Table of Contents

Prologue................................................................................4

Chapter 1................................................................................6

Chapter 2................................................................................19

Chapter 3................................................................................37

Chapter 4 coming in May!

Prologue

“Shepherds!” A booming voice sounded behind me.

I twirled around and faced Kael Voss, the commander of Kapella, the planet I lived on. His jet-black hair shined in the light, partly blown around by the sandy air whirling everywhere.

“Yes?” I answered in a cool, confident voice.

“Because of your failure to accomplish the task I, as commander of this planet and of the Star Raiders, had assigned to you, you are to be exiled to the planet Oceana aboard the Eclipse Rider. Pack your belongings now, you are leaving in the morning.”

“I-yes, sir.” I saluted.

I trudged back in the Eagle Gazer, where the Star Raiders, a group of people with the mission of destroying any remaining

Chapter 1: Betrayal

                                                     A few months later

I placed a hand on the window sill and gazed out at the stars. They were twinkling, all white and beautiful.

Talvoria, the galaxy I was exiled to, was as lonely as ever, especially the Eclipse Rider, the ship I was on. Tessa Bynn observed me carefully from the other side of the room. Her sand-colored hair, matching perfectly with her beautiful yellow dress, clashed in the dark starship we lived in-at least for now, until we reached Oceana. Tessa, a quiet young woman, was also from Kapella. But, unlike me, she had chosen to go, trying to find a better job. 

“How you doing, Lyra?” Tessa-or Tess, as I always called her-approached me softly, her heels echoing in the silent room we were

 in.

“Okay. I miss Kapella and the Star Raiders.”

“I understand. I miss my family, but I needed to start fresh.” She paused to stare out the window. “Anyway,” Tess took a deep breath, “supper is ready.”

“Great!” I exclaimed.

“Let’s go.” Tess put an arm around my shoulders and we walked out of the room together. We met other people who were going to the dinner room, and were also going to Oceana.

“Everyone!” A man called as the passengers sat down at the long table, “we are approaching Oceana. We should be there very soon.”

Good. I’m getting tired of this place.

After the meal, I strolled down the empty corridors to my room.

I quickly composed the code to enter my room. The only thing I liked about the Eclipse Rider: the security. Every room has a passcode, so only specific people who had the code could enter. I waited patiently as the door slowly slid open. When I walked in, I gasped in shock. A young man was lying on the floor! I rapidly knelt down next to him and gently shook him by the shoulder. His eyes fluttered open and he tried to get up.

“Take it easy. Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“I…” His eyes stared into my face. “Why, it’s you! Lyra! Lyra Shepherds!” The young man’s face shone, his blue eyes smiled, and he slowly sat up.

 I crouched down next to him and asked, surprised,

“You know me?”

“Of course I do!” Smiling at me, he continued, “you’re the young woman that saved my family and I! I’m Hunter Kaystone!”

My eyes widened. “Hunter! What are you doing here?” And,” I frowned, “if I’m not mistaken, you’re wearing a disguise! Why?”

“First of all, I’m here to escape Kapella. Oceana is more tolerant with Commander haters, like me.” I sensed a note of proudness in his voice. “My family got destroyed, despite your precautions, Lyra.” Hunter’s face turned pale as he explained to me how it happened.

“Oh, Hunter, I’m so sorry.” I stated softly.

“Thank you. Now,” he got to his feet, “I’d better get going.”

I also stood up, and, as Hunter was heading to the door, I placed a hand on his arm.

“Hunter, one last question.” I gazed at him soberly.

“Yes?” He inquired in a serious tone. 

“

Why are you here?” I stared into his deep ocean-blue eyes.

“Lyra,” Hunter took a deep breath, “I couldn’t stay on that rotten planet.” He paused, “I’m hiding. No one, besides you, knows I’m here. I studied this place a lot at night, the best I  could while staying hidden from all the security cameras. I watched you do the code for this room, so I decided to go in. Sorry. I didn’t have anywhere else to go, my last hiding place got discovered.”

“I understand.” I softened my voice. “Now, you’d better get out of you here before-” A loud knock on the door made me stop. “Tess’s here. Hide!” I whispered.

“Where?” Hunter murmured frantically.

“Hum,” my mind raced, then I suddenly had an idea, “under the bed!”

“Seriously?” He frowned angrily at me.

“Just do it!” I insisted.

“Oh, alright!” A groan followed. Hunter slid under my bed.

“Great! Just stay there!”

I ran to open the door.

“Tess! Hi! How are you?” I exclaimed happily.

“You’re hiding something.” My friend stated bluntly.

“What? What makes you think that?”

“Stop lying, Lyra, you’re hiding something. Actually, someone. I see his feet sticking out from under the bed.”

I blew out an angry breath.

“You can come out, whoever you are.” Tess declared seriously.

Hunter got out of his hiding place. He was frowning angrily at Tess. He approached and glared at her. “Listen,” Hunter started, anger in his voice, “you’d better keep this a secret. Or else…” He stopped and marched out the room, not 

even saying goodbye. I’d never seen Hunter as angry before.

“Tess, see what you did? Hunter’s hiding on this ship. He’s also from Kapella, but he’s an Ory. I saved his life, as well as his family-though they didn’t make it. Do you know the Star Raiders? I was a part of that group, but got sent away. I’m exiled to Oceana.”

Tess simply nodded. “I’d better go now. Bye.”

I let out a long sigh. I suddenly heard a low rustling noise. As I got up from my bed, an invisible door opened out of the wall and Hunter stepped out. His dark clothes blended in with the dark wall he emerged from.

“Hunter! What ae you doing in here, again?” I nearly yelled.

“Lyra, I don’t trust your friend Tessa. The way she knew I was here, it’s just weird.”

“I agree. Now, why are you here?”

“I found a new hiding place. And, the captain said on the loudspeaker that we 

can now see Oceana from some windows. Wanna go see?”

“That’s great! But,” I paused, “you sure you should go out in the open?”

Hunter shrugged. “Tessa already knows I’m here. Plus, I can’t be sent back home now. Come on!” He extended his hand as he put one foot back through the door.

“Oh, okay!” I smiled. I closed the door as Hunter and I carefully walked in the tunnel behind the invisible door. Hunter clasped my hand in his to “avoid losing me”, as he put it. An opening appeared after a while. My friend opened it and lead me through the silent room we had ended up in.

“This place is so weird at night. It looks like a ghost starship.”

Avoiding my remarks, Hunter gently placed an arm around my waist and steered me to a large window, overlooking the galaxy-full of stars and planets.

“Wow!” I gasped in amazement. “This is beautiful!”

Hunter pointed to a light-blue planet.

“That’s Oceana. It’s gorgeous,” he turned to stare at me for a few seconds, gently brushed my cheek, “just like you.” Hunter announced softly.

I blushed. Then, I abruptly heard a noise.

“We have to hide!”

“Again?” My friend exclaimed in annoyance.

But we were too late. A bright light suddenly shined on us, and a tall silhouette appeared as we turned around. The unknown figure approached menacingly.

“So, we meet again.” The voice coming from the mysterious person made me gasp. It was Tess! 

“What are you doing, Tess?” I challenged her.

“Listen,” my friend-or now former friend-sniffed haughtily, “you are now my prisoners. Resist and,” Tess pulled out a pistol, “well, you know.” She stopped and smiled cruelly. “Get them.”

The men surrounding her grabbed Hunter and I. Strong hands grabbed my arms. We both fought fiercely, but they outnumbered us. I tried to break free, but Tess threated me. Two men managed to tie my hands behind my back. Next to me, Hunter was raging like a lion, trying to get away. 

“Don’t try to break free, Hunter. It won’t do you any good.” Tess declared meanly.

“Listen, Tessa,” Hunter dared, quickly approaching her, “you’d better let us go. What you’re doing is against the law.”

Tessa snickered. “There aren’t any rules here, because I’m the only that makes them!” She roared cruelly, soon joined by her companions. I glanced at Hunter, who had finally stopped trying to break loose.

“What do we do?” I questioned anxiously.

“We can’t do anything. Just stay calm.” Hunter replied, clearly relaxed.

“Take them do you know where.” Tess ordered to the men surrounding us.

We were prodded along the deserted hallways to a dark, small room.

“Welcome to your new home!” Tess roared in laughter, motioning the room.

“Very funny.” Hunter observed sarcastically.

“Stop it.” Tess glared at him, her brown eyes blazed up.

The door made a clicking sound as it closed, ending all hopes of getting out of the prison we were now in.

The area we were in was enclosed, making me feel claustrophobic.  The dark walls encircled us. I could hardly move, and I had lost my friend. Things couldn’t get any worse. 

“Hunter,” I started after a long sigh, “Tess knows you’re an Ory. I told her, I’m so 

sorry. I trusted her, but she betrayed me. I should’ve suspected her after she caught you in my room.” I buried my head in my knees. “This is all my fault.”

My friend slowly approached me, in a corner of the room. His deep blue eyes stared into my soul. “It’s not, really. I should’ve paid more attention to where I was staying.” He took a long breath. “Anyway, we shouldn’t be here long. Oceana is very close.” Changing the subject, he continued, “Do you know who Tessa is working for? The Commander? The captain of the Eclipse Rider? Someone else?” 

“She could be working for all three.” After a moment of pondering, I suddenly exclaimed, “What if she was working for Kael Voss, the commander and founder of the Star Raiders?” I thought for a moment, then added slowly, “No, she didn’t know him, at least I don’t think so.”

A blaring, deafening siren abruptly sounded.

“What’s that?” I asked, alarmed, panic rising. 

Hunter managed to get up. “I don’t know.” His eyebrows frowned. “Maybe a fire alarm, or,” he stopped short, and smiled, “maybe it’s because we’re landing at Oceana!” His voice suddenly sounded very excited, like a child on Christmas Day.

“We’ll just have to wait and see.” I whispered.

Chapter 2: Oceana

The pale blue planet of Oceana rapidly approached as the Eclipse Rider flew closer and closer to it. A few hours later, Tessa and her men escorted us closely to the exit. I quickly turned around to catch a last glance at the Eclipse Rider.

“So long…” I whispered.

Every step I took was a huge effort for me, as I was completely exhausted from lack of sleep. My eyelids could hardly stay open; my head was heavy.  Observing Hunter for a moment, I realized he was also very tired. 

“Come on, people, get moving!” Tessa barked at us.

“You’re not the one that hasn’t gotten a bit of sleep for twenty-four hours straight. You should try it sometime and see. Maybe you’d  

talk less.” Hunter declared hotly in a mocking tone.

Tessa just scowled at him. “Stop talking and move!”

We obeyed, trudging towards who knows where, on a planet that was supposed to be a new beginning for Hunter and I. Except, it was the opposite. 

“Let. Us. Go. Now.” I commanded sternly, enunciating each word with fury.

“Why?” She challenged me, her head up high, acting proud and arrogant.

“Because you are no longer on the Eclipse Rider, where you said you had the right to make all the rules, but on Oceana, a place with rules that a haughty person like you didn’t create.”

Hunter rapidly looked at me, staring at me with that expression that 

clearly meant he was proud of me for saying that.

Tessa became more and more angry. Her eyes glared into ours, a flame of rage burning furiously in them.

“Look,” she hissed, “keep quiet or I’ll make sure you rot in jail for the rest of your life.” 

That threatening statement made Hunter and I silent, but from the fiery look in my friend’s eyes, I knew he was as ready to continue yelling insults to Tessa as I was. The bizarre blue sand covering the planet flew around, reminding me of the sand on Kapella. My hope of being set free vanished as we approached a massive building. Its barred windows seemed to glare down at me and I shuddered in fright.

“We’ll be okay.” Hunter’s voice gently sounded in my ears. We 

trudged-as fast as we could, but “not enough” as Tessa put it- to the imposing building. A guard greeted us with a large grin as we entered.

“How you doing, Tessa? Ah, you brought two fine specimens today.”The tone of his voice and the word he used made me shiver. The man looked Hunter and I over like a farmer inspecting cattle. While he was doing that, I glanced around the big room we were in. The windows were barred, leaving no way of escaping that way, and there were security guards armed with weapons everywhere. This place was frightening. It was dark, and full of metal cages, doors, and locks. I suddenly noticed something that made me feel very uneasy. A man was being led to an obscure room at the end of the hallway we were now in. He was extremely pale and sickly, almost ghost-like. 

A new shiver went done my spine. I wish I could clasp Hunter’s hand for comfort. I started breathing faster, nervous thoughts racing through my mind. What was this place? A prison? A very inhuman hospital? Someplace else? 

“Hunter…” A plaintive cry escaped my lips.

“I know, Lyra.” His voice sounded soft now, calm and posed.

Was Tessa part of this terrible group of people? Was the Commander? I certainly hope not. Hunter, as an Ory, was risking his life if the evil man was in charge of this. I clenched my fists, still secured behind my back.

“Tessa, are you a part of this?”

“Be quiet.” The woman snapped.

“You didn’t answer her question.” Hunter rapidly defended me.

“I don’t care.” Tessa spat out, being careful to enunciate every word. Then, she turned her back on us, as if not concerned about Hunter and I anymore. Good. That would give us to talk while Tess chatted with the very eerie man. 

“Did you hear what he called us? ‘Specimens’! Like if we were plants!” My remark made Hunter chuckle, but he quickly became serious as he added, swiftly looking around,

“I don’t like this place.”

“Hunter, let’s escape.” I whispered. 

The young man looked at me like as if I was some creature from an unknown planet. “Are you insane? We’re going to get caught!”

“Would you rather stary here?” I retorted, enraged.

“Lyra!” Hunter stopped short as he realized there was no way of 

convincing me to stay.

 I stared into his eyes. That fiery glow was still there. “Now.”

My heart was pounding with excitement. Freedom was just a few feet away!

When Hunter nodded his head discreetly, we both bolted as fast as we could towards the only exit existing: the big front door. But, our “freedom” didn’t last long; Tessa and the guard yelled and ran after us, their footsteps pounding in our ears. A shot rang out, and, to my horror, Hunter fell to the ground with a moan.

“Hunter!” I screamed in terror. “NO!”

Immediately kneeling next to my friend, I asked him if he was okay. He just gritted his teeth in pain. From Hunter’s pale face and bleeding shoulder, I knew he wasn’t well.

“Lyra…” He managed to gasp in between rapid breaths.

“Yes?”

“Go on…” Hunter suddenly grimaced in pain, “now, before it’s too late.” 

“I’m not leaving you.  “I bit my lip furiously to avoid crying.

“That’s right.” Tess exclaimed behind me. Before I could turn around or get up, her arm curled around my neck. She forced me to the ground then laid a hand on her revolver.

“One wrong move, Lyra, one wrong move, and it’s all over.” Her menacing voice hissed in my ear as she kept me pinned down.

“Lyra!” Hunter groaned.

On an impulse, I tried to sit up, but remembered Tessa’s threat too late. I saw her raise an arm-the one with the pistol-and it went crashing down on my head with a thunderous bang. I could feel hot blood run down my face.

“Lyra!” Hunter’s cry seemed to last forever.

Then, everything went black.

***

A soft cool hand brushed against my face.

“Lyra.” The voice seemed to echo all around me.

I wanted to reply, but only a low moan sounded.

“Lyra!” The voice repeated.

 I painfully tried to open my eyes. When they adjusted to the bright light, a figure-blurry at first-slowly appeared.

“Lyra!” The echo suddenly disappeared, and I clearly heard the voice. It was Hunter’s.

“Hunter…” I finally murmured.

 The hand abruptly ceased.

“Lyra,” Hunter stopped for a second, “I…” He swallowed, “I thought I’d lost you.” 

“You didn’t, “I muttered weakly, “at least not yet.”

“Don’t say that.” The young man’s wavering voice and teary eyes betrayed his emotions.

“You never know.”

“Lyra!” Hunter exploded. “Do you want to just leave me here?” A few tears streamed down his face. He vigorously wiped them away. After calming down, he continued, “You can’t die, Lyra, you can’t!” Hunter paused, and getting closer, placed a hand on my head injury.

“Ah!” I grimaced in pain. Hunter immediately took his hand away.

“I’m sorry, are you okay? Your head’s still bleeding.”

“I’m fine. Still?”

“Yeah. I’ll go get a towel or something.” He turned to walk out the door, but I quickly cried,

“Wait! Are we still prisoners? If we are, you can’t just waltz out of here!” 

Hunter stopped, started to chuckle, and slowly strode back to me. “Lyra, Tessa locked us up, but she kinda just gave us free reign of this part of the building. For now.”

“If we’re locked up, how do we have ‘free reign’?”

“Tessa just secured a few rooms. We can freely go through them. Plus, this place is a security palace. It was a lot of armed guards.”

I nodded, then Hunter strolled out of the room.

While he was gone, I gazed around the room. Bright lights shined, almost blinding me. The whole room was strangely white, a 

complete contrast to the dark room we are in before. A wave of panic rushed in as I recalled the events of…I thought hard, yesterday? Maybe? It was unclear, like a dream you only faintly remember. Hunter suddenly burst in the room.

“I’m back.” He dashed to my side and gently put a hot towel on my head.

 “Thanks.” I smiled feebly.

“Tessa’s gone.” Hunter announced softly.

I instantly sat up, then grimaced. “What do you mean, she’s gone? Left the building, the planet?”

“Both. Lyra,” The young man took a deep breath. “Tessa’s a criminal. She threatens people at gunpoint before taking them prisoner here.”

I gasped. “Just like the man I saw earlier. So, Tessa’s apart the Legion then, right? And, the people she takes prisoner are Orys?” 

“She is apart of the Legion, but she doesn’t just take Orys. She takes  

anybody. And, we’ll part of that ‘anybody’.”

“What will we do now? Tessa left, and we’ll probably just stay here until someone decides to let us go. If they ever do.”

“We’ll have to stay patient.”

“Now, are you feeling better?” Hunter pulled a chair closest to my bed.

“A bit. But, “a sudden flood of pain surged through my body, “ahh!”

My nails dug into my skin as I clenched my fists. Hunter quickly asked, worry in his voice,

“Lyra! Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“No,” I replied, wincing, “I-I don’t know.”

“Is it your head?”

“Yeah.”

Hunter rapidly whipped the towel off the wound. The grim expression on his face meant nothing good.

“It’s getting worse. I need medical help.”

He sounded panicky of all the sudden. My friend raced out the room and came back with a man I’d never seen before.

“This is Jax Corrin. He’s a doctor here.”

Jax Corrin smiled. “Call me Jax.”

“A doctor, here?” I questioned, glowering.

“I, um, yes. I’m the doctor that…um, does the experiments.” Jax blushed, embarrassed.

“Uh-huh. You won’t try any of your,” Hunter coughed, “’experiments’ on Lyra, will you?”

“Of course not!” The doctor appeared sincere.

“I’ll be watching you. “Hunter declared, “Very closely.

“I got nothing to hide.” Jax raised his hands in innocence.

Hunter snorted. “We’ll see about that.”  

“Look,” Doctor Corrin approached Hunter, “I don’t care if you believe me or not, I’m here to help this young lady.” He pointed to me.

Hunter sighed. “You’d better.”

A long list of questions followed, exhausting me. At last, Jax studied the wound carefully.

“It’s not as bas a you thought. It’s healing pretty well.”

The doctor bandaged my head then stepped back, as if admiring his work.

“I’ve done all I can. I’ll come back soon.”