Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 62. Chapter 62 - Through the Empire

“This is a terrible idea,” Phentrom groaned.

He was standing with Lyoth, Stawren, and Captain Suoki on the outskirts of the holy city of Dullu.

Taking the cargo shuttle from the necropolis had been easy and attracted no attention, but what came next was daunting.

“I’m starting to agree with Phentrom,” Captain Suoki stated.

The city before them was dense with sacred buildings, and it bustled with people dressed in religious garb.

“We don’t blend in at all,” Stawren added.

A group of children on bicycles, each with their head shaved and dressed in matching bird-egg blue clothes, went racing past paying no attention to the quartet of foreigners.

“The quarry,” Phentrom said in dismay, “how are we supposed to find it?”

“I suspect it’s a gaping rocky chasm,” Captain Suoki replied.

Phentrom frowned. “But where in the middle of this busy city?”

Stawren crossed her arms. “This is not going to be fun.”

“Do you think we could purchase some religious clothes?” Captain Suoki asked.

“But we’d have to go into the city to buy them while still standing out,” Phentrom replied. “What if we get caught? We’re already deep in this empire and escape feels impossible.”

“And we’re putting a seemingly impossible task in front of us,” Stawren added, “before we even attempt to leave.”

Phentrom was getting more anxious by the moment. “If we go after these godstrolls, there’s a good chance we’ll attract unwanted attention to ourselves again.”

Stawren scowled at the city. “I don’t like this.”

Captain Suoki turned to Lyoth. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

Lyoth sighed and looked at the other three. “Let’s leave. Let’s get out of here. Phentrom’s right, escaping this empire is going to be enough of a trial. We’ll continue our hunt once we’re no longer in a protected quadrant of space.”

Phentrom wrapped his arms around Lyoth. “Thank you for saying that! I don’t want to be here any longer.”

The four of them boarded the shuttle again, and Lyoth pulled up information about the empire.

“We may not know much about Tonizal, but I bet this ship knows everything.” He accessed a star map and found a large city on a planet near the edge of imperial space. “That should be our destination. Unfortunately, this ship may have plenty of information about the empire, but there’s almost nothing about the rest of what we all think of as the universe.”

“So there’s no way of knowing what’s beyond it,” Captain Suoki concluded. “We don’t know what the nearest friendly system is, how far away it’ll be from where we’re headed, and there’s a good chance this ship will have no hyperspace capabilities outside imperial territory.”

Lyoth nodded. “Because of the restricted map, exactly. If we had a way to call someone and have them meet us at the edge of the empire…” he paused, “but this ship’s communication capabilities are also limited to inside the empire.”

“Who would you call?” Stawren asked.

Lyoth shrugged. “Probably Fonith.”

“Let’s go back to the Galaxy Surfer and call her from there!”

“Activating the Galaxy Surfer will attract attention to it again,” she continued, “but if we send the message fast enough, we can be out of there in a matter of minutes.”

The cargo shuttle flew back to the foothills of the mountain range beyond the necropolis where the Galaxy Surfer was hidden.

“Why don’t the three of us wait here in the shuttle,” Captain Suoki recommended to Stawren and Phentrom, and Lyoth entered the ship alone.

He climbed into one of the chairs on the bridge and activated the communication device. The systems blinked to life.

“Alright, quick,” he said to himself as he initiated the call.

Fonith answered. “Lyoth? Where are…”

“I’m sending you specific coordinates in the Tonizal Empire. We need you to meet us at the edge of their space as soon as you can be there.”

Fonith checked her screen and nodded. “Received, I’m on my way.”

The call disconnected and Lyoth killed the ship’s systems. “Thanks again,” he whispered to the Galaxy Surfer.

He rushed back onboard the cargo shuttle, and it rose above the planet. It was scanned as soon as it breached the atmosphere.

“Shuttle DS-94, what is your cargo and destination?”

“This is cargo shuttle DS-94,” Captain Suoki repeated back to the caller, shrugging at the other three. “We are currently empty, headed on a supply run to collect the possessions of an elderly member of the imperial family. We weren’t told who it’s for, but we’re picking up their possessions from the planet Pliniaf.”

A beep came through the shuttle’s speaker. “Clearance granted.”

The call disconnected.

“Splendid!” Captain Suoki declared. He activated the cavitation engine, and the ship entered hyperspace.

“Let’s get out of this empire,” Lyoth said again.

“And never come back,” Phentrom added.

Stawren let out a wry laugh and asked, “What, you don’t like it here?”

It took the cargo shuttle almost twenty-one hours to reach the edge of the Tonizal Empire, and it was scanned and called six times over the course of the journey. Captain Suoki repeated his explanation to each person on the other end of the scans, and the final one informed them that they had reached the boundary of Pliniaf’s planetary system.

The shuttle dropped out of hyperspace, and even though those onboard could not see the planets, the system’s star was a bright spot in the distance. The ship’s computer displayed a three-dimensional starmap.

“We’re supposed to go here,” Lyoth stated, indicating one of the planets close to its sun, “and Fonith is supposed to meet us beyond the edge of the empire somewhere around here.” He took his hand off the digital map. “Without this shuttle’s cavitation engine, we’ll be flying with only regular engines, and we’ll probably need to do it manually.”

Stawren groaned. “Great, so any ships that might be in pursuit will definitely be able to catch us.”

“I trust Fonith,” Lyoth stated.

“So do I,” agreed Phentrom.

“Trusting Fonith isn’t the issue,” Stawren replied. “What if her timing’s off? What if she’s not there yet? What if this beat-up old shuttle is followed?”

The ship chimed that they were being hailed by the planet Pliniaf.

Captain Suoki answered again and Lyoth nodded at him.

“This is cargo shuttle DS-94, requesting permission to dock in the city of Biliove.”

“Welcome to Pliniaf, cargo shuttle DS-94,” the person below replied. “What is the purpose of your visit to Biliove?”

Captain Suoki explained a final time. “We’re here to pick up the possessions of one of the aged imperials. We weren’t told who, but we know where to go in Biliove.”

“Must be old dame Magrell,” the voice over the speakers said. “Such a shame, but I heard she wasn’t doing well and was getting close to the end. Permission granted, cargo shuttle DS-94. Thank you for honoring her. Come on down.”

“And thank you,” Captain Suoki replied, “we’re beginning our descent.”

The connection ended.

Lyoth accelerated the ship, but instead of dropping down toward the planet, he slipped the cargo shuttle into the flow of starships that were leaving the system. All the other vessels made their way back into different parts of the empire, and only their single stolen shuttle flew toward the expanse of universe beyond the borders of the Tonizal Empire.

Nothing happened as they approached the edge, until the ship’s navigational computer alerted them that it was headed into uncharted space.

“But it’s not uncharted space,” Phentrom stated. “Just because this ship doesn’t have a wider map, it doesn’t mean all the rest of space is uncharted. Oh shoot, you know what we should have done? We should have transferred the universal map from the Galaxy Surfer to this shuttle before leaving it.”

“Huh,” Lyoth replied, “that would’ve been smart, but it might’ve taken too long to upload, and it would have given another scanning ship time to show up. Suoki, will you please take over the controls again?”

The ship passed the boundary of its map.

There was no sign of Fonith.

“Just keep flying away from the empire,” Lyoth instructed.

Phentrom pointed out one of the windows. “There’s a star system over there that’s not part of Tonizal’s imperial systems.”

“I see it,” Lyoth confirmed.

“But should we stay away from it?” Stawren asked. “What if they’re sympathetic to the empire, even if they’re not part of it?”

“I agree with Stawren,” Captain Suoki added.

Lyoth nodded. “Okay, keep heading out. Come on, Fonith. Where are you?”

An ominous chime from the ship’s console indicated that someone was hailing them.

“Oh no,” Phentrom whispered.

“Maybe it’s Fonith,” Stawren said as she answered.

The voice was not Fonith’s; it was the person on the planet Pliniaf again. “Cargo shuttle DS-94, where are you going? Why didn’t you land? I’m still picking you up, but I can’t determine your location. I’ve sent police ships to assist you.”

“Godsdammit,” Lyoth grumbled under his breath.

Phentrom took his hand and whispered out at the universe, “Where are you, Fonith?”

Three ships at the edge of imperial space appeared out of the void. The cargo shuttle’s scanner was picking them up. One of them hailed the escaping shuttle.

“Answer the call,” the voice from Pliniaf ordered. “The officers will assist you.”

Stawren leaned in and hissed, “What choice do we have?”

“Just keep going, Suoki,” Lyoth said quietly. He answered the other call. “This is the cargo shuttle DS-94. Our navigational computer is malfunctioning and we’ve drifted beyond the border of the empire. We are in the process of repairing the damage and will be returning as soon as we are able. Thank you for coming to check on us.”

A harsh voice replied. “Deactivate your engines immediately. We will dock with your shuttle and return you to the empire.”

“Negative,” Lyoth replied, “we are nearly finished with the repairs and would simply appreciate an escort.”

“Kill your engines, now,” the voice ordered.

Lyoth did not reply, and he scanned the blackness of space for any sign of the Cometskipper. “Please,” he breathed.

The cargo shuttle’s display read that one of the three police vehicles was approaching.

“It’s gaining on us,” Captain Suoki whispered, “and it’s a command ship.”

A few minutes later, with no sign of Fonith or the Cometskipper, the police vessel attached to the cargo shuttle’s external door.

“I don’t want to go back,” Phentrom said to the others.

“Should we fight?” Stawren asked.

The interior airlock opened, but instead of robots like the remote-piloted cruisers last time, now there were three officers with blasters.

“You are all under arrest for treason,” one of them shouted, “and all of you are to be executed as traitors!”