The Tornado Sojourns (5) – Chapter 2 – Coll Musak

 

Coll Musak stepped out of the run-down Mission Clinic and tried to think of a time when he had left that dreary building with good news, but he couldn’t, so he proceeded to the tram stop through the mist, murk and smog.

It was cold, and damp and the air was foul, the smog was so thick that it was impossible to discern where the buildings ended, and the sky began.

When he reached the Tram stop he sat down on what passed for a bench, leant his walking stick against the bench beside him and then reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a flask and put it to his lips and took a swig.

“You shouldn’t do that you know, it’ll kill you it will” A voice said from the other end of the bench.

He turned his head to see that the voice belonged to a small skinny Gouveian woman of indeterminate age wearing shabby clothes, who he had seen on the Tram several times before, but they had never spoken.  

“It killed my husband” she continued “And he was much younger than you”

He smiled and nodded then he took another swig.

Coll was fifty-nine years old, almost sixty, and he gave up drinking thirty years before when he met Silia, who soon after became his wife, and he remained tee total, even though war and grief, until a few weeks before that day when he was first diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, inoperable.

There were treatments of course but they would merely delay the inevitable, the prognosis was that without treatment he would probably see his sixtieth birthday but definitely not his sixty first, so he figured a drink wouldn’t hurt him

“I will just have to take that dear lady” he said to her and smiled.

 

Coll was a big man; over six feet tall and broad shouldered and despite his need to walk with a stick he still carried himself with a military bearing and apart from Plasma shell remnants in his leg, hence the need for the stick, and the fact that he was dying he had felt ok, an occasional nagging headache but no more than that.

He had lost a little weight of late, not a bad thing in itself he had been a stone or two overweight for a good few years, and he had felt tired a good deal which he put down to his age, he wouldn’t have seen a doctor at all but for the fact he had had an accident and been knocked down in the street by a man running from the Prefects.

But in those few short weeks since the initial diagnosis the pain had started, and it was getting worse, pain like he had never known before, even when he was blown up in the war it didn’t hurt so bad, and he was starting to look gaunt and skin hung loosely about his neck.

He thought back to the conversation he had had with the Mission Doctor, barely an hour earlier, a man who looked older than his years who smelt of whisky and peppermint and had tremors in his hands.

“You have a little time to get your affairs in order” he said to him.

“But you will deteriorate very quickly”

“Just as well I have no affairs to get in order” he had thought to himself.

He had no one to miss him or mourn him; his passing would be as insignificant as a ripple on a pond.

Silia, his wife of 19 years passed away more than ten years previous after a Legion air strike, and his only child Kered died a few days later of his wounds.

He had lost touch with the friends and comrades from the war and those friends he had made on Eikon Major were either already dead or unable to recognise him, so there were no beneficiaries of his meagre estate.

There was enough in his savings to deal with his mortal remains but no more than that.

He wasn’t scared, he was ready to die, he had had enough, his life had been almost intolerable since Silia died, lonely and meaningless, but the last year had all but broken him and he was ashamed of himself and that was something he thought would never happen, but he had allowed himself to become a victim, giving in to intimidation and what was most unforgivable of all he had become a coward.

 

After flying the Spider Hawk to Eikon Major, Lyris and Zerrad parked at the space port, then caught the Hi-speed Shuttle from the capital City Rendon and travelled for three hours to the grimy run down former industrial power house of Ditton, where they rented a Runabout.

The Skeets, Oshwin Lemik and Coll Musak were all from Shax and all fought against the Legion in the Shaxon War, the Skeet brothers were fighter pilots, Oshwin was Logistics Commander and Coll Musak was a Corvette Captain.

When the war came to an unsatisfactory conclusion for the Shaxson rebels the Legion exacted a heavy retribution which lead to some of the former fighters having to turn their backs on their home worlds to escape the Legions punitive punishments.

None of them had any reason to stay when the war was over so even if the Legion had been prepared to allow them to live in peace there was nothing left to bind them to their birthplace.

After leaving the Shaxon System they all went their separate ways, and it was just a twist of fate that they had all ended up in the Eikon Cluster.

Oshwin had been there the longest arriving within a year of leaving Shax and Coll arrived a few months later, though neither knew of the others existence, the Skeets arrived some years after that, but they had only learned that Coll was in the system after Oshwin passed on a message to them from Vinid Cupra, comms officer in the transmitter hut at the Odekka landing field on Achrem, to say that he had been drinking with some Shaxon Grain Freighter hands, and they told him they had met another compatriot in a shithole of a town called Ditton, on Eikon Major, and whilst in his cups, he let slip that he was planning to kill someone.

It was that news which caused them to act, he was clearly in trouble, and that they had to help him because they owed him, had it not been for Captain Coll Musak the Skeet brothers would be dead.

Which was why they were in Ditton, and they had been in town for three days before they tracked him down, and they were parked in the street when they saw him leave the Mission Clinic and watched him cross the road.

They knew that Coll was a proud man, so they couldn’t let on they had gone there to find him, it would have to appear that they had stumbled upon him and make the chance meeting as casual as possible.

So, they watched him walk towards the Tram Stop, then sitting on the bench and talking to an elderly lady and when he took his second swig from his flash they drove towards him and when the Runabout was parallel to the Tram Stop Lyris leant out of the window and shouted

“Captain Musak! Is that you? My God it is! As I live and breathe”

The Tornado Sojourns (5) – Chapter 1 – A Friend in Need

With the Tornado grounded at Cranack port on Eirkos for repairs and Captain Merionwen Strong two systems away from the Eikon Cluster in the Messengis System visiting Andraxis with her newly acquainted cousin Dwynwen, they were at a loose end after completing their share of the chores.

The vary capable engineers, Pulsat and Vanzyl worked on the Tornado to get her back to her best and would ultimately get her to beyond her best.

They rest of the crew weren’t idle either and took the opportunity of their downtime to get the interior back up to snuff, Terrell spruced up the sickbay, Bagg did a complete spring clean of the mess and kitchen, while the two Gouveian’s, Parse and Asti, sorted the flight deck.

Everyone did their own quarters and they all came together to do the common areas.

When the Tornado was fully functional they were based on Eirkos’s second Moon Soman and worked exclusively for one of the largest Interstellar Freight Distributors in the system, Golbolt Interstellar, and they had collectively decided to sign up with them rather than operate as independents and find their own work.

The main reason for that was that the Operations Manager was Oshwin Lemik and he fought against the Legion in the Shaxon War with the Skeet brothers, they as pilots and Oshwin as Logistics Commander.

It was through that friendship that Oshwin loaned the Tornado crew a clipper called Darios, so that acting Captain Malena Endia and temporary first officer Shiyne could do some local freight hauling and the clipper also allowed them to keep the supply of parts coming to facilitate the engineer’s repairs on the Tornado.

It was also through Oshwin, as a result of a conversation, that the Skeet Brothers chose to use the down time to fly the Spider Hawk to Eikon Major because they had news about an old friend and were concerned for his well-being.

 

The Skeet brothers were born on the agrarian world of Shax in the populous Shaxson system, which was one of the last to join the Legion and it was not an easy transition or indeed a wholly welcome one.

In fact, it was a protracted and bloody courtship which involved three years of bitter war and it was that war that saw the Skeet’s swap their plough shares for Pulsar weapons and tractors for Spider Hawk Fighters, Lyris was 22 and his brother Zerrad was just 19 when they left their home.

When the war came to an unsatisfactory conclusion for the Shaxson rebels the Legion exacted a heavy retribution which lead to some of the former fighters having to turn their backs on their home worlds to escape the Legions punitive punishments and give up living on the land and live on the lam instead.

Not that the Skeets had much appetite for farming after all the action they had seen.

They had no family left on Shax by the time the war was over so even if the Legion had been prepared to allow them to live in peace there was nothing left to bind them to their birthplace.

So, they left the Shaxson system and signed on to an inter galactic freighter and spent two years jumping from galaxy to galaxy until they tired of the life, albeit a well-paid one, so they disembarked at the Exodus 9 space dock before the Goliath departed through the star gate.

They found life was different outside of the cossetted world of the “deep spacers” and found that most employers treated people very differently and they had a very uncomfortable 12 months working as flight crew on an Omega class planet hopper, the Phoenix, until one day as they were approaching the Exodus 9 space dock to drop off a load of farming implements Lyris made a hasty decision.

As they were on their final approach an Apantician grain freighter was just leaving and momentarily it put the little Omega on its blindside so instead of proceeding to dock on the outer docking ring Lyris had a sudden rush of blood to the head and concealed the Phoenix beneath the grain freighters starboard engine array rendering it invisible to the ship’s crew and the space docks instruments.

“What the hell are you doing?” Zerrad asked

“We’re getting the hell out of this system before this work bores us to death” Lyris replied

“Better that than being worked to death on a penal planet” his younger brother pointed out “and if we go through the gate we don’t have enough fuel to get us to the next one”

“Firstly, these little Omega’s are ten a penny so they’re not going to waste time and money tracking us down and secondly we don’t need fuel, we’ll just hitch a ride on this beast” Lyris said

“But we don’t know where it’s going Ly” Zerrad said

“Anywhere is better than here” he retorted 

Which was how and why they ended up living and working

in the Cammaratian System plying a fairly lucrative trade going from planet to planet, moon to moon and mine to mine where they worked on the margins of legality, frequently operating on the wrong side of the law just to make a living and with Scav Raiders at large they needed their wits about them at all times just to stay alive.

But although the Phoenix was unarmed it had a good turn of speed which could outrun most of the trouble they came across.

 

They were only half-brothers, but despite their differences they were unmistakably brothers.

They were both six feet tall, broad and muscular but Lyris had black hair, dark almost black eyes and a short fuse, while Zerrad was blonde, grey eyed and was quiet and thoughtful.  

 

Like many of the independents in the system they had their base on Alwi the fourth moon of the seventh planet Aragon, which was where they got to know the crew of the Tornado, and Merionwen, Malena and Shiyne were their closest friends although Zerrad secretly hoped for more in regard to Malena.

Lyris was content with friendship though, although they were all really attractive and of the right age for him they all had drawbacks, tall slim Merri with her abundance of red hair trailing behind her like a mane, pale skin, penetrating green eyes and an altogether striking appearance but along with that she was a forthright, volatile and feisty personality and that made her far too like him for them to be anything other than friends.

Then there was the smaller Shiyne, who was completely bald, had cerise coloured skin and purple eyes who he found to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, alas though she was a Vann, and the Vann were telepaths and he couldn’t get anywhere with someone who could actually read his mind, it was difficult enough with the ones that thought they knew what he was thinking.

And finally there was Malena, also tall and 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 so in her own natural Mercurial form of liquid silver glass she looked very different, not that he had ever seen her in that form or any other Obgaron for that matter, but he understood that even in their natural state they were very pleasing to the eye, but Lyris was a meat and potatoes kind of guy, unlike his brother who he knew saw her in a very different light, though nothing came of his attraction until one day when they didn’t outrun the trouble they came across, when they were ambushed by Scav Raiders, but fortunately the Tornado was on hand to rescue them, just in the nick of time, and the love between Malena and Zerrad which had been ever present beneath the surface was suddenly brought to the fore when they so nearly lost each other.

It was just after their dice with death and their joining the Tornado’s crew that Lyris met Princess Asti Alegionaris and his fate was sealed the moment he first laid eyes on her.

So, they both had a lot to lose as they flew to Eikon Major, where they parked at the space port and rented a Runabout.

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 17 – Delivering Bad News

 

After engaging the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines the Tempest class freighter landed softly on the apron at Cranack and when the freighters ramp lowered the Tornado’s APMTV, (All Purpose Multi Terrain Vehicle), nicknamed the “Stroller”, followed on foot by Asti,

The name Stroller was an ironic one because when Shiyne or Merri were behind the wheel it did anything but stroll, the moment it came to a halt Asti paused before remotely closing the ramp and then climbed aboard, and as the Stroller pulled away

Malena looked long and hard at the blackened scars on the Tornado and said

“Let’s go and give Pulsat and Vanzyl the bad news”

 

It was mid-morning when they reached the settlement, and everyone was surprised when the Stroller pulled into the yard.

There first port of call was to find their crewmate Visitor Parham, known as Bagg, who was staying with his brother Trebreh, who was also a Visitor, and his wife Xandra and her brother Ale who was Bagg’s boyhood friend.

 

As they disembarked from the Stroller Malena turned around and perused the two familiar figures walking toward them, surrounded by children, Pulsat Rad was slightly shorter than the other, and the heavy set Prinsloovian was unmistakable, with his rough bony skull raising up like a crown above his Mahogany scaled brow.

He was clearly enjoying himself, his smiling ivory coloured face bore testament to that and his yellow eyes were twinkling.

His friend Vanzyl was slender and although they both shared reptilian ancestry Vanzyl was more akin to a fish than a lizard, with large eyes and pursed lips, and of course gills.

 “Good meeting again” Pulsat said and clicks and whirls began to emanate from Vanzyl which were clearly directed at Pulsat

“Ok I speak” he said, and more clicks and whirls followed

“I ask, I ask” Pulsat retorted

“Vanzyl say why you early back?”

“It’s a long story” Malena replied and in response Vanzyl made a long whistling noise followed by a succession of clicks and Pulsat snorted.

“Yes, Yes, I ask, I ask” Pulsat retorted

“Where Captain?”

“That’s another long story” Mal replied “Come and sit with us and we’ll explain everything”

The Strollers arrival had been met with mixed feelings by the children of the village and Pulsat and Vanzyl, a sign that it would soon be time for them to leave was not well received by the children and there were vociferous calls of disappointment when Pulsat and Vanzyl had to join the crew, but their displeasure didn’t prevent them from walking with their friends to the courtyard and hugging them when they got there, and the two engineers were reminded of how sad they would be leaving the “small humans”

 

After the greetings were over with the first task was to introduce the injured Andraxian, Ambor Etra, to them who was confined to a stretcher and discharged her in Xandra’s care who they knew would ensure she got the bedrest she required.

Once Ambor was settled, as she had been clearly tired by the journey, the crew told the tale of the meeting with Merri’s cousin Dwynwen, and what brought her to the Eikon Cluster, the mistaken identity which lead to Merri’s abduction and the subsequent rescue, and the perilous voyage to the rendezvous.

Vanzyl started clicking and whirling agitatedly.  

“I do it, I do it” Pulsat said to his Kesslerian friend, and Vanzyl whistled and clicked again and Pulsat snorted.

“Tornado shot?”

“A little bit” Mal replied and Vanzyl became very excitable and clicks and whirls began to emanate from him which were clearly directed at Pulsat

“Ok I speak” he said, and more clicks and whirls followed

“I telling, I telling” Pulsat retorted and to the group he explained

“Vanzyl say we must look” 

“There’s plenty of time to do that, we’ll look later” Malena said

Then there were more Clicks and whirls

“I telling, I telling”

“Vanzyl say we look now” Pulsat insisted

“Ok” Mal said in surrender

 

Shiyne accompanied Malena as moral support for the journey back to Cranack, she would have preferred to have spent the time with Terrell, but he was busy attending to Ambor.

As she approached the Tornado Mal braced herself and when they had an uninterrupted view of the ship Pulsat screamed and he and Vanzyl jumped out of the Stroller.

“Argh!” The former exclaimed repeatedly while running back and forth, while the latter stood transfixed while uttering repeated strings of whirls whistles and clicks.

It was a full five minutes before Pulsat could utter a sentence

“What kind Holiday, you have?”

Vanzyl whistled and clicked again and Pulsat snorted.

“Tornado broken, yes” Pulsat agreed

“Can you fix her?” Malena asked

“We fix, yes” Pulsat said sadly as he realised it would be some months before they would return to Montrose and their friends.

“We go Soman soon?”

Soman was where Golbolt Interstellar was based, which was where they got most of their work and the main reason for that was that the Operations Manager was Oshwin Lemik and he fought against the Legion in the Shaxon War with the Skeet brothers, they as pilots and Oshwin as Logistics Commander.

Golbolt also had an abundance of hardstanding where the Tornado could stand while it was repaired.

“I thought we’d just stay on Eirkos while you fix it” Malena said

Vanzyl uttered a soft whistle like a plaintive flute, then he looked at his friend and whistled again.

“Yes, we fix”

 

So, over the next three months, while Ambor Etra convalesced amidst the gentle people of Montrose, the two reptilian engineers worked on the Tornado to get her back to her best, however they actually got her to beyond her best.

The rest of the crew weren’t idle either, and took the opportunity of their downtime to get the inside back up to snuff, although thanks to Oshwin, who loaned them a clipper called Darios, Mal and Shiyne did some local freight hauling and the clipper also allowed them to keep the supply of parts coming to facilitate the engineers repairs on the Tornado, but the Skeet Brothers used the down time to fly the Spider Hawk to Eikon Major because they were concerned about an old friend.

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 16 – Rendezvous

 

The Corvette carried much more armour so the Pulsar Lasers wouldn’t be as effective even with concentrated fire and knowing the Tornado had a rear facing Plasma Cannon they were never going attack from behind so there was no surprise on the flight deck when the Corvette turned onto an attack vector that would bring them nose to nose.

 

As the distance between them shortened both vessels opened fire and every shot from the Corvette hit home hard, but the concentrated fire from the twin Pulsar Lasers seemed to have little or no effect

“This doesn’t look good” Merri said as the Taipan Corvette bore down on them maintaining their steady pattern of firing.

“She’s a touch old ship” Lyris said as another cannon blast hit home and smoke began to emanate from one of the wall panel.

Asti moved quickly to deal with the fire so missed the moment that the Corvette shuddered and appeared to move sideways, seconds before it exploded into atoms.

“Help has arrived” Ferro Scanner said proudly 

“Thank God” Merri said “But we still have work to do, Mal you take the left seat, Lyris and Zerrad check for damage”

“On our way” Lyris said

“Asti, right seat, do a roll call make sure no one is hurt”

“Consider it done” Asti retorted

“What do you want me to do?” Ferro asked

“You’d better standby for when our saviors make contact” Merri replied and almost the moment she finished speaking Malena said

“We’re being hailed”

“Right on cue” Merri said, “put it on speaker!”

“Tornado, this is Captain Monat of the Andraxian Dreadnaught Hyperion”

“Hello Hyperion, Captain Strong of the Tornado responding, Thank you for the assistance”

“I’m only sorry we cut it so close, is your vessel sound?”

“It appears to be so, yes, we’re still checking the damage though”

“Let me know if the situation changes and in the meantime follow astern of us and we’ll escort you to the rendezvous

“Thank you, Captain,” Merri said

 

Once they had fallen in line behind the Hyperion Merri left the flight deck and went down to the sickbay.

“Everything alright down here? Is Ambor ready to be transferred to the Frigate?” Merri asked

“Well she’s stable but I’m not comfortable with her travelling long spells in Hyperspace, I don’t think she’s strong enough” Terrell explained

“Then we’ll take her to Montrose where she can recover safely”

Merri suggested

“I’d be much happier with that” Terrell said

“You could go with her Ferro”

“I can’t, I have to go with Dwyn to Andraxis”

“In that case you need to tell her how you feel before you go” Terrell said

“What do you mean?” Ferro said

“He means tell Ambor that you love her before you go” Merri said “You’ll regret it if you don’t”

“How did you two know?”

“It’s wasn’t difficult, you haven’t let her out of your sight since she was shot” Merri explained

 

When they reached the rendezvous point Malena brought the Tornado to a halt above the Frigate she reported to Merri and the Captain immediately called a crew meeting in the mess room.

 

“As you all know” she began “Ambor isn’t well enough to travel back to Andraxis, so she will be convalescing with the good people of Montrose and shortly Dwyn and Ferro are transferring to the Frigate, but what most of you don’t know is that I’m going too”

“What?” they all chorused with the exception of Parse, Malena and Shiyne who she had already told.

“I’ll only be gone for six months and Malena will be acting Captain in my absence” she said

 

After all the goodbyes were said Lyris brought the engines online and with him piloting and his brother Zerrad in the co-pilot seat, he used the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines to manoeuvre the Tornado towards the Frigate.

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, such as the Tornados Spider Hawk.

He killed the engines and was using the thrusters to hold the ship steady and maneuvered into position then he landed softly and docked with the Frigate using the ships belly docking ring.

Once the docking was complete and sealed, Merri, Dwyn and Ferro climbed through the docking ring into the ship below.

 

After watching the Andraxian Frigate burn its main thruster and head into the distance Malena sighed and then took her place in the pilot’s chair and Shiyne said from the copilot’s seat

“Good to go Captain”

“Ok, set a course for Eirkos number one” Mal said

“Oh, I like the sound of that” Shiyne said

“Don’t get too used to it I’ll want my job back when Merri returns” Mal said

“I can live with that” she replied “Course locked in Captain”

So, with Malena in the left seat and co-pilot Shiyne monitoring the instruments the Tornado’s 4 Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines were engaged and the Tempest Class freighter headed for Eirkos as their Captain and friend headed in the opposite direction.

 

When they got back in the Eikon Cluster proper, the Skeet Brothers took off in the Spider Hawk from the upper docking ring bound for Eikon Major where they would collect all their personal belongings from their rooms and settle their accounts while the Tornado headed for Eirkos to be reunited with their other crewmates who had spent their holiday at the agrarian settlement of Montrose, and although they were looking forward to seeing them again, they were dreading revealing the extent of the damage the Tornado had sustained to their engineers Pulsat and Vanzyl.  

 

After engaging the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines the Tempest class freighter landed softly on the apron at Cranack and when the freighters ramp lowered the Tornado’s APMTV, (All Purpose Multi Terrain Vehicle), nicknamed the “Stroller”, followed on foot by Asti,

The name Stroller was an ironic one because when Shiyne or Merri were behind the wheel it did anything but stroll, the moment it came to a halt Asti paused before remotely closing the ramp and then climbed aboard, and as the Stroller pulled away

Malena looked long and hard at the blackened scars on the Tornado and said

“Let’s go and give Pulsat and Vanzyl the bad news”

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 15 – Unwanted Attention

 

“Tower this is the Tempest Class Freighter Tornado requesting permission to depart” Zerrad said

“Stand by Tornado” a voice responded and then after what seemed like an age they added “You are cleared to go, please follow vector 90 to outer marker, good luck”

With the engines warmed up and clearance to depart, and with Lyris piloting and his brother Zerrad in the co-pilot seat and Asti Alegionaris looking on, the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines were engaged, and the Tempest class freighter lifted off.

 

The moment the Tornado left Eikon Majors atmosphere Parse Sacrod and Shiyne entered Pod 4 to release Captain Merionwen Strong, her cousin Dwynwen, Sciberran Healer Terrell Vorton and the two Andraxian agents one of whom had received a Pulsar strike on her hip and it was Terrell who was the first to speak.

“Parse get this girl to the sick bay immediately, we haven’t a moment to lose”

“I thought she was going to be ok” Malena said

“There have been complications” Merri said “Ferro needs to give her some blood”

“Ok I’ll come and assist” Malena offered

 

While the Tornado made steady progress towards their rendezvous safe in the hands of the Skeets, and Terrell and Mal dealt with the medical emergency, the rest of the crew went to the mess.

“What I don’t understand is why they didn’t kill me when they had a chance” Merri said “if they really don’t want you to get to Andraxis”

“Because they need the evidence” Dwyn replied “I know that they searched my rooms for it and I’d bet money that they searched you pretty thoroughly”

“So where is it?” Merri asked

“The data tablets are in the heal of my boot” Dwyn said and laughed

“So, they need to stop you reaching Andraxis and destroy the evidence” Merri said

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 and the Tornado was heading for a rendezvous with an Andraxian Frigate which would take Dwyn and the evidence all the way to Andraxis via two Hypergates.

“Well the sooner we get you aboard the Frigate the better” Merri said but without enthusiasm.

 

The Tornado was not a slow vessel by any means, but the rendezvous point was a 25-hour journey at least even with the Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines working at maximum capacity.

But everyone aboard used the time wisely, Terrell had finished the operation on Ambor and was tending to her and a weakened Ferro in the sickbay with Shiyne to keep him company.

On the flight desk, the Skeets, Malena and Asti took it in turns in the pilot’s chair, and while Dwyn kept up the supply of coffee in the mess Merri and Parse monitored the engines and in the quiet hours they talked.

 

Making good time the Tempest Class Freighter Tornado closed the distance between themselves and the Andraxian Frigate and were less than three hours from the rendezvous when they came under fire.

“What the hell was that?” Merri said

“Pulsar strike” Parse replied “Get to the flight deck and I’ll man the Plasma Cannon”

“Ok Beefy, but don’t start popping off until we know what we’re dealing with” she said and kissed him before she started running and as she ran she opened comms to the flight deck

“Ok people, who’s shooting at us?”

“Not sure Captain” Lyris replied “But there are four of them, one Taipan Corvette and three Krait fighters, all unmarked, all faster more manoeuvrable and more heavily armed than we are”

“I’m on my way up, try to hail the Frigate” Merri said

“We have but they’re not responding” Zerrad retorted

“Should we open fire?”

“No, I’m betting they don’t know were armed so wait until we have one in range, fore and aft, then let them have it”

“Roger that Captain” he replied

As she approached the sick bay Shiyne was just coming out.

“Any idea who they are?” she asked

“No, I can’t get a fix” she replied “they must be shielded”

“I suspect that’s because they know we have a dynamite little Vann Telepath aboard” Merri said and hugged her

“Now go and find Dwyn and bring her here, and arm yourself, the sickbay is a good place to defend should they come aboard, though I fear they’re not interested in boarding”

“Ok Merri be careful” Shiyne said and turned on her heels and ran then Merri entered the sickbay where she found Terrell and Ferro trying to stop Ambor from getting out of bed.

“What’s going on?” she barked

“Ambor wants to rise from her sickbed and shoot something” Terrell said disdainfully “And it was such pursuits that put you in that bed in the first place”

“Well she can’t” Merri stated firmly

“But...” Ambor protested

“No buts, my ship, my rules” Merri said and Ambor sank bank resignedly, so she turned her attention to Ferro Scanner

“You on the other hand needs to get up to the flight deck and contact the Frigate, they’re not responding to our hail”

“But what about Ambor?” he asked

“She’ll be fine, now go” Merri said and as he left she followed in his wake.

 

On the flight deck Ferro sent a coded message to the Andraxian Frigate and received an immediate response

“Help is on the way”

“Great I just hope it gets here in time” Merri said

The Tornado had sustained a lot of minor damage from constant strikes from the three Krait fighters but was still maintaining maximum forward momentum but that might change if they were engaged by the much more powerfully armed Taipan Corvette.

“In the meantime, let’s give them a bloody nose, kill the engines”

The Tornado was armed with the twin Pulsar Lasers at the front and a rear facing Plasma cannon which was a useful weapon and was powered by the spent Plasma, which was the waste product from the Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines.

It was useful because it was a very unpleasant material which normal had to be vented into space within the gravitational field of a star to dispose of it safely, but the Plasma cannon disposed of it in small bites while punching a whole through any would be attackers.

The twin Pulsar Lasers were nowhere near as powerful, but they were rapid firing and deadly accurate.

As the Tornado drifted in space, Malena was sat studying the scanners, so Merri asked

“Ok, where are they?”

“We have one heading straight down our throat and two bandits in close formation on our six” Malena said

“This is it then” Merri responded and opened the comms

“Get ready Parse, you can splash the two on our tail when I give the word”

“Ready when you are Captain”

Having had no returned fire from the Tornado the Krait Fighters got complacent and made no effort to disguise the trajectory of their approach so they were sitting ducks as a result when Merri said

“Open fire”

They took the attackers completely by surprise and the sustained targeted Pulsar Laser strike tore chunks out of the Krait attacking head on and a few seconds later it exploded into a flaming patch of debris.

Meanwhile astern of them the two fighters in formation tried to break away when they saw their comrade being taken out, but Parse had the measure of them, so he opened fire immediately, taking one fighter out with the first pulse while his wing man survived until the third, and it was all over in a matter of seconds.

There was a celebratory cheer following the three Kraits being splashed but all they had really done was to hasten the participation of the Taipan Corvette into the fray, and now they had lost the element of surprise.

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 14 – Grounded

 

When they got back to the Tornado at the space port, after the successful rescue of Merri from the abductors at the Concord Hotel, Lyris, Zerrad, Ferro and Dwyn were waiting by the ramp and Shiyne drove straight in and Zerrad closed the ramp behind them.

As Merri decamped from the Stroller she was immediately smothered by Dwyn

“I’m so sorry”

“Don’t be silly” Merri said “it wasn’t your fault”

 

Parse carried Ambor into sickbay followed by Terrell, Merri, Dwyn and Ferro.

“Why does someone always get shot” Zerrad said

“Don’t worry she’s fine” Malena said and kissed him “And so am I”

Then she said

“Prepare for take-off, Lyris you’ve got the left seat, Zerrad co-pilot”

“We can’t” Lyris said

“Why not?” She asked

“We’ve been grounded for an inspection” Lyris said

“When?” Shiyne asked

“Within the hour” Zerrad replied

“Did they give a reason?” Mal asked

“They said they were looking for contraband” Lyris said

“Which means they’re looking for Dwynwen” Mal said

“Ok call the sickbay and get the ginger twins, the bodyguards and the Doc into pod 4, and let’s make sure we clean up any traces of them, in particular any green blood, or ginger hair”

“Terrell won’t be very happy” Shiyne said

“I’m sure you’ll be able to sooth him hon” Mal added

 

The Tornado wasn’t a huge ship as freighters go 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 cargo pod bays, which allowed for a mixed cargo option, which facilitated 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.

 

But as they sat on the apron at the Rendon space port there was no cargo aboard and they were only carrying one pod.

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. 

 

Under protest Terrell agreed to get in the pod where he tended to his patient in the cramped compartment, with Merri and Dwyn hugging each other, and Ferro holding Ambor’s hand.

 

When the ramp was lowered they were met by a small boarding party of 5 Port Prefects lead by an officious little man called Cluke and Malena and Shiyne were waiting to greet their visitor.

“Welcome aboard” Malena said offering her hand which he ignored

“We are here to search and inspect your vessel, Are you the Captain?” Cluke asked

“No, I’m the First Officer, Malena Endia” she said while Shiyne scanned him

“Where is the Captain?” 

“At the Galileo Hotel in Clarissoss, with some of the other crew” she said “We’re here on holiday”

“We have reason to believe you are carrying contraband concealed in your cargo” he said

“We’re not carrying any cargo” Mal said “We’re on holiday”

“Yet you lodged a flight plan with the Space Port Authority” he said “So where are you headed to with no cargo” 

“To Eirkos, to collect the rest of our crew who are staying in Montrose” Mal replied

“I see” he sneered, not believing a word she was saying

“Well I suggest you and your crew keep out of our way while the vessel is searched”  

 

When Cluke and the rest of his boarding party left the cargo bay Mal turned to Shiyne and said

“Well?”

“They’re definitely looking for Dwyn, and Cluke is very keen to get his hands on her as there is a large payoff at stake” Shiyne replied

“Well we had better ensure he leaves here disappointed” Malena said

 

Lyris, Zerrad, Asti and Parse had done a great job in removing any trace or either Merri, Dwynwen or Ambor Etra’s blood so the only thing they had to do was pray that they didn’t search Pod 4 too closely.

But they had a secret weapon to ensure that they didn’t in the form of Shiyne as she was a telepath.

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 work 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 she hadn’t detected anyone among the boarding party that would cause her too much of a contest.

So, she positioned herself in close proximity to Pod 4 as two of the Prefects opened the door.

Pod 4 was where they stowed all of the Tornado’s gear, and its interior was considerably shorter than a normal standard Pod because of the hidden compartment, where Merri and the others were concealed.

As the doors swung open the Vann telepath invaded the Prefects minds, simultaneously, not an easy feat, and if they had been even marginally more intelligent she would not have achieved it, but it took all of her concentration to manipulate what they were seeing into what she wanted them to see, and when they left the Pod and spoke into their comms

“All clear in the cargo pod, heading for the engine room”

Shiyne welcomed it with some relief.

 

Twenty minutes later she was back in the Cargo bay with Malena as a very angry and ungracious Cluke said

“Everything appears to be in order, that doesn’t mean I trust you or think you’re being honest with me, but for now you’re free to leave”

Then Mal and Shiyne watched them walk down the ramp and as soon as they were out of sight Mal said

“Get the ramp up before they change their minds”

“Aye Captain” Shiyne said and gave her a salute

 

When the ramp was up and sealed Shiyne asked

“Should I let them out now?”

“No let’s wait until we’ve cleared the atmosphere, just to be on the safe side, in case they come looking again, Clute didn’t seem the kind of man to give up”

“Good call” Shiyne said “But I’ll let you explain it to Merri”

 

“Flight deck!”

“Go ahead Mal” Lyris said

“We’ve got away with it” Malena said “Prepare for take-off, you’ve got the left seat, Zerrad co-pilot, you know where we’re headed”

“Ok Mal” he said and nodded to Zerrad

“Tower this is the Tempest Class Freighter Tornado requesting permission to depart” Zerrad said

“Stand by Tornado” a voice responded and then after what seemed like an age they added “You are cleared to go, please follow vector 90 to outer marker, good luck”

With the engines warmed up and clearance to depart, and with Lyris piloting and his brother Zerrad in the co-pilot seat and Asti Alegionaris looking on, the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines were engaged, and the Tempest class freighter lifted off.

The Tornado Sojourns (4) – Chapter 13 – Rescue Mission

 

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.

 

“Right let’s get out of here” Shiyne said and climbed into the trolley

“What are you doing in there?” Merri asked

“Its part of the plan” Mal snapped “So shut up and get in”

“Ok bossy”

It was a bit of a squeeze with two of them in the transportation and it was necessary to discard some of the laundry to accommodate them.

With them safely concealed Mal said into her comms

“Mal calling Tornadons, we have the Captain, leaving the room now”

It was much harder work pushing the Tornado’s Captain and Navigator but Mal managed, though she made slower progress, then as they were about half way to the first corner three men came around it in the other direction, and two of them they knew.  

The one in front was the tall, good looking and well-dressed abductor, named Geloc, and behind him was the little weasel of a man called Hatt, while the third man was a stranger, but they were clearly together.

They passed Malena without even a sideways glance, as she suspected they would, because no one pays attention to Melmanc’s pushing laundry trolleys.

However, when they reached the room and found the lock smashed they might view her in a different light so she tried to increase the pace, and failed, but nonetheless she was a trolley length away when all hell broke loose, as the three abductors on discovering Merri was missing began shouting and two of them charged along the corridor towards them.

“Ok, everybody out” she shouted and tipped the trolley on end so Merri and Shiyne tumbled out on to the floor.

“Hey what’s going on” Merri asked

“Bad guys chasing us, that’s what’s going on” Mal replied as she blocked the corridor with the up turned trolley.

“A bit of notice would have been nice” She retorted

“Never mind that just get to your feet and run” Mal urged then she said “Asti! Ambor! We’ve got company”

“Ok we’re on our way” Ambor replied

 

When Merri and Shiyne reached the second corner Asti and the Andraxian were in position to give them covering fire if necessary.

“Keep going, get to the lift” Ambor urged them

 

Some distance behind them was Mal, who was struggling to cover the ground, so she shape shifted back into human form, as it turned out that Melmanc’s can’t run very fast, and in her more familiar form she was able to cover the ground much quicker and but no sooner had she reached the corner when a pulsar laser burst passed uncomfortably close to her head striking the wall,

“Keep going” Asti said, and Malena ran for the safely of the lift and got there only half a minute behind Merri and Shiyne.

It the meantime Asti and Ambor had begun returning fire at two assailants one they recognized from the security footage as the weaselly looking man, Hatt, the other one was similarly dressed but was not the second man who took part in the abduction.

The second man was crouching down in a doorway, but Asti hit him three times in quick succession, arm, shoulder and neck and he slumped against the door dead.

“Ok fall back to the lift and I’ll cover you” Ambor said and Asti nodded in response but as soon as Asti made a sprint for the lift Ambor took a Pulsar strike to the hip, and let out a yell, but she managed to turn as she fell to the floor so she was still facing the weasel and was able to get off two shots before Hatt was able to fire again, and they struck him square in the chest, and with the power of the double strike he was thrown backwards, his face contorted in agony, and his second shot hit the ceiling, but he was dead before he hit the floor.

On hearing Ambor yelp in pain Asti halted her retreat and went back to help her, and Mal left Merri in the lift to do the same   

Merri had also stepped forward and was watching intently as Mal and Asti got the stricken Ambor to her feet.

But just as she began to take another step she felt someone grab her arm.

“Oh no you don’t” Geloc said and Merri turned to face him and the realization that he was the abductor spread across her brain and she hit him with a knee strike to the groin, twice, in quick succession and he crumpled to the floor and writhed around in the fetal position groaning.

Meanwhile Malena and Asti were carrying Ambor towards the lift, so she looked down at her captor and said with contempt

“Have some dignity you pathetic moron”

Then Merri stepped on him, even though she didn’t need too to get back in the lift.

 

As the lift doors closed Malena opened her comms

“Malena to Stroller, Malena to Stroller”

“Receiving Mal” Parse said

“Pick us up from the basement vehicle park” she said “And tell Terrell to have his medical kit ready”

“What’s happened?” he asked, praying that nothing had happened to his beloved Merionwen  

“It’s Ambor, she has a Pulsar strike on her hip,” Malena said as she looked down at the stricken Andraxian and the large green sodden stain on her side “she losing a bit of blood, so quick as you can”

“Ok we’re on our way” Parse said “Stroller out”    

 

The Journey down to the basement parking level seemed to take an eternity but in reality, it took no time at all and when the car came to a stop and the doors opened the Stroller was just screeching to a halt.

Parse jumped down from the driver’s seat and ran towards them, resisting the temptation to hug and kiss Merri he said

“You drive Shiyne, I’ll take her” and the huge Gouveian scooped the semi-conscious Ambor up in his arms and ran with her to the Stroller.

 

When everyone was aboard the Stroller, Malena said

“Ok let’s move it” so Shiyne floored it and Terrell began attending to the wound on Ambor’s hip and she winced with pain as Terrell cut the fabric away.

“How is it?” Malena asked

“Not too bad” Terrell said “it’s a nice clean wound, but I’d prefer to get her straight to sickbay when we get aboard”

And as they sped towards the space port Merri cuddled up to Parse and said “I love you Beefy”