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

by John Thornton

  “The sullied animals are yucky,” Jennie said.

  “But not as bad as those bad animals, they are really nasty,” Lennie added.

  “I am not sure they even are animals. They are so bad,” Bennie finished. “They hate everything. Their minds work different.”

  “So Brinley cannot come in here. What do we then do?” Gretchen asked.

  Irina walked over Brenda and asked in a gentle voice, “You look tired?”

  “Yes, sweetie, I am tired. Now that you mention it, I think I will go and take a nice nap.” Brenda stood up and walked over to Paul and Gretchen. She hugged each of them. “It was so nice to see you again. I hope we can meet together in the future. Thanks again.”

  Then turning to the children she said, “We will have more lessons after my nap. Thank you.” Brenda walked away and left the room.

  “Now we will answer your question,” Rika said. “There is no need to bother the Teacher with the details.” She then nodded to Irina.

  “Now wait a minute,” Paul said as Irina stepped toward him.

  “Please just sit down,” Rika said. “Then you will know everything about joining your friend Brinley. Please sit down and do not be afraid. Think nice thoughts.”

  “Paul, we can at least listen to these children before we leave,” Gretchen said as she sat down. “And Brenda did agree with them.”

  “Well, I think we should speak to Brinley and Larissa on the multiceiver and find out when they will be here,” Paul said as he sat down at the table. “They said they knew how to get here.”

  “You will speak to them very soon. We know you will,” Rika said.

  “So they are going to come here? You will let them?” Paul asked. “What changed your mind? I was afraid to even say Larissa was coming here.”

  Irina placed one hand on Paul’s shoulder and one hand on Gretchen’s.

  Paul and Gretchen both gently slipped their heads down to the table as they fell into a deep sleep.

  “I will have those white automacubes come and carry them this time. That will work better than the way we did it before,” Martin said. “Having those two whites ones come back with us was good.”

  “Not as good as having Bernie come here. He was worth that whole trip away from the Gardens of Delight,” Jennie added.

  “Yes, Bernie is super, and the white automacubes are helpful. Not as good as the red and blue ones will be. Martin, you are right. The white ones will work nicely for taking these two away from here,” Rika said. “Irina? Are they are healed?”

  “Their bodies are healed. Their spirits are outside my reach,” Irina said. “A healed body is not the same as a healed person. I have done what I can.”

  “The white automacubes will bring all their tools as well. I just told them to pack the gear up,” Martin said. “They will need all that stuff outside of here.”

  “Bernie says he is going too,” Lennie said. “I will miss him.”

  “Not as much as me!” Jennie exclaimed. “That cat liked me best.”

  “No way. We will all miss Bernie. He says he will try to come back but will send some other patrol cats here as fast as he can,” Bennie said. “They can easily find their way if we tell them how.”

  “Oh goodie!” Lennie squealed with joy. “More nice animals. But they cannot chase the chickens.”

  “Bernie was just playing anyway. I told the chickens that and they are less nervous now,” Jennie said.

  Two white automacubes rolled up to the central room and the door parted for them. The machines rolled out an inflatable stretcher onto the floor, and then gently moved Paul from his seat and onto the stretcher. The manipulation arms of the automacubes moved him with gentleness and tender care. The stretcher inflated and held his body. It was not the full suspended animation trauma stretcher so it only held Paul by straps across his back, and legs with an inflated ridge around it. His breathing was deep and easy. His limbs were secured safely for transport.

  A second stretcher was rolled out from the white automacubes, and Gretchen was similarly placed onto that stretcher. It was then stacked on top of the one Paul was in. Gravity manipulation then was applied so the stacked stretchers hovered over the floor. They were pulled then away from the central room.

  “Good bye Paul and Gretchen. You can go and meet your friends, now. Brinley and Larissa are getting more busy,” Rika said. “We will be watching what you do. I am sorry it will be so hard with the bad animals.”

  The white automacubes carried the stretchers out and they passed the rows of plants. They came to a side wall which opened up for them. They left Terragora Investigation and Evolution and passed into a hallway where there had been a large amount of charring and burning. The automacubes did not notice the stale air or the other foul smells which lingered in that corridor.

  They rolled up to a pressure door which had white lettering, ‘Warning: Oblique Gravity Manipulation Adjustment Beyond this Point’.

  Martin spoke to the machines and the controls in and around the door, even though he was physically far away, back sitting around the table. “I have fixed that room for the next few minutes. You can get through it now.”

  The medical automacubes activated the door which opened to the Gravity Alteration Gimbaled Sphere. They rolled inside keeping careful track of the stretchers with their two sleeping patients.

  “The parabolic inhaler casually quits!” a figure yelled. It had once been human, but its glowing orange eyes revealed it to be a Roe. It tried to stand, but toppled over in dizziness. “The parabolic inhaler casually quits. The parabolic inhaler casually quits.” It kept yelling while it tried to walk, but only scooted its arms and legs while lying on its side. It again tried to stand upright, but fell over backwards.

  The two medical automacubes rolled past the staggering and floundering Roe without giving it much attention. The gray and black striped cat trotted along happily near them. They exited out a door that was in proper alignment with the GAGS. The automacubes had to shift their drive wheels to adjust to the directional change of gravity as they passed from the GAGS to the corridor beyond. Bernie the cat just numbly leaped and shifted about, landing on all four feet gracefully. They easily made that adjustment and the hovering double stretcher carrying both Paul and Gretchen came along behind them.

  As the automacubes pulled the stretcher past the doorway, several large rats leaped into the GAGS. Their eyes were glowing orange in an angry manner. They rushed toward the still lurching Roe as it tried to right itself.

  The pressure door slammed shut.

  The rats raced at the Roe which they saw a vulnerable and easy prey. The Roe had given up trying to stand and just sat down on the floor. It was rocking itself a bit.

  The lights in the GAGS shifted and flickered. The gravity manipulation changed and then changed again, then fluctuated randomly. The rats were suddenly thrown violently around. They screeched in fear and disoriented anguish. Visual perception was skewed. Vertigo rampaged through the Roe’s head and the rat’s small brains. Up was down, and side to side, were never consistent. It all felt like it was moving as the chamber spun and the gravity toggled from zero to three times earth normal in only seconds.

  “The parabolic inhaler casually quits!” the Roe screamed in triumph as it snagged one of the rats as it flew by in the confused mess of the failed control systems. Biting it savagely, the Roe fed.

  3 Larissa and Lyudmila

  Lyudmila walked along with her father Arvin. Her dark brown wispy hair framed her round face. She smiled happily at her father. Her light brown eyes alive with excitement. She was stocky, and muscular from her work. A sprinkling of freckles crossed her nose.

  They had said goodbye to her mother and younger siblings. Their small wooden house was surrounded by pastures and crops between the stands of trees. It was one of the farm cottages located among the vast agricultural fields which encircled the tiny village of Yuriev. The region around Yuriev was the major food producing area for that end of C Hab
itat. The village was not too far away, and consisted mostly of the grinding mill, the pub, the church, and the half dozen houses which encircled the mill.

  Bila’s Mill towered above the other buildings as it was made from permalloy and had a bright red water wheel which dipped into the river. The other structures were all wooden and much newer than the mill which had been around since the launch of the Vanguard, a time decades before Lyudmila was born.

  “Father, when the CPO put out the notice, I was one of the first to volunteer,” Lyudmila said. Her dark hair and square face were typical of her family. They were all stout, not fat, and stocky with a sturdy frame. She looked ahead at the ever so familiar scenes as they walked along the basic road which led to the village.

  “Yes, I heard,” Arvin replied. “I am not sure why you volunteered, but now you are committed.”

  “Why father,” Lyudmila said taking her dad’s arm playfully. “It was to be like you. Being a gamekeeper is an important job. You have said so yourself so many times.”

  “I fear it is so you could meet men from outside of Yuriev. There are few men here your age around,” Arvin replied. His heart soared as he knew she had honestly complimented him on being a gamekeeper, but he also knew her motives were mixed.

  “Well, yes father. There might be men from some of the other places like Tula or even Penza on the far other side of the Woods,” Lyudmila replied with a sly grin. “How else to meet new people?”

  “You could just jump in the river and float all the way there,” Arvin teased. “Then some fisherman could scoop you up in his net!”

  “I consider doing that almost every day,” she answered with a laugh. “Seriously, father, when was my job at the mill going to be reassigned and let me be free for this? I thought I would be working there forever.”

  “That is a valid point. Lyudmila, I am not sure what all this is about, and it may be more than just a game or time to meet new people. There has not been a mobilization for a generation or more,” Arvin said seriously.

  They walked past the pub and entered the church where Constable Durand was waiting. There were four other people sitting in the pews of the church. The inside was lit by gentle lighting, and by glass areas in the ceiling. Those roof windows were arranged around the central single round dome which from the outside looked like an onion.

  “Arvin, I am pleased you are on time,” Constable Durand stated. He was a blocky man with a heavy black mustache which was as black as the curly hair dangling around his ears poking out from his thick cap. Unlike the typical gamekeeper uniform, his coat was double breasted, long, deep green colored with black buttons down its two rows. His knee high boots were dull black.

  “Constable Durand, this is Lyudmila. She has volunteered as a new gamekeeper,” Arvin said and gestured toward his daughter.

  “As have these other three. We need a four person team for the mission we are called to perform,” Constable Durand stated. “I will now call the midshipman so we can receive our orders.”

  Constable Durand activated his multiceiver and stated, “This is Constable Durand awaiting orders.”

  “Please establish full display size link,” a man’s voice stated.

  “Yes, sir,” the Constable snapped to it. He pressed the side of the multiceiver and it projected a beam onto the side wall of the church. A man’s image was there. He had crisp short black hair, a medium and clear complexion, and round brown eyes. His eyes were looking right at the people in the pews. He was wearing a uniform of dark blue with gold trim. There were red epaulets on his shoulders.

  “I am the midshipman dispatching an order from the Central Planning Office,” the man stated. “I see that the four volunteers are assembled. This team will assess each egress point in a subscribed section of C Habitat and ascertain that the quarantine is still in prime condition. This shall be done immediately, and shall proceed along the route that is being supplied to Constable Durand. Governor Werner is also dispatching a second team from Penza.”

  “So is this about the brown water?” one of the other volunteers asked. His name was Ricky and Lyudmila knew of him a bit. He and the others all lived in more remote places than she did. She had seen Ricky at the bizarre on occasion, but did not know him well. She did not know the other two at all.

  “This is about the quarantine. The quarantine must be maintained. The Central Planning Office needs an accurate assessment of the status of the quarantine. Governor Werner and Constable Durand will instruct you on the use of the monitoring tools which are being sent via gravity conduit. They should have arrived already.” The midshipman stated clearly and directly.

  “Yes, sir. They are here,” Constable Durand replied.

  Arvin wondered why the CPO wanted new recruits to do what seemed like a simple task, but he had never spoken to anyone in the CPO before, and did not desire to start doing so now. He did look at Constable Durand and noticed that his wrinkles around his face were deeper than he recalled from past encounters.

  “Will you at least tell us what that brown water was all about?” Ricky pressed.

  “Stop imagining things and maintain the quarantine. That is all you habitat personnel are asked to do, a rudimentary task. So get to work.” The midshipman showed no emotion as he insulted them all.

  Constable Durand stepped up quickly, “Please forgive our over eager recruit. I, myself have seen the toxic brown water, and have heard the rumors. If you could please alleviate the concerns we have here, that would be helpful. I will make sure these new gamekeepers are instructed in the use of the monitoring tools. Thank you. It is a pleasure to work with the CPO.”

  “You will remain focused on the security of the quarantine and stop imagining things. You shall complete this task on time and report back to the CPO. That is all,” the midshipman ended the briefing.

  The display went dark and the beam of light from the multiceiver shut down.

  Constable Durand’s anger flared. He was unsure who to target his considerable anger upon, but Ricky, being the closest one ended up being his target.

  “You imbecile!” Constable Durand yelled while picking Ricky up by his shirt front. Durand’s muscular arms lifted him easily out of the pew. “You talk back to the CPO? I am your commanding officer and you will never speak out of turn again. Do you understand me?”

  Ricky was off the ground even though he was taller than Constable Durand. “I was just…”

  “I said you will never speak out of turn. What is unclear about that?” Constable Durand said as he pulled Ricky’s face close to his own. The thick black mustache nearly touched Ricky’s young face.

  “Nothing. I understand,” Ricky mumbled.

  Constable Durand set him down, but did not let go of him. “And what do you understand?” He asked in a bit lower, by no less threatening voice.

  “I will never speak out of turn again.”

  “And when you do have a question, what will you do?” Constable Durand asked.

  “I will keep it to myself,” Ricky replied trembling a bit.

  Before Ricky could move, Constable Durand let go with one hand and slapped him right across the face. “Wrong answer. You will ask your question. Questions are essential, important, and needed. However, you will follow the chain of command of the gamekeepers. In fact, I appoint you to be the team leader of these four recruits. So you are now directly under my authority. If these new gamekeepers have a question, they will ask you. So you had better be prepared to know and learn everything I will be teaching you. If you cannot answer their questions properly, and I mean properly, you will ask me. If you have your own questions you will ask me. Is that crystal clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” Ricky responded and rubbed his reddened face.

  “What do you understand?” Constable Durand asked.

  “I will ask you my questions,” Ricky responded.

  “And when these others ask you a question?”

  “I will answer it, or ask you about it. Is that correct?” Ricky aske
d, but was prepared to be slapped again.

  “You are not an imbecile. You have shown you are teachable. The chain of command is essential,” Constable Durand stated. “So when you ask me a question, I will answer it. If I do not know, I will ask Governor Werner. Then Governor Werner will speak to the Central Planning Office if needed. We listen to the CPO, we do not question them. That is the natural order of things.”

  Lyudmila looked at her father. His face was stone hard.

  “Ricky, take the other three new gamekeepers and go outside. Proceed to my wagon which is hitched behind the church. Wait there. I will pass out the uniforms, supplies, and give you instruction on the use of the new equipment,” Constable Durand ordered.