The ships were now raw materials.

Huge factories staffed by millions of de-aging people ripped the ships apart and surrounded the useful metal with worthless minerals. Fleets of trucks hauled the ore to gaping holes in the ground where they filled them methodically. More people came out of the mines than went in.

When the holes were full the people stopped. Their broken spirits gave way to fear and anguish and terror.

Rex did not have to wait long to know why.

Jones appeared.

He was a god-like figure in the heavens. The enormous spectre spoke to the people and warned them that what they had just experienced was a taste of what he could do to them if they did not do his will.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 42: The Wounded People is a post from: The Geekorium

Rex and The Other walked the deserted city and Rex repeated the question again and again.

The Other remained silent and surveyed the desolation with a face Rex wouldn’t have been able to read even if he had been paying attention.

The city showed no signs of life. The streets and buildings were stripped of all technology, so not even the electrical hum of civilisation was left.

When he had arrived on this planet, he had reached into the planet to learn what had happened to its inhabitants. The picture was fuzzy, distorted and incomplete. The Other nudged him.

“Try looking backwards.”

Rex shifted his focus. His previous time-travel helped. He reached backwards through time to follow the fate of this world.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 41: The Desolate Planet is a post from: The Geekorium

The Professor popped out of the time vortex with an ignominious crash. Dusting himself off, he lamented his lack of finesse compared to his colleague and vowed — not for the first time — to start working out when he got back.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he tried to get his bearings. He could make out the faint outlines of the retorts and stands of his chemistry bench, and the flashing green glow in the corner that told him his terminal was ready to log on.

Making his way there, he checked the date on the terminal screen and chuckled to himself. He was only four minutes out from the time he’d been aiming for. Not bad with only the data he’d gathered from the anomaly to work with.

Now to get to work.

Space Flight 559, Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End is a post from: The Geekorium

Rex Havoc called to the stars. He summoned the energy of heavenly bodies.

The power of life, of darkness, of cold and heat filled him, strengthened him and threatened to overwhelm him.

He was floating, flying, becoming everything.

The Jones-thing screamed and held tighter. Anger and fear channeled Rex’s strength and he lashed out, forcing the creature to retreat.

The Uber-Rex advanced, sure in himself and powered by the universe’s endless abundant will to be. Jones faltered, hesitated and shrunk back further and Rex pushed his mind deep into Jones’ being and unleashed all the fury of a universe threatened.

The Jones-thing laughed. And then it renewed its onslaught, stronger than before. Flashing claws ripped at Rex and tore away the threads that bound him to the universe like they were mere cobwebs.

Rex’s mind almost gave way. He’d thrown the combined power of the universe at Jones and his nemisis had shrugged it off.

Rex fled.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 40: Nowhere to Hide is a post from: The Geekorium

Ripping and tearing, it unfocussed his mind and he cowered under the onslaught.

He tried to withdraw, but the Jones-thing held him and was slashing and rending and he could not escape, was not able to run and the talons went through him and he tried to cover his body with his hands but he had no body only mind-stuff and it hurt and spears peirced his present and began to seep into his past — a river of blood and fire winding its way back into what he had been, and the claws kept slashing at his breast and the fangs ripped his innards and white hot pain filled his senses and he whimpered at the hatred that crushed him and tried to extinguish him…

A voice spoke to him and calmed him. It wasn’t a voice he recognised, if only because his rational brain was being eaten, but it touched him and he knew it, and for a single moment he could focus and realised he could fight back.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 39: Nowhere to Run is a post from: The Geekorium

In his past life he had thought he knew fear. He had laughed at it, even believed himself above it. He had mocked fear, and those who let fear dictate their actions. But what he thought was fear was just adrenaline, the rush of the unknown — and deep down he had embraced it. To a man who believed himself immortal, what was fear? Surely nothing could harm a man who was better than any other man alive?

Now he understood that what he thought was fearlessness was just arrogance, and it was only his connection to the Ortix now that had given him true immortality.

But now he was deathly afraid.

The word scarcely conveyed the full range of the emotion. Fear, terror, merciless abject horror — these were inadequate expressions for this feeling.

He wondered if the absence of fear before he became immortal made this new fear more distinct, but knew to his core that this gnawing, clinging dread that immobilised him was warranted.

Intellectually, Rex knew himself to be one of the most powerful forces in existence, but he felt helpless and small. Jones was out there — a being just as powerful and full of hate. Bonded to existence by the Ortrix, able to do anything Rex could do, but not bound by understanding or hindered by compassion. Jones was his final task, his only real obligation now.

And Rex was petrified.

He calmed his mind and reached out.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 38: Nowhere to Go is a post from: The Geekorium

The crackling orange energy surrounded him. He let it wash over him, drank it in and understood it. He reached back down to its source and found a machine made more by accident than by design. He located the small component coil devistatingly misaligned and righted it. Around him the swirling energy became harmless static.

He laughed.

Van De Nippal wailed. He stumbled back to the control panel and stabbed at the doomsday button again and again. He trembled as the giant he had trapped and contained reached toward the unbreakable glass that sealed him in. The glass dissolved at his touch like sugar under water.

The Doctor screamed with frustration and drew his blaster, but the un-man was on top of him and suddenly… he couldn’t think why he cared. It all seemed so beneath him now. He lamented the years he had spent building this island base, when he could have been advancing his fellow man.

The energy from his ray could power the whole planet for months at a time. Why, the solution to the over-population and wastefulness of civilisation was within his own hands the whole time. He had created the answer to the very problem that had led him down this destructive path in the first place!

What a fool he’d been! What irony! And what good luck this Havoc chap had come along when he had, or he could have made a jolly silly mistake.

Rex watched as the Doctor started reconfiguring his weapon and walked away with a grin.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 37: The Redemption of Nippal is a post from: The Geekorium

Doctor Van de Nippal paced around his command center, chuckling to himself and explaining his plan to his helpless captive.

“So you see Havoc, you are about to be atomised with the very-same death-ray that will turn this planet to dust, and leave my island base a floating asteroid-space-ship with which I can begin my plan to dominate this galaxy!”

Rex stopped banging for a moment and looked the doctor in the eye.

“You won’t get away with this. I won’t let you.”

“But what can you do my dear Havoc? You are trapped in a glass dome made of the same material that will protect my island-cum-asteroid from the cold kiss of space. It is strong enough to keep the death-ray out and keep it sealed in there… with you!”

Rex tried to downplay the small smile that twitched at the corners of his lips.

Doctor Van de Nippal ceased his pacing and came to a stop in front of a giant silver panel covered in dials and switches. His hand hovered over a giant green button in the center.

“With this, I bid you Adieu!” shouted the madman as his finger stabbed down.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 36: The Power of Nippal is a post from: The Geekorium

Zenmar crumpled soundlessly, looking like something had exploded in his gut. Olat cursed and picked up his weapon.

As he raised his head, Bonwhanney yelled obscenities and fired at the swiftly moving figure, but the shape shimmered in and out of view like a ghost, bullets passing harmlessly where the man had been. Del ran to Bonwhanney’s side and the two unleased everything they had at the monstrous creature. It was no good. The figure towered above them and crushed their heads together between it’s immense hands with a sickening crunch.

By now Olat had retrieved his weapon and reloaded, but it was too late. The fearsome beast was upon him and his nerves were shattered. The un-man snarled and unleashed a devastating blow to his solar plexus.

As Olat doubled over, gasping for air, he thought he heard a clam, almost loving voice explaining the mysteries of the universe. His mind, tightly packed full of hate and discontent, began to unwind and he blacked out.

Olat awoke on the floor of the An-lab. His comrades were gone and he was glad. He felt light, but the sight of the laboratory sickened him and the thought of the things he had done filled him with regret. He wanted to hold on to this new feeling for as long as possible. All he wanted to do now was get home to his beautiful Paula and little Svette.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 35: Olat’s Story Part 2 is a post from: The Geekorium

“So I pushed her off and told her I was done!” he laughed as he and his comrades picked up their plasma rifles.

A loud speaker boomed across the quadrangle as they left the guardhouse, “The intruder has bee spotted in the animal pens, and is now likely to be in the animal laboratory. He is armed and extremely dangerous.”

Olat knew that someone who could survive the An-lab would indeed be formidable, so he knew to be cautious. But he was tired of catching bears for Doctor Nippal and was looking forward to taking out his frustrations on a human. Particularly someone idiotic enough enough to attack an island base full of bored and frustrated armed guards.

Commander Del signaled his men to a halt and Olat obeyed. Del motioned for Feldor and Bennis to breach the An-lab and the two men rushed inside shouting to each other in the dim light inside.

Gunfire, followed by the sounds of breaking and rending flesh, unnerved him a little and Olat determined he wouldn’t be taken by surprise by the intruder.

Commander Del motioned for Olat to join the three remaining men as he tossed in a phosphor stick to see by. The lab lit up as bright as day as they made their way inside. Feldor and Bennis were out cold.

Olat saw him first. The strong jaw, the towering figure, the cold eyes. Without waiting for an order Olat fired, emptying a clip at the place the figure had been moments before. He blinked and began to reload.

Space Flight 704, Chapter 35: Olat’s Story Part 1 is a post from: The Geekorium