Tavo the Capybara

Li spotted the second vessel across the Central, docked at the far end of a long, weathered boardwalk. Just like Zhang had said, it was massive—easily dwarfing the five other ships moored nearby.

 It's dark hull was streaked with deep violet stains along its broad, jutting wings, but what really caught Li's attention was the enormous ring structure wrapped around the entire ship. The thing hummed with energy, countless mechanical lights blinking and pulsing within its frame, like a living, breathing machine.

As he moved closer, the sheer scale of the vessel became even more overwhelming. It towered above him, a silent giant.

 At the boarding platform, a squad of Guardians stood in formation, their gleaming armor catching the floodlights. Their presence sent a clear message—this wasn't just any ship. Li tightened his grip on his pack, feeling the weight of the moment settle over him.

Aoki turned,

"Damn, Li… Don't do that again."

"What do you mean? He was going to kill that thing! I-I-"

"Li, do you know who that is?"

"Kryne something… Kryne Re-"

"Kryne Rezvick. A+++ Tier Guardian, nearly an S-tier. He's had a hard life. He's one of the Trench Crew members from the Blood Marshes. It's a planet in the Outer Ortean ring, it's been in perpetual war since the creation of the Covenant. 

It's also one of the harshest planets. Its technology is undeveloped and a number of conglomerates have interests in the continuation of the war; even a stalemate would lead to greater conflicts down the road. 

All the Covenant can do about it is provide minimal protection for the inhabitants there and take down any that are unjustly targeting the innocent which happens probably at least ten times per hour. 

The days there are almost two years per, and that is not mentioning the acid rain, the diseases, the things below the mud and the crossfire.

It's one of the worst places you can be assigned as a Guardian. Slowly, your perception of good and evil will dwindle until you become a killing machine. 

The Guardian death rates there are extremely gruesome too. No one has survived more than three days on that planet; Kryne was apparently on his second. I'm not sure why he was in the central terminal but don't mess around. I don't want to be a swamp runner if I ever get stationed there." 

"Haven't there been peace talks? Anything like that?"

"That's up to the local governments and let's just make it clear that neither side wants to back down. The war has raged on for so long right now, there have been too many losses on each side. It's only the fact that both warring species are capable of rapid reproduction that sustains the war." 

"Damn…."

"Damn right. They will never learn will they? We've even offered both sides immense amounts of our profits yet they continue fighting. It's part of the culture, too. Revenge. One death means two deaths for the opposing group. By now both sides not only crave money, they also want as much of the other side dead. It's really crazy out there."

"Yeah… yeah. Sure."

They had arrived at the group of Guardians now, who were eagerly greeting Aoki. He seemed to be somewhat popular among the other Guardians.

A few of the Guardians were humans, but most were clumped by species, the most distinct of them a short, yet fierce looking furry thing.

They sort of reminded Li of Capybaras from South America only they were far too short and their hair was nearly black, making their eyes nearly invisible. 

One of them walked towards Li, its arms open in embrace.

"Li! Long time no see. My English got better, don't you thinking so?"

Li laughed nervously.

"Hey!! Yes! Your English is better! Much much better!"

"You still don't remember me, do you?"

Li froze, the creature squinted at him carefully.

"H-"

"Come with me, we let's talk inside,"

Kissing the chief's daughter and promising to come back, Li followed, his legs growing weak. Just how many people knew about his forgetfulness?