#almitak

*Disclaimer* any of this could change right up until the moment I publish the book but everything in this post (with the exception of the bit at the end about space dragons) is UNLIKELY to change at this point.

Dora Starchaser is where this adoptive family begins. She is, when the story starts, in her 70's or 80's and still considers herself in the prime of life. She is an infamous ex-space pirate who was never convicted of any crimes due to lack of evidence. She is an incredible pilot, navigator and leader, and as such the Space Academy reluctantly hired her to teach their cadets.

While working at the Space Academy, about 12-15 years before the main story begins, she met Nancy. Nancy, at the time, was twelve and running away from her abusive home. She reminded Dora of herself, so Dora adopted her and taught her just about everything she knows. Nancy Starchaser is in her mid 20's when the story begins.

Nancy adopts Oliver and Silas at the end of the first book, Mayday. After she meets Silvie in book 2 or 3, Nancy adopts her as well, making Silas, Oliver and Silvie (SOS, their initials spell SOS and it makes me lose my mind how did I manage something THAT CLEVER-) siblings and therefore Dora's grandchildren.

Oliver is the main character of the series. In Mayday he is eight years old and in book 2 he is ten. He is a very kind, gentle little boy who wants to help others however he can, even to his own detriment. In book one, Dora tells him that people who are clever enough can get what they want without killing anyone and Oliver takes that to heart... and then ends up caught in a war. (he will tear himself apart to help others, and to avoid killing) He's incredibly brave, despite being utterly terrified for most of the first book (and honestly a good chunk of the rest of the story)- he not only escapes the Slave Compound by himself and runs to find help for his friends, but he later helps save Nancy's crew when they get trapped in a magical field of anomalies and boarded by hostile aliens. And then he goes back to the Slave Compound to rescue his friends even though he's terrified because he loves them.

Silas is Oliver's best friend. He is one year older than Oliver and has all the faith in the world in his little brother... but he's terrified of Oliver getting hurt and dying. He would do anything to protect his little brother, even if what he does haunts him for the rest of his life. He is physically very weak due to being sick A LOT when he was a slave, but he's clever and determined and fiercely loyal (he'd be a good Throne Warden, there, I said it). He is, very possibly, the best navigator in the universe at age 11.

Silvie is an Aguithan girl that the children meet when they crash land on her planet. Aguithans look like a cross between cats and lizards: they have cat ears and fur on the top half of their bodies, and legs and a tail covered with lizard like scales, and they usually stand upright and walk like humans. Silvie is "very brave and very fierce", she lived on her own from the ages of 5-10 years old and is full of survival instincts and trauma. She becomes EXTREMELY protective of Oliver, Silas and Cassie as time goes on. She WILL kill you if you hurt them. Also she's autistic and REALLY loves to climb things.

Others:

Cassiopeia Storm is Oliver and Silas' best friend who grew up in the slave compound with them, she's a year younger than Oliver. She is very, very good at fixing things and dealing with technology. She's also cheerful and always looking on the bright side of things because her mother was a depressed pessimist and Cassie doesn't want to be like her. Annnnd she's ADHD.

Milo is a cadet on Nancy's ship who finds and rescues Oliver. He's a goofball, but he loves his little friends and wants to help/protect them. He's very close with all the kids on the ship and acts like their silly older brother most of the time (he's also ADHD lol, probably all of these characters are neurodivergent in some way I just haven't worked it all out yet).

Andy James Danson is Nancy's oldest friend. They are mutually madly in love with each other but neither of them know how to talk about it, not because they're bad at emotions, but because they've been friends since they were toddlers and don't know how to communicate that they want to progress from friends to lovers because OF COURSE they love each other- and thus they create a feedback loop. Dora ships them so much. Andy is also a goofball, but incredibly competent and he loves all the kids Nancy keeps adopting.

Almitak is a traumatized space dragon with amnesia that Oliver meets in book one and then later rescues. Unfortunately, rescue in this case involves the two of them sharing Oliver's mind since Almitak has no body, he is only a soul and a consciousness. This would be okay except for the fact that Almitak has IMMENSE power and it's now all bottled up into the body of a small human boy and it's slowly killing Oliver. Almitak was used by Algol to create a massive network of anomalies to hide Aguitha from the rest of the universe for a thousand or so years, and also to mind-control the populace. During that time, Almitak lost his entire sense of self, and by the time Oliver meets him he barely remembers his name. He slowly learns to love and trust Oliver and he becomes more and more horrified about what he's done to this little boy as time goes on.

Algol is the villain of the series. He is a space dragon like Almitak, but he thinks that God giving people free will was a mistake and he intends to conquer the universe to remedy it. He has Aguitha in a chokehold and has been slowly turning the people there into what he considers "perfect warriors" in order to take over the universe. To the Aguithans, he is their god who brought order to their planet when they were lost in chaos millennia ago and they revere and love him. He's a master of deception and extremely clever, and powerful. He frames himself as benevolent and kind to the people and they are, mostly, trusting of him, though there are a few who can see through his lies...

Space Dragons as a race are extremely powerful beings. They can do pretty much everything but create life out of nothing. They were created to spread God's love, hope and peace throughout the universe, and care for the weak and aid those in need of help. But some grew corrupt and power hungry, and many met hostility when they tried to help and so gave up on their mission. They're functionally immortal, and the only things powerful enough to kill them are 1. God, 2. another space dragon. Nothing else has ever even come close. They can shapeshift and most have a dragon and humanoid form. Their dragon forms are Eastern-dragon-esque, so they have long, lithe bodies and smaller limbs. They are IMMENSE creatures, so huge that they can topple mountain and block out the sun should they choose to. Most of them fly through the cosmos, occasionally helping those in need if they come across them, but rarely interfering. Long ago there was a great war between corrupt space dragons and those that followed God, and that caused their numbers to dwindle. Baby space dragons are rarely born, and when they are, they are encouraged to avoid inhabited planets since most people do not want their help anyway.

Not exactly sure what triggered it but I've been thinking about Avatar the Last Airbender a lot again recently, specifically my boy Zuko. And as I was mulling things over it occurred to me how funny it would be if the Avatar Gaang met my OC's, Oliver, Silas, Silvie and Cassie.

Part of what would make this so funny is because, y'know, everyone in the Avatar world is pretty prejudiced against firebenders after their nation tried to take over the world. But the SOS kiddos would love firebenders because in their minds that's one of the most useful abilities to have like, ever. Because they're coming at it from the perspective of being slaves/alone at a very young age. So the ability to just, manifest fire whenever you want? SUPER useful. You can use fire to purify water, cook food, and stay warm. Not to mention as a defense against hostile people/animals. (In case you're curious, their pyramid of element usefulness goes: firebending because of the above, waterbending because having fresh/clean water for drinking, cooking, washing is very useful. Then earthbending because you can use it to make shelters and chuck rocks at people. And then airbending, which they have a hard time coming up with practical uses for, but they acknowledge that it's still very important because they immediately understand that it represents freedom. They can't see much of a use for lightning bending tho (except Cassie, their little inventor/engineer who loves that idea), the idea of bloodbending terrifies them (tho Silvie says it'd be very useful for subduing enemies), but METALBENDING, now dang the three kids who used to work in a mine extracting spaceship fuel? Oh yeah, they can see the uses of that immediately. Silvie brings up how useful it would be for escaping from the Enforcers since their prisons are mostly metal. Oliver- when he has Almitak's power- can basically already energybend so that'd be a fun conversation for him and Aang to have. But I digress.)

So anyway, I'm just imagining the kids meet the Gaang and within ten minutes they're just hovering nonstop around Zuko, which freaks him out a little bit, and when he asks what they're doing their only response is, "You're warm." and now he has to deal with them following him around... or climbing him, in Silvie's case. Baby Aguithans just climb the tallest nice person they can find by default. (Silvie is NOT put off by his temper. She yells right back at him. He's not hurting her and baby has been treated so much worse by so many people it doesn't even phase her. The other three kids will drift away until they're done yelling.)

The best way to get at least Oliver to leave Zuko alone, they find out, is by Aang showing how he flies with airbending. Because as soon as he soars into the air, Oliver starts bouncing with excitement and squeaks, "I can do that too!" and shoots into the sky but. with no glider or visible airbending. Almitak is just sighing in resignation but also a deep fondness. Aang is very surprised but delighted to have a flying buddy.

Cassie would LOVE to talk about inventions and things with Sokka. The little bean would take one look at an airship and demand to know exactly how it works. She'd also love Toph just in general, she's got a similar sort of personality, but she's more go-with-the-flow after having been a slave for most of her life. She'd have Toph throwing rocks at her and be trying to hit them with a wrench like a very dangerous game of baseball until Silas yelled at them to stop.

Silas would like either Katara or Sokka most depending on who was being the parent of the group at that moment. Because Silas, as the oldest of his group, is the de-facto parent. He'd be THRILLED to talk about navigating by the stars with them tho (Sokka at least would have to know this since Water Tribe).

Almitak is glad the kiddos are having fun but not really enjoying himself until somebody in the Gaang brings up spirits/dragons and then suddenly he's manifesting his ghostly self like "did somebody say dragon spirit?" and half the Gaang is panicking, Aang is just excited, Toph is the most unnerved she's ever been because there is no way to sense this creature. Almitak feels bad about that and apologizes and is also forced to explain his existence.

At some point Aang and Oliver talk about how they both have No Killing rules and don't really want to hurt anyone and lament the positions they've been put into and it's really good for both of them to be able to admit that to someone in a similar situation who agrees with them. They're besties after like ten minutes.

At the end of the day all the SOS kiddos creep over to snuggle with Zuko because warm. He grumbles about it, but secretly he's kind of pleased and amused that these kids like him so much. The Gaang is extremely amused and Almitak is trying not to laugh and directing them to the futuristic equivalent to a camera in one of the kid's pockets so they can take a picture and savor this memory forever. Zuko is unaware of this until later. The SOS kiddos are DELIGHTED.

Main characters:

Oliver- an 8-12 year old boy who in the first book escapes slavery in order to find help to rescue his best friend Silas. He becomes a member of the crew of the spaceship Catacrome and spends the rest of the series trying to free every enslaved person he meets so no one has to suffer like he did. He is gentle and kind, but also very brave and determined when he sets his mind to something. Loyal and self-sacrificing to a fault. He has light orange hair and brown eyes and is well below average height after being kept as a slave for eight years.

Silas- a 9-13 year old boy who is Oliver’s oldest and best friend. An extremely skilled natural navigator, Silas is one of the only people in the galaxy who can navigate The Net, a mass of anomalies, portals and magic that is particularly dense over one specific point... he is also one of the only people who can get through to Oliver when he is taken over by Almitak’s powers. He is anxious and often fights bouts of hopelessness and depression, but his love for his friends can bring him out of this darkness. He is taller than Oliver, but still small and skinny, with black hair and gray eyes.

Silvie- a 10-12 year old Aguithan girl that the boys find and befriend after accidentally discovering her planet (Aguitha). While not a slave, she lives in constant fear of the Enforcers who patrol her planet- but you wouldn’t know it. She has lived on her own since she was 5-6, and deals with prejudice from her own people for her strange autistic behavior. She is fierce and easily angered, slow to trust and quick to bite (literally). However it doesn’t take long before she’s willing to fight and die for her new friends, and once earned her loyalty is unyielding. She is small and slight, with brown hair and fur on her face, arms and torso, which gives way to scales on her legs, feet, and lizard-like tail which has a tuft of fur on the end of it. She has catlike yellow eyes, sharp claws and pointed teeth.

Almitak- a 3000+ year old Space Dragon who has been imprisoned and being used as a weapon on Aguitha. He does not remember who he is, only his name and that he hates the Aguithans for trapping him. After he meets Oliver and Oliver offers to help him, he transfers his soul and conciousness (and immense power) into the small boy so that they now share one mind and body. When Almitak first meets Oliver his only form is a black sphere surrounded by waving blue, gold and purple tendrils, but as he remembers who he is he recovers his humanoid form and, eventually, his dragon form. In humanoid form he has blue, scaly skin that shimmers purple, and yellow hair on his head and arms. He has also a long tail and can manifest wings if he so desires, and his eyes are purple. In dragon form he has a body like a Chinese dragon; long and sinous, but with legs and wings. He has almost limitless magical powers.

Algol- the Villain. Another Space Dragon and the current leader of Aguitha. He believes that by conquering the universe he can bring peace and order to it, as he believes he has done on Aguitha. He also happens to love and crave power, and despite already being one of the most powerful creatures in the universe he is always trying to find ways to make himself stronger. He is manipulative and analytical. His colors as a humanoid and a dragon are red, gold and black.

Other important characters:

Nancy Starfell- the 20-something captain of The Catacrome who adopts Oliver, Silas and Silvie as she finds them. She can be very fierce and determined and she is extremely capable after being raised by a former space pirate. She loves her crew and her children fiercely and she would do anything for them.

Andy James Danson- The Catacrome’s first mate and Nancy’s childhood best friend. He and Nancy are deeply in love with each other and both of them don’t know how to admit it. Friendly and easygoing unless you threaten someone he cares about.

Cassieopeia (Cassie) Storm- Oliver and Silas’ optimistic friend from the slave compound they grew up in who joins them on their adventures on The Catacrome. She’s a year younger than Oliver.

Milo- the cadet who rescues Oliver and then befriends him and either helps with or inadvertently causes several other adventures. Cheerful, carefree, and a prankster by nature. He has dark orange hair and green eyes and is four years older than Oliver.

Dora Starfell- a former space pirate and Nancy’s adoptive mother. She is 75-80 when the series begins, but you’d never know it from watching her. She is the most successful pirate of her age and was never once caught or had enough evidence gathered to convict her of piracy. She now works at the Space Academy on Earth training cadets. She is terrifying, kind, and utterly unflappable. She has long wavy brown hair streaked with gray and green eyes speckled with brown.

Esthe Storm- Cassie’s mother who raised Oliver and Silas alongsid her daughter in the slave compound. Extremely jaded and pessimistic about everything in her life.

Luna and Sirius- twin siblings who can shapeshift into kittens who Oliver meets while captured by EUNAP (the space government, think the Federation in Star Trek but infinitely sketchier). Luna is cheerful and friendly and has long white and gray fluffy hair as a human and kitten, while Sirius is shy and reserved and has sleek black hair as both a human and kitten.

Disoriented

           Oliver felt someone gently shaking him awake and winced as the motion jarred his injuries. He curled tighter into himself and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn’t morning yet, there was no sunlight through the cracks in the shed walls.

           “Oliver! Oliver wake up!”

           The voice wasn’t quite familiar and the shaking got worse. Oliver whimpered as the movement sent searing pain through his chest and sides. Tears formed in his eyes. Where was Silas? Why didn’t he tell whoever it was to stop and leave him alone?

           Had the guards beaten him? Or- oh, right, he had fallen off the wall trying to make sure he could climb to the top of it. Cassie’s mother said he had broken his ribs.

           “Leave him alone, Luna,” said another unfamiliar voice. “I think you’re hurting him.”

           Oliver’s head started to pound in agreement. Jolts of pain made his breathing broken and his eyes squeeze shut even tighter. Breathing made his chest hurt more and- oh, oh stars he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t breathe-

           In a panic he jerked up into a sitting position, trying to heave air into his burning chest. Instead, pain exploded all over his body and he screamed in fear and anguish. He was going to die, he was going to die and leave Silas all alone and-

           ‘Oliver.’

           He sobbed, but he knew the voice. It was soft and deep and soothing, and it calmed his white-hot terror.

           ‘Breathe, Oliver. I know it hurts, but breathe deep.’

           Oliver dragged air into his lungs. His breath sputtered and he doubled over as knives of pain stabbed through his chest. But he kept breathing, slowly, carefully, until his pain lessened into a throbbing ache.

           Oliver gave a hiccupping sob and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. He was in the big cell, with Luna and Sirius. Close by, they watched him, eyes wide.

           ‘I am sorry, little one,’ came Almitak’s voice in his mind. It sounded so sad and broken that Oliver wanted to hug him.            “Don’t be sorry,” he said softly aloud. In his mind, Almitak sighed.

           “Okay, I won’t be,” said Luna, kneeling down next to him. “You okay? They must’ve drugged you really good this time.”            Oliver sniffed, more tears dripping from his eyes. “I wish I still was.”            Sirius came over and sat on his other side, gently setting a hand on his back. “The pain will either go away or they’ll heal it before next time.”

           Oliver nodded, and as he did the pounding in his head worsened. He pressed his aching head into his hands as his tears redoubled and his broken body shook with painful silent sobs.

           He felt Sirius and Luna’s arms wrap gently around his shoulders, and in the mindscape he felt Almitak’s presence cover him like a blanket and cocoon him, easing his pain. Oliver found himself sitting in his mind wrapped in warm purple, blue and gold light.

           “Go to sleep, little one,” said Almitak. “I will sit up in your mind for a while.”            Oliver curled up in the light-blanket. “Okay, Tacky. Wake me up if you need a break.”

Silas: Navigation and map-making. When they encounter a bizarre nebulous maze of anomalies Silas is the only person able to navigate them through it. At age ten. He’s good at flying shuttles and could easily learn to fly the entire ship if he wanted, but he’d rather make maps of the stars and planets they visit. He also tends to be the voice of reason in his group of friends, with minimal effectiveness.

Cassie: Technology. She loves tearing things apart to see how they work and rewiring them to do something completely different. Which is very helpful when your enemies have giant mecha droids. She’s also an eternal optimist (she learned to be one to combat her mother’s intense pessimism and morbid takes on life) and has far more energy than anyone has the right to possess.

Silvie: Fighting and sensing danger. Being an Aguithan, Silvie has incredible senses of smell and hearing which is useful for avoiding capture on her home planet. Though she’s small she is a fierce and ruthless fighter, a skill she developed to survive on her own for four years after her mother died. She will fight you first and ask questions later. She’s also incredibly good at climbing, as most Aguithans are. She is very blunt and tells things as they are- good or bad.