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

by Simon Goodson

  “It can’t have been the generators! They have safety cutouts throughout them. There’s no way they could ever go that catastrophically wrong.”

  “Not by accident, maybe. But what about deliberately?”

  “What? But why?”

  “Well, maybe to achieve exactly what they did. How many ships did we lose? How many people?”

  “Damn! No! But all the people on the station were killed too. Who would do something like that?”

  “The Tainted, of course. They’ve done worse.”

  Clay felt his stomach drop. The Tainted had been aboard the station. Worse, they had clearly had enough of a presence to destroy it. And he’d been planning on trying to live there, for a short while at least. There really was nowhere safe anymore.

  An urgent signal kicked in, overriding the channel he’d been listening to. Someone with authority wanted to speak to him directly. Somehow Clay wasn’t surprised to hear the Cobra’s voice.

  “In case you missed the order, get yourself back to the ship now. Don’t worry about flying cover. We have plenty of chumps who can handle that. We need to get you started in special operations as soon as possible. What just happened makes that work even more critical.”

  Clay felt sick. In just a couple of minutes he’d gone from expecting to find freedom to being trapped doing the Cobra’s dirty work. He had no choice. But he still didn’t obey her order.

  “Pilot! Get back here now! Acknowledge!”

  All patience was gone from her voice now. Clay keyed his mike to active.

  “No.”

  The word was quiet, calm, and shocking. Clay didn’t know what he’d planned on saying, but that certainly wasn’t it… and yet it was the right thing to say.

  Stunned silence greeted his reply for a few seconds. Then the Cobra spoke again, her voice chillingly calm.

  “I don’t think you heard me clearly, pilot. I ordered you to return at once.”

  “I heard you,” Clay said.

  He swung his fighter onto another course. One that would carry him away from both the fleet and the shattered destroyer. He would pass relatively close to a few fighters but that didn’t worry him.

  “I heard you,” he repeated. “But the answer is no. I’m leaving. Don’t try and stop me. If you send any fighters near me I’ll destroy them. You know that’s no idle threat, and if you really want to try chasing down a lone fighter using corvettes and frigates, then go ahead.”

  He knew they wouldn’t. It was almost impossible, anyway. The larger warships were much slower than a fighter, but they did have the ability to enter jump space. In theory they could catch a fighter that way, but the minimum distance they would cover in jump space was hundreds of times greater than their sensor range. If he made just one course correction they’d never find him.

  “Who the hell do you think you are? I swear we’ll…”

  Clay cut the connection, then shut down all his comms equipment. There was no one he wanted to speak to, no one he wanted to hear from. All he wanted was to be alone, to feel the comforting silence of space, to leave everything behind. And now he could.

  Chapter 55

  Vorn couldn’t shake the feeling of déjà vu. Once again the Starslayer had dropped into normal space almost on top of the Wanderer. Would things really be different this time? Or would the Wanderer find yet another way to slip from his grasp?

  “Firing!” the captain shouted.

  Vorn actually felt the massive warship tremble slightly as the Omega Beam was fired. The powerful beam struck the Wanderer’s shields. Space around the Wanderer lit up spectacularly. The terrific energies at play hid the Wanderer from both Vorn’s sight and the Starslayer’s instruments. He started to worry the blow had been too great. Had he destroyed the Wanderer instead of disabling it?

  He had to wait several seconds for the disturbance to die down. Finally he managed to make out the Wanderer’s image. Relief soon gave way to disbelief. The Wanderer was undamaged. How? How could it possibly have shrugged off such a massive attack?

  “Target’s shields are badly depleted,” called out the captain. “Preparing to fire again.”

  Vorn checked his own display and felt his frustration evaporate. The captain was right, the Wanderer’s shields had withstood the assault, but not without a heavy cost. The Starslayer trembled again. This time the Wanderer’s shields buckled under the impact and the beam sliced through its target.

  “Target’s jump engines are offline,” called out one of the crew.

  “Offline my arse,” the captain shouted jubilantly. “They’re nothing but slag. We’ve got them this time!”

  “Captain, we have thought that before.” Vorn said firmly. “Stay focused.”

  The captain paled and swallowed.

  “Yes, Admiral.” He turned back to his console, adjusting the targeting information. “Firing again.”

  The Omega Beam lanced out once more, smashing through another section of the Wanderer and destroying several thrusters. Despite his warning to the captain, Vorn felt optimism bubbling inside. The Wanderer was already in serious trouble, and things had only just gotten started.

  * * *

  Alarms flared in Jess’s mind as the Imperial fleet dropped into real space almost on top of the Wanderer. He was out of time. He had to find a way to free the Wanderer. The shields would hold for a while but not forever. There was the risk of being boarded, too. He ramped up the Wanderer’s weapons, preparing to take out any boarding craft.

  The battlecruiser leading the fleet opened fire, but in a way Jess had never seen before. Previously the battlecruiser had unleashed volleys of fire from numerous weapons. This time it unleashed just a single beam, but one of devastating power.

  The Wanderer rocked under the impact. The shields held, but were badly depleted. Jess didn’t think they could take another hit like that. The weapon must take an immense amount of power. How long would it be before it could fire again? Seconds? Minutes?

  A few seconds later he got the answer as the beam fired again. This time the Wanderer’s shields buckled and failed. The beam punched through the hull and on through the ship, striking the jump engines and destroying them instantly.

  Despite the damage, Jess felt a surge of hope. With the engines offline at least the Wanderer would be mobile again. He threw power into the thrusters… but nothing happened. Whatever had the Wanderer pinned in place was still exerting its influence. Another blast from the battlecruiser destroyed a section of the hull and several thrusters with it.

  Jess unleashed the Wanderer’s weapons, lashing out at the battlecruiser. None of them reached their target. They fizzled out long before making contact. Jess felt despair. Not only did the battlecruiser have an awesomely powerful weapon, it had some form of shield that nullified all the Wanderer’s weaponry.

  What was left to do? He couldn’t run with no jump engines, couldn’t dodge while pinned in place. He couldn’t defend against the attacks, both because they were too powerful and because the shield generators were now mostly burnt out wrecks, and he couldn’t strike back through the battlecruiser’s shield.

  Another blast struck the Wanderer, destroying more thrusters and some weapons. Blast after blast followed. The battlecruiser seemed intent on carving up the Wanderer this time, on rendering it little more than a wreck. The only positives were that the Imperial warship wasn’t trying to destroy the Wanderer because the engines were being carefully avoided, and wasn’t trying to kill its crew because the flight deck was also left alone.

  It was cold comfort. Jess could feel the destruction of the Wanderer as physical pain. The ship he had spent so much time linked to was dying around him, and there was nothing he could do. All he wanted right then was to have someone standing by him with a clever suggestion. Elizabeth. Dash. Even Matt. Or failing that he wanted Ali, the real Ali, standing by his side so he could hold her one last time.

  Thinking of Ali led him to onto thinking about the prisons he’d created. Anxiously he ch
ecked them. He was relieved to find the small shield generators were still functioning. Much as he longed to have the real Ali beside him, he certainly didn’t want to face what she had become.

  As the battlecruiser continued to carve up the Wanderer, Jess realised he had one last decision to make as the Wanderer’s captain. Surrender or destruction. Not destruction at the hands of the Imperial fleet, destruction of his own choosing. The engines still functioned and he retained control of them. If necessary they could be set to overload, denying the Empire any chance of learning the Wanderer’s secrets.

  But could he do that? The Wanderer was more than just a ship. It was a living entity, and one which had been around for tens of thousands of years. Could he really be the one to end that? To kill the ship?

  And would he be right to? He’d seen what the Tainted could do, what they were. Corrupt and terrible as it was, the Empire was at least human. It was shocking to realise the Empire might be the lesser of the two evils.

  Then the choice became academic. Jess watched in horror as the power output from the engines dropped to zero. They didn’t seem to have failed, or to have shut down, but there was no longer any energy within them. Emergency power kept the lights on and the shields around the prisons running, but the Wanderer was completely helpless. None of its weapons, external or internal, could be used. The boarding parties would walk straight in without meeting any resistance.

  It also meant there was no longer any way Jess could destroy the ship. All he could do now was wait to be captured.

  * * *

  Vorn watched as parts of the Wanderer were reduced to glowing wreckage. He'd ordered the engines and flight deck left alone, but everything else was a fair target. One thing was certain, the Wanderer would never fly anywhere again. That was fine. He would have its remains towed on board the Starslayer where his crew could begin to unlock its secrets.

  If nothing went wrong. Even now Vorn was tense. The Wanderer had escaped too many times already. He wasn’t taking anything for granted. The Wanderer was almost a floating wreck, unable to move or retaliate, yet he still worried. The lack of retaliation was particularly strange. The Wanderer had fired once, but the weapons fire hadn’t even reached the Starslayer. After that the Wanderer’s weapons had fallen silent, even before they were destroyed by the Omega Beam.

  “Admiral…” the captain said tentatively.

  Vorn felt his stomach lurch. “What?” he snapped angrily.

  The captain took a half step back, then steeled himself.

  “Admiral, we are seeing something… unusual. With the Omega Beam.”

  “What do you mean unusual?”

  “The beam seems to be striking with diminished power.”

  “So? You know as well as I that this is new technology. The power relays are probably overloading. Keep firing. If the power drops off too far we will switch to our normal weaponry.”

  “No, Sir. There isn’t a problem with the beam. Sensors show it is still at full power. But by the time it strikes the Wanderer it is… diminished. It started about a minute ago. The power loss was just a few percent then. Now it is closer to sixty percent.”

  The Starslayer trembled as the Omega Beam fired once more.

  “Over ninety percent that time!” the captain said.

  “That power must be going somewhere,” Vorn said firmly. “Find out where. Are you sure the sensors are working correctly?”

  “Yes, Sir. Ninety-six percent down that time, Sir. We hardly inflicted any damage on the Wanderer.”

  Vorn frowned. Was the energy simply vanishing into empty space? The image of the Wanderer firing its weapons sprang into his mind. Its weapons fire hadn’t reached the Starslayer. It had seemed to bleed away, exactly as the Omega Beam’s power was.

  The beam fired again. Something clicked in Vorn’s head. Whatever was happening must have something to do with the Wanderer, and that meant it was something he had to stop.

  “Stop firing!” he barked out.

  “What?” asked the Captain, thrown completely off balance by the order.

  “Stop firing the beam right now!” bellowed Vorn.

  “Aye, Sir,” the Captain shouted.

  He slammed his hand down on the console, slightly too late to prevent one final firing of the massive weapon.

  “Launch the assault shuttles,” ordered Vorn. “I want the Wanderer crawling with our troops and I want it done now!”

  * * *

  It took Jess a minute to realise the barrage had stopped. He’d been sitting head in hands, slumped in depression, waiting for the inevitable. He reached out with the few surviving sensors and found what he had dreaded. More than a hundred assault shuttles were streaking towards the Wanderer.

  And there was nothing he could do. The battlecruiser’s assault had destroyed almost every weapon the ship possessed, and the power drain had rendered the others useless. All he could do was sit and wait.

  No. Not quite all. He reached out to the Wanderer, expending a small portion of the dwindling stored power, and had a section of the wall flow back. It revealed one of the heavy guns Dash’s men had used when they turned on their leader and tried to capture the Wanderer. The weapons were more than capable of killing someone in battle armour.

  Jess wasn’t sure if he’d use the gun on the invaders or himself, but he felt better holding it in his hand. It gave him at least a little control over what would happen.

  * * *

  The lead assault craft were halfway to the Wanderer. Vorn willed them to move faster, to reach the ship before it could pull off yet another disappearing act. Then one of the sensor officers shouted in alarm.

  “What is it?” Vorn asked, stalking over to the man.

  “I don’t know, Sir. I’ve never seen readings like this. Something is happening to space near the enemy ship. To jump space, too.”

  “What? Is something coming through? Is the Wanderer going to jump?”

  “No, Sir. I don’t think so. These readings are like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They’re… I just don’t know, Sir.”

  Vorn turned to the captain.

  “Captain, I don’t appreciate having halfwits filling important roles on my ship. Find me someone capable of doing this job properly.”

  “You don’t understand, Admiral,” the sensor officer said.

  Shock at what he was seeing caused him to argue with Vorn, something both unthinkable and almost certainly fatal.

  “No one has ever seen anything like this,” he continued. “Look! It's starting to become visible. It looks like… like…”

  Words failed him. Staring at the screen, Vorn’s anger at the officer evaporated. The officer was right. This was like nothing Vorn had ever seen. He knew the patterns a ship entering or exiting jump space made. This was nothing like it. Space behind the Wanderer seemed to be bucking. Spinning. Swirling.

  Then he realised he had seen something like this before. Frequently. It looked just like water swirling down a plughole. But this was on a massive scale. It dwarfed the Wanderer, and rather than water it was space itself that seemed to be flowing.

  The effect became stronger, which made it easier to see. Rainbow colours cascaded throughout the disturbance. It looked like an oil slick being sucked down a drain now.

  And the Wanderer was right on the edge of the disturbance. Not yet affected but… no. Now it was. The Wanderer was starting to move. Not under its own power. Space around it was being dragged into the vortex, and the Wanderer was going along for the ride.

  Slowly for the first few seconds, then accelerating. Soon it was moving at a massive speed, far faster than a ship should be able to. Moments later it was gone from sight, sucked into the vortex. But to what end? Had it been destroyed? Or did the vortex lead somewhere?

  It must lead somewhere. He became certain that the Wanderer had engineered this escape. Fine. Where the Wanderer went, he would follow. Especially if the wreck of the Wanderer could survive the journey with no shields.

  �
��Signal the fleet,” Vorn ordered the captain. “Retrieve the assault shuttles. We follow the Wanderer.”

  “Sir, are you sure? It must have been destroyed!”

  The captain looked pale. He knew that he was questioning a direct order, and that Vorn was likely to have him executed painfully for doing so, but he stood his ground. Vorn was actually impressed. He glanced at his console.

  “The Wanderer is intact. Look! The tracker is still locked onto it. Whatever that vortex is, the Wanderer has survived it, and so will we. Send the order.”

  The captain gulped and nodded, before quickly relaying the order. The fleet formed up on the Starslayer. For a moment Vorn considered ordering another ship to take the lead, then dismissed the idea. If he was wrong, if the vortex did destroy the Wanderer and his ships, then so be it. There was no turning back now, he’d burnt too many bridges.

  And he couldn’t afford to give the Wanderer time and space to repair itself. Despite its amazing escape they had almost captured it this time. Thinking over the one sided battle he realised they had actually assisted the Wanderer’s escape. Forming the vortex must have taken massive amounts of energy, energy the Starslayer had provided in the form of the Omega Beam.

  Vorn wouldn’t make that mistake again. The Wanderer was already ripe for the taking. The Omega Beam wouldn’t be needed again.

  He watched silently as the Starslayer closed upon the vortex. The closer they got the more impressive it was. This was something far beyond the abilities of the Empire. Yet another reason to capture the Wanderer and unlock its secrets.

  Vorn didn’t show it but as they drew closer to the huge vortex he started to feel fear. What would happen if the vortex vanished while they were in it? Would they be in jump space? Or somewhere else? Would they be trapped in a place they couldn’t escape from?