Well, I just finished rewriting this episode no more than 15 minutes ago and boy am I tired! This episode was fun to write because it’s the culmination of 52 episodes of events that were all orchestrated by The Phantom Commander! Everything was leading up to this episode! I hope it was as epic as I thought it was.

A showdown between his past partner in his current partner. That had to do a number on Sundance’s head. I really wanted to show the turmoil going on in Sundance’s head because he loved both Laertes and Timmy and didn’t want to see either of them die. What would he do to save the one he cared for?

I worried about character consistency in this episode more than any other episode. Usually Sundance is a man of action. His decisions are snap decisions and he rarely hesitates, but slowly throughout the series, he’s become more of a thinker (or I hope he has). This episode shows a breakdown; he starts making decisions based on his emotions.

I wanted there to be a strong relationship between the three characters and I hope that this conflict really brought it to the fore. Above all, I hope it was an entertaining story!

It’s been a great year for the crew of the StarTango and I’m very glad that you were along for the ride! There are many adventures yet to be had. Thank you so much for reading! I greatly appreciate your readership and feedback! Hopefully, I will see you all when I release Season 3 sometime in December or January if things go well!

Be on the look out for other projects by me!

Thank you again,

Xanto Jones

Meanwhile in Space…

Episode 53: Son of the Phantom, Part IX: Two Hearts

Sundance stood rigid, staring at the burns on Timmy’s chest. He was staring at the reality that Timmy was going to die if he didn’t do something. He knew this, but he was at a loss of what to do about it. If he let Laertes drink from the vial, then he would never get Timmy back. If he stopped Laertes from drinking from it, Timmy would die an agonizing death. This was one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make.

“Tick tock, Sunny,” The Phantom Commander said. “I’m burning through this body at an alarming rate. I used so much power getting past the traps, it’s a miracle it’s held up this long.” He could see the turmoil in Sundance’s eyes. He took pleasure in the pain that he was causing him. There was nothing more tragic than watching his best friend die twice. “But go ahead. Take your time. Timmy may die, but there’s always Astralyn, right?” He watched Sundance twitch as he mentioned Astralyn’s name. “Oh, so you care for her, too?” He let out an evil snicker. “You can’t love them both, you know. You’ll have to make a choice.”

Sundance still had his laser pistol aimed at the Vial of Eternal Life. He was battling against himself about whether he should destroy it. The odds of Timmy surviving as he was were slim. He could doom Timmy to a life as a slave to the Commander or doom him to certain death. His aim started to waver, his hands shaking before he finally lowered the gun. He couldn’t stand the idea of Timmy dying a terrible death.

“That’s a good boy,” the Commander said, reaching for the vial.

“Just save Timmy.” Sundance lowered his gaze to the ground. “Please.”

The Phantom Commander gripped the vial and instantly drank the clear liquid inside. When he had exhausted the contents, he threw the vial aside and let it shatter to the ground. “This is why I waited for you. I could have already drunk the elixir, but it wouldn’t have tasted as sweet if you hadn’t allowed me to drink it. Look at me. LOOK AT ME!”

Sundance raised his head. He saw that the smoke that had been seeping out of Timmy’s body was slowly flowing back into his body. The bruises that were spreading across his chest were slowly receding into nothingness. He watched as Timmy’s entire body started to heal itself.

“YES!” the Phantom Commander cheered. He flexed as he felt the energy of the elixir flow throughout his entire body. When the last bruise disappeared, he stood up tall and laughed. It sounded joyous and malicious at the same time. “Yes! I’m alive! I am whole! I… am… eternal!” He took a step towards Sundance with open arms. “You see, that wasn’t so bad. That was AMAZING!”

“I’ll have to try it sometime,” Sundance muttered.

“You’ve done a good thing, Sunny. You saved two lives.” The Phantom Commander reached for Timmy’s laser pistol. “Now you can die knowing that your precious Timmy will live on in me. Two hearts beat for one!” He quickly whip the pistol out and fired.

Sundance quickly ducked and dove behind a boulder. The Phantom Commander immediately turned and fired another shot while he scrambled to find a boulder to hide behind.

“Shame on me for thinking that you would go quietly,” the Commander said, setting the laser pistol to ‘KILL’. “You gave into me so easily just now, I kinda thought you’d be begging for death!” He stood up and fired a shot at Sundance’s boulder before ducking back down. “You should have let him die, you fool! I’m not giving him back, if that’s what you thought!”

Sundance stood up and fired a shot at the Commander’s boulder. “A moment of weakness, I admit. But you’re right… I am a fool.” He ducked back down and set his pistol to ‘KILL’ as well. He knew he never should have changed it. He mentally kicked himself for allowing himself to believe that there was a way to save Timmy, to save both of them. He always thought of himself as the kind of person who was quick to take action, quick to do what needed to be done. He knew what needed to be done and he allowed his affection for Timmy to question his judgment. That was what Laertes wanted him to do and he played right into his hands. He had to correct this and quickly.

Sundance got on his hands and knees and quietly crawled to another boulder. He peeked over the top of his new boulder and waited.

“At least that’s something we both can agree on!” The Phantom Commander stood up and fired another shot at where Sundance used to be.

Sundance took this opportunity to stand up and fire a shot at him. Inside, he apologized to Timmy. He watched the beam shoot out and fly across the cavern. It hit the Commander square in the chest. He stumbled backward. Sundance took another shot which finally took him to the ground. He waited for a minute.

“Timmy?”

No response.

Sundance, with his pistol ready, he walked out from behind his boulder and tiptoed over to Timmy’s body. He was sprawled out on the ground, eyes closed, not breathing. He knelt down beside him and held his hand. He sighed as he thought that he had done it again; he had killed another partner. He felt a lump materialize in his throat as tears started to well in his eyes. It was terrible, but it was the right thing to do.

“Timmy, I’m so sorry,” Sundance said. “This is not what I planned, but you know me and plans.”

Sundance suddenly felt Timmy squeeze his hand. Joy overcame him. He looked down and saw that Timmy had opened his eyes. The joy was fleeting when he saw the hatred in those blue eyes. “Laertes!”

Timmy’s right arm quickly reached up and grabbed Sundance’s throat. “What part of ‘eternal’ did you not understand?” With a flick of the wrist, the Commander threw Sundance across the cave. Sundance landed hard against the wall and fell to the ground. The Commander stood up and looked down at his chest. There was a bright red spot where the laser had hit him. He touched it and the redness faded. “There’s no killing me now. I am a GOD!”

Sundance struggled to get up, but he was far too weak to stand. His body rebelled against him and called for the rest it desired so badly. He watched as the Commander strode triumphantly to him and towered above him. All he could do was stare up at him and wait for the finishing blow.

The Phantom Commander sneered as he looked down at Sundance. “To think that I looked up to you. Now, you’re just a huddled mass of a man, a quivering puddle of flesh beneath my feet, begging for death. I can grant you your wish, Sunny, because we love you that much.”

A swarm of black particles started to spin around the Commander’s right hand. Red lightning sparked inside the now cannon ball sized cloud of black energy. The darkness matched the colour of Timmy’s eyes.

“Goodbye.”

The Commander raised his hand in the air and prepared to throw it down on Sundance. As his hand came down, something happened. The energy cloud weakened, the particles breaking away and floating up into the ceiling of the cave. Timmy’s eyes faded back to their original colour. Then he started choking. Sundance looked up in confusion and hope.

“What have you done to me?” The Commander gasped. He looked confused and angry. “What have you done?”

Timmy’s body started to convulse. He fell to the ground and continued to shake. Sundance quickly crawled over and held his fallen friend.

“Timmy? Timmy, can you hear me?” Sundance shouted.

Black clouds of smoke forcefully shot out of Timmy and spiraled into the air above them. When all of the smoke was evacuated, Timmy’s body went limp. Sundance looked up at the massive black cloud above them and smiled. Two bright red lights appeared within the cloud and they glared down hatred from above.

“NO! NO! This can’t be happening!” shouted the cloud. “The body is mine! The body is mine forever! I am eternal!”

“I don’t think so, Larry.” Sundance looked down at Timmy and caressed strands of hair off his forehead. “I think you got the name wrong. I don’t think the elixir grants the drinker with eternal, more like a new lease on life.”

“What are you saying?”

“The elixir is a cure all for what ails the body,” Sundance explained. “It repairs what is broken to its original state. In which case, it removed the foreign entity plaguing it… You.” He looked up at the cloud and saw that the particles were starting to disperse.

“No! I was so close!” the Phantom shouted, his voice fading. “I’ll get you for this, Sundance! Mark my words, I’ll be back for you!” He continued making threats until a warm breeze filled the cave and whisked him away. The black cloud vanished into nothingness. Echoes of his voice faded

“I’ll find a way to help you, Laertes,” Sundance whispered. “I promise.”

“Captain?”

Sundance quickly looked down at Timmy and saw that he was alive, awake, looking at him. They both smiled at each other, tears in both of their eyes.

“Timmy.”

“Captain… you came for me.”

“Of course I did.” Sundance let the tears run down his face. “I’ll always come for you. Always.” He lifted Timmy up carefully and hugged him as tight as he could. “Nothing will keep me from you.”

Timmy hugged Sundance back. “I feel the same.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, just holding each other and recovering from their ordeals. Finally, Sundance broke the silence and said, “Say, this is nice and all, but you wouldn’t happen to know how to get the hell out here, would ya?”

“I suppose we can’t get out the way we came in?” Timmy asked.

Sundance and Timmy ended their embrace and helped each other stand. They walked back down the tunnel towards the river of lava. There they found that a bridge had risen from the river and connected the two tunnels together. Sundance slapped his forehead in frustration.

“Of course,” Sundance muttered.

————-

At S.P.A.C.E. Headquarters, Astralyn and Colonel Graves along with the staff from the war room stood on the tarmac as they watched the StarTango land in the hangar. When the ship touched down, Astralyn ran to it and waited for Sundance and Timmy to exit. When the door slid open, the returning heroes were welcomed with cheers and hugs.

“Sundance! Timmy!” Astralyn was the first one Sundance saw when he opened the door. “You made it! Timmy! Good to see you! Why aren’t you guys wearing shirts?” She raised an eyebrow at the two of them.

“Long story, princess,” Sundance said.

Timmy stepped out of the ship and the crew cheered. He sheepishly waved and thanked everyone. He tried not to blush, but he was doing a poor job of it.

“Captain! Lieutenant! Glad that you made it back in one piece,” Colonel Graves said, patting them both on the back. “Good work, gentlemen. Good work.” He pulled Sundance aside while the others closed in on Timmy. “How did you get rid of Commander Battaglia? Are we going to have to worry about him possessing Timmy or anyone else again?”

“The Vial of Eternal Life cured him,” Sundance replied. “And I think we’ve seen the last of Laertes for a while. I believe he’s still out there, but it’ll take him some time to regroup.”

Colonel Graves seemed to like the answer and rejoined the group of people gathered around Timmy. “Let’s bring the party back inside. Let’s let the boys get dressed and then we’ll party in the break room. Timmy, how do you feel about cake?”

“Oh, I like cake, sir,” Timmy said with a smile. “Any kind will do.”

“Perfect!” Colonel Graves laughed as he patted his belly. “I think I can work with that.”

Sundance watched them file back into the headquarters. He stayed behind and looked up at the sky. He wondered where Laertes was now. Was he still alive? Was he pulling himself together again? What was he planning? A part of Sundance hoped to see him again. And he hoped that when he did, he would have been able to fulfill the promise he made. He smiled into the sun and headed inside.

Meanwhile in Space…

Episode 52: Son of the Phantom, Part VIII: Stepping Stone

Sundance quickly looked behind him to see if there was any way he could jump back into the tunnel. He could do that, but he would have to jump further onto the next available stone; he might not clear it. He quickly gauged how far the next stone was. It looked like it was five feet away. He wasn’t 100% sure he could do it, but he didn’t have much time to debate it. The stone he was standing on was sinking fast. He could feel the heat of the lava seeping into his boots.

Sundance wasn’t a praying man, but just this once he prayed to whatever higher powers that be that might be watching over him. He took a deep, hot breath and leaped across the gap. He wanted to close his eyes, but he needed to keep his eyes on the target. While he was in the air, he felt the immense heat rise up to meet him. He wondered if he would float away with the amount of hot air being generated.

His feet safely touched ground on the large stone. Sundance quickly regained his balance and immediately started looking for the next available stone. He spotted one six feet diagonally to his right. It took him further away from the other tunnel than he liked, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He made the leap just as the stone he was standing on sunk into the lava.

Sundance landed safely on the third stone. It immediately started to sink. He was growing tired of this. He would have given anything in the universe to be done with it. His life being on the brink of extinction every few seconds was tough on the heart and mind. Instead of continuing to harp on the idea, he pushed forward. He saw another stone to his right that would take him further away from the tunnel entrance. He wondered if Laertes had planned it this way.

Sundance saw that there weren’t any stones to his left that he could feasibly get to without falling into the lava. He rolled his eyes and growled as he made the leap from his stone to the one further away. This brought him close to the rocky wall on the other side of the chasm. He looked at it and knew instantly what he would have to do next if he wanted to stay alive.

He flexed his fingers and hoped that they were up to the challenge that laid before them. He jumped from the sinking stone and clung to the wall. He looked behind him and watched the stone sink into the lava. For a moment, he wondered just how the stones remained intact despite being in a river of lava, but then he silently cursed the Massi People and their stupid traps.

Sundance could feel his fingers slipping from the jagged, rocky wall. There weren’t a lot of places to grip. The holds were shallow; it would be difficult to get a good handful of rock. He cursed some more as he strengthened his hold on the wall.

He looked to his left and saw the tunnel entrance. It looked to be about three yards away. This was not going to be fun. He searched for a great spot to set his left foot. When he found it, he shifted his body weight over to make the slide over. His fingers were working hard to keep him grounded to the face of the wall. He could feel the muscles in his arm straining. When he was all situated, he did it all over again. He kept his eyes on the entrance. He scouted out footholds and hand grips carefully. A foothold crumbled beneath his right foot and threatened to send him into the lava below. He quickly found another foothold that was sturdier.

Sundance continued in this fashion for the entire nine feet. The lava seemed to reach up for him, offering to catch him if he fell. He was only too happy to disappoint. He jumped from the wall into the tunnel entrance. He was never happier to have solid ground beneath his feet. He flexed his toes inside his boot to truly appreciate the moment.

He stared down the end of the tunnel and couldn’t see anything. He pulled out his flashlight and shined it down towards the end. He saw that it curved to the right at the end. He hoped that Timmy was at the other end of that curve.

After all of the effort it took him to leap from one stone to another and then go rock climbing, he barely had the energy to run down the tunnel. He pathetically shuffled along with all of his might.

He reached the curve. As he placed his back to the left wall, he whipped out his laser pistol and aimed it towards the dark turn. With his flashlight and laser pistol out in front, he cautiously took the turn and prepared for anything. He shined the light all over the tunnel, making sure that there weren’t any more nasty surprises. There weren’t any visible traps, but the best ones never were.

“Captain?” Timmy’s voice was barely audible, a child’s whisper.

The sound of his voice was the energy boost Sundance needed. He straightened his posture and proceeded down the tunnel with the ease of a new recruit. “Timmy?”

“Captain.”

Sundance checked his laser pistol and debated whether it really needed to be set to ‘KILL’. He knew this was indeed a trap, just not engineered by the Massi People. He knew that it wasn’t really Timmy talking. Laertes was playing games with his mind. Sundance knew that he expected him to coming running head first at the sound of Timmy’s voice, but he knew better. Not this time.

He looked at his pistol again. Was he really willing to kill Timmy just to get at Laertes? Would Timmy rather be dead than to be controlled by the Phantom Commander? He wasn’t sure if he was ready for life without Timmy. Against his better judgment, he set his pistol to ‘STUN’. He took a deep breath and headed down the tunnel.

It finally opened up to a large sized cavern. It was bathed in green and purple light with no indication where the source was. There were boulders strewn about the area. In the center of the cave was a stone pedestal that was about five feet tall. Above it floated a clear vial with an even clearer liquid inside. The Vial of Eternal Life.

Sundance was surprised to see it still floating there. Laertes hadn’t drunken it yet.

“Well, there’s just no stopping the intrepid Captain Sundance Starmont.” Timmy stepped out of the shadows just behind the pedestal. There was a wicked smile on his face, darkening it. “I thought you would have melted out there, skin dripping off your body. I suppose we all can’t get what we want.”

“Laertes,” Sundance said, putting his flashlight away. “You need to let go of Timmy. Stop what you’re doing now!” He aimed his laser pistol at Timmy. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He has nothing to do with this.”

“HE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THIS!” The Phantom Commander shouted. “I’ve been watching you, Sunny. I’ve been watching you ever since the accident. How quickly you dismissed me. You replaced me with this… You didn’t even try to find me!”

“Find you?” Sundance’s voice cracked as he tried to keep the emotion from coming through. “Larry, I watched you atomize before my very eyes! I thought you were dead. There was NOTHING to find! I mourned you for a year! Isn’t that enough?”

“NO!” Timmy’s eyes glared at him with every ounce of hatred the Commander could muster. “But I can forgive you. When I drink this, I will be bonded with your precious Timmy forever. Then we can pick up where we left off!”

“Leave Timmy,” Sundance commanded. The Commander challenged with a grin.

Sundance looked up at the vial and wondered why Laertes hadn’t drank from it yet. Was it a trick? The sick bastard was probably waiting for him just to see the look on his face. He didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to let him drink it now. He aimed his pistol at it. “I hope you weren’t thirsty.”

“I wouldn’t do that if you.” The Commander tore Timmy’s shirt off to reveal that his torso was completely covered in green and black bruises. Smoke was sneaking out of the centers of the bruises, sizzling hot. “This body is dying. If I leave Timmy, then he’ll die. The only thing that can save him is the Vial. So, what will it be, Sunny?”

Well, as of yesterday, Meanwhile in Space… is a year old! I can’t believe that a year ago I started this serial. I can’t believe that this is still going on! And I have a great readership that I hope will expand as this series goes on.  I’m so happy! Did I think that I would still be doing this a year later? In the past, I’ve been a bit flaky with my projects. So, it was iffy when I started, but I’ve really grown to love these characters and who they’ve become as the weeks progressed.

I definitely have learned a lot about serial writing in the last year. I learned what not to do when planning arcs. I made the mistake of arc welding (see TV TROPES, but be CAREFUL!), making a year long arc. I set it up earlier, dropping subtle clues that didn’t really pay off until a year later. I tried to plan these stories so that people could easily drop in and out of, but Nanowrimo spoiled that for me.

I wrote episodes 16-65 during Nanowrimo ’10. So I had everything planned out as if it were going to be a novel that you can read like a normal book, not really thinking that people will be reading these one week at a time.  So the impact of the reveals were lessened by the fact that the set ups happened earlier in the year and were probably forgotten about (expect for the DIE HARD fans!). Going forward I know that I’m going to have to plot things out a little better.

So, if you’ve been with me all year or just started reading today, thank you for coming with me on this journey! I greatly appreciate it!

So, this episode is a rewrite of the version I wrote back in November. Originally, I had Sundance and Astralyn discovering the entrance at the end of Episode 50 and have them battling the laser pendulums in Episode 51. But I felt that it would be better to change all of that.

In the original version I felt there wasn’t enough emotion between the Phantom Commander and Timmy. How would Timmy feel if he was confronted with the menace that possessed him? What are the thoughts that the Phantom Commander has? I wanted there to be more opportunity for the reader to see just how evil the Commander is. I liked that we got to go inside his head as he searched for the entrance to the cave.

And the bit at the end of Episode 50 with Sundance and Astralyn I added because in the original version, they never really thought about the consequences of going after Timmy. They didn’t really appreciate the gravity of the situation. Their friend was being possessed by an evil being. How do you get rid of such a presence without killing him? Is killing him the only option? I really wanted Sundance to take this in and think about it.

Astralyn’s resentment: I feel bad about this because I really wanted Astralyn to hang in there with Sundance until the very end. That’s just how far she’d go to help him and Timmy. Is sending her away another way of Sundance pushing her away out of some misguided attempt to protect her or is it the writer’s inability to figure out what to do with her? Hmmm… This is something Sundance would want to do alone, anyway.

Tell me what you think? 50 & 51 are the first episodes I’ve completely rewrote and 52 & 53 I’m going to have to rewrite as well. Cause and effect. As I change one timeline, I create a second!

Thank you for reading!

XJ

 

 

 

Meanwhile in Space…

Episode 51: Son of the Phantom, Part VII: Obstacle Course

Sundance stepped out of the StarTango and closed the door behind him. He had been smiling when he left, but he didn’t feel like smiling. He was about to go confront his old partner that had taken possession of his best friend. It was a crazy situation.

How had it come to this? How had Laertes taken control of Timmy in the first place? His memories led him back to the Helios Space Station. When the virus attacked them, it had targeted Timmy for some reason. Was that Laertes? It had to have been. Everything that had happened to them since the Space Chickens had been because of him. As Sundance looked at his laser pistol set to ‘KILL’, he decided that today it was going to end one way or another.

He took a deep breath and pushed forward into the jungle. He thought about trekking up to the top of the volcano, but he knew that the entrance he used previously was gone. He also knew that Laertes would have known that too. He looked at the jungle that lined the volcano and knew instantly that Laertes had been there. He took off running into it, eyes scanning the way for obstacles. He ran until he was a quarter of the way around the volcano. He stopped to catch his breath. He looked up at the volcano and searched for something that looked like an entrance. There wasn’t anything that indicated that such a thing existed. He shook his head as he realized that he needed to keep going.

Sundance started running again, his eyes darting back and forth from the jungle floor and the side of the volcano. He allowed himself the illusion of shaving time and distance behind Laertes. With each step he powered himself forward, thoughts only of Timmy’s safety.

He stopped running when he finally made it to the back of the volcano. He looked up and saw a recess that had been carved into the side. He panted and laughed at the same time when the realization that finding it was the easy part. Now he would have to hike up the volcano to get to it. His body begged for rest, but Sundance knew that there was no time for such a luxury.

Sundance stepped out of the jungle and into the sun. He begin his climb at a runner’s pace. He did his best not to become one with the mountain side by keeping his eyes focused on the ground. His boots were exactly designed to go tramping up volcanoes. The hardened ground was smooth enough not to cause many problems.

With a lot of determination and inner fire boiling in his gut, he finally made it to the landing. He collapsed on the ground and gasped for breath. His mind was screaming for him to get up and head inside. Laertes was just beyond the gateway. The door was already open, all he had to do was walk through it. The mind was willing; the body just wasn’t having it.

“Get up,” Sundance panted. “Get up. Get UP!”

Sundance mustered all of his strength and fought through every ache and burn to stand up. He was dirty and sweaty, but he didn’t care. He slowly walked through the archway into the dark room. He instantly reached for his flashlight and shined the light all around the room. There was nothing else to look at except the tunnel that laid ahead. He carelessly ran ahead until he felt his foot sink into the floor.

He froze on the spot. He suddenly remembered what Astralyn had said about the Massi People building traps. He wished that he hadn’t sent Astralyn away so quickly.

Sundance waited for swift retribution, but the only painful thing was the expectation of something terrible happening. Nothing happened as far as he could tell. He carefully lifted his foot from the sinkhole and waited for something to happen. He heard something snap from above. Sundance glanced up with the flashlight and saw something falling towards him. He quickly dove into the tunnel just as a large boulder flattened the spot he been occupying. Sundance slapped his forehead as he registered the fact that that could have been him. He cursed his luck as he stood up.

“Okay, booby traps, check,” Sundance said.

CLICK! BUZZ!

Suddenly, the tunnel was filled with pink light. Sundance stood up and covered his eyes from the bright luminescence. When his eyes adjusted, he saw that there were pink laser beams shooting down from the ceiling into the ground. Not only that, they were swinging from left to right in a pendulous fashion. From what Sundance could tell, there were six of them to pass.

“Peachy.”

There was no other choice. He took a deep breath and sucked in his stomach and took his first step into the tunnel. He watched the first laser pendulum closely and got in sync with its swings. He took two swift steps forward and cleared the first laser.

The second laser was swinging at a faster pace. Sundance studied it before he dared to roll past it. He stood up and saw that he still had all of his parts. Maybe this isn’t going to be so hard, he thought. Just then, the laser behind him singed the back of his shirt clean off. Sundance quickly tore his shirt off and threw it into the third laser, disintegrating it at once.

Sundance studied the third laser’s swings, which were quicker than the last’s. Just as he felt confident to move forward, the laser switched up its game and started to shoot horizontally. Sundance stared at it incredulously. Sundance clutched his laser pistol and without even thinking about it, he shot at the walls where the lasers were emanating from. The pink laser flickered before it dissipated into the ether.

“HA!”

Sundance didn’t hesitate to promptly do away with the remaining three lasers. He didn’t even register just how crazy their swings were. He was just happy that they were gone. He triumphantly marched down to the end of the tunnel. It ended abruptly at a river of lava separating him from the tunnel on the other side.

Now what do I do? Sundance asked himself. He frantically looked for an easy way across the river. There were stones sticking out of the river that looked like they were just big enough for a person to step from one to another. He did not like that option. He looked for another way across. He looked at the ceiling in the hopes of a rope swing of some kind. No such luck.

How in the world did Laertes make it past this? Then a frightening thought came to him. What if Laertes didn’t get by? What if he had succumbed to the challenge of crossing the river? Then both Timmy and Laertes would be gone. The idea made Sundance weak in the knees. He shook his head and pushed the thought out of his mind. He had to believe that Laertes had made it. He had come too far to give in to fear.

It appeared that there was no other way to cross the expanse river of lava. He would have to take his chances with the stones. He collected his courage and stepped onto the first stone. It was wide enough to fit both feet. He felt comfortable for a brief moment until he felt the stone start to sink into the lava.

—–

This episode is dedicated to my dear friend, John Edward Sator. I miss you so much!

Meanwhile in Space

Episode 50: Son of the Phantom, Part VI: On Foot

Having just regained control of Timmy’s body, the Phantom Commander stood up and flexed his arms. He did enjoy the use of Timmy’s body. Not only did he benefit from being able to be corporeal, he also enjoyed the emotional damage he was causing Sundance. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Sundance’s face when he realized his precious Timmy was no longer present. With this thought in his mind, he took a deep breath and headed towards the base of the volcano.

He looked up at the top of the volcano and knew that the entrance that was once there was destroyed by the lava eruption. He cursed the inconvenience of it all, but he was glad that he wouldn’t have to climb all the way to the top of volcano. That would be a major drain on his energy. He had already used a lot of energy to remain in Timmy’s body for a few days. He was bordering burning through the body and that would send him back to square one.

The Phantom Commander decided that it was best to walk around the base of the volcano to scope out any signs of a new entrance. The Massi People had to have created another way to the chamber in case the volcano erupted, or at least he hoped so. He entered the jungle at the bottom of the volcano that was untouched by the lava. He kept darting his eyes from the ground to the side of the volcano for any sign of an alternate entrance.

Twenty minutes went by and still no sign of an alternate entrance. This frustrated him greatly. He didn’t plan on it taking so long. He was only a quarter way around from where he landed the StarTango. The distance between him and Sundance was shortening. The Phantom Commander knew that the mines wouldn’t slow Sundance down for too long. He had stopped to lean up against a tree to catch his breath. With each breath, he felt a wave of panic threaten to overcome him. He had to press on.

He pushed off from the tree and continued his pilgrimage. It wasn’t until he got half way around the volcano that he found an area that was completely untouched by the eruption. The side of the volcano was green and lush. It was a miracle. Half way up was an opening that had been carved into the rock. This was what the Phantom Commander was looking for.

“We’re almost there,” he said out loud, addressing Timmy.

As the Phantom Commander stepped out of the jungle, he felt a burning sensation on his arms. He knew exactly what was happening. He rolled up the sleeves and saw that there were green and black bruises on Timmy’s arms. There were seeping red sores in the center of the bruises. He was burning through Timmy’s body quicker than he anticipated. If he wasn’t careful, he wouldn’t make it up the volcano in one piece.

He had a decision to make: climb the volcano, or use some his energy to teleport up to the landing. He surmised that each would use up the same amount of energy. The expenditure of energy was unavoidable. He quickly weighed his options. He decided that he would rather take the easy way up. He was about to become immortal, what was a little energy compared to everlasting life?

“We’re going for a ride,” he said aloud.

With a snap of his fingers, the Phantom Commander was instantly teleported to the landing halfway up the volcano face. He looked down and shook his head. He really couldn’t imagine trekking all the way up. Then he thought about Sundance. If he was able to find the opening, then so would Sundance. He smirked as he thought about Sundance having to climb all the way up. This would give the Commander more time for sure.

The landing led to deep into the rock face of the volcano. There was an carved archway that contained a large door. The Commander walked up to the door and caressed it. Just beyond the door was the answer to his prayers. He reached into Timmy’s pocket and pulled out the box Astralyn had procured. He opened it and pulled out the old and rusty key. He searched for the keyhole and when he found it, he inserted the key and twisted to the right. The landing began to shake as the large stone door opened. Old air rushed out and blew past the Commander.

The Phantom Commander broke the silence with a loud and sinister laugh. It echoed deep inside of the dark chamber that lay ahead of him. He stepped inside the dark room and pulled out Timmy’s flashlight from his utility belt. The light revealed that there weren’t many options to choose from as far as where to go. Dead ahead was a tunnel, beckoning the weary traveler inside.

“Now we’re talking! Nothing can stop me now!” He stepped into the tunnel and felt his left foot sink into the floor a bit. A collapsible tile. He immediately knew that he had triggered something that wasn’t going to be pleasant.

===================

Sundance managed to safely land the Ganymede next to the StarTango. He immediately stood up and prepared to leave the ship. He grabbed his laser pistol and set it to ‘KILL’. Astralyn saw this and stood up and placed her hand on his gun.

“Surely, you don’t think you’re going to have to use that,” Astralyn said. “I mean, come on, it’s Timmy.”

Sundance shook his head and sighed. “No, it’s not Timmy, it’s Laertes. And if it comes down to it, I might need to do what needs to be done.”

“What needs to be done?” Astralyn repeated. “You’re talking about killing Timmy!”

Sundance only lowered his head solemnly. He removed Astralyn’s hand from his gun and headed towards the back of the ship.

“Wait, Sundance! You didn’t even turn off the ship.” Astralyn leaned over the pilot control panel and started the shut down sequence.

“No, you stay here with the ship,” Sundance commanded. “I need you to fly this back to headquarters and wait for me there.” He looked up and saw the incredulous look on Astralyn’s face. “You said you can fly just about anything.”

“Sundance, I’m coming with you. Let me just shut the ship down and I’ll be ready.”

“I have to do this alone,” Sundance said. “I might have to…” He looked down at his gun. “I don’t want you to see… Just take the ship back to headquarters. I’ll end this one way or another and return on the StarTango.” He saw that Astralyn was going to make an argument, but Sundance stopped her by raising his hand. “I know you want to come with me, but we really don’t have time to argue! Just trust me!”

Astralyn was upset that he was cutting her out, but she knew that Sundance was right. There wasn’t time to argue. She aborted the shutdown sequence and sat in the pilot’s seat. “If I don’t hear from you within 3 hours, I’m coming back and looking for you.”

“Thank you,” Sundance said. He opened the back door and stepped outside.

“Sundance.” Astralyn turned around to look at Sundance’s grave face. “Bring him back.” Sundance flashed his pretty boy smile and shut the door. Astralyn saw his smile fade just before the door closed. She turned back around and started the take off sequence, hoping that she was doing the right thing; that Sundance would do the right thing.

Meanwhile in Space…

Episode 49: Son of the Phantom, Part V: Standing in the Way of Control

The Ganymede shook as four mines hit the shields and exploded. Sundance flew the ship as fast as he could, but he couldn’t shake the mines. It was proving just as difficult as he said it was going to be. He didn’t have a clue how to go about losing them. He had purchased the mines in the expectation that he would be the one deploying them, not having to worry about how to ditch them. He thought about letting the mines he’s activated to hit the ship, but he didn’t want to assume the new ship had that kind power. It was time he came up with a plan.

“Got any bright ideas, Astralyn?” Sundance asked.

“You’re asking me? Now?”

“You want a plan, make one! I’m just the man flying the ship.” Sundance gave the ship another hard right and flew away from the mine field. No new activated mines followed them. He flew toward a bright blue planet. That was when Astralyn snapped her fingers. “What?”

“Assuming that this planet has the same kind of atmosphere as New Earth, we could dive in there and hope the atmosphere will burn up the mines.” She waited for Sundance’s thoughts on the plan. He raised an eyebrow at her incredulously. “What? I don’t see you coming up with any earth shattering plans.”

Sundance shrugged his shoulders and put the Ganymede into full speed towards the planet. The mines followed closely behind. The ship shook as it hit the planet’s atmosphere. Sundance and Astralyn listened to hear if the plan was working. At first they didn’t hear anything, but then they heard one, two, three mines explode. It was only a matter of time before they all exploded. Astralyn and Sundance gave each other high fives.

“Excellent plan,” Sundance said. “Well done indeed.”

Sundance managed to turn the ship around and headed back out into space. During this time, Sundance was able to come up with a plan himself. He cautiously approached the mine field and stayed just out of reach of their sensors. “Give me a report on the weapons we got.” Sundance listened as Astralyn went down the list of weapons the Ganymede had. When he heard the one he wanted, he stopped her. “I want that one!”

“Progressive Scan Laser?” Astralyn looked down at her readout and smiled. “Okay, let’s play with that.”

“Let’s.” He nodded to Astralyn and she immediately went about making it happen. When it was all powered up, she signaled to him that it was ready. “Fire at will!” Astralyn pressed the button and the Progressive Scan Laser activated just below the ship. An expanse blast of yellow light shot out and started destroying the mines on the left side and slowly worked its way to the right side. Astralyn and Sundance watched as they exploded as if they were well choreographed fireworks.

“Great plan, but why didn’t you just do this in the first place?” Astralyn asked.

“You’re asking me? Now?” Sundance grinned at her.

As the light from all the explosions died down, Sundance’s face turned serious. It was back to business. Having a slightly better understanding of how to maneuver the ship, he piloted it back towards the planet of Massi, hoping that he hadn’t wasted too much time.

—————————-

The StarTango safely arrived at the planet Massi. Timmy set the ship down a few yards away from the previously active volcano. When he turned the ship off, the Phantom Commander released his hold on Timmy.

“Oh, thank God,” Timmy said as he collapsed on the flight console.

“How brave of you, fighting all the way.” The black cloud of a man stood up and looked down at Timmy. “No wonder Sundance likes you. You’ll never be the fighter I was. But after I’m done here, maybe you will be.”

“What do you want from me?” Timmy asked.

“My life back.” He clinched his fist and caused Timmy to stand up from his seat.

“All you had to do was ask,” Timmy groaned. He felt control return to his body. He followed the Phantom Commander to the back of the ship as the back door opened. A warm breeze rolled in, welcoming Timmy back.

“What are we doing back here?” Timmy asked as he closed the door to the ship. He noticed the form of the Phantom Commander hovered slightly above the ground. Knowing that the dark mass was inside of him caused him to shiver.

“Remember that what Astralyn said about the Vial of Eternal Life?” The Phantom Commander asked with a sinister hiss. He turned around and stared at Timmy with his evil red eyes.

“It’s just a myth,” Timmy said.

“Oh, but it isn’t, Timmy old boy.” He floated over to Timmy and looked him right in the eyes. He could feel how uncomfortable it made him. He relished it. “The Vial of Eternal Life is real. You and I are going to get it. And when we do, we will drink it and we’ll live forever!”

“We?” Timmy scoffed. “There’s no we. I’m not helping you do anything.”

The human form of the Commander dissipated and turned into a massive black cloud. “But you will help me. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this again so soon, but it appears granting you your temporary freedom was a mistake. I don’t want to burn out the body so soon.”

Timmy backed away from the cloud and ran back towards the ship. He wanted to get inside the ship, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to open it before the cloud caught up with him. He ran past the ship towards the charred remains of the jungle. He didn’t dare look back. He didn’t know how long he could outrun the cloud. His plan was just to keep running.

The surface of charred, cool lava made running difficult. There were rocks and twigs sticking out that was not conducive to running. He tried as hard as he could to accommodate the terrain, but he finally tripped and slid a few feet. Within seconds, he felt an intense burning in his back. The cloud rapidly shot into Timmy’s back. All the air left his lungs and he struggled for breath. When all of the smoke had been placed inside him, he stood up. His eyes were black as night. The Phantom Commander was once again in control.

Meanwhile in Space…

Episode 48: Son of the Phantom, Part IV: Forever Mine

Timmy opened his eyes as if he had woken from a deep sleep. He expected to be in his bed, but instead, found himself in the StarTango, flying it. He tried to look for Sundance but found that he could not move his head. It was as if something was holding his head in place so that he could only look forward.

“Don’t freak out too much,” said an unfamiliar voice. “You’re in the StarTango and you’re perfectly safe… as long as you do as I say.”

“Who are you?” Timmy asked. He was glad that he was still able to move his lips.

“Who I am is immaterial,” the soft, yet dark voice replied. “All you need to do is just fly the ship to the planet Massi and all will be fine.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“That’s you prerogative.”

Timmy looked down at the flight console and saw that they were already on a course for Massi. His hands were already on the controls. He flexed his fingers to see if he could how far he could move them, not very far. He slowly moved his hands apart to test his boundaries. If I can change the course just a little, he thought.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the voice said. “I can cause you great pain if you even think about disobeying me.”

“If I knew who I was taking orders from I’d care a little bit more,” Timmy replied.

There was a pause for a moment before the voice said, “You want to see me? I can make that happen.”

Timmy felt control of his neck muscles return. He slowly turned to the right and saw black mass in the form of a man. He was surrounded by a dusty looking black cloud. The man had glowing red eyes beneath it all. Timmy gasped and screamed. He suddenly felt his neck turn back around.

“There, are you satisfied now?” the voice asked.

“What the hell are you?” Timmy whimpered.

“You can call me the Phantom Commander. No doubt Sundance knows that you’ve stolen his ship. He’ll be following us by now, so we’d better hurry.” He looked down at Timmy’s hands and they immediately began to increase the speed of the ship. Timmy winced in pain. “Don’t fight me or I will hurt you. I’d prefer not to do that, yet. In fact, does this ship still have mines?”

Before Timmy could even answer, his hands were already working on the solution to the question. His fingers gingerly entered in the commands and the four hundred mines were released. There was nothing he could do to stop the Phantom Commander from using his body like a puppet.

“You’re a monster,” Timmy said.

“Sundance helped make me this way,” the commander said, scoffing. “You should ask him about that if he doesn’t die.”

Timmy gulped and wished that Sundance would arrive sooner rather than later.

————-

Sundance had a rough time piloting the newest model of spaceship. He found the control panel to be challenging to understand. He had a hard time flying in a straight line. He cursed under his breath each time the ship lost its equilibrium. “Modern piece of junk,” he muttered.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to fly it?” Astralyn asked. “My father is a pilot. I can fly just about anything… I mean, I haven’t taken formal flight lessons, but…”

“No, I’ve got it.” He made it a point to look at Astralyn and smile. He knew that she could pick up on his anxiousness to get to Timmy, but he didn’t want her to think that he couldn’t keep his wits about him. It was then that he first realized that what she thought of him mattered to him.

An alarm sounded and the lights in the cockpit were flashing red. Sundance looked all over for the control that would turn off the sound. “What the hell is going on?”

“The computer is obviously picking up on something,” Astralyn said, looking at the panels in front of her. She typed in a few commands and was able to pull up the information. “We’re approaching a mine field. A mine field?”

Sundance’s brow darkened. “Laertes.”

“Any way we can avoid them?”

Sundance shook his head. “It’s going to be quite a feat. Those mines can be programmed to attack selected target. In this case, it’s us. They’ll follow us until they’ve accomplished their mission: obliteration.”

“You sound like you know an awful lot about mines,” Astralyn commented.

“Well, I bought them,” Sundance admitted. Astralyn gave him an incredulous look. “What? They were on sale!” Astralyn rolled her eyes. “You can’t judge me. More power to shields.”

Astralyn punched in a few commands and the shields were strengthened. They could see it glow bright blue as the power level rose. “Shields are at maximum, Captain.”

The Ganymede soon approached the flashing red field of mines. When the ship was within range, the mines’ lights turned blue and slowly drifted towards it.

Sundance gripped the controls and took a deep breath. “Hold onto your butts.” He piloted the ship right for the mines. Just as they were about to hit the ship, he pulled the ship upwards and spun it into a spiral. The mines spiraled behind the ship and threatened to catch up. Another row of mines joined the party and started to approach.

“Come and get it!” Sundance sent the Ganymede down and around, collecting more mines as he went.

“Do you have a plan or are you just trying to look cool?” Astralyn asked, her fingers clinging to her control panel for dear life.

“You mean to tell me that this isn’t cool?” Sundance replied with a wink. Astralyn rolled her eyes. He tried to pull of the tricks he could easily pull off in the StarTango, but he still didn’t have a complete grasp on the new controls. The mines eventually caught up with him.

To complete our troika, here is the fabulous Astralyn! My friend Aaron is particularly proud of this piece and I am too! Here, she is holding one of the Crystal Eggs from way back in Episode 1. Those were the days! I hope that you enjoy this picture as much as I do!

Astralyn is a big fan of her shiny things!