After Paul securely sealed the opening, They all walked across the flat bottom of the transport tube and climbed up the back of the transport vehicle. They entered it and sat in the rows which faced each other.
“TSI-981 take us to Oasis!” Brinley commanded.
“Negative function on links and couplings to lattice. Negative function on links and coupling to other systems outside of transport system. Override code accepted… unauthorized user recognized… transport initiated…Request repairs.”
The rear door of the transport vehicle shut. The vehicle slid sideways and out of the alcove. It then accelerated down the transport tube system and away to A Habitat: Oasis.
epilogue
The sky tube was starting to brighten as day began in the habitat known as Oasis. Paul and Gretchen left their tent. They went to meet Brinley as she walked down from the freight lift on Inaccessible Island. The sea in the distance was its shimmering beauty. Brinley was carrying a box with some kind of plant sticking out of it.
“Do you have what you need?” Gretchen asked her.
“Yes, I brought all that is necessary,” Brinley was somber.
“I believe we are ready as well. I think we understand what will happen,” Paul said. He was carrying a shovel. Gretchen had a pail of water.
They walked for a while across the plateau until they reached a small rise.
Brinley sat the box down, and pulled out the plant. It was actually two plants each about a meter high and growing in small pots. Brinley also set aside a covered bowl, and utensils.
“How do we do this?” Paul asked.
“Paulie, and Gretchen, we are here to pay our final respects to Zoya and Eleonora,” Brinley said. “They were Free Rangers, and our friends. We are planting these trees in their memory.”
Paul dug a hole in one spot, moving the rich dark soil away. He then paced off three steps and dug the second hole. Brinley followed along carrying the bowl she had uncovered.
“This is kutia, a part of our beliefs.” Brinley spooned some of the brown, yellow, and gray mush mixture into the hole. “It is made from eggs, grains, walnuts, raisins, prunes, and beans. The food symbolizes all the goodness we have in the habitats.”
The aroma of the food was appealing.
They repeated the process on the next hole. About half of the mixture was placed in the holes, and half left in the bowl. They all set down their implements and grasped hands.
“Dead, dead are our friends Zoya and Eleonora!” Brinley chanted. “Dead, dead are our dear ones!”
“Paul and Gretchen, you can repeat it after me, if you wish.”
“Dead, dead are our friends Zoya and Eleonora!” Paul and Gretchen chanted in unison. “Dead, dead are our dear ones!”
Brinley continued, “Honestly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. No greater love has anyone than to lay down life for friends.”
Brinley then set the bowl carefully down. She picked up the two potted trees. “These are lilac trees. They will bloom and grow and spread. These lilacs will bloom white and purple colors. These trees will remind us that the memories of our friends are never gone. There will be times of joy, like when the lilacs bloom, and times of sorrow, as when the blossoms fade and fall. But life goes on.”
The three of them then planted the trees. The lilacs were deep green in color with tiny buds just starting. They carefully put the soil back around the trees. Gretchen then poured the water over them. She was still unsure of just spilling water on the ground. Her lifetime in Dome 17 had inculcated in her a precious feeling for water, even though the sea was all around her, and there was a flowing stream of water not far from where they lived.
“Sit down now, so we can eat the remaining kutia and remember our friends.”
They each took a spoon and sampled the mush from the bowl. It was very tasty. They passed the bowl and back forth until it was all consumed.
“Zoya was dedicated to her mother,” Gretchen stated.
“Indeed, and the mother was dedicated to her,” Paul added.
They sat in silence as the sky tube brightened and the habitat awoke. Birds soared across the sky, and animals crept out. Several yellow and black butterflies fluttered by and one landed on the newly planted lilacs. It was yellow and black colored.
“Brinley?” Paul asked. “Is it wrong now to talk about other things?”
“No Paulie, it is not wrong.” Brinley smiled at him.
“I did not want to ruin the ritual, or service, or ceremony. Am I using the correct term?” Paul asked.
“Yes, any of those terms are appropriate. This is just us three gathering to remember our friends,” Brinley replied.
“It seemed more than just that,” Gretchen added. “It was reverent.”
“Did Dome 17 do things like this?” Brinley asked.
“Yes, in Dome 17…” Gretchen began.
“Brinley, instead of talking about the dead dome which is our past, can we speak of the future?” Paul interrupted. “Larissa is still out there. Do you think she can find a way to trace us again?”
“That is a possibility I have considered,” Brinley replied. “How did she tag you in the first place?”
“I am not sure,” Gretchen said. “I think that Klara person is someone to ask. She talked about informing Larissa about the map she claims to have.”
“We need to get that map,” Paul answered. “Without the medical kit, we cannot treat any injuries. Klara wanted to be immune to the Roe, and now we cannot give her that, so we have nothing to trade.”
“We are way past her deadline anyway,” Gretchen reminded him. “She probably has sold the information to Larissa already.”
“Perhaps not. The Free Rangers are in disarray in various locations. I received word that Zoya’s father, Eleonora’s husband, Carlos, was killed in fighting when their safe zone was attacked. Here in Oasis, they have stopped all shuttle flights, and are only trading among the different islands. They have fortified the perimeters of the safe zone with heavy weapons. So I am not sure how Klara could go to Larissa and trade the map,” Brinley said.
“She spoke about other ways and seemed to know more than she let on. She could just send it,” Paul replied. “She could send an automacube and have the map delivered.”
“Or she could send it through the lattice,” Brinley replied. “I have worried about that. I asked around, but Klara does not seem to be in this safe zone. However, the chaos was bad when the shuttles were being destroyed. Who knows where she is now?”
“We do need to get to Tiffany and get more supplies. We need to find out if our artificial intelligence, Tiffany, is operational. Maybe Tiffany has even fixed the data sticks?” Gretchen pondered. “That is if we can find where the scout ship is located.”
“What if Larissa has already gotten the map and has the scout ship herself? Or what if those external defenses destroyed the scout ship and Tiffany’s Atomic Level Processor?” Paul wondered. “How much more danger would we be in then?”
“What if we rest for a while before thinking about any more adventures?” Gretchen said.
“Whatever you two decide, I am in this with you. I could not save Zoya, or Eleonora, but I will not abandon you. The three of us are in this together.”
Brinley wrapped her arms around both Paul and Gretchen. “After all, you are old enough to be my parents, right?”
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Thornton lives with his wife on the Northern Plains of the USA. They share their house with two dogs, and two very elderly cats. The best days are when one or more of his daughters or son-in-laws stop by for a visit. They seldom arrive or depart via shuttle or transport tube, and gravity manipulation has never failed during a visit.
Searching the Vanguard
(Book 4 in
the Colony Ship Vanguard Series)
John Thornton
Copyright © 2014 John Thornton
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-1500291358
ISBN-10: 1500291358
DEDICATION
For my wife and daughters. You have listened to my crazy stories for years, and now they are written down. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy this book!
Please check out the Colony Ship Eschaton series.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cover art by Putra Kamajaya
1 pirates?
“I am certain we will find it when we search for it!” The young leader of the expedition cried to her companions. “It will be there! We just search until we find it.”
The sea rocked against the airboat as the four youths pushed the much smaller rowboat off the bow and into the water. They had already dropped the permalloy anchor to make the airboat as stationary as the sea allowed. The reflection from the sky tube off the sea glared up at them as they stepped with practiced ease into the rocking rowboat.
“Why do we have to row the boat?” the black haired youth asked as he pulled hard at the oars.
“Because, Bogdan, my brother, the book says that is the way to get to the island. That is how the pirates came ashore!” his blond companion replied. She pushed her own oar into the water with more energy, splashing the two people sitting behind her.
“Anda, you take things too literally, and you are too bossy!” Bogdan replied. His back shined with sweat from the efforts. His sparse chest hair was just starting to come in, and he was proud of that, so he took every opportunity to remove his shirt so that the girls could see he was becoming a man. Of course, what his sister thought did not matter to him in that regard.
David and Nevenka, the other two young people in the boat grinned at each other. Even though they had just been splashed, they were thrilled. They were on the adventure they had talked about for many days. The sky tube was shining down and glistening off the waters of the sea. The boat they were in slipped through the calm waters heading for the island ahead. They all stroked the water with their oars. Each youth’s arm had the large letter ‘A’ discernible. It was embedded, marked into their skin, proving they were inhabitants of A Habitat: Oasis.
“Bogdan, we all read the same book, ‘Pirate Hidden Treasure’ and you know what it said,” Anda replied. “Remember how important being sneaky was when searching for the treasure? We must use stealth as we go to the island lest we be spotted by the other scoundrels.” She tried to sound more adult than she was as she paraphrased the book.
“The air boat was far easier,” Bogdan replied, but with good natured humor. He glanced back at the boat they had anchored. It was much larger than the rowboat and had a huge fan, partially enclosed in a mesh cage, on its rear section which gave it propulsion. The motor, a blocky gray collection of panels, circuits, and pulleys, sat just in front of the propeller and was powered by the light from the sky tube. The green glow of the indicator light showed that the engine still had a full charge. There were also twin vertical rudders on the back part of the airboat. It had easily carried the four youth and the rowboat from their hometown to the island. Bogdan briefly wondered how much trouble they would be in when they took the boat back, but the thoughts of finding treasure overrode his worry.
David, the tallest of the four, and the most practical of the bunch said, “I still do not understand how those pirate sailing ships moved. There never is enough wind on the sea to ‘billow huge sails of cloth’ like that book says. Nor do we see giant waves, even running the airboat at full speed.”
“Well, the book was not on the official curriculum reading list provided by Governor Svoboda’s office. So it probably tells us secrets they do not want us to know.” Nevenka asked.
“That is why we are going to this island,” Anda stated. “No one is ever supposed to be there, so that makes it the perfect place for the pirates to hide their treasure. That is why we are searching here first. And I have the secret map and Bogdan has the special item to defend us. You do have it right?”
Bogdan nodded, and said, “You think I would forget that, after how much it cost me? Yes, it is in my pocket.”
The four youths continued to stroke the water with their oars. They looked ahead to their destination. The island had a narrow strip of beach area all around it, at least as far as they could see. That part was easy to reach. But inland not too far were the tall and almost vertical cliff which rose high into the air. At the top was the plateau. If they had too, they would even search there.
“What if the pirates are still here?” Nevenka asked. Her short bobbed brown hair bounced a bit as she rowed.
“That is why we are sneaking up to the island,” Anda explained. “If we rode the airboat all the way there, they would hear us coming. By rowing our way in we can see if the pirate ship is anywhere about.”
“Has anyone ever seen the pirate ship?” David asked.
“It is in the book, right?” Anda asked with an edge to her voice. She hesitated to admit that David had a point. No one she knew had ever seen the pirate ship.
“I have never seen a Roe, and we know they exist,” Bogdan added.
They all shuddered at bit at the term ‘Roe’ which they all feared.
“Will there be Roe here?” David finally asked.
Before anyone else could answer, Nevenka added, “There are lots of places I have never seen, like the town of Murom, most of the islands, the bottom of the sea, or inside Constable Herric’s jail, but we know those are real, right? So searching for the treasure like the book says is a real thing.”
“Good thing our town, Kimry has Governor Svoboda’s headquarters at the Okrug, and not Herric’s!” Bogdan said.
The four youth laughed at that. Most people in the town of Kimry, rundown and defective as it was, were still thankful they lived on that side of the sea rather than in the town of Murom where the Constable’s office and jail were.
David, being the practical one then added, “If we get caught coming here, we may well see Herrick’s jail after all.”
Anda, reasserted her leadership. “You know that will not happen. My father thinks we are just up the coast using his boat, no problem there. And if the pirates can hide out here, Herrick will not come here either. So we have more to fear from pirates than the Constable. Now watch for a good place to put ashore.”
The beach was long and relatively flat, but did have intermittent flat rocks at the water’s edge. The cliffs looked even bigger as they got to the shoreline; tall, dark, and foreboding.
Birds were winging their way along and sometimes dipping down toward the water, but seemed to take no notice of the four youth as they pulled the rowboat up onto the sandy beach between some of the large flat rocks.
“See, those are mollymawks. They are a sure sign that pirates will be hiding their treasure here,” Anda said and pointed at the large birds.
The birds were white and black colored, with v-shaped wings. They sailed gracefully through the air on wingspans over a meter wide. As they banked the youth could see the undersides were mostly white with black outlines around the wings, and then when the mollymawks turned the other way they could see their backs were mostly black. Their bills were a yellowish color, and their faces were white with black around their eyes. A couple of the birds glided in and landed in the water. Others ran along the beach flapping their large wings until they took off.
“I do not remember reading about mollymawks,” Bogdan said as they neared the shoreline. “But you are my big sister, and I am sure you are right.”
“They have a black eye patch. That is the key,” Anda said. “That is the mark of a pirate!”
“This seems to be where a bunch of them have gathered,” David observed.
“If pirates were around, the birds would have flown off,” Nevenka said. “Pirates are too mean for these peaceful and beautiful birds.”
They pushed the rowboat up on th
e sand, and then lifted it a bit further.
“So we have reached the island. Now we search for the treasure!” Anda exclaimed.
They tied the boat well away from the edge of the sea. They could see their airboat anchored in the distance, bobbing slightly on the waves. They pulled canvass sacks with carry straps out of the rowboat. Bogdan put his shirt back on.
“We could have swum up to the shore,” David said. “That would have been even less noticeable than the rowboat.”
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 67
