The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books

by John Thornton

  “Will the view outside change at all before we reach the Conestoga?” Jerome asked. The swaying gray nothingness did not reflect back light, nor really cast any light. It just was sort of sitting there, at times seeming to be right outside the clear permalloy, and at other times seeming to be very thick and deep.

  “No. The void we are in, if you chose to use that word, will remain in its constant state of flux, until FTL systems are disengaged. At that point we will be at the Conestoga’s location. How soon before arrival do you wish to be awakened?”

  “Thirty minutes,” Jerome said. “That will allow consumption of a food ration and use of the waste facilities.”

  “Excellent! Sleep well! I am dimming the cabin lights now. Pleasant dreams.”

  Jerome and Cammarry both watched as the cabin grew dim. The color of the gray outside did not change, nor did it illuminate the interior at all. The tan cast of the scout ship contrasted with the gray of the void outside. The panels of controls slid shut. Sleep came easily.

  Some hours later Sandie stated quietly, gently, and softly, “Cammarry? Jerome? Please wake up.”

  Opening her eyes, Cammarry stretched out and her first thought was she was falling. She caught herself and then remembered she was in zero gravity in the scout ship.

  “Do I say good morning?” Jerome asked. His eyes were wide and excited.

  “I can set our scout time for whatever chronology you desire. If you want this to me morning, that would be excellent. I can start this as the morning of our first day at the Conestoga,” Sandie replied. “Or I can keep the clocks synchronized with the Dome 17 time. Which do you prefer?”

  “Make it the morning of our arrival. I feel like I got a full night of sleep,” Cammarry said. She unhooked her restraints and floated about a bit as she used the sanitation mechanism which was inside her RAM suit. “This feel a bit odd without gravity.”

  “I know,” Jerome answered with a smile. “The missions to the other domes did not have this floating sensation. As to wastes, I am sure it will work, mine did. Next we must eat, and then we can do everything else.”

  “Food rations are in the holders at the side of each chair,” Sandie stated. “Drinking tubes are retractable from the holder as well. We have food and water supplies for the next ten days. That does not include the reclamation processes your suits utilize for water and sustenance.”

  While consuming the meal, which consisted of a food ration bar, and water, Jerome did some calisthenics the best he could in the cramped space. Sandie informed them that nothing unexpected had happened during the flight.

  “As we are approaching, have you been able to scan ahead to decipher if there is a solar system at our destination?” Cammarry asked.

  “Unfortunately that is beyond the capabilities of the scout during FTL transition. Actually in an absolute sense, we are not approaching so much as arriving. I hate to be a stickler on details like that, but the FTL system is not like other transportation methods. We will be honing in on the robotic probe’s signal, and we will arrive at the intended location.”

  “Will the solar system adversely affect our arrival?” Cammarry asked.

  “The possible solar system will not affect the scout any more than it affects the robotic probe or the Conestoga. I am prepared for every eventuality,” Sandie said with confidence. “All systems 100% operational and performing as expected.”

  “So we are about to find out what happened to the Conestoga,” Jerome stated. “Someone once said, ‘always expect the unexpected’ but that saying is nonsense. You cannot plan for the unexpected, but someone else said, ‘If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it; for it is hard to be sought out, and difficult.’ It seems like people in the ancient world often were worried about encountering things which would threaten them.”

  “Excellent point! I take back my assertion that ‘I am prepared for every eventuality.’ I am prepared for the eventualities I have conjectured. That includes the factor of a possible solar system and its planetary bodies. I will be immediately making scans of our surroundings when we arrive and will report my findings.”

  “Just tell us what our new planet looks like and where we can dock,” Cammarry said.

  “I will report all that I can perceive. We will be disengaging from FTL systems shortly. The transition into normal space should be almost imperceptible except for your view of the outside. I apologize for the fact that I cannot estimate the orientation of the scout in relation to the Conestoga. If I were able I would make sure the colony ship is directly in view as we arrive. I am now disengaging FTL system,” Sandie announced.

  The gray of the transition void disappeared. The blackness of space replaced it. The stars were brilliant pinpoints of light against the darkness.

  Jerome inhaled deeply. Cammarry said in a quite tone, “Gorgeous.”

  “No solar system detected within seven light-years of this location. Colony Ship Conestoga located. We are one-hundred meters from the robotic probe just as expected. I am rotating the scout so that you can see the Conestoga,” Sandie reported. “I am also making more detailed scans and investigations. An excessive amount of erroneous readings have entered my collection system.

  The stars appeared to be gently moving as the scout ship turned.

  And there it was. A huge bluish gray wall seemed to come across and blot out the stars. The scout stopped rotating when the entire view was blocked by the Conestoga. The surface of the old ship was covered with all types of structures. Boxes, squares, pyramids, cones, tubes, and every other shape imaginable, all from permalloy. It was lit by a regular grid pattern of lights. The lights gave off the blue hue, but the shadows along the surface added to the deeper shades. A mechanical menagerie was only a hundred meters away. Right in the center of it all was the tan colored robotic probe. It had a bright red light on its top which was flashing. It was the only red color anywhere in sight.

  “That is the probe, and we are right on target,” Jerome said.

  “That thing is enormous! Cammarry gasped.

  “Initial readings show the Conestoga is 206.129 kilometers long when measured along its central body. There are eight cylindrical attachments to that central body. Each of those is 83.654 kilometers along its length and 18.092 kilometers across its diameter. All eight of the cylinders are uniformly sized within a 97% commonality.”

  “So those must be the biological habitat? Cammarry said. “But no planet?”

  “I am sorry to report, no solar system, and no planet. We have located the Conestoga. May I begin a systematic flyby?” Sandie asked.

  “Yes,” Jerome replied. “What else are you discovering? The ship looks like it has power and lighting.”

  “I am able to scan the general dimensions, but am having difficulty with assessing surface items and power signatures. Optics will not focus with clarity on the hull surface.”

  An image came on the display screen. It zoomed in and when it reached a certain point, the image just got fuzzy.

  “I cannot account for the optical distortions. Erroneous information is interfering with proper readings,” Sandie replied. “I can receive the signal from the probe, but other signals from the ship are not registering accurately or appropriately. I am attempting to diagnose the problems on why I am not getting better information. I will begin flyby.”

  The scout rolled and fired its thrusters. It withdrew to a greater distance away from the huge ship. The scene before them altered as the scout began to move in relation to the Conestoga. As they drew further away, it became apparent that the robotic probe had arrived at the center of one of the cylinders on the bow half of the ship. Since they had been zeroing in on that probe, they too were near there.

  “We need to find a place to dock and get inside,” Jerome stated. “This gigantic ship must have docking ports or hanger bays or some way to get inside.”

  “Sandie, what is the status of the ship’s drive system? The Conestoga I mean. Is it moving or not? If not, w
e need to figure out why?” Cammarry asked. “And try to contact the AI that claimed the ship made planet fall.”

  “I detect no engine activity at all. Relatively speaking, the Conestoga is dead in the water. I have been broadcasting on multiple frequencies and in various ways. I have not received any responses except for from the probe. The signals from the probe are coming in, but they are at an altered and reduced rate than they were just shortly ago when we arrived. I am not sure exactly how to explain these readings. They appear as an impedance, or interference, but those terms are not as accurate as I would like. I cannot explain that situation either. Cosmic background levels show variations and flux in pseudo-anisotropic analysis. I am running more assessments,” Sandie replied.

  The thrusters fired and the scout moved toward the bow. “I am continuing a detailed assessment of the areas we pass by. I am looking for a place to dock, as well as a way to communicate with any systems or humans on the ship. I conjecture a low probability for connection since the colony ships did not expect to have much contact with Earth after the first few years of travel. They lacked faster-than-light communication methods.”

  “Unless they developed them over the decades since the ship left,” Jerome replied. “And that unknown AI did send that garbled message about making planet fall.”

  “That is the channel and method I have been attempting for primary contact, but so far there is no response,” Sandie answered. “I am trying multiple other avenues for communication. None have received a reply. Actually, I am apprehensive about the status of some of my attempts. I am not even receiving a recoil or rebound effect that one would expect to see from some methods being utilized.”

  “Is there a malfunction?” Cammarry asked. “You should be able to bounce an old style laser off the surface if nothing else.”

  “I agree, Cammarry. I have attempted that three times, and there has been no rebounding. All my systems say the laser is being transmitted, and the multiple retroreflector is functioning, yet there is no response. I am reanalyzing my systems for malfunctions,” Sandie said. “I cannot yet explain what has been happening.”

  “Unless, there is a reason the Conestoga is not allowing those lasers to rebound. You also said there are optical issues, right? What if there is an energy field or barrier or obstacle of some kind between us and the Conestoga?” Jerome asked.

  “Great idea!” Sandie squealed. “That is another consideration. I have looked for known technologies for the era of that the colony ship was built. Perhaps the Conestoga has some kind of next generation repulsor or deflection system in place? I am running conjectures and assessments for that possibility.”

  “The probe made contact,” Cammarry said. “The probe is right there, so nothing repulsed it.”

  “Jerome, I am unable to detect any type of energy field on the hull of the Conestoga. I see no evidence of any type of deflection or obstacle between us and the hull of the ship, however, the readings continue to have some incongruities. I am still at a loss to explain the optical issues and the communication issues.” Sandie was still energetic, but there was a tone of frustration in her mechanical voice. “Cammarry is correct, the probe made contact, so I am unsure what is happening with communications and optics, but I conjecture we should be able to make physical contact with the Conestoga without difficulty.”

  The scout flew past the bow of the Conestoga and swung around toward the other side of the colony ship. From this view, the great ship looked like a single long stalk with numerous huge cylinders strapped to it. Four on the bow half, and four on the far stern half. The visual distances were immense, and they again tried to zoom in with the optics. They could get a clear picture only up to a certain point, after which the images became fuzzy and lost focus. The hull on the newly revealed sides was the same marbled blue color as the other. The lighted grids remained the same and cast shadows on the surface of the hull.

  The scout flew along the main axis of the Conestoga. The surface features revealed no obvious overt damage. There also were no places which showed open doors, or docking connections.

  “Jerome? The surface looks almost too uniform. This looks just like the other side,” Cammarry said.

  “It is uniform and consistent,” Jerome replied. “The builders must have like that regularity.”

  “Sandie, can you compare the images from this side with the ones from the opposite side?”

  “Certainly. Comparison made. The views are identical.”

  “See, it is too perfect,” Cammarry said.

  “Too perfect?” Jerome asked.

  “I noticed it with the light grids. They look like identical copies, not like similar designs. The shadows, the shapes, everything, it looks too much the same. It just looks wrong.” Cammarry pondered for a moment. “I know this sounds strange, but even the star patterns in the background look the same from this side as from the other side. See those six bright stars which make a hook? Those were the same from the opposite side of the ship. How can that be?” Cammarry asked. “I am no astronomer, but it looks too much the same.”

  “I am not sure I see what you mean,” Jerome said. “Sandie, do you understand?”

  “Yes, I understand Cammarry’s pointed observation. I am processing a new set of readings,” the AI replied. “That does not compute. My equipment must be malfunctioning. I am trying a different scanning method. Checking and comparing, please stand by.”

  “I tell you, the stars are the same from this side as from the other side. They cannot do that, yet that is what I saw, what I see. I know those six stars were in that same position in the sky when we arrived. We have moved to the other side of the Conestoga, and yet there they are now, in exactly the same location. Our vantage point should be different, but it is not. Something is wrong.”

  The scout ship flew on and soon the robotic probe was visible again.

  “There is the probe! We are back on the side where we started. Sandie, is navigation malfunctioning?” Cammarry said. “Did we just fly in a circle and arrive back at the starting point? We should be on the opposite side of the Conestoga. What is happening?”

  “I am not sure,” the AI replied. “All my onboard diagnostics and system analysis methods show our equipment is functioning optimally. Yet the observations are flawed. Communication, optics, astrogation and navigation are all giving conflicting readings and erroneous information. This is confirmed by your human, biological observations. I cannot explain it.”

  “If navigation is malfunctioning, we need to anchor ourselves down immediately,” Jerome commanded. “Take us up close to that robotic probe. It made attachment successfully and is functional. Use it as the beacon again. We will adhere to the hull next to that and then contemplate our next steps. If we somehow lose the Conestoga we have lost everything.”

  “Good point Jerome. We cannot risk not making attachment,” Cammarry said. “We need a stable platform from which to work to unveil the mysteries here. Dock the scout.”

  “Yes, anchor us down now while we can. Then we will make whatever repairs me must make. Perhaps being attached to the hull will allow us to use additional methods to determine what is happening. Cammarry are we of the same mind?”

  “Yes, I agree with Jerome. Sandie, take us to the hull, please,” Cammarry said.

  “Your suggestion is appropriate. I concur. The three of us will work out these troublesome snags in observation. We will attach to the hull near the robotic probe,” Sandie said. “I apologize for not understanding this situation in its entirety.”

  The scout ship’s thrusters fired. It slowly approached the robotic probe. The probe’s flashing red light was at the center of the view.

  “Approaching Conestoga. Five hundred meters. Three hundred meters. One hundred meters. Despite what thruster navigation plotting shows, FTL targeting states we just passed the exact place where we arrived. I cannot explain the contradictions in those findings. Both systems are functional. Continuing approach to the Conestoga’s hull. Fif
ty meters. Slowing approach.”

  Jerome and Cammarry could see that the hull was right before them. It looked like an enormous and looming wall. The robotic probe with its tan colored permalloy and the flashing red light were directly in the center of that huge wall.

  “Ten meters. Deploying mooring lines,” Sandie said.

  Two lines shot out from the nose of the scout ship. They both had ends designed to connect via magnetic, mechanical grappler, and adhesive systems. They could be seen jetting right toward the hull next to the probe.