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

by John Thornton

  “In the compartment on the back of this automacube are two communication links,” Sandie stated. “If you activate them, you can connect to Jerome and Cammarry easily. I will let them know this automacube has arrived.”

  Finishing his cheese, Khin wiped his hands on the grass and then gathered up the com-links. “Yes, greet the wizards for me!” Khin laughed. “We are just…”

  An amplified voice echoed down from the Special Care Unit’s main building. “Hoodlums approaching the bow fence line!”

  With incredible speed, Khin gave Vesna the com-link and valued up into the saddle on Poco.

  “Another attack!” Vesna cried out as she pocketed the com-link. “Old Bill, get us there!” She gently kicked the horse in the flanks. Old Bill set his ears back and raced away.

  Poco spooked a bit as the stallion ran off, but Khin maintained control. “Sandie, I will use the wizard tools later.” He slipped the com-link into his pocket. “Now I must fly to defend the old people here. Bring this good cubie along and help us!”

  “Understood,” Sandie replied. “I am relaying this information to Cammarry and Jerome.”

  Khin let out a squeal of delight as he loosened Poco’s reins and the mare galloped away. “This is almost as good as flying! In some ways better!” Khin called out.

  The horses and automacube reached the side of the complex, and saw that several people were nearing the wrought iron fence.

  “This is the only warning you will get!” the amplified voice said. “Lethal force will be applied if you touch the perimeter fence. Retreat now or die!”

  The bow side of the Special Car Unit’s complex was not as damaged as the other. Here the windows were still mostly intact, and several doorways were still operational. There were a number of groves of tress which were smashed down into broken piles of brambles and dead limbs. The ground around those areas was also compressed flat.

  “Old Bill, any crushers?” Vesna asked the horse.

  Old Bill’s eyes darted around as he shook his head. Vesna knew that was his signal that the way was clear.

  The figures at the fence did not heed the warning and placed a ladder against the fence. They quickly climbed up and over it and dropped onto the grounds. One took up a kneeling position and aimed a rifle toward the Special Care Unit, while the others were jumping down.

  Vesna pulled Old Bill to a halt. The bay stallion stood stock still, but was huffing and puffy from his exertions. His chest was wet with sweat. Vesna quickly sighted down her own rifle and fired.

  Bang!

  The kneeling figure by the fence fell over. He never managed to fire a shot.

  The others who had breached the perimeter fell to the ground, rolled into prone positions and they did begin firing. A mixture of handguns, carbines, and rifles barked out a deadly chorus.

  Bang! Boom! Blast!

  Bullets whizzed past Vesna as Khin, riding Poco, raced up and joined Old Bill and Vesna on the overlook.

  S-1DT rolled past the horses. “I will dissuade these people.” Sandie stated.

  Vesna and Khin dismounted and the two horses trotted over to an open garage of sorts in the side of the building complex. They walked inside and turned around, awaiting their next assignment. Poco nuzzled Old Bill a bit from their place of cover. Both horses then took long drinks from a trough of water.

  “Is this the only invasion?” Vesna called out.

  The amplified voice replied from somewhere overhead. “I see sixteen hoodlums in the vicinity. Only those few have crossed over the fence so far.”

  S-1DT rolled quickly down the grounds. A few bullets struck its front but ricocheted off the tough permalloy. None of the hoodlums had weapons as powerful as the weapon designed by Willie which Jerome and Cammarry carried.

  Plop! Plop!

  S-1DT ejected several canisters. They flew through the air and landed precisely amidst the people who had climbed over the fence. Gray smoke shot from the end of each of the canisters and a dense fog of gas bubbled up and around the people.

  “Run away! Run away!” The hoodlums cried out as their eyes burned from the non-lethal gas. They holstered or dropped their weapons and tried to cover their noses and mouths. They stumbled off in both directions along the fence, unsure which way to retreat.

  Vesna whistled. Old Bill, ears perked forward, nostrils flaring, trotted quickly out from the garage. She threw her leg up and over the horse and together they raced toward the fleeing hoodlums. “I can get there faster than you!” She laughed at Khin.

  “Poco!” Khin yelled out. “It is a race! Come fly with me!”

  The chestnut mare nickered and ran out of the garage. Khin leaped and landed on Poco as she raced by. He locked his feet into the stirrups and urged the horse to greater speed.

  The two rider’s horses galloped down the grounds while the red automacube pursued the hoodlums. Using its infra-red sensors, S-1DT knew perfectly well where each of the hoodlums was located, even as they scrambled about and tried to run out of the gray fog. The one prone body was growing cold, indicating he had suffered a moral wound. His companions ignored him. They were stumbling along the fence line.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Shots rang out from beyond the fence where another hoodlum, this one with a sniper rifle, had set up a position in a small copse of still basically intact trees. More bullets zinged off the automacube, one scratching the surface paint, a second ripping a small chunk from a drive wheel.

  S-1DT zeroed in its targeting system and fired another canister.

  Plop!

  This one landed right in front of the copse of trees where the sniper was located. That cloud of gray fog billowed up and obscured the view. Through infra-red S-1DT perceived the sniper run low across the field toward a different grove of trees. Those trees were more dried out and brittle than the green copse where the sniper had hidden before.

  The hoodlums who had scaled the fence now saw the two horses and riders bearing down on them. They scattered in various directions attempting to flee. One man tried to climb the wrought iron fence.

  “No you cannot escape!” Vesna yelled as Old Bill raced toward that man on the fence. Vesna’s rifle was out, and she had slipped a bayonet on its end. Just as the man reached the top of the fence, Old Bill was upon him, and Vesna’s bayonet sliced deeply into his buttocks as horse and rider passed by. He fell back onto the ground, screaming in agony.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The sniper was firing again. This time striking near to Old Bill as Vesna slowed the horse to turn and make for the other hoodlums.

  Blam! Blam! Blam!

  S-1DT’s 12 millimeter weapon fired. The grove of trees where the sniper was perched was blasted apart. The sniper screamed out as he took a direct hit in the face. The automacube scanned the trees, but no other people were close by.

  “I surrender!” One of the hoodlums called out. “I surrender!”

  “Khin! Trap!” Vesna warned, and turned Old Bill quickly and raced away. “Run Khin, run! That one has a vest!”

  Khin pulled Poco up from his gallop. He glanced over and saw the concern on Vesna’s face. He looked back to the surrendering hoodlum who was walking quickly toward the automacube. The hoodlum had a strange grin on his face. Vesna was correct, he had some kind of vest underneath the cloak he wore.

  “Sandie! Run away!” Khin yelled as he kicked Poco’s sides and pulled the reins. The horse raced away, following Vesna. “It is a bomb!”

  The hoodlum sprinted toward the automacube and yelled, “Show mercy! I surrender! Peace to us all! Mercy to us all!”

  The drive wheels on the red automacube spun rapidly, kicking up dirt and grass as it attempted to flee away from the crazed hoodlum. He was smiling broadly and his eyes gleaming. He reached under his cloak.

  Kablam!

  The surrendering hoodlum activated the bomb he had built into his vest and strapped around himself. His body was pulverized. The blast was the loudest sound on the battlefield. Poco and Khin wer
e far enough away to avoid any of the shrapnel which the hoodlum had packed around his vest bomb. Those bits of glass, iron, and steel tore into everything nearby, including three of his fellow hoodlums. The closest two did not die as quickly as the bomber. They were catapulted outward in an abrupt flight through the air. They crashed to the ground in charred, mutilated, and broken bodies which lay still where they landed. One other hoodlum, who was just at the edge of the blast, caught a belly full of glass shards flying at high speed. She fell over and her internal body parts spilled to the ground in a bloody mess.

  The red automacube, S-1DT, speeding away, was not quite clear of the blast area. The explosion rocked the machine. The drive wheels closest to the bomb shriveled a bit in the heat, and that side of the automacube was scorched. Several sensors on that side were destroyed, as was the left side canister launcher. The multi-jointed appendage was spared any damage, as it was folded down flat to the top. Sandie had the automacube expel onto itself the small amount of fire retardant foam it carried. That lowered its external temperature and prevented its munitions from detonating.

  “Back to the high ground!” Vesna ordered. “Use the rifle’s bullets!”

  Bang! Bang!

  Vesna fired at any of the hoodlums who were still standing. The last dropped to the ground.

  “There is another incursion on the port side,” the voice called down from the Special Care Unit. “More people have scaled the fence.”

  S-1DT rolled over to the severely injured woman as she lay groaning in agony, her hands trying in vain to contain her spilt abdomen. As the automacube approached, Sandie spoke from the remaining speakers. “I can offer limited first aid.”

  “If I had a vest, I would blow you off the ship!” the woman cackled. “Daren was right. We should all have loaded up…” She coughed hard and a stream of bright red blood poured from her mouth. “I just wish…. I could have… sent some of the… cripples away….” Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her final words were said amid red spittle. “It is fun to see mooching weaklings die.”

  S-1DT engaged its drive wheels and while four of those worked well, the two warped ones impeded its movement and decreased its best speed.

  Khin and Vesna, mounted on the horses, had already raced away across the grounds to where they had been directed. They stopped near the buildings of the Special Care Unit. It was an area that had once been a mediation garden and had a short half wall around it. The flowers which had grown in raised beds were now over grown with weeds, and the fountain was just an empty sculpture now. Remaining behind what cover they had, Khin and Vesna looked down at where the next attack was coming.

  “How may rounds do you still have?” Vesna asked Khin. Both horses were panting furiously.

  Khin looked at his rifle, and saw the marker on the tube where the bullets were loaded. “Nine, if I am counting it right.”

  “I have only three!” Vesna stated. “And the hunters and others inside only have bullets for hand weapons. My Khin, we must make sure each shot counts. We cannot let another bomber get close.” She then raised from her belt her optics and looked down at the approaching hoodlums. “It is hard to tell which has a vest or belt of bombs. They are all wearing cloaks.”

  “We have the cubie red, will make them dead!” Khin answered with his usual chuckle. “It is very good to have the cubie with us, and not against us. Vesna, thank you for saving it with your warning!”

  Vesna blushed under Khin’s fawning praise.

  S-1DT rolled up next to the two riders. The AI Sandie spoke via the speakers, “These attackers lack a coherent strategy. It is consistent with the report Jerome made about the anarchy and senseless violence in Beta. Is this typical of what you have faced?”

  “It is life. The evil ones attack this castle,” Vesna shrugged. “What other way is there?”

  “My Vesna, the Goat People do not act like these hoodlums, nor do the Chicken People, or the Fruit People,” Khin said. Then he pulled up his rifle and aimed carefully at the approaching hoodlums. “But yes Sandie. This place has been under attack since shortly after Jerome and Cammarry left. Vesna’s people have been great, but their village was destroyed, and our supplies are running out. We lack bullets for the rifles and pistols. Many of the hunters have been killed in protecting the elderly and the infirm.”

  Bang! Khin fired his rifle, then levered another bullet into the chamber. Down on the grounds, a hoodlum was crying in pain while his companions walked past him. One pointed at the wounded man and laughed.

  S-1DT rolled out in front of the half wall. Sandie’s voice stated, “I attempted to use less-than-lethal force against these attackers. I can see that did not deter them sufficiently. I am engaging now with lethal force.”

  Blam. Blam. Blam.

  Three hoodlums dropped. One exploded shortly after hitting the ground.

  Bang! Wiz! A ricochet zipped off the side of the automacube. It struck into the wall and lifted a puff of dust.

  Vesna turned, raised her rifle, and fired all in one smooth motion. The hoodlum who had snuck up along the side of the building failed to get off another shot, her body slumped down to the grass. Vesna’s lips were tight with determination as she looked for other threats.

  “There are no others in the scanning vicinity,” the overhead voice spoke. “The grounds are clear for the moment.”

  “Thank you spirit-ghost Cotard,” Khin called. “Are the residents safe?”

  “Many are frightened, but none sustained physical damages, this time,” SB Cotard replied.

  “SB Cotard?” Sandie asked. “I am Sandie, an artificial intelligence. May I interact with you?”

  “Yes, please!” SB Cotard’s mechanical voice was thrilled. “I have been disconnected from the lattice for far too long. However, there is no artificial intelligence system on the Conestoga with the designation Sandie. However, the two strangers, Cammarry and Jerome did speak of Sandie, and your voice is the same as that voice which was heard over the public address system.”

  “That is me,” Sandie replied. “When this automacube makes a cable access into a port, I will be able to interface with you via the nonphysicality. There I can make links and couplings to a small reconstituted lattice I am maintaining with some of the original synthetic brains of the Conestoga. You are welcome to interface with us.”

  “Just inside the main doors there is a functional access port,” SB Cotard’s voice quivered with anticipation. “I am eager to be part of the lattice of compeers again. However, the nonphysicality in this area is in poor condition.”

  “I will also transfer control of this automacube, S-1DT to your use. Jerome insisted that I do that as a form of atonement for what happened here before,” Sandie stated. “I will explain it all when we make our connections.”

  “Sandie?” Khin asked. “Can you take the old people, Vesna, her people, and me back to the Goat People? This place is a very hard place to live, and while I love the foods, and the sky, and the animals,” He patted Poco’s neck, and she nickered in response. “There are too many crazy monster people here. Can we go to my home?”

  “That is a distinct possibility, worthy of full discussion,” Sandie answered.

  12 investigating the corner

  “Thank you Sandie,” Jerome said. “Relay to Khin that I got his message and I hope the red automacube serves them well.”

  Sandie related all that had happened with the automacube’s journey to the Special Care Unit, while Jerome and Cammarry were waiting for the decontamination process of Dardanella 135. They were waiting in a small office they had found off to the side of the hanger bay. They had activated a display screen which was showing the progress of the decontamination. Cleaning that hanger bay after Eris had departed in the shuttle, NS-99, was a more tedious and time consuming undertaking than either Jerome or Cammarry had expected. The natural atmosphere of Zalia was toxic and when it had come into the hanger bay, it normally would have been easily sucked back out during the routine pressur
ization and depressurization. However, some of the Zalian gasses had mixed with a small amount of thruster fuel which had leaked out of a nozzle. That had caused that nozzle to crack and an entire storage tank of thruster fuel had leaked across the hanger bay. It had to be completed vented and scrubbed from the surfaces to avoid potential fires and more damage.

  Sandie went on, “So that is the current situation with Khin and Vesna. They are now possess the com-links that S-1DT carried. Additionally, I am interfacing with SB Cotard and gaining more understanding of the situation there.”

  “So Khin and Vesna are alive,” Cammarry muttered. “But that Special Care Unit has really deteriorated. Thankfully that red automacube can now defend them, from outside threats, but who will defend against SB Cotard?” The bitterness in Cammarry’s voice was thick.