“We could squeeze one more on board, maybe two. The life support wouldn’t cope with any more. It’s already struggling with the number we’ve packed in here.”
“Yeah, I had noticed. All right, that’s something. We can offer to save two of them. I’ll insist that Sal is one of them. I still want to learn more about her relationship with Sovon.”
“Is that the only reason, Captain?” Hackett asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dash went to answer, then paused. “Hell, no. I like her, I’ll admit that, but that’s not clouding my judgement. She seemed on the level, though. A good agent can pose as many things, but true innocence is almost impossible to fake, to anyone that’s a good observer, at least. The thought of having led her back to being a slave just doesn’t sit right.”
Hackett wisely chose to change the subject.
“Do we tell them now?”
“No. Let’s wait till we’re well away from the main fleet. I trust that I know how Sal will react, but I don’t know the others. One of them might sell us out.”
“All right, Captain. I’ll get on with planning our escape routes.”
Dash nodded his approval, already deep in thought. There was no way to save more than two from the Wanderer, and he already knew there were at least three people on board. Impossible though it was, he started trying to find a way of rescuing more than two. No matter how he looked at it he came back to the same conclusion. The Shadow Beam was simply too small, and already too packed, to rescue anyone else.
Having ruled out saving anyone else, Dash’s mind took a darker turn. If he couldn’t rescue everyone then he needed to ensure Sal was one of those saved. He couldn’t make that demand. Doing so would immediately make Sal a potential hostage for the others. He would need to deploy his own men to ensure she came on board the Shadow Beam. It should be a simple enough action. The Wanderer was just a trade ship, and his men were experts in boarding actions. It should be simple. That immediately set off alarm bells. In his experience nothing was ever as simple as it first appeared.
Chapter 33
Dash glared at his screen in frustration. His men were ready to launch their attack on the Wanderer. They were forty minutes away from the main fleet which meant only the escorting Imperial ships would be a problem. Everything was ready… but the Wanderer wasn’t playing ball.
Dash had sent them a message asking for an urgent meeting, stressing it needed to be face to face. They’d replied asking for a delay, saying they needed to deal with an internal issue first. Dash had followed up with message after message, stressing the meeting was vital and the issues involved could be deadly. The Wanderer kept responding with delaying messages, promising they’d be free for discussions soon.
Dash stared at the most recent reply.
Five minutes and we’ll be ready.
Well it had been almost five minutes and Dash was running out of patience. It would be much better if his men could board the Wanderer with surprise on their side but, if necessary, they could launch a hostile assault.
Then Hackett surprised Dash by saying “Incoming message from the Wanderer. Video feed.”
Dash sat up, watching closely as the image of the Wanderer’s young looking captain appeared and started to talk.
“First, I must apologise for delaying your request for a meeting. We needed to finish some preparations before speaking to you.”
Dash felt a cold chill at the words. Did the captain somehow know about the intended assault? Had they been fortifying the Wanderer? Preparing defences? Dash had no doubts about his men’s ability to capture the Wanderer even if that was the case, but it could take longer and the chance of casualties among his men was higher.
“Unfortunately, you placed us in an impossible situation,” the captain continued. “I don’t know whether you knew the cargo for this trip would be slaves, or if you simply failed to investigate the juicy contract properly, but we didn’t know. Had we known we would have refused the work.
“Once we arrived at Solcant there was no choice other than to load the cargo. With the slaves on board there was only one thing we could do. We freed the slaves. All of them. They are now our guests, not our cargo, and we will not allow them to be harmed.”
Dash felt as if he’d unexpectedly stepped into a gravity free area. His stomach lurched and he felt dizzy. This wasn’t what he’d expected at all. Thinking quickly he realised it made little difference to his overall plans. He needed to get the Shadow Beam away before reaching Daspal. The news about the prisoners didn’t change that. It might make the assault on the Wanderer impractical, though. If the prisoners were mixed in with the crew then their numbers would be dangerous and getting Sal free would be impossible.
“Now the prisoners are free we cannot complete the journey to Daspal. We plan to leave this system imminently. The Shadow Beam will not be able to follow our route so we would like to offer everyone on board a lift. We can’t offer luxury, but we can offer a chance to escape before the Empire starts demanding to know where their slaves have gone.
“I hope you won’t be tempted to warn our escort, but believe me it won’t matter. They can’t prevent our escape even if they know about it beforehand. I know this will have come as a shock so we will give you as long as possible to consider our offer. Please reply within ten minutes if you want to accept it. Wanderer out.”
“Are they mad?” Hackett asked. “How do they think they can escape? Just one of the corvettes would be enough to finish off every civilian ship in this convoy.”
“Maybe,” Dash answered. “It seems that way. Worst case, they’ll act as a nice diversion while we slip away. What if there is more to that ship than meets the eye, though? I’d like to know more about it.”
“If we take up their offer then you’ll get that chance. It’s a risky roll of the dice. If they’re lying, or just plain wrong, then we go down with them.”
“Yeah. If only we could get them to demonstrate those abilities before making their escape attempt. Wait…” A smile spread across Dash’s face. “Maybe we can. And we can get a chance to go after Sovon at the same time.”
“How?” Hackett asked, confused.
“We come clean. We tell them who we think Sovon is, and that we think Sal was right when she thought he was her lover Markus. If Sal has enough influence then they’ll want to get even with him, or get hold of him, before fleeing.”
“That’s assuming whatever they think they have gives them an edge in combat.”
“True. But we’ve got nothing to lose. Open a channel to the Wanderer. Full video.”
* * *
“We’re getting a reply from the Shadow Beam,” Jess said. “Interesting… they’re sending full video this time, and are requesting a two-way link. I’ll accept, but limit it to only show me and pick up just my voice.”
Sal stared towards the screen Jess had brought up. Her stomach lurched and she gasped in surprise.
“Roberto! That’s Roberto! That’s who saved me on Free Rock!”
“Sorry… we're having problems with your signal…” Jess said. Then he looked over his shoulder towards Sal. “I’ve scrambled the signal for the moment. They can't hear me. Are you sure? That’s the man that saved you?”
“Yes! I’m certain!”
“She’s right,” Elizabeth said. “He’s got a presence you don’t forget in a hurry. What the hell is he doing here, though?”
“The question is, what the hell has he got us doing here?” Jess replied. “We’re only here because they offered us this job. I don’t believe it’s just coincidence.”
“Me neither,” Elizabeth said. “We need to find out what game he’s playing.”
“Include me when you reconnect,” Sal said. “I want to see and talk to him. Maybe I can shake him up a bit.”
“You sure?” Elizabeth asked sharply.
“Oh, yes. If he’s been playing me then I want the chance to tear him apart,” Sal said, anger blazing in her chest.
“All rig
ht,” Jess said. “Ready?”
Sal nodded. The image of Roberto reappeared on the screen.
“Wanderer… can you hear me?” he asked.
“Yes, Shadow Beam. We hear you now,” Jess replied.
“Thank you. It’s Jess, isn’t it? Or would you prefer I call you Captain? And Sal. Hello again.”
“Jess is fine,” Jess replied.
“Roberto,” Sal said, ice in her voice.
The smile on his face slipped a little at her tone. He nodded to himself.
“You’re not happy. Fair enough. I imagine you’re feeling manipulated right now, and with good reason. All right, let me explain.
“My name is Dash. Normally just Dash or Captain Dash. A very few people know me as Roberto. A group which has been growing smaller as the years go by.”
Sal felt a spark of interest at the implication she had been added to that small group, but quickly crushed it. He could easily be playing with her.
“You already know that I have links to a rather… shall we say, secretive organisation. One that you have been trying to build contacts with. One of my tasks is to evaluate potential new members and associates. To judge whether they’re on the level, whether they can be trusted, to some extent, or if they seem in some way to be wrong, in which case we cut all ties.”
“So that’s what you were doing?” Sal asked fiercely. “Evaluating me? I don’t know how you knew to use someone who looked so much like Markus but it was a low blow.”
Anger was already burning in her chest, now it intensified as Roberto… Dash… laughed.
“Sorry… I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that you couldn’t be further from the truth. Until we met I had no idea you even existed. I don’t investigate new contacts, contacts that we might do a slight bit of business with. I study those who are on the verge of being accepted into trusted positions, those who will have the chance to learn some of our most closely guarded secrets. Even had I known you’d started attempts to make contact I would still have walked straight past and ignored you.”
“But… then… why… oh, yes. You told me. You were following that man that looked like Markus. You thought I might have important information about him, till you realised I’d made a mistake.”
“Yes. I was following Sovon. But no, I don’t think you made a mistake. I lied, I’m sorry to say. He definitely recognised you, and he definitely responded to the name Markus, though he hid both so quickly only an expert who was watching him at that moment would notice.” Dash spread his arms. “It’s my job to be that expert.”
Sal stared at him for a moment, trying to take in what he’d said. When it sank in her chest felt tight and she had trouble breathing.
“That was Markus? But he ignored me! It… it can’t be… he wouldn’t do that…”
“I’m sorry, Sal. Really sorry. I didn’t tell you because I could see how much it would hurt you, and I thought to spare you that pain.”
Looking into Roberto’s eyes, Sal actually believed him for a moment. Then she shook her head angrily.
“If you really felt that way, why the hell would you drag us along on this chase? Why would you tell me the truth now?”
Dash seemed to sink under a heavy weight, he looked older, suddenly.
“There's a streak of decency in me,” he said softly. “It isn't a wide streak. Often, too often, I have to do things that make the decent side of me cringe. I wasn’t completely sure about you, and especially about those with you.
“You claimed to have been a slave of the Empire, yet you were free. That’s something which happens very, very rarely and normally only when huge amounts of money change hands. Then we heard Sovon was rushing off to Solcant for a lucrative contract. The Shadow Beam needed cover to follow him. We needed a merchant, and we needed one who wouldn’t give away the fact we’d employed them. We knew by then that you were seeking contact with our organisation. It was too good a chance to pass up. So good, in fact, that I wondered if it might be a trap, but I took that chance.”
“Hold on,” Jess broke his silence. “So you’re saying this Sovon really is Markus, and that he completely ignored Sal. How can that be?”
“I told you what my role is. I check out those getting close to our organisation. His reaction to Sal, and her story, made me strongly suspect he was an Imperial agent, that he had been on a mission when Sal met him, and that he was now on a mission to infiltrate my organisation.”
Sal felt sick inside at the thought, quickly followed by anger.
“No! It can’t be! I don’t believe you! We cared for each other. We loved each other! He can’t have faked that.”
“I’m sorry, Sal. I’m sure. So sure there’s no way he’ll be allowed to get close to our organisation. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. I kept following him in the hope of learning more about how he built such a convincing back story, and how he contacts his superiors.”
“Our friend there seems to have an awful lot of influence in his organisation,” Elizabeth said. “Ask him about that, Jess.”
Sal was confused for a moment, then remembered that Roberto was only hearing what she and Jess said, and only seeing the two of them.
“Your organisation seems to pay a lot of attention to your recommendations,” Jess said.
“That’s because I’m damn good,” Roberto replied. “For instance, someone else gave you that question. Someone I can’t see or hear.”
Sal noticed Jess stiffen very slightly. Roberto chuckled.
“And your body language there would tell me I was right, if I’d had any doubt.”
Fine, let’s see what he gets from me when I’m linked to the Wanderer, Jess sent to Sal.
She noticed the difference, as always. Jess’s body seemed to relax, to go still, when his mind was heavily linked to the Wanderer. She smiled slightly.
“Now Sal thinks she knows something I don’t…” Roberto said. “And then her eyes flicked towards you Jess, so it involves you. And you…”
He stumbled to a halt, studied Jess for a while in silence, then sketched a salute.
“I’m impressed, Jess,” Roberto said. “I don’t know how you’ve done it but you’ve pretty much shut down all the tells you were showing before. No, I’m more than impressed. Just how did you do that?”
“Natural talent,” Jess replied.
Roberto studied him for several seconds, then nodded to himself. Sal thought it was in acknowledgement rather than acceptance of Jess’s explanation.
“Fair enough. So… the reason I wanted to talk to you is to tell you what has been going on. I’d still like to get my hands on Sovon. It’s possible my men can snatch him off the Steady Light, but not certain. It depends on how quickly the Imperial ships react and what they do. That’s where you come in.”
“Go on…”
Jess was giving nothing away. Sal could tell that, despite what he said, Roberto was finding it unsettling. She wished her implants gave her the same abilities, but Jess’s were in a different class. She could link to the ship and accelerate her thoughts that way, but her body would slump into a dazed state. Roberto seemed to be focused solely on Jess at that moment, but she wasn’t fooled. She had no doubt he was watching her closely for any hints she let slip.
“You’ve told us you plan to get away,” Dash said. “You’ve told us that the Wanderer can deal with the Imperial forces out there. The question is, can you hold them off? Or does your escape involve somehow outrunning them, or hiding?”
Jess smiled coldly. “And what do we get in return for helping you, assuming we can do what you want?”
Roberto looked towards Sal. “You get to know the truth about Sovon. About Markus. You know for sure, rather than always wondering.”
“What makes you so sure I want that?” Sal asked. “Maybe I’d rather stay wondering. Maybe I’d like to cling to my memories knowing they might all be real, that he might have loved me too.”
“No. You’re too strong for that.”
Something about the way he said it pulled at Sal. Was there an element of admiration to his tone? She shook herself.
“All right. Yes. I’d like to know for sure. If you’re right, if he’s some sort of Imperial agent, then it will hurt like hell. But I’d rather know. What the hell would he be doing spying on slaves, though? We didn’t have anything, didn’t know anything, couldn’t do anything.”
Roberto spread his arms.
“I have no idea. I’ve never heard of it before, but then maybe it’s because no one has ever suspected it. As you said, why would anyone spy on slaves?”
“We’re getting off the point here,” Jess said. “Tell me, what did you plan to do before we told you the Wanderer was… special?”
Chapter 34
Dash stared at the image of Jess on the screen. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t read anything from the young man. It was as if every thought, every emotion, every reaction was being thoroughly screened before it reached the surface.
What made it particularly frustrating was the suddenness with which it had happened. One moment Jess had been broadcasting a range of tells. The next, immediately after Roberto pointed the fact out, they all stopped dead.
It was a puzzle he would have loved to pursue, but at that moment it was a serious problem. Dash continued to study Sal but her reactions were of limited use now. He needed to focus on Jess, to find out how to manipulate the young captain into doing what he wanted. And, if he was honest with himself, there was something about Sal he found unsettling. He felt himself drawn to her, a luxury he couldn’t afford.
Even now, with Dash drawing out answering the question, Jess sat perfectly still. Sal had started to fidget, but from Jess there was nothing. So still was Jess it seemed to magnify Sal’s movements, distracting Dash even more.
Wanderer's Odyssey - Books 1 to 3: The Epic Space Opera Series Begins Page 44
