The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 10 – The Passenger

 

Lyris Skeet awoke in the Tornado’s sickbay with a thumping headache and a ravenous hunger to find his brother Zerrad lying sedated in the bed next to him and then he did a double take when he saw the beautiful co-pilot of the freighter, Malena Endia, asleep beside his bed and she was holding his brothers hand.

“Jeez, I must really have hit my head hard”

Malena was a tall slim brunette, with olive skin and hazel eyes, at least that was how she appeared on the outside, but of course in reality, she was an Obgaron shape shifter, so in her natural Mercurial form of liquid silver glass she looked very different, not that he had ever seen her in that form or any other Obgaron for that matter, but he understood that even in their natural state they were very pleasing to the eye, but Lyris was a meat and potatoes kind of guy, unlike his brother Zerrad, who he knew saw her in a very different light.

But what he hadn’t suspected was that she saw him the same way, until that moment.

 

Zerrad had suffered a Pulsar wound to the abdomen and he was alive thanks to the skill of a Sciberran Healer called Terrell Vorton, but there was no sign of him when Lyris woke up as he had gone to pick up his meagre possessions from the Ambassadors Lodge as he was accompanying his patient at least as far as the Tornado’s destination, Delta 500.

By the time he returned to the ship Lyris had made his way from the sickbay to the mess room where Bagg was feeding him eggs and bacon and copious quantities of coffee.    

“I wouldn’t have been so disdainful of your religion if I’d known the food would be so good” he was saying

“Well the way you clear your plate I would suggest that you favour quantity over quality anyway” Bagg retorted with a wry smile

Just then the two engineers walked in, Pulsat was Prinsloovian, a heavy set and had a rough bony skull which raised up like a crown which receded to give way to a Mahogany scaled brow, cheekbones and jawline which framed an ivory coloured face, and he had yellow eyes and his entire countenance betrayed his reptilian ancestry.

His companion Vanzyl was a tall slender Kesslerian who also owed his origins to reptilian DNA, but his scaly countenance was more akin to a fish than a lizard, and he had silver scaled skin, a sleek form, large opaque eyes, pursed lips, and when Lyris looked at him he could see the gills.

“Good morning” Pulsat Rad said and Vanzyl added his own greeting in whistles clicks and whirls.

“Can anyone translate what fish lips is saying?” Lyris asked

“His name Vanzyl” Pulsat said angrily and Vanzyl uttered a series of whistles

“Yes, hit on head” Pulsat said which prompted Vanzyl to make a long whistling noise followed by a succession of clicks and Pulsat snorted, which clearly denoted laughter in the former and contempt in the latter.  

“Sadly Vanzyl he was that way before the head wound” Merri said and he became very animated and exuded an array of audible notes.

“I tell, I tell” Pulsat retorted and to Merri he explained

“Vanzyl say he very much like Captain humour”

“Well I’m glad it amused you Mr Vanzyl, come and sit down” Lyris said and Vanzyl uttered a soft whistle like a plaintive flute.

 

Ten minutes later Merri said

“Right Lyris I think you’ve eaten enough for one sitting, come with me”

“No problem” he agreed “What do you need?”

“While Malena is indisposed you can earn your keep in the co-pilot seat” she replied “We have cargo to pick up”

 

An hour later the Tornado had picked up three cargo pods and Merri and Lyris were on the landing pad waiting for the manifest.

“So how long has Malena carried a torch for Zer?”

“From the first moment she saw him” she replied “But it took almost losing him to admit it to herself”

 

A small hooded figure approached them stealthily, and when Merri turned she was looking at a young woman, of slight figure, only five foot tall, with short platinum hair, ivory skin and silver eyes, who looked about her furtively.

“Are you the Captain?” she asked Lyris

“No I am” Merri corrected her

“You’re Gouveian aren’t you?”

“I am” she replied “My name is Asti”

“You’re a long way from home” Merri said

“Not as far as I’d like to be” she retorted

“I hear you’re leaving for Delta 500”

“We are” she said as she was handed the documentation for their load

“I would like to take passage with you” Asti stated 

“We don’t carry passengers, we carry cargo” Merri pointed out and turned towards to ship

“I have money” Asti said and Merri hesitated because having been laid up for repairs for three months they weren’t really in a position to turn down a paying passenger.

“Ok get your gear” she said

“I just have the one bag” Asti retorted

“Alright get aboard” Merri said and the three of them went up the ramp together.

“Ok Lyris get the door up, while I show our guest around” Merri said “Wheels up in ten minutes”   

 

Merionwen gave Asti the two penny tour and showed her to one of the two remaining quarters and five minutes later the Tornado was airborne and heading towards Delta 500.

Asti’s quarters on board the Tornado were not quite what she was used to but she was relieved to have a berth that would take her another week farther away from Gouveia so that was fine by her.

Asti Alegionaris was twenty three years old and was born and raised on Gouveia in the Dania system.

Although she had platinum hair, ivory skin and silver eyes the Gouveian’s were very closely related to humans, which was why she was hoping to get to one of the human colonies where she could settle.

She spent much of her time in her quarters, which she didn’t mind because she liked her own company, and liked to be alone with her thoughts, and during the journey she only really engaged with a couple of her fellow travellers, one of them being Bagg and that was because he was a Visitor and she was a fervent believer plus he made the most mouth-watering scones.   

And it was on one occasion when she was sat enjoying one his latest batch that he asked

“So what awaits you on Delta 500?”

“Another transport” she replied but Bagg could get no more information out of her than that, so he did the talking instead and  along with his excellent baking he also imparted some words of wisdom which he hoped would take hold in her fertile mind.

Even if it didn’t it was ok because he was a patient man and although she thought she was going to get off at their destination he had a feeling that she wouldn’t.

 

On her way back to her quarters she met the other member of the crew that she would come to regularly interact with, the tall muscular figure of Lyris Skeet.

He was coming the other way and it was the first time they had met since she approached them on the landing ground at the mine.

“Hey Princess” he said cheerfully

“What!” she exclaimed “Why would you call me that?”

“It’s alright, no offense intended are you enjoying the trip?”

“Oh, eh, yes thank you” she replied and continued on her way and he watched her all the way.

“Very cute” he thought “Very cute indeed”

He also thought she was very classy and if he was not mistaken, she was highborn, and he was more than a little intrigued as to why she was travelling on a humble freighter. 

Her manicured hands, her clothes and her jewellery all pointed to her coming from a very affluent life, a life in which she would have been used to much grander accommodation’s.   

 

When Asti had returned to her quarters she closed the door and sighed.

“That was close” she thought, did he know her secret? Had he guessed or was he just being nice.

He seemed nice, and he looked gorgeous, in fact she thought he was very handsome but she could not allow herself to be distracted by a bit of eye candy, even if he was nice.

So she decided to try to avoid him for the rest of the trip.