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

by John Thornton

  “No worries Trooper. You are right, the funnels, as you call them, the exhauster ports are part of the drive system for the Captain’s gig. Let me give you an orientation on it as we crawl over to the machine. Think of the area where it is connected to the Vanguard as the ground. That will be down for now. It is resting on its side with its butt where the exhaust ports are, and its nose that cap on the other end. We will call the cap front and the nozzles the back. That ridge down the line of the cylindrical shape, that is what we call rigging. Now look for the cables that are connecting that rigging to the Vanguard.” As he talked, Sigmond kept carefully creeping along getting closer to the Captain’s gig. Hugh followed.

  “Understood on those parts. I do see what you mean by those cables just looking tied on, and not really fitted. I reminds me of a sloppy way to moor a boat at the pier or quay of Lake Orsk. So Free Ranger, what does that mean?”

  “Someone docked here in a hurry and secured this Captain’s gig in an unofficial manner.”

  “In the Wilds, I would suspect a drunken fisherman, but do Free Rangers get drunk and park a craft like that?”

  Sigmond laughed. “Some Free Rangers do get drunk or drugged, but would never fly a shuttle that way. This looks more like it came from a panicked action.”

  “A crash after being attacked?” Hugh asked. He had heard the tales about the Free Rangers and their ships being attacked.

  “That is one possibility. This just feels much older than some recent attempt. I think I would have heard about it if some Free Ranger group had actually been using a Captain’s gig for transport. That kind of gossip would travel fast and all I have ever heard are old legends about the Captain’s gigs. I also see no damage. So this was probably not a crash as much as a haphazard placement, maybe as a way to hide?”

  They had reached the hull near where the cables were strapped and secured and led away to the Captain’s gig. There was about a ten meter span between the Vanguard and the gig. Not much space considering the sizes involved. Pulling themselves along, they crossed to the other side of the gig and looked up at it there.

  “Now this is very interesting. Trooper? What would you say if you found an open door to someone’s house?”

  “That the owner was outside? Or wanted fresh air?”

  “Or that a thief had broken in? There are thieves in the Wilds, right?”

  “Well there once were smugglers,” Hugh chuckled a bit. “But if you get to know them personally, they are not bad people. I do understand what you are saying. I see that outline, on the side? With the shadows? That looks suspiciously like an open door, right?”

  “Yes. An open pressure door which would normally be closed when out in space.” Sigmond began to climb. He was picking his way along the cables which connected the gig to the Vanguard.

  Since their arms were still wired together, Hugh followed along trying to keep the same distance. “Does that mean the inside of the craft is ruined? Like a boat that has taken on too much water and sunk?”

  “I hope not, Trooper. But sinking down in a lake might be even less damaging than explosive decompression out in space. I guess we will find out. It looked like there are some projections along the side of the gig we can use to reach the handrails along the gunwale.”

  Hugh did not understand the specifics but he saw they were heading for some places where he could hold on and those looked to be leading toward where the door was located. “I am following you Free Ranger. Just let me know if I need to use my feet. They have been basically floating after me this whole crawl, and I feel strange.”

  “We will see what is inside,” Sigmond said.

  The last part of the journey only involved placing one hand over the other and pulling themselves along. The gunwale made it much easier as the handrail which ran along that was designed to fit a human gloved hand, and the gunwale did allow for a foot hold, although Sigmond did not use it as such. Hugh tried to, but it slowed him down and the wire between then tightened. As the wire got taunt, Hugh just kept doing the hand over hand movement and then crept up to the open doorway.

  Sigmond swung into the open doorway. Hugh followed. There was a stream of starlight that cast a silvery sheen over the interior of the Captain’s gig. They checked their momentum as they saw what awaited them.

  “I cannot believe it!”

  13 parts for a lifeboat

  “The Captain’s gig is responding perfectly,” Brinley said as she adjusted the thrusters and leveled out along the hull of the needle ship section of the Vanguard. “Paulie, keep an eye on that display. I believe I have it set to monitor for proximity movement. I do not want some Jellie flying at us without any notice.”

  “Will it pick up those systems that shot down shuttles before?” Paul asked. “Or do we just sit and wait to get blasted apart?”

  “I am also monitoring the macroactinide capacitor enhancer activity. This gig’s onboard systems are amazing. I am sending out a recognition signal which I hope notifies any automated defensive systems that we are friendly. Tiffany? Can you interface with the gig’s systems?” Brinley asked.

  “At this time, in my current condition, I cannot. I would need the Atomic Level Processor to be in physical contact with the gig to interface. There is no nonphysicality connection,” Tiffany responded. “I can detect where that coupling in the nonphysicality had once existed, but it has failed. Not only failed, but there are sections of the nonphysicality which are obliterated. By conjecture I can understand where the connected aspects were, but cannot recreate them.”

  “When that Phoenix Dominie messed it up, that was a thorough job,” Paul lamented.

  “There also appears to be Jellie activity which has damaged the nonphysicality. How that was done I do not understand,” Tiffany replied. “My sensing capability is extremely limited, and therefore I am uncertain of all that I report.”

  “So the lattice went done, the system of AIs was shattered, and the Jellies are invading and advancing more,” Paul said. “And we get to just wait to be shot at again.”

  “Not necessarily,” Tiffany corrected. “I believe that the macroactinide capacitor enhancer’s functionality is damaged as well. My understanding of those systems is that they were managed through one of the Vanguard’s primary artificial intelligences. Without that oversight, I doubt there will be coordinated scanning of anything outside of the Vanguard, and Brinley’s instructions on sending out a recognition signal will help prevent unwanted attack.”

  “All attacks are unwanted. So the Jellies can just sneak around and fly anywhere they want to. That is so good to know,” Paul said. “Such is my fate.”

  Gretchen was watching the display on her side of the cockpit. “The Vanguard’s deck plans are all in this gig’s memory vault. I have the tracking unit working and it is showing our passage with labeling of what is beneath us.”

  “Our first place to check for the second Captain’s gig is at the bow end of C Habitat. That is closest to our current location,” Brinley said.

  As the Captain’s gig flew, Brinley looked out of the observation ports and could see that they were passing over from the needle ship and along a constituent joint. Gretchen was observing the same progression, except hers was on the display. Brinley, who had sequences and routes across the Vanguard memorized was suddenly somber. Her eyes were scanning for familiar locations, but what she saw was altered because of a great deal of damage. Lights were out more than they were on. There were several debris fields she had to fly the gig around. The Vanguard just looked worn and broken. The needle ship was in better shape, but they left that behind and were now circling around the perimeter of the C cylinder of the Vanguard.

  As they reached further forward on the enormous cylinder, nearly to the bow of the Vanguard, the gig circled around enough so that Brinley saw the two places where other cylinders had been but were now missing. The needle ship stretched out and was intact with only the single habitat cylinder in that front half of the Vanguard. The other two were
just gone. In her mind she had known two of the six habitats had been lost, but seeing it was different. She thought, strangely enough, of her childhood and how some children were so pleased when they lost a tooth. Brinley recalled looking at her own wide mouth in a mirror after she had lost teeth. As she smiled, with two teeth missing in the front, she felt glad, happy, and somewhat more mature. She knew she was growing up. She also knew those teeth would grow back in, and she would be better than before. Even though she would look buck toothed and get called some names by the other children, she still felt accomplishment. However, as she now looked at the gap where two biological habitats had been, she felt only sorrow and loss. The gap she saw now in the Vanguard would never be filled in. It could never be replaced. The things that were lost were gone permanently. A tear ran down Brinley’s pretty face.

  “Brinley, what is it?” Gretchen asked.

  Brinley wiped her eyes and continued to fly the gig. “I was just thinking of all the people who were lost.”

  “We will be lost too if we do not find that other shuttle and get the equipment,” Paul said. “Do you see that other shuttle?”

  “It is called a Captain’s gig, not a shuttle. Get the name right, Paulie,” Brinley snapped.

  “What did I say?”

  Gretchen just looked at him and Paul looked away.

  “According to what Tiffany uncovered, there is a hanger bay near here that berthed a Captain’s gig.” Brinley emphasized the term Captain’s gig. “It is right over there!”

  “Brinley, there is something on this display,” Paul said. “It is flashing a purple light.”

  “Proximity Alert!” the display in front of Paul announced. “Unknown object approaching.”

  “We are out of here!” Brinley said and her hands flew over the controls. “That hanger bay has a Jellie ship inside of it. Those are Jellies in their sphere suits approaching us.”

  The thrusters on the gig fired in response to Brinley’s commands and the three people inside the gig were pressed hard against the cushions and restraints by the sudden movement. The three purplish-blue globes which had risen up from the occupied hanger bay were left quickly behind.

  “This display glows purple when a Jellie is nearby?” Paul asked.

  “Yes Paulie, I set it to warn us with a purple color for any unknowns. I wanted to be consistent. The aliens like the color purple, so our warning comes in purple too. It looks like they are not following us. Maybe we are too fast for them,” Brinley smiled.

  “I scanned and looked at the hanger bay as we flew by. There was what looked like a Captain’s gig inside of it, but it had been severed into large chunks,” Gretchen reported. “There was not only a Jellie ship inside of there, but a large number of individual Jellies in their suits.”

  “Well done Gretchen,” Brinley replied. “We will now check out the next possible location for the second Captain’s gig. We are heading to F Habitat’s cylinder, outside of Pampas. Tiffany, please report to Larissa on our findings so far.”

  Brinley kept the gig moving and again circled around the distal side of C Cylinder. She hoped keeping the huge Vanguard between the gig and any possible Jellie observations would help them complete the mission.

  Flying over the space between C Cylinder and toward F Cylinder, they again saw Jellie activity. This time it was far enough away that they were not alerted by the proximity detector, but rather could see the purplish glow reflecting off the hull over on the proximal side of F Cylinder.

  “We are not getting close to them. Our target location is at the stern, so I am taking us in a loop away from that other Jellie ship.” Brinley deftly handled the controls and the Captain’s gig zoomed along skimming the hull of the Vanguard.

  “There is a hanger bay below us,” Gretchen announced as the gig swung down to the short side of the cylinder.

  The hanger bay was dimly lit as the only light source on the entire end of the cylinder was the starlight coming from all around them. Not a single spot on the hull had any powered illumination.

  “That is where a Captain’s gig was berthed, according to the records. You can see the yellow stripes across the exterior doors,” Brinley said. “Now to get those exterior doors opened.” She activated many different controls.

  “The deck plans show that there is an Exterior Repair Station nearby,” Gretchen related. “Tiffany can you tell us anything about this section of the Vanguard?”

  The AI responded, “I am sorry, but nothing more than you are apparently getting from the gig’s equipment.”

  “This door is stubborn,” Brinley said. “I have tried every remote access method we have, but there has been no response.”

  “I thought no door could keep you out,” Paul remarked.

  “Paulie, I am not finished yet,” Brinley replied with a slight grin. “The remote access methods are all failed, but I can use a direct connection and try that.”

  Brinley’s fingers ran over the display and a corner of the larger display lit up with an animation feature. “Now I will launch a magnetic docking tug.”

  A long and flexible cable was ejected from the nose of the gig and it snaked out and latched onto the edge of the hanger bay doors, just where Brinley had aimed it. On the animated display she could now see the magnetics had locked together. “I could winch the whole gig up to that location, but I can now send pulses and energy surges through and unlock the hanger bay doors.”

  Brinley activated several other controls. The energy surged down the cable, yet the doors remained closed. She tried numerous different combinations of pulses, surges, and signals. None worked.

  “If we use fusion power, would that help?” Gretchen asked.

  “I could connect one of the fusion pack into an access port here, if you want me to,” Paul said as he unbuckled himself and floated up from the seat.

  “None of the gig’s power is doing what we need, so yes, that is a good idea.”

  Paul pulled out a fusion pack from where they had secured them. He floated back and connected it into a port on the cockpit. “That should give you more energy.”

  “Thanks Paulie. I am inserting the fusion power into that magnetic docking tug.”

  On Brinley’s display, she could see the cable line brighten and then the colors shot out all around the edge of the hanger bay doors. “That looks like it is working. That entire hanger bay must be cut off from the Vanguard’s power systems.”

  Gretchen was looking at the display with the deck plans, Brinley was monitoring her unlocking procedure, and Paul was settling back into his seat when it happened.

  There was a brilliant flash on Brinley’s animated display. Then a shockwave struck the Captain’s gig and Paul was barely able to snap closed the restraints as the gig tumbled about.

  “Explosive decompression in that hanger bay! Detaching magnetics.” Brinley yelled, even though there was no noise from the explosion that could be heard in the gig. She dropped her hands onto the display and tried to regain control of the gig as it was shoved away from the Vanguard.

  Paul looked out the window and saw a spewing fountain of brown colored liquid jetting out from the tiny crack that had opened along the seam of the hanger bay door. For an instant the spray was steady, but then the hanger bay door itself buckled outward. Another side popped open and more junk came ejecting outward. Then Paul lost sight of the hanger as the gig swung about under Brinley’s commands.

  “There was water inside that hanger bay! And there were shuttles inside there.” Brinley taped several commands and the display shifted away from the animation and showed a stabilized view of the hanger bay.

  Giant globs of shifting liquid were flying apart. Between and among them were broken parts of shuttles. The canopy of a runabout, its shiny blue color contrasting with the brown of the liquids was seen as it tumbled toward them. A long shinny gray section of a wing pirouetted about, slicing into the globs of liquid and sending them in different tangents. And the largest piece of debris had once been
a Captain’s gig. It was collapsed and bent in on itself along its top axis.

  “That will never be usable,” Paul remarked. “But why would they put water in a hanger bay?”

  “Unless that entire cylinder was where they had diverted the water?” Gretchen said. “It had to be going somewhere, and after Oasis exploded, I bet the Jellies filled Pampas with water. They are aquatic creatures.”

  “Fill the biological habitat and all the decks around?” Paul asked. “Well they did flood Oasis.”

  “We are moving onward,” Brinley said. “I hope this drains water away and hurts those Jellies.”

  “So two Captain’s gigs are destroyed, no wait, four if you count the two other habitats that have already been destroyed. The one we are in was nearly attacked by the Jellies and now just escaped being crushed by that exploding water and junk. We have to protect this one. We should go get the supplies from the Fabrication facilities and see if any of those are even ready,” Paul said. “We also need to look for those children or other survivors. Maybe we can make the lifeboat from a single Captain’s gig?”