Sunrider is owned by Love in Space. I do not own the story, the original cast of characters, or the ideas related to the story. This is a non-profit fanmade work of fiction. Viewer Discretion is advised.

Tenshi: To celebrate the announcement of "Sunrider: Liberation Day," I decided to make this story.

Tenshi: I know this game isn't finished, and it isn't well-known as well, but I felt like I had to write something. If the writers/developers of Love in Space read this, I'm sorry if I get the entire lore or story incorrect.

Tenshi: But without further ado, let's begin "Solar Eclipse!"

Prologue: New Moon

Cera: A peaceful little world found in the Neutral Rim. Although it is mostly independent, the Alliance has tried to conquer the small planet due to it being the most industrial world in the Neutral Rim. But it seems there's no sign of any PACT there.

That's why many others wanted to go there. Unfortunately, due to the planet's isolationist policy, nobody can immigrate there. But even with its isolation, the planet had grown significantly.

What used to be a small planet with tiny towns is now a large planet with many cities and towns. The populations had grown immensely, but the diversity within the planet was nonexistent. There are only a small number of people that aren't Ceran. These people came from other planets.

Since the passing of the isolationist policy, the only way to move to Cera is to be smuggled. Many never make it through the border, the very few who do are never found.

These immigrants live among the other Cerans and are indistinguishable. The few that make it often stay reserved as to try to not expose themselves. But, very rarely, an immigrant would make connections with other Cerans.

One such immigrant is waiting at the park in Cera City, enjoying the view of the sunset.

"Ah, you're already here." A young woman said to the immigrant. The young man looked over to the woman, and saw her plain white and blue checkered dress swaying with the wind. It was as if he was in the presence of a galactic idol. The woman approached him with a picnic basket in her hands. "May I?" She asked as she pointed to the bench the immigrant was sitting on.

"Oh, uh, sure." The man agreed as he scooted over. The woman took a seat next to the immigrant as they both stare at the sunset.

The woman looked behind her nervously as if she was looking at someone, which caught the immigrant's attention.

"You okay, Lilly?" The immigrant asked as he followed the woman's line of sight. He saw a figure around the corner of a wall, but it quickly ran off. The immigrant almost got up from his seat, but was stopped by Lilly.

"Don't worry, that's just my friends!" Lilly hastily pleaded. "Didn't think they'd follow me, considering I already told them I was going to be with you today."

"That is strange indeed." The immigrant agreed as he stared blankly at Lilly. Lilly quickly looked at him before averting her gaze, her cheeks colored a tinge of pink from embarrassment.

"Yaten, c'mon." Don't give me that look." She nervously giggled.

"What look?" The immigrant's expression now turned dumbfounded.

"That look you always give when you try to be intimidating."

"I-I wasn't trying to be intimidating." Yaten stammered awkwardly from his blunder, quickly changing his focus back to the sunset. Lilly giggled at this before reaching in her picnic basket.

Much to his resistance, Yaten peered at Lilly from the corner of his eyes. She was a thin woman, yet she had curves in the right places. To contrast the colors of her dress, Lilly had crimson hair that reached to her lower back. The sunset illuminated both her hair and fair skin, making it seem as though Yaten was sitting next to an angel. Lilly's dark brown eyes met with Yaten's, stunning his sense of time. Lilly's lips mouthed something, but Yaten couldn't make out the sound. Suddenly, Lilly's eyes got stern, breaking Yaten out of his trance.

"Huh?" He confusingly muttered.

"I asked if you found any work yet." Lilly said as she smiled wryly. She handed a piece of bread over to the disorientated man.

"Oh yeah, I did; found a job as a salesman. Been doing lots of contracts for Tydaria recently." Yaten explained as he stuffed the bread in his mouth.

"Contracts from Tydaria, in Cera?" Lilly questioned, rather skeptical about the odd location of employment.

"Weird, right? Luckily, I had a few people that could pull strings from over there, and it certainly pays more than the contracts from Cera."

"To think you'd be associated with that planet again..." Lilly muttered to herself as she took a bite of an apple.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, it's nothing! I'm just glad you're able to keep yourself afloat now." Lilly swiftly said, yet nervousness was still prevalent in her eyes.

"I know. Cera doesn't exactly have the best welfare system in the galaxy." Yaten jested as he laid back in his seat. Lilly inched a little closer to the immigrant.

"Yeah, I'll say."

"Tch, what are you talking about? With your job of being an instructor at Cera's Space Force, you don't even come close to being poor."

Lilly puffed her cheeks at the comment, and a slight tinge of pink could be seen on her cheeks.

"Hey, that's not fair! I-"

Bring Bring

Lilly's argument was cut short by her holo. She sifted through the picnic basket and found the disk-shaped technology, answering it and placing it near her ear.

"Hello?" Lilly began, pausing every time she said a line. "What's up? Huh? Seriously?! But I... No... No, I understand... I'll be right there... Goodbye." She hung up, her expression now turning from content, to shocked, to depressed. A somber aura surrounded the crimson woman.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to go." Lilly apologized as she hastily packed her things in the picnic basket, and stood up.

"Huh? Why; what's up?" Yaten asked as he stood up with her, genuinely concerned. Yaten tried to reach out a hand to the woman, but she just turned her back to him.

"I-I can't say. It's work related." She sighed, trying to catch her breath from both the phone call and her packing.

"Oh, all right. Will I be able to see you tomorrow?" Yaten asked as he took a step toward her. Silence loomed over the two as the wind blew their clothes and hair side to side. A few seconds passed before Lilly finally turned to the concerned man. She rushed to him, dropping the picnic basket and pressing her lips against his in a sudden kiss. The abruptness of the action caused Yaten to step back, yet their lips remained together. Yaten was about to return the kiss, until it was cut short by the same one who did it. The two stared into each others eyes, sharing the moment of intimacy that they longed for. Lilly then placed her head into Yaten's chest before sobbing.

She softly cried, refusing to look up at Yaten. There were no words that Yaten felt he could say, so he just embraced Lilly comfortingly. The smell of flowers and perfume filled Yaten's nose, sending him to a euphoric trance that kept him from letting go. A few minutes passed as the two were immersed in each others arms. Lilly then broke the embrace and brushed her red bangs to the side.

"Go back home, you'll be safe there." She said as she tried to give a reassuring smile.

"What about you? You'll be safe, right?" Yaten worriedly asked as he desperately grabbed Lilly's shoulders. Lilly hesitated, but she quickly gave Yaten a peck on the lips.

"As long as you're alive, I won't even think about dying." She softly said, almost in a whisper. Yaten wanted to say something else, something that would convince her to stay with him. But he couldn't; he couldn't drag away the woman he cares about without her consent. If he was able to trick her to be with him, Yaten knew he would only be doing it for his own selfish benefit. At least, that's how he felt.

"Okay. I'll head home then." Yaten smiled wryly as he took his hands off Lilly's shoulders. Lilly looked down at her feet, anxiousness lurking in her eyes, before giving Yaten a gratuitous smile.

"Thank you. I'll meet you on the other side, okay?" Disregarding the vague farewell, Yaten nodded in agreement. She was uncertain at first, but after mustering up the courage, she left the park, leaving Yaten to contemplate on what was happening.

(Everything's going to be okay, right Lilly?)

…

Yaten got off from the shuttle, observing the area he had just arrived at. It was rural, desolate even. This part of Cera City was almost outside the border, where most of the poor district lay. It was untapped with technology, only dirty buildings and shamble homes were the closest to advanced in this part of the city. Like Yaten, most of the immigrants that come to Cera end up living here in poor conditions.

Yaten sighed as he saw the sight of children in tattered clothing running around and kicking a can.

(Children don't deserve to live like this, in these revolting households. If only Cera could help those that need it, and not serve it to those born with a silver spoon.)

Yaten walked down the street, dodging all the scattered trash and dead rodents that laid on the street. The lingering odor of feces combined with body order caused him to lift his windbreaker to cover his face. Just then, he made it to a dirt path that split from the sidewalk. With no hesitation, Yaten took the path, getting away from the rancid part of the district he loathed.

The rest of the path led to a grassy hill, where Yaten was able to scrape off the remnants of roaches from the soles of his dirty black shoes. Once on the top of the hill, he saw a house that looked to be in reasonably livable conditions.

(Home sweet home.)

Yaten stopped in his tracks, feeling as though he didn't want to go home, as if something important would pass by him if he were to rest. He turned to the sunset; it was a beautiful sight that one wouldn't expect to see near a disaster of a district. It was nearing twilight, but Yaten didn't feel tired. Instead, he approached the sunset and found himself near a bench on top of the hill.

(This is the bench I built not so long ago.)

He sat on it and felt nostalgia running through his mind. Even though it's only been an hour, Yaten felt as though his evening with Lilly was still going. He looked next to him and saw her, her dark brown eyes staring into his gray eyes. The smell of flowers and perfume was wafting through the air again, making Yaten relax. Lilly inched closer, to where both of their shoulders were touching, and Yaten's heart was rapidly beating again. Yaten looked over to the sunset with a jubilant smile on his face. He was in total bliss.

However, this was all just an illusion.

Suddenly, blocking the view of the sunset, was a giant red ship. The abrupt appearance of the colossal ship snapped Yaten completely out of his daydream. There was a giant hole pointing down from the sky, as if the sun was pointing a gun at Cera. Yaten froze, incapable of processing the situation or doing anything, he internally panicked.

(W-what the hell is that?! Holy crap, it's huge! Where did it come from?!)

While Yaten was trying to gather his thoughts, there was a red light coming from the large barrel of the ship, like a bullet that was ready to fire.

(W-what is it doing?! What's happening?!)

Suddenly, the a gigantic laser beam shot out from the ship, landing right in the center of Cera City. Yaten watched in awe as the city he was just in an hour ago was now in an explosion covered in debris and dirt.

(Good God...)

Just then, a large gale of wind blew into Yaten's face, knocking his back into the bench. Yaten tried to get up, but the force of the wind was too strong. Almost in an instant, a large wave of dirt and debris washed over Yaten, drowning him unconscious from the impact.

(Is this... how I die?)