Kaito, Valentina, and Rikona arrived at the coordinates Astra provided. It was a deserted space ranger shipyard nestled deep within a barren wasteland. Rust-colored soil stretched endlessly with jagged rocks scattered around the clearing almost like a natural barrier. Four beat up D-class starships were lined up side by side next to each other, each approximately twenty-five meters in length.
In front of three of these ships stood their opponents in groups of four, preparing for the race ahead. They were a variety of alien species. Each stared at Katio and the others as they walked by… but Kaito's attention was stolen by the team standing in front of the second-to-last ship. It was the same three Thalorians he'd noticed at the licensing station before the exams began, accompanied by a random fourth alien examinee.
Rikona's gentle voice broke his trance.
"According to our wristbands, our ship is the last one in line." She informed them, pointing to the farthest vessel.
"Great." Valentina scoffed sarcastically, eyes scanning the other teams.
"And I still don't see that lanky blue bastard Zee anywhere. Looks like I'm flying the ship after all."
Rikona visibly stiffened, swallowing nervously.
"Uhh, Valentina… maybe that's not such a good idea. Do you not remember what happened the last time you tried piloting a starship?"
Valentina waved her hand dismissively, rolling her light brown eyes.
"Relax, genius. I've got this… probably."
Rikona sighed anxiously.
They walked past the first two teams, but as they approached the thalorians, the middle sibling stepped forward abruptly, his voice filled with not so greatly hidden aggression.
"Hey! You—human!"
Kaito stopped and turned.
"You're the human who grew up on Thalos, on the southern continent… aren't you?" The thalorian continued.
The youngest thalorian, a little younger than Finn, tugged at his older brother's sweatshirt sleeve.
"Stop it big bro, please! Let's just—"
He was cut off by a harsh shove, sending him crashing onto the rust-colored dirt.
"Get out of the way, Lorian!" The elder brother snapped coldly before looking back at Kaito.
"I want to talk to the human."
Valentina's face twisted subtly in anger, her eyes sharpening a bit as she observed the scene silently. Rikona tensed, gripping her tablet tightly and shuffling behind Valentina slightly.
The young thalorian groaned on the ground as the female thalorian rushed over, gently pulling him upright. Her light purple eyes flared toward her sibling.
"Lius! What's your problem!? Lorian didn't deserve that!" She snapped.
Kaito felt a pulse of anger welling in his chest.
"Yeah what's the big deal? He's your brother, isn't he? Why would you—"
"SHUT UP!" Lius roared, cutting Kaito off completely.
A silence lingered for a long moment. Kaito stood calm as could be despite the aggression in the air.
Lius clenched his trembling fists at his side.
"When you signed up for the exam… what did you put down for your race?" He demanded.
Kaito's eyebrows scrunched up.
"What are you talking about?"
"I said, what race did you select when you signed up for the exams? …Did you select Thalorian?" He seethed, stepping closer, now only a few feet away.
Kaito hesitated for a brief moment before responding calmly.
"I selected human… and thalorian."
An explosion of rage visibly surged through Lius' body. His muscles tensed. His eyes bulged. He stormed forward and grabbed Kaito roughly by the collar of his jacket, pulling him closer, fist docked back. Kaito didn't do or say anything, instead just calmly went with it.
BEEP BEEP
Before Lius could throw his punch, Astra's calm yet stern voice came through his wristband.
"Attention Ascendants, acts of violence outside the parameters of the exam are strictly prohibited. Any participants violating this rule will be immediately disqualified."
Lius hand hovered midair, shaking with frustration and rage. He stared into Kaito's eyes for a long moment, as if he was considering the repercussions before reluctantly releasing his jacket and shoving him forcefully.
Kaito stumbled before falling backward onto the rocky soil. Lius spat in his face. The spit was filled with a chunky looking brown and green mucus.
Rikona jumped from behind Valentina and rushed over, worry filling her lavender eyes.
"Kaito! Are you okay?" She asked anxiously, squatting down to help him up.
He wiped the spit off his face with the back of his hand before nodding reassuringly.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you Riri."
But Lius wasn't finished. His voice trembled with disgust as he pointed his purple finger toward Kaito.
"You really don't know anything, do you, human?" He began, muttering bitterly before raising his tone a little.
"Because of you… because of your appearance at that damn tournament, everyone knows you lived on Thaloria for eighteen average stellar cycles. Our entire star system has been under attack by the Accord!"
Valentina's pointy ears instantly perked up hearing the thalorian's words from a distance, eyes narrowing. She shot a glance towards Rikona, who was still crouched beside Kaito who returned a silent look of shock mixed with fear.
"Under attack? What do you mean under attack?" Kaito asked, the shock obvious in his voice.
The female thalorian walked over, lowering the hand of her younger brother off as she began to explain, voice gentle yet weighed with a somber heaviness.
"It's not an attack exactly, but it might as well be. Ever since your presence became known at the tournament, the Accord sent tens of thousands of personnel to Thaloria, claiming it as their territory. They're taking complete control over our world and moon, establishing military bases, seizing resources that were once vital to our trades with other planets and governments…" Her voice trailed off, eyes briefly flickering downward.
"No… No way." Kaito breathed out, eyes wide with shock.
"That's not even the worst of it." She continued softly, forcing herself to look him directly in the eye.
"What else?" He asked quietly.
She hesitated slightly, visibly collecting herself before speaking.
"They issued a planet-wide announcement stating that every thalorian under sixty average stellar cycles must serve in the Accord military. Anyone who refuses or attempts to flee will be punished under the Accord's law, imprisoned indefinitely. Our planet, our people… we're effectively under their rule now. The only way out of conscription is to become a licensed star traveler. That's why we're here…"
Kaito staggered slightly, feeling like the world had shifted beneath his feet. He shook his head slightly, as if he was trying to ensure he heard the harsh reality she'd revealed.
"But… but what about the other worlds in the galaxy? I thought they opposed the Accord's control after the attack on earth and the humans?… And what about the space rangers? They're supposed to protect worlds from exactly this kind of thing right? Where are they? Why haven't they done anything?"
Kaito unconsciously stepped closer, clearly worried, but immediately halted as Lius angrily stepped forward, protectively blocking him from his sister.
The thalorian girl gently placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, pulling him back slightly as she continued.
"Yes, the Viridion galaxy has always resisted the Accord's rule. This galaxy has always been one of the richest and most essence-dense galaxies in the known universe, yet entirely lawless throughout it's entire history. Thaloria especially. And because we've always resisted structure, no other civilization or governments in the galaxy wants to risk Accord sanctions or worse. And the Rangers…" She scoffed bitterly.
"They pretend nothing's wrong. They're turning a blind eye, as if our existence doesn't matter at all."
High above the planet, within the licensing station, Astra sat in front a wall monitors displaying footage from surveillance drones orbiting the examinees in different locations. Ari'Va, the small green woman who had given Kaito, Finn, and Nara their wristbands, exchanged uneasy glances with several identical companions of the same race scattered through the huge observation room. Their large eyes flicked nervously towards Astra, anxiously gauging her reaction. Astra remained motionless, expression unreadable yet cold.
Back down on the planet, Lius shoved his sister's comforting hand aside, voice breaking with anger.
"And all of this happened because of you, human! Your existence ruined our home, destroyed our freedom, took our parents—"
His voice cracked, unable to keep himself together anymore at this point, tears pooling in his eyes. He quickly turned away, furiously wiping the tears from his face as he stormed off towards their ship. Kaito watched him silently as he went, a look of guilt in his eyes.
The female thalorian exhaled softly, turning to follow her brother. Before she could move too far, Kaito spoke up.
"Wait…"
She paused, glancing back at him.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for causing so much problems… I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I know my presence brought your world pain. I can't change that… But I promise, I'm going to make things right." He said, his words firm and eyes full of sincerity.
Her light purple eyes widened slightly in shock.
"But…why? Why are you apologizing to us? Why would you even want to help a lawless world full of people who've always hated you?"
A warm and gentle smile crossed Kaito's face and his eyes softened a little.
"Not everyone hated me… There was a man named Farro, at the orphanage in Thalos where I was raised. He took me in and treated me like his own son. He always told me I was just as much a Thalorian as everyone else."
Behind him, Rikona's tiny pointed ears twitched up, eyes widening slightly hearing what he said.
"An orphanage…? Just like—" She quickly cut herself off, glancing nervously toward Valentina who still stood there silently watching everything unfold.
"That's one of the reasons…" Kaito continued softly.
The girl tilted her head curiously.
"One of the reasons…? Then what's the other?"
Kaito's dark brown eyes burned with unwavering determination as he stepped forward slightly.
"I want to create worlds where everyone can live freely, where no one is held back by who or what they are. I want to make space safe, a place everyone can travel without fear… A place where everyone's dreams have the chance to come true… That's why I want to become the King of the Stars."
Silence enveloped the entire area momentarily.
Suddenly, laughter erupted from the other teams nearby.
"King of the Stars?!" An alien with bright red large scales all over their body scoffed loudly, shaking his head.
"Did a human seriously just say that!? Everyone knows that's just a fairy tale parents tell their brats to get them to sleep at night!"
The laughter continued, but the female thalorian ignored it completely, her gaze locked onto Kaito's calm and determined eyes. They stared at each other silently until the voice of her brother came from their ship, breaking her out of her trance.
"Livia, hurry up! Our fourth teammate says the ship's ready to go!"
She turned slowly, reluctantly removing her eyes from Kaito's. As she began to walk up the ship ramp, she glanced at him one final time. Her expression softened subtly and her lips parted a little as if she wanted to speak, but instead she turned and walked in the ship, the door hissing close behind.
High above, Astra continued watching, her four eyes seemingly in deep contemplation.
Kaito words reminded her of something… or rather someone from a time long long ago.