Wanderer 3: Tainted Universe (42 page)

If they had they’d have fled with the other trooper, or come out all guns blazing. Instead they waited, believing themselves to be concealed. They were nothing of the sort. To Jess the entire inside of the
Wanderer
was visible at once. He simply changed the two drone’s orientation and had each fire. The beams punched through walls, armour and flesh.

That left one trooper. She was moving fast, Jess had to give her that. She was heading for the jump engines. Jess lined up the shot… but held off. If he fired now he’d be doing the trooper’s job.  The beam would strike the jump engines.  The result would be catastrophic.

Jess sent the two drones off to the left and right, hoping to reach an angle for a safe shot.  The trooper was getting close to the jump engines.  Jess was running out of time.

The trooper burst into the final corridor. The jump engines lay ahead. They were encased in thick armour but it wasn’t thick enough. The troopers suit was giving off massive energy fluctuations. Something, either the suit or something it carried, was going about to go bang in a major way. The trooper was on a suicide mission.  She charged forward, covering half the distance in a few seconds.

One of the drones had a clean shot! Jess couldn’t take it. The trooper was too close to the jump engines now.  The laser would miss the jump engines but it would almost certainly lead to the explosion he needed to avoid.

The trooper was almost at the jump engine. She raised her hand in a victory salute, knowing nothing could stop her now. Her mission was a success!

The trooper vanished. Two point six five seconds later the
Wanderer
’s sensors detected a massive explosion in real space. One that would have been more than enough to breach the jump engines armour and render them useless.

Jess remembered to breath, gasping down a lungful of air. That had been too close! If the trooper had activated her bomb sooner… but she hadn’t. She’d kept running, trying to get as close to the jump engines as possible.

The engines had always been an obvious target for the troopers. Jess hadn’t been able to put the heavy defensive weaponry everywhere on the ship, but he had put it at all the key locations. The trooper had entered the weapons range, the weapon had fired and flung the trooper back into real space.

The problem Jess had faced was getting
all
the trooper within the weapon’s effect. Dragging chunks of an attackers body back into real space had been more than enough before.  This time he’d had the bomb to worry about. If it had been distributed throughout the suit then he had to get all of it.  Otherwise the trooper would be dead but her bomb would still have crippled the
Wanderer
.

So Jess had waited until she got close.  So close that the beam had snatched the entire trooper and thrown her back into real space.  The bomb had exploded safely, well behind the fast-moving
Wanderer
.

It was over. Jess was safe. The ship was safe. He didn’t feel happy or smug.  He didn’t feel anything positive. The adrenaline drained from his system in seconds leaving only weariness and heartache. He pulsed instructions to the
Wanderer
, sealing the flight deck and telling the ship to wake him if anything urgent came up.

He’d barely finished the command when sleep crashed over him like a dark wave. He felt himself tumbling down, then he was gone.  Dragged down into the dreamless sleep of the truly exhausted.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Sal lay on the cell’s hard bed, appearing to sleep deeply.  In fact she was fully awake and deep in thought.  She’d had no plan when escaping the
Wanderer
other than getting away.  Once clear she had hoped to be picked up by the Imperial fleet.  That had happened.  It was time to start planning properly again.

The long-term aim was easily expressed.  Spread the Gift.  To everyone.  Every sentient creature.  Everything she did would be leading towards that glorious time.  The universe would finally be at peace when every sentient creature had received the Gift.  No more suffering at the hands of others.

The Gift brought many memories with it.  Sal knew that for most of the gifted the path ahead was clear.  She was different.  Several options competed for her attention.

One was to pursue the
Wanderer
.  The ship displayed technology that 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 that 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 that those above him always kept information to themselves, and that 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 though.  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… oh my god.”

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.  The 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 that 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 then 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 is 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.  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 will 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 has 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 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 that there is a store of military grade weapons secured within my office.  The other is that there is a protocol devised for situations… well, not specifically like this but on this scale.  From my office I can shut down the whole 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 shot guns.  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 that 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 that he had lied to them.  Stepping back into his office he closed the door before anyone saw the truth on his face.