The Stars of Jaxoras Are Beautiful

The Stars of Jaxoras Are BeautifulAbout the AuthorDedicationCopyright Information ©AcknowledgementChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6
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 Chapter 10Epilogue
 
 
 
 
 
 The Stars of Jaxoras Are Beautiful
 Matt Storrs
 Austin Macauley Publishers
 2023-01-06
 
 About the Author
 Matt Storrs has been writing stories since he was in the eighth grade, though this is his first published work. Encouraged by his family, friends, and teachers, he continued creating drafts until he was finally ready for publication. When not writing, Matt can be found playing board games, video games, reading, and generally engaging in any other available nerdy pursuit. He lives in Columbus, Ohio with his dog, Heinz Doggenshmirtz.
 
 
 Dedication
 To my middle school English teachers: Miss Kidd, Mr Beck, and Miss Anderson. Without them, this book probably doesn’t exist.
 
 
 Copyright Information ©
 Matt Storrs 2023
 The right of Matt Storrs to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
 Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
 A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
 ISBN 9781398407893 (Paperback)
 ISBN 9781398414969 (ePub e-book)
 www.austinmacauley.com 
 First Published 2023
 Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®
 1 Canada Square
 Canary Wharf
 London
 E14 5AA
 
 
 
 
 Acknowledgement
 Publishing a book has been a dream of mine for years, so it is only natural that many individuals have a hand in its eventual publication. First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents, who encouraged me to keep telling stories throughout my life, and raised me to be the man I am today. It is safe to say that I would not be where I am without their guidance.
 Second, I would like to thank my editors and design team at Austin Macauley Publishers, for their help with the editing of this work, as well as the production and marketing.
 Thanks to all those who looked over early drafts of this book and provided valuable feedback, particularly E.T. Hanson and Tae-eun Leiah Hartley.
 A big thank you to Lisa Thresher, Evan ‘Barty’ Sachs, and Julia Redden for listening to me ramble on about this one idea I had, and giving me the encouragement needed to keep moving forward with the idea.
 To Bob Huddleston, who helped me find a publisher for this book, my sincerest thanks.
 Gary Baum provided invaluable contributions during the contract negotiations, for which I am eternally grateful.
 To my various English teachers, many thanks to you. We aren’t born into this world knowing how to write, so it’s safe to say that you had a big hand in this book coming to life.
 Last, but not least, thanks to my dog, Heinz Doggenshmirtz, for ensuring I didn’t work too hard by frequently interrupting my writing time with requests to play “fetch”.
 
 
 Chapter 1
 Jared yawned, opening his eyes at last from his long slumber. Evidently they were very near their destination, for the soldiers around him all had a new look about them. Some merely seemed resigned, others determined. The most nervous ones fiddled with a metal rectangle, methodically sticking their fingers in various holes in the device, muttering incomprehensible words as they did so.
 Cracking his neck, Jared turned to look to the fore of the craft. Up front sat two more people, though more finely attired than the rest. While they wore the same skin-tight, ridged, purple jumpsuits of the others around them, both had some sort of finery as well. The girl, on the right, had a thin metal headband gracing her brow, while the boy had thin metal strings going diagonally across his torso, as well as slight upturned ridges on the shoulders of his jumpsuit.
 Nevertheless, both still wore expressions akin to everyone else on the transport. The boy looked determined. The girl was trying to put on a brave face, but was clearly nervous beyond all reason.
 Looking once again around the transport, Jared found only one exception to these expressions. The girl, sitting across from him, who seemed to be eager more than anything. A wide grin was spread across her face, and unlike most everyone else, who either trimmed their hair short or kept it tied up, she let her long hair down and kept it wild. She caught his eye, and her grin widened. Jared couldn’t help but inadvertently let his own grin widen as well.
 A loud ‘BOOM’ and a jolt of the transport was enough to shake the grin off of Jared’s face. Some of the more nervous people had cried out at this sudden disturbance, though Jared was gratified to see that he and the girl had managed to keep their composure, relatively speaking.
 Seeing the disturbance among the others, the girl with the headband up front had stood up. Undoing the straps that kept them all in their seats, she now grabbed a handlebar running along the top of the craft for balance. Looking as regal as she could, she addressed the transport:
 “Friends, it seems we are nearing Bixlam. The time of battle is nearly upon us. I can see from your visages that some of you