When
they got back to the Tornado after the successful rescue of Asti from the
Ghambran ship, Pulsat and Vanzyl were waiting by the ramp and Shiyne drove
straight in and Pulsat closed the ramp behind them.
As
they decamped from the Stroller Pulsat said
“We
go soon”
“We
go very soon” Merri said “Prepare for take-off, Lyris you’ve got the left seat,
Shiyne co-pilot”
Parse
carried Merri into sickbay followed by Terrell, Malena and Asti
“Oh
God, I knew someone would get shot” Zerrad said
“Don’t
worry I’m fine” Malena said and rushed over to kiss him as Terrell started on
Merri’s thigh
“Leave
that” Merri said “Get the tracker out of Asti first”
“What
tracker?” Asti asked
“The
one in your neck” Malena said
“Is
that how they found me?” she asked
“Yes,
so we need to get it out” Merri said
“Ok”
she agreed
It
took Terrell less than a minute to locate and remove the tracker and once it
was out he rinsed the blood off of it and gave it to Malena and then he turned
his attention to the Captains wound.
“Ok
Malena you know what to do” Merri said
“I’ll
go with her” Parse said
“Oh
no you don’t Beefy” she said “You stay here with me in case I need to be
carried again”
“Oh
ok” he complied “If you think that’s best”
“I
do” she purred “I definitely do”
Asti
got the distinct impression that her presence was no longer required in the
sickbay and made her way up to the cockpit just at the moment Lyris was landing
the Tornado at the cargo hub adjacent to the Monsoon.
“Nicely
done Cowboy” Asti said
“Well
thank you Princess” he said
“I’m
not a Princess anymore, I’m just Asti” she retorted
“That
will do for me” Lyris said and Shiyne just smiled, not because of what they
were saying, her smiles were due to what they were both thinking.
While
the Tornado picked up the cargo pods Malena transformed into one of the
Monsoon’s crew, a tall and rotund cargo handler called Florin, who was being
fed freshly made pancakes by Bagg in the Tornado’s mess room and while he was stuffing
his face Malena wandered up the cargo ramp of the Monsoon and secreted the
tracker behind a panel in the loading bay, then she smiled and went back down
the ramp and re-boarded the Tornado and became the 27 year old brunette again
and walked straight into the mess room and nodded to Bagg who said
“Well
Florin dear lad as much as we’ve enjoyed your company I’m afraid it’s time for
us to depart”
“What
so soon?” he said
“I’m
afraid so” he confirmed
“Shame”
he said “Those were the best pancakes I ever tasted”
“I’m
glad you enjoyed them, and so many” Bagg said amiably
“If
you ever fancy a change there’s a place for you on the Monsoon” he said
“I
will bear that in mind” Bagg said as he walked him to the door and then Malena
saw him down the ramp and once he was clear she closed it.
Malena
then opened comms to the engine room as she sealed the airlock
“Pulsat,
stand by for departure”
“We
ready” He replied then she spoke to the flight deck
“Mission
accomplished Lyris, ready when you are”
“Ok
we’re cleared to go” he responded
Malena
then walked down to sickbay and just as she entered Merri was trying to get out
of bed.
She
looked over to Zerrad’s bed and he was sleeping so she turned her full
attention on Merri who was saying
“Come
on Beefy help me up to the flight deck”
“That’s
not a good idea Captain” Terrell stated
“Nonsense”
she retorted “I’m fine”
“Stay
right where you are” Malena said firmly
“Lyris
is quite capable of getting the Tornado airborne without your supervision”
“But…”
she protested
“But
nothing, get back into bed and Parse you make sure she stays there, understood”
“Yes”
the pair said
After
kissing the sleeping Zerrad on the forehead she left the sickbay and went
upstairs to the flight deck where she found Lyris in the left seat with the diminutive
figure of Asti stood behind him with a hand on each shoulder and Shiyne was in
the co-pilots chair.
She
moved to vacate the seat when she saw Malena who was the Tornado’s second in
command but the latter gestured for her to stay where she was and looked out
through the glass at the pilot vessel.
Lyris
was following and after a few minutes they got the signal to proceed and the
pilot returned to port and Malena scanned the scene.
“Moor
us on the other side of the Leviathan tanker, but give us a view of the port”
she said
“Ok
skipper” Lyris said and steered around the tanker.
The
Tornado had an hour head start on the Monsoon and a further hour on the
Scorpion so they just sat and waited.
“I’m
going to get some breakfast” Malena said “Call me when the Monsoon appears”
“Will
do” Lyris responded “Come on Shiyne, Bagg’s cooking pancakes”
Shiyne
smiled because she knew even without her telepathic skills that Malena didn’t
want her to go just to enjoy the pancakes, she was playing cupid and wanted Lyris
and Asti to have some time alone.
Malena
and Shiyne sat at the mess table while Bagg fed them his excellent pancakes and
they spoke about the excitement of the early hours and the roles they all
played and Bagg deft use of his staff to brain one of the Ghambran’s, which led
onto a discussion regarding the Cowboy and the Princess and the fact that Merri
had apparently claimed the man mountain, Parse, as her own.
As
they laughed and joked the call came from the flight deck
“There
on the move” Lyris said
“Ok
so are we” Malena responded and she and Shiyne stood up
“Sorry
Bagg we have to go”
“But
we’ll be back” Shiyne said and shovelled the last forkful of pancake into her
mouth.
When
they got upstairs they found Asti with her arm around Lyris and they both
smiled which caused Asti to blush violently which made them smile even more.
“The
Monsoon’s heading full speed towards the Star gate” Lyris said
“Good,
we just have to wait for the Scorpion to appear” Malena said taking the vacant
number two seat
“Is
the tracker still broadcasting?”
“Loud
and clear” Asti replied
“Ok
we just have to wait and see” she said as Shiyne sat in the Navigator’s chair
and began plotting a course for Alwi.
They
didn’t have to wait long as the Scorpion appeared twenty minutes sooner than
expected and took off after the Monsoon without hesitation.
“So
far so good” Malena said “I go and inform the Captain, she’ll be going insane
wondering what’s going on”
The
flight deck rang with the sound of laughter as Malena left it and made her way
to the sickbay.
After
briefing Merri on the situation Malena went and sat by Zerrad’s bed and held
his hand while he slept and waited.
It
was just over an hour when the comms buzzer sounded and she got up and picked
up the handset.
“Yes”
“Good”
“Ok”
“Keep
me posted”
Then
she hung up and sat back down
“Well”
Merri barked “What’s happening?”
“The
Monsoon has gone through the gate” Malena replied
“And
what about the Scorpion?” Parse asked
“It’s
still on the same course”
It
was another hour before the comms buzzed again, and Malena got up once more and
picked up the handset
“Yes”
“Good”
“Ok,
then you have command, I’m going to sleep for a couple of hours” she said “Oh
Lyris! Try not to hit anything”
She
hung up the comms and turned towards the others
“They
took the bait hook line and sinker” Malena said and smiled, then she let go of
Zerrad’s hand and climbed onto the bed and lay down beside him and Terrell
dimmed the lights.
“Well
I need to go and find a beautiful little cerise coloured Navigator”
“So
do you think we’re in the clear?” Parse asked when Terrell had gone
“What
I think is that it’s a big universe, and we’ll be at opposite ends of it” Merri
replied
“What
if they come for her again?”
“We’ll
cross that bridge when we come to it” Merri replied and winced “now go and find
Bagg and he’ll show to your quarters”
“I’d
rather stay here with you” he replied
“I’d
rather you did too” she said and smiled then she closed her eyes
About
an hour later she woke again and she looked across at Malena and Zerrad as they
slept, he had his arm around her and she had her head on his chest, and she
thought how nice it was for her friend to find love at last, then she looked at
the huge Gouveian soldier sat at her bedside and thought.
“I
think I might have found some for myself”
Merionwen
spent much of the next two hours thinking about the past couple of weeks and
the remarkable change in their fortunes.
She
was at a very low ebb when the Tornado was stranded on the surface of Alwi for
three months with engine trouble and virtually no crew.
Now
they had a full complement aboard, full cargo pods, some funds in the coffers
and work lined up for several months ahead.
Her
best friends, Malena and Shiyne had both found love, engineers Pulsat and
Vanzyl were magicians with all things mechanical, they had a Healer aboard,
Terrell, for the first time ever, Visitor Parham tended their spiritual needs
and his alter ego Bagg fortified them with his culinary prowess, they also
counted a member of the Gouveian Royal family among their number, and she had
herself a hunky Legionnaire.
And
the thing Merri wanted more than anything in the universe was someone to share
with her the life she loved so much.
So
everything for the Tempest Class Freighter Tornado was set fare, plus she knew
that apart from a good crew, good food and a liberal quantity of love she knew
that on the Tornado’s Sojourns they were bound to have adventure.
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