by David Byrd
Trellis II – Colony Year One
By mutual agreement, Alison sent a large vehicle to bring all 6 of the settlers to the city Dome. Jean was taken to the city med center and after Max was checked over, he insisted on going to the engineering section to learn about the city. Hollis met with a team of scientists explaining the new DNA implants and they made plans to inoculate all the colonists as soon as possible with the new devices. Faye was busy showing off Elia around the city as there had been no children in the initial selections. The colonists would have their families on Trellis II. Noel having been elected the “Leader” spent some time with the council. Alison was the leader of the city domes but they had also elected a representative from each dome for this meeting along with security which happened to be Nick Zale which made five.
“No I have not been able to contact anyone on Earth,” Alison said. “Not even private channels we originally setup for Hollis. We’ve scanned the TGates and after a certain point it just stops.”
“I was afraid of that,” Noel said. “Kinsdale built the TGates. So he must have somehow blocked all communication to and from the SOL system.”
“But that makes no sense at all,” she said. “He was somewhere in exile and his corporation was defunct.”
“Hon,” Nick said. “You don’t know the lengths that madman would go to. He would destroy this entire planet to keep knowledge from ever reaching earth. He has had 5 years to plan and when we arrived there was a destroyer waiting to blow us all up.”
Noel had been sitting in a somber mood during this meeting. The fact that they were almost destroyed again meant that not only were the original settlers targeted, but now the entire 1006 colonists. “I agree with Nick. For the present, the shield will protect us but eventually we will need to expand and settle other parts of the planet. I believe we need to manufacture enough of Dr. Meska’s orbs to place in geo-synch orbit all around the planet for future protection. They have already proven themselves and we cannot be without protection outside this shield until we have an idea what is happening back on Earth.”
With the current plans underway, Nick went to a small park where Fay and Elia were waiting for him.
“There’s your Daddy,” Faye said while holding Elia on her leg.
“There are my girls,” Nick said as he hugged and kissed his family. Elia was now 3 months old with straw colored hair and very light brown eyes…almost pale yellow but the ring around the iris was a golden color. She was a model baby, hardly ever crying and well ahead of her growth curve.
“Let’s all go up and see Aunt Jean,” he said to Elia who grinned and wiggled in her mother’s grasp.
The group gathered around Jean in the med bay. Her vitals were back to normal but she was still in a coma.
“Max,” Noel said. “We are here for you and Jean.”
“Thank you my friend. My lovely Jean will be fine…I know it in my heart. Alison has given us an apartment nearby since we can no longer live in the habitat. And it’s close to this med bay.” Max said.
“Noel I’ve been thinking about that too…You are going to be needed here to help run things for a time and I would feel better being close to you.” Faye said.
“It’s settled then,” he said smiling at her. “We will also move in to the Dome to make sure the big ox over there gets enough to eat.”
“Hollis please join us here in the Dome?” Faye asked. “We should all stay together.”
Hollis had a pained look on his face. He was absolutely miserable and wracked with guilt over Jean’s condition. “I…ah…have a lot of work to do on the orb defense and I think my lab is better suited for that but I thank you kindly my dear.”
“Hollis my friend,” Max said looking directly into Hollis’ eyes. “We owe you our lives twice over and you bear no responsibility here. Jean would want you here with the rest of us and when she wakes up you had better be standing there.”
Hollis relaxed his shoulders and some of the tension seemed to drain from his face. “I…promise that as soon as I can…I will join you all here.”
As they prepared to depart med bay, Elia laughed with her baby laugh at Jean and opened and closed her tiny hand.
“Aw…sweetie did you wave at Aunt Jean,” Faye said to Elia.
Jean was beginning to wake up. Her mind was working in a hazy sort of dreamlike way. With only her inner thoughts she could see the damage being repaired in her body and brain. Her senses were heightened and she could sense all the people in the room…not with her eyes, but as if they were etched in her mind. They all had a sort of energy being given off and she could locate and identify each one. There was a very bright spot in the room…If you could think of a color as having an emotion it seemed warm and happy. She realized it was baby Elia and at that moment the energy burned just a little bit brighter as if in recognition.
Chapter 19
Life was busy for everyone in the months that followed. Alison and Nick had their baby…a boy they named Kai. Alison had withdrawn from active management of the colony to focus on parenting. Jean woke up several weeks after her injuries and was as good as new…better perhaps because in the same way that the Adaptogen process had repaired damaged sections of Hollis’ brain, the same thing happened to Jean. For Hollis it increased his technical, theoretical abilities. For Jean it was intuition and feeling/sensing people on a different level. Jean could see people as they interacted in a colorful aura if she wished. This aura seemed to be some part of the person’s inner core…their true self. As time passed she became more attuned to the nuances and could in many cases detect if someone was not being completely truthful. Everyone except Hollis had moved into the Dome. Max kept busy with engineering and manufacturing departments establishing facilities in different sites. Faye was still experimenting with plant biology but was now mentoring to a group of biologists to carry on and expand her work. Noel was in demand as the de facto leader and was drawn more and more into management of the colony. A tedious job he was not entirely happy with but he recognized the need for stability and accepted the office.
Faye’s door chimed and she opened to Jean in the hallway.
“Come in Jean and I’ll make us some tea.” Faye said.
Jean stopped by for a visit with Faye and Elia. Something she did quite often. Not having an active role in the colony she felt a bit lost and frequently visited her friends while Max was out. The two women caught up on the news of the day in a comfortable conversation.
“Jean, why don’t you start a new project?” Faye asked. “You’ve been restless and bored for a while now. I know how that is.”
Jean looked with her inner senses and could see that Faye was concerned and truly trying to help. It was just that since waking up she felt a bit different somehow…As if there was another purpose she should be fulfilling but didn’t know what that purpose was.
“Ajeje,” came from the door as Elia toddled into the room. She always knew when her Aunt Jean was nearby like a brightening of the room.
“Elia sweetie…you are doing so good walking,” Jean said. Elia came to Jean smiling and they hugged and played in the floor with Faye looking on. Faye had noticed that both Jean and Elia seemed to know instinctively when one or the other was near.
‘I’ve got it. I know what you need to do,” Faye said. “You are wonderful with kids Jean. Kai and Elia adore you and you know there have been some very busy colonists during the voyage here. We have over 20 toddlers and more on the way. You need to start a school!”
Jean was silent for a few moments considering the impact Faye’s words had on her. She always wanted children and seemed to have a special affinity for the Trellis II firstborn. They sought her out in the park or common areas. “I…I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
Inside the security office of city Dome 1, Hollis and Nick were going over the new orb activation console. In the past year, they had succeeded in launching a satellite that had systematically seeded orbs in a stationary orbit around the planet
. The responsibility for the operation and activation of that defensive system was given to Nick as he was now head of security and enforcement.
“So just here my boy is the activation sequence,” Hollis said. “You enter the encrypted sequence I’ve sent directly to your implant. You have several options to activate different orbs or a series at once depending on the threat. Right now they are all in a passive standby mode.”
“Got it Hollis thank you,” Nick said. “I’m just wondering though why we can’t manage through link instead of a combination of link and this console?”
“As you know our link abilities are increasing every day and since we have a large number of people now, you can never be sure of everyone’s motives.”
Nick stared for just a moment at Hollis wondering if he had any idea of the fight they had in the past. He dismissed the idea and again focused on his new life. He was happy with Alison and his new son Kai who was starting to walk now.
They exchanged goodbyes and Hollis left for his home. He still carried a small measure of guilt in the attack that had harmed Max and Jean but his real reason for not joining the others in the Dome was one of solitude. Hollis did love his extended Trellis II family but he also genuinely liked to work in private. Over the last year he had been creating and fine tuning instruments to measure all types of properties the micro KT dust particles exhibited. He went on to study the astrodynamics of the Trellis system including gravity and radiation.
“Damn…not again,” he swore aloud. He was occasionally getting a spike of energy in his new instruments. They were extremely complex but the last three all had the unusual spike he could not account for. Instead of starting over, Hollis operated on the principal that if this energy spike has occurred in three devices, perhaps it was something left by the original habitat builders. He analyzed the data and could see that the pulse was showing up regularly. It seemed to be of the same energy type produced by KT but oscillating at an unusual frequency. A frequency he would not have been able to detect a few years before. Curiosity aroused, he began in earnest to pour over the data and eventually was able to determine a regular repeating pulse of energy situated in the west. Much farther out into the area of cliffs and ravines, past the western edge of the original energy shield. This is quite interesting he thought.
“I’m sorry Mr. Bonner but we simply don’t have the extra space to allocate for your art studio. I understand that art is important but the city Domes were built for the journey and the start of the colony. They were never meant for long term habitation. There is plenty of room on the planet for you to build your own art studio,” Noel said.
“Certainly not…outside…why would I go…outside,” Bonner said.
“Well sir I believe it has something to do with you volunteering to be a colonist on a COLONY world. So maybe you should start acting like one and contribute,” Noel said in a tone that made it clear he would just as soon throw this guy out as to hear his petty grievances.
“Ridiculous. I only joined to escape Earth.” And with that he turned and marched out of the conference room.
“Knock Knock…Looks like you need a drink my friend,” Max said as he walked in to the conference room and closed the door.
“Max buddy…only if you have a liter of that good vodka left. It’s been a long day already and it’s only 11,” Noel said. “I never dreamed that running a colony could be this much work. Not the daily production reports, food consumption, project status or any of the other hundred things to get us going but the dozens of complaints from people. Everything from too much noise in one section, too little free space in another, complaints about air, food, water…you name it.”
“Well if anyone can do it all, you can my friend,” Max said. “You have done a perfect job of organizing the needs of the colony to get us on a good solid base. Perhaps it’s time for you to step back and let some of the others take up some responsibility.”
Sitting back in the chair with his hands behind his head, Noel realized that what his friend was saying was true. He had laid the foundation and he was also losing more time from being with his wife and daughter as she grew up to officiate over more and more petty squabbles.
“Max buddy, I think you are right as always. I’ll set something up for a governing board to share in responsibility. But for now why don’t you go get Jean and let’s go to my place for dinner. You know how Elia lights up when you and Jean stop by.”
“I was of course serious about that drink,” Max said laughing as he pulled out a container of clear liquid he had been hiding.”
Chapter 20
The colony grew steadily and peacefully for several years. Conflicts were thankfully minor and people were starting to feel invested in Trellis II. A number of initiatives were being discussed such as starting a new city and expanding the colony in different areas of the planet which was as of yet mostly unexplored.
Elia, now the oldest firstborn at six years old was sitting in the front row of the classroom. Kai Zale was always nearby to Elia and he was just a few months younger although like his father was taller than any other child in the classroom. Elia and Kai were very close like a brother and sister and were together constantly. The rest of the class ages were between three and five years old. In old Earth this would have been a kindergarten class with lessons in coloring, learning shapes and letters. But the firstborn of Trellis II were far ahead of their Earth cousins. The Adoptogen process passed down through their parents accelerated their mental capacities. In addition, it was discovered that the DNA implants had also been passed down and were inherent in their makeup. This discovery came when parents of very young children started to complain of lights and devices turning on and off on their own accord much to the delight of their children. The firstborn as they grew up could instinctually use the link since it was a part of their biology.
‘Good morning class,” Jean said as she came into the room.
“Good morning Auntie Jean,” said the class. The children had started calling her Auntie Jean as soon as they could talk. She didn’t mind of course since they were all like her own children. Jean had a special connection with the firstborn that the other colonists didn’t seem to have. The repaired damage to her brain enabled her to see, intuit and in a small way communicate with the children on an instinctual level. Jean always knew the emotional state of each child and many times they seemed to understand her before she even completed a sentence.
“Today’s lesson is available through your link,” she said. “I want each of you to try and finish that lesson and if we…”
Jean was interrupted by a loud voice in the corridor. They always kept the door open and any number of people would be wandering by. A man came into view of the door and was arguing with someone else nearby. “NO…I won’t be silent about this anymore. I won’t be subjected to this! You know what I’ll do.”
“Bad man,” said a voice in Jean’s head. Not through link or by voice…she heard the word inside her head as if two people were talking. She turned to look at the class and in her inner mind she could see that all of the children were emoting something like caution. She turned her senses to the hallway and tuned to the man’s energy which appeared dark with red and black streaks through it. The only thing she could equate with that was a sense of anger, or hatred. Whatever it was, the class seemed to feel the same emotion…but what was that voice she heard?
“Auntie Jean heard us,” Kai said looking at Elia.
“Shhh…don’t mind talk,” Elia whispered and held up a finger to her lips. She looked around the room to be sure all the younger children understood.
The two men hurried on down the corridor and while Jean was a bit disconcerted by the event, when she regarded her class again. They were as always…cheerful, warm and radiant. So she continued on with the lessons.
The council meeting concluded with a motion to name the new expansion city. For now they would put the names submitted to a vote over link and would declare the winner in the n
ext session. Noel usually attended these sessions as he was instrumental in setting up the council. When the job of governing the burgeoning population started to wear on him, he proposed the election of a council to govern. The council was elected in the same manner as the new city name would be decided…by link vote. There were four council members, 2 from each Dome and for the last several years this process had worked effectively. Without corporations or any need for a monetary system, there was no incentive for council members to be influenced by material possessions. Human nature would probably assert itself sometime in the future, but for now the democratic process was working.
Nick had accompanied Noel to the meeting this morning since they were going to the security office afterward to discuss security protocols for the new city. As they left the council chambers they started down a few back hallways leading to the central park. The shortest route to the office was through the park. Unknown to either of them, a man had been following them from the council chambers. He knew they would go through the park and that’s when he would make his move.
Nick had noticed the same man behind them for several minutes now and took Noel down another hallway to the park to see if there was some malicious intent there. His senses alert he knew this might be the other assassin sent by Kinsdale five years ago that he fought with on the journey. Being head of security and using his former training he surmised that the park would be the prime spot for an ambush with very few people around at this time of day. He kept up small talk with Noel but he was keenly aware of their surroundings. Nick casually flipped up the clip to his stunner while walking. They would soon be in a more crowded area and he might have to force the man to act. As they neared the benches in the center of the park, Nick stopped and turned toward Noel blading his stance to present the smallest target and at the same time hiding his stunner.
