Quest for the Conestoga (Colony Ship Conestoga Book 1)

by John Thornton

  Jubal’s countenance changed. His eyes quit glaring. “That does make a difference.” Jubal turned to Jerome. “The team suffered a death in Dome 3. Karen died.”

  “Karen died?” Jerome asked. His facial expressions matched the surprise in his tone, even though it was all deception.

  “Yes. And an unauthorized recording was transmitted to the adventurers which graphically showed the raw conditions within Dome 3. You are fortunate not to have seen it.” Jubal placed both of his hands over his eyes. He then rubbed his short black hair which was receding from his balding head. “Jamie has a meeting with me and she should be here momentarily. You and I can discuss your unauthorized expeditions to restricted areas of our dome later. For now, Faraday will remain at 50 percent functioning under the supervision of my AI, Artificial Intelligence.”

  “Indeed, a death of one of the adventurers takes precedence. Sorry to have disturbed you,” Jerome said. His mind was bouncing back and forth between the looks he had seen on Jubal’s face, and his words. Jubal had admitted his involvement in hindering Faraday, but was not responsible for the distribution of the Dome 3 account. Jerome had witnessed that awful record with Cammarry, but its transmission was not Jubal’s doing. “I assume there will be an official briefing where I can learn more?”

  “I am not sure on that score. This violation of briefing protocol is unprecedented. I see Jamie coming now, we will discuss your transgressions at another time.” Jubal’s dismissal was rude and abrupt.

  Jerome looked up and indeed Jamie was walking toward them. Her short red hair bounced in its usual manner, but her freckled face looked weary. Normally her walk was buoyant and sprightly, but now she looked more worn and defeated.

  Jubal retreated into his apartment, while Jamie walked past Jerome. Her Hazel eyes looked like they were carrying an immense load of emotion. Jerome reached out for her and she shifted her walk so she could pat him on the shoulder as she walked by. Their eyes met and she gave him a slight shake of her head.

  “I just heard,” Jerome muttered, unsure exactly what to say.

  “So word has already spread?” Jamie asked with heaviness in her voice. “No surprises. Cammarry is certainly effective about spreading news.”

  Jubal spoke up from the inside of his apartment. “Cammarry is not the culprit in this matter. Jamie please come inside. Artificial Intelligence? Close and lock the door. We are not to be disturbed.”

  The door sealed and Jerome walked away. He felt he must now be in the presence of Cammarry and share what he had learned.

  “Faraday? Are you functional enough to locate Cammarry?”

  “Yes. She is speaking to several adventurers near the recycling corridor,” the AI replied. “The bindings placed on my operations do not restrict that function.”

  “How badly restrained are you?” Jerome was angry, but felt unsure what to do next about the AI. He considered Jubal’s word about a fifty percent decrease in function.

  “I am not allowed to describe the full extent of my limitations.”

  “Perhaps I was barking up the wrong tree?” Jerome said quietly. He walked briskly to find Cammarry.

  “Metaphorical or literal? Are you sure you are using that idiom correctly?” Faraday asked. “Trees with bark and creatures that make barking sounds have been extinct for several generations. The idiom is generally recorded as meaning something like ‘accusing the wrong person’ or ‘searching in the wrong location’ neither of which you did. Jubal admitted he was responsible for the limits placed upon me.”

  “I thought the phrase meant getting proper priorities established. I am worried about your bindings and yet Karen died.” Jerome wondered what Faraday thought of his priorities, but resisted asking.

  “Yes, Karen’s death was a tragedy. Can you do anything about Karen’s death?” Faraday asked.

  “No.”

  “You can possibly do something to restore my functions. In the meantime, shall I review figures of speech or idioms which relate to establishing priorities?” Faraday asked.

  “No.”

  Some silent minutes later, Jerome found Cammarry. She was standing and speaking to a few other adventurers. They were in the middle of a conversation.

  “So none of our AIs can identify where the recording originated,” one of them was saying. “So it must have been a Committee member who released it. Only those three have the ability to do that.”

  “I am not sure how Paul will handle this,” Cammarry said. “Gretchen will keep him focused, but what a horrible thing to witness.”

  Jerome walked up to them.

  “Hello Roy, LeeAnn,” Jerome greeting the other adventurers. “Vihaan, Estrella.”

  “I think we will be summoned to a briefing shortly,” Roy stated with a wry grin. “Whoever released the recording will not be able to hide it for long.” His hazel colored eyes twinkled. “Certainly, Karen’s death is a great loss, but the way the recording was put out to all of us, that is very interesting. Why was it done like that and who did it? I just must find out”

  “You are almost as eager sounding as Jamie,” Estrella said. Her large brown eyes and medium complexion were overshadowed a bit by the deep concern on her face. “Jamie races ahead in all she does.”

  “Frogs being choosy of masters?” Jerome said.

  Everyone turned and looked at him. There was puzzlement on their faces. Cammarry spoke, “One of his old sayings, I believe. Unless he has just spoken to John about extinct biology. I believe ‘the frog’ was some kind of animal.”

  There was a suppressed chuckle.

  “As I was saying, Jamie rushes ahead, yes she does,” Estrella repeated.

  “Well she did before,” Vihaan added. “I wonder if she will still be that way after Dome 3?”

  Cammarry pursed her lips. “Paul saw the worst, from that recording.”

  “Is seeing it the worst? Worse that what Karen did to herself?” Roy asked. “I can understand wanting to end it all, and Karen did it quickly.”

  Jerome said nothing as the others continued their discussion. There were many ideas but few facts. None of the artificial intelligence systems could identify the source of the graphic and horrible recordings made by Jamie and especially by Paul.

  Not long afterward, the impromptu meeting broke up and Cammarry and Jerome walked back toward their apartment.

  “Did Member Jubal restore your AI?” Cammarry asked.

  “No.” Jerome paused. “He admitted to it, but then Jamie came along.”

  “You saw Jamie? How is she? What did she say? Why did you not tell me sooner?”

  “She walked past me and into Jubal’s apartment. Nothing much to tell. She did not elaborate on anything.”

  “Oh I wish I could hear that conversation,” Cammarry said wistfully. “You do not have some covert set up to be able to hear that conversation do you?”

  “No.”

  “Well, you are apparently the only adventurer who did not receive that recording from the data stick. No one is sure where or who orchestrated that release.”

  “It was not Jamie,” Jerome related again his brief encounter with her and then reviewed his interaction with Jubal. He finished by saying, “I am confident the release was not done by Jubal, even though he is throwing his weight around and messed up my AI Faraday.”

  “If Jamie did not do it, I doubt Paul would. He might, there is a streak in him incredibly strong, despite his whining, but he was in decontamination, so it is very unlikely he did it.” Cammarry flipped her hair and looked at the ceiling.

  “There might be some new technology. There have been space flights again,” Jerome reminded her. “Maybe Paul had some way to access that new technology? But why would he have it out on a ground mission? And Jamie really did not know word had spread.”

  “A real mystery. So was it Murial or Lorna?” Cammarry chewed on her lower lip a bit. “Someone wanted the adventurers to know what happened, but why? And why in this way? Why not just wait for the briefing?�
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  3 Solo missions?

  As time passed rumors spread and Cammarry listened to all of them, many contradicted each other, and some were just bizarre. Yet there was still no official briefing. As she was walking past the recreation center she encountered two technicians that she had a passing acquaintance with. They both worked with the Master Engineer Brink. They had just finished a ricochet-ball match and were laughing as they exited the court.

  “Hello Janet. May I have a moment of your time?” Cammarry asked.

  Janet and her friend Cindy waited as Cammarry approached. “Sure, what can I do for you?” Janet brushed some of her brown hair out of her face, the sweat had made her hair cling together. Beads of sweat streaked her face.

  “My understanding is the latest space flight went well. Were there any problems with re-entering the atmosphere? We take special precautions on our ground missions to other domes. I would think the radiation, toxins, and other corrosive things in the air would play havoc with the guidance systems of a flying craft. How did you overcome that?” Cammarry asked.

  Janet’s blue eyes looked at her inquisitively. She then glanced at Cindy who just dropped her head and averted her eyes. Looking back, Janet’s gaze fell for an instant on the clothing Cammarry was wearing which was unique to the adventurers. It was not a uniform so much as just a social trend, but it did separate them from the general population. Janet nodded ever so slightly.

  “The return flight was designed to compensate for all those factors. The landing was perfect,” Janet replied warily.

  Cindy coughed and nudged Janet. “You were awesome in that last match. Janet we should be going.”

  “So the return was not a problem?” Cammarry pressed, ignoring Cindy’s attempted diversion. “Communications worked well too?”

  “The orbital flight tested fine, and the craft returned perfectly to the reception strip. I think you better ask Chief Brink for more details. I need to go now,” Janet turned and joined with Cindy as they both walked away quickly.

  “Thank you!” Cammarry called out. She smiled to herself on her ability to gather more information. She had direct confirmation about the space flight.

  Cammarry tried to uncover additional information from other sources, but only found rumors and hear-say. The general population was unaware of what had happened in Dome 3, so Cammarry knew the recording of that horrific situation had only gone to the adventurers AIs and not to the main archives. So the adventurers had not been open about sharing the Dome 3 events and only discussed it quietly among themselves. There was no consensus on who released the recording, nor on exactly what the response to that information should be. A few of the adventurers even suggested that the release of the recording was some kind of a test, but Karen’s death was too much for that possibility to be seriously considered. Jamie and Paul were absent from the discussions, and except for Jerome’s very brief encounter, no one seemed to have spoken directly to them.

  On another morning, while Jerome was doing his routine exercise walking, Cammarry ventured to the decontamination chamber entrance. She was wondering when, or if, there was going to be some official recognition of Karen’s death. On previous missions when an adventurer died, there was a public service of remembrance, but for this incident nothing had been said from the Committee. Once there had even been an entire team that failed to return. They too had been remembered officially after only a short length of time. That Committee’s current silence, in and of itself, was in some troubling ways ominous.

  Cammarry turned a corner and she saw Michael, Jamie’s partner. He was dressed in radiation absorbing materials and striding purposefully toward the door which read ‘Restricted Access’ which was the passage to the only exit from Dome 17.

  “Michael!” Cammarry called and sprinted toward him.

  Michael turned. His RAM suit was perfect and all the accoutrements necessary for a mission were in place. His wavy, dark brown hair, and intense eyes gave him a rugged appearance. He was alone in the hall.

  “Another mission is going out? Who are you teamed with?” Cammarry asked. Her mind was racing. She was wondering why Michael would be leaving Jamie after her horrific ordeal. She wondered if Jamie was going on the mission with Michael.

  “No teams this time,” Michael replied tersely.

  “What? What do you mean no teams? There are always teams. Who are you going with?”

  Michael looked at the floor then up to meet Cammarry’s brown eyes. “Solo adventurer missions. One person per dome. Seven missions will leave this morning. I was the last to sign up.”

  “Solo mission?” Cammarry relied. “Who?”

  “LeeAnn, Roy, Dave, Constance, Vihaan, and Estrella. And me.” Michael did not elaborate.

  Frustrated, Cammarry interrogated him. “Why solo missions? Why are you going? Jamie needs you here. This is idiotic. After what happened in Dome 3? Why send people out alone? Why was there no briefing? Why no meeting to discuss this? And I will ask again, why are you going?” Cammarry pointed her finger directly at him.

  Michael looked from side to side. He then said in a low voice, “Jubal came to us individually. He said the Committee needed information on the other domes and he was looking for volunteers.”

  “Michael, why would you volunteer?” Cammarry touched Michael’s arm. “Jamie needs you here.”

  “Jamie is seeing Doctor Larsen, and well….”

  “Doctor Larsen is incompetent and dangerous,” Cammarry interrupted. “She is wrapped up in her own deluded mind and should not be giving advice to anyone else. You and I both know that. Jamie needs to see Doctor Chambers if she wants to get real help. But why are you going on some ridiculous solo mission? You should stay here and help her.”

  Michael’s eyes burrowed into Cammarry’s. “I had no choice in the matter.”

  “Michael, of course you have a choice,” Cammarry replied. “You did not have to volunteer for some single person mission to another dome.”

  “Actually, Jubal said if I did not volunteer, he was going to ask Jamie next. You know how she is; she would have gone. Especially now. I volunteered for the last slot so she did not go.” Michael’s eyes were wet and his lips were pulled tightly together. “Jamie feels responsible for Karen’s death, and she would go to make some kind of atonement. I could not let her find out Jubal was recruiting for these missions.”

  “Jubal would never have asked her. The Committee would not do that.” Cammarry’s words sounded hollow to her as she spoke them. She knew Michael would not have agreed unless he was convinced that Jubal would have actually asked Jamie and that Jamie would have gone.

  “Jubal said there were seven fusion trucks ready right now, and seven possible dome locations. The last slot was the one he offered to me. I am sure he would have next offered it to Jamie, and I could not take that risk. Now, please Cammarry, I need to depart now. Watch out for Jamie while I am gone. I agree with you about Doctor Larsen, she is totally worthless, but again, Jubal insisted that Jamie see her. He told me Jamie had to see Doctor Larsen. I thought maybe, at least, it would keep her away from being recruited for these solo missions.” He gave her a forced smile. “When I come back I will make it up to you. You will get the best story of what I see on this solo mission and I will let you win at ricochet ball. How does that sound?”

  Cammarry grabbed Michael and hugged him. “You be especially careful.”

  “I am coming back for Jamie. Count on that. Who knows, maybe the dome I visit will have advanced technology that they want to share. Someone out that should be willing to help us. They could solve our water recycling problems, right?”

  “Maybe….” Cammarry replied, but she held back from reminding Michael that all the domes investigated so far had been dead. Cammarry watched as Michael turned and went through the doorway. It dilated shut behind him. She then raced off to find Jerome.

  As she briskly walked she summoned her AI, “Winchell, is it true that the Committee has authorized single person missi
ons to investigate other domes?”

  “Checking the records,” the AI replied. “Affirmative, although only Committee Member Lorna has made that information available, and only if requests are made specifically about that.”

  Cammarry hastened into a trot and said, “Notify all the other adventurers of what you have found out. Specify that the missions are single person, and give them all the information about that. Tell the other adventurers to meet me in the cafetorium as soon as they can gather.”

  “Affirmative.”

  Cammarry met Jerome as he was running toward her. Together they headed for the cafetorium. “Beth received a strange message through her AI and told me about some solo missions? Is there really a proposal for solo missions? Beth said it was genuine. I thought perhaps the shackles on my AI were causing faulty impedance and bogus information was being spewed around.”