Across the Void AU
The Real War
Characters and world belong to PixelBerry. Just writing some fan-fiction for a story and world they created and characters who I love and want to explore more. Be sure to check out the original story and their other stories as to support them in creating more amazing stories.
Author Notes. Fan fic is complete AU from the original ATV after chapter 1.
Summary
Across the Void AU set in a world where the night before Captain Elara was to be the new esteemed Captain of the Atlas the Capital World, they were on was attacked by the Jura setting in motion a new timeline of events. All-out war has broken out across the galaxy, no world and no one is safe.
Prologue
The day Captain Elara was to take command of the Atlas the Jura launched a surprise, unprovoked attack on the Capital Planet. Cities were levelled and millions were killed. Captain Elara was rendered unconscious in the battle and sustained serious injuries putting into the planet's hospital in an induced coma before making a full recovery months later.
The war having destroyed Elara's life, family and their world was now alone and wanted nothing to do with it.
The war however was about to find them and drag them back…
Star Date: 10/3052, Two Years After the Attack
A Cyber in a Vanguard Uniform led me inside what appeared to be a waiting room with a single Celd Officer waiting for me. I glanced down at the table and chair before me in the otherwise empty room and sat down.
"Says here you're fully trained as a Captain…"
The Celd rambled on and I choose to ignore him. I put my feet up onto the desk as the Celd glared down at me. This wasn't the first time the Vanguard had tried to enlist me as a Captain. I mean they had wasted the training on me, I still didn't owe them anything though.
To be frank I was enjoying this attention, it was not often anyone gave me a second glance on the street and besides I got to sit in a nice cool air-conditioned office for free! Usually any buildings with any power that could afford air-conditioning would kick free loaders like me out, so much for us common folk after the destruction eh?
I glanced around the room which from what I could gather used to be an old Marshall Head Quarters. It could really be anything though, nothing of what was here before the attack other than the Hospital looked the same. The Jura as blood thirsty as the propaganda lead us to believe they were at least left the Capital Cities Hospital untouched, it was just that it could never have dealt with the sheer magnitude of death and destruction after the bombing.
"You're not listening." The Celd growled.
"I am." I turned to him boredly.
Why were the Celd so angry all the time? I pondered the question never believing to have seen one ever smile.
"This is serious."
"I'm sure it is…look could we maybe get something to eat hmm?" I looked behind me at the same Cyber who let me in now standing at the door. The Cyber looked back from me to the Celd obviously confused. The Celd in front of me coughed causing me to turn back around.
"One of the Elara siblings…" My interested piqued for the first time and I turned to look at him they had never brought my siblings up before whenever they had tried to recruit me in the past, were they really getting that desperate? "Sister. Pax Elara. Killed discobeying orders to recue Jura citizens during an explosion on Lupus. Possible Jura spy." The Celd glanced down at me over his paper knowing he had my attention. "Brother. Eos Elara. Killed behind enemy lines. Injuries…"
"Enough." I slammed my fist down on the table as the Celd smiled down at me, well that tactic had worked they had my full attention to their silly recruitment scheme by bringing up my siblings.
"Got your attention now?" The Celd remarked throwing down two pieces in front of me which showed the profiles of Pax and Eos I looked down remorsefully at the pictures for a moment before gazing back up at him. "You completed your Captaincy Training before the Jura attack which destroyed most of the Capital." I nodded solemnly. "You were injured in the attack and your siblings were enlisted shortly afterwards of their own accord and died whilst you remained in hospital."
"Your point?" I knew my own history and what had happened to my siblings whilst I lay in my hospital bed completely and utterly useless.
"You know Elara that we are not winning the war despite what the news casts say…we need trained professionals like yourself to run ships. Trained Captains. We have medic's, other officers, Marshalls and pilots but not many left who are fit to take control and lead."
"I left that life a long time ago." I glanced down at the pictures of my siblings. "I just want to get through this war in one piece and that's all."
"If everyone said that we would lose very, very quickly." The Celd sneered as I rolled my eyes, regular scare tactics. We both knew that conscription was illegal, there was no way he could force me into any war unless I choose to participate.
"You have nothing I want. The only two people I ever cared about are both dead, but you already know that so now if you'll excuse me." I stood up and the Celd watched me cautiously.
"You're welcome back at any time." He leant forward and handed me a card. I glanced down at it for a moment before picking it up and dropping down onto the floo and walked out the room.
I walked out of the lovely air-conditioning and into the hot hallway, it was so hot I could see a haze. Once I reached the end of the hallway I sighed before pushing the door open to the outside. A wave of heat hit me as I stepped out.
Took a few moments for my eyes to adjust before I could see into the destroyed city remains which only two years prior had been the Capital City and a shining example of peace and learning.
All around me Celd, Cyber's, Deevine, Romly and many other species all huddled together in the rubble still trying to either put their lives back together or working out how to get off this rock back up into the stars. The only way to get off this planet was to have a ship, and no one had any down here or to join the Vanguard. The Vanguard slogan here was literally join up and you can leave.
Any ships not under Vanguard protection were often stolen in the mad rush to try and get off world. I had thought about it, stealing a ship, I mean I did have the training to try and steal a ship but then where would I go? I had no where else to go. Go back to Cyber? I had no family there anymore and I'd just be wasting my life away there just like I was doing here.
Reaching a building of rubble, I climbed up until I was sitting in the very top, one of my favourites spots to be able to see what was left of the entire city, to check out any new sites. The only distinguishable part of the city was the hospital in the distance, it glowed like a beacon with a welcoming, warm light. Not long after the initial attack the hospital was so over whelmed that The Vanguard feared an uprising and put up a military border on the outside to stop people ransacking and stealing supplies. It worked, two years on and no one had ever managed to sneak inside.
After being admitted to the hospital after the attack with my injuries I was put into an induced coma before being released months later. I'd never been back, I mean it's not like they'd let me in, only the wealthy on this rust bucket of a planet could afford health care now or unless you were a member of the Vanguard. Hey there was another tag line for The Vanguard, join up to get off world and get medical care! I scoffed.
I was still young, fit and healthy…I did have those bad migraines after my head injury back when but other than I couldn't complain I wasn't in need of any dire medical attention at least not for now so there was never a need for me to get into the Hospital at all.
I yawned. I was starving. Time to go back to my makeshift home in the old Training Centre where ironically I had been trained to be a Captain but now was a slum open to all. Once a place of prestige was now a huge makeshift community centre full of beds for the homeless who had no where else to go and couldn't get off world. It was one of many.
After walking through the city towards the Centre I noticed that there wasn't a line to get inside the building, strange, there was often a long line for food. Walking up to the building entrance I peered inside where I could see a few people inside packing up some tables.
"What's going on?" I asked walking inside. They all ignored me except for a Romly who turned to me with a shrug.
"Sorry nothing left." She said holding out an empty box for me to see. "I am very sorry dear." She put her hand on my shoulder and I could feel the sadness she was feeling, most Romly didn't hide their feelings well.
"There's usually plenty." I said pushing for more answers.
"Vanguard's been hit hard, we're running low on supplies…"
"Can you not divulge everything that's classified?" An angry Tride snapped turning to her. "This is why I request no Romly's you're all too soft and in touch with your emotions." He scoffed and I frowned.
"Nothing wrong with that." The Tride glared at me but said nothing. I turned to the Romly and she gave me a warm smile.
"I wish I had more." She said looking up at me.
"No please this isn't your fault." I quickly blurted out not wanting her to feel guilty.
"Let's go Lyna no point wasting time here." The Tride glared at me before picking up some of the empty boxes.
"Tomorrow?" I asked watching as Lyna and The Tride walked away leaving empty tables. They both gave me a funny look without saying anything before disappearing.
That was fine, I wasn't hungry…I heard my stomach growl and I ignored it.
I walked further into the building towards the large dorm centre set up for refuges as a place to sleep, it wasn't much but the protection from the heat and dust outside and as comfy bed to sleep was more than anyone could ask for.
It had been two years since I had first moved in, I was a regular you could say, had my own bed and even kept a few little things from the time before. Did I have friends? Not really, I kept to myself after losing my siblings, never bothered with getting to know anyone else, wasn't worth the risk in all honestly. However, there was one special person who I did enjoy the company of.
Stepping into a large open space full of mattresses sitting on springs on the floor I heard someone yell out my name.
"Lara!" An elderly Cyber lady called out before walking over and giving me a big hug. "How's my favourite boy today?" She asked beaming up at me.
"All good as always Charon." I smiled down at her.
I had meet Charon two years earlier when I was first instructed to go here after I was released from the hospital. She had lost her husband and daughter in the battle but had managed to survive and has been looking after me and everyone else in this place ever since. She was a little hard of hearing and had always called me Lara but I had grown a fondness for the name and for her, to have so much kindness in such tough, sad times was something I was ways amazed at.
"I saw there wasn't much to eat so I took this for you." She said looking up at me with a smile as she handed me a small protein bar.
"You didn't need to do this for me Charon." I had said pushing it gently back at her.
"Nonsense a boy like you needs all his strength." She gently tapped my cheek before walking back over and sitting down on her bed.
She had become a grandmother figure to not only me but everyone living there. Always an ear ready to listen to your stories or problems and always having a story of her own to make you feel better. She'd often tell me about her daughter who was an Engineer and her husband who was also one and how much they loved working together. She would listen to my stories about my siblings and asked about them, she must have heard me talk about our last night together over one hundred times but she always listened anyway with a smile.
"She's been asking funny questions Lara…" Charon interrupted my thoughts as she pointed to a tall Deevine lady speaking to a Celd man at the end of the room.
Despite her age however she was as sharp a tack and knew everyone who lived there and often remarked to me whenever we saw someone different. Not that no one else was allowed but in a world recently ruined by war you can't blame people for being a little worried about new faces.
I hadn't seen this Deevine before either and like Charon I knew everyone here pretty well.
"What was she asking about Charon?" I turned back to her with interest.
"She was asking about the Old Antiquity Museum…" I surprised myself with a laugh, who would want to look at that place? Not even real Historians cared about that wreck anymore as everything of value had been destroyed two years prior.
Charon took my hand and looked up at me.
"Something doesn't feel right with this one…be careful." I looked down at Charon with a puzzled look, she wasn't often cryptic but before I had a chance to ask anymore another person living with us walked up to her and began to chat, one of those long talks, I could tell.
Not wanting to interrupt Charon and her friend I looked back towards the Deevine lady who had stopped talking and was walking onward the exit. A part of me told me I should go tell The Vanguard, Jura spies were common in the war but why would they come here? The Capital world was a mess, a waste of no use in the war.
Quickly standing up I walked after her, wouldn't hurt to ask her a few questions. I could be quite persuasive when I need to be, I mean one of my selling points when I almost become a cruise ship Captain was my way with people after all. If she knew something suspicious, I'd be able to find out and then let the Vanguard know. Besides it wouldn't take long, I'd be back before night fall.