A star's light

Report

      Solaris watched as the young star visibly fought to stay awake. Sol's eyes fluttered and their surface dimmed as they fought the soothing tendrils of Solaris's influence trying to drag them into unconsciousness. Still, Sol only lasted moments before succumbing tho the elder star's will. The white star swayed on their feet and their head drooped as they stumbled. Solaris caught them as they fell and the smaller star immediately tucked themselves into their hold. They were asleep as soon as their warm plasma met their own. They had ultimately succumbed to Solaris's influence but the fact that they had managed to resist at all was impressive. They would be powerful one day but no matter. There was plenty of time to examine Sol further later.

Carefully they placed the smaller star back in their orbit and turned to face the rest of the galaxy. Their long hair still adorned with numerous small braids flared out like a halo behind them. It had been almost a full cycle since they arrived and it was time for them to report back to their overseer. They squashed any guilt they might have felt at manipulating their charge's mind before it could form. Sol was but a child and woefully naive. They knew nothing of the dangers or life beyond their meager nursery. It was best to keep them safe and content. Let them enjoy their innocence while they could. With one last glance back at the sleeping child they opened their mental gateways.

"This is Solaris designed class F8 and assigned guardian to stellar nursery 134" they sent. It didn't take long for their overseers voice to pierce their mind like needles. "Solaris" Bellona hissed. Their voice sent pinpricks of pain radiating through their psyche and they knew the other star enjoyed it. Bellona was an O8-class star and didn't hesitate to abuse the authority that came with the ranking. Bellona was notorious for ruthlessly bullying anyone they deemed inferior especially smaller stars. Solaris suspected that they were jealous of lower class stars for their longer lifespan. Bellona was one of the biggest and brightest stars on record and their main sequence was a mere 545,545 cycles. (6 million earth years) compare that with a lower class star like Sol's 909,909,909 cycle long (10 billion Earth years) main sequence and it was laughably short. Nevertheless, they turned their attention back to their report.

"What is the status of the designated stellar nursery? Assuming you made yourself useful and didn't collapse your charge's cores." Bellona's voice was cruel and it skated along Solaris's essence like claws. Bellona was a predator and they had deemed Solaris their prey. They had to clench their own claws into their palms to keep themselves from spitting back insults. Doing so against a star that powerful was a sure fire way to an early supernova. They liked their core intact, thank you very much.

"The nursery is progressing nicely. It's still on its early stages of development but it shows promise in becoming its own star system in a few hundred thousand cycles." Bellona's reply was painful tendrils of their essence rooting around the smaller star's psyche simply because they enjoyed causing them pain. "Any successful stars?" Solaris was careful to keep their tone neutral as they responded. Any sense of emotion was weakness to Bellona. "A G2-class star designation "Sol" has successfully ignited. An M-class protostar is nearing ignition. Estimated ignition time is a quarter cycle and estimated dimensions upon doing so are 45% one G-class mass and 65% one G-class radius. As for the rest of the system it remains clouds of gas and dust. While there are some clumps present they are unlikely to mature into planets or stars and will likely break up shortly. The nursery appears to be settling into a binary star system with a good potential for planets."

The bigger star's amusement was cold, like a black hole's right before it rips apart your core. "A G2-class and a M-class? They'll never amount to anything. Even you, pathetic as you are could consume them without even noticing." Solaris could barely think over their suffocating fury at the insult. (They refused to acknowledge that most of the anger was born of protectiveness. It wasn't safe to get attached.)

They bit their tongue until they tasted plasma and tried to keep their tone neutral as they replied. "You know full well it's against the laws of the universe to purposely end the life of another star or any celestial being. I'm not careless enough to risk my charge's deaths accidental or otherwise." They left the "unlike you" unsaid but they knew the barb was received when Bellona bristled. It was common knowledge that the bigger stars Bellona included had little regard for those smaller than them. Some of the more sadistic ones even used smaller stars and planets as extra sources of hydrogen and helium. Those monsters consumed the smaller stars and used their fuel to extend their lifespans, universal laws be dammed. It was disgusting. Bellona had consumed the star system they were supposed to watch over long ago. They claimed it was accidental but Solaris knew better. Bellona simply saw their charges as playthings, toys to used and then eaten once they weren't fun anymore.

"Very well" the blue supergiant snarled. "Let's get this over with. Give me what I need for the records. I have better things to do than put up with your insolence." Solaris dug their claws deeper into their hands until plasma dripped from the wounds. Universe damn it. Bellona was supposed to keep track of new stars this cycle. That meant they had no choice but to give information to one of the most sadistic stars they knew. Lying was not an option if they wanted to keep their sanity. Bellona was far more powerful at mental communication and wouldn't hesitate to shred their psyche if they detected an untruth. Silently apologizing to their charges they recounted what they knew.

"Sol is the firstborn of this developing system. They are approaching half a cycle old" (5.5 Earth years) "and are exactly one mid G-class mass and radius but have slightly below average luminosity." (Because the middle of G-class is average mass and radius, stars use it as their basic measurement system.) "They are extremely intelligent for their age and can come to accurate conclusions with very little time and information. Sol is extremely physically active and very curious. They have yet to develop their mental and energy manipulation abilities but are quite skilled in gravity, temperature, and luminosity manipulation."

Bellona hummed "define quite skilled" and Solaris detected a hint of interest in their tone. That wasn't a good thing. Things that caught Bellona's attention tended to end up broken or missing. They didn't want that for Sol but they didn't have a choice but to reply. "They picked it up almost instantly after awakening and rarely falter in it. However they have yet to try out some of the more advanced skills." Bellona's reply was curious, in the way a predator considers their prey. "That's to be expected for their age. Young stars are more active and playful. They have little interest in trying to hone their skills. So why is this "Sol" doing these things so early? You know that most stars take at least half a cycle to acclimate to existence before manipulating anything. What's so special about this.... Sol of yours?"

Solaris quietly swore. They didn't want to give Bellona an excuse to target Sol and the young star's outbursts were going to be seen as weaknesses to exploit. However, if they were lucky Bellona would lose interest in them if they saw Sol as weak. It was a risk they were willing to take. "Sol is an emotional star. Upon ignition they believed they were alone. When they discovered my presence they became wary and potentially hostile, rather than reacting with fear like most newborn stars. Now they're very attached to me to the point of severe psychological distress if they believe I am hurt. Sol is hyper protective of the ones they care about and their future system. I believe that they were manipulating those things so early because they are driven by strong emotions." 

Disgust colored the connection. Solaris smiled despite the tendrils of Bellona's essence rooting through their own. Their interest had been averted. Bellona saw Sol's emotions as a weakness and deemed the young star not worth their attention. Sol was safe from them for now. "Understood. I have everything I need for the records. It wasn't a pleasure speaking to you. Report back when the M-clad ignites." With one last cruel yank on their essence Bellona cut the connection.

Solaris reeled as pain exploded behind their eyes from the strike. They rubbed their temples and sighed. Universe they hated that star. Good thing they didn't have to talk to the sadistic supergiant again for another quarter cycle. They looked back at the still unconscious white star. They felt a bit bad for invading Sol's mind and forcing their will to submit even if they didn't know it. (They were actually quite fond of the younger star even if they wouldn't admit it to themselves.) Solaris forced the guilt aside. This was for Sol's own good.