• Location: Public Services Ring, New Kourou
• Address: NE Public Services Ring Road 4
• Surroundings: Nestled between the Pharmacy of New Kourou and New Horizon Funeral Services

Schmitz Funeral Home was the first ExoHuman funeral parlor on VOI 700 D, founded in early 2626 by twin brothers Ernest and Joe Schmitz. Both had survived the crash of the Last Frontier and initially shared the belief that settlers needed a dignified, Earth-like burial tradition to anchor themselves in the new world.

But unity lasted only a few weeks. The brothers disagreed on everything: the design of the building, the philosophy behind funerals, the level of tradition versus innovations — and even how much light should fall into a mourning hall.

The conflict escalated until Joe made a dramatic decision: He tore down the old Hoo stable at the right hand side of the shared property and used the ground to build a new, two-storey funeral home, which he named New Horizon Funeral Services. White-painted container walls, bright interiors, and an almost clinical optimism — everything Joe valued and everything Ernest rejected.

From that moment on, the Schmitz twins were competitors.

Ernest kept the original half of the property and the funeral home they had built together. The business continues to operate under his preferred philosophy of solemn reverence and dark, wood-scented spaces, while Joe’s New Horizon next door represents the opposite: light, renewal, and modernity.

• Construction Material: Charred starship bulkheads, burnt alloy ribs, and soot-stained deck plating; interior lined with reclaimed, polished cabin wood. The building’s façade is clad in burn-scarred hull plates salvaged from the Last Frontier, a visual “bridge” between life and the fiery crash that began the Beta Age.
• Floors: 1½ (main floor + loft-storage mezzanine)
• Design Purpose: Evoke solemn respect; dark exterior contrasts warmly lit, wood-scented interior.

Main Floor

• Reception & Waiting Alcove: Butler-configured desk, condolence ledger, small tea urn.
• Laying-Out Rooms (3): Each curtained, candle-lit space accommodates up to ten mourners; adjustable stasis mats keep remains cool.
• Coffin Workshop: Rear chamber where bespoke Morningstar cedar coffins are planed and stained.
• Body-Prep Suite: Wash table, simple embalming rack, and salvaged medical lighting.
• Public W.C.: AuroraSan toilet & hand-wash basin.

Loft Mezzanine

• Stock Storage: Spare coffin panels, linens, and flowers grown in hydroponic trays.

Exterior Yard (rear of main building)

• Hoo Stable: Small two-stall shelter with straw bedding, feed bins, and a rain-catch cistern; sized for the black-coated Hoos that pull the funeral cart.
• Cart Shed: Lean-to structure adjoining the stable; houses the black coffin cart, harness racks, and a basic repair toolkit.

Inside smells of wood shavings, wax, and faint incense. Dim lanterns reflect off blackened hull panels, turning scars from the crash into delicate patterns. Soft string music — broadcast nightly from Weber Broadcasting — floats through hidden speakers. Despite the somber business, the space feels calm, almost hopeful, encouraging mourners to speak of new beginnings as much as endings.

• Ernest Schmitz (Owner / Mortician): Oversees every service; mediates family disputes; prides himself on perfect coffin joinery.
• Body Preparers (2): Clean and dress remains; manage stasis mats.
• Coffin Carpenter (1): Crafts and engraves custom motifs (stars, family crests).
• Cart Driver / Hoo Handler (1): Guides the black cart to Horizon’s Rest; doubles as cemetery liaison.
• Cleaning Bot (1): Nightly sterilises prep suite and sweeping floors.

Public Access: By appointment; walk-ins accepted for emergencies 8 AM – 8 PM.

Service Windows:

• 8 AM – 12 PM: Body preparation & coffin carpentry
• 12 PM – 6 PM: Viewings in Laying-Out Rooms
• 6 PM – 8 PM: Procession to New Horizon’s Rest Cemetery

• Locked Entries: Front and rear doors are secured outside business hours; only Ernest and the Cart Driver carry physical keys.
• Guarding Trooper Patrols: Ring patrols of the Guarding Troopers pass the parlor regularly, checking doors and perimeter.
• Cart Yard Gate: Hoo stable and cart shed padlocked nightly; key shared with the Cart Driver.
• Owner’s Windstrike Rifle: Ernest keeps a loaded Windstrike Rifle locked in his office cabinet for last-resort defense.

Legal interactions:

• Commission a Coffin: Custom symbol or hidden compartment for smuggling.
• Attend a Wake: Gather intel, eavesdrop on grieving NPCs.
• Escort a Procession: Protect mourners from bandits or wildlife en route to Horizon’s Rest.

Illegal interactions:

• Exhume Evidence: Sneak in after hours to inspect a corpse before burial.
• Sabotage Rivalry: Persuade Ernest or Joe to undercut the other — social-intrigue subplot.

• Use the parlor for quiet, emotional beats or as the start of darker mysteries.
• A body shows unexplained nanite scars—murder, not accident?
• Ernest’s burned hull façade draws protest; sabotage threatens to ignite volatile alloys.
• Rival brother Joe bribes PCs to steal Ernest’s prized Morningstar cedar supply.

• Beta Age
• Free State of Settlers
• New Kourou
• New Horizon’s Rest Cemetery
• New Horizon Funeral Services
• Exhohuman Funeral Rites of the Beta Age