Chapter 1

            “Just, send me to a deserted sector! I can’t- I can’t possibly be expected to compete with them!”

             They shoved the man back into the tube and he frantically tried to claw out.

            “Please!” he shrieked. “I can’t. I can’t.” He began to sob. “They’re murderers!”

            The guards showed no pity for the man, roughly pushing him back inside.

            “But I’m innocent!”

            They slammed the door in his face and he beat on the metal container, slowly sinking to his knees.

            There was nothing to be done now. In a few moments he would be on the surface. They would see his tear stains, they would be violent. He could very well die in the next hour.

            Jack anxiously tried to piece together everything he knew about his destination. It wasn’t much. He thought about a school lecture he’d had on the place years ago.

 

            “It’s very chaotic on the surface. Completely unorganized, constant fighting,” the professor had said, his back turned towards the students. He finished his drawing of Reya beside one of the Core Planet. “It is the same size as our planet, but far more deadly.”

            He raised his hand, but the professor pretended not to notice. Pushing back his glasses, he shouted out, “Professor Omega!”

            With a sigh, he answered, “Yes, Jack?”

            “What exactly makes the place so lethal?”

            He rolled his eyes. “Jack, please try to stay on topic.”

            “But-”

            “That’s enough, Jack. Now please, no more interruptions or you will not be welcome back into this classroom.”

            Snickers erupted quietly around the room.

            He looked to his left at Genevieve for help, but she stayed silent as always. Her brow knitted in concentration, and a faraway look crossed her eyes and stayed there until class ended. As they left, she muttered to him.

            “It’s got to be pretty bad for them not to say. Surely they would know…” she trailed off, then glanced suspiciously around her.

            “It would have to-”

            “Nevermind,” she mumbled, walking briskly away.

            As he tried to call after her, he was roughly shoved to the ground and his glasses flew from his face.

            “Move it, four eyes.”

            “I’d like to see you sent to Reya.”

            “Wouldn’t survive a day.”

            They made their passing comments and hurried on, leaving Jack blinded on the ground. He scrambled around for his glasses, but when he finally found them, they were crushed.

 

            He couldn’t help but think of the day, long passed. He would see now. He would be able to feel for himself what it was like, how the environment really was. If he lived long enough, that is.

            He felt the surface rising underneath of him and he fell back. Traveling at an incredible speed, alone, he zipped towards the strange planet. His stomach heaved and he began to worry he would pass out. He couldn’t let that happen. They’d kill him for sure.

            The ride would be extraordinarily quick. This much he knew. He tried to focus on the first step. Once landed, he needed to get away from the pod, fast. Surely they would see him coming. Possibly one or two men would be there to kill him right off. He needed to get out before they expected it. He needed to be one step ahead of them at all times.

            The pod began to stabilize and he knew it’d landed. The face opened up and light spilled inside, blinding him for a moment. As the metal back of the pod moved forward, his bravado melted and he was shoved out onto the ground. He fell on his knees, shaking, and heard the pod take off behind him. Small rocks dug into his palms and his knees. Plans of escape immediately left his mind. They were easy to ignore amongst the panic that began to consume him. He took slow breaths and forced himself to acknowledge his situation. He recognized shadows around him, but was too afraid to look up.

            “Just going to lie there all day, are you?” came a brutish voice.

            Laughs erupted all around. He felt surrounded.

            Slowly, he raised his head and looked up at the man that appeared to be the leader of the group around him. There had to be at least thirty people. His first thought was that there was no way he would have been able to get away from this group. Then an itching feeling crept up in the back of his mind. Unorganized?

            Someone grabbed his arm and brought him to his feet. Still stunned, he took in the group, mostly men, all menacing. Bloodthirsty? Maybe. But something gave him the feeling that it wasn’t his blood they wanted.

            They dressed in normal clothes, probably the same ones they were arrested in. Just another way that Reya was a plus for the government, no payment for uniforms. Each person was covered in the reddish brown dirt that coated the ground. He couldn’t tell which smell was more prominent, body odor or the soil. Several of the people had nasty scars, especially the older ones. One man had a thick mark across his face, corner to corner.

            The first man, the one who had spoken, seemed to have few scratches, and it wasn’t hard to imagine why. His large and intimidating build made the rest seem weak. He shoved a club into Jack’s hand.

            “No time for pleasantries, we’ve got a war to start. Might want to learn how to use that.”

            He shoved past him and the group slowly began to disperse, all making their way off to his right. Several small, rickety buildings stood there and more people wandered around the area. From a distance there appeared to be at least a hundred people, maybe even two or three times that amount. Meaning the group that had originally greeted him was only a small portion of those living here. Still, he was guessing there were other places people were dropped in. A few hundred people must only be a tiny percentage of the population of Reya. He wondered how they had managed to build the the structures. Looking around, he saw only what he had to describe as a desert, although the dirt seemed reddish. Completely flat landscape, not a tree in sight.

            “Ground trees,” a voice said from behind him, as if guessing what he was thinking.

            The sound made him jump. When he turned around he saw a woman. Short red hair tied up, thin, black clothing smeared with the reddish-brown dirt. About his height. He looked at her curiously. The rest of the people had cleared out, leaving them alone.

            She looked him up and down, as if taking a quick assessment of him. Short, disheveled brown hair, crazed look. He involuntarily pushed the hair out of his eyes and tried to make himself look slightly less bewildered. He probably wasn't making a very good first impression.

            “You seem awfully jumpy for someone that’s been sent here,” she said.

            The comment angered him, and he opened his mouth to tell her that he was wrongfully convicted and shouldn’t be here in the first place, but decided better of it. Whatever strange unity the people had adopted was probably based on the assumption that they were all supposed to be here.

            Instead he said, “What is a ground tree?”

            She walked a few feet away, and he followed behind her, dragging his club which felt useless in his hands. They came across what he first thought was a bush, the way it was low to the ground, but stepping back he saw it was, in fact, a tree. The trunk laid against the ground, the branches press against the dirt like it was a life source. The leaves were scarce, but it was undoubtedly tree-like.

            “Don’t give up much oxygen, but it’s enough to live by. What do they care if we die anyway!” She screamed the last part, as if the people back on the humans’ main planet could hear her.

            He decided to change the subject. “So I don’t have to worry about people killing me in my sleep, do I?”

            She gave him a brief glare, then dropped to the ground and swept his leg out from under him. He fell on his back, and all the air from his lungs escaped. Righting herself into a crouched position, she whipped out a knife and held it threateningly up to his neck.

            Instinctively, he kicked at her left leg and her stomach, sending her flying to one side, but she rolled and popped back onto her feet, holding the knife out defensively.

            After a brief pause, she slipped her knife back into her belt. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t get in the way.”

            Jack began to wonder what exactly he was getting himself into. He was welcomed with the idea of war, then attacked after asking only a few simple questions. Still, he didn’t have so much as a scratch so he was already doing a lot better than he’d planned. It’s not like he had much of a choice in his relocation anyway.

            He got up and brushed the dirt off of himself best he could, scowling. “What is all this about a war, anyway?”

            “Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, grinning. “We’re attacking the Core Planet.”

            “Impossible.” He let the words spill before thinking. “Even if you could get back, the army there has a hundred times as many people as there are on this whole planet, at least.”

            He regretted his words as soon as he said them. He needed to be on their side. This was their turf and the last thing he needed was their disapproval.

            “We don’t need to take it over. We just need to do damage.” She looked him up and down. “Look, if you’re so interested in the war, just make sure you don’t miss the meeting tonight.”

            “What meeting?”

            “Cedric-the one who gave you your weapon- is the leader of this sector of the planet. He’s meeting with the other sector leaders in less than an hour. Afterward, he’s calling a group meeting to discuss the progress of the war.”

            It took Jack a second to process the information. He’d never learned anything about the organization of Reya, mostly because no one on Core thought it was organized, but he figured that no one here would want to sit him down and explain it to him, so it was probably better to just go with it.

            “Which sector is this?” he asked.

            “Sector one. Primary command of war efforts. Our little town, village, cluster of buildings, whatever you want to call it, is the main group of this sector.”

            He paused. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to be in the war sector, but he supposed it could be worse.

“What’s your name?”

            She grinned and started walking off towards the shelters. “It’s Robin,” she called over her shoulder.

            He jogged to catch up with her. She wasn't much, but she was all he had at the moment, and he didn't think she would try to kill him.

            "My name is Jack," he introduced himself.

            "How nice to meet you Jack," she said, but her voice was absent of excitement, and he could tell her mind was already preoccupied with other things. She walked very fast and he found himself in the position of having to catch up with her constantly.

            "Busy?" he asked her.

            "Every slow step is another second of your life wasted." She explained, still walking briskly. "Wouldn't want to waste your life anymore than you already have, would you?"

            He tried to ignore the insulting commentary. "Where are we going?"

            "Around. There are places you should see and people you should meet."

            She approached a man sitting in a wheelchair. He had short white hair that protruded at odd angles and a beard to match.                     

            “It’s Ealadhach to you,” the man said with a suspicious scowl.

            “This is Eel. He… invents things,” Robin told Jack skeptically.

            “That’s right,” he confirmed. “Built plenty of things in my life. All I really need now is to die so I can go down in history for one of them.”

            His voice came out scratchy and to Jack’s surprise, he stood up.

            “Built this wheelchair myself. None others like it. One of a kind.” He eyed Jack again. “Want to know why it’s so special, boy?”

            It was all Jack could do to nod.

            He leaned in close to Jack and whispered loudly, “It can fly!"

            “Oh please,” Robin cut in, laughing. “It cannot.”

            “Oh yeah? Want to try it out yourself?” Eel countered.

            “I think you might want to sit down,” Robin said. “Miss your meds much?”

            He scowled back at her. “The government-” he paused and turned to Jack instead, “the government uses that stuff to subdue and track their people. They probably have trackers implemented in even the most remedial drugs by now!” he yelled, dropping back into the wheelchair.

            “Come on, let me show you where the meeting is, Jack.”

            They walked away from Eel still brooding about the government spying on its people.

            She walked to the other end of the settlement and stood at the edge of a large amphitheater that appeared to be carved into the ground. There were about ten rows of seats and a small stage set in the bottom.

            “We call it the Ditch,” she told him.

            “Wow, this must have taken forever!” he exclaimed.

            “Oh? Didn’t think a bunch of prisoners could come together to create something?” she said with a slight bitterness.

            He looked at her curiously, “Why are you defending them?”

            “They’re us,” she said simply, walking off again.

            Jack couldn’t help thinking that he wasn’t one of them, but he supposed he’d have to live the rest of his life pretending he was, so it didn’t really matter.

            Before he had the chance to respond, Robin called out, “Cedric!”

            She walked quickly over to a passerby. Jack recognized him as the leader who had greeted him earlier.

            “Robin, hello. I was just heading off to the sector meeting. If anyone needs anything while I’m gone, just have them ask Razor,” he told her, motioning to the man standing next to him.

            A strange feeling crept into Jack. The man, Razor, looked familiar. By the look on his face, he recognized Jack from somewhere as well. He was young, probably mid-twenties, like Jack. He had short black hair that was spiked. He couldn’t help but wonder what he was using for gel since all Jack had seen of the planet appeared very dry. He had several piercings, three in each ear and one in his nose. His eyes were blue but strangely dark, so much so that the color was hard to distinguish.

            In contrast, Cedric was probably in his late thirties and bald yet was very stocky in stature. Jack could imagine him overtaking any of the men-or women-he’d seen so far so it was easy to imagine why he would be picked for the leadership position.

            “Just thought Jack should meet you before you head out,” Robin explained.

            “I assure you, there are much more important things to be done than to get to know every lost soul you find, Robin,” Razor said.

            “For a revolution to work, you need people, Razor. Or did you plan on just executing it completely by yourself?” she snapped back.

            “Oh, I prefer the term slaughter,” he replied coolly, glancing sinisterly at Jack, then focusing on Robin. “Don’t you think that would be more accurate?”

            She held his gave for a moment before turning back to Cedric. “Good luck at the meeting, we’ll see you tonight.”

            With that, Cedric bid them farewell and hurried off. Jack watched for a moment as he walked straight out into the desert. He stopped about a hundred feet away, hesitated, and adjusted his direction, hurrying on his way.

            “If this is a war meeting, shouldn’t it be held here?” Jack inquired.

            “Locations of the meetings switch, regardless of the topic. Besides, most of them have been about war lately,” she answered, then walked off without further comment, heading into the nearest building.

            As Jack turned to follow her, Razor slammed his palms into Jack’s chest, sending him flying to the ground. He pulled out a misshapen gun. Jack’s eyes widened and for a second he thought he would be shot. Then he realized the end looked melted shut and felt slightly relieved. But it was not only shut, it was sharpened to a point like a knife. Razor knelt down, one knee resting on Jack’s chest, not allowing him to get up and barely allowing him to breathe. He pressed the blade into Jack’s neck. Panic slowly began to overtake Jack but he tried to remain looking calm, hoping the man wouldn’t take it too far.

            “Don’t think I don’t recognize you. You’re working for them. Whatever it is you’re really here for, I’m going to find out,” he spit. Then he backed off and slinked away.

            Jack lay on the ground for a moment in shock. Apparently whatever memory he had with Razor was not a happy one. He took a deep breath and sat up. Already Razor was lost in the swarm of people bustling about. He stood quickly, alarmed with the feeling that he would be attacked at any moment. Yet no one even seemed to notice he was there.

            He walked reluctantly into the crowd, wanting to follow Robin but unsure about entering any of the buildings.

            “I saw that,” a voice sang out to his right.

            He turned to see a woman with graying hair smiling crookedly at him. She had hunched posture and wore a long robe.

            “You could use something, dearie,” she said with the same creaking yet happy voice that suggested some sort of insanity clogged her brain. She leaned in close to him, “Or do you want to be gutted in the middle of the night?” As she said this, she poked him in the stomach with a small spear.

            He backed away a little, not able to tell if it was said in good fun or seriousness.

            “How about this?” she said, pulling out a stick with intricate carvings that was sharpened to a point. She looked at him innocently. “What, you don’t recognize it? This is your club, I just freshened it up a bit for you, dearie. Unless… you don’t want it?” she asked, friendlily tapping him with her spear.

            He resisted the urge to step out of the way, or better yet, to run, and gingerly took the stick from her.

            “Where did you get it?” he asked, looking at it curiously.

            “You left it out near your pod-landing site. Quite irresponsible of you, I must say.”

            “Thank you, uh, do you want something for it?” He desperately felt in his pockets. “I don’t really have anything.”

            “Oh, it’s fine, dearie, I’m sure you’ll make it up to me eventually,” she said. She opened her robe to reveal many little hooks attached on the inside with small paraphernalia hanging on them, anything from paper clips to hand-made knives. “Let me know if you find anything I could put in my collection.”

            With a final goodbye, he backed into the crowd. He collided with a short burly man who shoved him out of his way into another man, starting a series of rough shoves that ended with Jack on the ground. On hands and knees, he crawled to the edge of the large pathway as fast as he could in an attempt to minimize the number of kicks to the stomach he received. When he reached the end of the building, he collapsed against it.

            Shortly afterward, Robin appeared out of the crowd. “There you are!” she exclaimed. Looking at his condition, she commented, “Gosh, I can’t leave you alone for one second, can I?”

            He gave her a weak smile and she hoisted him to his feet.

            Noticing the stick in his hand, she said, “I see you’ve met Mad Martha.”

            “Yeah, and what a pleasant meeting it was,” he said sarcastically, tucking the weapon into his belt.

            “Time to show you to your sleeping quarters,” she announced.

            “Really?”

            “Well, actually there’s not really any room left in terms of a bed, so you can sleep almost anywhere you want. Inside the shelter would probably be safest though.”

            “Lead the way.”

            Robin led him through the crowds, weaving towards the building across from them.

            For the first time, Jack got a good look at it. The constructions appeared to be made out of twigs from the ground trees but was secured together with some kind of resin. Loud voices filled the room inside.

            “Coming or not?” Robin said impatiently from the doorway.

            He nodded cautiously and walked inside.

            A man standing near the entrance noticed them and spoke.

            "Ah. 'Ello Robin. Don't see you 'round 'ere much anymore."

            "Hey Branner. How's it been?"

            "Just fine. Been years since we've spoken, ya know."

            This seemed odd to Jack. He couldn't help but wonder just how long Robin had spent on Reya. They didn't send kids to the planet, but she could have come right after she entered adulthood.

            "Jobs rule life here just as much on the Core."'

            He chuckled, "And you would know." The man seemed to notice him there then and gave Robin a questioning look and said, "Bringing one by yourself?"

            "Some require it," she responded. Then to Jack she said, “Well, have fun." She slipped out, leaving him alone.

            Well, not technically alone. Thirty pairs of eyes locked on him and the room grew deadly quiet. Branner mumbled something and stepped back into the crowd, blending into the group of men. A tall man stepped forward and slapped Jack on the shoulder.

            With a strange accent he said, “’Ey mate. It’s Gumer but you call me Gum. Come to spill some blood?”

            Since Robin's departure the whole room seemed to transform from a group of friends to a menacing gang. Jack felt too terrified to answer.

            The man laughed. “’Course you are. That’s what we’re all ‘ere for!”

            The rest of the men yelled in agreement.

            “Just don’t touch where the rest of us sleep or you’ll be dead by morning,” he assured him.

            Another man walked up. “Unless we decide to keep you alive and cut you up piece by piece,” he said threateningly.

            "S'right Smithy," Gum answered.

            They all laughed once more.

            “This is my bed,” Gum said, collapsing onto the nearest bed. It appeared to be made of more finely chopped pieces of the wood, dead leaves, dirt, and lots of resin.

            “That bed’s mine today, Gum," a third person said, appearing out of the back.

            “Who said?”

            “Ets mine on Thursdays.”

            “Et ain’t Thursday.”

            Gum bolted up from the bed and socked the man in the face.

            He retaliated with a swift kick to Gum's stomach, knocking him into a giant man behind him. The man grabbed a short man nearby and threw him at the kicking man, but missed horribly. The man hit another's legs sending them both crashing into a bed.

            Others began to break out in arguments of their own and soon everyone was in a fight with someone. The man that had threatened Jack just a moment earlier, Smithy, surged at him and knocked him against the wall. A little dazed, Jack grabbed the man's shoulders and knee-kicked him in the stomach, then ducked under his arms and fled the room, deciding then it would be safer outside the shelters.

            He spotted Robin in the building next door and hesitantly went inside.

            “Find somewhere to sleep?” she asked him without watching him approach.

            "I found somewhere not to sleep," he answered, rubbing the back of his head.

            She stood in front of a makeshift counter looking at the objects hanging on the walls. Everything from shivs to rocks littered the room. Jack recognized the man behind the counter from when he first landed. He was the man with the long scar.

            “Jared,” the man said, extending a hand to Jack.

            “Jack,” he responded, shaking the man’s hand.

            Jared was old, probably around seventy, one of the few his age. Although the scar would lead you to believe he was malicious in nature, Jack already liked him better than the other men he’d met so far. He was taller than Jack without being a giant, and had very short, dark gray hair.

            “Your shop reminds me of Mad Martha,” Jack commented.

            “Yes, but I have things people may actually want, and there’s no need to sell your soul to purchase something,” he assured him.

            Jack ran his fingers along the counter. "Must be hard to make anything here."

            "That's why this sector's population is so much smaller than the other ones. So much harder to build anything," Jared explained.

            "Flat ground and weather's perfect for combat training though," Robin reminded him.

            They smiled as if remembering some long ago day.

            "Still," he said, "Nothing to kill here."

            "Right you are."

            Jack looked around a bit more at the items scattered around the room. An impressive array of knives lined the wall to Jack’s right. They seemed not only real but new.

            Noticing his interest, Robin said, “Many came armed. You’re not technically supposed to, but too many slip by with weapons for the authorities on the Core Planet to be oblivious to it.” After a moment of pause, she said, “Come on, I’ll show you where you can get some food.”

            His stomach rumbled and for the first time he realized how hungry he was. Bidding Jared goodbye, she led him out of the building and across the center road (although road was a much too civilized term for it) and stood in front of a massive building. Well, massive in comparison. It was triple the size of the rest.

            “Storage, preparation, and serving,” Robin explained, “The food is stored to the far left, prepared in the middle, and served here.” She walked into the right-most door. “This is Henry, he serves the food,” she said, walking up to the counter.

            “Just don’t blame me for how it tastes. I make no promises there. Not my job.”

            “Where does the food come from? I haven’t seen one edible object since I’ve been here,” Jack said, flustered.

            “Starvation. Heat stroke. Dehydration,” Henry told him. “That’s what gets ya in this sector. It’s like they designed the place for killing.”

            “But no one’s designed this planet,” Robin put in brusquely.

            “You believe the rumors then?” he questioned her, pouring some strange soup into a couple of bowls.

            “What else have we got to believe in?” she said sharply.

            He handed them the bowls. “Believe in going on living. That’s enough for me.”

            Robin walked brusquely away without responding and Jack followed quickly behind her. Once outside, he said, “What was that about?”

            She continued walking without answering him, past the buildings and out into the emptiness. After a few minutes she stopped and sat down.

            A moment passed and she said, “There’s something you should know about this planet.”

            “What? You mean there’s more than just prisoners, starvation, conflict, and war?”

            She glared at him.

            He grew quiet, knowing he was getting a little too pushy.

            “It doesn’t matter who you throw in here. It’s almost like the planet wants to be uninhabited. This planet is much like the Core, I guess. Different types of places. Different environments.” She crinkled her brow a bit and he couldn’t help but think of Genevieve, the way she looked when she thought about Reya. “Just here each new environment represents a new threat. I mean, it’s a lot more severe than on the Core." She paused, almost unsure.

            “So here we have no food, water, or shelter. What’s worse than that?”

            “Picture beasts ripping off your limbs or temperatures so low your fingers fall off.”

            He studied her face. She stared off into the distance as if reliving these things in that moment.

            “Are you okay?”

            She looked down at her hands. He thought he saw tears in her eyes.

            “I’ve never seen the other sectors. But I feel like I know what they’re like. Or at least, that I should know what they’re like.”

            With that, she stood up and walked away, clearly not wanting to be followed.

            He decided that now would be a good time to find somewhere to sleep. He certainly wouldn’t want to be caught looking for somewhere when night hit. After looking around for a few minutes, he settled on the side of the kitchen, near the back. He leaned against the wood and closed his eyes.

            He silently said goodbye to his old life, although could not stop himself from wondering how he could have been wrongly convicted. The word framed came to his mind. But who would frame him? And why? He’d done nothing wrong.

            He yawned and stretched out on the dirt. He lay against one of the small buildings. He hoped it never got very cold at night, figuring outside would suit him just fine as long as the temperatures were moderate. And maybe he was still a little afraid of the rest of the prisoners. No one had asked him why he was there, and he didn’t dare ask them. Some could easily have been killers, while others had obviously been sent for extreme cases in other areas like fraud, conning, or something of that sort. They just didn't have the right look about them.

            Although he hadn't been planning on the nap, eventually sleep conquered his emotionally wrecked body and he dozed for a few hours.

            The meeting began at dusk. Cedric returned looking worn yet excited and immediately everyone was ushered into the amphitheater. Being confined to one area with the rest of the criminals did not seem like a thrilling idea to Jack, but it seemed he had no other choice.

            He stood on the right side at the top next to Eel. After a brief conversation with him Jack decided Eel was less crazy than he had first guessed. Robin seemed to be avoiding him. She stood on the very bottom on the left side, as far away from him as she could be.

            He couldn’t understand why she was excited, almost passionate, about Reya and the war. She didn't seem as drawn to conflict or plain crazy as the rest.

            “She tell you yet?” Eel asked him suddenly, noticing his faraway gaze.

            “Tell me what?” he questioned.

            “Well, that’s a no if I ever heard one,” he responded, looking back towards the center stage.

            “What? No, what do I not know?”

            “Shhh,” he replied. “It’s about to start. Hush up now, don’t be rude.”

            “Is there something I should know? About Robin?”

            He glanced back at Jack, as if just now noticing he was there. “If there’s anything you should know about Robin, it’s that she’s not like the rest of us.”

            Obviously, he thought. There was something he couldn't put his finger on. “Not like the rest of us how?”

            “I got sent here for treason,” he paused. “You know, the government is always spying. I mean this is all seriousness. You try to spy on them, or blow up a headquarters, or refuse to take part in their shenanigans and this is where it takes you.”

            “I don’t understand what this has to do with Robin.”

            “Exactly! Because she isn’t like me and you.” He gave Jack a strange look and turned his attention back to the stage.

            Just as Jack was about to respond, Cedric’s voice rose from below.

            “You may know,” he began. “That this evening there was a meeting among the sector leaders to determine possible war plans.”

            At the word war cheers broke out through the crowd. Well, more like screams and calls for blood. Close enough to cheering.

            "Located in Sector 5. Never been so happy to return to this wasteland in my life. Now I remember why we got stacks of jackets in storage even though you'd sweat like a pig wearing one here."

            This received a few chuckles from the crowd and slight confusion from Jack. He thought he could guess what killed people in Sector 5.

            “Now, down to business. You all may have heard some rumors of our tactics for the attack on the Core. You are probably wondering what makes us think that Reya could possibly stand a chance against those people. I will tell you how!”

            Loud, deafening screams rang out. Jack was glad he wasn't seated down below where the people were more tightly packed. Seeing everyone together, Jack guessed more like five hundred people lived in this sector group.

            “The people of the Core Planet are weak! They have sent their strongest here and have planned for us to be barbarians. They cannot conceive of the power of Reya!”

            The people stood up and chanted.

            “Reya! Reya!”

            Razor rose from his seat on the stage and calmed the crowd.

            The unity of those around him was interesting to Jack, who had been taught his whole life to despise the people here. He guessed that once they landed, people would rather assimilate than face the horrors spoken about the place. That was what he was doing, after all.

            “We have inside intel of the existence of a weapon of extreme power. They have it carelessly locked up and guarded by only a few hundred men. With it we will have ceaseless power!”

            The crowd rose once again, and there was nothing Razor could do to quell the excitement. Cedric waited for a few moments as the people screamed themselves out.

            "A team of our most elite warriors will be compiled. One hundred men will break into a government headquarters on the Core and steal the deadly weapon. People will be chosen from all of the six sectors. Be ready, selection could come at any time."

            A voice called out from the crowd, "What exactly is this weapon?"

            “They call it… the ADaF.”

Author's Note

This chapter has been through a lot of revisions, so I hope it still makes sense. Any kind of comments are welcome (grammar, spelling, plot, characters, etc.)!