Long gone are the times when Earth was the only known planet with existing life. A time when continents were divided by sea and land, travel was easier. When the air was heavily polluted from cars, factories and other waste, yet life could still exist. People were free to move about, however crime came and went. Life meant nothing and everything at the same time. Everything became overpriced and soon populations could no longer afford to live. Foreclosed homes, street beggars, and muggers started to take over. Businesses shutdown, schools closed, companies folded…soon everyone turned on everyone. The government was overthrown and many fought for their lives.

Now in 3050 that type of world no longer existed. No one lives in the Mainland's anymore. Everything that ever lived on earth had died during a nuclear holocaust in 2348. Whoever survived had been selected to live in the compound stations, miles above the mountain tops and into the atmosphere. What was once countries had now been known as International Compounds. The only way to cross territories was by passport via a shuttle service. In order to visit another planet however…well that's an entirely different subject if a person is neither King nor Galaxy Control.

They say history has a tendency to repeat itself. Evidence has been proven by trends in fashion, material goods and lifestyle. In this time period, although a technological one, functioned with the ideals and logic of the medieval times. Everything was done in the name of honor, justice and pride. Boys fought for the right to be seen as men while girls shyly hid themselves until their families decided they were ready to be a woman.

Heels clicking against the marble floors echoed throughout the corridors. Gathering up her dress in her arms she huffed and puffed as she continued to run. She was late! Her father was going to give her a disapproving look, a pre-warning for a harsh lecture. She hated having to get dressed up for these events, 'Men' she thought in disgust, fighting for an unworthy cause.

Her honor

She hated that her father routinely setup these battles in hopes to find a suitor for her. However none were ever good enough for his daughter, for she was the Princess of Nexton, Compound 5. Her father, the King, she had decided must have been bored or sadistic. Once a week the help would fuss over her. Pulling her hair this way, that way, painting her face as if she was a new doll. She hated all of it. Much to her father's disapproval she preferred to relax around their territory lounging in her vintage clothing that she was very found of. The corsets were tiring, the gowns were heavy, the shoes gave her blisters. Sometimes she wished that she could've been born a common person. Sure this would have meant that she'd have to work the market, fields or trade to earn a substantial living, but she didn't mind. In fact she very much admired the ladies that tended to her. How she wished she had their set of skills to sew such beautiful outfits from nothing or turn her tired face into a work of art.

"MERCEDES!" her mother hissed

The voice alone brought her legs to a halt, "Y-yes…mother?" she asked sweetly, trying to put a convincing smile on her face.

"I have been looking for you every!" she shouted, "Look at you! You're all sweaty, out of breath and your curls are starting to loosen. Do you have no self respect?"

Mercedes scrunched up her face, "If I did I wouldn't have come," she responded flatly

Her mother's nostrils flared, "Hmm….what am I ever going to do with you?" the woman sighed, "You are my only daughter. My child that I spent 2 days in labor with, natural I remind you, only to be brought into this world a wretched person. I gave you lungs so you can speak, yet you use such words against me. I educated you, yet you insist on acting as if you know nothing and all at the same time. I carried you for 9 aching months, oh the torture…the long nights of you crying, while tears sprang to my own eyes. My ungrateful daughter. The one that causes my heart to flutter in shame…" she proclaimed dramatically.

Mercedes hated the way her mother would guilt her into everything. If it wasn't her father's stern demeanor, it was her mother the drama queen. Life still couldn't be kind to her as they granted her with 3 older brothers. Only one still lived on the territory, the rest only appeared for family gatherings and social events. Letting go of the silky lavender fabric she balled her hands into a fist trying to keep her composure. She wanted to speak out of line to her mother but knew it was useless to fight with the woman. It seemed her parents had a knack for filtering her declarations at every turn. Turning her scowling face into a sorrowful one, Mercedes lowered her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered

Her mother smiled and touched her head, "Of course you are. Mother knows best!"

"Yes you do," her said with a heavy sigh.

"Come! The action is about to begin!"

Allowing her mother to take her hand into hers she walked as if she was going to be hanged. In the back of her mind she could hear the death drums play as each step felt so heavy. Was this the life of every planet or only Earth? She wondered what it would be like to visit. Her father never let her attend the described lavish events that he and her mother would go too. They would always say the same broken song that if they ever were to be captured by Galactic Pirates, the territory would be hers to rule. On some of her darkest days she had wishes that would come true. Then she could make up her own rules! Everyone would answer to her and her only. If she wanted to wear her vintage cartoon shirts with slacks at a meeting then she would. All the food wouldn't be green or tasteless. She would through fun and exciting events, none that involved violence. She would also rid of the stupid laws and make women equal to men. 'Such a pipe dream,' she told herself as she came to a stop. The Knights at the door stood in their hi-tech armor, greeting her mother and her respectfully before opening the door in front of them. Mercedes shielded her eyes as she climbed concrete steps until her father came into view.

"My darlings!" he called, stopping his pacing to approach them, "Mercedes what has been keeping you?"

She suddenly became a little girl and shuffled her feet, "I lost track of time"

Her mother eyed her, "Speak to him in a calm manner, yet you speak to me as if I'm the devil in disguise."

"Don't be so hard on her Azrella. She's just going through that phase."

"She's 18, far too old…" her voice lingered not wanting to state the obvious

Her father frowned, "That is why we hold these events. Someone is bound to impress me one of these times."

Following her parents she took a seat, her dress bunching up. Groaning she started to pat the fabric, tucking in into the chair. She was so focused on trying to make herself comfortable she blocked out the sound of the horns blaring. Feeling a pair of eyes on her she looked up innocently with a smile to find her mother glaring profusely at her. She quietly repositioned herself hoping to look like she was paying attention. Her eyes scanned the dome as 6 men marched out into view. All of them had been wearing their formal armor from their compound. "Let the games begin!" her father shouted as the blaring horns startled her. Suddenly holograms appeared of weird creatures, some that looked once human. Mercedes had seen them all and wasn't terrified of them. She understood that many years ago holograms were visual projections, an illusion. These holograms that they have now could very much kill you if you weren't careful. Each fighter took to a creature, showing off their best skill. They weren't allowed to use laser guns or orbit grenades. Instead they had to fight with a heavy looking sword, showing off not only their skill, but strength, reflexes and logic. Mercedes propped her face up with the palm of her hand as she heavily sighed from boredom. The sound of metal coming into contact, the anguished shouting and grunting, did nothing for her. Testosterone was filled the dorm as each man fought for their lives. Out of nowhere a fighter lost their sword clasping to the ground. The beast had knocked it out of his grasp. Without warming it stomped on the man's leg, forcing the trapped soul to cry out in pain. Mercedes instantly sat up alert and aware. She leaned forward in her seat wide eyed, her fingers clutching the armrest. She hadn't been this excited for a battle in years. Her heart was pumping as she prayed for the man to regain use of his sword, but she knew it was no use with his now injured leg. The man tried to crawl away but the beast grabbed him, dragging him back, his helmet slipping off. The man looked familiar but Mercedes couldn't quite remember his name, 'A? Ar?' she wondered furiously. When the beast had him in it's trap she knew he was a goner. Giant hands came crashing down as Mercedes put hers up to her face, turning her head as she couldn't bear to look anymore.

Crowd cheering…

Mercedes was confused, why would a crowd cheer for the death of an innocent man? They should mourn the lost soul whose life had tragically ended all for the sake of trying to gain her father's attention. It was sickening, everything about this event was sickening. Had they no respect for life? "Mercedes look!" her mother commanded, tugging on her arm, trying to pull her hand from her face. She resisted for a moment until the crowds cheering became deafening. Separating her fingers from her eyes she turned slowly. The man she thought was dead was now being carted off for medical assistance. She didn't understand. The man was very much a goner as soon as she closed her eyes, yet he was alive? Sitting up she stared out into the arena and saw another fighter tackling the creature that almost claimed a life. 'Hadn't been fighting something of his own?' she thought as she watched him slay the beast with ease. When the beast disappeared her mother and father stood up cheering in victory for the brave fighter. She couldn't help but standup herself staring in amazement. "Bring forth the victor!" her father told as she eyes stayed trained too the man, 'This isn't a good sign. He never wants to meet them! Oh god…' her stomach felt like it had a tidal wave inside of it. The fighter approached their area, shoulders stern and head held high. He had a very intimidating walk as he stopped in front of them. Planting the sword down he kneeled in front of them, showing his honor and respect.

"Remove your helmet victor," her father commanded

She had never seen what any of the fighters looked like. Mercedes found herself hanging onto the edge of her seat nervously as she waited to see what the man looked like. Just her luck he was probably horribly disfigured from the way he fought. His skill showed that he had seen a lot of action and knew how to survive. Her eyes trailed up as the man slowly rose, unbuckling the helmet from his head. His hands gently pried it off revealing medium length blonde hair. Mercedes was instantly mesmerized. She had never seen a fair haired person in real life. Everyone on Earth was dark haired. It was extremely rare to find a fair or red haired person. The man held his helmet to his side, using his other hand to push his hair back away from his face. He must have been doing something right, because even her mother was taken back by his appearance.

"What is your name?" her father asked

"Evans, Samuel Evans, sir," he responded with a deep voice.

"Your skill is impressive Evans. Not only are you an amazing fighter but you are very quick. Where have you trained?"

Samuel kept his tight posture, "I trained with the very best on Nebula Intersection 2."

'Nebula? He's not from Earth!' Mercedes mind screamed as she scanned over this Samuel Evans. He was tall, very tall and lean. Since his body was covered in armor she could only guess that his physique matched his skills. A person wouldn't be able to fight like him if they were out of shape. However his face was soft. Mercedes wouldn't fool herself into thinking he wasn't at least attractive, 'Well if he's a candidate to be my husband, at least he's easy on the eyes.' She suddenly found herself offering him a warm smile, though he didn't look her way. He was focused and very uptight looking. She wondered what kind of personality he had. If he was as hard as his persona gave off or if he was gentle? Then again his skill showed that he probably had a hard persona. Mercedes smirked at the evil thought of torturing this man with endless conversations that would probably get on his nerves. Finally he looked in her direction, making eye contact. She froze. He had the prettiest eyes she had ever seen. She wanted to get up and stand in front of him so she could look at him more closely but she refrained. They held each other's gaze, which seemed like forever to her. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she heard an unfamiliar voice enter the air. Breathing she shook her head to find the source. A dark haired man who appeared taller than Samuel walked proudly over, only to trip on the rug beneath his feet. Samuel's reflexes were quick as he caught the man, carefully propping him back up to a standing position. The man gave Samuel an apologetic look as Samuel looked like he was holding back a laugh. Mercedes eyes lit up, 'Maybe he does have a good personality!' She thought as she was now coaxing herself in preparation for what was to come.

"And who are you?" her father asked narrowing his eyes at the stranger.

The man smiled brightly, "I am Fineas Hudson! Prince of Lima, Compound 12, Sir!" he responded before approaching the King, "It is my greatest honor and pleasure to meet you."

The King was taken back by the gigantic man, looking confused from him to Samuel, "Prince Hudson!" he chimed clasping his hand around the man's excitedly.

"I am sorry for the fraud sir. Samuel here is my head solider amongst my men," Fineas spoke gesturing to Samuel, "He has very promising skills that I feel proudly represents my compound."

"He is not here as a potential suitor?" Azrella asked awkwardly

"No my Queen I am not," Samuel said coolly, "I serve Prince Hudson and command his men. I am also a Galaxy Captain and oversee travel."

"Impressive," the King whispered looking at Fineas, "But what does this mean?"

"Sir," Fineas started, "With all due respect I have allowed you to witness the finest security there is to offer. I have come to ask for your daughter's hand and in return I will assign my solider as her guardian."

Mercedes felt like the air slipped from her lungs, 'Marriage?!' her brain alarmed. She felt her heart rising in her chest as she looked at Samuel. 'But…' then she glanced at Fineas, 'Oh for crying out loud his name is Fineas! It sounds like Penis! Why me? Only me…only me to be deceived by an attractive solider only to really be sought after by a buffoon whose name rhymes with male genitals,' she silently criticized herself for her misfortune. Her grief didn't stop there, 'I will be Mrs. Penis Hudson. The compound is probably full of nudist and eye sores. He doesn't even look like he could defend himself from a fly!' Feeling her mother's hand on hers she looked up with a dark expression. The conversation that was going on with her father and Fineas looked dangerous. They were laughing and seemed to be sharing stories, all the while Samuel stood rooted to his spot like a statue. She prayed that her father would find the Prince ridiculous and insane for allowing his solider to compete in his place for her hand.

"Mercedes my darling please come over and meet Fineas."

A/N: So what do you guys think? Mercedes was already to accept Samuel until her bubble was burst with Fineas lol. I haven't written anything Sci-Fi related and was randomly hit with the idea. Wanted to do something different, however i'm still fuzzy on where i'm completely taking this story. I'll be updating my other stories this week. My schedules a little more free so I can use it to write more.