Wanderer - Tainted Universe

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dash tensed as the Wanderer dropped out of jump space, not that there was much he could do. If they were attacked it would all be down to Jess. Dash still didn’t know how Jess achieved that control. Jess, Sal and Ali had been reluctant to discuss it. Another sign of how little they trusted him.

Screens flickered to life, showing the base. Dash had only seen it in person once before. It looked unchanged. The core was a long lattice cylinder which was extremely strong despite being more open space than material. Something like a hundred ships were docked with the core, from fighters right up to a frigate. Massive weapon turrets projected at regular intervals along the core, packed with enough firepower to see off all but the largest of warships

At the centre point of the cylinder was the living area of the base. It was small compared to the base’s total size, but still large enough to hold several thousand people comfortably if needed. In reality, it rarely had more than a couple of hundred.

The Wanderer was already in range of the heavier weaponry. If the codes weren’t accepted then they’d know pretty damn soon. As they waited the seconds seemed to stretch out almost endlessly. It felt familiar to Dash. He’d endured the pause before conflict, potential or certain, more times than he could count. Still… this was taking too long.

“I don’t like this,” Dash said quietly. “If the codes were good we should have received the acknowledgement by now.”

“And if not?” Ali asked.

Dash gave a grim smile.

“Then we’d either be glowing wreckage or plastered to the floor as Jess flew evasive manoeuvres to get us clear.”

“What’s happening then?”

“I wish I knew. The codes must have at least bought us some time. My guess is there’s some sort of discussion going on. And that’s bad.”

Ali went to answer. Dash expected her to ask why it was bad, but Jess interrupted her.

“Codes have been accepted. They’re asking to talk to you, Dash.”

Jess slumped slightly where he sat. The strain of waiting seemed to have hit him particularly hard. Why? It hadn’t been that long. Was it somehow related to his control of the ship?

Dash didn’t have time to follow up on the thought. A screen in front of him flared to life, showing a familiar face.

“Knuckles! Am I glad to see you,” Dash said.

“Hello, Boss. What brings you to our neck of the woods?” answered the man with a big smile.

Dash studied Knuckles for a few moments. He looked older than the last time Dash had seen him, but it had been several years. He looked tired, too. Knuckles was one of the very few left who had been with Dash when he broke from the Empire.

His real name was Tom Dunton. Short and with a slight frame he’d been one of the calmest of the troops, renowned for never losing his temper or getting into a fight. Until one day a bearlike trooper from another squad picked a fight with Dozer…

Normally Dozer could handle himself in any fight, but not when the first hint it was starting was someone hitting him over the head with a heavy chair leg. Dash had seen the security footage. The blow was brutal. It was a miracle Dozer wasn’t killed.

Dozer hit the ground almost unconscious. The thug landed two solid kicks to Dozer’s stomach. The third didn’t connect. Tom crashed into the attacker, pushing him back a whole step. The thug grinned down at the man who didn’t even reach his shoulder. Tom had saved Dozer from a severe kicking, but now he was the focus of the brutal trooper.

The fight was a complete mismatch. Tom managed to dodge a hook which would have taken his head off. Then he sidestepped a brutal jab, but that put him right in the way of another hook. This one connected solidly with the side of Tom’s head, lifting him off the floor before dumping him down on his back.

And that should have been that. The thug clearly thought it was, as he stood grinning. As Tom fell onto his back he twisted, turning it into a back flip which landed him on his feet. Without a word he closed on the thug again.

Another thunderous cross sent Tom ducking, bending down low, but this time he lashed out. His open palm smashed into the thug’s knee. Then, on the way back up, he lashed out against the thug’s stomach, chest and the elbow of the still swinging arm.

By the time Tom stood up straight again, the thug was collapsing. He ended up on the floor, curled up in agony. Tom simply walked past him to help Dozer, not even looking tempted to put the boot in himself.

News of the fight soon spread, and before long someone had hacked into the security system and the whole squad was watching Tom’s exploits. Someone had commented on how little he looked like a bare knuckle fighter, and that was it. Tom had a new nickname. Knuckles.

Looking at the man on the screen made Dash realise just how many years had passed. It was well over twenty years since Tom picked up his nickname, closer to twenty-five.

“I was in the neighbourhood and thought I’d look you up,” Dash said.

“Yeah, right, Boss. There is no neighbourhood here. And you’ve turned up with four ships we’ve never seen before. Are you dragging trouble with you?”

“You worry too much. No wonder you’ve lost most of your hair.”

It was an exaggeration, but Knuckles’ hairline had receded a long way over the years.

“It’s pretty bad, I’ll give you that. I’ve lost some in the centre, but there’s still lots clinging on at the sides, thank the stars.”

“If you say so. I’m not picking a fight with you.”

That made Knuckles smile. The line had become a standing joke after he earned his nickname. Not that anyone had picked fights with him before.

Dash struggled to keep his face neutral. They’d worked out the coded conversation based on Tom’s hair several years before. The answer had sounded innocuous, but it actually told Dash that the base was under occupation. The hair clinging at the sides comment was good, though. It meant that most, if not all, of the docked ships remained loyal.

“Seriously, Boss, how can we help you?”

Dash grew solemn.

“Three of the ships are packed full of slave transports. We need to get all of them offloaded, set the slaves free, then give them food, water and whatever medical treatment they need. The Wanderer has a full load too, though they’ve already been freed.”

“Wow… you don’t do things by halves. That’s going to be a lot of people. You won’t want to leave them here. Best thing would be to offload them directly onto other ships. Saves moving them twice.”

“That’s what I thought. Can we make arrangements to do it straight away?”

“Sure, I can coordinate that. Are you coming aboard? We could catch up over some beers.”

“Definitely! Once the prisoners are freed, though. Knowing how the Empire treats its slaves I doubt we can save everyone, but I wouldn’t feel right relaxing until we’ve done everything we can. Start working out where you want them offloaded to. I’ll speak to the four captains and work out how we can get people off quickest.”

“Sure thing, Boss. It’s good to see you.”

“You too, my friend. You too.”

Dash killed the connection, trying to decide how much to tell the others. They didn’t place much trust in him. Would they believe what he had to say? Or should he keep quiet and get himself transferred to one of the warships, even if that would mean jumping back into the role he’d played for far too many years?

Compounding his worries was the thought of Knuckles. Dash knew that whatever happened his friend would likely end up dead, and it would be because of him. That was a heavy weight to carry.