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

Osram Time: 10:50, March 20, 2295

Low Orbit above Mare Cognitum, Osram

The desolate expanse of Osram stretched beneath the Dragonfort Shūn-Huáng like an endless sea of rust and shadow. Above, the distant sun cast pale light through the thin atmosphere, while below, packs of Radi-Mons moved across the lunar surface in perfect, unnatural synchronization.

Dilinur Altai stood at the forward viewport, her reflection ghosting across the reinforced glass. The Moondust Crystal pulsed beside her command station, its fractured surface casting cyan patterns across her face. She pressed her fingers against the containment field, feeling the artifact's consciousness merge seamlessly with her own. No headache this time—just a comfortable presence, like silk sliding through her thoughts.

Perfect harmony, the Crystal whispered, its chorus of voices indistinguishable from her own inner monologue. See how they dance for us?

On the surface below, Bone Fiends executed formation changes with mechanical precision, their skeletal forms bleached white against gray soil. Sky Shredders wheeled overhead in synchronized patterns, chitinous wings catching sunlight like broken glass.

"Like meat puppets on strings," Iron Roach spat from his position near the tactical display. His cybernetic eyes whirred, tracking the formations with professional interest. "Damn impressive though. Never seen anyone handle these bastards so smoothly."

Dilinur turned from the viewport, her movements carrying a fluid confidence that hadn't been there days ago. The black silk of her robe whispered against the deck as she approached Roach, close enough that he could smell the jasmine oil in her hair. "Puppets? No, my dear Roach. They're extensions of will made manifest."

She let her fingers trail along the tactical display, and the Radi-Mons below shifted in response. "Watch."

The creatures accelerated, their movements gaining a deadly grace. A pack of Draugs scaled a crater wall in perfect formation while Bone Fiends arranged themselves into combat wedges. But beneath her controlled exterior, Dilinur felt the strain building. Blood began trickling from her nose, hot against her upper lip.

"Fair enough." Iron Roach's gravelly voice broke her concentration. "But you've been at this for three hours straight."

Dilinur didn't turn from the viewport. "And?"

"And you're bleeding again."

She touched her upper lip, fingers coming away red. The headaches had started as crushing agony, but now they felt distant, muffled by the Crystal's soothing presence. "A small price for this level of control."

"Those things are barely moving faster than corpses," Kaori observed from weapons control, her amber eyes skeptical. "One good shot from my Draconic Engine could—"

"Patience, Kaori." Joon-Seok's measured voice cut through her complaint. The prince studied the formations with dark, calculating eyes. "No human has achieved such simultaneous control over multiple Radi-Mon types. Even if their movements remain...elementary."

Dilinur wiped the blood from her nose with practiced nonchalance, turning to face Joon-Seok with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Elementary? You wound me, Prince." She stepped closer to him, noting how the Crystal's glow fluctuated at his proximity. "Perhaps you'd like a private demonstration of my…advanced techniques?"

Joon-Seok's expression remained stoic, but she caught the slight tension in his jaw. "You should rest. It's nearly teatime."

"In a minute." The words came through gritted teeth as another wave of pain lanced through her skull. She reached for the Medi-Vap at her belt, inhaling deeply. The soothing vapors spread through her lungs, dulling the sharp edges of agony.

"That's enough," Joon-Seok murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder. The gesture was meant to be supportive, but Dilinur felt the Crystal's consciousness recoil at his touch. "The Emperor won't be impressed by a corpse."

"Prince boy's right." Roach commented while holding onto his double-barreled Hemorrhagic Shotgun. It remained in its dormant, folded state as the cybernetic man clutched it with one hand.

Joon-Seok moved his hand to cover hers, stopping the motion. "You're pushing too hard. Perhaps some tea and snacks would help?"

Let go of his hand, the Crystal whispered, its thousand voices harmonizing in her mind. He limits us. We need no limits.

Dilinur gently pulled free. The Medi-Vap's minty vapor spread cool relief through her system. "I know my limits, Joon-Seok. You worry too much."

Before Joon-Seok could respond, the bridge lights flickered and died. Emergency lighting cast everything in hellish red as sensor displays erupted with alerts. The controlled Radi-Mons below had broken formation, engaging with figures that emerged from lunar shadows like ghosts given form.

"Surface teams! Report!" Dilinur snapped as she looked around.

"Team Tiger here. Unknown contacts on the surface," Someone called from voice comm. "They just... appeared. Like ghosts!"

"Krypts!" Joon-Seok's recognition was immediate. The mysterious warriors' cream-colored robes rippled between visibility and shadow, their wrapped faces and flowing garments making them appear more djinn than human.

"Sneaky fucking cultists," Roach snarled, his shotgun unfolding with mechanical clicks. "Let's paint the moon with their guts."

Through the viewport, Dilinur watched the Krypts flow through her Radi-Mon ranks like water through fingers. No rigid formations, no direct confrontation—just fluid death delivered by silver knives that left trails of light in lunar dust.

I sense them aboard this ship, the Crystal's voices carried urgency now. Lower decks. Moving with purpose.

Battle chatter flooded the comms:

"Team Peacock here—enemy's breached deck seven—"

"Team Dragon, requesting backup at Exit Nine!"

"Surface Team! Protect our Radi-Mons!" Dilinur demanded.

"Doing our best, Prefect! But we cannot see—"

Silence.

The bridge doors hissed open. A Bloodtrooper stumbled through, crimson armor scored with precise cuts, before collapsing face-first. Behind him stood two figures that made the Crystal's consciousness sing with recognition and rage.

The man was tall, bearing himself regally despite combat wear. His robes—white as lunar frost on one side, earth-brown on the other—were secured by an ancient bronze clasp. Silver threaded through beard and temples, but his sea-green eyes held sharp clarity. The Psytum Sword at his hip hummed with barely contained power, its aureate core pulsing like a heartbeat.

Beside him, his companion was starlight given deadly form. White-orange silk robes flowed around her like water, framing jet-black hair cut in a sleek bob. Pearl-like eyes held mischief above full red lips. Something inside her long sleeves pulsed with amber energy.

"Dilinur Altai." The man's voice carried neither threat nor malice, only profound weariness. "I am Thorin Hǫggsson of the Sand Lotus. That Crystal belongs to no empire."

"Thorin. Nordling-Valoran scholar turned religious fanatic." Joon-Seok stood beside Dilinur, voice laced with hostility.

"As you are known to us, Joon-Seok Pak." Thorin faced Joon-Seok, his green eyes narrowing, speaking in recognition. "Old World aristocrats like yourselves have your privilege built on the bones of oppressed."

"Better than cultists who induct people through ritualistic rape!" Kaori snarled, hands moving to her weapon.

"Fuck negotiation." Roach's shotgun was already aimed. "Cultist guts spill like anyone else's."

The woman's eyes found Kaori with unsettling intensity. When she smiled, it was pure mockery. "I'm Fuuka Natsukawa. And we're not here to negotiate."

Recognition sparked in Dilinur's mind. "The priestess who helped the Directorate thugs in Nusantara. Marisol's report." She said with despise.

Fuuka's laugh was musical. "Buddha be praised, Master Thorin! I'm famous now."

"This is hardly the time." Thorin responded tersely.

"As you say." Fuuka's grin widened before she switched to Devavāṇī. "Tumhen Amir ke lie kasht sahana hoga. [For what you did to Amir, you will suffer.]"

It was not an incantation, but Dilinur sensed its might as a six-sided apparatus now materialized from within the woman's flowing sleeves. It hovered at eye level, golden psionic energy throbbing from its core.

A Spirit Lantern. One of the numerous Sand Lotus devices.

"Bloodtroopers, defensive positions!" Dilinur's fingers curled around Tarim Aytün's her Psi Fan's ornate handle as soldiers moved to protect the Moondust Crystal.

Thorin's hand went to his Psytum Sword. Golden energy cascaded down its length as he spoke. "The Great Void guides us."

Kaori's Phoenix Submachine Gun waited for no one. It cracked, red-lacquered metal spitting death. But the rounds never reached their target.

A third figure charged in between them—dark skin gleaming with sweat, muscles coiled beneath a pilot's suit. His towering frame moved with athletic grace, a Vibro-Spear humming in his hands as he chanted in a different psionic language. "Owia Kɔkɔbɔ Kyɛ!"

A golden barrier formed to deflect Kaori's fire with precision. The bullets evaporated like smoke as they met the psionic bubble.

Dilinur recognized the tongue despite not making out its meaning.

Anansemka, the language of the 'Southern World', a constructed psionic language that synthesizes aboriginal tongues from Africa to South America.

"Jabari Adomako." the newcomer introduced himself, voice carrying a barely noticeable Maridian accent. His eyes—warm brown shot through with gold—found Dilinur's across the chaos.

"The Directorate pilot who aided U6-M9's escape." Dilinur said, her tone venomous. "I should have known you'd be Sand Lotus's puppets."

"Ume is not a slave. We did what's right." Jabari shot back.

"How noble." Dilinur's Psi Fan snapped open, silver blades catching the emergency lighting. "And do you extend such nobility to the Moondust Crystal? Another prize to steal?"

But time seemed to slow as their eyes met. Something electric passed between them—recognition of a different sort. Dilinur felt her breath catch, not from pain but from the unexpected pull of attraction.

His face held a soldier's focus—strong jawline set with determination, high cheekbones that caught the emergency lighting. His skin was a healthy deep brown, smooth except for the sheen of combat sweat. The combat armor clung to broad shoulders and a powerful frame that spoke of rigorous training, emerald and gold armor plates accentuating rather than hiding his physique. But it was his eyes that held her—warm brown shot through with gold, carrying an intensity that seemed at odds with the gentleness she somehow sensed beneath.

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Why do I feel this way? Dilinur asked herself in confusion. I have never met this man in my life.

But beside her, Joon-Seok, her princely protector and supposed companion, stepped forward, his Psytum Sword ignited with crimson fury, shattering the moment. "Come meet your end, terrorist."

"It is you who will know defeat today, Prince of Choson." Thorin's golden blade met Joon-Seok's crimson in a shower of sparks.

The bridge exploded into chaos.

Thorin's Psytum Sword ignited with golden radiance as Joon-Seok's blade met it with crimson fury. The two masters circled each other, testing with quick strikes that sent sparks cascading across the deck.

"Good form," Thorin acknowledged as he parried a particularly vicious thrust. "Oddly western style, though. Had a Valoran teacher?"

"Save your compliments for someone who cares." Joon-Seok pressed the attack, his blade work precise and lethal.

Dilinur's Psi Fan was fully unfolded just as Fuuka's Spirit Lantern sent golden energy whistling toward her neck. Silver met gold in a spray of sparks. Around them, Bloodtroopers engaged emerging Krypts, Thermal Battleaxes clashing against silver knives.

Roach's shotgun roared. A Krypt materialized just long enough to take the blast full in the chest, coagulant rounds turning blood to acid in their veins. "Bleed, you sneaky fucks!"

But Jabari was already moving toward her, the length of his golden Vibro-Spear singing through the air. Dilinur met his first strike with her fan, the impact jarring up her arm. He was strong— as strong as his muscular build suggested.

"Wait, you're bleeding?" he said, eyeing her nose as their weapons locked.

"Concerned for your enemy?" She twisted, using his momentum against him. "How noble."

"Is this the Crystal's doing?" He disengaged, circled. Those golden-flecked eyes held genuine worry beneath the determination. "No good can come from using it!"

KILL HIM, the Crystal's voices screamed. HE SEEKS TO SEPARATE US.

Dilinur's response came not in words but action. "Agni Śūla Hana!" The Eclipse incantation rolled off her tongue as she swept her fan in a deadly arc. Crimson flames erupted from the silver blades, forming into a crescent of fire that screamed toward Jabari.

He rolled aside, the flames scorching the deck where he'd stood. "Owia Kɔkɔbɔ Kyɛ!" His counterspell manifested as a golden barrier, absorbing the lingering flames.

"Not bad." Dilinur couldn't help but admire his reflexes. "But predictable."

She was already moving, using his defensive stance against him. "Nakha Bandigṛha!" Blood-red energy erupted from the deck beneath Jabari's feet, crystallizing into crimson spikes that sought to cage him.

Jabari leaped high, his athletic frame twisting in midair. At the apex of his jump, his spear tip glowed verdant. "Anyan Kaw-naw-mu!"

A beam of concentrated solar energy lanced down at her. Dilinur spun her fan, creating a silver shield that split the beam into harmless sparkles. The heat washed over her face, and for a moment, she caught his scent on the superheated air—sweat and something earthy, primal.

He landed in a crouch, immediately transitioning into a thrust. She parried, but he was learning her patterns. His next strike came from an unexpected angle, forcing her to bend backward. The position brought them close—too close. She could see the gold flecks in his brown eyes more clearly now, could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"You fight well for such a young psion," she breathed, using the moment to hook her fan around his spear shaft.

"And you trying to prove something?" His voice was equally breathless. "To the Crystal? To yourself?"

The question struck deeper than any physical blow. Rage flared hot in her chest, mixing with the Crystal's whispers into something almost manic.

"Māṁsa Śalya!" The words tore from her throat as she thrust her Psi Fan forward. A spear of crystallized blood materialized and shot toward Jabari.

He deflected with his Vibro-Spear, but she was already casting again.

But Dilinur's rage only grew. "Māṁsa Śalya!" The next incantation came faster, more desperate. The Crystal's voices rose with her fury, urging her on.

Jabari backpedaled, his spear spinning to deflect the first two projectiles. The third came too fast. His left hand shot up, golden light gathering. "Ananse Kɔkɔɔ!"

Golden threads erupted from his palm, weaving into a protective web that caught the blood spear inches from his chest. The crimson projectile struggled against the golden strands before dissolving.

"Māṁsa Śalya!" Another spear formed, followed immediately by another, blood spears manifesting in rapid succession. "Maa-m-sa Sha-lya!"

Sweat beaded on Jabari's forehead as he maintained the web with one hand while deflecting with his spear. Each impact drove him back a step, his boots scraping against the deck. The golden web flickered, straining under the assault.

"Do not run from me!" Dilinur's voice had taken on an edge of hysteria, her eyes going bloodshot now. The Crystal's consciousness pushed her harder, demanding his death.

One spear slipped through his weakening defenses, grazing his thigh. He stumbled, and Dilinur pressed forward, her Psi Fan work becoming wild, aggressive. Their weapons clashed again and again, driving him back until—

Their weapons locked, fan tangled with spear shaft, bodies suddenly pressed close. She could feel his labored breathing, see the determination warring with something else in his eyes. The manic energy drained from her as quickly as it had come, replaced by that inexplicable pull.

"The Moondust Crystal. Is it telling you something?" Jabari demanded as their weapons remained locked with each other.

"You…feel it too?" she breathed, seeing her own confusion reflected in his eyes. "This isn't how I—"

Roach's shotgun thundered. Jabari twisted, but not fast enough. The blast caught his shoulder, spinning him to the deck. Blood splattered across white floor tiles.

"Let's see how pretty you look…" Roach advanced, reloading with practiced efficiency. The dragon motifs on his Hemorrhagic Shotgun seemed to leer in anticipation as he pushed it to Jabari's temple. "…without a head!"

"Roach!" Dilinur caught herself shouting. She had so many questions.

"Huh!?" Roach turned around, his crimson sunglasses glinting.

"Do NOT…" Dilinur's heart hammered. None of this made sense. "Do not kill him."

"The fuck!?" Roach's jaw opened with confusion. "We're in a fight here!"

"Take him into custody." Dilinur's breathing slowed as she pointed her Psi Fan at Jabari. "Yes, take him into—"

Suddenly, golden light erupted from an unexpected angle. Fuuka's Spirit Lantern blazed as she chanted in Devavāṇī, the Solar spell shaped like a cone striking Roach's cybernetic components. "Sūrya Khadga!"

"Motherfu—ahhhh!" Sparks flew from the cyborg's eyes as he stumbled, shotgun clattering across the deck, his crimson sunglasses falling from his face, revealing sockets of pupilless eyes.

"Roach!" Dilinur gasped. What had she done?

"Jabari!" Fuuka charged towards the Maridian man and knelt beside him, her Spirit Lantern followed close behind like a guardian spirit. "Buddha's mercy…"

"Everything…hurts," Jabari gasped, his ebony countenance going pale.

"Surakṣitaḥ Asi." Fuuka's hands glowed with healing warmth as she chanted.

Color was already returning to Jabari's face as her magic worked.

Dilinur found herself frozen, watching Fuuka tend to him with gentleness. The sight stirred something unexpected—not quite jealousy, but close. She shook her head, trying to clear the strange thoughts — and her amplified hatred towards Fuuka.

Across the bridge, Thorin had gained the upper hand against Joon-Seok. The prince's form remained composed, but it was evident that Thorin fought with decades of experience, each move economical and purposeful.

"Not as aggressive as the last time we met." Thorin observed as their blades locked. "Afraid to show your true strength?"

Joon-Seok's eyes flicked to Dilinur. "You have no idea what we're protecting."

Understanding dawned in Thorin's weathered features. "Ah. Caring makes us all vulnerable, doesn't it?"

"Jabari, the Crystal!" Fuuka helped him stand. "Now!"

NO!

The Moondust Crystal's scream in Dilinur's mind was deafening. She spun toward the containment field, but Jabari was already moving. His golden Vibro-Spear howled, its verdant psionic core—a green jewel socketed on its sharp head—glowed with intent as he chanted. "Kra Nhyira!"

His spear now wrapped in golden psionic energy, he drove it into the field generator. Energy discharged in brilliant arcs, and the field collapsed.

"Stop!" The word tore from Dilinur's throat, but too late.

Jabari's spear met the Crystal itself with a sound like shattering symphony. The blade bit deep, and he worked it back and forth, trying to break free a piece. His face contorted with effort and—

Pain.

Blinding, absolute agony flooded through Dilinur as the Crystal's consciousness fragmented. She heard herself screaming, or maybe it was the Crystal, or maybe both. Her silver Psi Fan fell from nerveless fingers as she clutched her head, feeling part of her mind tear away.

Through tears and blood—so much blood now, pouring from her nose—she saw Jabari experiencing the same torture. His scream harmonized with hers as the Crystal's consciousness invaded his unprepared mind. Blood ran from his nose, his ears, his eyes weeping as he wrenched a fist-sized shard free.

They collapsed simultaneously, like puppets with strings cut.

"Jabari!" Fuuka caught him as he fell, the shard tumbling from his grip. "Stay with me."

Joon-Seok disengaged from Thorin, catching Dilinur before she hit the deck. "Dinu! Look at me!"

She tried to focus, but her vision kept fracturing. She felt a part of her consciousness gone, trapped in the shard that lay inches from Jabari's trembling hand. She could feel it calling to her, a piece of her soul torn away and given form.

"I've—got it," Jabari managed, blood bubbling on his lips. His hand closed around the shard, and Dilinur felt the connection snap into place. Part of her lived in that crystal now, and through it, she felt him—his pain, his determination, his fear, and underneath it all, that same unexpected—

—attraction?

"Withdrawal, now!" Thorin commanded. "Krypts, covering positions!"

"Not a chance!" Kaori snatched up her Phoenix Submachine Gun from where it had fallen, the red-lacquered weapon gleaming as she brought it to bear on Jabari's exposed form. "Roach, move along!"

"Trying to!…Hmph." As Iron Roach rolled on the ground, struggling, Kaori's gun chattered, spraying death across the bridge.

"Sólskjöldr Vörn!" Thorin's Jǫturmál incantation rang with power as he raised his left hand, his Psytum Sword still gripped in his right. Golden light erupted from his green eyes, spilling down to form a shimmering barrier between Kaori and her target. The bullets struck the shield and simply ceased to exist, creating ripples of light that spread across the barrier's surface before being ground to dust.

"Curse you, Lotus scum!" Kaori held down the trigger, emptying her magazine into the golden wall to no effect.

"Svīkuru ātmānaṃ." Fuuka placed a hand on Jabari's chest, chanting a different spell softly, the healing light working more slowly than the previous one, seeming to stem the bleeding. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah. Have to." He struggled upright, leaning heavily on his spear. His eyes found Dilinur's across the chaos. "I will —"

"Go," she whispered, unsure if she was talking to him or the part of herself he carried.

Fuuka helped him toward the door as Thorin provided cover, his Psytum Sword alongside the golden barrier forming from her Spirit Lantern keeping the remaining Imperium troopers at bay. At the threshold, Jabari looked back one more time.

Their eyes met, and through the shard, she felt everything he felt—confusion, guilt, attraction, and a strange sense of destiny.

Then he was gone, taking part of her with him.

"Medical team to the bridge!" Joon-Seok ordered, cradling her head in his lap. "Team Dragon, Tiger, Peacock, report!"

The strike teams responded over the voice comm. But Dilinur paid them no mind.

"The shard," Dilinur mumbled through the taste of copper. "He has—part of me—"

Joon-Seok smoothed hair from her face. "We'll get it back."

Find Jabari, the Crystal's remaining voices whispered, weaker now but still insistent. Hunt Jabari. Reclaim what was stolen. Make yourself whole.

"My Medi-Vap," Dilinur managed, her hand moving weakly toward her robes. "Chest pocket."

Joon-Seok's hand hesitated above her chest, and she caught the slight flush in his cheeks. The pocket was positioned in such a way that retrieving it would mean... Despite the pain, despite everything, Dilinur felt a flutter of anticipation at the thought.

Instead, Joon-Seok reached into his own crimson coat, producing his personal Medi-Vap. "Here. Use mine."

He pressed the cylindrical device to her lips, supporting her head as she inhaled. The mint-flavored mist spread cool relief through her system, dulling the worst of the agony. As the medicine worked, a different realization struck her—this was Joon-Seok's Medi-Vap. His lips had touched where hers now rested.

An indirect kiss.

Heat bloomed in her cheeks that had nothing to do with her injuries. She caught Joon-Seok watching her with those dark, careful eyes, and wondered if he'd had the same thought.

"Signal all teams," Dilinur forced herself to sit up despite Joon-Seok's protests. The world spun, but rage kept her focused. "By colluding with the Sand Lotus, the Directorate has committed an act of war against the Imperium."

"Prefect," Kaori approached, supporting a groaning Roach. "Your orders?"

Dilinur stood on shaking legs, one hand pressed to the wounded Crystal. Through the torn connection, she could feel Jabari out there—his presence like a beacon in her mind.

But the mistake needed to stop. She had allowed herself to err and be distracted, becoming vulnerable, missing the one chance she could have to finish him.

"We hunt them down." Her voice gained strength with each word. "They've stolen more than just a crystal shard. They've taken what is rightfully Imperium property."

Part of us, she added silently, feeling the strange pull toward the man who'd carved away a piece of her soul.

As the Shūn-Huáng's engines roared back to life and medical staff flooded the bridge, Dilinur kept her eyes on the stars. Somewhere down there, Jabari Adomako carried her missing piece.

She would have it back. All of it.

The hunt had begun.