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

68:01, Day 578, Year 58133

Southeastern Hatching Chamber, Shashan, Shashvat Ananda (शाश्वत आनन्द)

68:01, Day 578, Year 58133

Southeastern Hatching Chamber, Shashan, Shashvat Ananda

The botanical dress clung to Xin's frame like armor, its violet fibers moving with him. He adjusted his glasses, glad the Weavers had let him keep his things - the green Quantum Watch on his wrist, the silver-green Psi Shield Device behind his ear, and Pawan, his Omni-drone hovering beside him.

"Okay. Let's see what's going on around here," Xin muttered, approaching the massive structure housing the Hatching Chamber.

Glowing spores drifted through the purple air. The architecture was unlike anything on Earth - no steel or concrete, just living tissue that pulsed with an inner light. Twisted pillars rose from the ground like trees, their surfaces glistening with a membrane that reflected the light.

Organic veins carried processed Helionite like lifeblood. The green glow filtered through layers of living tissue until it looked almost beautiful - streams of energy feeding the chamber while powering its functions. The structure seemed to breathe with its own fusion reaction.

Xin's Quantum Watch flickered, its sensors struggling to make sense of this blend of organic and crystalline power. This wasn't just a new approach to energy - it was a completely different relationship with it.

A figure emerged from between the pillars.

She was both attractive and alien - tall and curvaceous, with wet alabaster skin as pale as moonlight. Her eyes were dark pools that seemed to absorb light, though occasional blue irises peeked through. Where human nipples would be, eye-like orbs rested on her breasts, their pupils sometimes dilating as if watching him. Below her waist, her form became serpentine, a long body that moved smoothly across the violet grass. Soft tentacles swayed on her back.

"So," her British accent carried warmth and authority, "you're the tinker who claims he can fix my chamber." Her black hair flowed down her shoulders like liquid darkness, moving slightly without wind. When she smiled, her forked tongue flickered between her lips.

Xin fought the urge to step back. "I'm — Zhi-Xin Wu," he said, his voice steadier than he felt. "Though most just call me Xin."

"Kathrin. Elder Sūkṛmuc in service to Primarch Moro," she replied, sliding closer. "Tell me, Earth-Dweller, what makes you think you can understand our technology?" Her tongue darted out again, and Xin couldn't help but watch it.

Pawan beeped softly beside him, probably sensing his elevated heart rate. The drone's presence was comforting amid all this strangeness.

"I understand patterns. Engineering patterns," Xin said, trying to maintain eye contact rather than looking at her unsettling features. "Systems have logic, whether they're silicon or..." he gestured at the living architecture, "organic."

Kathrin laughed melodiously. "Spoken like an engineer." She moved around him, her serpentine lower body making patterns in the grass. "But our chambers aren't mere machines. They're extensions of life itself." She paused, studying him. "The eggs within are mine, and those of my consorts."

"Consorts? As in... plural?" Xin couldn't hide his surprise.

Kathrin smiled, amused. "Each contributing their unique strengths to our progeny." She gestured toward the chamber. "What Earth humans call monogamy is rather limiting, don't you think?"

That revelation sent a shiver down Xin's spine. This wasn't just about fixing a mechanical problem - this was about someone's personal reproductive system.

"Show me, then, Lady Kathrin," he said quietly. "Let me help."

"Lady? How quaint." Kathrin's expression changed, something unreadable crossing her features. She extended a pale hand toward him, fingers long and elegant despite their alien nature. "Come then, young Xin. Let's see if your patterns can dance with ours."

They approached what looked like the chamber's entrance - three oval archways of living tissue that pulsed with violet light.

As they passed through the central archway, Kathrin eyed Pawan. "Remain outside, little drone. The Chamber rejects artificial life forms like you."

Xin reluctantly agreed. "Pawan. Hold position."

The drone obeyed with what sounded like a sad hum, hovering in place.

The membrane at the entrance parted like silk as Xin passed through. Inside, the chamber rose upward in organic spires, like ancient temples with curves and towers. Violet light pulsed through translucent veins in the walls, while openings in the ceiling let in filtered light from the purple sky.

At the chamber's center, a pedestal of crystalline material held what appeared to be a fragment of something larger - a shard of crystal that pulsed with soft blue light against the chamber's violet hues.

"Is that...?" Xin's question trailed off as he approached the pedestal.

"A fragment of the Moondust Crystal. Yes." Kathrin moved beside him, her serpentine form coiling slightly. "A scholar named Harald Omdal came and left us with it. Vyom and I take turns watching the shard to monitor your Sol System."

Xin looked closer, fascinated by the shard's inner glow. "This is what everyone's fighting over back home."

"Were I able, I'd spend more time with it," Kathrin said, guiding him toward a central platform where several clusters of large, iridescent eggs rested in cradle-like depressions. "Though lately, something's gone wrong with the poor dears."

Xin approached one of the cradles, noticing how his Quantum Watch's display flickered strangely. The eggs were about the size of basketballs, with shimmering purple shells that changed colors. They were unusually still.

"These clusters seem different from each other," he observed, noting variations in size, color, and arrangement.

"Different fathers," Kathrin replied matter-of-factly. "Seventeen different males have contributed to my current egg clutches recently."

Xin nearly stumbled. "Seventeen? At once?"

Kathrin laughed, the sound echoing through the chamber. "Is that so shocking, dear?" She gestured to the different clusters. "Those beautiful violet ones are from Najan, my first bond-mate this decade. The larger ones with blue markings are Eklavya's—you've met him, I believe. The crimson-speckled clutch is from my union with Vyomendri."

She moved between the clusters with obvious pride. "And here we have contributions from Shekhar, Aditya, Farrokh, Jagannath and several others—all magnificent specimens."

"And...they're all okay with this arrangement?" Xin asked, unable to hide his surprise.

"Darling, they're honored," Kathrin's eyes gleamed with amusement. "In Rakshasa society, females select multiple worthy males to ensure genetic diversity. The Bahuvivāhaḥ, as we call it—keeps our bloodlines strong and our social bonds intact." She ran her hand over one of the eggs lovingly. "Each male contributes unique strengths to our collective future."

Xin's mind reeled. "And everyone just accepts this?"

"Jealousy is a concept rooted in scarcity, dear boy," Kathrin's tone was almost pitying. "When existence spans centuries rather than decades, one learns that love and passion needn't be limited."

Several Weavers - bee-like creatures with violet bodies - hovered near the eggs, their wings creating a soft humming that suddenly stuttered.

Xin noticed how the organic floor responded to his steps, adjusting to support his weight. "I can respect that."

Kathrin replied, curling around one of the egg cradles. "And now we're past pleasantries."

Xin approached one of the cradles, noticing how his Quantum Watch's green display flickered oddly. "May I?" he asked, reaching toward one.

"Careful," Kathrin cautioned. "They're sensitive to temporal fluctuations."

When his fingers touched the shell, his Quantum Watch scrambled completely. The egg felt too cool. "The time signatures here are strange," he observed. "How do you maintain the chamber's internal rhythms?"

"The Weavers," Kathrin replied, pointing to the violet bee-like creatures. "They maintain a precise harmonic frequency. Essential for proper development."

Xin watched the Weavers' flight patterns with growing interest. Their movements followed specific paths like mandala patterns, but there was something off about their rhythm.

Suddenly, the Moondust shard on the pedestal flared with intense blue light. Voices - distant yet somehow present - came from it:

"...prefer my brain where it is," a male voice said, one Xin didn't recognize.

Then, unmistakably, Ume's voice responded: "Such fascinating organism! — perhaps we could take a sample back to study it?"

Xin rushed to the pedestal. "That's Ume! Where is she? Why is this shard playing…?"

Kathrin glided to his side. "When activated, any fragment allows us glimpses across vast distances, seeing through the eyes of those around it." She peered at the crystal. "A Maridian male carried another shard. He calls himself Jabari."

"Jabari?" Xin remembered the name from his last encounter with Ume. "She found him after we separated. Or rather, they found her."

"Akhandit chetna, kalateet rahasya!" Another male voice, unrecognizable to Xin, came from the Moondust shard.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Harald told me that such astral echoes could be chronologically unordered," Kathrin's expression darkened. "Those on the other side face great danger. The Sepulcher of Ysolde is no place for the unprepared."

"Can you count how many…?" Jabari's voice sounded.

"Cover me!" Ume's voice.

Xin watched the shard's light pulse with each distant word. "Is there any way to help them?"

"Not from here," Kathrin said. "But first things first, yes? If you assist me with the Chamber?" She turned her attention back to the eggs.

"The bio signatures are out of sync," Xin explained, studying his watch's display. "But that's just a symptom."

He circled one of the egg clusters, his Quantum Watch's readings fluctuating wildly. The eggs were cooling despite the chamber's warmth, a clear sign of energy disruption. As he moved between different clutches, he noticed the problem was worst in the eggs furthest from the chamber's center.

"When did the eggs start failing?" he asked.

"A cycle ago," Kathrin replied, sliding closer to look at his watch.

"How long is a 'cycle'?" Xin frowned.

"One orbit of Shashan around Chandrak, the gas giant," Kathrin explained. "About three Earth years. We've increased the Helionite flow, but it only seemed to make things worse."

That caught Xin's attention. "So you're feeding more nuclear waste to compensate?"

"Of course. It's the lifeblood of all Radi-Mon systems," Kathrin gestured toward the glowing veins pulsing through the chamber walls. "I've nearly doubled the flow from our main reservoir, pushing the system to its limits."

Xin quickly thought through possibilities. "In human fusion systems, when Helionite starts building up, it can create feedback loops in the reactor. But that only happens when there's contamination or..." He paused, a new thought forming. "Can I see your main Helionite reservoir?"

Kathrin led him to a section at the chamber's rear, where a large basin pulsed with glowing green fluid. Surrounding it were crystalline formations that appeared to process the Helionite before sending it through the vessels.

Xin approached cautiously, his watch suddenly making a high-pitched whine. "Ah, the Helionite's been contaminated with an isotope. Probably something from your local environment that's similar enough to fool your organic sensors."

"Impossible," Kathrin frowned. "Our reservoir is sealed. Nothing enters without—"

Her words were cut off as the Moondust shard across the chamber suddenly flared with brilliant blue light. Both turned to see it pulsing rapidly, almost violently.

"...holding together! Jabari, flank right!" A male voice echoed from the shard.

"Roger! Plasma Rifle on full-auto!" Another voice responded.

"My gun's battery is low!" A feminine voice that Xin instantly recognized as Ume's cried out.

The voices faded as quickly as they had appeared, leaving silence.

"There it is again." Xin said, moving toward the shard.

"The Crystal fragments are all connected, no matter how far apart," Kathrin explained, following him. "Your friends are in danger, it seems."

"Ume," Xin whispered. "And others fighting alongside her."

As he approached the pedestal, the shard's pulsing intensified. Unlike the other crystalline structures in the chamber, this one responded directly to his presence, its blue glow brightening with each step he took. Then, its core took on a green hue.

"Curious," Kathrin observed. "The shard reacts to you. Not everyone can trigger such responses." She studied him intently. "You have latent psionic potential, don't you?"

The question struck Xin like a physical blow, reminding him of Emmanuel's observation during weapons training. "I used to doubt it."

"I've seen the signs before," She gestured to his hand, which still tingled from contact with the shard. "Most don't elicit reactions from Nirboh artifacts like this. Only those with psionic DNA in their cell nucleus —active or dormant."

Xin stared at his hand, remembering the green light on Emmanuel's SMG. "Someone else noticed it too. Called me a 'Latent'."

"Accurate, if simplistic," Kathrin moved closer. "This brings a solution to our Helionite problem."

"Would you elaborate?" He snapped back to reality.

She guided him back to the reservoir. "If the contamination is indeed isotopic, we need to filter it. The chamber's crystals should do that naturally, but they've fallen out of resonance." She pointed to the formation surrounding the basin. "These crystals need their psionic frequencies reset."

"You want me to do it?" Xin replied.

"My Aether and psionic attunements have become…blend, due to my way of living," Kathrin's eyes gleamed with sudden inspiration. "On the contrary, the blank slate of your attunement, augmented by the Moondust shard could suffice."

Xin hesitated. "What would you like me to do?"

"Test your latent potential," she replied with a sly smile. "It wouldn't be permanent—just enough to establish the proper harmonic pattern."

The implications made Xin's head spin. A chance to experience psionic abilities, even temporarily. To truly understand what Lorna felt.

Kathrin retrieved the shard and placed it in his hand. "Hold this over the reservoir. Focus on the crystals surrounding it—imagine them aligning, finding harmony. The shard will amplify your intent."

Xin positioned himself at the reservoir's edge, the shard held tightly in his right hand. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the crystalline formations, picturing them realigning, purifying the Helionite flow.

"Do you Alliance people have the Moondust Chant with you?" Kathrin asked.

"I read it a few times after extracting it from my ex-employer's servers on Earth," Xin replied, his eyes still closed. "The chant's in Devavāṇī, though. Don't really remember —"

"For this task, you need only its First Attunement section," she replied. Xin could now feel her cool fingers on his shoulders as she continued. "Repeat after me."

"Okay. I will," He responded calmly despite his racing heart.

"Chandradhooli ratna," she intoned.

"Chandradhooli ratna," he repeated.

"Prachin shakti ka srot," her touch on his shoulder lingered.

"Prachin shakti ka srot," he recited after her.

At first, nothing happened. Then a tingling sensation began in his fingertips, spreading up his arm. The shard grew warm, then hot in his palm, but somehow didn't burn. Behind his closed eyelids, Xin perceived patterns of energy—flowing, merging, separating—that he'd never been conscious of before.

"Extraordinary," Kathrin whispered. "The crystals are responding."

Xin opened his eyes to see the crystalline formations gradually shifting, their angles and alignments changing subtly. The Helionite in the reservoir began to separate—the contaminated portion rising to the surface as a darker film, while the purified substance beneath glowed more intensely.

"It's working," he breathed. Through the shard, he could sense the distinct rhythms of each crystal, each vein, even the eggs themselves—like instruments in an orchestra playing slightly out of tune.

The dark film on the reservoir's surface began to dissipate as the purification process accelerated.

Throughout the chamber, the Weavers reacted to the change, their flight patterns adjusting to complement the new harmonics. The humming of their wings shifted to a more resonant frequency.

"The eggs," Kathrin exclaimed. "They're warming!"

Indeed, the iridescent shells were beginning to pulse with renewed life, their colors intensifying. Xin could feel their awakening through his connection with the shard—like tiny sparks of consciousness stirring from hibernation.

As the final impurities vanished from the reservoir, the shard's glow dimmed slightly. Xin felt the connection fading, the heightened awareness slipping away. He lowered his arm, suddenly aware of how tired he felt.

"That was..." he struggled to find words.

"A glimpse of what you could become," Kathrin finished, her eyes shining with interest. "You have considerable potential, young Xin."

The eggs throughout the chamber were now pulsing steadily, their shells shimmering with healthy light. The Weavers had resumed their normal patterns, maintaining the newly established harmonics.

"The chamber is healed," Kathrin acknowledged, moving between the egg clutches with evident satisfaction. "All seven batches responding beautifully.."

"Seven different clutches," Xin said, still processing the implications.

The Moondust shard suddenly pulsed again, voices emerging with greater clarity:

"I find myself concerned with your wellbeing — questions that have no bearing —" Ume's voice.

"That sounds like being alive to me," Jabari's.

"I believe the human phrase is…'we've earned it'?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we have."

Xin looked down at the shard in his hand, its blue glow pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. A fragment of the very artifact SIMU had sent them to retrieve. His fingers curled around it instinctively.

"This is what we came for," he said, meeting Kathrin's gaze. "The Terra Alliance needs this to prevent the Crystal from falling into the wrong hands."

Kathrin's expression hardened slightly. "Ah, wrong hands. Like yours, perhaps?"

"The Alliance wants to protect humanity," Xin countered. "To stop evil forces like the Imperium of Dragons, who'd use the Crystal to oppress."

"And your Alliance would use it differently?" Kathrin's serpentine form coiled tensely. "Harald trusted us with this shard precisely because he trusted no human faction with such power."

"Why did you create the wormhole under Door Valkyris, then?" he shrugged.

"It was for Archmage Harald's convenience should he decide to return one day," The tentacles on her back lowered, sadness in her voice. "Sadly, he never did."

A tense silence fell between them as Xin weighed his options. He thought back to when Lorna entered the Scepter Grove. Why had the name 'Harald' made her uneasy?

He recalled their first date — at least, he'd like to call it that — on the Space Rover in Illinois. Lorna had not revealed her father's name.

"What is this Archmage Harald's family name, if I may know?" he asked.

"Omdal. A house of psionic Nordlings loved and feared, in equal measure," Kathrin said. "Would that name mean something to you?"

"Can't say it does," Xin shook his head. He'd kept Lorna's real name close to his heart. Sigrún Fjeld. Not Omdal. They were not family, then?

No. One problem at a time. It was the engineer's principle.

"Back to the shard. You've seen the connection," he said instead. "It responds to me. It showed me my friends fighting for their lives. Surely that means something."

"It means you have potential, little Xin," Kathrin replied, her voice cooling. "Not that you, or your Alliance, deserve such power. If Harald believed the Crystal's fragments should remain scattered, we Rakshasa shall honor him so."

Xin looked down at the shard again, torn between duty and reason. The mission objective was clear, but Kathrin's words made sense. After a moment's internal struggle, he extended his hand, offering the shard back.

"You're right," he conceded. "It's not my decision to make alone."

Kathrin's posture relaxed as she accepted the shard, her expression softening. "Wisdom and restraint. Perhaps there's more to you than I first thought." She carefully placed the shard back on its pedestal. "The question of the shard's fate is not mine to decide either. It will require consultation with Primarch Moro."

"Will you at least consider our request?" Xin asked. "There's more at stake than just politics."

"Your appeal will be heard," Kathrin replied diplomatically. "Perhaps at tonight's gathering. The Rasa Tandava provides an appropriate setting for such discussions."

"It wouldn't ruin the party?" Xin asked.

"Impossible to say," Kathrin said, a new warmth in her voice. "But you've earned the right to attend through your service today."

Despite the tension of moments before, Xin found himself drawn to her again—the way she moved, the depth of her mind, even the flicker of her forked tongue between words.

"I look forward to it," he said, his voice rougher than intended.

Her smile held centuries of wisdom and unmistakable allure. "As do I," she murmured, sliding closer until he could feel the heat from her pale form. "We have much yet to discuss, you and I."

As they left the chamber, the eggs pulsing with new life behind them, Xin felt himself caught between duty and desire. He'd fixed what was broken, but Kathrin's presence beside him awoke something primal that both excited and ashamed him.

Pawan rejoined them outside, immediately making concerned chirps as its sensors detected Xin's elevated heart rate. The drone hovered closer, its diagnostic beeping growing more insistent as it registered the physical changes in its creator.

The violet spores of Shashan drifted around them like stars as they emerged into the alien twilight, the blue ice giant hanging in the sky like an indifferent observer. Behind them, the Moondust shard continued its rhythmic pulsing, a silent witness to forces gathering across the vastness of space.

Xin found himself stealing glances at Kathrin's form, wondering what awaited them at the Rasa Tandava—and hating himself a little for looking forward to it so much.