The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle

by John Thornton

  Beyond the now useless door, Causeway 147 was illuminated by lighting from the ceiling. The air was still and dank in the causeway. It was large enough to stand in, about three meters high, and had been a walkway of some kind with an expanded metal floor underwhich could be seen more pipes and ducts. Gretchen entered the causeway first, tentatively looking down one way than the other. To the right was better lighting but more broken equipment and debris. Numerous wires and cables were hanging out of broken spaces in the ceiling. In some places the floor was ripped open with dark holes and unknown spaces beneath. To the left the ceiling lighting was intermittent and sporadic but there did not seem to be any major obstructions, at least as far as Gretchen could see.

  “There is some power operating the overhead lights, but clearly not fully operational. This place is a mess. So which direction do you think we should go?” She asked Paul.

  “No way to tell since we do not know where we are in relation to the habitats we are looking for. This causeway is too small to set up the teleportation pad and we still do not know if the Vanguard is suitable for the people of Dome 17.” Paul was thoughtful. His mind went back to his tragic experiences in Dome 3.

  “This causeway at least has power. That is a hopeful sign.” Gretchen led them to the left and down the causeway. Their footprints left a trail in the dust. There were doors along the wise walls, but none of them would open, nor were there any controls on the doors.

  “These doors must have been powered in some way, but I do not understand how to operate them,” Paul stated.

  “I do not see anywhere to connect in the fusion pack either, but with the debris and film covering everything, it is hard to see where an access port might be,” Gretchen replied.

  They continued walking. The ceiling illumination became less frequent and the causeway grew dimmer and more shadowy. The first door in the sidewall that was open, they almost missed. It was permalloy and recessed into the wall. In the dim light they had nearly passed it before realizing it was partially open. Paul had heard something, and turned to investigate. That was when he saw that steel pocket door which was two thirds of the way open. There was only darkness was beyond. Paul shined the light from his fusion pack into the small room beyond the doorway. The permalloy door would not open any further, but there was room to pass through.

  “This is a surprise,” Paul stated as he stepped into the small room. Gretchen followed.

  The room had four sinks along one wall. There were what appeared to be booths along the other wall. The booths were made from some flimsy material that Paul or Gretchen could not identify. Illumination fixtures in the ceiling were not working, but Gretchen found a control panel next to the door. None of the switches on the control panel functioned.

  Paul walked up to one of the sinks and saw there were handles at the back of the sink. He pulled on one of the handles. A deep rattling sound came from somewhere, and a sputter and crackle happened in the sink. Then more rattling and popping noises.

  “Water! There is running water here!” Paul said in astonishment.

  Out of the faucet was pouring a dribble of liquid which was swirling around carving a path out of the dust in the bowl. It spiraled down and dropped out of the sink through a hole at the base of the bowl. The liquid sputtered again and then it then became more of a flow, and finally a steady gush of fluids. Paul plunged his hands into the liquid.

  “Paul no!” Gretchen cried out. “You do not know what that is.” She had trouble believing there could be that much water running anywhere.

  Paul felt the coolness of the water running over his hands. He lifted his hands to his nose and smelled. There was a bit of an iron smell to the water but that was all. He sipped the fluid off his fingers.

  “Stop it Paul! Tiffany can you do remote analysis on this liquid?” Gretchen asked with worry in her voice.

  “The medical kit has an analysis system,” the AI Tiffany answered. “That will allow for evaluation of the liquid. With the sensors down I cannot do a remote analysis, except through the medical kit.”

  “Gretchen it is fine. It really is genuine water,” Paul said and gave her a big smile. “What do we have to lose? I am drinking some of this,” Paul said as he brought his hand to his mouth and lapped up some of the fluids.

  “Paul I could lose you! You think I want to be all alone on this old ship? If you poison yourself with toxic fluids who will help me build the teleportation pad?” Gretchen’s worry had changed to anger. She adjusted the fusion packs light so that it filled the whole room. “Test that liquid with the medical kit, please. And do not be so careless again. Am I clear?”

  “Sorry. I was just excited to finally have something positive here,” Paul replied. Paul felt chastised. “Of course you are correct, and I should have tested it first.”

  Paul took the medical kit out of his backpack. He withdrew a probe and placed into the pool of water at the bottom of the sink. “Analysis underway,” he said.

  “Gretchen, from what I can tell from the medical kit readings,” the AI Tiffany reported, “Paul is correct. It is potable water. Paul, I must caution you, the behavior you showed was quite reckless and does actually endanger our mission. The list of possible contaminants includes chemical agents such as…”

  “I agree. You and Gretchen are correct,” Paul interrupted. “I was wrong. I guess I thought it would make up for lost time. But it was reckless, I apologize,” Paul responded. “I am relieved that now we do know it is safe water.”

  The AI Tiffany continued anyway. “The possible toxins are myriad. Chemical, biological, viral, radioactive, as well as others. I strongly advise you to use more prudence as the med kit may not be able to save you from all health threats.”

  Gretchen took a deep breath and blew out a heavy sigh. “Paul, I am really surprised at you.”

  She then opened one of the booths by pushing the flimsy door aside. In the cubicle was a toilet, one that seemed to be powered by water. Gretchen recognized it from historical records, however, she had never seen a water powered toilet before. To her it looked terribly inefficient and wasteful.

  Paul had taken out a food ration and was eating that. He had no ill effects from the water and was pleasantly surprised to have found it, but he did regret his hasty actions. “So, Tiffany, may I drink more of this water?”

  “Yes. It has tested safe in this instance,” Tiffany replied. The AI’s voice still held an edge to it.

  He drank deeply from the sink. He did think about the admonition he had received from both Gretchen and the AI Tiffany. The thought of Gretchen being left alone on this wreck of a ship made him ponder his behavior. He resolved to be more careful for her. He also considered how he could have endangered the whole mission. One stupid action could have ruined the attempt to rescue the people of Dome 17. Then he thought about Jamie in Dome 3. He looked down at the flowing water and thought deeply about his role as an adventurer, his duty to Gretchen, and his care for himself.

  “Red or blue paper?” A strange voice came at echoing down the causeway. It was a weird voice with an unusual accent. “Red or blue paper?”

  Both Gretchen and Paul were instantly alert and aware. They stepped to the doorway and peered to back into the causeway. A figure was coming down the hallway, but was quite a distance away. In the dim light it was hard to make out any details. Again came the strange question, “Red or blue paper?” It was a male voice but something about it did not sound normal. Something beyond the odd accent. There was a frightening tone in the voice itself.

  “Well, we know someone survived on the Vanguard,” Paul said to Gretchen.

  “Paul maybe we broke into that man’s water supply. Wars been fought over a water supply. There is something bizarre about that voice,” Gretchen stated. “We cannot get trapped in this small room.” She stepped back into the causeway. The figure was still walking toward them and still calling the strange question.

  “Greetings,” Gretchen called out to the approaching figure.
“We are strangers from a long way away.”

  The figure stopped in the hallway. Paul adjusted the fusion pack light to a tight beam. He shined the beam at the figure which was down the causeway.

  “Red or blue paper?” The man screamed. The light revealed him to be in ragged clothing with glazed eyes which reflected the beam of the light. “Red or blue paper?” The man’s eyes glowed a deep orange color.

  “Paul, Gretchen, retreat immediately. The orange eye color is not normal for human physiology. Consider the individual ahead of you an immediate threat,” the AI Tiffany said.

  “Red or blue paper?” The man screamed. He arched his back and flailing his arms at the same time.

  Paul was staring at the man, uncertain what to think. Gretchen grabbed him by the arm and said, “Paul, we must withdraw. Come on.”

  Suddenly the strange man came bolting forward at a high rate of speed. His eyes glowed the orange color and his mouth was stretched in a sneer.

  “Willy’s pistol,” Paul said as he fumbled at his belt for the holster.

  Gretchen had her pistol out quickly, and aimed at the approaching man. “Halt! We are not stealing your water.”

  “Red or blue paper?” The man was running right at them, arms extended, eyes huge, teeth bared.

  “It is your water. We are leaving!” Gretchen called out. She and Paul took some steps backward, while keeping their eyes on the man rushing at them. “Halt! Stay away from us!”

  “Red or blue paper!” The man screamed in hysteria and plunged right at them. He sprinted beneath one of the overhead lights and his face was contorted in rage. Drool was running down from his curled lips. Scars marred one side of his neck, and his clothing was even more tattered and shredded than they had thought. There was a wildness and evilness about his appearance.

  Gretchen fired the pistol. It made a soft sound as the high velocity projectile was ejected. The attacking man was struck in the chest and thrown backward. A huge gaping hole was missing from the side of his chest. Paul was just pulling his own pistol out, as the now dead man crumpled to the floor.

  “I killed him?” Gretchen said in shock. She had already holstered pistol.

  “You had no choice, we were trying to leave. Why was he attacking us?” Paul asked.

  The artificial intelligence Tiffany then stated, “Paul is correct. You were under attack. Your actions are justified. However, there is something significantly wrong on this ship.”

  14 a maze of places

  Paul and Gretchen stood in the causeway wondering what to do. The dead body was lying underneath one of the overhead illumination panels. Neither really wanted to approach the body, but both knew they needed to.

  “Paul and Gretchen,” Tiffany stated, “evaluation of the attacker will be important to help us understand what we are facing here on the Vanguard. The glowing orange eyes are not known normal human physiology. I suggest attaching the medical kit to the body for further evaluation and assessment.”

  Paul readied the medical kit and tentatively stepped toward the body. Gretchen walked along with him, her eyes darting back-and-forth looking for anything else in the long causeway ahead of them. When they reached the body they were not prepared for the amount of damage the pistol had caused. The entry wound was fist sized. The exit wound was vastly larger. A large section of the chest missing and the remnants were splattered along the wall, floor, and even up to the ceiling. The body was dressed in what had one time been some kind of manufactured clothing but was mere rags now. The shoes the man wore were in nearly as bad a shape as the rest of his clothing. The eyes no longer glowed their orange color but were glazed over in death.

  “Paul, do not touch the body with your exposed hands. Use one of the probes and just connect the medical kit to any part of the exposed dead body,” Tiffany stated. “The medical kit will allow a fairly thorough analysis of this body. But again, do not physically touch this body with your exposed skin.”

  Paul connected the probe to the med kit and then flipped into onto one of the legs of the dead man. The leg was hairy and the pants he wore did not cover all of the leg. Both Paul and Gretchen were also careful to avoid stepping in any of the body fluids now soaking the causeway’s floor.

  “Tiffany? Are you getting a reading now?”

  “Yes. I’m compiling the data now. Please remove the probe and step away from the body. Please use sanitation gel on the probe,” Tiffany replied. “The medical kit shows a complex situation in this body. A large amount of virus was found in this body. However the virus is not easily identified. It appears to be a variation in the family Rhabdoviridae, order Mononegavirales, Lyssaviruses, but is not completely consistent with historical records of those viruses. There also appears to be a medically induced immunological response, which I’m having difficulty interpreting.”

  “Is a contagious?” Gretchen asked. She was backing further away.

  “Yes, but not for you or Paul. That was the first thing I checked. Both of your bodies are immune to this virus, however, the findings on this body are very troubling. I conjecture this virus is highly contagious to people without your immunity. Doctor Carolyn’s treatments at Dome 17 have prepared your bodies to effectively resist this virus among many others as well as bacteria and fungi.”

  “Tiffany, just tell us what you think this is,” Paul insisted.

  “I make the following conjecture, based upon the medical history from Dome 17’s records, and from extrapolation of the evidence from this body. Estimated reliability of conjecture is only 73% but it is the best conjecture I can make it this time. The man who attacked you was infected with a mutated form of the virus that was once known commonly as rabies. Unlike historical rabies, this appears to be rabies that is of a chronic nature, probably due to the immunological response which was medically induced in this man,” Tiffany reported. “The immunological response may have been an attempt to eradicate the virus which failed. Or it may have been an attempt at a vaccine. Either way, the man who attacked was severely, chronically, medically ill. The medical kit indicates the virus was in his body for at least 27 months.”

  “But are you sure we are safe from this disease thing?” Paul asked.

  “Yes. That is a certainty,” Tiffany replied.

  “Mutation? Was this caused from radiation?” Gretchen asked.

  The AI Tiffany replied, “Radiation is certainly one of many possible etiologies for this virus mutation. Any conjecture on actual origin is premature at this point. The origin of the virus remains unknown, and currently is unknowable. We will need to gather much more information before the determination of the origin of this virus can take place. We cannot rule out radiation.”

  Paul and Gretchen had moved steadily away from the body. Even though Tiffany had informed them they were immune, seeing a diseased body was a new experience for them. And the thought of radiation was an ever present nightmare for people from Dome 17. As they were backing away, a small scratching sound was heard echoing down the causeway.

  Tiffany spoke up again, “Historically humans infected by the rabies virus, at least the non-mutated version, suffered from general weakness, discomfort, fever, and headache. We cannot ask the attacker about those symptoms, however, from our limited interaction with him, there is evidence to suppose the disease progressed to cerebral dysfunction. Historically that was seen in: paranoia, confusion, agitation, delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, and insomnia. Historically the original rabies virus was fatal to humans, usually less than 14 days after onset of symptoms. However it must be remembered that our historical records are not…”

  “Gretchen do you hear something?” Paul interrupted. He shined the beam of the fusion pack down the causeway but could see nothing else.

  “Yes Paul, I do hear something. A small scratching or scraping kind of noise.”

  Paul continued to sweep the causeway with the beam of light seeking the source of the new noise. A small shadow moved across the beam of light along the side of th
e wall. Paul tried to recapture it in the beam of light but was unable to do so.

  “Paul something else is down there,” Gretchen said. “I see something moving around down there.”

  Before Paul could respond, two small sets of orange eyes lit up in his beam of light. The overhead illumination was too dim to make out what they were. As Paul shined the beam of light on them they spun away to be replaced by other orange eyes. Before long the deck of the causeway appeared to be undulating in a wave of motion. That wave cascaded along up to the point where the illumination over the dead body was. Frequently orange glowing eyes would peek out of the quivering mass on the floor.