Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 48. Chapter 48 - The Aftermath

The starship Garnet Star and the safe house outside of Glinterdale were both sealed up tight. Lyoth, Stawren, and Captain Suoki were on the Galaxy Surfer in orbit above a planet Neptithia had provided on a list of eight locations where godstrolls were recently seen.

“This is the only inhabited planet in the Losinioth Galaxy’s primary system,” Captain Suoki informed the other two. “I spent some time here, but that was a long time ago. The city of Olgron is below us, and according to Neptithia, that’s where a godstroll man has been causing trouble.”

The Galaxy Surfer began to descend, and the trio noticed something on the planet’s surface far below.

“What is that?” Lyoth asked.

“Is it fire?” Stawren added.

Rippling patches of orange glowed up at them.

“That godstroll must have caused a bunch of damage,” Captain Suoki said, and he pointed out one of the ship’s windows. “Look, there are more fires over there.”

As the Galaxy Surfer drew nearer, the three fell silent. Much of the city of Olgron had been completely destroyed, and huge swathes of it raged with the unquenchable burning.

Besides the flames, they saw no movement.

“I’m going to pilot us over to that area where there’s less fire,” Stawren stated, pointing in a different direction than they were headed.

Stawren regretted that decision.

With no fire in the region below to distract them, the three saw people, but only their remains. Corpses littered the streets. Bodies lay twisted and broken. Limbs, heads, torsos, and indistinguishable body parts were strewn about the neighborhood.

“What in the name of all the gods is this?” Lyoth whispered.

Stawren gasped. “Right there!” She turned the ship, and on top of one of the nearby buildings, there was a destroyed assassin viper android.

“Oh gods,” Captain Suoki whispered, “everyone’s dead,”

They were silent again for a moment.

Lyoth was the first to speak. “If all the people are dead, there’s no reason for the godstroll to still be here, and if it was killed, finding its corpse among the devastation would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Stawren, will you please pilot us to one of the other cities on the planet?”

She nodded, and the three of them remained quiet until the ship arrived a few minutes later. It was as they feared. They flew over several cities where the devastation was no less terrible. As far as they could tell, all the sentient life had been annihilated.

“Let’s get out of here,” Lyoth said quietly.

The Galaxy Surfer left the destruction behind and began the journey to the next location on Neptithia’s list.

“Do you think any of these other planets will be in the same state?” Captain Suoki asked.

Stawren held up the list. “These are all major centers of industry on busy planets. I think knowing what we know about the assassin viper androids, there’s a good chance we’ll see more of what we just witnessed.”

Over the course of several hours, Stawren was proven right. The next four planets they visited had been completely razed of sentient life. Huge stretches of the former cities burned, and if the trio looked closely, they saw the dead. They crossed those first five locations off the list Neptithia had provided, but their sixth stop had been untouched by the onslaught of the assassin viper androids.

“Okay, this is the planet Aggrrin,” Stawren informed the men, “and we’re headed to the city Tuzu.”

“Look, it’s not burning!” Lyoth declared.

“Thank the gods,” Captain Suoki whispered.

“Just a reminder,” Stawren continued, “according to my aunt Thia, this is the place where a pair of godstrolls have been working together to menace the citizens. She said the reports state that they’ve only eaten a few people in Tuzu,” Stawren said the word with disdain, “and instead, they’ve been feeding on livestock outside of town.”

“Let’s see if we can talk to some of the farmers,” Lyoth recommended. “We need to do some intel-gathering before we go after the godstrolls.”

Captain Suoki looked from Lyoth to Stawren and asked, “Do either of you feel weird about this?”

“About what?” Stawren replied.

Lyoth gave Captain Suoki a kind smile and said to Stawren, “He’s uncomfortable with the fact that we are essentially hunting people.”

“People?” Stawren squawked incredulously. “Suoki, you didn’t see the godstroll at the spaceport eat one of the guards! That beast deserved what Lyoth did to him, and if these two godstroll assholes in Tuzu are eating people,” she then said with exaggerated sarcasm, “even if it’s not many,” and she finished coldly, “then they deserve to be hunted down like the monsters they are.”

The Galaxy Surfer’s communicator dinged.

“Someone’s hailing us,” Lyoth said, and he answered. “This is the starship Galaxy Surfer.”

“Galaxy Surfer,” the voice on the other end replied, “you do not have clearance to land in Tuzu. Stop your descent immediately and disembark from the airspace above the city limits.”

“Are we permitted to land outside the city?” Lyoth asked.

“As long as your ship is beyond the perimeter, but you must cease your descent now.”

Stawren changed the Galaxy Surfer’s trajectory.

“We won’t land in town,” Lyoth assured the person on the other end.

“See that you don’t.” The call disconnected.

Captain Suoki commented flatly, “Charming. So, what’s the plan then?”

Stawren pulled up a three-dimensional map of the city. Red lights on the digital display indicated the farms where the two godstrolls had attacked. “They’ve been focused on the livestock in the north-northeast region, so why don’t we land beyond those fields?”

The men thought her idea was a good one, and the Galaxy Surfer touched down without any further incident from the Tuzu authorities. The trio exited the vessel, and they climbed over an old wooden fence at the edge of the farthest field. They found a narrow walkway that separated an expanse of cabbage stretching in one direction, from a similar field of cauliflower in the other.

A farmhouse sat in the distance, but as the path led them to the edge of the cabbage, a booming explosion rattled the quiet of the farm.

Lyoth, Stawren, and Captain Suoki froze in their tracks.

“That’s far enough!” shouted a voice from a man they could not see at first. “Get off my land!”

Lyoth called back, “We’re trying to help the farmers in these parts!” He nodded and whispered to Stawren and Captain Suoki, “He’s on the roof with a rifle.”

“Do you think he heard what you yelled?” Stawren asked.

Lyoth shrugged and called out again. “We are here to help!”

The man aimed his rifle at the sky, and another blast from the weapon threatened the intruders that they needed to change their course of action.

“Time to go?” Captain Suoki asked quickly.

“Time to go,” Stawren confirmed.

The trio headed back the way they came, but now there was a man leaning on the fence in front of the Galaxy Surfer.

“What’s this?” Captain Suoki growled.

“He’s unarmed,” Lyoth replied in a reassuring tone.

“And he’s dressed like a farmer,” Stawren added.

They approached and he greeted them. “You lot picked the wrong farm. That’s the Grizlop place, not the nicest of people. I’m Rugon, own the farm next door to the Grizlops. Now, what can I do for you strangers?”

Stawren decided to dispense with the pleasantries and get right to the point. “We’re hunting a pair of godstrolls who we’ve heard have been terrorizing this region. And it’s nice to meet you, Rugon.”

Rugon was shocked. “You’re in the right place, but you can’t be serious.” He looked at each of them in disbelief. “Two godstrolls have been eating the hogs and bovines, maybe a few sheep from one of the farms farther east, but what are you three supposed to do about them? Besides, they haven’t eaten many people.”

“Oh, okay then,” Stawren replied sarcastically, “it’s all fine because only a few people have been eaten. Let’s let the murdering cannibals keep slaughtering this city’s food supply and maybe only a few more people.” She turned to the two men with her. “Lyoth, Suoki, ready to leave?”

“You didn’t need to be so harsh about it,” the farmer grumbled, “but yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Stawren spoke in her normal voice again. “Rugon, what if someone you love had been one of the people they ate? Or what if it had been you? Don’t you have people who care, who would be upset if you’d been eaten?” She did not let him answer her rhetorical questions, and she stated, “We’re here to slaughter godstrolls.”

Rugon was startled, but he also looked like he believed her words. “How do you do that?” he asked. “How do you kill godstrolls?”

Stawren smirked. “I saw this guy take one out all on his own.” She jabbed her thumb at Lyoth.

Captain Suoki leaned toward Rugon. “Where have they been most recently seen?”

“The godstrolls?” Rugon replied, shaking his head in disbelief. “I think the Drishia place, a couple farms down from mine, they were talking about losing some hogs the day before yesterday. I reckon that’s the last time anyone’s seen them.”

“Don’t suppose you mind introducing us to them?” Captain Suoki asked. “So we don’t need to deal with someone else possibly shooting us.”

Rugon smiled. “That’s no problem at all. Come with me!”

The farmer led the trio of warriors along the perimeter of the wooden fence until they came to a field of grains that was as tall as their waists. They walked until they reached an orchard, and then an entire farm dedicated to growing asparagus.

“That’s adorable,” Lyoth commented with a chuckle as they began to pass the tiny green stalks protruding up from the soil.

“The next farm belongs to the Drishias,” Rugon informed them.

The four crested a small rise in the land, and the vines of a healthy pumpkin patch stretched for acres before them. The plants only had small, immature gourds, but it was clear what was growing. They could also see a trail of destruction where enormous footprints marred a path through the pristine field to the farm’s hog pen. The fence had been smashed, and an elderly fellow was in the process of repairing it.

“That’s old man Drishia,” Rugon whispered to the others as they approached him.

Stawren leaned close and hissed, “Does he have a real first name?” but Captain Suoki stepped right up and introduced himself.

“Is it Drishia? Am I pronouncing it right? Here let me help you with that piece of fencing. I’m Suoki.”

“Watch where you step, my young friend,” old man Drishia replied. “Lots of mud around the hog pit.”

“Indeed,” Captain Suoki said, stepping right into the mud in order to get a better grip on the fencing, “hogs love a good wallow.” He grunted as he helped hoist the fencing back into place.

Old man Drishia looked at Suoki with a satisfied smile. “That were the hard stuff. The rest, I can handle. Much obliged at your assistance, young fella. Can I offer you four a cup of cold tea? By the by, ’ello, Rugon.”

“Nice to see you,” Rugon replied.

“Right over here, into the shade,” old man Drishia instructed.

A large cooler with a spigot was on top of a table, and one by one, they filled glasses with tea.

“So, what can I do for you?” the old man asked.

Rugon waved for Lyoth, Stawren, and Captain Suoki to explain why they were there. It did not take them long.

Old man Drishia eyed them suspiciously. “You really think you can take out these godstrolls?”

Lyoth shrugged and Stawren repeated herself. “I saw Lyoth kill one of them himself.”

Old man Drishia’s demeanor changed. “You’ve already killed a godstroll?”

“Yes,” Lyoth confirmed, “I’ve killed godstrolls.”

The old fellow was sharp as a whip and noticed Lyoth’s words. “Plural? As in, you’ve killed multiple godstrolls?”

Lyoth simply nodded.

“Well, ain’t that quite something? I don’t know if this helps at all,” old man Drishia added, “but I heard the male call the female by a name. He called her Ugmugg.”