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

by John Thornton

  “Automacube S103. Scan this elevator. Tell me what you uncover, and especially when these repairs and cutting of the permalloy were done,” Larissa commanded. She doubted the machine could add to her knowledge, but she was willing to let the machine do its work.

  “Working,” the red automacube with the white 103 on its side replied with the same sounding voice as the previous one had used. The manipulation arm of the machine extended and the tools at its tip were moved over the interior of the wrecked car. It also jacked a cable into a port near the controls of the elevator.

  “Scan complete. Elevator 166D is non functional. Time of dysfunction is not in records. Unable to give time of repairs. Elevator’s log last entry shows use of unknown power source and descent from unidentified level. No other entries since deactivations of this elevator during the Outbreak. Appended: hematological residue findings of cervus elaphus on elevator flooring. Insufficient residue to compute date of animal's death,” the automacube reported.

  “An unknown power source?” Larissa commented to herself. "That could be useful to have." She then made a decision.

  “Automacube S103, immediately have the three closest engineering automacubes come to this location. All other engineering automacubes shall immediately examine every egress point to the Wilds. Each one is to be inspected and reports made to me. All access points are to be physically welded shut, not just depowered. This is top priority.”

  “Affirmative. Sending command,” the machine reported. “Automacubes E11, E122, and E23 are on their way to this location.”

  The red automacube S76 rolled up to Larissa. She turned to address the machine.

  “What did you find?” Larissa asked.

  “Pattern is unknown to the central data base,” the mechanical voice replied.

  “So we have an unknown construction project which was done with skill and intent. We have an unknown power source reactivating an elevator that was decommissioned in the Outbreak. We have someone entering the Wilds to do that.” Larissa pondered what she knew. She also considered how this might be linked to the prisoner escape. She looked at the two red security automacubes. Her well-trained eye noted that they were fully loaded with weapons, ammunition, and necessary supplies.

  “S76, is your long range transmitter and receiver in proper working order?”

  “Affirmative,” the red automacube responded.

  “Link it to my personal multiceiver. Also link in S103. Make it a private channel, only reporting to me. Additionally, summon M147 to this location and link that medical automacube into the channel. Have a human team of repair technicians work with the engineering automacubes,” Larissa said as she took another sip from her container of warm drink. “This elevator will be restored as quickly as possible.”

  “Affirmative. Commands issued. Private channel link to S103 and M147 established, and connected to your multiceiver.”

  Larissa considered her plan and knew there was risk, but she did not seriously consider involving the Governor, her official superior. She knew that without risk there was no reward. And the knowledge and power which were nearly within her grasp were too much to resist She took a long and deep drink from the container of warm liquid. She licked her lips in anticipation. “Link in E11 to the private channel. When this elevator is restored, you automacubes are going hunting.”

  2 power struggle

  “So when are we finally going to be allowed to leave?” Gretchen asked. She pushed back her frizzy hair with one hand while she gazed at Brinley and Paul. The cot she sat on crinkled a bit as she stood up. She flexed her ebony colored arms and then paced around the room which had been their home for several weeks.

  “I am just as angry about this as you both are,” Brinley replied and added a wide toothy smile to soften the impact of her words. She had cut her straight light-brown hair back to shoulder length and it tossed as she turned to look from Paul to Gretchen and back again. “The Free Rangers are my people and I do not appreciate being locked in her either. I thought they would immediately trust and believe me, but I guess they had to investigate it all.” She screwed up her pretty face and continued. “I guess I can understand their doubts. Who would not doubt? I did not believe it until it happened to me, and I have no witnesses except you two. No one here knows you, and the different units of Free Rangers have always been leery of other units. Jared and Irene were well respected people who died getting you two out of the Wilds.” Recalling her comrades who had died, Brinley’s hazel eyes brimmed a bit with tears. “So it does make sense that they needed to check things out when I told them about their deaths. And what you two can do is pretty amazing. I did think we would be out of here sooner.”

  “Trapped here. What does it matter, anyway,” Paul commented as he reclined on his own cot. “We failed on our mission. Dome 17 is gone, the people scattered to who knows where. We will never see anyone we knew from there ever again. And we have had all our equipment confiscated, maybe forever.” Paul stroked the short beard he kept on his chin. His facial hair was darker than the nearly white blonde hair of his head, his skin tones much lighter than Gretchen. “Besides, it is warm here. We are not freezing to death, again. And they feed us. It is bizarre food, which is true, but no more strange than when we plucked that round food from those trees in that garden place. We have water, and exercise equipment, so who really cares what else happens?” He then tossed a small ball into the air and caught it with his other hand. “No radiation, no dust, no dead domes, no frozen ice and snow. So it is not such a bad trap. I really do not care what happens now.”

  “Paul, I care,” Gretchen snapped back, her dark eyes intense. “Yes, we get food and water, and I am thankful for that. But being a prisoner here, trapped here, and not having contact with Tiffany is frustrating. We have only seen that frozen habitat, that small garden spot, the passageways which are infected by the Roe, and this suite. I do not want to spend the rest of my life in a prison.”

  “Dome 17 was a prison too,” Paul stated with flat affect. “The dead Earth was a bigger and more dangerous prison. One prison is the same as any other. So cheer up, and accept our fate. We failed, but half of the people from Dome 17 are now living in some lush paradise. While you and I get the joys of living here.”

  Gretchen started to say some retort, but was interrupted by Brinley.

  “But you two can cure the Roe!” Brinley said. “You two have the knowledge and equipment to change the world. I do not understand why the Free Rangers have not seen the potential there. Maybe they are just deciding the best ways to utilize this new knowledge and ability? They should be able to see you are not from the Vanguard. I am not sure what is happening with them, or why we have been locked up here for so long. I thought for sure by now we would be traveling from one habitat to the next teaching people how to cure the Outbreak, and healing the Roe.”

  “They should have been able to analyze our equipment long before now,” Gretchen said. “And being cut off from Tiffany is difficult. Our AI could easily show them what we know, where we came from, and who we are. But right after we arrived here, they took everything we had, including the communication links.”

  “Gretchen, I agree, they locked us up really fast as soon as we got here. If I still had my tools, I could get us out of her quickly. Something about their taking my tools is strange, but I know these people. And, I keep telling you,” Brinley said in a singsong manner. “AIs will only report what they are programmed to say. I do not comprehend why you two are so enamored with your AI. You lack a basic understanding of what artificial intelligences have done and are capable of doing. I could program an AI to claim that we are all mushrooms, but that would not make it true.”

  “Tiffany is the best AI ever designed,” Gretchen replied.

  Paul stood up and approached the treadmill which was in the corner of the room. “Well, you two keep arguing about the deep philosophical ramifications of artificial intelligence, sentience, and the meaning of life, but leave me out of it.
I am going for a run.” He stepped onto the treadmill and it began with a small humming sound. Soon Paul was running.

  “You are a lot of help,” Gretchen said sarcastically to Paul.

  “Just being realistic. We failed. We are stuck. Does anything else really matter?” Paul replied as he ran in place. "We are trapped on the Vanguard."

  “It matters to me,” Gretchen answered. “And I think deep in your heart it matters to you.”

  Brinley wanted to say something, but Paul had a point. So she got up and walked to the door to their room. The three cots, the table and chairs, and the exercise equipment were adequately separated in their places about the room. The small cupboard where their food supplies arrived was on the wall just above the table. The clear covering to that cupboard showed that the next meals had not arrived. There was also a toileting and bathing area adjacent to the main room. The overhead lighting was adequate, but the fixtures were too far out of reach to open. Brinley tried the door, but, as she had found a myriad of other times, it was still locked from the other side. She then pushed the control board near the door, expecting nothing to happen. When a green light appeared above the control board, she stepped back in shock.

  “Hello? Say, when do we get out of here?” Brinley said, hoping someone was listening on the other end of the control board.

  “Brinley, sorry about the long delay. We have had quite a discussion about what to do with you three,” a man’s voice replied through the speaker on the control board. He sounded apologetic and nervous.

  “Markari? Tell me what is going on. You know me! Where is Robyn? Let me talk to her. She knows me! The others know me as well. We told you what happened. Then you lock us in here? What is going on? So now tell us, what is happening and why we are stuck in here?” Brinley was angry. She knew Markari as she knew everyone in her unit of Free Rangers, the people who lived in this safe zone. Markari was one of the older people in her unit of Free Rangers. Brinley pictured him in her mind. The usually soft spoken gentleman had slanted brown eyes, thick, straight, brown hair which was turning gray at the temples. His skin was a few shades darker than Gretchen and more of a black hue. He usually did not go out on trading missions anymore, but was remembered as someone who was cautious and conservative in his options. He was very tall, with an graceful build, but did not come off as imposing or intimidating. If anything, he was more timid than impulsive, yet he had spent his entire life as a successful Free Ranger.

  “Brinley, I will just come down and explain it all to you and your companions. The next meal will arrive soon, and I will just have my meal with the three of you and try to explain our decision,” Markari stated.

  “Decision? What do you mean, decision? Let us out of here now!” Brinley yelled.

  “You all will be free to depart after we have our meal together. That is part of our decision. But it is much more complicated than just that, and I owe it to you all, especially you Brinley, to personally explain this decision. I will see you shortly.” There was a catch, or something in Markari’s words.

  The green light went out on the control board. Brinley pushed it several more times, but nothing happened.

  Paul stopped the treadmill. He stepped toward the others. “We will be able to leave?”

  “I thought you did not care?” Gretchen chided him.

  “I am not dead,” Paul replied, but with a softer tone than previously.

  “Markari said we could leave after he explained to us their decision. I am not sure what that means, ‘their decision’ but maybe that means how they will use the information about curing the Roe. It is clear he has a lot of questions to answer,” Brinley said. “I can hardly believe they just locked us in here, without any explanation at all.”

  Several tones sounded from the clear cupboard and trays of food slid into place. There were four of them. Paul walked over and pulled them out of the cupboard and set them at the table. The food on each was identical.

  “I think food is here. No food ration bars. Well, it…but it looks like, well, I am not sure what this all is?” Gretchen said as she sat down at the table. “It is very different from the stew we had at the last food time.”

  Brinley took her place at the table and pointed to each food item on the tray. “That is turkey, sliced into servings, those are asparagus spears, those are jujube, and that is rye bread.”

  “We we are eating another kind of animal?” Paul asked as he stared at the turkey slices. “And these were some kind of plants, right?” Paul gestured his hand over the table. “Or are they the flowers of plants? Do we need to do something with it, before it is consumed?”

  “No. This is all normal food. It is ready to eat. No further preparation required. The meat is roasted, the bread is baked, and the asparagus is steamed. I keep explaining to you that we need protein, vegetables, fruits and grains. To eat a balanced diet you need all of those things. As Free Rangers we trade with all the habitats, so we have the best foods.” Brinley took a jujube and ate it, being careful of the pit. “You do not eat this part. And do I need to explain that this is water?” She held up a glass and wiggled it at Paul and Gretchen.

  “No, I know what water is,” Paul sorted back. He sampled a jujube and pulled it from his mouth. “It is kind of strong in taste!”

  “I sort of like having food with flavor,” Gretchen said as she took a bite of the bread. “It is different, but…”

  The door to the room opened, and Markari entered. “I see the meals are here. May I join you?”

  “Well, the door automatically shut behind you, so I guess so. Unless you are a prisoner now too?” Brinley replied. Her irritation was obvious.

  Markari sat down and pulled the tray of food in front of him. “Brinley, you are not a prisoner here. At least, not any longer. I apologize for the way you were treated. You know I was a friend of your parents. I will tell you the truth about this situation.”

  “So what is the situation?” Gretchen demanded. “We followed Brinley here and told you what happened to your own people. Again I will say to you, it was a horrible tragedy that those two people died helping us. I am sorry for your loss. We informed you of recent events. Then we were put into this place and left here. You took all our equipment with no explanations at all. Do we get our gear back?”

  “All in due time. All in due time. Let me explain, please,” Markari said. “When you three arrived we had just received word that Robyn had been killed.”

  “Robyn is dead?” Brinley said in shock.

  “Yes and your news of the deaths of Jared and Irene were overwhelming for us. To lose so many of our leaders in such a short time. It was shocking,” Markari answered.

  “How did Robyn die?” Brinley asked, her voice trembled in tones and sounds.

  “She was on a trade run to C Habitat, and the shuttle clipped the hanger door. It looks like a pneumatic fixture became dislodged and that sent the controls off. So when she refueled the shuttle, there was a slight leak…” Markari paused.

  “The thrusters ignited a fire in the hanger bay, right?” Brinley asked, but it was clear she already knew the answer.

  “Yes. Erik was able to close the shuttle doors just in time. Alesta was in the corridor outside the hanger bay and the automatic blast door nearly crushed her, but she too escaped the fire. Robyn was not so fortunate. Those two had to walk to another hanger bay, avoiding the Roe, and rig up a different shuttle. They did get back, but Hanger 329 will never be operational again,” Markari explained. “So your news just was more bad report upon the bad news we had already received.”

  “That is tragic, but why did that mean we had to be locked up? Gretchen asked.

  Brinley jumped in before the older man could answer. “Robyn was an expert shuttle pilot. Some people will never believe she could cause an accident. They will blame it on sabotage, right?”

  “Sadly, that is correct,” Markari replied. “Some blame the Central Planning Office as this is the kind of trap the CPO would set. But others
think it was a rogue unit of Free Rangers. So, Brinley, when you arrived with two strangers, and a story of more dead leaders, we had to investigate.”

  “Robyn’s death was an accident, right?” Brinley asked.

  “From all accounts I have reviewed, yes, it was a simple, but horrible accident.” Markari took Brinley’s hands in his own. He looked her directly in the eyes. “The thruster fuel leaked, and the fire started. A CPO trap would have been more efficient in killing our people, and an attack by rogue Free Rangers would have most certainly meant stealing the shuttle, not burning the hanger bay and crippling a Class 9 shuttle. So yes, I am convinced it was an accident.”

  “So where does that leave us?” Gretchen asked. She had finished the bread and was trying the asparagus.

  “That is our difficulty,” Markari replied. “Not everyone is convinced Robyn’s death was an accident. Damjan, well, she wanted to accept you all back here, but her followers were not enough to sway the vote. Guiomar wants you all executed. He is mean and obsessed with vengeance for the deaths of Robyn, Irene, and Jared. He blames other Free Ranger groups and believes you two to be part of some vast conspiracy. He wants to ‘protect us’ from you all. But his followers also could not sway the vote. So I was elected as a compromise leader.” Markari’s voice broke as he tried to explain it all.