One was to pursue the Wanderer. The ship displayed technology which hadn’t been seen in tens of thousands of years. That technology would give the Gifted a huge advantage in any battle. She wanted to know just where the Wanderer had been over those millennia, and whether similar ships were still to be found.
Yet she and Ali had gained powerful skills and knowledge that needed to be shared with other Gifted. With Ali incapacitated aboard the Wanderer, if not killed, only Sal could pass that knowledge on.
Finally there was the mystery of Teeko. The alien had somehow resisted the Gift, something that was unheard of. Some resisted receiving the Gift longer than others. Sometimes delivery of the Gift was interrupted by circumstances or a third party. Neither situation applied to Teeko. Even those who were slow to succumb found themselves rooted to the spot through the whole process, unable to speak or cry out. Teeko had started that way but something had changed. Somehow the alien had fought back. First slowing the transfer, then forcing it to a halt before breaking free completely.
And it hadn’t been an accident. Sal had sensed that much. Whatever mechanism they’d triggered was put in place to stop the Gift being passed on. It had worked. That was hugely worrying.
She didn’t need to choose yet. First she needed to get out of the cell and gain control of at least a reasonably powerful ship. She was certain no one would come visiting without a strongly armed squad of guards. Her captors knew enough to be scared of her. Not as scared as they should be, though.
The cell appeared impossible to escape, even for the Gifted, but Sal had knowledge none of the others did. Concentrating hard, she focused on the implants she’d once had. She remembered how they had interacted with her brain. Then she began to weave a new set, one based on those memories.
It was difficult work. Manipulating thoughts and even the physical structure of minds was what the Gift did, but never on such an intricate level. It soon became clear that replicating the original implants wouldn’t be possible. That didn’t matter. The ship around her was far less advanced than the Wanderer, but also far larger. She needed to trade finesse for power and power was something the Gift gave her in abundance.
* * *
Mak stared at his screen, watching the sleeping prisoner. She didn’t look dangerous, but those in command thought otherwise. Mak wasn’t about to start second guessing them. More than twenty years working in security had taught him those above him always kept information to themselves, and if they were jumpy he’d better pay damn close attention.
Jumpy didn’t even begin to describe the captain’s mood. Downright paranoid would be closer to the mark. The prisoner had been brought in under heavy armed guard, with every member of the team in full combat armour. Mak had half expected her to transform into some hideous monster and start tearing them apart.
She hadn’t, of course. She’d just walked meekly into the cell, then sat heavily on the bed letting out a sigh. Not surprising after the welcome she’d been given. After a few minutes staring at her new surroundings the prisoner laid down and went to sleep.
Other than the occasional murmur and twitch the prisoner hadn’t done anything since. She still looked just as harmless. Mak wasn’t buying it. Something had triggered his instincts, possibly just the way she had been treated so far. Whatever it was, he was happy to be monitoring her from the other side of a reinforced wall. If she escaped it would be through the cell’s door, and so directly away from him.
A display on his board pulsed red for a few seconds, then returned to green. Mak examined it with a frown. One of the sensors had suddenly decided the temperature in the room was at a dangerous level, then a couple of seconds later it had returned to the normal reading. None of the other sensors had detected any change so Mak shrugged and decided to keep an eye on it. On the screen the prisoner moved slightly in her sleep.
* * *
Greenseed Station
“Incoming ships… by the stars!”
Marsh stared at his displays, as stunned as the watch officer. This was no trader, not even a pirate fleet. The display showed warships; many of them. And fighters, already streaking ahead.
“Are they here to save us?”
Marsh wasn’t sure who whispered the question. In the silent Operations Room everyone heard it clearly. He realised he would have to answer it.
“I don’t know. Possibly they know the station has been invaded. They might have stumbled across one of the freighters that took on supplies here since the Tainted took hold. That could have led them back here.”
He had trouble putting conviction in his voice. It sounded tenuous even to him. He waited for someone to call him on it. A question came, but it wasn’t what he’d been expecting.
“If they know the station has fallen, won’t they just destroy it from a distance?”
“No,” Marsh said, after a moment's hesitation to adjust his thoughts. “No, they won’t. The station is too valuable. We already know food is getting scarce out there. That will go as much for the navy as it does for civilians.”
“So we’re safe once they get here?” asked one of the younger officers.
Marsh paused again, trying to decide what to say. He decided that the truth would be best.
“No. They need the station intact. Ideally they need the people, too, but if they think everyone has fallen to the Taint they won’t hesitate to kill us all.”
Seeing faces fall around him he put on his best pep-talk voice.
“Don’t let it get you down. Sure, we want to save the people on the station if we can. But the most important thing all along has been making sure Greenseed doesn’t become a major hub for spreading the Taint. We knew that might mean losing our lives. I think that's a fair trade. Our lives for millions of others.”
Marsh still had the touch. He saw their expressions change from uncertainty and fear to pride and determination.
“And nothing is certain,” he continued. “It's likely that they will take the station with as few casualties as possible. If that’s the case then we may have to stay in quarantine for a few weeks, but after that we’ll be back to normal.”
“Incoming message from the fleet,” the comms officer called out.
“Let’s hear it,” Marsh replied.
“This is the admiral commanding the incoming fleet…”
The voice was smooth, controlled. Someone used to being in command of tens of thousands of lives. Something was odd, though. No name? No fleet designation? Marsh had never come across an admiral that didn’t enjoy broadcasting their name and fleet details at every opportunity.
“Greenseed station has been identified as a key asset in the ongoing conflict. We are here to secure the station and ensure your safety. We intend you no harm, but any resistance will be crushed. Please disable your defences.”
Marsh felt as if his stomach had hit the floor. So much for hope. Instead of thwarting the Taint the fleet was almost certainly going to succumb to it.
“We have to find a way to warn that fleet,” he barked out. “I don’t care how. I don’t care if it damages the station. Just find me a way before they fall to the Taint too.”
Several of the officers nodded. The rest looked confused and scared. As the meaning of Marsh’s words sank in he saw their faces turn hard. Soon everyone was hammering at their displays, trying to find a solution.
“Admiral, this is commander Marsh. Welcome to Greenseed.”
Marsh almost choked on his anger as the voice echoed out of the speaker. How dare someone impersonate him. He struggled to get himself back under control. With the current situation, did it matter that much? Yes. It did. Now it was personal. Now he would go down as being one of the Taint’s tools. If anyone survived from the fleet then his name would be synonymous with treachery.
“I can’t tell you how pleased we are to see you,” continued the fake commander. “Things have been getting more and more dangerous out here. Our automated weapons have been disabled. Will you be docking?”
“Two of the corvettes will. They’ll be dropping off troopers who will secure the station, starting with key locations such as the Operations Room. Please keep your people out of the way. My troopers will have orders to use deadly force at the slightest provocation. Out.”
The channel went dead, leaving silence in the room. One of the officers finally broke it.
“That’s good news, isn’t it? When they reach us we can tell them what’s really happened?”
“No,” Marsh said. “We won’t be able to. The Taint won’t allow it.”
“What are they going to do? Stop the troopers going wherever they want?”
Marsh shook his head, then pointed at the doors. “No, they’ll break in here first. They’ve left us alone so far because we haven’t been worth the effort to deal with. That just changed.”
Silence fell again as that sank in. Moods seemed to sweep across the room in waves. First fear, then resignation, then anger, and finally determination.
“Commander, there must be something we can do.”
The question came from the same officer.
“Of course there is. We fight. We have more weaponry in here than they’ll be expecting. If we can hold them off for long enough the fleet will realise something is wrong.”
“We don’t have anywhere near enough weapons for everyone,” one of the guards pointed out.
Marsh smiled grimly.
“You are all about to learn two of the best kept secrets this station has. The first is there is a store of military grade weapons secured within my office. The other is there is a protocol devised for situations… well, not specifically like this but on this scale. From my office I can shut down the entire station.
“I haven’t suggested it before because it will only ever be a short term thing. Thirty minutes, maybe forty. It wasn’t enough before, but this fleet will immediately become suspicious. Any forces they send in will be armed, armoured and ready for a fight.”
Grins and shouts greeted his words. He’d replaced a heroic, but probably pointless, last stand with the chance to seriously hurt their enemy. He picked out several people and had them follow into his office.
A large picture of Greenseed had always adorned one wall of the room. Now Marsh entered the commands which revealed its real purpose. The picture slid down, revealing a revolving rack holding a mixture of machine guns and shotguns, weapons designed for close quarters work.
The guns were soon ferried out. There weren’t enough for everyone, but with the guards’ existing weapons there would be. The guards had quickly claimed the military weapons, a decision Marsh backed. They had the training to make best use of them.
The crash of an explosion signalled the assault was starting. The doors buckled slightly, but held. People dived for cover, swinging their weapons to cover the door.
“Five minutes. Give me five minutes and we win,” Marsh shouted.
“Don’t worry, Commander, we’ll give you ten at least,” shouted one of the officers. Cheers of agreement rang out.
Marsh nodded, and took one last look at those who had stood with him. Even now, with death almost certain, they were standing firm. Looking at them made him proud. And ashamed. Ashamed he had lied to them. Stepping back into his office he closed the door before anyone saw the truth on his face.
Chapter 50
Jess woke in a panic, heart hammering in his chest. For a few moments he struggled to work out where he was. He relaxed as the familiar surroundings of the flight deck registered.
The nightmare he’d woken from was already fading from his memory. He’d been back in the world of the Wanderer’s systems, fighting the Taint again. Ali had been there. But had she been helping or attacking him? He couldn’t remember.
He’d been asleep for six hours. The Wanderer assured him that nothing had happened in that time. The ship had started to repair itself. Teeko was resting in its bath. Ali, Dash and Ben were still locked away inside their shimmering prisons. Everything seemed under control, for the moment at least.
Hunger gnawed at Jess, but the thought of heading to the living area made him shudder. He could hardly stay shut away on the flight deck for the rest of his life, though.
There was only one solution, though Jess hated it. He had the Wanderer change its internal layout once more, creating hollow pillars to surround each of the prisons. While he’d still know Ali and the others were there at least he wouldn’t see them.
Thinking about the prisons he realised they were too dependent on the Wanderer’s shields. Any attack that damaged the shields risked the Tainted getting free. That was a chance Jess couldn’t take. As the hollow pillars formed Jess built small shield generators into them. The shields needed to cover such a small area that they didn’t need to be powerful, just powerful enough to maintain the prison.
Jess initially added three per pillar, giving double resilience. Then he increased it to five per pillar. He was scared of the Tainted, especially of their ability to attack the Wanderer. He wasn’t taking any chances on them getting free again.
The changes would take time. To distract himself Jess started accessing the information the Wanderer held on the Tainted. The more he learnt the deeper his frown grew.
The information was patchy and lacked any real depth. Passing on the Taint involved some form of energy transfer between one person and another, using the term person very loosely. The Wanderer had a long list of the alien species the Taint had managed to control. A very long list.
In contrast, the list of those species that could resist the Taint for a brief time was exceptionally short, and no species had ever been able to fully resist the Taint, to fight free without outside help. Until now. Until Teeko. The alien might hold the key to resisting the entire Tainted attack.
The Wanderer nudged at Jess’s thoughts. It wanted to return to its home system. No. More than wanted. It absolutely had to. Before it had wanted to return home. Now the ship was driven to.
Jess sent back his agreement. If there was anywhere that Ali could be saved it would be the Wanderer’s home. But they were already heading in that direction as quickly as they could. What more could he do?
To his surprise the Wanderer showed him another route, one that was nearly ninety degrees off from their existing course. The Wanderer seemed almost as surprised as Jess. It was insistent, though. An ancient set of instructions relating to the Tainted had been shaken loose by recent events. The destination was only a couple of hours’ flight away. It was deep in space, far from any planets or stars
With a shrug, Jess authorised the course change. At worst they would only be wasting a few hours. He was keen to see what would happen when they arrived. The instructions were very vague on that note.
Something nagged at Jess. What were the odds of them being so close? Two hours flight, even in jump space, was nothing when compared to the size of the Empire. Had they simply been exceptionally lucky? Was this the only location or were there others?
The Wanderer couldn’t help. It didn’t have the information. The instructions had turned up with the destination specified. It was possible, likely even, they had been processed by a subsystem to calculate the nearest suitable destination. The Wanderer had no way of telling.
The more Jess thought about it the more convinced he became they would find nothing. Something had gone wrong with the instructions. The real location was lost and it had picked a random location close to their own.
A darker suspicion grew in his mind at the same time. Were the instructions truly a message from the Wanderer’s past? Or had they been planted far more recently? Had they been planted by Ali while she’d been attacking Jess and the Wanderer?
Once again the Wanderer couldn’t help. If Ali had managed to plant the instructions then she would have been able to remove traces of having done so. The instructions had a feeling of age, of having lain untouched for millennia, but that too could have been faked. And if the instructions were placed by Ali then what dangers waited at the ot
her end? A Tainted fleet? Something worse?
Deadly trap or waste of time. Continuing made no sense. Jess was tempted to change course again, to start on the long journey towards the Wanderer’s home system. But he didn’t.
The Wanderer was still insisting they should follow the instructions, but that wasn’t what influenced Jess. A part of him had to know. He’d already seen so many impossible things since becoming captain of the Wanderer. Maybe, just maybe, there would be something amazing waiting for them. And if it was a trap then woe betide those who set it, for it would give Jess a chance to vent his anger and pain using the might of the Wanderer.
* * *
As the Wanderer neared its destination Jess strained to find anything in real space that could be a threat. His original plan had been to blast past the location in jump space before returning, if it was safe. He soon realised how dangerous that would be if an active tar pit was sitting at the destination. The Wanderer would be dragged back into real space right in the centre of any trap.
Instead he planned to emerge into real space some distance from the destination. Close enough to spot anything large, far enough away to enter jump space again even if there was a tar pit. Not to flee, but to gain the best position possible before attacking.
He still hadn’t spotted anything as the final seconds ticked down. He wasn’t reassured. If anything it made him more uncertain. So uncertain that he held off returning to real space for a couple of seconds, letting the Wanderer emerge in a different location than he’d planned. Just in case, he told himself, without really knowing what it was in case of.
The Wanderer dropped back into real space. Jess studied the sensor readouts, searching for any sign of danger. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. No danger, but nothing to justify the Wanderer’s instructions.
Jess felt hollow inside at the disappointment. Despite everything, he’d been secretly hoping to find… something. Something linked to the Wanderer. Something amazing. Even the danger of a trap would have been better. It would mean he hadn’t wasted several hours on a pointless diversion.
Wanderer's Odyssey - Books 1 to 3: The Epic Space Opera Series Begins Page 87
