Twinks in Space: Fantastic Voyage - Part Two - 60. Chapter 60 - The Necropolis

“Quickly,” Captain Suoki urged, “find us the nearest city while I land.”

“Got it!” Lyoth replied.

“And its location is stored in my device,” Stawren added.

Captain Suoki got the Galaxy Surfer to the planet’s surface in less than thirty seconds, and Phentrom immediately killed all its systems when it landed.

The quartet sat in silence for a moment, looking around the interior of the ship. Phentrom and Captain Suoki had not been onboard for very long, and Lyoth and Stawren had only taken the Galaxy Surfer from Allthrin a short while ago, but the ship already felt like home.

Phentrom whispered, “This is sad.”

The group collected their things, and Lyoth, Stawren, Phentrom, and Captain Suoki all said their goodbyes to the Galaxy Surfer. They began to make their way downhill and soon caught sight of the city where they were headed. It was a grand, sprawling place, and much of it was uniform structures of grey concrete.

They approached the edge of the city and found a welcome sign that did not feel welcoming. It informed them the name of the place, Tiliopse City, but it also seemed threatening. Four skulls were affixed to the sign’s corners.

The skull at the top left appeared very common, but each of the other three was more unique. At the top right corner, the skull was missing its lower jaw, and fangs extended down from the dry bone. The bottom right skull possessed a prominent ridge that extended from between its eyes to the back of the head. The skull at the bottom left corner seemed familiar and unimpressive, like the one in the top left, but Stawren gasped at the sight of it. The thing shimmered with a faint purple hue.

“That’s an Allarei skull! One of my people!”

“Why does it look like that?” Captain Suoki asked.

“Is the purple that mineral you told us about?” Phentrom added.

“Covialtin,” she whispered, “yes, that’s the compound in our bones. Why is there an Allarei skull here?”

Phentrom turned to her. “Maybe one of your people got trapped here, like we are.”

They entered the city, which seemed expansive, but there were only a few people around. Many buildings the quartet passed were unmarked, and they were not sure what they hoped to find. The region they walked through was confusing to them. A seemingly random house or shop would be tucked in between storage buildings and what appeared to be office complexes.

Stawren paused as she peered down one of the side streets. “Well, that’s convenient.”

The others stopped and turned in the same direction.

“What are we looking at?” Phentrom asked.

Stawren pointed and read aloud a sign in front of one of the buildings. “Thadjit’s Embalming and Final Preparation House.”

Phentrom brought his hand to her arm. “Don’t you think asking about getting the blood out of godstrolls is going to alarm whoever’s in there?”

“We won’t start by asking about that,” Stawren replied with a laugh. “There doesn’t seem to be many people in this town, but that place at least says it’s open. Maybe there’s someone there who can direct us to an area with more people.”

The men agreed with her idea, but as they approached, Lyoth noticed there were two other mortician shops. “Wait a second, more life-end services are up the street.”

Stawren shrugged and pulled open the door to Thadjit’s Embalming and Final Preparation House. A very attractive woman was writing in an old leather-bound ledger behind a counter. She looked up.

“Hello, how can I help you today?”

“We are foreigners,” Captain Suoki replied with a beaming smile, “and we’re…”

“Foreigners? We don’t get foreigners.”

“Yes,” the captain confirmed, “we were not welcomed as guests when we entered imperial space; we were taken prisoner. Might I ask you…”

“How’d you get away?”

“We were only being guarded by robots,” Phentrom answered. “We deactivated them.”

“May I ask,” Captain Suoki attempted again, “why are there so few people here?”

The woman was confused. “The necropolis? Because no one lives here.”

The four travelers looked at each other.

“This is Tiliopse,” the woman replied, “the necropolis. All the dead imperial family members from throughout the ages are entombed here.”

Phentrom was curious. “That’s fascinating. Do you know how many bodies have been laid to rest here?”

“Also,” Captain Suoki interjected, “are you Thadjit?” He pointed toward the door and the shop’s sign.

“That’s me,” she replied. “There’s over two-thousand dead royals here,” she said to Phentrom. “But what about you four? Has someone in your lives passed on? How can I be of service?”

“Oh no,” Captain Suoki responded quickly, “we’re just a bit lost and hoping to find some way back out of the empire. Is there a spaceport where we might be able to book passage?”

Thadjit sucked her teeth. “There is. I live there. You could probably find a shuttle headed off-world.” She frowned. “But who are you? Why are you here? And why did you get arrested?”

Lyoth answered. “We were hunting a trio of godstrolls. They entered imperial space, and when we followed, we were caught.”

“What happened to the godstrolls?”

“We heard that they have also been captured.”

Thadjit eyed the quartet. “But why were you after them?”

Lyoth continued to explain. “They’ve eaten people. They cannibalize sentient species, and we were intent on taking them out before they ate anyone else.”

“Was it someone you knew?” Thadjit asked.

Lyoth was confused. “Was who someone we knew?”

“The person they ate, was it a friend?”

“Oh, sorry, no,” Captain Suoki replied, “the godstroll we were hunting didn’t eat someone we knew.”

Thadjit put her hands on her hips and asked in a doubtful tone, “And you four have made it your duty to rid the universe of the scourge of godstrolls?”

“Not exactly,” Lyoth replied. “There’s a compound in their blood…”

“Their blood? So let me get this straight; you’re just hunting down godstrolls to kill them?!”

“Please, let us explain,” Phentrom urged. “A prototype starship has disappeared into uncharted space. The three of us used to live there.” He indicated Lyoth and Captain Suoki.

Lyoth went on, “A group of scientists working with advanced tech needs a compound in godstroll blood. It’s essential to the machine they are constructing.”

Thadjit scowled at the four of them. “And what, there’s no other source where you could get this compound? You can’t synthesize it?”

Lyoth put up his hands in a placating gesture. “We’ve killed several godstrolls who were terrorizing different groups. We have mixed feelings about what we’ve been doing, but we’ve tried to do it mindfully.”

“Mindful murder,” Thadjit replied sarcastically. She focused on Stawren. “What’s your deal? Don’t you speak?”

Stawren was looking at the floor. She took a breath and said quietly, “You remind me of someone.”

Thadjit was curious. “I do?”

“Not in your looks or mannerisms, but you just make me think of her.” Stawren fell silent.

Thadjit wanted to know more. “Who is it? Who do I make you think of?”

“My wife,” Stawren replied, “she’s dead.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Stawren looked up. “I buried her two months ago. The embalmer was some old toad. He was expensive and inconsiderate, but he was the only option to deal with her remains, not like here. There’s a mortuary on every corner in this town.”

“Well, that’s the necropolis for you,” Thadjit replied. “What was her name?”

“Her name was Viotij,” Stawren stated, “and you would have been exactly her type, hot and commanding and sassy. She would’ve flirted with you.”

Thadjit grinned.

Stawren continued, but even as she changed subjects, her voice was steady. “Also, we’re hunting monsters who deserve to be slaughtered. We are trying to collect as much blood from each dead godstroll as we can, but it’s been a struggle. Do you have a device or machine that drains blood? Because if you did, and you let us use it, we could finish this task more quickly and with less killing, even though, again, these beasts deserve death.”

Thadjit’s smile had become a frown. “Is that why you’re here, to take my equipment? And did you really think that pathetic bit of flattery was going to persuade me? I’m…”

“You’re gorgeous,” Stawren breathed. “Viotij would have adored you, and I would have enjoyed every minute of you two together. My words were not merely flattery, and if my heart was not still mending, I would ask for permission to show you affection. I wish you’d been her mortician. Can we talk more? Alone?” Stawren turned and looked at the three men.

Lyoth replied right away. “Thadjit, is there an eatery nearby where us lads might go find ourselves a bite?”

Thadjit scrutinized Stawren for a moment. She turned to the men and said, “Head out front and turn left. Go two blocks, turn left again and go three blocks. There’s a building called the Last Supper. It’s got a bunch of dining options inside.”

“Much obliged,” Lyoth called out as he shooed Phentrom and Captain Suoki back outside. “Let’s let them talk. This is the first time Stawren has shown any interest in anyone, and even if all they do is talk, I think she needs that. She opened up about her wife while we were traveling between planets, and I know she’s still hurting.” He looked one direction up the street and then the other, and he admitted sheepishly, “I wasn’t actually paying attention to the directions Thadjit gave us. Did either of you catch where we’re headed?”

Captain Suoki chuckled. “Of course I’ve got the directions to dinner.” He rubbed his big belly. “Left two blocks, left again three blocks, the Last Supper.”

Lyoth laughed. “Lead the way!”