New beginning

"Mission log has been updated! Next location is - Eastern Islands of The Kazrath Empire. Task - data collection. Details available through ship's terminal," mechanical voice finished the report. Mormilla, a middle-aged female human, wasn't happy about it. "Ugh…Kazrath," she exclaimed. Being sent to The Kazrath Empire's region and dealing with its inhabitants is one of the most troublesome missions one can get.

Mormilla buttoned up her long coat. It used to be white, but through all these years it became grey. The dirtier coat the more respectable Scav. Scavs stand for Scavengers. These units have a special position in The Libelula Federation. They are the lowest of the lowest because Scavs are mostly humans or half-breeds. Or maybe it's the other way round, they are mostly humans or half-breeds because they are the lowest organization ran by the government.

Mornilla left Scav's Automatic Headquarters and headed to docks where her old rusty ship was parked. As she walked through dirty streets of the half-breed ghetto, she was thinking about how she became so miserable. She didn't have time to rest. If she stopped for few days to catch up on much-needed sleep, she would run out of money and probably die of hunger or die during a mission due to malfunctioning equipment. She couldn't recall when she slept for longer than two hours.

Why did she join Scavs, then? She didn't have any other option. Well, she had, but Mormilla wouldn't be able to get by on the street back in the times. Her father was a merchant and to show society his status he didn't give his children any practical education. The eldest inherited everything and Mornilla was kicked out. She hated her life and detested her late father.

Every newly trained Scavenger got a snow-white uniform, a real gun and shiny ship. The cost for all that is listed as a debt and high percentage of reward is taken back by the government. Only the best Scavs are able to pay it back at the end of their lives.

Scavs did the dirty job outside of the federation. Mormilla took off and set the course. Floating islands are always breathtaking, viewed from above, but she turned on an autopilot and fell asleep.

The Kazrath Empire is very conservative country. The whole population is formed by feline-like species, kazraths. Some of them are able to manipulate elements, so these magicians are royalty and manage the country. In The Libelula Federation, the governments and the highest levels of society are elves who practically enslaved other species who live shorter and are not as bright as them.

Mornilla woke up when she crossed the border. She flew manually since then, looking out for kazrath patrols. She was considered hostile here. The mission was to find missing Scav. Every ship has a tracker, so Mornilla had the ship's location. The man's file was interesting. During several missions, he behaved too benevolently and not violently enough according to reports.

The island where she headed to was distinct and quite high. A massive cloud was covering the whole area. Mormilla slowed down. Normally, she would turn on the lights, but she had no idea what or who awaited her in the mist. Suddenly, a huge rock appeared from a white wall. She stamped on the braking pedal. The tip of the stone was within reach of a hand.

The tracking system started to beep furiously. The ship was above. On the top of this flying cliff. This object didn't deserve to be called an island. It was small and lifeless. Mormulla carefully maneuvered under it looking for a way to float upwards when a strong blow of wind cleared the sky.

Hundreds and hundreds of tiny islands and floating rocks filled the scenery. Yet, the rock that had Mormulla'S attention was a decent island. She could safely land without any risk of sudden descent of the mass. The surface was light grey stone, a flystone, formed into bizarre shapes. She got out of the ship. The gun prepared in her hand. She kept an open connection with the ship's terminal thanks to her mask, so it could lead her through a rocky forest to find the lost ship.

The tracker directed her to a narrow cave entrance. The hole was too small to fit a ship in. A thought of a trap appeared in Mormulla's mind. She switched on a flashlight. Stairs? Why are stairs here? She moved carefully forward. The mask wrote that connection is lost all over the view. "Damn thing!" Mormilla stripped the mask and threw it into the darkness. One wrong move, one moment of distraction and she can be dead.

The staircase ended with open space filled with scrap metal. At first glance, it looked like scrap metal, but when she had a closer look she found all different pieces of elven technology, Gratarrlac weaponry or even kazrath charms. The only thing this "junk" has in common was that it's valuable.

This hidden cave has to be pirates' den. What else? Even though they are hunted, they are really free, realized Mormilla. What would I do if I had the courage and energy to rebel? She almost forgot why she came. Somewhere in this collection is a ship's tracker. The original owner was dead, most probably. The grotto was surprisingly large. It was more likely a labyrinth.

She didn't hear a single step. She didn't know she wasn't alone anymore. Human senses are limited. "Did you get lost?" whispered mysterious voice behind her. Her Scav's reflexes kicked in. She turned on heel and pointed the gun in the direction where the voice came from, but a furry hand hit from the darkness and the gun flew across the room. The flashlight went off. 

"What are you looking for, tiny human?" He was kazrath, they can see in the dark, but she was blinded. 

"They sent me to find one of my own," there was no point in lying. She was sure, she would get killed anyway. 

"But you do not respect them, do you?" 

She remembered the faulty mask. Do I have a chance? "Why would I? They enslaved my species." 

"You are not lost to them. If you join us, you can hurt them. Badly." 

"I hate elves as every human in The Libelula Federation!" 

"But it will not be easy, we have to make sure you are a real traitor." 

"If I have at least four hours of sleep every day, I'll do anything." 

"Excellent, you can fill the position of our friend who was killed by the other Scav." Strong, yet soft hand grabbed her arm and led her through the darkness to the light.

Author's Note

This is actually the second time I wrote in English. Is it readable?