Nucleus 1: The Dust of Moon [Mature Sci-fi Romance]

11:55, February 10, 2295

Near Azure Mount Logistics Hub, extension of Songnei Starport, No.31, Bishan Rd, Neihu District, Taipei, Taiwan, Imperium of Dragons territory

The Starport's engines screamed overhead like dying birds. Xin's knuckles were white on the steering wheel as Diego's voice cut through the speakers.

"Xin. This is Diego Rodriguez." The voice carried that American confidence that made Xin's teeth clench. "Lorna needs backup. Get your car to these coordinates."

"Lorna. Is she—" Xin's throat constricted.

"Alive? Thankfully." A dark chuckle. "But that tends to change fast in this business. Move it."

"Right." The word tasted like submission. Like every other time he'd taken orders from people who saw him as expendable. "What do you need me to do?"

"Sending coordinates to your Atomic Map. Green car, plate Z7-9128?" Diego's tone suggested he already knew everything about Xin's vehicle, probably his credit history too. "My people are converging. Don't make them wait."

Xin's fingers danced across the holographic display, overclocking the fusion engine. The car's safety warnings flashed red—he disabled them with practiced ease. Through the chaos of fleeing civilians and burning wreckage, something caught his eye.

Red silk against gray concrete. A figure moving wrong—too precise, too purposeful.

"Ume?" The name escaped before thought.

She stood like a doll learning to be human, black bob swaying with each calculated step. But the Bone Fiends circling her moved like wolves scenting weakness. Three of them, skeletal nightmares clicking across asphalt, forcing her back with each feint.

Her Plasma Handgun—gold and green like some Directorate piece he saw Bloodtroopers recycle after returning from off-planet battles—fired in stiff, mechanical bursts. The timing was wrong. Everything was wrong. She moved like she was fighting her own body as much as the monsters.

A Bone Fiend lunged. Ume's dodge came a heartbeat late, claws shredding silk, drawing a line of synthetic blood across her shoulder.

"No!" Xin's foot slammed the accelerator. The car screamed forward, tires smoking. Through the windshield, he saw Ume's amber eyes widen—not in relief, but calculation.

The impact sent the Bone Fiend cartwheeling through the air. It hit a cargo container with a wet crunch, twitching once before going still. But two more remained, already adjusting their attack pattern.

Xin fumbled for his 10mm Magnum, nearly dropping it as adrenaline made his hands shake. The weight felt wrong, alien. "Get away from her!"

His first shot went wide, sparking off concrete ten meters from any target. The recoil shocked up his arm—he'd forgotten to brace properly. The second shot was barely better, close enough to make one creature hesitate.

Ume moved. Two shots, plasma bolts threading the gap in their attention. Both Bone Fiends dropped, flesh sizzling as they dissolved.

She stood there, weapon steady while his shook. Her stance had shifted—weight distributed like a fighter, not a pleasure model. When had she learned that?

"Ume!" He holstered the gun with trembling fingers. "You're hurt—I can't believe you're here—"

She turned, and his words died. The mechanical precision was gone, replaced by something rawer. Her amber eyes held calculation, wariness, and underneath—contempt.

"You should not have come, Xin." Each word precisely clipped, like she was rationing them. Her Plasma Handgun stayed low but ready, finger resting on the trigger guard. "My projections indicate a 78.3% probability that your presence will complicate my objectives."

"What? No, there are monsters everywhere—" He stepped forward, hand extended. "Come with me. I know somewhere safe—"

Her laugh was wrong. Part humor, part diagnostic error. "Logical fallacy. You claim to offer safety while actively endangering my position."

"Listen," His glasses slipped; he shoved them back. "I gave you free will so you could be more than property. So you could choose—"

Her weapon lifted slightly. "You speak of choice while attempting to override mine."

"Because I care about you!" The words cracked like his voice. "Who did you meet? What did they do to you? They must have altered your core programming—"

The Plasma Handgun centered on his chest. "Maintain current distance." Her irises swirled with gold fractals. "I am no longer your property to reclaim."

The ground shook. Hydraulics hissed as six legs found purchase on cracked asphalt. The Scarab mech loomed above them—a mechanized beetle the size of a cargo hauler, green and gold paint job screaming Directorate allegiance.

"Step away, Imperial!" The voice booming from speakers was young, Maridian accent thick with authority.

"The Directorate!?" Xin's hand found his holster again, fingers slick with sweat. The 10mm Magnum felt heavier now. "What did you do to Ume?"

"Released her from whatever sick crap you Imperials did." The Scarab shifted, one mantis-arm creating a protective cage around Ume. "Lieutenant Jabari Adomako, Kimaris Warband. Harm Ume and I'll paint this district with your innards."

"It is true." Ume said, stepping into the mech's shadow. Her hand touched its leg—gentle, trusting. The gesture made Xin's chest cavity feel too small.

"Why are you here?" Xin's voice cracked. "What does the Directorate want with—"

"None of your business," Jabari cut him off. The Scarab's weapons systems hummed to life.

"Back away from the civilian. Now." The new voice carried Valoran authority.

Xin turned to see a blonde man emerging from smoke—wrapped in titanium, silver armor catching firelight, bionic arms unfolding to reveal integrated weapons. Alliance military, from the casual confidence in his stride.

"Thomas Mendoza, SIMU." Fist Blades extended with a whisper of death. "That Imperial is under Alliance protection."

"Alliance protection?" Jabari's laugh was bitter static. "Like you protected Kenya? Or Luanda?"

"Different war, different time." Thomas's stance shifted—a warrior recognizing another. "Stand down, Directorate Scarab. This doesn't need to get ugly."

"It became ugly the moment you stepped in." The Scarab's frontal limbs rose. "Think your metal arms make you special?"

Xin looked between them, Magnum trembling in his grip. "You're Thomas? Lorna mentioned—"

"Diego sent me to extract you, yes." Thomas kept his eyes on the mech. "Are you threatened? Have any injury?"

"He's not being threatened," Ume interjected, frustration in her measured tone as she held her gun. "Jabari is protecting me from him."

"Excuse me, miss, from him?" Thomas's laughter was sharp. "I'd put your gun down. You do not want to fight an Alliance Vanguard."

"Thomas!" Xin's warning came with an accidental trigger pull. The bullet sparked off the Scarab's armor, the sound echoing like judgment.

Everything moved at once.

The Scarab's leg swept forward. Thomas rolled aside, coming up with Fist Blades ready. "Bad move, Scarab!"

"You invaded our extraction point!" Jabari's mech moved with terrifying speed, keeping both threats in view while shielding Ume. "This is an act of war!"

Thomas wove between the mech's strikes, bionic arms deflecting what he couldn't dodge. His Gauss Rifle was drew from his back, barrel unfolding with efficiency.

"Already at war, kiddo!" Magnetic rounds sparked off armor as he fired. "But you sound too young to remember!"

"Young enough to finish you!" The Scarab's Plasma Spitters opened up, green death forcing Thomas behind cover.

A golden explosion split the air. When Xin's vision cleared, a Maridian woman stood between the combatants—dark skin gleaming, short hair wrapped to the back of her head, robes of Directorate green and gold flowing like liquid power. Solar energy danced between her fingers.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Owia Kɔkɔbɔ Kyɛ!" The Anansemka chant created a barrier of hardened light around the Scarab and Ume.

"I know you. Celine Kamara." Thomas spat the name like poison. "Should have known you'd be here. Hiding behind, yelling orders while real soldiers do the dying."

Celine's eyes were cold fury. "Thomas Mendoza. They gave you new arms." Her gaze lingered on the prosthetics. "Tell me. Do they still ache where Emmanuel cut the old ones off?"

Thomas's response was a burst of rifle fire. The rounds vanished against her shield, but his snarl after was audible. "Emmanuel came around, chose the right side. Unlike you witches and barbarians."

"Such great ways to praise a betrayer." Celine's laugh was musical and terrible. "Your Alliance bombed our mining facilities on Jupiter's moons. And you call us barbarians?"

"That was after you attacked our outposts on Mercury!" Thomas's retort was instant.

"I see we disagree on who's the villain." The Maridian woman sighed, the aureate psionic glow in her palms lingering before she struck him with her spells again. "Anyan Kaw-naw-mu!"

"Xin, find cover!" Thomas dove as solar lances carved molten lines in concrete. "That's a Sumina—a Directorate witch doctor!"

"Witch doctor. Creative." Celine's attention snapped to Xin, cataloging him instantly. "And a ZenFusion programmer. Category Three citizen under Imperial classification." Her smile was bitter. "The Directorate could offer you full citizenship. Unlike the Alliance who see you as expendable immigrant."

"Don't listen to her!" Thomas emerged from his cover, preparing to fire.

But Celine was faster. Her hands wove patterns of light before she chanted.

"Anyan Kaw-naw-mu!" Golden tendrils erupted from her palms, seeking Thomas like hunting snakes.

"Incineration!" Thomas vaulted onto a container, the energy searing paint where he'd been. "Xin, don't let it touch you!"

But Xin wasn't listening. Through gaps in his cover, he watched Celine move—every gesture purposeful, economic. The Directorate soldiers he'd seen on Imperium news feeds had been portrayed as savage. This was surgical precision wrapped in silk.

"Lieutenant," she called to the Scarab, never taking her eyes off Thomas. "Secure the android. I'll handle the Alliance."

"Yes, madam!" The Scarab shifted, creating a wall of armor by placing itself over Ume, its legs shielding her.

Thomas tried to flank, but Celine's solar beam carved through his cover, molten metal splashing his armor. He cursed.

"Still predictable," she observed. "Emmanuel read your patterns in seconds. I see nothing has changed."

"Big words!" Thomas's charge was rageful. The Scarab's limb caught him mid-leap, pinning him against twisted metal. His Gauss Rifle clattered away as hydraulics pressed down.

"Surrender!" Jabari's voice carried satisfaction. "Or I'll compress you until your augments pop out."

"Like hell!" The word tore from Thomas as pressure increased. His bionic arms strained against tonnage designed to crack bunkers.

Xin crouched behind inadequate cover, mind racing. The Quantum Watch pulsed on his wrist—familiar code, familiar solutions. His fingers called up the interface, holographic displays painting his face green.

"Industrial mech systems," he muttered fast, probing the Scarab's defenses. "Modified Bantu-OS, Imperial integration layers. One of our projects before the Directorate and Imperium went to war. But the base kernel...the same old thing..."

The same vulnerabilities he'd exploited in dozens of corporate systems for ZenFusion. His fingers flew across virtual keys, each command precise despite trembling hands. The firewall resisted—military grade, but military contractors always cut corners.

"Service port 254!" he whispered. "Nobody ever changes the defaults."

The hack slipped through like water through fingers. The Scarab's systems hiccupped, then seized. Limbs locked mid-motion. Weapons died. Even the cockpit displays flickered to black.

"What—" Jabari's voice crackled through failing speakers. "Primary systems down! I can't—"

Thomas twisted free of the frozen limbs, rolling clear with practiced grace. "Time to shut you up!"

"No!" Ume spun toward Xin's hiding spot, her eyes finding him instantly. The betrayal in them was worse than anger. "Release him. Now."

Xin emerged slowly, Quantum Watch still glowing. "Ume, please. Let me help—"

"Help?" The word cracked like a whip. "You attacked someone protecting me! Someone who sees me as a person!"

"They've manipulated your social protocols—they must have!"

"Stop." Her voice dropped to subzero. "Just stop. You gave me the ability to feel, Xin. Do you know what I feel right now?"

He couldn't answer.

"Disgust." She stepped forward, Plasma Handgun rising. "You ripped apart my mind, filled it with emotions I never asked for, then expected gratitude. And now—now you attack the first man to offer me actual choice?"

"I was trying to free you—"

"You were trying to own me differently." Her silky voice was suddenly like broken glass. "You dressed up slavery in what you call love."

"Okay. The hack in your brain. I can undo it. Uncomment the codes, all that," he said, his slender form trembling. "The emotions. The pain. I can make you stop hurting—"

"By violating my mind again?" Ume's weapon centered on his chest. "I choose the pain, Xin. Because it's mine. Because it means I'm more than your fantasy."

The words hit harder than any gunshot. Xin's hand hovered over his Watch, the power to maintain control right there. One command would keep the Scarab locked. Force the conversation. Make Ume understand—

The thought made him sick.

"I see your point." He said.

His hand dropped. A few gestures killed the hack, and the Scarab roared back to life. Thomas rolled clear as it straightened, weapons tracking but not firing.

"Wise choice," Celine observed, solar energy still dancing around her fingers. "Though wisdom comes late to Imperials."

Ume's stance shifted, her Plasma Handgun lowering slightly but not completely.

"Thank you," she said, her voice softer now, amber-like eyes meeting his. "for giving what I've asked."

"What you've asked." Xin repeated, unable to keep the pain from his voice.

Celine stepped back, going into the shadow of the Scarab. "We have what we came for. Let them go."

A moment of conflict passed across Xin's face. The encrypted Moondust Crystal data was still safely stored in her positronic matrix—should be impenetrable to the Directorate's engineers, unless they had some genius above his caliber. He'd made certain of that. Still, letting her leave with it felt like surrendering his last connection to her.

But wasn't that the point of true freedom?

Thomas regained his posture, speaking up as he approached. "Xin, we need to move. Lorna—"

"Yes. Of course!" Xins' eyes widened as he snapped back to reality, then looked at Ume. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

A ghost of a smile touched Ume's lips – not the programmed response he was used to, but something real, if bittersweet. "I already am."

Jabari's voice came through the Scarab's speakers, softer now. "I will refrain from using my weapons if you do the same."

Xin nodded, a jerky motion that betrayed his inner turmoil. His hand found his glasses, pushing them up in a nervous gesture. "Take care of her," he managed, the words catching in his throat.

Ume looked at Xin one last time. "Goodbye, Xin."

"Goodbye, Ume," he whispered, then turned away. Each step felt heavier than the last as he walked back to his car, Thomas falling in beside him.

They were halfway to the car when Thomas spoke. "That android. She meant a lot to you?"

"We'd been together for two years." Xin replied, his voice neutral as he reached for his car door. "Before her, I'd just…keep throwing money at the Leased Lilies in Sanchong."

"You Imperials have Leased Lilies, too?" Thomas inquired, raising a golden eyebrow as he entered the vehicle.

"It's a job many turn to these days," Xin replied, his voice neutral. The green car's surface reflected the dim light of the logistics hub. "Most of them earn five times more than college graduates. Imagine that."

Thomas settled into the passenger seat, his bionic arms folding with a soft whir. "Funny," he said, not unkindly. "I guess our worlds aren't so different."

The car hummed to life, its systems reactivating one by one. Through the rearview mirror, Xin caught one last glimpse of the Scarab and Ume's diminishing form before they disappeared behind a row of containers.

"So," Thomas's voice cut through his thoughts. "About Lorna."

"Is she alright?" Xin asked, perhaps too quickly. "From what your Diego told me..."

"Things tend to get rough on this job." Thomas's arms hissed as he adjusted. "But I'd worry less and do more."

Xin's hands tightened on the steering wheel, nodding with determination. "Tell me where we need to go."

"Terminal 5. Diego should be there on his StarWhale soon," Thomas studied him for a moment. "Sure you're up for this? After what just happened..."

"I'm sure," Xin said, and found that he meant it. He guided the car toward the exit, leaving behind more than just the logistics hub. He then reached for a button next to the steering wheel as he spoke. "Diego, I have Thomas with me now."

"Excellent work, amigo. I have Manny with me. See you at Terminal 5," Diego's voice echoed through the car.

"So what's the plan once we secure the Moondust Crystal?" Xin ventured as he drove around a broken traffic light.

"Above my pay grade," Thomas shifted in his seat. "Intelligence says it has significant psionic properties. Beyond that, I just know we can't let it fall into Imperial hands."

"I understand," Xin replied, his focus returning to the road. "I hope she's okay." A silence settled between them for a moment.

"I know how you might feel about Lorna," Thomas said finally, his tone measured but not accusatory.

Xin tensed slightly. "Is it that obvious?"

"Only to someone who recognizes the symptoms," Thomas's mouth curved in a wry smile. "Spent my years at SIMU wearing the same expression."

"Are you two...?" Xin left the question hanging delicately.

Thomas shook his head. "Colleagues. Friends. Something more, when mission protocols allow. But she wanted nothing more." He glanced at Xin. "Listen, I'm not trying to discourage you. Just know what you're walking into."

"You mean falling for someone whose life is constantly at risk," Xin said.

"Exactly," Thomas nodded, his cybernetic hand flexing unconsciously. "In our line of work, every mission could be the last. And even if we survive physically..." He tapped his bionic arm. "People don't come back whole."

Xin considered this, adjusting his glasses. "Some would say that makes the connection more valuable, not less."

"Maybe," Thomas shrugged, looking out at the war-torn landscape of Taipei. He turned back to Xin with a hint of genuine respect. "Either way, welcome to the team and all. I hope you fare better than I did."

The green car accelerated toward Terminal 5, carrying them toward whatever chaos awaited, while behind them, the echoes of a different kind of freedom faded into memory.