Wanderer's Odyssey - Books 1 to 3: The Epic Space Opera Series Begins

by Simon Goodson

  “Ah… I’ll let Sal explain that one,” Jess said, standing. “I want to go check on our passengers.”

  He headed back to the living quarters. As soon as he entered he felt the glares from the prisoners almost as if they were physical blows. All four adults stared at him with hatred in their eyes. Jess felt bad for the baby and child, but couldn’t bring himself to try to separate them from their mother, and right now he had other concerns.

  He walked over to the food unit and started using it to create a meal. Soup, soft bread and beer in china mugs for the adults. The same but with squash for the boy, and a bottle for the baby. Nothing that needed knives. No glass to be smashed. The soup was warm, but not hot.

  The unit still fascinated him, the way it created not just the food or drink but even the containers. He wondered if they would have to start throwing mugs and plates out the airlock when they had too many. A thought gently nudged in from the ship, letting him know the unit could dispose of leftovers and the containers, that it would recycle them for future use. This reminded him uncomfortably of just how closely he and the ship were linked, even when he hadn’t reached out for it. Answers to questions he wasn’t even aware of asking just turned up. The ship adapted itself to his thoughts and wishes. The pilot’s chair gaining a swivel being the most recent example, and the most embarrassing.

  He finished carrying the food to the table, set it out and stepped back. Reaching for the ship’s mind, he adjusted the containing field to include the table so the prisoners could eat. He changed it to allow sound to pass again, wanting to know what they were thinking. They made their way to the table, the middle-aged man choosing a seat near to where Jess stood. He pulled the chair out, then suddenly whipped around, swinging the chair at Jess’s head. It clanged off the containment field a few inches from Jess’s face, jarring the man’s arm. Despite the field Jess had thought it was going to hit. He’d taken a step back and thrown his arms up. The man grinned at Jess, clearly deciding he’d won that encounter, before replacing the chair and sitting to eat.

  Heartbeat still raised, Jess took a few more steps backwards, before turning and heading for the bridge. Mocking laughter followed him.

  On the bridge he found Sal and Ali sitting looking at a screen showing Matt, who was still sleeping. Sal looked up grinning.

  “See? I’m starting to get the hang of this ship too. Of course I have to do everything by hand, not just by thinking like somebody I could mention.”

  Jess ignored her attempt to get a reaction, and tried not to notice the way Ali studied him after the comment.

  “He’s not looking too bad,” Jess said. “I think he should start waking in the next couple of hours. We’re going to have quite a story for him.”

  Sal chuckled. “Your turn to do the explaining. I’ve just been telling Ali how we got the ship and about Matt.”

  Jess groaned. “OK, OK. I just hope he’s in a good mood.”

  “How are our friends back there?”

  “Pretty unpleasant, so no change. Not yet, anyway.”

  “Fat chance of that!” said Ali. “They’re poisonous scum. Always will be.”

  “I… er… I think that might change for a while… maybe…” said Jess.

  Sal looked at him sharply. “What do you mean?”

  “Well… I was thinking about what you said; that we needed to get more information on where Ali’s friends were taken. Then I realised that our guests know everything we need to know, and that they wouldn’t tell us any of it, or even if they did we wouldn’t know if we could believe it. So I… I don’t think you’re going to like this.”

  Ali reached out, placed her hand gently on the back of his where it gripped the edge of the console tightly.

  “You’ve done something to them? What?” she asked gently.

  “It won’t hurt them!” Jess said quickly. “I put something in their meal. Just in the beer. It won’t affect the children. I used the same drugs they used on us. I had the food unit add the chemicals to their drinks. I feel really bad for doing it, even to them, but I couldn’t think what else to do. In about twenty minutes they should be desperate to please us, to help us.”

  Ali sat back, tears in her eyes and stifling a sob.

  “I’m sorry,” said Jess. “I’m so sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done it. I didn’t mean to upset you. I know how horrible it is, but I just couldn’t think what else…”

  The rest was lost as Ali threw herself forward grabbing him in a tight hug.

  “Oh you… silly… what am I going to do with you? I’m crying because I can’t believe how much you’re helping me, helping my friends. Thank you. Thank you so much. And don’t worry about that bunch. They deserve this and far, far worse.”

  Jess awkwardly put his arms around Ali, greatly enjoying having her pressed so close but more than a little embarrassed, especially once he caught Sal’s eye.

  “Not to put a downer on things…” Sal said. “But doesn’t there have to be some sort of focus? Couldn’t they just end up falling for each other?”

  “I thought of that. As they start showing signs of the drugs kicking in the ship will start playing suggestions to them, getting them to focus those feelings on me. Then I guess I’ll have to try to interrogate them.”

  “No. Make it me,” Sal said firmly.

  “What?”

  “Change the message. Make them focus on me. You’re doing so well Jess, but don’t take too much on. I’m older. I’ve dealt with more unpleasant situations than you have. Please, for your sake, let me do it.”

  Jess thought for a minute, not an easy task with Ali still hugging him tightly, before nodding.

  “If you’re sure? Really sure?”

  Sal smiled sadly. “Yes, really. We need to work as a team. You look shattered already. In fact, you should go get some rest. Alone, ideally.” She arched her eyebrows.

  Jess spluttered and felt himself turn bright red. Ali pulled away from him, also blushing furiously, as Sal burst out laughing.

  Chapter 7

  Jess woke with a start, feeling sure he’d slept much longer than he had planned to. A tickle in his mind from the Wanderer helpfully told him it had been eleven hours and nine minutes. He’d woken facing the wall, so he turned as he sat up. The sight of someone sitting on the end of the bed froze him for a moment before he realised it was Sal.

  “You look a lot younger when you sleep,” she said softly. “I’d forgotten how young you are, you’ve handled yourself so well. I’m proud of you.”

  “Umm… thanks…” Jess shrugged awkwardly.

  “Remember that we’re here for you though, Matt and I. Lean on us when you need to.”

  Jess smiled and nodded. Her words could have sounded condescending, but somehow they didn’t. They sounded caring. It had been a long time since anyone had truly cared for Jess. It brought a lump to his throat and tears to his eyes. Embarrassed, he busied himself shoving the sheet back and twisting so he sat on the bed next to Sal. Thankfully he’d fallen asleep in his clothes. He glanced at Sal, then looked more carefully.

  “Sal, you look shattered!”

  “Thanks. You know how to make a girl feel good!” she replied with a smile.

  “Sorry, but you really do look wiped out. Have you slept?”

  “No. I wanted to keep an eye on our guests, and on Ali too. I think she’s on the level but I wanted to be sure. She’s asleep in Matt’s room now, and I got the ship to lock the door. It needs you, me or Matt to authorise any attempt to open it.”

  Jess was shocked. He opened his mouth to argue then closed it again, thinking of all that had happened. He nodded slowly.

  “I guess that is for the best. How did questioning our guests go?”

  Sal pulled a sour face. “It wasn’t pleasant. They answered all the questions, almost fell over themselves to give me the information. I have the coordinates of the orbital farm, it’s called Iona, and several ports the pirate ship is likely to put in at. I got a lot of background
from them too. This isn’t something new. They’ve been pulling scams like this all their lives. Always at small, out of the way, places that won’t have heard of them and don’t have a fleet to chase them, or links to anywhere that has a fleet. They’ve ruined the lives of thousands, tens of thousands of people, and they don’t care. Not even now, dosed up to please me. None of them showed the slightest remorse.”

  She stopped, unable to continue; lifted her hands then dropped them back into her lap. Jess sat uncertainly for a moment, then leaned in and hugged her. She hugged him back fiercely for a few moments, then pulled away.

  “But no more!” she said, swallowing. “No more! And it’s thanks to us. Most of their schemes they kept secret, the drugs they used on us were made on their ship. No one else knows those particular scams. I think we did something good, something truly good, by capturing them. Of course the Empire would have stopped them if we hadn’t got in the way, but this is different. I spent hours talking to them. I’ve got details of all the places they’ve taken people to, at least all those they could remember, and of many of the places they’ve visited recently to kidnap people.”

  “So, what should we do with them?”

  “I still say hand them over. They’ve given me some locations which are large enough to deal with them and where they’ll be remembered. We should take them to one.”

  “And the children? Do we just hand them over too, to be ripped away from their parents or to suffer the same sentence?”

  “No. Sorry, I’m so tired. I didn’t tell you. Near the end, I asked them how old the children were. Such a simple question. The answer was that they didn’t know exactly, they’ve only had them about three months.”

  “What?”

  “I know. The children aren’t theirs. They stole them as part of a raid and decided to keep them. I know where from. We can take them home. I’ve already taken both children away, they’re sleeping in my room now. So I couldn’t have slept if I wanted to. Sleeping on the sofa in the same room as that lot didn’t appeal to me, strangely enough.”

  “Here…” Jess stood, gesturing to his bed. “Get some rest. I’ll keep an eye on things now.”

  Sal pulled herself onto his bed, smiling tiredly.

  “That sounds good. Oh…” She yawned. “Sorry. Before I fall asleep, Matt woke hours ago. He said he feels well, much better in fact, if a little sore. I brought him up to speed on everything that’s happened. He nearly had a fit! The ship must have shot him full of something because he soon calmed down and started falling asleep. He said he wants to speak to you, though, soon as he gets a chance. Says it’s important.”

  “OK. I’ll let him rest but as soon as he wakes again I’ll speak to him. Sal? Sal…?”

  Jess realised she was already asleep. Smiling, he pulled the covers over her and quietly left the room, noticing the door slid open and closed more slowly and quietly than normal. He shivered at the reminder of how closely the ship watched his thoughts.

  * * *

  “Space them! Throw them out the airlock, right now!”

  Jess stared at Matt’s image on the screen, speechless. The moment Matt woke up he’d contacted Jess. The first words out of his mouth were these demands.

  “I mean it kid. They’re trouble. More trouble than you or Sal realise. I’ve heard of gangs like this. Hell, I’ve seen the chaos and pain they leave behind. We need to space them now. Not the kids, but all the others.”

  “But… we can’t just kill them in cold blood!”

  “What do you think they’d have done if they knew about me, eh? You were vital – their link to the ship. Sal is young, worth plenty to them. Me? I’d have been out that airlock before you could blink. These people are evil. Completely, totally evil. As long as they’re on this ship they are dangerous. If they find a way around your barrier they’ll kill all of us, except you kid. You they might keep alive, but god knows what they’d do to you. Oh, and that girl you were sweet on, they’ll probably keep her alive to torture, to make sure you do what they say. The only way to be safe is to get rid of them. Get them off this ship.”

  “I can’t… I need… you can’t just ask me to do that. I need to think it through. Talk to Sal about it.”

  “God!” Matt shouted in frustration. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be laid back here, not able to move, knowing they could get free at any time? That I couldn’t do a thing to stand against them? Kid… Jess… you must get them off this ship before they do something we’ll all regret.”

  The ship pulsed warnings into Jess’s mind, Matt’s heartbeat had risen significantly, as had his blood pressure. He was also breathing hard, putting too much stress on his newly repaired lung. The ship wanted to sedate him, drop him back into a healing sleep. Feeling guilty, Jess agreed.

  Within seconds Matt’s eyes flickered and closed, his pulse dropped and the ship confirmed that his readings were back in the safe zone. Jess leant back in his chair, considering Matt’s words, knowing they were right in some ways. If the prisoners got free then they would wreak havoc on Sal, Matt, Ali and himself. On the other hand, could he really kill them in cold blood? Murder them? Wouldn’t that make him as bad as they were?

  He linked to the ship, focused in on the prisoners. They were all asleep, curled up together on the floor with blankets and pillows that Sal must have given them. They were near the airlock. If it had to be done, then why not do it now, while they slept? A plan formed in his mind. Open both the inner and outer airlock doors, shape the containment field to protect the rest of the ship but leave the prisoners exposed. They’d be sucked out, dead in moments. Probably before they even realised anything was happening.

  It took Jess a moment to realise the airlock doors had opened, almost at the same moment he felt the containment field reshape and the air pressure around the prisoners start to drop sharply.

  “No! Stop!” he cried in horror throwing up a new field to hold the air in. “No. I was only… you can’t… oh god…”

  Luckily he was linked to the ship’s mind, making his reactions superhumanly fast. The air pressure had hardly dropped for the prisoners, none had even stirred. Feeling sick at what might have happened he secured the field around the prisoners again, then closed the airlock doors.

  Jess pulled back from the ship’s mind, knowing that even so he would have to watch his thoughts carefully. At least one question was answered, though. He wouldn’t space the prisoners, wouldn’t kill them in cold blood. He couldn’t.

  Chapter 8

  Sitting in the pilot’s seat, Jess dwelt on the near death of the prisoners, or near murder as he saw it, for well over an hour. All the time keeping careful control of his thoughts in case something leaked out to the ship. The thought of what had nearly happened chilled him inside.

  Finally, he made a decision. Once again he reached out for the ship’s mind, but differently than before. Not to control the ship but to communicate with it.

  “What are you?” he sent.

  The reply was confusing – a mixture of images, thoughts, even a few words. Once he managed to absorb it all he felt he had the essence of the answer, which was simply ‘the ship’, though the answer was layered with levels of meaning.

  “Why do you need me?” Jess sent.

  Again the reply was a confusing mix, even worse than before. The structure was similar, though. Eventually Jess thought he understood. The pilot was the core of the ship’s mind. Without a pilot the ship’s mind was empty. Growing up a prisoner Jess had occasionally seen people that had been lobotomised, shuffling shells missing the spark of intelligence, of consciousness. Reminders that there were worse things even than being a normal prisoner. Without a pilot the ship was lobotomised. It had no purpose, no direction. More than that it wasn’t capable of having purpose or direction. The pilot was the spark that brought the rest of the ship’s mind to life.

  It was more than that, though. Jess struggled to understand but all he could make out was that the ship’s mind itself be
came more with a pilot at the centre.

  “But why?” he sent. “Why do you need a pilot? Why are you crippled without one?”

  This time the reply was stronger and much clearer. An image of the ship blazing with power, and the pilot channelling that power. Judging where it should be used. Acting as the ship’s conscience.

  Jess pondered the answers then sent another query, this time in images as well as words. The image of thinking about an action but not wanting it to happen. Somehow he felt the ship would understand that better than trying to use words alone.

  He was right. Immediately he was swamped with information, though the ship quickly slowed the flow to let him catch up. Some of it was general information on adding restrictions or confirmations to systems. Most felt different, though, less dry than the information he’d had before, though there were several distinct feels to it. The ship sensed his interest and told him the reason. These were protocols that previous captains had put in place. The feel came from each captain’s personality.

  That fascinated Jess. It was the first mention of any previous captains. Reluctantly he pushed it aside, focusing instead on setting up the restrictions he felt were needed. For the critical systems, including the airlock, life support and weapons, he added the requirement to consciously confirm any action.

  Wading through the information he’d been fed Jess found many other useful ideas, though most he decided to return to later. One he would never have thought of was to ensure commands issued while he was asleep were ignored. That suggestion had a wry feeling to it, obviously the result of an interesting experience. Jess implemented that control immediately.

  Finally he pulled back from the ship’s mind again, feeling both relieved and concerned. Relieved that he now had controls in place to prevent the ship doing anything drastic if he had a stray thought. Concerned as the depth of his and the ship’s interdependence hit home once again. The fact it would be monitoring, and potentially reacting to, his dreams hit particularly hard. It felt like having someone continuously peering over his shoulder.