On my way home, I couldn’t help but reminisce over my move here three years ago.

Although living here hasn’t been as luxurious or extravagant as it was in my first 15 years on Earth, I’m safe and comfortable, something I didn’t have back then.

Being the scion of an affluent family on Earth, one with money, prestige, and influence, I was late in recognizing the envy, hatred, and animosity directed at me by the people I once considered friends, family, and even loved ones.

I was betrayed and harmed by two of them.

And all for what you ask, my sensory cortex.

I was lucky to be born with a highly developed sensory cortex in my frontal lobe, which allows me to connect with the most talented and highest-tier beasts, the Titan class.

Few people can do this today due to the loss of human genetics caused by the great war over a century ago. Many top-tier beast masters were killed fighting on opposite sides of the conflict, causing a drop in the human gene pool that harbored this highly sought-after trait.

It’s a significant loss that is felt even today.

Most would consider this a blessing, but instead, to me, it was a curse. One that almost cost me my life.

The plot to snatch my cortex was set in motion after people found out about its uniqueness.

Although I was the scion of my family, I was very naïve and inexperienced, trusting people I shouldn’t have, especially people very close to me.

You ask how close?

Close enough that I thought I might spend the rest of my life with one person in particular.

You think you can trust your girlfriend of two years when she asks you, almost in tears, to help her out with her brother's illness, but no. Like a stray dog that attaches itself to the first person who shows it kindness, I did the same, trusting her completely.

The next thing I know, I’m waking up in the middle of the surgery as they try to remove my frontal lobe, basically giving me a lobotomy.

That was one messed up situation. One that I was lucky to get out of.

Luckily, I still had at least one close friend who helped me in the nick of time. With his help, I could escape the hospital and the pursuit of Grant and my own Amedee family.

I got into the first space transport I could sneak into and left without looking back, not knowing my destination.

The next thing I knew, I ended up here on Titan.

Once I arrived here, I’ll admit that the first three to six months were the hardest I have ever experienced.

It was hard to go from having everything at your beck and call to learning how to live independently and make ends meet in an almost barren place.

I also had to deal with the half-open scar on my head from the botched surgery that was causing me to have immense pain and bouts of delirium while trying to find a job and a place to live at 15.

I knew I was in over my head, but I didn’t care. I told myself I was experiencing freedom and the pains that came with it.

I changed my first and last name to avoid possible searches and burned any supporting documentation.

Luckily, the people here took me in and helped me without asking too many questions.

I don’t plan on going back or looking for revenge. I’m happy and safe now, and that is all that matters to me.

It's already late in the afternoon as I arrive home. I live on the outskirts of Serenity, one of only two small towns on Titan, so walking back and forth from the dump site takes some time.

As I do on most days, I go onto the roof of the broken-down two-story building I call house. I peer out into the vast ocean, letting the sea breeze hit me on the face. I love this feeling.

The sea breeze causes my hair to flutter. Locks with streaks of silver intertwined with my black hair frolic gently back and forth over my face. They seem to dance rhythmically to the pattern set forth by the island breeze.

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My gaze focused on the nothingness that lies before me—the emptiness of the ocean, the reddish grey sky reflected against the background of haze all around me.

“Come on, D, let's concentrate,” I tell myself, refocusing on the task at hand.

I now go by Daemon, so D for short.

Standing at 5’11, I’m neither short nor tall. I’m average, which is good since I don’t stick out like a sore thumb.

Most people who look at me say my physique is a combination of good looks and a decent body, but I’m not self-conscious, so what people say goes in through one ear and out the other.

It’s been days since I’ve spoken with anyone, and although I might look relaxed, the fact that I haven’t made any money this week is getting to me.

I shake my head in disgust as I close my eyes to think.

“D, we need to make money fast. If not, we won't be able to buy a ticket to watch the fight this weekend,” I say, looking down at the pile of discarded military hardware I placed in front of me.

One of the things that I enjoyed even as a small child was the AFC fights. AFC stands for Astral Fighting Championship, and as the name states, it basically fights between professional teams of Beast Masters.

They can fight for various things, such as exploration time at the gates, money, or territorial disputes.

There are solo fights and team fights, and the one showing this weekend was a team fight between Mar’s, Hellas University, and the Atlas exploration group.

They were both vying for time to enter the alien utopia at the Mars gate so they could explore and probably capture some of the Stellar Beast lifeforms inside.

I prop down on one knee and start rummaging through the pile of discarded tech I salvaged today.

“Hmm, this one seems to be in decent condition. It only needs to be cleaned and re-painted,” I say, inspecting the node module in my hand.

“I should be able to get some decent credits for it.”

I put it aside and quickly picked up another piece from the pile.

It’s a rectangular shaped box about 18 inches long and 8 inches wide. It has a touchscreen display in the right-hand corner, and the words Zenith SBS-5274 are printed at the top.

“This seems to be some sort of scanner or something similar since it has an optical reader and some probes that look like sensors in front of it,” I tell myself as I inspect the unit.

“Hmm, Zenith is not a bad brand; it’s a high-level tech company, so I should also be able to get some decent credits for this once it's cleaned and I verify that it works,” I said as I put the scanner next to the node module and continued to inspect the rest of the items, “All these here can also be salvaged, but refurbishing them will take longer, and I just don’t have the time today.”

I returned the rest of the items to the toad bag, got up, picked up the node module and scanner, and proceeded to the second floor, where my workroom was located.

The room is nothing technical. I have a couple of tables on one side filled with broken or salved parts. A storage cabinet sits in the corner opposite the tables that I use to put the few cans of spray paint I use to retouch the old hardware, and in the middle, I have my workbench. Here, I store some minor tools that I use to refurbish the salvaged equipment; I also have an audio synthesizer that I salvaged that has old 20th-century music.

At first, I couldn’t get used to listening to the sounds of the 20th century. The music sounded alien to me. But like everything else, with time, you get used to things, and some of the music grew on me.

“Alright, let's get to work,” I say as I put the node module and Zenith Scanner on the workbench.

“But first things first, let's get some music going in this place.”

I press a couple of buttons on the audio synthesizer, and the music starts coming on after a few seconds.

“Tis ti ti tis ti ti ti tis ti ti ti tis, para bara barabaaa…pum pum… para bara barabaaa ..pum pum…piri biri biribiii…pum pum…piri biri biribiii…pum pum… it’s been a long time since I rock and rolled….., its been a long time since I did that stroll….”

I can’t help but start moving my body to the rhythm of the music—first my feet, then my hips, and finally the rest of me. I start swaying back and forth to the beat, even doing a few spins before finishing with a leg split like James Brown of old.

“Man, this is the greatest song I’ve ever heard, but I need to get back to work if I’m ever going to finish refurbishing these units,” I say as I tune down the music before working on the units.

I start with the node module by cleaning it and doing minor paint touch-ups to make it sellable.

“This looks ok, not the best but not the worst either.”

Next, I move on to the scanner. Although it looks in good shape, I still need to turn it on to ensure it is operational. I inspect the unit for a power connection.

“Hmm, this seems to have a .35 milliamp connection,” I say, inspecting the unit's backside as I get up and go over to a bin on one of the tables. I usually keep all the power connectors in there, so if I were to find one, it should be there. I rummage through the bin, hoping to be lucky.

“Nope, not that one, or this one, or this one,” I keep saying as I pick up one connector after another. I was about to give up since none seemed right before spotting an oddly looking connector at the bottom of the bin.

“Could this weird thing be it,” I say as I pick up the connector to look at the data tag.

“.35 milliamps.” This is it. It’s the one.

I return to my workbench, hopeful that I have found a power connector for the scanner. Once I start it, I can verify that it works and then take off into town to sell it.

“Here goes nothing, D,” I think as I plug the connector into the scanner to power it up.

“Beep, Beep, Beep” is heard from the scanner before the words “Initializing” and “Loading” appear on the unit's display.

“It works,” I say enthusiastically as the scanner’s display lights up after loading.

“Scan complete; Stellar Beast detected in a 200-mile radius 100%: Classification Regular, Elite, and Titan classes identified. Direction South-Southwest” are the words displayed on the scanner.

I’m looking at the words in utter disbelief.

“This can’t be; there haven’t been any Stellar Beasts on Titan since the gate was destroyed over a century ago. This thing must be wrong; probably something in it is broken.”

“Damm, and I wanted to sell this thing. Maybe they will take it as is for a lower price,” I say, looking at the scanner curiously. “There's no use in guessing; let’s go before it gets any later.”

I pick up my backpack and place the node module and the scanner in it before exiting the front door.

“Let's go sell these things in the town of Serenity.”