Some time ago there was an arrogant young prince, the second in line to rule the largest continent on his planet. His older sister, Princess Inssya Jaq Morduu was, of course, first in line. She was always more talented and important than him so he had very few expectations placed upon him. This arrogant young prince thought that because his sister was future queen he could do whatever he wanted. Throughout his life he played around and got into trouble, often at the expense of people less fortunate than himself, never cleaning up his own messes. His name was Rytaz Jiq Morduu.

One day Rytaz found himself in a situation he couldn't get out of because he didn't notice real danger until it was too late. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll start with what lead to that day. Rytaz had never left his home planet, a bizarre thing for any adolescent within the United Galaxies. What made it stand out even more was that his sister had gone off-world many times, not just for diplomatic purposes but also for recreation. He was terribly jealous of his sibling and often grew annoyed at his own lack of cultural experience. Even those of the lower-middle class of his planet tended to visit at least one other inhabited world before they came of age. It is worth noting that if Rytaz had simply been more mature like his sister and stopped needlessly causing trouble he would have been allowed off the planet. Of course, the young boy did not see it this way.

Rytaz began to plot his escape on a day when he was feeling particularly spurned by those around him. He searched through the entire city of Morduu for ships that he could leave on. Any commercial ships were out of the question. He'd be recognised and surely turned away. Ships belonging to his illustrious family were also out of the question, they were too easy to track. All kinds of possibilities existed that he could have chosen by Rytaz picked possibly the stupidest one.

When he was ready to set his plan in motion he waited until the dead of night, the twin moons shining down on the silver and black spires of Morduu. Rytaz snuck away from the palace as he often did. It started like many of his other escapades. He ran down to the home of his best friend, Ginell, and convinced him to follow. Ginell was a relatively spineless boy, he would complain endlessly about Rytaz's ideas but still follow everything he said anyway. But, at the very least he was often the voice of reason. Whether or not Rytaz listened to reason was a completely different matter.

Rytaz lead Ginell to a scrappy holding facility for spaceships that were, in all honesty, pieces of junk. Whether they were old, missing vital pieces or home-built they were all barely suitable to leave the atmosphere. It was their lack of value however that made the prince believe that taking one out for a joyride would be a fine idea. No one would miss the ship and he wasn't planning to go far anyway. Even if he was arrogant he wasn't so stupid as to attempt to cross any gates using one of the piles of scrap-metal. He just wanted to leave the planet, even if it was only into open space. Ginell protested weakly as they clambered over a moderately high fence that counted as the only security. There were spikes on top of the fence but they were too spaced out to be much of a deterrent.

Rytaz stalked through the lot with ease, he'd already been there before. He knew which ship he wanted. Ginell trailed behind, always looking over his shoulder for someone to come stop them. No one came. Rytaz arrived at his chosen craft. It was a small thing, maybe capable of accommodating three crew-members if I'm being generous. The ship was oblong and a dull grey. It looked more like an escape pod than a ship. It was perfect for Rytaz though. The door was open and unlocked and the keys sat on a little round table bolted between two chairs in the corner. Ginell strapped himself into one of these chairs while Rytaz took the keys to the cockpit. The very fact that the ship needed keys was a testament to its age. Bioscanning was the norm for ship security.

Something about Rytaz that's worth mentioning is that he was almost unfairly charismatic. How he made friends with someone like Ginell in the first place was because he had a way of convincing people to follow him. Rytaz's confidence and genuine optimistic enthusiasm attracted people. It's too bad that he wasted his natural talents on weaselling his way out of trouble.

When Rytaz inserted the keys the engine roared to life, shaking the entire ship. He wasted no time in firing himself and Ginell into the atmosphere with a whoop of delight. It took seconds to escape into open space, where Rytaz slowed down and allowed the ship to simply drift. He checked the artificial gravity before unbuckling himself and calling for Ginell. The two boys headed to the cockpit and stared out of the large window into the unending void of space. It was beautiful. The distant stars and planets stretched out before them as their own home world lay distantly beneath them, its oceans and continents visible in unimaginable detail. If Rytaz had been more knowledgeable that perfect moment would never have turned so bitter for him.

Although ships are quite intuitive these days, pilots should be aware of certain things, particularly in older ships. There are security measures that can be enabled or disabled at will. Unfortunately for Rytaz most of the ship's shields were disabled. Including one that would allow a pirate with an illegal short-range teleport to board after pulling their ship up underneath his. As the two boys admired the view there was a mighty BOOM from the back end of the ship, the unfortunate sound cheap teleports happen to make. That's where everything went wrong for all of us.

Rytaz was first to react, sprinting to see what happened only to be met with a bullet between the eyes. He died quickly, his blood and brains spilling from his head in the way they only do when shot with a metal bullet. The loud BANG it gave off was an unfamiliar sound to most people then, and I suspect it still is, so Ginell didn't really know what was waiting for him when he went after his friend the prince. Ginell was met by my second bullet, piercing through his chest.

Now, unless you are the one person who this book is meant for, I fear I have misled you up to this point. Rytaz is not the main character of this tale, he merely set the events in motion. This is my story and it always was. I can't even claim that what I've told you up to this point is completely accurate, because I can only imagine the circumstances that lead the two boys to the barrel of my gun from information I've picked up since. If any of that makes you uncomfortable I suggest you stop reading because I'll be the first to admit I'm not a good person. I always took pleasure in piracy and murder because of the great thrill it gives me. Even as I repent for my past I can't proclaim to not look fondly back on some of my more evil deeds or even be certain that I would feel repentant at all if I hadn't been caught. My name is Tress and as I write this I await my execution for the murder of Prince Rytaz. If you're still interested please allow me to tell you of what transpired after my unfortunate run in with Rytaz.

And to Achernar, my young saviour, I write this for you. If you wish to share it with others I have written this assuming that some day you will. But should you choose to keep it to yourself I would have no objections, for in the end this is as much your story as mine. I hope that you continue to explore the stars even after I'm gone and that you know I exit this universe more peacefully than I deserve. You must forgive me if I ever write you in an unflattering manner, you are the reason I'm about to die after all.