When they
had landed on Linden the Commander addressed the five members of the Scorpions
crew, who were all restrained.
“You will
now be taken outside where you will wait under guard while your vessel is
thoroughly searched”
“And when
you find nothing I will have you lick my boots as an apology before I have you
thrown out of your precious Legion Aeronautica” Maxil shouted
Prior to
the arrival on a rocky plain on Linden of the Scorpion and its Legion escorts,
Lyris landed the Spider Hawk on top of a cliff overlooking the plain from where
Merri, Lyris, Malena, Shiyne and Parse watched the scene unfold below them
through binoculars.
They would
have liked to have been there in person to witness the capture of the
Ghambran’s, but they knew that as enjoyable as it might undoubtedly have been
to witness at close hand the humbling of Maxil and Vint, it would not have been
the wisest course of action because if it were known that they had been
responsible for the Ghambran’s arrest and the subsequent shame inflicted on
Prefector Collis and Ghambra as a whole, they would merely have disposed of one
set of pursuers only to have them replaced by an infinite number of new ones,
so they preserved their anonymity and watched from a safe distance via a lens,
although they couldn’t get a clear look at the Ghambran’s from their vantage
point as the Scorpion was between the watchers and the prisoners.
They did
however record the images that they got, to show the rest of the crew when they
returned to the Tornado.
They
continued to watch as a procession of Legion personnel streamed inside the
Scorpion while Commander Salmin paced up and down and after more than half an
hour they were getting a little impatient.
“What on
earth is taking so long?” Merri asked
“How well
did you hide it Malena?”
“Not that
well” Malena replied
“Perhaps we
should just call the Commander and tell him were you hid it” Lyris said
“You could
give him a long-range hint Shiyne” Merri suggested
“I can try”
she replied, “But he’s a bit far away and he’s an intelligent man so it won’t
be easy”
But she
closed her eyes and tried to seek out the Commander with her mind but only
moments later Merri interrupted her
“Somethings
happening”
So, they
all resumed their spying positions.
The
Commander, who had never desisted in his pacing, had been brought to a halt by
the presence of Lt Nulak who first saluted and then handed him the leather
bundle.
The
Commander looked at it and then asked the Lt a question, who nodded a response
followed by another salute.
The
commander was visibly relieved to have the prize in his hand and slapped his
thigh when he thought no one was looking.
A few
moments later Maxil Weltz and the other Ghambran’s appeared and were directed
to where the Commander was standing.
They
couldn’t hear what was said but they could get the gist.
The
Commander was obviously confronting them with the evidence found aboard the
Scorpion and his captives acted angrily to that evidence and it was clear that
Weltz and Reganus were using some very uncomplimentary language and the former
was raging and his eyes were bulging and his face changed colour.
“I think he
must have a little Vann DNA in him” Lyris said “his complexion has definitely taken
on a shade of cerise”
“Oh dear, he’s
going to have a heart attack if he carries on” Merri added
“I think
he’s safe, after all you need a heart first” Malena said
The five of
them continued watching and were enjoying the view as the angry Ghambran’s were
marched aboard the Legion Command ship.
After
watching the Legion fleet and the Scorpion leave the surface of Linden Merri
said
“Come on
let’s go home”
And everyone
knew what she meant because that was precisely what each and every one of them
thought the Tornado was, home.
And when
the Spider Hawk docked with the Tornado and they climbed down through the hatch
the greeting they received from the rest of the crew was more one of relief
than triumph.
But they
all went to the mess room and shared one of Bagg’s excellent meals in what felt
to them all like a family occasion rather than a celebration.
They saved
the celebration meal for when they returned to Montrose although they did have
a drink or two with Oshwin Lemik on Soman.
They should
have felt guilty after effectively framing the Ghambran’s for a crime they knew
full well they didn’t commit but they didn’t.
They may
indeed have been innocent of the criminal, subversive and treasonable acts that
landed them in court but they were not innocent, they had committed many and
varied crimes and had always gotten away with them because they were under the
banner of Prefector Collis’s protection.
But the
charges that they faced, they had to face alone because Maxil Weltz and
Vint Reganus were disowned by Prefector Collis, who chose to distance himself
from his former employees fearing he might otherwise find himself in the dock
for treason.
Because of
the sensitive nature of the crime the trials were held “in camera” so no one on
Gouveia knew how close the house of Alegionaris came to disaster.
In reward
for finding the Crown Jewels Commander Salmin was made Supreme Commander for
the whole of the Eikon Cluster and those aboard the Tornado, and their friends
and allies felt the weight of his gratitude.
So as a
result of their action to preserve the life they loved in the Cluster they
actually enhanced it greatly.
And apart
from no longer being pursued by hostiles, and with perpetually full cargo pods,
the full complement aboard also enjoyed an abundance of love, Merri had her
hunky Legionnaire Parse by her side, her best friends, Malena and Shiyne had
their lovers, Zerrad and Terrell with them, Zerrad’s brother Lyris had been
tamed by the member of the Gouveian Royal family among their number, Asti.
While
engineers Pulsat and Vanzyl, who were magicians with all things mechanical had
also found love, a love for the children of Montrose, who loved them in equal
measure.
Even
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 of
his family on Montrose.
So, everything for the Tempest Class Freighter Tornado was set fare, and Captain Merionwen Strong knew that apart from a good crew, good food and a liberal quantity of love that on the Tornado’s Sojourns around the Eikon Cluster they were bound to have more adventure.
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