"Mommy, can you tell me the story of Nazurak again?"
A little girl asked, tucked snugly in bed.
"Haa~ again sweetie?" The mom glanced to the edge of the bed and grabs a stuffed animal to place within her daughter's arms.
A candle in the dark room flickered making the shadows dance against the walls.
"When the war was on going, there was a young man that started a journey, one so grand that he couldn't even begin to imagine taking part of. This is the story of Nazurak..."
***
"Farm 32! Stop slacking off and pick up the pace!" Said a man holding a spear wearing full plated steel armor.
Inside a large dome facility, enough to hold rows of different crops, stood a handful of humans tending to plants.
'Bastards, all they do is go around harassing us. I'm doing my best here! Others in this farm are either too young, too old, or don't have a helpful Soul Trait.'
Nazurak's usual job was to tend the sprouting seeds, his Soul Trait allowed him to transfer his own life essence into another. Doing this he is able to assist the plant in growing stronger, faster and heathier. It was the main reason why this company decided to buy him from his parents.
"E-excuse me Nazurak, can you help me with my part when you're finished? My back pain is worse today..." An old man said, his eyes looked drained of energy.
Nazurak stared at the old man for a couple of seconds feeling pity, rage and dejection.
"Sure Bill, don't worry about it, I'll help you when I'm done"
'This place...this damned place, they'll work anyone even an elderly to the bone and when they drop, they're replaced like nothing ever happened'
Companies known as harvesters buy humans based on their ability to work in the fields, in true sight though, they'll buy anyone so long as the price is low enough.
After finishing up fertilizing and tending the seeds with his Soul Trait, Nazurak proceeded to help Bill with harvesting the fruits til the task was completed.
Sitting down on a wooden log, Bill grabbed two cups and scooped out water from an open bucket handing one to Nazurak.
Accepting the cup, Nazurak grabs another log and plants it into the dirt.
"Thank you, Nazurak" the old man said sipping the water while looking up.
"Don't mention it" Nazurak followed his gaze, looking up at the large orange light that took up most of the dome's ceiling. "those artificial lights help the plants but for us they're nothing like the real deal huh?"
Bill scoffed
"The real deal...when was it that I last felt the sun on my skin" looking back at Nazurak he continued "Say, when did you first arrive here again? How'd you end up here?"
Staring down at his cup and lingering for a moment, Nazurak swirled the water like it was wine.
"Well there's not much to it, the war made us financially unstable and that's when the company arrived at our doorstep. It was as if they knew our situation and the perfect time to approach. Whatever kind of money they offered, I guess it was enough for my parents to accept..."
Bringing the cup to his lips he drank the water and continued.
"I left home and 4 years later here I am, 20 years old and still alive at least."
Bill looked at him with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry to hear, that's how it is for a majority of us. Goodness knows how long I've been here, was practically raised in these bubbles, only been moved to a different farm twice."
A silence took over for a few seconds...
"Anywho, we all appreciate you being here, your Soul Trait is extremely helpful. Now we can get by with enough food for everyone to eat. I bet the other farms you were in before here miss you dearly!"
Bill said while laughing.
Nazurak exhaled with forced a smile and lightly shook his head.
"Perhaps."
'Miss me...I wonder if my parents miss me too? Not that it matters anymore'
Getting rid of those thoughts he dug into his pocket, Nazurak pulled out an unripe apple he got while helping Bill harvest the fruits. Keeping all fingers on the apple and holding it with a firm grip. He closed his eyes and focused, moving life essence into the apple, turning it's color more red and slightly increasing it's size. This was his Soul Trait, transfer.
[Life essence 5/100]
'Hmm, I'm running low, they should have given me a parasite to feed on hours ago, I wonder what's the hold up'
Life essense resides inside all living beings, it gives them life and power. Centuries ago when humanity left Earth to explore the galaxy, they came across a beast like species. Soon they found out that somehow these beasts were nearly on every planet they visited. It was odd, how is it that they're so common throughout space? It was because of this, the humans named this species parasites.
As time continued to move forward, humans noticed characteristics about the parasites. They were not all the same, some are strong and hostile while others were non-aggressive minding their own business. The humans created a chart to help understand their threats. They follow:
Harmless
Hostile
Monster
Fiend
Demon
Mythical
They also found out when killing these parasites their life essence is transferred over to the hunter. This was a unique quality that only parasites seem to possess. In fact, it was the only known way to aquire life essence. Scientist have tried multiple times to understand why this is, their efforts though were to no avail.
Nazurak was about to take a bite from the apple, but before he could Bill was heard stuttering.
Seeing what just happened Bill raised his voice.
"W-What are yo-"
Eating crops was strictly forbidden, farmers are meant to hand over fresh fruits in exchange for man-made food that was a complete joke to even be called food.
Raising his hand in a quiet demeanor Nazurak whispered.
"Calm down It's fine, the guards are off duty. They were suppose to stop by hours ago to give me my daily life essence. But they haven't, I'm sure they won't come by until tomorrow."
Time passed and Nazurak ate his apple. The farmers got ready to sleep while the light above which differentiated between night and day turned off.
***
"Wake up farm 32!"
Shouted a guard standing firm with a spear in his hand. He was not alone, 6 guards wearing the same gear accompanied him into the dome.
The lights above switched on and the farmers groaned squinting their eyes. Scared and confused they all gathered together.
Once all the attention of the farmers were on them the guard shouted once again.
"We're looking for Nazurak, where is he!"
Hearing this, a cold shiver went down Nazurak's spine. He looked at his farm mates and they returned his gaze. Fingers were being pointed at him instantly.
Looking at his surroundings then looking down in defeat, he walked forwards.
"It's me..."
The guards wasted no time and grabbed him by the arm.
"Stop wasting our time and walk faster! You're coming with us"
Exiting the farm Nazurak walked in the center of the 6 guards.
"May I ask what this is about?" Nazurak questioned politely trying not to irritate them.
One of the guard glaced at his fellow partners then shrugged.
"You're transferring to the expedition platoons. They'll brief you on what planet you'll be exploring."
Another guard turned to Nazurak.
"In other words, you're as good as dead" he chuckled.
Sweat became visable on Nazurak's face. Why would they send him on an expedition? He's below average build and his Soul Trait wasn't cut out for exploring a new planet.
'No no no no, there has to be a mistake. I won't last a day out there' Nazurak screamed internally.
"I...I think this is a misunderstanding...you see my-"
Before he could finish his sentence, a sharp object was pressed against his back.
The guard behind him snickered.
"Quit your yabbering, this isn't a request. You're going there whether you like it or not."
After what seemed like hours of walking, but in reality only 10 minutes passed, they arrived at their destination. The area was a huge minimalistic square courtyard with a flat steel ground and a hallway attached to each wall. 18 farmers can be seen loitering, some standing and talking to others, while some were sitting down keeping to themselves. With the courtyard having no roof, the night sky can be seen.
'So it's still night huh? They couldn't wait until morning?' Nazurak thought.
His attention was focused in the center of the courtyard, protruding a foot from the ground was a hexagon flooring with computers to it's left side. Countless wires were running from underneath this platform to a small mainframe adjacent to the computer. It stood out like a sore thumb. No one was currently operating the machine. However there was a round man in uniform standing on the platform, tapping his foot constantly checking his watch and talking to other staff members that were close by.
Still standing at the entrance of the west hallway, one of the guards shoved him into the courtyard making him lose his balance falling to the ground. Paying little attention to Nazurak or the courtyard the guards turned around and left. Picking himself up and looking around, he saw some farmers glancing at him, luckily they stared at him indifferently, just taking note another farmer arrived.
The man standing on the platform clapped his hands, grabbing the attention of all the farmers.
"Great you're all here! Hello, my name is Griffin I'll be in charge of managing your expedition. The company has recently obtained coordinates for a newly discovered planet named Loctus in the Aberrant region."
Nazurak eyes widened.
Aberrants are a species that roam the galaxy, they are also currently at war with humans. What started as natural disagreement with territory, quickly accelerated to an all out war when the Aberrants found out the humans were killing parasites for life essence. Humanity tried to understand why they were upset, but the language barrier was too significant. The way their vocal cords were shaped also made it difficult for humans to mimic, vice versa for the Aberrants.
A man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing jean overalls raised his hand.
"Sir, we're farmers, why are you bringing us to a planet inside enemy territory?" The farmer asked nervously.
"Right, as of today you all are no longer farmers, but explorers. The 18 of you will be known as platoon 4, the other platoons will also be exploring the planet, just in different continents. Also please don't bother me with questions like why. Short answer is, I don't know. However I'm sure you'll all be fine! From the looks of it you all are in your prime so you'll have no trouble getting around out there. I'm simply hired to operate the warp drive and to tell you about the expedition" Griffin replied tapping his feet on the hexagon platform.
Looking around Nazurak observed the companions he'll be working with for who knows how long. It was true, they all looked under the age of 30 or so.
Griffin signaled his assistants and they started handing out to the explorers what looked to be a monocular.
"What you are receiving is called a threat scanner, it's use is quite simple, point it at parasites and it will calculate it's threat ranking. Simple yeah? Great, then let's continue to the briefing. Your platoon consists of 18 people, to cover more ground at a faster rate, you will be split into 6 groups of 3. Oh, and also"
Griffin signaled his assistants again, this time they brought out metal collars.
"This is called a life band, we will put it around your neck and it will show us your condition, whether you are thriving or dying we will know. You'll also be able to see your group members condition. Not to mention it will explode if you do not follow orders." Griffin tried to rush that last part but it did not go unnoticed by the explorers.
The atmosphere of the room was heavy, murmurs drifted around the courtyard.
Griffin's assistants went around attaching the metal collar as well has handing out threat scanners to those that didn't have one.
"Now that everyone has their life bands on, go ahead and pull out your threat scanner. You've already been assigned groups, find them through the scanner." Griffin instructed.
The explorers looked around then did just that. Nazurak brought his threat scanner to eye level and looked around. Looking through the monocular, he observed a compass that synchronized with his movements and was located on top of the viewfinder. Additionally, there were a few selectable buttons on the sides, including a night vision mode and a zoom feature. Eventually he found two people that were highlighted with a blue box. It even showed their names. Dylan and Sora.
Dylan was waving his whole entire arm in the air like the others couldn't see him. Nazurak simply rised his hand in acknowledgment. Sora slightly bowed her head. They grouped up and greeted each other.
It didn't take long for Sora and Nazurak to meet up as they were walking distance from each other. Dylan however was at the other side of the courtyard so they patiently stared at him while he sprinted across the whole court.
Dylan was first to open conversation.
"Hey guys! How you..doing?" He asked while trying to catch his breath.
'I think that's the fastest I've ran in a while...'
Dylan was the same person who asked Griffin a question at the start of the briefing. The scanner shows he is 24 years old and in optimal condition.
"Other than this surprise transferring, I'm doing fine." Nazurak replied
Through the scanners Nazurak was also in optimal condition, his aged showed 20. He has violet eyes with his hair push back dropping to his left ear.
"I'm okay" Sora said under her breath trying not to laugh at Dylan.
As expected, Sora also appears in optimal condition, her age showed 22. She has white hair with lavender eyes.
Griffin didn't give much time for the explorers to acquaint themselves and went on with the briefing.
"You all will be warped together with your groups in different areas around a region we named Forest Of Thorns. Our satellites picked up the torns in this region to be moving constantly. If you encounter it just choose a different direction to advance in or wait for it to pass by. You'll spend three months out there then return to update us on your findings. Any questions?"
Nazurak raised his hand.
"What do we do if we encounter an Aberrant since this planet is in their territory?"
This question got the attention of many explorers.
"Oh well you see the answer to that is simple. You hide and then report back to us. Once we know Aberrants are in the area all explorers are to return and the planet will be officially listed as Aberrant territory. In a case where you do lie about this, and there are no Aberrants on the planet, I can assure you there will be severe consequences."
Griffin waited for more questions but no one raised their hands.
"Great then! Let's get you all out there. How about we start with this group."
He pointed at Nazurak and his group.
"Come on up and stand on the platform."
Nazurak and his group did just that. He wanted to ask more questions like what to do if they encountered a high threat parasite but assumed he would give the same answer, to report back.
As Griffin started to input commands into the computer, the hexagon started to glow blue and a low humming frequency could be heard. The noise got louder and the light's radiance was almost blinding.
"Now remember! Stay away from the thorns! They are possibly very dangerous!" Griffin yelled trying to get that information to them.
But it was pointless, the humming noise completely blocked off everything Griffin was saying. Dylan looked at Griffin squinting his eyes, then shrugged.
Nazurak was following his mouth movements and was able to make out the word thorn.
'What the hell, why try to tell us information now?!' Nazurak frantically thought.
Before he could give Griffin a gesture, the light from the warp drive reached blinding. Gravity pulled to the center of the hexagon platform and oxygen seem to disappear for a split second. The light dimmed and the other explorers looked at the platform. Nazurak, Dylan and Sora were gone.
They had warped.