At her request, the trees and plants that were older, rewound the proverbial clock and showed Lana a young Roger and Ruby, the couple who would same day bring little Minny into this world. They were working diligently to assist in building a shelter. It was on the ground, unlike the current shelter that was a glorified tree house. Ruby, as now, wore a bandana around her forehead due to the high humidity on this planet. She was a very hard worker. Over the coming years, they would understand the critical folly they committed in placing it there.
One day, a member of the Bree family brought twin babies, a boy and a girl. The mother was terribly ill and they needed someone to take care of them. Ruby volunteered but the military refused, saying it would slow down work. The couple were heartbroken. They always wanted a child and thought helping a mother in her time of need would have been a blessing.
The military tasked the least useful person to take the babies back to Earth and get them adopted out. The soldier was sent through the teleporter and came back a few days later without the babies.
Meanwhile, the military leaders on the planet discussed their next course of action.
"According to the readings, sir, that major energy source came from here."
Lana was kicking herself because they were in a tent and she couldn't see where the soldier had pointed to.
"Isn't that the area the Bree men found that strange woman?"
"No sir. She was found here and the energy source was south west from there."
"In that case, that is where we need to go. Have the explorers investigate that area."
The other soldier was then heard saying "Yes Sir!"
"Send in Roger."
The general heard another "yes sir" as the sergeant left the tent.
The tent flap made a loud sound as Roger entered soon after. He was the most experienced traveler they had on planet. He had red hair and was built like a barn. He carried a battle axe on his back with a blade bigger than Caser. When he stood next to his wife, Ruby looked dainty by comparison. His pale white skin making her ebony skin shine brighter.
"I'm tasking you to put together a team and head to this spot. My forces need to stay here and protect the settlement. Let me know if you need any resources."
Soon after, Roger exited the tent with a determined look on his face. He wore his traveler tag around his neck and it had a nice shiny A on it. Over time, Roger was slowly able to make it to the edge of what he called the oasis once he was able to break beyond it. This is what he called the area the Earthborn and the Bree settled. It took a few years to tame the area well enough to make it manageable. The number of beasts the trees showed Lana during that time was astronomical.
How did they justify allowing families to come here? Lana heard Max in her head.
I don't know. Whatever that energy signature was they picked up must have triggered their greed or desperation, Lana replied.
They resumed paying attention.
Roger lost many travelers during those years. Most died to advanced tier beasts. Eventually, he was able to convince the military to hire more A ranked or higher travelers. Once they had a strong enough team, three years after they began exploration, the team began attempting to cross the desert. They kept getting pushed back but the distance they traveled always increased by a small margin. Shortly after Minny was born, the team was almost at the location.
"I don't know, Ruby. I know I have a strong team… These beasts are stronger. The military won't listen to us."
"The dalki want to exterminate humanity from what it looks like. I can understand their fear. Is there anything else you can do to ensure your safety?"
Roger responded, "nothing that I can think of right now."
Ruby hugged her husband close. "I have something for you. It's made with beast crystals." Ruby pulled out an oval-shaped locket. "It has an active skill but the previous owner didn't know what it was. Let's hope it can help you."
Roger allowed her to place the necklace around his neck. He opened it up and noticed she had placed her picture as well as that of their newborn inside. He clasped it close to his chest. The next morning, he kissed his wife and baby goodbye and he and his team were never seen again.
When Lana asked the trees why the military didn't just land there, the trees explained the energy messed with the tracking system in the ships. Several ships crashed there before they accepted they needed to get there through some other means.
You don't know how far he got, do you? It's all desert? Lana asked.
That is correct. We don't know how many days walk it would be to get to the other side.
We also don't know how far south west to travel? Did the team ever show a map while trees or plants were around?
There was a pause while, seemingly, the plants communicated and looked through their memories.
A few saw something. We are able to provide an overlay.
Lana saw it before they even finished speaking. The location was quite a distance away. On the other side of the desert was inhospitable rocky terrain, almost as if there had been an active volcano in that area at one time.
Lana thanked the trees profusely for their help and closed out the overlay.
The sky was getting dark and they needed to get to the tunnels before any nocturnal beasts decided to invite themselves to dinner.
It didn't take long to find the entry to the tunnels and head back. When they entered their house, it was filled with the aroma of fresh-cooked food and the sound of a father entertaining the babies.
Lana grinned and decided to peak in. Sil had Owen is his arms pretending he was flying the boy through the air. Lana had a huge smile on her face.
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