After Oshwin Lemik and the Skeet Brothers spent the evening at his favourite bar reliving past glories and remembering fallen comrades, where a considerable amount of alcohol was consumed, they couldn’t remember how to get back to the ship.
It was
Merri, Parse and Pulsat who turned up at the bar to pick up the casualties and
when they got back to the Tornado they found Malena and Asti waiting for them
wearing stern expressions and bearing unsympathetic dispositions.
But they
reserved their wrath, and directed their respective men straight to their
quarters, they would feel the sharp edge of their tongues the next
morning.
Although
come the next morning admonishments from their lovers paled into insignificance
compared to the merciless hangovers they woke up with.
And the
fact that as a result of their drunken night out with Oshwin the Tornado was
now on the preferred list at Golbolt Interstellar gained them some sympathy.
From that
point on, the Tornado got as much work as they wanted and regularly ran between
Eikon Major and Minor, Eirkos and its moons, Soman, Rekar and Marikya, and neighbouring
planet’s, Achrem and Zenden as well as Zenden’s moon, Linden.
It was on
one such trip that the first of a series of events occurred which could either
drive them out of the system or secure their future there forever.
The Tornado
lifted off and they left Soman early in the morning bound for Zenden, but first
they had a delivery on the neighbouring planet Achrem.
The Tempest
Class Freighter was powered by 4 Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines, which
allowed for a very quick turn of speed once airborne, and four vertical
take-off jumper engines whose purpose is self-explanatory, they could also be
used independently to provide auxiliary power on board while they were on the
surface for periods when the solar converters were inadequate.
It wasn’t a
huge ship as freighters go but pound for pound the Tempests had the highest
freight to fuel ratio yield of their class.
The front
section comprised of a sizable pressurized hold for large freight accessed via
a front loading ramp, above which was the flight deck, living and sleeping
quarters, mess facilities and bath rooms, at the rear was the main propulsion
and amidships were the universal pod bays, which allowed for a mixed cargo
option, which allowed for quick inspection and loading, although sometimes pods
were sealed which meant it was either very valuable or very illegal, either way
Merri didn’t mind and transporting sealed cargo paid much much better.
The Tornado
always flew with at least one pod but then that was because it was where they
stowed their gear and where the hidden compartments could be found, or not,
which was where they hid the contraband, or even fugitives when necessary.
Merri
entered the atmosphere of Achrem with her piloting and Shiyne in the co-pilot
seat and she used the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines and
landed softly on the landing field outside the town of Odekka and there were
already several other ships, of all shapes and sizes, parked on the field.
When the
freighters ramp lowered Zerrad and Malena walked down it holding hands followed
by Lyris driving the Tornado’s APMTV, (All Purpose Multi Terrain Vehicle),
nicknamed the “Stroller”.
The moment
it came to a halt Zerrad kissed Malena and then climbed aboard.
“Behave
yourselves” Malena called
“Yes mum”
Lyris replied
After
watching the Stroller drive away Malena sighed and then ran up the ramp, once
inside she hit the button and the ramp closed behind her then she opened comms
to the flight deck.
“Good to go
Captain”
“Ok, stand
by” Merri said from the left seat and co-pilot Shiyne monitored the instruments
the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines were engaged and the
Tempest Class freighter lifted off.
The reason
the Tornado took off and left the Skeets behind was that Achrem had a very
mountainous terrain and as one of their deliveries was to a remote and ancient
mountain monastery housing an order of Algarvian Monks, and because there was
nowhere to land the Tornado it could only be reached by road so the delivery
had to be made in the Stroller.
It was a
four-hour journey up to the monastery and once they got there and made the delivery,
they planned to spend a couple of hours with the monks before they made the
three-hour drive back to Odekka.
However,
when they reached the monastery, they found the seven-foot-tall green fleshed
brotherhood of Algarvian Monks were a silent order and in addition to being
uncommunicative they were also inhospitable, so after the drop the headed back
down the mountain again.
They
arrived back at the landing field outside Odekka eight hours after the Stroller
drove down the Tornado’s ramp to find that the ship wasn’t there.
After
dropping them off on Achrem, Merri and the rest of the crew continued on to
make the short run to neighbouring Zenden, which was a simple drop off, so they
should have been back in Odekka at least an hour before them but there was no
sign of them.
“Unbelievable”
Lyris said “how did this happen?”
Having
failed to get anything to eat up at the Monastery he and his brother had spent
the return journey talking about what delights Bagg may have waiting on the
ship for them.
The
Tornado’s crew were fortunate enough to have Visitor Parham on board,
Visitors
were a Christian sect who took to the stars with the first migrants to visit
new worlds, spreading the word while seeking enlightenment, and they had
established Visitor enclaves in every corner of the known universe, they even
thrived in Mehreen space and they were the least spiritual beings to ever draw
breath.
The
difference between Visitors and the established Christian Church on earth was
its spontaneity, they didn’t wait until Sunday to worship, they did it wherever
and whenever it was desired and it didn’t need to happen in a church, Visitors
worshipped everywhere.
But he was
not merely a man of the cloth who tended to their spiritual needs because his
alter ego Bagg fortified them with his culinary prowess.
“I was
really looking forward to some of Bagg’s pancakes” Said Zerrad
“Me too”
Lyris agreed “Let’s go to the comms hut and find out where they are”
They had a
radio onboard the Stroller but it wasn’t powerful enough to reach into space
and the mountainous terrain didn’t help so in order to make the range they
needed the benefit of Odekka’s long range transmitter.
After
pulling up outside the comms shack the brothers disembarked and walked inside
and were surprised to see Vinid Cupra sitting by the transmitter.
“I don’t
believe it, is there anyone in the Eikon cluster who didn’t fight with the
Shaxson rebels?” Lyris said
“My God
it’s the Skeets” Vinid exclaimed and crossed the floor to embrace both men.
“Nothing to
do Cupra?” barked a short scar faced middle-aged man with no neck
“Yes sir”
Vinid replied need to
“Then get
on with it” he said and headed towards the door.
“What can I
do for you gentlemen?” Vinid asked
“We need to
contact our ship” Zerrad said
“No
problem” Vin said and then his boss opened the door and left.
Vinid
contacted the ship on their behalf and after speaking to Merri aboard the
Tornado, he relayed that all she would say was that they had been delayed, so
they would be late picking them up but they were on their way, so the Skeets
had some time to kill.
“It would
appear we have time for a drink” Lyris said
“You know
what happened the last time we went drinking with an old war buddy?” Zerrad
pointed out
“I’m not
off duty for another two hours but I’ll meet you at the Blue Horizon when I’m
done”
“Where’s
that?”
“Turn left
when you reach the main road and its half a mile down the road on the right”
Vinid replied
“Is it ok?”
Lyris asked
“It used to
be great” he replied, “Now it’s just the nearest”
“Why, what
happened?” Zerrad asked
“Well, the
bar is owned by a mate, Lak Shmi” he began.
“A couple
of months ago he was approached by a respectable looking Lakmean trader who
said he wanted to run a “friendly” game of cards and would Lak mind if they
used a quiet corner of the bar once a week, and he said there would be a few
Dinaris in it for him”
Lyris gave
Zerrad a knowing look and Zer raised his eyebrows.
“I know, I
know it was stupid, but he agreed. He thought it might bring in a bit more
trade, he’s been struggling a bit, so he thought it was harmless enough”
“But it
hasn’t worked out that way?” Suggested Lyris
“No,
they’re playing seven nights a week and they’ve taken over the place, driven
all the regular trade away and they even bring their own booze and now Lak
can’t get rid of them”
“Has he
reported it to the police?” Asked Zerrad
“No, he was
threatened and warned that it would not be in his best interests to rock the
boat” Vin replied
“Does this
Lakmean have a name?” Lyris asked
“Yes,
AaHannaa” Vinid answered “Have you ever come across him?”
“No, but
the scam is familiar” Lyris said “And always ends with the bar under new
ownership”
“Any
thoughts on how he can get out from under?” Vin asked as he noticed his boss
climbing back up the stairs.
“I’ve no
idea” he replied, “Ask me again when I’ve had something to eat”
No comments:
Post a Comment