The Tornado Sojourns (3) – Chapter 08 – Snagging

 

 

After spending the weekend on Eirkos at the agrarian settlement of Montrose they took off from Cranack and headed for Eikon Minor, where they had to return Wisma to Gipki before picking up their cargo.

Wisma had been with them for the weekend so that Bagg could introduce her to his brother and family.

 

Merri entered the atmosphere of Eikon Minor with her piloting and Shiyne in the co-pilot seat and she used the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines and landed softly.

 

After arriving at the port the loading didn’t take long and then Merri parked the Tornado on the apron and then everyone got ready to depart for Gipki where they had a variety of chores and errands before they left later that morning.

The short heavy set reptilian Prinsloovian, Pulsat Rad, was first down the ramp, holding his rough bony head proudly high.

On reaching the apron proper he turned stiffly to address his amphibian companion Vanzyl, who was uttering a string of whirls, whistles and clicks.

“I know it, I know it” Pulsat said to his Kesslerian friend, who was a more slender and sleek form than he, and he had the hint of a smile about his pursed lips and Vanzyl whistled and clicked again and Pulsat snorted.

Pulsat was the only one of the crew who could understand every tone and toot Vanzyl uttered, as if it were in his own tongue, but that was common place for his species, there were very few races he had met on his travels that he couldn’t understand, although he couldn’t speak back to them in their language, but he nonetheless understood every word that they spoke.

While they stood to one side of the ramp in conversation Shiyne drove the Stroller down the front ramp and the rest of the crew followed in a group in her wake, with Visitor Parham bringing up the rear wearing his more formal attire of a full length pale blue robe tied at the waist with a royal blue cord, which was beneath a full length dark blue leather jerkin, and he carried a simple roughhewn staff which was undecorated but for a carved cruciform relief a few inches from the top, which he held in one hand while Wisma Berita held the other.  

The Tornado’s APMTV, (All Purpose Multi Terrain Vehicle) was nicknamed the “Stroller” which was an ironic name because when Shiyne or Merri were behind the wheel it did anything but stroll.

The moment it came to a halt the group climbed aboard, Malena paused before remotely closing the ramp and the joined Zerrad in the back and the healer Terrell got in the passenger seat beside his lover Shiyne.

 

With all their tasks completed they returned to the Tornado two hours later, after an uneventful visit into Gipki, to find a worried looking Duff Tarver waiting on the apron beside the ship.

Bagg immediately jumped down and rushed over to him

“Are you alright? You don’t look as if you’ve slept, since Friday”

“I haven’t, but I’m fine” he said and hugged his friend “but we need to talk”

 

When the crew and the Stroller were back aboard the Tornado Bagg spoke to Merri and immediately called a crew meeting in the mess room.

When everyone was present the first thing she did was introduce Duff to those who didn’t know him and explained what he was doing for them, although that they already knew.

“So Duff is an ally, and he has a problem”

“So how can we help?” Parse asked

“The material on the tablet you gave me is mind blowing” he said enthusiastically “And I know precisely who to send it to”

“So far so good then” Lyris contributed

“But I’ve hit a snag” Duff admitted

“How so?” asked Malena

“There’s just so much data” he said “and if I try and dribble it out it could easily be supressed and sanitized before it’s reached the publics ears and eyes, and then there is the possibility they could track the source and prevent me from getting the rest out 

“So what’s the alternative?” Bagg asked

“Well In order to get the information into the public domain and to ensure it stays there for maximum exposure I need to fire it out into every corner of Legion space simultaneously, because if Amery’s as powerful as we believe he is, and I send it to one system at a time, his allies will close down the dissemination before it’s even properly out, but if I can do a blanket broadcast then there is no way they can stop enough of it getting out to silence the truth”

“But?” Bagg asked

“But he doesn’t have anything powerful enough to achieve even a fraction of what he hopes to do” Shiyne said

“That’s really spooky how you do that” Duff said “But yes you are correct”

There was a resigned silence in response to what Duff had said until 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 telling, I telling” Pulsat retorted and to the assemble group he explained

“Vanzyl say, Meknar 5”

Then more clicks

“He say, relay station, big transmitter, no people”

“Meknar 5” Parse mused

Meknar Prime was the furthest planet from the sun in the Eikon Cluster, and was circled by four moons, the largest of which was Meknar 5, in addition it also had the highest orbit and the longest transit time, and that meant that for most of the Solar year it was the furthest object in the system, which made it was a perfect location for a deep space relay station.

“That’s not a bad idea” Merri said

“That would do the job” Parse agreed

“Well done Vanzyl”

“Yes, well done” Merri said and Vanzyl uttered a soft whistle like a plaintive flute, then he looked at his friend and whistled again

“Head very big now” Pulsat said and snorted, while everyone else laughed, except Lyris who was frowning, which Asti had noticed.

“What’s wrong” she asked

“It’s not going to be as easy as you all think” he replied

“What’s worrying you?” Merri asked

“Well I agree that the unmanned relay station on Meknar 5 will definitely suit our purpose, but unmanned doesn’t mean unprotected” Lyris cautioned

“Ground to air weapon systems, space mines, anti-navigational pulse wave emitters, and that’s before you even reach the surface”

“And you know this how?” Asti asked

“We attacked one during the Shaxson Rebellion” Zerrad replied

“But we were just trying to destroy it, not hijack it”

“And?” Asti asked

“And we got a pasting” Lyris said

“But we learned a lot” Zerrad added “And no one is at war with the Legion in the Cluster, so it may not be that well protected”

“Well there’s one way to find out” Merri said and turned to Malena “send a coded message to our Aeronautica friend, “Your favorite baker needs help to send his scone recipe to some friends””

 

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – WESTWORLD (1973)

 “Westworld” is a Sci-Fi Thriller, written and Directed by Michael Crichton.

The story takes place at Delos, an exclusive vacation resort, an amusement park for rich, where guests get the choice of Medieval World, Roman World or Westworld, to live out their fantasies through the use of robots that provide anything they want.

Two of the vacationers Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) choose a wild west adventure, however, after a couple of days, a computer breakdown leads to a system wide malfunction, and they find that they are now being stalked by a rogue robot gunslinger (Yul Brynner).

A great movie of its time, although the technology dates it, but it is still very watchable and Brynner as the gunfighter is truly excellent.

The Tornado Sojourns (3) – Chapter 07 – Duff Tarver

 

The moment that Supreme Commander Emad Salmin handed over the data tablet they knew precisely who to hand it on to, and who should hand it to him.

Duff Tarver was primarily a raconteur, his office was a bar or tavern and his audience were his fellow patrons.

But he didn’t merely tell stories he also collected them from his loose tongued admirers, and he always got stories of worth.

He was a freelance journalist who sold his work to whichever media outlet fitted the bill and he distributed his copy across the known systems of Legion space, and he made a steady living, not enough to move up in the world, but he did ok.

He was a heavy drinking, down to earth man in his early fifties with a long-suffering wife, Chani, who managed to bring up their three children virtually single handed.

With Duff the phrase, “what you see is what you get”, fitted him like a glove.

He was a popular man, despite all his faults, as it was very difficult not to like him, even if he could drive you to despair.

Due to his heavy drinking he often needed assistance to get home but because people liked him so much he was never short of a chauffeur.

Most literary types have a favorite quote, from one of the classic novels or from a Shakespearian play but his favorite was

“If I ever read about the dangers of drinking then I’ll give up reading”

Bagg had known Duff, since they were both young men, before he began his vocational training.

They met on Mars, where Bagg was born and raised, and Duff had worked his passage on a freighter from his home planet of Earth Secondus, in the Overtonis system.

They hit it off immediately and became firm friends in the few months before Bagg had to leave for Visitor College.

But over the years they had been reacquainted on many occasions, and rarely in the same system twice, but because they both lead nomadic existences eight years had passed before they met again quite by chance in the Visitors Rest in Gipki.

It wasn’t the usual type of drinking establishment he would normally frequent, but he had felt compelled to go in and when he saw Bagg seated in one corner he fully understood why.

 

The home that he shared with his wife Chani and their three children was in the City of Rendon on Eikon Major.

She and the kids had been dragged around Legion space for years, which for the most part she didn’t mind, but she always insisted that the family live in a big city with all the amenities to hand,

It was important for her that she had access to good schools for the children and good shops that she could afford to shop at.

Living in Rendon was good for him too, firstly because he had peace of mind regarding his family, plus it was the seat of Government for the Eikon Cluster, so called due to the high number of M class planets and moons in the Eikon solar system, and where there was Government there was potential scandal, and people loved scandal, scandal was very profitable.

 

So with Chani and the kids settled in the capital it allowed Duff to spend his time frequenting bars and taverns picking up titbits, which may or may not lead to some larger morsel. 

 

The weekend following their meeting with the Commander the whole crew were going to Montrose to spend the Festival with Bagg’s brother and his wife, which held particular significance for Bagg himself as it was to be the weekend he introduced his love, Wisma Berita, to his family for the first time.

So as that was one event he was never going to miss he got a message to Duff and arranged to meet with him in the Blue Horizon Bar in Odekka on Friday Night.

 

Bagg took Merionwen with him for the meeting, partly because she was a redhead and Duff was partial, but mainly because she was also born on Earth Secundus, and she didn’t often get the chance to meet a fellow native.

Just as a precaution he also had the Skeet brothers stationed close at hand watching the comings and goings.

 

Duff was indeed happy to see Merri and was equally pleased to meet another Secundian, but after twenty minutes of chitchat he said

“What did you want to see me about?”

“Some information has come into our possession which we think you will know what to do with” Bagg explained “about someone highly placed”

Bagg had Duff’s full attention and stopped drinking,

“Who?”

Bagg and Merri looked at each other and Bagg nodded.

“Neff Amery” she said and Duff’s jaw dropped

Bagg and Merri sat watching him as he processed what they had said, but when the name sank in he asked excitedly

“What’s he done?”

“Well…” Bagg began

“Please tell me its sex?” Duff pleated “Lots of sex”

“Well…” Bagg began again

“Don’t disappoint me after getting my hopes up” he snapped

“The truth is” Merri said “There’s too much for us to tell you”

“Too much?” Duff repeated “Too much to list?”

“That’s why we have this for you” Bagg said and slipped the tablet discreetly into his pocket.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Make what is secret, public, and shine the light of truth onto what hides in the darkness” Bagg said

“Very poetic” Duff said “This is a side to you I’ve never seen before, I like it”

 

After they finished their drinks they were walking to the door when a roughly dressed man barged into Duff and knocked him sideways and then growled at him for his trouble.

Merri bristled and was about to confront the thug but Bagg held her back and said to Duff

“Check your pockets”

Duff did as Bagg said and then nodded to intimate all was well so they went out the front door where the Skeets had the Stroller waiting for them.

“Come on we’ll drop you by your ship” Lyris said and he climbed aboard.

“Anything suspicious?” Bagg whispered to Zerrad

“No” he replied “no one appeared to look out of place”

“That could just mean they were very good” Bagg mused and got aboard himself

 

They dropped Duff beside his Corvette and Bagg got out with him and said

“Be careful Duff, he’s a dangerous man”

“Don’t worry old friend, I’ll be cautious” he replied “You know me”

“That’s what I’m worried about” Bagg said and the two men embraced

 

The Tornado Sojourns (3) – Chapter 06 – Favors

 

The Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado, reached the Eikon Cluster with a full complement aboard, funds in the coffers and three pods of Thermalium mineral ore for delivery to Eikon Major.

The system was known as the Eikon Cluster, so called due to the high number of M class planets and moons in the Eikon solar system, they quickly found an abundance of work with Golbolt Interstellar, based on the moon Somar.

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.

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, they had also made a lot of important contacts, so whatever part of the system they were in they always knew which ear to whisper in to, to untangle any complications, or open doors that would otherwise have remained shut.

One important ally they had cultivated was Emad Salmin of the Legion Aeronautica, who was, thanks to the Tornado, Supreme Commander for the whole of the Eikon Cluster and those aboard the Tornado, and their friends and allies felt the weight of his gratitude.

This was for two reasons, one was for their help in capturing a wanted criminal, Kurla Babic, and second the recovery of the Gouveian Crown Jewels, he was suspected of stealing.

So they had benefitted greatly from his gratitude, but on one trip as they were just passing Zenden’s moon Linden, Shiyne said

“I’m picking up something on the scanners”

“What exactly?” Merri asked

“I don’t know, I can’t identify it, we’re being jammed”

“Use your other scanner then” Merri 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.

“Roger that” she responded and closed her eyes and it only took her thirty seconds before she added

“Got them”

“Who?” Malena asked fearing an attack

“Legion” she replied, “a squadron of six Firedarts and a Blaze Command Ship”

“What do they want with us?” Merri asked and Shiyne smiled

“It’s the boss man,” she replied

“What does he want?” Merri asked

“A chat” Shiyne replied and smiled again “And some of Bagg’s scones”

A moment later she added “we have an incoming message”

“Put it on speaker” Merri said

“This is Supreme Commander Emad Salmin of the Legion Aeronautica, cut your main engines and prepare to be boarded”

Merri nodded and then opened the mic

“Captain Strong responding, message received, cutting engines and standing by”

Then she switched to internal comms

“Malena, stand by the docking port” Merri replied just as the Legion Firedarts took up station around the Tornado, one to Port, Starboard, Forward, Aft and two stationed above.

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.

Merri had killed the engines and was using the thrusters to hold the ship steady as the Legion Blaze Command vessel maneuvered into position and locked on to the belly docking ring.

 

When the hatch opened Merri had joined Malena and was waiting to greet their visitor

“Welcome aboard Supreme Commander” she said 

“I’m Captain Strong”

“Let’s go to the mess room” he responded curtly “I will need to see the whole crew”

“I anticipated that” Merri said “Follow me”

 

When they reached the mess the Supreme Commander instructed his escort to stand guard outside while he entered the mess to find Bagg was performing his familiar role as provider of scones and coffee.

“That smells really is amazing” he said “Still feeding the soul and the body in equal measure I see”

“There are plenty to go around as usual” Bagg said “Please sit”

 

“So for what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” Merri asked as he bit into one of Bagg’s scones

“That is so good” he said, and licked jam off his lips then he added

“I need a favour”

“Name it” Merri said

 

The favour was in regard to Neff Abery who was an influential member of the Eikon Government, he also had his own Moon, which was actually a moon of a moon, and Miah orbited Zenden’s moon Linden. 

“It all goes back to the raid on the “Blue Horizon” in Odekka” he said

“I thought that was all wrapped up” Lyris Skeet said

“Almost” he replied “except for the top man”

“I thought that was Kurla” Zerrad added

“He was the ringleader of the gang certainly, but he didn’t steal the Gouveian Crown Jewels for himself, he would have known he couldn’t sell it, they were too high profile, it had to have been stolen to order” He explained “And that’s where Neff Abery comes in”

“Did Kurla name him?” Merri asked

“No he’s saying nothing but the Lakmean trader, AaHannaa, is talking enough for the both of them” Salmin said with a wry smile “And so are all the little fish”

He paused long enough to eat another mouthful of scone and then he put a small data tablet on the table and added

“And I have compiled this evidence against Neff Abery, and it doesn’t stop with the Crown Jewels, he is involved in a variety of criminal enterprises, including sex slavery into Mehreen space, I even have images of him sampling the merchandise, and meeting with Mehreen representatives in neutral space”

“But?” Bagg asked

“But the Legion can’t get authorization to act against him” Shiyne said reading his thoughts

“Correct, he is to well protected, both in Government and by the Prefects on Miah” he said “I can’t touch him”

“He must know where the bodies are buried” Zerrad Skeet remarked

“Does he know?” Merri asked

“I doubt it, but even if he did he’s so arrogant he wouldn’t care, he thinks he’s untouchable” Salmin said

“He is apparently” Parse Sacrod added

“That’s why I would hate for this tablet to end up in the wrong hands” he said as he pushed it across the table.

“Yes that would be very unfortunate” Merri said as she picked it up

“Well I had better be on my way” he said “it was nice meeting you all again”

“Please take a batch of scones back to your ship” Bagg offered

“I would like that very much” he said and then he took his leave of them.

 

“Ok coffee break over” Merri said as their Legion escorts sped away “Let’s get this bird back up to speed”

And five minutes later Merri sat in the pilot seat and nodded to co-pilot Malena who brought the Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines back on line and the Tempest class freighter was back up to speed and on the way to Zenden.

 

ACROSS THE VOID

 

From a highly sophisticated civilization

Far in advance of our own

They crossed the great void of space

To make patterns in the fields we’ve sown

If that is their idea of fun

They must be the dullest aliens ever known

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – PHENOMENON (1996)

 

“Phenomenon” is a fantasy romantic drama, screenplay by Gerald Di Pego and Directed by Phil Jon Turteltaub.

The film is set in a small California town and tells the story of George Malley (John Travolta), the owner of the local auto repair shop.

George heads for home, after celebrating his birthday at the local bar with friends but pauses to watch a strange light in the sky, and collapses for a few seconds in the middle of the deserted street.

It becomes apparent in the days and weeks that follow that something is amiss as George finds his IQ and consciousness expanding dramatically, and he reveals to his closest friends Doc (Robert Duvall) and Nate Pope (Forest Whitaker) that he had developed telekinetic abilities, and while he’s with the girl he loves, Lace Pennamin (Kyra Sedgwick), his new-found abilities allow him to correctly predict an earthquake.

However, despite his attempts to explain what has happened to him, with just a very few exceptions, most of the local townspeople treat George as a freak.

His state of isolation becomes even more pronounced when outside authorities become interested in what's happened to him in particular the FBI, but worst of all Dr. Wellin (Richard Kiley) who wants to dissect his brain, but George has other ideas on how his life will end.

ON THE WAY TO MAYBURY HILL

 

As a young man H.G. Wells had spent an unhappy time living with an aunt in Horsell which was then close to Woking and is now part of the overall sprawl.

So, when he wrote his great science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds, he had the Martians land on Horsell common, in sight of where Wells had once lived.

This enabled him to have that area of Woking become the first to fall victim to the terrifying invaders weaponry.

In the novel the hero of the tale, having witnessed the first meteor fall to earth, was pursued by the merciless tripods from the common and along Maybury hill.

Were the invaders to land today they would have to negotiate a huge six-way roundabout, dissect a one-way system, a no left turn, a no right turn, two traffic light junctions, three pelican crossings and two quite appallingly designed mini roundabouts.

I think faced with the product of 21st century traffic management and in particular Woking Borough Councils ill-judged town planning, that the Martians would have given up and returned home long before they were exposed to the pathogenic bacteria that eventually saw them off.

The world saved by the ineptitude of local government, what Irony.