Wanderer 3: Tainted Universe (29 page)

“
That’s brilliant,” Jess said, grinning back at her.  “Not too difficult either.  We’ll need a few hours in normal space so we can keep them in one spot.  That should be fine.  We must be a lot more than that ahead of the fleet that is chasing us by now.”

“
You probably won’t be able to stop them,” Dash warned.

“
I know.  But we can slow them down even more.  Now I know where they are heading I can bulk up the defences around the jump engines too.  We can drop into an empty region of space right now.  Let’s get started…”

*****

Dash stared at the screen in front of him.  The
Wanderer
was nowhere, or the next best thing.  Nowhere near a planet or even a star.  Nowhere near any other ships, stations or other signs of civilisation.  Nowhere near any passing traffic.  If something went wrong there would be no one passing by to help.

He’d been in similar locations before but only ever in jump space.  Rushing from one location to another didn’t feel the same as this.  Nowhere near it.

The thought that the nearest outposts of humanity was so far away was both terrifying and exhilarating.  Even through the screen he felt a deep connection to space around them.  He found himself wishing the
Wanderer
had at least a single real window, no matter how small.

A slight movement disturbed his thoughts.  He glanced over to see Sal staring intently at his screen.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” he asked.  “Knowing we’re so far from anything.”

“
It feels so… empty,” Sal said.  She seemed to be shaking slightly.

“
Are you all right?” Dash asked.

“
Yes.  No.  Not really.  I think I need to lay down for a while.”

“
Let me help you…”

Dash released his straps, stood up and stretched out a hand.  He was a little uncertain, but he wasn’t going to let that show.  Sal had shown bursts of her old self.  He wanted that to continue.

He was quite surprised when Sal gave him a bright smile and accepted his help.  Her hand felt warm in his.  She wobbled slightly as she stood up.  Dash moved quickly, wrapping an arm around her for support.

“
Are you all right Sal?” Jess asked.  “I can have the ship check you over.”

“
No.  I’ll be fine,” Sal said.  “I’ve just been hit by too many things in a short space of time.  A sleep should sort me out.”

“
If you’re sure.  Call me if you change your mind, or if you start feeling worse.”

“
I will.”

She turned away and, leaning heavily on Dash, made her way back into the living area.  She didn’t speak.  Nor did Dash.  Being so close to Sal, feeling her warmth against his side, felt good.  It felt really good if he was honest with himself.

Sal stumbled.  Dash managed to catch her, but he felt something twinge in his back as he did so.  Nothing serious, but another reminder that he wasn’t young any more.  Not old, but not young either.

“
Sorry,” Sal said.  “I’m so tired I can’t even think straight, let alone walk straight.”

“
It’s fine,” Dash said.  “Do you want to rest?”

“
No.  I can make it.”

They did make it, though not without Dash having to catch her several more times.  Finally they were outside her room.

“You should be fine from here,” Dash said.  “I’ll leave you to it.”

“
Thanks Roberto.”

She turned to face him.  Dash found himself staring into her eyes at point-blank range.  Such beautiful eyes.  His heart started to beat faster.  He knew he should say something, but words refused to come.

“Roberto, I… I don’t want to be alone.  Please stay for a while.”

Dash realised a huge grin had spread itself across his face.  Sal was grinning back.  Dash was certain she had more than just companionship in mind.

“Of course,” he finally managed to say.

“
Great,” she said, leaning forwards to quickly kiss him on the cheek.  Then she was through the door, pulling Dash behind her.  Dash followed willingly, excitement buzzing through him.  He’d been falling for Sal since the first time they’d met.  This was something he’d imagined many times.

When they reached the bed Sal pulled him into a passionate kiss even as she dragged him down.  Soon they were pulling at each others clothes in between kisses, laughing as they went.  Dash marvelled at how natural it felt, as if they’d been together for months or years.  Then the last of their clothes came off and his only thoughts were of the moment.

If he hadn’t been so overwhelmed then he might have had worries.  He might have worried about the sudden change in Sal, from exhausted to rampant.  And from having to be held upright to energetically pulling him into her room.

Dash smiled down at Sal.  She looked even more beautiful than normal.  Radiant even.  The feel of her warm skin against his was amazing.  He paused, savouring the moment.

Sal looked up, locking her gaze to his.  Once again her eyes seemed to be shining.  Dash was captivated, staring into them as they seemed to grow brighter and brighter, larger and larger.  All other thoughts were swept aside, even the feel of Sal’s skin against his.  Dash felt as if bits of his soul were pouring through their shared gaze.

Suddenly the flow seemed to reverse.  Something was coming over from Sal.  Something that felt both heavy and constricting.  Fear started to worm its way into Dash’s heart.  He tried to pull away… but he couldn’t.  His muscles wouldn’t respond.  He couldn’t blink or close his eyes.  And all the time something was pouring into his mind.

Somewhere, deep inside, Dash started to scream.  A scream that would never be given the chance to escape.  A scream that soon died as the presence established itself in his mind.  Taking full control.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“Dash has been gone a long time,” Ali said, startling Jess from his thoughts.

“
Sorry?” he said.

“
Dash.  He’s been gone a long time.”

Dash pinged a query to the
Wanderer
, which replied almost immediately.

“
He’s in Sal’s cabin,” Jess replied.  “I don’t know why.”

“
Really?” Ali asked, grinning.

“
What do you mean… oh. 
Oh
…”

“
Yes!”

Dash and Sal were having sex.  Jess didn’t know how he felt about it.  How he
should
feel.  He’d known about the physical aspects of sex from a young age.  The only privacy prisoners could manage was grabbed when everyone else in the cell turned away.

But this time it was different.  Sal was his friend, or she had been anyway until the arguments over Dash.  And now he actually knew what sex was about.  He had wonderful memories of time spent with Ali.  The thought that Sal might be doing similar things made him uncomfortable.

Ali must have seen something in his face.

“
What, are you jealous?” she asked?

“
What?  Of Dash?  No!  Of course not!”

“
Calm down,” she laughed.  “I’m teasing.”

“
Are you sure that they are… you know.”

“
I’m sure.  I’m just surprised it took them so long.  Maybe that’s why Sal has been acting so strangely.”

Jess choked at the thought and felt himself turning bright pink.  Ali tried to speak but was laughing too hard.  She kept laughing, occasionally pointing a finger at Jess.  Anger fought with embarrassment, and quickly won out.  The more Ali laughed the more Jess clenched his teeth.  He wanted to verbally lash out, to stop Ali laughing at him, but he couldn’t think of anything to use.

Finally Ali got control of herself.  She was still chuckling but could at least talk now.

“
I’m sorry,” she said.  “But your face was so funny…”

Jess just grunted and turned his back on her.  Focusing on his controls.

“Hey, you’re not upset are you?” Ali asked.

Other than a cursory shake of his head Jess ignored the question.  Admitting he was angry would be even worse than dealing with her laughter had been.

“Jess?  Jess!  Are you ignoring me?”

“
No.”  He bit the word off, aware of how sullen it sounded.

“
Fine.  You seem to have everything under control.  I’m taking a break.”

She stood and stalked out the door, leaving Jess feeling he’d done something wrong without being able to work out what.  She’d laughed at him after all, made him feel like a child.  His anger returned as he thought about it, about how unreasonable she had been.

*****

Ali stomped out the door fighting down her anger.  How dare he treat her like that?  Yes she had laughed at his reaction, but it was harmless fun.  No reason for him to be so unpleasant.  The way he’d spoken to her had hurt far more than she’d let him see.

With a calmer, less tired, head she would have realised just how much stress they’d both been under.  The brief argument had more to do with their perilous journey through the Quarantine Zone than with any problems between them.  Now though it seemed a massive overreaction to her laughter.

She paused outside Sal’s room, the ghost of a smile on her face as she remembered Jess’s reaction.  She moved on to her own room, setting it to run a hot bath.  She might not get a chance for a long soak but she could at least have a quick dip.

Slipping her clothes off she climbed into the bath.  As the hot water flowed over her skin memories of sharing the bath with Jess rushed in.  She was almost tempted to call him down, but she decided against it.  She was still too angry.  Though it was a close thing.  A part of her brain knew it wasn’t a practical idea either.  Jess needed to focus on trapping the Imperial troopers and watching for any dangers.

Shame, she thought.  It would have been a great way to move past the argument.  Instead she stretched out in the bath, enjoying the warmth.  Within a couple of minutes she was asleep.

*****

Ali was woken by a pounding on her door.  She struggled to wake up.  The bath water was still hot which made waking up even harder.  How long had she been asleep?  Three hours.  The
Wanderer
had automatically kept the water warm.

The pounding continued.  Ali reluctantly pulled herself out of the water and slipped on a heavy dressing gown.  Querying the ship she found it was Dash trying to get her attention.

Caution kicked in.  She didn’t trust Dash.  He was bigger and stronger than her.  She still thought he was looking for a chance to grab control of the ship from Jess.  Taking her hostage would be one possible route.

“
What’s wrong?” she asked, not opening the door and using the
Wanderer
to pass her words on.

“
It’s Sal,” he replied.  “I can’t get her to wake up.  And she’s cold.  So cold.”

Ali had the
Wanderer
show her Sal’s room, entering a privacy override.  Sure enough Sal was laying on the bed looking pale.  Still, that didn’t completely set Ali’s mind at rest.  What if Dash had hurt Sal?

“
All right,” she said.  “Give me a moment.”

Reaching out she took control of a ship’s robot and had it move towards her door.  It wasn’t far away and appeared only thirty seconds later, moving silently.  She opened her door as it arrived.

“What’s that for?” Dash asked.

“
In case we have to carry Sal,” Ali lied.  “What happened?”

“
I don’t know.  We had… that is… well, we were sleeping.  I woke up and something seemed wrong.  When I touched her face it was ice-cold.  She’s still breathing but something is wrong.  Please, hurry.”

Sal was already moving past him, keeping the robot watching Dash for sudden moves.  Once into Sal’s room she ran to the bed.  Sal was covered by a sheet, though with enough flesh showing to show she was naked.  Only then did Sal realise that Dash had been wearing nothing other than a towel.

This wasn’t the time to get embarrassed.  Ali reached out, touching Sal’s face.  Sure enough it was colder than normal, though Ali wouldn’t have called it icy.  Sal’s eyes flickered open, capturing Ali’s entire attention.  Whatever was wrong with Sal it wasn’t affecting her eyes.  Quite the opposite.  Her eyes seemed to glow with an inner light.  Ali felt herself falling into Sal’s eyes, and there was nothing in the universe she would rather be doing.

“
What’s going on?”

Jess’s voice rasped out of the robot’s speaker.  Several seconds passed then Sal’s eyes fluttered and closed.  Sal blinked several times, feeling like she was waking up.

“What’s wrong?” Dash asked.  “You looked a little dizzy there.”

“
I’m fine,” Ali insisted.  “I must have gotten out of the bath too quickly.  I’m all right now.”

“
Just what the hell is going on?” Jess asked through the robot.

Ali suddenly realised that she had only a dressing gown on, Sal was naked under the sheet and Dash was only wearing a towel.  No wonder Jess sounded surly.

“Dash woke up and found Sal unconscious and ice-cold,” Ali said quickly.  “He came banging on my door.  I was in the bath.  I grabbed a robe then rushed in here.  I must have got up too quickly because I got dizzy.  Then you were here, talking to us through the robot.”

“
I’m going to check Sal over,” Jess said.  “The
Wanderer
should be able to find anything wrong with her.  Should be able to fix it too.”

Sal expected Dash to argue, to kick off, but he just nodded.  Sal was still unconscious.

“Good,” Ali said.  “Do we need to move her?”

“
No.  I’ll have the
Wanderer
check her out where she is.”

Something was nagging at Ali.  Sal was unconscious, she hadn’t stirred when Ali entered the room.  The dizzy spell had hit Ali but she’d just been dizzy.  She could remember everything.  Then the robot had arrived.  So why did the image of Sal’s eyes keep returning to Ali?  The feeling of drowning in a warm, comforting sea?

She shook her head.  The dizziness must have affected her more than she’d realised.

“
No wonder she’s out,” came Jess’s voice from the robot again.  “She’s dehydrated and doesn’t seem to have eaten for at least a day.”

“
Can you fix it?” Dash asked.

“
Yeah.  It’s not difficult.  She should be coming round soon.”

Sure enough Sal groaned and her eyes flickered open.  Ali’s heart caught in her mouth for a few moments, but Sal’s eyes were normal.  Embarrassed at herself Ali pushed the worries from her mind.

“What’s going on?” Sal asked, her voice weak.

“
You gave us a scare,” Dash replied, gently stroking her hair.  “How do you feel?”

“
Tired.  I ache a bit.  Nothing serious.”

“
When did you last eat?  Or drink?”

Sal flushed.  “Not for a while.  I was… distracted.”

“That was all there was?  Nothing else showed up?” Dash asked, looking at the robot.

“
That’s it,” Jess answered.  “It could have been dangerous though if it continued.  Sal, you must be more careful.”

“
I will.  Sorry to scare everyone.”

“
I’ll leave you to it then,” Jess said.

The robot turned and left the room.  Ali suddenly felt that she was intruding on Dash and Sal.

“I’ll… er… just be going…” she said.

“
Ali,” Sal said warmly.  “Thank you for worrying about me.”

She held out her hands.  Ali took them, but found her gaze locked on their joined hands.  She couldn’t bring herself to face Sal.  No matter how hard she tried to banish it, the memory of those eyes remained.  A hangover from a dream she decided.  But she still couldn’t look up.

“Ali, what’s wrong?” Sal asked.  “Is it Jess?  Has he done something to hurt you?”

“
No.  I just… I was sleeping.  I’m tired.  I need to get back to my room.”

She pulled her hands away and nearly ran from the room.  She felt embarrassed.  What would Sal and Dash think of her?  But nothing in the universe would have made her stay.

She fled to her room, locking the door behind her.  She started to feel calmer but the feeling of having escaped something dangerous refused to fade.  She tried to convince herself it was a mixture of the dizziness and being intimidated by Dash.

Something struck her about Sal’s illness.  Sal had been a slave all her life.  Jess had told Ali many tales of his own life as a slave, though she was certain he kept silent on the worst parts.  She knew that going without food or water was not an unusual situation for slaves.  If Sal was susceptible to such problems why hadn’t she suffered with them before?  Was there something else underlying the illness?

Ali thought of asking Jess, but she was still too angry with him.  Not to mention embarrassed at the situation he’d found her in, innocent though it really was.  Besides, she was almost certainly jumping at shadows.  Jess would probably laugh at her ideas, and that would just make her more angry.

She took off the bathrobe and climbed into bed, certain she wouldn’t get back to sleep.  She was wrong.  Within a minute she was fast asleep, though it wasn’t restful.  In her dreams she was constantly chased, both by people she knew and people she didn’t.  Everyone chasing her had one thing in common.  Eyes that glowed from within.

*****

Jess chewed his lip as he examined the information on Sal one more time.  He hadn’t been completely honest.  Sal was suffering from a lack of food and liquids, but there was more.  There were strange readings from her brain.  Nothing that was obviously a problem but unusual patterns of energy were swirling around her head.

The
Wanderer
wasn’t much help.  Something about the patterns seemed to resonate with the ship, but it was information that hadn’t been accessed in an awfully long time.  Probably tens of thousands of years.  The
Wanderer
was hunting for the related information but it seemed to have been deleted or moved.

Jess didn’t think it mattered.  Whatever was going on with Sal couldn’t possibly have anything to do with a memory from so many thousands of years before.

The
Wanderer
was insistent though.  Far more so than Jess had seen before.  It was determined to find the information.  Jess didn’t interfere.  Maybe there would be some similarity, some clue to what Sal was experiencing, that would be useful after all.  No matter how unlikely that seemed.