The Scrap Tamer

The next day arrived sooner than the team would have liked, and they found themselves in the briefing room again.

Surprisingly, Owen was also up early although he looked liked he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

The Colonel, Evelyn, looked at each of their faces carefully. Her face was emotionless as opposed to the previous day.

She tapped a few keys on the datapad in front of her before speaking.

"Your transport is ready. You'll be dropped off a few kilometers from the last known sighting of the missing officers. From there, you're on your own" her voice was cold, with not even a hint of emotion in it.

Reid narrowed his eyes slightly. Something had changed, the Colonel was keeping her emotions locked up tight.

That could only mean one of two things: either she had learned something new about the mission, or she had been ordered to keep her thoughts to herself.

"You move out in thirty minutes," she continued. "Make sure you're ready."

Owen stretched and nodded. "Cool. I'll just grab a quick power nap before we go."

"You're not sleeping," Colonel Evelyn said flatly.

"Five minutes?"

"No."

"Two?"

"No."

"One and a half?"

"Owen" Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose "you're supposed to be our leader here."

"Fine, fine. No naps," Owen grumbled "I already regret applying to be your senior officer."

As they left the room, Evelyn watched them go, her expression was still unreadable.

Then, once she was alone, she muttered under her breath.

"Good luck, Team. You'll need it."

_______________

Thirty minutes later, they stood in the transport bay awaiting their vehicle.

"Alright, since this is our first assignment, I'm supposed to give you a motivation speech or something, so here it goes" Owen said .

He cleared his throat and straightened his posture, putting on his best 'senior officer' face. The team watched him expectantly since his usual sleepy eyes were gone.

"We are about to embark on a dangerous mission," he started.

"The kind of mission that might as well be a suicide mission! The kind of mission that will test our strength, our courage, and our ability to not immediately run away when things get scary!"

"So… you're telling us not to run?" Clara asked.

"Yes," Owen said, pointing at her. "Unless, of course, running is the best strategy, in which case, run fast."

Marcus sighed "this is the worst motivational speech I've ever heard."

"Well, motivation is not my thing anyway" Owen replied causing the others to sigh.

Reid double-checked the supplies he had packed for the assignment. Mostly canned food, a first aid kit—despite having Ethan for medical support, he preferred to be prepared—along with other essentials he might need in the field.

Finally, he last thing he got was a new weapon. His metal bat might be able to hold up, but against primals with tougher shells and hides, it would be useless.

The weapon he chose was a dark long blade which allowed him to pass soul power through and also a fingerless gloves that allowed him to do the same.

He hadn't spent a single credit acquiring them, thanks to his master's generosity the previous day.

Of course, the old man still insisted that he'd deduct the costs from whatever he made selling Reid's Hornet to the military— but Reid knew better.

The others packed similar essentials, with Clara sticking to her rifle, Lisa acquiring a new sword, and Marcus equipping a gauntlet.

Ethan hadn't gotten a weapon since he wasn't much of a fighter, so he only got the necessities.

The brief silence was interrupted by the sound of engines approaching the bay and Colonel Evelyn's voice came through the speakers.

"Your transport has arrived," she announced. "Board up and prepare for departure."

The team turned toward the approaching vehicle. It was an armored, silver jet-like hovercraft. Its engines continued humming as it settled on the platform.

The back hatch opened with a hiss, revealing the dimly lit interior lined with seats and secured storage compartments—for those who preferred to keep their gear within arm's reach rather than stowing it in their inventories.

"Alright, let's move," Owen said, stretching his arms before stepping inside.

The others followed behind him, taking a seat and strapping themselves in.

Reid took a seat near the door, with Lisa settling in beside him and Clara taking the next spot. The others sat across from them on the opposite side.

As the last of them strapped themselves in their seats, the hatch sealed shut, and the hovercraft lifted off, engines humming as they left the base behind.

Owen, slouching in his seat, gave a dramatic sigh "Alright, listen up. Since I was cruelly denied my nap earlier, I will now take it. Wake me up when we land, unless we're crashing, in which case… I don't wanna know."

With that, he went straight to sleep, surprising the others with how quickly he dozed off.

The hovercraft hummed steadily as it soared over the landscape, carrying them toward their destination. Inside, the team sat in silence.

Lisa glanced at Owen, who was already in deep sleep, his head lolling slightly with every small shift in turbulence.

"How does he do that?" she muttered.

"If he were anymore relaxed, he'd be in a coma" Clara said with a chuckle.

Ethan, who was sitting directly across from Reid, kept his eyes on him. Reid seemed to be in deep thought, so Ethan decided to ask,

"What's our plan?" He said, pulling the team's attention towards him.

Reid raised his head looking at Ethan for a while before answering.

"I was thinking I'd have Beel absorb them but I don't think it would be as easy as with Darren" he took a small pause.

"So we'll use a slightly different approach," the team intently listened as he explained the plan to them.

"Ethan, we'll try to use your new forged beast to try and cut off the connection between the creatures and their hosts."

"If that doesn't work?" Ethan asked.

"Then we'll have to incapacitate them first," Reid continued. "Knock them out or restrain them long enough for me to see if Beel can absorb just the primal, without the host."

He knew the chances of the hosts being alive were close to zero, but if they could recover their bodies anyway, it would at least give their families some closure.

"And if that fails too?" Marcus crossed his arms.

"Plan C," Reid said simply "we kill the primals and their hosts."

A heavy silence washed over the team as Reid's words settled in.

His plan was clear, if they couldn't find a way to separate the primals from their hosts, then killing them was the only other option, even if the host might be alive.

The silence was broken by the intercoms as the pilot announced.

"ETA: Two minutes. Prepare for drop."

The sleeping Owen stirred groggily rubbing his eyes as he woke up.

"That was fast" he muttered as he let out a yawn and stretched, his usual drowsy expression returning.

"Alright, let's do this," he cracked his neck before glancing at the others.

The hovercraft slowed as it neared the drop point. The red lights inside the cabin flickered on, signaling final preparations. The rear hatch unsealed with another hiss, revealing a ramp leading down to the dense forest below.

The team unstrapped themselves from their seats and approached the ramp.

Reid took a deep breath before stepping to the edge of the ramp.his team followed right behind him.

"Alright, our mission is officially about to start," Owen called out, his tone holdin a bit of seriousness. "Stick together, and don't wander off. We don't know what's waiting for us down there."

Clara was the first to jump, her Shadow Ferret activating Shadow Step mid-air, allowing her to teleport and land silently in the underbrush below. Marcus followed, dropping down with a heavy thud.

Lisa and Reid exchanged a quick glance before jumping down simultaneously, landing with ease. Ethan was last and unlike the others, he used a self made parachute to slowly glide to the forest floor.

Once they were all on the ground, the hovercraft's engines roared louder, and within seconds, it ascended higher into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.

They were now officially on their own.

"I know you five have gone through a plan of your own" Owen said, informing them that he was aware of the discussion back in the hovercraft "so we'll stick to that."

"you're our scout" He then turned to Clara "I'll need your forged beast to go high and scan the area for any approaching threats."

Owen knew what Forged Beasts each of them had—or at least, the ones they had revealed when they were first promoted to officers.

He had been given a file on each team member detailing their abilities and combat potential. Given his usual laziness, it was surprising that he had actually read it.

Clara nodded and summoned her falcon.

"Give me a few minutes," Clara she said, closing her eyes as she focused on syncing her senses with both her primals.

Owen turned to the rest of the team. "Alright, while Clara scouts, Ethan, you'll handle support. Lisa, you're our main attacker. Marcus, you're our shield and frontline tank. Reid, you'll take a flexible role—adapting as needed."

The team nodded at the setup. Those were their usual roles so no sacrifice was made. Before Owen could continue, Clara suddenly spoke up.

"Something's coming. Fast."