The
Crew of the Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado, unanimously decided to leave the
Androsinian system after hearing the news that the agents of Prefector Collis
of Ghambra, Maxil Weltz and Vint Reganus were still after them, bent on
revenge.
The
Scorpion, carrying their pursuers, was a fast ship but it wasn’t fast enough to
outrun a Tempest so as long as they kept going they would continue to increase
the distance between them.
So,
on the morning after the decision was made everyone started the process of
getting the ship ready for a lengthier voyage than had previously been planned.
First
of all, Shiyne drove Bagg back into the city to increase the size of his orders
several fold, including more cured meat canned fruit and vegetables, in fact a
lot more provisions than they would normally stock.
Over
a three-day period Pulsat and Vanzyl completed their maintenance routine and
serviced the Stroller.
Merri
and Malena meanwhile formulated a plan to work their way out of the Androsinian
System and managed to secure enough cargo to keep them working for almost two
months, culminating in them picking up three pods of Thermalium mineral ore for
delivery to Eikon Major.
Everyone
else prepped, checked and tested every system and circuit aboard until four
days after they got the news about the Ghambran’s they departed Androsin Prime
and set off for pastures new.
Merionwen
Strong, owner and Captain of the Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado, sat in the
pilot’s seat and her friend Malena Endia sat beside her as they circumnavigated
the Ariadnean worm hole, which was equidistant between the Androsinian system
which they had departed from four months earlier, and the populous Eikon system,
which was at least a three months journey ahead of them.
It
was a long boring journey but a necessary one, their destination was known as
the Eikon Cluster, which was due to the high number of M class planets and
moons in the Eikon solar system.
Because
of that it was a busy and prosperous system and one which would keep them
gainfully employed for some time to come.
They
had to take the long path as there were no hyperspace routes through that part
of the galaxy due to the worm hole, which was an inherently unstable
phenomenon, so there was only one option and that was to take the long way around.
But
as boring as the journey was, a few days later the crew would have embraced
such boredom, rather than the unwelcome excitement and adventure that replaced
it.
The
day began much the same as every other day since they picked up the cargo of
Thermalium with the crew going about their duties in the usual routine.
Merri
and Malena had done the early watch and after being relieved by the Skeet
brothers made their way hastily to the mess room for one of Bagg’s epic
breakfasts.
They
had just finished their satisfying repast as the Tornado was just passing the
last planet in the system, Mangium.
Although
it was capable of supporting life Mangium was an unpredictable world and because
of its proximity to the worm hole it suffered from an unstable orbit and a lot
of seismic disturbances, as a result the indigenous peoples had long since
relocated to other worlds and the only people remaining on the surface were the
outcasts, the lawless and the desperate.
One
of the other hazards crossing that part of space was space debris attracted by
the pull of the Black Hole.
The
area was also affected by a fluxing magnetic field which could affect
communications and navigation so it was necessary to be extra vigilant when
traversing that sector of space.
The
debris field was a fairly predictable feature and was generally easy to avoid
but every now and then a rogue piece of space rock would follow a different
trajectory on its way to the same phenomenon.
It
was one such random chunk of ancient space detritus that took them by surprise
and struck the Tornado on the portside just below one of the jump engines,
buckling the skin of the hull, and although the external integrity of the
superstructure was maintained the impact caused some internal damage and ruptured
a fuel cell which caused an explosion that blew out a bulkhead on the upper
deck a few minutes after Merri and Malena had left the mess hall.
“Oh
shit” Merri shouted as a tongue of flame ballooned down the corridor towards
them.
“In
here” Malena said, as the only way for them to escape the fire was to hide in
an escape pod and the door closed behind them just in time as fire blackened
the window.
“That
was close” Merri said
“Very
close” Malena agreed
And
then there was a muted explosion and the life pod was jettisoned into space
“That’s
not good” Merri exclaimed
“I
didn’t launch it” Malena said defensively
“The
fire must have melted the control panel and shorted out the circuit” Merri said
“Is
the transponder broadcasting?”
“Yes”
she replied
“Ok
make yourself comfortable, the boys will be here soon to scoop us up” Merri
said reassuringly
“I
do hope so” Malena[PC1]
said quietly
Merri’s
reassurance might well have been true had the “boys” been aware that the life
pod had launched, they were too busy trying to get the fire under control.
They
were approaching the blaze from the flight deck end of the corridor while
Pulsat and Vanzyl tackled it from the other.
The
rest of the crew were trapped in the mess room and were unable to contribute
anything to the firefighting effort.
It
took an hour before the four of them finally put the fire out and when they had
the corridor was full of noxious smoke.
“We
need to open the valve to vent the corridor” Zerrad said and Vanzyl became very
animated, rapidly clicking and whirling.
“What’s
he saying?” Lyris asked and Pulsat turned to face him before he responded
“He
say we must vent”
“I
just said that” Zerrad said
“No
“we” must vent” Pulsat emphasized
“Oh ok” Lyris retorted
“Valve
behind this panel” Pulsat said and pointed “I open”
“No
don’t touch it” Lyris shouted “We need to cool it down first”
“I
can do hot” he replied
“No,
it’s superhot” Zerrad said
“Pulsat
Rad can do superhot” he said, “I Prinsloo”
His
reply was significant because the Prinsloovian’s were a reptilian race from a
searingly hot and arid world so Pulsat opened a panel and reached inside and
then turned the nob to open the valve and then there was a hissing sound as the
as the noxious fumes were vented into space.
While
the fire was being dealt with, Merri tried to raise the Tornado on the comms
but to no avail.
“We’re
getting very close to Mangium” Malena said, “and I don’t think they’re going to
get to us in time”
“I
think you’re right” she said and began tapping on the control panel on the
bulkhead and set the autopilot.
“I’ve
set it to full auto, it’ll get us safely into the atmosphere and land us on the
surface” Merri said a moment before the rockets fired.
“Here
we go, Buckle up”
As
soon as Pulsat had vented the corridor they turned their attention to the mess
room door which locked and sealed when the fire broke out, and because of his
tolerance to heat he opened easily.
“Friends
ok?” Pulsat asked
“Is
everyone alright?” Zerrad asked as he rushed past Pulsat
“We’re
fine” Bagg replied as Lyris followed his brother into the room
“Asti!”
“I’m
ok” she reassured him as she ran towards him and they hugged
“What
happened?” Shiyne asked I couldn’t get a reading from anyone.
“We
were hit by a large piece of rock” Lyris said “I think your inability to read
is due to our proximity to Mangium the fluxing magnetic field is messing with
our instruments which is why we didn’t see the rock coming”
While
he was talking he looked around the room and then asked
“Where’s
Malena and Merri?”
“We
thought they were with you” Bagg replied
“No,
we haven’t seen them” Zerrad replied “I’ll go and check their quarters”
“We
fix mess” Pulsat said and he and Vanzyl went to fix the damage.
“I’ll
help them” Parse offered wanting to keep himself occupied, in an effort to stop
thinking the worst
“Good
idea” Lyris said just as his brother reappeared
“No
sign of them” he panted
“Ok
everyone get searching, they may be laying injured somewhere” Lyris said and
everyone spread out, just leaving the engineers to their grimy task.
Half
an hour later everyone was back in the mess room and as each searcher entered
they shook their head
“Where
the hell are they then?” Lyris asked
“Pod
missing, pod missing” Pulsat shouted
“What?”
the Skeets responded in unison
“Life
pod gone” Pulsat replied
“Ok,
that explains it, Shiyne, Asti, with me to the flight deck” Lyris said
“Doc,
get to sick bay and get ready, Zerrad and Parse help Pulsat and Vanzyl”
“What
can I do?” Bagg asked
“Do
what you do best, cook and pray” he replied
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