Wanderer 3: Tainted Universe (13 page)

Clay’s mind might have frozen, his reactions certainly hadn’t.  Even as he struggled to comprehend what had happened he had his ship rolling away in a tight turn.  The laser fire was soon falling to one side, but the missiles remained a worry.  Four had been launched, and had they impacted weakened shields they would have been enough to destroy Clay’s ship.

Now, though, he was on the move.  The four missiles were flying similar courses.  Evading one meant he was evading the other three too, as long as he kept a reasonable distance ahead.  The falcon would have been better off launching the four separately from different directions.  That chance was gone now though.  The falcon only carried four missiles.

Of course keeping ahead of them was easier said than done.  They were faster than Clay, and they could turn more quickly.  In the short-term he could stay ahead by managing the approach angle, ensuring a small course change on his part required a much larger change from the missiles.  After two or three passes he’d have used up all his manoeuvring time though.  He had to come up with something quickly.

As the missiles shot past some way to his right they were already beginning to curve around.  The screech of laser fire on his shields reminded him that the falcon was still in the hunt.

Judging his moment carefully Clay did the unthinkable.  He used his thrusters to spin his ship, slowing greatly and ending up heading straight towards the missiles.

It was a desperate move.  If he missed any of the missiles he’d be in serious trouble.  Clay opened fire immediately, targeting the closest missile.  Moments later it blossomed into flame.

Having detected the attack the remaining three missiles started to bob and weave.  Clay kept firing.  The closest missile would strike in under ten seconds.

Stitching laser fire across the darkness of space Clay homed in on the second missile.  Finally he managed to make missile and shots converge.  Only two left now, but they were only a few seconds out.

One,
Clay thought. 
Just one.  We can take the hit from a single missile.  Two though… that would be tight.

Three seconds… two…

Yes!  The third missile exploded.  Even if the last missile got through the lightning would survive the impact with its current level of shields.

The screech of laser fire impacting his shields made Clay jump.  Damn!  He’d forgotten the falcon.  More shots hit home, draining Clay’s shields.

This time his reactions worked against him.  Instead of trying to destroy the final missile he found himself peeling off.  The falcon was ready this time — more shots landed than went wide, draining the shields further.

Clay cursed violently at the crushing g-forces as he yanked his ship back towards the missile again.  There was no time for finesse or skill.  He simply kept his finger mashed down on the fire button and tried to sweep the sight across the missile’s path at point-blank range.

More laser fire crashed into the shields from behind and the blast of an explosion did the same from in front.  Clay’s eyes shot to the shields display.  Thirty percent!  Low but much better than it might have been.  He must have taken the missile out.

More laser fire.  He couldn’t let the falcon get away with pouring shots at him or he’d be just as dead as if he’d not dealt with the missile.  His instincts screamed for him to weave away.  Ignoring them he cut the main thrusters and used the manoeuvring thrusters to slow as much as was possible.

The blare of the collision alarm sent fear through his body.  He might have panicked had he had the time.  He didn’t.  Almost as soon as the alarm sounded the falcon swept over Clay’s head from behind.  The braking manoeuvre had thrown it off.

Four missiles appeared on the display.  Clay took a moment to realise he had fired them — he had no memory of doing so.  It was a perfect shot though.  The missiles were almost on top of the falcon as they launched.  Their target started to slide to the left but it was much too late.  Only seconds after being launched the missiles all struck home.  A huge fireball engulfed the falcon, followed by a second explosion as its engine exploded.

And then it was gone.  Clay’s heart was hammering in his chest.  Relief flowed through his muscles.  He let out a short bark of laughter.  That had been the hardest dogfight he’d ever been in.  It ranked up there as one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do in a fighter.

As the initial euphoria settled Clay found himself wondering about the enemy pilot.  They’d been phenomenally skilled and had withstood turns that would have pulped Clay.  And the transition from a violent roll to a corkscrew which had left it in the perfect position to attack was simply breathtaking.

Clay kept thinking about it as he looped back over, heading towards the remaining battle even though it seemed likely the pirates would all be destroyed long before he got there.

“
Thanks buddy, I owe you.”

Clay smiled at Leo’s heartfelt words.

“No problem,” Clay replied.  “Next time you deal with the superhuman pilot though.”

“
Fair enough.  So long as I can get this pile of scrap back to the
Cloud
.  Catch you later.”

Clay hardly acknowledged the farewell.  Something had clicked in his head.  Something that filled him with dread.  Superhuman.  That was the word he’d used to describe the enemy pilot.  Superhuman.  There was an explanation for their extraordinary skills and resilience.  They might be tainted.

So little was known about the Taint that rumours inevitably circulated.  Many of those rumours talked about those who became tainted gaining amazing strength and speed of thought.  They were only rumours but they were persistent, and Clay couldn’t think of anything else that fit what he had just seen.

If there was even the slightest chance of the enemy pilot being tainted then Clay had to call it in.  Hell, the senior officers might already be aware if they were watching Clay’s dogfight.  Either way, he had to tell them.  There was just one problem.  If he called it in he’d be signing Leo’s death warrant.

With so little known about the Taint strict rules had been put in place by the Empire.  The one that mattered now was the requirement to keep shields up on ships at all times, to prevent physical contamination.  Leo’s shields had been down.  That meant automatic quarantine for at least two weeks, and probably quite a bit longer.  The enforced rest would drive a fighter pilot like Leo halfway round the bend, but he’d survive.

Suspecting the enemy pilot was tainted changed everything.  One of the few facts known about the Taint was that physical transfer seemed to be required.  It couldn’t be spread over comms channels or through shields.  If it could then the entire Empire would already have fallen.  With his shields down Leo could have been exposed to the Taint.  If he was tainted then allowing him back aboard the
Purple Cloud
, even in quarantine, was out of the question.  Too many Imperial ships had been lost to the Taint already.  There really wasn’t any choice.  With a heavy heart Clay opened a direct channel to the corvette.

“
I need to speak to the captain,” he said.  “Top priority.”

“
One moment please…”

There was a short pause, then another voice cut in.

“Webb here.  What’s so urgent Griffiths?”

“
Captain, take a look at the fight I just had.  I think the pilot might have been tainted.”

“
Damn…”

The channel went dead.  Clay studied the fight he was heading towards.  Only three pirates remained, and two of those were trying to make a run for it.  Even as Clay watched the one enemy still fighting broke apart into flaming wreckage.  The remaining two pirates wouldn’t get far with several lightnings pursuing them.

They didn’t need his help.  Clay swung his ship around, heading back towards the
Purple Cloud
… and towards Leo.  He owed it to his friend to at least be nearby.

“
Griffiths, we agree with your assessment.  There’s a very strong chance you were fighting a tainted pilot.  That changes our assignment.  We won’t be boarding the base now.  We will obliterate it.”

The base.  Clay had all but forgotten it during the fight.  It was far enough from the fight that it couldn’t interfere directly, and if it had launched more ships they would have been detected long before they could become a danger.  Clay couldn’t find it in himself to pity those on the base.  They had chosen to reject the Empire, to live a life of crime.  Even without the risk of them being tainted the universe would be a better place without them.  But if the captain was focusing on the base had he realised the implications for Leo?

“Captain, Leo…”

Clay choked on the words, unable to speak them out loud.

“I know.”  The reply was quiet, subdued.  “We already had him preparing for Delta protocol.  I have upgraded it to Omega protocol.  I’m sorry Griffiths.  I know you and Leo were good friends.”

“
Thank you sir.”  Clay barely managed to choke out the words.  “Out.”

He killed the circuit, thinking on the captain’s words.  Were good friends, the captain had said.  Were.  Past tense.  Because Leo was as good as dead, he just didn’t know it yet.

“Hey guys, do you want to maybe hurry things up?” Leo’s voice made Clay jump.  “I’m sitting in a ship that’s being held together more by hope than anything else, the cockpit is open to space and I’m starting to think my survival suit might have a slow leak.”

Leo was broadcasting on the wide band but was clearly aiming his words at the
Purple Cloud
. 

“
Wait one Papa-Five…”

“
Take your time.  Just not too much of it.”

Clay’s chest felt tight.  He had trouble breathing.  He’d lost friends before, but never like this.  Never with them sitting there chatting away, thinking they were safe.

“Papa-Five, proceed to these coordinates and await further instructions.”

“
On my way.  Papa-Five out.”

They weren’t going to tell Leo.  It made a certain twisted kind of sense, but Clay couldn’t accept it.  Leo would fly to the coordinates and prepare to leave his ship.  Prepare to be transferred into quarantine.  Instead he’d be blown out of space by the corvette’s weapons.  He probably wouldn’t even have a chance to realise anything was wrong.

Anger flooded through Clay.  He wanted to smash something.  To punch someone.  To do
something
to make everything right again.  To make Leo safe.  There was nothing he could do though.  Nothing he could change.  Except one thing.  Not stopping to think of the possible consequences, Clay opened a private channel to Leo.

“
Clay!  How ya doing?  Jealous of the little holiday I’ll be going on are you?”

“
Leo…”

Once again Clay found words failing him.

“Hey man, no need to get that jealous.  What’s up?”

Leo’s words were still light, but his tone wasn’t.  He knew Clay well enough to know something serious was happening.  Something bad.

“Leo… the pilot that nearly killed you…”

“
Quite the bastard that one,” Leo interrupted.  “I meant what I said earlier.  I owe you my life.”

That was too much for Clay.  “Shit!  No you don’t.  That pilot… I think it was someone with the Taint.  The things they did were way beyond any normal pilot.  I… I had to tell the captain.”

There was silence for a few moments, then Leo let out a deep sigh.  When he spoke again most of the life had gone out of his voice.

“
Of course you did man.  I’d have done the same.  We all know the rules, and the risks.  No way you or I would ever give up flying these babies though, so we take our chances.  I just got a bad shake of the dice today.”

“
I’m sorry Leo.”

“
Don’t be!”  Some of the fire returned to Leo’s voice.  “This wasn’t your fault.  That bastard nailed two of us and nearly finished me.  Turns out he really did finish me I guess.  You stopped him, and you did it damn well.  Don’t lose sight of that.  And make sure you get good and pissed in my memory.”

“
What will you do?”

“
Well I’m not going to run.  Even if this tin can was in any kind of shape to do so, which it sure as hell isn’t.  I don’t really fancy being target practice for our own side either.  If I’m going to go then it’ll be on my terms.  Look after yourself Clay.  Stay safe.  Goodbye.”

“
Thanks Leo.  Goodbye.”

There was so much more he should say.  How much he would miss Leo.  How much their friendship meant.  How sorry he was for not getting involved sooner, saving Leo before his shields were knocked down.  He couldn’t.  Even the three words he managed to speak had almost choked him.

“
Purple Cloud
, this is Papa-Five.”  Leo was back on the general band.  “I’m having problems with the engine.  I think it might have taken more serious damage than I thought.”

“
Papa-Five, we don’t see any signs of engine problems.  Please proceed to…”