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

by John Thornton

  Whoosh!

  The probe launched with a burst from its gravity pulse engine. That shot it up and out of the airlock. Since gravity manipulation had been shut off, the probe had to ascent upward at a steep angle to escape from the airlock. This was done against the high gravity of Zalia. The exterior door then sealed, and the airlock recycled so the next probe, 02, could be placed into the airlock.

  Probe 01 raced up and away, its gravity pulse engine functioning flawlessly. The probe consisted of a main fuselage, less than two meters long, which was tapered on both ends. Connected to the top of that main body was a smaller cylinder, in parallel to the body. That was the gravity pulse engine, and it was a meter long, with open grille at the front and nozzle at the end. It did not operate exactly as did the habitat-wide gravity manipulation systems, but instead, converted gravity into a pulse of waves which were ejected from the rear. This gave the probe tremendous speed, but nothing like the faster-than-light systems installed on the larger, full scale, robotic probes. The pulse engine could also vary the angle of its ejections. So the probe was very nimble in flight and had hovering and retrograde maneuvering capabilities. While it flew, its wings folded down into the proper position. They were stubby and rectangular. The main set were nearly at the center of the fuselage. The rear set were much smaller, and when deployed and locked into place were in the fuselage directly under the gravity pulse engine. The wingspan would have been too wide to clear the door, hence both sets of wings were folded against the fuselage during launch, but once it was outside, the wings were needed for flight. The package the probe carried was slung underneath it where it could be deployed easily. Overall, the probe was a deep blue color on the upper surfaces of it, and white underneath. The instrument package was bright neon-orange color.

  “Probe 01 launch successful,” Monika stated. “I will direct it toward where we think Epsilon is. The last information we had on Epsilon’s location is now flowing from the lattice of compeer to the probe.”

  “Great! Well done!” Jerome said. “Now to Probe 02. I will do the evens, and you do the odds, okay?”

  Monika winked at Jerome, “You are more the odd one than I am. Bigelow might call you a rube, even.”

  “If he was sober he could call me whatever he wanted.”

  “Indeed, his drinking is a problem,” Monika admitted. “I will manage the odd probes.”

  They watched Probe 01’s flight on the monitor. The display showed its location on the planet, as well as a smaller screen which showed a point-of-view, real-time video from the probe’s nose.

  Inside Exterior Repair Station 313, the engineering automacubes loaded the next probe, its wings in folded position, into the airlock. Five minutes later, it was ready to launch. By that point, Probe 01 was many kilometers away.

  “Launching Probe 02,” Jerome stated.

  Whoosh!

  Probe 02 hurled out of the airlock, locked its wings down into place, and shifted direction to pursue its target, Habitat Zeta.

  “Now, my turn again,” Monika stated. “I see you did this because I will need to monitor three, while you only need to watch two.” Again she winked at Jerome, but then turned her attention back to the monitors.

  Five minutes later, Monika ordered, “Launch Probe 03.”

  Again, the airlock cycled, and the probe was ready.

  Whoosh!

  Probe 03 launched perfectly, and adjusted itself and flew off in another direction. This one was heading for Habitat Eta. As it rushed away, a blimp-like, red and yellow spotted creature floated in from a distance. It tethered itself to a Zalian tree, a safe space away from the habitat, and there it remained. There was a sense of it watching, perceiving, and reporting on what was happening. Monika noticed it briefly as 03 shot away.

  “We have a spectator,” Monika stated.

  “A Crock?” Jerome asked with a touch of alarm.

  “No, one of the big floater ones,” Monika replied. “I guess animals have curiosity sometimes. I have known dogs, horses, and other animals to be fascinated by something novel and unexpected. Some dogs will even take a toy and drop it down stairs, just so they can chase it. During the drought we had to be careful of one of the roustabout’s horses who would open up water containers, and spill out the water.”

  “Just a big dumb animal.” Jerome smiled a bit at Monika’s recollections, but he had a wariness about the floater. Had it been a Crock, he would have been really concerned, but the animal was probably just intrigued by something unexpected.

  “Few animals are truly dumb, they are suited to their place in nature,” Monika answered. “I hope it stays out of the way and does not get hurt.”

  “Probe 04 is ready,” Jerome said as he looked at the monitor. “Launching it now.”

  Whoosh!

  Probe 04 began its journey. It headed out for Habitat Theta. It, like the previous ones, was flying beautifully. Its sensors relaying information back to the Probe Control’s monitors.

  “I guess I only have to oversee two. That covers all the habitats,” Monika said.

  “Yes, and no.” Jerome flexed his arms a bit. He took several deep breaths. “Monika, Eris said we really need to leave this planet.”

  “That is what Project Ascension is all about.” Monika waved at the monitors. She no longer smiled, and had a bit of a scrunch around her eyes. “We are doing our part.”

  “But Gamma is not. We know where it is, and Captain Eris went there. From what she said they rejected her command, and refused to honor her as the Captain.”

  “Jerome, what are you getting at?” Monika thought she already knew, but wanted to hear Jerome say it.

  “Monika, synthetic brains have lied to me before. You know that. How do we know those Gamma SBs did not lie to our captain? I mean no sarcasm or disrespect at all. But what if Gamma has people living there? I mean, well, the lattice here cut me out from my technology…”

  “Not all of it,” Monika interrupted him.

  “Yes, absolutely correct, as usual,” Jerome replied. “But what if there are survivors in Gamma, human survivors, who have no access to technology. Or what if the Crocks had already invaded Gamma, taken over the synthetic brains and systems, and then lied to Captain Eris when she visited there? We have no proof of any of those claims. The Gamma systems said all the humans died? And they claimed all the humans in suspended animation had already been re-animated prior to that death. Does that sound realistic? Monika, how do we know? That AI Ogma was being used by the Crocks. You saw that. I saw that. What if, and I know this may sound like a wild conspiracy, but what if the Crocks took over Gamma and have enslaved the humans? Alpha had slavery, right? Or what if the Crocks actually murdered everyone in Gamma. None of us know for sure. But, I think we need to know.”

  “Jerome, are you suggesting we send a probe to Gamma?” Monika asked.

  “Yes. We drop off a package at Gamma, and we do our own assessment of it,” Jerome replied. “If everything is just as that group of synthetic brains claims in Gamma, then we know. If they have lied, then we know that as well. And, if the Crock have invaded there, we will find out. The Crocks might be using it as a staging area for further attacks. Beta might not have been their first attack. How do we know, unless we investigate it?”

  “Jerome, I am not sure about this.” Monika hesitated. “We already have a mission to do, should we jeopardize it?”

  “Do we jeopardize leaving maybe thousands of people behind? I am not saying go there ourselves, Captain Eris tried that. I am just saying we set our last package down there, and discover the truth. No matter what we find out, it is important we learn the truth. Right now, anything is possible in Gamma. Once we assess it, we can eliminate the impossible, so that whatever remains, no matter how implausible, or improbable, must be the truth.” Jerome cracked his knuckled and pumped his arms a few times. “Am I wrong?”

  Monika tapped the com-link on her ear. “Sandie? Please give me a private channel. Have you been monitoring this conversa
tion?”

  Jerome gave her a look, and started to open his mouth to say something. He snapped his lips shut, and looked away.

  “Private channel initiated. Yes, Monika, I have been,” Sandie the AI responded. “The four probes which have been launched are working nearly exactly as planned. No habitat has yet been encountered, but they should be soon.”

  “What do you think we should do about Gamma?” Monika asked. “Jerome makes a compelling case, but Captain Eris already went there. I agree we need to learn the truth, but is there some risk in going to Gamma?”

  “You could ask Captain Eris,” Sandie replied.

  “But I am asking you. Please, what do you think?” Monika implored.

  “Gamma is still part of the Conestoga. At least officially it is, despite the systems there which have rejected and threatened Captain Eris,” Sandie replied. “Although Captain Eris did order five probes, not just four, so perhaps you really should ask her.”

  “Thank you Sandie.” Monika tapped the com-link. “Jerome? Sandie suggests we ask Captain Eris. I agree. After all, Eris did go there already. Perhaps she has had further contact with Gamma, and we do not know about it?”

  Jerome’s eyes blazed for a moment, but then contentment settled over his face. “If that is what you want to do, go ahead. I do not want to be a loose cannonball here.” He looked back over to Monika. “That idiom might be a loose cannon, I am not sure which one. A cannon ball rolling around loose could do a lot of damage. It is an antique, primitive saying.” With the words antique and primitive, he grinned a slight bit. “You do what you think is best. I trust you.”

  “Thank you Jerome. I trust you as well.” Monika turned and looked back toward where the babies were in the other apartment. “We may only get once chance at this, and for our boys’ sakes, we must get it done correctly. Do you want to contact Eris, or should I?”

  “I will do it. It is my idea, so it can be my fault as well.” Jerome tapped the com-link. “Sandie, connect me to Captain Eris please.”

  “Right away Jerome,” Sandie stated. “You are making a wise choice.”

  “No more secrets. I am learning more and more that my character is not expressed the best way in my words. It is expressed in the choices I make, and the choices I make are ultimately my responsibility alone,” Jerome stated.

  “This is Eris. Sandie said you had a question?” Eris’s voice came over the com-link. “Sandie said the probe launches are going well.”

  “Yes, but can we send a probe to Gamma? I think we need…” Jerome began, but was interrupted.

  “We built five probes. I guess I must have been unclear,” Eris responded. “By all means, send one to Gamma. We know where Gamma is, but exactly what is happening inside is uncertain. Their history is unclear. You have my permission to assess all five of the remaining habitats. I think reassessing Beta and Delta would be a waste of time. Those remains offer little to help us. If we need to, we can make more probes, but time is not our friend here. Is there anything else?” Eris hoped and prayed that Jerome would not ask about Cammarry. She was feeling guilty about withholding that information, yet she still felt keeping silent about it was for the best for now.

  “No. But thank you,” Jerome said. He tapped the com-link.

  “So, I will monitor three and you will do only two,” Monika giggled a bit. “And out of alphabetical order as well. Probe 05 is ready for launch. By the way, that was a brave move on your part. I really thought she did not want us to send a probe to Gamma, so it was good that we asked her. You were right, Jerome.” She met his eyes and soothed him with her compassionate look. “The last probe is away.”

  Whoosh.

  Probe 05 followed the pattern of the others, leaping from the airlock, deploying its wings into flight configuration, and the shrieking away at high speed.

  “Telemetry from all the probes looks good,” Jerome said as he leaned back in the chair.

  A small cry came from the other room. Monika quickly stood up. “That is Kalur.” She walked into the other apartment to tend to her baby.

  Jerome looked at the empty seat. He thought of the FTL scout which was connected to the needle ship. He recalled how tight and confined the scout ship was, and how Cammarry had sat next to him as they were slung up and away from Dome 17. His fists clenched, and he took some deep breaths. Pushing the painful thoughts away, he strained his eyes to concentrate on the information coming from the probes. It helped a bit to distract him from his emotions.

  It was more than an hour before Monika returned. “I fed them both, and they are back asleep. Clean diapers, and a fully tummy makes our boys happy. Brink also wanted to play, so I could not resist. Have any of the probes found anything yet?”

  “We are getting good images of the surface of Zalia. A lot more variety than we have seen before, but two of the previously estimated positions turned out to be bogus,” Jerome replied. “Oh, and thank you again for feeding the boys. I am…”

  “No more discussions about breastfeeding. It is not a primitive ritual, nor is it unnatural. You are just not familiar with my barbaric ways,” Monika teased. “It is good for them, and makes me happy. Not to mention, hungry and thirsty. I also enjoy it immensely.” She handed a food ration bar and bottle of water to Jerome. “I brought you something to eat as well.”

  “Thank you. Like I said, the places where we thought the habitats had made planet-fall, were wrong. At least the first two, were. I did see a Crock city, of sorts, a while back as the probe flew over it, but no signs at all of the habitats. Probe 01 is now circling the area where Epsilon is supposed to be, but I see nothing. It is a vast region of flat taupe color. Check it out.” He pointed at the monitor.

  “I see what you mean. Is that liquid?” Monika asked. “Is it a Zalian sea?”

  The point-of-view display, from Probe 01, showed rolling areas of taupe, with little variation. The red sun was blistering through the greens and yellows of the air. Occasional blotches of brown were mixed in with the taupe, but other than that the field before the probe was consistent.

  “It might be, but it would be much more concentrated than water. Reminds me of that stuff we ate. What is that food item you made, chalky putty?” Jerome replied.

  Monika grinned. “You mean chocolate pudding? It comes from fermented and dried cacao seeds, sugar, milk, cornstarch, gelatin, eggs, and rice. I had trouble getting all the ingredients on the needle ship. Luckily, some people from Beta still had some supplies. Pudding, not putty. Putty is a plastic-like substance, of finely powdered chalk and oil. That is something we use to insulate and glue things together. Lots of applications for putty on the carousel, but you would never eat it. Totally different. So is that taupe plain down on the surface of some liquid sea?”

  Jerome nodded, remembering the odd flavors of that pudding Monika had cooked. “Sorry, I am glad I did not try to eat the putty. I think that surface feature, that taupe plain, might be the same consistency, as the pudding, roughly. That probe is flying right along the equator of Zalia, so it is the most hot place we have investigated. I thought the probe detected some kind of energy signal, but that was after passing beyond one of the Zalian forests. It was only for a moment, but I have not seen it again.”

  “There has to be a reason the scanners from here thought the habitat was there, right? The logs, and records, combined with orbital observations?” Monika asked rhetorically. “You are the experienced pilot, but I know when Jenna says she perceives water under the ground, it is there. She saved the roustabouts more times than I can remember.”

  “Under? Underneath?” Jerome muttered. He adjusted several instruments. Then he made additional corrections. “Monika, you are brilliant! The habitat might be under that pudding.”

  “Or whatever it really is, like a Zalian version of a sea,” Monika was pleased by the compliment, but was melancholy about the loss of Beta’s sea. Even though the forest was her favorite place in Beta, the sea held special memories for her. She recalled her fat
her taking her fishing, and wished own father and mother could meet her babies. “So Jerome, can the scanner penetrate that, whatever it is?”

  “Got it!” Jerome said, overly loud. He quickly tapped the com-link. “Sandie, run a conjecture for me. Will the probe be able to withstand the pressures of a liquid on Zalia’s surface?”

  “That depends on the consistency of the liquid, and other factors. I do not have enough information to run a conjecture,” Sandie the AI responded.

  “I thought you would say that.” Jerome adjusted the flight path of the probe. Its gravity pulse engine shifted position and it hovered over the taupe plain. It then slowing descended downward. “Sandie, link into this probe and run an analysis on the surface beneath it.”