participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge and also having a go at NaNoWriMo this November. This was a first draft published as it was written for Nanowrimo November 2020. A little rough around the edges, I hope to come back and edit at some point, and then continue the story on.   In the grand scheme of things Elias was nothing special. Which was why he was surprised by a random company on a new colony planet buying out his contract. That was the problem with the large companies that ruled the colonies, once they owned your contract, they owned you.  Imagine the greater surprise when he learnt that the new company held the promise of freedom. Not from the constant battle against the Swarm that were also trying to claim the colony planets for their own. Nor from the Crust, the mysterious substance that covered the same planets and held the resources they all fought for. No, the freedom from being oppressed by those with more power and to finally decide where to go and where to set down roots and call home.