Once the initial relief of being back together passed, the three of them headed to the living area. Jess retracted the corridor behind them and left the shuttle where it floated immobilised. The people on the station could rescue the two crew, he had no desire to.
Once they reached the living area the questions started.
“What happened?” asked Sal shakily. “What the hell happened?”
“What do you know so far?” replied Jess.
“We were being held in a cell for days. The conditions weren’t bad and they didn’t mistreat us, but I hated being confined again. It made me realise how valuable our freedom is. Our guards seemed fairly relaxed. Things were settling into a routine. Then suddenly they appeared outside our cell, shouting at us to stand up. They wrenched the door open and dragged us from the cell at gun point. It was terrifying. They wouldn’t tell us what was happening, just kept telling us to shut up and move faster.
“After several minutes passing through the station at a near run we entered a hangar and were taken on board that shuttle. They belted us in then secured us to our seats so we couldn’t get free. All of the guards except two left. Those two went into the cockpit.
“The flight was smooth for a couple of minutes, then all hell broke loose. The shuttle was shaken violently then all the systems seemed to die. Even the lights went off for a few seconds. I thought we were going to die. The shuttle was grabbed or shoved by something. The acceleration was crippling for a second or two. After that there was the occasional violent manoeuvre but nothing more.
“Finally the speakers in the ship boomed to life with your voice. We couldn’t believe it for a moment. Not until the pilots came back to get us. I could see how worried they were. They freed us, took us up to the airlock. You know the rest. So… what the hell has been going on?”
“I guess I need to start at the beginning. Once you were caught I was pretty angry. Ready to tear the place apart. Matt convinced me not to.”
He hoped they hadn’t noticed the catch in his voice at Matt’s name. He had enough to tell them without going into his friend’s treachery.
“You know the governor wanted us to fly to Stone Snake mining complex and free their people from what Matt told you before we left. They said they were going to kill you if we didn’t go, so there wasn’t any choice.”
Ali turned pale at his words. Sal looked angry. Before they could comment he continued.
“So we flew there, but it turned out it’s more than a mining complex. It’s the main base for a pirate organisation. They found out about the ship’s amazing abilities and wanted it for themselves. They decided the way to do that was to get leverage over me, which meant getting you. They sent a fleet here to intimidate the locals and as added pressure they brought all the slaves captured from Glory Falls, loaded them in containers with limited heat and air, then sent them out in different directions. Too many containers and too many directions for the station to rescue them all. And they’d threatened to destroy any ship attempting a rescue anyway. That’s why you were dragged out of your cell at such short notice. Not that the pirates actually planned to save the prisoners.”
“But what happened to the people in the containers?” asked Ali. “You rescued us. Does that mean all those people died? For us? What happened to the pirates?”
“I did,” Jess said flatly. “I destroyed or disabled almost all their ships. The main freighter and two combat ships the size of a corvette are heading out to jump range now. The rest I dealt with, but I wasn’t fast enough. They got three of the containers. Killed twenty-nine people. Two of them were just kids.
“That left the other containers. I used the ship to grab them, dragged them close to the station. I did it as fast as I could but I think some of those inside might still have died. They were getting so cold and the air was running out. I messed up. I didn’t manage to save them all.”
Ali crossed to where he sat and knelt in front of him. She took his face in both hands and forced him to meet her eyes.
“How many containers did you save? How many people did you at least give a chance to, a chance they didn’t otherwise have.”
“Twenty seven.” His voice was still flat. Devoid of emotion. Inside, anger and pain warred with horror and self loathing, yet none of it reached his voice. “Twenty seven containers. There were one hundred thirty-two people to start with. So there were one hundred and three that I got back to the station. I could have saved more, though. I could have saved those twenty-nine. I decided to risk them to save just twenty… but nineteen of those were children. I had to choose. I don’t know if I made the right choice.”
The churn of emotions inside were finally penetrating the numb layer that surrounded him. His eyes filled with tears that he blinked away angrily – not wanting to seem weak.
Ali shook his head gently, moved her face to within inches of his. Stared into his eyes.
“Jess… what am I going to do with you? You’re doing it again, taking all the responsibility. You saved over a hundred people. You saved them. I know you did the best you possibly could. Far more than anyone else could have. You couldn’t save everybody. That’s tough. That hurts. But that’s the way it is sometimes. Now for god’s sake let yourself cry!”
At her words the barrier inside Jess was smashed aside. He broke into agonised sobs driven by his feelings over failing to save everyone, the shock of the fight finally sinking in and even guilt over those he’d killed in the battle. Ali wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight and rocking him gently as he cried.
Once he’d cried himself out she pulled back a little, though he was very aware of her having taken his hand. He started to feel awkward about his outburst. Ali seemed to guess what he was thinking.
“If you even think about getting all manly and ashamed over crying you’ll be getting another slap round the face! You’re human. Despite being wired into this ship you’re completely human. There’s nothing wrong with crying for those who have died, but you mustn’t let it overwhelm you. You must not take all the responsibility.”
Jess nodded sheepishly. Sal looked intrigued.
“Another slap round the face? Did I miss something?”
This time it was Ali who looked sheepish. She just shrugged her shoulders. Sal laughed.
“What I want to know is what Matt’s been up to,” Sal said. “He should have been looking after you, making sure you didn’t take on too much. I’ll give him a piece of my mind. Where is he?”
Jess’s face fell immediately. His stomach dropped too. This was the moment he’d been dreading more than any other. Before he could speak Sal sensed something was wrong.
“What happened?” she demanded. “Is he hurt? Did someone manage to capture him?”
Jess took a deep breath then started to answer.
“No. He’s not hurt. Matt… that is… well… Matt is the reason the pirates know about this ship. He betrayed us. When we reached Stone Snake mining complex he drugged me. I woke up in a cell deep in the complex. He already knew the people there. He’d been there many times before. He used to live there, or be based from there, something like that. He told them everything. About the ship. About you two. That’s why the pirates came here to get you. They wanted to use you to control me.”
Ali sat staring at him with her mouth open. Sal looked as if she was about to be sick.
“Are you sure?” she asked in a whisper.
“Yes. I’m sorry. When I woke in the cell he was there. He told me I was too naïve. That with the kidnappers manipulating me using Ali, and then losing the two of you to Glory Falls, it was only a matter of time till someone controlled me, and so controlled the ship. He said that in that case he wanted his group to be in control. He made threats. He said they’d hurt you both, badly, that if I still didn’t cooperate they’d start cutting bits off of you. It was horrible. I couldn’t bear the thought of it.
“He told me about the plan to get you back, about the containers with the prisoners take
n from Glory Falls. And it was Matt who told me those prisoners would die no matter what, or most of them anyway, that the pirates wouldn’t stick to their side of the deal once they had you two. He knew. He knew those people would die, those children would die, and he didn’t care. How did I misjudge him so badly?”
“You didn’t!” Sal told him firmly. “You didn’t. We didn’t. We’d only known him a handful of days. We knew he’d had a life before being a slave, but not the details. He wouldn’t have told us about that anyway. Whether he planned to betray us from the start or wanted to stay with us, he had to keep that side of his life hidden.”
Jess nodded, though he was only partly convinced.
“And I swear,” Sal continued. “If I ever get my hands on him I’ll make him regret the day he was born.”
“Only if you get to him before me,” Ali said.
The fierce looks on their faces made Jess glad he wasn’t Matt.
“So we know roughly what happened,” Sal said. “We can fill each other in on all the details later. The question now is… what do we do?”
“First thing is to deal with the damaged and disabled ships,” said Ali. “They’ll be working on restoring them to action. If we’re still here that means running or fighting. If we’re gone then they’ll turn on the station.”
“I know,” Jess said. “That’s part of the reason I disabled some of the ships, to try to leave the station something they could use as a defence force, though they’ll have to get the pirates out somehow. Now I’m not so sure. After everything they’ve done, and them trying to shoot you as you left the shuttle I’m tempted to leave them for the pirates.”
Ali squeezed his hand, smiled gently at him. “You don’t really mean that. You’re angry at them, but there are kids on the station. You’ve already saved some of them once. Could you leave them to the pirates’ mercy?”
“I… I… no.” He sighed deeply. “No. You’re right. I guess we can help persuade the pirates to give up.”
“So that’s what we’ll do about those ships, and I guess we know what to do about the station too. We’re going to help them, though I certainly won’t be going back on board.” She shivered at the thought. “And we shouldn’t make it too easy for them. The other big question for the moment is what to do about the freighter and corvettes.”
Jess mentally checked their position, then threw the display onto a screen.
“They’ve nearly reached jump range,” he said. “Another fifteen minutes. They need to be further away to jump out than they could jump in to. We could reach them, but the Wanderer took quite a beating. I’m not sure we could defeat them without a couple of hours repairs.”
“All right, that’s settled then. We can’t stop them before they jump and that means we can’t attack them till they reach Stone Snake. By the time we arrive they will have passed on their records of the battle. Everyone there will have the info on how this ship fought, and they’ll know you rescued most of the prisoners. That means they’ll want to come after both us and this station with a large force.”
“No. Sorry, I didn’t say. We can catch them after they jump. The Wanderer can go faster in jump space than they can. Not massively so, but we can do that trip about eight hours faster than they can. If we leave in the next six or seven hours we can easily catch them.”
“That’s not possible!” Ali leant forward intently. “My dad was an engineer. He used to talk about this all the time. Every ship moves at the same speed through jump space. He always said if someone found a way to go faster they’d be rich beyond anyone’s dreams, or floating out an airlock without a spacesuit more likely, with their idea stolen by a corporation.”
“I did it, though. The pirate fleet had a seven hour head start leaving Stone Snake but I got here before them. We already know the Wanderer is pretty unique. That’s just one more thing to add to the list.”
Ali looked uncomfortable.
“When we get some time we really need to find out more about this ship. I know you’re hooked into it, but the things it can do… they just shouldn’t be possible.”
“So we can catch them,” Sal said. “Then what? Can you force them out of jump space? Attack them while still in jump space?”
“Attack them, definitely. I was planning to do that on the way here. Reduce their numbers. But I decided it would scare them off when they arrived. The ship can produce some weapons that will work in jump space.”
“Then the question is, what do we do? Damage the ships? Destroy their engines? Maybe leave them stranded in deep space until their supplies run out or they repair the engines and their message still reaches the pirate base. Or do we destroy them? Make it clean?”
No one spoke for a time, each thinking through the options. Finally Jess spoke.
“There’s no point in stopping them unless it’s for good. We can be gone from here in next to no time so they can’t catch us, but they’ll know far more about what the Wanderer can do if those ships make it back to their base. I’m still not keen on killing, I hope I never will be, but those are the same people that launched the containers and would’ve left everyone in them to die. I won’t enjoy it, but I can do it.”
“I agree,” said Sal.
“Yes,” added Ali quietly. “So the question is how. Quick or slow.”
“For what they did here they deserve slow,” said Sal. “But this isn’t about what they deserve. I don’t care what they’ve done, I don’t want to leave them to a slow, lingering death. If we have to kill them it should be fast. Not for their sakes, for ours. I don’t want to take even one step down the road of becoming like them.”
“Definitely. It needs to be fast. Jess? What do you think?”
“Well, the decision is already made. I’d be outvoted,” Jess said, then grinned as he ducked a half-hearted swat from Ali. “Seriously… I think you’re right, but before you spoke I’d have been planning to strand them in deep space with no hope of ever returning. They deserve that, or worse. But you’re right. If I think how I’d feel afterwards… I’d be thinking about them every day. Feeling guilty. Feeling angry for feeling guilty. It needs to be done, and it needs to be done quickly and cleanly.”
Sal and Ali both smiled in relief.
“That just leaves Matt and the pirate base,” said Sal. “You know that even without any details of what happened here they’ll know you were involved. They sent out twenty ships and none came back. With that sort of power at stake they’ll never stop hunting us. Every station we go to, every planet we visit, we’ll have to be constantly watching our backs. Even if we left you, Ali and I would be marked targets for the rest of our lives. Anyone wanting to control you will start with us.”
“So what do we do?” asked Jess glumly. “This ship’s powerful, but the mining complex is huge. We couldn’t possibly destroy it all. Even if we somehow could, plenty of ships would get away.”
“We’ll have to think of something. Whatever happens, I want a shot at them. A chance to hurt them like they’ve hurt so many people. Anyway, let’s deal with this system first then we can get after those fleeing ships and try to work out a plan.”
Chapter 16
Jess opened a channel to the station, asking to speak to the governor. A few seconds later she appeared, looking tired and nervous. He deliberately set the camera to show all three on board the Wanderer.
“Governor,” he said curtly, with a nod.
“Captain,” she replied. “I have to admit to fearing what you have to say. Once again we find ourselves in your debt. Considering how we treated you last time I wouldn’t be surprised if you plan to extract some form of revenge. Though if you don’t I’m sure the allies of those ships out there will do so for you.”
“I won’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind. You kidnapped my friends, forced us on a mission that nearly got us killed. Then you were ready to hand my friends over to those bastards. And when I rescued them one of your guards shot at us.”
The governor’s face gre
w haunted.
“I know it won’t help much but… the guard who shot at you has been relieved of duty. He may be facing charges, and he turned himself in. He didn’t know it was you. He thought it was one of the pirate ships that had captured him. Even so, his actions are inexcusable.”
Jess stared at her for a few moments, then shrugged.
“It makes no difference. We’d made our decision anyway. Despite your actions there are many innocent children on your station. Quite a few more than there would be, thanks to us. For their sake I’m going to help you again.”
The governor’s face flickered through surprise and hope before a guarded neutrality locked itself in place. Before she could speak Jess continued.
“Most of the ships out here are disabled or damaged. If you can capture them and repair them then you’ll have the makings of a strong defence fleet. I can try to help you take them but our time here is limited, and I need something to offer those on the ships. I need you to guarantee they will receive a fair trial and that even if, or more likely when, they are found guilty execution will not be an option. Either officially or in unexpected accidents.”
“I think I can promise that. I’ll need to speak to some other people first, though. Can you give me an hour?”
“You’ve got five minutes. In thirty we leave whether we’ve helped you or not.”
“Five minutes… I can’t… that is…” she paused studying Jess. After a moment something she saw changed her mind. “Five minutes. All right. You’ll have your answer. What is this going to cost us? What do you want?”
Jess scowled back.
“Want? Nothing. You have nothing we could possibly want, other than to have left us alone in the first place. Call when you’ve made your decision.”
Angrily he killed the connection.
“Well done!” Sal said, hugging him. “Exactly what she deserved. Serves the bitch right.”
“Five minutes? Just enough time for a shower and change of clothes. I feel filthy!” said Ali, heading for the ladder to the cabins at a near run.
Wanderer's Odyssey - Books 1 to 3: The Epic Space Opera Series Begins Page 12