_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. _Aren, the old mechanic next door, must be working on his ship again._ _I should ask him to fix my heating system - I wouldn’t be suprised if I was covered in a layer of frost, given how cold my room is right now. I groaned, screwing my eyes shut even tighter, as if that would somehow ease the pounding in my head. I must have hit the bars exceptionally hard last night. _Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. _This time, I noticed, the banging was accompanied by the overlapping chorus of frantic human voices. “Captain! Captain Marrek, are you in there?! Please respond!” At that, my eyes shot open, and I gasped. I was in my chair in the ship, only I was… upside down? There was a gash on my leg and I could feel the scratches and the bruises all over my body, but nothing seemed to be too serious. Probably concussed though. At that thought, a wave of dizziness swept over me and I shook my head violently, attempting to fight it off - enraging the beast that was currently beating on my brain like it had a drum solo. Ok, definitely concussed. “Captain Marrek?!” The panicked voice shouted again. “He-“ I choked, breaking out into a coughing fit. “I’m here!” I yelled back, hearing a relieved murmer pass through the group on the other side of the wall. “Fantastic,” the voice replied, “What’s your status? Are you injured?” “Nothing I can’t handle. I am on the ceiling though, and would very much like to be let down, if you wouldn’t mind.” The man barked out a short laugh. “I hear you. We’re waiting for some equipment to get to us so we can cut through this wall. Just sit tight, Captain.” I rolled my eyes. “Not like there’s much else I can do anyways.” I muttered under my breath. I did my best to take another look around the room. It was absolutely destroyed. Even Aren wouldn’t be able to fix this. The windshield was shattered, and the electronics panel for the weapons station was gouged to bits - hardly anything more than a few sad looking scaps of metal, with the wiring and circuitry dangling out in a state of equal disrepair. I turned my head to the other side, and… “…no.” I whispered, tears beginning to well in my eyes. It was gone. A massive chunk had been taken out of the ship, and with it went the nav station and… him. The tears were flowing freely now, tracing paths down my forehead before dropping the fifteen or so feet to the ground. I gritted my teeth, doing my best to compose myself before shouting, “Hey! How much longer until you get me down?!” My voice trembled, and I heard the collection of voices pick up again before the man responded gently, as though he were pitying me, “It should just be a few more minutes now. The stuff’s almost here.” I bit my cheek to stop myself from chewing his head off. He was doing his best, I suppose. I racked my brain, trying to remember our flight path and what planet I could possibly have crashed on. Given the icicles forming where the windshield had been, the biting wind, and the overall frigid temperatures, I concluded that we had landed on Yvorr - the ice planet orbiting a dying star, doomed to death itself, soon. I frowned. The rumors say that no one really lands on Yvorr by accident, that the planet calls those close to death. Some even believe the dying star is sentient, feeding only on despair, drawing in lost souls to witness its last breath. I scoffed, shaking my head. How stupid do people have to be to believe that? The truth is, the inhabitants of Yvorr worship their star like a god - and believe that their lifelines are entwined with its own. That’s why this godforsaken planet still has a population. But because of the rumors few trade with them, and their economy has ground to a standstill. In order to keep things moving, they use the rumors to attract lonely rich people, who believe they belong nowhere else in life but “The Dying Eye”, as it’s so affectionately been coined. I sighed. If we were back on Elaris, my people would never let me hang like some sort of trussed up pig for even a minute. I would’ve been down before I regained consciousness, waking up in a soft, warm bed, as opposed to this frozen metal tomb. I listened carefully to the voices outside, picking up on pieces of casual conversation. Nobody seemed to be in any particular rush. I rolled my eyes - how unsurprising. The people of Yvorr are notorious for moving at a pace a glacial as the planet itself - as if time were just another thing frozen beneath the ice. “Alright, that’s it.” I muttered. I reached my hand down - or up, I guess - to my boot, where I always kept a knife. I strained against the seatbelt, stretching my arm out as far as it could go, every muscle, tendon, and ligament in my body screaming against the effort. Managing to wrap my fingers around the end of the hilt, I carefully unsheathed my blade. Shifting my grip down, I began cutting away at 3-point harness holding me in place. As the knife tore through the final strap, I was freed. “Dropped” would probably be a more accurate term. I fell to the ground and landed with a _thud_ against the icy metal, the force of impact driving the breath from me. I rested on the ground for a minute as I caught my breath, and then painfully hauled myself to my feet, groaning. I took a step and wobbled, bracing my hand against a column of steel, when the voices outside picked up again, chattering excitedly. I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but before I could get any words out, the metal wall trapping me inside started peeling apart with the most ear-shattering screech I’ve ever heard. The sound reverberated in my head, almost making me black out from the pain. I dropped to my knees, covering my ears with my hands in an attempt to block out the sound and sat there, cowering like a fool, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see a moustached man in a bright red suit, snow goggles still on, smiling down at me. I gingerly uncovered my ears and took his outstretched hand as he helped me to my feet, before he pulled me in to a strong embrace. “Captain Marrek, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Tales of your impressive victories stretch far and wide, so I must say it’s quite shocking to see you appear on our planet in such a manner.” He shot me a cocky look, dimples deepening at the exasperated glare I shot him. “I don’t believe in fairy tales...” I paused, cocking an eyebrow at him. “…I’m sorry, I’m afriad I didn’t catch your name.” He started, a flush beginning to spread up his cheeks. “Forgive me. Commander Kaelrik Blackrift, at your service. But you can just call me Kael.” He finished with a grin. I eyed him, before turning away with a grunt. “Well Commander, if you wouldn’t mind showing me to someplace with a meal and a bed, perhaps a shower as well, so I might be able to clean myself up before we enter discussions on finding my crew and returning me to Elaris.” He strode past me, turning back with a nod. “Of course, Captain. You’ve been through quite an ordeal, we’ll get you to the city right away.” I followed him out of the wreckage, passing the awed and wary faces of the rest of his squad, before turning to look at my ship one last time. “Thank you.” I whispered, before turning back around to find the Commander revving a two-seater snowmobile, the smirk evident on his face even from yards away. I groaned inwardly before making my way over, swinging myself onto the back and wrapping my arms around his waist with a shudder. “Everything alright back there, Captain?” He asked. “Just cold.” I responded through gritted teeth. He nodded, and without another word we were flying across the tundra, and soon, I gasped. My eyes widened as the city rose like a secret carved into the bones of the mountain - a cascade of towers and spires of every shade of grey, white, and black imaginable jutting from jagged cliffs, their surfaces gleaming with kinetic energy grids and cold light. Roads spiraled along the rock face like veins of light, and trams skimmed silently through the air. As we entered, I could see the bio-domes nestled deep within the granite core, humming with the filtered atmosphere, the synthetic suns casting sterile light on vertical gardens and steelwork temples. The whole structure pulsed as if it were a living thing, as if the entire mountain had evolved. Kael glanced over his shoulder at me and laughed, dimples deepening with the action. “It’s not so bad after all, is it?” I barely heard him, my head spinning as I tried to take in every passing detail. We soon reached the castle, nestled in a crook near the peak of the mountain-city, somewhat exposed, but still somehow also sheltered. We disembarked and headed inside, quickly met by a stout woman with kind eyes. She took my hand, raking me over with her gaze. “You must be Captain Marrek. My name is Willa. Come, I’ll show you to your room.” Without another word she yanked me away, through a maze of stairs and corridors, until she flung open the doors to a massive stateroom. I gaped, legs shaking with fatigue, before stumbling over and collapsing on the bed. Willa looked at me sympathetically. “Dinner’s in an hour. Do your best to be on time.” I thanked her with a grunt, my face buried in the pillow, too tired to be embarrassed by my lack of proper manners, and heard the door close gently. I closed my eyes briefly, feeling the weight of today’s events crush me into the bed, before rising and heading to the bathroom. Stopping in front of the mirror, I stifled a shriek. I looked _awful_. My hair was matted, my uniform was torn to shreds, and I was coated head to toe in oil, dirt, blood, and god knows what else. I probably smelled like a rotting corpse. I have no idea how Kael managed to sit so close to me for the whole ride over. I shook my head and grabbed the brush from the counter before heading into the shower. Pausing, I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of the water running over my body, before getting out and drying myself off. I walked back into the bedroom, where a stunning blue gown had been left for me. It fit me perfectly, somehow, but I barely had any time to admire myself in the mirror before hearing a quiet knock on my door. I opened it to find Willa, who took me in with a soft smile on her face. “Come. They’re waiting for you.” I followed her back through the twisting hallways of the castle before reaching two towering, floor-to-ceiling stone doors. The guards on either side pushed a button, and with a creak, the doors slid open. I stepped into the cavernous hall, my eyes tracking up to the dais where Kael sat on a throne, an ornate black crown gleaming on his head. _Crown? Throne?_ I shook my head, thoroughly confused, before taking in the rest of the dais. I froze. On either side of him knelt two figures, shackled to the ground, heads covered with black cloth. My heart began to race, and he smirked at me, the lighting in the hall making his eyes so dark they seemed to be black. Kael rose, his pitch-black robe shrouding him like a shadow, before reaching over and ripping the cloth of the heads of the prisoners next to him, causing them to flinch as the light hit them. My heart dropped, my mouth falling open as if to scream, but no sound came out. Beaten almost beyond recognition were Kara and Axel - my second-in-command and best friend, and my beloved navigator. They looked at me briefly, pain and grief flitting across their eyes before they cast their gaze downward, staring emptily at the stone floor of the dais. Kael strode toward me, stopping just a few feet away, his obsidian eyes gleaming with malice. There’s only one person in the cosmos with eyes like that. “You’re Kael Mal’raen” I whispered, dropping to my knees as a wicked smile stretched across his face. “You’re the Star-Eater”.