Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 64. Chapter 64 - Success

Lyoth, Phentrom, Stawren, and Captain Suoki were all aboard the Cometskipper again. Stawren was seated, and a pair of crutches was leaning against the wall beside her. Captain Suoki’s pug, Froufrou, was in Boullia Bay with little Riah and her parents, Finnow and Quigley.

“We’re three minutes out from the location Neptithia gave us,” Fonith informed the others.

“Wish I could help you, Lyoth,” Stawren commented with a little disappointment in her voice, as the ship landed.

He smiled, winked at her, and headed to the airlock. The Cometskipper touched down and Lyoth exited the starship. He was on a planet, and it was night.

Neptithia had learned much more about godstrolls. Once Stawren was with everyone back on the Cometskipper, Neptithia called her again and shared quite a lot of interesting details about godstroll anatomy. At the center of each godstroll’s forehead is a patch of light-sensitive cells that sit in front of a small glandular structure within the frontal cortex of their brains. The unique organ is a cosmic anomaly that allows them to adapt to almost any environment. Neptithia had also discovered many more places around the universe where the monsters were causing chaos.

Lyoth was armed with only his standard sword as he silently approached one of their nests. It was positioned on the outskirts of a small industrial city with a dense population. According to Neptithia’s information, the beast had eaten an entire family, a wandering peddler, and two city guardsmen in the past week. Lyoth could hear the creature snoring as he crept into its lair. He approached the sleeping form and stood above its oversized head. Lyoth was compassionate to the monster, despite its penchant for eating sentient species, and the master swordsman stuck his blade straight into the godstroll’s third eye.

The creature did not awake as it died.

Sheathing the sword, Lyoth set up the aspirator and began to drain the corpse’s blood. He managed to collect almost fourteen liters, and when he returned to the Cometskipper, he added it to the twenty-six they had already obtained.

Fonith took her ship up again and plotted its course to the next destination.

On the following two planets, with the cover of night, Lyoth humanely slayed one godstroll, and then another.

“We’re up to sixty-eight liters,” Stawren declared as the Cometskipper entered hyperspace again. “Where to?”

“Next,” Fonith replied, “is the Sonnig homeworld, but this is one of the planets that Neptithia couldn’t confirm if it had been attacked by the assassin viper androids or not. There may no longer be any life on Sonnig, and there may not be any godstrolls left. Also, just a reminder, this is the planet that Neptithia said there were three of them rampaging together.”

“Three godstrolls would probably take us over one-hundred liters,” Stawren declared.

“But if they’re together,” Lyoth countered, “I doubt I’d be able to handle them alone. I’ll have to assess the situation first.”

“I wish I could go with you,” Stawren complained. She looked down at the massive rigid bandage system on her leg. Her limb was encapsulated from her mid-thigh to her foot in a plasticized protective layer that held the limb still as it healed. The advanced cast also provided her with intermittent doses of medications on a set schedule. Stawren’s leg was numb, and she was very grateful for the medicine, but she wanted to help. “I’m sorry, Lyoth.”

He leaned down to where she was sitting and wrapped his arms around her. “You, my dear friend, have nothing to apologize for.”

“We’re approaching the planet Sonnig,” Fonith called to the others.

It was not as they feared; Sonnig had been spared the onslaught of the assassin viper androids.

The Cometskipper descended into a thriving spaceport. Once the ship was docked, the group exited.

“Why don’t you four find us a hotel,” Lyoth recommended to the others, “while I go check things out. I’ve got the location of where the godstrolls have been hiding out.”

“Be careful,” Phentrom said to his beloved.

Lyoth kissed the mandroid, and he headed off into the city.

Stawren hobbled on her crutches with Phentrom beside her, and Captain Suoki and Fonith followed behind them as they slowly made their way to a large inn. When they arrived, Stawren’s leg was aching.

“I’m gonna go sit,” she said through her teeth. She headed into the tavern, and the other three were greeted by a concierge.

“Welcome to The Dogflower. Can I get you a room?”

Captain Suoki stepped up with a broad smile. “That’d be lovely. There are four of us… no, sorry, five! Silly me, we have another friend meeting us here later. Do you have a suite or maybe a pair of adjoining rooms?”

“I’m sure we can accommodate you.”

Captain Suoki turned to Fonith and Phentrom. “Why don’t you two join Stawren, and I’ll finish taking care of this?”

Stawren was massaging her destroyed leg where her thigh stuck out of the advanced cast.

“Are you okay?” Phentrom asked quietly.

“It hasn’t been too bad, sitting on the Cometskipper,” Stawren replied in a pained voice, “but walking has exacerbated it. My leg is… sore.”

Fonith pulled out her communicator. “I’m sending Lyoth our location. We can rest here for a while, Stawren. Stay off that leg.”

Several hours later, Lyoth reconvened with the others.

They had ordered food and drinks, but all of it was already gone when he arrived.

“This one’s going to be a little tricky,” Lyoth informed them, “but, Fonith, I think with your assistance, we can handle all three godstrolls. There are some really rundown parts of this city, dilapidated buildings, refuse everywhere, and in an old warehouse, they’ve made a nest. Fonith, I think if you’re positioned on top of a neighboring building, you can cover me and potentially even take one of them out. Now that Neptithia has provided us with so much information about their anatomy, and she found a way to effectively kill them, I think as long as you’ve got a good vantage point, we should be able to handle all three of them.”

“I hope this will be the end of the killing,” Phentrom said.

Lyoth took his hand. “I’m sorry you had to be here for some of it. We’re almost done.”