Arluna Star

Prelude

On the planet of Xetis, the glowing city lights stretched across the planet's surface as far as the eye could see. Space cruisers were weaving in between the buildings in an orderly fashion. Though it was night, it seemed the city never slept.
Llewas Star, a twenty-four-year-old man, was on patrol. He gazed down at the scene from a temple balcony high above the city. His blue eyes scanned the horizon as he gently stroked his short, black goatee. Llewas suddenly felt a breeze on his cream skin as it blew the lower half of his long-sleeved black cloak. The hilt of Llewas’ elegant sword that hung on the side of his hip slightly swayed in the breeze. His short black hair fluttered on his head as it died down. A shiver ran through him and Llewas closed his cloak over his white tunic.
Llewas was a Master within the ranks of the Varix.

The Varix were a large group of wizards, warriors, scholars, and instructors who fought for peace and justice. They taught others from a very young age how to unlock the powers of the mind and use natural energies to manipulate the world around them. They believed that in doing this, the Varix could better help others in their dire time of need. They were run by a small group of very powerful Varix called Advisors.
However, there was another side to this coin. If someone let their negative emotions get the better of them, it could lead them down a darker, selfish, power-hungry path.

As Llewas turned and walked by a couple of Varix, he looked up in the night sky and saw something moving in the distance. He squinted as it got closer and quickly realized it was a large ship and it was coming in way too fast. Llewas rushed up to one of the Varix.

"Master Garen, look!" Llewas said as he pointed toward the ship.
"That ship seems to be in trouble. I'll inform Maste-."
"No, I'll go. If there are any survivors, I'll take care of them." Llewas said and ran off to get a space cruiser.

In the ship, an Esdian woman named Celestine, braced for impact as the ship crashed and bounced across a few platforms then came to rest, teetering on the edge of one of the platforms. The paper white-skinned woman slowly stood as the ship creaked. The tail end tilted slightly downward toward the aKarver below. There wasn't much time. The woman looked around. She spotted a heavy box and picked it up over her leg. Bracing herself, the woman smashed it over her leg, breaking it. She let out a cry of pain before she threw the box to the side. She crawled out of the ship just as Llewas' space cruiser landed. He leaped out of the vehicle and ran at the woman. The ship let out one final loud metallic creak as it leaned over the edge and fell off the platform.

"Are you ok ma'am?" Llewas said as he crouched by her and visually looked her over for injuries. He saw her bleeding leg.
"You were injured in the crash. Don't move your leg. I'll go get some supplies from my space cruiser." He said.

Llewas quickly got to work on the woman's leg. He cleaned her wound and put a couple of cyan gel healing patches over it. That would be good for now, but she needed more help.

"Here, let me help you to my space cruiser. You can stay with me at the Varix Temple." He said as he gently helped her stand. Celestine kept most of her weight off her injured leg as Llewas helped her over to his space cruiser. He helped her lie down in his back seat. Llewas then rushed over to the driver's seat.

The space cruiser soon got into the flow of air traffic.

"What's your name?" Llewas asked.

"I'm Celestine." She replied. Normally she wouldn't tell her enemy anything about herself. Why did she feel compelled to give her name to this Varix? She had to be more careful.

I'm Llewas, it's nice to meet you Celestine." he said.

Celestine didn't speak. Instead, she turned her head toward the backrest. Soon enough, she was asleep.

Celestine awoke to Llewas gently shaking her.

"We've arrived." he said. Llewas helped her stand. He supported most of her weight again as they made their way to the medical wing of the Varix Temple. Celestine looked around at all the Varix walking to and fro. Some were staring at them. She shuddered. She shouldn’t be here. Yet, this man, one of her enemies, was taking care of her. He must not know who she worked with, which was a good thing for now.

Celestine was carried into a medical room where a robot was waiting. A couple of other Varix suddenly rushed in.
“Master Llewas, can we help you with anything?” They offered. Llewas shook his head.
“No, I’ve got this under control. However, you both can get the room next to mine ready for our guest. Thank you.” Llewas replied. The two bowed to Llewas and left.

Later, Llewas watched through the window as the medical robot worked on her leg. A Varix walked up to him.

"Who's the lady?" the red-skinned, alien-like Moltos asked in Moltees. It sounded like clicks and bloops. Llewas understood the language.

"Crash survivor, name's Celestine. That's all I know." Llewas replied. He watched as the droid finished its work and then hovered over to the door. Llewas met it there as it slid open.

"Just a broken leg. She needs bed rest for a few days but she'll be fine." the robot's mechanical voice said.

"Is she well enough to leave the medical wing?" he asked.

"Yes, master Llewas." the robot replied.
"Can I see her?"
“Yes." The robot nodded and glided to the side so Llewas could enter the room.

Llewas walked in just as Celestine opened her eyes. She looked at him and slightly smiled.

"Dhosal's amazing." she said. Llewas smiled, grateful that she was doing better.
“Well, Dhosal does have fast healing properties on most organic material.” He replied.

At Llewas’ smile, Celestine couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. She looked into his eye and wanted to get lost in them. She blinked and felt her face get warm. Celestine quickly tore her gaze away from him.

"There's a vacant room next to mine that you can sleep in tonight." Llewas said, clearing his throat. Celestine's smile faded, but she nodded. She shouldn’t stay, yet some small part of her wanted to.
"Thank you." she whispered.

Later that night, Llewas opened the door to the spare room next to his. He flicked his hand toward a small lightswitch on the wall and the light turned on. Llewas carefully helped Celestine sit on the bed. She was still recovering but the Dhosal was speeding up that process.

"I'll get you some food. What would you like?" He asked.

"I'll just take a burger." Celestine replied.

"Drink?" He asked.

"Berry juice please." She replied.

"Coming right up." He said and left the room.

Celestine looked around the room. It was rather plain with little to no decoration to it. Back on the planet Retania, Celestine's chambers were very lavishly decorated. She couldn't wait to get back there.

Celestine got comfortable as Llewas walked back into the room carrying a tray with a covered plate and a glass with berry juice in it. He carefully placed it on her lap and lifted the lid. He then took a seat on the nearby chair. Celestine looked at him.

"Thank you for your kindness, Llewas." She said.

"I'm happy to help." He said. "Please, eat. Your body needs the energy to heal."

Celestine took a bite of the burger. The seasoned meat was hot and juicy. It was very good.

After finishing her meal, Llewas moved the tray to the nearby chair. He pulled back the covers on the bed and Celestine carefully got in. He covered her, grabbed the tray, and went back to the door. He turned to face her.

"I'll see you in the morning, bright and early." He said and flicked his wrist. The light turned off. He closed the door, leaving her alone.

Once she heard his footsteps fade, Celestine sat up in bed and looked around the room. No camElitai, good. She slowly got up out of bed, quietly wincing at the pain in her leg. She hobbled to the bathroom, went inside, and locked the door. She reached into her tunic and pulled out a small handheld device and a small headset. She set the handheld device on the counter, turned the volume to low, and turned it on. She then put on the headset.

"I'm here at the Varix Temple, my lord." She spoke quietly.

"Excellent, Celestine. Do you have the information we're looking for?" A deep and gruff male voice said.

"No. I will need more time." She said.

"Don't fail me, Celestine. You are one of my top Agents. You should be perfectly capable of handling this job. You have two days left." The voice said.

"I will not fail you, my lord." She said and turned off the device. Celestine then carefully put both devices away, quietly went back to her bed, and slept.

The next morning, Celestine was woken by a bright light. She pulled the covers over her head and groaned. She heard Llewas laugh.

"Oh no no no. You're getting out of bed." He said with a grin.
Llewas raised his hands and the covers began floating off her. Celestine held them tight but Llewas gave a jerk with his hands and the covers slipped from Celestine's hands. Celestine wanted to use her similar abilities to shove him back out the door but she knew she couldn't. Instead, she put on a grumpy front.

Celestine sat up and looked at him, frowning.

"I brought you breakfast. Cereal and a glass of cold milk." He said setting the tray on her lap.

Celestine took a glance at the clock. Six in the morning. She looked back at Llewas.

"Do you normally start your day this early?" She complained.
"Yup, now eat up." He chirped.
With a sigh, Celestine began eating.

Near the end of her meal, she asked a question.

"Can you show me around the temple today?" She asked curiously.

"Unfortunately I am not allowed to. You are not a Varix so the Advisors would not allow it." Llewas said.

"Aw come on. I'm sure there have been Varix in the past that have gone behind the Advisor's back before." Celestine said.

"Yes, but they were not me, and I refuse to go behind their backs." Llewas said.

Her mission was going to be much harder than she thought.

"As soon as we're done here, I'm going to bring you to the medical wing to see how your leg is doing. If everything is good to go, I'll take you home." Llewas said.

"I don't live here." Celestine said.

"Where do you live then?" Llewas asked. Celestine thought of something fast.

"Nowhere. I'm a traveler. I have no permanent home." She said.

"I can get you a hotel room nearby then. Does that sound feasible?" Llewas said.

Celestine nodded.

After she had finished eating. Llewas took her to the medical wing. Using a small handheld x-ray scanner, the robot checked on Celestine’s leg.

"Your leg is 80% healed. You can put weight on it, however, that will be a bit painful for a little while longer." The robot said in his mechanical voice.

Llewas looked at Celestine.

"Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded.

On the ride to the hotel, Celestine began to genuinely appreciate what Llewas had done for her. He had shown her kindness in his caring for her. That was not something that happened within the Kynaso. If you were too badly injured and couldn’t do your job for the Kynaso, you were left to fend for yourself. The only exception was that you were still useful to them. Being in the Kynaso, it was like only the strong survived.

Later, Llewas helped Celestine into her hotel room. She sat down on the bed and Llewas stood by the door. Celestine couldn’t help but stare at him before he turned to face him. Then her eyes darted to his face.

"I'll pay for the room for a week. Then you have to go." He said.

"Thank you for your help Llewas." Celestine said. He smiled at her. Something inside Celestine didn't want him to go.

"I'll come see you once every day this week, to see how you're doing." he said. "Are you going to be ok for the rest of the day?"

"Yeah, I can manage." She said.

"Ok. See you tomorrow then." He said and left.

Why did Celestine suddenly have a heavy feeling in her heart. She shook her head. This was stupid, her falling for him. However, he did take good care of her and made sure she was safe. Sure, any Varix would be compelled to do that, but the thing was, it felt like he tended to her more than what a normal Varix would do.

"You failed Celestine." A male voice cut off her train of thought. Celestine froze at the sound of the voice and her breath became short. She turned herself toward the balcony that was now wide open and saw a man standing there. It was the Emperor's other top Agent.

"I just need more time." She trembled.

"No! Your time is up. He's done waiting." He hissed.

Celestine grabbed for her bag but it flew into the man's hand. Her swords were in there.

"You won't be needing this." He said as he unsheathed his own sword.

Celestine got into a fighting stance. She knew her leg was healing but she had to do something to defend herself, even if it might be a feeble attempt.

The man went right for her injured leg, side swiping at it. Celestine cried out in pain and collapsed. Just as the man was to bring down his sword on her, a familiar voice from behind him spoke.

"That's not very gentlemen like." Llewas Star said. The Kynaso Agent turned and swiped at him. He backed off.

"Celestine, get to the space cruiser, now!" He commanded as he fought the man.
Celestine gritted her teeth through the pain and limped toward the balcony door. Llewas kept the Kynaso Agent focused on him as he glanced at Celestine getting closer to the door. However, the Kynaso Agent saw this distraction and swiped at Llewas. Llewas had to lean far back as the blade just missed his neck.

Celestine reached the doorway. Suddenly she felt herself being flung back into the room. She slammed against the far wall.

Now she was getting mad. At this moment she didn't care if Llewas saw that she was with the Kynaso. She had to end this now! Celestine stood and gathered energy as Llewas kept the Kynaso Agent distracted.

"Get the hell out!" She screamed and shoved her hands forward. The energy she flung at him pushed the Kynaso Hand out of the balcony window and off the balcony itself.

Llewas turned to her with wide eyes and gaping mouth.

"You're a Kynaso?" He asked.

"Now is not the time. We need to get out of here, let's go!" She ordered.

Llewas helped Celestine to the space cruiser and he got into the driver seat. The space cruiser took off.

"You want to tell me who you are now?" Llewas said as the space cruiser flew away from the large city.

"First we need to get to a safe place." she stated.

"How does the planet Neraiya sound?" He asked.

"Yeah, let's go." She replied.

Later, Llewas' ship landed in a large, secluded field on Neraiya. He turned to her.

"Now, tell me who you are." He said. Celestine took a deep breath.

"I am now a former Kynaso Agent. I was sent on a mission to gather information on the Varix and bring it back to the Kynaso. I've obviously failed in my mission when I met you." She said.

Llewas sensed her feelings. She was telling the truth and had no ill intentions toward him.

"You had a very powerful position. You were working exclusively for their leader. Why throw that away?" He asked.

"Because I have feelings for you Llewas." She blurted. She wasn't going to ignore and hide her feelings anymore.

"A Kynaso and Varix..." He started. The two opposing sides coming together would never happen. They both stood for very different things.

"Neither side needs to know. We can lay low here on Neraiya." She said.

"The Varix would send out a search party for me." He calmly argued. "I can't abandon them, Celestine. It'd be too suspicious. However, I'm willing to protect you and keep you safe." he sighed. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I care about you. You're a very beautiful and intelligent woman. I'm willing to give us a chance and see where this goes." He said.

Celestine hugged him. It felt so good to finally get all that out.
“Thank you.” She whispered in his ear.

Three years later, Celestine and Llewas were married and living a comfortable lifestyle on Neraiya. They also had a beautiful little two year old daughter and a three week old boy.

One afternoon Llewas was sitting in the kitchen and called in Celestine. She joined her husband at the table. Llewas looked at his beautiful wife.

"I've made arrangements to have Arluna begin studying at the Varix temple. I feel she'd be a great asset to our cause in the protection and safety of this galaxy." he said.

Celestine raised an eyebrow as she took a seat across from him.
"You've already made the arrangements?" Celestine asked.

"Yes, she begins in a month." Llewas said.

Celestine would normally be happy for her daughter, but for her to become a Varix? No, this was not going to happen.

Celestine smiled at her husband. "I'm sure she'll be great one day." she replied.

Later that night while Llewas was out, Celestine got herself ready. She went to a local Pub and sat at a more secluded table opposite from a hooded figure that had been waiting for her. They were sitting back to back as to not raise suspicion.

"Thank you for meeting with me Lord Karver." Celestine said.

"What do you want Celestine?" Karver asked.

"I'd like to make an arrangement for my daughter, Arluna. She's going to begin her Varix training in a month."

"Go on." the Zuline said.

"I want you to make sure she gets into the Kynaso Order before she's knighted." Celestine said.

Karver was silent for a moment. There was no way he'd let a Varix into his own order right away. Instead, he'd give Arluna a test.

"I know of a young Kynaso order forming on a little-known planet called Yenov. I'll pull some strings and make sure she gets into their order where she'll be tested. However no one in that order will be aware of this small fact, including Arluna. I'd like to see how she fDazus there first. If she is worthy, I'll be sure to arrange things in order for her to join my order." Karver said.

"Thank you Lord Karver." Celestine replied and left the tavern.