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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