Interstellar

S.A.I.G.E

Rasenti stood looking at one of the tallest, most sophisticated buildings on Nexus 1. S.A.I.G.E was the Scientific Academy of Interdimensional Galaxy Exploration, and she had been accepted as an interspecies biologist. So many emotions flooded Rasenti, it was hard to define them. The most prominent was a sense of melancholy.. she wished her parents could see her accomplishments. "Yeah, right." Rasenti thought. Her parents had abandoned her, as far as she knew they never wanted her to begin with. "Sen!!!" she heard Seraphine calling her. 

Seraphine was her best friend, and also a transdimensional physicist. Rasenti thought back to when she first met Seraphine. "Don't eat that!" Seraphine had screamed, "It isn't good, it's trash, that's why it's in the disposal!" Rasenti had stood staring at her, covered in scrapes and bruises, hair matted with her tattered clothes. It had been so long since someone saw or spoke to Rasenti, she wasn't sure if she had a voice. "It's...it's all I found to eat" she stammered. She stared blankly at me. "Great," I thought. "Here comes that look of disgust" I turned to run away and find something somewhere else when Seraphine grabbed my hand. "Wait," she said softly, "Don't go, come with me, I'm Seraphine." I turned to her confused... "Huh?"

 "Come with me" she repeated. I couldn't comprehend what was going on but my feet began shuffling forward with her. Seraphine approached Rasenti whose eyes were glossed over like she was daydreaming. "SEN!" I heard Seraphine yelling at me. Snapping back to reality, I focus on the present-day... she's looking at me with such an attitude. Something's got her upset. "What's wrong?" I asked. "You are about to be late for your first day!!!!" "THAT'S WHAT!" I glance at my wrist gauntlet and tap the screen. A hologram shows me a map of the classroom I'm supposed to be in. It has a timer saying 2 minutes. "Great! I'm gonna be toast before I even start" I said. Panic is beginning to set in as I pick up the pace to match Seraphine's. "One of the times I'd kill to be a translocationist!" I told her. Seraphine looked at me and said, "Then you wouldn't be one of the most brilliant people I've ever known." "Thanks, Ra." I never use her nickname, but I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for her. Seraphine nodded her head and pointed to a door at the end of the hallway. "We are almost there." I look around and take in my surroundings. The walls are ornately adorned with gold filigree, and what looks like active coding pulsing inside the beautiful carvings. That must be biological Nanotech! Technology that combines organic matter and nanobots to help sustain life and protect it by responding with power from nanotech. "I bet it can produce forcefields and quite possibly even form its nanotech weaponry for defense" I whispered in awe to Seraphine.

 She had stopped moving, snapping back again I realized we were right at the doorway and an older man was staring at me with a wide smile and kind eyes. "You must be Rasenti Rao." His voice was deep, with undertones of warmth and comfort. "Yes sir, I am Rasenti Rao." I extend my hand towards him and he clasps my forearm. "Wonderful to work with such a brilliant mind. I see you are admiring the embedded nanites." He gestures for us to come in, Seraphine declines, "I'll see you later Sen" she yells back as she heads towards her lab. The man walks inside turns around and says, "I'm Alazar Hashime, a lead research scientist in this department and on this project." He put his hand on a stack of Digi-papers with an electric quill. The digi's and quill appeared on my desk. "You're a translocationist?" I exclaimed.

"No, and, yes... it's more complicated than that" He smiled. "I've embedded nanites in my system that can replicate translocationist power but only to a generalized area/limb" She smirked as well. "Meaning only that hand can translocate objects and items but you cannot translocate." "Correct, you are quick-witted Ms. Rao" Alazar praised. "I've been in a lot of situations growing up that made me have to think for myself, and quickly if I wanted to survive." Alazar looked shocked for a minute but decided not to press for an elaboration. He simply patted my arm and softly said "The terrible things, are what build our character and fill it with strength for the future." I look down at the digi's. "I assume this is my contract for interning and working on this project with you." "Yes, it outlines details I want you to review, there are risks to the current project, the internship will mean that you are not a full-time employee scientist but you will be under my direct lead, after 6 months of interning, advancement, or employment opportunities are discussed among hiring scientists and team leads of the Academy and on the project" 

Rasenti took her time to look over the Digi papers. Her electric quill ready in her hand, she reviewed. Even though there was obvious danger and the program itself was experimental, she knew she wanted nothing more than to be a part of it. She began to sign her name, the electric quill meeting the Digi-paper screen and illuminating her handwriting. Mr. Hashime was by his desk looking into an orbius. An orbius is a device for communication in different times, galaxies and dimensions. I assumed that's how they kept track of projects and research all through the multi-verse. They were seriously scarce and very expensive. She had heard that the tech in the Orbius was actually ancient, nothing else like it in any known verse. "Excuse me, Mr. Hashime." I arose and handed him my digis. "I'm curious, is it true the tech in the orbius is unlike any other and ancient instead of modern?" He glanced up from reading through my signatures and raised an eyebrow. "The Orbius contains tech from a time before S.A.I.G.E, a preliminary ancient period in time-space that is still quite a mystery and inaccessible now, even to a time jump," he said quietly.  What could be inaccessible to an organization that's supposed to help maintain and monitor the entire multi-verse? I wondered. How is that tech more advanced than the tech we have now, after adventuring the multi-verse and collecting data constantly? The possibilities excited Rasenti. She wanted to explore this time-space one day, but first... she had to get through this internship. 

Walking out of Mr. Hashime's classroom, I was beyond excited to tell Seraphine. I hastily walked towards the hallway I saw her turn down earlier. Looking down at my wrist gauntlet, I tapped the screen to initiate the mapping program. Typing in Seraphine's name and field of study, I found her classroom. Setting the pin on the map, showed me the best route. Picking up the pace, I scanned the layout of the Academy. The walls of the Academy were all lined with the Bio-Tech. Cutting edge facility for sure, it had cathedral ceilings with ancient texts and pictures across them. You could feel the power seeping out from everywhere. No wonder this facility was at the center of the multi-verse. It obviously has a connection to the innate energy of the verses...but why? I was so curious to understand the Academy's origins and the Orbius tech. My wrist gauntlet began beeping, letting me know I was near Ra's classroom. I round the corner and see a large classroom with two double doors, wide open. Inside I see what looks like a portal arc. 

"You are now in Laboratory Classroom 605, transdimensional physicist Seraphine Alder should be located 4.5 ft away from you." Seraphine having heard her name looked over towards me. I smile awkwardly and mouth the words "Sorry!" She was mid-conversation with a man but definitely not a scientist. He was dressed in a royal robe, with lettering I'd never seen woven all through the fabric. My intuition did not like this guy, I mean radar going out of control! High Alert! Who was this creep?! I walked up to Seraphine instead of waiting for her to come my way. As I approached, the man glanced over and immediately stopped speaking. He went slightly pale and dismissed himself rather quickly. "Who was that?" I was next to her now. "His name is Javani Shae, apparently he's a part of some group that helps fund S.A.I.G.E" "I don't know what exactly he thought he was getting out of coming here, trying to pressure me for results faster than I can get them" " Don't they know you can't rush something like this, if anything is unstable I could obliterate this place with one miscalculation!" She huffed and began pacing. Rasenti looked at Ra. "I came to tell you that I signed my digis for the internship and should begin working on the project with Mr. Hashime in 2 days, but that guy obviously ruined the mood of the day." 

Ra rolled her eyes, "He only ruins it if I let him, which I'm not going to because you just started your journey to the life you've always wanted! Nothing can ruin that" I hugged Seraphine tightly. Teary-eyed I told her how much she means to me and how grateful I am to have her. I was an orphan, living on the streets, gutter to gutter, my next meal coming from the disposals when I met Seraphine, I ended up finding a home. She took me in and we helped each other grow up, she was an orphan too, but she was orphaned with a gencredit fund, which is where your family can leave you property, tech, and creds. All specifics outlined and filed with S.A.I.G.E and the Council. She had caretakers, creds, tech...and chose to share all that with me. A random ugly street rat orphan. I'll never know how my life would've been... if I hadn't met Ra. I'm not sure I'd even be alive. 

Seraphine was already planning an outing on her wrist gauntlet for us later. It looked like she'd reserved a restaurant and a tour of the museum of Ancients. The Museum of Ancients was a place Ren always loved to go. It brought her peace and comfort.. a place she was drawn to for as long as she can remember. Many nights she'd snuck in just to see the tablets with the "pretty writing". Back then she hadn't been told the story of Ancients...or the Multiverse Millinias. She could feel the energy and power coming from the writing on the tablets, carved so beautifully into obsidian. The letters all glittered with a deep green-gold hue... she would trace them with her fingers for hours. The feel of them providing a sense of strength, of purpose for her. "All set" Ra was gathering her things and placing them in her shoulder bag. "We can enjoy a celebratory dinner tonight and a trip down memory lane to commemorate how far you've come," she said proudly.  "How far WE'VE come." I corrected. 

We left her lab and headed outside, a hover mobile was already waiting for us with its cab sign lit up "Alder". Out stepped a Neodite man named Fronz, Neodites were a species of dryads. They lived on a densely jungle populated planet with the Syrlee, a species of water sprites. He opened the door for Ra and me. "Misses," Fronz said. I looked at him and poked his forehead "You'd think after 18 years and then some, you wouldn't be so formal with us!" I saw Fronz almost like a father figure, he may not be much older than us but he was wiser. Hired by Ra's parents, he'd been escorting us around since we were children. "Rasenti Rao, you know how my species believes in the utmost respect for all females of every species." He came around the front of the hover mobile and began driving us home. His Neodite heritage shining brightly as always. On his planet, there were only monarchs of female descent. Due to the amount of female leadership and wisdom in his culture, women are revered as the treasures of the verses. Given to the men of the species to protect, love, cherish and honor. 

Their sense of devotion was beyond belief and once mated, there is no other. They mate for life. It's biological for them, once they detect and smell the pheromone of their mate it results in a biological reaction. That's the identifier to their mate. Even if their mate is a different species, the Neodites biological makeup will still cause the reaction in their system. Knowing this growing up is part of the reason I wanted to be an interspecies biologist. I admired that trait so much it made me want to understand biology and genetics. I now know there are many species similar to the Neodites that mate for life. Fronz hadn't found his mate yet, but he remained hopeful. The hardest part of species limitations is that his mate could even be in a different dimension, until they are in proximity of their mates, they cannot find them. At least the Neodites can't. There is an Oracle of Illumni, who is said to know all, but she is in Dimension 7, Planet Illumnier. 

The problem that everyone runs into is Dimension 7 is an off-limits black site. Only S.A.I.G.E's board of directors or The Council have access to it. Planet Illumnier is not a part of the United Verse. The Oracle has stayed independent due to her powers. Her planet is under her control and hers only. She helps them if she is so inclined, but I'm sure not without a cost. The stories of Dimension 7 and The Oracle travel far and wide. Filled with aggressive alien subspecies, predisposed to violent and erratic low intelligence behavior. The Oracle and her species of Klarions are the most intelligent species in D7. They also have the powers of telekinesis, and The Oracle has the power of premonition and is tied to the threads of fate. She is a child of prophecy from D7. The Elders who used to command Illumnier prophesied that a child would be born to the Klarions that would be unlike any other. All-seeing and powerful beyond belief, they put their hope and fates in the hand of The Oracle child. Unable to see when the birth would occur or what time period, the Elders did their best to prepare D7 for the arrival of the child. Before The Oracle could be born, the other planets in D7 ran by brutally savage species, conspired against the Elders to start a war with the Klarions.  Many of the Elders died but after 2 eras of war, The Oracle was born, and before the last Elder passed away, The Oracle had taken over the hierarchy, dispelling the invaders from Illumnier. 

Due to the circumstances, The Oracle swore to run the planet and D7 on their own. Unwilling to partner with any outside forces or transdimensional beings. Can't say I blamed The Oracle.... I would've shut everyone else out too and focused on rebuilding my home. I couldn't imagine having a whole dimension relying on me! I remember being told the story of D7 when I was 8. I asked Fronz why didn't he just ask The Oracle where his mate was. He had hesitated before explaining it to me. I related a lot with The Oracle, except I didn't have a dimension relying on me, I just knew what it was like to be alone, and do not understand who you are, or WHY you are. I often wondered if The Oracle wanted a different life, one of her own making.

 Lost in her thoughts about D7, Rasenti hadn't been listening to Seraphine's itinerary for the night. Glancing up, she noticed Seraphine was picking her outfit from the wrist gauntlet. They all wore a black bodysuit that connected to the gauntlet, it was programmed to respond to one's biology and allowed for access to wardrobes of any kind, along with versatile functionality settings. Ra was scanning through elegant designer gowns, a light blue gown with silver lining and iridescent sleeves caught her attention. She stopped scanning and clicked selected to purchase the gown, within a minute, her suit was morphing into the gown she had chosen. She looked absolutely stunning. Seraphine has blonde hair with amber eyes, porcelain skin with a round face, and pouty lips. "How do I look?" she asked me. "A vision as always milady.." I told her honestly. I guess it was my turn to look for an outfit, judging by the dress she picked, we were going somewhere high-end. 

I tap my display screen on the wrist gauntlet and select device functionality. "Adaptable Wardrobe" is the first option, once selected, my gauntlet hologram displays the endless outfit selections. I scroll through, searching for something more modest, less pastel but still high-end enough. Midway through my scan, I glimpsed a black dress with gold inlay, off the shoulder, a-line. Perfect, I enjoyed the simplistic yet commandeering presence it had. I purchased it and within a few seconds, my suit began to change as Ra's had done. Seraphine gasped. "Whoa, Sen, you look.... breathtaking." She admired the dress and me for a few more moments before stating that we had arrived at the restaurant. Looking outside I read "EROS" in elegant ancient calligraphy holoprojected onto the building we were now arriving in front of. Eros was a huge upscale restaurant mainly for celebrities and elite society members. It took a lot to get a reservation here and it was said to be some of the most eclectic intergalactic food you could ever get. Delicacies from other dimensions, native herbs, and vegetables from other verses, it was all so intriguing! Beyond excited to go inside I looked at Seraphine. "How'd you get us into Eros?" She winked, then said, "I have some tricks up my sleeve even you don't know."

Fronz opened the door, "Misses'" he looked at us, "Shall I accompany you inside?" "Park the hover-mobile Fronz and then meet us inside, you're celebrating with us," Seraphine stated. Fronz nodded and left. As we approached the doors of Eros, a wide-shouldered, tall, dark-haired Tarmian man walked out. I could tell he was Tarmian from his dark bronze skin, his pointed ears, sharp-angled cheekbones, and those yellow eyes. Holy, hell. He was gorgeous. I mean, like, gorgeous. Was I staring? Was Seraphine staring? I look at Seraphine, she's completely halted in her tracks, chin dropped, mouth open...but what got me is HIS reaction. He instantly looked at Seraphine, I heard him speak in such a deep soft voice, one word... "Mate." Tarmian is also a species that mates for life. They can identify their mate by smell and a chemical reaction that gets their blood pumping and releases extra C6 protein to their eyes, which allows them to see in infrared. This protein only produces upon the body's recognition of its mate. Seraphine took off guard, simply stammered "I beg your pardon?" 

By this time, Fronz has made it back to us, the Tarmian man looks suspiciously at Fronz, "who is he?" the Tarmian asks. I realize that he may be acclimating to having just found his mate and could potentially be feeling territorial. "His name is Fronz, our caretaker and I am Rasenti Rao...you are?" The Tarmian male looked at me for a second then slowly replied. "I am Dominic Razir, Prince of Tarmia." I choked, "I'm sorry did you say, prince?" He nodded. Seraphine still hadn't spoken, eyes wide. She was obviously in shock, I nudged her. "Ra..." I said.  Her head swiveled towards me, then back towards Dominic. "I'm Seraphine Alder. We are headed to celebrate Rasenti's internship at S.A.I.G.E. would you like to accompany us?" She said stiffly and at an alarmingly fast rate, I wasn't sure if Dominic had understood. Dominic opened the door and gestured us inside, "I'd love to." following us inside. 

"Reservation for Alder," Seraphine told the hostess. She touched the podium screen and scrolled through the reservation list. "Alder, Alder, Alder... Ahh! There you are." Table 52. "Follow me" the hostess begins walking through the restaurant. Each section of tables has three hovering flat tops, a chef behind each one. This looked incredible and smelled even more so. Fronz hung back protectively scanning the restaurant and quietly keeping pace. I decided to break the ice between Dominic and Seraphine since I was sure this was all very surprising. "Dominic, am I right in assuming you have identified Seraphine as your mate?" He looked at me confused. "I'm an interspecies biologist, it's sort of my thing" I stated. "Yes, my body has informed me that she is my mate" looking at Seraphine. "Seraphine Alder," he says her name softly. The hostess stops and points to our seats, leaving us with our menus. Seraphine looks at Dominic. "My species doesn't mate as yours does, I'm not saying I'm not your mate, I'm just saying we have to get to know each other, the way my species would if that is acceptable to you.." Dominic without hesitation grabs her hand and stares directly into her eyes, "That is fine, just to be given the chance after finding my fated one is all one can ask for." Seraphine cleared her throat and looked towards me. Definitely uncomfortable at the suddenness but not dismissive. 

"Now Sen, this is a moment I want you to remember forever, you have started on your dreams. I am so proud of you and excited for us to start this journey together at S.A.I.G.E" I could feel the smile on my face growing from ear to ear. I still couldn't believe I got the internship, I'll be working across the verses, exploring and studying. Looking at Seraphine with tears in my eyes, this was definitely something I'd hold onto forever.  Crazy how on this day she'd also find her lifemate... the verses always have to add a twist or two. Beginning to read the menu, I let Seraphine and Dominic talk, scanning items that peaked my appetite. I pointed a few out to Fronz, who was eyeballing some dish from his home planet exclaiming it was a delicacy and one he hadn't eaten since he left. Roasted mushrooms and Liverfish sounded like an interesting combination to me. Native to D3, Planet Croq, the Liverfish is a rarity also. Its flaky meat is packed with flavor and the mushrooms accentuate the earthiness of the dish. Deciding that I'd try that, I zone back into the conversation between Seraphine and Dominic. He had told her his favorite items on the menu and she had chosen the Calamari of Tor, a mainly oceanic planet with squid around 300ft. When the waitress approached us again, Dominic declined a meal, ordering The Verse Trio; 3 shots of alcoholic beverages. BeezleBomb; Alcohol fermented from the fruit on the planet Beez, it is only brewed while translocating. Giving it a dimensional kick, so to speak. Lizardsnart shots were made by highly intelligent reptilians, it's potent and its extra kick comes from a variety of native poisons in D10. Last was Whiz-K, which was ancient alcohol, obtained in D1, on a planet called Earth. It's from a different time period so it's rare and only obtained by the time monks. Tarmians were known to have a high metabolism, making it hard for them to become "intoxicated." 

After we all ordered, Seraphine turned to me. "Sen, I needed you just as much as you needed me, believe that okay?" I stared at her but I knew what she was saying. It was lonely being an orphan, and even though we both were, we had each other and that made life easier. As the time passed waiting for our meals, Seraphine and Dominic seemed to be hitting it off, pretty well actually. I got lost in my gauntlet browsing clothing options for this week, plus I wasn't wearing this gown to the museum. I looked at a patterned pantsuit and decided I'd go with that when we left. Smelling something phenomenal, I turned my gaze towards the direction of the chef behind the floating flat top. It looked like the Liverfish was sizzling on its surface. My mouth began to water and my stomach growled. I realized I hadn't even eaten today, rushing to class this morning with Ra.  Seraphine's calamari was cooking next to mine, nudging her I pointed at the squid. "That thing is huge, I wish I could see the whole specimen." She glances at it, looks back at me, and says "It looks delicious and you never know, maybe you'll be on Tor exploring the oceans soon." she winks. "The Verse Trio" our waitress announces as she sets the board of shot glasses down in front of Dominic.  He starts to slam them back at an alarming pace. A plate of crostini and tapenades sits in the middle of the table. I reach for one and spread the tapenade on it, taking a bite, I moaned. "This is amazing." Seraphine smiled wide. "I knew you'd love this place." Fronz was so quiet I almost forgot he was even present! Looking over at him, he seemed to be experiencing pure bliss at his home's famous meal. 

Working on my 3rd crostini, the waitress serves us two of the most elegantly prepared dishes I'd ever seen. I thank her graciously and began to taste the dish in front of me. Liverfish was such a meaty flaky fish, with an indescribable flavor, very strong, but the mushroom helped accentuate the savory earthiness of the dish all around. Seraphines calamari was golden-brown, tender, and just the right amount of crunch to it. Lemon and garlic clarified butter to dip it in, and a fresh balsamic salad. "Yummmmmm," Ra said, as her eyes lit up and she stabbed her salad for a mouthful. We didn't even talk while we ate, instead, we listened to Dominic tell us a little more about his planet and his duties as Prince. His home planet was in an era of peace but they continue to train their men into fierce-some warriors. His mother, Queen Lorena, and his 4 sisters were Elloi. A species of fairy with entrancing power. He was half Elloi like his sisters but he as a male took more after his father The King. Two of his sisters had already found their mates, and one of them was an Elloi man.. a prestigious one on the Elloq home planet. The Elloi were located in D11. As we finished up our meals, Fronz and I began to stack the dishes for the waitress. Fronz excused himself to retrieve the hover-mobile, informing us he would be awaiting us outside. Seraphine looked at Dominic, eyes soft, "I'm not trying to cut our time short but we have a museum to visit and the rest of our evening planned. I work at S.A.I.G.E,  my wrist gauntlet's communication systems number is D7899. We can schedule a date, to get to know each other more" and with that, we parted ways with Dominic, as he logged her gauntlet number into his own. 

The Museum of Ancients wasn't on Nexus 1, per se. We were headed toward the nearest planetary portal. There were hubs all around the city with arcs that contained in-dimension portals, meaning you could portal to planets in your dimension only. It was faster than by ship. The Museum is located on Nexus 1's moon, Elvida. The Moon Elves protect and monitor the Museum of Ancients, to be honest, they're much like the Curators. Innately magical, agile and perceptive, they are some of my favorite people to be around. I used to sneak to the arcs all the time, just to visit Elvida and the Museum.  I always felt drawn there, as if the relics had something to tell me. Something to share. When you grow up how I did, having a bond with something -anything- is so rare that once you develop one, you'll do anything to keep it. I was sneaking there long before I met Seraphine, I felt the museum in my heart even when I wasn't around. I would trace the old languages and feel my fingers thrum with the magical power imbued in the wording. It had been some years since I'd visited, cracking down on schooling in order to get accepted at S.A.I.G.E was priority #1. Everything else took a back burner so to speak. As I reminisced I caught Seraphine watching me intently. "What?" I asked. "Is there food on my face?" wiping around my mouth with a napkin I was still holding in my hand. "You seemed to be kind of glowing, a little bit ago" she looked perplexed. "Glowing?" "Why would I be glowing?" I asked, looking just as confused as Seraphine. Shrugging, she rubbed her eyes and simply said "Maybe it was the lighting and I just thought you were glowing, its been an interestingly busy and unexpected day." I definitely could agree with that. After all, she met her mate today... busy first day aside, that is such a huge life moment. I gotta give my best friend credit for her adaptability. Determined to see her birthday celebration events through, she smiled at Seraphine and pointed out the window. "The portals coming up maybe 2 minutes, you ready?" she asked Ra. "I'm supposed to be asking you that, it's been a few years hasn't it?" she looked back at me. Running through my emotions right now, I really had no idea how to gauge what I was feeling. Was it excitement? Whatever the feeling was, Elvida called to me in a sense, and I felt the thrumming in my blood and bone begin...