Prolouge
The planet Earth was drastically different from Etheria that Catra was used to; instead of being full of lush and enchanting forests, fragrant smells, and magical ambiance, Earth was largely industrialized, with the few remaining areas of natural beauty slowly dying out due to the people who lived there.
Everything had changed when Etheria was destroyed, taking all its magic with it, and Catra had found herself there as a refugee with the others who had managed to escape. Unfortunately, not everyone had been able to get away, leaving Catra almost empty of emotion. Then the twins arrived, and everything changed.
The two brothers, Jake and Tommy were identical twins, but they couldn't have been more different in their chosen career paths. Jake had been part of an army, while Tommy was a scientist. She couldn't always remember what kind of science he was involved in, but she knew he was interested in other worlds. He was always keen to listen to her tales.
When they appeared in her life at the very moment, she was faced with a decision she could not turn back from, the two of them ended up becoming friends and, eventually, family.
Catra clicked well with the twins; Tommy reminded her of Entrapta, given his fondness for talking about Pandora and the Avatar Project. His interest in the Avatar Project had always made her slightly uneasy with the inhabitants of Pandora, but at least they were trying to be peaceful.
Catra talked to Jake about the struggles that she had been through, comparing his own story to hers, and she managed to surprise Jake with the stories she had to tell. She had to pay for a few of his drinks as they laughed together, and the fights that each of them had been in had left their own marks; Catra's emotional and mental, while Jake had been left cripped from the waist down.
Catra was plagued by a sense of bad luck that seemed to follow her wherever she went. This was only reinforced when Tommy, who was meant to accompany her to Pandora, a planet that brought back memories of Etheria from books and pictures she had seen, was shot a week before they were due to leave.
The people in authority were on the brink of abolishing his avatar, but Catra hastily recommended that Jake should take his place; it wasn't out of an eagerness to still travel to Pandora, it was because he was family, and she didn't want to be isolated.
If Catra had to be honest, the five-year-long journey through space in cryo felt like a hangover after a night of wild drinking, but Jake was right, it was totally worth it when she finally got to see Pandora. She floated over to a window and gazed out at the planet, which looked so full of life, unlike the dying planet Earth.
Jake had glided over to her side, emitting a faint chuckle at her wide-eyed stare, “Welcome to Pandora.”