*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
'Ah fuck. That's the third snooze alarm already' Cassian groaned to himself as he rolled out of bed.
He was hungover and running behind for his first day at the Essence mines. Grabbing his phone, he made sure he still had enough time to make the commute.
'I should've asked her for a ride'
Cassian had gone out the night before to a gala hosted by the Council of Xalta; he was invited to the event through his best friend, Laila. Although dragged was the more appropriate term considering the fight he put up getting out the door.
If there was one thing he avoided like the plague, it was snobby-nosed heirs who felt as though they were entitled to the clothes on his back when asked for. Ironically enough, Laila was exactly that.
If not for her incredible social charisma and self-awareness, he'd have dropped her like the bad habit she was a while ago.
Skipping breakfast, he hopped in the shower, saving some time by brushing his teeth while putting on a pair of black jeans and a white tee after getting out.
'I swear I'm going to strangle her for this, she's lucky she got me this job in the first place.'
The Essence mines were a newly budding business. Laila had an in on its operations through her father. Getting him the job was an easy flip of her hand, but maintaining it was on Cassian of course.
He grabbed his black windbreaker and beanie, slipping on his work boots as he stepped out the door. The excavation site was on the southern borders of Xalta, not too far from where he resided, but far enough that he needed the city bus to make it on time.
Personal transportation was a luxury of the wealthy. If you had enough money to buy a car, then you were most likely rich enough to sit on your ass all day without caring about a job in the first place.
Cassian was nowhere near that, actually quite the opposite. Losing both parents near the end of a global war, he had been living off their pension credits ever since. Those funds were swiftly dwindling by the month, and he would only be able to make rent for a few more months if he kept losing job after job like he had been.
The bus stop was about 3/4 of a mile away from his apartment, and he was already late, so he decided to run to make it on time.
Cassian was in great shape, he had a lean build and the frame of a boxer. With the amount of exercise he put himself through, he could pass for a personal trainer if someone paid too much attention to his callused hands.
Standing at six foot-two, he was taller than the average population within Xalta but nowhere near as domineering as the cream of the crop. His athletic training was purely for self-discipline and maintaining his health.
He booked it for the bus stop, noticing the unusual amount of government vehicles on the streets. It looked as though there was something going on near the recovery zone where the city's strike team delivered resources.
'Interesting, there seems to be some commotion going on between the acquisition squad and the city guards. I wonder what all the fuss is about.'
"--- YOU CAN'T, I WON'T ALLOW IT."
Cassian heard shouts as he started passing the recovery zone.
A guard was blocking the entry point to the inner city along with a small team of three others and some officers who looked to have been called for backup. The Captain of the strike team was unmoved by the presence of the city guards and patrol officers. His indifference showed as he folded his arms and let his second in command take over.
"Listen here you overdeveloped shit, we have orders from the council chair to deliver this beast to research and development. If you think your punk ass has any authority to say otherwise, then I'll be glad to show you the bottom of my shoe for a better picture of where you stand."
Cassian slowed his pace. Whatever was going on was big enough to require a direct order from the council chair, something that doesn't happen often, even the mention of it was quite rare. He pulled up his hood as he crawled to a light jog.
" I. DONT. CARE. That thing killed two of my men at the border, and its containment unit is in worse shape than I've ever seen. Bringing it to the inner city is a risk that I won't have, not on my watch."
Cassian glanced at the gate separating the inner and outer city districts. The opaque bulletproof screen showed the silhouette of a vehicle. ....which he could've sworn was giving off a slight glow.
The guard stepped up to the Vice-Captain, and it looked as though he was ready for a fight that the Vice was more than welcoming of. It seemed to Cassian that this overzealous guard was about to receive a serious beating.
"Enough."
The authority in his tone was suffocating. The Captain of the strike team finally glanced at the guard. His eyes were cold and piercing as he gazed at the man before him.
"I will only tell you once. Open the gate and let us through, or be personally responsible for this delay. I lost seven men to this beast as well before I came to assist in its capture. You aren't alone in your concern. Now.... step out of the way and open the gate."
"There's no way I'll move knowi---"
He was cut short.
In one fluid motion, the Captain unsheathed his Essence imbued battle axe, striking the guard with a diagonal slash to the right collar bone, cleaving him in two. The blade cleanly exited through his torso, allowing the captain to seamlessly return to his original position.
The guard's lips quivered as the words failed to exit his mouth.
His body hadn't even bled yet, but the axe was already cleaned and sheathed on the captain's broad back.
"Move"
His voice held no room for hesitation. The vice captain moved towards the vehicle not of his own accord, but pure fear that he would be next for not settling this faster.
Cassian was at a loss for words.
Since when was murder in broad daylight a sanctioned government action? The strike team was mainly for delivering resources safely to the city or handling conflicts at the border of Xalta.
His eyes moved from the guard's collapsing body to the Captain. It was only for a split second, but the captain's head turned and locked eyes with Cassian.
Cassian quickly averted his gaze and drew his hood further down as he resumed his previous pace.
'He saw my face'
He couldn't really confirm it, but he knew that he was fully assessed and dismissed in that split second.
Death wasn't foreign to Cassian. He knew the eyes of a killer when he saw one, something he'd never mistake. The Captain definitely fit that category, but there was something else there. He looked... tired. An exhaustion that neared indifference.
The other two guards were trembling as one made her way to the access panel of the gate and entered a series of codes allowing the containment vehicle to pass through.
'There's no way this won't cause some sort of conflict within the council. I wonder if Laila would know anything about this.' Cassian thought as he neared his destination.
***
Cassian contemplated what he saw while at the bus stop.
Xalta was a relatively safe territory following the war. After twenty-eight years of miserable destruction and struggle for power, the world had entered a state of stability.
The Crucible, as it was later coined by historians, battered humanity for years, destroying families and breaking the hopes of many who believed the end was near, only to meet their own. Cassian being one of the affected individuals.
The Essence mines were the only fruit borne from the series of country-wiping bombings that put humanity on the brink of self-annihilation. Over 64% of the global population perished under the constant strain of war.
Land masses were changed due to nuclear fallout. Global climates reached uninhabitable levels in both extremes, causing mass migration and resettlement. Most nations acquiesced to whatever powerful influence was the safest and closest, giving them sovereign authority to rule over their countries.
Xalta was one such power. It held around 45% of the remaining global population and a staggering amount of the world's scarce resources. Along with Varkis and the more recent establishment of the Zephyr Empire, the three powers ruled the remnants of society.
As far as the history books are concerned, there was no sole reason or nation that was responsible for the war, but rather a "natural progression of man in search of power".
Cassian knew better. The Empire was the quickest in consolidating its power, and the methods they used to manipulate Essence stones found after the war were too practiced, too efficient. As of now though, all he had were speculations made through the tidbits of information Laila would mistakenly give.
Over two decades have passed since The Crucible Accords were established. A deal brokered by the Empire, giving a sense of stability for the first time in years.
Essence stones were a big part of that stability.
Innovations like the battle axe used by the Captain were only the start of the power they could display.
The stones breathed new life into the world. From transportation to education, the energy harnessed was used to make life easier for the average human. In fact, that was one of the main campaigning points for the end of the war.
Even the bus Cassian was about to board was developed and made by using the stones as an energy source, improving efficiency and reducing pollution to zero.
Cassian thought about their discovery and how they had changed the world in recent years.
The Evangeline family was the main reason for their appearance. An Expedition was rallied and directed by Corrinth Evangeline, the 32nd head of the family. Corrinth gathered those in search of resources and habitable land shortly after the war and set out south, where most of the Arctic's land mass was uncovered and altered from the cascades of nuclear fallout.
Stories of those from nearby islands and settlements told tales of animals growing quickly in large numbers and vegetation that survived in unspeakable conditions, somehow turning around and benefiting the surrounding land.
More mines were later found across the globe, but scientists were unable to find the cause of their appearance or why the stones held such an abundance of unique energy tightly packed into their composition.
All of this was to say that the world was in a state of calm, but rapid change was on the horizon. Cassian understood that much. Although a lot of this didn't directly affect him, at least not now.
As he boarded the bus, Cassian opened his phone to see a slew of profane text messages from Laila. She started by apologizing for the hectic night while simultaneously blaming him for being an "Arrogant prick that can't help but show off ", but as he read on, her tone began to grow more concerned, asking for his location and if he was already out of the city.
Cassian let her know he was on his way out already, but got no response in return. He didn't know what was going on, but for someone as glued to their device as she was, an immediate text back was routine, her silence was loud.
Something was up, but Cassian pushed it to the back of his mind as the bus slowed to a stop near the work site of his new job.