Pirate Assassin

Chapter 1

"....and due to a need of a central governing system to monitor the deep spacesea of the Deltarius Galaxy, the five biggest and most economically stable Planetary Islands, or Plands as they are more commonly known, and their respective allies united together to create what is known today as the United Galactic Government."

-Excerpt from the History of the UGG.

Zack looked up the sky and sighed. His long and messy mop of hair arrayed itself even more haphazardly in the slight breeze as he walked out of the cinema. Zack quickly turned his sigh into a fierce snarl and shook his head vigorously, much like a dog after its bath. This movement caused his too-large shirt to ripple across his skinny frame. Yes, skinny. Zack was proud of his skinny-ness no matter what people said to him about being able to be blown away in the wind or to hide perfectly covered behind a lamp post. "Watcha sighing about?" asked a cheerful voice as a girl almost literally bounced right in front of him. She was shorter than him by a head, also slim (the word skinny invited harsh judgment), full of vibrance, as depicted by her sparkling eyes. Funny how thin people gravitate to each other, Zack thought before the girl's knuckles rapped themselves painfully on his skull. "Earth to Zack! You haven't answered my question!" she said loudly and pouted. Zack grinned then looked up again, his eyes looking further than just the sky, "Nah just thinking. Imagine, Mikaella! What if, right, there's more to this than just earth? Like imagine there IS life on other worlds? Wouldn't it be just awesome?" he asked his best friend. She looked at him with a mixture of embarrassment and amusement and once again those knuckles of steel collided painfully on his head. "C'mon Zack, that movie's really getting into your head. I mean, MIB, you serious? No way that's ever happening!" she said exasperately though she was laughing by the end of her outburst, but Zack looked at her seriously as they exited the mall, heading towards the waiting car; Mikaella's driver chatting to a security guard while waiting for the two of them, "Well, I'm at the edge of my rocker, you know. All we have are tests and careers to look forward to, its so, like, set in stone y'know? And I'm beginning to wonder what is life supposed to be and stuff....". Now it was Mikaella's turn to sigh, "Not this conversation again. Can you please stop being so emo and get your lazy butt going to do work?" "That's not what I mean Mikaella! What I'm trying to say is," and he struggled for a while, "It's.... I mean... There must be more than just this!" Then the two jumped at a cackle which came from behind them and they were suddenly aware of a strong stench of cigarettes and smoke as a hand grasped Zack's shoulder. They turned around to see a beggar, or rather a person who really fit the picture of one, what with his patched grey t-shirt and frayed pants, matched with a worn out fedora. He smiled and cackled again, exposing his lack of dental hygeine as they were graced, or perhaps more of 'slammed in their faces' , with a very incomplete set of teeth. "Well said boy, well said," he cackled while patting Zack's shoulder, "Only those who look upwards for greater heights and who yearn to break free of the confines they are in will be able to achieve much. Do you not agree?" Zack and Mikaella really wanted to run away from this strange man, but somehow, their legs would not move, though they strained with all their might. Then the man pulled down roughly on Zack's shoulder so that their eyes were level, his face no longer genial, but now serious and set as he looked into Zack's eyes and said harshly, "I can see great things you will do. I can see the lives you will impact. I can see the places you will conquer and the soldiers who rally under your flag. I see towns and cities you will destroy, with nothing but a flick of your hand," Now both his hands gripped his shoulders hard and he moved nearer to the 17-year old boy named Zack Ying, "Never forget your compassion, never forget who you are. I can see your loneliness, your yearning for a place in the world. Keep your heart and mind open, for the universe is never black or white. Make sure that the great things you do save lives, the lives you impact will be for good, the places you conquer will be to save them from tyranny and the places you destroy are the place where evil gathers. Heed my advice, young one, and your name will resonate throughout history," and with a final cackle the beggar man stepped into the crowd and vanished. The two friends stood transfixed for a while before they realised they could move again. They walked towards the car in silence and only when they were about to reach Zack's house when Mikaella burst out, "What the heck was that all about???" Zack could do nothing but shrug.

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The next day was normal, no dreams of some mythical person telling him his destiny or a magician to say he was a prophesied saviour or some half mechanical man who claimed he was his father and wanted to rule the galaxy. Just a normal day, and when Zack thought about it, what was he expecting? "Some crazy hobo starts talking bout stuff and I already think some giant wizard's gonna blast me off to Hogwarts," he muttered to himself as he headed out of the house, "Tch, I'm seriously an idiot to even try remember what that guy was saying, let alone believing in it," However, it was still undeniable that the words the man spoke had deeply struck Zack to the core of his very being. Zack Ying was not a smart boy though everyone believed him to be, he claimed he knew more about himself better than anyone did. An arrogant stance, it may seem, but it was quite true. Though his mother's 'english teacher' genes had certainly passed on to him, he knew he was not an outstanding pupil in maths or science, he couldn't draw a straight line, didn't know the difference between a tennis and badminton racquet and was totally ignorant of street smarts. He wasn't really a popular kid, though loud and vocal, he was stereotyped as a friendly and outspoken person. Nothing could be further from the truth, the fact is Zack Ying was a quiet boy who actually prefered to be on his own but he didnt like the awkwardness if there was someone present. His loudness came from his desire to be heard and for his mask of emotions to be unable to be pierced, though sometimes he wished he could've just shut up before he embarrassed himself. He entered the school grounds and said the usual hi and sups with a smile and a friendly wave or fist bump. As he dumped his bag on the table his friend Theo thumped his back, "Hey man, anything happened yesterday with Mikaella after I left?" Zack did what was commonly known as a facepalm. "Theo, I told you, I had a crush on her before but it didn't work out okay? We're just friends now alright?" Theo grinned, "Yeah, yeah I know, but sometimes you gotta say it yourself you know," Zack raised his eyebrows, "Very philosophical, too bad you make me do it all the time we go out together, so I think your statement lost its cryptic value," he said teasingly. "Ah well, had to try didn't I?" As the two were talking, other people began to gather round. That would probably happen when you're talking to one of the more popular guys in school and those who have experienced this will know that sooner or later the conversation will steer away and you will be eventually be excluded totally. Which was coincidentally what happened to Zack. Typical, Zack thought but did not begrudge his friend. Theo was charismatic, it was only natural that people would gather around, whereas, Zack was shy, only comfortable around people he knew. If he couldn't even get people his own age to follow him, how was he supposed to lead anything else? And then he realised another stupid thing he was doing. Why did he still believe that crazy beggar? That was the sole thought in his head as he went through the day.

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