Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: A Dead Town
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The town gave off an overall impression of utter desolation.
For fifty years since the Empire's founding, great emphasis had been placed on territorial development and population control. Even the most remote backwaters were equipped with full identity recognition systems. Currency points were directly linked to ID scanners, paper bills were exceedingly rare, and anything above a certain amount required swiping an ID card—transactions transparent to both parties.
But this place had nothing. There was no checkpoint at the city gate. Crude stone roads flanked by numerous empty stalls, a few scattered shops utterly deserted. Now and then a housewife would hurry out to shop, paying mostly with a kind of paper money they'd never seen before.
Everyone moved in silence, heads down, shoulders hunched, exuding a profound air of decay.
Gavin and Heinrich stopped in front of a small inn. They overheard the owner sitting just inside the door, talking on the phone in a thick Federation star system accent. Still some distance away, they caught only fragments: "Things are tight lately, the ones leaving town... the warp gate's locked too, no way around it. If they'd come a bit earlier, they might've made it..."
The owner hung up and sat there idly. Gavin and Heinrich exchanged a glance, then stepped forward and knocked on the door.
The owner looked up abruptly, spotting a teenage stranger with handsome features, pale complexion, and a warm, sincere smile. His tone softened unconsciously. "What do you need?"
"Just begging a sip of water." Gavin beamed, speaking in fluent Alliance dialect. "Sorry to trouble you, sir. Our ride broke down outside, and we've walked all the way here..."
Heinrich stood a short distance back, suppressing his intense Alpha pheromones as much as possible, giving a slight bow in acknowledgment as Gavin spoke.
The owner's eyes darted between them a few times before lighting up. He jumped to his feet at once, ushering Gavin inside. "Come in, come in! Not like I've got anything better to do. Haven't had guests in ages... What'll you have? Moonlight flower wine? I'll throw in some ice for you?"
Gavin demurred but eventually went inside with Heinrich to sit down. The parlor was decently furnished—a few sofas clustered around an artificial fireplace in the corner, holographic projections beaming life-sized images of old Alliance-era pop stars onto the ceiling, crooning some melancholic tune.
"Your moonlight flower wine—" The owner brought over two glasses of pale blue liquid with ice, then asked eagerly, "Want something to eat?"
Gavin quickly stopped him as he set the glasses on the table. "Sorry, sir, we've got no money on us. It was all in the broken ride outside..."
The owner's hand paused, but his enthusiasm didn't waver as he placed the glasses down anyway. "No worries, no worries. It's just a drink! Pay whenever you can, or forget it if it's inconvenient—we don't mind. Where are you from?"
He set the tray aside and plopped onto the sofa facing them, starting to pry. Heinrich glanced unobtrusively at Gavin, who replied calmly, "Up north."
The owner blinked in surprise. "Meteor Wastes? That area's been deserted for years. What were you doing there?"
Both men noted the name of that wasteland: Meteor Wastes. They'd have to find a way to look it up online later and figure out which planet this was. After a brief hesitation, Gavin chuckled. "To be honest, sir, my family... didn't approve of us. We didn't tell anyone, just ran off on impulse and ended up here..."
Most folks in town, including the owner, were Betas, insensitive to Omega pheromones. But Gavin had only just passed his heat, and traces lingered for a day or two no matter what. The owner had suspected as much when they entered. Now with this, he was convinced, exclaiming in astonishment, "You're—you're an Omega?"
Gavin said nothing, just scooted a bit closer to Heinrich, who obligingly leaned in.
Even on the Empire's capital world of White Egret Star, the Beta-to-Omega ratio was five thousand to one. Who knew how lopsided it was on this fringe planet. The owner shot to his feet in shock, then slowly sank back down, dumbfounded. "S-sorry, we don't see many Omegas around here. Probably... just you in the whole town..."
Gavin was about to speak when his expression shifted.
He'd planned to ask about local pharmacies, but if there were no other Omegas in town, they sure as hell wouldn't stock what he needed.
Heinrich, ever perceptive, shot him a quick look.
"You got a place to stay? Where you crashing tonight?" The owner's enthusiasm doubled. "Business has been dead lately—quiet and convenient. Why not stay here? Fix the ride whenever, wander the town as much as you like..."
Heinrich felt a chill but smiled politely. "Thanks for the kind offer, but we're in a hurry, and we can't pay for lodging anyway—"
"No need, no need." The owner waved it off repeatedly, then fell silent for a moment. Turning sheepishly to Gavin, he rubbed his hands. "Actually, I was wondering... if it's not too much trouble, could you leave something behind when you go? Jacket, socks, whatever—even better if it's something worn close to the body. I'd keep it safe here in the shop..."
Gavin: "..."
Even Gavin started feeling uneasy.
The owner was overwhelmingly eager. Gavin politely refused his offer to guide them around multiple times, agreeing only to stay the night. Then the two headed back out to continue strolling the streets.
Gavin seemed distracted the whole way. Heinrich eyed him and asked coolly, "What are you looking for?"
"..."
"You've been glancing around since we entered town. Pharmacies, right?"
"..."
Gavin quickened his pace to pull ahead, but Heinrich's long legs kept him right alongside, impossible to shake. "Forget it. Some banned meds aren't even on White Egret's black market, let alone here... And you trust random pills from a sketchy little shop? One dose and you could be dead."
Gavin stayed silent, his face darkening.
A flicker of smugness in Heinrich's eyes, though he turned away sternly.
Anyone else would've snapped by now, but Gavin Celia was forged in patience. After a long silence, he spoke as if nothing had happened. "This town's off."
Heinrich glanced at him. "Mm. Plenty of people, but commerce is dead. And everyone speaks with that Alliance accent. Did you notice the inn's decor?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Lots of serpentine patterns—rugs too. And that bronze serpent on the front desk. Gives me the creeps..."
For some reason, Gavin suddenly recalled the massive venomous serpent caged in Dark Star Hall's iron box. His face paled slightly.
"The owner's overly friendly," Heinrich snorted. "Kept prying where we're from. Turned wary the second he clocked me as an Alpha. But when you said we'd cut ties with family, he suddenly wanted us to stay longer..."
Heinrich was an exceptional politician, masterful at reading people and situations. The owner hadn't hidden it well, and he'd spotted the tells easily.
Gavin nodded. After a pause, he said, "You're right about all that, but that's not what concerns me most."
He stopped at the roadside, turning to face Heinrich with an unusually grave look.
"No interstellar comms hubs, no starnet cafes. We can't send any signals to White Egret Star. No networked kiosks or electronic newsstands along the streets. Even that plaza we passed had no big screens playing galactic news."
"It's damn near impossible for people here to contact the outside world, let alone send messages to other planets. This isn't natural—it has to be deliberate control."
The two locked eyes on the street for a long moment. Heinrich understood.
"This is an isolated enclave," Gavin said. "Someone's cut these people off on purpose—no outside contact, no info on what's happening around them. It's no small feat. Whoever's behind it has some extraordinary agenda."