“I doubt it. From what I can tell, you should be as well informed from there as I am, unless you are utilizing some of that Dome 17 advanced technology.”
“With the loss of the scout ship, I am the most advanced technology we have on the Conestoga, and I only have the information feeds that you have.” Sandie stated that without pride, but just as a simple admission of the truth. “The nonphysicality is fractured in many places. I did establish a brief com-link connection to Vesna due to a fortuitous positioning of a macroactinide capacitor enhancer relay in the spacesuit she is wearing.”
“I knew she was heading onto the needle ship, but did not know she could contact you. That is good news. We lost communications with all the spacesuits shortly after those rescuers went back into the needle ship. Cooling lines ruptured. That destroyed what was left of our array for those connections.” Eris halted a moment.
“Captain? Is there more?”
“SB Pinaka detected a signal from that Jellie ship just prior to its destruction. Have you analyzed it? The lattice of compeers has been unable to decipher it, but you have the records from the Zalians, and we have been rather busy trying to get survivors into Alpha.”
“I will review that Jellie ship’s activity immediately. I am accessing the lattice of compeers. I will run it through the Zalian records and see what is revealed.”
“How much time will you need?” Eris asked. “I hesitate to devote more of the lattice’s time away from rescue and recovery efforts. Just keeping the needle ship in one piece right now is difficult.”
“I am finished accessing them.” Sandie’s voice was more rapid than normal. “I have translated enough of the message. It was a destress call. That Jellie ship was what could be called a deep-space research vessel, with a small crew. It was dispatched here when the satellite system around Zalia activated.”
“What? That was not a warship?” The shock in Eris’ voice was immense.
“No, that Jellie ship was not a warship. The distress call, which went out via some type of faster-than-light transmission, stated in part, ‘Science pod sending message. Encountered a new FTL capable species, gas-breather, water user. New designation is Species 87. Send combat pod. For extermination.’ It also included directions and descriptions of the Conestoga.” Sandie replied.
“So, a warship will now be coming. Our main drive is gone. I am not sure what to do.” Eris wept a bit. “After all that work to ascend and to have our last flight end here, it is just not fair.” Sandie could hear Eris’ fist as it slammed down on something.
“I am conjecturing potentials. There is still the Cosmic Crinkle. We could escape through that. However, without the main drive…”
Eris interrupted the artificial intelligence. “We cannot get there. Even if we could, the Jellies will just follow us through and murder us all.”
“In the Zalian records, there is no evidence that the Jellies ever used the Cosmic Crinkle. From what I have gathered, the Zalians are the only species which utilized that sort of travel. The Zalians called it, ‘moving from thin place to thin place.’ Although that translation is not wholly accurate as our standard language does not contain exact corresponding concepts to the Zalian ideas. In fact, from the distress call made by the Jellie research vessel, I am not certain they connected the Conestoga to the other vessel they called the ‘Long Distance Racer’. I conjecture a high probability that that ‘Long Distance Racer’ was the Colony Ship Marathon. I also conjecture that the Jellies have not connected that encounter to this one, at least, the Jellies on that research vessel had not. There is roughly 1,700 lights years between those two incidents, and many decades in time.”
“Why does that matter? If they can fly here in FTL, then we are doomed. We have no main drive!” Eris stated with resignation. “Most of the stern of the needle ship is just gone. Gone. That cannot be rebuilt. The scoop is only partially intact, for what it is worth, but the energy concentrator had to be shut down completely. We were just spilling everything out the shattered tail of the ship.”
Sandie scanned the available resources. Making a connection to a synthetic brain in Alpha, Sandie discovered a hanger bay, Swanson 1277. There were two shuttles inside that hanger bay which were intact. Conveying an idea to the synthetic brain which oversaw them, Sandie confirmed her conjecture.
“Captain Eris? In Swanson 1277 there are two Model 7 shuttles with the designations AS-701 and AS-702,” Sandie reported.
“I thought of evacuating via shuttles,” Eris replied quickly and tersely. “We do not have a fleet of shuttles large enough to carry even the survivors we know about away. And where do we go? Besides, Jerome, Monika, and I are the only pilots. Maybe Cammarry? I did run some estimates on having SB Joseph Crater remotely pilot some shuttles, but even doing that, we would be abandoning hundreds of people. If they went through the Cosmic Crinkle in shuttles, they might reach that target planet, but only with the supplies that can be carried in a shuttle. Terraforming could never be done that way. The end result would be a long, lingering death on an alien world, trapped in a tiny shuttle. Assuming they could make successful planet-fall.”
“You are correct, evacuation in shuttles is not a very attractive option,” Sandie replied. “But I conjecture, using those two Model 7 shuttles, we could tow the Conestoga into the Cosmic Crinkle.”
“Tow the Conestoga? With two shuttles?” Eris bit on one of her fingernails as she pondered the idea. “Model 7 shuttles are designed to mine and move asteroids, and for heavy thrust on a planet’s surface. They are in storage. Or they were supposed to be. They do have powerful thrusters, but… Sandie, I cannot even get readings on the Conestoga’s current momentum. Navigation is rough, and I do mean rough, positioning shows we are slowly drifting toward the Cosmic Crinkle, but that is only a general observation. This crippled ship is spewing gases, coolants, and fluids from multiple damaged places. Sensors are very limited, and the junk still tumbling from the ruined places is making for secondary crashes of icy debris from the needle ship into Alpha. Our repulsors are only about forty percent effective. Hum…Tow with two shuttles? Oh dear, steering and movement would be a nightmare. But it could work.” Eris nodded her head. “Sandie, have those shuttles prepped and made ready. Will you meet me in the shadowlands?”
“Yes.”
Eris closed her eyes, and inserted herself into the misty shadowlands. As her consciousness appeared there, it was not the fake blue sky, hovering over a field of grasses or wild flowers, as she had expected. But rather, the shadowlands now were very different. They had not reverted back to the foggy, bleary haze of before, but now it was a landscape of broken buildings. A three or four story building was standing nearby, but the near end had been torn off, and the interior rooms were exposed like a ripped apart honeycomb. Wires, ducts, insulating materials, pipes, and assorted busted up apparatus were scattered among the ruins. The horizon felt like it was just a few paces away, and that made Eris shudder with feelings of subjugation and closeness.
“Sandie?” Eris spoke.
The phantasm of Sandie appeared, but was fuzzy, and blurry. “I am here.”
“I tried to use the Shadow Level Clearance when we were attacked by the Jellies,” Eris explained. “But this is what I found. I was unable to reach anyone on that attempt. I was all alone here, not even Shadow then. I cannot raise Shadow anywhere else either. Will you try? And please do not summon our friends who have died. Emotionally, that would be too horrible.” She looked around expecting to see the souls of Peter and Siva, but while some ethereal figures were at the edge of her vision, among the ruins, none looked to be anyone she had known. She was not even sure they were humans, and could have been remnants of artificial intelligences from long ago. “Please try to connect to Shadow. Sandie please?”
Sandie’s image spun about. “Shadow?”
There was no response. A strange breeze, or gust of ventilation, pushed a foul odor toward them, which was perceived by both Sandie and Eris.
E
ris’ eyes peered intensely. “I get no contact from Shadow now, and I am not even sure how to check or make repairs. This system was not in any of the training I received, and I think maybe the physical components of Shadow were blasted by the Jellies.” Looking around as she paced a bit, Eris saw Bigelow’s apparition reclining behind a wall of the broken building. His eyes were closed. Just behind him were ghostly figures which were dressed in flight-crew uniforms, but their faces were indistinct.
Suddenly, Eris was standing next to Bigelow’s image. “I have no idea where Bigelow is physically, the rescue teams are searching. He is alive, from what I can tell in here, but unresponsive,” Eris stated. Her head was pounding, and she felt sweat dripping down her back. “The AIs do better in here than I do.” She motioned to a spot on the ground floor of the ruined building, where two central memory core specters were glowing with power. It was almost like a hovering energy shield protected them. “I need to bring up your idea, your plan, for them, and this way is fastest. Convey it to them, while I call in Monika.”
“I am appalled at the damages,” Sandie’s simulated image stated. Observing above, the sky was a rusty brown color, and seemed to hang just a few meters over the top of the broken buildings. “Transferring the plans to AI Batibat and AI Seljak.”
“Monika? Will you please join me here in the shadowlands?” There was a tentative hesitation in Eris’ voice. “I know it is hard. Sorry.”
An eerie figure which resembled Monika appeared. “I am here Captain. This system at least….” Monika halted her words as she looked around. “This is bad. Is this why I have not been able to contact anyone?”
“Yes, most systems are destroyed. Siva, Peter, and many other are dead. I am not sure how many will escape to Alpha,” Eris stated.
“The roustabouts? Dead?” Monika openly cried.
“Monika, this system is all I have to work with right now. Please do what you can where you are,” Eris pleaded. “We might have a plan.”
Monika phantasm wiped away the tears. “Oh, Eris, this place is ruined. But Jerome knows about Shadow, whoever, I have not heard from Shadow. Our weapons systems are nearly depleted, and further construction has been halted. We diverted what resources were available to get to the needle ship and cart the survivors to Alpha. In some ways, that evacuation to Alpha is far worse than when we were fleeing Beta.” Monika looked around at the rubble of the ruined building. Then her eyes grew wide, even in the wraithlike shadowland-style images. “Sandie! Yay! You survived! Excellent! I was so worried about you. The remains of that Vindicator Missile hit that side of the needle ship hard and severed a lot of essential utilities. I feared you were killed. My boys, and Jerome are sealed in safely, but it was close.”
“Jerome knows about you being part of the Shadow Level Clearance?” Sandie asked.
“Yes, and Shadow said it made an exception for him. That was the last I heard from Shadow. I have not spoken much to Jerome about all that, but he is upset.”
“I am certain of that,” Sandie replied.
Eris gritted her teeth against the pain. “The entire Shadow Level Clearance system is in trouble. It is greatly distressing to keep it all integrated. Sandie, tell Monika the plans. Make it quick!”
So, Sandie then filled in Monika with what had happened and the plan to use the shuttles to tow the Conestoga to the Cosmic Crinkle.
“Jerome and I could fly those shuttles, I guess, but I need someone to stay with the twins. I think the corridors to the transport tubes are passable, and Alpha, well it probably would be safer. No probably about it. Alpha would be safer. We will all go there. Where are the shuttles again? In Alpha? But if we do that, then we abandon all our defensive weapons. We do still have a few weapon systems that are working, but not much,” Monika said. “That Jellie ship was destroyed, so at least that threat is gone.” Her fingers were massaging the bridge of her nose. “I need to leave the shadowlands soon. As it is now, this place is just too physically painful.”
Sandie stated quickly, “Captain Eris is correct. The shadowlands are severely damaged. I cannot make any repairs to it, as the system has degraded too far, and my capabilities are not adequate to the task. It was a superbly crafted, but cobbled together, system when it was built. It is failing now. The AIs and I agree and are willing to implement the plan to tow the Conestoga on its last flight into the Cosmic Crinkle. I have insufficient data to make a conjecture on what will happen, but doing nothing would nearly guarantee an unacceptable outcome.”
“I believe the com-links will be reestablished and functional shortly. Tell Jerome of our plan, and head out to Alpha as soon as possible,” Eris ordered. “We will make sure your babies are safe and secure. A new place is being built. Monika, all of you go to Alpha. No place on the needle ship is safe for your children, but I must remain on the bridge. Repairs are underway around the bridge as it is essential. I too am suffering in the shadowlands, and I doubt we can use it ever again. The shadowlands system is just too broken.”
“That is correct.” A weak and trembling voice echoed out of the ruined buildings. “I cannot maintain this any longer. I am sorry for my failures, especially with Cammarry. Good luck to you all!”
Eris abruptly awoke in reality. Her head was pounding. Her eyes ached. She felt dizzy, and grabbed onto the arms of the command chair on the bridge. Bile belched up in her mouth, and she nearly vomited. The sickness lasted only a few minutes, but it was very intense.
Sandie’s presence also was brusquely knocked from the shadowlands. Sending out tendrils, Sandie was unable to locate any doorways back into the shadowlands, nor was she able to even tell where it had once been. Sandie was able to reroute some systems and make a few links and couplings. Reconnecting the com-links was the priority.
“Monika?” Sandie asked through the com-link that was now showing a positive diagnostic for functionality.
“Sandie, I am here.”
“So am I,” Jerome added. “You are coming in via the group link.”
“Are either of you injured?” Sandie asked.
“No, what about you?” Monika asked.
“Cut it out, and quit pretending. Both of you. Monika, I know you connected to Shadow somehow just a moment ago,” Jerome stated. “Explain to me why I should not be furious about this?” His voice was not strained, but only carried a moderate level of tension.
Monika raised an eyebrow. “Jerome, you know I could not tell you about it. That was forbidden, and physically enforced, at least until it slipped out during the combat. I was afraid to mention… Shadow.” She blew out a long stream of breath. Her throat did not tighten up, nor did she feel the oppressive restraints which had previously blocked shadowland members from speaking to outsiders. “I have been linked into that system for a while now.” Monika thought carefully and then lied to Jerome. “I did it voluntarily so I could have a back-up method to reach Eris, and the rest of the flight crew.”
“The whole flight crew? All under the influence of Shadow? And not telling me at all?” Jerome pumped his hands back and forth in callisthenic movements. His nostrils flared. “You all did that? Really? How could you?”
“Because it was my choice. You were not consulted, because you would have reacted just like you are doing now. None of us wanted to further traumatize you. Cammarry was not consulted about it either. Jerome, it was my choice. Peter, Siva, and the others as well.” Monika turned away, not wanting Jerome to see her eyes, as she doubted she could fool him. “I am sorry.” She then stepped back. Her countenance softened. “I know you and Cammarry had a horrible experience with that, but the system was not malicious, or malevolent. It was helpful and we could not have accomplished all we did without… Shadow. I think some of the problems with Cammarry were because she was not a volunteer. She was implanted against her will, which was wrong. But also, there seems to be some kind of resistance because she, and you are from that Dome 17 of yours. There might be biological differences, but that was not yet fully investigated. Captain
Eris needed a reliable flight crew, and you were hardly reliable, right? Would you have volunteered for an implant? We had an essential job to do, and I even had the babies to think about.”
“I should have been…” Jerome raised a fist, but not toward Monika. He wanted to strike out, but did not know at whom to do it. He then let it fall and his hands hung limply. His eyes met Monika’s and he saw only compassion and understanding from her. “You are right. I would not have volunteered for a Shadow implant. Thinking about it, well, it scares me, and I would have been a chump. You have been remarkable. I guess I was speaking out of fear. Fear of losing you, too. I would not have focused on the job, and I do recall how messed up I made things. Any person who does a job with a distracted mind is a dupe. A dupe’s attention will be more on the other things than on the job at hand and so he will fail. I see how that job, well, was too important for you to trust me.”
Monika dropped her gaze. She swallowed hard, and wondered about telling Jerome everything. “Let us just look ahead. Shadow is gone, and we have a tough job to do. Many people died, and we must save those we can.”
The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books Page 243