Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 33. Chapter 33 - Seperate Ways

While Quigley’s ship was being repaired on Lady Talula’s low-orbit space station, Captain Suoki and the Lady talked. After hearing his story, she granted him permission to borrow one of her two ships in order to meet Lyoth and Stawren at the hidden safe house. Little Riah whined to her parents about Captain Suoki not leaving with them to be dropped off in Boullia Bay, even though that had been the plan, and he promised to meet up with them another time. Quigley launched the Burn Throne, and a moment later, Captain Suoki and Lady Talula watched it disappear into hyperspace.

The big fellow headed with the Lady to her space station’s main hangar.

“Thank you again for allowing me to use your starship,” Captain Suoki said as they entered. “By the by, what’s its name?”

“You’ll be piloting my cruiser, the Garnet Star,” Lady Talula replied, waving at one of the two ships that helped the Burn Throne escape from the End Vision. “My other is the Mad Goddess. She’s my pride and joy; no one flies her but me.”

“And me!” X-Ø added.

“No,” Lady Talula replied, “you fly the Garnet Star.”

“Yes, I fly the Garnet Star!”

Captain Suoki could not help but chuckle at the two identical voices in conversation together.

Lady Talula gave him an apologetic grin. “X-Ø gets confused sometimes.”

“I was not meant to be a friend,” the robot said in her voice.

The Lady laughed. “That’s true, you were not designed to be who you’ve become, but I think you’re perfect, and you are a wonderful friend.”

X-Ø smiled; it was her only expression. “Yay,” it said a little flatly.

Lady Talula shrugged. “Sometimes her inflection is off.”

“Well, I like her,” Captain Suoki replied, and he turned to the robot. “I like you, X-Ø, and thank you for letting me borrow your ship.”

X-Ø tried again. “Yaaeey!”

Both Lady Talula and Captain Suoki could not help but chuckle at the robot.

“Safe journey!” the Lady proclaimed.

“Never take the road less traveled on a Tuesday,” X-Ø added.

The two laughed again.

“I’ll be back with your ship after my rendezvous,” the captain replied. He sealed the exterior door and climbed into the pilot’s chair. The Garnet Star’s engine blazed to life, and the starship soared out of the space station’s hangar and into the blackness of the universe. Captain Suoki punched in the secret coordinates for the safe-house he and Lyoth called the eighth location, and the Garnet Star vanished into hyperspace.

Lady Talula had informed the captain that Neptithia first tried to get ahold of Lyoth; the Lady did not know him herself, but she said that Neptithia had been unable to connect with him. Captain Suoki activated a call to Lyoth but also received no reply. He decided to reach out to Neptithia.

“Hello?” she answered.

Captain Suoki introduced himself. “Neptithia, right? I’m Suoki, Lyoth and Stawren’s friend.”

“Oh right, the captain of the missing ship!”

He smiled at Neptithia’s Blue face on the screen. “Yes, that’s me! Sorry to bother you, but have you heard from them? I haven’t been able to connect with them, and neither was the Lady Talula. Also,” he added, “thank you for sending her to our rescue.”

“Glad she was able to get you out of there, and isn’t X-Ø a hoot?” Neptithia asked with a laugh. “But no, I haven’t been in touch with Lyoth or Stawren since they found the first two components for the deep space scanning computer.”

Captain Suoki did not know what Neptithia was talking about. “I haven’t spoken to them since before I got shot.”

“You got shot?!” Neptithia squawked.

“Don’t worry, I’m alright,” he reassured her. “I was treated on a Hope medical ship. What’s all this about a computer?”

Neptithia explained what she knew, and concluded with, “I don’t know why they aren’t answering. Let me give them another try.”

Captain Suoki watched her turn to another screen and hit a few buttons. She was quiet for a moment and turned back to him.

“Nothing.”

“Dammit,” he grumbled, “what have they gotten themselves into?”

Far, far away from Captain Suoki and the Garnet Star, Quigley’s ship dropped out of hyperspace. The Burn Throne was above the planet Karthial, where the bounty hunter and his family had made their home.

To his horror, the destroyer End Vision was on the far side of the planet. He only saw it for an instant, and then it was gone into hyperspace.

“No,” Quigley whispered. He raced the Burn Throne around to the side of the planet where his house was located, but as the ship dropped through the atmosphere, Quigley saw the retaliation of those who hired him. “Dear gods…”

The home he made for his family, and the neighborhood in which they lived, had been annihilated. A scorched circle of devastation now scarred the face of the planet Karthial, and tears came to Quigley’s eyes at the sight of it. His home, and most of the city where he lived, was gone.