A.D. 2171 – Space Era, Year 89.
On the sixteenth day of September, in the city of New Hope—already gripped by a catastrophic economic collapse—twelve-year-old Aelyzabeth von Thors was forced to grow far beyond her years in a world bereft of mercy. Her family had been crushed beneath the weight of unyielding debt: her father had perished four years prior, her mother's strength was withering from ceaseless toil, her elder sister Margaret had turned her back in selfish refusal, while the twins, Maria and Luna, had yet to find their place in labor.
Thus, Aelyzabeth resolved to aid Alexander, her beloved brother of nineteen years, the one she trusted above all others. Each day after her schooling, she would accompany him to work, striving to earn what meager coin they could. Though weariness consumed her body, a single light remained—Alexander had once sworn that when she reached the age of eighteen, he would care for her always.
Yet fate is ever crueler than mortal hearts may endure.
On their journey home upon the electric rails, they and two hundred fifty-six passengers were seized by a mysterious host of outlaws, numbering more than one hundred and fifty strong. These brigands demanded ransom of an impossible sum: five million Earth dollars for each captive, a figure no citizen of a bankrupt New Hope could ever dream of meeting.
At last, their mother—driven to despair—dared to borrow a fortune beyond reckoning, seeking to ransom Alexander's life. The authorities encircled the scene, and reporters chronicled every breath of the ordeal. All prayed that the affair might end in peace.
But hope, like the brightest star, may be extinguished without warning.
When the ransom was delivered, treachery revealed itself. The criminals, contemptuous of honor, turned upon their word. Before Aelyzabeth's very eyes, they savagely beat Alexander without mercy, granting no chance of salvation.
Her cries tore the air, yet no voice, no plea, could alter the decree of that merciless night. In an age where the world had forsaken compassion, Aelyzabeth lost her brother to cruelty beyond measure.
Thus ends Chapter A-VI.