Twinks in Space: Destination Unknown - Part One - 17. Chapter 17 - Repairs

Phentrom continued reading off the problems with the ship. “The cavitation engine meter just dropped to zero,” he informed Fonith.

“Ugh,” she groaned in reply. “That means we can only travel at 0.1 light speed until we can land and have external repairs made to the ship.” She pulled up a chart of the nearest planetary system. “Oh great,” she said sarcastically, “there’s a massive asteroid belt. That’s normally where marauders or mercenaries like to make their bases.” Her scanner blinked. “Huh, but I am picking up the signature of a mining community on one of the planets. The system’s star is a tired old red giant, and it doesn’t look like there’s much else in this quadrant. It’s going to take us at least 12 hours to get there at our current max speed.”

A little over 12 hours later, the Cometskipper was above the mining colony. The town sat at one end of a deep gorge that stretched for miles across the planet’s face, and the sun was just beginning to set on the old mine.

Fonith found a service and repairs station with a signature that indicated they could handle some of her ship’s repairs, and they granted her permission to dock. Once the Cometskipper was anchored, an attendant came up to the outside of the ship to welcome those aboard. They could see on one of the screens that the man was slender and tall, and he did not look a day over 20.

“He’s a bit yummy,” Lyoth commented to Phentrom.

“He is a cutie,” the mandroid agreed.

Fonith turned to the men with a curious expression. “You’re a couple,” she ventured, “but you also check out other people?”

Lyoth and Phentrom were both surprised by her question.

“I would never deny Phentrom love or affection,” Lyoth replied with a smile, “even if it comes from another person. He deserves to feel all the things he can, now that he’s human, and I wouldn’t dream of limiting him.”

“And I was designed as a pleasure android,” Phentrom added, staring into the eyes of his beloved. “I have always appreciated when men find the love they crave in the arms of other men.”

“And we are in love,” Lyoth declared. “We can both be intimate with other people, because we know we’ll always come back to each other.”

The ship chimed that the outer airlock was opening.

“Let’s go meet the twink!” Stawren said with a laugh.

The four of them made their way through the Cometskipper, and the young man was smiling when they opened the door for him.

“Good evening and welcome to the All Ships/All Styles Service Station. I’m Qili. May I please scan your intergalactic registration?”

Fonith extended her handheld device to the man, and he scanned a code that she had displayed on her screen.

“Well, this can’t be right,” he said with a frown.

“I assure you it is,” Fonith replied, tucking her device back into her pocket.

The attendant eyed her. “But this just has a bunch of zeros. It says your name is three zeros. Your ship is called five zeros. Even your authenticated registration number is just nine zeros.”

“Yes, that’s all correct,” the bounty hunter stated.

“I can’t leave this in the system.”

“Sure you can,” Fonith countered. “You’ve done your job precisely, and it’s not your fault that all my information is zero, but that’s also all the information I’m willing to give, zero. I am however, in need of some repairs, and whether or not you have my real name, I have money.” She grinned at him.

Qili hesitated, but then he said, “ Yes, right, why don’t we move on to your repairs instead? Where shall we begin?”

“My cavitation engine is completely shot. I don’t know if I need a new one or if it’s repairable, but it’s not working and its gauge is at zero. My shields have sustained enormous damage and need to be replenished. There are a host of other smaller problems as well, but those are our primary concerns. Is there somewhere these three can go in the interim?” she asked the man, nodding to Stawren, Phentrom, and Lyoth.

Qili smiled at them and cooed, “A couple of dandy fellows and a woman’s woman? You three ought to head to Rainbowdales. It’s a fancy little spot among a row of taverns that we locals like to frequent. It’s right down the street.” He turned back to Fonith. “Now, lady Zero, what else do we need to take care of on your poor ship?”

Lyoth, Phentrom, and Stawren started to head down the street in the direction the man had indicated, and in a few minutes, they found the taverns. Rainbowdales was the most brightly lit and colorful of them all. Thumping music pulsed from inside.

“Doesn’t this look delightful?” Phentrom commented.

Even though it was early evening, the place was already packed, and the inside was warm and humid from the dancing bodies. A bar stretched along one wall, and a small section of the interior was designated for dining, but the rest of Rainbowdales was a dance floor.

“Should we grab a menu and see what the locals eat?” Lyoth shouted over the music.

The other two thought that was a good idea. They ordered fried fizzlefish and daggerclam strips, grapes with pungent cheese, and tiny mud dragons in spicy sauce. Fonith joined them after a little while, and the quartet enjoyed several rounds of strong drinks as they danced the night away.

When Rainbowdales was closing, in the wee hours, and the owner began brightening the lights to encourage all the guests to be on their way, Lyoth, Stawren, and Phentrom were surprised to find Fonith passionately making out with a very tough-looking individual.

“This is Sheinsu,” Fonith managed as she pulled her lips away. “Gotta go, babe,” she added to her intimate companion.

Without another word, Fonith turned and headed out into the dark streets with Phentrom, Lyoth, and Stawren behind her. “I booked us some lodgings up the street at an inn before joining you at the bar,” she informed them. “It’s this way.”

The quartet headed back past the service station where a team of mechanics was still hard at work on the Cometskipper, even though it was the middle of the night. Fonith led them a little farther and opened the front door to the accommodations where they were going to spend the night, and the four of them slept very hard on very soft beds. The next morning after breakfast, they were back with Qili at the service station.

“My lads were able to fix and refill your cavitation engine,” he informed Fonith. “We also recharged your shields and supplemented them with a quasar boost, but some of your other repairs were just too specific for us.”

Fonith’s face brightened. “You fixed my engine? Qili, you’re a genius! Do you think anyone else in this area has the capabilities to handle my other repairs? Don’t sweat it if not; now that we can travel in hyperspace, I can head to a service station in another sector.”

“That shouldn’t be necessary,” Qili replied. “There’s another shop several blocks over that specializes in different styles of repairs than what we do here. The owner is a friend. Her place is called the Drop Shop.”

“Thanks very much,” Fonith replied as she transferred payment to the man.

The Cometskipper rose and flew the short distance to the Drop Shop. It was named so because of its positioning; the building stood at the very edge of the vast planetary canyon.

As the ship landed, a burly woman exited the service station with a wide smile on her face. “You must be lady Zero. Qili just messaged me about you. You can call me Ratchet.” Then she realized that she recognized Fonith. “Hey, wait a second, you were at Rainbowdales last night. I saw you with Sheinsu!” She let out a playful laugh. “Me and Sheinsu went to school together. Now, what can I do for your ship?”