Wanderer - Millennium

Prologue Jess Born into slavery, his life ruled by the Empire. Destined to die a slave. Until the day he stumbled into a unique starship. The Wanderer An ancient starship, one of the last remnants of an incredibly advanced race… who still hadn’t been able to do more than stop the spread of the Taint. After sitting dormant for decades it came to life under Jess’s touch, starting them on an amazing journey. Ali A young woman captured and drugged by pirates, who then tried to use her to drug Jess in the same way. Jess threw off the effects, with help from the Wanderer, and so freed Ali. Over time they grew close and fell head over heels in love. Until the Taint intervened. The Taint A being which existed by taking control of the minds of other sentient beings, convincing them what it did was for their own benefit. Every mind it captured strengthened it, made it more powerful. It was capable of communicating with those under its control over thousands of light-years, growing stronger with every new being it captured. Unity The name those who fell to the Taint used for it. A name which encompassed their love for and trust in the mighty entity. Sal A fellow slave who escaped with Jess on the Wanderer and shared many adventures with him… until she was overwhelmed by the Taint and ended up as one of its primary agents. Victory After a heroic journey Jess faced twin threats – the Taint, and the destruction of the entire Universe which the Wanderer’s creators had triggered as a final way to stop the Taint. Jess and the Wanderer, with vital help from Ali, managed to find the one-in-a-million path which kept the Universe intact and also destroyed the Taint. The Limited In response to the Taint, the Empire developed the Limited – former humans turned into mindless drones by surgery and technology. This was a threat as bad as the Taint had been, especially once those in charge decided all but the highest ranked officers should be subjected to the procedure. Their one weakness was fear. Fear that others might rival their power. So they restricted all knowledge of how to create Limited to their own fleet. Showdown A fleet opposed to the Empire had a chance to destroy the Imperial fleet. Jess reluctantly agreed to join the effort when it became clear that without the Wanderer most of the ships would refuse to go. Betrayal Mere minutes before the battle started, Sal led a revolt. A peaceful revolt, but still a revolt. She had created a following amongst those who missed Unity, who rejected the term Taint and desperately wanted to return to the feelings of connection they’d experienced as part of Unity. She and her followers broke away from the fleet and left, leaving the remaining forces in disarray. Retreat With no time to reform the now much smaller fleet to meet the Imperial forces, it was forced to turn and run. Jess, Ali, and the Wanderer had an idea as they accompanied the retreat. An area of jump space along their route was incredibly unstable. If they left a device at just the right place it could start a chain reaction and destroy the Imperial fleet. If it was timed correctly their own fleet would be safely past before that happened. Sacrifice The device failed to work. In desperation Jess, Ali, and the Wanderer turned and headed back into the area of instability. When they reached the Imperial fleet Jess had the Wanderer trigger a massive disruption in jump space. It spread quickly, wiping out the Imperial fleet… and the Wanderer. Jess, Ali, and the starship never returned from that final flight. Rumours Rumours abounded, of course. Reported sightings of the ship, Jess, and Ali. None turned out to be real. As days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years it became increasingly clear they would never return. Time Years turned into decades and decades into centuries. Rumours of the Wanderer’s return still spread, but they were all made up or mistaken. However life and freedom endured, thanks to the sacrifice of the three heroes. Almost a thousand years have passed. Jess, Ali, and the Wanderer have never returned. But life goes on. And wherever there is life, there is trouble… Part I