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poltergeistbeetle · 21 days ago

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SeVIIn Deadly St☆rs

DCA Treasure Planet AU

Prologue

Legend tells of a Planet of Fortune, where rubies grow from trees like fruits, mountains made of the purest gold in the universe. Rumours even say that the water in the rivers run with the freshest, cleanest water known to every species throughout the galaxy.

The map to the planet lost billions of years ago, now known only as fiction, but the story tells of the map, torn apart and scattered across seven different solar systems.

Adventurers all over the universe set out in groups known as “Star Crews”, following the vague clues left in the legend, but only the first verse of the riddle has ever been deciphered, though the fragment itself has yet to be uncovered.

“The scroll, Momma. The scroll.” A small child bounces excitedly in their bed, the mattress making a soft squeak every time they land. Sitting in a chair at the edge of the bed, sat the child’s mother, an open book in her lap. She responds to her child’s excitement with a soft chuckle, gently closing the book in her lap.

“I think you’ve been awake long enough, Little Supernova. You’ve got school in the morning. I’ll read the scroll for you tomorrow night.”

The youngen pouted, but listened to their mother and tucked themself under the blanket.

“Remember at the end of the week is your excursion to the astronomy museum. If you don’t listen, I’ll tell your teacher you can’t go.” The woman playfully threatened as she put the book back on the shelf. Leaving her child with a kiss to the forehead, and a reassuring Mama-bear squeeze that she wouldn’t pull them from the excursion.

First planet from the star, surrounded by Moons. Buried on the beach that never sleeps.

Two stars, ten planets, five trees.

Three moons orbiting a micro-planet. The mirco-planet holding the major trading Kingdoms.

Four planets experience the same Blood Moon, from the tallest point.

Fifth world behind the stars. Hidden behind history.

Six hours of exploration. A maze of rock and coal.

Seven day festival, worship the scrolls, receive the answer.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all heard the riddle, Galaxy Geek.” A man in the audience blurted out in the otherwise silent room, interrupting the introduction to your final assignment before graduation.

It's the last month of your final year in university, studying Celestial Cartography. Your obsession with the age old legend of the Planet of Fortune never dulled, fueling the career you’re aiming for in your future adulthood. As soon as you've earned your degree and official Galaxy-Guide Licence, you're aiming to join a Star Crew and follow the words of the scroll, like so many before you.

With a sigh, you ignore the rude interruption continuing with your presentation of your interpretation of the scroll’s verses, and the potential locations that have been speculated by previous Celestial Cartographers, as well as your own speculations of where the verses elude the location of the map pieces. Your classmates seemed uninterested throughout the entire thing. As you stare out at a sea of bored looks, or people off in their own conversations.

At the end of the day, you can't help but feel your explanations fell on deaf ears. With a small sigh, you pack away your belongings into your bag and slip it over your shoulder. Lifting your eyes from your desk to the empty centre of the room, where you stood a few minutes ago, preaching about your dreams of searching for the Planet of Fortune, the presentation’s final slide still projecting onto the wall. However, your eyes fall upon your professor, his official title is, Professor Vari, but he respects your dedication to the class and allows you to call him Mr. V, plus, you’re just his favourite student.

Mr. V beckons you over with a small wave of his hand and you make your way across the classroom. The walk was rather short, as you preferred to sit at the front of the class, closer to the whiteboard, you suppose he is going to give you some feedback on the presentation today. He always likes to give early feedback if he can, just another quirk that makes him your favourite teacher.

As you approach him, you notice there is a small slip of paper in his hand, must be the notes he plans to hand you.

“Another stellar assignment from my Star Student.” He gives you a soft clap, reciting the same joke he’s always made since your first semester. You offer the same thankful smile as always.

“Your class never fails to spark my interest, sir.” You give the same response you’ve given time and time again. Even as your time in his class is coming to its conclusion, he doesn’t treat you any differently, a freshness that keeps you a float among the sea of exam studies. He chuckles at your response.

“I see from your final presentation, you’ve never been deterred from your goal to become a Star Crew Navigator.” He compliments your unwavering determination.

“You know me, sir. Any early words of feedback?” You ask, speeding up past the small talk, afterall you have studying to get to before your exams.

“Well, actually no. I have an offer for you.” You are surprised by this, blinking a few times in confusion. He takes your silence as a signal to continue.

“As I’m sure you remember, during your third semester you made a submission to the Celestial Navigation Committee, which earned you an advantage in receiving your Galaxy-Guide License early. Which the Committee should be sending to you in the coming days.”

You nod along with his words, remembering the early submission request you made for a Galaxy-Guide License, usually an additional year of on-ship training with the committee officials earns someone the experience required to gain a licence. However, with your early submission and the recommendation from your teacher, you were put into an off campus program that gained you the required experience, while still balancing your studies.

“Well.” Mr.V continues. “Along with your submission, your Galaxy-Guide profile was created by the committee, putting you on the market to be snatched up by Star Crew’s looking for guides. Additionally, I took the first draft of your presentation that you submitted to me, and uploaded it to your Galaxy-Guide Portfolio. Just to show a bit about your knowledge and ambition. As luck would have it, a few Crews put in a request to have you on board.”

He hands you the small piece of paper you had eyed earlier, scanning your eyes over it, you notice it is a list.

“I compiled the most trustworthy Crews into a small list for you. Always research a Crew before agreeing to join, shady people take advantage of the system. Every Star Crew must be registered, so never be afraid to look through the registry for known criminal activity.”

That’s your professor, always looking out for you.

“If I may make a suggestion, I know you have trouble interacting with other humanoid creatures. If your time with your classmates is anything to judge by.” He taps the page, next to one of the Crew names, a small red dot already drawn there. “This Crew is wholly Automations, or “Animatronics”. They have a small reputation, but it’s on the positive rise. It’s only a suggestion, but I think you’ll be best suited for them.”

You give your professor an over-excited hug. To think, even before properly earning your licence, you’ve been requested by multiple Star Crews. He returns with a small pat on your back.

“This will be the last time I help you. It’s all you from here.” He pulls back from the hug with a smile. His statement weighed on your heart a little, this probably was the last time he would ever help you, and once you’d graduated, you’d likely never see him again either. You go back in for another hug, this one more sincere. This time he properly returns the hug.

“I’d hold onto that presentation script of yours. You may just be right about some of those riddle verse theories.”

You leave the classroom with a smile. Three weeks, two exams, and one letter from the Celestial Navigation Committee, then you’ll officially be a Galaxy-Guide. As you walk through the hallways of the school pondering how to go about choosing if you will accept any of these Star Crews offers, you look up from the paper in your hand as a flash of unfamiliar orange passes the corner of your eye. You whip your head back to try and catch a glimpse of whatever it was, but all you see is the tail end of a long black coat disappear into one of the doors further behind you. Maybe one of the teachers forgot something, you shrug it off and continue on your way home.

The door to Professor Vari’s classroom swings shut. Vari looks up from his desk, his eyes landing on the face of a familiar bot.

“Pyre. Old friend, so glad you got my letter. I apologise for the summons on such short notice.”

The tall figure removes his large, brimmed hat, placing the item on Vari’s desk, the orange feather slipped in its side, flaps softly as the hat is set down. Revealed underneath, the thick, circular faceplate, adorned around the rim, like an ungroomed lion’s mane is a thick metal piece, mimicking that of a Sun’s rays. The bot meets Vari’s smile with his own, a wide crescent of a smile that stretches from one side of his face to the other.

“Vari. It’s never a long trip to visit a friend like you.”

The bot leans down to meet Vari's hand and the two share a firm handshake.

“Do tell, Vari. What occasion did you call me for this time?” The Sun bot inquires, eyeing the projection left on the board. A mapping of the Sterlin Star System, a red circle drawing attention to one planet in particular.

Vari chuckles.

“Well, this is less of an occasion and more of an offer.” The bot returns his attention to Vari, tilting his head to mimic quirking an eyebrow.

“I know you’ve been looking for a Galaxy-Guide for a few years now.” Vari continues. The bot clicks his tongue at the mention of his lacklustre attempts at finding a suitable Galaxy-Guide. “Don’t remind me.” He groans.

“Well, I have a student in my Celestial Cartography class-.” The professor starts, but Pyre stops him with a wave of his hand.

“Oh please, Vari. Last time you recommended one of your students to me, he didn’t last a month with my crew.” Pyre says, dismissing the idea. Vari frowns, picking up the remote that controls the projector, clicking back a few frames. Pyre’s eyes are once again averted to the wall where the images are being projected. Vari stops on an image, it is one of the predictions of the third verse of The Fortune’s Riddle, a prediction made by the famed Celestial Cartographer, Byte Herrk, and is currently the most researched prediction in the universe.

“What does this have to do with anything?” Pyre asks sceptically.

“This is a presentation from my best student, who I’ve given your crew information to already. Debunking the falsities behind Herrk’s prediction, and making a prediction of their own. One that places the third piece in a different galaxy entirely. I know how much you love picking up strays, your crew is a testament to that. So, take another chance on my student, they may just surprise you. Captain.”

Pyre looks over the frame for a while.

“This student of yours must be pretty confident in themself, if they’d do something as outlandish as making a prediction without building off any historical cartographer’s past predictions.”

He picks his hat back up, placing it back on his head, adjusting the rim to fit around his ray piece. “Fine Vari. I’ll consider your student as a candidate, but if you’ve given me another passionless “adventurer”. I’m not doing trade runs for you anymore.” Pyre threatens, but Vari only smiles in return.

“Oh, trust me Captain. This one will be worth your troubles.” Pyre smirks, making his way to the door.

“They better be.”

#dca au #dca oc #dca fandom #dca fic #ao3 fanfic #fnaf daycare attendant #SeVIIn Deadly St☆rs #prologue #beetle's reading corner

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