The young woman stared at the two armed guards in their light combat gear blocking her way. Behind the guards, a group of about 40 young adults were seemingly searching for rocks in an opening of the archipelago.

"Miss, I need you to wait here for moment." The guard turned around and spoke into a microphone at his throat.

"We got a young woman who is seemingly not one of ours. How should we procceed?"

There was a small pause followed by an acklowledgment of the guard. He appruptly turned around.

"Do you want to join the army of Speerantal?"

The woman looked at the guard, his colleague and then the young adults searching for rocks in the background.

“No, I think I'm fine.”

The guard shrugged. "That's also fine by me. What are you doing out here anyways?"

"I am on my way to the nearest city. I want to find out how you are doing." 

"The situation in the city? Its not worth the trouble to go all the way there. Either you know someone in the city or you get robbed. We trade with them but dont really mix with their culture."

"In which direction is the city?", the young woman asked.

“It's just that way.” The guard pointed to the camp behind his back.

"Can I go through your camp?" 

"You can go around our camp."

The guards and the young woman fell silent for a few moments.

The first guard began to inhale and was about to add something when a tall man with a turban and dark skin appeared behind him. He was going right for the young woman, pushing the two guards aside.

"Who the gack are you and why are you standing at our perimeter?" He turned to the guards. "Why are you standing directly in front of a stranger? Why do you think you were given guns? And did you actually ask her if she wants to join our army?"

"Telo said we should ask her."

"Telo just got demoted two ranks for even uttering this in my command room. If this woman"
He pointed directly between the eyes of the young woman. 
" would have been a mass murderer, sucide bomber from the Shira or a Sprim, we would have been all dead by now. That would be 80 troops gone and hundreds of thousands in damages. Both of you idiots will go through the whole camp and apologise to every soldier, scribe and vehicle until you understand what you should be guarding."

Both guards were confused and scared but agreeing with the man seemed to be the right choice.

"Yes, sir!" one of the guards said.

"I am not a 'SIR'. I work for a living you mooo-ron. You will call me Sergeant. Now go before you have to apologise naked."

Both of the guards ran away to the nearest group of recruits.

The Sergeant abruptly turned around to the young woman.

"Do you know of a large metal stone in this area?"

The woman shook her head.

"As you have not exploded by now, I presume you are just some wanderer. Wander off, would you?"

The woman looked around and thought about it for a few seconds.

“I think I can find this metal stone for you if you tell me about Speerantal.”

The Sergeant raised an eye brow.

"Normally we pay people to listen to our propaganda and not the other way around."

He sighed.

"We are a city state to the west, that specialises in the production of energy sources and energy storage. The army's duty is to safeguard this. For example by further exploration of old technology."

"Energy like in 'the sun' or in 'below the sand'?"

The Sergeant frowned. "'Below the sand?'. Are you with this maniac from the Skimbell? Below the sand is more sand, rocks and old technology. There is no energy down there."

“Ah! So someone in this town has fallen into a hole.” The woman suddenly seemed irrationally happy about the situation. The sergeant, in turn, added another raised eyebrow to the frown and took a cautious step back.

The woman pointed to her left at the sand.

"I don't know anything about your large metal stone but how about this one?"

The Sergeant took his eyes of her for a brief moment.

A small metal edge of about five centimeters protruded from the sand where the woman was pointing. With a thoroughly folded face the Sergeant walked to the object and kicked it. It did not budge one bit. "You are going to be kidding me. They stood at this entrance for two days." He turned around to the woman.

"Thank you for your service. Please be on your way now."

As the woman walked away, the Sergeant looked at the stone in the sand and then back at the woman.

"Them maniacs."