The Wanderer had to nudge Jess several times to catch his attention. He wasn’t asleep, but he was bone tired. They had passed four more defensive layers which were nothing but wrecked ships, but they hadn’t spotted any more fleets. Now the long hours awake were catching up with Jess, though the others seemed in better spirits, almost happy. Jess put it down to the rest they had all managed to grab.
Finally, Jess responded to the Wanderer’s message. Information streamed into his mind, driving all tiredness away.
“We did it!” he said. “We made it. We’re clear of the Quarantine Zone. We’re not stuck in the narrow jump space tunnel anymore.”
The others took a few seconds to absorb the new information, then grins exploded on their faces and they cheered.
“Damn, I never thought we’d
