Dawnstar reached the outer edges of Starhaven’s atmosphere, and stopped. She focused on the metal she was carrying in the pouch tied around her waist and, in her mind, scanned the galaxy around her. She could detect a faint trace that matched the vibration of the piece she carried, not as strong as the metallic pull she’d detected a few moments earlier. It also wasn’t coming from where she’d expected it to come from. Where she floated, the Sastoria system was directly ahead of her, but the trace was from behind her, and growing weaker by the second.

It’s moving away. Dawnstar thought.

She moved her arms to her sides and beat her wings in a strong and regular rhythm to create enough internal kinetic energy to push herself forward through the vacuum of open space. She then turned her back to where she thought she was originally headed and sped through the vast emptiness around her in pursuit of the ever weakening signals.

She reached one of the floating rocks which made up the Starside Asteroid Band within seconds of leaving Starhaven’s atmosphere, and decided to rest for a moment. All around were stars and nothing else. The rock crumbled beneath her feet as she landed, but was solid enough for her to stand. She turned her attention back to Starhaven, which was now no longer visible to her, and then further beyond to the distant Sastoria star.

Still nothing coming from that way. Dawnstar thought as she tried to pick up further traces of the ore. I should be getting something from Sastoria as that’s where this object is from. She opened the pouch and held the metal piece in her right hand. Yet again, it pulsated strongly, but as she was now out in open space the temperature didn’t change. She channelled her thoughts through the object, trying to enhance her tracking ability just in case something was blocking her. Yet again, all she could detect was the trace that was moving away from both her and Sastoria. She returned the metal piece to the pouch and allowed herself to float away from the rock. She beat her wings as before, and then continued to trace the sensations she was picking up, soaring away from the Asteroid Band at speeds far greater than before.

Finally, the strength of what she was tracing began increasing. Dawnstar knew she was getting closer.

Ahead of her, she could see the mass of stars which made up the starting point of one of the arms of the Malakawa spiral galaxy. She sensed that the signal she was following had stopped moving, and was coming from a star at the far side of the arm.

There. Dawnstar thought. I’m detecting four planets orbiting that star, the signal is coming from the second one from it. She continued speeding toward the planetary system, reaching the fourth planet within minutes.

The signal she was following disappeared for a second, and then came back to her stronger than before. It faded out again, and then returned as strong as with the piece of metal in her pouch.

What’s going on? Dawnstar thought as she stopped herself flying though space toward the third planet.

The space in front of her started to shimmer and than a deep blue coloured vessel came into view. The ship turned itself around to face her, and Dawnstar saw two red lights appear from the front of it. She realised this ship had opened fire on her, so she readied herself in what she called her battle stance. Her arms again by her sides and her legs close together, made her narrower. Her wings were raised high, in readiness to manoeuvre out of the way of whatever weapon had been fired at her. She soon realised they were energy blasts, which had been fired in a random formation to cover as much space as possible, although not necessarily aiming for a particular point. With great ease, she moved out of the way of the bursts of energy that got almost close to her, while at the same time moving closer to the ship.

This may have been a trace mission, Dawnstar thought, but that changed as soon as whoever these are opened fire on me. She realised the signal she was tracking was now coming from two places. The strongest signal was this ship, so she knew this was carrying a large amount of Sastoria Ore. The second signal was still at the second planet. She landed on the hull of the ship, looking for a way to get inside. She found a hatch, and an opening latch, but it was locked and she couldn’t force it open. She flew away from the ship again, and quickly looked around it to see if there was another way she could get in. Underneath the ship, she found an open loading bay so flew inside. Looking back out of the ship, she saw the same shimmering that she noticed just before the ship opened fire. It looks as though they wanted me to come aboard. That would explain how a ship this size with that firepower would be such a bad shot! But how would they know I’d be here? And why hide behind an invisibility shield if they wanted me to come on board? The Ore! They must be shielding the Ore. These must be Gralves.

A hatch hissed open at the opposite end of the empty bay to the rectangular shaped opening, where Dawnstar could now see the emptiness of space again. She attuned her thoughts to her immediate surroundings, so she would be ready for any surprise attacks, and walked inside the airlock. The hatch slammed shut behind her, and hissed again as it sealed closed. Dawnstar turned to face the interior hatch, expecting it to open. When it didn’t, she tugged up a latch beside the door, and felt the strong tingling of electrical energy flow through her body.

This is the eleventh instalment of my fan fiction tale based on the DC Comics character Dawnstar.

The first part can be found here.
The second part is here.
The third part here.
Part four is here.
Part five is here.
Part six is here.
The seventh part is here.
Part eight is here.
Part nine is here.
Part ten is here.

Dawnstar was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell, with Starhaven being a planet from the DC Universe. All other characters are of my own creation.

“Are you sure she’s capable?” Folek Sarl glared disapprovingly at the winged figure standing before him. “She’s hardly old enough to be allowed out unchaperoned, let alone be given a mission with such magnitude as this. And she is female.” He glared again.

Folek Faul stood up from his seat beside Sarl and walked around the desk to stand beside Dawnstar. “This ‘female’ is one of Starhaven’s most prolific trackers. She was recommended by Ambassador T’Lorr himself, and you shouldn’t dismiss anyone’s abilities based on your own prejudices.” Faul looked at Dawnstar. “Come into my suite and pay no heed to Sarl. I am the commander of your mission, and if T’Lorr says you’re good enough, then you’re good enough.”

Double doors silently slid open and Faul gestured to let Dawnstar enter the room first.

“On your head be it, Faul,” Sarl muttered, “I shall have nothing to do with this ludicrous decision.” He tapped at his console and a green light from a monitor on the desk bathed his face.

Inside the room, Faul gestured again for Dawnstar to take a seat. “Now, Dawnstar, I take it you are familiar with the Yosh Kia people?”

“I am, yes.” Dawnstar said gently. “They are developing a dimensional portal of some kind using mined starheart power. Their lead scientist was close to extracting the core power needed to energise the black quartz crystal components when he disappeared.”

“That’s what the official file says.” Faul tapped on a console on his desk, and shutters dropped down over the windows preventing Sarl from looking in. “This is confidential, Dawnstar. None of the other Foleks know about this, not even Folek Sarl even though he is the most senior official. It’s true that Doctor Nonca Canno has gone missing, but so have the black quartz crystals, the mined starheart and the prototype device. The Yosh Kia Scientific Council believe Doctor Canno to have turned renegade, and they believe him to be working with the Gralves to weaponise the device.”

“The Gralves?” Dawnstar asked. “I’m not familiar with…”

“They are a warmongering race intent on invading and capturing as many planets in our sector as they can. Their planet was discovered behind the Sastorian Star which is why we always thought tales of these warriors to be merely legend.” Faul tapped his console again, and a holographic space map appeared between him and Dawnstar. He pointed to where the star was on the map. “Gralva is in a set orbit of Sastoria, so whenever our telescopes are looking over to that side of the sky we only see the star, not the planet. We believe they are planning on invading Yosh Kia first, and then Starhaven. Needless to say, we need to get the missing scientific equipment back first, and then Doctor Canno if possible. We can then find out if he is working with the Gralves or was merely captured by them.”

“I don’t understand…” Dawnstar asked. “If the equipment and the doctor were on Yosh Kia already, why move away if they were intent on invading?”

“They are using Sastoria for the starheart. Yosh Kia and Starhaven need to keep what is going on secret right now. A diplomatic disagreement has been created between the two worlds,” Faul pointed to the door, “which is why Sarl was so hostile towards you. He believes you are being sent on a diplomatic mission, when in reality it’s a tracking mission. I have a piece of the prototype here, which Canno must have left behind. You can use it to trace them.” Folek Faul opened a square box that was on the table beside the console and handed a small oblong piece of metal to Dawnstar. The metal pulsated in her hand, and suddenly went very cold to her touch. “This is made from the metal that is created from Sastoria Ore.” Faul explained. “It vibrates on contact with anything organic, and anything temporal. Yes, that is another reason why you are ideal for this mission, due to you and your colleagues’ travels through the time barrier. You should be able to pick up the traces easily. And being from Starhaven makes you all the more ideal.”

Dawnstar tucked the piece of metal into a pouch she had tied around her waist.

“The sooner the better, Dawnstar.” Faul continued. “Trace Doctor Canno and his creations, and then contact our retrieval team on this communications device.” He handed a small handheld radio over to Dawnstar who looked at it in the palm of her left hand. “It has the same technology as that in your ring, only with a direct and single channel connection. The team are on a scientific cruiser close to the Sastoria system, and waiting to hear from you. Only track the doctor though, do not engage him in any way, the team will take care of the rest. Are you clear with these instructions?”

“I am, Folek Faul. Just a trace mission, I understand. Already I am sensing the vibrations through the piece you gave me. It has a strong magnetic pull to it. It should be easy to trace.” Dawnstar placed the small radio in the pouch with the oblong object. “I will depart right away!”

“Please,” Faul pointed to a window overlooking the Eastern Folek Complex, and once again tapped his console, “you may leave this way. Be quick and safe, Dawnstar. Once you have advised the retrieval team of Canno’s location, your mission for us ends.” The window slid open sideways, a cool gust of fresh air filled the room.

“Very well, Folek Faul.” Dawnstar unfurled her wings slowly, and walked to the open window. She stood on the ledge. She allowed herself to fall forward before catching herself with her beating wings. She hovered for a moment, focusing on the piece of metal in her pouch, and connected it to a vibration at the far side of the galaxy. Then, at great speeds she flew away, into the clouds.

———-

This is the tenth instalment of my fan fiction tale based on the DC Comics character Dawnstar.

The first part can be found here.
The second part is here.
The third part here.
Part four is here.
Part five is here.
Part six is here.
The seventh part is here.
Part eight is here.
Part nine is here.

Dawnstar was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell, with Starhaven being a planet from the DC Universe. All other characters are of my own creation.

“I’ll just pull the curtains to!” Mabel said as Ryan and Kate sat on the sofa in the living room and George settled back into his chair. “George, flick the lamp on so we can see what we’re doing.”

The gentle light made little difference to the light that also came into the room through the golden curtains, but Mabel smiled. “That’s better. We can’t have anyone looking in.” She sat herself down beside George and looked over to Kate.

“You seem a little pale, Mrs G, and a bit flustered. Are you OK?” Kate asked, concerned.

“Ooh, I’m fine, love. Just a bit bothered, is all. I asked our Ryan to call you as you might be able to ‘elp. ‘Ow are you doing with your fillyfallying?”

Kate opened her mouth and turned to look at Ryan. She didn’t speak. Ryan laughed. “She’s asking about your studies, Kate, from when you wanted to be a metaphysicist.”

“Oh!” Kate realised. “I didn’t finish that course. I moved over to biochemistry.”

“Ooh, bother!” Mabel sighed, putting her head in her hands.

“Mrs G, what’s wrong?”

“’Ave you seen today’s news, love?” George asked.

“That factory closing’s a bit of a blow.” Kate commented. “My uncle works there.”

“No, not that,” George continued. “The end bit… the explosions over here.”

“Oh, the meteorites?” Kate smiled. “Yes, they seem to be making a big thing about that, aren’t they? They’ve closed the full length of Riverside Walk. I had to drive all around the houses to get through to here.”

“We’ve got one upstairs.” Mabel said through her hands.

“A meteorite?” Kate asked.

“And our Ryan’s killed ‘er.”

“What?” Kate looked at Ryan again.

“I didn’t kill her. And it isn’t a meteorite. Come on upstairs. It’s best you see for yourself. You’ll understand better that way.” Ryan stood and gestured for Kate to follow him. George and Mabel stood afterwards and followed them out of the room and up the stairs to the bedroom.

“Oh, I really like that throw!” Kate said, looking at the feathers draped over the side of the bed, “How unusual.”

“See, our Ryan? Kate noticed first off.” From the top of the stairs, Mabel watched Ryan roll his eyes from just inside the doorway.

Kate walked into the room and saw the figure on top of the bed. Dark hair, parted in the centre of her head had fallen across her face, but revealed a large golden star on her forehead. She was wearing a type of pale yellow swimsuit with sleeves, and the same colour boots with a frill around the top. Her knees were raised with her ankles crossed.

“Ry?” Kate asked, noticing the charred saucer on the bed.

“That was sage and onion stuffing.” Mabel explained. “She needed it to get to her architect’s plain, or something.”

“Architect’s plain?” Ryan asked.

“Oh, I can’t remember!” Mabel replied. “It’s all ‘appened too quick. This is why we needed your ‘elp, love. This is Dawn.” She looked at Kate.

“How could I help?” Kate asked. “And Ryan’s killed her? You want me to help cover it up?”

“No!” Ryan said. “I haven’t killed her. I just shook her and this happened. Apparently, she’s an alien from those explosions last night. Nan thought with your metaphysics you’d know what they would be looking for, and what they would do if they found her.”

“An alien?” Kate asked. “You expect me to believe that? She’s our age, Ry. She isn’t an alien. What’ve you done to her?”

“Nothing!” Ryan repeated.

“Look at the roof of my shed, love.” George pointed out of the window. “She fell through that last night. We found her and brought her in. She was hurt.”

“Well, now she’s dead!” Kate said, without thinking.

“Oh…” Mabel whimpered.

“Don’t worry, Nan. We’ll sort this out.” Ryan lifted one of Dawnstar’s wings. “They are real!” He laughed. “How many people our age have wings, Kate?”

“Wings? I thought that was the bedspread!”

“Wait a minute!” Mabel said. “She needed the sage and onion to meditate into her architect’s plain. She said if she were disturbed, she’d get ‘erself stuck there. That’s what’s happened. Our Ryan hasn’t murdered her, he’s just trapped ‘er inside her meditation.”

“How can we get her out of that?” George asked. “I can’t even get into a meditation.”

“George, you’re always meditatin’!” Mabel laughed. “Sleeping.” She said to Kate, who smiled. “Could you recommend a way to wake her up?”

“I don’t know.” Kate answered. “Maybe trying to recreate the environment she was in before she went under might help.”

“Ryan!” Mabel shouted. “Quick. Run downstairs and fetch that open box of stuffing and some matches. Bring a fresh saucer as well.” Ryan started to walk down the stairs. “Oh, and pour another cup o’ tea. That was all she ‘ad. Stuffing and tea. George, you get round that side of her, and I’ll lift her on this. Get ‘er sittin’ up again.”

“By ‘eck. She’s heavy, isn’t she?” George heaved as he lifted Dawnstar back into her sitting position. “It’s a wonder them wings can carry ‘er!”

“Ooh, George!” Mabel tutted. “Good job she can’t hear you. She can’t hear ‘im, love, can she?” Mabel looked over to Kate who looked puzzled at the foot of the bed.

“Erm… I dunno…” Kate answered, full of thought.

Ryan soon returned with the items.

“Right,” Mabel said. “Ry, set fire to the stuffin’ and ‘old it under her nose. Kate, you stand round by George with the cup of tea. She’ll probably need a sip if this works.”

Ryan struck a match and placed it burning into the stuffing mix. The granules charred slightly, although more smoke came off the match. He held this under Dawnstar’s nose and waited. He saw the winged girl breathe in the small flume of smoke. “Well, she’s breathing!” He said to Mabel, who sighed in relief.

Dawnstar opened her eyes and began to flap her wings forcefully.

———-

This is the ninth instalment of my fan fiction tale based on the DC Comics character Dawnstar.

The first part can be found here.
The second part is here.
The third part here.
Part four is here.
Part five is here.
Part six is here.
The seventh part is here.
Part eight is here.

Dawnstar was created by Paul Levitz and Mike Grell. All other characters are of my own creation.