It had only been a week since the fall of Lord Darkstar; leader of the so called Black Void Empire. But even then, the repercussions were being felt across the inhabited galaxy. The UAS (Union of Allied Systems) was already moving to assess how much damage had been done by Darkstar and to free all of the prisoners that his regime had taken so they could be brought back to their planets and reunited with their families. The UAS also needed to defeat the forces of Lord Darkstar that remained. He had some lieutenants that commanded his army after he fell, some remaining loyal to his vision of empire and others turning to warlords or armed pirates; trying to take advantage of the galaxy's current instability. Then there were other alien races and crime lords who Darkstar had kept under his thumb for their cooperation and to prevent them from interfering with his plans of ruling the galaxy, who were now free to operate and rise to new opportunities.
It was a strange time, one where the defeat of Darkstar had brought joy and gratitude but also new dangers and challenges. At the center of it all was Princess Stella, the royal lady and champion of Gemina; world of two stars. Now she was not only a hero on her native Gemina, but across the whole galaxy. After 10 years of the Black Void's tyranny and threat of tearing the Union apart, Stella; with her mystical powers and trusty spaceship, had led a crusade against her brother's evil ambitions and brought her sword of light into his lair itself, dueling him one-on-one and ultimately banishing him into the heart of one of the black holes which he worshipped and derived his powers from. Having to banish her brother weighed on her heart, but she would have given anything, even her own life, if it meant the free peoples of the galaxy would be safe. As a result, the people of the galaxy now saw her as a legend. Soldiers saw her as the greatest warrior in a hundred years, explorers saw her as an icon, and even some religious figures claim she was sent by the gods as a savior to the galaxy. And most interestingly, women of many species across the stars now saw her as their inspiration to overcome adversity and defeat society's sexist expectations of women.
While she had lost a brother, some might say she gained another in his place. Prince Rio, of the neighboring planet Terminus, had befriended her during the adventure. A very young little prince, Darkstar had him kidnapped to force the people of Terminus to hand over their planet's defenses to the empire, which would have allowed their planet to be used as a launching point to crush Gemina. But Stella had rescued him, carried him to safety in her arms, and kept the mischievous young prince under her wing during her journey. At times his mischief resulted in him being put over the princess' knee and given a good spanking. But she only did so out of her love and protectiveness for Rio. Eventually they grew to see each other as siblings; little brother and big sister.
"Milady, life signal detected aboard. Scanning..." said Ancilla. "Energy signature analyzed. Terminan male, age 11. Signature appears to be Prince Rio of Terminus, milady."
Rio had been crawling in the ship's vents. He ended up crawling over a loose vent, and it buckled beneath him.
"Whoa...WHOAAAA!"
the vent gave way, falling to the floor, and he fell with it. Landing, thankfully, on a comfortable couch on the main deck of the ship.
"Ughh..." he groaned. The cushion had protected him, but it was still a rough fall.
"Stella!" he said, leaping up on the couch. "You can't seriously go on an adventure without me, sis!" the horned boy added.
"I was like your #1 teammate during your adventure! You need my help! Please please please let me come with you! The palace on Terminus is so boring!"
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