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

by John Thornton

  Just as Cammarry was wondering how long the descent would be, Khin finally spoke out. “I am eating something.”

  Cammarry recognized the smell of one of Khin’s cheeses as he unwrapped it, even though she was on the other side of the elevator. The aroma wafted about, dispelling the other, older odors. Khin offered some to Vesna first, then to Alizon, and finally he stepped around the equipment and extended out a chunk of cheese.

  Cammarry shook her head no.

  And down they continued.

  At one point, the elevator’s motion felt different. There were several jerks and a hard jolt which sent everyone tipping to the side. Then motion continued, but no one in the elevator could tell the exact direction it moved. After another hesitant bump, rocking, and jostling, the elevator descended again.

  Khin and Vesna sat down on the floor, sharing the cheese and water, while Alizon placed a hand on Cammarry. They sat on one of the jumbo fusion boxes which were part of the teleportation equipment.

  “This is taking longer than I anticipated,” Cammarry said.

  “But I am here for you. This contraption is moving, I can feel its vibrations. Like an oxen setting the plow, I feel it is working,” Alizon reassured her.

  Later, with just a slight bump, and a sigh, the elevator stopped. The lights on the column of buttons all flashed several times, and then each button lit individually, beginning at the bottom and proceeding upward until all were lit. Then the buttons all went dark, with the sole exception being the button that Cammarry had pressed. She pressed it again.

  The doors opened with an unenthusiastic air about them. ‘Was the elevator actually morose about exposing itself to whatever lay beyond?’ Cammarry put her hand on her holstered revolver, and remembered she had only six shots with the antique weapon. When those were ejected, she would need to go through the clumsy ritual of reloading its projectiles which were based on primitive chemical explosives. She had the box of ammunition in a pocket, but knew loading would take time. She felt vulnerable.

  “I am here with you, beautiful woman,” Alizon stated. He had again sensed her discomfort.

  The elevator doors opened to a short hallway. At the end of that hall was another set of doors, these had a nine-section color control pad which was glowing moderately. Stenciled on the door, in bright yellow letters on black background was a sign. ‘Warning: Live Animals Beyond This Point. Wild Animals Can and Do Cause Injury and Death. Enter at Your Own Risk.’

  Cammarry stepped out and pulled the teleportation equipment after her. Alizon helped, and Khin and Vesna lent a hand as well. The elevator doors happily slid shut behind them. Cammarry looked around and wondered again why she was thinking the elevator had feelings and emotions. ‘Why am I anthropomorphizing things here? What is it about this place that is so different?’ Yet, there had been a distinct sense of relief and gladness from the elevator as those doors closed. The blue hand-shaped symbol flashed once and then faded out and was not visible.

  The color control pad flashed several times like it was waiting to be touched.

  “Green, green, green, should be the proper sequence to unlock this door,” Sandie stated. “I rerouted the security proto…”

  “Fine! I heard you. Green, green, green,” Cammarry interrupted and entered the code on the pad. “Green is a fine color, just fine!”

  The doors to the habitat slid open, back into their pockets, this time with a groan and a grinding noise of metal ripping something softer.

  The first thing Cammarry saw was a large tree, but the first thing she smelled was a putrid, fetid order which nearly made her gag.

  “Oh, that smell!” Khin said. He unslung his rifle and stepped forward. His feet sank ankle deep in thick mud. The mud was covered over in a slimy green film. The light which was coming down through the canopy of leaves above did not allow for much differentiation of the ground. The muddy area was a bit lower than the parts around the tree, but they were about the same color, and leaves were scattered over everything. The tree was nearly directly in front of them. Its heavy roots were sunk down into the muddy area. Its trunk was heavily barked, with thick groves between the wrinkles.

  Khin sloshed his way toward the tree. “Not so foul as the Land of Bad Air. My father…” He looked at Cammarry and did not finish.

  Vesna stepped next to Cammarry and set her hand on the teleporter. “Do not push this into that mud. It will be trapped.”

  “I had no intention of pushing the teleporter into that gunk,” Cammarry snarled back.

  Khin had reached the tree and was grabbing onto the groves of bark with one hand, and holding the rifle with the other. He was slipping and not making good progress.

  “My Khin, I have my rifle. You just climb up. I will guard you,” Vesna called over. Her rifle was locked into her shoulder pocket and she was watching over its barrel, along the sights, slowly moving her body around.

  Khin looked back and smiled. “Good!” He slung the rifle on his back and climbed up onto the bank. The light was diffuse and did not make many definitive shadows.

  “That fusty odor is probably from some animals which have died. Their bodies are rotting nearby,” Alizon stated. “If some large branch has fallen, we could use that to bridge over this muddy slough and carry the machine to stable ground.”

  “There is a hole in this tree,” Khin called. “I hear noises from the hole.”

  “The air might be rattling the branches of that tree.” Cammarry looked up at its twisted and intertwined branches. They reminded her of fingers which were locked together into a double fist. “Air circulates in these biomes. It has to.”

  “Yes, the wind blows,” Vesna stated, but she was aiming her rifle directly at the hole. “Animals also live in hollowed out holes in trees.”

  “That they do,” Alizon agreed.

  “Animals? Like rats, or cavies?” Khin asked. He was excited and was trying to lean out over the mud to be better able to see into the hole. He nearly slipped and fell. Then catching himself he gained a better position. He searched his pockets and the pouches on his belt. He came out with a small lufi amalgam lamp. He stretched his arm out and shined it into the hole.

  A pair of deep red eyes flashed from inside the hole.

  “Shoot it!” Cammarry exclaimed as she grabbed for the revolver in her holster.

  Alizon’s strong fingers wrapped around her wrist, preventing her from drawing the revolver. “Beautiful woman, be patient.”

  Cammarry turned and glared at him. But the kindness of his eyes, melted her anger.

  “I think it is a porky,” Alizon said. “My friend Khin? Do not reach into that hole. That would be very unpleasant.”

  “A porky?” Vesna asked. “Like a pig?”

  “No, not like a pig or hog. The Neb Old Order also called these animals ereths, after a beloved children’s book,” Alizon kept his grip on Cammarry, but with his other hand rubbed his forehead in concentration. “The old name was porky-pine I believe. I know they climb pine trees and eat bark.”

  “So can I eat it?” Khin asked. He was still shining his light into the hole. “Rats, cavies, goats, and chickens are all good to eat.”

  “Best to leave that ereth in his den. They mostly come out at night. It is an animal covered in prickly spikes, quills. Very sharp, and very painful if one jabs into you. Please do not reach inside that hole,” Alizon implored. “Porkys are harmless when left alone, and not worth the trouble as a food animal.”

  “My Khin, we do not need more food now. We do need to cross this mud, and since you are already muddy, would you find a log to make a bridge?” Vesna asked. “If that animal comes out, and it is some predator, I will make sure you are safe.”

  “If you shoot it now, there would be no more risk,” Cammarry stated.

  “Beautiful woman, there is no risk with a porky. Come now, we need to find these people we came for, right?” Alizon loosened his grip slightly and raised her hand to his face. He gently stroked the back of her hand against hi
s cheek.

  “Right,” Cammarry replied.

  Khin put his small lamp away, and moved off. He rustled around beneath the tree, and soon returned with a long log. He stood it on the edge of the mud and called, “Step back. When I drop this it might splash!”

  Vesna looked over at Cammarry and Alizon, and she nodded, then turned her attention back to looking down the rifle’s sights. Alizon and Cammarry stepped back into the small hallway. The habitat doors remained open, but the elevator wall appeared just as a wall. There was no overt evidence of the elevator being there.

  Plop!

  “That worked. Mud not too deep. There are two more about that same size. I will build you the bridge!” Khin called.

  “Khin be careful!” Cammarry called out in a loud voice. “No disappearing again! Do you hear me?”

  “Yes. There is no one around here, unless that animal in the hole comes out. I smell dead things, but no people,” Khin laughed and laughed.

  Cammarry could not stop thinking how he had disappeared before. But then she heard two more plops as logs fell into the mud.

  “You can come over now. The mud is squashed down,” Khin laughed. “It holds the logs pretty tightly as well.”

  Vesna looked back at Alizon and Cammarry. “My Khin speaks true. The logs will work to get across. The equipment will not roll, but we can carry it.”

  Khin scooted across the logs which were stuck in the mud. They looked to have come from the same tree with the dark hole in it. The makeshift bridge was wide enough to allow for adequate footing.

  “The floor is drier over by the tree,” Khin said.

  The four of them lifted the teleportation equipment, still tied to the slide board. It was not so heavy, as it was bulky. Khin and Vesna were on the front and backed across the log bridge while holding the teleporter. Alizon and Cammarry carried the opposite side and walked forward.

  “If that beast attacks now, that could be very bad,” Cammarry stated as they slowly stepped across the logs.

  “The porky will stay in his hole,” Alizon said. “He has no more desire to see us than we do to see him.”

  “I want to see him!” Khin chuckled. “If we are here very long, we will need to find food sources. Will this place have rats, cavies, goats, and chickens?”

  “Perhaps,” Vesna stated. “This place is different than Beta, certainly. And I know not about that porky, or ereth animal.”

  “Rats are everywhere,” Cammarry said. “The story of humanity is that rats have followed travelers on every journey, to every place, humans have ever gone.”

  They set the teleporter down, but the slide roller would not work well in the soft ground as there was grass and other foliage which clogged the casters. The ground, or as Khin called it, the floor, was much more firm than the mud, but still they would have to carry the teleporter or find a place to set it up which was nearby.

  “Wizard Cammarry? Where do we go now?” Khin asked. “All I see are the woods all around us. The light is not too bright, but still sort of hurts my eyes.” He pulled out his goggles and put them on. The lenses were very dark. Khin sighed and said, “Now it is better.”

  “I suppose we head where the people are, so I must ask.” Resigned, Cammarry tapped the com-link. “Sandie? Where are the nearest people?”

  Sandie the AI replied, “You are one kilometer from the town called Edinburg. I suggest you proceed there, as I had a sighting of habitat people there most recently.”

  “Where in the habitat is that?” Cammarry asked. “We docked in roughly the middle, is this like Crondel, or Wolf City?”

  Sandie replied. “There are discrepancies. This biome, upon inspection, does not visually conform to the deck plans. The design parameters call for a biome with large salt water lakes, fresh water rivers, and multiple islands. It was modeled after…”

  “Shut up!” Cammarry yelled. Her words echoed off the surrounding trees. Some kind of birds fluttered off in fear. “I did not ask for a stupid geography lesson. I asked where the nearest people are, and if it is like Crondel or Wolf City. I am here to get the people, and you should be helping me, not aggravating me.”

  “I can use your com-link as a direction finder. It will project an arrow on the ground which you can follow to the location of the last human sighted here. Do you want me to project that?” Sandie asked.

  “Of course. I am so sick of your passive aggressive way of treating me. Brink would be so ashamed of how you are operating. Did he give you failures as your design parameters? Or was that just part of your own doing?”

  A beam came projecting from the com-link and a yellow glowing arrow appeared on the ground.

  “May I offer a suggestion?” Alizon asked tentatively.

  “Sure,” Cammarry replied. “You are the only one loyal to me.”

  Khin and Vesna both exchanged hurt looks, but said nothing.

  “These tiny rollers will not work well in this forest. However, we could easily make a travois to drag this machine. We will only need two long poles, lashed into the shape of an elongated triangle. We can use the harness and webs from that flying machine as the sling for the machine. Then we drag the travois with pointed end forward. It will not be as easy to move as the rollers were in those inside places, but out here, in this forest. Just two of us can drag it along, while the other two keep watch. If Haddie the ox was here she could pull the machine, and all of us along on a suitable travois, but two people can easily pull this, and it will slide across the ground.”

  “Good idea,” Cammarry said.

  Khin and Vesna listened to Alizon’s idea, and soon the travois was assembled. They loaded the teleportation equipment on the ancient design.

  “Khin, would you assist me in pulling this?” Alizon asked.

  “Sure. Vesna and Wizard Cammarry can watch for these other people we want to find.” Khin stepped into the travois frame and together with Alizon they lifted its front end easily.

  “Follow me,” Cammarry said.

  “I will scout ahead and see where there are clear passages, or mud or other obstacles,” Vesna said and patted her rifle. “I will keep in sight of you so I do not get lost.”

  They all moved along in a serpentine course which wound between trees, bushes, and pools of stagnant water. The foul smells did not change as they moved away from the place where the elevator door was located. Cammarry had hoped the odor was just that red-eyed animal in the dark hole, but the entire woods was filled with the stench.

  On they walked, dragging the equipment on the travois, and making slow but steady progress in the direction Sandie was indicating from Cammarry’s com-link. Unknown to Cammarry, Sandie had also been privately speaking to Khin and Vesna, through their com-links and giving them advice and suggestions about what they were seeing and doing. Quietly, Vesna responded when she was scouting ahead and out of ear-shot from Cammarry. Khin just listened and giggled at times. He was on a Wizard’s quest and he knew things would be odd.

  Alizon was not privately contacted by Sandie, even though the AI was carefully monitoring all the conversations.

  When Vesna emerged from the trees, and stepped into an open area, she saw the town of Edinburg before her. She dropped to one knee and pulled out her optics. She adjusted the magnification and searched all around the town. The town was set against what looked like a mountain which was actually the rear wall of the habitat. That mountain extended upward several hundred meters at a moderately steep angle. Erosion marks showed that water had flowed down some of the gullies in the mountainside. Rocks, dirt, and low growing plants covered the rough and irregular side of the mountain. At its top, where it met the permalloy wall, the mountain side ended, and the wall continued vertically straight up to meet the sky tube and ceiling in the distance.

  Vesna initially ignored the mountainside, and scanned the town with her optics. The buildings were arranged in a roughly circular setting. They were all single story structures with sloped gable roofs. The sides of the buildings wer
e a cream color, nearly white, while the windows were small squares framed in black. The roofs were bright blue or bright red colored. Nowhere that Vesna looked did she see any people moving about. Nor did she see any domestic animals. The town had an overgrown look about it, with unkempt shrubbery, trees growing in various places. Some even out of the rain gutters on the buildings. Places which looked to have once been garden plots were heavily overgrown with weeds. Pathways were broken up by encroaching foliage, and the roadways were cracked and split open in countless places.

  “We have reached the town,” Vesna called back.

  Cammarry stepped out of the forest and walked past Vesna. The men dragging the travois came after her. A few vines had gotten snagged in the rods of the travois, or were stuck on the teleportation equipment, but overall their transport of the gear had gone well.