“It tastes about like most of the food here,” Paul said. His shirt and pants were soaked.
Gretchen unbuckled herself, and stood up on wobbly legs. “Tiffany, are we where you wanted us to be?”
“That is correct,” Tiffany replied. “However, the method for reaching here was less than ideal. I apologize for not recognizing all the ramifications that might happen. My conjectures, while proving fruitful, had consequences which were unforeseen and dangerous to you all. I am sorry. I assume full responsibility for this event. There were many aspects of this shuttle flight I will need to ponder.” Tiffany did not tell them about the unusual readings the scanner showed, nor about the wave spectrums which were unidentifiable that accompanies the strange purplish blue lights.
Paul had slipped off his shirt and pants and had balled them up. He then dug through his backpack and got out the only clean clothing he had. He looked in disgust at the bundle of vomit-soaked clothing. “What do I do with this?”
Gretchen also had changed clothing and now they placed all the mucky garments into a single bag. “It will take a lot to get the smell out, the RAM clothing absorbed the liquids, but the foulness is there.”
“I have checked the pressure, air, and other factors, outside this shuttle and this hanger bay looks safe,” Brinley said after a few moments. “At least as safe as I can tell. The shuttle was already locked down and secured when I awoke.” She walked to the hatch and opened the door to the shuttle.
Hanger bay A-17A was only large enough for the single model 11 shuttle. It had the characteristic yellow striped external doors, but only a small view port for an observation place. There was but a single pressure door exiting the hanger bay.
“I really do not want to carry that bag of soiled clothing,” Paul said. “Can we leave it here?”
“Paul, those are Dome 17 clothing, we cannot just throw them away.” Gretchen had a disgusted look on her face.
The orange automacube housing Tiffany rolled out of the shuttle and on toward the pressure door which slid open.
The lights lit up in the hallway beyond. The glowing letters of ESRC were on one doorway. That door had an unbroken seal.
“This looks like some of the same corridors where Tennard has his lab,” Brinley said. “How close are we?”
“According to the deck plans, we are two levels below and roughly three hundred meters from the lowest level of the freight elevator under Inaccessible Island,” Tiffany replied.
“Plenty of room for Roe to come and attack us,” Paul said. “At least soon we can get back into a habitat and out of these mazes of terror.”
They progressed onward, and had no encounters. When they were at the correct location, according to Tiffany, they opened a door and started to ascend a stairway. The orange automacube had just rolled onto the first steps when….
Blam, blam, blam.
A high caliber weapon’s bullets landed around them. Brinley dove and rolled and came up with her handgun.
Gretchen and Paul ducked back behind the door to the stairway. “What is shooting at us?” Paul yelled. “Did Larissa find us again?”
“I cannot see it!” Brinley called from where she was squatting next to the stairway. “It came from above.”
A voice came down from above, “Brinley? Brinley? Is that you?”
“Sigmond?” Brinley called back.
“Yes. Are you under attack?” Sigmond’s voice sounded scared as it echoed down the stairway.
“Only by shooting from above. Was that you?” Brinley asked.
“I saw the orange automacube, and it is not one of ours. Is this a trick?” Sigmond yelled back.
“Do not shoot me, and I will step out, agreed?” Brinley asked.
“Yes. But no tricks,” Sigmond sounded even more nervous.
Brinley stepped onto the stairs and looked up. Sigmond’s face peered over the edge of the rail two levels up. His brown hair, eyes, and skin were recognizable instantly. “It is you Brinley!”
“Why are you shooting at us?” Brinley asked.
“You better come up here. Is that automacube safe?”
“Yes. There are three of us and the automacube,” Brinley replied.
“Who else is with you?” Sigmond sounded very worried.
“Gretchen and Paul.”
There was an awkward and prolonged pause.
“Sigmond? Should we come up?” Brinley called.
“Yes. I was just…. Yes, come up.”
Brinley sprinted up the stairs and was followed by the automacube and Paul and Gretchen.
At the top of the stairs Sigmond was holding a carbine and nervously watching as they all stepped off the stairs. The short hall led to large pressure doors behind which was the freight elevator. The lift was parked there and the doors were welded open. Several other Free Rangers were walking about. All were armed, agitated, and anxious.
“What is happening?” Brinley asked. She could sense something odd was going on, far beyond just getting shot at by Sigmond.
“You do not know?” Sigmond asked. “Really?”
“Sigmond, just tell me,” Brinley said.
“Constable Herric attacked Inaccessible Island. He is searching everywhere. The protection seals at the surface on the freight elevator doors were broken. It is just dumb luck we got the freight lift locked down here. Herric also has troops searching all of Oasis for you two,” Sigmond looked nervously at Gretchen and Paul. “Something about killing a bunch of people in Kimry, infecting some children, drowning other children, torturing people in a tavern.”
“We never killed any children!” Paul screamed. “Never. Maybe I am cursed.”
“I believe you, I guess. It is just that you certainly have enemies on the Vanguard.”
Brinley, Paul, and Gretchen looked at each other and wondered what to do next.
“Yes, there are enemies on the Vanguard,” the AI Tiffany stated.
The end
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Thornton lives with his wife, two dogs who pull way too hard on the leash, two cats who were born in the last millennia, and loves to have visits from his daughters and their husbands. The cats are presently searching for the keys to gravity manipulation so they can float around in the air as well as reclining on the beds.
Enemy on the Vanguard
Colony Ship Vanguard book 5
John Thornton
Copyright © 2014 John Thornton
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-1500602567
ISBN-10: 1500602566
DEDICATION
For my wonderful wife and children. You are awesome people. Thanks for listening to all my weird stories.
Thanks for reading my books. Please check out the Colony Ship Eschaton series as well. Happy reading!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cover art by Jon Hrubesch
1 larissa faces an old enemy
The sky tube’s morning light was bright as it shined down on Lake Orsk. The clear waters of the immense lake glistened in the light, and the waves lapped at the banks. Grasses lined most of the bank, except for the smooth trail which went all the way around the lake. There were some ducks and geese which walked along the trial, and they waddled about making their morning honking and quacking sounds.
Ben loved to run in the early morning. He was fit and athletic and besides reading, running was one of the best ways he could spend his time. He knew he had to get his run in before school started, and by beginning early enough, he could run the course he had in mind. He could not hope to circumambulate the entire shoreline of the Lake Orsk, but he did have a running path that he frequented. The first half of his path took him out into the highland evergreen forest which started not far from his home on the outskirts of the town of Orsk.
As he ran, he breathed in the deep and refreshing scents from the forest. He watched as several rabbits bolted to get away from him. Two squirrels were not as afraid and they leaped and frolicked among the evergreens. T
he squirrels then ran up one of the few and scattered deciduous trees to hide behind the leaves. It was good to run and Ben’s legs moved without his conscious thought. His athletic shoes slapped the path with practiced ease.
While Ben liked the pine trees, the smells, and the sights of the forest animals, his favorite part of the run was coming back along the shores of the lake. Except for on rain day, Ben could count on a beautiful sight as the fishing boats moved slowly out into the lake. The birds would fly over and the clear waters of Lake Orsk would shimmer under the sky tube’s glow.
So as Ben rounded the trail and ran out from the forest, he was surprised as he saw something lying at the edge of the water. It was a dead sturgeon. Its grayish almost silvery coloring, along with its long and extended looking front, and the top fin and tail being close together identified it to Ben’s mind. Its tiny eyes and whiskery blunt snout were pointed at the sky tube.
“That is a big fish,” Ben said to himself as he ran past. He counted the paces and estimated the sturgeon to be about three meters long. He could not guess its weight, but knew it was one of the largest he had ever seen.
He kept running, but seeing the floundered fish was disappointing. At least it did not smell yet. He was glad of that. He picked up his pace a bit as he considered that some wolf or perhaps even a bear might come to feast on the deceased sturgeon. He looked ahead on the path and saw something else up. It was gold and black colored.
“Another sturgeon?” Ben asked himself. “Two in one day, this is odd.”
As his run brought him closer, he realized it was not another dead fish, but a machine of some kind. As he ran up to it, he halted. He took a few deep breaths and walked slowly around and toward it.
The machine was boxy with a gold and black body. There was a stump on one section of the box part, where some kind of equipment or attachment had been broken off. There were large cracks in the permalloy sides of the machine, and its fins as well as drive wheels were connected on only one end. The opposite side where matching fins and wheels should be was crushed. The tracks in the sandy mud showed that the machine had pulled or driven itself out of the water, but then quit on the land.
“That is a vodnee!” Ben said in surprise. “A ruined underwater automacube, but why is it wrecked?”
Ben felt a touch of uneasy nerves as the two incidents were so close together. He rushed off and ran as quickly as he could. Normally he enjoyed a sprint, and pushing himself for speed was a joy. However, this morning he did it as a necessity. He knew he had to report what he had seen. Something was wrong.
Ben ran past his own home, which was made from light green colored permalloy. Thoughts of school, or of his run, had been replaced by concerns over what he had seen. It just did not fit in with his typical day’s run, and he was wise enough to know to notify the officials.
He ran up the streets of the town of Orsk toward where the Governor’s Center was now located. It was in a large three-story building. It had a flat roof and numerous windows. This building was made from light-green colored permalloy, with a sign over the door which read ‘Governor’ in white lettering.
Ben hesitated for only a moment so as to catch his breath and be able to make a sensible report. He opened the door and entered. Konstantin was seated at his desk. He was a husky man with large hands, heavy brown hair which never seemed to stay combed, and a tired expression.
“Good morning, sir,” Ben stated.
“Yes, Benjamin, it is morning. How may I help you?” Konstantin asked. “You are up early for school.”
“Sir, I was out on my morning run and I saw something unusual,” Ben began.
“Well, just tell me about it,” Konstantin said and waved his hand toward a chair by his desk.
Ben explained what he had seen. Konstantin asked a few questions for clarification, and listened carefully. As Ben was finishing his account, someone walked in the front door.
“Governor Larissa,” Konstantin said and stood up.
“Good morning,” Larissa replied. Her light blond hair was pulled back into a set of braids. Her athletic body was clad in her crisp and clean uniform, black and gray in color, side arm on her hip in a leather holster, and the pouch for the multiceiver also on her belt. Her piercing blue eyes looked over the office with scrutiny. When she saw Ben she paused for a moment. She walked over to the counter and poured herself a cup of hot drink. Taking a sip she looked back over the rim of the cup.
“Konstantin, please sit down and continue what you were doing. It is good to see young people here in our office. I believe you are Ben?”
“Yes, Governor,” Ben said, not really surprised that Larissa knew his name, she had a reputation for knowing everything that was happening in the Wilds.
“Governor, I was just about to go out and inspect what this young man has found. It seems that on the shore of Lake Orsk…” Konstantin began.
“Konstantin, you do a very good service to us all, but I believe I will investigate this matter. The young man, Ben, can inform me about it on the way. If you would just draft a preliminary report detailing what Ben has told you, I will complete it when I come back. Should I need more of your assistance, I will have TSI-463 contact you on the multiceiver.”
Konstantin looked at the hand held mechanism he had placed on his desk. Governor Larissa had seldom called him on it, and he was surprised she mentioned it at all. He immediately deferred to her decision. “Very good Governor. I have placed the day’s routine dispatches on your desk, as well as the rosters you requested.”
“Come along, Ben,” Larissa said and placed her hand on the young man’s shoulder and guided him out of the office. “Tell me what you have encountered that would make you come to my office at such an early hour.”
“Well Governor. I was on my run…” Ben went on to explain what he had seen and how it had troubled him so. As he did they both briskly walked back along the same path that he had followed.
A shrill screamed pierced the morning calm. “Somebody help!”
Larissa was instantly alert. She turned and assessed where the call had originated. Ben was looking toward the lake, but Larissa knew the sound had echoed off of some of the houses and was not from the direction of the lake.
“This way,” she commanded. Larissa loped off and up one of the streets in a steady run. Ben was impressed immediately with her prowess as a runner. He followed. Two blocks up, the scream was heard again. Larissa led them to a side street and stopped in front of a house.
“Who is screaming?” Ben asked a bit anxious about being in the Governor’s presence as well as hearing the screaming and seeing what he had seen on his run.
“I am about to find out, but I think I know. You wait here,” Larissa said. Her appearance and breathing were unchanged after the run.
Outwardly the house was much the same as the others: made from light-green colored permalloy, rectangular, pyramid shaped roof, with a central door and two windows, one on each side of the door. There were basically only slight variations on the building designs in and around the town of Orsk. A fair number of the houses were not occupied, but the troopers had kept them clean, maintained, and in good order.
This specific house had a garden plot, and a set of fruit trees around it. Larissa marched up to the door and knocked. There were muffled sounds inside the house.
“This is Larissa. Open this door,” she said authoritatively. She tapped more vigorously on the door.
A boy opened the door, but only a crack.
“Rivan? I heard someone screaming in here. What is going on?” Larissa asked.
The boy had a blank look on his face. “No one was screaming,” he said hesitantly.
“I know it came from here,” Larissa said and pushed the door open.
“You should not come in here,” Rivan said, but backed away. He was thin and somewhat frail looking with hollow eyes. His brown hair was shaved short.
“Help!” the scream came again and it was from one of the rear bedroom
s.
Larissa marched through the front room which had an oval table and five chairs. The walls were a light gray color with a few small decorative touches. Hanging over the table was a light which was covered by an umbrella shaped white cloth.
“Come back here!” a male voice yelled.
A small child ran from the back room screaming. It was the voice Larissa and Ben had heard. “Help me!”
The male followed her out. He was average height and weight with medium colored hair and fair complexion. His hair was combed to the side in a severe angle with made his forehead look pointed. The scowl on his face was extreme. He pulled up short as he saw Larissa standing in his dining room.
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 89
