“Yes. The Vanguard is designed to be disassembled when we reach Westerhuis 9 and the planet Projima. That will be in a couple generations away from now, but yes, the habitats and the needle ship are made to separate.”
“So how do we find our way onto the needle ship?” Larissa asked. She was pondering the enormity of the idea of disconnecting sections of the Vanguard. Her entire world was the Vanguard, and while she knew intellectually that there were other places and habitats, it was a shock to think that the ship could be dismantled.
“We will need to look for a hanger bay or a docking port or somewhere to deploy the connection that was used back at the Exterior Repair Station,” Brinley replied.
The runabout flew onward and she had it change direction ninety degrees as they came to the needle ship. Flying along in parallel to the long axis of the needle ship, she scanned the hull for anything that might be an egress point.
“So we did make it here to the needle ship without incident. The avenue that was cleared worked,” Larissa observed. “The automacubes were successful in deactivating the system that shot down the shuttles.”
“And there is our entry!” Brinley exclaimed. “See those doors that are swinging open? I am not sure what caused that, but they are opening as we approach. I suppose there could be an automatic sensor, but I am suspicious. It could also be a trap set by the CPO. What are your thoughts?”
“It is in the correct location according to what we learned about where that memory core is located,” Larissa said. “We wondered how we would enter. Perhaps the automacubes arranged this? Is there a better option?”
“I cannot think of one, but it is not likely the CPO will just welcome us here, and who else would be opening a hanger bay for us?”
“Who else indeed?” Larissa said and pondered what this meant. “I am willing to try it, if you are.”
“Larissa we are going in,” Brinley said in determination.
The runabout’s thrusters fired and aligned it with the now open hanger bay. The bay was intact and had no obvious damage. It was well illuminated, and the pressure doors were visibly labeled. The running lights were operating and indicating a landing pad at one end of the six stalls which constituted the hanger bay. The yellow cross stripes on the landing pad were flashing in a slow and methodical manner. The other five spaces were all empty and unlit.
“No other shuttles here,” Brinley responded as she directed the runabout into the hanger and flew it slowly over to where the landing pad was indicated. “Even if this bay is not pressurized, we have the space suits to be able to leave the runabout and explore.”
The exterior doors of the hanger bay began folding in and shutting out the sight of the stars of space.
“Well, I think we are committed to this as our destination,” Brinley said with a chuckle. “I had not hoped that getting inside the needle ship would be this easy.”
“Is it too easy?” Larissa asked warily. “Or do we have a benefactor who is helping us? The shuttle was ready to go, then that Jellie spacecraft was attacked while we flew by, and now the front door of the needle ship is open to us. I do not believe in coincidences to that degree.”
“Tiffany? That AI could be doing this all,” Brinley said. “I will try to link to that AI again when we land. As it is, I could not get this runabout back past those exterior doors even if we tried to leave. So we are committed.”
A large display lit up across the back of the hanger bay. A scrolling message appeared in white lettering on the dull green glow of the display. ‘Cleared for landing at indicated space.’
“The voice of our benefactor?” Brinley said as she adjusted the controls to have the runabout settle down on the landing pad.
The skids of the runabout set down on the pad. Clamps came out of the deck and connected with them. The clamps locked the runabout into place. The display screen scrolled another message, ‘Pressurization taking place. Please wait…..please wait…please wait…”
“Larissa here we are,” Brinley replied. “The hanger bay, if it is like the typical operations, will have gravity manipulation turn on as soon as the bay is fully pressurized.”
There was a thudding sound and both Brinley and Larissa felt weight again.
“So, I now feel,” Larissa commented. “At least now I know a direction for up and down.”
The white lettering on the green display screen then scrolled another message, ‘Disembark from the shuttle and quickly proceed to leave this hanger bay. The window of opportunity is small.’
Brinley reached up and pulled the levers to pop up the canopy. “Here we go. If this is a trap it is a most gracious one.”
Larissa sprang out of the seat quickly and pulled both the L-RODs out from storage. She slung one over her shoulder and grabbed the other in a position ready to use. Brinley grabbed the backpacks and tools and she too climbed out of the runabout.
“That door is our exit,” Brinley said and pointed to the one where the yellow lights were flashing. There were three other pressure doors, and except for the yellow flashing light, all the doors looked the same.
They rushed through the hanger bay and up to the pressure door. Brinley was ready to enter a sequence into the color pad when the door slid to the side before she could do so.
Larissa and Brinley walked past the open door. Beyond the pressure door was a hallway which had lights flickering on. To their right the wall had clear permalloy windows which overlooked the hanger bay. As they stepped in that direction, the pressure door behind them slammed shut.
“This unit is Phoenix Dominie, our time is short, CPO forces are converging on this location,” the words echoed through both of their bubble helmets.
13 What to do with a captured jellie
Paul and Gretchen both looked down at the captured Jellie which squired and wiggled about in the clear canister. The mechanism at the end was humming a bit and droplets of water were forming inside the canister.
“I wish I knew what to do now,” Paul said. “That thing is incredibly ugly, and The Artemis never said what we were to do with it, did she?”
The medallion around Paul’s neck grew warm. The voice of The Artemis spoke to them all. “My instruments say the containment canister has been activated and you have a captive. Well done!”
“That is easy enough for you to say,” Paul complained. “This thing nearly killed us both.”
“The spears you gave us worked,” Gretchen interjected.
“I would have killed that Jellie and broken it like a rotten egg, had you been in serious danger,” Lyudmila said. “For now I will search and see if I can find any survivors. I have seen no people anywhere in Tula.” She turned and walked away.
“Thank you, Lyudmila!” Gretchen called after her, but there was no reply.
“Artemis? What do we do with this thing?” Paul asked, and nudged the canister with his foot. The droplets of water inside it were more numerous. The Jellie responded by slapping the inside of the canister with a tentacle.
“You will need to transport it to me, here in Safari,” The Artemis said. “That way we can begin our study into how to completely defeat these aliens. I thought it was clear you would bring the captive to me. I am pleased to know that our spears worked.”
“What do we do about the coating on the tips?” Gretchen asked. “If it could do that to these aliens, would it injure us?”
“The instructions had details about removal of the coating, to use your term. Just follow those instructions and the spearhead will be rendered safe,” The Artemis replied.
“That simulation said nothing about anything. It was a silent demonstration. We are lucky we figured out how to use these spears,” Paul stated with a huff.
“There must have been a communication problem. There was a detailed list of instructions as well as the simulation you are speaking about packed in with the spears and the containment canister. Apparently, you did not receive that since you only saw the projection from the medallion. It is peculiar, but we can
remedy that when you bring the captive to me.”
“We caught it. You come and get it,” Paul said. “I am exhausted doing your work. It smells, and my body aches, and I am hungry, and I am totally frustrated with all this. Besides this thing we caught is so ugly.”
“The faster you get the captive to us, the sooner we can find a solution and defend the Vanguard,” The Artemis stated.
“Then you better hurry and come and get it. I am not going on another quest,” Paul said and sat down. “Yuck!” He then looked about the ground around him and realized he had sat in the remains of what had poured out of the ruined sphere. He shook off his hands and stood up again. His backside was covered in sticky muck.
“Gretchen, it is imperative that you bring the captive to me immediately,” The Artemis stated.
“No. I agree with Paul.” Gretchen crossed her arms and said nothing further.
Paul reached down and tried to lift the Jellie captive in its containment canister. “This thing is too heavy to lift.”
“There is a gravity manipulation suppressor in the mechanism. It is voice activated. Just tell it what you want to do,” The Artemis said.
“What I want to do? Certainly. I want to go home to a functional Dome 17, can you make that happen? Or I want to you to give me a safe place where there are no enemies of any kind so I can live a good life. Do that for me,” Paul said sarcastically. “I want to join the other people who escaped Dome 17 and went to that other colony ship. Do that for me!”
Nothing happened.
“I guess I will settle for the gravity around this thing to be nullified,” Paul said the word. He then kicked the side of the canister. It rolled freely away and struck the side wall where the barge was imbedded in the riverbed.
“That worked,” Gretchen said and grabbed onto the end of the canister. “It is still really bulky and hard to move, but it has no weight.”
“And we are supposed to carry that load of Jellie somewhere? Really?” Paul asked.
“Paul, I can only inform you of what we need. I cannot force you or Gretchen to do what is right. I will see if I can arrange for a team of hunters to come and get that captive,” The Artemis said.
Paul grabbed the opposite end of the canister from where Gretchen held it. He saw that the outside of the canister had a sleeve in it.
“Artemis? Will the spear’s coating hurt the canister?” Paul asked.
“No. The canister is made from far different material than is the Jellie and its equipment,” The Artemis answered. “So will you transport it to me?”
“No. You come and get it,” Paul stated. He turned to Gretchen as he slipped his spear into the one sleeve on the container. “Gretchen? What do you think we should do now?” Paul asked.
“First, we get out from under this barge. Then we find a secure location. It is possible this Jellie’s friends will come looking for it. I wonder how they communicate with each other.” She slipped her spear into the sleeve on the other side and that made for two usable handles on the container.
They carried the captive Jellie up the slope and across the dried out riverbed. The burning smells from the town lingered in the air, and we not any better than the smells of the dead Jellie they left behind. The heat from the sky tube was even more intense than before. There was no sign of Lyudmila, or the cat Bernie.
Reaching the old edge of the river, Gretchen set her end down and climbed up the bank and onto the now even more brown grass which was where the water level had been.
“Toss the Jellie up here, but throw it gently. Remember it has a gravity buffer field around it,” Gretchen instructed.
“I would just as well leave it here and let The Artemis find it, but the other Jellies might come back.” Paul carefully pushed the canister and it floated up to where Gretchen caught its end and set in onto the ground.
“Please adjust the gravity manipulation so as to give this canister one one-hundreth of its normal weight,” Gretchen instructed.
The canister settled down onto the ground and remained in one place. Paul scampered up the bank and joined Gretchen.
“That whole town is a mess, and I just want to find a safe place. We need to get out of this heat,” Paul said. He looked at the sky tube and then down again at the dried out riverbed.
Gretchen saw the look on his face and said, “Something is seriously wrong in this habitat. I cannot believe this is normal for here.”
“What is normal? We just about froze to death at that other place when we first got to the Vanguard. That Oasis place had more water than I thought ever existed. Not to mention all the weird animals we have seen,” Paul pointed at the Jellie. “Then there are those ugly things. These biological habitats are weird.”
“I agree the Jellie looks alien all right,” Gretchen replied.
They got moving and walked along a road which ran on the outskirts of Tula. Carrying the captive Jellie was easy since it now weight only about six kilograms. Paul avoided looking at the alien, as it squirmed around it its tight container. The mechanism had extracted water from the atmosphere and the inside of the container was about half full of water.
“That thing must need to be in water to survive,” Gretchen said as they walked. She was not as hesitant to observe the Jellie as was Paul. She studied its strange body and pondered what kind of life it actually had and where it had originated. “I wish John the biologist could see this creature.”
“Gretchen, John is off somewhere safe. That looks like a place we can rest,” Paul said and pointed to a small house which was less destroyed than many. It had a large hole in one side of its front, but the roof and sides were otherwise intact.
Paul pushed open the front door and they carried the canister inside. The room was not in bad shape, but the debris from where the front wall had been blasted did cover much of the front room. The back room was a kitchen and was less damaged. They set the canister down. It was now about two-thirds full of water. The Jellie was still crammed inside it, but did not appear as agitated.
Gretchen sat down on a chair at the table. Paul joined her. He pulled out the medallion and played with it on the table. It was not warm, and he felt uncomfortable thinking that The Artemis might be listening to him, especially since he had defined her wishes.
“I am going to try contacting someone else,” Gretchen said. “We have no idea what is happening in other places, and we need to know.”
“Good idea. The Artemis does not want to hear from me, I am sure,” Paul commented and he set the medallion down.
Gretchen took the multiceiver and set it on the table. Just as she was about to thumb the switch for Brinley, she changed her mind and connected to Doctor Chambers.
“Hello Gretchen. I am glad to see you,” Doctor Chambers stated from the display on the multiceiver. He was squatting down next to his desk working on something on the floor. He picked it up and set it aside. “How can I help you?”
“We have been though a huge ordeal,” Gretchen began, but was interrupted.
“Oh, before I forget,” Doctor Chambers stated, “Brinley and Larissa had a message I was to deliver for you. They said that the communication systems were having some difficulties, but you could use me as a go-between. Larissa said I could serve as an intermediary. She also said she would contact me again, but she has not done so.”
“Yes, we have been out of touch with them as well. Are they safe?” Gretchen asked.
“When they contacted me they were safe,” Doctor Chambers replied. “Well, as safe as someone can be who is on the Vanguard.”
“I am surprised you would talk to Larissa, or I guess I should say that she would talk to you,” Paul stated.
“Welcome back Paul,” Doctor Chambers said. “Why do you say you are surprised?”
“Why? I do not know why I do anything anymore. When will you talk to them again?”
“That depends on when they come to my office. Just like it is with you two, I cannot initiate contact, but can relay messages. N
ow Gretchen said you have been through some ordeal. I can see that you both are exhausted and frazzled. What has happened?”
Gretchen related in precise and concise detail the events leading to the capture of the Jellie.
“So you are now in possession of an alien? That is remarkable. May I see it?” Doctor Chambers asked.
“I wish John could see this.” Gretchen placed the multiceiver into position so that the display screen was pointed at the containment canister.
“I too want John the biologist to see this. That is the strangest thing I have ever seen. I am not certain what to say, but I do understand your dilemma. You are not sure where to proceed and you are so tired….”
There was a quick succession of beeps from the multiceiver and a scrolled message came across the display. ‘Link to Brinley established….Link to Brinley established…. Link to Brinley established.”
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 163
