Paladin

iii.

"Move it, Ahnerovan scum!"

Iren was forced back into reality as heart-aching pain spread across his body. His back was slowly turning a deeper shade of purple-green after being hit. Upon looking behind him, the soldier saw what resembled a large work hammer, heavy and clearly old.

A grunt left his body when the hammer collided with his skin yet again. The Onfae, who was taller and better built than the other aliens he'd fought before, was glaring daggers at him. As was characteristic of females in their kind, her translucent skin was rough; almost lizard-like. Instead of having short canines, females had large tusks that could rival blades.

She bared her teeth at the Paladin.

"Keep working or I'll throw you in the Kito river," she threatened in a hiss.

The Paladin, although narrowing his eyes at the female Onfae, decided not to test her limits and instead go back to the task at hand. His gaze shifted over to the cracked ground typical of the Onfae's home planet, Movnosa. Being an ashy desert, the dirt wouldn't even be considered dirt- more like cracked stone with an earthy color.

Little to no vegetation could grow on these harsh lands. As a result, Onfae had to dig for hours to find proper soil and plants. Well, in theory, the Onfae had to do it.

But in reality, prisoners like Iren did the job.

It didn't take long for the soldier to realize where he'd been taken. A campsite- a forced labor campsite, one he'd overheard was called Mova Labor Camp. With the almost run-down walls and a roof that barely warranted the name, the campsite was synonymous with a torture chamber.

He was one in a facility of hundreds captured to endure labor in Movnosa's harsh weather. The first time he saw the other abductees, Iren had seen a couple of races his kind had discovered long ago. Hgenas, Plensyves, Colkos... how Onfae had managed to kidnap all of them, Iren had no idea. He didn't even want to ask.

Glaring at the stony ground with something akin to annoyance, he thumbed the metal tool in his right hand. It was shaped like a cylinder with both ends sharpened, kind of like a thick spear. In his left hand, a smaller hammer made with the same material hung lazily. Both were semi-heavy, though Iren knew it was more so because of the metal they were made of: vazira.

Another blow to his back caused him to growl out loud.

"Hurry up, and do your damn job, Ahnerovan!" the Onfae screamed.

Iren didn't bother looking back at her this time. Instead, he positioned one of the sharp ends of the cylinder tool and slammed the hammer on top of it. With a resounding crack, the earth below him gave way. Debris of small stones littered around the impacted area, with some hitting Iren in his naked face.

Satisfied that the Paladin was finally doing his job, the female Onfae left to torment other prisoners. The soldier stared at her retrieving form with disgust, silently casting all sorts of bad juju on her for being so infuriating.

His work mining at the ground went on for about half an hour when the tip of the tool managed to pierce through several layers. Deeming it okay for planting, Iren then set his tools aside and focused on the cart that lay beside him.

Metal crates were stacked above each other, each overflowing with red plant-like species. As far as he was concerned, these plants would be planted on the floor and would be able to be cultivated in a few months or so. Though with how dead the plants looked, Iren wasn't sure if they would be able to survive.

That's how Movnosa worked. The planet was larger than Ahnerova but it didn't provide a healthy living for its population. Danger seemed to lurk at every corner, and that didn't stop at their native fauna.