me twice in the last few minutes, and I am afraid she will not comply unless I do. These new mission teams can easily be equipped by you for their quests.” Doctor Carolyn was very stressed and hurried.

  “Why so rushed?” Cammarry asked. “You must understand the gravity of this situation.”

  “Indeed I do. However, I also know Agnes, and she is likely to rip apart the bone stimulator as well as the entire senior unit if I fail to give her my bedside presence. She may scare poor old Aiden to death, and at one-hundred-fourteen years old, I do not want to have him pass in that manner. This will only take a moment.”

  Dr. Carolyn handed them each a glass of liquid and a purplish gel capsule. “Take this and drink the entire glassful. It is a broad pathogen prophylactic which will prepare you for…. Your mission.”

  Both Jerome and Cammarry took the capsule and drank. They had missed the fact that Doctor Carolyn had looked away as she explained what they were consuming.

  “These two medical kits are yours as well. One for each of you. Inside are diagnostics and treatments for all the old diseases in the archives.”

  She quickly handed them the small rectangular boxes. Each was about two fingers thick and roughly hand size. Inside were numerous blue packets, and wires and probes. There were dispensing ports on the sides and bottom. “As I said, these kits are designed to cure any diseases in our database. Even the ones from hundreds of years ago before the Great Event. Just attach these probes here,” She pulled a small wire from the end. “Place them near the injured area interfacing with the flesh and the med kit will run a diagnostic. It will then customize treatments for that condition, be it illness or injury. Sometimes an injection, gel, or oral medication will be dispensed here. Additionally, multipurpose medical gel packets are stored here. Those can be used in emergencies or if the medical kit is lost. But do not lose it. Where you are going….” Doctor Carolyn stopped and looked at Daniel. Then in a more authoritative voice she said, “Daniel, those are the basics for these missions. I really must leave now.”

  She looked distressed and worried for a moment, but then just turned and walked toward the door of the medical unit. There she stopped, and looked back. “I wish you every possible luck.”

  The nurse Daniel looked long at the door after it closed. Then he spoke. “Please forgive her abruptness. She is very close to Agnes, and Doctor Carolyn also had to do the post mortems on LeeAnn, Roy, Dave, and Constance. So many suicides all in one day. I know I am worried that when Vihaan and Estrella make it back there will be more problems, not that Doctor Larsen would even care about that, but Doctor Carolyn certainly does. With all that is happening anyone could get short and irritated.”

  The mention of the adventurers who had died reminded both Jerome and Cammarry of the utter seriousness of the quest for the Conestoga. It showed on their faces.

  Daniel saw that and smoothly segued into a more supportive style of communication. “Well, for what it is worth from me, I am glad you are going to explore some place as a team. Another dome location again?”

  “We are always a team,” Cammarry replied with a forced smile, but she held back from telling him more.

  “A monkey never watches his own tail; he watches his neighbor’s,” Jerome quipped. When neither Daniel nor Cammarry seemed to know what he meant he added, “Two in distress makes sorrow less.”

  “Right,” Daniel replied. “So is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “Thank you Daniel, but I think we have everything and we are on a tight schedule,” Jerome said.

  Cammarry and Jerome left medical. After they departed, Daniel pondered long and hard all that he had seen and heard. He thought about it all the while he was setting up the next set of treatments and supplies. “A total of seven sets adventurer couples. Missions going out in team of two each. It used to be three to a team, then singles, and now pairs. I wonder what is really happening and where they actually are going?”

  The sling bay was on the opposite side of the dome, and down several levels. Cammarry and Jerome walked along the elevated pathway which followed the perimeter of the dome. The old monorail which would have taken people to the upper levels of the dome was parked on its unneeded track system. Had Dome 17 had its full population of 10,000 people that system would have been needed and used, but as it was with less than 1,500 people now occupying the dome, it had never been put into service.

  As they passed the occasional clear permalloy viewing port, they could see the tan wasteland which was just outside. The dust, dirt, and winds were unchanged and continuously swirled around in their tan tinted dances of death. Jerome knew from the old records he had read that the Dome 17 location had once been a beautiful nature preserve, but now it was just tan and lifeless.

  Reaching the far side, they went down several flights of stairs to reach the sling bay. The final hallway which led to an auxiliary egress point for the sling bay. Its walls were blue in color with elonga
ted tubes which provided bright overhead lighting. The rounded hatch at the end of the hallway opened to the sling bay.

  “Cammarry? Are you certain this is what you want to do?” Jerome asked. “I will support you in whatever decision you make.”

  “It is hard. I openly confess that. We will never see most of the other adventurers again, even when we succeed. But what is a dozen people compared to the whole population of Dome 17? We must take this chance and go on this quest.”

  “I agree. It is essential. The hard times do not make heroes,” Jerome answered. “We are in this together. Jerome and Cammarry, heroes into the unknown.”