The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books

by John Thornton

  “Good fences make good neighbors,” Jerome muttered as he looked at the fence. “But is it here to keep things out, or to keep things in?” He looked at Old Bill, then back to the long eared, small furry animal. “This would keep animals like you out, but that little one, easily stepped though.” He gestured to the brown ball of fur which was so still it hardly looked alive.

  Jerome eyed the gate which had a triangular shape on its top. It too was made from the wrought iron, and it had pickets just like the spiked topped ones. These were arranged on two framed doors which met in the middle. The size of each gate picket varied starting the same length as the fence near the hinges, but then extending upward with each picket being longer than the previous one until reaching middle of the gate, at that point, where the two sides of the gate met, the top was another half meter higher. The three rails remained horizontal across the gate’s doors. The gate was locked at the center with a nine-section color control pad. The technological lock looked out of place on the antiquated primitive iron of the gate. It was one of the few control pads he had seen out in the midst of the biome, and its glowing lights struck him as inappropriate.

  Jerome looped the horse’s reins over the top of one picket and made sure Old Bill had plenty of space to move. Carefully Jerome pulled out the key finder that Siva had made. He set it up against the control pad on the gate and activated it. The device’s small blue illumination was nearly washed out by the light from the sky tube, but he felt the vibration as it worked. A slight humming noise came from the key finder, and then the blue light shifted and flashed a spectrum of colors.

  Nothing else happened. Jerome tugged at the gate, but the two sides were still locked together. He pulled the key finder away from the control pad, assessed both it and the color section pad, and then tried again. The key finder had the dim light, the vibration, and hum, but again, nothing happened to the gate or control pad.

  Agitated, Jerome put the mechanism back in his pack. “Well, I can just enter one of those command override codes. He pushed blue, green, green, white, blue, yellow. The colors on the pad flashed several times.

  “Access not allowed. Visiting hours have been temporarily cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. Rest assured your loved one is receiving the highest quality care available anywhere on the Conestoga. Please come back and visit the Special Care Unit again. Good bye.” The recorded voice was scratchy and came from some hidden speaker set in the gate.

  Jerome entered another series of colors. This time he pressed each color of the pad in a sequence from upper right to left across the top, then repeated in the middle, then the three at the bottom.

  “Access not allowed. Visiting hours have been temporarily cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. Rest assured your loved one is receiving the highest quality care available anywhere on the Conestoga. Please come back and visit the Special Care Unit again. Good bye.”

  Jerome punched the center color button over and over.

  “Access not allowed. Visiting hours have been temporarily cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you. Rest assured your loved one is receiving the highest quality care available anywhere on the Conestoga. Please come back and visit the Special Care Unit again. Good bye.”

  Using both hands he pressed all the nine colors at the same time and held them down. The color control pad’s lights faded out. The globes on the posts of the fence lit up with a dull red flashing glow. This glow was not only on the posts close to the gate, but winked on all along the fence in both directions.

  “You have violated privacy considerations. This behavior threatens the integrity of patient care. This behavior cannot be tolerated. Security has been summoned. Please depart from the entry to the Special Care Unit. You may leave now without further infractions being credited to you behavioral chart.” This new statement did not have the stale sound of the previous recording. It was still the same unemotional mechanical voice, but lacked the monotony and scratchiness.

  “Ha! There is no security or police in this place!” Jerome kicked the gate and worked his fingers against the edge of the color control pad. He was trying to see how the two gate doors were locked together and considering where he could cut them apart. The control pad was securely in place, so he stopped tugging at it. He slipped off his backpack, and pulled out the molecular torch.

  “Brrrruuurrr,” Old Bill huffed, his lips spraying spit onto the fence. The big horse shook his head and stomped a hoof.

  Jerome looked up in the direction the horse was looking. He almost uttered one of Bigelow’s profanities, but held it in. Rolling out, from a door located in the side of the Special Care Unit building, was a red automacube. Jerome vividly recalled what those machines had done in Alpha’s Wolf City.

  “No security, says Bigelow. Just great!” Jerome hastily replaced the molecular torch.

  “Step away from the gate!” a booming voice came echoing down the hill from the red automacube as it rolled toward him. “Visiting hours have been temporarily suspended. You must leave now. Step away from the gate.”

  Jerome smacked the gate with his palm. Old Bill nickered.

  “Cubie red will make you dead!” a familiar voice screamed. “Wizard Jerome! Run away! Run away!”

  “Khin?” Jerome said. His mind whirled with mixed emotions. He turned about seeking the source of the voice. “Khin where are you? You were not killed? You are alive? That was not you?”

  “Run away Wizard! Run away! Cubie red will make you dead! That is a bad one!” Khin was yelling. He and another person were sprinting toward him along the outside of the fence. They were coming down from the opposite way of the path toward the pier.

  “Oh thank the fates! It was not Khin!” Jerome said as he recognized Khin. His mind spun as he recalled seeing the man who had died an agonizing death outside of the habitat. “It was not Khin. Cammarry must learn of this!”

  “Run away! Wizard! Run away!” Khin was yelling.

  Jerome looked to the other person with Khin and muttered, “Jamie?” Then shut his mouth. The woman running next to Khin could not be Jamie from Dome 17. That other adventurer had flown to some other colony ship, but the red hair of the woman with Khin reminded Jerome so much of Jamie he was stunned. But looking closer, he quickly saw this woman was of a different build, and was wearing primitive woven clothing.

  “The cubie red will make you dead!” Khin screamed again. “Run away!”

  Jerome looked briefly at the red-haired woman, but then his anger boiled up. He knew he would never see Jamie again, nor anyone from Dome 17.

  “Step away from the gate!” The mechanical voice boomed again from the red automacube. It was steadily approaching him. “Visiting hours have been temporarily suspended. You must leave now. Step away from the gate.”

  Jerome’s anger boiled up. Despite the fact that he was elated that Khin was alive, confused as to what he had seen when he thought Khin had been killed, and uncertain as to who was with Khin, the threat of the red automacube was very real. He turned, knelt down, and drew out the Willie Blaster from the holster, all in one swift motion.

  The red automacube was rolling rapidly along the road from the building to the gate. It was gaining speed as it came downhill.

  Khin and the unknown red haired woman were running toward him from the side, yelling their warnings. Jerome took a few deep breaths and let the anger fuel his resolve. “Someone took Cammarry. Someone killed that poor man and the others in those vats. Everyone from Dome 17 is lost to me. I am alone here, but someone will pay right now.”

  The booming voice of the red automacube commanded, “Step away from the gate immediately. Vandalism will not be tolerated. Inappropriate or unauthorized entry will be halted. Visiting hours have been temporarily suspended. You must leave now. Step away from the gate. This is your final warning.”

  Reaching the gate, Khin was nearly breathless from running and yelling. “Beware! Cubie red will make
you dead!”

  “Not this time,” Jerome said coldly. He adjusted the Willie Blaster to its maximum power setting, then took careful aim.

  Piff. Piff. Piff.

  The high-speed projectiles from the Willie Blaster struck the front of the red automacube in nearly the exact same place. Its internal incendiary gel tank was ruptured and exploded. Huge streaks of newly molten permalloy erupted from its sides, leaving trailing flames in their wake as they flew from the explosion. The red automacube’s manipulation arm was ripped from the chassis and tumbled through the air. A drive wheel continued to roll onward, down the road until it spun about in a circle and fell over.

  Old Bill reared up on his back legs and kicked the air. He whinnied and nickered in distress, but the reins did not untie from the fence.

  Khin leaned over, his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

  The red haired woman hunkered down next to Khin and peered out at the burning wreckage of the security automacube. Her eyes were wide and wild. Jerome noted her eyes were dark brown, not the same color as Jamie’s from Dome 17. As he looked at her, he noted many other differences as well. Her hair was not the same exact shade of red, nor could he imagine Jamie hunkering down in fear. Jamie did not fear anything. Thinking of Jamie brought Jerome’s mind back to Cammarry and why he was at the Special Care Unit. He snapped the weapon back into its holster, and dug out the molecular torch.

  “Wizard Jerome!” Khin squealed. “That was amazing! You made the red cubie dead!” Khin leaped forward and hugged Jerome so hard he dropped the molecular torch and nearly fell over. “I am so glad to see you!”

  Jerome swallowed hard and steadied himself. “It is good to see you too!” He then broke into a wide smile and hugged Khin to his side. “I thought you had been…well…. That you were lost and alone.” He looked Khin over. His black hair had been trimmed shorter, and in the light of the sky tube his medium complexion was healthier than it had looked on the needle ship. Perhaps that was because he was far cleaner now than before. He still squinted his eyes, but his bright brown eyes shone out anyway. His clothing was the same, but had been mended in several places. “I thought you were gone forever.”

  Khin chortled with glee. “I thought so as well. I was alone for a while,” Khin replied. “That engine took me on a wild ride. It rushed away from the tilted-over world and brought me to this one. I ran away from that monster as fast as the door opened. Not as fun as flying, but I ended up in this huge new world. I have even adjusted to that bright thing up there!” Khin pointed to the sky tube. “I like what Vesna calls night best. The wonders of this world! So many more animals than just goats, rats, chickens and cavies.” Khin looked over at Old Bill. “Such big animals, and so many different things to eat! All because you and Wizard Cammarry allowed me on quest. I was alone until Vesna met me.” He gestured toward the red haired woman. “Her people are fishers and hunters who live by the sea. So much water! So many good things to eat!”

  “So the wizard stories are real?” Vesna asked. Her shoulder-length red hair was a bit more orange than how Jerome remembered Jamie’s. She was about Khin’s height, a bit lighter in complexion, and wearing some clothing which was woven. She had on a tan colored top with dark blue pants. Leather shoes wrapped her feet. Like Khin, she had a belt with pouches, and a small bag slung over her shoulder. Her blue eyes were wide over her noble nose and pleasing mouth. “I know you said one wizard was trapped in this castle here, and I believed you. I was just not sure about the amazing powers you said they had.”

  Khin laughed more. “Yes, the wizards can do many things, but sometimes do not know how to eat!”

  “Khin, you have seen Cammarry here?” Jerome interjected picking up something he heard in Vesna’s words. “She is in that place?”

  Khin sombered somewhat. “Yes, Wizard Cammarry is inside. I have tried many times to get past that cubie red. It never made me dead, but it made me sleep hard.”

  “It struck him with power like in the corridors and walls,” Vesna added. “Then it would dump him back outside the fence. I was afraid it would kill him one of the times he tried to do a rescue.”

  “I am sorry Wizard Jerome. I could not outrun that cubie red. It is not as bad as a monster, well, maybe it is as bad, but I could not beat it. Even at night it would see me and chase me down. I tried many times, but it rolls faster than I can run. I never made it into the castle.” Khin smiled a bit. “Had it been a cubie green it would have been a good machine! Or cubie blue, knows what to do! But this cubie red, it now is dead! All thanks to you!”

  “You have not told me how you know Cammarry is inside,” Jerome snarled. His mind was confused. He wanted to know all the details of how Khin had escaped and what had happened to him. He was ecstatic that Khin was alive, but confused as to what he had witnessed. He was curious about this woman Vesna and where she came from, but even more than all those joys, worries, concerns, and curiosities, he wanted to find Cammarry. His hands grabbed onto the sleeves of Khin’s shirt squeezing his biceps. “Have you actually seen her here?”

  Vesna stepped over and placed a hand on Jerome’s arm. “You will not hurt my Khin.” The threat she expressed was barely veiled.

  Khin looked at her and winked. “Wizard Jerome is just testing me. It is part my fault. I did not answer him quickly and directly. This is all good!” He looked back at Jerome. Eye to eye they stared for a moment. “Yes, Wizard Jerome. I did see Cammarry when those white cubies were taking her in here. She was wrapped in a clear sheet, but I saw her face. Vesna was a grand help! That was when we followed those white cubies here. My father says, ‘always think three times before taking action. Twice would have been quite enough!’ I did not need to think even twice before following. It was Wizard Cammarry. We came here to rescue her. I just was not fast enough to stop those white cubies before they carried her into the castle here. Then the cubie red tried to make me dead. It stopped me every time.”

  “Khin, where did you see Cammarry? Tell me all about it,” Jerome dropped his hands from holding Khin. “We must get to her.”

  Khin laughed. “Another test. Your spirit-ghost Sandie can tell you right away where she is.”

  “I cannot speak to Sandie now,” Jerome said. His anger was boiling inside him, but he took a few deep breaths, and tried to flex his hands back and forth. “I need for you to tell me directly what has been happening. You were lost in those corridors, but Cammarry was also lost as was my connection to Sandie.”

  Khin stopped his laughing. “I am deeply sorry. My mother taught me, ‘Ask forgiveness for your deed, keep the friends that you will need’. Please forgive me for not knowing how you were so alone. As mother said, ‘you will mourn from the day you were born.’ I will explain how we found Wizard Cammarry.”

  “I saw her first,” Vesna offered.

  Jerome turned and glared at her, but listened.

  Vesna went on. “I was hunting along the narrow land, by the side of the sea. My Khin he needs to eat more than rats, so we were looking for good food animals. I had come to the top of that hill over there by the great side wall. That is a good place to spot the nyala as they...” She stopped as she saw the impatient anger in Jerome’s eyes. “I see your fury is great, so I will tell you of hunting and fishing later. I saw the white cubies coming along the roadway. They do not come often, so I like to watch them when they do. I have heard that Mister Tate Willman has arrived, and so I was watching. I used my long range glasses to see what they were doing. May I show them to you?”

  “I know nothing about a Mister Tate Willman or a Hayward MacDonald for that matter.” Jerome gritted his teeth, took some more deep breaths, and then said, “Show me what you have.” His lips were pressed tightly together as he wrestled his anger into submission to wait for the information he desperately desired.

  Vesna looked to Khin who nodded. She pulled a device from one of her pouches. It was gray and black, double tube shaped, with a hand strap on one side. Jerome recognized it instantly as
a type of hand held telescope. Its quality manufacture surprised him a bit, as it was much more sophisticated technology than anything else he had seen in Vesna’s possession.

  “You look at me as if something is wrong,” Vesna stated. “Khin, why does this wizard look at me so? What did I do?”

  “Wizard’s ways are strange,” Khin chuckled. “Do not be afraid. They often test us to see how we will answer.” Glancing at Jerome, Khin gulped and held back more laughing. “I used her long range glasses to see Wizard Cammarry. They really do work. You can see for great distances. In this world there is so much to see, and everything is so far away. Well not everything, some things are close by, but other things are a vast distance away, so far I have never seen before! I think you know what I mean.”