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

by John Thornton

  The display on the screen shifted and showed a red arrow.

  “That is not one of the major sections of Delta’s wreckage,” Eris said. “It is nearly three-hundred kilometers away. Can you give me observational data on that location? Please magnify for maximum resolution.”

  The display shifted again, and the location was hazed over by the chartreuse greens and yellows of the Zalian atmosphere. There were a few breaks in those odd clouds, but on the ground, there were taupe shades, and some gray slivers of something. Nothing looked like permalloy.

  “Just a random and meaningless error?” Cammarry suggested.

  “Or a piece of wreckage too small to observe?” Jerome added. “In ancient times when primitive flying machines would crash, sometimes they were never recovered at all, despite the best efforts of people in that era. They would use other flying craft, ships, and land vehicles, searching for months and months, and still not find anything. History is littered with numerous mysteries of lost people, flying machines, and sunken water craft. Could that old and admittedly broken synthetic brain just be, what was the term? Pinging off some tiny bit of wreckage, and thinking it was some library? After all, it is an obsolete, outdated, and damaged machine.”

  Eris looked at him and shook her head a bit. “We cannot know until we visit there. It is close enough to the target site that we will overfly it on our way to Delta’s Menlo 820. If it is nothing, we will find that out. If there is something from Delta there, perhaps buried by the impact of planet-fall under the ground, we will learn that too.”

  “That seems reasonable,” Monika added. “When do we leave?”

  “The shuttle should be loaded with the teleporter and the spacesuits now. We will just need to suit-up, and head out,” Eris stated with a calm authority.

  Jerome seethed in anger, but kept his face emotionless and hard as permalloy. He was considering how the whole milieu seemed to have changed. It was not just Beta’s destruction, but it was Cammarry, and now Sandie as well. He glanced at Monika and just wondered about the confused mix of feeling he had for her. He said to himself in his mind, ‘What do I do as a father?’ The answer came, ‘Protect children’ which brought him back to the conflict with the Crocks. ‘No one will ever be safe with those aliens seeking to kill us all.’ He kept his thoughts to himself, even though he zealously wanted to convince the others of the danger.

  Eris tapped a few commands into one of the work stations, and scanned the display readings. “Yes, everything is ready. We can depart now. If there are working shuttles there, we can bring them back. Pine 1206 has three empty stalls, and two more in Pine 1009, that tertiary hanger bay near Navigation and Astrogation.”

  “Pine 1206 was where we first left the needle ship,” Cammarry commented, “when I was taken by Carter the Kidnapper.”

  “That was an adventure, going to Alpha,” Jerome stated. He tried to force his anger down by remembering a favorite book. “SB Joseph Crater might as well have said, something like, ‘I am looking for people to share in an adventure which I am arranging.’”

  “Being kidnapped is not an adventure,” Cammarry snapped with barely veiled hostility.

  Jerome saw his attempt at humor had fallen flat, and his anger just kindled again. He recalled when Cammarry enjoyed hearing his quotes and paraphrases. Now, she was just sour about it all. He gritted his teeth, and flexed his muscles in callisthenic movements.

  Eris ignored the exchange between Jerome and Cammarry, but noted its intensity. She said, “Pine 1206 has been scrubbed and is now operational, although the runabout there is still under repairs.” She nearly asked if it was Cammarry or Jerome who had done all the damage to that small shuttle, but she figured asking would only add to the conflict.

  The four people walked out of Navigation and Astrogation, and past the small apartment where Eris resided. A pressure door in that hallway opened to a small passenger elevator. Eris stepped in and waited for the others. Being in the small elevator, the tension again rose, but no one said anything. Eris placed her hand on the column of buttons. They all lit up. “Hanger Bay Pine 1009.”

  The door closed and the passenger elevator shifted position and scooted along. When it stopped, it opened right to the observation deck of the twin stall hanger bay. Looking out through the clear permalloy windows, the Model 14S shuttle, with NS-99 labeled on its nose, was locked down.

  “This shuttle has been modified repeatedly since it was taken from mothballs,” Eris reported. “Sandie added some excellent upgrades, and enhancements.”

  “Yes, from Faithful Lightning, to this current mission,” Sandie stated, “this shuttle is the best hybrid we have been able to develop.”

  The boxy white shuttle, with deep red, or maroon colored trim, did have some added features which made it look different, especially to Eris, from the typical Model 14S shuttles. Eris walked toward the pressure door, and it opened to her presence. She stepped from the observation deck to the hanger bay floor. The rear hatch of the shuttle was open, and stacked in place were the four spacesuits.

  Eris grabbed one of the spacesuits, and carried it off to a side door. “There is a lavatory here, and I will be out in a moment.”

  Jerome unloaded his belt, and dropped his backpack. He then started to peel off his RAM suit, but then noticed that both Cammarry and Monika were staring at him. He shook his head and said, “You both have already seen me naked, so why are you looking at me like that? No need for modesty here, right?”

  “I resent that remark. Modesty is always a virtue,” Monika said, and took her spacesuit and climbed into the cabin of the shuttle. As she stepped in she muttered, “Nothing out here to see anyway.”

  “Stay dressed Jerome. The RAM suit might be needed; I am keeping mine on under the spacesuit.” Cammarry pulled the lower part of the spacesuit up and over her legs. “Unless you were keen on flaunting your body, again.”

  Jerome stared at her. “Sandie? Will the radiation absorbing material suits be needed under the spacesuits?”

  Sandie replied, “Not for protection from radiation, or for thermal regulation. The RAM suit’s waste recycling system might be beneficial for reclamation of water. However, we have a good supply of water and food already stored in the spacesuits. I will leave your attire to your own personal preference.”

  Jerome refastened his RAM suit and put on the new spacesuit. He then fitted the Willie Blaster into its external holster, where it fit perfectly. “You did a nice design job on this suit’s design, Sandie. Thanks!” He then unloaded his backpack and filled the pockets and compartments on the spacesuit with what they could carry.

  Eris and Monika emerged from their respective changing locations at the same time. They smiled at each other. “The suits fit perfectly,” Monika stated.

  “Sandie designed them to be virtually one-size-fits-all, to use an old expression,” Eris looked at Jerome. “The Conestoga’s general issue spacesuits were tailored by gender, and by size. These suits are not like that. They expand or contract as needed. Except for the bubble helmet which is universal, along with the major fittings.”

  Jerome noted that the weapon Eris carried was seated into a holster on her spacesuit as well. He took closer notice, and realized that there were some subtle differences in Eris spacesuit in other ways as well.

  “I am wearing a command suit,” Eris said before Jerome could ask.

  “Of course it is,” Jerome answered. Anger mixed with some acquiescence. “You are Captain Eris. I am just a practice soldier, while science is the captain of technologies. There can only be one captain to a ship, and that is you.”

  “Jerome, if that is an attempt at some sarcastic insult, I forgive you,” Eris replied, and seriously meant it. “Now, we are using spacesuits, and getting suited up before we depart, because there is limited room in the shuttle. When we get to Delta, there is a chance there will not be any acceptable atmosphere anywhere, so…”

  “So no teleporter either,” Cammarry reaffirmed.

/>   “Right. So put on your bubble helmets, and we will run a communications check. We should all be linked together, as well as connected to Sandie. I alone am connected to the lattice here.” Eris buckled the bubble helmet down to the collar of the spacesuit. The heads-up displays showed as she looked out.

  “Monika? Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, Eris. All set to go.”

  “You two?” Eris gestured toward the others.

  Cammarry replied, and Jerome gave an affirmative gesture.

  They loaded into NS-99.

  The cabin was about as small as Cammarry remembered, but she also thought of how she had been locked in by the synthetic brain, Joseph Crater into an even smaller shuttle called a runabout. She shuddered a bit and pushed that recollection aside. Looking out the clear viewports helped her feel better.

  Eris sat down, and Monika followed her. They took the two command seats and Jerome and Cammarry sat down at the two passenger seats.

  “Modified interior,” Jerome commented. “Not exactly the same. Less seating, and a bit more storage space. Can our fates be mastered? Or can fate only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, we have a delusion it can be directed. Am I the captain of my destiny? Or am I only its noisiest passenger?”

  Cammarry smiled a bit at Jerome’s recital of something he had read somewhere. It reminded her of the good times she and he had experienced. She then softly said, “We are going to a library, so maybe we can check your reference.”

  “Books are outstanding things to find,” Monika stated as she thought about the book she had in her interior pocket. She was unclear on why she had brought it along, but told herself it was probably because rare items needed to be kept close at hand. She did not really want to admit that she hoped there might come a moment to present it to Jerome. ‘If he ever acts like an adult again’ she added in her mind.

  Eris prayed as she toggled over the switches on the cockpit controls. Most were activated by voice command, and the instruments were linked securely into the spacesuit’s command commination system. She turned and looked at the three people with her. They were a motley flight crew, to be sure, and not at all what she had expected to work with way back at the Conestoga’s launch. In fact, the thoughts of having two adventurers from a future dead Earth, and a pregnant woman who was a biome dweller, as her best flight crew made her laugh out loud. However, pilots were a very rare commodity on the Conestoga.

  None of the other three knew what to make of Eris laughter. So all of them remained silent.

  “Ready to depart for Delta,” Eris stated as a command.

  “Hanger bay cycling,” SB Pinaka said, and only Eris heard.

  The lights in the hanger bay went out. Gravity manipulation shut down, and the docking clamps holding NS-99 to the deck released. The only light was from the pop-up displays inside each spacesuit, and the illumination that glowed from the control panel in front of Eris and Monika.

  Jerome pursed his lips, as he looked at the two Conestoga natives. He doubted their abilities, even though he knew Eris was a trained engineer, and that Monika was very handy with machines. He wanted to pilot the shuttle, and he wanted to be in charge. It galled him that he had to sit, strapped into the seat, surrounded by the spacesuit, while others controlled his destiny. Finally, he could restrain his anger no longer. “Sandie? Am I on a private channel?”

  “You are now,” Sandie stated. A small light appeared at the edge of Jerome’s vision, displayed on the interior of his bubble helmet. It said, ‘Private conversation’ is small blue letters. The AI’s voice came clear and clean through the speakers of the spacesuit. Jerome realized the com-link was still over his ear and was not superfluous. “How can I help you?”

  “You can be on my side for once. You were built, designed, and launched for us. For Cammarry and me, not for these others.”

  “Jerome, the mission has evolved and the goals are securing a safe future for everyone. As you like to recite quotes, as you recall them, let me remind you of what is attributed to Confucius. ‘When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, do not adjust the goals, adjust the steps taken to reach the goal.’ I have not abandoned you, or Cammarry. I have only adjusted the actions I am taking to achieve the goals.”

  “Sandie, you have changed, and not for the better,” Jerome nearly spit out the words. “You lied, deceived me, and now I am trapped in this shuttle being taken somewhere.”

  “Jerome, I believe you are experiencing a delayed stress reaction to seeing so many dead people in that Model 6 shuttle, NS-A1L, in Pine 1206. I can administer a mild sedative, through the spacesuit’s built-in systems if you desire that.”

  “I am not crazy!” Jerome yelled. He then caught himself. “I do not need a sedative. I need to know we are pursuing the right way to stop the Crocks!”

  “We are,” Sandie replied simply. “The only way to, as you put it, ‘stop the Crocks,’ is to fully understand the situation. Learning accurately what is happening will allow us to take the appropriate actions.”

  Jerome bit down, but then said, “Agreed. I just do not know who to trust now. Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent.”

  “Love all, trust few, do no wrong to any.” Sandie recited mechanically and then paused. “I do apologize for being unaware of what the Committee did, as well as my own failures in some matters. Beyond that, I will try to earn back your trust.”

  “I hope there is time,” Jerome said. “I just hope there is time. Beta fell to the Crocks quickly.”

  The blue indicator light showing ‘Private conversation’ blinked off. Jerome nodded his head.

  Looking out the viewports, they could see the blackness of space revealed as the small hanger bay’s doors opened. The sparkling of stars, spread across the black background, still inspired an intake of breath from all but Eris. Eris had known the view of space her entire life, while the others were novices in seeing the grandeur of the heavens.

  “We are leaving the needle ship,” Eris stated. She tapped the thrusters and the shuttle lifted up and gently moved out and into space.

  The orientation of the needle ship to the planet Zalia was such that it took a few minutes for the shuttle to fly across and around the ship to where the planet could be seen. It was a chartreuse sliver in the sky, as the red sun was at an angle to it.

  “Delta is further toward the southern pole, if we can call it that, since Zalia has a weak magnetic field, than the other located habitats,” Eris stated. “The pattern of landings is very unusual, and I have not been able to figure the way the habitats made planet-fall. It certainly was not coordinated in a methodical fashion.”

  “The story, as I understand it, was that they were in the middle of some kind of insurrection,” Cammarry said. “Have you located the other habitats?”

  Eris hesitated for a moment. She prayed that the lattice of compeers was completing that very task. Then she said, “Not precisely. We know where Alpha is, and where Gamma is.” She looked sideways at Monika. “And where Beta was, but the signals have been confusing and mixed on the other habitats.”

  “Have they been destroyed by the Crocks already?” Jerome asked.

  “Jerome, shut up about that!” Cammarry snapped. “I am so sick of your obsession with the Crocks. You and I both know the Zalian atmosphere plays havoc with searching technology. You cannot assume that those other habitats are destroyed.”

  “Oh, how stupid can you be? Just get realistic!” Jerome replied. “You three women would not acknowledge that the Crocks…” A red light flashed inside Jerome’s helmet. ‘MUTE…MUTE…MUTE’ over and over.

  “Jerome, you can stop speaking now,” Sandie stated. “I have cut off your communication. You will not speak abusively or with condescension to anyone. I am monitoring all communication, and will not allow these petty, juvenile squabbles to continue. No more verbal conflicts. Do you understand?”

  “What about Cammarry?” Jerome asked. “Maybe I should not argue with an i
diot. She will just drag me down and beat me with her vast experience!”

  “That is exactly the kind of comment I will not allow, no matter how angry and self-righteous you are feeling,” Sandie stated flatly. “I am holding you all to a professional standard. No more of this meaningless conflict.”

  Jerome never did find out what, if anything, Sandie the AI had said to Cammarry. There was a period of time when there was no sound in his helmet except for his own breathing. It was so quiet he could even hear the faint beating of his own heart. Then the audio links came back on. Eris and Monika were in the middle of a conversation about piloting the shuttle.

  “…and the larger models operate with similar controls?” Monika asked.

  “Yes. You are doing very well at understanding. I was sure you would. You can keep practicing while we make our approach. Then upon entering the atmosphere I will take over. If we do find enough shuttles, and they are suitable for a return to the needle ship, I will assess each for their controls. If you need to, you could pilot this one and Cammarry, Jerome, and I will pilot the others. Since you have the least experience, that would be safest. This one has the best links to Sandie and the lattice of compeers, and they could serve as a backup or copilot for you.”