Twinks in Space: Destination Unknown - Part One - 4. Chapter 4 - Death

A few hours before the Ulaa-Lah arrived above the oasis planet, Thrad was strolling through the ship’s gardens with several men of the harem. He noticed two of Captain Suoki’s smarmiest counselors sneak off together into a private alcove.

The other men with Thrad were cackling about a juicy piece of gossip concerning several galactic celebrities who had made fools of themselves. Thrad slowed his pace and the others continued on their way through the greenery without noticing that they lost one of their party.

The population of men aboard the city-sized starcraft was huge, but Thrad knew one of the sneaky advisors by name; he was easy to spot. Counselor Penqui was a Blue-skinned Allarei of the planet Allthrin. There were only a few Allarei aboard the Ulaa-Lah.

Thrad hid close enough to hear every word the two men spoke.

“My mind is made up,” murmured the man Thrad did not know, a pale fellow with hunched shoulders who rarely visited the harem.

“I want that twink annihilated!” hissed counselor Penqui.

Thrad brought his hands to his mouth to smother a giggle. He thought the two men were talking about sex with one of the mandroids, but he was surprised by what he heard as they continued scheming.

“5NTR0M cannot be allowed to exist,” counselor Penqui stated in a growl. “He’s sure to contaminate other mandroids. The infection will spread to all synthetics and everything will be ruined.”

The other man lowered his voice even further, but Thrad could still make out his words. “Several of the deck officers are sympathetic to our cause. Whichever one of them is on duty has agreed to activate the weapons array and launch a plasma missile that has been pre-targeted on the landing vessel.”

“Good, Lyoth and the other two will be unfortunate casualties for their support of that abomination,” counselor Penqui stated without a touch of remorse in his voice.

“Since 5NTR0M cannot be studied for the prevention of this malfunction in future mandroids, he must be entirely destroyed.”

“Oh, he will be… he will be.”

As the two advisors left the harem gardens and returned to the upper levels of the ship, Thrad remained hidden. He stood among the trees contemplating whether or not to tell Captain Suoki what he overheard.

Thrad was not a warrior, like the members of the crew. He was not as brilliant as the teams of scientists aboard the Ulaa-Lah, nor was he interested in being part of the small government that helped keep life on the vast ship running smoothly. Thrad knew he was a lover, and he liked being who he was.

However, he steeled himself, and since Captain Suoki was not in the baths or gardens, Thrad wrapped himself in a robe and entered the elevator. As the doors slid closed, he pushed the button for the captain’s chambers, but Captain Suoki was not in his rooms. Thrad was alarmed to check his device and see that Phentrom was unconscious in the medical bay. He headed there quickly, hoping the captain was with the mandroid, but only Lyoth was in the quiet exam room where Phentrom rested.

“Is Phentrom okay?” Thrad whispered to Lyoth.

“Yes,” Lyoth replied, squeezing the mandroid’s hand.

“What happened to him?”

Lyoth did not answer.

Thrad hesitated and asked, “Where’s the captain? I need to find him.”

“I’m not sure. He hasn’t been here in the past hour.”

Thrad furrowed his brow. “Thanks, I’ll keep looking.”

Captain Suoki did not respond when Thrad reached out to him over his communicator, and he could not find the captain in any of the normal places he liked to frequent. No one from the harem was allowed on the Ulaa-Lah’s bridge, but Thrad eventually headed there and waited outside the door for someone entering or exiting the ship’s command center.

During all his running around the Ulaa-Lah, Thrad did not realize that the ship had already come into orbit above the oasis planet. He was also unaware that Phentrom had awoken, and that he and Lyoth had disembarked with the other three men. The five of them were already on the oasis planet’s surface.

Beyond the doors to the bridge, and unbeknownst to Thrad, chaos erupted.

Two deck officers were stationed at their positions when the Ulaa-Lah received the confirmation that the landing shuttle had arrived safely. One of the officers stepped away from his post toward the seated weapons technician, whose back was turned. All in an instant, the officer released the lock over the launching mechanism for one of the plasma missiles and engaged its firing trigger.

He screamed, “The corrupt A.I.P. must be eradicated!” as the weapons technician grabbed his wrist, but it was too late.

“Captain,” the man gasped, “we’ve just launched a plasma missile toward the surface of the planet! Oh gods, it’s tracking the landing shuttle; they’ll all be killed!”

Captain Suoki hit the alarm button that called his guards to the bridge.

“Traitor!” shrieked someone behind the captain, and a blaster bolt collided with the deck officer.

Outside in the hallway, a squadron of guards came rushing toward the bridge. Thrad stepped back against one of the walls, and the armed men raced through the door into the command center.

Many people were shouting, and Thrad could see one crewmember was dead. A blaster hole was punched through his chest. Blood was everywhere.

Thrad brought his hands to his face in shock.

Through the commotion, he heard Captain Suoki yell, “Godsdammit, Penqui! Now we won’t know if he was working with anyone!”

The doors shut and Thrad was again alone in the quiet hallway outside of the bridge. “Penqui,” he whispered to himself.

Thrad turned and ran. A moment later, he was back at the elevator, and the sliding doors sealed him inside.

He hesitated before pushing a button. He did not know if he should return to the baths and wait for the captain to eventually show up so that they could speak in private. Captain Suoki was going to be preoccupied with the mess on the bridge for a while, and Thrad wondered what good it would do, now that Lyoth and Phentrom were dead.

Thrad pushed the button that would take him to the floor where the men of the harem lived, and after a few minutes he was in his own room with the door shut.

“It’ll be Penqui’s word against mine,” he said aloud to his empty room. “Is it even worth it to get involved? They’re dead. What’s the point except informing the captain that someone close to him is not who they seem to be? Argh! Come on, Thrad,” he snapped at himself, but his voice and shoulders fell. “What am I supposed to do?” He sighed. I’m not a fighter. I’m a harem man, Thrad thought. I’m here to help remove the captain’s worry, not add to it. “But six people are dead,” he whispered, “and Lyoth was my friend. Phentrom was, too, if I’m honest.” Thrad furrowed his brow. “The captain has to be informed!”