as laid down by Argus Hobbes, Chronicler
Previously, on "The Lost and the Damned, Book One" (The Sands of Arrakoth):
Episode 0, Part 2: We are introduced to the protagonist of our story, Azriel Kain. Every night, he has a terrible dream. He is in a burning house, but he is not harmed by the fire. He hears screams, but they are not his own. And every morning, he bolts awake from the nightmare, and finds himself in his cell at The Institute.
The Doctor, a dispassionate, scornful man, has told him that he was rescued by the Institute from the ruins of his burned home. Azriel is subjected to yet another experimental therapy - this one more intensive than any before. Once more, he has the dream. This time, when he awakes, the lab is on fire. He is able to escape, and hides from the guards. He steals a scout ship and returns to his family's farm.
In the charred ruins, he recounts that fateful night once more. He finds an iron amulet, passed down from generations before, and it all begins to come back to him.
Episode 1: Kain finds a dossier on the ships computer for "Subject Delta", as he was known at the Institute. It explains that he has the power to manipulate fire and shadow, and that he caused the fire that burned down his home and killed his parents. That he is one of those metahumans known as Paragons.
The dossier says that he is suffering from traumatic amnesia and that the stress of the night terrors causes a blackout, in both the literal and figurative sense. It also implies that he may have the potential to manifest unknown abilities that currently remain latent.
Azriel realizes that all this time, he has been a specimen, a test subject. That the Institute is not a psychiatric rehabilitation facility, but actually a bio-weapons lab. He swears an Epic Vow to "Uncover the Crimes of the Institute and Bring It Down."
Episode 2: Azriel realizes he must escape his home world of Vesper to find a safe haven from which to plot his revenge. He takes the ship, the Venture, to the deep-space mining colony of Redhaven. The ship is flagged as stolen, but the deeply corrupt administration simply takes some of his cargo in return for looking the other way.
We meet Breaker, one of the ground crew who is sent to accept the graft. Breaker agrees to modify the transponder and change the ship's markings. The Venture will become the Acheron, but not without a price.
Episode 3: In a seedy spaceport bar, Azriel tries to gain information. A helpful bouncer warns him that he is being watched by a shady character, and throws Azriel out of the bar as a distraction. The bouncer occupies the attention of the stalker while Azriel escapes to the safety of his ship.
Episode 4: Breaker and his partner Spanner arrive to make the necessary modifications to the ship. In return, Breaker asks Azriel to use the sensors on his scout ship to help him find an ice asteroid, so that he can acquire water for clients on a nearby desert world. The pair is set upon by claim jumpers. Azriel and Breaker triumph, but the Acheron is damaged and helpless.
Episode 5: Breaker manages to repair the ship and the pair resumes their survey. They find an ice asteroid, but Breaker must physically land on it and place a device known as a 'stake' so that he can claim the find when they return to the station. Breaker is injured while making the EVA, but is rescued by Azriel. They return to Redhaven and successfully file the claim.
Episode 6: Azriel's small share of the claim provides him with a slow but steady income, and financial independence. The pair travel to the nearby desert world of Arrakoth to deliver the water to miners who live and work in the deep canyons. The brutal environment takes its toll, but they make the rendezvous. The deal is done, and Breaker is paid in a mysterious red ore.
Episode 7: Azriel discovers that the "Interstellar Institute for Social Sciences" has marked him as 'Extremely Dangerous' target and issued a 'Dead or Alive' bounty. Azriel tells Breaker of the Paragons, and their friendship grows.
Breaker explains that the red ore is refined into a psychoactive drug known as 'Trip'. This is the reason that Arrakoth is a Restricted Zone and the miners operate illegally there. Azriel suspects that his exposure to the dust of Arrakoth heightens his abilities.
Breaker tells him of a hacker named Whiz, who can provide Azriel with a new identity... for a price. Whiz is the client that Breaker is sending the Trip to, and Azriel swears a Vow to safely deliver the cargo and a confidential message to the hidden pirate haven known as Nyx.
Episode 8: Azriel makes his way to the last known location of Whiz's hideout. Along the way he encounters many hazards, including the cosmic storms known as Balefire, and a hypergiant star emitting radiation that hinders his sensors and ability to jump. He has a disturbing dream of the risen dead.
He locates Nyx in the Nimbus system, on a small moon orbiting a massive gas giant. His first contact with the buccaneers (known as the Coalition of Dissident Souls) does not go smoothly, and he is captured and taken to Whiz.
Episode 9: After many layers of deceit, Azriel meets Whiz. She demands that he take a dose of Trip to prove that it is genuine, and Azriel fully manifests his pyrokinetic abilities. The pirates are terrified, and Azriel discovers that Whiz is not quite what she seemed at first sight. She agrees to begin the process of establishing a new identity for Azriel.
Episode 10: Whiz shows Azriel around the base, and takes him to a small greenhouse. Azriel learns that Nyx is not a pirate base, but a haven for political refugees. The greenhouse does not produce enough to feed her crew and the refugees, and she needs help. Her contacts that she trades the Trip to in return for food and transporting the refugees to safe homes, have missed the last rendezvous. Nyx faces imminent starvation. The Coalition has resorted to raiding to obtain the things they need to survive. She asks him to bring her food, and in return she will tell him more about the overall operation between Breaker, Whiz, and her mysterious benefactors.
Episode 11: Azriel travels to Vesper, a world of abundance, to purchase food for Nyx. He encounters a talkative farmer who recognizes him and remembers the tragedy that claimed the life of Azriel's parents. Business has been bad, and he agrees to sell his entire remaining harvest to Azriel. The farmer delivers the food to the Acheron, and asks some uncomfortable questions.
Episode 12: Azriel returns to the Nimbus system and discovers two Coalition raiders preying on a helpless trade vessel. He demands that they stand down, as Whiz promised that the raiding would stop once they received the food. Tensions grow between Azriel and Whiz . She provides him new identity documents in the name of "Ashton Frost".
Episode 13: Whiz reveals that her mysterious benefactor is in fact the Institute. She is unaware of their nefarious activities and a violent argument ensues between her and Ashton. He explains that she has been providing the Institute not only with an experimental drug, but with test subjects to experiment upon - people who do not officially exist and will not be missed. Whiz is horrified to learn what she has done.
Ashton is appalled to discover that she has unwittingly abetted the very atrocities that made him and that perpetuate the acts of the Institute. He storms off, intending to leave Nyx to its fate. In a moment of forgiveness, she agrees to stop trading the Trip. He warns her that this will incur the wrath of the Institute. Ashton must return to Redhaven and they part tearfully, uncertain of the status of their newfound connection.
Episode 14: Ashton makes his way back to Redhaven. On the way, he is stopped for inspection by the law enforcers known as the Keepers. His new identity papers are put to the test, but he is cleared to move on.
Ashton recounts the events to Breaker. He explains that Whiz has been trading with the Institute, and that Trip heightens the metaphysical abilities of Paragons. Breaker agrees that the pipeline of Trip to the Institute must be severed, once and for all. He agrees to return to Arrakoth with Ashton and put an end to the illegal harvesting of the substance.
Episode 15: Ashton and Breaker must make a daring night raid on the mining camp. To keep their advantage, they race against time to reach the camp before sunrise. They encounter many hazards along the way, including terrain, vehicle damage, and evading a pair of enemy scouts.
Along the way, Ashton discovers new limits to his ability to manipulate the shadows. The pair successfully reach the mining camp under the cover of night and prepare to make their assault.
Episode 16: Ashton decides that the only way to ensure no further mining will occur is to instill terror in any who come to investigate the scene. He decides that everyone in the camp must die in a way that suggests the work of a mythical band of desert nomads who wander the land, punishing interlopers upon their sacred sands.
His attempt at covert infiltration fails due to his lack of close combat skills, and an alarm is raised. A gunfight ensues. Ashton is able to take down a number of miners, but soon the tide of battle turns against him. In an urgent moment of self defense, fueled by the dusty air of the camp, he discovers latent telekinetic abilities. He is nearly overwhelmed, and violently manifests the full extent of his pyrokinetic powers. He immolates the rest of the miners in the cave, burning them alive.
Episode 17: Ashton's marks the ruined camp with bloody glyphs, suggesting an attack by the legendary nomads. His relationship with Breaker is strained, but he agrees to act more conscionably going forward. They encounter the remaining scouts, who cannot be allowed to escape.
Ashton uses his newly found telekinetic abilities to create a landslide. They ambush the scouts and gun them down. Ashton causes another rockfall to crush the bikes and bodies of the scouts. This deed will also appear to be an attack by the nomads. Though his deeds were inhumane and barbaric, Ashton has insured that no one will dare to mine on Arrakoth again. The supply pipeline of Trip is severed once and for all.
Episode 18: The finale of Book One. Ashton and Breaker use some of their income from the ice mining to take a weekend vacation at an executive resort on Redhaven. They take the opportunity to recover from the horrors of the Arrakoth raid, and to heal mind and body.
Ashton learns to control his anger and kindle his inner fire through meditation. He builds a stronger rapport with Breaker and learns that his given name is Blake Bridger. Ashton realizes that Blake is there to act as Ashton's conscience, and realizes that Whiz has begun to show him the meaning of compassion. He regrets their acrimonious parting.
Ashton decides to fully cement his bond of comradeship with Blake, and offers him an equal partnership in the Acheron. What had begun as a simple transaction had evolved first into friendship, and now into brotherhood. Blake agrees to accompany Ashton on all of his adventures, and to help him to become a better man.
Together, they have ended the means for the Institute to continue the kind of experiments that had unleashed Ashton's latent abilities. Rejuvenated and in high spirits, they are ready to take the next step to bring down the Institute.
The Present Day:
Stay Tuned!