The waves gently lapped at the shore, seagulls over flying overhead as Marcus walked along the white sandy beach. With no trash, no ships and no annoying tourists everywhere, it was a perfect example of the kind he’d only seen in movies.

“Now this is nice, Datov. If you have more visitors, this is definitely a place you should show them.”

“Beach good. Dry wet.” Datov agreed proudly.

“It indeed is dry and wet. Datov you really are a poet.”

“Poet! Good?”

“Mmm some people disagree but being a poet is fine, though I was actually poking a bit of fun at you.”

“Poking fun?”

“I was joking around, since you’re still learning words. It is something that people do when they’re friends.”

“...Mean. Learning.” Datov replied with a huff.

Marcus laughed. “You’re right, it was a bit mean, I'm sorry. You’re actually learning very well, though I know I'm not a good teacher. Now should we begin what we came here for?”

“Forgive. Start.”

As He’d walked they’d talked about numerous things, and their pasts were an interesting topic for both of them. Datov loved hearing about earth, and had made Marcus promise that he’d introduce his family to him. Marcus on the other hand was fascinated about the living planets first memories, when Datov said they’d just woken up a long time ago. That everything before that was hazy and indistinct, as if it had all been a dream. In fewer words obviously.

But a thing he had also realised was that neither of them had any idea what they were doing. Marcus had actively avoided touching the System as much as he could, and Datov wasn’t exactly a deep thinker. So in order to begin trying a few things, he’d come out to the ocean.

“Now remember, we want to move the smallest bit of water you can manage. We know you’re strong, but we want accuracy.”

“Datov best! Watch!” they said, before Marcus felt the surge of mana.

The ocean’s surface rippled for a moment before the last wave rolled in and swept back. And kept going back. A single droplet was gently pulled from the water below, held still as it was suspended above as Marcus watched.

“See? One drop, Datov best!” they declared proudly, slight strain in their tone.

“Yes, one drop, very smooth, well done.” Marcus said carefully, keeping an eye on the problem. “But we wanted the smallest bit you could do. I've seen islands smaller than that ball of seawater.”

“No! Tiny! Barely see!”

“It’s massive! How could I not see it!” Marcus refused before realizing. “Language is still hard. That’s as small as you can see?”

“Mostly. Hard see smaller.”

“Okay, that’s the sort of thing it’s good to know. So how can you see me more easily?” he asked.

“Big Wobble, new, follow animals. Empty, reach, touch! Can find!”

It took a good hour to translate Datov’s explanation into one Marcus could understand. When the system had dropped him on to Datov, he’d felt it, and it had been a lot stronger than the ones of visitors in the past. Once he’d gotten the planet’s attention with his arrival, they’d nudged some animals in the area to try and get an idea of the visitor. Following the river had made it a bit easier, since it gave the planet a line to look along, which was lucky for Marcus. When he’d been at the bottom of the falls, with nothing else of note around for such a long way, his act of searching downwards had made him stick out enough for Datov to make contact.

Which had gone... poorly.

But now that it had been made, it gave Datov a point to try and look for. It turned out that Datov wasn’t so much talking to Marcus, as talking to a dozen square miles of landscape and listening closely for an answer.

“That’s pretty impressive actually. I don't think I could do that.” Marcus said after thinking about it.

“See! Datov best. Still need water?”

“Yes you’re very impressive, and yes you can drop it now, it won’t really help us.”

Word choice is a dangerous thing when dealing with someone who doesn’t speak the language. As soon as he’d spoken he saw the edges of the giant ball of water begin to lose cohesion and fall.

“Datov, catch the water! If that all falls down like that the wave will kill me!” he yelled.

“Try! Too little!” The world cried in panic.

Most of the water was stopped by an invisible hand, a cloud of visible mana around it indicating Datov’s stress. But even if most of a mountain is stopped, what’s left is still a mountain.

“CANT STOP!” they cried.

Marcus closed his eyes, clenching his fists nervously before speaking.

“It’s ok, we’ll manage. When that wall of water hits me ill die, so after that, I need you to find my body, and push mana into it ok? Lots of mana, and it’ll be fine.”

“NO DIE! NO ALONE!”

“Remeber Datov! Find my body and give it mana!” he said as he heard the rushing water getting closer. Without saying anything else he threw his arms over his head, did his best to curl into a ball, and braced for the inevitable.

Then it was wet, then it was dark and then it was gone.

~

The snow crunched softly underfoot as their party walked, leaving a trail to follow over the empty fields. The wind had been blowing when they’d arrived initially, but it had quieted down, leaving them marching in silence. Relatively.

“Go long.” One of them called as they threw the ball, sending another sprinting to catch it, earning a cheer as they took it after a majestic dive and face plant into the snow.

“Aren’t we supposed to be moving quietly? You know, moving without attracting attention?” Samantha asked her teacher as they watched the others.

“You mean all that stuff you’ve been taught for the past month and a half? No, all that was completely meaningless.” Vork said before sighing. “They should be, obviously, but I'm not exactly surprised. They’re stressed and incredibly far out of their depth, and are trying to find an outlet to hide it.”

“And I'm not stressed?” she questioned.

“Oh you’re definitely stressed. But unlike your classmates there you’ve chosen to bury yours under more training instead of releasing it by goofing off. Probably not as healthy, but it will serve you well in the coming months.”

“I'm not burying it, I just-”

Vork held up a hand to cut her off. “You’ve been training with me six days a week, with your neighbour on the other and have been exercising or studying several hours after that every night. Your parents are starting to worry.”

“They told you that?” she asked, embarrassed.

“No, but I have a good perception skill, I notice these things.”

“Oh.”

“ And your mother doesn’t always... argue quietly.” They added.

“Oh.” She said, burying her face in her hands.

“Want to talk about it?”

Samantha peeked through her fingers at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be guarding us all from deadly monsters, not trying to be a therapist?”

They both turned back to look at the other dozen trainees who had begun having a snowball fight.

“I'm pretty sure I've got time to do both today.” Vork said with a raised eyebrow. “So out with it, what’s got you so rattled?”

“It’s been over six weeks now. I've been giving it my all, doing everything I can to give myself the best chance of finding him, but... I've heard things from other members of your group. What are the odds my brother is actually still alive?” she said quietly, her voice catching.

Vork put hand on her shoulders. “I figured as much. I'm going to be as honest as I can, and I don't have great news. With everything that’s out there in the System, I'm afraid he’d have even odds of not making it this far.”

Tears began to form in her eyes. “So he’s probably..?”

Vork shook their head. “I didn’t say that, I said even odds. But here’s the interesting thing. Those that can survive and push through their obstacles, keep on surviving. It’s a bit of natural selection that the System’s taken and ran with. So the real question you have to ask yourself is: Is your brother a survivor?”

Her shoulders straightened as she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “Marcus is alive.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear. Now let’s get moving, I want to find a few kinds of- EVERYONE TO ME, NOW!” They suddenly bellowed, expression serious.

The others were deep in their game at that time, but they’d heard that drill sergeant tone enough for it to cut through to them, and they quickly grouped up.

“What’s going on Teach?” one asked, confused.

Vork held up a hand, calling for silence while scanning the horizon. “No one leaves this spot, don't say anything, and definitely don't try to start anything. We’re not alone here.”

They waited for a few minutes, the true silence making the emptiness of the area all the more imposing, before the sound of an engine could be heard. From the distance, a grey ship came towards them, hovering above the snow. Its sharp lines, and low profile spoke of speed and grace, while the massive cannons mounted on top said nothing but violence.

“Scavengers.” Vork muttered darkly.

“What’re-” someone began before being silenced with a glare.

Before long the ship arrived before them, humming slightly as it floated before the engine was cut and it thumped heavily into the snow. A panel was forced open, releasing a cloud of smoke and noise.

A laugh came from inside. “Ha, well I’ll be damned, we’ve got a little kurtzy and a pack of rookies. Just our luck.”

Stepping out was an imposing figure, an eight foot tall slab of grey muscle yellow teeth on display as he looked over the group, smiling at their discomfort. From behind him several others funnelled out from the ship, all with weapons at their sides.Samantha tried to identify the one in front, getting a glance her way for her trouble.

-Storogian Scavenger. Level: ???-

Samantha swallowed. If their level was in the hundreds, could they get out of here safely if things turned south? Vork was in the same category, but it was a big range.

Vork stepped forward. “This planet has been claimed for use by the Kurtza Empire, on behalf of the humans of New Earth. As per article 17-J of the treaty of the nine-”

The grey figure waved him off. “We all know your precious little treaty. We’re all terribly sorry for infringing on the rights of the glorious Kurtza Empire. No one tells us poor defenceless scavengers anything. Ain’t that right boys?”

His men chuckled behind him, hand on their weapons.

Vork’s eyes narrowed. “Cut the shit. The barriers used to turn this into a tutorial grade world are extremely obvious, even to someone like you. It is illegal for you to be here at all, let alone anywhere near my students. Leave now.”

It was the scavengers turn to become serious. “Careful Bluey, your empires far away from here, and nothing of what it used to be. Keep trying to push people around and you’ll be surprised what’ll push back.” Snapping back to a grin they continued, eyeing the students. “Not to worry good sir, my little band already has what we need and will be off before you know it. And if this is the kind of forces your training up, we’ve gotten more than we hoped.”

“What’s he talking about?” one of the students asked quietly before being silenced again, but not before the scavenger heard them.

They chuckled evilly. “Keeping them in the dark are we? Classic Kurtza, holding all the cards until they need you to know about them. but never you fear, old Gorgson is here to explain your bright futures. You see, the System has taken steps to keep you and your planet protected for six months. Exactly six months, and after that, you’re the same as everyone else. Except weaker.

So while no one would dare even think of attacking you right now, don't worry your pretty little heads about that, when times up you should be expecting a large number of... visitors. And while I'm certainly above such heinous actions, I and a good portion of the local universe will be placing bets on your race’s survival. So thanks for the information, and good luck not dying, though I'm certainly not betting on it.” He finished, getting a laugh from his crew who’d begun piling back into the ship.

“You bastard! How can you laugh at the idea of us all dying?” Samantha burst out, unable to restrain herself.

Gorgson looked her up and down before snorting. “I might be a bastard, but you’re a soon to be dead little girl. Of the two which do you think I’d rather be? Trillions die every day in the System on a good day, your peoples extinction won’t even be a drop in the bucket. What it will be is a well televised event that I plan to make some money on. That’s the way of it little girl, now get used to it or don't, you’ll probably die either way.”

With nothing else to say the scavengers restarted their ship, having it lurch back up and speed off into the distance.

“How much of what that guy said was true Vork?” Samantha asked as she watched them disappear.

“...Let’s get you lot back home.” Vork replied without looking at her.