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

by John Thornton

  “Yes, we will share your food, but only if you have enough for us all,” Brinley said.

  Paul was striving very hard not to interrupt. He recalled his prior outbursts and how they had often not been productive.

  “Oh yes, we have a bounty. I hope you like, garlic, sunchokes, sweet potatoes, yams, russetpotatoes, leeks, and parsnips. Those are what we gathered for today’s bowl of food. We used our allowance of eggs this morning. Oh, there is also whatever fruit is ripe at this time. That should be the lemons, and the apricots. The oranges are not quite ready, and the apples will be a few more weeks.” Brenda turned and walked back the way they had come. “Oh it is just amazing to have visitors. This is simply wonderful.”

  The rows of plants varied a bit as they got closer to the center. Some sections were plants with thinner leaves, while another section had plants with small round leaves. The plants in each section matched each other, but varied from section to section.

  “This place has wonderful looking vegetables,” Brinley said. “How many people are in here?”

  “Oh sweetie, that is a sad sad tale. There are only seven of us now. Here we are. Come in to our common room and we will eat.” Brenda motioned toward the small structure at the center.

  The room had a clear door which Brenda opened. The walls enclosed a hexagonal shaped room perhaps ten meters across. The room was just a bit taller than Gretchen, but it felt tight to her. The ceiling was not fully opaque so some of the orb’s light filtered in. There were chairs and a table located at the center of the room. On one side, opposite the door was a bench with controls and a display screen. Sitting along the side of the table, were children.

  “I was right? There were other people?” One of the children shrieked.

  “Yes, dear, there is no reason to fear,” Brenda said.

  “Are you sure? You have told us about the rabid ones, and we all know about how the others died,” said a girl with deep brown eyes, long black silky hair and a trembling smile. Her complexion was very similar to Gretchen’s.

  “Irina, sweetie, these people are not rabid ones. They are on a journey and passing through. I owe you an apology. I am sorry I doubted your report when you came running here to tell me about these people. Please forgive me.”

  “All is forgiven, Teacher. I thought I was seeing things, and was pretty scared. I would not have believed it myself if I had not seen it,” Irina replied.

  “Martin? Be a wonderful helper for me and go and get the others and bring the platters of food.”

  “Yes, Teacher,” the boy Martin said. His blue eyes were very wide as he looked at Paul, Gretchen, and Brinley as he rushed out on his errand. Martin was younger than Irina and much lighter in complexion.

  “I think I am dreaming all this. No one else is alive,” said the third child at the table.

  “Rika dear, we know now that is not true. These people are alive, but I know how you feel. It is simply amazing!” Brenda said.

  Rika seemed younger than the others, even though she was tall and slender. Her narrow green eyes reminded Paul of two pools of stagnant water. Her luxurious, wavy, golden hair was long and well brushed. Her light colored skin shone with youth. She had prominent cheekbones and a small mouth.

  “The other children will be here shortly. They enjoy preparing the salads on tables outside near the water. Then we all eat in here,” Brenda said.

  “Other children?” Paul asked. “Are you the only adult?”

  “Well, that does lead to the sad story. Oh, sweetie, it is so sad,” Brenda replied. “Yes, I am the only adult here. It has been almost three years now since we lost the other adults.”

  Before Brenda could continue, Martin returned with three smaller children who were carrying bowls of food. Martin was carrying a stack of smaller empty bowls and utensils. The three were all the same age and obviously were closely related. Two were boys and one was a girl. They each had large grayish blue eyes that were bright spots in their dark faces. They had thick, wavy, brown hair, neck-length, worn in a precise, simple style. Their wardrobe was uncomplicated, and completely red.

  “Who are they?” one of the younger children said, and almost dropped the bowl he was carrying.

  “These are visitors,” Brenda said.

  “Real other people? Like in the stories?”

  “Yes, real other people,” Brenda replied. “Let me make formal introductions while you set the food on the table.”

  The children placed the large bowls on the table while Martin set a bowl and fork in front of everyone. “I had to get out extra ones for these people. I wiped the dust off.”

  “Thank you Martin. Children, this is Brinley, Gretchen, and Paul.” Brenda turned to the children. “These are: from the oldest to the youngest, Irina, Martin, Rika, and the triplets: Lennie, Bennie, and Jennie.”

  They all took seats at the table, and it was clear the children were used to a different seating arrangement than was now being used. The table could seat about a fifteen people, but now held ten. They passed the bowls of salads around. Irina got a pitcher of water and poured each person a glass.

  “Thank you for the meal,” Brinley said. “You were about to tell us about the other adults. How did you get here? What is this place?”

  “Oh sweetie, I will tell you all I know, but you also must tell us your story.”

  Brinley gave them a brief, general, and accurate account of what was happening in the Vanguard, so far as she knew.

  “So there are others who survived. I had always hoped so,” Brenda said.

  “I thought they were all dead,” Jennie said. “Like our mom and dad.”

  “Not everyone died being shocked. Most of the other people died because of the rabid ones, right Teacher?” Martin asked.

  “No, the mutineers killed most of the people,” Irina stated.

  “I think the ship came apart and we are all that is left,” Bennie said as if reciting a rehearsed line. “I guess not everyone died.” He looked gravely at Gretchen, Paul, and Brinley. “So which is right Teacher?”

  Before Brenda could answer, Paul interrupted. “The children call you Teacher?”

  “Yes, they do. Ever since I… well… ever since that sad time I have been trying to muster up the courage to retell….”

  “Perhaps just start at how you all came to be here?” Gretchen asked.

  “That too is sad, and was before I was born. I know only what I was told, as I grew up in here. When the Outbreak happened, my mother and father were archivists who could tell things were going badly. They came to this place, along with about twenty others, to wait for things to settle down. But things never settled down. I was born about ten years after the Outbreak and mutiny…. I am sorry I am rambling. There were other children born, and there were some people who tried to leave here. All who left here never returned. I assumed they all died. My own parents died in here. We do not have medical facilities, and that makes it difficult…. Well, these wonderful children are the descendants of the people who came here for refuge. I suppose I am also, but I did not have children of my own. I now have all of them. We call this place The Gardens of Delight.”

  “Teacher, can I tell about how my dad and mom died?” Irina asked.

  “Yes, dear, that would be helpful. You know I am not good with the sad stories.”

  “About three years ago, water stopped flowing into the Gardens. My mom and dad…”

  “Ours too!” Jennie interjected vigorously.

  “Yes, yours too. All our parents, and even Brenda, went to see about the water. It was a circulation pump which had burned out. Our automacubes… you know about automacubes, right?”

  Brinley nodded.

  “The automacubes could not fix it, they are only good with the gardening…”

  “Except for Squash. That yellow one is not good for anything,” Bennie said.

  “I am telling the story,” Irina corrected gently. “Our parents went to fix the circulation pump. They had to reroute the energy
medium to get a different pump working. To do that they had to unpack a pump from storage. They got the pump lifted, and reconnected, but when the energy was switched on, it sent out a shock and killed our parents. It also knocked Brenda down to the ground, and she was hurt badly. We took care of her until she got better.”

  “It was yucky,” Jennie said. “It took Teacher a long time to get better.”

  “That is horrible,” Paul said with tears in his eyes.

  “But they made the water work!” Lennie said. “If they had not made the water work, we all would have died and all the plants and animals too.”

  “I owe my life to these children,” Brenda said. “They nursed me for many weeks, I am not sure how long exactly. It was so wonderful that they cared for me. They saved my life.” Her smile was huge as she looked at them. “It was so tragic that the others…”

  “We should talk about nice things, at least something else,” Rika said. She said it in an authoritative manner.

  “Good idea. Well, ever since, I have made it my goal to teach them everything I can. My parents had several minicomputers which we use to read and learn.”

  “Can you contact anyone outside of here? Are there any access points to outside of here?” Brinley asked.

  “My parents said the Gardens of Delight were sealed off to protect us. Before you came, the only things that ever visited here were some rabid ones. That was long, long ago,” Brenda answered. “My parents found a way to stop that and we have not seen a rabid one….”

  “I said we should talk about nice things. Rabid ones are not nice things,” Rika said with even more sternness in her young voice.

  “Rabid ones? I bet that is a Roe,” Paul said quietly to Gretchen. Then he turned to the others, “This child is right. Talking of nice things instead will be better for us all.”

  “My name is Rika, not ‘this child’ but thank you for supporting me.”

  They discussed the fruits, the vegetables, and all manner of plants and the few kinds of animals, and the many insects in their Gardens of Delight. The meal was delicious for everyone, and even Paul enjoyed the foods.

  13 leaving the gardens

  Brenda showed Paul, Gretchen, and Brinley around the Gardens of Delight after they had finished the meal and cleaned up the bowls and utensils. The six children were filled with awe as they walked around and still were staring at the visitors when they returned to the common room at the center.

  “So the green automacubes do most of the planting and cultivating?” Brinley asked.

  “Yes, and we harvest what we need. The automacubes also tend the fruit and nut trees,” Brenda added. “There are three green automacubes. There is also a yellow one, but that one is stored away. The children call it Squash.”

  “But the chickens we have to find,” Jennie said. “They put their nests in some of the craziest places. They sometimes keep in the same place, but other times, they will move to a new nest. Then we have to search for them so that the eggs do not spoil. They can be under the trees, or in the panels around the walls, or sometimes even in the barracks. Bennie found one once under a bed!”

  “And you have lived in those barracks for all these years?” Gretchen asked.

  “Yes, the boys get one, and the girls the other, and Brenda has her own,” Lennie replied.

  “I noticed that water is piped into all the sleeping rooms, what you call the barracks,” Brinley said. “Was that the water system which gave you the problems? Is it the same one that waters the trees and crops?”

  “Yes. The water system here does go to the rooms and to the crops. There is a drip system down under the ground. When the pump went out….I am sorry…..” Brenda cried a bit. “We thought we might have to dig it up, but then we found the replacement pump in storage.”

  “We will need to be departing soon,” Paul said.

  “I am not sure how to offer help,” Brenda said. “I fear for you. Everyone I have ever known who left here did not return.”

  “The way we came in will not work,” Brinley said.

  She pulled out the minicomputer and activated the plotter. The small display indicated a direction.

  Gretchen pulled Paul away from the others. When they had walked away to where no one else could hear them she whispered to him, “Can we really just leave these children here?”

  “Why not? They are safe enough. It is their whole world. That Roe back in that sphere place will never get out, and if it should, there is still a locked door keeping it out.”

  “Could we lead them to a regular habitat?” Gretchen asked. “I noticed none of them are marked, so they could go to any of the habitats.”

  “I think they would need a mark to be accepted anywhere. They are not Free Rangers, and not habitat people. Besides, I never want to try to take a child somewhere ever again. Remember Zoya? She was far older than these children, and she was experienced, yet I still could not keep her alive.” Paul was adamant. “I do not want to see more people die.”

  “Nor do I, but what of Brenda? She is burdened with these children and all their care. They do not have medical facilities here,” Gretchen said.

  “We do not have our own medical kit, remember? We are trying to get to our scout ship so we can get another one, and we need to reconnect to Tiffany.”

  “Paul, we at least try to come back here after we get the supplies. Tiffany would maybe know how to set up better things for everyone in here,” Gretchen stated.

  “They have it pretty good here. They have food. They are protected. They have water, a lot more water than we had in Dome 17.”

  “Paul, if another large piece of equipment fails, Brenda cannot fix it alone, and the children will not be able to help much. The last incident killed most of the adults.” Gretchen stared at Paul with an intense look.

  “What if Brinley could send a blue automacube back here? That would give them an engineer to repair machines.”

  “And we could send a white one back as well,” Gretchen said. “If we can find those.”

  Paul pondered what he had heard. Then quietly he said, “We have seen some inert or de-powered automacubes on our quest here. Brinley will probably know how to send them back to help out. But there is no way those children can come with us. Roe would kill them, and I do not want to see that.”

  “I have been wondering about that.” Gretchen was thoughtful for a moment. “None of the children mentioned rats. Brinley says rats are everywhere on the Vanguard. I would think rats would love a place with food like this, but I am certainly no animal expert.”

  “Rats eat meat and other animals, right?” Paul asked. “The tagalongs do anyway. But why do you care about rats?”

  “It just seems odd….”

  Brinley walked over. “The children and Brenda have gone to have a lesson. She said they do that every day at this time. So, I am going to check that pump of theirs and make sure it is fully operational and safe before we leave. Brenda says there are three exits, but she has no idea where they lead. The plotter gives the same positive indicator toward two of those three exits, the third is where we came in, and I have no desire to go back that way. I guess it is up to us to decide about the other two. The exits are all equal distance around the perimeter from each other.”

  “How can the plotter do that?” Gretchen asked. “It should give us a direct route, not choices.”

  “I assume because those two exits go to a similar place, or because neither passage is better or worse than the other. I tried the plotter at the door we came in and it clearly indicated negative from that one. The other two scan positively for an unobstructed passage. I am a bit puzzled about that as well since they are at such different directions,” Brinley chewed on her bottom lip a moment. “It will only take me a short while to make sure that pump is not going to shock anyone else, and is all working properly.”

  While Brinley did the maintenance work, Paul and Gretchen walked to the nearest of the possible exits. It too was a stainless steel door. It w
as not welded, but was locked much like the one they had come though on arrival.

  “How about if we scout a bit while Brinley does her work?” Gretchen suggested.

  “We could get locked in there,” Paul pointed at the door’s lock. “Brinley is the only one who can open locked doors.”

  “So we jam something in the door to keep it open and we look around. We do not go far, just see what is there. Then try the other door and see what is just beyond it.”

  “I guess that will not hurt,” Paul said.

  Gretchen unlocked the shiny steel door. The latch and lock worked flawlessly. She held her hand on the door and looked at Paul.