Prologue: The Hunt

The Tamaranean warrior soared through the night skies of the alien world, ignoring the chaos that raged below him. Two factions on this planet had long been simmering at each other- a few years ago the hostilities burst into open conflict that showed no sign of abating. Now the planet burned. Still, the warrior found it in his soul to forgive their destructiveness- it had, after all, only made his task easier. Normally he would have been forced to fight his way through an entire alien army to remove his prize from their High Temple- now they were too busy fighting each other to notice the intruder.

Sighting his destination, the warrior dropped down from the sky and landed lightly atop a tall rock outcropping that offered a well-protected view of the surrounding warfare. A Tamaranean female lounged on a large stone there, watching the battlefield with an expression of amused disdain. She sat forward eagerly, however, when the warrior stepped forward and knelt to her.

"Do you have it?" she asked eagerly.

"I do, milady," he said. Reaching into the pouch that hung by his side, he withdrew a violet crystal that was clutched within a complex wire frame. It glowed with a soft light that seemed to pulse slightly. The female snatched it away from him and held it close, staring at the artifact with a satisfied smile. Then she removed half-circle formed from linked artifacts of similar design from within her cape and fixed the newest acquisition in place.

"Just one more," she said, "and I'll have the entire Crown." She motioned and another female stepped out of the shadows nearby, her red hair held back by a smooth metal device that wrapped around her skull, her clothing covered in designs that suggested wires. Taking the Crown from her lady, she removed her own headpiece and fitted them together. She ran her hands over the combined device for several moments, face locked in an expression of fierce concentration. The warrior didn't know how this piece of technology worked- he suspected only the female engineer did, as she had been the one to invent it- but he did know that it had led them so far without fail.

Finally the scientist smiled and looked up at her companions. "It has picked up on the signal." She waved her hand over the tracker again and it projected the holographic image of a world into the air above it, complete with coordinates. "It is on this planet that we will find the last piece of the Crown."

The lady studied the display for a moment then grinned wolfishly. "What is it, Lady Blackfire?" the warrior asked. "Do you know this world?"

"I've been there a few times," she said. "It's called Earth. I've got some old friends there I haven't seen in a while- I think they're going to be surprised when I show up. Especially when I have the whole crown."

Blackfire's smile widened and her eyes burned violet. "And then, sister dear," she said, "we'll see if you can handle me."