The Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado, 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, or they were on the dark side.
The task of maintaining the engines and everything
else aboard the Tornado fell to the two ships engineers, Pulsat Rad and Vanzyl
who were magicians with all things mechanical.
Pulsat was Prinsloovian and was short and heavy set,
with a rough bony skull which raised up like a crown which then receded to give
way to a Mahogany scaled brow, cheekbones and jawline which framed an ivory
coloured face, and yellow eyes.
His entire countenance betrayed his reptilian
ancestry, and his fellow engineer, who was Kesslerian, also owed his origins to
reptilian DNA but his slender and sleek form, scaly countenance, silver scaled
skin, large opaque eyes, pursed lips, and gills, clearly indicated that his
kind evolved from fish.
They loved maintaining the ship, in fact they loved
the ship, but above all they loved their crew mates, who made them feel like
family, and that was something neither of them had had for a very long time
before they found the Tornado.
Pulsat was born on Prinsloo in the Rexenor
system, a dry desert world, rich in minerals and ore, which he hadn’t seen for
more than 20 years.
He was one of the lucky ones as his parents were able
to arrange for him to get away from his home world before the Mehreen Empire
conquered the planet and enslaved the Prinsloovian’s, putting them under the
yoke in order to rape their own planet of all that was precious.
He had never returned and had no idea of what fate may
have befallen his parents, he had met several of his own kind over the years,
but none of them could enlighten him, as they were in the same boat as he was.
He was incredibly strong and found no difficulty in
finding work among the many mining operations he came across as he worked his
way steadily, from world to world and moon to moon, moving inexorably away from
the Mehreen, it was on one of those worlds, Kordesh, that he met his friend
Vanzyl.
Vanzyl was from Kessleria, the third planet in the
Omeghard system, he was of slender stature and like Pulsat he owed his origins
to reptilian DNA, but his kind evolved from fish.
He also left his home world because of the Mehreen but
in Kessleria’s case they wanted the water, and in taking it they essentially
brought genocide to the peaceful Kesslerian’s.
Vanzyl was more fortunate than Pulsat as he escaped
from his home world with a large group of friends who supported and comforted
each other, but over the years following their exodus, as they endured harsher
and harsher conditions his friends perished one by one until he was finally
left alone.
Subsequently his loneliness was keenly felt because
his solitude was so extreme, and that was because he could only communicate in
clicks, whirls and whistles which none, but his own kind could understand,
until that is, Pulsat Rad arrived on Kordesh.
Pulsat could understand every tone and toot Vanzyl
uttered, as if it were in his own tongue, but that was common place for his
species, there were very few races he had met on his travels that he couldn’t
understand, although he couldn’t speak back to them in their language, but he
nonetheless understood every word that they spoke.
Vanzyl’s loneliness came to an end when he met his
friend and after many years of solitude he could finally communicate with the
outside world.
There were few things they loved in the universe more
than working their magic on all things mechanical, but they loved the Tornado
family and the children of the agrarian settlement of Montrose, who loved them
back in equal measure.
And there was no shortage of love aboard the Tornado,
Co-pilot Malena Endia and Navigator Shiyne had their lovers, Zerrad Skeet and
Sciberran Healer Terrell Vorton, Zerrad’s brother Lyris had been tamed by the
member of the Gouveian Royal family among their number, Asti Alegionaris.
Visitor Parham, who tended their spiritual needs,
while his alter ego Bagg fortified them with his culinary prowess, had also
found love in the form Wisma Berita, who had her own bar in Gipki, and last but
by no means least, Captain Merionwen Strong and her love interest, Parse
Sacrod, whom she called Beefy, a former Legionnaire of the Royal Guard of
Gouveia.
They had also had more than their fair share of
adventure since joining the crew, but they didn’t mind that one little bit, and
they knew that with Merionwen in the Captains seat they were bound to have more
adventure, and they didn’t mind that either.
While the Tornado worked the cluster they had many
regular destinations working for Golbolt Interstellar but still had plenty of
down time and they had a number of places, recreational bolt holes, so to
speak, where they could find a friendly face and a warm welcome, for Bagg it
would be Gipki and the loving arms of Wisma, but for Pulsat and Vanzyl their
favourite would always be the agrarian settlement of Montrose on Eirkos where
Bagg’s brother and his family lived, but on that trip they had a full
complement aboard plus a few additions.
They had spent two days in Montrose entertaining the
children of the settlement, Pulsat running and chasing them on dry land and
Pulsat swimming with them in the lake.
But when it was time to leave they took some passengers
with them, Bagg’s brother, Trebreh,
his wife Xandra and her brother Ale, and the surprise inclusions of Duff Tarver
and his wife Chani.
Duff more so than his wife, because in his
former life, in which he was primarily a raconteur, his office was a bar or
tavern, and his audience were his fellow patrons.
For years he had been a heavy drinker, and
was rarely home and his long-suffering wife, Chani, had to bring up their three
children virtually single handed.
But his outlook on
life changed when he was almost beaten to death in reprisal to his dissemination of revealing evidence into the public domain
regarding some very prominent and well-respected individuals and the criminal
element and enterprises they were involved with or were protecting.
Following
the assault on him it was decided that he and his family should go to the peaceful agrarian settlement on Eirkos
called Montrose, where they were made welcome and kept safe.
While he was in protective custody he had time to think and re-evaluate
and a strange thing happened, he fell in love with the place, the peace, the
tranquility and its people, as did Chani, and their children blossomed before
their eyes, and as a result of nearly losing his life he had finally found what
he had been searching for all his life, even though he hadn’t known he was
searching, so they never left, except to settle their affairs in Eikon Major’s
Capital city, Rendon, and because he had also rekindled his faith in Montrose
he also suggested going to Marikya.
Prior to the
Tornado’s brief stop on Eirkos, to collect the Montrose party, they
had already picked up Wisma Berita from Eikon Minor, so for the first time ever
all the Tornado sleeping quarters were full, and the reason for carrying so many passengers was because
they were headed towards the Visitor Festival on Marikya, one of the moons of Eirkos.
