Chapter 1: Vengance
Slowly, the teenage boy made his way through a crowd, trying to see the topic of their interest. As
he shoved his way between two particularly obnoxious onlookers, he saw the one thing that scared him, the
one thing that he had been hoping, praying would not happen. She was dead. His charge, Head Dedicate
Moonsong of the Temple of the Stars, had been murdered.
It was his fault, and he knew it. He should have kept a better eye on her from the beginning. Had
he only placed the psychic tracker on her robe, he could have prevented her from being slain like this. He
was a failure in this job, his first failure in a long time. Slowly, the teen turned and walked away, hoping
that none would realize that he was affiliated with the Dedicate in any way. It was easier that way, to be
ignored, for him to get away, and live his life. He turned for one last look at the scene, felt the familiar
burn-like sensation on the left side of his brain that meant his psychic power was being used, and had the
feeling that this would follow him past this incident. As if anything could follow the Shadow.
* * *
Miles above the Earth, a small object unfolds, revealing its true form. While vaguely humanoid,
the angles were too sharp, the proportions wrong. The figure, made of the most refined black onyx and
obsidian, is none other than Shadow's custom mobile suit, the Nightstalker. Its mission was simple, to land
outside the city of Cirrus in order to hide itself. This time, though, it was someone other than Shadow at the
helm.
"More than too easy," remarked Raja Fireborn to his partner and friend, Kaado. "If he were a
smarter fellow, he would have put a eye-scanner on his mobile suit, along with the voice imprint and the
keycard. Stupid of me, I thought that he of all people, would take extra precautions on his most prized
possession."
"Perhaps he felt that none would dare challenge him, after all, he did overthrow the dictatorship on
the Providence Space Station single-handed," replied Kaado, running his fingers over the graceful control
panel in the passenger's seat. "Most people respect him for that, and he seems to have gained the
acceptance he wanted."
"True, but he only has that respect when he goes by the alias of Andrew Stewart. Other times, he
is hunted by the very people that revere him under another name."
"I never understood that, why would he not use his given name, or even just choose one, and stick
with it?"
"It's because he is ashamed of who he was, and tries to hide from his past. The aliases he takes are
always him, yet only a fraction of his true personality. He can be anything he wants to be, because of who
he is."
Turning, Kaado looks directly at the thief with inquisitive eyes. "Raja, how do you know so much
about Shadow? It's almost as if you have know him since you were born."
"Kaado, dear friend, that is a ques – What the hell?" An alarm started going off on the pilot's
control panel, making a loud, long buzzing sound that startled Kaado so much that he fell out of his seat.
As the Nightstalker begins to fold back up into it's bird mode, a yellow gas begins to fill the
cockpit, and the duo found they were struggling to keep their eyes open. In a desperate attempt to stay
conscious, Raja placed his handkerchief over his face, but the sleeping gas was too strong, and soon
overtook him as it had Kaado.
Slowly, the teenage boy made his way through a crowd, trying to see the topic of their interest. As
he shoved his way between two particularly obnoxious onlookers, he saw the one thing that scared him, the
one thing that he had been hoping, praying would not happen. She was dead. His charge, Head Dedicate
Moonsong of the Temple of the Stars, had been murdered.
It was his fault, and he knew it. He should have kept a better eye on her from the beginning. Had
he only placed the psychic tracker on her robe, he could have prevented her from being slain like this. He
was a failure in this job, his first failure in a long time. Slowly, the teen turned and walked away, hoping
that none would realize that he was affiliated with the Dedicate in any way. It was easier that way, to be
ignored, for him to get away, and live his life. He turned for one last look at the scene, felt the familiar
burn-like sensation on the left side of his brain that meant his psychic power was being used, and had the
feeling that this would follow him past this incident. As if anything could follow the Shadow.
* * *
Miles above the Earth, a small object unfolds, revealing its true form. While vaguely humanoid,
the angles were too sharp, the proportions wrong. The figure, made of the most refined black onyx and
obsidian, is none other than Shadow's custom mobile suit, the Nightstalker. Its mission was simple, to land
outside the city of Cirrus in order to hide itself. This time, though, it was someone other than Shadow at the
helm.
"More than too easy," remarked Raja Fireborn to his partner and friend, Kaado. "If he were a
smarter fellow, he would have put a eye-scanner on his mobile suit, along with the voice imprint and the
keycard. Stupid of me, I thought that he of all people, would take extra precautions on his most prized
possession."
"Perhaps he felt that none would dare challenge him, after all, he did overthrow the dictatorship on
the Providence Space Station single-handed," replied Kaado, running his fingers over the graceful control
panel in the passenger's seat. "Most people respect him for that, and he seems to have gained the
acceptance he wanted."
"True, but he only has that respect when he goes by the alias of Andrew Stewart. Other times, he
is hunted by the very people that revere him under another name."
"I never understood that, why would he not use his given name, or even just choose one, and stick
with it?"
"It's because he is ashamed of who he was, and tries to hide from his past. The aliases he takes are
always him, yet only a fraction of his true personality. He can be anything he wants to be, because of who
he is."
Turning, Kaado looks directly at the thief with inquisitive eyes. "Raja, how do you know so much
about Shadow? It's almost as if you have know him since you were born."
"Kaado, dear friend, that is a ques – What the hell?" An alarm started going off on the pilot's
control panel, making a loud, long buzzing sound that startled Kaado so much that he fell out of his seat.
As the Nightstalker begins to fold back up into it's bird mode, a yellow gas begins to fill the
cockpit, and the duo found they were struggling to keep their eyes open. In a desperate attempt to stay
conscious, Raja placed his handkerchief over his face, but the sleeping gas was too strong, and soon
overtook him as it had Kaado.
