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

22:55, March 27, 2295

Near the Lair of Astrid, Mount Lyell, Yosemite Valley

Dilinur's legs trembled with each step, her body running on fumes after seven days in the frozen wilderness. The supply pack hung light against her spine—too light. What had been meant for three days had stretched to nearly eight through desperate rationing, each meal smaller than the last, each sip of water calculated against an uncertain future.

The Imperium's cruelty extended even to its generosity, she thought bitterly. Or perhaps it hadn't been the Imperium at all. Perhaps Joon-Seok had...

She couldn't finish the thought. Couldn't decide if the extra rations had been mercy or mockery from the prince who'd taken everything and given her three days to disappear.

"Where am I even going?" The words came out cracked, barely audible. She braced herself against a fallen pine, its bark rough with ice. "Who would even..."

Take me in. The unspoken words hung in the frozen air.

With mechanical movements born of routine, she unslung the pack and lowered herself to the ground. Her fingers, numb despite her exertions, fumbled with the sealed containers. One more protein bar—she tore the wrapper with her teeth, savoring each dense, flavorless bite as if it were a feast. The water bottle yielded three careful sips, no more. She had perhaps two days left, if she was careful.

As she reached to reseal the pack, something caught the moonlight—a glint of polished metal deep in the bag's recesses. Frowning, Dilinur pushed aside the remaining supplies.

Her breath caught.

The watch lay nestled in black velvet, its surface catching every stray photon of light. Not just any Quantum Watch—this was something else entirely. The case was forged from darkened titanium carbide, its edges engraved with microscopic dragons that seemed to writhe. The dial face was a deep crimson, like crystallized blood, with a three-dimensional golden dragon coiled at its center. Each scale had been individually carved, each whisker etched with molecular precision. When she tilted it, the dragon's eyes—twin rubies no larger than pinheads—seemed to track her movement.

With trembling fingers, she lifted it free and fastened the bracelet around her wrist. The metal was surprisingly warm, as if it had been waiting for her touch. The moment the clasp clicked home, the watch face illuminated, glowing ruby red while Joon-Seok's musical voice filled the air.

"I wondered if you might give up before you even reached this deep in the bag of supplies." His recorded tone carried that familiar mix of aristocratic condescension and genuine curiosity. "You struck me as a stuck-up woman on our first meeting. Yet something tells me you may be more tenacious than your delicate appearance suggests. After all, you did give me the one thing that is—in my opinion—the most sacred to any woman with self-respect."

"You..." Dilinur's voice caught between fury and something else she couldn't name.

The recording continued, oblivious to her reaction. "If you're willing to trade your chastity, then my assumption is you value your own life and will do anything it takes to survive out there. This watch was meant to be a birthday gift for my sister in Northern Choson, but alas, she quite explicitly stated her dislike for Quantum Watches just last month. It's been in my possession with nowhere to go, and it seems a waste to simply throw it away."

Dilinur found herself mechanically repacking her supplies while the prince's voice washed over her. She allowed herself a more generous drink of water—four sips instead of three—then reached for the Indra-Sprite. The sapphire liquid shimmered as she tilted the bottle, its sweet burn a momentary comfort.

"Would you even survive, without the Imperial Legion? Would you be found as chewed bones and charred cloth shreds in some local Radi-Mon lair, emerge as a famed Leased Lily on Venus several years in the future, or would you... live on your own terms, returning someday to turn the Imperium upside down?" A dark chuckle colored his words. "Nevertheless, I find myself curious. This seems a worthy experiment."

As she listened, Dilinur explored the watch's interface. The holographic display that bloomed above her wrist was unlike anything in standard military issue. A full topographical map of Yosemite materialized in crisp detail, her position marked by a pulsing golden dot. Elevation contours, temperature gradients, even atmospheric pressure readings scrolled past in elegant Taiwanese script.

"The Quantum Watch, locally made in Xizhi, Taiwan by the finest ZenFusion engineers and artificers money could afford, is armed with all amenities I've deemed necessary for any woman of stature. Consider this my parting gift to you, Dilinur Altai. Prove that you're more than a stuck-up psionic woman trapped in victimhood, and perhaps our paths shall cross again."

The recording ended, leaving her alone with the weight of his words.

"Bastard," she muttered, but her fingers were already exploring the watch's capabilities. A twist of the crown revealed a secondary display—biometric readings overlaid with her current Aether levels. The watch could monitor her psionic expenditure in real-time, warning before depletion. Another click brought up a comprehensive database of edible plants native to California, complete with nutritional values and preparation methods.

There was more—so much more. An encryption module for secure communications. Integration ports for her Psi Fan that would optimize energy flow. Even a micro-fabricator that could synthesize basic medical compounds from raw materials.

"A gift for your sister?" Dilinur stood, shouldering her pack with renewed purpose. "Or prepared specifically for…what happened between us?"

She couldn't decide which possibility disturbed her more.

The watch's sensors suddenly flared to life, painting her vision with cascading data streams. Energy signatures bloomed across the topographical display that seemed almost...organic.

Dilinur oriented herself, her Eclipse-trained senses confirming what the watch showed. Whatever it was lay two kilometers north, through a narrow canyon that would provide cover from the worst of the wind.

She had two days of supplies. In two days, she could be...where? Staying in Yosemite would be suicide. The Alliance would shoot a rogue Imperial operative on sight. And returning to the Imperium meant worse.

The Quantum Watch's ruby pulse flickered again, stronger now. The watch's atmospheric sensors detected a temperature differential—wherever that signal originated, it was significantly warmer than the surrounding forest.

Warmth. Shelter. Perhaps even water.

Dilinur's hand found her Psi Fan, Tarim Aytün, its silverite ribs humming with barely contained crimson energy. Since that night in the tent, her power had felt different. Deeper. Hungrier. As if Joon-Seok's touch had awakened something that had always been there, waiting.

"Show me what you're really for," she whispered to the watch, to the night, to herself.

The path ahead led through a forest of twisted pines, their branches heavy with ice. But with each pulse of that strange signal, she felt less like a refugee and more like a hunter following promising prey.

23:47, March 27, 2295

The canyon narrowed as Dilinur followed the signal deeper into Yosemite's transformed landscape. Her breath came in controlled puffs, visible in the frigid air, but the watch's promised warmth drew her forward. The green pulses on her display grew stronger, more frequent.

Then she saw them.

Radi-Mons resembling giant blue crabs the size of hoverbikes, their crystalline blue shells gleaming in the moonlight. Three of them, arranged in a classic perimeter formation around what looked like a natural cave entrance. The watch's database immediately populated with data—Jokull Horde, created by Harald Omdal, moderate threat level.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Dilinur pressed herself against the canyon wall, mind racing. She could circle back, find another route. But the temperature reading from beyond those guards promised survival, and her supplies wouldn't last long enough for cautious exploration.

The Krabba closest to her shifted, entering its defensive stance. Its shell hardened visibly. The Quantum Watch made an alarming beep as a holographic bubble above its dial displayed: '注意 - 目標對傳統武器免疫。建議避免對戰(CAUTION - TARGET TEMPORARILY IMMUNE TO CONVENTIONAL WEAPONRY. AVOID DIRECT COMBAT)'

But Dilinur's weapons were far from conventional now.

She drew her Psi Fan, psionic energy flowering along its edges like dark fire. The power felt different than before—richer, more responsive. Her night with Joon-Seok, someone who shared her Eclipse attunment, had broken some internal barrier she hadn't known existed.

"Rudhira Ulkā Patatu!"

A crimson orb, shaped like a miniaturized meteor, materialized above the first Krabba, a concentrated mass of Eclipse energy that struck with devastating force. The creature's hardened shell offered no protection against the reality-warping properties of Eclipse magic. It simply... ceased, leaving only a crystalline husk that crumbled to frozen earth.

The other two Krabba immediately shifted to their mobile stance, scuttling toward her with shocking speed. But Dilinur was already moving, her fan tracing elaborate patterns in the air.

"Agni Śūla Hana!"

Twin lances of flame sickled through the darkness. Where they touched the Krabba, their shells didn't melt—they simply stopped existing, Eclipse energy devouring the very concept of their protection. The creatures collapsed, their primitive nervous systems unable to comprehend what had killed them.

Dilinur stood among the remains, breathing hard but not from exertion. The ease of it, the sheer destructive potential flowing through her veins—it was intoxicating. These were Harald Omdal's creations, designed to be formidable. And she had destroyed them like tissue paper.

The watch chimed softly. A new display showed her Aether levels—at seventy percent. Before her transformation, that attack sequence would have left her drained.

"What did you do to me?" she whispered, though whether she addressed Joon-Seok or herself, she couldn't say.

The cave entrance beckoned, warm air flowing from its depths carrying strange scents—organic matter, running water, and something else. Something alive. The watch's sensors went wild, detecting massive energy signatures throughout what appeared to be an extensive underground complex.

She was in Jokull territory. Every instinct screamed at her to retreat, to find somewhere else, anywhere else. But the cold pressed against her back like a physical force, and her water was running low, and she had nowhere else to go.

Dilinur pulled her coat tighter and stepped into the cave. The temperature difference was immediate—at least twenty degrees warmer. Ice-melt trickled down the walls, feeding tiny streams that disappeared into the darkness below. Bioluminescent growths provided dim light, casting everything in pale green shadows.

The watch's mapping function worked even here, using some quantum principle she didn't understand to build a three-dimensional model of the tunnel system. It was vast—far larger than any natural cave system should be.

And it was inhabited.

Movement signatures appeared on her display. Dozens of them distributed throughout the complex. Most seemed concentrated in lower levels, but a few roamed the tunnels ahead. The Quantum Watch categorized them automatically—more Krabba, several creatures called 'Fenormr', some Skuggrs, an unholy amount of dormant Bone Fiends sleeping, and something large it couldn't identify.

Dilinur crept deeper. The tunnels were obviously artificial in places, carved with mathematical precision. In others, they seemed to have grown organically, walls rippling with that same bioluminescent growth. It reminded her uncomfortably of the Fenris hives she'd seen in remote mountains in Eastern Taiwan, but the aesthetic was different. Cleaner, somehow. More purposeful.

A sound ahead made her freeze—voices, one speaking the conventional Valoran tongue—American English, while the other was accented and deeper.

"—told you the northern perimeter was vulnerable. Those Krabba might as well be decorative for all the good they do!" The Valoran's voice sounded hectic.

"Lady Maren wants them there as an early warning system, not primary defense. Besides, who could find us here?"

Maren. The name meant nothing to Dilinur, but the casual way they discussed security made her skin crawl. She was deep in enemy territory now, with no backup and no extraction plan.

But she was also Dilinur Altai, trained by the Imperium's finest, empowered by Eclipse energy that sang in her veins. And she was desperate.

The voices faded as their owners moved away. Dilinur waited another full minute before continuing, the watch's passive sensors guiding her away from patrol routes and deeper into the complex's heart. The sound of running water grew stronger, and with it, an unexpected noise.

Laughter. Intimate, breathy laughter that made her freeze in recognition.

Because she knew that voice.

The voice drifted through the cavern's phosphorescent shadows, unmistakably young and breathless.

"Shango's schlong, that was... so good..."

Dilinur's blood chilled. She knew that voice—Jabari Adomako, the Directorate whelp from Mare Cognitum. The one who'd stolen her Moondust shard, who'd nearly died from dividing the ancient stone. What in the frozen hells was he doing in a Jokull hive?

"Mmm, you recover so quickly," came a feminine purr, accented with Nordic inflections. "Such stamina for someone so young. Can you…manage a third time?"

"Third?" Jabari's laugh was dazed, drunk on something much more potent than alcohol. "Astrid, I can barely feel my legs..."

"I'll do the work to warm you back up. Just lie back and let me—"

The wet sound that followed made Dilinur's jaw clench. She pressed herself deeper into the tunnel's shadows, fingers flying across the Quantum Watch's interface. The holographic display flickered through options before settling on a function marked in elegant Mandarin characters: 光學偽裝 - Optical Camouflage.

The watch's surface rippled, releasing a cloud of nanoprojectors that settled over her skin and clothing like invisible dust. Within seconds, her form blurred at the edges, becoming a heat-shimmer distortion that bent light around her presence. Not true invisibility—any decent psionic would sense her Aether, but enough to avoid casual detection.

She needed to think. Jabari. A Directorate soldier, apparently seduced by what had to be Jokull leadership... the intelligence value alone was staggering. But more importantly, he represented possible leverage. A way out.

Moving with silence, Dilinur went deeper into the cavern, following her watch's mapping function. The bioluminescent growths grew denser here, their pale green light revealing a sight that made her stomach turn.

An Ormheimr portal dominated the chamber's far wall, though calling it a "portal" seemed inadequate. The thing pulsed like a living wound in reality, its edges writhing with organic matter that looked distinctly...intestinal. Veins of dark fluid pumped through translucent flesh, and the air around it reeked of copper and ozone.

Her watch's sensors worked, streaming data across the holographic display. The portal was dormant but not dead. Destination coordinates flickered across her screen: Mars, northern hemisphere, coordinates that matched known Fenris Horde territory.

But it was the authentication parameters that captured her attention. The portal was keyed to a specific 'Aether signature'—an individual's psionic pattern.

"Advise a strategy." Dilinur commanded in a low voice, careful not to be heard.

More text scrolled across the display, the ZenFusion AI offering suggestions in crisp Mandarin:

傳送門修改可能性評估 (Portal Modification Feasibility Assessment):

當前狀態 (Current State): Locked to single biometric signature

漏洞檢測 (Vulnerability Detected): Eclipse energy resonance at 0.73 THz frequency may override authentication

必需組件 (Required Components):

Original creator's Aether sample (minimum 5mL equivalent)

Harmonic frequency modulator (available via watch crystalline matrix)

Sustained Eclipse channeling (est. 4 minutes 17 seconds)

警告 (Warning): Modification without creator sample may result in dimensional instability

Dilinur's mind raced through the possibilities. If she could acquire even a trace of the portal creator's Aether—blood, saliva, any bodily fluid would do—she could potentially hijack this backdoor. Mars wasn't ideal, but it was better than waiting to die in Yosemite. And once there, she could...

"Oh! Oh, Thousand Gods...Astrid, your mouth...it feels so warm…in…there…"

The other voice did not reply, but Dilinur could hear the wet sounds of lips suckling on flesh, accompanied by the occasional encouraging muffled moans.

Jabari's voice carried clearly through the tunnels, followed by the suckling sounds that left little to imagination. Dilinur's lip curled in disgust, but her tactical mind was already calculating. The young man was compromised, probably had been for some time. But that also meant he was vulnerable. Distracted.

And he was her ticket out of here.

She pulled up the watch's biometric scanner, noting that it could analyze Aether signatures from up to fifty meters away. If she could get close enough while they were... occupied...she might be able to scan both of them. Jabari's signature would be useless for the portal, but knowing it could prove valuable later. And this Astrid—if she was senior enough in the Jokull hierarchy, there was a chance she might have access codes or biological markers that could help.

Dilinur crept back toward the voices, the optical camouflage making her little more than a shimmer in the green-lit darkness. The sounds grew clearer—flesh against flesh, breathless gasps, and Jabari's increasingly incoherent responses to whatever this Astrid was doing to him.

Perfect. Let them exhaust themselves. Let their guards drop.

Then she would make her move.