John and the rest of the survivors followed the man through the decadent streets of the Luminar tropolis. He led them towards an alleyway and a rusted door hidden behind so trash cans.
"Through here, please," the man gestured, but John didn’t move.
"Can we trust him, John?" Zara asked, her fists clenched.
"I’ll be fine, but you guys stay outside, just in case," John instructed.
Everyone nodded, except Dalia...
"Wait, John, I... I’ll go with you," she offered, her cheeks flushed.
"I’m fine, Dalia," John replied, but Dalia stepped forward.
"You can’t expect to leave you alone! I’ll be worried sick," Dalia insisted, and John sighed, he couldn’t deny her genuine worry and love.
"Alright, let’s go," John agreed.
John turned around and gave a knowing glance to Zara who simply nodded.
The man opened the door and they entered a rundown warehouse, the sll of mould and rotting wood filling their nostrils. The walls were covered in moss and fungi and the concrete floors were cracked, with weeds sprouting from the crevices.
People were huddled around a table, so eating and others napping. There was a fire crackling in a corner and a few people were cooking so food.
"Who are these people, and what’s going on?" John asked, his voice harsh.
The man gulped and gestured for them to follow him. John and Dalia trailed him towards a makeshift office in the back of the warehouse. The office was covered with papers and files, and there was a desk in the centre, a man sitting on the chair behind it.
The man looked human, but his skin had a faint glow and his ears were pointy.
’Like an elf from Earth’s folklore?’ John wondered.
"Please, sit," the man said, gesturing to the chairs opposite him. His voice was that of soone who had given it all up, soone who was waiting for a miracle.
John nodded and sat, Dalia following his lead.
"Now, can you tell what’s happening here?" John asked.
The man sighed, his shoulders slumping, "you don’t seem to have a clue," he said, looking at John with pity.
"Enlighten ."
"Well, this planet is in the hands of the Luminars, but do you think this is their holand?"
"No, judging by their appearance, they’re not native."
"Right. They conquered the planet and enslaved the natives," the man explained.
John’s eyes narrowed, "are you a native of this planet?"
"No. My na is Mikal Long’er and my planet is no more. We were colonized by the Luminars and we had to live in slave camps. They exploited our planet’s resources until there was nothing left to exploit until our planet was a barren wasteland..."
Mikal’s eyes darkened and his voice broke.
"My father, my mother, my wife... they’re all gone. And the Luminars just left us to die," he added, his voice barely a whisper.
"I’m sorry to hear that," John offered his sympathy. Dalia’s eyes welled with tears and she gripped John’s hand tightly.
"It’s ok. It was many years ago and I’m not the only one. Your planet is next," he warned, not a hint of doubt in his voice.
"It’s tragic..." John looked into Mikal’s eyes, "...what happened to your planet, but tell , what do you want from us?"
Mikal shifted in his seat and spoke, "I know you are not from this planet, so you are not beholden to the Luminars. But we are trapped here, and I need help," he explained.
"Go on."
"Get us out of here and in return, we can help the resistance on your planet. We know their thods, tactics, and technology better than anyone."
"I see, so you have a lot of intel. That’s why you’re in the Luminars’ good graces."
"We’re not in their good graces, but we are not a threat. We’re just trying to survive, and if you can get us out of here, we can be an asset."
John leaned back on his chair to take a mont to contemplate. He had no reason to say no, and he was curious to learn more about the Luminars and their technology.
"Fine. I’ll get you out of here, but in return, you’ll have to share everything with . Everything."
"Of course, you have my word," Mikal bowed, relief washing over his face.
"Then it’s settled. However, we’re not leaving, yet. We ca here to rescue our comrades."
"Of course, whatever you need, I can provide," Mikal replied.
"Then perhaps you can tell what’s..." he looked down at the radar and saw the exact distance to the first signal. It was written in kilotres, but he figured the universal translator would translate to whatever unit they used. This was, after all, trained with the Luminars’ data, "300 kilotres north of here."
Mikal scratched his chin, "Lanto City is over there, but there are no roads and the path is filled with 2 and 3-star monsters."
3-star monsters? John wondered. It seed they had a challenge ahead of them.
"How do you people move around?"
"We don’t. Only the Luminars can do that with their ships."
"You ntioned the resistance, do you know anything about them?"
"Not much. We’re isolated here, and the Luminars keep a tight grip on any intel."
"How do you get information then?"
"They drop it off, and they are very generous with their scraps."
"That’s smart. Okay, anything you can tell us about the path to Lanto and the city?"
"Yeah, the path is a rocky terrain with jagged cliffs. There are no shortcuts and the monsters will pick up your presence from miles away. If you can’t handle them, you’re dead at. I wouldn’t recomnd going in without a full party."
"I see... Well, I think that’s all."
John turned around and moved towards the door, Dalia followed behind. He stopped before he reached the door and turned around, "you said your planet is no more because of resource exploitation, but what exactly happened?"
Mikal’s eyes darkened and cleared his throat, "whatever it is that they extract from planets tends to be related to the appearance of monsters. The more they do it, the stronger the monsters. They did this in Nadaria, my ho planet until an 8-stars monster appeared and they left. The monster was too strong, even for the Luminars and their technology and it went on a rampage until there was nothing left to destroy. Millions died, and we had to flee to save ourselves."
"So, they just abandoned you?"
"Yes, they didn’t care about us, and we had to take it upon ourselves to find a new ho. And that’s when they found this planet and colonized it. The Luminars are monsters in their own right."
Mikal leaned back, a tear rolling down his cheek, "it’s so unfair. They ruin lives and just walk away like it’s nothing."
He looked at John and they exchanged their contact information on their A-comms.
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