Earth To Astro

Prologue

                                                                                 Outerspace, 2000

     Astro's heart pounded in his chest like a drum, echoing the sputtering and coughing of the 905's faltering engine. The UFO was on the brink of disaster, teetering on the edge of a catastrophic crash. Each time Koro's attacks struck the rear of the 905, Astro's body jolted in response, a physical manifestation of his mounting fear. He cast a glance over his shoulder, his eyes meeting Koro's with a sense of impending doom. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut - if he didn't escape now, death was imminent.

     Astro's hands flew over the controls, his fingers dancing in a desperate ballet as he tried to regain control of the UFO. The spacecraft wasn't his own, but his grandfather's. Astro had a history of making questionable decisions, but commandeering his grandfather's UFO was proving to be his most disastrous yet.

     Suddenly, another blast rocked the UFO, shaking it to its core. Astro flinched once more, his gaze instinctively snapping back to Koro. He found himself wishing for Koro's disappearance, yearning for the safety and comfort of his home. As the dust settled, Astro risked another look at Koro, only to see him brandishing something -the E10, a gadget crafted by Astro's mother many years ago.

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                                                                       Planet Z, 1986

     Celeste, Astro's mom, was about to close her gadget shop for the night, but she decided to stay a little longer and work on her latest invention: the E10. She had spent months trying to perfect the E9, but it had turned out to be a disappointment. It was supposed to be a powerful device that could manipulate energy in various ways, but it had malfunctioned and exploded in her face. She was lucky to escape with only a few burns and bruises.

     She vowed to make the E10 better, stronger, and more reliable than any of her previous creations. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice the door to her shop opening. A tall figure dressed in black entered the store, looking around with a sneer. The stranger alien had a jagged scar on his lip and a sinister grin on his face.

     He walked towards Celeste, swinging a pair of keys that had a small UFO-shaped pendant attached to them. He had an air of arrogance and entitlement that made Celeste's skin crawl. "Hey, you. What is your strongest gadget? I want it pronto." The stranger demanded, interrupting Celeste's concentration.

     Celeste looked up from her workbench, annoyed by the intrusion. She saw the stranger's keys and realized that he owned the newest UFO, Zampa Star. She had seen many wealthy aliens in her life, but this one seemed particularly rude and hostile. She wondered what he wanted with her gadgets.

     "My strongest gadget is the E10, sir, but it's not for sale. It's still in development and it's very dangerous." She said, hoping to dissuade him. She pointed to a shelf where she had displayed some of her other inventions, such as the E1, a device that could generate electricity from thin air, the E2, a device that could create holograms, the E3, a device that could levitate objects, and so on. She had named them all with the letter E, which is the first letter of the word "Efficacious", followed by a number, to indicate their order of creation and their level of power.

     The stranger glanced at the shelf, unimpressed. He shook his head, "Those are all junk. I don't want any of them. I want the E10. Where is it?" Celeste felt a surge of anger. She was proud of her work and she didn't like being insulted by a stranger. She clenched her teeth, "The E10 is right here, sir, but as I said, it's not for sale. It's my personal project and I'm not willing to part with it." She held up the E10, which looked like a metal sphere with wires and buttons attached to it. It was still unfinished and had some exposed parts, but it was already capable of producing incredible amounts of energy.