1:4:2 Tarthesis (Part 5)

A ship blared overhead as it came into land on a newly designated landing pad, just outside of town. The four cones were nearly blown into next week as the ship’s manoeuvring thrusters set it down in the correct position. It was about half the size of The Destiny and looked like it was destined for a scrapyard and it was lucky to have landed. Half of its outer hull was missing, loosely clinging to the metal ribs that held it to the remnants of the main hull. Sparks flew from the bulkheads as they opened and the landing ramp’s hydraulics hissed and spat before they gave up and let the door to slam to the floor. The whole ship shook and rocked as its occupants alighted. Two figures strode out into the Tarthesian sun; a thin and iron deficient teenager led the pair followed by a gracefully tall and somehow even paler woman. She took the teen’s hand and started walking into town. Woolsly eagerly bounced on his toes as they approached him. That bouncing stopped when he caught a glimpse of the teen’s face. She wasn’t unattractive, not entirely, but half of her face was missing; obscured or hidden by her hair or hood, it was almost as if the flesh had rotted off her still living body. It was a marvel that she could even walk as her skin was vacuum tight to her bones leaving little room for muscles and tendons. She may have looked like a walking skeleton but she had a humanity to her. She could feel Woolsly staring at her. Her pace slowed as she started to lag behind the tall woman. Woolsly tried to keep a smile on his face as she towered over him.
“G… Good afternoon. I’m Woolsly, town mayor, welcome to Trenam.” His voice faltered.
“Dee. It would seem we were expected. Unusual but our friend probably called ahead. She’s always had her timings down to a tee, that one.” Dee’s mouth didn’t move as she talked. Her face seemed paralysed in an almost sultry smile. “It’s been a long journey for us, you wouldn’t know where we could get a drink do you?”
Woolsly disintegrated into a stuttering mess and instead elected to just gesture at the main road.
“Thank you.” She smiled but the smirk didn’t shift. “Come along Synran. Can’t be leaving our friend waiting.”
Synran snapped to her side. She walked with such confidence for a stranger in a strange land. Head held high and focus firmly on her target, Woolsly couldn’t keep up. He wondered what her true face looked like but with every passing second that he dwelt on the thought, his stomach turned a little bit more; at first he felt uncomfortable that he’d even consider violating her privacy which then developed into a distrust and the associated discomfort for feeling such prejudice before reaching its final form of paranoid horror. There was something else about her that seemed to fluster him; he had spent many hours hiking but never before had he been so out of breath from simply walking. Synran lagged behind slightly, moving at a similar pace to Woolsly but her proximity only seemed to make him want to move faster. Lore, Char and Sky watched from across the main road. Sky’s smile only served to confirm that the strangers were who they were after and that the teen was indeed the same Syn they had grown up with. Lore waited until Woolsly had entered the cafe before making their move. Completely disregarding Wreaves, they walked across the road and waited for the others just outside the building.
“About earlier, I’m sorry for blind siding you about this whole Dee thing.” Lore whispered. “We didn’t want it to be a big deal but we should have let you in.”
“I’m sorry too. It was never our decision to make and we should have let you have some degree of input.” Char bowed her head.
Sky smiled. “Thanks… I could still fight with you…” They smirked, cheekily.
“I’m afraid not. You’re still a little too young.” Lore chuckled as they opened the cafe door.
They held it open to allow Sky and Char through before unintentionally shutting it on Wreaves; now in the cafe, they began their short lived search for Dee. Even without an anxious and increasingly pale looking Woolsly dancing around them, they stood out like gothic thumbs.
“Are you ready?” Lore gave Sky a nervous smile.
They took a deep breath. Sky looked over to Syn and smiled. “I think so.” Lore gestured for Sky to lead the way.
Sky’s steps were like a newborn on ice; their footwork was uncharacteristically shaky and uneven, their knees wobbling like jelly as though every fibre that connected them had been liquefied. Seconds passed like days as they made their way over to Dee and Syn’s table but they eventually made it and rather quickly sat down. Like a seasick sailor to dry land, Sky thanked whatever gods watched over them for the stability of the chair. Syn’s face lit up when she realised who had joined them. Woolsly calmed down a little as Lore took a seat next to them. Char sat in the final chair.
“I’ll leave you to discuss your business.” Woolsly’s retreat started slow but quickened when he thought none of them could see him. He joined Wreaves at the door before they both took positions at the bar to see what they could overhear.
“Hello darling. How’ve you been?” Dee’s voice was soothing, nurturing. She held out her hand and took Sky’s into her own. “It’s been a while.”
“It is good to see you again. I see you got your mask repaired.” Sky smiled.
Dee held her hand to her face. Now that they were closer, Lore could see a golden streak that split the mask in two; a gilded lightning bolt. She was so delicate as she lifted the mask from her face. Lore and Char were at a loss for words but for very different reasons as they saw the two sides of the same woman.
“You’re…” They spoke in unison. Lore stopped themselves but Char continued, “Beautiful.”
She was the most attractive woman she had ever seen. She was perfectly proportioned; eyes like supernovas, bright with a seemingly endless allure and porcelain smooth skin, a virgin to the ravages of time with an ethereal glow. But Lore couldn’t see that, they only saw death and decay. To Lore, it was little wonder she wore the mask as her face appeared to be barely holding itself together; torn tendons and greying skin did their best to cling to the exposed bone beneath. They just sat and stared, entranced by the marvel before them.
“Lore…” Char had been poking them for the last half a minute. “You alright?”
They shook their head as if expecting the reality before them to change or to, in some way, escape Dee’s magnetic field. “Sorry, what?” Their voice wavered as they understood Woolsly’s discomfort.
“I’m afraid I have that effect on most people.” Dee blushed. “Your people called it the Edwring effect.” Lore looked at her confused.
“Different species see different things.” Char began. “Not sure what but to me she’s beautiful.”
Lore quivered. “Not so much to me…”
“Nor me.” Sky chuckled. “But that’s nothing new.”
“You’re only human, can’t be helped.” Dee smirked. “My species, we’re known as ‘the galaxies’ reapers’. Humanity called us Grim, hooded figures to take you to your death; no wonder you see me as you do.”
“And I can’t die, not without putting some effort in.” Char smiled. “So a reaper to hold my hand would be perfect, just like you are.”
“Indeed. I’ve found that the longer a species lives, the less the people tend to fear me.” Dee took a sip of her drink. “Now, we were expecting to be meeting with an old friend. Unless… You wouldn’t happen to have been sent by Tay?” Dee narrowed her eyes at them.
Lore nodded. “She gave us a time and a place; here and now.”
“Did she say anything else?” Syn looked at them expectantly.
“She told us that we should ask you if you’d look after Sky and Blue.” Lore looked to Sky. “We’ve got dark days ahead…” Lore trailed off.
“You may walk with Death at a time but your immediate future is Time protected. However, I dare say the same could not be said for you Sky. To walk with them would be to walk with Death and that is a walk that we would, unfortunately have to take together.” Dee’s prophecy silenced the table for a moment but that silence was broken by Sky, chuckling.
“Oh, great Dee, thank you for yon wisdom.” Sky beamed before realised everyone was staring at them. “It sounds silly but she’s never been wrong about people dying.” They awkwardly recovered.
“Could you please look after Sky and Blue while we sort things out?” Lore asked.
“What do you two think?” Dee somehow stared into both of their souls.
Lore took Char’s hand instinctively. A flash of electric blue light filled their vision.

They were outside The Destiny. The air around them was murky, they were both in their masks; the whole crew was standing in the fog. Sky and Blue went round the group, embracing each crew mate as they said goodbye. They nodded before walking over to Dee and Syn. The blue light faded as they started walking back towards Treenam, parting ways with Lore, Char, Destiny and the clones.

They snapped back to reality. Dee smiled. “We’ll meet you by your ship in at the eleventh hour. You’ll know when, just be ready.” She took Sky’s hand; there was a pop of static as they connected. “Can’t wait. See you then.” Dee drank from her tea. Dee brushed them away, clearly indicating the conversation was over. Lore awkwardly backed away, still concerned by whatever had just occurred. Char joined them, Sky lingered; they sat there, looking longingly at Syn. Eventually, they joined Lore and Char outside.
“I suppose we go back to the ship then?” Sky nodded toward the direction they had come from.
“Not just yet. I wouldn’t mind having a look in the general store.” Lore smiled.
Char stared at them, confused. “We’ve got a fabricator on the ship with the materials and recipes for almost everything.”
“That’s all well and good but you never know what you need until you see it and there’s too much choice. Plus, we’ve still got Woolsly’s card so it’s not going to cost us anything.” Lore waved the polymer rectangle.
Char sighed. “Go on then.” She gestured for them to lead on.
The street was strangely populated save for the area immediately surrounding them. Despite the locals clearly avoiding Char, they had all eyes on her. Lore held the door to the shop open for the other two. Lore just watched the road, the foot traffic resumed its normal speed and course.
“Offworlders! Come on in.” She advanced on Sky and Lore with open arms and a beaming smile across her face. The shopkeeper had not yet seen Char. That changed rather quickly and with that discovery, the shopkeeper’s disposition changed. “How can I help.” The light was gone from her voice and it had now become stilted and awkward.
“We’re just looking to browse. We’ve got a long journey ahead.” Char smiled. The shopkeeper didn’t react.
“We’ll be trying to press deeper into the nebula so we’re just looking for inspiration.” Lore flashed a false smile.
The shopkeeper was taken aback. Her eyes widened in a vintage blend of amazement and horror. “Now that’s a mission we’ve not heard of since the rush.” She shook her head. “Given their track record, I’d turn back now if I were you. Never seen a crew come back and only a handful of ships make it back.”
Lore just kept smiling. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” They started scanning the shelves. Their eyes lit up as they came across a small, keyring mounted torch. They reached out their hand to grab it.
“No.” Char wasn’t even looking at them. “Use the night vision on your glasses if you want to see something in the dark.”
“What about if you need to see something?” Lore gave a look like an expectant cat.
It wasn’t working. “I said no. If you really want one, I’ll fabricate you one when we get back to the ship.” Char sighed.
A few minutes passed as they kept looking. Lore or Sky would occasionally find something which Char would deny them but after a few failures, they found something that even Char couldn’t say no to.
“How about this?” Lore held up a small packet of spices.
“Now you’re just grabbing things for the sake of it.” Char judged without looking. She turned and closed the gap between them instantly. “Let’s have a look.” She inspected the ingredients with a passion Lore hadn’t expected. Char was close to pocketing it. She was virtually salivating.
“You ok?” Lore tapped her shoulder. She jolted slightly.
“Fine. It’s just I’ve not seen some of these spices for a while. Native to Tarthesis. You’re getting that.” She thrust the packet back into Lore’s hand.
After a few more failed attempts to bring tat onto The Destiny, Lore conceded and purchased the spices. They smiled at the shopkeeper who sneered back and then left. They got one foot out of the shop when Woolsly ambushed them.
He thrust his hand into Lore’s, a face tearing smile pulled his skin so tight that he appeared nearly a century younger.
“My goodness I must thank you!” Woolsly shook Lore’s hand with the vigour of a being an eighth his age. “I don’t know how you convinced them but we’ve heard word that there’s a fleet of ships on their way to us. We’ve not heard anything from the ships themselves but our sensors show that most of them are of standard Protectorate configuration so…” He just kept shaking them, buzzed with the excitement of the coming visitors. “They’ll be here within the hour!” His joy became dread. “My goodness, not again. We weren’t prepared for you, we barely prepared anything for your first pair of friends and now we’ve got so many more visitors… I must away.” He turned to leave, Lore’s hand still in his.
“You’re forgetting something.” Lore smiled.
“Ah yes, my card.” Lore rolled their eyes before handing the card back. Thankfully, the action required him to unhand them. “Will you be staying to see them here?”
“We’ll stay for a bit but we must be off.” Lore gave an apologetic smile. “Thank you for your hospitality.” They lied.