Wanderer 3: Tainted Universe Read Online Free Page B

Ben, the young boy who had been one of the prisoners Jess and the others had freed.
    Somehow, and Jess still hadn’t worked out how, Teeko had managed to get through solid walls to reach Ben.  Investigating that was yet another thing Jess needed to get around to doing.  Since then the boy and the alien had been inseparable.  Standing on all his legs, as he was now, Teeko resembled a brown furred table with four legs to a side.  Ben sat on Teeko’s back, arms wrapped around its flexible neck.  Teeko steadied the youngster with one arm.  Ben seemed unconcerned by the sucker tipped appendages Teeko had instead of hands.
    Despite the mystery of how Teeko had retrieved Ben, Jess was pleased it had happened.  Having the youngster around was doing the alien good.  Ben seemed happier too.  He’d been separated from his mother just before being loaded onto the prisoner transports.  Jess had searched for her as soon as he heard Ben’s story, but she wasn’t aboard the Wanderer .
    It was possible that she was on one of the other three ships.  They’d know for certain once they reached Desolation and unloaded all the transports.  Jess knew it was unlikely though.  The Empire seemed to take a perverse pleasure in breaking up groups of prisoners, splitting up friends and family members.
    Telling Ben that his mother wasn’t aboard had been doubly painful for Jess.  He’d seen the pain in the young boy’s face of course, but it had been matched by a deep wound of his own.  One that would never heal fully.  Jess had been split from his own mother in similar circumstances when even younger than Ben.  He knew just how much pain Ben was in, and how isolated he’d be feeling amongst the group of adults.  Ben was coping though, thriving even, with the help of Teeko.
    And finally there was Dash.  He seemed calm, despite the sense of urgency that gripped the others.  In only a few minutes the Wanderer would drop out of jump space almost on top of Desolation.  That was possible because there were no planets in the system, and Desolation had only a tiny mass when compared to a natural body. 
    Dash had explained that it was important not to appear too far out for two reasons.  First it would make them seem a threat, as anyone with good reason to visit knew better.  Second, the area was heavily mined.  Any attempt to approach from further out would lead to the Wanderer being crippled or destroyed.
    The explanation made sense to Jess but it still felt like an awful risk.  Not so much for the Wanderer , she could jump away again immediately if needed, but for the other three ships.
    “ Do you have the codes ready to transmit?” Dash asked, interrupting Jess’s thoughts.
    “ Yes,” Jess replied.  “All ready to send.  How sure are you that they’ll keep us safe?”
    “ The codes are good.  We won’t have any trouble.”
    Jess studied Dash carefully.  He seemed calm, but was that just an act?  Jess reached out to the Wanderer , accelerating his thoughts and making use of the ship’s internal sensors.
    “ How can you be sure?” Ali asked aggressively.  “Your men already betrayed you once.”
    “ That was a mistake on my part,” Dash said.  “I was distracted when Hackett put the team together.  Desolation is completely different.  The people there were chosen by me.  They’ll have stayed loyal, no matter what else is happening.”
    All smoothly delivered and believable, Jess thought.  He’d even have believed it… if he hadn’t caught the twitch on Dash’s face at the mention of the betrayal.  It had been the briefest of expressions, gone in a heartbeat, but to Jess’s accelerated mind it shone out.
    There were no tell tale reactions during the rest of Dash’s statement though.  He really seemed to believe those he’d chosen would stay loyal.  Or that was the impression he gave off.
    “ What if they’re gone?”  Ali kept pushing.  “What if they’ve been replaced by the same