The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 06 – The Skeet Brothers

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 for 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 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 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.

And finally 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.

 

For Zerrad it didn’t matter how beautiful Merri and Shiyne were, he had eyes only for Malena and he knew she was Obgaron and was not really as she appeared to him but he didn’t care, he didn’t love her because she was beautiful he loved her because she was kind, gentle and a voice of reason in a turbulent world.

But nothing ever came of his infatuation, because he was far too shy to press his suit, so he just enjoyed her company on the occasions when they were both on the ground at the same time and she filled his thoughts all the time they were apart, not an altogether sustainable situation which is probably why the universe intervened.

 

It was ten years after they left their agrarian home world of Shax in the Shaxson system and four since they arrived in the Cammaratian system and it had suited them very well because it was one of the few remaining neutral zones left in the known galaxy and it bordered 11 other systems, all much busier and more populous than itself so it was in effect a short cut, a rat run between systems with the advantage of far less stringent border controls, ideal for those either in a hurry or more likely those transporting contraband which the Skeets had often been known to do.

Using the Cammaratian routes however was not without risk, which was because of the lack of scrutiny of the system by the Legion and the Mehreen empire, those choosing the less high profile route were left vulnerable to the other inhabitants of the neutral zone “Scav Raiders” which were in essence little more than pirates, so no one entered the system unarmed unless they were in convoy or had the benefit of speed and the Omega class Phoenix certainly fell in that category.

The other reason it was used so readily despite the perils was because it gave the merchant men easy access to the star gates beyond the frontiers, which in turn accessed the lucrative trade routes through hyperspace.

The Phoenix would occasionally travel in a convoy but more often than not they pressed on alone and trusted to Lyris’s instincts which hadn’t let them down before.

They were quick and they knew the most likely spots where they might be vulnerable and avoided them, which was normally enough.

But no one was completely safe even their friends on the Tornado which was fast enough to out run most of the predatory pirates and certainly out gun them with the twin Pulsar Lasers at the front and a rear facing Plasma cannon, got scragged by a posse of raiders and had been grounded with engine problems for three months.

Which was why Lyris chose the safer route of passing close to Zandros on his way back to Alwi, which was regarded by everyone as a safe passage, a milk run even, so they saw no danger.

They were making good time and Zerrad had allowed his mind to wander to an occasion time when he could spend some time with Malena and then it happened, a photon mine detonated off the port side and disabled one engine.

“What the fuck!” Ly cursed “Where did that come from?”

“More to the point why is it here?” Zerrad asked

“It’s probably just a stray” Lyris retorted optimistically but Zerrad wasn’t so sure

“Maybe” he said and studied the scanners looking for more.

“It must have drifted towards Zandros and got caught in its gravitational field” Lyris added trying hard to convince himself but failed, and Zerrad was even less inclined to that notion, and he was right to be sceptical as at that precise moment three Scav Raider craft appeared on their long range scanners.

“We’ve got company” Z said

“Three bogies closing in fast”

“We’ll never outrun them with one dead engine” Ly pointed out

“Hit the beacon and send out a mayday”

With that said Zerrad sent out the distress call as Lyris tried to put some distance between them and their attackers and he managed to keep out of range of their guns for about ten minute before they were caught and they felt the first Pulsar strikes on the hull which were followed by strike after strike.

“Are you sure there’s only three of them?” Lyris asked as he tried to squeeze every last ounce of power from the engines, but they received repeated hits however they were still maintaining forward momentum and had sustained a lot of damage by the time help arrived and they were still taking fire from two of their assailants while the third was trying to latch on to the hull in preparation to breach.

They weren’t aware of it at the time that the help was in the form of the Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado, and they didn’t even know it was there until one of the Raiders, which was circling around to attack again was taken completely by surprise with a sustained targeted strike from the Tornado’s twin Pulsar Lasers which tore a gash along the ships port side and a few seconds later it exploded into a flaming patch of debris.

“It looks like help has arrived” Lyris exclaimed

“It’s too late” Zerrad retorted “They’ve broken through”

In response Lyris killed the engines and drew his Laser and said

“We’d better go and introduce ourselves to our guests”

The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 05 – Under Attack

The Tempest Class Freighter Tornado closed the distance between themselves and the Phoenix in about ten minutes and they discovered they were correct in their assessment of three attackers.

The Phoenix had sustained a lot of damage but was still maintaining forward momentum but was still taking fire from two of its assailants while the third was trying to latch on to the hull in preparation to breach so Merri prepared to engage.

The Tornado was armed with the twin Pulsar Lasers at the front and a rear facing Plasma cannon so she opened comms to the engine room

“Pulsat, stand by on the Plasma cannon”

“Yes captain” he replied

The Plasma cannon 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.

They took the first raider completely by surprise and the sustained targeted strike tore a gash along the ships port side and a few seconds later it exploded into a flaming patch of debris.

 

The second raider would not be as easy as they had lost the element of surprise and as they very soon had a raider on their tail.

Merri opened the comms again

“We have a bandit on our six Pulsat, splash him with Plasma”

“Yes Captain” he replied and opened fire immediately and on the third pulse the raider was splashed.

By the time they returned to the Phoenix the third raider craft had anchored to the hull.

“Damn it looks like they’ve breached already” Merri said “We’re too late”

“They’ve stopped broadcasting the mayday” Malena said sadly

“That’s that then” Merri added gravely

“Let’s blow them to hell” Malena said

“My thoughts exactly” Merri said turning onto an attack vector

“Pulsat the freighter has been taken, we’re going to splash their prize” Malena said “Stand by with the canon”

“Ok”

“Going in now, targeting the fuel pods” Merri said “Here we go”

“Stop!” Malena shouted “an escape pod has just launched”

“Where? I can’t see it”

“Starboard side” Malena confirmed and added “That’s not helpful it means they’re heading for Zandros”

“I’m guessing it wasn’t by choice” Merri said gravely

“Choice or not, it’s too close to Zandros, get after it before it burns up entering the atmosphere”

“Ok, go and depressurize the main cargo hold and prepare to deploy the magnetic grapple”

 

Malena rushed down the companionway, ordinarily she was a very calm and collected being, but she found that the jeopardy of the situation was palpable because although she had written off any kind of relationship between herself and Zerrad as being untenable she now found that the likelihood of his impending death had left her empty inside and for the first time she was struck by the realization that Zerrad Skeet was more than a friend.

Her head was awash with emotions that she didn’t know she possessed as she began the decompression and with every passing second she wished she could speed up the process and then after what seemed an eternity the flashing light changed colour.

“Decompression complete” she announced “lowering ramp and Deploying grapple array”    

The array was stowed in a compartment in the roof of the cargo hold and deploying it involved lowering it down from its storage space and anchoring it to the floor.

In essence it was a huge winch with an Electromagnetic pad at the end of an ultra-light and supremely strong alloy cable and it was launched much like a harpoon at a poor unsuspecting whale.

By the time the array was in situ the door was fully open and Malena was at the control panel and could see her target on the screen in front of her and using a joy stick she was able to aim the grapple.

Merri had closed the distance as much as she could but there was still a distance between them and a large margin of error to go with it.

“Any time you’re ready Mal” she said “Don’t miss, we might not get a second chance, we’re running out of space, fast”

“No pressure then” Malena said

Fortunately she had an uncanny ability to calculate quite complex mathematical formulae in her head so in the time it took her to inhale a breath she had worked out the trajectory angel speed and probability so on the exhale she squeezed the trigger and there was a muffled boom and the harpoon was spat out of Tornado’s nose towards the tumbling life pod.

As soon as Merri saw the grapple leave the ship she had to ensure she didn’t deviate from her course to ensure she didn’t influence the grapples trajectory.

For Malena it was agony as she could no longer influence the outcome and just hoped that she had got it right.

As soon as the pad made contact, if it made contact, the electro magnet would activate immediately and as soon as it had a solid connection, Malena could engage the winch and Merri could decelerate and halt the life pods progress towards death and destruction.

But the wait for that to happen was agony, all she could do was to watch the image on the monitor coming from the grapple camera, and pray.

Closer and closer it got and the pod got larger and larger

“Come to mama” she said and then the grapple struck, but because the escape pod was tumbling out of control the grapple plate struck the pod a glancing blow and bounced off

“NO!” Malena shouted but then the tumbling that had caused the grapple to miss bought it back in the path of the floundering grapple and it locked on.

“Contact” she shouted and engaged the winch and Merri began to slow their forward momentum, but she had to decelerate slowly so as not to put additional strain on the grapple cable and undo Malena’s good works.

 

It was a slow process and Malena wished she could make haste but she had to resist the temptation and bide her time, but thankfully the moment came when the life pod finally passed the threshold and into the cargo hold  

“It’s in” Malena shouted “deploying clamps”

“Ok quick as you can” Merri said and engaged the engines

“As soon as the door is closed I’ll set a course for Alwi”

“Captain, captain” Pulsat interrupted excitedly “Freighter moves”

“The engines are engaged?” she asked

“Yes captain” he replied “I can splash?”

“No not yet” she retorted “How is it going Malena?”

“Closing the door now, and ….. Pressurizing” she said

 

When the light went green she opened the airlock door and rushed inside as Merri steered the Tornado towards Alwi while keeping the Phoenix in sight.

When Malena reached the pod she quickly found the emergency release lever and opened the hatch and took a deep breath before looking in.

“I’m going in” she remarked and she feared the worse as she put her head in through the hatch but her fears weren’t realized as the Skeet’s were inside, unconscious but alive.

“They’re alive” she shouted “They’re alive”

“Excellent news” Merri said and adjusted the Tornados position to put the Phoenix square astern of her.

“Pulsat!”

“I can splash now?” he responded

“You can splash now” she instructed “and when you’ve blown them to atoms go and assist Malena”

 

So Pulsat manned the Plasma Cannon, he and Vanzyl had been on the receiving end of a Scav Raider attack and he had never had the opportunity before to exact revenge, until that day when he raked the Phoenix from stem to stern, before he and Vanzyl made their way to the cargo hold and helped to extricate the stricken Skeet brothers from the life pod and move them into the sickbay.

The older brother Lyris had a minor head injury while Zerrad had a Pulsar wound to the abdomen so leaving only a debris field in their wake Merri made all speed back to Alwi.

The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 04 – Malena Endia

Although she didn’t show it Malena Endia was very relieved when Pulsat Rad announced in the mess hall “Engines fixed”

She had been a part of the Tornado’s crew for many years and felt at home and the thought that she would have to leave the comfortable cocoon she had inhabited for so long terrified her, she knew that Merri had been worried about it for weeks but she never shared her fears, not with Merri at any rate, and she didn’t have to with Shiyne as she was a telepath.

 

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 planets 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 every one they could lay there 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.   

 

Over the years, as the Tornado plied its trade, crew members came and went but she remained loyal to the Strong’s and in the three years following Ben Strong’s death the bond between Malena and Merionwen strengthened and she loved her like a best friend, mother and a sister.

When she knew the 9 year old Merri she was indeed old enough to be her mother and now appearance wise at any rate they were the same age.

 

The relief was palpable among Merri, Malena and Shiyne, the day after Pulsat and Vanzyl had repaired the engines, and there was a distinct air of optimism on the Tornado with two new engineers aboard and even better than that, Visitor Parham had joined the crew, and he could cook.

And as their departure from Alwi was now expected in the following few days Merri was keen to take the Tornado off world to test drive the engines and find out if their engineers had done as good a job as they thought they had. 

So with Merri piloting and Malena in the co-pilot seat and Pulsat and Vanzyl monitoring the engines the Tornado’s four vertical take-off jumper engines were engaged and the Tempest Class freighter lifted off.

 

It 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 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, when necessary. 

 

After watching the ship take off, Clergyman come cook, Bagg went into town in search of provisions, which were seriously depleted on board while Shiyne went to see if she could secure them a cargo.

 

Merionwen took the ship effortlessly out of the atmosphere and into space and then said

“Well so far so good”

“Yes but we need to go a bit speedier than that if we’re going to cross the system without being trashed by raiders” Malena pointed out

“We had better put the pedal to the metal then” she retorted and flicked on the comms to the engine room

“Pulsat I’m about to put the engines through their paces, let me know if there are any problems”

“Engines good” Pulsat said

“I know, but let me know, if engines bad” Merri said

“Engines good” Pulsat repeated and she rolled her eyes

“Ok here we go” she said and slowly accelerated

“Wow they’ve never been that smooth before”

“Everything’s good on the monitors” Malena said

“Give them some more”

So Merri smoothly took them up to maximum speed and they ate up the space as they left Alwi and headed towards Aragon which was the planet that Alwi orbited.

“Engines good” Malena said and they both laughed

 

They spent the next hour putting the Tornado through speed and manoeuvring trials in their small corner of the Cammaratian System, which was of was moderately sized, comprising of 7 planets and some seventy moons, only one of the planets was an M class, Lazarion, the fourth planet, all of the others were either gaseous, volatile or just plain unpleasant.

There were various mining operations in the system mainly on the numerous moons, the largest of which was on Alwi the fourth moon of the seventh planet Aragon.

The trials passed largely in silence until Merionwen said

“It is so nice to get back out into space”

“You mean it’s nice not to have to swear at the engines” Malena said and laughed

“Very funny” Merri retorted and then Malena noticed some unusual readings on the monitors

“I’m picking up something on the long range scanners” she said

“What exactly?” Merri asked

“I don’t know, get us a bit closer and I might be able to identify it, head towards Zandros”

“Ok here we go” she said and made a bee line for the coordinates Malena gave her, which was in close proximity of the second planet in the system and a few minutes later she added

“It’s a distress call, a freighter, a Scav Raider attack”

“How many?”

“Two for sure, maybe three” Malena replied

“Any ID on the freighter?”

“Only that it’s an Omega class”  

Omegas were very common freighters less than half the size of the Tornado and were unarmed so with three raiders attacking them they were in deep trouble so Merionwen squeezed every ounce of power from the engines and then a few minutes later Malena said

“Oh no”

“What? What?” Merri snapped “What is it?”

“It’s the Phoenix” she replied gravely as they knew the Phoenix well and the Skeet brothers who owned it.

“Shit” Merri said

Apart from being in the same trade and often competing for cargo the Skeets were friends, so it was a bit of a shock.

“We had better go and rescue your boyfriend”

“He’s not my boyfriend” Malena said

“Not for the want of it on his part” Merri pointed out “Or yours”

“Don’t exaggerate” Malena snapped although she could not deny the truth of it to herself.

She really liked the younger brother Zerrad but she had long since decided that there could never be any kind of a relationship for a number of reasons and although she was attracted to Zerrad she saw no reason to change her policy. 

Apart from the fact they were on different freighters and their paths didn’t cross more than a handful of times a year, she was sixty years older than him and a different species entirely.

He was attracted to 28 year old slender brunette and not her natural Mercurial form of liquid silver glass.

But regardless of her misgivings she still found herself thinking

“I hope we can get there in time”

 

The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 03 – Pulsat and Vanzyl

 

Pulsat Rad was born on Prinsloo in the Rexenor system, a dry desert world, rich in minerals and ore, which he hadn’t seen for 15 years.

He was one of the lucky ones as his parents were able to arrange for him to get away from his home world before the Mehreen Empire conquered the planet and enslaved the Prinsloovian’s putting them under the yoke in order to rape their own planet of all that was precious.

He had never returned and had no idea of what fate may have befallen his parents, he had met several of his own kind over the years, but none of them could enlighten him, as they were in the same boat as he was.

He was heavy set and had a rough bony skull which raised up like a crown which receded to give way to a Mahogany scaled brow, cheekbones and jawline which framed an ivory coloured face, and he had yellow eyes and his entire countenance betrayed his reptilian ancestry.

He was incredibly strong and found no difficulty in finding work among the many mining operations he came across as he worked his way steadily, from world to world and moon to moon, moving inexorably away from the Mehreen, it was on one of those worlds, Kordesh, that he met his friend Vanzyl.

 

Vanzyl was from Kessleria, the third planet in the Omeghard system, he was slender and like Pulsat he owed his origins to reptilian DNA, but his kind evolved from fish and possessed a scaly countenance and silver scaled skin, a sleek form, large opaque eyes, pursed lips, and gills.

He was also working for a mining company when they met but he did his work underwater.

He also left his home world because of the Mehreen but in Kessleria’s case they wanted the water, and in taking it they essentially brought genocide to the peaceful Kesslerian’s.

Vanzyl was more fortunate than Pulsat as he escaped from his home world with a large group of friends who supported and comforted each other, but over the years following their exodus, as they endured harsher and harsher conditions his friends perished one by one until he was finally left alone.

Subsequently his loneliness was keenly felt because his solitude was so extreme, and that was because he could only communicate in clicks, whirls and whistles which none but his own kind could understand, until that is Pulsat Rad arrived on Kordesh.

 

Pulsat worked his passage on a Pan Universal Minerals Gargantuan cargo transporter and was part of the crew that unloaded new processing plant to Kordesh and helped to manoeuvre it in situ, but when the time came for the manager of the mine to press the start button the motors ground to a halt after about 15 seconds causing a good deal of head scratching, but very little else.

Until the moment the slender animated fish like figure of Vanzyl approached the manager and began loudly whirling, whistling and clicking at him.

“For God sake get this freak away from me” the manager shouted and two burly security men began man handling him away which caused Pulsat to rush forward.

“Stop, stop, he can fix, he can fix”    

“Wait” the manager said to security and then addressed Pulsat

“Do you understand what fish lips is saying?”

This prompted a fresh utterance of whirls whistles and clicks this time directed at Pulsat, because he could understand every tone and toot 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 to them in their language, but he nonetheless understood every word that they spoke.

“I said do you understand this freak?” the manager shouted

“He ask me same question” Pulsat retorted then added

“He know how to fix”

“How?” the manager barked and Vanzyl renewed his emanations

“He say, intake hose connected outlet valve”

“That’s not possible” one of the techs responded dismissively

“He say” Pulsat repeated and shrugged

“Check it” the manager snapped

“It’s a waste of time” the tech said

“Check it”

“But…”

“Check it! Now!” he demanded and the tech walked dejectedly away and ten minutes later he returned shamefaced.

“Well?” the manager demanded

“The hose was connected to the wrong valve” he simpered

“So if I hit the start button will it start?” the manager asked

“I think so” the tech replied

“I wasn’t asking you” he snapped

“I’m asking him” he said pointing at Vanzyl who whistled a response which Pulsat translated

“Start, yes”

So the manager nodded and turned confidently to the machine and hit the button and the great beast of a machine roared into life.  

 

After Vanzyl had saved the day, and the blushes of the techs, he was promoted to engineer on the new plant, and because he was only able to speak in clicks and whirls, which only Pulsat could understand, he was also promoted, but it turned out that he too was an excellent engineer.

 

They spent the next ten years working for Pan Universal Minerals firstly on mining planets and latterly on a Gargantuan cargo transporter and they were happy enough, they were well treated on the whole, though were still made to feel like outcasts, and excluded from the main group, but without malice, which was perhaps worse as that made them almost anonymous.

But they would have happily stayed aboard indefinitely, however when the Gargantuan was ordered to cross into Mehreen space to deliver a new mining rig the pair parted company with Pan Universal and disembarked on Alwi.

 

They hoped that with the glowing references from their employer they would have no problem signing on with someone else but on Alwi there were 10 would be workers competing for every vacancy so they were out of luck, so they spent all of their time sitting on the terrace of the Alwi Ambassadors Lodge, watching all the comings and goings and hoping to find a suitable ship to crew on.

And it was there, after three long weeks that they met Visitor Parham, and Pulsat liked him very much from the first moment and he liked him even more when he said he preferred to be called “Bagg” because the was the name for female genitalia on his world and it made him smile very much when he heard people call him that name.

As it so happened Bagg was also looking for transport off Alwi to continue his mission.  

Visitors were a Christian sect who took to the stars with the first migrants to visit new worlds, spreading the word while seeking enlightenment, and they had established Visitor enclaves in every corner of the known universe, they even thrived in Mehreen space and they were the least spiritual beings to ever draw breath.

The difference between Visitors and the established Christian Church on earth was its spontaneity, they didn’t wait until Sunday to worship, they did it wherever and whenever it was desired and it didn’t need to happen in a church, Visitors worshipped everywhere.

He had hitched a ride on a space dredger as far as Alwi but it wasn’t going any further so he got off in the hope of getting on another.

He found himself drawn to Pulsat and Vanzyl as he had not encountered either a Prinsloovian or a Kesslerian before and he found then to be very amiable and he found their relationship fascinating, so he remained in their company as much as possible but every morning he left the Lodge and went in search of transport for the three of them and on the fourth day he re-joined his companions at midday with good news.

“Quickly you two” he gestured “I have found a Tempest class freighter in need of an engineer”

“What like people?” Pulsat asked, but Bagg knew that what he wanted to know was what species they were

“The Captain is human, and the navigator appears to be also and the third is a Vann” Bagg explained

“We look?” Asked Pulsat

“We look” Bagg agreed

 

They stopped about fifty yards away and looked at the ship, it 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 pod bays, which allowed for a mixed cargo option.

“You wait here while I speak with the Captain” Bagg said and Vanzyl clicked

“She is in engine?” Pulsat translated

“She is” Bagg responded

“Very bad place for Captain” Pulsat said

They watched their new friend walk towards the ship and heard a scream emanate from within

“Argh!!!!”

“Very bad place for Captain” Pulsat said and then they watched as a conversation ensued and after a short time the Captain scrambled out of her oily tomb and wiped her oily hand on a rag before offering it to him to shake.

 

After a further short converse Bagg turned to look in their direction and gestured to them so they walked towards him.

“This is Merionwen Strong, Captain of the Tornado” Bagg said

“Good meeting, I Pulsat Rad, this Vanzyl” he 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 telling, I telling” Pulsat retorted and to Merri he explained

“Vanzyl say we very much like fix engines, very much like join crew Tornado”

“You fix the engines and you have a deal” she said “on one condition”

“What is?” he asked

“The condition is that you don’t have any strange eating habits” Merri explained and then she observed as the two engineers in waiting looked at each other in what she supposed was puzzlement until Vanzyl made a long whistling noise followed by a succession of clicks and Pulsat snorted.  

“No, no, we eat everything” he said and then he and Vanzyl proceeded to investigate the engines leaving the Captain and Bagg to talk.

 

Vanzyl whistled, whirled and clicked audibly as he inspected the four Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines and the associated panels and displays and Pulsat said

“Captain not engineer”

 

“Engines fixed” Pulsat said when they entered the mess hall

“What already?” Merri asked “You’ve fixed them both?”

“No” Pulsat replied

“We fix four”

“I already had two working” Merionwen said indignantly which prompted Vanzyl to make a long whistling noise followed by a succession of clicks and Pulsat snorted, which clearly denoted laughter in the former and derision in the latter.  

“We fix four” Pulsat repeated and everyone laughed

“So you’ve done in four hours that I haven’t been able to do in almost as many months”

“We are engineers” Pulsat said and everyone laughed again

“Then it looks like we’re getting off this rock at last” Merri said “and we have three new shipmates”

Then after the introductions were made Merri said

“Now sit and eat”

“We eat here?” Pulsat asked

“Where else?” Merri said and Vanzyl uttered a soft whistle like a plaintive flute, then he looked at his friend and whistled again

“Like family, yes” Pulsat agreed

The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 02 – Meeting the Visitor

 

The Tempest Class Freighter was powered by 4 Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines, which allowed for a very quick turn of speed once airborne, and four vertical take-off jumper engines whose purpose is self-explanatory, they could also be used independently to provide auxiliary power on board while they were on the surface for periods when the solar converters were inadequate.

But with only two of the main Turbines on line they couldn’t hope to outrun even the slowest of the Scav Raiders and they couldn’t take that chance, so they had to fix them on Alwi.

“Argh!!!!” Merri screamed from inside the engine housing “You total fuck”

“Is everything alright?” a deep cultured voice enquired

“Not really” she replied without looking for the source of the questioner

“Engine trouble?” he asked

“Damn you’re good” she snapped facetiously and lifted her head “How did you…”

She left the sentence unfinished when she saw that her interlocutor was a Visitor.

Visitors were a Christian sect who took to the stars with the first migrants to visit new worlds, spreading the word while seeking enlightenment, and they had established Visitor enclaves in every corner of the known universe, they even thrived in Mehreen space and they were the least spiritual beings to ever draw breath.

The difference between Visitors and the established Christian Church on earth was its spontaneity, they didn’t wait until Sunday to worship, they did it wherever and whenever it was desired and it didn’t need to happen in a church, Visitors worshipped everywhere.

 

Merri straightened up and brushed her rebellious lock off her face, though a few strands remained stuck to her forehead as she perused the man before her.

She thought him somewhere beyond fifty with his long white hair and short trimmed beard.

He was tall and disproportionately thin, and wore a full length pale blue robe tied at the waist with a royal blue cord and this 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.  

“I’m sorry Brother” Merri said flushing scarlet as she scrambled out of her oily tomb “I didn’t realize you were a Visitor”

“That’s ok” he said “I’ve heard worse cussing than you’ve been producing”

“Oh God, you heard all of that?” she asked and grimaced

“I did” he confessed and laughed

“I’m sorry anyway” she said and wiped her oily hand before offering it to him to shake “I’m Merionwen Strong, Merri for short”

“I am Visitor Parham” he said formerly “But people who know me call be Bagg”

 

After a short converse involving her detailing the nature of the problem with the engines and her lack of an engineer he said

“Maybe I can help”

“I don’t think God can fix what ails these beasts” Merri said with a giggle

“I would agree, but he has provided the solution to your predicament”

“You?” she asked which produced a deep roar of a laugh

“Good heavens no” he retorted “I am not of a mechanical bent, no my talents lie in another area entirely”

“Then I don’t really see how you can help” she said

“Well the key to everything in life is a question of balance and it just so happens that God has provided the perfect opportunity to attain balance by placing on Alwi, the greatest need and the greatest abundance, in short, your defunct engines and the two best engineers in the quadrant”

“And you can vouch for them?” she asked

“I can”

“So if they’re so good how come they ended up on Alwi” Merri asked

“Because the vessel they were on was bound for Mehreen space, and the neutral zone is as close as they ever want to get to it, so they disembarked”

“Do they have a reason for not crossing into Mehreen space?” 

“If I was to tell you that Pulsat Rad is from Prinsloo and Vanzyl is Kesslerian would that answer your question?” Bagg asked

Merri knew from her father that both civilizations had suffered greatly at the hands of the Mehreen so she replied 

“It would”

Bagg nodded and looked at the ground and uttered a short prayer.

“Why don’t you get then to come and see me tomorrow and we’ll see if we can redress the balance” she said and smiled smugly at her paraphrasing of the Visitor.

“Why not meet them now” he suggested and gestured over her shoulder “They’re here now”

Merri turned around and perused the two figures walking toward them, one was slightly shorter than the other, who she recognised as a Prinsloovian.

He was heavy set and had a rough bony skull which raised up like a crown which receded to give way to a Mahogany scaled brow, cheekbones and jawline which framed an ivory coloured face, and he had yellow eyes and his entire countenance betrayed his reptilian ancestry.

His companion in comparison was slender and although they also owed its origins to reptilian DNA its scaly countenance was more akin to a fish than a lizard, with large eyes and pursed lips, and on closer inspection Merri could see its gills.

“This is Merionwen Strong, Captain of the Tornado” Bagg said

“Good meeting, I Pulsat Rad, this Vanzyl” the shorter of the two 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 telling, I telling” Pulsat retorted and to Merri he explained

“Vanzyl say we very much like fix engines, very much like join crew Tornado”

“You fix the engines and you have a deal” she said “on one condition”

“What is?” he asked

“The condition is that you don’t have any strange eating habits” Merri explained and then she observed as the two engineers in waiting looked at each other in what she supposed was puzzlement until Vanzyl made a long whistling noise followed by a succession of clicks and Pulsat snorted.  

“No, no, we eat everything” he said and then he and Vanzyl proceeded to investigate the engines.

“I hope they meant anything and not everything” Merri said

“Only time will tell” Bagg said and laughed

“Talking of food, will you stay and eat” Merri asked 

“That depends, are you a better cook than you are an engineer?”

“Actually I’m a better engineer” she confessed

“In that case I’ll stay, providing you let me cook” he retorted

 

“That was the best meal I’ve eaten in three years” Malena said as she pushed her spotless plate away from her.

“At least three years” Merri echoed 

“Mmmm” was all that Shiyne could manage

“I’m glad you enjoyed it” Visitor Parham responded

“As it might make you more receptive to what I have to say next”

“That sounds ominous” Merri said

“It’s not at all” Shiyne said and smiled because she knew what was on his mind because she was a Vann and the Vann were telepaths.

“So what is it?” Malena asked

“It’s time for me to leave Alwi and continue my travels” Bagg said

“So I would like to join you”

“Well I think I can speak for the whole crew when I say that, providing we can get off this damn moon, you’re welcome to tag along, as ships cook” Merionwen said just at the point Pulsat and Vanzyl appeared

“Engines fixed” the former said

“What already?” Merri asked “You’ve fixed them both?”

“No” Pulsat replied

“We fix four”

“I already had two working” Merionwen said indignantly which prompted Vanzyl to make a long whistling noise followed by a succession of clicks and Pulsat snorted, which clearly denoted laughter in the former and derision in the latter.  

“We fix four” Pulsat repeated and everyone laughed

“So you’ve done in four hours that I haven’t been able to do in almost as many months”

“We are engineers” Pulsat said and everyone laughed again

“Then it looks like we’re getting off this rock at last” Merri said “and we have three new shipmates”

Then after the introductions were made Merri said

“Now sit and eat”

“We eat here?” Pulsat asked

“Where else?” Merri said and Vanzyl uttered a soft whistle like a plaintive flute

The Tornado Sojourns – Chapter 01 – The Back End Of Beyond

 

In the beginning was the word, and the word was “Fuck!” and that word was followed in quick succession by several other words of profanity, and the deliverer of the colourful tirade of abuse was Merionwen Strong, owner, Captain, Pilot, engineer and all round general dog’s body of the Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado.

The recipients of said abuse were the Plasma Turbine Pyroclast Engines on the fore mentioned Freighter, because although she was a good enough engineer to keep something limping along she didn’t possess the skillset for fixing something that had stopped limping altogether.

This problem was further exacerbated by the fact that she was the best engineer left among the crew and the ship was sitting on the outskirts of a mining town on the surface of Alwi, the fourth moon of the seventh planet Aragon, in the Cammaratian System, which was the sort of place that aspired to be the back end of beyond but couldn’t even manage that.

 

For centuries the reasoned voices of humanity cautioned the politicians and captains of industry on the dangers of taking their natural world for granted, but such voices fell on deaf ears, and because the inhabitants of planet Earth had long abused their blue world, consuming its natural resources and swelling its population past the point where they could produce enough food to satisfy all the hungry mouths, by the middle of the 23rd Century they found it necessary for the inhabitants of Earth to leave their once blue world in their solar system and strive to settle on other worlds in neighbouring systems in order to provide the resources  needed for the home world. 

 

When the inhabitants of Earth left their overcrowded planet their colonization was a great success and they spread like an infestation across the stars, as a result by the middle of the 31st century, human colonies thrived across the universe and in Earths corner of the universe all was calm and peaceful and their solar system was experiencing unprecedented prosperity, but far beyond their backwater solar system it was a very different story.

 

The known universe was in essence divided between two great superpowers, the Legion, which was an alliance of hundreds of humanoid species, of which humans were one, and on the other was the Mehreen Empire a much older and significantly more malevolent union headed by the Mehreen themselves, who were a fearsome warrior race dominated by Amazon like women and they ruled absolutely, and without mercy.

Not that the Legion were any more enlightened, they were equally ruthless and capable of dispensing uncompromising smite without a second thought, but they thought themselves morally superior.

 

But despite their obvious abhorrence of each other a status quo existed between the two great powers and barring the odd skirmish on the fringes of their empires, an uneasy peace existed. 

Although there were conflicts a plenty within their own borders with territorial and cultural disputes and even an occasional insurrection to be put down.

 

The Cammaratian System, where Merionwen was abusing her engines was moderately sized, comprising of 7 planets and some seventy moons, only one of the planets was an M class, Lazarion, the fourth planet, and all of the others were either gaseous, volatile or just plain unpleasant.

There were various mining operations in the system mainly on the numerous moons, the largest of which was on Alwi the fourth moon of the seventh planet Aragon.

The great attraction of the system to Merionwen and other freighter captains like her was the fact that it was, firstly one of the few remaining neutral zones left in the known galaxy and secondly it bordered 11 other systems, all much busier and populous than Cammaratian itself, so it was in effect a short cut, a rat run between systems with the advantage of far less stringent border controls, ideal for those either in a hurry or more likely those transporting contraband.

Using the Cammaratian routes was not without risk however, which was because of the lack of scrutiny of the system by the empires, those choosing the less high profile route were left vulnerable to the other inhabitants of the neutral zone “Scav Raiders” which were in essence little more than pirates, so no one entered the system unarmed unless they were in convoy.

The other reason it was used so readily, despite the perils was because it gave the merchant men easy access to the star gates beyond the frontiers which in turn accessed the lucrative trade routes through hyperspace.

Merionwen didn’t need to traverse the system as part of a convoy as her ship was a Tempest Class Freighter and the Tornado was fast enough to out run most of the predatory pirates and those that she couldn’t beat for pace could be beaten off, either with the twin Pulsar Lasers at the front and a rear facing Plasma cannon.

 

But sometimes not even a fast vessel and a Plasma cannon were enough to escape completely unscathed which was the reason why the Tempest Class Freighter, Tornado was sitting on the outskirts of a mining town on the surface of Aragon fourth moon, Alwi, causing Captain Merionwen Strong to deliverer a colourful tirade of abuse as she struggled to repair the Pyroclast engines.

 

When she landed to make repairs she expected a two or three week stay at most, but weeks quickly turned to months as they discovered the extent of the damage and after half her crew grew restless and signed on with other vessels, it left her shorthanded and desperate and in danger of losing her ship. 

Technically the ship belonged to the Garangon mining company, but as they went out of business when they inadvertently destroyed the moon they were mining, Merionwen’s father kept the Tornado in lieu of payment and it passed to her on his death but after only three years at the helm, losing it had become a very real possibility. 

Fortunately she still had the loyalty of her remaining crew, co-pilot and navigator Malena Endia and Shiyne, who was that rare commodity in any crew, someone who could and would perform any task required of them without question, but her real strength was in the role of negotiator and as an eternal optimist.

 

Merionwen Strong was 28 years old and was best described as statuesque, she was tall, straight backed, and proud.

And was blessed with an abundance of red hair that trailed behind her like a mane and penetrating green eyes and overall you would call her striking and then along with her striking appearance went her forthright, volatile and feisty personality.

She loved the Tornado and she loved her life among the stars and considered herself fortunate to live the life she lived, with friends like Malena and Shiyne, who were like family, and whom she adored and doing the thing she loved to do most in the world fulfilled her.

But, and there was always a but, the thing Merri wanted more than anything in the universe other than that, was someone to share with her the life she loved so much.

It was difficult enough to meet a suitable guy if you lived in a town or a city but she lived in a space freighter in a back water system light years away from the nearest sizable populous planet.

Obviously she had boyfriends from time to time when she was growing up of course, but those relationships never went anywhere, not in a way that she wanted anyway.

Merri had no problem attracting men, in fact the opposite was true, miners, farmers, space trash, bar bums and the military, they all gave her the eye.

They were always persistent, though in truth not only with her, Malena and Shiyne were also on the farm boy’s radar and none of them were interested in them, even though they were at times lonely.

While most of her other admirers, who she did like, had no interest in travelling the stars or living the nomadic life and she had no interest in giving up the life and home she loved.

She remained forever hopeful though and kept her dreams alive but those dreams would never come to fruition if she couldn’t get the bloody engines fixed.