Chapter 32: Chapter 32 A Virus for the Virus
Olivia slammed her hand on the release valve to open the door on the ship, while hanging from a makeshift ladder of Gooblens, dangling over a precipice. Saying a prayer of thanks, when the door started to open, she wasted no time in scrambling inside, and rushing to the bridge.
"Computer, disconnect all outside antennae, and disable all forms of communications from outside this ship!" she cried, trying to ignore the fact that there were more Gooblens piling into her ship, then it should be able to hold.
"I have done as you asked, but don't we need to have some way to communicate with the surrounding authority in order to leave?" asked the computer.
With a sigh of relief, she slid into her seat and started typing away.
"No, Dustin released some super-virus, that seems to be killing all electronics that come in contact with a type of video."
"I noticed this video, and immediately quarantined it, before it could begin playing."
"Awesome, is that something Dustin programmed into you?"
"No, it seemed odd that anyone would be sending me a video. I'm not that popular…'
Olivia glanced up at the computer, who had manifested itself with the holographic projector.
"We need to get out of this parking garage," she said, with a shake of her head. She didn't have time for the computer's antics.
"With all of my exterior antennae disconnected, I am afraid you will have to manually fly the ship out of the garage."
"Fine," she growled, powering the engines and trying to lift the ship off the holding platform.
While the electronic magnets had released, the mechanical arms had not.
"I'll send Gooblens," said Old Motha, noticing the problem.
Olivia watched and waited as four Gooblens streamed out of the still open door, and began to eat the arms that held the ship in place. It took a lot of patience and deep breathing, to stay calm, as she watched the garage shake as every moment passed. Nothing had given way yet, as far as she could tell, but there were others who had noticed her posse flee to a ship, and were trying to flee to their own.
As soon as she got confirmation that the Gooblens were back in the ship, she left the platform and started to make her way out of the garage. It wasn't until only clear sky was above their heads, before she let out the breath she was holding. Before they could zoom off into space, leaving the planet to die, they noticed that the shaking that had threatened to collapse the entire planet, had started to slow and suddenly stopped.
Olivia stopped the ship, to see what was going on, and they saw lights flicker back on.
"It seems that those in power, had a way to overcome the damage from the virus," said Granny, in awe.
"Oh, I fully expected them to recover, but it was the only chance we had to escape with all of the Gooblens, without incurring the wrath of the government on us, or the hunters…" explained Old Motha, as if she had planned the whole thing.
Olivia and Granny glanced at each other, before going back to flying the ship.
"I'm receiving odd transmissions, that are not tied to my communications systems," said the computer, thoughtfully.
"What are they?" asked Olivia, dreading a repeat of the super-virus.
"It seems to be a conversation…would you like for me to bring it up for you?"
"Yes," said Olivia, tensely.
<…for the destruction you have caused!>
<If you had agreed to the initial request, such actions could have been avoided!>
<Do not think you can avoid us! You shall be eliminated before we are done with you!>
"That is the end of the conversation…do you want me to try and find the rest of it?" asked the computer.
"Will it put you at risk from the virus?" asked Olivia.
"No, I have had a chance to study it, and have updated my virus protection to include any attacks from it."
"Then by all means, see if you can find out what it's talking about. I'm pretty sure that Dustin is the one behind the virus, but I'm not sure why."
Olivia instructed the ship to remain where it was, and to cloak, so that they wouldn't be targeted by anyone down below, while the computer tried to find out what it could.
"There appears to be some AI that was in contact with the assassin's guild on the planet below. It was attempting to procure a hit on Dustin, but they declined, stating the payment was too small, and the target was insignificant for them."
Old Motha nodded. "The assassin's guild is the best in the galaxy. They only accept targets for kings and such now."
Granny and Olivia both chuckled at that.
"Dustin was king, before he handed over the role to his son," explained Granny.
Old Motha cackled.
"The AI isn't very smart, if it's trying to hire someone to kill him. There's no one that could do that," said Olivia.
"No, its insane, making the Tik its enemies. They have the pinnacle of technology at their fingertips," stated Old Motha.
Olivia chewed on her lip for a moment, and turned to them. "If this much trouble was caused on a planet that is this high tech, how much trouble would his virus have caused on other planets? Or stations? This has the possibility of killing off too many."
"Surely he thought this through?" wondered Granny.
"It is Dustin..." groaned Olivia.
XxxxX
Dustin wiped his hands after fixing the air scrubbers for the sixth time. The virus was still active in the few electronics it could survive in, and every time he got another part up and running, it would do everything it could to destroy it. On one hand, he was kind of proud for having created such an impressive virus, but his guilt was growing.
This station hadn't been that low class of a station, and if the virus was causing this much trouble, what of the other stations, or ships, or planets, out there? How many people did he just kill?
"I'm going to go to my ship and rest for a bit, before starting on the rest," he said to the head mechanic beside him.
The alien nodded its big blue head, and moved to let him go by. Dustin knew that he had been working straight for the past two days without stopping, so they would fully expect him to need to take a break. He needed to come up with a virus for his virus, and hope that the AI had been dealt with.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Sdrawkcab I had fun typing this chapter. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 33: Chapter 33 No Gooblens Allowed
Dustin paced, thinking hard. He had done everything he could to try and make a virus to stop his virus, but it wasn't working. He glanced over at the people watching him from the doorway, and sighed. It was useless. By this point the damage was already done. It was five days since he had released the virus, basically shutting down the entire galaxy.
While the people on the station hadn't figured out the scope of what he had done, they had definitely been unhappy about the damages he had caused. The goodwill from them had crumbled within minutes when they discovered he was the reason everything had failed. Despite his success in getting things back up and running, to save their lives, they had strongly recommended he stay on board his ship until he was able to leave. It only made sense that he wasn't needed after he had fixed things.
"Dustin, there is a group of people approaching the station that are looking for you," said one of the people at the door.
Dustin looked over at her, "Why do you say that?"
"They just did a general hail, to everyone, asking if you were here."
Dustin glanced at the tablet in her hand, then turned to his own screen to see the message himself.
XxxxX
"Did the virus affect the nanobot hive mind?" asked Granny, as they approached the Uz'En home world.
"Doesn't look like it," said Olivia, glancing over at the swarms of nanobots approaching them.
Once they confirmed that they were friendly, the swarm left again, to rejoin the mass surrounding the planet.
"There's so many of them!" wondered Old Motha.
"They must have mined out the entire asteroid belt to make that many. The hive mind is probably making sure that they are well protected after those aliens showed up and took Dustin away," said Olivia.
"Olivia," came a voice through the ship's communications. "We have managed to prevent the virus that Dustin released from affecting our planet, and have traced back where he is located, but we have also discovered communications between two entities discussing his demise. We would recommend you retrieve him before this is attempted."
"Who is that?" asked Granny, taken aback.
"This is the hive mind, Granny. We are sure that Dustin will be glad to see you."
"I don't mind going to get him, hive mind, but I need to do something with the ship full of Gooblens that I currently have."
"We will send food and supplies to you, for them, but we strongly recommend you keep them on board, rather than having them taken down to the planet. The prior ones have caused a lot of damage on planet."
Old Motha and Granny both sighed.
"Can you tell how extensive the damage is, from the virus?" asked Olivia.
"We have not been able to contact any of our prior contacts. It would seem that all electrical life in the galaxy has been stopped. Though, the communication we received, does hint at the survival of the AI Dustin seems to be at war with."
"The AI must be the same one who contacted the Tik, trying to get the assassins to kill him. It must have found someone else to try and do it," said Olivia.
"They might be the assassins' rivals," suggested Old Motha, thoughtfully.
"It doesn't matter who it is, if they went after Dustin, he will wipe them off the face of the planet they call home," said Olivia with a shake of her head.
"Let's see if we can go get him before they do," said Granny.
A shipment of supplies was quickly transferred into the cargo hold of the ship, and they turned away from the planet Hope, towards a small space station floating in the middle of nowhere.
XxxxX
Dustin directed the people on his ship to move back into the cafeteria, and turned to his monitor. The ship had a very rudimentary computer, that he had been working on between everything else. If these people looking for him were trouble, he wanted to make sure the ship made its way back to his home planet.
Typing everything he could think of, as fast as he could, Dustin glanced back over it, to make sure that his message was clear, then headed for the airlock. With the mood the station owners were in, they would probably turn him in to these guys very quickly.
Arriving at the airlock, he spied a group of large-muscled aliens, with dark green skin, moving towards him. Based on the looks on their faces, he was relatively certain they weren't there to shake his hand and congratulate him on a job well done.
"Hey! We told you to stay on your ship!" cried the small station owner hidden behind the bulk of the thugs.
"Yeah, but it got kind of stuffy in there, and I thought I'd go out for some air," Dustin said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder.
The airlock on his ship shut tight, and his ship disconnected from the station, creating a huge hole that immediately sucked him into space. He had already modified himself, to survive the horrors of space, but the others were caught unawares. The station owner was the first to succumb, floating slowly away, as crystals formed on his skin. The thugs had managed to grab the edge of the airlock, and were holding on, fighting against the rush of air that was flowing out of the station.
Dustin knew that they hadn't repaired the emergency functions on the station yet, which meant that they would probably lose all of their air in that entire sector, if not the entire station. Turning his head, he watched the ship drift away from the station, then warp away. It would jump three times, before turning to his home world, and making one final jump, depleting all of the fuel. Hopefully that would keep anyone from following it.
Turning his attention back to the airlock, he spied their ship, who apparently noticed what had happened. It was rushing over, possibly to save the thugs who were struggling at the airlock. As it turned its weapons on him, he realized they were actually coming for him. With a smile, he used the almost invisible tendrils from his worm form, that he had grown along his arms and legs, to move him towards the ship. To anyone watching, it looked like he could fly through space, unaided. Dustin knew he was awesome, and it was time to teach these guys that.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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Awesome fight scene, next chapter.
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