Twinks in Space: Destination Unknown - Part One - 41. Chapter 41 - Return to Allthrin

As the payload of killer robots descended upon the unsuspecting citizens of Xanithon, and the shuttle’s bay doors closed, a prompt appeared and began to blink on one screen.

Lyoth turned to it and read aloud, “Activate return flight.”

“This ship didn’t come to Xanithon to deliver these bots to someone, like we thought,” Stawren stated. “The crew was probably sent on this mission with the intention of regrouping back at the mercenary’s base afterward.”

“You two need to get out of there,” Neptithia said over the speakers. “If that ship is taken by the authorities and you’re onboard…” she paused. “I don’t think you have a choice; I think you need to go now and have the ship return you to the base. You’ll just have to figure things out from there.”

Lyoth considered Neptithia’s warning and recommendation, and he countered, “We were trapped on this shuttle while it was in hyperspace, and I didn’t like not having control, so instead of being stuck in its preprogrammed flight again, why don’t we disengage the return journey and plot a course to a destination of our choosing?”

Stawren liked his idea. “Yes! We should dump it on Allthrin in some region where there aren’t any people. While we’re there, we can pick up a new ship and come see you, auntie Thia.”

“Whatever you’re going to do, do it quickly,” Neptithia ordered. “Alerts from Xanithon about the attack are going out over…” she paused. “Oh, gods, this was an act of war!”

“What do you mean, auntie Thia?”

There was only the sound of Neptithia’s breathing over the speakers for a moment. “No,” she whispered, “this can’t be.”

“Auntie Thia, what?!”

“It’s not only Xanithon,” Neptithia managed. “Not all the reports that are coming out are from that planet. I’m counting nine different systems that are also under attack by assassin vipers.”

Stawren and Lyoth looked at each other, and she said to him, “But there weren’t other cargo shuttles. That base wasn’t big enough to dock this ship plus eight others.”

“Maybe they came from the other mercenary bases Fonith told us about,” Lyoth replied.

“Stawren, you and Lyoth need to decide what you’re doing, and do it fast!” Neptithia ordered.

Lyoth canceled the shuttle’s planned flight back to the base and Stawren punched in the coordinates for Allthrin. “Okay, auntie Thia, we’re on our way.”

The ship rose above the planet’s atmosphere, and Stawren activated its cavitation engine, launching it into hyperspace.

“Auntie Thia, this cargo shuttle will require a programmed path to get into the Allthrin underground; can you send us one that’ll lead us to a remote and abandoned area?”

“No problem,” Neptithia replied. She was silent for a moment. “Found a good option, and I’m sending it now. You’ll arrive above the city of Rubyvale. It’s an old village connected to a long-spent gem mine. It’s not much of a city really, but the people who lived there before the plague were wealthy. You ought to be able to find a new ship. Also, Rubyvale is positioned on the edge of what used to be an underground sea. Salt flats stretch for miles.”

“Now that we have control of this shuttle,” Stawren commented, “it’s going faster. We’re almost at 7 light speed. Why do you suppose it was going so much slower before?”

“Precision timed strikes,” Lyoth answered.

Neptithia made a noise of realization. “Of course, they wanted their attacks to happen simultaneously. Oh no…” she paused before adding, “now two more systems have reports of assassin viper androids.”

“Where are they all coming from?!” Stawren asked.

Lyoth shook his head. “What I want to know is how they acquired so many androids.”

“Well,” Neptithia said, “according to what I’ve just pulled up about the Giblox Authority, they have a robotics manufacturing plant in the Dozshi system.”

“Of course they do,” Stawren replied, rolling her eyes. “It all keeps pointing back to the Giblox Authority. Auntie Thia, we’ve got a little over an hour until we get to Allthrin, and we need to take care of a few things on our end.”

“Say no more,” Neptithia replied, “I’ll let you two go. Reach out to me once you’ve dumped that thing in the badlands and are on your way to Bavport.”

“Will do, talk soon, bye!” Stawren disconnected the line and turned to Lyoth. “Let’s blow this thing up.”

Lyoth looked enthusiastic about the idea. “What’d you have in mind?”

“I found a case earlier that was packed with weapons. There were plasma charges and shockwave grenades. Once we’ve landed, we can rig a bunch of them to go off together.”

“And we’ll take the other weapons.”

Stawren grinned. “I’ve already packed quite a few of them.”

About an hour later, the cargo shuttle passed through one of the secret Allthrin tunnels. The village of Rubyvale and its old mine were below, and the ship landed at the town’s tiny spaceport. Rubyvale was empty, and Lyoth and Stawren had unfettered access to all the ownerless vehicles, including a few starships. There were not many to choose from, and the two warriors selected one. They tested its systems, and Lyoth left Stawren onboard so he could fly the shuttle. Both ships lifted off and flew out over the dried ancient seabed.

“There are still ventilation shafts even above this lifeless region,” Stawren said to Lyoth over the stolen shuttle’s speakers, “but they don’t have our light-trappers in them. My people didn’t install them above areas with no population, so it’ll be pretty dark out here.”

Lyoth scanned the shadowy flats. “We need to fly out far enough so that there’s nothing to worry about when we blow this thing up.”

The two ships touched down on the desolate grey expanse, and Stawren joined Lyoth on the shuttle. “Let’s bring all the weapons onto the new ship before we rig the explosives.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lyoth replied. “Sorry I’ve only got one arm,” he added, glancing at his injured shoulder.

Stawren smiled. “We’ll manage just fine. How’s it feeling?”

Lyoth pulled a face at her, and the two of them headed to the shuttle’s stored weapons. He slung the bag she had already filled over his good arm and headed back to the new starship as Stawren began collecting all the rest of the blasters and clubs.

A little over an hour and a half later, they were lifting off the salt flats. Stawren punched in the coordinates for Bavport, and as the new ship sped off, Lyoth asked, “Would you like to do the honors?” He extended her the detonator.

“I’d love to,” she replied, taking the trigger mechanism from his hand. “Should we do a countdown?”

“Just blow it,” Lyoth said with a smirk.

They turned to watch the show out of the ship’s windows, and Stawren pushed the button.

A tremendous rainbow-colored explosion sent chunks of the ship hurtling through the air. Its pieces rained down on the gray landscape like meteorites, sending up little puffs of salty sand where they hit.

“Damn satisfying,” Stawren declared. She used the ship’s communications to connect with Neptithia.

“Hey, kid,” she answered. “I see you’re calling me on a deluxe transmitter radio.”

“Are we?” Stawren replied. “This ship’s digital map says we should make it to Bavport in about 6 minutes or so.”

“Hello, Neptithia,” Lyoth added, “do you have any updates since we talked a few hours ago?”

“Oh, you could say that,” Neptithia confirmed. “There are now thirty-nine planets reporting they have been attacked by assassin viper androids, and the casualty count is astronomical. Millions have already been killed across the universe, and most of the planets that were attacked have not been able to get control of the situations. As it stands now, only two of the planets have managed to stop the onslaught of assassins, but billions will be dead before this first assault is over.”

Stawren and Lyoth were shocked.

Neptithia continued. “War has been declared, and a public statement was made by the Prime Resident of the new Intergalactic Covenant of Unification for the Ages.”

“Wait, the what?” Stawren asked.

Neptithia repeated herself. “The Intergalactic Covenant of Unification for the Ages, the I.C.U.A., it’s the new name of the Giblox Authority.”

“Giblox again!” Lyoth growled.

“Yes,” Neptithia confirmed, “apparently they adopted the name at their merging with the Red Stars and the fallen kingdom.”

“Have you figured out who this so-called fallen kingdom used to be?” Lyoth asked.

“Nothing’s come up for me yet,” Neptithia replied. “I haven’t been able to find any details about a recently usurped kingdom, and I’ve looked. The statement from the I.C.U.A. declared that they are claiming responsibility for the attack, and that they intend to dismantle the corrupt power systems that supposedly steal freedom from the inhabitants of the universe. They’ve declared war against multiple unrelated planets; it’s as if they want to take over the entire universe!”

“Why would they do this?” Stawren asked.

Lyoth sighed. “Power. Control. Money. Subjects. Revenge. Hatred. The list is long.”

“Every one of those is a reason men go to war,” Neptithia continued. “The video footage from Xanithon of the ship you were on looks very similar to the images from the other planets that were attacked. If each of those ships had the same amount of assassin vipers aboard, then there are nearly 600,000 killing machines wreaking havoc on the universe. It’s going to take an enormous effort to get things back under control, and if the universe is embroiled in battle, who knows how long the assassin vipers will run rampant.”

“Godsdammit,” Lyoth said, “this is bigger than we could’ve imagined.”

“Also,” Neptithia commented, “I realize there are countless inhabited systems in the universe, and thirty-nine is a minuscule fraction of them, but the death toll is already unimaginable.”

“Auntie Thia,” Stawren interrupted, “we’re just about to land in Bavport.”

“Do you two want to meet me here, or out someplace?”

“Your house, neither of us has bathed in days.”

Neptithia laughed. “You can clean up here. See you soon!”