Keeping the Wanderer safe was taking most of Jess’s attention. What little he could spare was focused on the Steady Light. Nothing had attacked her or the other freighters yet, but it would. If necessary Jess would use the Wanderer’s unique jump engines to intervene. For the moment he felt it better to keep away and give the Steady Light some space.
Something was happening. Some of the Imperial corvettes were peeling off, turning to follow the Steady Light and intercept the other nearby freighters. The rest of the fleet still seemed determined to take out the Wanderer. That worried Jess. The enemy was showing far too much awareness of the Wanderer being something special.
The Wanderer shook under a sudden barrage of shots which seemed to come from nowhere. Jess lashed out with the Wanderer’s weapons in a wide spread, acting on instinct alone. Several lasers hit their invisible target. Not enough to do any damage but enough to show its outline. More stealth ships. Now he was certain. The massive fleet was chasing the Wanderer.
Jess started to throw the Wanderer through more random turns. The stealth ships he’d encountered before had relied on a set pattern of attack to avoid hitting each other. Jess had the Wanderer weave in and out of groups of enemy ships to break up any such pattern.
It helped a lot. The stealth ships had to drop back into visibility every minute or so to reorder for another attack. The exceptionally powerful weaponry they carried only hammered at the Wanderer’s shields intermittently. She could take that punishment easily.
Something else struck the Wanderer. Jess felt as if he’d smashed into the floor from several feet up, even with the padded restraints he’d fashioned. Shaking his head against blackness he focused on the ship.
The Wanderer seemed to be in one piece still, but the shields were very low. What had happened? Jess soon had the answer. While trying to avoid the stealth ships he’d let the Wanderer get closer to the battlecruiser leading the fleet than he should have. The huge ship had seemed completely focused on destroying all of Desolation’s weaponry as the Wanderer slipped nearer.
From one moment to the next the battlecruiser’s weapons were targeting the Wanderer, smashing through her shields. Jess sent the Wanderer into a tumbling spin, making her as tough a target as was possible. In time the shields would recover, but it was time they might not have. Two stealth ships had shed their invisibility. They were on the Wanderer’s tail and almost in attack range.
The first came into range and opened fire, shredding most of the Wanderer’s remaining shields. Jess forced power back into the shields, stealing it from everywhere he could. He powered down the Wanderer’s own weapons. This encounter would be won or lost on her shields and thrusters, not in a shoot out.
Another volley narrowly missed, and another. Then the two ships split slightly before angling back towards the Wanderer. Jess cursed. Whatever he tried they were likely to land enough shots to disable or destroy the Wanderer. He tried anyway, throwing the ship into a tight spiral that felt like it would crush him.
It wasn’t enough. He dodged all the shots from one of the ships but half from the other still struck home. The Wanderer’s shields failed in a blaze of energy and much of the weapons fire struck home against the Wanderer itself. Warnings flared across Jess’s vision. Things were getting desperate.
Jess struggled to keep the Wanderer flying an evasive course, but it felt sluggish and slow to respond. The two stealth ships lined up for another attack. Jess forced his ship into another turn, but the damage it had taken made it much too slow. Both stealth ships would hit easily when they fired.
They didn’t fire. First one ship peeled off then the other. Both started flying circuits, always swinging their inactive weaponry across the Wanderer as they passed. The message was clear. Try to move, try to run, and you’ll be destroyed.
Jess rapidly ran through the damage the ship had taken. Most of the damage was to the main hold area. Sections were now open to space. Hours before that would have been a disaster, now the area was empty. All the freed prisoners had been sent on to other ships.
It wasn’t all good news. Some of the manoeuvring thrusters were destroyed, and all the shield generators had been knocked out. Some were completely destroyed from the pounding they’d taken. Jess was sure he could get others back online in only a few minutes but that might as well be a few centuries. Besides, as soon as the shields went up they’d be knocked down again.
With the Wanderer damaged and vulnerable to any attack, Jess had no options. He kept the Wanderer in place as the battlecruiser closed in. The size of the ship sent a chill down his spine. It was massive, defying any sense of scale. Nearby frigates looked more like runabouts.
Jess reviewed the attack. As he’d suspected, the punch had been pulled. Despite the damage done to the Wanderer the attack had been far below full strength. Jess felt another chill run down his spine as he realised the Wanderer had survived when any similarly sized ship would have been vaporised. It couldn’t be a coincidence. The power had been precisely calculated to overcome the Wanderer without destroying it. Add in the stealth ships and there was no doubt. This fleet had followed them from Daspal.
How? Had there been more stealth ships at Daspal, silently recording everything but not interfering? Even if there were, how had they managed to direct a fleet to Desolation so quickly? Most importantly, what happened now? They wanted the Wanderer. It was the only explanation. Jess would rather die than let that happen. The trick was ensuring his death, and the deaths of those he cared about, didn’t leave any part of the Wanderer intact.
Chapter 14
Dash lay slumped in his seat, only the straps keeping him in place. He was dazed, possibly concussed. Every part of his body seemed to be bruised. The metallic taste of blood and sharp pain told him he’d bitten his cheek despite his best efforts. It felt like several of his ribs were broken.
Everything considered, he’d got off quite lightly. The shuttle’s seat and safety webbing were designed to cope with rough landings, but the forces he’d been subjected to would rip the small craft apart during touchdown. As the acrobatics got steadily worse Dash had just closed his eyes and tried to relax, certain something would give way any second and he’d be crushed.
It hadn’t happened. Somehow everything had stayed in place, despite some ominous creaking. Even when the Wanderer was shoved by what must have been an epic discharge of weaponry the seat cushioned Dash from the worst of the forces.
For a moment he considered trying to contact Jess, but he soon dropped the idea. The thought of moving at all filled him with nausea. Imagining trying to focus on the shuttle’s controls at the same time was more than he could bear. So he stayed where he was, listening to the eerie silence. To begin with he expected the killing blow to come at any time. As the seconds stretched out surprise took over. Why hadn’t they been finished off? What was going on out there?
They hadn’t jumped, Dash was sure of that. He could always tell when a ship made that translation. So what was going on? Whatever had hit the Wanderer was big. Really big. Too big for the Wanderer to have taken out he was sure. Or anything else around Desolation, even if they somehow managed to combine the power of their attacks.
Was the Wanderer surrendering? And if so, to who? Had this attack come from those who wanted Dash overthrown? He didn’t know, and his mind was in no state for abstract thought, so he closed his eyes to wait for the end. However it came.
* * *
Jess, what the hell is going on? Sal sent, trying yet again to get a response. Once again he ignored her.
Biting down on her frustration she connected to the Wanderer herself, trying to find out. She’d passed out during the violent acrobatics. She remembered intense pressure, then a feeling of floating. Her ears had started to ring and her vision rapidly went dark at the sides. Then she was waking where she had been before, still secured to the floor. But all was now still. The Wanderer appeared to be rock solid.
Sal quickly came up to speed. It seemed she’d only bee
n out of it for a minute or so. The Wanderer had been pounded by the biggest ship she’d ever imagined, smashing apart the Wanderer’s shields and leaving it helpless.
With no shields they couldn’t run. They’d risked entering jump space with no shields once before, but only for the briefest of times. Until the shields were repaired they weren’t going anywhere.
* * *
Admiral Vorn smiled at his tactical display. The Wanderer lay at rest, covered by his own massive ship and two of the Banshees. The pirate base was starting to be torn apart by fire from his other ships, and the remaining intact vessels were being hunted down.
Now came a tricky part. He needed the Wanderer, and those on board might know as much. He had to offer them something, give them hope of survival and reward. The last thing he wanted was to spook them. One key factor was time. Allow them enough time to realise their predicament. Another was taking the other ships in the system, particularly those that had been with the Wanderer at Daspal. There was nothing like seeing friends in danger and pain to provide motivation.
Admiral Vorn continued to study the display, making plans but doing nothing yet. Let those on the Wanderer sweat for a while as they contemplated their likely fate. Then, when despair was peaking, anything offered by the Admiral would seem more than reasonable.
* * *
Jess stared at nothing, lost in the inner workings of the Wanderer. He was vaguely aware of the messages from Sal but he was far too busy to respond. Ali lay next to him, unconscious. She’d passed out during the heavy manoeuvring and hadn’t stirred since.
Jess had the Wanderer examining her now. To his relief there was nothing too serious. The shaking had left her with a mild concussion which the ship was already starting to heal.
The ship was in similar shape. Nothing major was destroyed, but much of it wouldn’t be working anytime soon. Or soon enough. Pinned between the three powerful ships there seemed to be no escape. Jess was sure the captains on the surrounding ships would be congratulating themselves. Well, they didn’t have their hands on the Wanderer yet. And they never would if he had any say in the matter.
Jess smiled at an alert on his display. Finally some good news. The Steady Light had just jumped. The corvettes following hesitated for a minute, probably confirming their instructions, then they jumped too. Jess grinned. It wouldn’t matter. Elizabeth would be into the target system and out again before the corvettes could catch her, and the effects of that system would stop them following her any further.
The other ships around the base should soon be ready to jump. Many of the freed prisoners would get away. Maybe all. Jess would never know. The two stealth ships were getting close enough to launch an assault. He also worried they might take more shots now they were closer, to cripple the Wanderer further.
Entering jump space without shields was almost certain suicide. Jess knew that. The Wanderer had done it once before, for the briefest of times. It had survived more by luck than anything else. Trying it again would be crazy. Jess figured staying where they were was worse. Making the jump would at least place the Wanderer’s wreckage beyond the Empire’s reach.
Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves he threw the Wanderer into jump space. The Wanderer vanished. It didn’t reappear.
Part II
Hunted
Chapter 15
Greenseed Station
“Dammit Steven, you can’t push yourself like this,” Alisha shouted at Marsh. “Ships are coming in too frequently now. You won’t get any rest if you insist on staying in command. You’re going to start making mistakes.”
Marsh stared at his deputy for a few moments, fighting to clear the fog from his mind. They were in his office, to one side of the command area. No one could see or hear them, but they could see what was going on outside.
Marsh had reluctantly given in to Alisha’s insistent demands for a meeting. Now he wished he hadn’t.
“I’m fine,” he said firmly. “I’ve done far longer stints in the past.”
“Oh spare me the when I was captain bullshit. That was then, and I bet you had people you trusted to help. You’re older now and you’re refusing to share any of the workload.”
“My age has nothing to do with this!” he shouted. Then he caught himself. “Sorry,” he said in a quieter voice. “I’m just…”
“Tired?” she interrupted.
“Yes. No. Look, this is so important. One mistake and we could lose the whole station. One mistake and everyone could be dead. We can’t take that chance.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? That I don’t think about it almost constantly? Of course I do. So does everyone else out there. But if you keep pushing yourself like this then you are going to be the cause of that mistake. I’ve had a rest. I’m fresher than you are. Let me take over for a few hours and go get some sleep.”
“I…”
He tried to find some way to refuse her offer without making it seem he didn’t trust her judgement. He couldn’t find a way.
“You don’t trust me, do you?” she said.
“Of course I do!”
“Fine. Prove it. Go get some rest.”
“I can rest in my chair. Then I’m nearby if you need me.”
“Bullshit! Then you’re nearby to keep an eye on me. There’s no need. I won’t make the wrong decisions.”
“But you did…”
The words were out before he could stop them. Alisha’s eyes flashed dangerously. She stepped closer, waving a finger under his nose. She was so angry she seemed to vibrate.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Marsh mentally kicked himself. He really was exhausted, otherwise he’d never have let that slip out.
“The ship with the children,” he replied, trying to keep his voice calm. “You would have let it through. Let it dock.”
Her eyes held his for long seconds, challenge burning in them. Then she dropped her gaze and gave a shuddering sigh.
“No,” she said, so quietly Marsh struggled to hear. “No. I wouldn’t. If I’d been in charge I’d have done exactly what you did. A few seconds later probably, but I’d have done it just the same. I’ve been back over it so many times. At that moment I didn’t have the responsibilities you did, I didn’t have to make the decision. I’m sorry. I made a tough decision even harder.”
Marsh was surprised by her change of heart. He was tempted to tell her it was fine, but it wasn’t. She’d challenged his authority at a critical time. He settled for a non-committal grunt.
“Is that why you won’t trust me? Why you won’t take a break?” she asked, meeting his eyes again.
“Yes, I guess. Partly at least. And partly it’s that I don’t want to drop this responsibility on anyone else. It’s too much.”
“It is. That’s why you can’t shoulder it all yourself. Please, let me help. Take a break.”
Marsh sat there considering. The only thing stopping him swaying was the strength of his will. His body was crying out for sleep, and his head ached with fatigue. How much longer could he keep going without making a serious mistake or simply collapsing? An hour? Two? At some point he had to let someone else take over.
“All right,” he said grudgingly. “You win.” He glanced out into the main room. “I want to change a few people around, though, to be sure you have the best backing you up. Then I’ll get five hours of sleep.”
She opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her with a raised hand.
“If everything is fine then I’ll get more rest soon after. Five hours is as much as I can let go for right now.”
“OK. I’ll take that. Make the changes quickly. You look so pale I keep expecting you to fall over.”
Marsh smiled tightly, not wanting her to see how close to the truth she was. They left the room and headed back to the command chair. Marsh hid a smile at the people around them, all seemingly absorbed in their work yet all actually hunting for some sign of how the meeting had gone.
He sank into h
is chair with a groan, immediately flagging up the changes he wanted. If he stopped now he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get going again. In the end he only changed four people, but they were critical. The watch officer, comms officer and two of those in charge of weaponry.
Once the change was complete Marsh forced himself upright, stifling a groan.
“You have command,” he said to Alisha.
“I have command,” she replied with a slight smile.
“I’m going for a shower and some rest,” he announced, loud enough for the whole room to hear.
He sensed everyone relax. Had he been that close to the edge? Either he had or everyone had thought so. Either way, leaving to rest was clearly the right decision for morale. He just hoped he wouldn’t live to regret it for other reasons.
* * *
Marsh spat a stream of expletives at the darkened room. None of them made the insistent beeping fade away. He fumbled for the lights, finding them on the second attempt. What was the time? He’d been asleep for a little over four hours.
Recent events slammed into his mind with the force of an asteroid impact and his blood turned to ice. He was certain Alisha wouldn’t let anything disturb his sleep that wasn’t of the utmost importance. What had gone wrong?
“Marsh,” he barked out as he accepted the call.
“Commander, we need you here. Immediately.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Just get here. Now.”
The line went dead. Marsh jerked out of bed and launched himself towards the door. He’d gone to sleep in his clothes in case of just such a call. He stopped before opening the door. Then turned back and punched a code into the wall safe. Yanking it open he pulled out his pistol, strapping it to his waist. His jacket hid the bulge well. He slammed the safe shut again then left his room, rushing towards the control room.
Wanderer's Odyssey - Books 1 to 3: The Epic Space Opera Series Begins Page 58
