[indent][color=silver]It began in the summer of the sixteenth year of the rule Alesand’r of Clan Quohog, Twelfth of Elona and first of House Tamarus.

The great sages, K’Ehelyr of Okaara and Ganthet of Oa, recorded that it was on the 43rd day of Maktag when the fire first appeared in the skies over Tamaran.  It was the start of what all the nearby stars would come to know as [b]the Citadel War[/b] -- an aggressive push by the Citadel Star Empire for interstellar dominion.  The heavens beckoned the Tamaraneans to answer a call to arms, and their warrior culture responded in kind.  Since the time of the first High Kings, the advance of the Citadel was halted against the immovable spirit of the Tamaranean people.

And the heart of Tamaran caused great changes in the cultures of their neighbors.  The once peaceful planets of Okaara and Euphorix adapted to ensure the survival of their societies, and the first Council of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds was formed.  Where once Okaara had fostered men of great learning in the Grand Viziers, now it became feared for the shrewd, unmatched strategy of those who would be called Warlords.  Euphorix, prized for its engineers, harnessed its knowledge of energy to great impenetrable shields that secured their world and those of their allies.

And so the war lingered on, day by day, year by year, decade by decade.  Neither side yielding, as the Citadel consolidated its power throughout the Vega Galaxy.  From beyond the edge of their stars, the Guardians of the Universe moved to contain the malevolent ambition of the Citadel to within its own galaxy, restricting the Citadel’s reach while also limiting the ability of Tamaran, Okaara, or Euphorix to receive aid.

So has it been for more than one hundred years.

...until today.[/color]

[indent][indent][sub]- [i]excerpt from the memoirs of Shaka, "When the Walls Fell."[/i][/sub][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/V2HRGlB.png[/img]
[b][sub]T H E   D E C O N S T R U C T I O N   O F   F A L L I N G   S T A R S[/sub][/b]
[sub][color=silver]P A R T   I[/color][/sub][/center]
[INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3][color=#b4a7d6]T H E   M I L K Y   W A Y   G A L A X Y[/color][/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][INDENT][INDENT][sup][color=#d9d2e9]Space Sector 2814 | The Sol System[/color][/sup][/INDENT]
[color=silver]The ship blinked into existence.

Exiting out from the jump point, the small vessel listed to one side as it careened wildly through the unfamiliar star system it had just entered. 

Inside the cockpit, a golden child struggled to breath through acrid smoke that was clouding the interior.  An unkempt mass of fiery red hair framed his youthful features, and the term fiery was used advisedly -- as shimmering and flickering flames seemed to spark within the thick mane of hair.  His eyes were as gleaming emeralds, entirely green with no visible sclera. 

Flashing in the heads-up display, two larger vessels appeared in the space behind him.  Lights ignited the heavens, as bolts of plasma sailed over the canopy.  The ship bucked and rocked, pitching the lad from out of his seat as the vessel was assaulted.

The boy’s left hand dialed in a series of commands to the vessel’s navigation.  A series of red markers, however, gave notice that the ship’s engines would not support another jump.  He had exhausted his resources in the fleeting leap that had brought him here.

...where ever [i]here[/i] was.

So, instead, the boy began looking for alternatives.  There were eight planets in this star system, two of which were gas giants and one of which had a substantial debris field encircling it.

Angling the ship toward the epistellar jovian, the child did his best to hold course as the ship struggled against his hand, and the repeated harassment of the larger vessels was certainly not helping to smooth the passage.

As chunks of ice and rock began to become more thickly present, that difference in size started to work to his advantage.  Weaving among the particles and debris, the boy managed to maneuver a small lead over the attacking vessels.

Pushing the engines for what they might yet yield, the boy sped toward the middle of the star system.  An internal debris disk offered a wealth of asteroids, both massive and miniscule.  If he could find a cave or shelter, or even just find a place to land and power down, then his pursuit might well mistake him for the rock.

He had barely made it half the distance, when they caught up with him again. Red bolts of plasma lanced into the side of the ship, sending the vessel into a slide that the boy could not repair.  So, instead, the youth threw the helm over.  

The small vessel seemed to shudder, bucking against the rudder even as it turned back upon its course.  As it did, it collided with the closest of its pursuers.  In the impact, both vessels were engulfed in a plume of flame as their reactors briefly flared into miniature novas... and were quickly extinguished by the vacuum of space.

And, from out of that cold, endless dark, a green spark ignited.

Enveloped in emerald flame, the child flew through the stars under his own power.  The flames burning from off his head seemed to lengthen, forming a brilliant contrail as he pushed onward toward one of the asteroids.

Slipping under and behind the first, the child looked for a second to duck away to, before the enemy ship re-positioned to try and re-acquire him.

A sharp, burning sensation was piercing beneath his breast.  A hand pressed to his chest, as he tried to quell the pain.  The smoke inside the cabin of his stolen transport had not given him the opportunity to prepare for exposure to vacuum.  

Turning his hand over, the jewel atop the gauntlet that he wore around his wrist glowed faintly.  The fourth planet from the sun was closest to this orbital axis, but the measurements indicated that its atmosphere was too thin to have offered any respite.  The third and second planets, however, were showing indications of a more substantial atmosphere.

Slipping between another pair of asteroids, the flaming haired nymph risked the briefest survey for signs of the enemy, before he launched in a dead sprint across the endless night for the faint blue-green light that might be his only hope.

The burning in his chest was gnawing at him.  The veins in his head and neck became prominent as the body began to lapse into the grip of suffocation.  His vision was blurred, even as he felt himself colliding with a powerful radiation source.  Green flame spiraled from off his body, as the energy he absorbed began leaking through every pour.  He would have screamed in pain, if he had so much as a single breath left him.

He knew not whether the world below was paradise or poison, but as the child descended upon its atmosphere, he felt his consciousness slipping away even as he succumbed to the harsh embrace of its gravity...[/color][/indent]