Chapter I
Of Photographs, Sunlight, and Old Friends

Dawn crept slowly over the surface of Vusstra, illuminating the rank, yellow-green air with a pale warm light. It flitted on the tops of the buildings in the heart of the city beyond. It mangled the tops of the rickety trees spanning the horizon, bone figures clawing their way up through the acidic air. Crawling down the sides of these grotesque figures, the sunlight jogged across the hills, finally coming to rest on a group of metallic houses, glinting in the sunlight. It crept up the side of one house, filtering through a windowpane. The light played around the room, illuminating a very small, solemn space. On the other side of the window laid a bed, the covers crumpled at the foot. On the wall above, a couple torn photographs hung by worn pieces of tape. An antique wooden dresser sat beneath the window, clashing with the technological flair of the house. The head of the dresser was cluttered with an assortment of books and pencils, and a lamp sat precariously over the edge, its shade tilted bemusedly to one side. A boy sat with his back to his dresser, the knobs pressing into his shirt. He watched as the dawn crept into his bedroom, throwing shadows across the walls. Dark rings hung beneath listless, tired eyes. Once again, Taylor Noire couldn't sleep.

Earth was gone. It was still hard to comprehend. It was hard for the entire human race to take in -- or rather, what was left of the human race. Most of it had been wiped out in one blow, what was left resigned to dilapidated "Drifter colonies" thrown together from bundled up escape vehicles. Humanity was crushed, defeated, hopeless, and homeless. Humans were now the scum of the universe, shoved to the side and ground down, but whether out of fear or disgust, it was hard to say. It was hard to tell anything anymore. It all came down to one race: the Drej. It was all lost the day the Drej descended from the sky. So it wasn't surprising that to him that he often had nightmares, visions of a forgotten world denounced to space dust.

He sat lost in his own thoughts and memories, tracing his finger along the patterns of an old rug. Outside the door he could hear the murmurs of a house stirring to life. There were the sounds of opening and closing doors; a loud bang that suggested Cale had fallen out of bed; a high-pitched squeal; and the patter of feet scrambling down stairs. He was pulled from his reverie by the familiar sounds of his family. He smiled as he pushed himself to his feet, staggering towards the door.


Cale Tucker slid down the hall on his socked feet, flailing his arms, trying to get a hand on the wall to keep from falling over backward. Up ahead a smaller creature clad in flower-print pajamas sped down the hall, giggling and squealing as she threw herself down the staircase. Cale took off in wild pursuit.

"Ijit, I'll get you this time!" he shouted at the alien girl as she took a sharp left and sped out of sight. His threat was answered only with another squeal. Cale raced after her, hurtling down the stairs, gripping the railing with one hand. He jumped the last few steps and followed the creature's escape route with panther-like agility. He came to a stop in a peaceful dining room, steadying himself with one hand, gripping the edge of the table as he peered around the room.Now where'd she go…? As if in answer to his thought, a muffled giggle emitted from beneath the table. With a grin, Cale started to circle the table.

"Where is she? I wonder where she could have gone…" he wondered aloud. The voice beneath the table snorted with laughter. Cale darted beneath the table. There was a squeak and the girl scrambled out from under the table, taking off through the doorway, running right into the arms of another alien like herself. The alien wrinkled his short trunk with amusement as Cale crawled out from under the table, a sheepish grin on his face. The girl was in hysterics, tugging on the adult's arm. The alien's yellow eyes glinted as he looked down at his two adopted children. "Iji, now, it's quite all right," the alien said down to the girl in his arms in a deep, soft voice.

Cale stood up in front of the table, trying to look innocent. His mussed blond hair fell in two short locks above hazel eyes. He cocked his head, hands in the pockets of a torn pair of pants, creased from sleep. He smiled at the older alien. "I didn't do anything, Tek… she sneaked into my bedroom and pulled the sheets off my bed again. I fell." The girl, Iji, shot Cale a dark look. Cale stuck his tongue out at her, and she wrinkled her snout at him.

Tek grinned at the two and made a sound in his throat. "Now, now, none of this -- this constant bickering between you two… I'd swear you were siblings."

Cale smiled at Tek, then looked off behind him as another figure hobbled down the stairs. The boy had dark brown hair with long bangs that fell just above his eyes. He was already dressed in a pair of cargo pants and an oversized white shirt that hung from his thin limbs. The boy was tall and gangly from a recent growth spurt. His slanted, brown eyes still had a sparkle of life to them in his otherwise tired face. Cale smiled wider as the boy made his way towards the group. "Morning, Tai! How you feeling?"

The boy lifted his eyes to Cale's and gave a weak smile. "Like I've been steamrolled by a cargo ship, but I've been worse." He gave Tek and Iji a reassuring grin, who had turned at his arrival.

Tai was Cale's best friend, and the only person Cale truly connected with as family, since they had known each other practically their whole lives. Both had shared the similar experience of losing their families and their home, making the two especially close. They had a bond that Tek's penetrating eyes and Iji's wild antics could not pick out. The two fourteen-year-olds had spent the past nine years with only each other as company in an alien universe, and that was enough.

The group turned to the dining room, and it wasn't long until breakfast was on the way, Cale and Iji bickering the whole time, Tek glancing at them every once in awhile with a smirk or imploring them in his soft voice to quit fooling around before they hurt themselves. Tai helped set the table, smiling and laughing and joking with Cale over the din of Iji and Tek. Life seemed so normal and perfect during those few minutes before breakfast that morning. Tai sat down at the table and thought back to how he had gotten here, many years ago.

The little boy scrambled through the tall grass, pushing his way with his small hands, every once in awhile daring a glance at the sky above as aircrafts many times the size of the young boy sped through a brown sky. The boy's face was tear-stained and his eyes were wide with fear and confusion. Where had Mom and Dad gone? He couldn't find them anywhere. He ran up the hill as fast as his legs could carry him, hoping to see his parents once he was standing on top of that monstrous hill.

When he got to the hill, however, there was someone already there. A man, tall and strong in a military uniform, his smoothed brown hair caught flapping on the wake of the spacecrafts that sped not far overhead. In his arms the man held a boy, no older than the boy below scrambling through the grass. He had short blond hair and round face, and he was clutching a broken toy in his hands. Both father and son were staring off below the hill, towards the scene beyond. The boy paused for a moment, looking over the pair before rushing up to them. He grabbed the man's pant leg, tugging it. His words came out in a rush, twisting into babble. The blond-haired boy looked down in surprise. The man frowned, eyes wrought with pity.

The blond boy looked curiously at his father. "What's wrong with Tai, Dad?" he asked.

The man hesitated. "I think Taylor should come with us, is that alright, Cale?" Cale nodded, and the man picked up Tai and they set off towards the hovercraft approaching over the hill. He set the two boys down next to each other, talking animatedly with a Tek and another man up front. Cale smiled at Tai, reaching over and grabbing his hand. Tai smiled back, his fears forgotten.

"Don't worry," the blond-haired boy said to Tai. "You're okay now."

When Cale's father had left them that day, it had been hard on them both, but especially on Cale. Although his father was gone, Tai came to live with Cale. Cale still thought often of his father. In the slow parts of the day, Tai would see him staring off into space, clutching a plain gold ring – a trinket Cale's father had left him. Even now Tai could see it glinting on Cale's finger. Cale still hoped in the promise his father had gave nine years ago, a promise that they would see each other again. A promise that, so far, had not been kept.