ARCHANGEL

Prologue

A/N: unfortunately I wasn't able to move around the part order on my phone. I had to republish it, so if you wouldn't mind please go reread chapter 1! It would super help me out :D
Hope you enjoy this prologue! I like it a lot.

Amyra ran through the desert forest of Oryx with the blonde baby swaddled and held tightly to her chest. Panic, that's all she knew. She had two options. Give the child up for money or keep her daughter but let the child die of starvation. Amyra loved her daughter endlessly as soon as she came out of her womb. However Oryx was a hostile planet that was nearly impossible to survive as an adult. Most babies die of dehydration, heat exhaustion, starvation, or lava eruptions. The planet was an ever churning disaster waiting to happen. Filled with outlaws, criminals, thieves, and occupied by the Syndicate, only those who knew how to survive could last.

Amyra wasn't supposed to get pregnant. She wasn't even supposed to have a husband. Living in solitude on Oryx was easier than having companions. Alone you draw little attention to oneself. Now here she was, fleeing her husband's home with their child in her arms- a desperate attempt to escape and start new with her daughter. She packed little, a scarf to hide her face and hair from marauders if they should cross paths, two large canteens filled with dirty water (but it was water, a rare and life saving resource on Oryx), two portions of food that would last her a week, and formula for the infant. She scrounged up enough formula in the event her breasts stop producing. In the case of her own starvation and dehydration, extra formula for the child was the only thing that could keep her alive.
She wished she had some mode of transportation other than her feet, the child was heavy and large for a newborn. She would be able to cover more ground on a light tracer. Her husband owned one, but she felt a woman speeding through the desert with a baby strapped to her chest would draw too much attention. Everything she did, she did for the safety of her baby.

Amyra named her daughter Kace, meaning beautiful power. Amyra had an innate sense that her daughter could do anything she wanted. She felt strength in her- strength that she did not know where it came from. Neither her nor her father were particularly strong people, just survivors.
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Amyra looked at her silent infant. She hadn't cried once their entire journey. Not one whine, or too loud of breath. Amyra attributed that to her daughter's senses. She must have somehow perceived the absolute direness of the situation just from her mother's vibes. She was wide eyed and happy. She just never made a sound other than the random babble while feeding. Amyra was thankful. She wasn't alone, and her daughter took care of her as much as she took care of her.
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A week into their journey and Amyra still hadn't come across a source of water. They were quickly and steadily running out- and without a map she wasn't sure where their next watering hole would be. She tried to conserve as much as she could for Kace- but her child wouldn't survive if her mother was dead. She had to stay hydrated. Now it was only a matter of finding a water well. Rain wasn't an option as it was undrinkable. Their only opportunity of finding life saving grace was to find either a trading post, a mineral farm, or a sea. Many of Oryx's seas however are too acidic for human consumption, so without a filter, Amyra would have to be extremely lucky to find viable water. She prayed to whoever could be listening for the resource.
    ****
It had been three days since Amyra ran out of water for herself. Her feet were blistering and her neck rashed and irritated from the sling she wore to carry Kace. Her lips cracked and bled under the heat of the blue sun. Trillions of miles away and it still made Oryx a rocky hell. Kace was finally starting to become uneasy, whining here and there and wiggling in her sling. Trying to become comfortable.

    "I'm sorry my dear. But I have done all I can do for you for now. Today is a hot one, and I think we will find a cave to hunker down in to wait out the heat. Please bear with me until I can find us somewhere safe." Kace went silent and still, only the sensation of her little body filling with air proved she was still alive.

Amyra succeeded in finding a small cave to hunker down in for the rest of the day. It was still hot, but cooler than the outside air. She tried to lay down in the gravel and dirt, but could not bring herself to close her eyes in case someone was nearby. Or something.
    ****
It was nighttime when Amyra awoke, she was dizzy. She was not supposed to fall asleep. She sat straight up only for her head to pound so hard she thought it would explode of pressure. Right behind her eyes her brain throbbed, pulsing to her heightened heartbeat. She clenched her temples and cried out, she knew if they didn't find water soon, she would die. If she died, so would Kace. She pushed herself to her aching, bloody feet and wobbled. She was dizzy and the pain was unbearable. She reslung Kace's sling around her chest and pressed a dry, cracked lipped kiss to the infant's forehead.

She walked hours upon hours, her mouth felt like cotton and her legs cramping. She somehow felt euphoric. She had a baby and was out in the deserted rock spires of Oryx. Alone! How could she not feel euphoric? She laughed maniacally. Loudly. Cackled and spun around. She stumbled on her beaten feet and tripped- sending her body (and Kace along with it) to the ground. There was a loud thud, and a dull crack as her skull landed on a rock.
A man was passing through the area when he heard her laughs and sing-song voice. He desired to find her, and when the night became deathly silent just a moment after it had been filled with sweet laughter-he became worried.

He found Amyra half unconscious. Kace was hidden under her arm.

"Hello?" He whispered, "Hello are you alright?"
Amyra's blank stare moved to his face and then to Kace's wiggling body.

"My name is Oberon, I'm going to get you to safety. I'm with the syndicate."

"No." Amyra managed to speak out. "Not me, her. Kace." she used her remaining strength to push her daughter's body to the man.

"I...-I will give her a new beginning. I promise you." He murmured as he took the swaddled baby from her mother. Oberon smoothed out Amaya's hair. And shut her eyes as she faded away into a lifeless body.
He looked at the new child he had in his arms, he whispered, "I'm going to give you something amazing. Something your mother could have only wished to have given you. My dear, my Kace."