A/N This is a trial version of this 'book'. Italics are not visible; editing has not been done. What I want out of this is REVEIWS. I want feedback, suggestions, comments, compliments, criticism. This will be one in a series of stories that I will create over time. Every story will somehow be tied together - not by plot, but by characters. Mainly tied by the main character of this story and another character whose story will be written hopefully in the near future. Thank you, and enjoy. I hope I can provide a good read for everyone.

What's going on? Voices crowded his ears, sounding as if they were shouted directly beside his head. Where am I? He opened his eyes, blinking to clear his vision. He sat up with difficulty, and it took him a moment to realize why; he was not using his hands. They were bound behind his back in some way, and he could not use them to help himself up. Glancing around, he found he was sitting in the corner of a small room with a dozen or so people gathered in different groups, talking amongst each other, occasionally glancing over to him.

"That boy is odd, I tell you," he heard somebody say, and he shook his head, bits of short black hair falling into his eyes. His eyes.

They were odd. He could see perfectly well, yet he had no pupils, and no irises. At first glance, one might think that he was blind as a bat, but no. Those eyes were a little unnerving; one could not tell where he was looking. Right now, he was looking across the room to the closed door, wondering what was outside. He did not have a clue where he was, and for that matter, he did not know what had happened in the past few hours. In fact, he had no idea what had happened in his life.

What was his name?

"Kiv Nirali," a tall man walked over near him and squatted down next to the boy. "You're awake. Finally. How's your head?" The man put a hand to the boy's head, and he flinched back. His head had been hit at some point, at the back, and there was a good sized bump there that felt tender. "Ah, you're all right, Kiv." The man nodded, scratching his chin, dark brown eyes looking the boy over.

Kiv? Was that his name?

"You haven't said anything," the man commented. "Last night you would have insulted me seven or eight times by now. . ." He tilted his head, frowning. "Are you feeling okay? If you get sick on us. . ."

Kiv - yes, Kiv must be his name - Kiv shook his head. "I-I'm fine," He said in a soft voice. "Where am I?"

"You know where you are," the man snorted. "You protested it well enough." The man shook his head, standing, and walked away.

Kiv leaned back on the wall, looking down at his lap. His black jeans looked a little dirty; as much as the black vest he wore, as if he had been in a fight recently. Why was he there? For whatever reason, he was sure it was not a good one. He was tied up, for one, and that man said that he had protested.

He was not sure how long he sat there, knees pulled up to his chest, thinking, but soon, he thought, he fell asleep. The next he knew he was being hauled to his feet, somebody looking in his eyes, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You are sure he isn't blind?" The man asked, looking slightly up to Kiv, who was a tall boy. The man laughed dryly. "He seems about sixteen,' he added, "and he is all right except for that bump on his head. He should be able to make the flight to Garrett." Kiv blinked a few times, frowning.

"What's going on?" he mumbled, still half asleep. The man who appeared to be some sort of doctor glanced over to the man from earlier, raising an eyebrow, before looking back at Kiv.

"Don't play dumb, Kiv. You know perfectly well, I think. Just sit there and be quiet; Nick is almost here to take you of our hands. Keep an eye on him, Alex." The doctor nodded to the other man, whose name appeared to be Alex, before walking away, out the door. Alex motioned for Kiv to sit on the ground, but when Kiv didn't move, staring at the door, Alex put a hand on his shoulder and kicked the back of his knee. Kiv drew a sharp breath through his teeth as his knees hit the cement floor.

"Stay there," Alex said, and turned away. Kiv watched him leave, and sat on his feet, resting his hands on the heels of his black boots and looking at the floor.

Where was he? Why on Earth was he there? He could not remember anything; was Kiv even his real name? What kind of a name was Kiv, anyway? Closing his eyes, he sighed through his nose, a little annoyed. A lot annoyed. After a while of sitting there, all but motionless, he felt a hand on the back of his vest once again, pulling him to his feet.

"Nick's here," said Alex, pushing Kiv towards the door. Kiv blinked, and walked easily enough, quite obedient given the circumstances. He walked outside the door with Alex, and a tall teenager stood waiting with his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans, in a long, brightly lit corridor.

"Hey, this our little Nirali?" Nick asked, looking at Kiv with bright blue eyes.

"Yeah," Alex replied, nodding. "Keep a good hold on him, will you? He's difficult. Well, right now he isn't remembering anything. The doctor and I had a little discussion, and he thinks maybe Kiv has a bit of amnesia. Whatever the case, I'm sure your facilities support hypnosis, right?" Nick nodded.

"Of course," he said, smiling. "We have a specialist on hand, too. We'll be fine." Alex snorted.

"All right. This had better change our alignment in this war; I worked hard on getting this kid." Alex gave Kiv a little shove, and Nick put a hand on his arm, leading him down the hall.

Kiv's boots made soft clunks on the floor as he walked, looking around, glancing down hallways branching off this one. There were not very many people in the place, except for the occasional person walking in or out of a door, or down a hall. Nobody was on the same corridor as himself and Nick; it was virtually deserted.

"Where are we going?" Kiv asked Nick as they walked outside a pair of double-doors into the cold air and onto a large balcony holding a helicopter, propellers in full gear, awaiting passengers. Kiv looked to the edge, only able to see the tops of tall buildings pushing up over the horizon line. He still could not tell where he was.

"To the Pirate headquarters," Nick replied after a moment, shouting to be heard over the noise of the helicopter. "We'll decide what to do with you there." Kiv nodded slightly, frowning, as they both climbed up into the back of the helicopter, and he sat awkwardly with his hands behind his back. Nick looked over at him, and after a moment he untied Kiv's hands, letting him sit normally.

Kiv smiled hesitantly at Nick, who ignored it, motioning to the pilot to go. Sighing, Kiv looked down at his lap, at his hands, and blinked. He was wearing two bracelets, one on each hand. They each looked like they were molded onto his wrists, and like they could never come off, surely. They were silver, with a large black jewel centered at the back of each wrist, the black so deep it did not reflect the light at all; they looked like deep voids of darkness. Shaking his head, he almost unconsciously tugged at one of the bracelets, trying to get his finger between the silver and his skin. It was a fruitless attempt, as it did not give at all.

He looked up again and out the window, to the city below. He was still unsure of where he was, but it seemed to him it was somewhere in Canada. Oddly, he knew it was April; and there was still snow on the rooftops. And he was pretty sure that he was somewhere in the East. Sighing, he leaned back slightly, watching out the window and listening to the sound of the propellers. It was somewhat comforting, the loud noise.

"We're almost there," Nick said after about a half hour, looking over to Kiv, who blinked, shaking his head. He had zoned out, watching the buildings fly by under them. He had been trying to think, to remember something - anything - to tell him what was going on. Looking over at Nick, he sighed to himself, unheard over the noise of the engine.

Suddenly, the helicopter shook violently, and Kiv was thrown to the floor of the passenger area. Nick landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. Coughing, Kiv pushed Nick off, and the helicopter leveled out as both of them sat up.

"What the hell just happened there?" Nick shouted up at the pilot, headset on the ground, useless until he decided to take it up.

"I don't know!" the Pilot replied. "Something hit us! I think something hit us. But I'm not sure. We seem to be all right now, though." Kiv blinked a few times, looking up and out the window, searching. Nick sat himself back up on the seat and tugged the back of Kiv's vest to get him to do the same.

"Well what was it?" Nick asked, putting on the headphones. Kiv could not hear the Pilot's reply, but suddenly he could guess, looking directly to starboard.

A large plane - no, some sort of spaceship - flew towards them, staying parallel to the helicopter. Kiv stared, not sure whether to tell Nick or not, but after a moment the Pilot seemed to notice, as the helicopter swerved.

To no avail - the ship continued its crash course at a parallel to them, staying on that parallel no matter how the helicopter moved. Kiv had never seen a spaceship like this one before, and not only for the maneuvers. It was shaped like an arrowhead, with a flat tip where Kiv guessed the cockpit must be, and he could just see it from underneath. The sides extended out past the rest of the body, leaving a trail beyond the pointy tips. The whole thing was a dull silver colour, spotted with dark scorch marks as if the ship had been shot in a fight.

Suddenly, something shot out from a small bump in the bottom of the ship. Something, indeed; it was almost invisible, only a distortion of the air that sped towards them at an untraceable speed. The helicopter shook once again, though Kiv managed to stay on his seat this time, having known it was coming, while Nick fell on the floor.

"What is this? Who does this guy think he is?" Nick looked out the window, climbing up into his seat again. "Don't we have any weapons on this thing?"

"No, we're not equipped for combat," the pilot replied, and Nick cursed loudly. The helicopter was hit again with the invisible shot, and the pilot yelled.

"I have to land!" he said, and Kiv hung on to the seat as the helicopter shook and spun in a downwards spiral. He barely stayed off the floor when they hit something solid, and he looked out the window to see that they had landed on the roof of a tall building somewhere. "We're grounded!" The pilot cut the engine, and Nick cursed again.

"Everyone out; we're useless in here," Nick said, grabbing Kiv's arm and pulling him out the side door as the pilot climbed out himself.

At the side of the building, the ship hovered just beyond the side of the roof. Nick pulled a small handgun out from his belt as a hatch opened at the bottom of the ship, angling downwards and extending itself to reach the side of the roof. A tall man appeared at the hatch in a dark gray uniform, a round black and white badge over his heart, four rectangles of colour - red, green, blue and yellow - underneath. A white belt circled his waist, looking a little too loose, tilting with the weight of containers on one side, a holstered blaster tied around his upper leg. He held a small round black disc in one hand while the other scratched his short yellow hair that stuck up in all directions around pointed ears, falling over a circlet of gold around his head, a red jewel centered in his forehead.

Nick pushed Kiv behind him, and at the same moment the pointy-eared man's hand darted to the blaster at his hip and pointed it at the three of them. Nick aimed his gun back, frowning.

"Who the hell are you?" Nick called to the strange man, who did not answer.

"What are you doing to him?" he asked instead, voice threaded with a strange accent, hard to understand. He strung his words together with hardly a transition between each syllable, speaking rapidly. Nick frowned at him.

"What do you mean, what are we doing with him?" he growled. "That is none of your business, thank you very much." Kiv took half a step to the side, trying to look at the ship better and to see the man, but Nick smacked him in the shoulder. "Stay still,' he muttered, but jumped sharply as the man fired a shot, making a shallow hole in the cement of the roof.

"Do not touch him," he said. "Nothing gives you the right to do anything to him. Let the boy go, and I will not kill you."

Nick fired his gun, a loud explosion in comparison to the other man's sharp ping emitting from his blaster. But the man was not hit, though he seemed annoyed at this. He shot thrice; he hit the pilot in the foot, causing him to yell and fall to the ground; he shot Nick's gun hand, and then his leg. With both men on the ground, the shooter motioned for Kiv to come, but Kiv hesitated.

"Come on!" the man called. Kiv paused, wondering whether it was smart to do so or not. Who was this guy, where did he come from? After a moment, he glanced to Nick and the Pilot, and jogged up to the hatch where the man took his hand and hoisted him onto the ramp with a big grin. "Let us go now," he said, holstering his blaster and leading Kiv inside the ship.

They walked down a short corridor and through a sliding door, into a somewhat large bridge with three consoles and seats across the front. The man sat in the middle seat and motioned for Kiv to sit on the right, looking at the little black disc in his hand for a moment before sticking it on his belt and taking the controls. Kiv sat, looking through the windows and at the console, keeping his hands close, afraid to touch anything.

After a while, the ship was flying, and the man looked over at Kiv, frowning. Looking back at him, Kiv noticed a small tattoo on the man's face, near his left eye, almost a Z with three dots, one on each end and one in the middle. His thoughts, wondering what it meant, were interrupted.

"You have not touched the controls, Kiv," the man said, and Kiv started.

"What?" he asked.

"Usually by now you would have pointed out at least three problems with my engine, four with my hull, two with me in general, and one with the quality of my hosting." The man laughed. "What is wrong today? For that matter, what were you doing with those two back there? I would think you would have kicked them around a bit." Kiv paused, tilting his head.

"Do. Do I know you?" He asked the man, whose eyes widened slightly at the question.

"What kind of enquiry is that?" he replied. "Are you feeling all right?" He paused, and leaned towards Kiv, looking into his eyes, his own a dark brown. "You are not entirely there, now, are you?" he commented.

"I. I can't remember anything," Kiv admitted, shrugging. "I'm sorry if I offended you." The man smiled.

"That is all right," he said. "Quite all right. Let me get out of the atmosphere and put this on auto and we will talk. Perhaps I can help you. Call me Nolen, by the way, if you do not remember." He turned to the console and pushed a few buttons and switches, and Kiv watched out the front windows as the blue of the sky disappeared, replaced by millions and billions of stars.

"Wow," he said softly, and Nolen laughed.

"You really do not have your memory, do you?" he stated, looking over to Kiv. "Perhaps I may be able to assist you, friend. Maybe if I can tell you some things, you will recall." He paused. "I will start with basic things. Your name is Kiv Nirali, and I am Nolen Arshere. We met a long time ago. Ask me something." Nolen nodded to Kiv, who paused, looking at his hands, folded on his lap, thinking.

"How did we meet?" he asked after a moment. He thought it was the most logical question, and Nolen appeared to agree, because he smiled and nodded.

"About, ah. sixty years ago, I believe it was-" he started, but Kiv interrupted.

"Sixty years ago?" he exclaimed. "You have the wrong Kiv, I think. I-I'm sorry. The doctor said I was only about sixteen. I wouldn't have been alive then." Nolen frowned, tilting his head.

"You really do not know anything," he said softly, disbelieving. "How could such a memory as yours be wiped out entirely? I remember you not being able to forget anything. A mind like a Dzebji Maker." He stood up, running a hand through his hair, glancing around.

"How could it be sixty years ago?" Kiv asked, frowning slightly, confused. He watched Nolen pace a few steps across the front of the console, once, twice, and thrice. Finally he stopped and turned to Kiv, apparently thinking hard.

"All right," he said, sitting again. "By now, your are almost six hundred and fifty years old, I should guess." Kiv blinked, mouth half open. How? "I do not know how you live so long, but you told me some of your story once. Not much, not enough for me to tell you much of your history, but when I met you, you were in some trouble, like now." He sighed, thinking. "It is hard to explain. You had enough trouble back then to tell me."

The ship shuddered, and Nolen cut off, looking out the front. Kiv shook his head as if to clear it. This was insane; how could he be over six hundred years old? Nobody lived that long.

"We have company," Nolen stated, taking the controls. "We will continue later. And I have a better idea of how to explain to you."

Kiv felt the ship speed up suddenly, and Nolen piloted expertly as Kiv looked at the controls, able to somehow tell what was going on. He was unsure of how he knew; he just did, without thinking. Numbers and gauges and radars told him.

"It's a Pirate," Nolen muttered, and jumped slightly as a hard male voice came over the radio.

"Hello there, this is Captain Strauss. We believe you have taken something of ours, and you have injured some of our employees. I would advise you to stop and prepare for boarding, or risk being shot down." Nolen growled under his breath and flicked a switch.

"This is Captain Nolen Arshere of the Ganora'nito. I am afraid to say that I cannot stop or prepare for boarding, as I do not wish company at this moment. Captain Strauss, you may stop pursuit or you will risk being shot down. The Sharaens have much more advanced weaponry than that of Humans." He watched the controls, hands flitting over buttons, switches, and keyboards.

"Captain, I do not wish for confrontation," came Strauss's voice. "You know what we want, and it will be much more simple for you to hand it over."

"You speak of Kiv like an object," Nolen growled back. "People such as you have no business dealing with someone like him. Now back off." Kiv looked over at Nolen with his eyes, holding onto the seat, nervous.

Why did they want him so badly? He wondered. He was only a kid. What could he do for the Pirates? As the ship shuddered again, Nolen said something that sounded foreign and the ship sped up, pressing Kiv into the back of the seat. After a few moments, they slowed down again, though nothing looked right. He could tell with the controls that Earth was far from where they were, now. Nolen sighed.

"I refuse to fight them," he muttered, and stood up. "Come, we will be safe here. We are closer to the Asteroid Belt than anywhere, here." Kiv stood slowly, looking out the front, where he could indeed see a line of huge rocks floating in space. How could they have made it so far so quickly?

"Are you coming?" Nolen laughed, waiting for Kiv at the doorway, and Kiv nodded, walking through and following Nolen. "I have an idea for how to help you remember," Nolen said, and turned down a corridor, passing a hand over a panel on the wall to open a door onto a room with a bed on the far wall, a couch with a table in front of it, and some doors branching off. "Come on." Kiv followed him inside.

"Lay down on the bed. It will be easier for you of you are comfortable." Nolen motioned to the bed, and Kiv hesitated. Could he really trust this man? Nolen sighed. "I do not bite, Kiv. Trust me; you used to." He walked over to the side of the bed, pulling down the pale yellow covers to the foot and folding them up. Kiv sat on the side of the bed and after a moment he lay down, looking up at the ceiling. A little while after, Nolen's face appeared above him, except missing the circlet over his brow.

Kiv blinked, and Nolen smiled. "All right," he said. "I should explain this to you first, and make sure you do not mind." Kiv nodded. Of course he should. "I am going to go into your mind, and I will attempt to find your memories and unlock them. It will not hurt, but you may find that you have slipped away for a time, and if I am successful, you will see some of those memories again, and relive them. If I am even more successful, by the time I am finished you will have your memory back. All right?"

Kiv paused, thinking it over, but nodded again. It would be better than never remembering, but how on earth would Nolen 'go into his mind'. Nolen laughed.

"That is right," he said, as if Kiv had voiced his thought aloud." you do not know me, still. I am telepathic, Kiv. My people are all mind readers. Do not worry. I have done this before." Nolen smiled reassuringly, straightening up, and a chair slid over to the side of the bed for him to sit on. Kiv blinked, watching, and Nolen looked over at him again, noticing his face. "I am also telekinetic. Now relax, try to open your mind. You have always been horrible for sealing your mind off." Kiv nodded slightly, not sure how to open his mind.

Nolen was silent for some time, sitting by the bed with his eyes closed, occasionally turning his head to one side or the other as if looking for something. Five minutes passes, then ten. Kiv opened his mouth to say something, but just then his vision blurred, then went dark. The room disappeared, and so did Nolen.