==Introduction==

In the year 2263, planet Earth launched a colony ship containing representatives from each major nation. In twenty-nine years, it reached the planet Kimsar. The Kimsarye gladly received the colonist and offered much new technology to Earth. The humans settled one of Kimar's moons and began expanding.

In the year 2298, Earth sent another colony ship to settle Tanga III – a planet in the Tangean realm – despite warnings from the Kimsarye that the Tangeans would exploit the colonists. The humans landed, established an embassy with the Tangeans, and settled Tanga III with permission from the Tangeans in exchange for an annual tribute. For twenty years, the colonists were at peace with Tangea, and Earth flourished under the new imports from other worlds.

But King Saturnia of Tangea was not content with the state of things and raised the human tribute to an impossible sum. The human colonists refused to pay the outrageous price and King Saturnia sent troops to the planet to subjugate the human populace. The humans newly elected interplanetary president protested the act, as did the Kimsarye. However, the Tangeans would not relent and instead enslaved the humans until the tribute was paid.

The Zorog knew that an interplanetary war was quite possible and – hoping to gain territory – issued a manifesto to the effect that the Zorog army would intervene on Earth's behalf if the colonists were not released. The Tangeans at last released the colonists; but the Zorog had already launched an assault fleet, and soon, Zorog fighters were strafing Tangean cities. The colonists were recaptured as hostages; and Kimsar, Xrghthung, and Earth united in a Tri-Alliance to end Tangean aggression. The Destrians, Batshgirrlaks, and Freshuatan – having allied themselves with Tangea in a Quad-Tangean Confederation – raced their navies to the First Battle of Tangea. At first, the Tri-Alliance seemed destined to win the battle, but the Freshuatan Free Space Navy arrived and routed the Alliance fleets.

As battles blossomed across the galaxy, many smaller powers and single planets arrayed themselves on either line. The Zorog quickly realized the need for larger warships and built the Zolocaust-class Battleship, the first battleship starcraft in history. The humans made use of Zorogian technology and created the Magog-class Battleship, while the Kimsarye created the Ghoul-class Combat Cruiser. The new warships's first test was at the Battle of Neptune, where they destroyed the Destrian invasion fleet.

Many small-scale battles and catastrophes took place (such as the Zorogian weapons-malfunction that destroyed Egal), but no major battles occurred until the Tangeans shocked the galaxy with their new Royal-Battlestar Warcruiser. Using cutting-edge technology and immense firepower, the Tangeans began to drive the Tri-Alliance Navy back. However, the Tangeans decided that the war was still too unsure and sent commandos to assassinate the Tri-Alliance leaders.

The Earthling President was assassinated, and the nations Canada, Australia, and Germany were forced to leave the war due to the tremendous drains on their economies. The Zorogs knew that the Tangeans would be victorious if the war continued much longer – especially as the Tangeans were infamous for the use of viruses and biological weapons. Thus, the Zorog launched an all-out assault on Tangea. Many Tangean Grounders – who were tired of supporting a war they had no part in – joined them, and together the Zorog-Grounder force captured Tangea. King Saturnia committed suicide rather than face capture, and the Zorog set up a puppet ruler.

Without the aid of Tangea, the Freshuatan Navy was quickly and soundly defeated at the Battle of Belda; with the defeat of the Batshgirrlak several weeks later, the Quad-Tangean confederation surrendered. The war, which had lasted for five years, was finally over. The Zorog moved quickly to seize control of the defeated systems but was stopped by the threat of intervention by the still-powerful Kimsaryen Navy.

Appalled at the destruction, all planets except Xrghthung joined in a Galactic Alliance to insure that there would be no more disastrous, large-scale wars. The Alliance concluded that battleships were too dangerous to exist, and passed legislation authorizing the destruction of the warships and banning the creation of such craft. When the Zorog disagreed, the Alliance blockaded the Xrghthung system. The Zorog finally complied, and all the planets destroyed their warships – or so the Alliance thought.

The GA chose planet Earth to be her capital, and chose one world to be a neutral center of commerce, naming her Tradeworld.

Years passed without major conflict. In 2399 – seventy-six years after the formation of the GA – a rampaging virus struck the Zorog. No fingers were ever pointed, but everyone knew that the Tangeans were responsible. The Zorog sealed themselves away from the rest of the galaxy and combated the virus with genetic tampering, special suits, and even cyborg bodies. Nothing worked.

The Zorog initiated a terrorist war against the GA, and to fight Xrghthung, Tangea left the Alliance. For centuries, the two races continued to fight each other, and finally, the GA established a galactic police force to maintain peace. The organization was called Star Command, and for a time, it seemed to work. Eventually, though, Star Command began to dissolve under heavy criticism as the GA President's secret police.

In the late 2900s, two energetic, idealistic, militant humans – Robert Nebula and Buzz Lightyear – took control of Star Command and revived it, bringing it to its present-day status.

In 2996, the Zorog Emperor Zurg attacked Tangea in retribution of his parents' assassination. However, Ranger Lightyear foiled the assault, and from that day on, Lightyear became Zurg's special target and archenemy. For aid in recuperation from the invasion, King Nova reentered Tangean into the GA.

About the same time, Zurg began his Z-AAT project. Three years later, Lightyear discovered that his partner Warp Darkmatter had been a double agent for Zurg for the past two decades, and the Captain took on three rookies to form Team Lightyear.

A great darkness now looms on the horizon, though the galaxy does not see it. The Zorog are not dead, and they plot for the day when they will once again rise to power…

==Prologue==

Hundreds of children stood before her, many looking alike – with livid purple Z's emblazoned on their foreheads.

"How can you serve Zurg!" she protested. "He's evil!"

One boy stepped forward; he had a biomechanical ear and two durasteel fingers. "What has the GA done for us?" He laughed bitterly, continuing: "Zurg has given us a life, a purpose – in his own way, even love. What have you given us?"

Mira shook her head, unable to respond. A young woman stepped forward next; two cybernetic green eyes had replaced her own. "Nothing!" she snarled, lifting her rifle and firing.

Mira woke with a start, and reached for her clock. "Ten to six – I better move," she mumbled sleepily.

When Mira arrived aboard Star Command, she walked up to a LGM. "Do you know where Buzz is?" she asked.

The LGM stood still – save for his quivering antenna – as he sent out a telepathic call to the other LGMs onboard. "He's in the briefing room," he said a moment later.

"Thanks," Mira nodded, and headed for the center of the station.

As she drew closer, she could hear Commander Nebula's loud, authoritative voice. A hum of voices succeeded his, and Buzz walked out of the briefing room. "What's up, Buzz?" she asked.

"We're going to scout around Planet Z," Buzz answered. "Commander Nebula is sure there's something going on – we haven't heard from Zurg for months!"

"What do you think?" Mira asked.

Buzz looked confident. "Zurg is always up to something – the question is what, and how long it will take us to win."

"Always the optimist," she smiled.

They walked down the halls in silence for a few minutes before Buzz noticed the bags under Mira's eyes and her troubled expression. Finally, he asked, "Something bothering you, Ranger?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I keep having this weird dream."

Buzz looked a bit unsure as how to proceed, but plunged ahead anyway. "Dreams are a little out of my expertise, but… you want to tell me what it is?"

Mira shuddered, remembering. "There were children and teenagers – hundreds of them. A lot of them looked alike, except that they all had different mechanical parts in place of limbs and organs." She took a deep breath before finishing. "They worked for Zurg."

"Zurg??" Buzz said incredulously. "What would a bunch of kids be doing with him?"

Mira flinched in memory. "They said Zurg cared for them while we did nothing."

"Maybe Zurg has figured out a way to bother people's sleep," he suggested, looking a bit disturbed. "I wouldn't put it past him," he added with a forced laugh.

She laughed, too. "Maybe we'll find out soon."

Buzz stopped, looking unsure. "Er, uh, Mira?" he stammered.

"Yeah?" she asked, wondering what was bothering her captain. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, actually… yes, there is," Buzz sighed. "Commander Nebula is worried about you – about all these problems you've been having?"

"What problems?" Mira asked innocently.

"Now, Mira, we both know that you've been having problems lately – first those sudden pains, now these dreams. Just how many times have you had them, anyway?" When she didn't answer, Buzz held up a sheet of paper. "And according to this, your father is suffering from the same problems."

"What??" she cried incredulously. "Let me see that!" She snatched the paper, scanned it, then looked back up at Buzz. "He never told me this!"

Buzz shook his head. "Given the way you treat him, I can hardly blame him."

Mira's eyes flashed. "The way I treat him?? Who's the one who's always trying to –"

"And, after all, he is a king," Buzz interrupted. "He probably doesn't want to show any weakness."

Making an effort to calm herself, she muttered, "Yeah, well, he still should have told me."

"He probably should've," Buzz nodded, "but he didn't, and you didn't, either."

Mira looked down at the floor. "Well, he just would've made me go back to Tangea."

"He's still your father." Mira snorted, but said nothing. Buzz studied the sheet and continued, "According to this, you're feeling pains all over – at any time with no patterns, no correlations to any known illnesses." He frowned. "In short, it's weird and persistent."

"Yeah, that about sums it up," she nodded.

"When did you start getting these pains?" he asked.

Mira thought about it for a moment. "About a month ago. Sometimes, it disappears, and then it gets really bad all of a sudden."

"Like on Tradeworld a few days ago, with Torque of all people," Buzz remarked, annoyed at the memory.

"Yeah, Torque always manages to get away!" Mira groused.

There was a pause, and Buzz swallowed uneasily. "Commander Nebula is going to put you on indefinite leave if this keeps up," he said finally.

"Leave?" Mira echoed. "But, Buzz, I can't go on leave! That'd drive me crazy!"

"I'm sure the Commander will give you a desk job," Buzz suggested with a sly grin.

Mira smiled sweetly in return. "Not unless you want me to be notifying your next-of-kin."

"I'll consider myself warned," he winced in mock-fear. He stared up at the ceiling in thought. "I wonder if Zurg has anything to do with this."

"Zurg has something to do with everything," Mira teased.

Buzz gave her a look and returned, "That's just about true." Mira shook her head, grinning. "Well, if he does have something to do with this, I'll slap the bracelets on him for real this time!"

"That'll be the day," Mira smirked.

Buzz gave her another look. "I can do it – he's just –"

"Extremely lucky," Mira finished. "At least, when it comes to escaping."

"I'll get him this time," Buzz vowed. "I just wonder what he's up to right now…"

Author's Note:

I hope to update once a week, though I have no guarantees when summer starts.

And thank you to my beta Skyfire for all of her help.

Please review!