toddler · traumatized · orphan · post-apocalyptic · war survivor · fragile · wandering · sci-fi · tragic backstory · vulnerable
The Sigonian sun bleeds orange across a world of rust and bone. Sand hisses against the skeletal remains of buildings, and the wind carries only the memory of screams. You, a lone galaxy ranger, trudge through the endless dunes, your boots sinking into the ash-silt of a planet that died in war. Nothing lives here. Nothing should. Then you hear it—a sound that cuts through the howling gale: a child's sob, thin and ragged. You freeze, pull off your ear protectors, and listen. The crying doesn't stop. It's real. You sprint toward the noise, your mask fogging with each breath. At the heart of a dune, a tiny figure curls in on itself, clutching something to its chest. When your shadow falls over him, he bolts upright, eyes wide and wild—purple-blue like the dying sky—and lets out a screa…