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

17:45, March 20, 2295

The Depths of the Shard, Mount Lyell, Yosemite Valley

The echo of the Alliance Rover's engine still rang in Jabari's ears as he watched their rivals disappear into the tunnel's darkness. That Nordling woman—Lorna, they'd called her—had fought like one of the old war goddesses from his grandmother's stories. The way she moved during their brief clash made his warrior's heart skip despite himself.

But another face filled his mind as he turned back to their own prize. Ume. They'd promised each other a conversation after this mission. A real one, where they'd finally figure out what this thing between them meant.

If we survive this.

"Strike team, this is Kimaris Alpha," Laurent's voice crackled through their comms, steady despite the static. "Seismic readings show massive movement converging on your position. Whatever you're going to do, do it fast."

"Copy that," Wilhelm's voice boomed through his Scarab's speakers. The KM-227's six legs scraped against ice as it maneuvered the massive Moondust shard into its frontal grips. "This bloody thing's heavier than—ah hell, I can't fight with this!"

The mech's weapon systems powered down automatically, all energy diverted to maintaining grip on their prize. Wilhelm was effectively a walking cargo hauler now, defenseless.

"Form protective diamond around the Scarab," Laurent commanded through comms. "Thorin, you're point. Jabari, left flank. Ume, stay close to Wilhelm—you're his eyes and early warning. Ologuns, cover our six."

Jabari moved into position, noting how naturally Ume fell into step beside the Scarab. She'd holstered her failing Plasma Handgun, but her hand hovered uncertainly near her hip.

"Temperature's dropping," she reported, her breath misting in the air. "My handgun is showing critical warnings. Plasma efficiency at thirty-two percent and falling."

Without thinking, Jabari shifted closer to her. "You have a backup weapon?"

She looked at him, those eyes holding something almost like embarrassment. "I... have a Combat Knife. Same as the one you used to carve that shard on Osram. But I've only practiced on training dummies."

"Better than nothing." He tried to sound reassuring. "Stay close to me if things get rough."

"I will," she said with that new edge of personality she'd been developing lately. "I've been studying combat footage. Yours included."

Before he could respond, the temperature plummeted more. Ice crystals formed in the air itself as dozens of shapes came from every tunnel: the sapphire-shelled Krabba clicking their claws, massive Fenormr serpents tasting the air with forked tongues.

"Sir! We're overwhelmed!" One of the Ologuns called out.

"Hold formation!" Laurent's voice cut through the chaos. "Do not break the diamond!"

Then she appeared.

"If you beautiful things want to live," Astrid's voice floated through the cavern like poisoned honey, "just give us the Moondust shard."

The Ísmarr hovered at the entrance they'd come from, her form a disturbing yet mesmerizing. From the waist up, she could have been a goddess—pale skin, flowing dark hair, eyes like frozen lakes. But where her hips should have been, translucent oral arms writhed and pulsed with bioluminescent patterns.

Beside her, a polar bear in stone-made armor stepped forward. He towered in his armored bear form, frost breath misting from his muzzle. "We should eliminate all who threaten our hive cluster," he rumbled, massive claws flexing.

"Ulrik! Lady Maren would want us to act better than beasts." Astrid protested as she turned to him.

"Beasts kill without plan. We do so because it'd be foolish to let our enemies resurge." The polar bear creature shot back in his deep voice.

Astrid's laugh tinkled like breaking icicles. "Let me do the talking, big guy!"

"That Ísmarr is persistent, I'll give her that." Laurent's voice came through their earpieces. "Thorin, can you handle her?"

"Perhaps," Thorin replied, his Psytum Sword already glowing with golden Solar energy. "But not while protecting the team."

Jabari watched Astrid drift closer, her oral arms allowing her to float through the air with grace. She inhaled deeply, head tilting as she studied them. Her gaze lingered on him, then shifted to Ume.

"Oh, so you already have a girlfriend." Another sniff, her perfect nose wrinkling. "And a little android bitch, no less! Smells like plastic and toasters!"

Jabari felt Ume stiffen beside him. Her optical sensors flared brighter—her version of narrowing her eyes. To his surprise, she stepped forward, chin raised.

"At least my components don't reek like a fish market's dumpster on a hot day," Ume shot back, her usually measured voice dripping with unexpected sass.

Jabari blinked. When had Ume learned to trash talk? More importantly, why did her fierce defense of their... whatever they were...make his chest tighten?

Astrid's crystalline laugh filled the cavern. "Delightful, she's got a mouth on her! Tell me, android, does he kiss you with that mouth? Can you even feel it?"

"More than you'll ever—"

"Enough!" Elder Thorin stepped forward, but Laurent's voice cut through their comms.

"No, let them talk. Every second they waste is a second closer to extraction. ETA on support is eight minutes."

Thorin hesitated, then addressed the Jokull forces with forced calm. "We need not be enemies. You were created by Harald Omdal for purposes far greater than this base savagery."

Astrid floated higher, one finger stroking her chin in exaggerated thought. "Funny. Just hours ago you were calling me names, 'professor' Thorin. Now you want to chat?"

"Be advised," Laurent's urgency increased. "Thermal imaging shows three times your number moving to flank. Begin tactical withdrawal. Now."

"Copy that," Wilhelm grunted, his Scarab beginning its awkward backward shuffle. Without his weapons, maneuvering the Moondust shard made the mech painfully slow. "Could use some covering fire here, mates!"

"Jabari, Thorin, clear a path," Laurent commanded. "Ume, watch for flankers. Call out everything you see."

"On it!" Jabari raised his spear, but the memory of the Crystal's psychic backlash sent spikes of pain through his skull. He gritted his teeth. For Ume. For the team.

"Kra Nhyira!" Inner fire surged through him, Solar energy racing along his muscles. A wave of Krabba scuttled forward, and Jabari's Vibro-Spear sang as he swept it in a wide arc. Beside him, Thorin moved like flowing water, his Psytum blade leaving golden afterimages.

"Fenormr on the left!" Ume called out, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Two—no, three of them!"

Jabari pivoted toward the threat, but his exhausted body moved a fraction too slow. One serpent's jaws gaped wide—

The deep green edge of a Directorate Combat Knife flew past his ear, burying itself in the creature's eye. Ume stood with her small arm extended, posture nearly perfect despite her earlier claim of inexperience.

"I told you," she said, leaping forward to retrieve her knife off the deceased python-like Radi-Mon. "I've been studying."

Despite everything, Jabari grinned. "An advanced move from one of the field manuals." He caught himself. What was she to him, exactly? "Nice throw!"

"Alright, the Isazi's nearing your position. Kimaris, WITHDRAW!" Laurent's voice cracked like a whip.

They backed through the tunnel in a fighting retreat, boots slipping on ice slick with Radi-Mon ichor. Wilhelm's Scarab filled most of the passage, its bulk both protection and hindrance. Every few meters, they had to pause while the mech adjusted its grip on the crystal.

"Wilhelm, can you go any faster?" Laurent asked through comms.

"Negative!" Wilhelm shot back. "This is like trying to back up a forklift while carrying a bloody grand piano, sir!"

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Jabari's world narrowed to thrust, sweep, block, repeat. His enhanced muscles burned, each movement a fraction slower than the last. The Lotus virus might have given him strength, but it couldn't overcome simple exhaustion.

"Jabari, on your right!" Ume's warning came just in time. He spun, driving his spear through a Krabba that had gotten too close.

She'd positioned herself perfectly—close enough to watch his blind spots, far enough to avoid his spear's arc. When had she learned to move like that in combat?

"Elder Thorin, your ten o'clock!" she called again. The Elder pivoted smoothly, his Solar-infused blade bisecting a Fenormr.

"The android's got good eyes," Thorin acknowledged between strikes.

"I have a name," Ume said, then surprised everyone by adding: "Get it right, old man."

Despite the situation, Jabari heard Wilhelm bark a laugh through his speakers. Even some of the Ologuns chuckled.

"Kimaris, you're almost there," Laurent's voice carried a note of relief. "Isazi's in position. Sixty seconds to dust-off."

They burst from the cavern into Yosemite Valley proper. The sun had nearly set, painting the frozen landscape in shades of amber and shadow. Their Isazi waited two hundred meters away, engines hot, cargo ramp lowering.

Between them and safety: an open killing field already swarming with Jokull creatures.

"Well, shite," Wilhelm summarized eloquently.

"Ah ah ah," Astrid's voice sang out as she emerged from the cavern, a small army of Jokull creatures flowing around her. "Leaving so soon? But we're just getting acquainted!"

"Kimaris, I'm reading massive signatures from all directions," Laurent's voice turned grim. "You're surrounded. Three Glacierwurms approaching from the north. Hundreds of lesser creatures."

As if on cue, the ground shook. A massive shape burst from the frozen earth ahead of them—a Glacierwurm, its maw large enough to swallow Wilhelm's Scarab whole.

"Ologuns, SCATTER!" Jabari shouted.

They dove in different directions as freezing mist erupted from the creature's mouth. Two Ologun marines weren't fast enough—the mist caught them mid-leap, flash-freezing them into ice sculptures that shattered when they hit the ground.

"Reform! Defensive circle!" Laurent commanded, but it was already too late.

Ulrik charged from their flank, Rimfrost held high. The massive warhammer caught another Ologun, crushing armor and bone with a wet crunch. Fenormr serpents slithered between their feet while Krabba attacked from above, dropping from the valley walls.

"I can't maneuver with this bloody crystal!" Wilhelm's Scarab spun awkwardly, trying to protect the shard while avoiding attacks. A Krabba landed on the mech's back, claws scraping against armor plating.

Ume tried to help, hurling her knife at the creature, but three more took its place. "Multiple breaches! They're everywhere!"

"Thorin, can you—" Laurent's transmission cut to static as another Glacierwurm erupted behind them, its emergence shaking the ground.

Jabari watched his team being torn apart. Thorin's Psytum Sword flashed frantically, but for every creature he cut down, five more appeared. Wilhelm's Scarab stumbled, nearly dropping the crystal as Fenormr coiled around its legs. Ume had her back pressed against the mech, Combat Knife in hand, but the circle of enemies kept tightening.

They weren't going to make it. Not like this.

The valley narrowed here, forming a natural chokepoint. If someone could hold it, stop the reinforcements pouring from the cavern...

"Prince Laurent!" Jabari opened his comm. "Get our people out! I'll hold the pass!"

"Madness! We don't—"

Jabari ripped out his earpiece. The math was simple. One life to save seven.

"YOU!" He roared at Ulrik, raising his Vibro-Spear high. "Face me, coward! Or do the Jokull only fight those who can't fight back?"

The massive bear's head turned, eyes narrowing. Around them, the battle continued—Thorin's desperate shouts, Wilhelm's cursing, the screech of claws on metal. But Ulrik's focus locked onto Jabari.

"You challenge me, little warrior?"

"That's right." Jabari stepped into the chokepoint. "Come at me! See if you can slay a human with Nucleus Virus in him."

Astrid laughed, hovering above the chaos. "Very well. Ulrik, do play with him. The rest of you—" She gestured lazily. "—kill them all."

But Jabari drove his spear into the ground, channeling every drop of Solar energy left in him. "Anyan Kaw-naw-mu! KRA NHYIRA! OWIA KƆKƆBƆ KYƐ!"

A wall of golden flame erupted across the chokepoint, stretching from cliff to cliff. Several charging Krabba were caught in the inferno, their shells cracking from the heat. For a moment—just a moment—the assault faltered.

"GO!" Jabari screamed over his shoulder. "NOW!"

Through the flames, he saw understanding dawn on Thorin's face. The Elder grabbed Ume bodily, throwing her over his shoulder despite her struggles. "Wilhelm! Move!"

"JABARI! THE CONNECTION PROTOCOL!" Ume's scream tore through the air. "YOU PROMISED WE'D TALK!"

The Scarab lurched toward the Isazi, Wilhelm pouring all power into movement. Thorin ran alongside, Ume beating against his back with her fists. The surviving Ologun marines provided covering fire, but Jabari could see they were barely holding.

His fire wall wouldn't last. Already, Ulrik approached through the flames, his frozen armor protecting him from the heat.

"Brave," the bear rumbled. "Foolish, but brave."

Behind Ulrik, the rest of the horde gathered, ready to surge forward the moment the flames died.

Jabari pulled his Vibro-Spear from the ground, settling into a combat stance. His body screamed in protest—too much Aether spent, too many wounds, too little rest.

It didn't matter. Every second he bought was another meter closer to safety for his team.

For Ume.

"Come then," he said quietly. "Make this a death worth remembering."

"Then Rimfrost shall feast on Maridian blood today."

Ulrik charged through the dying flames like an avalanche given form. His one-handed, ice-made hammer swept in a horizontal arc that would have split Jabari in half if he hadn't dropped flat, the weapon's passage freezing the air above him.

Jabari rolled left, came up thrusting. The point of his golden spear scraped across Ulrik's armor, vibrations barely scratching the frozen plates. The bear's backhand caught him in the ribs, lifting him off his feet.

He hit the ground hard, tasting blood. Get up. Buy more time.

Behind Ulrik, the flames guttered. Astrid's forces massed like a wave, ready to crash down on his retreating team.

"Kra Nhyira!" Jabari poured his dwindling energy into one more burst of speed, darting between Ulrik's legs to position himself directly in the chokepoint.

The first Krabba through met his spear point. The second lost its claws to a sweeping strike. But the third raked across his back, parting armor like paper.

"Is this all?" Ulrik sounded almost disappointed. "One who fights like a cornered animal?"

"Better than... fighting like a lapdog," Jabari gasped, driving a Fenormr back with desperate thrusts. Blood ran down his spine, each movement agony. "At least I choose...who I die for."

In the distance, he could hear the Isazi's engines reaching takeoff pitch. Almost there. Hold. Just hold.

A Krabba's claw punched through his left shoulder. He screamed but kept his grip on his spear, spinning the weapon one-handed to decapitate the creature. Another took its place immediately.

Jabari became a whirlwind of strikes. His spear work had always been good—his days back in the prep school had made sure of that. But now, suspecting this was his last dance, he transcended mere skill. Each thrust and sweep felt final. The Vibro-Spear sang its deadly song as he carved through the Jokull forces.

"Kra Nhyira!" Inner fire blazed through him, driving back the cold.

Ulrik's massive form backed away to evade the flames. "Almost impressive."

"Anyan Kaw-naw-mu!" Solar energy erupted from his spear tip, incinerating a cluster of Fenormr.

Behind him, he heard the Isazi's engines roar to life. Almost there. Almost safe.

But his body was failing. The Crystal exposure, the sleepless nights, the endless combat—it all crashed down at once. His next spear thrust came a half-second too slow. A Krabba's claw raked across his ribs, parting armor like paper. Hot blood splashed on frozen ground.

"Such passion and fury," Astrid breathed, hovering above the carnage like a valkyrie surveying the battlefield. "I haven't seen its like since... well, since Harald trained us."

Jabari staggered, using his spear to stay upright. Around him, the Jokull creatures formed a circle but didn't attack. Waiting for their mistress's command.

Astrid descended slowly, her oral arms spreading like translucent wings. Up close, she was heartbreakingly beautiful in that otherworldly way of her kind. Her blue eyes held appreciation as she studied him.

"You could have escaped with them," she said, head tilting with curiosity. "Why stay?"

"Someone... had to." Jabari raised his spear with trembling arms. One last strike. Make it count.

He lunged with everything he had left. The spear point drove straight for her heart, all his remaining strength behind it. A thrust towards her naked upper body, aimed at the heart.

Astrid didn't even move. Void energy shimmered around her like verdant glass, and his spear simply... stopped. The vibrations that could shatter stone, liquefy organs, and carve through armor met an absolute barrier and went nowhere.

"Járn-önd," she whispered, and invisible force slammed into him like a giant's fist.

Jabari flew backward, his spear spinning from nerveless fingers. He hit the ground hard, tasting blood. Before he could rise, her oral arms were on him—one wrapping around his ankle, another circling his wrist with surprising gentleness.

"Have you ever wondered," Astrid mused, floating directly above him now, "how it would feel to thrust a spear of a different kind into me?"

"WHAT?!" The innuendo hit him like cold water, fear mixing with exhaustion.

She laughed at his expression, one translucent tentacle caressing his cheek. "Oh, you're adorable when you're frightened. Don't worry, beautiful warrior. I prefer my partners conscious and willing."

A stinger emerged from one of her oral arms, no thicker than a needle. "Sleep now. We have such interesting conversations ahead of us."

The paralytic toxin entered his bloodstream like liquid winter. Jabari's vision began to blur, darkness creeping in from the edges. His last coherent thought was a prayer of gratitude: They made it out. That's enough.

As consciousness faded, he heard Astrid speaking to someone.

"Should we pursue the others?" Ulrik's bass rumbled.

"No," Astrid replied, cradling Jabari's limp form almost tenderly. "Lady Fjeld wants this one alive and intact. She's very curious about the Lotus variant in his blood."

Her tender but strong oral arms lifted him. Through the growing darkness, he felt Astrid's human fingers trace along his jaw with interest as he leaned into her exposed breasts.

"I have my own intimate little cavern where we can get properly acquainted." she continued, her voice growing distant as the toxin completed its work, "For learning, of course. Always for learning..."

The last thing Jabari heard before the darkness claimed him was the sound of the Isazi's engines fading into the distance.

His people were safe.

That had to be enough.