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

by John Thornton

  The dust was settling from the herd running away, and Cammarry realized that seeing the dust had only slightly caused her to think of radiation. She smiled at that evolution of her thoughts. After that, she did note how many things were tan color, and her anxiety about death rose in her mind.

  “Tan equals death.”

  She saw no more of the non-goat herd as she approached the river again. She was on the opposite side of the large bird hill, and here the ground had more frequent, but smaller hills. As she crested one of those hills, stepping around the prickly copse of trees, she heard a man’s voice.

  “Oh, my dear Haddie. I know not what has broken your leg.”

  Cammarry looked between the hills and spotted a farm. Some cultivated fields were set between the rolling hills. Rows of some kind of plants were growing in neatly arranged lines in several fields. They were not the narcotic lek plants, but something new to Cammarry. She then remembered that the lek plants seemed to only grown on the plantations around the town of Aston which was in the jungle part of the habitat.

  In an empty field a man was standing near to a beast which was limping badly. Its right front leg was clearly broken and it could not bear weight on it. The beast was enormous, in harness, and with some kind of wooden device strapped behind it. Not as tall as the horses from Beta, nonetheless, this animal was stocky and heavily built. It was a ruddy brown color with white belly and white head. The man stepped over and cautiously unstrapped the implement from the animal. He led it away from where they had been working.

  “Come on Haddie. Step over here and let me take a look.”

  Cammarry watched as the man ever so gently led the beast a few more steps over. The field they were in was barren of growth, but there were a series of ruts which the device had been plowing through the ground.

  The man was wearing a loose, white shirt, gray pants, and a tan colored hat. He squatted down and took off his hat. Wiping his forehead, Cammarry noted he had spiky blond hair, and a pale complexion. He placed the hat back on and used his hands to tenderly examine the leg which the large animal still did not rest on the ground. The beast would lower it a bit, and then raise it back up in obvious pain.

  “Oh Haddie, old girl. It is broken. Such a shame,” the man said and looked down at the ground. There was soft weeping, the sound of which reached Cammarry’s ears. “I will have to end your days. You have been faithful and true, and I so needed you in these times of trouble.”

  “Wait!” Cammarry called out before she even knew she wanted to speak.

  The man looked up and was instantly wary.

  “May I speak with you?” Cammarry asked. She looked around as if there might be others within earshot.

  “A beautiful woman,” the man said. “Yes, we can speak, for a short time. It is a sad day for my Haddie here.”

  Cammarry could almost feel the man’s eyes as they assessed her, but the distance was too great to make out much of his features. She decided to walk up to him. As she did, she noted his clothing was simple, and the contrivance which had been hooked to the beast was primitively made from wood and leather with a permalloy blade to bite the ground.

  “I see you are from Wolf City,” the man said. “If you have come looking for slaves, I am the only one here.”

  “I am not from any city or town. Not Wolf City, nor Aston,” Cammarry responded. She stepped closer. The man was younger than she had first thought. His blond hair was sticking up, but his face was clean shaven. His eyes were dark blue, but kindly with a measure of weariness. “I am not even originally from Alpha.”

  “You are not of the Neb Old Order, as I can see from your clothing. Yet, you do not talk like a slave trader, nor like a slave. Your eyes are too bright and alert to be a lek addict. Are you from the jungle people somehow? I am ignorant of their ways, forgive me. Just who are you?”

  “Some have called me a wizard.” Cammarry laughed a bit as she recalled her first meeting with Khin. Despite the simplicity of his clothing and tools, this man before her was not as primitive as Khin and his Goat People. He had a certain something about him, meekness, wisdom, and kindness.

  “Maaoo!” The beast grunted and pushed its head against the man.

  “Oh, dear Haddie. My apologies. Your agony with the broken leg must be immense.” He turned and stoked the animal’s face tenderly. “I will end your suffering. I am so sorry to lose you.” He reached for a sheath on his belt and drew out a knife which had a bone handle, and was about fifteen centimeters long. “I will make it as quick as…”

  “No wait!” Cammarry interjected as she rushed forward. “You are not going to kill that beast are you?”

  The man turned back and there were tears in his eyes. “The oxen cannot live on only three legs, that is inhumane and cruel. I have raised Haddie since she was a calf. I ask you to respect us and let me do what must be done.” Tears were streaming down his face, but he did not look weak at all to Cammarry. There was strength beneath his sorrow and grief.

  “I can help. Let me heal this animal.”

  “Large livestock cannot survive a broken leg. Please do not trifle with me. Haddie is hurting and I must help her. Alleviating her agony is all I can offer now.” The man moved with his arm toward the animal’s mane, but then hesitated. Something in Cammarry’s look, or words, or countenance made him think twice, and then considered it even yet again. Looking back, he asked, “You can help Haddie? Is that why you are called a wizard?”

  “I am not magic, or supernatural, if that is what you mean.” Cammarry pulled out her medical kit. “I do have a device which we can try. I am not sure if it will work on an animal, but it might. It will not take long to try, and that great beast’s pain might be alleviated or even healed. However, I cannot resurrect the dead.”

  The man nodded his head. “A fair point, from the beautiful woman.” His compliment did not come off as flattery or flirtation, but rather as an observation. “I know not of the ways of machines. I am of the Neb Old Order, not a follower of Araceli.” He looked pensive for a moment. “Your machine contraption will not hurt Haddie, will it?”

  “She must be in considerable pain already,” Cammarry responded. “I doubt it will cause more suffering, but I think it will help. Probably heal. May I try?” Cammarry had slowly walked closer. She could see now that the man’s clothing was hand sewn, yet fitted well. Aside from the knife she saw no other tools, and no weapons.

  “Please proceed.” He put the knife away.

  Cammarry pulled the wires out from the medical kit and attached them just above where the beast’s leg was broken. She pressed the diagnosis button. The small screen read out, ‘Bovine. Fractures in metacarpus and phalanges. Confirm: you seek veterinary treatments?’

  Cammarry pressed the diagnosis button again.

  ‘Prognosis excellent. Inject into any large muscle mass. Bovine will be sedated and sleep for six to eight hours. Complete bone realignment will take place after sedation. Osteo-regeneration will be accomplished during sleep. Complete recovery expected after sleep.’ A syringe slid out from the medical kit.

  “I will need to inject this into the animal, and it will then lie down and sleep,” Cammarry stated.

  “Yes, I read that on your contraption. Some words were unfamiliar, but it was addressing the bones and healing, correct?” the man asked. “Will this really work?”

  “I believe it will. Unlike some things, the medical kit has never failed me before,” Cammarry said with a smile. Then she caught herself and realized the medical kit had failed her before. It had missed the Shadow implant inside of her arm.

  The man gently touched Cammarry’s shoulder. “Something troubles you, deeply. If this is the last of some supplies you have, I understand your hesitation. You may be needing it for your own livestock, or your own uses.” He tenderly caressed her shoulder. “Oh my, you are just skin and bones. Have you been sick as well? Please use your supplies to help yourself.”

  She shrugged away from his touch. “I ha
ve no livestock. The power level on the medical kit is still well over its minimum requirements, so there will be many more treatments, if needed. I want to help you,” Cammarry stated. “May I inject your animal? Is its name Haddie?”

  “Yes, her name is Haddie. Yes, you may inject that,” the man looked a bit skeptical. “She can sleep here in the field, if that works.” He looked back to where they had been plowing. “I am still unsure how her leg was broken. She is not so very old, as all that, to have brittle bones.”

  Cammarry used the syringe on the animal. Its skin was tougher than she expected, and the hair was somewhat wiry.

  “Now, beautiful woman, step back near me,” the man said and softly guided Cammarry’s steps. “Haddie weighs a good four hundred kilograms. More than I could lift off of you, should she fall on you.”

  The animal let out a slight groan and dropped to her front knees. The broken leg folded properly due to the stimulation by the medical kit, and with a couple small steps by her back legs, Haddie settled down to the ground. She stretched out her head, and set that on the ground as well. The wires from the medical kit remained attached. With a contented sigh, Haddie the ox fell into sleep.

  The man patted Cammarry’s shoulder, but again she pulled away. “I mean no offence, and no insult, but are you well? I just feel your bones through your technical clothing. Forgive me if I overstep etiquette.”

  “Times have been difficult for me. I have not been eating right, and…”

  “I can assist with that,” the man stated. “My food, is your food. My saraj, is your saraj.”

  “I am not sure what kind of food saraj is, sorry.”

  “It is I who should apologize. My home is called a saraj, and you are welcome to share in my food and my home.” He looked at the oxen. “I see your contraption is making the muscles pull Haddie’s leg into place. I believe it will heal. That is rather miraculous.”

  “Not a miracle, just science and medicine. I am Cammarry by the way.”

  “I can see why someone called you a wizard.” The man’s smile was broad. “I am Alizon, son of Alice. Things have been difficult here as well. Before the night of blackness, slave masters came and I am all that remains of my family. Mother, father, and both sisters were killed by those seeking run-away slaves. They burned our house, and so I built the saraj. That was by no means the only time followers of Araceli have troubled us. Did those troubles also rob you of your family?”

  “Yes.” She stepped away, unable to say any more.

  “Forgive me if I have probed and meddled in your personal affairs. You are entitled to grieve in the way best for you,” Alizon stated. “I must go and see how Haddie broke her leg. We were just plowing along, and there was nothing much ahead. We walked toward a bit of flattened ground and when Haddie stepped into it, her leg broke. Perhaps a prairie dog’s tunnel I did not see?” He stepped around the sleeping Haddie.

  “Flattened? Wait!” Cammarry rushed up to him. “Beware! I might know what happened.”

  Alizon stopped. Cammarry stood next to him. They both looked at where the plow had been unharnessed. In front of that was a circular patch of ground, about a meter wide. The oxen’s tracks led up to it, then off to the side. The tilled field was smashed down there in that circle, unlike the areas around it.

  Cammarry squatted down and picked up a dirt clod. “Was that where the injury took place?” She gestured toward the circular spot on the ground.

  “Yes, right at the edge of that circle. Strange how a circle that round can show up on the ground. I do not recall seeing that there when we were plowing.”

  Cammarry tossed the dirt clod. It arched up and then fell hard vertically right to the ground as it entered the circle.

  “Odd and puzzling!” Alizon said. “Never have I see anything like that.”

  “I have,” Cammarry said as she stood up. “It is a gravity sink, or gravity hole. They are deadly.”

  2 CONTINUING Construction

  The shiny and new blue engineering automacube used its manipulation arm, with attached vibration saw, to precisely slice through another section of permalloy. The work was exact, as cutting that ultra-hard metal was not as easily done as just slicing a steel beam. At one point several sparks shot forth around the vibration saw, badly scorching its mechanisms.

  “Halt operations. Withdraw one meter.” A man paced over and closely assessed the work of the automacube, as it rolled backward away from the smoldering wall. “Another one, not on the schematics.” His thin frame was covered in dark brown clothing. A tool belt hung from his waist. He squatted down and used an assessment setting on the conservation slate he held. His bright eyes shown from his nearly black complexion. He read the results and nodded a bit. Then he reexamined the work, and stood up. The end of the vibration saw was ruined, but it was only the projection tip. Taking a replacement from a locker nearby, he connected the new one in place. Rubbing the side of his forehead, he looked back and reviewed the plans. Peering at more reading on the conservation slate he again nodded. Then he called over his shoulder.

  “Captain Eris? This automacube ran into another unexpected power duct. No major damage, but I have a question. Does that entire wall section come down, or could we do only a partial partition? It is just storage compartments behind there, so space is not the issue. I just wonder what else may be located beneath the surface. So before I give the approval for this new automacube to continue and pull it all down, I wanted to double check. We will also need to reroute several energy channels within the wall. There have been revisions for the synthetic brains which are not in the original schematics. So would you make sure I am reading the Project Ascension plan correctly?” His eyes studied the plan on his conservation slate. He patted the side wall. “This original permalloy is a masterpiece in spun metal, hate to see it go, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yes, Peter, I understand. The builders of the Conestoga did a fine job,” Captain Eris stated. “It is not as entertaining as your carousel, but the space we have to work in is also tighter and more constricted. Give me a moment to review.”

  Lorelei Eris Concordia, was known to almost everyone as Eris, stood in Navigation and Astrogation near to the stellar cartography workstation. She was a few years younger than Peter, but was the Acting Captain, and only official member of the Conestoga’s flight crew. Her dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail, secured by a small band. The light blue engineering uniform she wore was only broken by the belted holster of her RSW Model 10 Officer Edition sidearm. Her golden colored eyes looked down at the conservation slate in her hand. Tapping it a bit she reviewed the overall construction plan. She knew better than anyone else to confirm every question Peter asked. Peter was a roustabout, and was one of the few people Eris knew who had engineering and mechanical aptitude. Siva, another roustabout, was on a mission to the engineering section of the ship to get a firsthand look at the mighty engines of the Conestoga. Monika was also part of that select group, but she was busy with her infant twin sons. Bigelow was the last member of the team Eris had assembled, but he was not as reliable as the others. Peter would not ask a meaningless question, so Eris reviewed the plans. The stakes were too high, there had been too much prior damage, and the time was too short for any mistakes.

  “We do have the new engineering automacubes coming from Alpha’s Reproduction and Fabrication facility. That is helpful. I do see what you mean. Are you concerned about those connections for SB Pinaka and SB Cotard? Especially regarding heat dissipation?” Eris tapped her finger to her lips. “I see what you are saying about the potential for doing a partial removal only. When I installed SB Cotard, I did not expect the need for a new command bridge. That was before Project Ascension was implemented. Let me check one more thing.”

  Eris tapped the com-link on her ear and switched it to link with the lattice of compeers on a private channel. Peter did not have all the details of Project Ascension and his part did not include the fact that all the habitats were suffering from deg
radation. Eris had only told one other person the magnitude of the situation, and Bigelow was not as helpful as she had hoped he would be. The lattice of compeers was well aware, as was Sandie the artificial intelligence system which had come from Earth. With a lowered voice she said, “Peter raises a good question here about heat in the power couplings. Please confirm we will have sufficient insulation and protection, with this revision.” She pressed her fingers to the diagram on her display to indicate which section was involved.

  Speaking for the lattice of compeers, synthetic brain Pinaka replied, “Processing. Yes, with layered sections, two centimeters apart, the newly constructed configuration will have proper protection.”

  “Sandie? Do you confirm that?” Eris asked.

  “Yes,” Sandie the AI stated. “Peter has a more conservative bent toward keeping the crew protected, which is a noble trait. However, the design is still within safe parameters and expected stress tolerances. As long as energy flows do not exceed 150% of operation specifications, the design is adequate.”