Wanderer's Escape (22 page)

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 floor 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.”

“
I don't think so.  She was wearing a control collar, similar to those used on Sal and I but with some changes.  I don't think she could do anything.  I broke the link between it and the station, and that's when she shouted.  Don't worry, we'll be cautious with her, I might be slow but I do learn eventually.”

She pulled back a little and gave him a dazzling smile followed by a passionate kiss.  Just as Jess started to relax into it several alerts flowed into his mind from the ship.  Cursing he pulled back.

“Damn that's bad timing.  Three ships have just launched from the station.  All three are touting some hefty weaponry and armour, they'll be tricky for us to deal with.”

Sal shuffled over to them, still looking exhausted from her ordeal. 

“There's no reason to stay is there?” she asked.  “Let's get out of here.”

“
We're too close to the station for any normal ship to be able to jump.  We can reach jump distance in about twenty minutes.  Those ships won't be close enough to prevent us jumping then, though I'm sure they'll follow us.”

“
We can deal with that when we need to.  What about the robots?  Do you need to destroy them?”

“
No.  I can deal with them, well the ship can.  The damaged one should be salvageable too.  Might as well get that started.”

With a thought Jess told the ship to start dealing with the robots.  The floor around the two active robots flowed, quickly encasing their legs.  The substance flowed on, reaching their chests then immobilising their arms and finally their heads.  Jess had been prepared for what happened but he saw Sal and Ali shivering at the sight.  Even knowing what would happen he felt uncomfortable watching the humanoid shaped robots being swallowed by the ship's substance.  A similar process took place with the damaged robot, though as it was already in parts on the ground it was much quicker.  He followed the ships progress in dealing with the robots.  The two still active soon had their control functions wiped.  Then the ship set about modifying them.  Improving everything from their brains and power systems to their weapons, armour and shielding. 

The process would take some time but at the end they would have two very powerful robots.  No, three very powerful robots.  The third was badly damaged, probably beyond normal repair, but the ship was rebuilding them from the ground up anyway.  Apparently rebuilding a ruined robot wasn't against the rules governing the ship.

“
There.  It will take some time but the robots can be rebuilt and made loyal to us,” he said.  “While we still have a little time I think we should wake our guest and offer her the chance to leave.  I doubt she'll want to, especially as we'd have to send her off in a very minimal survival suit, but it needs to be done.”

Both women agreed so Jess had the ship confirm their guest was well enough to be woken.  Most of the medical devices had withdrawn, the few remaining were embedded in her body and would be controlled remotely until they were no longer needed
– then they would simply dissolve away.  He instructed the ship to release its hold on her and to bring her around.  She opened her eyes with a groan.

“
Don't try to sit up,” Jess said.  “You need to take it easy.  How are you feeling?”

“
Rough.  Like I've been out getting wasted all night.” 

Her voice was deep, her words clipped short.  She stared at Jess for a moment.

“Damn but you look like Ethan.  My nephew.  Bit younger than him though.  Help me sit up will you?  I ain't planning on carrying on a conversation whilst laid out.”

Sal helped the woman to a sitting position.  Jess monitored her health closely via the ship but saw nothing to worry about.

“I can't see the ugly mugs of those bastards who sent me over with the bots so I guess something screwed with their plan.”

“
Yeah, we managed to get away.  They don't seem too happy – they've sent three ships after us.  You knew what their plan was then?”

“
Sure.  They didn't bother discussing it where I couldn't hear.  I was just a prisoner.  They'd stuck a collar on me which locked my muscles rigid if they wanted, or felt like it was burning its way through every bit of my body.  Don't suppose you lot have ever had the pleasure of wearing one.”

“
Just every day of my life till a week or so ago,” Jess replied, smiling slightly.

“
Oh.” she grunted, taken aback.  “Guess you know what I mean then.”

“
Partly.  I never heard of them being able to freeze anyone in place before.”  He turned to Sal.  “Did you?”

“
I'd heard rumours occasionally,” Sal replied.  “Nothing concrete though.  If the guards used that function then it was either pretty rarely or well away from anyone I ever met.  They seemed quite happy using the collars to inflict pain.”

Jess turned back to their guest, who had listened to Sal and him intently.

“So what was the plan?” he asked.

“
Pretty simple really.  Get the robots into your ship then have them kill or subdue everyone in there.  Same trick they pulled on me a few weeks back.  Took my ship, killed the other two members of my crew.  Captured me, stuck the collar on and used me as a slave.  I felt so bloody helpless sat on that buggy knowing the same was gonna happen to you.  Then suddenly I was free.  I could move, could talk, could warn you.  I remember shouting then the collar activated again, this time to punish me.  The pain started but this time it didn't stop.  I must have passed out.  Next thing I remember is waking up here and seeing you lot.”

Jess thought she was telling the truth.  She seemed honest and the ship's monitoring of her backed that up.

“What happened to your ship?” he asked.

“
No idea.  Either they sold it or they've still got it, I guess.  Not sure which thought is worse.  Twenty years I'd had the old girl.  Even named her after myself.  The Queen Elizabeth.”

“
You're a queen?” asked Ali in surprise.

The woman laughed at that.

“No.  I'm just plain old boring Elizabeth.  The ship's the queen, not me.  So – you know my name, how about telling me yours.”

Jess quickly introduced all three of them.  He didn't go into details about where they were from or how they controlled a ship.  Elizabeth was clearly intrigued but didn't press for information.

“I reckon I could stand now,” Elizabeth said.

With the help of Jess and Sal they got her to the nearest sofa.  Jess activated a display, using it to show their current position and the three ships behind them.  He explained the choices they could offer
– stay on board when they jumped or leave in an escape suit.

“
Not much of a choice really,” said Elizabeth.  “If I leave then most likely I'll be picked up by that lot following you.  Back to square one that'd be.  And that's if they don't just blow me apart as they pass.  Guess I'll be with you for a little while, till I can get somewhere safe at least.  Ideally somewhere I've got some contacts so I can try and get my ship back.” 

Suddenly she stared intently at the screen.

“Hang on.  Can you zoom in on the central ship?  Thanks.  What's it called?  Unbreakable?  Bollocks!  That's the Queen Liz, I'd recognise my ship anywhere.  That shape is far from standard.  She was a salvage job, stitched together from three other ships.  Not on the cheap mind – best bits of three different ships to make one damn good freighter that could really shift and packed one hell of a punch.  Never felt as safe as I did aboard her.  That's probably why I got careless.  Now the bastards are chasing me in my own ship.”

“
They aren't closing on us fast enough to be a problem,” said Jess.  “Once we reach safe range from the station we'll jump.”

“
You know they'll follow you, don't you?”  She asked giving him a piercing stare.  “However close they are when you jump that's how close they'll be at the other end, if not closer.”

“
I know.  We've got a few tricks up our sleeve though.  It shouldn't be a problem.”

“
If you say so.  I didn't get a look at your ship but I'm guessing fighting isn't an option, seeing as you're leaving in such a hurry.  As far as I can see it's fight now or fight later.  At least later we'll be away from the station.  If by some miracle we do win then they won't sending anything else straight after you.”

“
I don't understand,” said Ali.  “Why are they doing this?  Why did they attack us in the first place?  They had a deal.  We were ready to pay.  What do they get out of this?”

“
Bloody obvious ain't it?” Elizabeth asked.  Then, seeing the shock and confusion on Ali's face, she continued in a softer tone.  “Sorry.  You've been through a lot in a short space of time.  I'm not the most subtle person you'll meet.  My crew was used to me being sharp, knew I meant nothing by it.  What do they gain?  Your ship.  A ship, any ship, is worth a fortune.  Forget whatever you were going to pay for those bots, that wouldn't even scratch the surface.  The ship was the only thing they wanted.  Any prisoners were a bonus, but not one they go out of their way to get.