The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 12 – The Concord

 

Dwynwen Strong and the Tornado Crew were a discreet distance from the Concord Hotel where Merionwen was being held prisoner and exchanged ideas on the best plan to rescue her for about forty minutes before Malena and Shiyne exchanged thoughts and the former said

“Ok the plan is this”   

Malena went on to explain

“Lyris and Zerrad you take Dwynwen back to the Tornado and get the ship ready to leave, which we might need to do in a hurry”

Parse, Terrel and Ferro will go with you, Parse get the Stroller equipped, you know what we need, comms and Pulsar Lasers, the small concealable ones not the cannons, Terrel, get your medical kit just in case, and then get back here double quick, Ferro, you know what you need to do.

 

While they waited for the Stroller to arrive, Malena Endia, Shiyne, Asti Alegionaris and Ambor Etra kept the Hotel under surveillance and discussed in more detail how they were going to execute the plan.

They looked an unusual quartet, Malena in the human form of a tall slim brunette, with olive skin and hazel eyes, giving no hint of her feelings of anxiousness, the tiny figure of Shiyne who was completely bald, with cerise coloured skin and purple eyes, which were closed as she scanned the Hotel again, Asti’s slight figure, only five foot tall, with short platinum hair, ivory skin and silver eyes, who was looking about her furtively, and the assured figure of the Andraxian, Ambor, with jet black hair and the typical Andraxian opaque grey green skin which darkened or lightened depending on their mood, as she was in a heightened state of excitement she was luminescing.   

 

Apart from surveillance they also started to prepare for the rescue and the first thing they had to do was to secure a laundry trolley because Mal was going to change into a Melmanc and push the trolley with Shiyne hidden inside because no one would look twice at a Melmanc pushing a laundry trolley.

Melmanc’s were a race of Dwarfs, immensely strong with an unquenchable work ethic, and there wasn’t a Hotel in Clarissoss that didn’t employ Melmanc’s.

Malena was an Obgaron shape shifter, and in her natural Mercurial form of liquid silver glass she looked very different to the tall slim brunette human, and even more so to the Melmanc she was going to become.

As an Obgaron 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 when 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 for the rescue mission she chose to simulate her clothes in case she needed to shift, it would have looked very odd indeed if the Melmanc, who were very drab dressers, was wearing her clothes.

So, the first thing Malena did when Parse pulled up in the Stroller was to go inside and remove her clothes.

 

Once the rescue party were armed they left Parse and Terrell aboard the stroller and headed for the Hotel and once safely inside they went to a quiet spot were Malena transformed.

“Ok let’s go” she said as they left their place of safety and a few moments later they had recovered the earlier acquired laundry trolley.

“What a brilliant idea” Asti said “I’m not sure even Merri would have thought of that”

“I’m sure she would” Malena said “get in Shiyne”

The Vann telepath sat in the laundry trolley completely covered by a bedsheet, apart from her cerise fingers which were gripping the edge of the trolley and the top of her head, as she peered over the edge.

“Ok get down and hide” Mal said and once she was sure Shiyne was safely hidden she pushed her towards the lift, and once she had checked that the coast was clear she pushed the trolley into the lift that Ambor had secured.

As they travelled up to the 14th floor Shiyne had emerged from beneath the bedding, closed her eyes and performed a telepathic scan.

“I’ve got her!” she exclaimed “She’s conscious”

“Is she ok?” Mal asked

“Yes, she’s confused, because she doesn’t know where she is” she said and then she laughed “And she’s angry because she’s tied up”

“But she’s ok?” Asti asked

“Yes” Shiyne assured her

“How many people are with her?” Mal asked, so Shiyne closed her eyes again and a moment later she looked at Mal with her purple eyes wide open and exclaimed, “She’s on her own”

“What?” Asti exclaimed “No guards?”

“None” she confirmed

“What about adjoining rooms?” Ambor asked so Shiyne closed her eyes once more and expanded the scope of her scan.

“Room thirty-six is empty” she said without opening her eyes and then she smiled “thirty-two is occupied but so are the couple in the bed”

“We couldn’t be that lucky, could we?” Malena said

“I’ll take all the luck we can get” Asti retorted

“Me too” agreed Shiyne

“Ok then get going before they get back” Ambor urged

 

The plan was for Malena, as a Melmanc, to push Shiyne in the trolley to room 34, as no one would give a second thought to a Melmanc moving laundry, and once there they would gain entry either by, ruse, Shiynes telepathic ability, or failing that brute force, hopefully with the abductors being absent, gaining entry would be simple.

Once inside they would get Merri into the trolley and return the way they came.

So as soon as the lift doors opened Shiyne hid under a sheet again and Malena pushed the trolley out and then along the corridor and left Ambor and Asti to secure the lift for their escape.

 

Unfortunately, the low numbers were nearest the lift, so they had to trundle the laundry cart some distance before they reached room 34 and Malena was relieved when they got there, but that was only half the job, she would have two in the trolley for the return journey.

She stopped the trolley and whispered to Shiyne

“Is it still all clear?”

And a moment later Shiyne’s muffled voice replied

“Yes, all clear”

So, using a tool Lyris had given her, she punched out the lock and the door flew open.

A few moments later she had pushed the trolley into the room safely away from prying eyes.

“We’re in” Malena said and closed the door as Shiyne sprang out from her hiding place from beneath the bedsheets, then they both drew their weapons, Shiyne checked the bathroom and then they went deeper into the room, but the sitting room was empty, so they proceeded into the bedroom and found Merri laying bound and gagged on the bed, in a state of agitation.

“It’s ok Merri we’ll soon have you out of here” Mal said and quickly loosened her gag

“What’s happened, where am I?” she asked

“You were abducted” Shiyne replied as she began untying her feet

“Why? I’m on holiday” she retorted indignantly

“It wasn’t you they were after” Mal replied and freed her hands

“That should make me feel better, but it doesn’t” Merri snapped but then the penny dropped

“Oh God is Dwyn ok?”

“Yes, she’s fine, we’ve got her on the Tornado” Mal replied

“Thank God” Merri exclaimed and then the three friends hugged.

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 11 – Sleuthing

 

Dwynwen Strong, Parse Sacrod, Malena Endia, Vann telepath Shiyne and Andraxian agent Ambor Etra were stood in the security office of the Galileo Hotel.

And among the group, dressed in her official uniform of a blue skirt and jacket with a crisp white blouse, was head of security, Stradd of the Vann, and like Shiyne she was a Telepath, as were all of their kind, though 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.

Stradd’s abilities however were much lower, but for her job, it was only reading skills that were required, she couldn’t scan deeply but she knew who was telling the truth and who was lying.

Stradd was a small woman and like Shiyne and the rest of the Vann women she was completely bald, and had cerise coloured skin and purple eyes, though she was a good many years older than the Tornado’s navigator.

It was clear that the two Vann were deep in conversation though they didn’t speak, and this went on for almost ten minutes, until they broke their telepathic bond and Stradd said

“We caught the moment of the abduction on our video scanners” 

She nodded towards a large screen on the wall and everyone turned around to look.

The first image they saw was of Merionwen walking into the lift followed by two humans, one tall and one small, the small one was shabbily dressed, with weasel like features, and the other was cut from very different cloth, tall good looking and well dressed, but they were clearly together.

They reached the lift at the last possible second, just before the door closed the big man used his arm to halt the doors progress and then the two men joined her in the lift.

The next image was a bird’s eye view inside the lift and the door had just closed and the good-looking man said

“It’s Miss Strong isn’t it?”

Merionwen turned to look at him and replied

“Yes, it is, but I don’t know yo…”

While the good-looking man had her attention, the small one paralyzed her with a jab to the neck with a needle and Dwynwen gasped.

“Oh God this is all my fault”

“Nonsense Dwyn” Malena corrected her

“Are they known to you?” Parse asked

“No, they’re not” Stradd replied “But one of my people thinks they are mercenaries, he recognized one but couldn’t recall his name”   

“Mercenaries, that’s good news” Mal said

“Why is that good news?” Dwyn asked “it sounds like terrible news to me”

“It’s good because it means they are in it for the money” Parse explained

“If they wanted to kill her they would have done it and left her body in the lift” Shiyne added “I suspect they want your evidence as well, and they need her alive for that”

“Where did they go when they left the lift?” Andraxian agent Ambor Etra asked and Stradd pressed another button and some more footage appeared

“We tracked them all the way through the Hotel until they went out of this exit which leads to an alleyway” Stradd said “But I have nothing else after that I’m afraid”

“So, we have no idea where they could have gone next” Dwyn stated

“No, but if I have to hazard a guess as to where they took her, where they wouldn’t look out of place, despite their differences, then I would say they’re at the Concord” Stradd said

“We appreciate all your help” Malena said

“Yes, thank you” the others chorused and Shiyne and Stradd stood with brows touching while they shared a farewell.

Once they had left Stradd’s office they were instantly barraged with questions by the rest of the crew and Ambor said

“Ferro and I will see if we can track down any other footage, from outside the Hotel”  

 

In their shabby Hotel room, Geloc and Hatt had just finished searching Merionwen’s sedated body and were angry as they had found nothing.

They were searching for the data tablets that Dwynwen had secreted the damning evidence about Captain Bersian of the Alexandretta, two of the Science Directorate aboard, Brenhol and Ocec and the Captain of the freighter Hollander, Ca Erdd, and the corruption.

“Can we just kill her now?” Hatt, the little weasel of a man asked

“Of course, we can’t you idiot” Geloc replied 

“Stopping her reaching Andraxis is only half the job, and half the money, so No we can’t kill her”

“Half’s better than none” Hatt retorted

“Listen to me, this is the biggest score we’ve had for years I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers, so we need the tablet and then we’ll get the other half the money”

“Yes, but where is it, we searched her room and now we’ve searched her and there’s no sign”

They had bribed one of the Hotel staff to let them into Dwyn’s suite and the two of them had searched every inch, but to no avail.

“We simply wait for her to wake up and we ask her” Geloc said

“What if she won’t tell?” Hatt asked

“Then we cut chunks off her until she does” he replied

 

After updating their crew mates, they all headed for the door were Merri and her abductors were last seen but Dwynwen was stopped by Ferro and Ambor

“It looks like Stradd was right about the Concord” Ferro said

“Great let’s go and get her” Dwyn said

“Hold on, you can’t go” Ambor said

“I have to” she replied “it’s my fault”

“We are under orders to protect you” Ferro said “and protect you we will”

“Then you’ll have to come with us” Dwyn said “Because I’m going with them”

“Excellent idea” Ambor said “a bit of action at last”

 

Once outside they made their way towards the Concord Hotel with Shiyne stopping every 50 yards to scan for signs of Merri and after the tenth stop Shiyne closed her eyes and tuned her mind in and scanned the vicinity and after a few moments she smiled.

“Well?” Dwyn asked

“Yes, she’s there and she’s fine” she replied, and they all breathed a sigh of relief

“Is she awake?” Parse asked

“No, but she’s not as heavily sedated as before” Shiyne replied

“Can you pin point the room” Mal asked and Shiyne tuned her mind in again and after a few minutes she said “Got it, 14th floor room 34”

“Great let’s go get her” Parse said

“Wait a minute we need a plan, and as our chief planner is the one that needs rescuing, it’s down to Malena to take charge as the Tornados second in command”

Asti said, and Murmurs of approval went around the group

“Wait a minute I’m not a leader” Mal protested “Second in command is just an honorary title, Parse is far better qualified, or Lyris”

“Nonsense” Lyris said “I’m too hot headed”

“And I have too much at stake” Parse added

“Well ok then” Malena said reluctantly “but we need to give it some thought, before we go blundering in”

“Agreed” they chorused

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 10 – Doppelgangers

 

Merri was lying in bed semi-conscious when Dwyn walked in carrying a coffee and she said

“You’d better drink this, you look awful”

“Thanks for that” Merri retorted “but I’ll be fine if I get some more sleep”

“I thought you and the crew were going out on hover buggies this morning” Dwyn added

“Not until later” she answered sleepily “What is the time anyway?”

“Later” Dwyn replied and after a few seconds Merri sat up in bed a look on her face like a startled rabbit.

“Oh God” Merri said with panic in her voice “I’m going to be late”

“Well only just” she said with a smile on her face

“I need to get dressed” she said panic stricken “I’m in the wrong room”

“Ok just take a breath” Dwyn suggested

“That’s all very well but what am I going to do?” she ranted and picked up her posh frock and threw it on the bed.

“Well don’t panic for a start” Dwyn suggested

“But I can’t walk back to my room wearing that, everyone will think I’m doing the walk of shame” Merri snapped

“Alright calm yourself” Dwyn said trying to control her laughter,

“Calm down? Calm down? It’s alright for you” she shouted “You’re not the one that’s going to look like a tart”

“Nor are you” Dwyn said but Merri continued her rant and then when the penny dropped

“What?”

“You can wear something of mine” Dwynwen suggested

“Really?”

“Yes really” she said “I sorted some out already, they’re on the chair”

“You mean I’ve been ranting and raving all this time for no reason?” Merri exclaimed

“That’s about the size of it” she said

“I should thump you, But I won’t” she said and hugged her instead

 

Merri dressed quickly and said

“Ok I’m off, I’ll quickly pop to my room and then join the others downstairs”

“Ok I’ll meet you down there after I’ve spoken to my minders” Dwyn replied and quickly embraced her, then Merri opened the door, and Ferro Scanner and Ambor Etra immediately sprang to their feet.

“It’s ok” Merri said “I’m the other one”

Ferro nodded and opened the door and Merionwen slipped out and then walked briskly towards the elevator.

She only had to wait for a minute or so before the door opened, and once inside she said

“Level 3”

But just before the door closed an arm halted its progress and two men joined her in the lift, both were humans, one was small and shabbily dressed, with weasel like features, and the other was cut from very different cloth, tall good looking and well dressed.

As soon as the door closed the good-looking man said

“Its Miss Strong isn’t it?”

She turned to look at him and replied

“Yes, it is, but I don’t know yo…”  

Her sentence tailed off because while “Good looking” had her attention, “Weasel” paralyzed her with a jab to the neck with a needle.

 

Once Dwynwen had finished dressing, she and her bodyguards, Ferro and Ambor left her suite and took the elevator to the ground floor and then they walked through the busy reception until she spotted the Tornado Crew laughing and joking in one corner, so she headed straight for them and said

“Hello Tornadons”

“Hi Dwyn” Parse responded, “Where’s Merri?”

“She’s not with me” Dwyn replied “She went back to your room to change ages ago”

“I’ve just come from the room and she’s not there” Parse retorted

“Well she should have been” Dwyn repeated “She must have got distracted, or….”

“Or what?” Parse asked urgently, and the rest of the group stopped their chattering, as Dwynwen turned to gesture towards Ferro Scanner and he immediately moved towards her.

“She left MY room this morning” she said but got no response, so she added “She looks like ME”

But still the penny hadn’t dropped

So Dwynwen took a deep breath and said

“She left MY room, looking like ME, so what if someone grabbed her thinking she was me?”  

“Oh God” Parse exclaimed “What are we going to do?”

“Do we know who might have done it?” Asti chipped in

“It could be anyone” Ferro admitted “Mercenaries or bounty hunters, we just don’t know”

“So, what can we do?” Lyris Skeet asked

“We can check to see if she left the hotel” he replied and left the group to consult with Ambor Etra and after a few moments Ambor rushed off.

Meanwhile Malena and Shiyne exchanged a look and discreetly stepped to one side.

“Time to switch your radar on Shiyne” Malena said, which of course meant that Shiyne should use her telepathic gift, because 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.

But in this instance, it was her reading skills that were required.

“Just what I was thinking” she responded and closed her eyes, creased her cerise coloured brow with concentration and began scanning.

Malena and Shiyne’s discreet withdrawal hadn’t gone entirely unnoticed by Dwynwen so while Ambor was checking with security and Ferro Scanner was in communication with the Embassy she also sidled over to join Mal and the Vann and arrived just as Shiyne said

“I’m getting nothing”

“Oh God they’ve killed her” Dwyn exclaimed 

“No, it’s not that kind of nothing” Shiyne explained “it just means that she’s unconscious, probably sedated”

“Are you sure?” Dwyn asked

“She’s sure” Mal said “It’s what she does”

“So, what can we do?” she asked

“Keep trying” Shiyne replied 

“The problem is that I can’t get a fix on her because of her sedation”

“Is there anything we can do to help that?” Dwyn asked

“Yes, we can get closer” Malena said

“Good, let’s go” Dwyn said

“In which direction?” Mal asked

“What?”

“We need to know which general area she might be in” Shiyne said

“Can’t we do it by a process of elimination?”

“Sure, but it they move her while were searching I might never find her” the telepath explained

“So, it’s hopeless” Dwyn said resignedly

“Not if your Andraxian’s can tell us what direction the abductors were heading in” Malena said

“Then I can start my search there” Shiyne added

“Let’s go and talk to them then” Dwyn said and made a bee line for Ferro Scanner, who took a step back as Dwynwen and the Tornado crew bore down on him.

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 09 – Distant Cousins

The planned posh frock and dinner jacket grand dining experience that the Tornados crew were looking forward to, never happened, and was replaced by beer and burgers in the hotel bar where Merri and Dwyn tried to make sense of the doppelgangers in front of them and the rest of the crew watched with fascination as Merri and her carbon copy found out about each other.

 

Dwynwen Strong, like Merri, was born on Earth Secundus in the Overtonis System, but a year later than her cousin, and to Ben Strong’s younger brother Owen, and the reason neither of them knew of the others existence was because the brothers had a falling out when Merri was three years old, which was why Ben Strong left the Overtonis System to work for the Garangon Mining Company, and from that moment on, the Brothers raised their daughters in isolation and with no mention by the fathers regarding the existence of their cousins.

 

At the time the Garangon Mining Company went out of business, after inadvertently destroying the moon they were mining, and Ben Strong kept the Tornado in lieu of payment, Owen Strong was pursuing his own career as an archeologist, and Dwynwen followed in his footsteps, and by the time of Ben Strong’s death, when the Tornado passed to Merri, Dwyn was well respected Archeologist in her own right, while her father Owen had found that his strengths lay in the halls of academe, and was a Professor back on Earth Secundus.

 

Because of her reputation in her field and a recommendation from her father, Dwyn had spent the previous three years aboard the Alexandretta, which was an exploration vessel, searching for all things of mineral, zoological, agricultural and archeological interest, and she had planned to spend a further two years aboard, but something happen and she disembarked at the Aurora 6 space station and took a berth on the first vessel to depart in the opposite direction which was a heavy transport called the Agamemnon, bound for Eikon Major, a journey which took three months.

But she surprised the whole group, including Merri, when she said that her first port of call, after three years away and three months on the Agamemnon, was the Andraxian Embassy in Rendon.

 

Dwynwen explained that the mission brief for the Alexandretta scientists was to ascertain if planets had ever sustained any significant civilizations in their past and gather data by the least invasive means and document their findings, this did involve taking samples, but again these were kept to a minimum, but when evidence pointed to significant sites of a former sophisticated culture, and their locations were identified, Dwynwen and her team were allowed down to the surface to investigate further which ultimately lead to some excavations, and if any artifacts were recovered they were again documented and packed for return to the museum on Andraxis.

However, after three years it came to Dwynwen’s attention after she quite by chance came across a data packet, which contained shipping manifests, but not the ones she had initialed, after completing the loading, but substitutes, detailing that of all the artifacts shipped to the museum, less than half of them completed the trip.

After further discreet investigation she discovered that Captain Bersian of the Alexandretta, two of the Science Directorate aboard, Brenhol and Ocec and the Captain of the freighter Hollander,

Ca Erdd, had all signed off the falsified manifest.

She continued to gather information until the Alexandretta docked at Aurora 6 Space Station to take on supplies which was when she made her move and without telling a soul aboard she gathered up her most precious belongings, and the data tablets, and while everyone else was looking for some fun she was boarding the Agamemnon bound for the Eikon Cluster.

 

“So, what now?” Merri asked

“I have to get to Andraxis and give evidence to the Messengis Science Congress”

“Wasn’t the physical evidence enough?” Asti asked

“No, I have to give a verbal account as well” she explained

“So, until you do, you’re a target” Parse pointed out

“That’s why I have the body guards” she replied and indicated with a nod, the two Andraxian Agents, who couldn’t have looked any more conspicuous if they’d had signs around their necks.

 

The senior agent was Ferro Scanner, tall dark and strikingly handsome, with jet black hair and the typical Andraxian opaque grey green skin which darkened or lightened depending on their mood, he was physically fit, well-toned and could no doubt look after himself and Dwynwen, his second in command was Ambor Etra who was five foot eight with short black hair, in a pixie cut, mesmerizing eyes and a very decent figure with a pert derriere and disproportionately large breasts and long slender legs.

“How long before you leave?” Merri asked

“I have to report to the Embassy in Rendon tomorrow night, then leave the next morning and later that day we have to Rendezvous with an Andraxian Frigate, which will take me all the way there” she replied

Andraxis was two systems away from the Cluster in the Messengis System and the Andraxian’s were an ancient Culture and considered themselves to be the moral guardians of the known universe.

“So soon?” Merri asked

“I’m afraid so” Dwyn replied

“The universe can be very cruel, one day I discover I have a fully-grown cousin and the next she’s off again” Merri said

“Yes, but I know you exist now and where you are” Dwynwen said and hugged her newly found cousin.

 

After a prolonged hug Merri pulled herself free and discreetly wiped a tear from her eye and said

“Well if you’re off leaving tomorrow we need to make the best of the time we have left so let’s get partying!”

 

In ones and two’s, the rest of the crew called it a night, including Merri’s lover Parse, but Merri and Dwynwen partied long and hard and Merri ended up crashing in Dwyn’s suite.

It was far better accommodation than Merri and the crew could afford, but then Dwyn couldn’t afford it either, the only reason she was there was because it was provided by the Andraxian Embassy where she and her body guards could stay and keep her protected.  

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 08 – Clarissoss

 

So, once they had made their decision it was left to Malena to make all the arrangements and they spent the following two weeks suppressing their excitement.

 

During their time in the Eikon Cluster They had heard a lot about Clarissoss, but they had never been, in fact the closest they had got was the capital, Rendon.

 

After spending two days on Eirkos at the agrarian settlement of Montrose they said their goodbyes and leaving Pulsat, Vanzyl and Bagg, they boarded the Stroller for the drive back to Cranack.

When they got back Malena remotely opened the ramp on the Tornado.

“Alright everyone, get aboard” Merri said to the crew “next stop Clarissoss”

Once disembarked from the Stroller they all walked up the ramp and then Merri drove up the ramp into the cargo hold.

Ten minutes later the Tornado lifted off and headed towards Eikon Major.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, which was in fact marginally quicker than usual, Merri entered the atmosphere of Eikon Major, with her piloting, and Malena in the co-pilot seat and she used the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines and landed softly on the apron at the Rendon Space Port.

Once they had shut down all the Tornados systems and secured the ship they left the space port and boarded the shuttle to the resort.

 

Clarissoss was originally a family-oriented leisure resort geared more towards children, but it wasn’t different enough from all the other similar attractions to pull in enough visitors, so the owners closed the traditional loss-making family resort and opened something that targeted adults, and offered a wide range of entertainment, not all of which were entirely legal.

But over the years Clarissoss evolved into the premier resort in the system.

 

The diminutive Princess Asti Alegionaris was beside herself with excitement, and her Ivory skin tingled with delight, and her silver eyes sparkled, when she saw where they were staying.

The Galileo Hotel was located between the Casino district and the Sports complex and adjoined the Spa center which offered, fitness classes, gym, rock sauna, infra-red sauna, aroma steam room, ice fountain, drench showers, Jacuzzi, a Romanesque pool, Reflexology, Raki, facials, scalp massage, hand massage, Manicure and Pedicure, and that was only the tradition array of services that originated on Earth but there was also an extensive catalogue of practices and treatments from other systems including her own home world of Gouveia in the Dania system, and she hadn’t had any of those for a very long time, but she was soon going to rectify that, and then she would have a full range of beauty treatments and put some life back into her platinum hair.

Her huge fellow Gouveian Parse Sacrod, contrasted immensely from Asti, apart from the ivory skin.

He stood 6 foot 8 high, broad and powerfully built, with short curly hair the colour of burnished steel, and mercury coloured eyes, and he had no interest in relaxing or being pampered, so he headed straight for the sports area.

 

Merri, Malena and the Skeets wanted some adrenalin fueled fun, and although Shiyne would also enjoy that, she and Terrell also enjoyed the cultural Center in Rendon, where museums, art galleries, sculptures and antiquities, so they did alternate days.

One day Terrell would join Shiyne and the others for whatever nerve tingling event Merri and the others came up with and the next day they would get the shuttle into Rendon for a day of cultural pursuits.

But at the end of each day they would all go out and eat together and exchange tales about their days, followed by drinking and dancing.

 

In addition to the gambling, pampering, partying, clubling and catering for the sport obsessed, Clarissoss had also become a very popular venue for the sin seekers, but the visitors in pursuit of seedier activities found that they were to be found hidden away from more sensitive eyes, but although the Tornado crew were far from sensitive, they had no interest in that part of the resort.

 

After ten days none of the crew were showing any sign of slowing down but they had begun to tire of the usual restaurants that they had been frequenting so on night ten they were going to a very up market place, which even had a dress code.

So, it was decided that they would dress in posh frocks and dinner suits and would meet downstairs in the bar.

 

Merri was still getting ready when Parse left their room as he had broken a cufflink and needed another set, so he went downstairs to the Hotels Plaza and bought some new ones, he didn’t dress up much since joining the Tornado so when he did he wanted to do it properly.

He quickly chose a set he was happy with and the girl in the shop put them in his cuffs for him and then he ambled slowly across the plaza to the bar where they were all to meet, which was when he caught sight of Merri, but she wasn’t wearing the beautiful green dress she’d had on when he left the room, instead she had on a figure hugging top, leather trousers and knee high boots, and although she still looked gorgeous he was a little disappointed.

He picked up the pace and followed her and caught up with her halfway between the door and the bar.

 

“Hey, why did you change?” he said touching her arm “you looked stunning in that dress”

In response she turned around to face him

“Whoa steady on big fella” she said “No touching”

“Oh” he exclaimed when he looked at the familiar face possessed with someone else’s eyes

“Sorry, I thought you were someone else” he said meekly “you are the spitting image of her”

“Seriously? Is that the best you’ve got, I’m the spitting image of a girl you once went out with?”

“No, you’re the spitting image of the girl I’m going out with now, and she’s… standing over there”

She craned her neck to see this remarkable double but as she was a foot shorter than the big Gouveian she couldn’t see her.

“Of course, she is” she remarked and then he smiled and said

“Very funny Malena, you got me, morphing into Merri”

“Who the hell is Malena?” The doppelganger asked

“I am” she said as she appeared and then Merri joined the group and she did a double take, looking firstly at Mal then at her double and then Mal again before saying

“What the…? You’ve got my face, and my eyes and my hair,

And you dress like me, who the hell are you?”

She demanded

“I like your boots by the way”

“Thanks, I got them on Androsin Prime” she replied

“I’m Dwynwen”

“She’s even got a sing songy name like you Merri” Asti said as she joined the group along with the Skeets, Shiyne and Terrell

“So, what’s your name then?” Dwyn asked

“Merionwen Strong” she replied

“No that’s my name” Dwyn replied

“I thought you said your name was Dwynwen?” Merri asked

“It is, Dwynwen Strong”

There was a full minute of total silence as the two redheads took in the new information and then the pair said in unison

“I need a drink”

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 07 – Holiday Talk

 

After an enjoyable and surprising Eastertide Festival on Marikya the Tornado returned Bagg’s brother, Trebreh, his wife Xandra, and her brother Ale, along with Duff Tarver and his wife Chani to the peaceful agrarian settlement of Montrose on Eirkos, and then proceeded to Soman to pick up a load for delivery to Eikon Minor.

After delivering the three pods of freight to the Legionnaires Garrison they returned Wisma Berita to the Visitors Rest which was the bar she owned in Gipki, then with all their passengers returned to their homes, the Tornado returned to plying its trade in the Eikon Cluster.

The system was known as the Eikon Cluster due to the high number of M class planets and moons in the Eikon solar system,   they could always rely on an abundance of work with Golbolt Interstellar, based on the moon Soman, and the main reason for that was that the Operations Manager was Oshwin Lemik and he fought against the Legion in the Shaxson War along with the Skeet brothers, they as pilots and Oshwin as Logistics Commander.

From the moment they were reacquainted, 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 neighbouring planet’s, Achrem and Zenden as well as Zenden’s moon, Linden, plus a host of other smaller moons and asteroids.

In the time they had been in the Eikon Cluster they had familiarized themselves with the planets and moons they visited and had cultivated great friendships along the way, and in the months that followed their Sojourn to Marikya they delivered their cargo to every planet, moon and asteroid in every corner of the system with barely a moment’s respite.

Until after almost nine months of continuous toil Merri exclaimed

“We need a vacation!”

She was on the flight deck, sitting in the left seat with the huge framed figure of Parse Sacrod stood behind her with a hand on each shoulder, the Tornado’s second in command Malena Endia was in the co-pilots chair and Shiyne was at the nav panel.

They were in a holding pattern on approach to Eikon Major following a Leviathan tanker, which was going painfully slowly, and it was as she looked out through the glass at the arse end of a Leviathan when she made her exclamation.

“We need a vacation!”

“Yes, that would be nice” Shiyne said unenthusiastically, she had made the Vacation statement countless times before and they never got one, so they had no reason to think this time was any different, they had short breaks of course like the one on Marikya, but not a proper holiday.

“I’m serious, we really need a vacation”

“We agree” Malena said “But that doesn’t mean we’ll get one”

“Why not?”

“Because you always say you need one and then another job comes up and then bang goes the vacation” Shiyne replied

“Well we’re having one” Merri said indignantly “Get everyone in the mess room once we’ve unloaded”

“Aye, aye Captain” Malena said and threw a salute

 

The Tornado wasn’t a huge ship as freighters go, especially compared to a Leviathan or a Gargantuan, 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, but not so much in recent years, they had even toyed with the idea of doing away with the “special” pod, but couldn’t bring themselves to do it. 

 

Once on the surface the Tornado dropped their cargo pods, which were driven away, and then the ground crew maneuvered the three loaded pods into position for the return trip.

Once the Pods were in place Merri lowered the Tornado to secure them and then lowered the front ramp, so the remaining smaller freight could be unloaded.

There were only four small pieces for the return so once they were aboard and the manifests had been checked and signed they closed the door and as they had three hours until they could take off again, Merri called the meeting.

 

Lyris was the last to arrive in the mess and Merri said

“Good of you to join us”

“I thought it was just the usual scones and coffee, or is there a special occasion?”

“Yes, there is and that’s because we all need a vacation” she replied, and her remarks were met with a chorus of derision

“Not that old chestnut” Lyris said

“We’ve heard all this before” Asti added

“You always talk about a vacation but that’s as far as it goes” Zerrad chimed in

Even Pulsat and Vanzyl were emanating unsympathetic noises so she asked

“What about you Bagg?” 

“Well we have been here before” he replied “and we probably will be again”

“Oh, is that right, well let me tell you this, I’ve already contacted Oshwin and told him to clear us a fourteen-day window so what do you think of that?” she said, and a happy murmur spread around the room.

“That’s made you change your tune” she said, and they all took it in turns to kiss her and say thanks.

“Well I suggest you all start making plans” she said trying to keep her composure and then added “and now I will have pancakes”

The whole mood aboard had changed, and the mess room was buzzing with excited chatter as they made their plans while Bagg fed them freshly made pancakes.

 

Merri checked the time and after finishing her mouthful she said

“Our departure time is approaching, so it’s time to prepare for take-off, Lyris you’ve got the left seat, Asti co-pilot, and I’ll be up when I’ve had more pancakes”

 

There was a lot of discussion among certain members of the crew as to how exactly they would spend their holiday, but not so much for others, as Bagg would spend it with Wisma and along with the two engineers, Pulsat and Vanzyl, go to the peaceful agrarian settlement of Montrose on Eirkos, where Bagg and Wisma could enjoy two perfect weeks with his family, brother Trebreh, sister in law Xandra, her brother Ale and friends Duff and Chani Tarver.

For the engineers the time would be a little less peaceful but nonetheless enjoyable as they would be run ragged entertaining the village children, or “small humans” as they called them, Pulsat running and chasing them in the meadows and Vanzyl swimming with them in the lake.

For the rest of the crew however, as much as they loved Montrose and the people, had something a little more adventurous in mind, they would obviously spend a day or two enjoying their warm hospitality, but the bulk of their holiday would be spent elsewhere, the problem was where.

Merri, Malena and the Skeets wanted some adrenalin fueled fun, and although Shiyne would also enjoy that, she and Terrell also enjoyed cultural centers, where museums, art galleries, sculptures and antiquities would keep them enthralled, an activity to be made all the more enjoyable as they were doing it with each other.

Asti was looking for luxury and pampering, while Parse Sacrod primarily wanted to play some sports, but they all wanted to spend the vacation together.

So, they looked for common ground and in addition to their first choices, they all liked to dance, they all liked to drink, and they all loved to gamble, so in the end it was an easy choice, The Clarissoss Resort City on Eikon Major.

With Luxury Hotels, casinos, bars, clubs, and restaurants, sporting facilities to suit every taste, located close enough to the wilderness for the adventurous types and only an hour’s shuttle ride away from Eikon Major’s Capital City, Rendon where those of a more cultural bent could indulge themselves to their hearts content.

 

So, once they had made their decision it was left to Malena to make all the arrangements and they spent the following two weeks suppressing their excitement.

 

During their time in the Eikon Cluster, they had heard a lot about Clarissoss, but they had never been, in fact the closest they had got to it was the capital, Rendon.

 

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 06 – Amota Tricona

Malena Endia was from Obgaron Prime in the Alandis system which was now deep in the heart of the Mehreen Empire, though she, like many of her species, fled into Legion territory after their world was invaded, but many of her kind died after the invasion and she wasn’t sure exactly how many were left because they weren’t easily recognized as they were a race of shape shifters.

The Mehreen were a brutal regime who conquered world after world without warning, either for tactical and strategic reasons or for want of the planet’s resources, but in the case of Obgaron Prime there was no strategic value and it was poor in minerals and Orr, their destruction was for a very different reason altogether, fear.  

The mighty Mehreen Empress feared the Obgaron because of a long-held prophecy that the Empire would been brought down by beings who could transform themselves into Mehreen High Councillor’s and seize power unnoticed, so they thought those beings were shape shifters, so they slaughtered everyone they could lay their hands on without mercy.

 

The Obgaron were a peaceful insular people who had had minimal exposure to the universe outside their own system so the majority of the inhabitants weren’t fearful of an impending invasion. 

Malena however was not among them and fled, stowing away on a deep space exploration vessel with a few of her like-minded people and slipped through the Mehreen net by transforming.

Though she could change form at will she could only transform 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.

But that need to touch a subject in order to shift cost many more lives during the invasion among the Obgaronian’s who had no suitable form to shift into to when the time came, in order to evade the Mehreen hordes.

The form Malena took was that of a 27-year-old human whom she met on a remote mining colony when she first entered Legion space, that was more than 20 years earlier and she still looked exactly the same.

It was on another mining planet 12 months later that she first met Ben Strong and joined his crew aboard the Tornado where she quickly proved herself to be invaluable, firstly as just one of the crew but she soon showed a natural gift for navigating and she also excelled as a nanny to 9-year-old Merri.   

But in all that time she had never once seen or even heard of another Obgaron, which was why when Terrell injected the errant Sister, dispatching her with a jab to the neck so she crumpled to the floor, and she transformed from the Sister dressed in traditional white habit with the face of a human, shimmered and faded to be replaced by a very different Mercurial form of liquid silver glass, she was stunned.

“My God she’s Obgaron” Malena said and sunk to her knees, as did the other sisters, and then rest of the Tornado crew appeared.

“I’ll get the Prefects” Parse said

“No, please, not yet” Malena pleaded “I need to talk to her first”
Never have spoken to or seen another Obgaron in over twenty years she couldn’t hand her over to the Prefects without a word.

 

The Sisters temporarily closed the Chamber and locked the doors leaving the two Obgaron alone inside, the rest of the crew were anxious, no more so the Zerrad Skeet, but Shiyne kept up her own line of communication going. 

“What if the Sister changes into some Dragon thing?” Zerrad asked

“Then Malena will change into a bigger one” Lyris retorted

 

“What’s your name?” Mal asked the Sister who had now returned to her human form

“Sister Tabatha” she replied

“You’re real name”

“That is my Church name” she insisted

“Very well” Malena said and instantly transformed into her natural state and said

“My name is Malena Endia, what’s yours?”

This made Sister Tabatha gasp and prompted her to change as well

“Amota Tricona” she said “I thought I was the only one left”

“Have you never seen another of our kind either?” Malena asked and Amota shook her head

“The Sisters took me in more than twenty years ago and I have stayed with them ever since” she explained “I would have died if not for them”

“And they have you steal for them in return” Malena said

“No, no, they didn’t know” she replied “I did it to repay them for their kindness to me, I told them they were donations, and they didn’t know I wasn’t human”

“Very noble, but it’s still theft” Mal pointed out

“But I only take from the wealthy” Amota said defensively

“I don’t take anything they can’t afford to lose”

“But you have taken precious things, not precious because of their value but of the sentiment attached” Mal explained “Irreplaceable things” 

“I didn’t think of that” Amota said “I’m sorry”

“So where are the things you took today?” Mal asked

“Over here” she replied and led Malena into a dingy corner and opened a cupboard.

“I’m looking for an Androsin Gold bracelet with an intricate design inlaid with platinum and a handcrafted leather bag” she said “Both taken today”

It only took Amota about a minute to locate the two items and hand them over

“What happens now?”

“I don’t know” Mal replied “Under the law you should be handed over to the Prefects, that’s what we intended before I knew you were you, so now I don’t know”

“What will the Prefects do to me?” she asked

“I suppose it depends on the Sisters, and if they will speak in your defense” Malena replied and Amota’s shoulders slumped and when they did Mal closed her eyes and said “done” in her head.

 

Shiyne gave the signal and they all walked towards the door where Visitor Parham had been in deep conversation with the Mother Superior.

“We can go in now” Shiyne said

“Ok, but I need to talk to you all first” Bagg said

 

“We are not going to hand her over to the Prefects” Bagg said

“What?” Parse exclaimed

“The Mother Superior will send Sister Tabatha on their next transport, to one of their closed orders, away from the faithful” Bagg said “That will be punishment enough”

“What about the stealing?” Parse asked

“Stop thinking like a policeman” Bagg said “She wasn’t doing it for personal gain”  

“What about the bracelet?” Lyris asked

“Malena has it, and the old ladies’ bag” Shiyne announced

“I think it’s the best solution” Bagg said “I’m sure Malena will agree”

 

Malena was visibly relieved when Bagg told her what had been decided, Amota would have been little more than a girl when she fled her home world, and she believed she was merely repaying the Sisters for their kindness.

The Sisters didn’t care that she wasn’t human, and she would always be Sister Tabatha to them and Malena knew she would be safe in a closed order.

 

A month later Malena had Zerrad fly her back to Marikya in the Spider Hawk when it was time for Amota to leave so she could say goodbye.

“Do you think we are the only two Obgaron left?” Amota asked

“If I’d been asked that a month ago I would have said I was the only one” she replied “but now I know there are two of us so I suspect if there are two then there are a lot more, we are very good at hiding, but we must stay hidden, because the Mehreen still want to kill us” 

They stood on the landing field at the foot of the loading ramp and embraced

“We will see each other again” Malena said “So stay safe”

“You too”

Zerrad put his arm around Malena and she had mixed emotions

as they watched the transport lift off, she was happy that she was no longer the last of the Obgaron but sad that Amota Tricona had to leave, but as she stood with the comforting arms of her lover around her she felt at peace and she knew for certain sure that she would see her again, even though she didn’t know when.