As dinner approached Jess decided he wanted to impress Ali. She had presented them with a number of meals they would never have thought to order. He wanted to return the favour. Digging into the ship's memories of past captains he found a number of suggestions. In the end he settled on sea bass with steamed vegetables and mashed potato. It was a huge success with all three of them. Ali added sticky toffee pudding for desert, leaving them all feeling pleasantly stuffed.
The next day passed slowly. The plan couldn't be refined further until they arrived at Washington. As the ship's repairs were proceeding well Jess increased their speed slightly, ensuring their arrival time wouldn't tie in with a normal flight from Stone Snake. Matt hadn't known the ship could travel faster than any other in jump space so the pirates wouldn't either. Arriving early was an extra step in maintaining the fiction that the ship had been destroyed.
Ali chose lunch again and Jess chose dinner. Searching though the previous captains favourites he found a particularly unusual dish and sent it to the food dispenser. It rejected the dish with a warning that several of the ingredients were extremely toxic to humans. Jess checked the recipe again, confirmed it was correct and that it was a previous pilot's favourite. It was.
He could hardly contain his excitement as he called the other two. He quickly explained what he'd found out.
“There might be another explanation,” Ali said. “Like... well... all right I can't think of one right now, but there might still be.”
“I don't think so. What could it possibly be? There's no doubt this was one of the previous captains favourite dishes, the ship is very clear. There are several other dishes tagged for that captain and they all have the same warnings.”
“It is pretty convincing,” Sal said. “And it would mean that at least some of the previous captains weren't human. That means there is a chance this ship wasn't built by humans. It has technology that is far beyond any ship I've heard of. Either it was built by an alien race or by a group of humans with very advanced technology.”
“That makes sense,” said Jess. “I can't get any impression from the ship as to which it was. I am pretty certain the ship is old though, really old. Hundreds of years, if not thousands.”
They talked over the possibilities for a while but with no more information to work on the topic fizzled out and the question of dinner arose. Jess found a less exotic dish named chicken vindaloo which registered no warnings – it was human safe. Though after several mouthfuls all three of them were questioning the safety as, mouths burning from the spice, they desperately drank water. If anything that made matters worse. Ali ordered yoghurt from the food dispenser which helped somewhat. The rest of dinner consisted of toast and butter, all they felt brave enough to risk. Jess put up with the teasing from the other two over his special meal. His own mouth was still recovering and his stomach unsettled so he couldn't really argue.
The next day passed particularly slowly. All three agreed that getting some books and vids was a top priority. They swapped more stories of their lives. Ali listened horrified to Sal and Jess when they spoke about their lives as prisoners. Jess and Sal were fascinated to hear the details of Ali's life, especially the mundane day-to-day events of normal life that they had never experienced.
They went over their plans for Washington repeatedly, but couldn't improve them as so much depended on what the system was like. When they finally turned in for the night Jess slept badly, mind running through possible situations and dangers they might face the next day.
Chapter Nineteen
Breakfast was a quiet meal, all three of them lost in their own thoughts. Jess and Ali's relationship had been developing well, but he felt she was distant that morning and didn't know what to say to bridge the gap. He only ate a little, nerves making him feel queasy. Afterwards he spent time deeply interfaced with the ship, checking the state of the repairs and the external image they would portray. The ship was much blockier looking now, mostly dark grey, and with many pipes and external components scattered across the hull. None of them did anything, other than give the appearance of one more run of the mill vessel. The last thing they wanted was to attract attention to themselves.
All three were sat in the flight deck as they prepared to drop into real space. The maps of the system they had were packed with installations – massive space station hubs near the main planet, small trading platforms, mining complexes, ship repair docks both large and small and hundreds of other types of installations. Colonies flourished in many parts of the system. Jess found it overwhelming to contemplate.
They'd agreed to steer clear of the largest stations, the main planet and the colonies. All were Imperial hubs and the chances of them being questioned or the ship being searched were too high. Ali said that the sheer number of ships within the Empire, and the speed with which they changed hands and new ships were built, prevented them all being tracked centrally. However every ship should have Imperial registration documents confirming ownership. The navy, in system security and other official organisations could demand to see those papers at any time. As the Wanderer had none of the usual documents they couldn't risk that happening.
They also wanted to avoid the smallest locations, partly to avoid standing out and partly because being small they were unlikely to be selling suitable robots.
They'd drawn up a list of possible locations. Top of the list was a disreputable station run by a collection of independent traders. It wasn't particularly large and, while it didn't have a great reputation, it wasn't tagged as being particularly dangerous. It's bad reputation came from the traders willingness to exploit customers and sell poor quality goods rather than anything darker. It was perfect. They wanted robots in poor repair and paying in precious metals shouldn't be a problem, so long as the traders thought they were getting the best of the deal.
Jess brought the Wanderer back into normal space as if it was any regular ship. As they coasted in towards the station he scanned through the offerings from the various shops and companies on board. They were in luck. One company had five robots for sale. Non functional, available for repair or spare parts. The company was happy to take payment in precious metals, indeed from scanning the various price lists Jess found that precious metals and gems were the standard currency in use. Best of all the company had its own docking area. There would be no need to enter the station proper, the exchange would be made just outside the Wanderer's airlock.
In some ways it almost seemed too good to be true, but try as they might they couldn't see any particular risk. The actual exchange carried some danger, but Jess and Sal would never be far from the ship. They confirmed the deal and changed course to dock in the appropriate place.
As they closed in Jess had the Wanderer scan the data traffic in the area. Huge volumes of information flowed between the station and both other stations and ships. Much of it was heavily encrypted. What wasn't the Wanderer was able to decode and store. The ship even managed to decode some of the heavily encrypted communications. Most were uninteresting, but one data burst between the station and a passing passenger liner carried thousands of vids and books. Jess considered offering to pay for the data but realised it would give away the ships abilities. He decided to enquire about entertainment with the company in question once they had the robots. He could get the same data again, but legitimately. He didn't feel right stealing it.
Jess waited by the airlock door with Sal as the ship went through the final stages of docking. Ali was in the flight deck monitoring the situation. Jess's lips still tingled from the fierce kiss she'd given him before telling him to be careful.
With a series of gentle thuds the docking operation completed. Jess could have made it smooth as silk but had decided to make it a little rough, giving the impression of a ship with somewhat degraded systems.
“Ready?” he asked Sal.
She nodded in return. Jess reached out to the ship, feeling time start to slow. He opened first the inner then the outer airlock, keeping an invisible defensive
field in place to prevent any attack. Nothing happened. Sal and he moved into the airlock, grabbed the trolley loaded down with metals and made their way ten metres out into the corridor.
At the other end a small buggy waited with a trailer hitched to it. The trailer had the robots they'd purchased piled haphazardly on the back. The robots were mining units based on a humanoid shape. Each was a little shorter than an average human but much bulkier, weighing in at around four times Jess's weight. Far too heavy to carry so they'd agreed to purchase the trailer too. It would be reversed into the Wanderer and left there. Due to its size they'd had to open both airlocks, spare space would be at a premium in the living area until they got the robots working and ejected the trailer.
Jess and Sal moved the trolley to the side of the corridor as the buggy started to move, reversing towards them. It was being driven by a middle-aged woman dressed in an outfit that covered her from head to toe, only her face was visible and even then her eyes were hidden behind dark glasses. Jess watched her closely but couldn't spot anything that worried him. She seemed quite tense, but then if those buying from the company planned any trouble this is where it would happen and she'd be at the sharp end. He'd be tense too in her position.
As the trailer was reversed past them Jess inspected the robots. While they had numerous scars and scorch marks they looked to be in quite good condition. He was confident the Wanderer could repair them. He glanced at Sal whose face was drawn in concentration, studying the robots, trailer, buggy and driver. Jess knew Ali was doing the same but they'd agreed she wouldn't say anything unless she found a problem.
The trailer passed them and the buggy drew level. The driver's eyes met Jess's and he knew something was wrong, even through her dark glasses. Something in the set of her face jarred his senses. Scanning her using the ship's sensors he detected a high rate of data transfer between the driver and the station. On a hunch he had the Wanderer interfere with the signal, disrupting it. Suddenly her face contorted in pain.
“It's a trap!” the driver screamed at him. “Run!”
Even with his perception of time greatly increased several things happened at once for Jess. A different, more powerful signal from the station washed over the area. The old woman collapsed over the steering wheel, body shaking. A powerful ion blast blew out the electronics in the buggy and would have damaged systems in the Wanderer if Jess hadn't already had its shields up. And the robots surged into life, leaping off the trailer.
One robot opened fire on Sal, several powerful laser blasts flinging her backwards. A second robot did the same to Jess. His shields stood up to the shots and were able to deflect the force around him, though he was still rocked back. The other three robots charged into the airlock and on into the Wanderer.
Jess was amazed at their speed. Even with his mind accelerated by the ship they were exceptionally fast. Still reeling from the speed of the assault, and the impacts on his shields, his reactions were slowed. By the time he activated the planned response to any attack it was too late. The Wanderer's external shields came on at full strength, modulated to extend a short distance into the corridor. They sliced through the corridor and the ship started pulling away immediately. Jess, Sal, the driver, buggy, trailer, two of the robots and the section of corridor they occupied were all still attached to the Wanderer and safely within its shields. They still had air for the moment, though it wouldn't be replaced. One robot was trapped within the airlock as internal fields came on to cover both airlock doors. The other two robots were within the living area.
Jess had to improvise, they hadn't thought anything could make it to the main part of the ship. He threw fields up to contain those in the living area, then turned his attention to the two robots trapped in the same section as Sal and he. The internal fields wouldn't reach this far out and the robots would soon realise they hadn't killed him or, he hoped, Sal. Sal and he had been thrown to the left side of the corridor. One robot was near the other side while the other was still near the trailer, and so near the driver. Jess needed to change the shape of the ship's shield to put the robots on the outside. It would be easy to do that if he didn't mind spacing the driver too, but he couldn't. Not after her attempt to warn them. He managed to sketch out an awkward shape that would stretch even the Wanderer's advanced shields to the limit and activated it. The two robots were suddenly flailing around in vacuum, rapidly falling behind the Wanderer. A moments thought and the ship's lasers lashed out at them, weapons designed to punch through ships shields and hulls vaporised the robots immediately.
The unstable shape the shields had formed shape collapsed back into a more stable configuration, one that covered a wider area causing the air that was left to be spread more thinly. Jess felt his internal shield activating again. He had maybe ninety seconds of air in his lungs and trapped close to him. Sal would have less and the driver none, though she continued to convulse so lack of air might be a minor worry there. They all needed to get back into the airlock and soon.
The robots trapped in the ship and airlock opened fire with their weapons, attempting to batter down the barriers in front of them. Their weaponry was far more powerful than the handguns brought on board by the smugglers. The ship's fields were already struggling to contain the destructive power. All signals from the station were now being blocked by the Wanderer's shields so the robots had to be acting on predetermined orders. Jess realised that trying to capture the robots was too risky. They needed to be stopped, and stopped quickly.
The robots themselves gave him his first chance. The robot in the airlock was battering at the internal field that blocked its way, and its vision, with weaponry but with no concept of what lay beyond. Jess suddenly dropped the field in front of it. Its weaponry was now unleashed into the back of another robot, which was standing in just the right position. The unlucky robot's shields flared for a moment then it was blown apart, pieces of wreckage flying across the room.
A thought nudged its way into Jess's mind and he discovered the ship had internal weaponry designed to repel attackers, the details unfolding into his mind from the ship. He quickly unleashed the defensive weapons against both robots, very aware that the fields were close to failing. Shields around each robot sparkled under the assault before collapsing. Jess then targeted the weaponry on each robot. Once they were disarmed he reformed the fields to trap each robot into a small space. Strong though the robots were the fields could take being physically pounded on all day. With their weaponry destroyed the robots were trapped.
Jess sent a quick message to Ali to tell her he was all right, that the robots were contained, then he rushed to where Sal lay. He found her blinking her eyes and starting to stand. He was hugely relieved to see that her shield was still intact, if somewhat battered. He helped her to her feet and pointed towards the airlock. She nodded but when he set off for the driver she followed him instead. There wasn't time to argue.
The driver still lay slumped over the steering wheel, body convulsing. Her lips were starting to turn blue from the low air pressure. Jess grabbed one arm, Sal the other and they dragged the woman off the buggy and down the corridor towards the airlock.
As soon as they entered the outer airlock door Jess closed it and ordered the ship to flood additional oxygen into the area. His shield turned off and he gasped down a breath of fresh air in relief. Sal dropped to sit on the floor and did the same. Jess glanced at the robot near them as it pounded on the walls of its prison, then he turned to the driver.
She still shook and if anything her lips were more blue now. Jess grabbed the hood worn over her head and dragged it back, tearing at the material so he could see her neck. Wondering if she was somehow choking on something. What he saw stunned him for a moment, then flooded him with anger. A control collar. The driver was a slave. No wonder her body was convulsing. She'd be dead pretty soon if the collar was left active. He reached for the ship, concentrating on the collar and his desire to get rid of it.
Electricity crackled from the flo
or across the device. The driver was directly in contact with the ship's surface making the process much less traumatic than when Jess's own collar had been removed. Within a second the lightning stopped and he was able to drag the collar clear. The woman stopped shaking but still wasn't breathing. Jess had seen it happen before – prisoners reacting so badly to the collar that they died. The guards had never cared. This was different though. He did care. The ship's floor was already morphing shape around the woman, holding her in place as emergency medical devices grew onto and into her. Details started to flash into Jess's mind. Her heart had stopped but the oxygen levels in her blood were reasonably high, brain damage was unlikely to have occurred. Oxygen was flooded into her bloodstream and her blood pumped round by the ship's devices. Having secured her survival the ship got her heart going.
Confident that everything was under control Jess sent Ali a quick message to update her then sank down to sit on the deck himself, shaking with reaction to their exceptionally close call.
Moments later Ali came running from the flight deck, skidded to a halt at the sight of the robots hammering at their prisons then rushed over to Jess. Dropping to the floor next to him she flung her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. Jess realised with a shock that she was shaking.
“That was too close,” she said. “I thought I'd lost you. Lost both of you.”
He returned her fierce embrace.
“For a moment there I did too. Those things were fast.”
“Are we safe now? They still look dangerous. And what about the station?”
“I've put a good bit of space between us and the station, so far they haven't tried shooting at us and nothing has launched. The robots are contained but I'd like to deal with them soon. And we have our unexpected guest to talk to as soon as she recovers consciousness.”
“Can we trust her? I know she shouted that warning but it was very late. Maybe she's a spy.”
Wanderer's Escape Page 15