After Oshwin Lemik and
the Skeet Brothers spent the evening at his favourite bar reliving past glories
and remembering fallen comrades, where a considerable amount of alcohol was
consumed, they couldn’t remember how to get back to the ship.
It was Merri, Parse
and Pulsat who turned up at the bar to pick up the casualties and when they got
back to the Tornado they found Malena and Asti waiting for them wearing stern
expressions and bearing unsympathetic dispositions.
But they reserved
their wrath, and directed their respective men straight to their quarters, they
would feel the sharp edge of their tongues the next morning.
Although come the next
morning admonishments from their lovers paled into insignificance compared to
the merciless hangovers they woke up with.
And the fact that as a
result of their drunken night out with Oshwin the Tornado was now on the
preferred list at Golbolt Interstellar gained them some sympathy.
From that point on,
the Tornado got as much work as they wanted and regularly ran between Eikon
Major and Minor, Eirkos and its moons, Soman, Rekar and Marikya, and
neignbouring planet’s, Achrem and Zenden as well as Zenden’s moon, Linden.
It was on one such
trip that the first of a series of events occurred which could either drive
them out of the system or secure their future there forever.
The Tornado lifted off
and they left Soman early in the morning bound for Zenden, but first they had a
delivery on the neighbouring planet Achrem.
The Tempest Class
Freighter was powered by 4 Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines, which allowed for
a very quick turn of speed once airborne, and four vertical take-off jumper
engines whose purpose is self-explanatory, they could also be used
independently to provide auxiliary power on board while they were on the
surface for periods when the solar converters were inadequate.
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
Merri didn’t mind and 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, or even fugitives when necessary.
Merri entered the
atmosphere of Achrem with her piloting and Shiyne in the co-pilot seat and she
used the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines and landed softly on the
landing field outside the town of Odekka and there were already several other
ships, of all shapes and sizes, parked on the field.
When the freighters
ramp lowered Zerrad and Malena walked down it holding hands followed by Lyris
driving the Tornado’s APMTV, (All Purpose Multi Terrain Vehicle), nicknamed the
“Stroller”.
The moment it came to
a halt Zerrad kissed Malena and then climbed aboard.
“Behave yourselves”
Malena called
“Yes mum” Lyris
replied
After watching the
Stroller drive away Malena sighed and then ran up the ramp, once inside she hit
the button and the ramp closed behind her then she opened comms to the flight
deck.
“Good to go Captain”
“Ok, stand by” Merri
said from the left seat and co-pilot Shiyne monitored the instruments the
Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines were engaged and the Tempest
Class freighter lifted off.
The reason the Tornado
took off and left the Skeets behind was that Achrem had a very mountainous
terrain and as one of their deliveries was to a remote and ancient mountain
monastery housing an order of Algarvian Monks, and because there was nowhere to
land the Tornado it could only be reached by road so the delivery had to be
made in the Stroller.
It was a four-hour
journey up to the monastery and once they got there and made the delivery they
planned to spend a couple of hours with the monks before they made the
three-hour drive back to Odekka.
However, when they
reached the monastery they found the seven-foot-tall green fleshed brotherhood
of Algarvian Monks were a silent order and in addition to being uncommunicative
they were also inhospitable, so after the drop the headed back down the
mountain again.
They arrived back at
the landing field outside Odekka eight hours after the Stroller drove down the
Tornado’s ramp to find that the ship wasn’t there.
After dropping them
off on Achrem, Merri and the rest of the crew continued on to make the short
run to neighbouring Zenden, which was a simple drop off, so they should have
been back in Odekka at least an hour before them but there was no sign of them.
“Unbelievable” Lyris
said “how did this happen?”
Having failed to get
anything to eat up at the Monastery he and his brother had spent the return
journey talking about what delights Bagg may have waiting on the ship for them.
The Tornado’s crew
were fortunate enough to have Visitor Parham on board,
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 he was not merely
a man of the cloth who tended to their spiritual needs because his alter ego
Bagg fortified them with his culinary prowess.
“I was really looking
forward to some of Bagg’s pancakes” Said Zerrad
“Me too” Lyris agreed “Let’s
go to the comms hut and find out where they are”
They had a radio
onboard the Stroller but it wasn’t powerful enough to reach into space and the
mountainous terrain didn’t help so in order to make the range they needed the
benefit of Odekka’s long range transmitter.
After pulling up
outside the comms shack the brothers disembarked and walked inside and were
surprised to see Vinid Cupra sitting by the transmitter.
“I don’t believe it,
is there anyone in the Eikon cluster who didn’t fight with the Shaxson rebels?”
Lyris said
“My God it’s the
Skeets” Vinid exclaimed and crossed the floor to embrace both men.
“Nothing to do Cupra?”
barked a short scar faced middle-aged man with no neck
“Yes sir” Vinid
replied need to
“Then get on with it”
he said and headed towards the door.
“What can I do for you
gentlemen?” Vinid asked
“We need to contact
our ship” Zerrad said
“No problem” Vin said
and then his boss opened the door and left.
Vinid contacted the
ship on their behalf and after speaking to Merri aboard the Tornado, he relayed
that all she would say was that they had been delayed, so they would be late
picking them up but they were on their way, so the Skeets had some time to
kill.
“It would appear we
have time for a drink” Lyris said
“You know what
happened the last time we went drinking with an old war buddy?” Zerrad pointed
out
“I’m not off duty for
another two hours but I’ll meet you at the Blue Horizon when I’m done”
“Where’s that?”
“Turn left when you
reach the main road and its half a mile down the road on the right” Vinid
replied
“Is it ok?” Lyris
asked
“It used to be great”
he replied, “Now it’s just the nearest”
“Why, what happened?”
Zerrad asked
“Well the bar is owned
by a mate, Lak Shmi” he began.
“A couple of months
ago he was approached by a respectable looking Lakmean trader who said he
wanted to run a “friendly” game of cards and would Lak mind if they used a
quiet corner of the bar once a week, and he said there would be a few Dinaris
in it for him”
Lyris gave Zerrad a
knowing look and Zer raised his eye brows.
“I know, I know it was
stupid, but he agreed. He thought it might bring in a bit more trade, he’s been
struggling a bit, so he thought it was harmless enough”
“But it hasn’t worked
out that way?” Suggested Lyris
“No, they’re playing
seven nights a week and they’ve taken over the place, driven all the regular
trade away and they even bring their own booze and now Lak can’t get rid of
them”
“Has he reported it to
the police?” Asked Zerrad
“No, he was threatened
and warned that it would not be in his best interests to rock the boat” Vin
replied
“Does this Lakmean
have a name?” Lyris asked
“Yes, AaHannaa” Vinid
answered “Have you ever come across him?”
“No, but the scam is
familiar” Lyris said “And always ends with the bar under new ownership”
“Any thoughts on how
he can get out from under?” Vin asked as he noticed his boss climbing back up
the stairs.
“I’ve no idea” he
replied, “Ask me again when I’ve had something to eat”
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