“Tower this is
the Tempest Class Freighter Tornado requesting permission to depart” Zerrad
said
“Stand by
Tornado” a voice responded and then after what seemed like an age they added
“You are cleared to go, please follow vector 90 to outer marker, good luck”
With the
engines warmed up and clearance to depart, and with Lyris piloting and his
brother Zerrad in the co-pilot seat and Asti Alegionaris looking on, the
Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines were engaged, and the Tempest
class freighter lifted off.
The moment the Tornado left Eikon Majors
atmosphere Parse Sacrod and Shiyne entered Pod 4 to release Captain Merionwen
Strong, her cousin Dwynwen, Sciberran Healer Terrell Vorton and the two
Andraxian agents one of whom had received a Pulsar strike on her hip and it was
Terrell who was the first to speak.
“Parse get this girl to the sick bay
immediately, we haven’t a moment to lose”
“I thought she was going to be ok” Malena
said
“There have been complications” Merri said “Ferro
needs to give her some blood”
“Ok I’ll come and assist” Malena offered
While the Tornado made steady progress
towards their rendezvous safe in the hands of the Skeets, and Terrell and Mal
dealt with the medical emergency, the rest of the crew went to the mess.
“What I don’t understand is why they didn’t
kill me when they had a chance” Merri said “if they really don’t want you to
get to Andraxis”
“Because they need the evidence” Dwyn
replied “I know that they searched my rooms for it and I’d bet money that they
searched you pretty thoroughly”
“So where is it?” Merri asked
“The data tablets are in the heal of my
boot” Dwyn said and laughed
“So, they need to stop you reaching
Andraxis and destroy the evidence” Merri said
Andraxis
was two systems away from the Cluster in the Messengis System and the Andraxian’s
were an ancient Culture and considered themselves to be the moral guardians of
the known universe and the Tornado was heading for a rendezvous with an
Andraxian Frigate which would take Dwyn and the evidence all the way to
Andraxis via two Hypergates.
“Well
the sooner we get you aboard the Frigate the better” Merri said but without
enthusiasm.
The
Tornado was not a slow vessel by any means, but the rendezvous point was a 25-hour
journey at least even with the Plasma
Turbine Pyroclast Engines working at maximum capacity.
But everyone
aboard used the time wisely, Terrell had finished the operation on Ambor and
was tending to her and a weakened Ferro in the sickbay with Shiyne to keep him
company.
On the flight
desk, the Skeets, Malena and Asti took it in turns in the pilot’s chair, and
while Dwyn kept up the supply of coffee in the mess Merri and Parse monitored
the engines and in the quiet hours they talked.
Making good
time the Tempest Class Freighter Tornado closed the distance between themselves
and the Andraxian Frigate and were less than three hours from the rendezvous
when they came under fire.
“What the hell
was that?” Merri said
“Pulsar strike”
Parse replied “Get to the flight deck and I’ll man the Plasma Cannon”
“Ok Beefy, but
don’t start popping off until we know what we’re dealing with” she said and
kissed him before she started running and as she ran she opened comms to the
flight deck
“Ok people,
who’s shooting at us?”
“Not sure
Captain” Lyris replied “But there are four of them, one Taipan
Corvette and three Krait fighters, all unmarked, all faster more manoeuvrable
and more heavily armed than we are”
“I’m on my way up, try to hail the Frigate”
Merri said
“We have but they’re not responding” Zerrad
retorted
“Should we open fire?”
“No, I’m betting they don’t know were armed so
wait until we have one in range, fore and aft, then let them have it”
“Roger that Captain” he replied
As she approached the sick bay Shiyne was just
coming out.
“Any idea who they are?” she asked
“No, I can’t get a fix” she replied “they must
be shielded”
“I suspect that’s because they know we have a
dynamite little Vann Telepath aboard” Merri said and hugged her
“Now go and find Dwyn and bring her here, and
arm yourself, the sickbay is a good place to defend should they come aboard,
though I fear they’re not interested in boarding”
“Ok Merri be careful” Shiyne said and turned
on her heels and ran then Merri entered the sickbay where she found Terrell and
Ferro trying to stop Ambor from getting out of bed.
“What’s going on?” she barked
“Ambor wants to
rise from her sickbed and shoot something” Terrell said disdainfully “And it
was such pursuits that put you in that bed in the first place”
“Well she can’t”
Merri stated firmly
“But...” Ambor
protested
“No buts, my
ship, my rules” Merri said and Ambor sank bank resignedly, so she turned her
attention to Ferro Scanner
“You on the
other hand needs to get up to the flight deck and contact the Frigate, they’re
not responding to our hail”
“But what about
Ambor?” he asked
“She’ll be
fine, now go” Merri said and as he left she followed in his wake.
On the flight
deck Ferro sent a coded message to the Andraxian Frigate and received an
immediate response
“Help is on the
way”
“Great I just
hope it gets here in time” Merri said
The Tornado had
sustained a lot of minor damage from constant strikes from the three
Krait fighters but was
still maintaining maximum forward momentum but that might change if they were
engaged by the much more powerfully armed Taipan
Corvette.
“In the meantime,
let’s give them a bloody nose, kill the engines”
The Tornado was
armed with the twin Pulsar Lasers at the front and a rear facing Plasma cannon
which was a useful weapon and was powered by the spent Plasma, which was the
waste product from the Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines.
It was useful
because it was a very unpleasant material which normal had to be vented into
space within the gravitational field of a star to dispose of it safely, but the
Plasma cannon disposed of it in small bites while punching a whole through any
would be attackers.
The twin Pulsar
Lasers were nowhere near as powerful, but they were rapid firing and deadly
accurate.
As the Tornado
drifted in space, Malena was sat studying the scanners, so Merri asked
“Ok, where are
they?”
“We have one
heading straight down our throat and two bandits in close formation on our six”
Malena said
“This is it
then” Merri responded and opened the comms
“Get ready
Parse, you can splash the two on our tail when I give the word”
“Ready when you
are Captain”
Having had no returned
fire from the Tornado the Krait Fighters got complacent and made no effort to
disguise the trajectory of their approach so they were sitting ducks as a
result when Merri said
“Open fire”
They took the attackers
completely by surprise and the sustained targeted Pulsar Laser strike tore chunks
out of the Krait attacking head on and a few seconds later it exploded into a
flaming patch of debris.
Meanwhile
astern of them the two fighters in formation tried to break away when they saw
their comrade being taken out, but Parse had the measure of them, so he opened
fire immediately, taking one fighter out with the first pulse while his wing
man survived until the third, and it was all over in a matter of seconds.
There was a celebratory
cheer following the three Kraits being splashed but all they had really done
was to hasten the participation of the Taipan Corvette into the fray, and now
they had lost the element of surprise.
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