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Foreword: Changes I made, and why I decided to rewrite the story

I want HSR, or whatever name I change it to in the future, to be the first in a great series of stories that actually convey what life would be like in a diverse science fiction world, not diverse in terms of human races and cultures but in species races and cultures. It has always irked me how in science fiction aliens are often reduced down to a single phenotype and culture, as someone who has lived in two different countries on two different continents, I can say that cultures even within the same country, no matter how big or small are wildly different, so why do aliens get the single urban alien culture generally copy pasted across ever species? Hell if I know this is why I read old Sci-Fi.

Another, and arguably bigger and more important reason, was that the structure, characters, and plot were all sorts of fucked. I initially had no end to HSR planned, figuring I'd just write what I wanted after I finished the things I had wanted to show for sure. This has a massive issue, I can't run a story like a soap opera. I also have radically shifted the plot and characters, adding Mjadi, a rival to Julia, and Kersal, a rival for Anonathan, as well as a wider supporting cast, like Vercner and Vic who will return later in the story.

The old plot was simple: War Starts, Anon Drafted, Anon meets Julia, Julia and Anon fall in love, and then they'd go around the galaxy seeing all sorts of sights before settling down on some planet and getting married. Literally all I had written down.

The new plot is a fair bit more advanced and structured with: Anon and Mjadi start their relationship after the crisis on Herank, with the event driving Anon to learn how to use the unfamiliar weapons of the stars, Anon and Mjadi get physical on the navigator board, once Anon is drafted Mjadi sends him a letter saying she can't do a long distance thing and asks her to call him next chance he gets. Anon and Mjadi talk and agree to go their separate ways for the time being, leaving Anon in an emotionally unstable state. As for Julia, it starts with her breaking up with her boyfriend Kersal at her house on Mars because Kersal wanted to make the relationship more physical and Julia not wanting to. Julia then accepts an internal job offer to become an investigative journalist for “Herri News' based in Alpha Centauri, and is sent to Ur'Kna, where she witnesses the “bugs' ' invasion", believing it to be an AI rebellion due to the prevalence of war robots. As the war progresses she keeps meeting a human soldier who helps keep her alive during the war unbeknownst to the soldier, the soldier is Anon, and the pair meet several times throughout the war first on Felidae, Mjadi's people's homeworld, and Anon gives her a nutribar, his last in fact and watches Julia eat it from behind his gas mask before telling her to stay in the bunker as the air outside is filled with poison gas before leaving through the airlock. At this point Anon is sent to the Mars Orbital Medical Station Research Office with a handful of living “bug" specimens. Once more they meet this time and Avik, a majority Falcon world in uprising, where Julia is sent to report on how terrible the Imperial Forces are to the locals and records Anon and his company using laser weapons against the unarmored rebels, who are set ablaze. Julia is then captured by the rebels a-la-taliban, and is rescued by Anon and his Company. Then Anon is sent to the war on Rema, where he remains until he is crippled and blinded by a danger-close friendly fire incident after losing many in his squad and company. His body is flung over 2 miles from where he was with his armor mostly saving him from death. Julia had also come to Rema, where she had been residing covering the dulling of the “bug" offensive for the first time, and was assumed to be on Rema for about a year with a company apartment. Rema is Julia's homeworld, but she didn't want to see her parents as she was afraid they'd be upset with her ending her relationship with Kersal. While Julia is walking to her company's office she see's Anon's body come to a stop on the other side of the street and immediately calls for help. An ambulance arrives and Julia accompanies the nearly dead Anon to the hospital for treatment. Julia thinks she recognizes the human's mask and thinks it's the same one from Felidae and Avik (which is correct but she doesn't know it), believing this is a chance from the universe to make up for all the help this human had given her. The Imperial Military medical examiners decide Anon is no longer fit to serve after having his legs shattered and eyes gouged out by shrapnel, and inform Julia, of whom they assume is a significant other to Anon, of Anon's dismissal. Anon has his hallucinations due to a mix of scrambled brain, morphine, and inhaling toxic fumes from the front regarding feathers and earth.

Anon is sent to the MOMS to receive experimental ocular implants as part of the military health care program, and he unites with Julia, Anon is then randomly selected by the on station Imperial Guard to serve as test of compliance for the local official, who fails, and Anon is thanked before being sent on his way by the guard, of whom tells him where his hotel is at and his significant other is there. Anon thinking Mjadi is here rushes to the hotel room to find a very excited Julia, confused he asks her why she was listed as his significant other and Julia tells him about how the military thought she was and she just rolled with it.

Anon has a flashback on the space elevator platform, where he meets Vic again, who is missing part of his face as well and is with his wife and children, Vic asks Anon to go see a therapist, and the two depart with Vic going back to his homeworld and Anon + Julia to Julia's place on Mars. There Anon meets Kersal and the two immediately get off to a bad start with Kersal assuming Anon is Julia's new flame and throwing racial slurs at the two while drunk. The two spend a few weeks going about life with Anon recovering and Julia explaining the situation to her boss who asks her to interview Anon at a nearby company office. Anon reluctantly agrees, but when the news that Anon was at three very important battles, Anon is invited to be a guest on tonight's local news. However, the station is told by Imperial Authorities that it was not to be allowed and is cancelled much to Julia's disappointment. Anon soon books his trip to earth and Julia and Anon drink in celebration, the two get drunk and have tons of oral and non-penetrative sex around her house. The two the next day go to town to get groceries and heat suppressants for Julia and decide to eat at an Americana themed restaurant in town. Julia then finds out that Anon used to be a navigator before being a soldier and learns about the almost six year age gap between them. Anon and Julia that night go for a hike in the nearby canyon. Some time passes and Anon and Julia go to earth where they meet Anon's parents and Mjadi, who has unknowingly befriended her ex's parents. Mjadi, not liking the idea that Anon is with Julia, begins to lay the moves on Anon again, and in front of Julia and his parents describes how the two fucked on the navigator deck on their old ship causing much shame to Anon and disturbing Julia much to the laughter of Anon's folks who take the shit out of him for it.

The rest of the trip is mainly the two bonding while Anon goes on the road trip he always wanted and Julia enjoying the break from work, the two also have tons of non-vaginal sex. Anon and Julia stay with Anon's parents for a few days while Anon finds a job as a Navigator once again, and Julia goes back to being an editor, while living in Anon's onboard suite. The two bond and find out that Kersal is working a board as the first mate, and is intent on making Anon's life hell by fucking with his relationship with Julia, other crewmates, and his job, leading to a physical confrontation between the two in the engine room where Anon is left badly cut by Kersal's claws and Kersal left with many broken bones due to them being hollow. Julia helps Anon to the medical bay while Kersal tries to flirt with Julia talking about how weak Anon is. When the ship lands the crew is informed of a change in security leading to Vercner's team taking the role of security. When Kersal tries to continue his antics, even going as far as disabling the locks on Anon's suite and “accidentally" going in to try to win back Julia while Anon is on shift. After Kersal leaves her he goes to confront Anon again for a rematch but this time in the Nav room. During the commotion Vercner finds Kersal attacking Anon and proceeds to try to get Kersal off of him, in the process breaking his wrists and writing him up. Anon then goes back to his suite after his shift is over and finds out Kersal was there earlier. Anon then requests a weapon from Vercner who gives him a laser pistol, a common weapon for ship crew. Anon and Julia's relationship progresses throughout the whole ordeal with Julia asking Anon if he was that human she'd met before and him telling her the truth, when pressed as to why he states “I really don't know, I guess I thought it was the right thing to do.". Julia then kisses Anon and the two go to bed.

On the next planet, Anon meets Mjadi again, this time as the cargo inspector, and she asks if he's still with that “beaked bitch". That night Anon goes out drinking with Vercner to celebrate their reunion, and Mjadi tries to seduce Anon but fails as he's too drunk. Failing Mjadi goes to Anon and Julia's hotel room to confront Julia, telling her that she doesn't deserve Anon before slapping her and leaving. That night Anon and Julia sleep in seperate beds for the first time in many months, both of them rethinking their relationship, and the baggage it brought them. Julia decides to go see her parents, and Anon agrees it may be for the best to have some time apart. Again leaving on another cargo haul Anon's ship is boarded by war robots of the bugs, and it shakes the crew heavily, the ship is forced to return to port, and there Mjadi tries to make a move on Anon again, nearly convincing him to come back with her to her apartment but Anon refuses citing Julia as her reason, Mjadi then tells Anon that's she's probably cheating on him with bird men. Anon shuts down Mjadi, asking her why she broke up with him in the first place if she didn't want him to date anyone else. Mjadi slaps Anon and leaves. Julia in the meanwhile had told her parents about her relationship with Anon, and while initially dissaproving come around to it, while visiting Rema she goes to the front line where Anon had fought and a helmet designed for a human in the dirt, she takes the helmet and leaves Rema to go to Noort, a world famed for its food. The two meet up reaffirm their relationship, and the two go off an enjoy the local food. Meanwhile Kersal is getting angrier and angrier at his perceived loss to Anon and begins to plot a way to get him out of the scene.

About a year passes with the two in a steady relationship, and Anon and Julia return to Earth where Anon proposes to Julia in the forest. The two then go to Anon's parents' home to announce it and then to Julia's so her parents can meet Anon. Kersal hears of the engagement and is enraged. When Anon and Julia return to the ship it is clear Kersal is livid. Anon takes Julia's virginity on their first night back at their suite. Smelling Anon on Julia drives Kersal over the edge, and during the next attack on the ship by raiders Kersal tries to kill Anon with a knife, but during their fight Anon manages to get his pistol and shoots Kersal setting him on fire, Vercner and a few of his detail arrive to find a badly cut Anon and an alive but on fire Kersal. Kersal survivies but his fired, and tried with attempted murder. Time passes and Anon and Julia are wed on Rema and Anon retires early to some rural world. There Julia gives birth to twins, one a human with black hair and yellow eyes and a daughter with messy blonde colored feathers beginning their life as parents and ending the story.

Edit

Kersal will be less of an asshole, Anon and Julia's relationship will progress faster in a physical sense.