The Spider Queen

(Unova Syndicate- Sector Alpha-099)

(Unknown Planet)

Bang!

The room shook heavily as the starship landed on the ground with a dull thud. Sophie wrapped her arms around Lily to make sure the little girl didn't fly off the bed.

Screams and curses could be heard from the other mercenaries in the room as some unlucky souls had fallen off their mattresses.

Something was wrong.

Sophie's eyes flickered slightly as she stared at the entrance door.

The journey to the frontier region was at least two weeks away and there were no scheduled stops planned in-between.

So why had the starship landed?

The lights turned on in the room and Sophie could not help but squint at the sudden brightness.

She was not the only one as another round of cursing and complaining filled the air as discontent mercenaries were ready to express their displeasure.

The conditions on the starship were just too harsh as demonstrated by the lack of food, a comfortable place to rest or even a relatively clean bathroom.

Knock! Knock!

Two quick taps were heard on the opposite side of the door and soon the metalloid door swung open to reveal the figure of a crewmate.

He was dressed in a plain white uniform and the look on his face when scanning the mercenaries in the room was like a god gazing upon ants crawling in the muck.

A muscular beast-like warrior with massive paws strode forward and grabbed the crewmate by his collar,

"Oi! What's the big idea?"

No one stopped him and there was a general atmosphere of watching a show.

The mercenary roared and shook the crewmate several times but got no response.

"Are you deaf? You fucking bastard…. Where the hell are we?" the warrior growled darkly.

With a slow and graceful movement, the crewmate extended one slender palm and placed his fingers on the shoulder of the mercenary.

A blazing purple crest floated up in the air and what happened next was burnt into the minds of every occupant in the room.

The mercenary froze as if petrified and then his skin started to flak away.

Beneath his skin one could see dark purple flames dancing with a menacing light.

He desperately called out for help, but no sounds came out of his vocal cords as they were now slowly turning into ash.

It only took three minutes for his body to completely disintegrate, and a smoky air filled the room before the air filtration system activated.

The hair on Sophie's arms raised up as her danger sense immediately flared up as soon as the purple crest appeared.

Was it magic? A qi technique? Or something unknown?

There were numerous powers and strange abilities possessed by individuals scattered across the galaxy.

And the most dangerous were the ones that no one could understand before it was too late.

Sophie assumed the purple crest ability was activated on contact but without further information she just kept that hypothesis in the back of her mind.

The crewmate stepped on the remains of the warrior with an indifferent expression and then spoke dryly,

"An unexpected emergency has come to our attention. A client is offering a generous award to whoever can find a plant known as 'Nightdream'."

"This rare plant only grows on this planet and the higher ups of the organization have decided to deploy all available forces."

"This includes you all."

The crewmate paused for a moment, so Sophie casually spoke up with a question of her own,

"I thought we were only being hired to join the government-led forces in the border region."

"What's in it for us to look for some random plant?"

Sophie's bravery spread to the other warriors in the room and soon the crewmate was faced with a barrage of questions.

"Yeah… this journey has already been very difficult. How long will we have to look for this plant?"

"What does the plant even look like?"

"Is there any reward?"

Of course, after the crewmate's display of power….

None dared to be excessively rude or discourteous when voicing out their concerns.

Sophie leaned back against the hard bedframe and stared at the crewmate who patiently waited until the room returned to silence.

The aliens operating the vessel really were a strange species. Their skin was pale to extent where their veins and arteries could easily be seen.

Their height was over nine feet on average with long, slender limbs that seemed disproportionally longer than the rest of their body.

A face that was vaguely humanoid but with three eyes and two mouths on either side, these details made the aliens seem monstrous.

"You do not need to worry as pictures will be provided to every member searching for the plant," the crewmate finally replied after some time had passed.

"The final destination of this starship will remain the border region and this temporary stop will only last at most one week."

"There will be a flat rate of one thousand dollars per day when you go to search for the plant."

"Anyone who finds a plant can turn it in to the high-level officers for additional rewards."

Sophie eyes widened slightly as the generous reward being offered was almost as much as they would earn once joining the military.

Working seven days would net a cool seven thousand dollars and if she were lucky enough to find the plant then the additional reward should be equally appealing.

Sophie was indeed tempted but the danger instinct that kept flaring up was putting a damper on her ambitions.

Plus, there was the problem of Lily.

Sophie did not want to bring the little girl to walk around some unknown planet without knowing the potential dangers that might be hidden.

And she was even more wary of leaving the child unattended in a room full of battle-hardened mercenaries.

Sophie did not like the curious gazes some would direct at Lily's covered appearance and facial mask.

It seemed that Sophie was not the only one with the same idea as she heard a lazy voice muttering softly from a nearby bed at the back of the room.

"Yeah… I'll pass thanks,"

A scrawny creature with roughish skin scratched his ass and yawned sleepily before pulling the blanket over his head.

"This assignment is not voluntary," the crewmate coldly spoke.