Chapter 1: Fragments of the Past

The bridge of the ship Tears of Antares vibrated with a deceptive calm. Aldric, seated in a chair before the main viewport, stared into the vast ocean of stars that stretched before him. It was an awe-inspiring sight, but tonight it failed to stir any sense of wonder. His father’s words echoed in his mind: “A noble inherits more than lands, Aldric; he inherits responsibility. Learn to be strong, or your people will suffer for your weakness.”

But what did it truly mean to be strong? The Antares Territory, so distant and insignificant in the eyes of the Empire, felt like a burden too great to bear. Lacking valuable resources, barely protected by the Imperial fleet, and with citizens resentful after years of neglect, ruling over it seemed more like a sentence than a legacy.

“My lord, we've calculated the trajectory. We'll arrive at Antares in less than three cycles,” an officer reported, breaking his thoughts.

“Perfect,” Aldric replied without looking away from the starry void.

The officer bowed and returned to his station, but Aldric barely noticed. His mind was elsewhere. As he absentmindedly twirled the family crest of Antares between his fingers, a sharp pang of doubt pierced him. What if I’m not strong enough to protect them? What if the Empire forgets me, as it’s forgotten so many others?

The bridge fell silent once more, the quiet only broken by the hum of the systems. But that calm was abruptly shattered by a faint vibration, followed by an alert.

“What was that?” Aldric asked, more curious than concerned.

“Probably just a minor interference, my lord. Allow me to check,” the officer replied, tapping at his console.

A sharp, high-pitched tone filled the air, followed by another. Then another.

“My lord, I detect unusual activity in the sector. Unidentified ships approaching.”

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Aldric’s heart skipped a beat.

“Pirates?”

“It’s a possibility, my lord, but I cannot confirm yet.”

The lights on the bridge shifted to an intense red, and the battle alarms began blaring. A mechanical voice echoed through the ship’s speakers:

“Threat detected. Hostile ships approaching at combat speed.”

The ship’s captain, a battle-hardened veteran, rose from his seat and began issuing commands.

“All stations, report! Prepare energy cannons and reinforce shields! Do not let them board!”

In seconds, the bridge went from calm to chaos. Aldric could feel the tension in the air, thick and suffocating. He wanted to ask, to understand what was really happening, but before he could form a word, a violent explosion shook the ship.

The impact sent Aldric crashing into a console. He struggled to sit up, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. Around him, officers scrambled to their stations as the screens flickered, showing the silhouettes of enemy ships. They were small, fast, but numerous. The pirates had arrived.

“Aldric!” a voice shouted. A servant of the family grabbed him by the arm, his face pale but determined. “My lord, it’s not safe here. We must get you to a secure location.”

“And my family?” Aldric asked, his voice cracked with fear and confusion.

“I don’t know, my lord. Your mother was in her chambers, your father in the tactical command room.”

“Then I’m going to find them,” Aldric said, shaking off the servant’s hand.

But before he could move, another explosion rocked the ship, much closer this time. The lights flickered, and the air was filled with smoke. Through the comms, voices shouted in panic.

“Main cannon offline.”

“Shields down in sector four!”

“We have boarders on level C!”

The servant gripped his arm tighter.

“My lord, this ship won’t hold much longer. Please, come with me.”

Aldric hesitated, but a nearby burst of gunfire snapped him into action. He followed the servant down the darkened hallways, each one more chaotic and littered with debris than the last. The sounds of heavy boots and gunfire mixed with the screams of soldiers desperately trying to repel the intruders.

Suddenly, they stopped as the sound of footsteps grew closer. From around a corner, a group of pirates appeared, armed to the teeth and clad in makeshift metal armor. Their eyes glinted with greed, and their laughter was cruel.

“There’s one of them!” one shouted upon spotting Aldric.

The servant drew a pistol and fired, hitting one of the pirates, but the others advanced quickly.

“Run, my lord! Run!”

Aldric obeyed, each step feeling like he was leaving something irreplaceable behind. The shots rang out behind him as he pushed forward toward the escape pods. When he finally reached them, the servant appeared, bloodied and breathless, his face covered in sweat and blood.

“Get in, my lord,” he gasped, his voice strained. “Now.”

“I can’t leave you here.”

“It’s my duty. Yours is to live.”

Before Aldric could protest, the servant shoved him into the pod and manually activated the launch. The last image Aldric saw was of the man, weapon drawn, aiming it down the hall as the pirates closed in.

The pod jerked as it was ejected into the vacuum of space, leaving the Tears of Antares behind. Aldric looked out the small window as the ship disappeared in a whirlwind of explosions and fire. He didn’t know if his family had survived. He didn’t know if anyone had.

The only thing he knew for certain was that he was alone.

He slumped into the seat, trembling as his thoughts battered him like a storm. He had fled like a coward, abandoning his family, his crew. The guilt ate at him. But beneath that weight, something else began to stir—a flicker of determination.

I will survive he whispered, clutching the crest of Antares against his chest. “For them. For Antares