The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 09 – The Sciberran Healer

After spending the previous five years working his way from moon to moon, planet to planet and system to system, on ships of every shape and size, in search of something, 36 year old Sciberran Healer Terrell Vorton stood next to a Stroller on the surface of Alwi with two a companions.

One was a human who was a holy man, a Visitor, who was somewhere beyond fifty with long white hair and a short trimmed beard.

He was tall and disproportionately thin, and he wore a full length pale blue robe tied at the waist with a royal blue cord and a full length dark blue leather jerkin over the top, and he carried a simple rough-hewn staff which was undecorated but for a carved cruciform relief a few inches from the top.

His other companion was a Vann telepath who was a much smaller being called Shiyne, who like the rest of the Vann women was completely bald, and she had cerise coloured skin and purple eyes.

 

They were waiting in silence for the arrival of the freighter Tornado and they were all wearing grave expressions as there were two wounded people on board which was why Terrell was there,.   

He was a small stout man standing 5 foot 5, and was quite striking in appearance with chalk white skin, short hair of midnight blue and violet eyes.

Terrell was a quiet studious man who apart from medicine, loved science, and had a fascination for off world travel, although it would have remained just that had it not been for the deaths of his wife and child.

He had been on Alwi for about three weeks and was staying at the

Ambassadors Lodge, while he waited for a suitable berth, which was where he met the Visitor.

There were no shortage of offers for a Healer but in the weeks he had been there all the vessels were either going back the way he had come or were leaving Legion space for Mehreen systems.

He had managed to pick up work as a medic at one of the mines, but it wasn’t well paid and so he was eager to move on and he hoped that this might be his opportunity to leave Alwi as the Tornado was bound for Delta 500.

 

“Here they come” Shiyne said a full two minutes before the other two laid eyes on the ship despite the fact they were scanning the skies intently.

“Now I see it” Bagg said and Terrell agreed but in truth it was another thirty seconds before he actually could.  

It wasn’t a huge ship as freighters go but pound for pound the Tempests had the highest freight to fuel ratio yield of their class.

The front section comprised of a sizable pressurized hold for large freight accessed via a front loading ramp, above which was the flight deck, living and sleeping quarters, mess facilities and bath rooms, at the rear was the main propulsion and amidships were the universal pod bays, which allowed for a mixed cargo option, which Allowed for quick inspection and loading, although sometimes pods were sealed which meant it was either very valuable or very illegal, either way freighter Captains didn’t mind as transporting sealed cargo paid much much better.

The Tornado always flew with at least one pod but then that was because it was where they stowed their gear and where the hidden compartments could be found, or not, which was where they hid the contraband. 

 

The moment the Tornado touched down the loading ramp started to lower and before it hit the dirt Malena had run down it and headed towards them and shouted

“Where’s the Doctor?”

“I’m here” Terrell responded

“Ok follow me”

As Malena and Terrell went up the ramp she was firing information at him about the patients and then the new engineers, Pulsat Rad and Vanzyl hurried down the other way. 

It was their job to make sure the ship was ready to take off again the next day and as they had been in a skirmish with Scav Raiders they had to make sure there was no external damage.

Vanzyl was Kesslerian and his species had evolved from fish and he possessed silver scaled skin, a sleek form, large opaque eyes, pursed lips, and gills.

As he passed Shiyne he made a series of clicks, whirls and whistles which she didn’t understand.

So the Prinsloovian engineer Pulsat translated

“We load Stroller now?”

Although he was the only one of the crew who could understand Kesslerian he was a man of few words and his appearance was a little intimidating.

He was 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.

He was incredibly strong and looked quite menacing but inside he was a gentle soul.

“Ok” she replied “Come on Bagg, then I’ll help you with the provisions”

 

Shiyne drove the Stroller up the ramp into the cargo hold and then she helped Bagg unload the provisions, some into the galley and the rest into storage while Healer Terrell tended to the wounded men beneath Malena Endia watchful gaze, but her interest was focused on Zerrad’s treatment.

Lyris Skeet had regained consciousness quite soon and his wound proved to be superficial and there was no resulting concussion, Zerrad on the other hand was in a much worse way, and needed Healer Terrell’s very best attention and every ounce of his skill.

 

The Pulsar wound was so severe that even after Terrell had spent four hours repairing the damage he had to keep Zerrad in a coma and Malena again sat at his bedside holding his hand, up until the moment she was summoned by the Captain, so she left Healer Terrell to watch over him.

 

She found Merri and Shiyne sitting at the mess table drinking coffee in silence while the new cook, Bagg was preparing vegetables for the evening meal 

“How are they?” Merri asked immediately Malena walked in.

 

After Malena had explained to them at length what the Healer had done and the prognosis for both patients and the aftercare that would be required for Zerrad.

“I’m glad they’ve both survived” Merri said with relief

“The question is what to do now, we clearly can’t abandon the Skeets, they have lost everything, but we need the job Shiyne has secured for us”

There was no response to her soliloquy only thoughtful expressions so she asked.

“What about you Bagg any suggestions?” 

“Are you asking the cook or the Visitor?” he retorted

Visitors were a Christian sect who took to the stars with the first migrants to visit new worlds, spreading the word while seeking enlightenment, and they had established Visitor enclaves in every corner of the known universe, they even thrived in Mehreen space and they were the least spiritual beings to ever draw breath.

The difference between Visitors and the established Christian Church on earth was its spontaneity, they didn’t wait until Sunday to worship, they did it wherever and whenever it was desired and it didn’t need to happen in a church, Visitors worshipped everywhere.

But Visitor Parham had been taken aboard the Tornado as the much needed cook, but as a holy man he was unable to turn off his spiritual philosophy.    

“Both” Merri replied

“Well as Visitor I cannot advise abandonment” he replied “but as cook I can concoct medicinal broths and soups to raise Lazarus himself from only a breath from death” 

“Yes but what do we do about the cargo?” Malena asked

“I don’t know” Merri replied and went thoughtful for a moment then added “Can we trust the Doctor?”

Shiyne had read him when they were outside the Ambassador’s Lodge and found no dark thoughts or malevolence, she found sadness, regret, guilt, but mainly just a noble desire to do good.

“Yes he’s dependable” Shiyne replied and Merri was thoughtful again

“That’s as maybe but we don’t even know if he wants to leave” Merri said

“We do, and he does” Shiyne corrected her

“Ok we pick up the cargo for Delta 500 and take the Doc along for the ride, then if Zerrad is no better by the time we get there then we can take him to the hospital”

“I don’t think he’ll get better care than Terrell is giving him” Shiyne said

“Maybe not but Terrell doesn’t have access to the equipment the hospital does” Merri pointed out

“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it” Malena said and got up from the table “I’ll go and check on the patient before dinner”

“Don’t you mean Patients” Bagg said

“That’s what I said” Malena snapped and left the room

“Well I think with Terrell’s healing hands, Bagg’s reviving broths and Nurse Malena there will be no need of Hospitals” Merri said and they all laughed.