Wanderer 3: Tainted Universe (6 page)

Chapter Nine

Greenseed Station

“Multiple ships inbound,” called out the watch officer, jerking Marsh from his dark thoughts.

On one level he welcomed the distraction.  His mind's eye had been seeing the children on the destroyed ship, time after time.  The children he had killed.

“What have we got?” Marsh snapped out.

“
Twelve large freighters, four small freighters and several dozen escort fighters.”

The reply came quickly.  The young watch officer had been replaced by a far more experienced officer.  Marsh had rotated many of his staff after destroying the ship with the children on board.  The crew had been strung out enough even before that incident.  They needed a chance to recover.

“Threat analysis?” Marsh asked.

“
Nothing we can’t handle, sir.  I’d suggest keeping them a bit more distant though.”

“
That makes sense.  Let’s push them an extra twenty percent out from our normal boundary.  We might lose a few containers but better that than take unnecessary risks.”

The control room was even more tense than normal as the merchant fleet closed in.  Resentment and anger hung heavily in the air, as did fear.  Marsh knew that most of them would have made the same decision he did.  They would have destroyed the incoming ship too.  But they didn’t want to admit that to themselves.  They didn’t want to admit there had been no way to save the children without risking the entire station.

“Incoming message,” the comms officer called out.

“
Put it through,” Marsh answered.

The man on the screen looked more like a miner than a merchant.  He was average height but built like a barrel.  Tattoos covered his arms and face, and his blond hair was cropped short.  He wore tatty work clothes and would have been easy to dismiss as a fool if it wasn’t for the eyes.  Those were piercing and intelligent.  Marsh quickly changed his appraisal of the man.

“Captain Novek.  Here to collect food and supplies.”

The voice was deep and scratchy.  A perfect match for the man’s appearance.  Too perfect Marsh felt.

“Commander Marsh.  We have what you need, but it comes with some conditions.”

“
Aye, I know.  And we’re happy to stick to them.  There’s a lot of hungry people relying on us bringing food back to them.”

“
And a lot of profit to be made too, no doubt.”

Novek spat to the side.  “Not a thing.  All we ask is enough to cover our costs, or ideally the parts and supplies we need instead.  This ain’t the time to be trying to make a profit.  It’s the time to be making friends.  Dark times are coming, even darker than those we live in now.  I want all the friends I can get, especially those which might offer a safe port to weather the storm.”

“A safe port without enough food?”

“
Sometimes a little hunger is better than a whole lotta dying.”

Marsh relaxed a little, smiling at the screen.  “I can’t argue with that.  Can you send over your requirements and we’ll work out a delivery plan.”

“Aye, got it all ready for ya.  Hear you go…”

“
Information coming across,” the comms officer announced.  “All looking… wait…”

“
What is it?” Marsh asked tensely.

“
We’re getting another message, from a different ship.  The
Slower Path
.  It’s broadcasting on a wide beam.”

“
Commander, greetings.”

“
Jenkins, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” roared Novek.

“
I just wanted to tell the Commander the good news.  On the way we managed to collect many emptied cargo containers.  We can drop them off to replace some of those we will take with us.”

“
Sorry Captain, but no,” Marsh cut in firmly.  “We don’t accept anything back.  We have more than enough raw materials and manufacturing capability here to produce new containers for every shipment.”

“
But Captain, we brought them so far.  Please let us deliver our cargo.”

“
Commander!” the watch officer called out urgently.  “The
Slower Path
is accelerating towards us.”

“
Captain, I will not warn you again,” Marsh said in a cold, hard voice.  “We do not accept deliveries, nor do we allow ships close to the station.  Change course and start slowing immediately or we will be forced to destroy you.”

“
No, no.  You don’t understand…” Jenkins started to say.

“
Jenkins!  Do as they say right now or by god we will blow you out of space ourselves,” Novek roared, even more loudly than before.

“
If you insist.  It seems such a waste though.  Give me a moment.”

Jenkins looked genuinely confused by the reaction he’d provoked.  Could he truly be that stupid, Marsh wondered.  Could anyone?  The image flickered and died.  Probably too embarrassed to keep it open.

“The
Slower Path
is still accelerating,” the watch officer shouted out, fear in his voice.

Before the officer finished speaking Marsh heard Novek bellowing orders to his crew.

“Open fire!  All weapons.  Destroy the
Slower Path
.”

Marsh wasn’t far behind.  “Target that ship.  I don’t want to risk hitting the other ships, but other than that use all possible weapons.”  He pointed to the watch officer.  “I want to know the moment any other ship starts to approach.”

“Aye commander,” the man replied, eyes glued to his displays.

Marsh stared at the displays as the
Slower Path
came under fire from both the station and its fellow ships.  He was vaguely aware of the change in the room’s atmosphere.  No one disagreed with this order.  The
Slower Path
represented a clear danger, one that chilled everyone to the marrow.  The question wasn’t whether or not to open fire.  It was whether they could destroy the fast approaching ship in time.  Marsh could feel the tension in the room.  It wasn’t helped by the fact they had no idea just how close was too close.

Shots started to splash across the rogue ship’s rear shields, but without making much of an impression.  She was already moving beyond effective range for most of the convoy’s weapons.  Marsh watched them closely.  To destroy the
Slower Path
they would need to pursue her, and in doing so move closer to the station.  Such a move could be an honest attempt to destroy the rogue ship or cover for another rogue to begin an attack run.

Marsh wasn’t alone in his thinking.

“Any ship breaking formation will be destroyed with no warning!” barked Novek.  Then the anger drained from his face, replaced by fatigue and worry.

“
Commander, my apologies.  The
Slower Path
is already leaving our weapons range.  I had no idea they might be tainted.  I apologise, little as that’s worth now.  I hope you have the ability to destroy her before she can endanger you and your station.”

Marsh just nodded, then cut the connection.  Novek might be telling the truth, or the whole incident might be a ruse to test the station’s defences.  Either way Marsh wanted to deal with the situation without being watched.

The station’s weaponry was already firing.  Huge energies were rushing across space to crash into the
Slower Path
.  The rogue ship was making no effort to avoid the onslaught.  Instead it kept accelerating hard, still locked on a collision course with the station.

Marsh had no doubt the incoming ship would be destroyed, but that might not be enough.  They needed to do more than destroy it, they had to ensure no wreckage reached the station.  Or even got near.  That was far harder.

The station’s heavy weaponry started to impact on the
Slower Path
.  Within seconds her shields were flickering and weapons fire was reaching the ship itself.  As the ship shuddered and started to break up Marsh gripped the arms of his chair.  He found himself wishing for the engines to blow.  That would be enough to destroy anything on the ship that was a danger.

He was out of luck.  Someone must have powered the engines down in the seconds before the ship was ripped apart.  Instead of an intense blaze there was an expanding cloud of debris, still approaching at an alarming rate.  Marsh made a tough decision.

“Open up with all weapons.  I don’t care if that endangers the other ships in the convoy.  We have to wipe out every bit of debris.  Contact Novek and tell him his ships can move if necessary, as long as they don’t come any closer.”

Every weapon on the station opened up, targeting the debris they could detect and every section of space that might hold debris too small to spot.  Marsh found himself wishing for command of a ship, for the ability to dodge out the way.  He hated feeling so helpless.

The larger pieces of debris were quickly destroyed, seared into their component atoms.  Then the smaller chunks too until finally the sensors could detect nothing more.  The weapons kept firing, targeting the area of space any wreckage would have reached.  Marsh, and most of those in the room, watched the glowing sphere that represented the path of the wreckage draw closer and closer to the station.

Finally the sphere reached the station.  This was the critical moment.  Anything that had survived would impact the shields, causing fluctuations in their energy levels.  The station’s weapons had shut down shortly before.  Marsh stared at the readouts, heart in his mouth.  Nothing.  Not even a flicker.  Nothing had gotten through.

Marsh realised he was holding his breath and forced his lungs back into action.  Now he checked the other ships under Novek’s command.  Most had moved at least a little to avoid stray shots from the station’s defensive fire.  None had attempted to come closer, and all were now holding position.

“
Get me Novek,” Marsh told the comms officer.  Seconds later the captain’s face was back on Marsh’s screen.

“
Commander, are you safe?” Novek asked immediately.

“
Yes Captain.  Our defences were adequate.”

“
Thank god!”  Some of the stress left Novek’s face, but not much.  “I cannot tell you how sorry I am Commander.  Jensen and his ship joined us three weeks ago.  Most of the ships in the convoy have joined us recently.  We’ve seen nothing suspicious from the
Slower Path
.  Till now at least.”

“
Are you safe?  Are the other ships?”

“
Yes.  We have a strict physical isolation policy, and the data exchanged is limited and carefully scrutinised.  Holding this group together just got a damn sight harder though.”

Marsh nodded his understanding.  Despite the danger Novek had brought he bore the captain no ill will.  That danger was insidious, which was part of what made it so terrifying.  Now the ships under Novek’s command would be watching each other for the slightest sign of treachery.  Keeping them together would be a major challenge, as would preventing someone getting trigger happy.  One shot would be all it took to start the convoy ripping itself apart.

“Commander…”  Novek was tentative now.  “Despite what happened, we came here for a reason.  Thousands of people are depending on us returning with food and supplies.  I wouldn’t blame you for sending us away with nothing, but many of those people will die if you do.”

“
Don’t worry, you’ll get the food.”

Marsh knew his voice was sharp, but he couldn’t help it.  The assault had got too damned close.  Maybe they needed to increase the buffer that no ships were allowed within.  Again.

Realising his own thoughts were too bogged down in changes to the defences he motioned to Alisha.  His deputy could handle the logistics of loading the ships while he focused on trying to keep everyone on Greenseed safe.  Or safer at least.

He was under no illusions.  One day, possibly soon, an overwhelming force would arrive.  It might be pirates looking for food, or it might be another attack like that of the
Slower Path
.  Either way the people of Greenseed would be dead then, or as good as.  Until that moment arrived he intended to make damn sure to keep them safe though, and to get as much food out to the needy as was possible.

Chapter Ten

Jess glared at Dash, trying to keep his anger in check.

“
How are we supposed to trust you?” he ground out.  “First you tell us the base is safe.  Now you claim it’s been taken over, that your friend is facing death.  How do we know that’s true?  It seems awfully convenient as you want to stay on the
Wanderer
now.  Can you prove what you say?”

“
Yes.  But only by travelling to the base, and that would be a one way trip,” Dash replied.

“
I believe him Jess,” Sal said, stepping between them.

Jess took a deep breath, struggling to control himself.  Dash was a liar by his own admission.  He was the leader of a pirate organisation.  He was older and far cannier than Jess.  And he had an aura that made him seem trustworthy.

The more time they spent together the more Dash reminded Jess of Matt.  Those wounds were far from healed.  Jess was determined not to be caught out in the same way.  He couldn’t explain his reasoning though, not in front of Dash.

“
Does it change anything?” Sal asked.

Jess felt anger surge inside at the question.  Anger fuelled by his frustration.

“Of course it does!” he snapped back.

“
Not in the short term,” she replied sharply, glaring a challenge at him.  “Freeing and unloading the prisoners is going to take the best part of a full day.  Why not see what happens?  Maybe we’ll get the proof we need.  Unless you were thinking of sticking chains on Dash.”

Jess was startled for a moment, wondering if she could read his mind.  A few moments later he realised she was joking and smiled back, shaking his head.  Ali’s eyes narrowed.  She’d noticed the hesitation, even if no one else had.  Jess knew he’d hear about it later, when they were alone.

“Well then,” Ali continued, a cold edge to her voice.  “Shouldn’t we start things in motion?  We have a lot of prisoners to offload.”

Dash smiled slightly, nodding his head.  Jess was immediately on edge again.  Did Dash consider this a victory?  Was it another step in his plan? Jess vowed to keep an even closer eye on Dash until he was safely off the ship.  Something Jess was determined to make happen as soon as possible.

*****

“
The plan looks clear and efficient.  Just what I’d expect from you,” Dash told Knuckles, forcing a smile.

“
Of course.  The sooner it’s done, the sooner we can sit down with those beers.”

Dash forced out a chuckle through the tightening in his chest.  They both knew it would never happen now.  Dash would leave without setting foot on the base, and Knuckles would be killed soon after.

“Sounds good.  The first toast will be to fallen comrades though,” Dash said solemnly.

Knuckles nodded then replied in an equally solemn voice.

“I’ll drink to that.  I heard about Dozer.  Damn waste.  There’s not many of us left now.”  His voice brightened.  “Still, at least you got me this nice, safe gig.  Now get those prisoners offloaded then get your arse over here for a drink.”

“
I will my friend.  Dash out.”

Dash stared at the blank screen, heart aching.  The conversation had been even more painful than he’d expected.  He’d never lost a friend this way before.  He’d never known they were as good as dead yet still been able to talk to them, having to pretend everything was normal.

The worst part was being unable to say goodbye properly.  Knuckles had known it was their last conversation, Dash saw it in his friend’s eyes.  Whether Dash stayed on the
Wanderer
or boarded another ship he would need as much of a head start as possible.  Those holding the base had to believe Dash still planned to visit.

“
Shuttles are on the move now.”

Dash jumped slightly as Jess spoke.  He’d forgotten the others.  They had waited patiently until Jess broke the silence.  The young captain’s voice was confrontational.  He was steadily becoming more hostile to Dash, something Dash didn’t fully understand and wasn’t sure how to counter.

“The
Wanderer
will be unloaded first,” Jess continued.  “Our passengers are already free of their control collars.  Our robots will work their way through the other three ships, removing collars and getting the prisoners ready to be transported.  The
Wanderer
should be empty in a few hours.  I need to know which ship you want to go to.  It’ll be better if we send several shuttle loads there at least.”

“
Jess, you know he wants to stay,” Sal snapped at Jess.  “He wants to come with us.”

“
And what if we don’t want him to?” Jess shouted back, anger blazing.  “I don’t trust him.  I don’t want him here with us.  What if he’s just waiting his chance to try to take control of the ship again.”

“
He didn’t the first time!”  Sal was shouting back now.  “You know he tried to stop it.  He risked his life to stand by me.”

“
So he says!  How do we know anything he’s told us is true?”

Dash winced.  This was bad.  He did want to stay, but a showdown between Sal and Jess was unlikely to achieve that.

“You can’t just decide that!  Ali and I haven’t had a say.  Or are you pulling rank as captain again?  Ali, what do you say?”

The younger woman pulled a face.  Her eyes found Dash’s face, but quickly slid away.  That was another bad sign.

“I’m sorry Sal.  I agree with Jess,” Ali said quietly.  “I just don’t know whether we can trust Dash.  We have to put our safety first.”

Sal turned to Dash, tears in her eyes.  “Tell them Roberto.  Make them understand that they can trust you.”

Dash stared into her face, then took her hands gently in his.  He shook his head slightly.

“
I can’t.  All I can do is ask them to trust me.  To trust me as you have.  I can’t blame them for refusing.”  He turned his head towards Jess.  “You’re making a mistake though Jess.”

“
Really?  Why's that?” Jess responded, eyes narrowed.

“
You should unload the other ships first.  You know as well as I do that within those ships are people who won’t survive unless they are freed now.  Those on the
Wanderer
have food, water and medical help already.  If you are determined to get me off the ship then fine, but don’t make those prisoners suffer for it.  Free them first, then offload me.”

Jess looked like he’d swallowed something bitter.  He didn’t answer for several seconds, then gained control of himself.

“Fine.  You’re right,” Jess said with bad grace.  “Just don’t get comfortable.  You’re not staying.”

“
I can’t believe…” Sal stopped speaking.  Shaking her head angrily she stalked out of the room.

Jess stared after her.  Dash saw determination and concern flicker across the young captain’s face.  He realised Sal would be the key to his staying on the
Wanderer
.  She already wanted him to stay.  The problem was getting Jess or Ali to see things the same way.  Dash wasn’t sure it was a problem he could solve.

*****

Jess made a point of ignoring Dash as he coordinated sending the shuttles out.  He soon felt a familiar presence as Ali linked herself to the
Wanderer
.

I’ll take some of the shuttles,
she sent.

Thanks,
Jess replied.

He could manage easily on his own but understood that Ali felt the need to be involved, the need to watch for any issues.  He could feel the extent of her worry through the link.

Soon Jess had forgotten all about Dash.  He was absorbed in his work.  His heart pounding every time they opened a new prisoner transport, wondering what they would find.

Sometimes everyone within was reasonably healthy, though confused at the sight of the
Wanderer
’s robot.  Confusion changed to disbelief as their control collars were removed and their situation was explained.  Then the prisoners were quickly escorted to a shuttle and sent on their way.  None of them caused any problems.  They were still too stunned by events, or too suspicious of a trick, to begin throwing their weight around.

Some times only corpses waited within a transport.  One transport had suffered a catastrophic breach.  The air had escaped quickly, leading to a horrific death for those inside.  Another had suffered a slow leak.  Jess wasn’t sure if those inside had suffered more or less than those who had died quickly.

Ice covered the corpses in the rest of the containers filled with the dead.  The heaters had failed, taking with them any hope of surviving the trip.  The chill of space had wormed its way into the container.  To Jess they seemed to have died a peaceful death.  Certainly more peaceful than those in the transports that had lost their atmosphere.

Jess found other containers the most difficult to deal with though.  The containers where some had survived but others were dead.  Jess knew that his choices had led to many of those deaths.  If he’d found a way to free them sooner at least some of those he'd found dead would still be alive.

In fact if he hadn’t interfered, if he’d allowed the ships to continue to their original target, then many of those who had died would have survived the trip.  Not for long of course.  The slaves had been destined for a deadly task.  But they would have lived longer, and their deaths wouldn’t be on Jess’s hands.

As they opened container after container the weight of the dead settled onto Jess’s shoulders.  Seeing the faces of the survivors helped, seeing them smiling as the fact they were free sank in, but it couldn’t erase the faces of those who died.

Would it always be this way?  Would there always be those he couldn’t save?  And if so could he keep going as the weight of the dead became a heavier and heavier burden?