Chapter 208: Blood & Flame, Pt 1

Planet FON-550, Gilbrath System, Federal Colonial Territories

A seemingly peaceful settlement sat on fertile plains covered with soft golden yellow grass. It sat in the middle of a serene valley, which was sandwiched between a lush yellow and orange jungle, and a wide blue-green river.

The light green-blue skies above were almost completely hidden by thick, fluffy clouds, and the system’s yellow star shone brightly through a gap among them.

And all around the settlement itself were hundreds of colonists, all doing their normal, daily routine. Many of them plowed their croplands with simple hand tools, some tended to their shops or cleaned the settlement. A great number of others ran around the settlement itself, as though they were training for some great marathon.

All of their faces were pallid, and their eyes were dead. Their muscles were large and swollen from overuse, and they all moved with an unnatural efficiency.