Left in the Slums, Adopted by the Supreme Commander

The transport ship to Neo-Haven was overweight. Mom avoided my eyes, glancing quickly at her three other children. Then, she suddenly wrapped her arms around me, sobbing uncontrollably. "Amber, sweetie, we can't throw away any more bags. Those are the supplies Toby needs for his new school in Neo-Haven. And Chloe has her big audition coming up; her custom sonic lyre cannot be left behind." Dad patted my shoulder. His tone was heavy, laced with a layer of fake guilt. "Amber, you’ve always been the selfless one. Just stay in the basement of the Dustlands for a little while. The filtered water down there is enough to last you a month." "I promise, as soon as we get our relocation allowance in Neo-Haven, we’ll rent a private cargo ship and come right back for you!" The howling dust storm stung my eyes. I forced a smile onto my face. "Okay, Dad, Mom. I’ll wait for you. You have to come back quickly." I cleaned the basement every single day, keeping it spotless, waiting for the roar of an airship engine. But my family never came. Instead, while scavenging in the junk piles one afternoon, I pulled a giant, fierce-looking black cat out of a discarded pipeline. He was huge—bigger than the heavy cargo carts they used in the Dustlands. His fur was the color of the deepest midnight, and several bone-deep gashes tore across his body, dripping a strange, glowing blue blood. I was dragging a tattered burlap sack filled with a few dead metallic batteries I’d dug up that day. The moment I saw the giant beast, I scrambled back in fear, my boot scraping against a piece of rusted sheet metal. The creature struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, his golden, slit-like pupils staring at me with freezing coldness. "Do low-life humans raise their runts in trash heaps now?" "You're nothing but skin and bones. Not even enough to make a decent snack." I froze. His jaws hadn't moved, but I had heard his voice clear as day. It wasn't the wild roar of a beast, but a slightly weak, arrogant male voice echoing directly inside my head. I dropped my sack and took a cautious step closer. "I wasn't raised in a trash heap," I whispered in protest. "I'm waiting for my parents. They went to Neo-Haven, and they're coming back to get me soon." The massive "cat" widened his eyes. His fluffy ears twitched twice, a flicker of disbelief crossing his golden eyes. "You can hear me? A psychic mutation?" I didn't understand what "psychic" meant. All I could see was the blue blood pouring from his stomach, soaking the dirt beneath the pipe. "You're bleeding. You're going to die." I unbuckled the dented steel flask from my waist. It was the only thing Dad had left me. Inside was the most precious commodity in the Dustlands—clean, filtered water. I only allowed myself two small sips a day. I unscrewed the cap and held it close to his dry, cracked snout. "Drink some. It will help with the pain." The black beast flinched back warily, but his parched throat betrayed him. He extended a rough, spiked tongue and lapped up a mouthful of water. "Ugh, this tastes like heavy metals and pollution. Is this what you humans actually drink?" Despite his fierce complaining, he licked the flask completely dry. After drinking, he seemed to regain a bit of strength. He struggled to stand. But his hind legs were too badly injured. The moment he put pressure on them, his massive body collapsed heavily back into the mud. Frustrated, the black beast slammed his paw down, shattering a nearby concrete pipe into dust. "Damned space pirates! How dare they ambush me! Once I recover, I'll tear them to shreds!" He turned his head, his golden eyes scanning me up and down. "Hey, kid. Since you gave me that water, I'll give you a chance." "Get me to a safe place. Once my people find me, I'll take you to Neo-Haven. You'll live like royalty and have all the premium nutrient solutions you can eat." I shook my head. "I'm not leaving. I have to wait here for my mom and dad." I strained, grabbing a handful of his thick scruff. "You're too heavy for me to carry. Can you limp a little? The basement is just ahead." The black beast rolled his eyes. "Another brainwashed brat." He forced himself up and limped slowly behind me.I brought the giant beast back to my basement. The space was tiny, containing only a worn-out mattress and a few rusted metal cabinets. I took a clean rag, dampened it with a bit of water, and gently wiped the grime from his wounds. The beast lay on the mattress, letting out a deep, rumbling purr. "You're pretty handy, kid. But this place is a dump. No climate control? We’ll freeze to death tonight." So, he was a black panther, not a cat. I sat beside him and pulled the last two tubes of nutrient gel from the cabinet. This was the food my parents had left me. Toby had thrown them in the corner because he hated the flavor. I popped the cap off one and held it to his mouth. "Eat this." He sniffed it with disgust. "Eat it yourself. I don't eat garbage." He paused. "So, you said your parents went to Neo-Haven? Why didn't they take you?" I lowered my head, staring at my dirty toes. "The airship was overweight. Toby's school supplies couldn't be left behind, and Chloe's custom lyre was too important. Dad said I was the most understanding one, so he told me to wait here for a month." The basement fell dead silent. Suddenly, the black panther bolted upright, his tail slamming against the floor with a loud crack. "That's complete bull! If a ship is overweight, you throw away the luggage! Who throws away their kid?!" "Are you sure they're your actual parents? They literally treated you like a piece of used tissue—wiped their hands and threw you away!" "And 'understanding'? Being 'understanding' is just a euphemism for being disposable! They saw you as a burden!" His roaring voice echoed in my head, making me dizzy. My eyes stung. In truth, I had always known the answer. I had just been too terrified to admit it. Whenever there was only one piece of meat on the table, Mom always gave it to Toby. Whenever tuition was due, Dad always said Chloe’s music lessons were too expensive, so I had to drop out of school for a year. They always praised me for being "understanding." Did being understanding just mean being unloved? Right then, a violent pounding rattled the heavy iron door of the basement. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! "Amber! Open the door! I know you're in there!" It was One-Eyed Jack, the most brutal scavenger boss in the Dustlands. His raspy, vicious voice seeped through the cracks of the door. "Your parents went to Neo-Haven to live the high life and left you here to rot. Keeping that filtered water is a waste. Hand it over to your Uncle Jack!" "If you don't open up, I'll blow this door open, drag you out, and sell you to the deep-space mines!" I started shaking violently. Jack was a monster. Even my dad used to bow and scrape whenever he crossed Jack's path. The iron door began to warp inward, screeching under the pressure. The lock was about to snap. The black panther's eyes turned lethal. He slowly stood up, placing his massive body right in front of me. "So noisy. A low-life insect dares to bark in front of me." "Kid, cover your ears." I instinctively clamped my hands over my ears. The next second, a deafening CRASH shook the room. The heavy iron door was blasted off its hinges by a single swipe of the panther’s paw! The metal door flew ten yards through the air, smashing violently into the opposite corridor wall. One-Eyed Jack, who was holding a heavy hydraulic ram, froze in shock. He stared at the massive black panther standing in the doorway, radiating a suffocating, terrifying pressure. The tool slipped from his hands, clattering onto the concrete. The panther bared his razor-sharp fangs, letting out a low, vibrating growl. Jack’s knees buckled, and he hit the ground. He scrambled backward like a crab, screaming in terror. "Monster! There's a monster!" The panther snorted with disdain. "Lucky bastard ran fast. If I weren't injured, I would have swallowed him whole." He turned back to look at me, still trembling in the corner. "Alright, trash has been cleared. This place isn't safe anymore. I'm calling my ride."The panther raised his right front paw and tapped a metallic collar around his neck. A holographic blue screen flickered to life. "Coordinates: Dustlands, Sector 4 Abandoned Basement. Get your asses down here now!" He roared into the comm-link and instantly cut the connection. "Pack up your junk. We’re heading to Neo-Haven. I'm getting you the best food money can buy." I had nothing to pack. Except for the steel flask Dad left me, I had absolutely nothing. I clutched the flask to my chest and whispered, "Will your family really come for you?" "My boss is a cold-blooded tyrant. But considering I’ve worked for him for years, he’ll show up." In less than ten minutes, a deafening roar echoed over the Dustlands. It wasn't the cheap buzz of a commercial airship. It was the deep, thunderous rattle of a military-grade dreadnought. The vibrations shook the dust off the basement ceiling. I ran outside and looked up. A massive, pitch-black military starship hung directly overhead, completely ignoring the Dustlands' no-fly zone. The ship's main hangar doors slid open, and a brilliant tractor beam shot down. Several heavily armed soldiers in black power armor descended, instantly locking down the surrounding streets. Then, a tall, imposing man stepped out of the light. He wore a pristine, custom-tailored black military uniform. The insignias on his shoulders gleamed under the harsh artificial lights, and his sharp, handsome features looked as if they were carved from ice. He walked over to the panther, his cold gaze sweeping over the wounds. "Still alive. It seems the space pirates' firepower is getting weaker." His voice was deep and baritone, carrying a chilling authority. The panther nudged him with his massive head. "You heartless bastard! I almost died out here. If this kid hadn't fed me water, you'd be collecting my corpse right now!" Caleb's gaze finally shifted, crossing over the panther to land on me. I shrunk back against the wall, covered in dirt, looking like a starved, fragile stray. His brow twitched almost imperceptibly. "She saved you?" I nodded slowly, terrified of the sheer aura he projected. The panther immediately used his thick tail to gently push me toward Caleb. "Her parents dumped her in this hellhole. Your dreadnought is huge, Caleb. Give her a room." "She saved my life! You have to adopt her!" Caleb looked down at me from his towering height. "I don't have a habit of taking in strays. Especially human kids." He raised a hand, gesturing to the soldier behind him. "Give her one hundred thousand credits. It's more than enough for her to survive here until she's an adult." One hundred thousand. That was a number I couldn't even comprehend. My parents had abandoned me for a mere twenty-thousand-credit relocation allowance. Yet, I didn't reach out to take the gleaming gold credit card. I looked up at Caleb, my voice trembling but stubborn. "I don't want your money. I saved him because he was bleeding, and he was going to die." I took a step back, retreating toward the darkness of my basement door. "I have to stay here and wait for my parents." Caleb's hand froze in midair, a strange, unreadable emotion flickering in his dark eyes. The panther began pacing frantically, letting out frustrated grunts. "Wait for what?! They are not coming back! They traded you for a stupid lyre and some suitcases!" He bit onto the hem of Caleb's uniform trousers, pulling hard. "Caleb! If you don't take her with us today, I'm staying here too!" Caleb looked at the giant war beast throwing a tantrum on the floor, and then at me—standing in the shadows, stubborn as a weed. He knelt down, bringing himself to my eye level. His gaze locked onto the rusted steel flask in my hands. On the metallic surface, a few words were crudely scratched: Come home safe. Dad had carved those words before they left. I had traced them every single day until the edges of the letters were worn smooth. Caleb stared at the carving for a long moment. He reached out, his gloved finger gently brushing over the words. Then, he stood up. "Get on the ship." "From now on, your last name is Vance." I was escorted into the starship's medical bay. Several sleek medical droids immediately surrounded me. They washed away years of grime and dressed me in a soft, white thermal dress that felt like a cloud. A droid brought me a tray of premium food. There was a steaming plate of real steak and a glass of sweet, freshly squeezed juice. I had never tasted anything so delicious, but I ate very slowly. I wasn't sure if this was a dream. The panther, now heavily bandaged, walked in. He hopped onto the seat across from me, making himself comfortable. "Why are you eating so slowly? Eat up! Drain Caleb's bank account; he's filthy rich anyway. From now on, you're a Vance. You can walk with your head held high in Neo-Haven!" Just as he finished speaking, the ship vibrated slightly, landing smoothly. We had arrived at Neo-Haven. Caleb pushed the door open. He had changed into casual clothes, but he still looked incredibly commanding. "Let's go. Time to see your new home." He naturally took my hand. His palm was broad, calloused, and incredibly warm. The port of Neo-Haven was massive and breathtakingly beautiful, filled with flying vehicles and brilliant holographic advertisements. Caleb’s starship was docked at the most exclusive VIP terminal, far away from the crowded public sectors. But just as we walked down the private terminal exit, a sharp, screeching female voice pierced through the crowd. "Amber?! What the hell are you doing here?!" My entire body went rigid. I turned toward the sound. Standing at the barrier of the public transit lane were four people.