Nimrod

Samanea!

Colossal trees flashed with green outlines on their night visions. Droplets of water showered from the canopy damped the thick pile of leaves they tread. Though the smallest of the man-made forest on the moon, the forty-acre facility seemed to be too big for them. It has been two hours since they started their search but they were yet to find their elusive target.

"Any visual?" Axle asked. Clad in a matte-black suit, he held a laser rifle as they roam the forest.

Two voices from his teammates a few feet behind him replied "Negative". Both were also in the same suit that covered their entire body.

The forest was so thick that no light passed through it. If it weren't for the night visions, it would be impossible for them to move around. But this is the kind of environment they have to deal with to reclaim the earth.

The Earth's landscape has experienced drastic changes. From a state of desolation to a planet filled with gigantic trees growing up to ten times their normal size. Except for the poles and the shores, these gigantic trees covered the planet's terrain. even the deserts. On top of it, many of the trees are host to the nims - the monstrous race of tree humanoids that had driven humanity to the brink of extinction.

To prepare them on their quest to reclaim their home planet, military cadets undergo a drill. Here, they had to track a nim and take its prism. - a small hexagonal prism core that is the source of its life and power. That same power inside of the prism could be harnessed to energize their suits made of a material called nano-psuedo-carbon-blocks or NpCB. It was a rare metal that acts like building blocks to form almost anything they could think of. It was the most valued resource in Oxyloc.

Down to the last thirty minutes, they approached a group of Asana trees. At Axle's signal, his comrades stopped. In the middle of the grove was a tree with a peculiar hollow at its base. The thirty-foot hole gaped above the aerial root of the wide trunk. Marks around its bark suggested that there was a creature inhabiting it recently.

"Could that be it?" Sam asked.

"Let's find out," Axle said.

Air hissed within his helmet as he breathed out his mouth. Light beams zapped both sides of the trunk, avoiding the hole. The tree rustled as it brushed off the others before a thud echoed within the forest.

Having destroyed its home, an agitated monster was what they were expecting to leap right at them. Their hearts pounded as their lasers were all pointed at the hollow trunk.

A minute passed, nothing appeared. Not a hint of a nim.

"It's empty," Sam sighed. "It would be easier if they had let us use the new suits. It comes with drones, you know?"

"It would be much easier if you stop complaining!" Isis said. Her pitch was higher with frustration.

While the two were arguing, Axle felt as if his body moved on its own. Having noticed a boulder approaching, he fired above. The huge rock hurled at them blasted to fragments - small enough to cause any damage.

Two more boulders followed but they already made their way up the trees. Though safe for the moment, the enemy's attack had them separated from each other.

"Hey guys, you need to see this," Isis said. Crouched above a branch, she scanned their target. It had a height of fifty-five feet and a wooden body like that of a mid-aged man clad in an old-world armor. Two malevolent eyes glared from its face. Ridges ran from its mouth down its chin and neck. On both sides of its head is a hollow stump.

"A samanea?" Axle mumbled. "Why would they send this kind?"

"Does its species bother you, Axe? It should not matter, you know?" Sam asked as he moved towards Isis.

"Samaneas are on the apex of the nim's species. Not to mention that their king, Nimrod, is a samanea himself. And we are just a bunch of neophytes with zero experience going against a nim. So what on the galaxy are the proctors thinking why they sent this nim to us?! That's what you are thinking, right?" Isis said.

"U-uhm, yes," Axle said. He was a bit embarrassed as Isis dissected through his thoughts.

"But I must admit, I do agree with Sam. If we are to reclaim Earth, we don't have the luxury of choosing which nim to fight."

"Oh ho ho! And there I thought that your mind was programmed to oppose me all the time! Is there a bug in your system?!"

"You kept talking non-sense so why do you expect me to agree with you?"

"It's not non-sense. We have different point-of-views, that's all."

"And that point-of-view of yours is pointless most of the time!"

"Hey, guys.." Axle said. "Can we save the arguments later?"

The two obliged and moved closer to the nim. Down to the last few minutes, they prepared to launch a surprise attack. But it was them who were caught in surprise.

A boulder hit the branch where Sam was. The impact knocked the branch off along with him. Having fallen on a nearby tree, he shook his head as he got up. With a large wooden hand approaching to grab him, he jumped back. He left his laser as the nim chased him.

"Axe?! Ice?!, need a little help here!" Sam said.

Axle reached for the cartridge on his left thigh and popped out a hexagonal prism crystal. He then slipped it in a slot in the middle of his chest. Wood grew from the prism and covered him. With each step he took, his strides widened and the wooden body around him grew to a massive extent.

By the time Axle caught up with the nim, his suit transformed into an armor of a nim's body - a monstrous wooden humanoid body.

With the size and strength at par with their target, Axle caught the samanea by its arm and threw it to the ground.