Free Quest for the Conestoga (Colony Ship Conestoga Book 1) by John Thornton

stomped her foot. 
     
    “The poor eat well when they bite their tongues,” Jerome replied with a sardonic smile. 
     
    “You are right, when you tried to talk to him, it did not help at all.  It is just so frustrating.”  Cammarry sat down on one of the chairs which folded up from the floor.  “Winchell, will you please contact Jamie and request a time I can speak to her?”
     
    Winchell replied, “I have made another inquiry.  Jamie’s artificial intelligence, Sequoia, stated she is not seeing any visitors.  There is no other information.”
     
    “Then I will contact Paul,” Cammarry stated.  “Winchell, please contact Paul and arrange a meeting with him.”
     
    The AI replied, “I have made the inquiry.  Paul’s artificial intelligence, Cunda, stated he is not seeing any visitors.  There is no further information.” 
     
    Cammarry thought it was extremely odd that she could not contact Jamie nor Paul.  But then she wondered to herself if Winchell was actually reporting accurately.  ‘Paul might shut himself off, but Jamie is not one to lock herself away, even after a tragedy.  Am I being fed misleading things through Winchell?’  The possibility gnawed at her thoughts.
     
    “I am walking over to find them and see what is really happening,” Cammarry stated.   
     
    “Good luck!”  Jerome called as the door closed behind her. 
     
    And so she walked about the dome manually looking for Jamie or Paul.  Paul’s apartment door was tried, but the AI there said it was unoccupied. So Cammarry continued her quest to find them.  When she entered the cafetorium, Cammarry saw Gretchen and Paul.  They were at one of the tables.  Gretchen’s dark frizzy hair and pretty brown complexion was easy to spot, especially when she sat next to Paul whose hair was almost white blond and whose complexion was lighter than most in the dome.  They were each wearing white shirts and work pants.  She walked up to them and sat down.  She considered asking if Paul had received her request for a conversation, but then refrained.  Instead she asked, “Gretchen and Paul, did you hear about the orbital mission?”
     
    “There was another space flight?”  Gretchen asked in surprise.  Her eyes were gentle and supportive.
     
    “It is supposed to be a secret, but it worked very well.  The sling bay launch was perfect, and the return hit the reception strip with no problems at all.  Rumor has it that Brink has perfected something,” Cammarry responded.  “It seems pretty exciting.  Those missions must be better than trips to dead domes…”  She caught herself and then looked apologetically at Paul.  “Sorry.  I do not mean to bring up a bad memory.”
     
    There was a bit of unease on Paul’s face as he replied.  “You are right.  A space flight would be better than a dead dome.  I hope this rumor is true.”
     
    Cammarry swallowed hard.  She did not like what Jubal had done, especially in discrediting her and the insinuations by the Committee painting her as a gossip.  “Well, I heard it was a single person on a solo flight.  That seems to fit with the Committee’s ideas now.  You heard they approved solo missions to the remaining domes?”
     
    “What?  That it is a poor decision,” Paul said.  His eyes burned with emotion.  “When do they propose starting those?” 
     
    “Michael is already on a solo mission,” Cammarry stated.  “He could be back anytime.  It seems kind of a secret that he went.” 
     
    Paul was quiet, Gretchen felt a bit nervous about the whole topic.  But finally she broke the awkward silence, “Why are they doing solos now?  They used to insist on a minimum of three people, sometimes more.”
     
    “The way I figure it; the Committee is seeking to learn as much as possible about the other domes as fast as possible.”  Cammarry felt odd relaying the same thing Jubal had stated.  She regretted the conversation, for from the look on