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

16:23, March 20, 2295

The Depths of the Shard, Mount Lyell, Yosemite Valley

Lorna's fingers trembled as she unscrewed the cap of her Indra-Sprite, the sweet elixir sliding down her throat like liquid lightning. The virus-induced rampage had left her Aether depleted, muscles twitching in places she hadn't known could twitch.

"Almost lost my fucking self back there…" she muttered to herself as she put the bottle back in her coat before reaching for the Medi-Vap injector, pressing it to her lips. The medication hissed into her lungs, flooding her system with that familiar burn of accelerated healing.

"Líður betur? [Feeling better?]" Olav chittered in Jǫturmál beside her, the Grávomb's dark eyes reflecting concern in the tunnel's dim light.

"Já. Mér líður betur. [Yeah. I'm better now.]" She rolled her shoulders, feeling strength return to her limbs as she pocketed her consumables. Through the tunnel opening ahead, shafts of light filtered down from the cavern above. "Let's finish this shit."

They emerged into vastness.

The Yosemite shard towered before them—two stories of crystallized Moondust that made her pendant pulse against her chest like a second heartbeat. Its azure surface rippled with internal light, roots of pure energy penetrating deep into the mountain's bones like frozen lightning. Beautiful. Powerful. Mine, some primal part of her whispered. No, not mine. Pa's. But he gave me the key, didn't he?

"Lorna! Diego here. I've diverted the Directorate villanos, but a few slipped through our net." The Novian pilot's voice crackled in her earpiece. "They're heading straight for you."

"Roger that, flyboy." She pressed her right ear, filtering out the distant sounds of combat above. "You guys holding up?"

"Eh, playing hot potato with their Scarab mech. My StarWhale and Tom's squad can hold for maybe ten minutes before someone gets a lucky shot. Better grab that shiny rock and vámonos, sí?"

"Working on it. Try not to scratch my ride up there."

"Your ride? Hermana, this is government property!"

"Details."

The cavern trembled as another explosion rocked the upper levels. Alliance marines buying them time with blood and bullets. And here I am, about to steal a magic rock. Some days I miss just shooting things.

Olav suddenly squeaked, pointing with one paw toward a large maintenance tunnel she'd missed. "Það leiðir til yfirborðs. Breitt— [That leads to surface! Wide—]"

The roar of an engine cut him off. A Space Rover burst from the tunnel, white plates of titanium armor scarred but holding, its tires screaming against stone as it skidded sideways to a halt. The driver's door flew open and Xin practically fell out, white-knuckling the frame while Harald emerged from the passenger side with surprising agility for his age.

"How the fuck did you—" Lorna started.

"Olav's mining maps," Harald interrupted, brushing dust from his coat, holding up a mini computer in his palm. "Lucky for us, the Grávombs carved vehicle-sized passages throughout this mountain. I sent the coordinates to Xin's watch."

Olav preened slightly, pleased with himself.

"Pa." The word came out rougher than she intended.

Harald's eyes swept the cavern, cataloging exits, defensive positions, potential threats with the efficiency of someone who'd survived too many battles. His gaze lingered on the Yosemite shard, calculations running behind those sharp blue eyes. Then his expression hardened as he turned to Lorna.

"The Vöxtr on the lower level must be deactivated." He gestured to Olav, who straightened attentively. "Every moment it remains functional, more eggs are produced. More soldiers for Maren's rebellion."

"You're leaving us to handle the shard alone?" Lorna caught his sleeve as he prepared to leave. Don't go. I just got you back.

Something soft flickered in Harald's expression. He covered her hand with his own—warm, calloused, real. "You're not alone, Sigrún. You have that sharp young man over there." A nod toward Xin. "And my grandson. The shard will respond to you, just like your pendant. Sisters cut from the same moment in time."

"But if something goes wrong—"

"Then you'll handle it." His grip tightened briefly. "You're my daughter. You've survived worse than this. Survived what I couldn't protect you from." His voice dropped, heavy with old guilt. "Besides, if I disable the Vöxtr, Maren will have one less tool to birth her army. One less way to twist what I created into something monstrous."

"There're more machines like it?"

Harald's expression darkened further. "She was always clever, your mother. The Vöxtr here is just one node in her network." He pulled her into a brief, fierce hug. "We'll discuss everything later. But first—" He pulled back, hands on her shoulders. "Trust yourself, min datter. Trust what I taught you through the pendant, even when I wasn't there."

"I'll hold you to that promise, pa." She managed a crooked smile.

He squeezed her shoulders once more. "Olav, með mér. [Olav, with me.] We have sabotage to do."

The Grávomb chittered agreement, falling into step beside Harald. But at the tunnel entrance, Harald paused, looking back.

"Xin!" he called out. The programmer straightened, surprised. "Protect them both. And remember—if either is hurt, no virus in the universe will stop me from finding you."

"Pa!" Lorna protested, face heating.

"Just establishing parameters." Harald winked before disappearing into the tunnel with Olav scrambling after him.

Perched on Xin's shoulder, Håkon suddenly chirped with alarm. The little Diabolisk stretched out both claws toward his grandfather, his scales shifting to a worried blue-gray.

Lorna watched them vanish into shadow, throat tight as she paced towards the Yosemite shard's root. "He'll be alright. We will all be."

"So…" Xin's voice drew her back to the present. He pushed his glasses before standing beside the crystal, one hand resting on its surface. Håkon's tiny claws gripped his jacket fabric. "How exactly do we steal a two-story crystal? Don't think it'll fit in the Rover."

"We don't steal, smartass. It's my inheritance." Lorna stepped toward the monolith, her pendant growing warmer with each step. The pull between them was almost magnetic. "We ask it nicely to come with us."

"Right. Because that always works." But Xin's slight smile took the edge off his sarcasm.

The unrooting ritual. She'd memorized the theory during stolen moments at Stardust Command, studying the fragments of data Xin had smuggled from Taiwan. But standing before the Moondust shard, its presence pressed against her mind like a living thing.

"Fuck. I just remembered…" She activated her Quantum Watch, holographic text shimmering above her left wrist. "The entire chant is in Devavāṇī. I know fragments, but this needs precision. One wrong syllable and it'll reject me. Or worse."

"So I've been studying it." Xin stepped beside her, his warmth steadying. "Since Shashan. Kathrin taught me the basics while you were...recovering."

Of course he had. Her brilliant fool, always three steps ahead in directions she didn't expect. "Show off."

"I prefer 'exceptionally prepared boyfriend.'" His confidence had a new edge to it. Like he'd had a conversation with someone about certain things. Like he'd gotten some kind of...approval…from her father, perhaps?

"Smooth talker." She unclasped her Pendant of Mánagrát, its silver chain pooling in her palm. "So, ready to sweet-talk a crystal?"

Håkon trilled questioningly from Xin's shoulder, pointing at Lorna then making a sweeping gesture with his tiny claws that mimicked spell-casting.

"Big magic, baby." She raised the pendant toward the crystal's surface. "Stay close to Pappa, okay?"

The moment silver neared azure, the world exploded into sensation. Power rushed through her like a tide, ancient and vast and hungry. Her knees buckled, but Xin's arm wrapped around her waist, anchoring her.

"Mann ki veena," Xin began, his pronunciation careful but clear. "Teri tarangon mein lehraaye!"

The meanings bloomed in Lorna's mind: Let the harp of my mind sway in your waves!

She let her Lunar energy flow, mixing with whatever Void-touched power Xin had gained from Kathrin. The pendant grew hot between their joined hands, and the crystal began to sing—a resonance that bypassed her ears and went straight to her bones.

"Meri aatma ko," she added her voice to his, "tere prakaash mein samaahit kar!"

Immerse my soul in your radiance!

The crystal shuddered. Cracks of brilliance raced up its surface as massive roots began to retract, withdrawing from stone with sounds like breaking bells. Slowly, impossibly, the two-story monolith began to rise, freed from its mountain prison.

"Buddha above," Xin breathed. "It's actually—"

The cavern entrance exploded inward.

"Stand down, Alliance personnel!" The voice was young, masculine, carrying military authority wrapped in African cadence. "Lieutenant Jabari Adomako, Directorate Space Corps. We're here for the shard."

Through the dust and debris came three figures. Clasping her pendant back on her neck, Lorna's trained eye cataloged them instantly: a Maridian soldier in forest-green combat armor, Vibro-spear held with easy competence; an older man in robes that looked almost... wait, that fabric, that cut—; and a female android in gray skin-tight combat suit, with emerald-golden pieces wrapping her small torso—a Da-Ji model from the way she moved, but possibly modified, wielding a Plasma Handgun like she knew how to use it.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Ume!" Xin called out, taken aback. "What are you doing here?"

"Xin." The android replied in a saddened tone. "I'm only doing what I choose to."

"Of course." Xin sighed. "Of course you are…"

"Sigrún Fjeld." The older man's voice cut through everything else. Sharp Nordling features like Lorna's own, green eyes that had seen too much. "After all these years. After Lund fell, I wondered if you'd survived."

His expression flickered—anger, yes, but something else beneath it. Relief? "At least another Nordling house endures, even if twisted by Alliance hands."

Recognition clicked. Not from his face—she'd been too drunk and desperate to remember faces from those days. But that voice, offering salvation in exchange for something she wouldn't give...

"Thorin." The name tasted bitter. "Still trying to collect things that aren't yours?"

"Says the girl serving the Terra Alliance, the most greedy of all human factions." His eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm Lorna Weiss, the Alliance poster girl and man-slaying bitch." She gritted her teeth. "One chance. Go back where you came before I kill you all."

"'Lorna Weiss.' Such a pretty Valoran mask for a Nordling face. Did the Alliance make you choose it? Or did you pick it to bury Sigrún in foreign sounds?"

"Didn't care if I had a choice." The words came out sharp as ice. "So you're helping the Directorate. Why?"

"I should have known the Alliance would shelter Harald's daughter." Evading her question, Thorin's hand moved to his belt. "A faction built on greed and ambition. You're too good for them."

Too good? Fury sparked in her chest. This sanctimonious fuck tried to take my pendant—

But her attention caught on the young Maridian soldier. He was staring at her with an expression she couldn't read. Recognition? Fear? No—something else. Like he'd seen her before, in dreams maybe, or—

Visions. The word whispered through her mind. Just like she'd seen him, that day in Oslo when Harald had given her the pendant. A young Maridian man with kind eyes and impossible courage, standing against the Fenris Radi-Mons in a distant golden city.

"You," she said, just as he said, "It's you."

"And you. The woman from the..." Jabari shook his head, visibly collecting himself. "Never mind. Ume, secure our exit route. Elder Thorin—"

"I know my task." A silver cylinder shot from Thorin's belt, erupting into golden radiance. A Psytum Sword, Solar-aligned, casting harsh shadows that made the cavern feel smaller. "Sigrún, I cannot let you take what your father stole from time itself. His madness infected you as surely as that virus in your blood."

"Big words from someone working with the Directorate." She drew Baldr's silver hilt. The weapon sang to life in her hand, quantum-blue against his gold. "At least I know who my enemies are."

"The Sand Lotus serves a higher purpose than you can ever know." His blade remained steady, but his voice carried an undertone of... regret? "As you might too, in time.

"Sand Lotus?" She laughed, harsh and bright. "Fuck me, that explains the robes. What, did your sex cult run out of ancient alien artifacts to molest?"

Thorin's face darkened. "Your anger blinds you to larger truths. As it once blinded me."

"Håkon, stay back!" Xin was already moving, pushing their son behind a stone outcropping. He drew Kuma from his waist with fluid grace, checking the chamber as the Kinetic SMG unfolded. "Jabari, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Xin. I'd shake hands, but..."

"But you're Alliance." Jabari's Vibro-Spear spun once, Solar energy leaving afterimages as he wielded it with both strong hands. "The Moondust Crystal is dangerous. The Directorate is what can safe-guard it."

"See, that's the thing." Xin's stance shifted, and Lorna caught the shimmer of Void energy gathering around his free hand. "It's not really yours to take."

"Neither is it yours to keep." The android—Ume—had positioned herself with clear sightlines. Her weapon hummed with charged plasma. "We can resolve this peacefully if—"

Håkon darted out from cover before anyone could stop him, planting himself between Jabari and the floating shard. The little Diabolisk chirped angrily, pointing first at Lorna, then at the crystal, before making a circling motion with his claws that encompassed their small group.

"Håkon, get back here!" Lorna started forward, but Thorin moved to intercept.

"Your battle is with me, Sigrún." His blade work began immediately, economical and brutal. "Let the others sort themselves."

Lorna barely got Baldr up in time, quantum meeting fusion in a shower of sparks that lit the cavern like fireworks. The impact ran up her arms—gods, he's strong. Stronger than her even at full strength, and she was running on fumes and medicine.

"I'll handle Ume and—her guy!" Xin called out, already moving to a better position. "Håkon, buddy, remember what I just taught you about using cover?"

"Håkon remember!" The little Diabolisk nodded eagerly, making himself as small as possible behind the rock, then spreading his claws wide to show 'big' while his scales shimmered with barely contained psionic energy.

"That's my boy."

But Lorna's focus narrowed to Thorin and his golden blade seeking her throat, her own Psytum Sword raised to parry it in time.

Game on, you self-righteous prick.

"For decades your family has walked a dangerous path," Thorin pressed his attack, each strike flowing into the next. "But paths can be redirected, Sigrún. Even yours."

"Oh, really?" Lorna parried, spun, struck back. Their blades painted the cavern in blue and gold. "Rich coming from someone whose organization fucks its way to enlightenment!"

Behind her, another fight began. She heard Xin's Kuma firing in controlled bursts, forcing Ume to move back.

"Anyan Kaw-naw-mu!" Jabari's voice rang out, launching a golden flame from his palm that streaked toward Xin.

"Śūnyatā Śāntih." Xin's counter came smooth as silk, Void energy swallowing the Solar attack like it never existed. "Nice try. My turn?"

But Håkon shrieked in alarm from Xin's shoulder, frantically pushing down on Xin's head with his tiny claws.

"Oh, you mean dodge!" Xin dropped just as Ume's charged plasma bolt seared overhead, the verdant energy splashing against stone. Before she could fire again, Håkon thrust out one small claw.

"SKJÖLD!" The tiny Lunar barrier materialized into something inspiringly large, enveloping Xin just as Ume's second shot arrived, dispersing the plasma into harmless green light.

"Your pet is well-trained." Ume noted, appearing to calculate new angles as yellow lines danced in her amber irises.

"'Pet' is somewhat incorrect." Xin held his SMG, circling around Ume.

Håkon puffed up indignantly, pointing at himself, then at Xin, then making a cradling motion—the same gesture he'd seen Lorna use when holding him.

Jabari closed the distance fast, his long weapon vibrating with lethal frequency. The spear's reach gave him advantage, forcing Xin to backpedal while trying to aim Kuma one-handed.

"Can't shoot and cast, huh?" Jabari's strikes came in measured rhythm. "I can tell you're a tech type."

"Who says I need to shoot?" Xin waited until Jabari committed to a thrust, then spread his fingers. "Jāḍya Jāla Sthiram!"

A web of jade green energies erupted between them, threads of emerald light that caught Jabari's spear like a fly in amber. For three seconds, the warrior struggled against bonds that held him fast.

Three seconds was all Xin needed.

He stepped left, Kuma tracking, but another plasma bolt forced him to abort. Ume had found her rhythm, laying down suppressing fire with consecutive shots.

"SKJÖLD!" Håkon's barrier caught the next barrage, but the effort made him sway on Xin's shoulder.

"Easy, buddy. Save your strength."

"Håkon strong!" Håkon flexed his tiny claws, scales brightening bronze with pride.

"I know you are."

Back at her own side, Lorna gave ground steadily. Thorin's experience showed in every exchange—he'd been fighting since before she was born, and it showed. Left shoulder drops, she noted, cataloging any weakness she could notice. But he's compensating somehow.

Thorin pressed her toward the cavern wall. "Does the Alliance even know what you really are? Or do you hide behind that false name, pretending Nordic blood doesn't run in your veins?"

"Does the Sand Lotus care about anything beyond their sex cult?" She twisted away from a thrust that would have opened her throat. "What was the price on my pendant back then? My pendant for some doggystyle session? Some deal, has to be."

"I was trying to offer you salvation—"

"Yeah, theft with extra steps." She riposted, forcing him back a pace. "Just another vulture picking at Scandinavia's corpse."

Across the cavern, Jabari broke free of the jade web with a surge of Solar power. His next attack came wreathed in golden flame, forcing Xin to back away.

"Bheda Atisīmā!" The Void energy wrapped around Kuma's barrel, each bullet leaving trails of green-black emptiness.

The enhanced rounds met Jabari's Solar-charged defense, creating a lightshow that made everyone squint. But the Directorate warrior pushed through, spear spinning in defensive patterns that deflected what he couldn't absorb.

"SKJÖLD—" Håkon warned, throwing up his psionic barrier a third time just as Ume continued with her rapid firing.

The concentrated plasma barrage hammered the Lunar shield, cracks spreading across its surface. On the third shot, it shattered.

"No more," Håkon panted, little body trembling with effort.

"Plasma shield integrity suggests diminishing returns on defensive casting," Ume observed, charging another shot. "Adjusting target priority."

"Like hell!" Xin spun them behind a pillar as verdant death sizzled past. "Håkon, take a break."

"Håkon good?" The Diabolisk asked despite his fatigue.

"Very good! Now, take a break—"

"Yield and stand down. I'd hate to kill you." Jabari rounded the pillar, palm blazing with golden light to empower himself. "Susu Firi Owia!"

Xin twisted desperately, but fighting a spear-user in close quarters while carrying a child was a losing proposition. Jabari's energized hand caught his shoulder, sending him stumbling.

"Papa!" Håkon leaped clear, landing on all fours. His blue eyes blazed with fury as he faced Jabari. "No-hurt-Papa!"

"Stand down, little—whoever, whatever you are." Jabari said, but kept his spear ready. "We're here for the shard, not you."

"Hjarta Kyrr, eldr til heims snúa!" The healing spell wasn't meant for combat, but Håkon poured everything into it. A wave of azure Lunar energy manifested from his tiny body, surging towards and washing over Xin, mending burns.

"Thanks, buddy." Xin rose, steadier now. "Take a break?"

The little Diabolisk chirped joyously and scrambled behind a fallen rock.

Back at the main duel, Lorna's arms screamed protest. Each parry sent shockwaves through her muscle, and Thorin knew it. He was wearing her down, patient as winter.

Lorna tried a disengagement technique, but Thorin flowed around it like water. His pommel strike caught her ribs—the same ones already sour from her Fenris virus rampage earlier. Pain flared white-hot. "Fuck!"

"Your troops above grow weaker." Thorin pressed his advantage as she stumbled. "Their StarWhale is taking damage. Soon, our Scarab will break through. Surrender the crystal and I'll ensure you're treated with honor."

She spat blood, forced herself upright. Behind Thorin, she could see the other fight reaching critical mass—Jabari pressing Xin hard while Ume's suppressing fire kept Håkon scrambling. "Yeah. Gonna pass."

His next words came quieter, almost to himself. "Still, you fight to protect, like your father once did—before pride consumed him."

"Diego!" she shouted into her comm. "Could use that backup about now."

"Bit busy up here, hermana! Thomas is— mierda! Incoming!"

She needed to end this. Thorin was fresh while she was running on fumes and spite. In a straight fight, he'd grind her down. Suddenly, she remembered some old tricks that Emmanuel showed her last year.

So don't fight straight.

"Come bite me." She let him drive her back, stumbling more than necessary. She dropped her guard, inviting the strike.

Thorin took the bait. His blade came in perfect form, aimed to disarm rather than kill.

But Lorna let Baldr fall.

The shock in his green eyes when she stepped inside his reach was worth the risk. Her forehead connected with his nose in a satisfying crunch. As he reeled back, she grabbed his sword wrist and brought her knee up hard into his elbow.

The Solar blade flickered but didn't fall. Thorin's other hand came around in a punch that caught her jaw, spinning her away.

"Street fighting?" He reset his stance, blood streaming from his broken nose. "I see there's more to you than Harald's shadow."

"Still standing, aren't I?" She retrieved Baldr, ignoring how her vision swam. Across the cavern, she saw Jabari land a solid strike on Xin's guard with his armored elbow, driving him to one knee.

That's when Jabari's voice cut through everything: "It's time! Ume, cover me!"

She turned just in time to see him break past Xin's faltering defense, Vibro-Spear spinning in a perfect arc as he charged the floating crystal.

"Don't you dare!" The words tore from her throat.

But it was too late.

The golden spear struck dead center with a sound like the world breaking.