The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 01 – All Aboard

 

The Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado, 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, or they were on the dark side.

The task of maintaining the engines and everything else aboard the Tornado fell to the two ships engineers, Pulsat Rad and Vanzyl who were magicians with all things mechanical.

Pulsat was Prinsloovian and was short and heavy set, with a rough bony skull which raised up like a crown which then receded to give way to a Mahogany scaled brow, cheekbones and jawline which framed an ivory coloured face, and yellow eyes.

His entire countenance betrayed his reptilian ancestry, and his fellow engineer, who was Kesslerian, also owed his origins to reptilian DNA but his slender and sleek form, scaly countenance, silver scaled skin, large opaque eyes, pursed lips, and gills, clearly indicated that his kind evolved from fish.

They loved maintaining the ship, in fact they loved the ship, but above all they loved their crew mates, who made them feel like family, and that was something neither of them had had for a very long time before they found the Tornado.

 

Pulsat was born on Prinsloo in the Rexenor system, a dry desert world, rich in minerals and ore, which he hadn’t seen for more than 20 years.

He was one of the lucky ones as his parents were able to arrange for him to get away from his home world before the Mehreen Empire conquered the planet and enslaved the Prinsloovian’s, putting them under the yoke in order to rape their own planet of all that was precious.

He had never returned and had no idea of what fate may have befallen his parents, he had met several of his own kind over the years, but none of them could enlighten him, as they were in the same boat as he was.

He was incredibly strong and found no difficulty in finding work among the many mining operations he came across as he worked his way steadily, from world to world and moon to moon, moving inexorably away from the Mehreen, it was on one of those worlds, Kordesh, that he met his friend Vanzyl.

Vanzyl was from Kessleria, the third planet in the Omeghard system, he was of slender stature and like Pulsat he owed his origins to reptilian DNA, but his kind evolved from fish.

He also left his home world because of the Mehreen but in Kessleria’s case they wanted the water, and in taking it they essentially brought genocide to the peaceful Kesslerian’s.

Vanzyl was more fortunate than Pulsat as he escaped from his home world with a large group of friends who supported and comforted each other, but over the years following their exodus, as they endured harsher and harsher conditions his friends perished one by one until he was finally left alone.

Subsequently his loneliness was keenly felt because his solitude was so extreme, and that was because he could only communicate in clicks, whirls and whistles which none, but his own kind could understand, until that is, Pulsat Rad arrived on Kordesh.

Pulsat could understand every tone and toot Vanzyl uttered, as if it were in his own tongue, but that was common place for his species, there were very few races he had met on his travels that he couldn’t understand, although he couldn’t speak back to them in their language, but he nonetheless understood every word that they spoke.

Vanzyl’s loneliness came to an end when he met his friend and after many years of solitude he could finally communicate with the outside world.

There were few things they loved in the universe more than working their magic on all things mechanical, but they loved the Tornado family and the children of the agrarian settlement of Montrose, who loved them back in equal measure.

And there was no shortage of love aboard the Tornado, Co-pilot Malena Endia and Navigator Shiyne had their lovers, Zerrad Skeet and Sciberran Healer Terrell Vorton, Zerrad’s brother Lyris had been tamed by the member of the Gouveian Royal family among their number, Asti Alegionaris.

Visitor Parham, who tended their spiritual needs, while his alter ego Bagg fortified them with his culinary prowess, had also found love in the form Wisma Berita, who had her own bar in Gipki, and last but by no means least, Captain Merionwen Strong and her love interest, Parse Sacrod, whom she called Beefy, a former Legionnaire of the Royal Guard of Gouveia.

They had also had more than their fair share of adventure since joining the crew, but they didn’t mind that one little bit, and they knew that with Merionwen in the Captains seat they were bound to have more adventure, and they didn’t mind that either.

 

While the Tornado worked the cluster they had many regular destinations working for Golbolt Interstellar but still had plenty of down time and they had a number of places, recreational bolt holes, so to speak, where they could find a friendly face and a warm welcome, for Bagg it would be Gipki and the loving arms of Wisma, but for Pulsat and Vanzyl their favourite would always be the agrarian settlement of Montrose on Eirkos where Bagg’s brother and his family lived, but on that trip they had a full complement aboard plus a few additions.

 

They had spent two days in Montrose entertaining the children of the settlement, Pulsat running and chasing them on dry land and Pulsat swimming with them in the lake.

But when it was time to leave they took some passengers with them, Bagg’s brother, Trebreh, his wife Xandra and her brother Ale, and the surprise inclusions of Duff Tarver and his wife Chani.

Duff more so than his wife, because in his former life, in which he was primarily a raconteur, his office was a bar or tavern, and his audience were his fellow patrons.

For years he had been a heavy drinker, and was rarely home and his long-suffering wife, Chani, had to bring up their three children virtually single handed.

But his outlook on life changed when he was almost beaten to death in reprisal to his dissemination of revealing evidence into the public domain regarding some very prominent and well-respected individuals and the criminal element and enterprises they were involved with or were protecting.

Following the assault on him it was decided that he and his family should go to the peaceful agrarian settlement on Eirkos called Montrose, where they were made welcome and kept safe.

While he was in protective custody he had time to think and re-evaluate and a strange thing happened, he fell in love with the place, the peace, the tranquility and its people, as did Chani, and their children blossomed before their eyes, and as a result of nearly losing his life he had finally found what he had been searching for all his life, even though he hadn’t known he was searching, so they never left, except to settle their affairs in Eikon Major’s Capital city, Rendon, and because he had also rekindled his faith in Montrose he also suggested going to Marikya.

 

Prior to the Tornado’s brief stop on Eirkos, to collect the Montrose party, they had already picked up Wisma Berita from Eikon Minor, so for the first time ever all the Tornado sleeping quarters were full, and the reason for carrying so many passengers was because they were headed towards the Visitor Festival on Marikya, one of the moons of Eirkos.