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

by John Thornton

  “Yes. The data stick is still not fully operational. I believe, but am not sure of the mechanism, but I believe that FTL travel disrupts the atomic storage level in the data sticks. It did not damage Sandie’s Atomic Level Processor, but that is more shielded as part of its evolution. What I did was strip away the outer husk of data, losing about ten percent of its total, but beneath that I was able to harvest some of the rest. Your conservation slate now accesses that data. Here is my design for a probe. Really it is a stripped, and downsized, version of Brink’s robotic probe, tailored for Zalia’s atmosphere. It needed wings, which can be folded flat for transport. I also studied old war reports from before the Great Event. It is not piloted, so no need for cabin, pressurization, or inertia inhibitors or suppression. Also, I left off any armament from the weapon mounts. Not that weapons can be fabricated, not now anyway. Unless that has changed?”

  Eris looked at Jerome, and did not answer his question, but instead stated, “Reproduction and Fabrication has been busy churning out engineering automacubes to make repairs. Please tell me more about these probes.”

  “Right. These probes need to be quick, small, smart, and reliable. This design is all of those. They can deliver a package of instruments, and the beacon, right to the hull of a habitat. The package is not much bigger than those macroactinide capacitor enhancers. Most of the probe’s mass is sensors or the gravity pulse engine.” Jerome smiled as he looked over his design. “It will work, I am confident of that.”

  “Less than two meters long, with a similar wingspan. Compact and efficient. Runs off gravity flux propulsion. Much faster than a shuttle.” Eris looked at it closely. Then she decided. “Jerome, this is excellent work. Will you and Monika oversee this program? I will authorize Reproduction and Fabrication in Alpha to build five of these. They will be sent out to contact the lost habitats. As they do so, they can also gather information on the Crocks, the topography of Zalia, and compile all that together. A display and controls can be established here in your apartment, or a room nearby. Between the two of you, you could monitor the probes and report directly to me on what is located.”

  Jerome looked at Eris closely. He met her eyes and stared hard into them. “How long do we have?”

  Monika turned at the intensity in Jerome’s voice. It was not hostile, or angry, or fearful, but something was there. His words carried far more meaning than just a question.

  “It will depend on how long the probes take for construction. That should not be too long, as from what I saw you used standard parts which are already in Reproduction and Fabrication’s data base,” Eris replied. She knew Jerome was asking more than just about the construction timeframe.

  “Siva and Peter taught me that trick with the AWADs. But how long do we have?” Jerome insisted. “You have the same look in your eyes that I saw in Murial, Lorna, and Jubal when they told all us adventurers that Dome 17 was doomed. Is it the orbit? Has that decayed again? Or have the Crocks launched an offensive?”

  “Jerome, we just need to…” Eris began and then looked at the four people there. Two new parents, and two baby boys, they deserved to know the truth. “As of this morning, we have one hundred fourteen days. Sandie confirms the situation. All the habitats will fail, like Beta did, in no longer than one hundred fourteen days.”

  Monika held her sons snugly. She looked at the display which showed the sea in Beta. “I will help however I can. For my children.”

  Jerome wiped some wetness from his eyes. “Thank you for telling me. I am in. Do you know more about how the end will come? Have the Crocks attacked? Or are they massing for an attack?”

  “Do not tell him everything,” Shadow stated to Eris. “Do not trust him. The shadowlands and the Shadow Level Clarence are all you need. Jerome will panic if he knows the truth.”

  “Jerome, the situation was uncovered by the lattice of compeers, but the details are unclear. How the native Zalians play into this is still a mystery.” Eris was unwilling to say more, as she was unsure of what was happening with the Crocks herself. “Now, I am trusting you two to be discrete. Only a few people know. I have implemented Project Ascension and the goal is to find all the habitats and get them back into orbit. If we do that, there may not be an end at all. But it will first depend on finding those habitats.”

  “That is a tall order. Jerome, together we must help, no matter what it takes.” Monika looked again at the recorded view of Beta. “Too much has been lost already, and I want our sons to be safe.”

  “Our sons,” Jerome pondered how that sounded.

  “So you both have agreed. So shall the control station be built here in the apartment?” Eris asked.

  Jerome stood up. He patted Monika affectionately. “Crying babies cannot be put in the nursery, as we are the staff…parents.” The word felt alien on his lips, even though he had been considering it ever since he had heard of Monika’s pregnancy. “Monika, you are doing the biological feedings, what do you think?”

  Monika looked lovingly at the babies she held. “It is called nursing or breastfeeding.” She smiled at Jerome. “I know I need a place to have quiet when I tend to the boys, and they need safe and secure places to sleep. There is an empty apartment next to this one. This whole deck section is empty apartments, twelve in all. The controls should go next door, and we can cut an access door in the front room wall, right next to the display of Beta. One of us will work with the probes, while the other tends the babies. When they are asleep, we can both work in there and still listen for the boys.”

  Jerome smiled at her. “There are only two lasting legacies we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other is wings. As their, parents, they need us as roots, but living on the Conestoga, they really need wings.”

  Eris nodded her agreement. “Does your data stick and slate have a way to send the designs to Reproduction and Fabrication?”

  “Eris, if you connect in the com-link’s cable to the modified slate, I will let Sandie access everything I have designed. Unless, Sandie has already found a way in there. Yes, I know you said no one was spying on me, but I understand better now why you might have done that. The AI should review all my work before production begins, and ensure my computations, specifications, and ideas are sound. I am only human.”

  “I was going to suggest that kind of review, but I was unsure how you would respond,” Eris replied. “Jerome, I am pleased you are part of this team. We really need you.” She then connected in the cable from the com-link which was over her ear.

  “Jerome, just to confirm, you allow Sandie and the lattice to access this slate and data stick, correct?” Eris asked.

  “Yes.” He looked at Monika and she smiled and winked. “I am sure.”

  “Thank you Jerome,” Sandie stated using the area speaker on Eris’ com-link. “I am pleased to work with you again. Your innovations are impressive, and I believe Master Engineer Brink would be pleased by how you have adopted his theories and his original designs. I have analyzed the probe and detect no major flaws, or problems. I would suggest further hardening it against the Zalian atmosphere, and enhancing the communication constancy connections. Otherwise, I am sending the final design to Alpha’s Reproduction and Fabrication. Production time will be seven hours, after that transport to an external repair station will need to happen. That will allow for a quicker launch of the probes than using a hanger bay, however, I am not sure the exact time needed for transport. I conjecture ten hours for that. I will let you know when the probes will be ready for launch. There is also a message from SB Pinaka. Again, thank you Jerome, and feel free to reactivate your own com-link so we can talk. I have missed that.”

  A different, and more mechanical sounding voice came on. “Captain Eris, I have dispatched two of the new engineering automacubes to your present location. They will arrive within thirty minutes. I have designated that spot as Probe Control. The automacubes will be installing the command and control instruments for oversight of the probes, along with an e
nhancement for the lattice. That work will take an estimated fourteen hours,” SB Pinaka reported.

  Monika looked at the babies, and then up at Eris. “I may need to take my sons to a quieter place while the construction happens. Jenna has offered to have me come and see her and the other children from Beta.” Turning from Eris she said, “Jerome, will you accompany me? Please?”

  “Certainly,” Jerome replied. “I could use a haircut from Dewi or Nabila anyway. I am concerned about losing nearly a day’s operation, but if that is the quickest it can be done, then so be it. Rushing what cannot be rushed leads to disaster. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if the entire world is in danger.”

  Eris was again amazed at the change in Jerome. She grinned. “Greet Jenna and the others for me. I will stay here, if that is acceptable to you both?”

  “Of course,” Monika replied. “Jerome, be sure to grab the revolver. We have yet to meet any of Khin’s monsters here. I do not want to be ill-prepared should we finally encounter one.”

  A somewhat stricken look passed over Jerome’s face. He glanced at a shelf on the wall which was just visible through the bedroom doorway. On it was a fusion pack, the inert Willie Blaster, the medical kit, and his shut off com-link. “You are more skilled with that antique firearm than I am. It bucks in my hand with each shot. But I will bring it along. This will hardly be a Wizard’s Quest anyway. We are just going to see Jenna for a day.”

  Monika grabbed the two papooses and strapped one of the babies into the first one. She then put it on, and the baby was nestled onto her chest. She kissed the top of his head as he settled in. “I have Brink, and you can carry Kalur.”

  Jerome handed Monika the revolver and she strapped it onto her own thigh. Jerome grabbed a stack of food ration bars from the small device in the kitchen which made them, and then loaded the rest of his gear into a backpack. After pull that backpack on, he took Kalur, who Monika had loaded into the baby carrier and strapped him onto his own chest. Jerome patted the baby tenderly as he adjusted everything.

  “All ready to go,” Jerome stated. Then he turned to Eris. “Captain, thank you for trusting me with this. I know there is more to what is happening than you are saying. I can see it in your eyes and demeanor. However, I trust you to tell me what I need to know, when I need to know it, and what I need to do. You are not one for deceptive dialogue, despite the history we have. I apologize to you for doubting your character before.”

  “Times were stressful for us all, and Project Ascension will be better for your participation. In fact, you and Monika are essential to its success.”

  Jerome patted Kalur on the back and then he lifted the com-link to his ear and tapped it on. “Sandie, I have activated the com-link again.”

  “Excellent! Let me know how we can work together,” Sandie replied.

  “Well, as we walk to Jenna’s can we discuss the command and control aspects of the probes?”

  While Jerome walked away, chatting with Sandie, Monika stepped over and placed her hand on Eris’ shoulder. “Jerome needed that. Thank you, Captain.”

  “We need Jerome,” Eris replied. In her mind she deeply wondered if the few trained and educated people were going to be enough. She looked at the revolver on Monika’s leg. “I pray you do not need that.”

  “Me too, but better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it,” Monika replied. “Oh dear, I am beginning to sound like Jerome.”

  Jerome and Monika departed.

  Eris sat down and contemplated. Her eyes closed, and misty billows came into her mind. She willed herself to enter into the shadowlands, the hyperconsciousness.

  The fogs thickened as she entered. Instead of sitting she had the sensation of standing, and stepping over a metal fence of some kind. A fence that emerged from mists, and extended into vapors.

  “Shadow, make connections with all in the Shadow Level Clearance,” Eris commanded.

  “Not all contacts are responsive. Some are unstable. Only you are coherent in your abilities,” Shadow replied. “The artificial intelligences are here.”

  Phantasms of human figures walked in and around the mist, but none answered her summons. They consisted of various, ill-defined people, men and women.

  “Shadow, dismiss all who are deceased in my time frame,” Eris commanded. She had recognized a man in a captain’s uniform, and some medical uniform. She though that those were just old reflections from times past. In the shadowlands, time seemed less linear, and more multitudinous, or diverse. “Also, no reflections from Cammarry.”

  “I will try to dismiss them,” Shadow stated. “Not all listen and respond as do you.”

  There were less phantasms in the foggy mists, but still a few figures moved about. Two were male, nearly indistinguishable, and their reality counterparts were known to Eris. During this event, they stayed well away from Eris, and did not speak. Eris knew they were the men who called themselves the Ferryman. She also was aware they were likely somewhere in Alpha’s shell, but she was uncertain where, or what they were doing.

  One other phantasm, wearing a floppy hat, staggered out. He did an exaggerated bow, and said, “Captain Eris, I, Bigelow am here. You know I hate this, right?”

  “Yes, Bigelow, I know. There are important things happening, and you are part of this.”

  “I do not want to be here,” Bigelow whined. “But I will try.” He then burped. “I much preferred it when I could wash away these visions.”

  “Which systems are here?” Eris asked.

  “I am,” AI Batibat replied.

  “Hello, Captain Eris,” AI Ogma responded from the swirling clouds of the shadowlands. “How may I be of service?”

  “I too am here,” AI Seljak stated. “Terraforming and Restoration is still an impossibility on Zalia. Awaiting instructions.”

  Even though Eris knew the artificial intelligences were many kilometers away, through the hyperconsciousness of the shadowlands system, they felt like they were in the same room with her.

  “Which synthetic brain are here?” Eris asked.

  “As I have instructed you before,” Shadow stated, “the interface with the synthetic brains was a failure. The best we get here are remnants of ghosts, or remembrances for the synthetic brains. Much like Cammarry, the human who was, but is not, and will not be again. Synthetic brains are not suitable for the shadowlands.”

  “You never told me that before.” Eris was irritated.

  “To you, not yet, apparently. I may have not, but I remember telling you before, so that must be yet to come,” Shadow said.

  Eris shook her head and prayed for clarity. “AI Batibat, have you completed the survey of your suspended animation occupants?”

  “Yes, Captain,” AI Batibat responded. “Among the 1,970 people who are known to be in suspended animation, none fit the criteria you requested.”

  “No pilots, or flight engineers, or mechanical specialists?” Eris asked in wonder. “None at all?”

  “No Captain. Those specialties were reserved for the suspended animation repositories housed on the needle ship. All these people are colonists with skills needed to build effective societies on the planet Tlalocan. The closest professionals I could locate are sanitation civil engineers. Those men and women are not specialized in aeronautics and would be limited in their ability to assist in Project Ascension. Additionally, there is the acclimatization time needed for proper post-suspended animation recovery and adjustment.”

  “Thank you AI Batibat. Have you located any other repositories?” Eris asked.

  “Yes, but unfortunately none that are functional. It appears all repositories on the needle ship are inoperative.”

  “AI Ogma, what is the status on SB Virginia Dare?” Eris inquired.

  “I told you before that synthetic brains are not part of the Shadow Level Clearance,” Shadow interjected.

  “Hush now, Shadow. I am Captain, and I need to run this meeting, you do not. AI Ogma, please repo
rt.” Eris felt sweat dripping down her neck as she struggled to remain in control in the foggy mists.

  The mechanical voice of AI Ogma answered. “The synthetic brain with designation Virginia Dare has been excavated by the physical people. It appears in relatively fair condition, considering the crash. The people are studying the best method of extraction and transportation to near my physical location. Additional construction is needed prior to that move.”

  “People? Oh yes, the Crocks.” Eris remembered that AI Ogma was in a cavern near the wreckage of Habitat Delta. Sweat was no beading up on Eris’ forehead as she used her mind to keep the shadowlands communication working.

  AI Ogma went on. “The people insist that I relate to you again their message. ‘You leave now.’ It is imperative that you comply. Dire consequences will happen unless you leave soon. They do not understand your delay after being served notice.”

  “I have implemented Project Ascension, and am doing the best I can to accomplish this goal. Threats do not make the process any easier,” Eris stated as forcefully as she could. “I have only a few trained and educated people, no resources for getting more in the time necessary, and have no exact knowledge of where the other habitats are located. Can the Crocks just give me more time?”