Fun For All The Family

"You know, Bjors," mused Pitrak. "I wouldn't have thought that 10kg of antimatter would have made such a titanic explosion."
"Heh, yeah, who'd guessed?" Bjors replied nervously.
"BJORS!" Thjorska roared.
"Y-yes?"
"What did you do?"
"Well, I rigged up a trans-dimensional transporter inside, so that it inflates a totalshield with antimatter until the generator can't take the strain and the shield dissipates," mumbled Bjors. "Please don't hurt me."
"So you've built a weapon a mass destruction in your spare time. Just perfect."
"Oh, yeah," said Bjors, losing himself, "but I think I know a way how to triple the power of the explosion. If you pass me that laser welder-"
"BJORS!"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

The tiny bitbug roamed over the cracked landscape, guided by the faraway mind of Pitrak. It was a sphere with six legs, small enough to go unchallenged by what life was left in the blasted wasteland. Tiny sensors and cameras took in a myriad of information, serving as another eye to Pitrak.
"There. A large metal door. Unscathed by the blast," Pitrak said.
Thjorska nodded.
"Open?" Bjors asked.
"Maybe unlocked. I'll use the bitbug to blow it," mumbled Pitrak.
A mile away, the bitbug cheerfully clambered up the door and opened the front shielding on its tiny singularity engine. The miniature black hole gleefully devoured the door and a large portion of cliff before the shielding flicked back on. The bitbug dropped to the ground and scurried quickly back towards the Jotun.

Trudging down the damp, cold tunnels, the Jotun were not exactly happy. Down to their last weapons, their last reserves of strength, their last ounce of sanity. At the end of the tunnel there was yet another door. Thjorska roared and let loose with a volley of laser fire. It melted and fell over, revealing a huge room full of hundreds of tall green tubes, stirring shadows within.
"Aw, shax," said Thjorska, as the tubes opened one by one, the green fluid draining away. Inside were more of the huge bladed monstrosities, each breaking loose from the tangle of pipes and wires that had held them.
In the midst of this was Kajiro, now much taller but still looking the same. He smiled, and Thjorska nearly shot him.
"Well, Jotun, you have destroyed my first born, and I think their siblings want a little revenge. It's a pity you shall never see my
family kill your father," he said. "Goodbye."
Kajiro walked off into the gloom, leaving dozens of creatures surrounding the Jotun, Thjorska whirled his laser rifle around and fired it at the nearest creature. The beam sliced through its chest and it collapsed backwards.
"We only have a short amount of time before their carapaces harden," he yelled, shooting another creature. The other Jotun opened
fire, bringing down Kajiro's children by the dozen.
Bjors made a dash through the chaos to the control panel in the centre of the room. His fingers danced over the keys, his eyes glued
to the holoscreen.
"Thjorska! Our Beserkers are back online!"
"Great! Now find us a way out quickly!" Thjorska yelled, toppling another three creatures. Bjors saluted and turned back to the console. At last he hit three keys and took the SNAME from his belt. He slammed it onto the console and welded it down tight. As he flicked on the timer a section of the far wall opened up. He ran towards it, blasting creatures and screaming for the others to follow.
Inside the antechamber was a large disc raised slightly above the floor. It was a much darker colour than the floor, but had glowing blue lines crossing its surface.
"It's a transporter!" Bjors yelled. "Get on now!"
"WHAT?! Are you sure it's safe?" Odan bellowed.
"Safer than here! Their shells are hardening now! Now jump!"
Thjorska yelled, and flung himself onto the disc. Before he even touched it he vanished. The others followed as fast as they could, holding off the tide of creatures until Bjors finally leapt onto the disc, dropping a dozen thermite grenades. There was a blinding flash of light, and the disc shattered into hundreds of pieces, scything through the air.
Over in the main chamber, the tiny red counter on the SNAME flicked on, proudly displaying 00:15:00 for a brief second before beginning to count down.

Chapter 13

Chapter 15