Wanderer's Escape (34 page)

Get the prisoners to safe points near the docks and make sure they are armed.  Send back any shuttles already in flight.  I have to engage those ships before they get close to the station.

Can the stations defences hold them off?

Not a chance.  Two of those ships are frigate class, their shielding will be massive and they could pound the defences apart in no time.

In that case... can the Wanderer hold them off?

I think so.  We don't have to sit still and let them shoot at us like Iona would.  I'm going to have to make some jumps which will interrupt your connection to the drones, robots and shuttles.

That's fine, most of the prisoners are away from guards now and those guards still near prisoners are sitting tight.

OK, great.

Jess already had the Wanderer swinging around, turning to face the oncoming fleet.  He played a quick warning over the ships speakers, for the sake of those already on board.

“
Hostile ships have jumped in and are moving to engage us.  We will be in combat very soon and you may hear or feel some of the effects.  Please don't worry, we are more than capable of dealing with the incoming ships.  You are completely safe.” 
I hope,
he added mentally.

Jess focused on the approaching fleet.  The two large frigates were the most impressive, and most dangerous, of the ships.  Some twenty times the size of the corvettes the Wanderer had been able to destroy in the past.  Their weaponry was a mixture of hugely powerful ship killers, designed to take on other large ships, and numerous fast tracking but lower powered weapons for keeping fighters and small ships away.

Accompanying them were three corvettes, twenty-eight smaller gunships and around two hundred small fighters.  The fleet was arranged in a flat wedge with the largest ships in the centre and the fighters on the edge.  They flew close together, apparently wanting to ensure they could support each other.  Jess realised that his prior success against the pirates was now returning to haunt him.  They knew the Wanderer was dangerous, very dangerous, and were taking no chances.

He realised there was another option.  He didn't have to fight.  Ali's friends were safely aboard, around a hundred of the other prisoners too.  He could run, punch into jump space and leave the fleet far behind.  He imagined the thousands of prisoners still on Iona, the fragile feelings of hope they must have, and what would happen to them if he did flee.  He knew he couldn't do it.  He had to  rescue them, which meant he had to  defeat the fleet.

The frigates were the first to fire as the Wanderer neared the fleet, their massive ship killer weapons lashing out.  They would have crippled a normal Corvette or similarly sized ship before it could get close enough to retaliate. 

The Wanderer was far from normal.  As soon as the frigates opened fire Jess threw the ship into jump space, emerging almost on top of the fleet and angled to pass from the top right section towards the centre.  At point-blank range the Wanderers upgraded weaponry started to lash out.  Tens of fighters simply vanished, nothing but expanding clouds of vapour marking where they had been.  The larger gunships held out longer but not by much.  Jess managed to destroy two of them and heavily damaged a third.  His approach meant that one frigate was blocked by the bulk of the other, meaning only the closer frigate could target the Wanderer.  It started to now, lashing out with its heavy weapons.  None struck.  The Wanderer was far more agile than any other ship of comparative size, as such it was able to jink and dodge far too fast for the ship killing weaponry to track.  The small anti fighter weapons started to land hits but the Wanderer easily shrugged them off.

The shields were taking a battering from other sources though.  Two of the corvette's had managed to target the Wanderer and were scoring as many hits as misses.  A number of the gunships had too, though any fighters trying the same trick were destroyed almost instantly.  The shields were holding but they couldn't cope with so much firepower indefinitely.  Jess targeted one of the corvettes with as many weapons as he could and unleashed them together.  He was amazed by the result.  The Wanderer's previous encounters with corvettes had been close run things where skill or blind luck had played its part.  This encounter was exceptionally one sided.  The corvette's shields flickered for a second then buckled and collapsed.  The weight of the weaponry then punched its way through the corvette's thick hull from one side to the other.  It missed the engines and thrusters so there was no major explosion but the corvette was dead in space, escape capsules started to fly out from the undamaged sections of the ship.

The Wanderer suddenly rocked as the nearer frigate scored a lucky hit, her shields holding but seriously strained.  Jess punched her into jump space again for a moment then emerged a short distance behind the fleet.  He slowed the Wanderer, preparing for the fleet to turn and engage again.  It didn't.  Instead it kept heading for Iona.  Jess realised the fleet must know what he was attempting to do, that the prisoners on Iona represented a soft and immobile target.  Angrily he dragged the Wanderer around and into jump space again, emerging halfway between the fleet and Iona then swinging around to engage the fleet again.

Once again he used a jump to close on the fleet, this time emerging a short distance in front and aiming to fly right through the centre of the fleet, between the two frigates.  As the frigates and other ships lashed out at the Wanderer again Jess focused all his fire on the right hand frigate.  Even with the Wanderer's powerful new weaponry the frigate was a worthy opponent.  With repeated shots he managed to weaken the forward shields significantly, but the ship reinforced them by pulling power from the rear shields.  Space around the Wanderer was being peppered by fire and more shots were landing than Jess was happy with.  Given enough time he was sure he could puncture the frigate's shields, but he didn't have time.  A desperate plan formed in his head.

As the Wanderer neared the fleet he kept it heading between the two massive frigates but slowed the speed of the evasive manoeuvres.  The massive ship killing weaponry was getting closer and closer, and the Wanderer's shields were already under strain from a mixture of corvette and gunship fire.  Just as it seemed the frigates weapons would find the Wanderer she reached the point where she was flying between the frigates.  The right hand frigates large weapons fell silent immediately as they realised the danger.  The left hand frigates crew were far too intent on destroying the Wanderer and kept firing.  Now Jess let the Wanderer dodge faster again, none of the mighty pulses of energy even came close.  Instead they crashed into the shields of the other frigate at near point-blank range.  Jess added the Wanderer's own fire to the barrage impacting the right hand frigate, delighted to see the shields flickering under such a heavy onslaught and then fail completely.  Some of the left hand frigates weapons fell silent but many kept firing, as did Jess.  He launched a barrage of heavy missiles too.  Even the frigates heavy armour was no match for such devastating firepower.  Huge holes were blown in its superstructure.  Jess focused the Wanderers fire on a particularly deep hole near the engines.  Pouring fire into the area the Wanderer was able to punch through and destroy several engines.  The power unleashed was massive, Jess immediately threw the Wanderer into a jump, fighting to keep the ship stable as the huge explosion rocked the fabric of jump space.

He dropped the Wanderer back into normal space and swung her round.  The damaged frigate was now just so much wreckage, ruined chunks the size of small ships spinning away.  One of the remaining corvettes had been caught in the blast and was reeling with its shields flickering.  Many of the gunships and fighters had disappeared without trace.  Even the other frigate had sustained some damage, and its shields were significantly weakened.

Jess swung the Wanderer around once more and used a short jump to approach the fleet yet again.  Dropping into real space he focused fire on the damaged frigate.  Within seconds he was rewarded by its shields dying, quickly followed by a massive explosion as the engines were ruptured.  He flew past the frigate pouring fire into its shields, weakening them further but not inflicting any damage.  A handful of weapons lashed out from the frigate, none coming close, but most stayed silent.  Jess managed to destroy several gunships as well as he flew past them.

Clearing the fleet he was shocked to see how close to Iona they were.  Within a couple of minutes the frigates weapons would be able to attack it.  Grimly he swung the Wanderer to attack again.  He was becoming sure that he could defeat the fleet now, but it would take a miracle to take out the frigate before it laid waste to Iona.

There was movement within the fleet, ships changing position rapidly.  It took him a moment to realise what was happening.  Ships were breaking off, turning to run.  First a few fighters, then most of those that remained.  Some of the gunships joined the flight.  The remaining corvette pitched down sharply, curving away from the Wanderer and Iona. 

When the frigate started to break heavily and turn as sharply as such a ship could Jess knew they'd won.  He watched the large ship closely in case it was a diversion, even with the turn it would be closing to within twenty or thirty seconds of being able to target Iona.  If the move was a feint then the frigate could quickly swing round into weapons range.  It didn't.  All fight had gone out of the pirates.  They turned tail and fled, heading in many directions. 

Jess considered following the frigate, pounding it apart so it couldn't threaten anyone else.  Then he took in the devastation before him properly for the first time, started to total up in his head how many thousands had died, mostly at his hands.  Feeling sick inside he let the fleeing ships go.  He had enough blood on his hands.  So much he doubted they would ever be clean again.

Chapter Thirty

With the threat from the fleet gone Jess flew the Wanderer back to Iona, which allowed the evacuation of the prisoners to resume.  While the space battle had raged Sal and Ali had continued to organise the prisoners.  Most were now near to docking bays.  With the Wanderer holding close station above Iona they could rapidly transfer the prisoners, shuttles weaving back and forth.

What about that band of pirates we couldn't tackle?
Sal sent. 
Do you still want to blast them with the Wanderer's weapons?

Are they any threat to us?  Or to the prisoners?
Jess asked.

No, none at all now.

Then no.  I've killed enough people today,
Jess sent wearily.

He was almost overwhelmed by the message Ali sent in return, a mixture of love, excitement and encouragement.

And you have saved so many too.  Look at the people, look at their faces as they arrive, as the collars are removed, as they realise they are really free.  I love you so much.  You did what you had to out there, no more.

He wasn't completely convinced, but her message helped lift his mood a little.  He still felt exhausted though, mentally and physically.  As the flow of prisoners slowed he considered the fate of those left behind, the managers and workers.  They would survive but the farm would be ruined.  Without the slave workforce crops would rot or wilt, Iona would either be finished or would require massive investment.  Somehow he couldn't bring himself to care about those who had run it, those who had relied on the slaves. 

Except for one.  On a hunch he contacted different groups of prisoners, showed them Nicholas's image and asked if they knew him, what he was like.  Many didn't know him but those that did all had a good word to say.  Of how Nicholas had always avoided using the collars, had actually cared how they were, had falsely declared crops as spoilt occasionally so the prisoners could get some much-needed nutritious food.  How he'd sneaked medicines to sick children.  All at great personal risk.

The tales confirmed his hunch.  Jess took control of the remaining robot that was in good condition and sent it to the room where he and Elizabeth had been attacked.  He found Nicholas still collapsed on the floor, not surprising as Elizabeth was only just coming around with the help of the ship's medical attention.  The cocktail of drugs had been extremely powerful.  Jess was thankful that the destruction he'd unleashed on the docking bay hadn't reached where Nicholas lay comatose.  Jess had the robot pick Nicholas up and take him to the nearest undamaged docking bay, arriving in time to board the final shuttle.

In the end they rescued nearly four thousand prisoners.  The achievement was dampened by the knowledge that several hundred had died at the hands of the guards and pirates, not to mention the large number of people that had died as Jess fought off the fleet.  Jess felt a grim satisfaction though as the Wanderer flew away from Iona and punched into jump space.  Considering his fears that they would fail, that they would all die during the operation, things had actually gone pretty well.

In the lounge area behind him a tearful reunion between Ali and her friends was taking place.  Sal was there too, along with Teeko and a recovering Elizabeth.  Teeko had become a firm favourite of the younger children.  The strange alien seemed to love the attention and was busy giving them horsey rides, though Jess had no idea what a horsey was.

After a quick check to ensure the Wanderer had no problems Jess lent his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.  Within moments he was fast asleep.