It began as nothing but a bunch of makeshift huts. Groups after groups of people, huddled together in small groups within the “calm” belt, as Captain Kamakura had called it – an area of refuge where the wasteland storms were minimal and humanity could slowly build up their resources and economy.

  The collective sigh of relief at having landed safely in this new planet - which the survivors dubbed Shin’ensei, a term in a language Aio wasn’t familiar with – lasted only a moment. Within the first few weeks of colonization, members at the outer edges of of the encampments reported fewer numbers than when they began. Slowly, disappearances became more and more frequent, until it began to reach closer to the center. Masses began to report shadows appearing near the borders of the calm belt, behind the veil of dust and and smoke.

  Humanity’s first encounter with the Enthipids began then, and Alyssa, the supposed hero and founder of the city, cowered in her hut, fearful of the impending storm. Her father, one of the few to bring weapons from the old world, used an ancient rifle meant to penetrate vehicle armor, and with it, he killed an Enthipid attempting to pull her from the hut, leaving a corpse behind.

  They were so much smaller than I thought, Aio thought, recalling the Elites which plagued the Fringe during his time with the Blackbirds. Even Standards weren’t this small.

  Since that fateful encounter, the Enthipids retreated, and the colonists hailed Fleet Captain Kamakura as a hero. When the captain placed his hands on the monster’s hide as an act of defiance to motivate the still fearful colonists that humanity was strong enough to fight back, something happened. Aio saw an all too familiar expression on him.

  “Leave the corpse here,” he said. “No matter what, none shall touch this beast.”

  The colonists confused, went back to their sleep, and a scared Alyssa, still crying in her hut, with the corpse of the Enthipid sitting in the entrance, looked up at her father. He placed his hand on her head, and told her to be brave, and that come tomorrow, he has a way to make life better for all the people. Believing him, Aio saw that she smiled, nuzzling her head against his calloused hands. The father and daughter slept that night in peace.

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  Come next morning, someone could hear a scream outside. Alyssa and her father bolted outside, only to find the corpses of multiple colonists on the floor. The crowd which gathered outside, looked to the Captain with mixed emotions. He could see fear, anxiety, and amongst a few, accusatory glances which bespoke a more malicious nature.

  The captain spoke, “Did I not say not to touch this creature? Those who did not heed my warning, as you can see, met this fate.”

  “Why were you the only one alive then?” one of the colonists asked. “You killed them. My brother fought one of these things, and found that their skin was as hard as metal and had a strange shimmering glow that bespeaks a value greater than that of the colony ship. You just wanted it for your own!”

  “So?” the captain replied. “If you truly trust me so little, then go ahead. Grab it. Take it. I need not the supposed value of its carcass. Why don’t you take it, if you’re so fearful of my greed.”

  The man who spoke out against the captain, shied back, finding no words to say.

  Alyssa looked up at her father, who sighed softly.

  “Listen, we are few. We should not be squabbling like this. As the last bastion of humanity, we have a duty to uphold – to survive together, to find a better future, and to find peace - and these creatures…they threaten that peace.”

  The crowd looked at each other uneasily as the tempest raged in the distance.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked.

  Though some hesitated, most agreed.

  “Then trust what I’m about to do next. In my encounter with the creature, a premonition entered my mind. It told me that the reach that better future, is beyond that storm, and that I am the only one right now, who must take that journey.”

  The crowd erupted, calling him out on abandoning his duties, saying that they’re all going to die.

  “Is trust so weak now?” he asked, in a voice reminiscent of his times as a Fleet Admiral. It carried the weight of humanity’s future behind it, and with it, he assured the crowd, “Cain Liu will lead, should I not return safely from this trip, but I promise you not out of a fear of my responsibilities and only through my faith – for it has to be enough for you – that out there in the storm is a way for us to become the humanity we once were, the Onyxians.”

  And so, soon after, Fleet Captain Kamakura began his solo journey into the fringes of the storm, and his history known only to few, inevitably led to the founding of the great city of Neo-Kamakura.