It was the early hours
of the morning after the crew of the Tornado discovered that Maxil Weltz and
Vint Reganus, Ghambran agents in the employ of Prefector Collis, had arrived on
Soman asking about the Tornado’s whereabouts.
They had a score to
settle with them and the very reason that had made them move to the Eikon
Cluster was to evade the Ghambran’s, but they were unanimous in their resolve
not to move on again, they had found their Shangri-La and were not going to
give it up without a fight and Merri had come up with a plan to rid them of
their tormentors once and for all.
The plan was a simple
one, which involved using the recently acquired Spider Hawk Fighter, in which
Merri, Lyris, Parse, Shiyne and Malena would fly to Soman and land a safe
distance away from the Ghambran’s Scorpion Cruiser, the Ghambran’s wouldn’t
think twice if they saw the Spider Hawk, so once on Soman they would stealthily
board the target vessel and secrete the stolen Gouveian Crown Jewels aboard the
Scorpion, then they would depart with equal stealth and take off again.
Once they were back in
space they would signal the Tornado and they in turn would contact, first
Commander Salmin of the Legion Aeronautica informing him that they knew the
whereabouts of the jewels and secondly Oshwin Lemik on Soman so that he could
inform the Ghambran’s of the Tornados position, then acting as the bait the
Tornado would lead the Scorpion into the warm embrace of the Legion.
It was fitting that the
Spider Hawk Fighter that Lyris Skeet had acquired as the spoils of victory in a
Legion sting against a ruthless villain, be used to deliver the stolen booty,
which engineers Pulsat and Vanzyl had found hidden aboard, and the coup de
grâce against the Ghambran agents.
Although on the
outside it still looked the same as the Spider Hawk Fighters that Lyris flew
against the Legion in the Shaxson rebellion it was a different story inside.
As it was no longer a
war machine it was now very lightly armed so the pulsar rocket launcher which
formally occupied a large proportion of the hold was now redundant so the cabin
space had been extended so it could carry more than the two-man flight crew of
its operational days.
But it still meant
they could only take a small party with them.
Lyris as pilot, Parse
as he was the only real soldier among them, Shiyne for her telepathic skills,
Malena the shapeshifter and Merri because she was the Captain and it was her
plan.
Shortly before
departure, Malena was in her quarters reassuring Zerrad that she would be
perfectly safe
“I don’t like it” he
said
“There’s nothing to
worry about” she said
“I know Lyris remember”
he pointed out “he’s reckless, that’s why I’m worried”
“You also know Merri
and she’s not reckless” Malena said
“And she got shot the
last time you tangled with the Ghambran’s” he pointed out
“Well that’s not going
to happen this time” she reassured him “Now give me a kiss”
So Zerrad complied
with her demand and then watched her leave with a heavy heart.
There were two docking
rings on the Tornado to facilitate transfers to and from the freighter while in
space, one in the belly below the loading bay and the other was amidships above
the cargo bays which was also the mooring point for shuttles or ancillary
craft, and it was the latter where the Spider Hawk was moored.
Lyris Skeet was
already in the corridor beneath the hatch, pacing up and down, as he was very
anxious, which wasn’t normal for him, in fact it was not normal behaviour for
him in any way shape or form.
His anxiety was on
several levels, firstly it involved his piloting skills, it had been many years
since his hot shot piloting days and he needed to be on the top of his game to
land the Spider Hawk unnoticed, as close to the Scorpion as possible.
His second concern
revolved around the mission and more specifically the Gouveian Crown Jewels and
a persistent nagging at the back of his mind that they may be just handing them
over to the enemy.
But the crux of his
apprehension was the fear that he would disappoint the beautiful, classy, well
educated, feisty, funny and wicked smart, Princess Asti Alegionaris who he had
fallen in love with and she with him.
So, the reformed smuggler
paced up and down until his Princess appeared and strode towards him carrying
the leather bundle that he knew contained the jewels.
“Don’t look so worried”
she said and he instantly relaxed and felt at peace and Asti stood on tiptoe
and kissed him.
“You’re my knight in
shining armour remember”
When the kiss was over
she handed the bundle him.
“I’ll make sure they
get back to Gouveia” he said, kissed her forehead and then climbed up through
the hatch and into the fighter.
The moment Lyris
disappeared through the hatch a tearful Princess Asti rushed down the corridor
and out of sight a few seconds before the rest of the party arrived.
Merri was in the
Vanguard, her penetrating green eyes looking straight ahead, with her head held
high and the abundance of red hair trailing behind her like a mane, and immediately
behind the striking figure of the proud Captain was the huge former Legionnaire
Parse Sacrod, almost as broad as the corridor itself and standing 6 foot 8
high, brushing the curly burnished steel coloured hair off the ivory skin of
his brow while his mercury coloured eyes could see only the figure of his
Captain and lover.
Beyond them were
Shiyne and Malena who were enjoying a final embrace with their respective
partners, Sciberran Healer Terrell and Zerrad Skeet.
The small cerise
skinned Vann telepath gave Vorton a final hug and he kissed the top of her bald
head and when she turned away and headed towards the hatch her purple eyes had
tears welling up in them.
And finally, there was
Malena, tall, slim, brunette hair, olive skin and hazel eyes, at least that was
how she appeared but of course in reality, she was an Obgaron shape shifter,
but Zerrad would have loved her in whatever form she adopted.
“I will be careful”
she said, “I promise”
Then she kissed him
one last time and joined the rest of the party in the Spider Hawk and closed
the hatch behind her as Zerrad closed the one on the Tornado.
A few minutes later
Lyris released the mooring clamps and the Spider Hawk and the Tornado parted
company.
“We have separation”
Lyris said
“Let’s get it done
then” Merri said
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