***
--- Alnus Community ---
January 10th, 2026
Captain Sarah Rose is walking down the street as she looks at her clipboard. "I think this is the place."
She looks up at this four-story building. It looks like an apartment building with stores on the first floor. At first, she thought she had the wrong address but Myuute said that the batgirl Mentiv Dor Alis lived here in the rafters.
"But I guess it makes sense," She said to herself. "Being a Bat after all."
She walks through the door and heads upstairs. Mentiv has been hard to track down, this is the fourth building she went to see if Mentiv was in the rafters. From what she understands she goes building to building for shelter.
Each place said they kicked her, and she relocated to a new building. From what the locals said she does not pay rent, so they kicked her out but the impression she got from the natives shows that she was not welcomed. While the military has anti-discrimination laws in place to protect the people here, it is easier said than done to enforce it.
The military has no experience in dealing with these more civil Dark Races. While she does not see the problem, her people are new to this world and do not have millennia history with them. Sharpe asked her to do some research on the matter, not wanting to rely on the local's bias perspective.
From her research, she has dwindled it down to two categories. The first group she is labeling as the Dark Feral creates like Goblins, the larger monster Minotaur's, Trolls, the Kurashs form that Dar took during the Battle of Serenity Outpost(1), soldiers ran into Brahmarakshasa in the forests and others who operate on pure instinct. All they do is live off their basic needs to eat, breed and kill.
The other category is more of a guess since she has little experience with the more civilized Dark Races. Most of her theories on the group are based on what she knows about this Batgirl. All the natives just lump them all into one group and call it good.
She then stops and takes a deep breath, noticing her mind racing back to the events in Havcristen, back to the events of Combat Outpost Serenity. She grown used to watching the battles from a computer screen but being part of one is different. She remembers fighting that beast and then being taken prisoner by Krysist as a last-ditch effort to escape from her commander, Major Sharpe.
Then the memory came of her short period as a prisoner, being hassled by those soldiers. She still remembers that moment here and there. She knew a rescue party would come but it would not happen in the time before the Imperial soldiers do what they wanted to do to her.
Then she remembers Krysist beaten them and then tossing her into a cell to be used as bait for Sharpe. While he condemned the act his troops wanted to do to her, he only saw her as a tool for his grand plans. But then, as she sat in the prison cell naked, wondering what was going to next.
And then Sharpe was standing right there at the cell door, breaking every single regulation in the book, again. He looked beaten, tired, both dry and wet blood all over him, dirty but still defiant. Her memory is a bit fuzzy after that she just remembers feeling warm and happy after being rescued...
"Are you lost?"
She stops and eye widens. She looks around and realized that she got stuck in a memory. "What?"
"You can't be lost," This feminine voice said. "No one gets lost in the rafters. But why are blushing? You Humans look strange when your face is red."
She looks around and already got her answer who it is. "You must be Miss Mentiv Dor Alis. I have been looking for you."
She turns around and sees the Batgirl standing there. Her skin looks lightly purple with dark har.
"The answer is no, now to leave," Mentiv said.
"You don't even know what I have to say." She responds.
"It does not matter," Mentiv said as she crosses her arms.
She smiles and reaches into her bag and pulls out a green apple. She then tosses it to Mentiv. "Here."
Mentiv catches it and looks at it. She wants to know what it is and sniffs it. Liking the smell, she starts eating it. "I am shocked that you didn't bring blood. I still am not interested in whatever you have to say."
She places her hand on the tip of her cap and adjusts it. "Well one, you're not a Vampire so why would I? I have seen enough Twilight to know the difference between the two. Hmm, I should introduce the girls to Twilight, that will piss Sharpe off."
"I have no idea what you people say," Mentiv comments. "It is always something strange. Why are you here? To kick me out of another rafter? Fine, I will go. Just give me a minute."
"Wow, hold up," She said. "I am not here to kick you out or anything. Actually, I am here to offer you a job."
That question confused Mentiv. "A job? Still not interested."
She tilts her head by Mentiv's response. "Why not? Sooner or later, you will run out of rafters to sleep at. At least you can live a more legitimate way while you are in Alnus."
"You don't understand," Mentiv said annoyed. "It doesn't matter if it is legitimate. People here will still see me as a monster. Besides, once I get what I came for I am going home."
She knows what Mentiv means. She read Randy report(2) about how Frost saved her from Imperialist bandits. She claimed to be searching for her younger brother. She said her brother was taken for his ability to see at night by the Empire.
"They will find your brother," She said. Frost promised to keep an eye out for clues of her brother while he is on missions.
Mentiv ears bend down and her tough girl attitude goes away. "I don't know what else to do anymore."
She takes a deep breath, seeing that this is going to be harder than she expected. "Why are you still in Alnus if you don't want to be here?"
Mentiv is hesitant to reply, trying to judge Sarah's motives. "Because I don't know where else to go. I thought I had a clue before, but it was a trap. That is when you people showed up. I do not want to be here; I want to be looking for him but... I don't know where to go."
That makes sense to her. It is hard enough to kind kidnap people on Earth with all our advance technology and institutions, here on Falmart who live in the bible days, the chance is low. If the kidnappers left town then that means they could be anywhere.
Not to say Alnus has a major problem compared to other towns and cities on Falmart. Alnus is safe for most people who come here. The Alnus Military Police does a great job in maintaining the peace. Because traders come from all over the place and no one knows who they are, the State Department created an ID system to start keeping records of people who live here and come in and out. Too late they realized that they had no idea who was coming in and out. For all, they know a criminal could walk in, act all friendly and scope the place out and then a child disappears.
To some Alnus is a fresh start or a place of hope. While the town represents an alternative life compared to the Empire however that does not change the facts on the ground.
Without clue to start a full search, there is no direction to start looking. "I understand."
Mentiv scratches her ear. "Yeah. That soldier boy said he will keep an eye out when fighting the Empire. If my brother is not dead already, he would be on the front lines. But I don't know anymore."
She takes a relaxing breath, not knowing what to say. "Well, if he is alive my commander and his team will find them. They are pretty good at it."
Mentiv sniffs as she wipes a tear from her eye. "So, if you are not here to chase me away, why are you here? A job you say?"
"Yes," She said, glad to get back on topic. "I do have some questions first, but I am starting a school here. If the interview goes well, I could use the help."
The question confused Mentiv greatly. There is a short awkward silence for a moment. "You want me to help at a school?"
"Yeah," She said. "I am taking the lead on it, but I have my military responsibilities. I need help.
"But why me? I am a Bat," Mentiv said.
"Yeah," She replies. "My people don't care if you're a bat."
Mentiv glares are her. "That is a lie."
She smiles uncomfortably. "I won't lie, a little. We just have not interacted with your kind enough to get used to everything yet. Hell, I still get creeped out seeing that snake hair girl at Apex."
She then smiles more confidentially. "My country tries to not judge off what someone looks like. We have a dark history with slavery and segregating people based on what they look like. We ended slavery and discrimination in my country. We had a civil war and decades-long protest to fight against discrimination. While we are not perfect, we try to live by Doctor King, judge not what a man looks like but judge the character if that man. Not a quote but I like it."
Mentiv looks at her baffled by what she said. She enjoyed the honesty of the answer and starts to question some things.
"And to answer your question is that I heard what you did at the food warehouse," She said. "Corporal Myuute said you were trying to help kids. Even though you have been struggling to fit in here, but you took the risk and try and help to turn a small crisis. That is why I am here; I can trust you."
She can see the batgirl standing there. Her face looks like her world was just broken like no one ever said that to her before. "But my brother...?"
"Well, you are free to go whenever you want," She said. "But if you are here in Alnus, this would be better for you. The more you interact with the community the easier it will be for you and when we find her brother."
"I guess I can think about it," Mentiv said as she starts to warm up to the idea.
She smiles and takes a relaxing breath. "Alright, follow me to my office."
***
--- Camp Galileo ---
January 10th, 2026
Lelei La Lalena is in the back of a HUMVEE heading to what the soldiers driving her call a powerful observational telescope. Sharpe said these objects allowing his people to see distant objects pass the heavens.
Sharpe said there are other worlds like hers in space. She has seen pictures of what Sharpe calls the Sol system, eight planets of all different sizes.
After that conversation, she has been on her phone using the base wifi researching everything she can. She looked up terms like Star System, what a Star is, how gravity connects everything between worlds and more.
She looks over to Selina Sharpe as she sits there looking out the window. She volunteered to watch her while the Major and the others go off on a mission. Since the kidnapping of Selina by those Wood Elves Sharpe always wants someone close to her.
She does not mind watching Selina for him. She reminds her of her normal days before both she and her sister Arpeggio El Lalena ran away to Rondel. She enjoys that after everything she has been through, she still likes to ask questions.
"Hey Selina," She asked.
Selina looks over to her. "What is up?... I still don't like how that sounds. Why do I care what is above you? I care about what's in front of you."
Hearing that she giggles. "You have a strange way of looking at things Selina."
Selina reaches down into her purse and pulls out some M&Ms. "Do you want some Double Ms?"
She smiles and reaches out and takes some. "Thank you. Selina, can I ask you a question?"
Selina nods as she eats her candy.
"You fired your pistol at someone with the intention to kill. How are you feeling?" She asks.
Selina thinks on the question for a moment and looks back at her with a smile. "I honestly feel fine. Dad always said that you only shot someone when they are threatening someone you love(3). We go to the practice range a lot and made sure I can use my Glock properly."
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Hearing that she smiles. "That is good. By the way, I have noticed you stop calling him father. You call him dad now."
Selina blushes lightly. "Well, when I was hanging there as the fire was swarming around me, I got scared and call him daddy. I didn't mean to, but I was scared, and it felt right." She said as she thinks back on her kidnapping. "And then he was there, and I was saved. Now it feels right."
"You know," She comments. "You look cute when you get embarrassed."
She smiles seeing that her friend gets embarrassed. She remembers when she first met Selina, she was noticeably quiet and shy. Always staying close to her or Rory, acting like a shy little girl. Always rushing to someone's side, for any form of protection. Meeting when she was a slave and now being her true self. Now she is impressed how much she has improved in a short period of time.
The vehicle stops and both get out. They are standing on a gravel pathway that leads to this large building.
She looks up the building and sees this dome roof that is open right in the middle of it. She looks closely and sees this strange object with a shiny glass piece on it. "Interesting." She mumbles to herself.
She then holds out her hand and takes Selina's hand. While the rest of Vanguard-7 is off on some mission. She only has a few days to be here and wants to see as much as she can.
"You must be Lelei La Lalen," This man walks out in a light brown jacket. "I have heard a lot about you. The research expedition has been following your work for a while now."
She looks up at the big man. He looks like he likes to eat and sits down a lot. She has seen it in Rondel, researchers and scholars who sit down usually get fat.
He is talking about some research work with the military. She helped explain to the military about the basics of Falmart and who lives here. She explained many of the different kinds of races and monsters they will face, what type of people they will interact and more. She later learned the information she gave them was put into a field manual called the Falmart Field Assist Manual. She was happy to see that her name was on it, but she never expected it would make her popular with their research sages.
"I only answered their questions," She responded.
"And those answers have been a great help," The man said. "My name is Doctor Edward Dawson. I am the head of NASA Uros Astronomy Department."
"NASA," She said. "That is your space program. Are you here to see what is in our space?"
"That is correct," Edward said with a chuckle. "I am the lead of our group. Inside you will see members from many countries. Japan, France, Canada, Britain. Basically, top astronomers from our major countries."
"What are you looking for?" Selina asks, still struggling to understand the topic.
Edward was about to say something but stops himself. He then smiles and gets cheery. "How about I just show you. I think what I want to show you will answer your question. Follow me."
She holds onto Selina's hand and follows Edward. She sees some soldiers from Space Force on guard duty.
When she heads insides, she notices the place was different then she expected. She has gotten used to seeing the boring military-style building style. Inside this building has wooden walls, couches, nice tables, and her favorite part, dozens of bookshelves, and computer stations.
"Wow," She mumbles. "This is far fancier."
"The benefits of being a civilian," Edward said with a chuckle. "But please don't think I am one of those elites. I am very thankful for the troops outside."
Before she said something, she sees these two people walk up. She has been around NATO soldiers long enough to start to figure out who is from what country. The flags on their soldier pads have helped a lot, which both people have a flag patch on their jacket shoulder.
The female astronomer is from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. Her name tag says Kawano Homi and the British man is representing his country in the European Space Agency. His nametag says Alex Gardner.
"Is that a real magical staff?" Kawano from Japan said.
"That is," Alex said in shock. He then turns around. "Hey everyone, we got a real magical staff here!"
Suddenly three more people came out of the computer room and rush over to her. It freaks her out a little as these five people come over. Two of them are Americans and the other is from France.
"Look at that blue part on top," The French man named Didier Gauthier said in a thick accent.
Alex gets close to her staff and looks carefully. "I wonder if there is some kind of battery crystal or some kind of biobattery that powers this. The Bio department would love to look at this."
She looks at everyone and takes a step back.
"Everyone back away from Miss Lalen," Edward said as she walks up and spreads everyone out. He then looks to Lelei with a smile. "I am sorry. No one has seen staff yet. That piece of technology baffles everything we understand about science."
She found it interesting that they referred to her staff as technology. To her and all the other mages and sages, it is a staff that helps them use magic.
She takes a breath, feeling a bit nervous. She feels Selina handgrip more and feels better knowing she is not alone. "It is ok. I was not ready to be stored."
"Sorry about that," Alex said.
"Hey," Kawano said. "Can you show us please?"
She looks at them all and sees this childish look in their eyes. They all seem so excited to see magic, this probably the first time in their lives to witness something like that. "Ok."
She takes a step back and closes her eyes. She begins to chant and opens her lightly glowing eyes. Her staff begins to glow blue.
She sees the five astronomers back away, unable to look away from her staff. Their reaction looks like they have never seen anything like it before.
Once the glow goes away all six of them rush forward to her staff and look at it. They all are bickering among each other trying to find a scientific explanation for how her staff works.
She watches them baffled by their reaction. While magic is so normal for her and the people in Falmart, these Other Worlders are amazed by something small like a glow. She finds it a little funny that all these people in Falmart have been amazed by how advance they were and now it is reversed. "Was that good?"
"That was amazing!" Alex yells with excitement.
"How does it work?" Dibier asked.
"How do you make these things?" Kawano askes.
"The main source of power is the orb on top of my staff," She replies. "My master gave it to me once he took me under his wing. I focus my energy and the orb helps channel my mana. But I do not know how to make these yet. I left my training with Master Cato El Altestan to join Vanguard-7 and help your people in the war."
She looks around at them all, half of them still have their eyes glues on her staff. "If you want to learn how to make and use staff you will have to go to Rondel."
"Ok, ok, ok," Edward says as he walks between everyone. "Stop with the magic questions. Leave them for Doctor Vinja Kruah. That is what is his department is for. Now back to work."
She watches them all walk away, upset that they could not ask more questions. She then looks up at Edward.
"I am sorry Lelei," Edward said. "I should have known better."
She smiles, enjoying how happy they are over the most basic of spells. "It is ok. It was humorous."
Edward chuckles. "If you don't mind, please follow me. I want to take you to the main telescope."
She smiles hearing that he is taking her to a telescope. "Is it that thing I saw on top of your roof?"
"Yes, it is," Edward replies.
She grabs Selina's hand, and they follow Edward up the stairs.
"Those people were strange," Selina said.
"I see why the Major doesn't want us to interact with them that much," She responds. "But it was funny seeing their reaction."
"Yeah," Selina replies. "But it was funny that they thought your orb is a battery."
She looks down at her and smiles. "Correct. It tells me that they are clueless about magic works. I am beginning to wonder if knowledge might be one way. Their minds might be to close off to learn magic. But we will see, I am not ready to start teaching people how to learn magic as I haven't finished my teaching."
"But on everything you learned from them, your magic has gotten much stronger and efficient," Selina said. "You are probably stronger than most in Rondel."
She was going to respond but then thinks about what Selina said. She has been able to use the knowledge Sharpe provides to her. She developed a sonic boom spell, gravity, and other spells. Even the spells she has learned from her master have sharpened efficiently and lethality. Magic is based on your knowledge of the world around you.
Edwards takes them into the top floor. Once she walks inside, the room looks exceptionally large. Computers are covering the walls, but the most important object is the chair attached to this massive, strange object she is assuming is a telescope.
"Is that the telescope?" She asked, studying it with her eyes.
"That is correct," Edward said and looks away.
"Wow, it is massive," Selina said.
"I didn't know they were that big," She adds. "I thought they were small. That is what the pictures I researched showed."
Edward chuckles and leans over. "Evan, get over here."
This name with a nametag says Evan Woods walks over. He is in slippers and teddy bear pajama pants and a blue sweatshirt. "What is up? Oh, the magic girl is here."
"I been asked by the General to give our guests the VIP treatment," Edward said.
As the two talked to each other, she walks forward to study the massive telescope. She then turns around to Edwards. "How does this thing work? It enhances your eyes so you can see father?"
"In a way," Edward replies. "Even, go get the machine ready."
Edward then walks over to Lelei and stand by her.
"How does it work?" She asks. "Is it like military binoculars?"
"That is a good example," Edward said. "Binoculars and telescopes have a similar history. This is basically a far grander version of binoculars."
"What does that mean?" She asks and looks up at him.
"Space is vast," Edward said.
"Doctor, should you be saying this?" Even said as he leans over. "The protocols?"
She looks and rolls her eyes. Even is talking about the same protocols that Sharpe has said, about limiting what knowledge is given to what they call native citizens of Falmart. She has accepted the idea; it is not her knowledge, so she feels like it is a privilege that she been granted so much access.
Edward brushes off what Even said. "I think it will be fine. She has fully assessed and is considered a US resident by the State Department."
Edward then looks down at her. "As I was saying, Space is vast. The Human mind cannot comprehend how large it is."
"I don't know, I have a big imagination," Selina comments. "I have seen my dad shows and it doesn't seem that big."
Edward looks at her. "Let me try and give you an example." He then takes off his watch and hands it to Selina. "Imagine if this is your star, Flare, right?"
"Correct," She responds.
"Ok," Edward said. "Now you both know how big Flare is. It is massive. The size of my watch represents that Flare size. Now Selina, can you go over there to the wall? I am going to go to the opposite end. I will represent the closest Flare to yours."
She stands there and watches Selina walk to the other end of the building. She then watches Edward walk to the other side of the large dome room. Her eyes widen as she starts to comprehend on how distance him and Selina is.
She starts to see that if they they a single Flare at the size of his watch, then this is a massive gap between the two. She understands this is a crud example and wonders what a more proper example would be.
Both Selina and Edward come back to her.
"Wow-," Selina said. "That is far."
"That is why it is hard for us to do research in this field," Edward replies.
She thinks about that, thinking about the astronomy sages in Rondel. They have been considered a joke, mainly because they could not show proof of any of their hypothesis. While they are not the only group, she knows of who a laughingstock is, she is thinking about this one group. For her, today has been a massive eye-opener and she wonders what another laughingstock she passed considered who might be right now.
"Boss," Even yells. "I found it."
She sees Edward gets excited and tells them to follow him. She grabs Selina's hand and follows the man. She walks up to where Even is sitting.
"Hey kid," Even said as he gets out of the seat. "Sit down here and put your eye on that device. You are going to see something cool."
She gets into the seat, wondering what is happening. She does what she was instructed and investigates the massive telescope. What she sees amazes her so much. "Is... is this real?"
"Yes, it is my blue hair friend," Even said as he yawns. "What you are seeing right now is a Gas Giant."
What she sees is this large dark blue ball. It has these red and brown lines all around like it is cutting through the core blue. The planet has a large ring around it. "What are those rings?"
"Those are rocks," Edward answers. "Some are the size of a tank. Some the size of a building and so on. There are millions if not more rocks going around."
The rings remind her of a picture she saw of the planet Saturn in Sharpe home system. "They are beautiful."
"Edward," Selina said. "Why do you call it a gas giant?"
"Good question," Edward said. "Imagine your head is your world of Uros. A gas giant is the size of this dome."
"Wow," Selina comments. "Everything is big up there."
"Very," Edward replies. "A gas giant is the massive body that orbits around its host star. A planet like Uros is all rock world, as you can see. Besides being a rocky surface like this place, a gas giant is made up of different types of gases. The details are not important but if you could go there, you won't hit the surface like a rock but be able to fly around in there because the surface is a gas."
"So, they area fart planets?" Selina askes.
She looks away from the telescope and looks down at Selina. Even starts laughing and she can't help herself from giggling from that. "Selina. You promised to be polite."
Selina looks to her. "What? He said it is a gas. It is something dad would say."
She was about to respond but does not. The truth is the Major probably would say something like that. She does not understand the reason why but in his world, it is something called a dad joke.
"I heard that before," Edward said and looks to her. "Anyway, what do you think?"
"I think this is cool. Where is this gas planet located?" She responds.
"In your system," Edward said. "We discovered it last month. It is one of your neighboring planets. We were expecting to find that gas planet. You have two gas planets, this one we call Gora and the other one is Ægir.”
“We discovered Ægir back in 2000 but we never been able to confirm it until now.” Edward adds. “We always just accepted it was there.”
“We are always knowing it was there but it was a tricky bastard,” Even said.
“Yes,” Edward said. “Finding new worlds is ridiculously hard. It has been exciting to finally see what others look like.
“Can we see Aiegr… the other planet?” Selina asks.
“Sorry we can’t,” Even said with a chuckle. “Right now, Ægir is out of sight. We won’t be able to see it until 2644 hundred local time.”
She looks again, amazed by the sight. She then lets Selina look. As Selina looks, she looks to Edward. She remembers the Sol system and that Earth has seven other sister planets. "So, we have other worlds too? Amazing. Is this common?"
"As far as we know yes," Edward replies. "We have documented over ten thousand worlds from other star systems however most of them are gas giants like the one you saw. Now, you want to see something really cool?"
She looks at him and nods. "There is a lot to take in but sure. I like to see more."
Edward looks to Even and nods. Even then walks away and starts typing into the computer.
Both Selina and she feel the large telescope start to move slowly, readjusting its position.
"One of the first questions we had, when we came to this planet, was where are we in the universe," Edward said. "We had many hypotheses about where your star was located, thinking it would take decades to figure it out. But Even, here noticed something similar about Flare."
The telescope stops moving.
"Please take a look," Edward said.
She looks at Edwards and then through the telescope. What she sees is a yellow star, just like all the ones she sees at night.
"There is a system nearby my world called Epsilon Eridani," Edward said. "It is ten lightyears away from our system. We always thought there was a habitable planet there."
She is a bit confused about what he is saying. She looks away so Selina can look. "You are saying that I am looking at Epsilon Eridani?"
"No," Edward replies. "What you are looking at my home star, Sol."
She looks at him, shocked by that. "Really? That is your home?"
"Correct," Edward said.
"What Edward is saying is that we what you call Flare is what we call Epsilon Eridani," Even adds. "It was a surprise to find out how close we really are."
"I am still learning all this but based on how you are saying it, that seems close," She said. "If space is as big as you said."
"You do have a sharp mind," Edward said. "While history is not our field, but the Gate appeared on Earth at some point in the distant past. Has to be before recorded history so I would say ten thousand years minimum(4)."
"Interesting," Selina mumbles.
"Yes," She said. "Very interesting."
She sits back and thinks about everything that has been said. Her mind feels a bit overloaded from all the information. She always thought everything was complicated but how she is starting to understand how small her world really is.
She is starting to understand why Sharpe and others from his world want to see want is around them. She and no idea his people were just around the corner.
Edward walks up and places his hand on the telescope. "Hey girls. Let's get lunch. You seem tired."
She looks at him. "Thank you for showing us all of this. There is a lot to think about it."
"But I have a question," Selina said.
Edward looks at her. "You are a question machine. Go ahead."
"This is cool and everything," Selina said. "But what does any of this mean? How does this help us?"
Even walks pass Edward but stops and looks at them. "I can answer that. What this means is we are just spending taxpayer money. That's it."
"Knock it off," Edward said. "Right now, nothing. It's more about understanding our knowledge. But sometimes understanding yourself has more value. To do that we need to know what is out there. It is an urge."
She looks at him and thinks about that. When the Americans first arrived at this world, she assumed that their technology was different compared to the Empire. Then it was their ideas and Human rights and liberty. But now she is starting to think there is more to it than just that.
"Come on," Edward said. "Let's get lunch."