Twinks in Space: Destination Unknown - Part One - 26. Chapter 26 - The Giant

“Names?” the customs agent asked the next three in line, a woman and two men.

“I am Ozo,” the woman replied, “and this is my brother Uzo, of the family Azore, and this is our cousin Theni, from family Atheil.”

The agent marked down the information. “Is this a temporary trip, or are you headed to Allthrin as residents?”

“We hope to make the move permanent someday,” Ozo replied “but unfortunately, we don’t have the means to make that happen currently, so this trip will only be temporary.”

The agent continued to make notes. “Possessions?”

“We each have a single bag.”

“Anything hazardous or dangerous on your persons?”

“Nothing besides a few little knives,” Ozo answered.

The customs agent looked up from their notes, handed the trio three tickets, and said, “That’s all. Have a safe journey to Allthrin, and I’m sorry so many of your people were wiped out.”

Ozo brought her palms together in front of her heart and bowed her head to the agent.

The three travelers stepped away from the kiosk and over toward a coffee cart. They were each dressed in traditional Allarei garb like most of the other passengers who were also awaiting travel back to Allthrin. The astro-ferries only made a single trip to the plagued planet per week, and the terminal was packed with travelers. Quite a few were Blue-skinned individuals who could trace their lineage back generations; they were the remnants of ancient families.

A significant commotion at the far end of the spaceport drew people’s attention. Four guards were leading an enormous hovering flatbed cart toward one of the terminals, with an even more enormous man chained to it. The giant was unconscious. He was easily three times the height of most people, and his head was overly large and out of proportion with the rest of his body. His mouth stretched much too wide and it was full of jagged teeth.

As the guards made their way toward the kiosk with the ship destined for Allthrin, travelers shifted out of the way of the flatbed, and a woman shouted, “Why’s that thing being transported through the public terminal?!”

One of the guards replied with a cocky smile. “This thing needs to be sent to the ice asteroid M9X-F4, and the only way to get him there is to pack him into the cargo hold of a remote-piloted drop ship.” The guard grinned wide. “But don’t you worry, he’s nothing we can’t handle.”

A team of station security personnel stepped up to take over for the guards. They parked the hovering cart at the terminal right next to the one going to Allthrin.

“Prisoner transfer,” one of the four guards stated, and he handed over a digital device with information about the chained subject.

“What is it?” one of the security men asked, looking down at the unconscious giant with a scowl.

“This is prisoner 5221-D-9,” the guard answered.

“Be careful with this asshole,” another guard added. “He killed one of the prison detail when they were transferring him over to us. Keep him sedated.”

The security team looked at the guards like that was obvious. “We have no interest in dealing with one of the godstroll people.”

“He hates when he hears it pronounce it god-stroll.” The guard snickered.

Another member of the security team asked, “Why was the prisoner arrested?” but his fellow security man, who now held the digital device, read the giant’s crimes aloud in dismay.

“He ate five people?”

“That’s right,” one of the guards replied, “take him away and bury him somewhere deep so he can never get out again.”

“I hate these godstroll cannibal assholes,” another guard declared, intentionally mispronouncing the giant’s race.

“I’ve never heard of godstrolls eating their own kind,” one of the others commented. “Are they actually cannibals?”

“I just mean that these monsters feed on sentient species.”

The eyes of the giant flashed open. Despite his bound hands, he managed to grab one of the guards. The man screamed as he was pulled toward the gargantuan gaping toothy maw, and the guard’s head and torso were enveloped. The beast bit down, chomping through the man’s waist and swallowing his upper body whole. The giant swung the gory stumps of the legs like a battering ram, smashing them into one of the other guards and sending him sprawling.

The security team and remaining guards drew their blasters and shouted at their prisoner to submit, but the giant wrenched both his ankles free from the chains that held him, and even with his wrists still bound, he charged at the security team. Despite the multiple trained men attempting to gain control, there was naught they could do.

The giant reached out for the next man he intended to swallow, but he froze in his tracks, seizing up in pain, and letting out a bloodcurdling wail. A very unimpressive-looking man in traditional Allarei garb had slid between the giant’s huge legs with a pair of knives, slashing the monster across one knee and the opposite thigh, and opening his femoral artery.

The man with the blades rose and stood in front of the giant, who fell as his knee gave out, and he grabbed for his bleeding groin. With deadly speed, the warrior stuck his knives into the enormous man’s liver and jugular, instantly yanking them out again. The giant’s eyes were wide with shock, and he feebly grasped for his assailant, who ducked and twirled to get away from the massive clutching fingers.

The monster hacked up blood. It was pouring from the terrible wounds in his flesh. One of his palms came to the floor and he coughed and gurgled until he collapsed down and fell still.

“How did you do that?” one of the security team asked.

“I’m just a soldier who has fought against godstrolls,” the man replied with a humble bow to the guards. “Their anatomy is very similar to that of many other sentient species.”

One of the station managers came rushing over. “Dear me, dear me! I say that you’ve earned premium accommodations on the astro-ferry! Please, sir, give me your ticket and the tickets of anyone else who is traveling with you, and I will upgrade them for you all.”

“My name is Uzo of family Azore,” the man replied, “and this is my sister Ozo, and our cousin Theni of family Atheil.”

The manager punched the information into his handheld digital device. “Just a moment,” he said to the trio, and he stepped up to the customs agent in the kiosk and received three new tickets. He glanced over at the dead giant and his security team, who were attempting to manhandle the huge corpse back onto the flatbed. “I’d say you definitely deserve these,” he said, handing the tickets to the trio.

All three of them brought their palms together and bowed their heads to the man.

“We thank you for your generosity, kind sir.”

“Please,” the manager continued, “allow me to escort you to your rooms.”

The three nodded to him again.

“Right this way.” He led them past the line of travelers waiting to board and used a special access card to gain entry to an elevator. He stepped back and extended an arm toward the door. “After you three,” he insisted. They entered the lift with him and the doors closed. He pushed the number 6 and the elevator began to rise. “I think you’ll find this room much more accommodating than those on the lower levels.”

Their brief ride stopped and there was a ding as the doors opened.

“It’s just here,” the manager said, leading them a few doors down the hallway. He opened their suite and again stepped back for them to enter.

It was a spacious room with its own kitchenette and privy chamber.

“This is lovely, thank you again, sir.”

The three of them brought their hands together one more time and bowed yet again as the manager left and closed the door. They waited a moment.

“Lyoth, your badassery proves to be more impressive every time I watch you take someone out.”

“Thanks, Stawren,” Lyoth replied with a chuckle. He turned to the third member of their group. “Phentrom, I’m sorry you had to witness that. I know you’re not a fan of violence.”

“No, I’m not,” the mandroid admitted, “but I am not disappointed about these rooms!”