PROLOGUE — THE TIME WAR

"Mum, Dad, what are you doing?" — astraea ritter

LIEUTENANT ASTRAEA RITTER HAD A REPUTATION OF BEING INDESTRUCTIBLE, SOMETHING SHE DIDN'T BELIEVE IN THE SLIGHTEST. On the outside, she may seem like an unbreakable shield of armour, but on the inside, she was a mess of shattered pieces that even the best puzzle solver wouldn't be able to put back together. The Time War had stripped them of their families, their friends and their people so that only Astraea and her parents remained of their kind. It hurt them to know that all the fighting, all the killing, had not done anything to protect their race from the Daleks. They were fighting an inevitable War.

The family of three were currently hiding in an abandoned Gallifreyan home, their gold armour glistening in the small rays of light that had pierced through the wooden slats. Astraea stared down at her battered, scratched sword, her eyes drifting along the sharp edges which could pierce the metal shell of a Dalek if close enough. She was ashamed to be one of the last left when much worthier soldiers should still be alive. She was ashamed that she couldn't save more, that there was probably more Fallen Star and Time Lord blood on her hands than Dalek. And she was ashamed that she was cowering in a rundown shack when she should be out there fighting to make sure all the sacrifices were worth while.

The Fallen Star turned to her broken and bleeding parents, their sunken faces drained of hope. Astraea had never before felt the name 'Fallen Star' so true than in that moment. All that remained of their kind was scarred and beaten, they truly had fallen.

A whispered conversation met her ears, but she ignored it — something she would later regret — and instead leant against the cracked doorframe, looking out upon the fiery and blood soaked fields that stretched for miles on end. She could see the Gallifreyan Capital in the distance and the shield that protected the people inside from the Dalek's nonstop assault was starting to crack and falter and soon the Daleks would breach the city. The Fallen Star didn't know what to do, the planet of Gallifrey was crumbling and she was just stood there, not doing anything to help.

After the fall Arcadia, Astraea and her parents fled, abandoning their posts and their duties. It may have been their idea, but the Lieutenant had gone along with it, she was as much to blame as they were. All of the deaths from that moment on were on her conscience and it was unbearable.

The warmth of the two suns beat down on the back of her neck as she turned her head to glance at her parents who were huddled together, whispering as if they were planning something. Something metallic glinted in the sunlight from its place in the palms of her mother. It appeared to be a piece of headgear, blanketed with a mess of wires and lights. Obviously it was makeshift, but during the War, it was probably the best you could get.

Astraea furrowed her eyebrows at it. Why would my parents have the need for such a device? The Fallen Star wondered. The patchwork piece of technology looked like it wouldn't be able to go up against a toaster, never mind a Dalek. So, what were her parents up to?

Unfortunately, her answer was soon given.

Caspian and Andromeda Ritter exchanged a brief and sharp nod as if setting in action a plan. The peculiar helmet in her Mother's hands suddenly lit up with a range of colours as it emitted a loud high frequency beep. Taking a cautious step backwards, Astraea watched anxiously as they advanced towards her. Both husband and wife looked at each other, sharing an expression of sorrow and regret on their faces.

"Do it." Andromeda ordered him, her voice trembling with fear. As her father advanced towards her, Astraea's shaking hand instinctively went to her sword and hovered above the handle.

Her eyes darted between the two of them as she tried to figure out what was going on, but to no avail. "Mum, Dad, what are you going?" Questioned the Lieutenant as her limbs continued to shake in shock and anticipation.

Tears, that were illuminated by the setting suns, spiralled down Andromeda's cheeks as she took a step towards her daughter. "We are doing what is necessary for our survival." Her Mother told her causing Astraea to scrunch up her eyebrows in confusion. That brief moment of bewilderment was the opportunity Caspian needed to grab Astraea and pin her arms behind her back despite her struggles. Relentlessly, Astraea attempted to fight her way out of her father's iron-tight grip, but it didn't work. He pushed her to the floor so she was kneeling and looking up at her Mother who had started lowering the strange device down on her head. "I'm so sorry Raea." Sobbed Andromeda.

A sudden flash of gold caught her eye, making her momentarily forget what was happening and she squinted to see. When she realised that her father was adding a locket to the front of the helmet as if it were a large gemstone, she knew what was happening. This just made her fight harder to escape and she thrashed and squirmed, trying to knock the device off her head. She wasn't going to allow her parents to take away her memories; she would prefer to die as herself and by their sides than being sent away as a different person and all alone.

"No!" She screamed, tears spilling from her eyes. "No!" Caspian and Andromeda couldn't bear to look down at Astraea as her protests turned into pleas. "Mum, Dad, please, don't do this." They ignored her.

Andromeda knelt down on the dry, red earth so she was eye level with Astraea. The Mother tucked a piece of her little girl's hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead and smiling sadly. "Remember that we love you." She told her before reaching onto the back of the helmet and switching it on.

Agonising screams of pain filled the rundown shack as Astraea felt her life being sucked out of her. It was the most painful thing she had ever experienced and she had been killed once by Dalek, so that was saying something. Gold and yellow light seeped through the seams of the locket as everything that made her who she was was drained from her body and collected in the small necklace. Her mind blanketed over with a thick mist, stopping her from accessing her memories and her thoughts. She was being locked out of her own head and the door was being covered so she wouldn't even know it was there.

With her last ounce of strength, Astraea opened her eyes to gaze upon the face of her mother for what she believed to be the last time. She knew the door in my mind was closing fast so she took in and memorised the face and features of the woman who raised her, storing them away before the oncoming storm could wipe them.

Then everything went black.

Andromeda sobbed heavily as she looked down at her daughter's unconscious form, the helmet now on the floor by her feet. Shakily, she picked up the locket and caressed the smooth metal with her blood stained thumb before crouching down to place it around Astraea's neck. She turned to her husband. "We have to go." And as if on cue, the sound of a Dalek patrol ship could be heard overhead.

Huffing with effort, Caspian heaved his armour-clad daughter over his shoulder and grabbed his wife's jittery hand with his spare one before running out into the open. Unsheathing her sword, Andromeda let go of the grip she had on her husband to raise her weapon, ready to defend her family if the Daleks got any closer. They continued to run through the fields of orange grass, their path illuminated by the light of the two setting suns in the sky.

"May our cousins watch over us." Andromeda mumbled in quick prayer, glancing up to the balls of fire that normally brought hope to the people of Gallifrey. But even the precious Time Lords had lost their decency, their hope, it had been replaced by cruelty and selfishness, because that is what War does to most people.

Lasers beamed down from the ship above their heads, hitting the sand and grass next to them causing it whoosh up in a flurry. The last Fallen Stars dodged every shot and the ones that got too close for comfort were deflected by the sword in her hands. Determination and adrenaline rushed through their veins as they continued their journey towards the weakest point. The Time Lords had time-locked the Time War, but unbeknownst to them, the Fallen Stars had found a small crack in the wall. They only intended to use it in the most direst of circumstances so they could evacuate the civilians from the crossfire. And their current situation was certainly dire.

"EXTERMINATE!" Came the familiar and unforgettable cry of the Daleks as three of them descended from their ship and started flying after the Ritter family. "Fallen Stars detected. EXTERMINATE!"

Andromeda head snapped back to face her husband, her hair sticking to her forehead. "Run!" She shouted from the top of her lungs. "Get her out of here."

Caspian faltered, he knew what that meant. "I'm not leaving you here." He told his wife determinedly.

A groan fell from the Warrior's lips, they didn't have time for an argument. "Go! I'll hold them off. You have to save her." She gestured to their daughter who was still unconscious over her father's shoulder. "Go!"

Knowing that it was a fight he couldn't win, Caspian ran up to his brave, selfless wife and pressed his lips against hers in what he knew to be their last embrace, so he treated it as such. "I love you." He whispered against her lips, his warm breath lingering against her skin.

"I love you too." She replied with a sad smile that was filled with nothing but love and sorrow. "Now go."

Even though he knew he wouldn't see her again, he still left her to fight the Daleks alone because he had to save their daughter, she was what mattered most. With one hand holding Astraea in place, he used the other to unsheathe his sword, arming himself for when the Daleks came after then, it was only a matter of time before they did. Caspian could see the marker the previous Fallen Stars placed as a reminder of where the crack was hidden. This just made him run faster.

Suddenly, an pain-filled scream echoed through fields, making him freeze.

Caspian trembled. He turned to see a large beam of light shooting upwards, a side effect of Fallen Star regeneration, but then it ceased with sound of a laser. The Daleks had killed her. There were just two of them left now. All he could do was hope that his wife had taken at least one Dalek with her. As the cries for Extermination got louder and closer, Caspian quickened his pace until he reached the crack in the seal.

He placed Astraea down on the ground and reached down and tapped the orange gem on the back of her wrist. To his surprise and relief, the armour responded to him and began to retreat towards the now glowing stone, forming a bracelet on her wrist. Without her amour, she looked so ordinary with her plain white shirt, khaki trousers and combat boots, she kind of reminded him of an old Earth archeologist. But it wasn't the time for nostalgia.

"EXTERMINATE!" Cried the Daleks as they made their way towards the protective father whose mood was lightened slightly by the fact that they were missing one. At least she took one of them with her, he thought as he tightened his grip on his sword. "You have nowhere to run." A Dalek told him.

Caspian smirked smugly before aiming a hand at the invisible time crack. "Oh, how wrong you are." At his command, his whole hand ignited with starfire, the beautiful and deadly light dancing across his fingers. The light shot out towards the crack, the pure power of it causing it to widen.

"He is trying to escape." A Dalek pointed out, it's eyepiece swivelling to look at his companion. "We must stop him."

The two Daleks aimed their lasers and fired at the last conscious Star, but his quick reflexes and impeccable wrists meant that he could deflect every shot with his sword. An almost blinding light started to seep through the crack as he continued to blast it open whilst still fighting the Daleks in front of him.

"Temporal rift detected." Caspian's smirk grew at those words and he risked turning back just in time to witness the rift sucking in Astraea before it closed behind her. She was safe. He sighed in relief.

The Last Fallen Star on Gallifrey put down his sword, his arms raised in surrender. "You can kill me, but tell me one thing before I go." The Daleks hesitated, waiting for his question. Anger and the lust for revenge filled his eyes, striking fear in the hearts of the Daleks. His teeth gritted together and he hissed. "Who killed my wife?" One of the Daleks turned, looking at the other, pointing out the guilty party. "Thank you." He smiled both sarcastically and gratefully before raising his arm and using his last remaining ounce of power to blast his wife's killer to Hell. A sad sigh fell from his lips, his arms no longer by his sides. "Forever in the light of the living." He whispered to himself, readying himself for what was to come.

The Fallen Star stood there, waiting patiently for his death, he was greeting it like you would an old friend. So many of his loved ones had already passed into the darkness and now it was his time, but at least his daughter was still alive. Their people lived on in her. She was their hope. Their legacy.

For the last time, he stared up at the suns, begging them and all the other Stars out there to watch over his daughter. He exhaled deeply. The pain hit him like a meteor. Then, there was darkness.

THE BLONDE AWOKE WITH THE MOTHER OF ALL HEADACHES AND A FEELING THAT HER HAND WAS BEING BURNT OFF. She looked down to see the orange gemstone, glowing and the gold bracelet it was set in, steaming. Unsure of what else to do, she quickly removed it from her wrist and threw it into the river on her left causing it to ignite with a loud BANG! The woman jumped back in fright at the loud noise, her eyes bulging out of her head. Slightly dazed and confused, she stood up, her legs almost giving way as she did so.

Her surroundings were both unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. It was as if her mind was trying to convince her that she had seen it before when in reality, she really hadn't. Shaking her head, the perplexed woman staggered towards the river and was surprised by what she was met with. Her own face was unrecognisable to her. By what she could see, she would hazard a guess that she was sixteen years old but there was no way of being certain.

With an exasperated sigh, the blonde girl with no memories to who she was, took off into the night with nothing but the oversized clothes on her back and the gold pendant around her neck. In the dark days to come, she would end up debating on whether or not to sell it, but she wouldn't be able to. After all, the locket was a part of her, even if she didn't realise it. What she also didn't realise was that she didn't come to arrive in that abandoned park by normal circumstances and that the memories she was missing would not come back with time as many people reassured her. She would never know that it was the pleas of a dead man that had protected her throughout the following decade from that night onwards.

And it was on that dark and miserable night, with only the stars to witness, that Astraea Ritter vanished... and Juniper Holloway was born.

Hi there, so here is the prologue of Until the Stars Burn. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Poor Astraea, she's been through so much and for her parents to do that to her is just cruel, even if they were doing it to save her.

I have to admit, by the time I got to writing Caspian's death, I was crying a bit. He was such a strong person, but at least he's with his wife and the rest of his people now. They deserve a happyish ending.

So I wrote this prologue to give you a glimpse of Astraea's past as well as the kind of desperation the Time War caused in people. It's definitely going to a rollercoaster when she opens the locket especially because the last memory she has as Astraea is the Time War and the fact that the transformation wasn't very efficient, it wiped all of her memories instead of giving her a false life.

Let's see what happens next, shall we?

Sincerely, Rosie aka Winter326