{pic at end}
Investigation team POV
[ what does the scanner read?] ask the team leader
[Sir it's all clear! No movement so far!] replied a soldier
[Then get this door open! I want to see what this slumbering piggy bank has in store for us!] said the team leader
Following their leader's instruction, the men pried open the badly bent and damaged door, as it opened to sparks and running fluid…
The men flash their lights to only regret it a few moments later, for the more squeamish of the members immediately turned and left the way they came, to puke violently into the forest floor.
Confused why the men came back out so quickly, he demanded an explanation! As the men told him what they saw he didn't believe it could be that bad, for his superiors told him it was supposed to be minerals of some kind and maybe something else.
But as he stormed in, he couldn't but help feel a little uneasy, for what the light could show was something that he could only describe as hell!
Blood, guts, limbs as far down as he could see! While his nose smelled like disembowelment! With walls painted in blood red, while people's faces frozen in time in fear! Well, the faces that were still attached to their heads!
[My god!] said the team leader with a pause then continued [light up this "slaughterhouse" use the flares if you must, but make sure we can see everything that goes on in there, and I do mean everything! And check for any survivors!]
As the men continued to slowly investigate the crashed bay, the team leader got back into his truck to contact his superiors
[This is garrison one, what is it, that you must report so soon Jack? Didn't you just get to the target location?] said the audio voice through the com
[Yes, and I will skip to the point, I have confirmed that the man named "Waltin" did indeed withhold information! He wasn't just transporting minerals but also slaves by the looks of it!] replied jack
[Slaves? How many and what kind?] replied the voice
[Beast-men by the looks of things! As for how many I don't know, I didn't count the bodies yet.] replied Jack
[Bodies?] replied the voice
[Yes, and by the looks of it they were all killed! And definitely not by human hands! For what I saw it was definitely the work of a beast!] replied Jack a little disgusted
[...] replied the voice
[Hello! You their garrison 1?] replied Jack
[Yes, sorry about that, continue to report anything you find suspicious!] over and out said the voice!
Confused by the sudden drop, Jack ignored it and continued to dive into the ship! But as he was in the ship:
Inside the garrison
[Get me that ship's flight analog! I want to know where it was last before it came here! I don't believe all the damage they received was from this "pirate attack" they told us about. I want to know what else they're trying so hard to hide from me!] commanded the man
[Yes, lord Ander!] yelled all the people in audience in the garrison
Meanwhile back at the crash site
[sir we found… what we think are eggs...] said a random soldier
[you think or you know?] replied Jack
[sir… I think it's better that you come see them yourself!] replied the soldier
[Them?] thought Jack to himself
As Jack stared at the opened eggs, he contemplated what could they possible be when one of his men said:
[Sir! There is a massive hole at the end of the cargo bay! And I must advise you to watch your step the area filled with this weird black gunk!] reported the soldier
As Jack stared at the hole, he noticed animal tracks of some kind that strove off into the surrounding wilderness. Noticing their leader interest into the track, the men asked:
[Sir, do you want us to follow these tracks?]
[No… we have accomplished our mission already… I would rather not risk our lives needlessly if I don't have to… besides that Waltin guy said he would clean up after himself so…] is all Jack said as he stared nervously into the woods.
Mr. Black short POV
[So... You said you saw them heading into the forest carrying people?] said the captain of the pirates
[Yes, I saw everything, including the fact that they were all uninjured, the monsters and the people they were carrying, but the people did have a weird thing on their face.] replied Mr. Black
[I see… continue to keep tabs on them but don't hunt them yet! Understood! And any useful information you bring back will be added to your pay!] replied the captain before turning off the coms
As Mr. Black turned off the coms he walked off into the woods, "vanishing" from sight.
Breder Pov
As Breder trucked through the woods, he noticed the change in color as the leaves about, weren't their usual green color like he had hoped. With concerning thoughts, he knew winter was coming!
[Great I just hope it doesn't snow a lot… wherever this place is…] thought Breder to himself
As he worried about the seasons, Layla was about to tell him something when he suddenly raised his hand in alertness! While listening closely he heard what he thought were the sounds of a battle just up ahead. Needing to check out the situation he had the others stay behind as he slowly watched the fight from the tree line.
But what he saw needed clarification, thus he had to have Elphe bring Layla to him though cautiously.
{Am I seeing this right? Are those arguments humans!} said Breder in much surprise
[Yes! But lucky for us their only rank 2 augmented!] said Layla with mild concern
{Their ranks?} said Breder
[umm... Where to start… sigh, I will give you the short version seeing as we should probably get out of here while they're still fighting that wolf bear beast] said Layla
[Alright the ranks go from 1 to 4, 4 being the strongest while 1 is just barely noticeable from a normal human. Seeing the group in front of us.
I'll say they're about rank 2, In short, they are either the children of very rich parents or noblemen and yes there is a distinction, you don't have to be a nobleman to be rich. Two, very prominent mercenaries or army officials.] said Layla with a pause
[If I had to choose, I would say noblemen, for I recognize that crest on their clothing anywhere! They have to be from house Ander!] said Layla with much surprise
{House Ander? How do you know them.} asked Breder
[Easy, as I said, augmentation is very expensive, so what do people do when they buy expensive things?
Well, they just have to show it off of course, plus they are considered "heroes" of humanity. Because of this you can't go anywhere without word spreading about their deeds] said Layla
{umm… "heroes' ' you say… anyway I get that the procedure is expensive but why didn't I see one back at the army base at the fallen star?} ask Breder
[Easy, not everyone can get augmented even if you're rich. Your body has to accept the change or…. Well let's just say best case you're crippled for life, worse case you die, mid case your come out a "freak" as humans put it.] said Layla
{I see so, argument humans are too rare to risk on the unknown huh, then what about rank 3 and 4?} said Breder
{Those are the extremes or the mutated! The only way to reach 3 or 4 is to have the procedure done as a baby! And I don't even need to say how high the death rate is for such a thing, it's over 90%.
With such a high death rate you can imagine not many people are willing to risk their children for such bad odds. Then let's not even mention the mutation risk] said Layla
{surely there a few, No.} replied Breder
[Of course, but those people either use orphan or slave children, they rarely risk their own! And if they do risk it on their own, they'll never, do it to the first born only the second or third, then if it succeeds… while let's just say it doesn't end well for the first child.] replied Layla
{I see… so if the "back up" child survives they replace the first born for inheritance… But why does their augmentation look so…} said Breder before being interrupted
[Janky and rusty compared to yours? Simple, the technology isn't that old, it's only been around for like 100 years now so, they "reuse parts" also you got yours from a god so... I don't think it fair to compare. But now that I think about it, they did appear shortly after the last two or so fallen stars! That explains why humans can finally use something similar to magic…] said Layla to the much shock Breder of what she just said without understanding the weight of her words
{Wait, you're telling me humans can't use magic in a magic filled world?} said Breder with mouth agape
[umm? Of course not! Humans don't have a mana stone inside them, that is why the augmented humans are called "heroes" while the mutated are called "unfortunate" because that is what powers their augments or mutations. It's also the cause for high death rates, after all you can't put what was meant for a dog into a human without risk.] said Layla to the shell shock Breder
{wait if what you say is true, then how did humans fight these monsters off before?} asked Breder
[well, not all beasts are mindless monsters, take yourself for instance...] said Layla
{Jeez...} said Breder
[sorry I mean no offense, just take is as an example] said Layla apologetic
{Ya… so these beasts… let me guess they interbred with the humans making beast-men?} replied Breder
[correct! And as you can see, well let's just say humans don't take kindly to what they perceive to be different once they no longer need something.] replied Layla with a downcast expression
{umm... I swear this just leads to more questions but... I think we stayed here long enough} replied Breder
As Breder turned to leave, he gave one last look at the noblemen fighting the bear wolf, when he felt the urge to "hunt... as his demeanor was changing, Layla asked
[Are you ok?] through worried eyes
{Ya... sorry... It's just that… this is the 2nd time…} replied Breder
[ 2nd time?] Thought Layla but, did not give voice to her words seeing that Breder didn't want to talk about it, as they walked deeper into the woods.