The Suns were hot today, especially the Blue one. Teks 2nd right arm was aching and sweat was dripping into his 3rd eye. His 4 legs were aching from squatting down for so long and he could see his 4 palms had started to crack and bleed (his blood was easy to spot, being luminous yellow). Today he could really feel his age, all 240 years of it. He paused for a moment and lifted his head toward the clear, green sky and stood to stretch his aching limbs. He took a deep breath, taking in the acrid smell in the air and whispered to himself “there must be more than this. Is there something, anyone else out there?”- more of a prayer than a question.

To his surprise he received a reply. A loud one. Directly and telepathically right in the centre of his brain.

“TEK. Back to work. That’s your 6th warning this week.” He look up to the edge of the mine where a guard had locked onto him. You could just about see the faint channel of energy linking their minds together. Almost like dust caught swirling in a shaft of sunlight. Without warning the guard pulsed, sending a ripple down the channel that shot a sharp and deep pain right in the centre of Teks head, forcing him back down to the ground.

Of course the workers were unable to retaliate. Their abilities were stripped from them at birth. Once they’d climbed from the egg they were taken to labs where their energy transmitter was removed from their brain.

Tek sighed and got back to work, using his 8 fingered hands to sift through the violet dirt, searching for Roin, the most precious metal on the planet.

After the 2nd sun had set and the sky had turned dark green, the workers went home.

Their village was made up of thousands of crators embedded into the side of a hill. They each had a glass dome top so they could absorb essential radiation from space that gave them energy, much like food for you and I.

Tek laid out in his crater. His limbs stretched out in every which way, so that he looked like a star. As usual, he felt exhausted and hopeless, so he began to pray. “ oh great source of all things. Please send help. There must be more to life than Roin and work. What is this all for? Please source, oh please help us” and 3 tears fell from each of his 3 eyes.

Just as he was falling asleep, a noise woke him. Sharp and fast and coming from above. He saw shafts of light coming through the sky! ‘This is it!’ He thought. My prayers have been answered!

One of the shafts of light was heading straight for the middle of his village. He wasn’t the only worker to notice and one by one they were getting out of their craters to see what was happening. The shaft of light slowed about 200 metres above the ground. That’s when Tek could stark to see what it was. A vessel, emitting smoke and fire.

It creaked, hissed and puffed it’s way down to the ground. By now the whole village had gathered to see why these strange visitors from the source had arrived on their planet.

A door on the vessel creaked open. It was silent. The atmosphere in the village was electric. The feeling of hope, fear and expectation hung in the air. Could this be their saviour?

They believed their planet had been written off by the great source. They believed they were the forgotten species. Living on a dry, deserted and lonely planet, mining Roin to send to Crantar, the wealthiest planet in the universe. They were nothings, nobodies. They were just vessels used to dig and sift and mine.

But now? Maybe this was the end of this life of monotonous pain? Maybe these mysterious creatures in these mysterious vessels were coming to give them a chance of a better life in a better world!

Something started emerging through the open door. It was small, with only 2 legs and 2 arms. It was in some kind of shell, With a sort of bubble covering its head. It stood, slowing turning around and taking in the sight of the thousands of villagers, looking at them with a desperate hope in their eyes. As the figure turned towards Tek he could see its face. 2 eyes. Smooth, soft skin. Patches of fur and oddly places holes. It wasn’t quite what he expected their saviour to look like.

A second figure stepped out of the vessel and joined him, handing him something Tek had never seen before - something that looked sharp and dark, with a handle and bits sticking out of it. The beings exchanged a glance. Stepped out, further away from the vessel and lifted their strange objects up in front of them. He heard them shout something but he didn’t understand what it was. Then, terror. The beings were sending something into the crowd of workers. Not energetic channels, but something solid, and all around him workers were exploding. Bright yellow blood was spraying in very which way and workers were falling to the ground. The air was filled with blood and screams and panic and everything felt as though in slow motion.

Tek turned and ran, ran as fast as his 4 legs could carry him. He ran blindly and wildly. When he finally stopped he was weak, exhausted and confused. What had they done? Why were they being killed?! Who were these people? What could they possibly want from them?

When he finally calmed himself his mind cleared and he realised he had ran back to the mines. He could hear something coming from the centre of the pit. Unfamiliar noises, and an unfamiliar language.

He crouched low and shuffled his way to the edge of the pit. Peering into the darkness he saw a group of the beings, the slaughterers, standing in the centre of the pit. He watched as one crouched down, picked up a piece of Roin and held it in the air. “Gold” he whispered. “Found it”.