Looking at Jerome, Cammarry could read his expression. “Those are homes, or domiciles. Notice the built up area next to the entrances. I think those are for gardens of some kind. Probably a food source near where they live.”
Sandie the AI commented, “That is a valid conjecture. Bravo!”
They watched as S-1DT rolled along. It did not take very long for the machine to reach the outskirts of the town. There the pine forests were thicker and covered all the land to the one side of the roadway. That side was toward the wall, and the forest was thick until meeting the wall. Sandie panned the camera around so as to take in a greater view, but there was only the forest in that direction. Sandie conjectured the roadway was about half a kilometer away from the wall.
On the opposite side of the roadway was another half kilometer area, a grassier plain, which led to the sea. A few tilled fields were seen, but still no people at all.
“Attention!” Sandie said abruptly. “I am continuing to map and record the findings from S-1DT as it journeys along, but I believe you will be more interested in what our second explorer has just discovered. May I shift the projection to that of T-1DT?”
“Certainly,” Cammarry answered.
The projected image faded out and a new one was built up in its place. This time it was beamed down from the com-link over Jerome’s ear.
The new three-dimensional view showed a significantly more damaged and ruined part of Quady. The buildings were rubble with almost nothing intact at all. The roadway itself was bucked up and heaved open, or smashed downward. The yellow automacube, T-1DT, was swerving around those impediments.
“Well, going to the port side led that automacube to find more damage,” Cammarry stated. “Is that what you wanted us to see? It looks a lot like what we saw when we were in that boat on the sea. That part of the town is a ruin.”
Sandie replied, “The destruction is only a part of what I have learned through this automacube. Moments ago, this recording was made. It is at the extreme magnification possible on T-1DT. Audio was enhanced for clarity.”
The displayed view shifted with a blink, and some mechanical vehicle was lumbering across the road. It was blotchy colors of browns, greens, and grays. Its body was long and bulky, about three times as long as it was tall. Upright vertical sides, and odd mechanisms rotating around the edges of it digging into the ground. There was a strangeness about it. Clearly it had been constructed, but not in a manner identified by either Jerome or Cammarry. It had treaded tracks of some kind which were rotating around it and propelling it along. There was a metallic screeching sound which echoed from the nearby trees. That noise grated on their nerves. The machine passed across the road and disappeared behind some trees.
“Sandie, repeat that recording. No sound. This time overlay a scale on it. How big is that thing? It came from between those buildings, and using that doorway as a reference, I think it is two and a half meters tall, maybe eight meters long. Am I correct?” Cammarry asked as she watched while the short visual recording repeated itself. This time there was a grid superimposed onto it which roughly confirmed Cammarry’s estimate of its size.
“Yes, you are approximately correct in the dimensions. I was also…” Sandie began to describe more details of the mystery vehicle.
“A new kind of automacube?” Jerome interrupted. “One we have not seen before?”
“I was working on that assumption,” Sandie stated. “That machine bears some remarkable similarities to vehicles used circa 1920, roughly one-hundred-fifty years prior to the colony ship construction programs. However, I reevaluated that assumption when the automacube arrived at the location where that vehicle crossed the roadway. What made me question that assumption was that T-1DT has detected miniscule, but present, levels of chlorine and dichlorine monoxide in the air and along the tracks of that mystery mechanism.”
“The Crocks?” Jerome asked. His mind had quickly connected finding some of the major components of the Zalian atmosphere with the beings he called Crocks who were indigenous to the planet.
“No, it cannot be. Not inside the habitat,” Cammarry uttered as she looked at the newly displayed visual images. “They are native to the planet, but not inside the Conestoga.” She looked again at the view from the automacube. It showed tracks in the ground leading away through the forest. Twin ruts in the ground each about a half meter wide, separated by only a small space. She looked over and another set of twin ruts, identical to the first set, were about three meters away. The ruts were about ankle deep and the dark brown earth was plowed up around them. “Tracks? Double-dual tracks? Vehicle passage marks?” Cammarry asked, but she already knew the answer.
“Those aliens use machines, we saw that,” Jerome stated. “They had built a scaffold and were busy with their own kinds of technology. They must have breached the hull of the Conestoga somewhere. That was what they were doing when we saw them, they were seeking a way inside.”
“Sandie, is that possible?” Cammarry asked.
“There is nothing known for certain. Jerome’s scenario is possible, and it does fit the limited known facts. However, that vehicle could also be built in this habitat by humans. It may have some kind of mechanical system which uses chlorine and other elements, perhaps in engines or in its propulsion system. We do not have enough evidence to make a reliable conjecture,” Sandie replied.
“They must be causing the gravity sink holes. That machine probably is what moved the one by the gravity manipulation oscillator,” Jerome declared. “How soon can that automacube engage that Crock vehicle?”
“Engage?” Sandie asked. Her mechanical voice carried surprise. “Do you mean get close to assess and evaluate?”
“No. What weapons are on that automacube?” Jerome snapped back. “Those creatures must be stopped.”
Sandie’s AI voice was cold, “I do not advice an unprovoked attack on that mystery machine, especially prior to further assessment.”
“Sandie, just answer the question! What weapons are on that automacube?” Jerome’s anger boiled up.
“That automacube, T-1DT, is a refined version of the Conestoga’s transport automacubes. It carries no weapon systems,” Sandie answered.
“Then bring back the red one and engage that Crock vehicle,” Jerome ordered. “How long will that take?”
Before Sandie could answer, Cammarry interjected, “That S-1DT is going to help Khin and Vesna. If there are, as you call them, Crocks, in the habitat, the people at that Special Care Unit need some kind of defense.”
Jerome slammed his fist into his palm. He remembered what he had done in destroying the red automacubes around that care facility. He also thought about the horrors and violence he had seen committed by the lawless people of Beta. His mind fluctuated between his jumbled up feelings. After what, to him, seemed a long time, but was only a moment, he relented. “I understand. So send that yellow one up close to gain as much information as we can about that Crock vehicle.”
Sandie then asked, “Cammarry, do you agree with Jerome’s suggestion?”
“Yes,” Cammarry replied. “We need to learn as much as we can about what is happening down in Beta. Be sure to relay all the information to the red automacube and have it watch for anything else resembling that mystery vehicle.”
“That has already been done. I am now directing T-1DT to stealthily reconnoiter that mystery vehicle so we can study it. The automacube should be able….” Sandie’s voice trailed off.
“Sandie?” Jerome asked.
“Pardon my delay and pause. I just detected relatively recent activity in the hanger bay beneath the Command Bridge here on the needle ship. There was an explosive decompression at that location. I am probing the nonphysicality for any additional information,” Sandie reported.
“We had other problems like that,” Cammarry said. “Is this related to those?”
“I am comparing the events, looking for commonalities,” Sandie replied. “When the previous explosion in Pine 1407 occurred
I had more monitoring resources in place and was able to assess it more accurately. The information I have on the recent explosive decompression in this incident is inferred and indirect. It came to my attention because Emergency Containment Curtains were deployed. I do not believe the two are related, but I am still investigating.”
“Is there a threat to the needle ship?” Jerome asked. “Maybe those Crock aliens have some method of attacking us here in orbit?”
Sandie sent out as many tendril probes into the nonphysicality as possible and checked on the areas where she could. The nonphysicality was still fragmented and splintered. There were no links or couplings which directly tied into the hanger bay where the explosive decompression had just taken place. She did track some commands which were issued from various locations using codes which she had not recorded before.
“It remains uncertain what possible threat there is, as the cause and damage reports are not available,” Sandie replied. “None of the areas where I have monitors show any significant changes, except for the deployment of the Emergency Containment Curtains. I also am having EA-270 change its duties. It was still studying our position relative to where the Earth solar system might be by using the Conestoga’s astronomy equipment. Right now it is running scans of the area of space around the needle ship to rule out possible causes for the incident. It has detected no meteors, asteroids, or other objects on a collision course. There is nothing to suggest an external attack. I find no evidence to suggest this incident was an attack by the indigenous residents of Zalia.”
“We did not expect the Cosmic Crinkle, or the gravity sink holes,” Jerome answered. “Something really messed up the Conestoga, and it seems to be more than just the insurrection we have learned about. Those Crocks are an unknown. They might be causing more than we can detect.”
“So Jerome, you are insisting on calling them the Crocks?” Cammarry asked. “Because of the water animal with the large teeth you saw?”
“Grandma what big teeth you have?” He replied with a smile and an attempt at humor.
“That was some other animal,” Cammarry answered.
Jerome tightened his lips, and blew out a breath in mock exasperation. “I back to the issue of names? Well we could call the gravity sink holes, crushers. Like I said, the precision of naming enhances our understanding. Naming is a privilege of reason and the province of scientists and leaders. We name to tame, and to claim. We need a convenient name for discussions, and also to honor Dome 17 people, the dead, and protect ourselves. So yes, I want to call them the Crocks.”
“I wonder what they call themselves?” Cammarry laid her hand gently on Jerome’s shoulder. “For convenience I agree, we call them the Crocks. Sandie? Shall we do that?”
“Agreed, unless or until more communication with that species is established. As you both pointed out, the Zalian life forms, the Crocks, do have the ability to use our language. I conjecture a very high probability they have their own name for their species. If and when that happens I strongly suggest we used the name they prefer,” Sandie stated. “EA-270 has just reported that it has spotted some debris moving away from the needle ship. Following those trajectories back, they do confirm the debris is from that hanger bay explosion. I will display what is being observed.”
A monitor screen on the side wall lit up. It showed the debris field.
“Those are the shuttles that that captain used in his gizmo to get things to grow on the needle ship,” Cammarry stated. “Wrecked and twisted, and missing many parts, but that debris was those shuttles.”
“Your observations are well made,” Sandie said. “I agree with your analysis.”
“Will the loss of those spacecraft, gigs, I think they were called, along with the apparatus they used adversely affect the biological system set up on this needle ship?” Cammarry asked.
Sandie delayed a moment in answering. “I conjecture little influence was still happening from that contraption. Captain Lance Lechner and his associates set that contrivance to spread the growth medium and establish the floral basis for the faunal life which it supports: insects, rats, cavies, goats, chickens, and ultimately the human remnant. The system ejected and spent its full cargo in that initial dispersion. Therefore, the loss of those two gigs will not have much effect on what is happening now. However, that is not an absolute, as I do not have direct access to the explosive decompression site.”
“So the explosion here is not related to that Crock vehicle we spotted in Beta?” Jerome asked. He looked back at the three-dimensional view from the automacube. “It seems rather odd that we see our first Crock vehicle inside a habitat, and shortly afterward the needle ship has an explosion. Coincidences are not always random, it is possible there are no true coincidences, or at least that is what I have read somewhere.”
“Jerome and Cammarry, there is another factor in these coincidences,” Sandie reported, her voice edged with excitement. “A Conestoga’s flight crew member just interacted with EA-270.”
7 Finding an automacube
The funicular car locked into place, the transparent walls became opaque again, and the door slid open on the location which was closest to her intended destination, Navigation and Astrogation. So far, Eris had not seen anything to change her assessment of the Conestoga in the journey from the Command Bridge. Many aspects of the Conestoga’s needle ship remained disheveled, dysfunctional, and dilapidated. Some areas had power and looked somewhat intact, others showed obvious damage, and or lack of power. Overall, the ship was a wreck.
A bulkhead door balked at her presence. It gave off a negative function warning noise and refused to open. Eris had to manually enter an override code to get it to open. When it did, it only slid a third of the way open and then jammed. Nonetheless, she blinked her eyes. Light was coming from ahead of her. Normal light! She raced down the stairway from the broken bulkhead door. She smiled as all the pressure doors along the passageway opened. They all worked smoothly.
“Well a surprise! This stairwell was apparently spared the splattering of that gooey biological gunk, and influx of water in bizarre places,” Eris commented.
She looked up and was glad to see that the dim lighting was missing. Replacing it was normal lighting which gave the illusion that the status quo of the Conestoga was as Eris remembered. She knew it was not, having seen so much devastation, but it felt good for those few moments to see something that was not so damaged and different. The next bulkhead door opened correctly as she approached.
Navigation and Astrogation opened to her presence. It had been mostly dark when she entered, but the lights flickered on and nearly full illumination followed. Eris’ eyes spotted the automacube as it was parked next to a duty station. It had its manipulation arm locked into an access port. There were open displays in front of it and a control seat where a human operator would have sat. It was working at duty station number five. The human on-duty astronomer for the flight crew should have been standing watch at that station. No other humans were in the room, but Eris was still elated.
“Something working!”
Eris twirled around, spreading her arms out wide. Her head was tipped back, her hair tossed about her shoulders and she let out a sigh of contentment and relief. The circular room, with its domed ceiling was a respite and treat to see. Operational systems, in stand-by-mode, were at each of the five duty stations. Auxiliary Navigation was station number one and as she walked over toward it, the duty station recognized her presence and the workplace shifted from stand-by to ready status. The controls rose from the counter, displays turned on, and a chair slid out from the sidewall. This part of the ship was working just as it was designed to do so.
“Yes!” Eris said as she sat down at the duty station. She glanced over her shoulder to where the automacube was across the room. She considered beginning with that, but these duty stations were much more sophisticated than a simple engineering automacube. Besides, she knew it would still be there after she contacted the crew, so she ign
ored it for now. Placing her palm on the interface surface, the display lit up and scrolled a message.
‘Junior Engineer Lorelei Eris Concordia recognized.’
“Link to the Officer of the Day,” Eris stated, a grin pulling at her mouth. Now she was certain she would find out what had happened.
‘Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching.” The scrolling letters rolled across the display.
“Link to any available member of the flight crew, regardless of rank or status.”
‘Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching. Searching.” The scrolling letters rolled across the display again.
“Show me a list of all available flight crew!” Eris commanded. Her grin was gone now.
‘Junior Engineer Lorelei Eris Concordia recognized in Navigation and Astrogation.’ The scroll read out.
The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books Page 118