It seemed as though the dusty planet wobbled and sank under the weight of the starship. Passengers were already descending the ramp, while the ship’s hull continued to cool, crackling and emitting strange noises. As soon as the warrior and his companion stepped off the ramp and onto the surface, the unbearable heat of the desert air scorched their faces, halting their breath for a moment. Turning back, they noticed that the ship was surrounded by soldiers armed with the latest blasters. Their uniforms resembled those of space mercenaries rather than a regular army. Half of them were young, strikingly beautiful women, their orange berets cocked with flair.

Once the couple made their way into the spaceport building, a smiling cyborg stepped forward to greet them.

“Greetings, new settlers! ‘Welcome!’” the cyborg said with a noticeable accent.

“You’ll need to complete a few formalities!”

The official made a broad gesture towards a scanner designed to analyze any biological structure.

“If you are cybernetic organisms, genetically modified beings, or robots, please use the ‘I am not human’ identification program,” the cyborg continued.

After the security system scanned them and took DNA samples, the helpful cyborg asked the warrior and his companion to confirm their financial obligations to their new employer using a crypto protocol. Shortly thereafter, the couple emerged from the spaceport into the scorching, breath-stealing heat.

Not far from the spaceport’s exit, a confused and disoriented group of three young Earthlings stood. It was clear that the young man, the woman, and their companion were somewhat in shock at their surroundings. It turned out that they, along with the warrior and his girlfriend, would all be taking the same air taxi.

Soon, a rosy-cheeked, talkative fat man rolled up to them and invited the group into his flying taxi, parked nearby. As the passengers settled in, they were greeted by an endless expanse of dusty desert, interrupted only by the occasional small town or city, enclosed in glass domes. The driver turned out to be a surprisingly chatty fellow, tirelessly rambling about how wonderful the place they were heading to was—though, based on their first impressions, none of the passengers seemed to share his enthusiasm.

About an hour later, the air taxi began a shaky descent. A small jolt, and the craft touched down on a slightly dusty landing pad, crawling with cleaning robots. Suddenly, like something rising from the ground itself, a young woman appeared. She was dressed in a camouflage jumpsuit, which seemed to shift color to match its surroundings like a chameleon.

“Welcome, friends!” the young woman announced, her voice carrying a barely perceptible accent that only added to the mystique. “Please follow me! I’ll be your guide to our surface base.”

She gestured gracefully, leading them forward.

“I’ll show you where you’ll live, relax, and eat. Later, my colleague will acquaint you with our underground infrastructure and your future workplace.”

The place that was to serve as their new home turned out to be a small settlement composed of modular houses, all connected by an underground tunnel. At the heart of the town stood a diamond-shaped building housing the communal dining hall and a recreational complex. Each modular house was divided into two living quarters, linked by an electronic shower and toilet room. These facilities, eschewing the archaic concept of water, instead employed streams of charged electrons. Both rooms were equipped with advanced devices for skin care, dental hygiene, and other bodily needs. Each gadget came with embedded nanobots that ensured surfaces were always spotless and equipment perpetually operational—whether the occupants wanted it or not.

Soon, it was dinnertime. The pair made their way to the communal dining hall, where they were greeted with an unexpected culinary experience. While the food was undeniably fresh, it was seasoned with bizarre, unfamiliar spices that tantalized and confused their Earth-trained palates. Each dish emitted a faint, eerie green glow, as if it had been conjured in a radioactive kitchen.

Before they could voice their bewilderment, a booming voice interrupted their thoughts.

“Hey there, newcomers! Mind if I join you?”

They turned to see a towering, three-armed giant grinning down at them, one hand already reaching for a chair.

“The name’s Yu!” he declared, extending one of his oversized hands for a shake. “Bet you just landed, huh? Don’t worry, we’ll get along just fine,” he added, slapping the warrior’s shoulder with one of his other hands, the force somewhere between friendly and bone-rattling.

“So, how’s the food?” Yu asked, settling into his seat with a thud that made the tableware jump.

“It’s... not bad,” the warrior ventured cautiously. “Just... oddly spiced. And it glows.”

“Ah, that’d be the genetically modified algae,” Yu explained, scooping up a glowing morsel with gusto. “Grown right here in underground reservoirs. Eat enough of it, and your DNA restructures itself to store a serious energy reserve. Handy, huh?”

The warrior and the woman exchanged dubious glances but said nothing.

“Not a fan of the dessert?” Yu asked, turning his attention to the woman and her untouched plate. “No worries, I’m not picky. Mind if I finish it for you?”

Before she could respond, Yu’s third hand was already inching toward her plate, his grin as wide and unapologetic as the void itself.

The warrior and his companion burst into laughter, their mirth ringing out over the communal dining hall.

“Well, I suppose we’re friends now,” the woman said, smiling at the giant. “Where do you work?”

“Same as most folks around here—in the deep mine!” Yu replied with a grin so broad it practically needed its own zip code.

“See you on the job tomorrow!” the giant said as he bid them goodbye, one hand shoveling dessert into his mouth while another cleared his tray with surprising efficiency.

The next morning, at precisely six a.m., the warrior and his partner headed to their respective assignments. She had been placed in the cafeteria, supervising chef-bots, while he was assigned to the deep mine, excavating ancient artifacts.

Breakfast, they soon learned, was nonexistent. Instead, each worker was issued a blue pill to swallow. The pill had the effect of several dozen cups of the strongest coffee imaginable. At first, the body froze in shock; then, as if cranked up by an invisible hand, it began humming with energy. The catch? After a few hours, the pill wore off, leaving behind a crushing wave of exhaustion.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The warrior, along with a crowd of settlers, descended in a high-speed elevator to the bottom of the mine.

“Level 388! Have a productive workday!” chirped the overly cheerful voice of the automated operator.

He found himself stationed on a dusty excavation site, paired with Yu and a crew of clunky, dust-choked robots.

“Why aren’t only robots doing this job?” the warrior asked, eyeing the sluggish machines.

“Simple!” Yu boomed, laughing. “The cheap ones can’t tell real artifacts from junk, and the expensive ones... Well, pal, looks like we cost less!”

Moving and even breathing in the bulky suit became a Herculean task. Without his peak physical conditioning and Yu’s help, the warrior would’ve collapsed under the punishing workload. The robots, meanwhile, constantly jammed with fine dust, needing frequent cleaning and rebooting—tasks that fell, naturally, to their exhausted human handlers.

Lunchtime turned out to be as mythical as breakfast. Eating at the mine’s depth was impossible, and the company deemed sending workers topside for a meal too costly. Instead, the blue pill made a reappearance, conveniently stashed in their helmet compartments alongside a water tube. The water was warm, sickly sweet, and carried an unpleasant aftertaste—a small indignity in their sea of grievances.

By the end of the grueling day, the warrior staggered back to his modular home, utterly spent. His partner, by contrast, seemed relatively unscathed—her cafeteria job mostly involved keeping an eye on bots preparing meals for the company staff. After exchanging tales of their respective days, the pair collapsed into bed, bracing themselves for another round of drudgery.

The grind continued for days, a loop of back-breaking labor, oppressive heat, and omnipresent, meddling robots.

One afternoon, while watching the bots scurry about, Yu and the warrior noticed a sudden, intense glow emanating from the excavation site. The normally bustling robots froze mid-task. Curious, the two approached the source and discovered a slab of glowing blue crystal etched with ancient, luminescent symbols.

The friends exchanged glances and moved aside to whisper.

“Listen,” the warrior began. “I know a rare bastard who’s nuts about ancient artifacts. He’s the one who landed us in this ‘wonderful’ place. Total scum, but he’s loaded. What do you say we sell this slab to him? It might be our ticket out of this cursed hole.”

“Not a bad idea,” Yu admitted, scratching his chin with one of his three hands. “But what about the bots?” He gestured toward the frozen machines. “And how do we even smuggle it out?”

“You said it yourself—those tin cans can’t tell an artifact from scrap. We’ll swap it with some random chunk of crystal. They’ll never notice! Smuggling it out, though—that’s the real problem,” the warrior whispered.

“I might know someone who can help,” Yu said, his voice dropping lower. “There’s a guy in the mine—a bit of a local fixer. He can get things done. But there’s a catch.”

“What kind of catch?” the warrior asked, leaning in.

“We’d have to pay him in blue pills. He’d do anything for them,” Yu said, grinning.

“No way!” the warrior hissed. “We can’t survive the mine without those pills!”

“Well, pal, we’ve got to suffer if we want to pull this off,” Yu said with a resigned shrug.

“Fine. Let’s do it,” the warrior said, determination hardening his voice. “Better this than rotting down here forever.”

The next two days were a living hell. Working without the pills was pure torment, but the crystal was finally in their possession. They’d even had to reprogram the robots’ memories—a task that, compared to their larger scheme, felt like a minor inconvenience.

Now all that remained was to meet their shady recruiter, hand over the crystal, and secure the funds they desperately needed to escape.

The meeting with the recruiter was set for a month later, in a small town about an hour’s flight from their work settlement. The town consisted of a few dusty streets lined with round, windowless houses. Each roof had a small reactor from "Space X"—their ubiquitous power source. The narrow alleyways felt like an Eastern bazaar, with vendors selling everything from food to spare parts from outdated robots. The air was alive with the loud shouts of salespeople advertising their goods.

Yu and the warrior had arranged their meeting at a local restaurant. Just as they were finishing their meal—fried vegetables, stewed scorpions, and a peculiar green local beer—a familiar face appeared in the doorway.

The recruiter, as always, was impeccably dressed, his thin hands twirling an exquisite cane carved from the bone of a Trionian dragon. He was flanked by two young, athletic brunettes dressed in tactical jumpsuits, holding large electric knives. They exuded a menacing presence. Yu and the warrior exchanged uneasy glances, their fists clenching in response. But to their surprise, the recruiter greeted them with unusual politeness.

"Ah, it’s wonderful to meet an old friend," the recruiter said, flashing a wide smile at the warrior.

"Let’s skip the pleasantries," the warrior spat, his voice sharp.

"Of course," the recruiter replied, still smiling. "But I do believe there’s no rush... Business doesn’t like to be hurried."

He looked at his guards and gestured toward their table. "I hope you don’t mind if I join you? Perhaps a drink for all of us?" he suggested, his eyes gleaming with a subtle amusement.

"And what about your bodyguards?" Yu nodded toward the two women standing nearby.

"They don’t drink," the recruiter replied with a smirk, enjoying the discomfort his words caused.

After taking a sip of his green beer, the recruiter licked his lips and gave the warrior a mocking glance.

"Ah, you’re a stubborn one! I trust you found something of value, then? By the way, where is your lovely companion?" he asked with feigned concern. "I trust she’s doing well?"

"Your prayers are appreciated," the warrior replied bitterly, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, well... since you insist, let’s return to business. I doubt you’ve found anything of true worth, but since I’m already here, I’ll do you a small favor and take a look at your... crystal." The recruiter leaned in, his voice lowering conspiratorially. "I assume your employer doesn’t know what we’re up to? For our own safety, let’s keep your employer in the dark, yes? We wouldn’t want any... trouble, would we?"

"We’re not opposed," Yu said, his voice low.

The recruiter nodded in approval. "Let’s see it then."

The warrior and Yu placed the glowing crystal on the table. At first, the recruiter didn’t show much interest, but as his eyes glinted with a sudden spark, it was clear the crystal had caught his attention.

"I knew it!" he muttered. "I shouldn’t have come all this way. But since I’m already here, I’ll offer you a small kindness. How much do you want for this... practically worthless chunk of crystal?"

"Kindness?" The warrior’s tone was harsh. "Thanks to your previous ‘kindness,’ we’re dying in this hole. I’ll snap your thin neck if you—"

Out of the corner of his eye, the warrior noticed the recruiter’s bodyguards inching closer, pulling their glowing electric knives from their sheaths.

"Don’t argue with him," Yu said quietly, placing a hand on the warrior’s arm, signaling him to calm down.

"I see your friend’s smarter than you," the recruiter said with a mocking tone. "First of all, it wasn’t me who got you into this mess. Blame your own stupidity. Secondly, if you lay a finger on me, they’ll chop you into pieces, and not the kind that’ll make any difference to rich cyborgs." He glanced at his guards, who were now glaring at the two men.

"And now," he said, grinning slyly, "how much do you want?"

"I think three million star Bitcoins is a fair price," the warrior said, leaning forward. "That should be enough for all three of us to get off this cursed planet and back to Earth."

"Three million star Bitcoins? Good heavens, young men, I don’t have anything close to that! What I can offer is two hundred and fifty thousand. And even that... is highway robbery," the recruiter said, locking eyes with them, his expression a mixture of contempt and amusement.

"I think we’re done here," the warrior muttered, standing up and trying to drag Yu away.

"Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s not worth more than that?" Yu whispered in his ear.

The warrior paused, then whispered back, "You see, my friend, I’m not just familiar with our buyer. I’ve also done some digging into this crystal." He leaned closer to the recruiter. "This isn’t just any crystal—it’s part of the Crystal Pyramid of one of the oldest and most mysterious civilizations in the universe. Ever heard of the Engineers?"

The recruiter’s eyes widened in disbelief. "The Engineers," he muttered, barely able to contain his shock.

"That’s right. This is part of the so-called 'Pyramid of Happiness,' which was said to function like a quantum computer, capable of answering the ultimate question: ‘What is needed to achieve happiness?’"

The warrior’s voice dropped to a low, dangerous tone. "And we know that two other parts of the pyramid have already been found. Right, my friend?" he said, locking eyes with the recruiter.

The recruiter’s smug expression faltered for a brief moment. "Oh... oh... this is interesting, young man," he said slowly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "So you’re not entirely clueless."

"Well, well," the recruiter continued, now fully engaged, "it seems you’re not completely idiotic. This crystal, yes... it’s part of the ‘Pyramid of Happiness.’ In fact, I’m the proud owner of the other two pieces. Yes, that’s right—two pieces belong to me." He smiled with a wicked grin. "But tell me, young stubborn one, would you be interested to know what happiness truly is? No one but me will ever activate this thing. The pyramid works as a quantum computer, and to activate it, you need the codes—written in the ancient language of the Engineers. And I, by the way, am the only one who knows it fluently. Without the other parts of the pyramid, and without my knowledge of the Engineer’s language, this is just a useless chunk of crystal."

"Still want to haggle?" the recruiter asked, his tone laced with mockery.

"Of course!" the warrior responded, not backing down. "After all, both parts of your pyramid are useless without our crystal. So, good-bye. When you’re ready to contact us, you know where to find us."

The recruiter’s smile faded. "Well, I suppose you’ve forced my hand."

Without warning, the recruiter activated his cane, which transformed into a plasma sword. With a swift slash, he severed Yu’s arm, sending the giant crashing to the floor, pulling the warrior down with him. The recruiter, surprisingly agile for his age, darted to the side, snatching the glowing crystal from the table. His bodyguards moved in, spinning their electric knives with deadly precision, ready to defend their master.