The sun gifts us
With
warmth and light
Endowing
and sustaining
The
green earth with life
Then
when day is done
After
the setting of the sun
The
Moons silvery disk appears
Boldly
bright through its phases
And
stars are liberally sprinkled
Across
the curtain of night
These
gifts from God
Make
our days complete
Lyris Skeet 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 and Lyris
employed the thrusters and they raced towards Soman, while and the Tornado continued slowly on its original heading in
the opposite direction towards Zenden with Zerrad in the left seat and a
pensive Asti Alegionaris beside him.
No one aboard were
comfortable with their thoughts after their comrades went their separate ways,
the Sciberran Healer Terrell Vorton busied himself in the sick bay preparing
for the worst and hoping for the best.
Engineers Pulsat
Rad and Vanzyl exorcised their tension by working on the
ship and Visitor Parham did the two
things that he did best, as a man of God he prayed and as Bagg the cook he
baked.
Lyris had got to
know Soman very well and in particular Golbolt Interstellar
Freight Distributors, and their Operations Manager, Oshwin Lemik, who was a
former comrade in arms of the Skeet Brothers during the Shaxson rebellion.
Oshwin had reserved a landing space for the
Spider Hawk that was adjacent to where the Ghambran’s Scorpion was parked and
Oshwin had was also made sure both craft were in a very poorly lit area.
Lyris landed softly
in the space provided and immediately killed the engines and the lights.
It was 3am when they disembarked from the
fighter and stepped onto Soman.
There were still a few people milling around
despite the lateness of the hour so Merri and the crew crept stealthily through
the darkness until they had a good view of the Ghambran’s Scorpion and they
concealed themselves in the shadows so as not to draw attention to themselves
and waited.
This was not the first occasion that they had
prepared to board that particular ship.
The last time was on Delta 500 where they
boarded the ship to rescue Princess Asti Alegionaris whom the Ghambran’s had
abducted.
Staying in the shadows Merri whispered to
Shiyne
“How many are aboard?”
Shiyne closed her eyes and tuned her mind in
and scanned the ship and after a few moments she replied
“Three”
“Are Weltz or Reganus among them?” Merri asked
and she closed her eyes again, it only took her seconds to scan them and reply
“No”
Maxil Weltz and
Vint Reganus where the Ghambran agents who abducted the Princess on behalf of
Prefector Collis.
“Right does everyone know what they have to
do?” Merri asked and they all murmured a response
“Remember we have to get on and off without
them knowing we were there so definitely no gun play”
The last time on Delta 500 she was shot in the
thigh as they made their escape, and she winced at the memory of it and rubbed
the site of the wound.
She had been looking directly at Lyris when
she mentioned gun play and he retorted
“I don’t know why you’re looking at me, I
didn’t shoot you”
Merri smiled at his reaction but in truth she
would have been more than happy to have him at her side on any action, but his
job on this mission was to stay at the controls of the Spider Hawk and be
prepared for a quick getaway if necessary.
“Be safe” he said simply and slipped back to
the ship
“Ok beefy” she said to Parse “I’m counting on
you to save me if it goes wrong”
And before he had chance to object she kissed
him and added
“Ok let’s go”
Parse remained hidden from view and was tasked
with covering their retreat should they be discovered and watched Merri, Shiyne
and Malena creeping from shadow to shadow.
Once they were as close to the Scorpion as
they could get without breaking cover, they could see that there was one
visible guard by the ramp but they knew there were others on board.
Merri whispered to Shiyne
“Go and do your thing”
Shiyne was a Vann and all of the Vann were
telepaths, by varying degrees, and many of them left their home world at some
point to use their gifts to earn a wage.
Those at the zenith of their talents worked as
corporate negotiators or in the justice systems of the Legion.
Shiyne was a Vann with mid-range capabilities
and she could read most species to some extent, her skills were limited with
the more sophisticated or complex brains, lesser minds were easier for her to
explore.
In addition to reading minds she could also
implant thoughts and the suggestions would stay in place longer with someone
who was more intellectually challenged.
The Vann telepath closed her eyes and tuned
her mind in and invaded the mind of the guard and when she had control of him
she stealthily crossed the open ground and stood to one side of the ramp, then
under her control he stepped towards her.
“You are very tired, you must sleep now”
Shiyne quietly said to the guard
“Here on the floor”
Without showing any emotion, the guard lay
down on the floor and curled up in the foetal position and immediately began to
snore.
The second guard was just inside the ship so
she stepped onto the ramp and Shiyne immediate took control of his mind and
dealt with him in the same manner as his compatriot.
“You are very tired, you must sleep now”
Shiyne quietly said
“Sit down and sleep”
With the first two guards safely dealt with
she set about dispatching the third as she stood with her eyes closed and brow
furrowed.
It was taking too long so Merri withdrew her
sidearm thinking the worst.
“I can’t get him, he’s not as dumb as the
other two” Shiyne said
“Where is he?” Merri asked
“Beyond the main cabin, in a sleeping berth”
Shiyne replied
“Ok then Malena it’s your turn” Merri
instructed and Malena touched the arm of the guard sleeping on the floor and
she instantly transformed into the Ghambran and she was an exact copy down to
every blemish and flaw, pulled thread and tarnished button.
As an Obgaronian shape shifter she could
transform at will, but she could only shift into a being she had touched.
Only the briefest moment was required and then
it was in her memory banks and could be recalled whenever required.
She could also manipulate that memory and add
or subtract from it, for example in her everyday life she chose to take the
form of a 27 year old human, whom she met on a remote mining colony when she
first entered Legion space, but she chose to be the human girl and wear clothes
on that form but it wasn’t necessary and that night for the mission she chose
to simulate her clothes in case she needed to shift, it would have looked very
odd indeed if the Ghambran guard was wearing girls clothes.
The necessity for her to shape shift was so
she could get into the bowels of the vessel without raising the alarm and
secrete the leather bundle containing the Crown Jewels somewhere out of sight
for the Legion Commander to find later.
Once she had shape shifted she proceeded alone
deeper inside the Scorpion and moved in the direction of the main cabin with
Shiyne close behind her.
She had been in there before and she had in
her mind’s eye the perfect place to conceal the bundle.
Shiyne scanned the room and tapped Malena on
the shoulder and then she quietly opened the door and stepped inside.
As Shiyne had indicated the room was empty and
Malena wasted no time in seeking out the place she had selected.
When she had encountered him in the main cabin
on the last occasion she was there, Maxil Weltz was seated in his chair looking
very self-important so she thought that his throne would be enhanced by the
addition of some Crown Jewels, so she quickly crossed the room while Shiyne
looked on from the door way.
Once she had reached Maxil’s chair she knelt
before it and using her shape shifting skill she was able to flatten her hand
and forearm and inserted it between the seat pad and back rest and secreted the
bundle well out of sight.
Just as she was getting to her feet she
suddenly heard a door open and close, followed by footsteps.
“Let’s get out of here” Malena whispered as
she tiptoed out of the room and quietly closed the door, then she and Shiyne
headed for the ramp where Merri was waiting with weapon drawn.
“Done?” she asked
“Done” Malena replied
“Let’s get moving then” Merri said and the
three of them ran down the ramp and then crossed the open ground much less
stealthily than before and re-joined Parse in the shadows.
While an adrenalin high Merri kissed a very
relieved Parse, Shiyne closed her eyes and undid her handiwork on the guards
and then opened her eyes again to see them wake up and stretch before they
sheepishly returned to their guard duty.
“Nice job you two” Merri said hugging her two
friends “Now back to the ship”
The four Tornado crew members reversed and
retraced their earlier route and as soon as they got back aboard the Spider
Hawk Merri announced
“Phase one complete”
“Excellent” Lyris said “I’ll let Oshwin know
and he can initiate phase two”
“Star
Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” is a Sci-Fi Action Adventure based on Gene
Roddenberry’s original creation, screenplay written by Nicholas Meyer and Denny
Martin Flinn, story by Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal
and Directed by Nicholas Meyer.
The
Klingons are forced to make peace with the Federation, following an explosion
on their moon, resulting in damage to their ozone layer which could be
completely depleted in as little as 50 years at which point their planet would
be uninhabitable.
The
Federation are eager to enter peace talks as it will mean an end to 70 years of
conflict, so Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew, Spock
(Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), Sulu
(George Takei), Chekov (Walter Koenig), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) are called
upon to help in the negotiations because of their vast experience of dealings
with the Klingons.
However,
things don’t quite go according to plan as on the eve of their retirement, Kirk
and McCoy, are charged with, and convicted of, assassinating the Klingon High
Chancellor, and are imprisoned on the snowy hard-labour penal colony of Rura
Penthe.
However,
the loyal Enterprise help them escape so they can thwart the diabolical plot
aimed at sabotaging the last best hope for peace.
A
decent Star Trek adventure with all the usual faces and a few additions, Kim Cattrall as
Lt. Valeris, Mark Lenard as
Sarek, Brock Peters as Admiral Cartwright, Kurtwood Smith as
Federation President and Christopher
Plummer as Chang.
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
“Star
Trek V: The Final Frontier” is a Sci-Fi Action Adventure based on Gene
Roddenberry’s original creation, screenplay written by David
Loughery, story by William Shatner, Harve Bennett and David Loughery and
Directed by William Shatner.
Captain
Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest
Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), Sulu (George Takei), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and
Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) are aboard the newly christened Starship Enterprise,
on a shakedown cruise.
But
after thing go badly the put her into Spacedock for repairs and plan to go down
to Earth on shore leave but an urgent mission gets in the way.
A
renegade Vulcan, Spock's long-lost half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill),
has taken three ambassadors’ (David Warner, Charles Cooper and Cynthia Gouw)
hostage on the Planet of Galactic Peace, Nimbus III.
When
they reached planet Sybok's ragtag army captures the Enterprise and force them
to make the journey to the centre of the galaxy in search of the Supreme Being
and if that wasn’t enough, they had attracted the attention of Klingon Captain
Klaa (Todd Bryant) who had no interest in God.
After leaving
Eirkos they returned to base on Soman and prepared for a prolonged run around
the system although it turned out they had a three day wait before departure.
And as there wasn’t
too much in the way of leisure activities they got to work on some basic
maintenance, cleaning and restocking.
Pulsat and Vanzyl
kept the mechanical and engineering side in top shape as a matter of course so
they decided to use their time on servicing the Spider Hawk Fighter that Lyris
had acquired after the Achrem mission, and they soon made a startling
discovery.
They had just
removed the main access panel beneath the flight controls and
tucked in the corner was a leather bundle that looked like it might be a tool
roll and Vanzyl uttered a string of whirls whistles and clicks.
“I not know” Pulsat replied to his Kesslerian
friend as he picked up the bundle.
On retrieving it he turned stiffly to address
his companion, who was uttering another string of whirls whistles and clicks.
“I do it, I do it” Pulsat said to his
Kesslerian friend, who was a more slender and sleek form, and he had the hint
of a smile about his pursed lips and Vanzyl whistled and clicked again and
Pulsat snorted.
He untied the tapes that held the bundle
together and then unrolled it and when its contents were revealed Vanzyl
uttered a soft whistle like a plaintive flute, then he looked at his friend and
whistled again.
“We show Captain” Pulsat said and rerolled the
bundle before putting it inside his jacket.
When the engineers got back aboard the Tornado
they reported straight to Merri and after seeing the contents of the bundle the
Captain immediately called a crew meeting in the mess room.
“So, some interesting news” Merri said “Pulsat
and Vanzyl were working on Lyris’s new toy when they found something”
“Found what?” Lyris asked
“Go on Pulsat show everyone what you’ve found”
the Captain said and Pulsat untied the tapes that held the bundle together and
then unrolled it and there were audible gasps on seeing the array of jewels.
“My God” Zerrad said “Where did they come
from?”
“Who knows” Merri said
“I do” Asti interjected
“You do?” Lyris asked
“Yes, they’re from Gouveia” Asti explained
“They can’t be” Parse said, “We would have
heard, wouldn’t we?”
“You’d have heard what?” Bagg asked
“That the Gouveian Crown Jewels had been
stolen” Asti said
“The Crown Jewels?” Merri exclaimed
“So that was what the Commander was so
desperate to find, that’s why he was searching for Kurla, because he must have
perpetrated the theft” Shiyne said
“But why?” Terrell asked, “He couldn’t
possibly hope to sell them”
“Maybe that wasn’t the intention” Malena mused
“Oh God we must return them immediately” Asti
said, “Before they are missed”
“What do you mean, before they are missed?”
Merri asked
“The Jewels go on public display for one month
every 10 years starting on the
anniversary of Legion Foundation Day” Parse said, “That’s in three months’
time”
“But there must be copies” Bagg suggested
“There are” Asti said, “But Millions of people
queue up to view the Jewels, if it becomes known that the real jewels are not
there it could cause a scandal that might bring down the house of
Alegionaris”
“He must have been acting on behalf of a rival
House then” Shiyne suggested
“That seems the most likely answer” Asti
agreed
“I’m no fan of the Legion” Lyris said “but we
have no choice but to get them to Commander Salmin as soon as possible”
“Agreed” Merri said, “Does everyone agree?”
“Agreed” the crew echoed
“Ok then, Shiyne stash the jewels in the
Priest Hole, Malena set course for Eikon Minor” Merri said “Pulsat, Vanzyl get
the Spider Hawk ready to fly we leave within the hour”
So, with everything hurriedly stowed away the
Tornado lifted off for the two-day round trip to the small Legion Garrison on
Eikon Minor where they would meet with the Commander and hopefully make his
day.
However, they only got half way when the
Tornado had a communication from their employer on Soman.
“Oshwin Lemik calling Captain Strong”
“Strong here, what can I do for you boss”
Merri responded
“Hi Merri, I thought you might like to know someone has been asking questions about you” Oshwin said “And they’re spending money while they do it”
“Who’s asking?” Merri asked
“A couple of Ghambran’s” he replied, “Are they
friends of yours?”
“Did they arrive in a Scorpion?” she asked
“Yes, they did”
“Then no they are most definitely not friends”
she said
“OK, so I assume you won’t be looking for a
reunion” Oshwin surmised
“That’s for sure” she replied
“What would you like me to do?” He asked
“Just give them the run around for now” Merri
said
“Will do”
“Thanks boss” she said, “I’ll be in touch”
As soon as she signed off Merri immediately
called another crew meeting in the mess room.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news” Merri said
“the Ghambran’s are back”
“So soon?” Lyris asked
“I’m afraid so, they’re on Soman now” the
Captain said
“So, what do we do?” Malena asked
“Good question” Lyris asked “Do we Move on or
tackle the threat?”
“The Ghambran’s have arrived in the system
much sooner than we anticipated so we have another choice to make” Merri said.
They went around the room in turn and everyone
expressed a different reason for staying in the Eikon cluster, nobody wanted to
leave and then Vanzyl began to click and whirl which were clearly directed at
Pulsat
“Ok I speak” he said and more clicks and
whirls followed
“I tell, I tell” Pulsat retorted and then explained
“We very much like Montrose”
Then more whistles and clicks
“We very much like small humans” Pulsat said
“We stay”
“Well if we want to stay here then we need to
get rid of the Ghambran’s once and for all?” Merri said
“Do you mean kill them?” Bagg asked
“No of course not” she replied
“Good because I couldn’t be a party to that”
the Visitor said
“Don’t worry Brother what I have in mind for
them is far worse than death” Merri said enigmatically
“So, what’s the plan?” Lyris asked
“Subtlety as usual” Merri said, “With a
liberal helping of cunning”
“Let’s hear it then” Malena said
“We use the Legion to get rid of the
Ghambran’s for us, once and for all” Merri said and when she had their
undivided attention she gave them her plan in detail.
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.
“Star
Trek IV: The Voyage Home” is a Sci-Fi Action Adventure based on Gene
Roddenberry’s original creation, screenplay written by Steve Meerson, Peter
Krikes, Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer, story by Leonard
Nimoy and Harve Bennett and Directed by Leonard Nimoy.
It
is the 23rd century and Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his
fugitive crew, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty
(James Doohan), Sulu (George Takei), Chekov (Walter Koenig), Uhura (Nichelle
Nichols) and Saavik (Robin Curtis), return to Earth at the same time as a
mysterious alien probe.
After
trying to communicate with what sounds like whale call, and receiving no
response, it threatened by its actions to destroy the Earth, evaporating the
oceans, and devastating the atmosphere, so Kirk and his crew must time travel
back to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate
with the probe, humpback whales.
But
despite their extensive experiences in the far-off reaches of the galaxy, none
of them were prepared for what they found in 1986.
A
decent Star Trek adventure with an important message with all the usual faces
and a few additions, Jane Wyatt as Amanda, Mark Lenard as Sarek, Brock Peters
as Admiral Cartwright and the delightful Catherine Hicks as Gillian.
