Jerome looked and saw a side passageway where there were stacked rolls of the mottled blue colored tents. They were stacked along the passageway where it led away from the Grand Hall. Among the rolled and stacked tents, there were a myriad of boxes, caldrons, pots, kettles, shipping crates, storage bins, and other items. Down the center of the passageway the Goat People had left a narrow space which was not filled. Two people were walking out from there.
“Now do you see?” Khin asked. “My father is wearing the hat, and my mother has the shroud. They coming between the supplies?”
The bright yellow hat stood out, and Jerome and Monika both saw it at the same time as the man stepped into the Grand Hall. He was similarly dressed to everyone else, except for the hat. Following him was the woman who had a yellow shroud around her shoulders. The colors stood out, even in the dim lighting.
“They will lead us in the life celebration. Then the Old One’s body is taken on its last quest where it will be slide into a chute which goes to the Land of Bad Air.” Khin laughed a bit. “A wizard who knows so much, but knows so little as well. I still find it so funny!”
“My Khin, you had to tell me about what to expect, and the other Goat People elaborated on that. How do you expect these two to know your ways?” Vesna chided him. “If it were not for me talking to your father Otau, and your mother Majka, I would be without knowledge of this event. You judge Jerome and Monika too harshly. How could they know?”
“Sandie the spirit-ghost would tell them?” Khin just laughed and nodded his head. “What else was there to tell? I did not think sitting on the floor here and listening would be too hard for any of you. After all the things we have seen and done.”
People came into the Grand Hall from all the different entrances. Jerome watched and saw the majority were from the Goat People with their leather clothing and distinctive mannerism. But others were there as well. Bobbing among the crowd were people wearing hats with dark hair sticking out from beneath them. They also had goggles hanging around their necks or perched on the brims of their hats. No one had the goggles over their eyes as they walked in the dim light of the Grand Hall. Those were the Fruit People, and Jerome understood the goggles were for working in their orchard where the artificial growth light was very bright. Jerome and the people from Beta liked the orchard’s light, as it was more normal for them, but to the Fruit People it was excessively bright and those who worked in the orchard itself needed the eye protection. Jerome saw their leader, Wanda, as she entered.
Others in the crowd had black and gray colored, heavy, padded pants coverings their legs. Their shirts were off-white colored with stripes around the sleeves. They did not wear hats, but most of them had black, silky hair which was trimmed short. Jerome recognized them as from the Chicken People who lived in the sections of the needle ship near the stern. He caught sight of both of their leaders, Fedders and Dick, as they took places on the floor near their people.
Surprisingly, there were also people who were not so easily identified. They were not wearing the exact clothing of any of the three tribes of people who populated the needle ship. Jerome wondered if some of them were people from Alpha Habitat, or if the strict social norms of the tribal clothing customs were being moderated. He asked himself, “Is there a unity movement among the various people?”
Children rushed hither and yonder as the crowd assembled. The children were even more diverse than the adults, and that seemed to answer Jerome’s question.
Monika watched and as she saw the survivors from Beta come in she gestured to them to come and sit by her. They waved back. There were less than twenty people from Beta in attendance. Some of the very old and infirm, who had been rescued, had been unable to travel to the funeral. Monika also knew that Peter and Siva were in the engineering area where they were now living, along with the team of other people they led. That makeshift repair team was working with the blue automacubes doing assessments and repairs to the main drive.
When about three hundred people, a majority of the population of the needle ship, were gathered, the service began. A young woman from the Goat People approached the piano which supported the body of Cadet Danny. She motioned with her hand, but that gesture was unnecessary as the crowd gave her their full attention. Even the children sat down and watched.
Jerome saw Captain Eris enter just as everyone else’s attention was on the woman at the piano. The woman, wearing the clothing of the Goat People, sat down on the bench. In a clear, but strained voice, she stated, “The Old One taught me this. I play in memory to him.”
She played beautifully. At first it was a lively and joyful sound. Then, she switched into a D-sharp minor key. The entire tone felt different. The music wafted around the Grand Hall, and feelings of melancholy, of a heart ripped by some deep distress, infused all who listened. In Jerome’s mind, the piano music evoked thoughts, and images of brooding despair, of blackest sorrow, more intense than the blackness of space. He recalled the tunnel and the animals he had seen slaughtered. He thought of Cammarry, and their shattered relationship. Dome 17 came vividly to his mind, and the idea of deadly radiation killing his home whirled through his consciousness. Then he considered his fellow adventurers who went to the other six old colony ships. So much death. Death was everywhere he went. He cried. The music tempo slowed down, and that made the effect even more pronounced. Jerome wondered if all the dead he had seen on the Conestoga, or in Dome 17, or who were lost in the bleakness of space, were trying to speak from this one woman, playing this one piano, at this one point in time.
Jerome looked over and Monika had tears running down her cheeks. He leaned over, careful not to disturb the baby sleeping on his chest, and carefully wiped a tear from her face. When she looked at him and their eyes met, she said, “I am sorry about Cammarry and you. I so regret coming between you two. For all that, will you please forgive me?”
“I understand, and I too feel sorrow, but you are not to blame.” Jerome had not thought so much only about Cammarry, as he had thought about all the other people who he had seen die or were lost. Cammarry was somewhere in Alpha with Alizon, and Jerome wished her well, even though there was a heaviness in his emotions about her. He longed to just sit and talk with her about Dome 17, but did not feel like she would want to do that with him. He looked more intensely at Monika. “All those people in Beta, and the other habitats. Their deaths…”
The babies began to fuss in their carriers. The gloomy music was troubling them as well. Jerome and Monika got to their feet and quietly walked out, stepping around the people who were sitting on the floor.
From the doorway, which led to a cross corridor, Jerome and Monika pulled the fussy babies out of the carriers and cuddled them. That soothed them somewhat, but they continued to fidget until the woman playing the piano stopped.
Khin’s father, Otau, stepped up next to the piano as the woman was stepping away. His voice boomed out. “Thank you, Millie.” He reached up and took off the yellow hat. Placing it into his hands, he began to unroll the material it was made from. His hands slowly unraveled the hat itself. As he did that, he spoke. “The Old One is dead. Why are we hear today?”
The Goat People in the crowd responded, “In memory to him.”
“And it is not just the Goat People who are here. Our guests are here as well. Why do they come?” Otau called out.
“In memory to him.” More people replied.
“His name was Danuja, but many people called him Danny. Why do we speak his name?”
“In memory to him.” The crowd responded. Those who did not know the liturgy before coming were following the lead of the Goat People. For Cadet Danny, had been a leader to them.
“He had another title, Cadet, and that made him different than most of us. Some here are wizards,” Otau made a nod at several people, including Captain Eris, Jerome, and the group of Beta people. “There are also monsters, but the Old One was not one of them. He was our friend.” He gestured to the crowd.
&nbs
p; “In memory to him,” they replied.
“Now, Majka will lead us in remembering the Old One.” He had unwrapped his entire hat, and took that material and laid it across the feet of Cadet Danny’s dead body. He did it with ultimate reverence and gentleness.
Khin’s mother, Majka stepped up. The yellow shroud which was wrapped around her shoulders stayed in place as she spoke. “It is good that so many people have turned out to pay our respects to the Old One. As you may remember, he was the longest living person here.” She looked at the section where the Fruit People were sitting. “Wanda? Is there anyone older among your people?”
“No. The Old One was most senior,” Wanda responded.
Majka then turned to the place where the Chicken People were sitting. “Is there anyone older among the Chicken People? Dick or Fedders, will you tell me?”
Both Fedders and Dick responded at the same time. “None older.”
Majka then made a sweeping gesture as she turned all the way around. “Our new friends are represented here as well. Captain Eris, is there any older person in that habitat or among the refugees?”
“No one I am aware of,” Eris responded. She tipped her head to the side, and then added, “I believe Cadet Danuja was the oldest person on the Conestoga.”
Majka, nodded solemnly and then bowed her head. A moment later, she looked up and shrugged off the yellow shroud. Placing it across the body she turned back and said, “Then I will begin sharing memories. Anyone is welcome to add a story, in order. I first remember the Old One from when I was….”
Jerome watched and listened as Khin’s mother shared a number of stories about Cadet Danny. Many times, she added some rhyming phrase to emphasize some aspect of Danny’s life. Jerome smiled at those, recalling how many times Khin had attributed some comment or nugget of wisdom to his mother or father. Others then stepped forward to add their own recollections. Everyone who spoke was from the Goat People. It was done in an orderly fashion, and according to some unspoken liturgical style or pattern Jerome could not identify. Part way through, Monika took both babies and retreated to a quiet room down the hall where she could breastfeed and diaper change the twins. She returned, both babies happy and awake.
“Majka is still letting people share their memories. Cadet Danny had a big influence on these people,” Jerome whispered. “Some people will have a meaningful life while others have merely a long life. It sounds like Cadet Danny had both.”
“And I wish that for our sons as well,” Monika said as she kissed each of them in turn.
“As do I.”
The last speaker was just completing his comments, and Majka then again addressed the crowd. “And now Otau will conclude our celebration of the Old One’s life.
“Are the bearers ready?” Otau asked.
Six people, three men and three women, stood up and responded, “We are, in memory to him.” They proceeded to lift the body, on its base, and carry it away. Otau folded down the cover of the piano. He then stated, “A meal is served, and all are welcome to attend. One announcement before we partake of our fellowship funeral feast. As of tomorrow, the Goat People will be traveling to live in Alpha. Where there is room to grow, it is time to go.”
Murmurs rustled through the crowd, except for the Goat People. Apparently, they already knew about this relocation.
Jerome looked over at Captain Eris and she too did not seem surprised. He quickly tapped his com-link. “Sandie? All the Goat People are moving to Alpha? Will that work?”
Sandie the AI replied, “Yes Jerome. The habitat is very well suited for up to 5,000 dwellers. There are currently only about 500 people living there.”
“So, when was this decided?” Jerome asked.
“I am not sure of the exact process by which the Goat People made their decision. Over the last ten days, Khin did ask me a number of questions, which I answered for him,” Sandie replied.
“Well, thank you,” Jerome stated and closed the link.
Monika looked at him, and he stepped over to take one of the boys. He slid him into the papoose baby carrier, while Monika put his brother into her own carrier. “The sky tube will be very bright for those Goat People, but the farms and orchards in Alpha probably need more workers. Just so long as they do not grow that narcotic you told me about. Lek?”
“Right. They will need to be careful of that stuff. I wonder if the biome could be adjusted so that plant is weeded out?” Jerome was musing as he and Monika followed the crowd toward the kitchen where the meal was being served. It was an orderly process, and while waiting in the line, Jerome was reminded of the cafetorium in Dome 17. There he only had a food ration and water bottle to pick up for his meals, but now he actually was wondering what kind of food was going to be served. He anticipated goat meat, cheeses, fruits, and of course the omnipresent servings of various kinds of mushrooms. He still had trouble with the extremes of texture, taste, and temperature of the Conestoga’s foods, even though the needle ship’s varieties were more narrow than those in the habitats. Thinking about that reminded Jerome that Alpha was the only habitat left. His face wrinkled a bit in sorrow.
“You are thinking again about all the deaths, right?” Monika asked. “I get waves of emotions about Beta being gone. I think I can understand, or at least sympathize with you.”
“We have seen too much death, that is for sure. Our dead, well, they are never truly dead until they are forgotten. Cadet Danny will live long in these people’s minds and hearts,” Jerome replied. “It is just that all the suffering and death we have seen, well, it has been sort of self-inflicted. I mean, I used to think the Crocks were the enemy, but now we know they saved us. From what I have seen, humanity, both here on the Colony Ship Conestoga, and back in the Earth’s history, well, humanity is its own greatest enemy.”
“Except,” Monika lowered her voice to a mere whisper, since people were standing in line next to them, “if those others show up.”
Jerome knew who she was implying. “I wonder, how much worse can they be than what we have done, and continue to do ourselves?”
Jerome was going to say more, but someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and an older man was standing there. His face was vaguely familiar, but the woman next to him Jerome recognized.
“Patrolman?” Jerome muttered. “From that night?”
“And that Parson!” Monika stated, more loudly than she expected.
“Yes, I am Bernice,” she responded. “I was a patrolman, actually a leader of the patrolmen for what that was worth. I wanted to come and apologize to you.” She was dark skinned, with neatly combed hair. Several scars crossed her neck, but were partially hidden by the clothing she wore. It was a typical jumpsuit, not the green uniform of the patrolmen. “I was lucky enough to survive, but I know many did not. That horrible situation in Alpha was due in large part to Lek. I had to break my own addiction to that, but I did. The cubies are now destroying all traces of those plants, and replacing them with different and healthy crops. I saw you two here, and knew I must interrupt you to seek your forgiveness.”
Jerome just looked at her. The night of blackness in Alpha when everything was in chaos was engraved into his memory, but the woman standing before him was not who he remembered. Oh, she was the same person, but a changed person. He did not know what to say to her.
The older man interjected, “I am just plain William. We no longer use the term Parson, as it is too connected to the old slavery trade. I see you have infants, may they be blessed by the divine. I am trying to help those survivors in Alpha to see the blessings of a second chance.” He ran a hand through his medium length gray hair. It trembled a bit as he made the motion. “We came today to offer any condolences we can, and to answer the questions of the Goat People. A couple named Vesna and Khin invited us. If we have disturbed you, forgive us, and we will depart now. It is a melancholy day as it is, and perhaps it was wrong of us to bring up the memories of when the wrath came in the darkness. I apologize, we will le
ave you and your family in peace.” He touched Bernice’s arm and they turned away.
“Wait, please,” Jerome said. “It was just such a shock. I, well, we, know Khin and Vesna well.” Jerome went on and shared some of his experiences and how he knew Khin. Monika also added a few comments as they followed the line of people into the kitchen.
“We have already offered our regrets and apologies to Captain Eris. She approved our traveling here to help the Goat People. If I may ask, is the other woman, Cammarry here? I was told she survived that darkest of all nights. My own injuries limited my memories of what happened that night. Did she come here?” Bernice asked. “She is on my list of people to see, unless it will emotionally hurt her. I must make direct amends to all those I have hurt, except when doing so would trouble them in some manner. I make no excuses for my behaviors. I was wrong, and wherever I can, I am working to make it better for everyone.”
Jerome looked at Monika, and neither knew exactly what to say. Kalur then started to fuss a bit, and so Jerome stepped to the side to tend the baby.
Monika answered Bernice. “We do not see much of Cammarry. I doubt she is here. I am sorry I cannot be of more help.”
The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books Page 222