“Larissa and you are working together?” Paul asked.
“First, the CPO has not responded to my inquiries, and Larissa has been cooperative and helpful in the absence of CPO action. So yes, we are working together. From Larissa, you see, I do know you, and I am here to offer my assistance to you. Victor here will be your guide, teacher, and defender for whatever we can offer here in the Steppes, or as some say, Pampas, specifically here in Perm. Always remember, a common enemy makes people friends,” Jeffry said. Then looking to Sara and Rameel he commanded, “Return their weapons. Continue on your way, and good hunting!”
Constable Jeffry mounted his budonny horse, tied the leads for the horse Victor had ridden to his saddle, and then had his mount trot away leading the second horse.
Rameel handed back the weapons, but looked very uncomfortable doing so. Then he and Sara each took their volkosoby tracking animals and departed in separate directions.
“Gretchen? What just happened?” Paul asked in amazement. “Did we have an encounter where no one tried to kill us, even though they were strangers with new animals?”
“Perhaps that patrol cat which is following you is charmed and giving us new luck?” Gretchen said with a smile as she pointed to the gray and black striped cat.
Tarpay tipped his head to the side as he watched the cat move around Paul’s legs.
Victor spoke up. “And I will not try to kill you or chase you this time. Our scientists have confirmed what you did for me. I, like the patrol cats, am also immune to the Outbreak, but the scientists do not understand why or how to reproduce it. They took liters of my blood, or so it seems, to analyze, but for now they are still studying it. So how may I assist you? No fires this time, please. Did that young girl find her mother?”
Paul looked away in dejection.
Gretchen responded with carefully chosen words, “Zoya and her mother were killed.” She did not explain that Larissa had done the killing.
“So tragic. Many tragedies are happening since those Jellie monsters have come, too many families in Pampas have had to kiss the forehead of a loved one after death.” Victor patted Tarpay. “Now how can I assist you?”
“We need to get to the Reproduction and Fabrication facility that is here. That location will manufacture some items for us,” Gretchen said.
“Well, I have not been there, but I know its location. Follow me.” Victor made a hand motion and Tarpay took off ahead of them. “I also can request assistance with the multiceiver shall we need additional help.”
Paul looked down at the cat which was walking between his legs. “What do I do about this animal?”
“Unlike artificial intelligences, patrol cats have minds of their own. They are bred to kill any infected rodents which are trying to come into F Habitat. Patrol cats are brave and noble, so they go where they please. Rarely are they inside the habitat, usually they live in the corridors and hallways just outside the quarantine line. However, if he chooses to follow you, I doubt you can dissuade him from that.” Victor motioned for Gretchen and Paul to follow Tarpay.
“Tiffany, is this safe?” Paul asked.
“I know of no substantial action which is absolutely safe,” Tiffany responded.
“I recall a medical automacube last time, and now it is a maintenance one? And a talking maintenance automacube? That I have not seen before. How is that?” Victor asked. “You certainly have unique tastes in companions.”
“Your companion is a predator,” Paul muttered.
“Yes! Tarpay is an amazing companion,” Victor responded. “Tarpay is no machine. Automacubes can do menial work, and AIs can only do what they are programmed to do, but Tarpay can think.”
“The medical automacube was a totally different machine than this one,” Gretchen said. “In far more ways that I can explain. Just call this one Tiffany.”
“Hello Victor,” Tiffany said by way of introduction. “Thank you for assisting us.”
“A personal name for an automacube is highly irregular,” Victor stated, ignoring Tiffany’s words. “However, these are irregular times. When we last met, I would never have believed there would be these horrible monsters in our lake. So together now our goal is Reproduction and Fabrication. I will need to take you around Kama Lake to the far side where the Governor’s House is. There we can descend down to the passages which lead to the elevators.”
“Is the lake safe?” Paul asked as they journeyed along.
“A great battle was waged on the shore of Kama Lake. I was out toward the other town… excuse me, it is called Saratov… and could not partake in the fighting. The Jellie monsters had come into the lake at its deepest part. Our Governor, may she be at peace now, was alerted and she brought forces to confront these monsters. They were driven away, but the lake is changed. I will show you,” Victor said. “The rivers were also altered by the monsters’ activities. Our scientists are working to correct and restore the water, even though the CPO is not helping us.”
They passed the dormered permalloy houses, some of which had people in the windows, or working in the gardens along side of them. Few looked up, but those who did cast a wary eye on Paul and Gretchen. The group turned a corner and the lake came into view. The town of Perm was located all around the lake, with buildings and houses all the way to the shore.
“Brown water,” Paul said. “The Jellies were here.”
“That color was one of the first signs something was amiss. As we get closer you will be able to see the skimmers which are removing that vile mess,” Victor said. “It will take months to clean the lake, and our rivers are under stress as well. The brown filth is stubborn and resistant to removal.”
The road they were on went right to the water’s edge where some docks were located, and boats were moored. Looking out over the lake, they saw a big number of automacubes which were floating on the surface of the water. The machines were separated at equal distances and their line reached out across the lake. Slung between them was a white colored beam of something which was floating in the water.
“The skimmers are using gravity manipulation assisted filtering to remove the filth from the water. It is then sucked to the vodnees which compress it together and place it into those sealed bales.” Victor pointed to a barge which had large number of bundles of brown gunk stacked together. The brown mess was compacted into rectangular box shapes under a clear wrapping.
“I can see the water is cleaner behind the skimmers,” Gretchen said. “But what do you do with those bales?”
“Those are handled by some smugglers,” Victor began and then hesitated, “or I should call them, Free Rangers, who have arranged to cart those bales to a working hanger bay where they are placed in an airlock and ejected out into space. I believe your friend Brinley helped to arrange that. We considered burning, melting, organic disruption, or freezing, but the scientists say that the byproducts of destroying that filth are too toxic. So we are ejecting it.”
“Is that not breaking the quarantine?” Paul asked.
“Had this been prior to the attack by the Jellie monsters, I would say yes. However, not now. Like I said these are irregular times. The Free Rangers call their place a ‘safe zone’ and that seems to be safe of the Roe.” Victor paused a bit and then continued. “The Roe and the Outbreak are old and familiar enemies. These Jellie monsters are new and dangerous. Your friend Larissa has given us help in knowing what weapons to use and how to engage them. The Free Rangers have taught us how to expand their safe zone to keep the Roe at bay. That Brinley is an inspiring leader. The patrol cats are reducing the infected rodent populations. Sadly, we did not know all that was occurring when you were first here. We had to learn by the deaths of our comrades.”
“Victor?” Tiffany asked. “What do the artificial intelligence systems here relate about your successes?”
“I have not asked any AI on this issue. I rarely consult with an AI, unless I have need. I seldom have need,” Victor answered. “Constable Jeffry would be a bet
ter person to ask. Our scientists tell us we are making progress, and I trust them.”
They walked around the lake and saw a great number of destroyed permalloy houses and other building on the far shore. Some of them had been blasted into rubble, other looked melted, and still others were torn apart in large chunks.
“This is where the Jellies were repelled,” Victor said.
Paul and Gretchen thought of the hunters and the hippo animals they had seen killed. The destruction in Perm was a magnitude greater.
“I am sorry for your losses,” Gretchen said.
“If Larissa had not informed us of the effectiveness of organic disruptors, all may have been lost here in Perm. Governor Zlata fell right there.” Victor pointed to an area where the houses were destroyed to a point where the rubble was the size of sand. “Yes, these are irregular times for us all.”
“Are you sure the Jellies are gone?” Paul asked.
“No. That is why we have the patrols, surveillance, and our combat teams standing by. You may have noticed that all people now carry an organic disruptor, except for the small children. We will respond to any Jellie sighted and destroy it.” Victor was emphatic. “Just like the Roe, no mercy is given to this enemy.”
They walked away from the battle ground and out past houses which were not destroyed. A few people were walking by on the streets, some with carts of produce or other goods, but there was a hushed silence about them all. A sort of traumatic dampening was palpable in the people’s looks as they went about their lives. Now that Paul and Gretchen knew to look, they did observe that everyone had a pouch on their belts which would hold an organic disruptor weapon. No children were seen anywhere.
“The Governor’s House is where we will enter,” Victor said and motioned to the large structure at the end of a main road.
The Governor’s House of Perm was made from brown colored permalloy. It was three stories high with a flat roof. The second and third floors each had six windows across the front. The center window was located over the entry door on the first floor. There were ornate decorations which ran up between the windows from ground to roof, ending with pointed spikes at the top. Those four columns were a lighter colored brown than the rest of the building. The sidewalk leading up to the building had flowers along each side of it, but even though they were blooming in numerous colors, a sadness hung in the air over the place.
Victor led the party up the sidewalk to the front entry to the Governor’s House.
“Hail, Victor,” the trooper said who was on duty at the door.
“Hail, Jerauld. We need entry into the Governor’s House,” Victor replied in a formulistic manner.
Jerauld stepped to the side smartly and opened the door. He looked at the strangers who followed Victor with suspicion, but said nothing. The automacube was last to enter, but just before it did, the gray and black striped cat slipped inside, unnoticed by anyone.
The atrium area was open with clear doors to offices all around it. The Governor’s staff was working at their tasks, and did not look up at the people who entered. Victor led them across the atrium to a set of stairs that led both up to the other floors, and down.
At the bottom there was a locked and guarded security door. The permalloy of the wall it was set into did not match the color of the rest of the building. They took the steps down.
“Hail Wessington,” Victor said as he approached the guarded door.
“Hail Victor,” she replied. Trooper Wessington was dressed in the same style of uniform as was Victor except she had an aiguillette on her left shoulder. Victor’s eyes momentarily went to that golden braid with its shinny silver hanging tips. He quickly raised his eyes back to meet the hazel colored eyes of Trooper Wessington.
“We need entry into the lower levels,” Victor stated.
“Entry is forbidden due to the quarantine,” Wessington responded. Her voice steady and clear. She was just a tad shorter than Victor, not quite as tall as Gretchen. Her words were thick with power and authority. The weapons on her belt also spoke volumes of her efficiency as a trooper.
“I am on orders from Constable Jeffry himself. Please check with him for a dispensation to allow us entry,” Victor stated.
The seriousness of the exchange was noted by Paul and Gretchen. Tarpay sat looking alertly at the door, and the automacube was waiting behind them.
Wessington raised a multiceiver to her mouth and spoke, “This is Trooper Wessington, basement of the Governor’s House, requesting a word with Constable Jeffry.”
A mechanical voice replied. “Sending request.”
A few moments later, Constable Jeffry’s image appeared on the display of the multiceiver. “Trooper Wessington, report.”
“Constable Jeffry. Trooper Victor, his volkosoby Tarpay, and two strangers with a maintenance automacube are requesting permission to enter the lower levels. Do they have your dispensation for passage?”
“First, you were correct and honorable to challenge this request. Well done,” Constable Jeffry stated.
“Thank you sir,” Wessington replied smartly.
“You may allow them entry,” Constable Jeffry stated. “They have my dispensation. The door shall be sealed and guarded immediately after their transition to the lower levels. If they seek to come back, do not allow it. You must absolutely notify me before allowing them to return. I will render a judgment only at that time.”
Wessington’s eyes grew a bit wider as she understood the command, but that was the only alteration in her composure. “Yes sir. Subsequent troopers on guard duty will be made aware.”
“Again, well done Wessington.” Constable Jeffry severed the link.
Trooper Wessington looked sternly at Victor and held his gaze for a bit longer than was comfortable. He nodded slightly and a hint of emotion flashed across her face, but was gone so quickly Paul wondered if he had seen it at all. She took out a metal key which hung on a silver chain around her neck. She then inserted that key into a slot next to the color pad controls by the door. Next she entered a sequence of colors to the pad. Rotating the key, she entered a second sequence of colors. She then removed the key and entered a third sequence of colors after the key had been withdrawn.
Only then, did the door slide to the side silently, and lights came on behind in the passage that had just been opened.
“You may proceed,” Wessington stated, and stepped back out of the way. She was holding the key in her hand.
The hallway beyond was identical with the style of the locations on the opposite side of the security door. The lights all functioned and the place was spotlessly clean. Victor motioned, and Tarpay bounded into the hall and swiveled his head around, sniffed, and then looked back. Victor walks through, as did Gretchen, then Paul. The gray and black striped cat paced in right behind Paul, and while he did not see it, Trooper Wessington did. She held her tongue and refused comment as she recognized it as a patrol cat. Finally the automacube rolled into the hallway.
The security door slid shut with an ominous thud and the color pad control which had been illuminated on this side of the door, faded out to darkness. The permalloy where the color pad had been now looked just the same as the permalloy all around it.
“This is the basement section of the lower levels. It is still maintained by the automacubes,” Victor said as he glanced at the orange automacube which housed Tiffany. He started to say more, but then stopped.
“So where does this lead us?” Paul said. “I would think the Reproduction and Fabrication facility would be up by the sky tube, unless it is different here?”
“You are correct; the physical location is far overhead. The route to get there is found this way. We are not like the great crested grebe, so we
cannot just fly through the sky up to wherever we need to be,” Victor said.
“Great what?” Paul asked in puzzlement.
“I believe Victor is referring to a type of bird, perhaps a type of podicipediformes. Historical records relate that t
he grebes are a group of medium sized freshwater diving birds, known for being excellent flyers, swimmers and divers. Less adapt at ambulation. Also known for elaborate plumage. Am I correct Victor?” Tiffany asked.
“The great crested grebe is a bird, yes,” Victor replied. He turned to Paul, “You did not know about the grebes? It is an irregular time indeed. A man does not know about common birds, but a cleaning machine does. Your AI has an elaborate speech, especially for a maintenance automacube. I am used to seeing them mopping the floors, not speaking to me of the fine birds of the Pampas.”
“Why do some call this habitat Pampas and other Steppes?” Paul asked.
“There are often more than one name for something. Why is that unsettling for you?” Victor asked and then laughed. “If you get confused on names, you ask me, and I will explain it to you. Pampas is the same as Steppes.”
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 132
