Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 1. Chapter 1 - Allthrin

After Stawren and Lyoth destroyed the cargo shuttle on the salt flats outside of the Allthrin ghost town of Rubyvale, the two warriors joined Neptithia at her home in Bavport.

“I’ve found something!” the Blue-skinned woman declared as they came in through her front door.

Stawren wrapped Neptithia in a tight hug. “Really? What’d you find, auntie Thia?”

Before Neptithia replied, her eyes went to Lyoth’s arm in the sling and the bandage over the blaster wound on his shoulder. “First, let’s redress that, and I’ll make you a cup of blister blossom tea; it has sensation-reducing properties.” Neptithia placed her personal medical kit onto the countertop and offered, “Lyoth, why don’t you take two of these first?” She handed him a bottle of painkillers. “I’ll get you some water. Stawren, would you like a glass as well?”

“Yes, please, auntie Thia.”

Neptithia poured water into two tumblers, handed one to Lyoth and the other to Stawren, and she set a kettle to boil.

Lyoth swallowed two capsules, and he groaned as he removed his arm from the sling. “It’s pretty sore.”

Stawren stepped up beside the chair and began assisting as he removed the bandage. “So, auntie Thia, tell us about what you found.”

“I’ve been digging through the old advanced logs of the Allthrin high scientists all day, and you know, I don’t think much of what’s in them has been accessed since before the plague.” Neptithia was excited and turned to her computer terminal, pulling up one of the files. “I came across a series of communications in a subsection of the archive that was dedicated to theoretical advanced technology. The exchange is extensive, and I’ve barely scraped the surface of what they discussed. A few of our scientists were in contact with a group that called themselves the Consortium of Light and Darkness.”

Neither Stawren nor Lyoth had ever heard of them.

“See, here?” Neptithia continued, and she pointed at some information on the screen. “One of our scientists named Thenil spent a lot of time sending questions to someone in the Consortium, a person named…” she paused. “I think it’s pronounced Vidlioja?” she attempted, and she brought her fingertip to the name of the contact. “Anyway, Thenil asked about hyperspace travel, and Vidlioja replied with an explanation of how our exponential light-speed capabilities are constrained by our limited understanding of hyperspace. Vidlioja stated that the thing we call hyperspace, is in fact a different dimension, with its own laws of physics that are completely disparate from the physics of this universe. The cavitation engines on our starships are not only capable of propelling vehicles to light speed at exponential powers, but they are actually granting us access to an alternate reality!”

Stawren and Lyoth were surprised by the information.

“How is this possible?” Lyoth asked.

“Yeah,” Stawren added, “I thought other dimensions were just theorized but unproven concepts.”

“Well, according to Vidlioja,” Neptithia continued, “it is extremely unlike our dimension, and the only way into or out of it is through the energies from cavitation engines. Without the protection of a ship traveling at one of the exponential powers of light speed, we would cease to exist there.”

A shrill whistle from the kettle distracted them, and Neptithia jumped up from her seat. She took the pot of boiling water off the heat and poured it into a mug.

Lyoth sucked air through his teeth as Stawren gently applied a fresh antiseptic patch to his shoulder. She mouthed the word sorry to him, and he turned to Neptithia. “I’ve never tried blister blossom tea.”

She held up a jar of dried pale blue flower petals. “It’s a little astringent, a little tart,” Neptithia told him. She placed a small metal mesh basket onto the countertop beside the mug and added two heaping spoonfuls of the blossoms to it. “Needs to steep for fifteen minutes,” she said as she submerged it in the mug. “I’ll sweeten it later for you.”

Stawren finished with Lyoth’s bandage. “Thanks,” he groaned to both of the women. He stood, shook himself, and leaned toward Neptithia’s computer for a closer look at the information displayed. “Where is the Aergoroth Nebula?” he asked. “The messages from Vidli…” Lyoth attempted, but he scrunched up his face at the awkward pronunciation and pointed at the edge of the screen. “The origin location on these messages has been edited. You can tell because the letters are blue instead of black. It was changed to Aergoroth Nebula from whatever was originally there.”

“Curious,” Neptithia replied, “I hadn’t noticed. I’ll see what I can pull up in the archives.” She was quiet for a moment. “Oh, here we go. Looks like instead, it used to be a complex alphanumeric destination that corresponds with a location on universal star maps; the name Aergoroth is much less confusing than all those numbers and letters.”

“Auntie Thia, pull up the nebula’s position,” Stawren suggested, but an error message flashed onto the screen when Neptithia tried, and a prompt instructed her to close the star map.

“What the…” she snorted, and she punched another command into her computer. “Don’t get sassy with me,” she huffed at the monitor. Neptithia tried something else and the results surprised her. “Huh, well, apparently my map is aware of the nebula. Look, I can’t plot a course directly through it; the map is automatically adjusting for its existence.” She ran her fingers through her short grey hair. “Why don’t we try a broader search for Aergoroth through the old files?” She opened another program and entered the name of the nebula.

A list appeared.

“There it is!” Stawren said, pointing at the bottom of the screen. “The Aergoroth Nebula, wait, what is this document? Restricted Sectors…” she read aloud from the top of the monitor, “restricted sectors of what?”

Neptithia adjusted a few settings and the answer was revealed. “Space,” she declared.

“I’ve never heard of restricted areas of space,” Lyoth replied.

Stawren turned to him with a puckish smirk. “We obviously have to go there!”

He laughed.

Neptithia tried to bring up more information, but what she could find was very limited. “I know some systems want ships to get permission before they travel through them,” she commented, “but who restricted the regions on this list, and who was being restricted from traveling to them?”

Lyoth frowned at the screen. “Sectors which are restricted and apparently hidden on star maps?! How peculiar.”

“Auntie Thia, was there more between the two people who were in correspondence?” Stawren asked.

“Thenil and Vidlioja,” Neptithia reminded her, “and yes, there’s a lot more. I’ve only read a small portion from the beginning of their exchange. Another member of our high scientists joined the conversation, someone calling themself Eight.” Neptithia turned from her screen and faced Lyoth and Stawren. “But don’t you two want to clean up? And are you hungry?”

The travelers were weary and the idea of a meal sounded good to them.

“Yes, why don’t we eat?” Stawren replied. “And I’d love a shower.” She turned to Lyoth who nodded in agreement, and she said, “We can apply another new bandage to your arm after you’re clean.”

“I picked up a few baked dzuwilla pies earlier,” Neptithia informed them. “They just need to be reheated. We’ll eat, and while you each shower, I’ll keep reading through the exchange.” She popped the pies in the oven just as the timer for Lyoth’s tea started to chime. Neptithia removed the basket of sodden flower petals, added a little honey, and handed him the mug.

He took a sip and puckered. “Oooh, zingy.”

The food was hot again after only a few minutes, and the trio’s conversation dropped while they enjoyed their dinners. When their meal was done, Stawren and Lyoth each washed themselves. It was painful for Lyoth to clean his arm, and when he was out and dry, Stawren again applied a fresh bandage. The events of the past several days, and his throbbing wound left Lyoth feeling very drained, but Neptithia was enthusiastic to share more information with him and Stawren when they joined her again.

“Thenil and Eight asked Vidlioja about the Aergoroth Nebula, and you won’t believe what I’ve learned!”

“Tell us,” Stawren replied.

“At the nebula’s heart is a planetary system, and that’s where our high scientists’ contact was located. There’s no telling if Vidlioja is still there, and I haven’t figured out why the nebula is hidden, but now we’ve got a more tangible location.”

“If we’re going to go there,” Lyoth said to Stawren, “we’ll need a ship that can survive making it through a nebula, one with advanced shields.”

Neptithia turned to him. “There are a few instances in the first part of this communication that I’ve gotten through, in which Thenil and Eight compare the technology Vidlioja describes, to magic. It seems that even our advancements on Allthrin pale in comparison to the tech used by the people of the Aergoroth Nebula, and I wonder if they may have some way to track down the Ulaa-Lah.”

Lyoth liked the prospect. “Interesting, well I for one am ready to venture into restricted space.” He turned to Stawren.

“Oh, you know I’m in! But why would a society with high science not share its developments with the rest of the cosmos?”

“I am very curious about what you’ll encounter when you get there,” Neptithia added.

The trio talked through the evening, but Stawren and Lyoth were tired and turned in early. After a restful night, the two of them were surprised to find Neptithia still pouring over the lengthy communications.

“I haven’t slept,” she informed them with slightly crazed eyes. “This has been fascinating! I’ve got quite a ways to go, but listen… the planetary system inside the Aergoroth Nebula was set up as a research and development center. However, they soon realized that having the brightest minds from across the universe working together, would indeed create wondrous technology, but what they began to produce was deemed too advanced and potentially dangerous for mass distribution. The system was quickly removed from all universal star maps. Any of the scientists who wished to remain in Aergoroth were permitted to stay, but those who left the undisclosed location would never be able to find it again, because its mapped positioning was hidden at that time.”

“Did any of our scientists from Allthrin ever visit the nebula?” Stawren asked.

“There’s no telling,” Neptithia exclaimed. “I’ve only read through the first…” she paused and checked her device, “thirty-two hours of communications. Oh, my goodness,” she added, “apparently that’s a mere 1.7 percent of its entirety.”

“Wow,” Stawren replied. She pivoted the conversation, “So, is there something I can throw together for breakfast?”

Neptithia stood. “No, no, I can manage.” She turned to a cupboard and declared, “Coffee!”

Lyoth yawned and stretched with one arm. “Coffee sounds delightful.” His other shoulder ached. “Neptithia, may I have a couple more of those pills?”

She grabbed the bottle and handed it to him. “Yes, and take them with you when you leave. There are plenty in there.”

After a hearty breakfast, Stawren and Lyoth left Neptithia to continue digging through the high science archives. The two warriors boarded the ship they acquired the day before in Rubyvale, and they initiated the flight from Bavport to the massive planetary landing station outside of Raxtack City. The vehicle rose up and exited the Allthrin underground to where the red sun glowed above.

“Do you think we should stop in that town with the throuple?” Stawren asked Lyoth.

He chuckled. “As much as I’d love to see them again, we have a lot ahead of us, and I think we need to go. Besides, Phentrom would be so jealous to hear we saw them again without him. Ugh, why is being away from the one you love so excruciating?”

Stawren laughed and said, “The town Ebivon, where the throuple live is below us somewhere.” She waved out the ship’s window at the planet’s dark landscape. “We’re already almost halfway to Raxtack.”

Their original journey in the hovercraft between the two cities had taken a day and a half, but the low-orbit spaceflight took just over twelve minutes. The ship reentered the underground, and the Raxtack City planetary spaceport was below.

“Should we land on the private airstrip where we got the Quasar Queen?” Stawren asked.

“I mean,” Lyoth replied with an embarrassed smile as if they were talking about a lover, “shouldn’t we get another Sunship? I really like Sunships.”

Stawren laughed, and the vehicle from Rubyvale touched down at the end of the row of interstellar vessels.

“Last time, we went for speed,” Lyoth commented as they stepped out onto the old tarmac, “but this time, we want shields.”

“How will we know the type of shield or its level without accessing each vehicle’s specifications in its databank?” Stawren asked.

Lyoth smirked. “Like this.” He stepped around to the back of the first Sunship and began dismantling an external component. “All Sunships have a special compartment for their customizable shields.” As the housing unit for the vessel’s shield generator opened, Lyoth looked disappointed. “The ship we took last time only had a standard shield; this one has the same.” He sealed the component again and moved on to the next ship.

The following three Sunships did not possess upgraded shields.

“Oooh,” Lyoth finally cooed to the next starship in the line, “now we’re talking; this one has an Ultra Nexus! It’s a type of hard-radiation shielding that is very resistant to damage or depletion.” He patted the exterior of the ship’s bulkhead and stepped around to its nameplate. “Huh, not bad.”

Stawren joined him and read aloud, “Galaxy Surfer.”

Lyoth shrugged and cringed at his painful shoulder, but he set about dismantling the Sunship’s anchor. With only one good arm, it took him a few minutes longer than when he had released the Quasar Queen, but soon he and Stawren were inside the Galaxy Surfer’s airlock.

She linked her device to the ship and initiated its start-up protocol. “I’ll reset its programming with both of us as the new owners and operators.” They were granted access, and Stawren searched its files for the stored flightpath that would take the Galaxy Surfer out of the underground, and after several more minutes, the warriors were leaving Allthrin behind. Once above the atmosphere, Stawren activated the cavitation engine, and the ship disappeared into hyperspace.

“So, we are in an alternate dimension right now?” Lyoth asked.

“Apparently,” Stawren replied. She pulled up the Galaxy Surfer’s digital gauges. “We’re traveling at over 10 light speed, but the Aergoroth Nebula is a little ways away from where we are.” She brought up a timer. “Seven hours and fourteen minutes. I wonder what we’ll find when we get there.”

When they arrived, the sight that greeted them was not what they expected. A cosmic sphere the size of a red giant star filled the screen in front of them, but it put off almost no light.

“That’s not a nebula,” Lyoth stated. “It’s much too small.”

“What in the universe is it?” Stawren asked. “Is it a huge gaseous planet? I’ve never seen one so big though.” Her device began blinking and she said, “Oh, my aunt Thia is calling.” Stawren answered. “Hi, auntie Thia.”

“Stawren, Lyoth,” Neptithia exclaimed in alarm, “Phentrom has been taken!”