Arrival
Around an hour later, Jack awoke, finding himself fully tired, but the crew weren't around him. Groggily, he stood up and began to wander around the wreckage, spotting a congregation of crew members sitting around a fire, laughing and singing.
At that, Max stood up out of the crowd and began to spin a tale. "Many a years ago, a great greedy king ruled this land. But, his greed soon turned to anger, as his daughter was kidnapped by Automatons. Their head collective decided to hold her as ransom. But the ransom note didn't get to the king in time, so the Automatons killed her. At this, the king went mental, executing anyone suspected of helping the Automatons. He restricted all technologies in the desert, even those to keep him alive. Within days of this decreement, the people expected to hear news of his death. However, a few rebel spies found him lying in his home, on a life support machine, a machine that they were barred from using, a machine that could've saved several lives. When they saw this, one of the spies, Alouis, snuck into his home and killed him. As he was pulling the trigger on his pistol, you could just barely make out the words, 'This is for my love, my Edith.' At his death, the kingdom fell apart. Some districts joined with the collective, in an attempt to stay alive. However, the Automatons felt no mercy for them, and forced the members of District 6 into slavery. And that's where we are today: a divided, shattered kingdom, with villages still holding onto the dead crown."
At that, the crew, including Jack, were applauding Max for his storytelling. After the applause, Jack stopped Max to ask more about the ship's state, and more importantly, the other crew members on the ship. "Max, did you and your men see anyone else come out of the ship?"
"No, no we did not. We had actually just got here, by the time my sargaent found you." Max spoke. "But, if you're looking for survivors, I'd recommend you go look in Xionë. It's the closest city to here, it shouldn't take more than a couple hours to get there. They don't call it 'The Stowaway City' for nothing, friend." Afterwards, Max handed Jack a large backpack, connected to what looked like a gas mask. "What this is, basically, is a canteen. It should have enough water for when you eventually find a river. If you keep going in that direction, " he says as he points northwest, "you'll find a river on your way to Xionë."
Jack tried on the jacket and mask, and found it fit like a glove. Strange, he thought, as he thanked Max and headed off to find any more survivors.
