Thick, calloused hands rubbed the bed of the pickup truck. Golgarn wondered at the material before putting his cheek down on it. He felt the odd texture with his fingers, smelled it, and then gave it a little lick.

On his way to the unusual vehicle, the Unklarn had touched every part of every motorcycle and truck that he could reach. The humans seemed to be patient with him, although he couldn't help but frequently check the expression of the General to make sure Golgarn wasn't crossing him.

Mostly, the General looked stoic and unamused. For Golgarn, as long as he didn't look murderous or turned red things seemed ok. To his surprise, when they had told him to climb into the back of a truck, the General had also climbed up with him. For a leader to ride with the lower rank troops was practically unheard of in the greater universe.

It also surprising Golgarn that the General put away the big sword and pulled out a heavy war hammer, much heavier looking than the General's frame seemed capable of wielding. Golgarn hadn't thought the human noticed him lamenting the inappropriate nudity the large sword had caused to his neck.

After feeling, smelling, and tasting the truck bed, the vehicle began to move. It rumbled across the ground. There wasn't the same speed as the motorcycle that the General had ridden on before, which the armored female now drove, but this truck was still comparable to beasts that used skills for bursts of speed.

A lot of Golgarn's assumptions and teaching were being questioned. Natives shouldn't be strong enough to take bases. Natives can't take control of other races, even ones as weak as the Leputi. That they empowered the Leputi confused him even more.

Then there were the vehicles. No magic or skills were required to use them, and anyone could craft them with the know-how. The way the General described it, the humans tried to figure out the rules of the universe instead of relying on only the skills granted by the [System].

At first, Golgarn wanted to laugh at them. What was the point in learning, when things just worked. After the General questioned the purpose of all his training, or the gathered knowledge of classes and skills that each race collected, Golgarn understood what he meant. Even coming to this world was to explore and find new materials for the Unklarn to work with.

The fact that anyone could operate, or even build, vehicles like this if they had the proper training, excited Golgarn. So many activities required skills or runic training. Being able to go to a school for a short period instead of spending decades apprenticing in the hopes that your master would share the knowledge he gained through experience had an appeal.

Golgarn wondered if he would be able to learn how to make these vehicles. If he used the materials he was familiar with, then there was no doubt he'd be able to make them stronger. Even the General agreed with that, not feeling protective of or arrogant in the humans' knowledge.

As the scenery went by, Golgarn couldn't help but ask questions about the land and structures he saw. From the roads to the buildings to the fields and forests they drove by, it almost seemed magical from the back of this speeding truck rather than fleeing on slow legs.

As they approached the place of their main base, where a city named Jackson used to be, he couldn't help but be amazed at everything he saw. It wasn't that the structures were overly impressive. Just knowing that the natives previously had sprawling cities all around the world made Golgarn question more of what he had been told of [System] sponsored worlds.

Maybe the races could have learned more about the universe if they had been more peaceful in their approaches with natives of previous worlds. If anything, the methods that the General explained were a part of their science, made him realize that they could be applied to [System] managed knowledge as well.

"Then ye do have metallurgy too?" Golgarn asked in the midst of a conversation with the General.

"Of course. We have many types of metals, and methods to work with them. We created alloys to improve them by combining materials with metals. We even have a chart to explain the molecular structures of them and their atomic compositions."

"Ul-loi? Muhl-eh-cues? Uh-tuh-mick? I no be aware of these terms," stuttered Golgarn as he tried to figure out the words that the General was using.

The General sighed. At first Golgarn thought he let the leader down, but then he realized it was just disinterest. As expected of a berserker to not have the patience for teaching.

The General then began moving his fingers in the air, manipulating a display. It took a few minutes, but Golgarn watched, ready to respond when his new leader was finished. Better to make a good impression by being attentive. Always better to prove your worth when becoming enslaved. It usually leads to better treatment.

When the General finished what he was doing, the display became visible, and he angled it for Golgarn to look at.

"Listen, Golgarn, I'm not well educated on this stuff. Here is a library of our books on metals and working with them that we downloaded into the Rift Menu. I've given you permission to read through them. I know you used some kind of [System] item to be able to understand languages on our world, but if you don't understand a word, you'll just need to do a search through the library."

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"What?!" exclaimed Golgarn as he saw hundreds of book titles lined up on the display. "Ye just be giving me this knowledge?"

"Well, sure. These books were all publicly available before the invaders destroyed our technology. I downloaded as many books as I could before our civilization crumbled. Besides, you work for us now. Better for you to know what is available and how we think instead of expecting us to know your way of doing things."

"Aye, that do make sense," sniffled Golgarn, touched by the fount of knowledge he was just given. This wasn't at all what he had expected when he signed that [System] contract. "I be no scholar but will try me hardest to learn what be in here."

"No rush. I'm sure Garrett and the other crafters will be glad to explain things, so be sure to ask the questions you have. Besides, we'll need a bit of your experience in the beginning, since we can't waste time conquering the Drathan base."

Golgarn shivered at the mention of the Drathan and the most likely disastrous intention of his new owner.

***

"Yo! Garrett!" shouted the General as he escorted Golgarn into a workshop. Golgarn looked around it from the doorway.

Even with several people working on different things, it was surprisingly neat, although the equipment he could see was super basic. The workbenches and forges that were low-end models and they didn't even look like the owners modified them in the well-known ways. That led Golgarn to assume this was where the apprentices or slaves were trained.

A human came out that almost looked like an Unklarn, except he was a bit taller and had thinner hair and beard. The man looked excitedly at the General as he came up to speak with him.

"What did you steal for us this time?" asked the man intensely. "Materials? Resources? More knowledge?"

"Steal?" Golgarn muttered from the doorway, drawing both the General and the man called Garrett's attention.

The General turned to Golgarn while answering the questions.

"I brought you all three, in a manner of speaking. This guy is from a race called Unklarn. His name is Golgarn. He has been an apprentice for 70 years if I understood him correctly."

Garrett let out a low whistle in surprise. Golgarn felt like he had to justify the time spent as an apprentice to make a worthwhile impression.

"Aye, 70 rotations. Ye might be looking for more, but I assure ye that I learned more than the basics."

"I should hope so!" exclaimed the other hairy man. "I've only been alive for 50 years. I can't imagine having to spend 70 just to learn the basics!"

"Anyway, Golgarn," said the General, "work with Garrett here. Our priority is to get as many people as possible onto that floating base. Use whatever means will work in spite of their flying mounts. Jetpacks, airplanes, balloons, cannons, catapults…we need a large enough force to get up there. Garrett, use this guy to come up with some plan as soon as possible."

"It'll be difficult with the tight timeframe and no Rift assistance," grumbled Garrett.

"I know, but to even hold off the flyers we need air defenses, and even defending against an attack wouldn't be decisive. They can just summon most of their forces right above us," said Adam.

"I spoke with the Colonel and understand the dire situations," reassured Garrett. "We'll see what we can do as fast as possible. I'm sure Golgarn here can also explain some of the points we've been missing in the Red Clan documents you brought."

"Red Clan?!" gasped Golgarn.

"Yeah," nodded the General. "That's what Garrett meant by steal. Since we're new to the [System] and don't have centuries of understanding, I had to insist that the Red Clan agents I encountered share their knowledge with us."

"That no be possible! Red Clan gets what they want, and few can stand against them without an army," uttered Golgarn.

The General smiled a wicked grin that made Golgarn shiver once more.

"I did say I insisted. Anyway, work with Garrett here. I'll have another guy named Jordan Lane contact you about your living quarters. He'll set one up underground if you want, or can make you a normal one. Just tell him what you need to feel comfortable."

"Aye, I be appreciative of ye consideration," said Golgarn. "This Garrett fellow be a slave master or apprentice overseer? How should I be addressing ye?"

Both the General and Garrett looked at each other with a mix of confusion and a bit of amusement.

"Golgarn, you aren't a slave," said Garrett. "Didn't Adam say you signed a contract?"

"Aye, was it no be a slave contract?" asked Golgarn, his own confusion showing.

"I guess you didn't read it then?" asked the General.

"I did no feel the need since a slave can only hope for consideration from his master. The screechy human used many a word that I no understood."

"Goglarn, what you signed wasn't a slave contract," said the General slowly.

"What?!" exclaimed Golgarn.

"It was an employment contract. You will work as one of us. We'll give you the same living and working conditions as our own people. You can even quit, although that isn't well advised." The General sighed. "I'll have Mr. Rhodes, the screechy guy's father, come explain the conditions to you so that you don't accidentally violate them."

"Yes, and I'm considered the chief of the crafters," explained Garrett. "I coordinate them and oversee the projects, not apprentices or slaves."

Golgarn had been looking at the General in disbelief, but hearing what Garrett said, he actually got on one knee and bowed to him.

"A-apologies for mis-identifying ye, chief. I be trying me best to live up to ye expectations."

"That's fine," said Garrett, eyes large at Golgarn's bow before gesturing his hand to wave off the formality. "For now, you can use the workbench over in that corner. We'll need to get each other up to speed quickly so we can brainstorm what to do about the flying options."

"Aye. Thank ye for understanding. Do ye mind if I also discuss some improvements ye can make to the forge? I do think efficiency and capability can be increased significantly."

Garrett looked over at the forge with narrow eyes.

"I'll appreciate any suggestions you have, although I'll discuss them with others before we make changes."

"Aye. That do be wise. No upsetting the worked if no need to."

"Golgarn, I need to get back to my other leaders, but more people will be sent to get you settled. Before that though, I've been wondering. What is that cube thing you keep playing with whenever you're nervous?" asked The General.

"It be that obvious, huh? No matter. This cube be something that all beginners need to make to pass the test into apprenticeship. Each side has an array of co-effecting runes for many purposes. They can be made for all kinds of needs."

"Can I see that?" asked Garrett.

Golgarn handed it over.

"It be just a small thing. Every Unklarn crafter do knows how to make them. Basics of the basics."

Garrett concentrated intensely as he turned the cube from side to side, inspecting them.

"You can teach us how to make and use these?"

"Aye. That be no challenge. In exchange, may ye be teaching me how to make them trucks?"

Garrett smiled and put an arm over Golgarn and his pack. He gently led him to the selected workbench.

"Of course! Even if you are only a half apprentice, I think having you here will help us immensely."

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