Wanderer - Echoes of the Past

by Simon Goodson

  “All right, that’s a good point,” said Sal.

  “But I’ll still try to save anyone where we can,” Jess insisted. “I know there will be plenty of times where we can’t, but there still might be times we can. If so then we try to save them.”

  “All right,” Elizabeth replied. “Just discuss it with us all first. Give us the chance to be sure it’s safe to do.”

  “Sure.”

  Judging by the stubborn look on Jess’s face Sal wasn’t convinced he’d stick to what Elizabeth asked. She understood how he felt. Having spent their whole lives as slaves both she and Jess found it exceptionally hard to see others stuck in the same position. They’d never expected to find freedom. Now they had it, and a powerful ship, it was impossible to see other slaves without wanting to free them. At only sixteen Jess’s emotions still had the ability to override more logical considerations. Sal realised she would have to keep a close eye on him when they were around slaves.

  “All right,” Elizabeth continued. Sal didn’t think she sounded particularly convinced by Jess either. “Before we do that we need to get the Wanderer set-up for trading. The overall size is about right but the layout is completely wrong. We won’t be carrying people, we’ve just agreed that, so we need to clear out the main section and set it up for cargo.

  We should change the shape of the ship again. The pirates that survived the fight for Iona know this shape. Of course they also know that the Wanderer can drastically change its appearance, but that won’t help if they don’t know what the new look will be. We need to make sure it looks like a normal ship too — lots of external structures and a dirty exterior, no more impossibly smooth and shiny surface.”

  “We can do that easily,” Jess replied, far more enthusiastically this time. “There’s some changes I want to make too — some more surprises for anyone if we do get into a fight. Could we make the ship bigger? Say half as large again?”

  Elizabeth thought for a moment. “I suppose so,” she said finally. “Yes, that would still be within the normal size range for a medium cargo ship.”

  “What changes do you want to make Jess?” Sal asked, her interest peaked.

  “Oh… just a few tweaks. Nothing major.”

  The grin on his face showed he was lying.

  “Don’t worry,” Ali said, also grinning. “I’ll get it out of him later.”

  “I bet you will!” Elizabeth replied.

  Jess flushed bright red, which made Sal burst out laughing. Elizabeth joined in, as did Ali — though she too was turning red with embarrassment. Jess muttered something about finding some asteroids to mine for the further changes to the Wanderer and escaped towards the flight deck, which only made the others laugh harder.

  Chapter Three

  “Convoy has passed the point of no return.”

  Captain Dash took a deep breath at the confirmation. The convoy he stalked was now too deep into the systems gravity well to enter jump space. He punched a button on his chair.

  “All ships, engage the convoy. Deal with any defences but try to keep the ships in one piece. Anyone destroying a cargo ship better have a damn good explanation.”

  Releasing the button he studied his display. The convoy had been clearly marked since it came within range, but Dash’s fleet of ships had been displayed as shadowy guesses. Every ship had been running cold, sensors off and engines ticking over. Waiting for the convoy to draw close enough. Now the display lit up as more and more of his ships poured power to their thrusters and switched to active sensors.

  “Helm, take us in at full power,” he called out. “Target the lead freighter.”

  “Aye sir.”

  Dash was pushed back in his seat as the Anguish accelerated heavily. Despite being the largest ship in his fleet it could keep pace with all but the fast attack fighters. Satisfied that they were charging towards the fight Dash returned his attention to the display.

  The convoy was aware of the danger it faced now. The cargo ships were piling on as much speed as they could in a futile attempt to run, while escort ships and fighters broke away to face the incoming threat.

  The defensive forces consisted of thirty Fighters and seven bombers, bolstered with five larger Gunboats and one Corvette. A powerful force, easily capable of deterring most pirate raids. Expensive too. Proof that the convoy carried something of significant value. Whoever was in charge of the convoy had gone to great efforts to keep it safe.

  Dash wondered what was going through their head right now, as it became obvious they hadn’t done nearly enough. The Anguish on its own was more than a match for the defensive forces. An ex-imperial Frigate with enough firepower to decimate not just the defensive ships but the huge freighters they sought to protect. The rest of his fleet consisted of smaller ships — three Corvette’s, sixteen freighters and over two hundred fighters. What made them so dangerous wasn’t their numbers though, it was the near military discipline Dash insisted on. He watched as his fleet pulled together into several tight formations, focusing in on those combat ships lined up in defence.

  The defenders would know what they faced now. This was no disorganised pirate raid, no unruly charge to grab the spoils. This was a well coordinated assault from overwhelming forces. The question was, how would they react?

  The answer soon became clear as large groups of the defenders peeled off, turning away from the incoming threat and lighting their drives at full power. Realising they had no hope of winning they turned tail and ran. Dash had expected no less, mercenaries had no interest in dying for lost causes.

  He still felt contempt for the fleeing ships though. It was in stark contrast to his respect for those ships that remained. Despite now being hopelessly overwhelmed, most of the remaining ships continued to hold position. They would be crewed by relatives of those in the freighters, or in a few cases by mercenaries who actually believed in honouring their contract no matter what. Dash felt a strange pride watching those few ships holding position. A feeling that was crushed by his next action. He pressed the button to broadcast to his fleet again.

  “Engage and destroy all defensive ships. No survivors.”

  The last two words tasted like ashes in his mouth, echoes of a time he had no desire to remember. Angrily suppressing the memory he studied the display once more. Yes the defenders were brave, but he couldn’t spare them. If he did then on the next raid less ships would flee and more would stand. The rule was simple. Any who stood must die.

  The battle was short and exceptionally one sided. Had the defenders bunched together they might have had some limited success, instead they stayed spread out sticking to their attempts to shield the freighters. Dash’s fleet smashed through them without slowing, destroying every defender with overwhelming firepower. None of his ships even took any damage.

  Then it was time to focus on the freighters. He wanted them taken with the minimum of damage. Far easier to steal the ship carrying the cargo than to transfer it all off the wreckage of a dying ship.

  “Foster!” he barked out. “Arrange intercepts of the freighters. Try to keep damage to a minimum. We want them in one piece when our men board.”

  “Aye sir,” replied Dash’s second in command. “Already on it.”

  Dash just nodded. He’d expected as much. They had run this type of assault so many times now that his men knew the parts they needed to play very well. Almost too well in fact. For that reason Dash often threw in unnecessary changes, or gave tasks to different crew members than normal. He needed them all sharp and thinking clearly. There was no space for falling into routines in his fleet. That led to carelessness, and carelessness led to death.

  *****

  “Captain, all freighters are now stationary and have signalled their surrender,” Foster reported.

  “Good,” Dash replied. “Do we know where their leader is yet?”

  “Yes sir. The lead ship, the Neritalus. Do you want to speak to him now?”

  “Yes.”

  A few seconds later
Dash found himself staring at an elderly man wearing an expression of resignation. As his eyes locked on Dash there was a flash of anger. The man was down, but not out.

  “I am Leonardo Castella. I object most strongly to your actions which clearly brand you as a pirate. I demand that you let us continue our journey unimpeded.”

  “You know that isn’t going to happen,” Dash replied in a relaxed tone. “Your ships, and your cargo, are now ours. Anyone who resists will be killed.”

  “And what of those who don’t resist? What will happen to them?”

  “They survive,” Dash replied. “They will have to adjust to a new life, but they will still be alive.”

  “As prisoners you mean?” Castella was becoming angry now. “As slaves? We have children aboard! Many children! Will you enslave them as well?”

  “There are always children,” Dash replied coldly. “And yes, they will be taken too. You need to understand that you have no choice in this. My men are heavily armed and armoured and well trained in boarding actions. We will take your ships and your cargo. We will take everyone on your ships prisoner. You have no choice. Being taken prisoner is still better than being killed.”

  “Is it? Is it really? Have you ever been a prisoner? I have. And I won’t let my people suffer that fate. Especially not the children.”

  “You have no choice!” Dash snapped out. The old man’s words were starting to get to him, opening old wounds.

  “There is always a choice,” Castella replied calmly. “For those brave enough there is always a choice. Goodbye captain.”

  Dash’s screen went dark as Castella cut the connection.

  “Old fool,” Dash spat. “What does he think he can do? Run for it? Order the boarding party into action. Prioritise that ship.”

  “Aye sir.”

  Several larger ships in Dash’s fleet shot forward, closing in on the Neritalus. The large freighter showed no signs of moving.

  “What are they up to?” Dash asked quietly. “Foster, how many life signs are on that ship?”

  “Just over one hundred sir. Pretty much normal for a freighter that size. Of course there could be hundreds of troops in stealth suits.”

  Dash grimaced at the reminder. If this was an imperial sting operation then he could be about to lose two hundred of his best men. It seemed unlikely though. If his men were killed he would respond in kind, ordering the freighters immediate destruction. The imperials would lose a damn site more men than he would. Still, something about this felt very wrong.

  “Sir! Something is happening to the targets engines!” The shout came from Hackett, the best sensor operator Dash had come across.

  “Calm down,” snapped Dash. “What do you mean?”

  “Power levels are increasing rapidly, but they’re fluctuating wildly. It looks as if the engines are unstable.”

  Dash went cold inside. This was the choice the freighter’s captain had spoken of. Dash hit the broadcast button.

  “All ships abort the boarding action. Charge shields to maximum and get as far from the target as possible. I repeat, abort the attack, charge shields to maximum and get clear of the target.”

  Almost immediately Dash saw ships obeying his orders. The discipline he insisted on paid off as every pilot heard and obeyed the orders, not stopping to question why. Even so, many were far closer than he liked. If the freighter’s engines were to blow now he could lose half the ships he’d sent in.

  Then something else caught his attention. One ship was ignoring his orders.

  “Starflame, this is Captain Dash. Vella, what the hell are you doing?”

  “What the rest of your ships should be doing. We don’t run from civilians.”

  “Don’t be an idiot! That freighter is overloading her engines. She could blow at any moment.”

  “Bullshit. They’re just trying to scare us off, and doing a damn good job of it with most of you. Just sit back and watch how it should be done.”

  “Starflame cut the transmission, Captain,” said the communications officer cautiously.

  Dash just nodded. He was fuming inside, but that wasn’t the officer’s fault. He wasn’t surprised by Vella’s behaviour, in fact he’d been waiting for something similar to happen. While he had a lot of power within the fleet it wasn’t absolute. Sometimes he had to make appointments he didn’t like for political reasons. Vella was one of those.

  Dash would be quite happy to see Vella go up in flames, but not taking a ship, its crew and twenty of his best trained assault troops with it.

  Wait… that was it. Of course! Dash quickly called up the information he needed, paused in surprise at the name which came back then opened a channel.

  “Dozer, it’s Dash. The freighter you’re heading for is forcing its engines into overload. I’ve ordered everyone clear but Captain Vella has ignored those orders. I need you to get the Starflame clear. Do whatever it takes.”

  “Understood Dash. We’re on it.”

  The connection went dead. Dash sank back into his chair. Dozer and he went way back, back even before they’d had to turn to piracy. If anyone could get the Starflame clear in time it was Dozer.

  Within thirty seconds the Starflame started to change course. Seconds later Dash received a terse message.

  “Captain Vella executed for insubordination. First officer killed while attempting to interfere. Rest of crew compliant. Getting the hell out of here. Dozer out.”

  Dash smiled at the message. Dozer had understood exactly what was required, and had done it with a minimum of casualties. The question now was whether they could get clear in time.

  “Hackett, status report,” Dash snapped out.

  “Massive disruption in the target’s engines, Captain. Someone knows what they’re doing. Most of our ships should be able to withstand the blast now, but the Starflame needs at least thirty seconds.”

  Dash frowned. It should take the Starflame far longer than that to get clear. Then he checked the display and understood. Dozer had dropped all shields and was routing as much power as he could into the Starflame’s thrusters. Running at those levels for any period of time would damage the thrusters, possibly burn them out completely, but it was the right decision. The only decision.

  Timing would be everything though. Thirty seconds would see the Starflame in with a chance of surviving the blast, but only with full shields — and those would take precious seconds to charge up.

  “Fifteen seconds to Starflame safe distance. Freighter’s engines are fluctuating badly. Ten seconds.”

  Dash was sitting forwards, gripping the arms of his seat painfully hard. They would make it. They had to make it. Dozer was one of the few left from the early days, and one of Dash’s closest friends. If he’d known Dozer was on the Starflame he would have ordered them onto another ship. He would never have trusted his friend to the uncertainty of Vella’s care.

  “Five seconds.”

  They were going to make it! Five seconds, plus maybe four or five for the shields to reach full power.

  “Four… three… two… thrusters are losing power. Shields coming online. Twenty percent. Forty.”

  “Come on, come on…” Dash didn’t even realise he’d spoken out loud.

  “Sixty… Freighter’s engines are well beyond redline… eighty percent… one hundred! Starflame’s shields are at full power.”

  Dash let out the breath he’d been holding. Dozer and the other’s weren’t safe, but they had a much better chance now. And every second that passed increased…

  “Shit!” Foster swore.

  Dash echoed him. Where the freighter had been there was now only a fast expanding cloud of energy. Within moments it had washed over the Starflame and the other fleeing ships. Then it hit the Anguish and the displays went dark as sensors were automatically shielded against damage.

  The next few seconds felt like long minutes to Dash, finally the display flickered back to life. It took several seconds more for the details to be fully updated. The freighter w
as gone, of course. No trace of it was left. Dash’s heart sank as he saw that three of his retreating ships were also gone, including the Starflame.

  “Captain, the blast was far stronger than a freighter of that class should have managed,” Hackett said quietly. “We’re lucky not to have lost more ships. Suggest we treat the remaining freighters with great caution.”

  Dash shook off the ache in his heart. He’d lost far too many people down the years to let Dozer’s loss hurt him while the operation was still ongoing. There would be time for that later.

  “Agreed. Foster, send in the fighters. Any hint of the other ships pulling the same trick and we destroy their engines. I’d rather take the ships intact, but I’m not losing anyone else to do it.”

  “Aye sir. On it.”

  Dash sat back, thinking about the freighter’s destruction. His intelligence had told him the fleet carried valuable cargo, but had made no mention of their engines being out of the ordinary. Was the size of the explosion somehow linked to the valuable cargo? And if so, what was waiting on the other freighters.

  “Foster, update the plan. We’ll take the freighters one by one. I want to know what’s on them. Clear the first of cargo, then use that to house the prisoners from the other ships. I want no more than a skeleton crew on each ship we take. I don’t want to lose any more ships and men.”

  “Aye sir.”

  “Hackett, I want you to prepare monitoring for the ships we take. If the engines start doing anything unusual once we capture them I want to know about it immediately.”

  “Yes sir!”

  Hackett’s fingers flew over his keyboard. Dash knew that Hackett lived for challenges like this. With that worry taken care of Dash sat back in his chair, trying to think what other precautions he had to take. Not for the first time, it struck him that taking ships was the easy part. Hanging onto them after was far more difficult.