Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 2. Chapter 2 - Boullia Bay

The warm yellow sun above the island city of Boullia Bay was shining down on Phentrom and Captain Suoki. They were strolling together along a path at the water’s edge with Froufrou leading the way. Captain Suoki had dressed his pug in a little sailor’s suit, and quite a few of the other pedestrians out that morning stopped to greet the men and say hello to the dog. Froufrou liked the attention.

They wandered along until they came upon a little café, and the men paused to examine its menu.

“Shall we?” Phentrom recommended, and he motioned for Captain Suoki to step up and place his order.

“I think that sounds lovely.” The big bearded man approached the counter and said, “I’d like a hot mug of sweet sparkle mushroom tea, please.”

The young baristas who were serving customers could not help but focus on Froufrou.

“Oh my gods, your puppy is so cute!” one of them squeaked. “Her little outfit!”

“Can I give her a treat?” another asked.

“I seriously have to give her one too,” insisted a third. “I have to give her one right now!”

Phentrom and Captain Suoki laughed and did not bother correcting the youths that Froufrou was a boy dog.

“Watch out!” the captain teased. “Froufrou is a vicious beast! Be careful of Froufrou’s widdle teefy-weefies!” Captain Suoki bared his white teeth and the kids giggled at his silliness.

“Your dog’s name is Froufrou?!” one of them asked. “That’s so adorable I could die!”

After Froufrou had enjoyed quite a few treats and a lot of scratches on his wrinkly head and round belly, Captain Suoki scooped up the dog and cradled Froufrou like a baby. The barista who was originally supposed to take the captain’s order turned to him and said, “I’m sorry, what did you want to drink again?”

A few minutes later, Captain Suoki and Phentrom were seated together on a bench by the waterfront, and Froufrou was at their feet. The two men stayed quiet for a while, staring out to sea and sipping their beverages. Captain Suoki’s mushroom tea was gone quicker than he expected, and he pouted at the dregs in the bottom of his mug. Phentrom was enjoying a tangy drink made from several types of tart berries, and he was only halfway through when Captain Suoki stood and placed his empty cup in a bin of soapy water next to the café.

Phentrom joined him and the pair meandered with Froufrou through the Boullia Bay streets in the direction of Fonith’s house, where she was with her fellow bounty hunter, Golvinte. The two of them were pooling their resources and comparing information. They had been trying to find any news of the Ulaa-Lah through illegal back channels and searches that were not approved by any universal counsels. So far they had learned nothing new.

Golvinte was seated beside Fonith on her front porch. Neither of them had spoken in quite a few minutes as they used several advanced devices to try and tap into networks that were not approved for the common people.

Nothing about Fonith was common.

Golvinte stood and stretched, reaching his arms overhead and yawning. “This is getting frustrating,” he grumbled.

Fonith let out a sigh, and she also stood. She squeezed her eyes shut and massaged her temples.

“Hey, there’s Phentrom and Suoki,” Golvinte commented, pointing straight ahead toward the end of the street. He waved.

Fonith looked from them to her fellow bounty hunter. “Golvinte, are you hungry? I’m starting to think about lunch.”

“Yeah, I could definitely eat.”

“Let’s head inside and prep some…”

The sound of a blaster being fired suddenly ripped through the quiet of the Boullia Bay streets, and Fonith’s gaze snapped in the direction of the sound, but Golvinte had seen what happened.

“Someone shot Suoki!” he shouted.

The big man fell and Phentrom knelt over him, causing Fonith and Golvinte to lose sight of them.

Fonith was off her porch in an instant.

“Do you even have any weapons?!” Golvinte shouted, but Fonith was already drawing a pair of blasters.

“Grab a bandage!” she shouted back. The warrior woman focused on the shooter through the panicked crowd, and she recognized him immediately. She rushed in his direction with Golvinte hot on her heels, but multiple shockwave grenades suddenly detonated around Phentrom and Captain Suoki. The blasts were not fatal and did not hit Fonith or Golvinte directly, but both were knocked to the ground, as were many of the people in the fleeing crowd.

Fonith’s head was ringing. She squinted hard, forcing down her dazed feelings, and she pushed herself up to her knees. “Phentrom…” she murmured, “Suoki…” She rose and hobbled in their direction.

The violence was over, and concerned citizens were starting to crowd around Captain Suoki.

“Move it!” Fonith managed to yell, and she shoved her way through the people.

Captain Suoki was lying on the street. He was barely breathing, and Froufrou was licking his face in dismay.

Phentrom was gone.

“Godsdammit,” Fonith growled as Golvinte ran up beside her. She knelt and applied an automatic bandage over the wound in Captain Suoki’s flesh. He had been hit in his side. “The bounty hunter,” Fonith said to Golvinte, “I know him.”

“You do?”

“Yes, but we need to get Suoki to a hospital. Stay with him,” Fonith ordered. “I’ll be back with a hover-gurney, and we can bring him on the Cometskipper to the nearest Halo medical frigate. I’d prefer he be treated on a ship rather than one of the local hospitals.”

Without another word, she scooped up Froufrou and rushed to her house, locking the dog in her back garden. She activated the gurney’s levitation and ran with it following her back to Golvinte. Several people helped lift Captain Suoki onto the hovering cart, and the two bounty hunters guided it to the private station where the Cometskipper was docked.

“Go get the dog from my yard, and I’ll get Suoki secured on my ship.”

“I’ll be right back!” Golvinte replied, and he raced toward her house.

A few minutes later, they were all onboard, and the Cometskipper lifted off the planet’s surface.

Fonith initiated a call to Neptithia, and the Blue-skinned woman’s face appeared on the screen.

“Neptithia,” Fonith greeted her quickly, “is Lyoth with you?”

“No, sorry,” Neptithia replied, “he and Stawren are on their way to a hidden star system we’ve just discovered in a restricted quadrant of space.”

“Suoki has been badly injured and Phentrom has been abducted,” Fonith stated.

“What?” Neptithia squawked.

“I’m bringing Suoki to a hospital ship,” Fonith continued, “and a fellow bounty hunter is with me to help track down Phentrom.”

“What can I do?” Neptithia asked.

“Get in touch with Lyoth and let him know what has happened. Tell him I’m going after Phentrom. I don’t know exactly where he’s been taken, but I’ve got a destination in mind and we’re headed there. I’ll have more information soon.”

Neptithia nodded onscreen. “Will do, and I’ll get new contact details from Lyoth and Stawren so you can reach out to them directly with an update when you’ve got more info.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Fonith stated.

“I’ll call them now. Reach out to me when you know more.”

“I shall,” Fonith replied.

The call disconnected.

Less than an hour after the Cometskipper launched from Boullia Bay, the ship’s airlock was attached to the Hope 28 medical frigate, and Fonith and Golvinte left Captain Suoki in the care of a team of nurses and technicians.

Fonith punched coordinates into her device as her ship released from the frigate. It sped off into the void.

“Where are we going?” Golvinte asked.

“Karthial,” Fonith growled. She looked angry.

Golvinte did not know what Karthial was.

Less than thirty minutes later, the Cometskipper dropped out of hyperspace above a green and blue planet. Fonith piloted her ship down toward a city, and without warning or any type of authorization, she landed the Cometskipper in front of a house. The rest of her ship blocked the entire street.

A shocked woman stepped out onto the front porch of the house holding a small girl, as Fonith exited the ship with a blaster in her arms. She glared at the woman.

“Call Quigley,” the bounty hunter ordered.

The child started to cry.