Civilization Chronicles: Rise of the Divine Creator

Waking up the next morning to the artificial sunlight projected by the holo-screens, Jessica yawned, stretched, then attempted to rise from her bed, only to wince as she still felt a slight stinging in her nether region and some numbness in her legs.

Glancing over at the rogue responsible for her current condition and seeing the goofy grin still plastered all over his face as he slept like a log, Jessica felt the urge to slap him at least once.

She and Trevor had only gone for a single round last night, after which they shared a shower together before crawling into bed and falling sleep.

In truth, Jessica could see that Trevor wanted to go for at least one more round, but he had held back his and settled for some cuddling.

He had always been a bit timid and self-deprecating, even having trouble expressing himself clearly at times, but Trevor had also always been incredibly considerate. He always cared about what she wanted and what she needed more than about his own desires. It was one of the things Jessica loved the most about him.

That being said, she did wish he would be more assertive at times and stand up for himself. If Trevor had taken a bit more assertive, Jessica was certain he wouldn’t just be a Lieutenant Third Class, he would already reached Lieutenant Commander Third Class.

Still, Jessica wasn’t really concerned about that. Trevor was Trevor, and she liked him just fine, just the way he was.

Quietly slipping out of bed, the moment Jessica got to her feet, she felt as if something was leaking between her legs.

Looking down and seeing nothing, she figured it was just a phantom sensation from last night and shrugged.

While Trevor had made a full deposit into her vault, with 100% effective anti-conception tablets readily available in the stations’ infirmary, there was no need for Jessica to worry about becoming pregnant.

She wouldn’t mind having a child with Trevor at some point in the future, but not right now; after all, she didn’t want to bring a new life into the world not knowing if there would even be a world left.

”Besides, I’d like to at least get married first...” Jessica muttered, imaging herself in a dazzling white wedding dress, walking down the aisle towards the altar.

Shaking off such frivolous thoughts, Jessica began getting dressed while checking the news and reviewing the experiment schedule for today.

Yesterday, they had made a major breakthrough regarding Project Twilight, so today they should really just try to replicate the results, but with the Spatial Storm raging outside the Typhon System serving as a reminder of the perils they all lived under, Jessica felt they needed to be a bit bolder in their approach.

Meticulous experimentation was the basis of upon which all science was built, but sometimes, being too meticulous could also be a problem.

Making up her mind, Jessica swiftly made a few changes to today’s test before finally making her way back over to the bed and waking the snoring beast that had assaulted her last night, insisting he make her a delicious breakfast as punishment for all the discomfort she was now enduring.

.....

After freshening up and grabbing a bite to eat, Trevor and Jessica quietly parted ways with the former heading to the gym while the latter went to pay the infirmary a visit.

Although he was a bit late in starting his morning workout, Trevor dove into it with his usual fervor. Other than the days he was deployed on active duty, Trevor Ashford never skipped his regular training.

It was the only thing he did more regularly than cooking, and that was saying a lot given how he cooked almost every single day.

Finding a spot on the gym floor that was free, he immediately began executing various Stances, Figures, Motions, and Forms for an hour before moving on to resistance and weight training, as well as a bit of light cardio.

Next up was melee weapon practice, something he had no talent for but he still insisted on pursuing.

Shooting drills, titan operation, fighter simulations... by the time Trevor had completed everything, it was already noon and the smell of lunch was wafting in from the cafeteria.

His stomach rumbling, Trevor showered, changed into a clean uniform, then headed to the mess for his mid-day meal.

Inside the hall, he found dozens of other personnel from the base eating, chatting, or working on their own little projects.

Most of the chatter was about the ongoing Spatial Storm in the Typhon System, while the next most popular topic was the Spatial Tear stabilization-neutralization test scheduled for later tonight.

It all seemed perfectly normal, ordinary even, which Trevor was quite thankful for; after all, if no one was talking about how he and the beautiful Project Director disappeared last night and then never returned, that meant there was a good chance no one knew what really happened last night.

Recalling the ’battle’ he had fought, the feeling of hand-to-hand combat, the wrestling and subduing of his opponent, Trevor couldn’t help grinning like an idiot.

Even the epic swing and a miss he made with his sword was now something of a fond memory, though it was still quite embarrassing.

”Someone’s in the good mood,” an aged voice suddenly called out from nearby.

Wiping the drool from his mouth, Trevor hurriedly composed himself and put on a more normal smile, ”Afternoon, old man.”

”Bah, who are you calling old? I’ll have you know I can still kick your ass, you little whelp,” Carlos Müller, Project Twilight’s Vice-Director, replied with a snort.

Next to Jessica, this old man was actually the closest member of the research team to Trevor. It was probably because Carlos wasn’t just a scientist, but also a former soldier, giving the two of them much more in common than the other eggheads.

After exchanging a few more jabs at each other as they grabbed their lunch and sat down at a free table, Carlos’ eyes became shifty as he glanced around, making sure no one was listening before he leaned in and asked with a big-fat-grin, ”So, you and Jessica have fun last night?”

Caught completely off-guard by this sneak attack, Trevor instinctually stiffened up and nearly dropped his fork, but through a monumental exertion of willpower, he somehow regained his cool in the next second and played dumb, ”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

”Oh? Really? So, you’re not the reason the princess has had a giant smile on her face all morning long?” The dirty old geezer needled, clearly having already figured out what was going on.

Still, without any hard evidence or an admission of guilt, all Carlos had was speculation, and Trevor certainly wasn’t going to give that satisfaction to him. He thus feigned ignorance and vigorously denied, ”Wasn’t she just happy about yesterday’s test going well?”

”And that telltale morning-after limp?”

”Maybe she stubbed her toe.”

”What about the sudden visit to the infirmary she made?”

”Like I said, maybe she stubbed her toe.”

”...you should really learn how to lie better, shitty brat.”

”I don’t know what you’re talking about, old fart.”

And so, the back-and-forth continued, with Carlos ultimately deciding to let the matter drop, shrugging his shoulders as he muttered, ”Not sure what you’re so ashamed of, everyone already knows you two are an item, but whatever. Suit yourself, kid.”

Before Trevor could respond, however, the old man suddenly put on a solemn expression and quietly declared, ”Just don’t her, Trevor. She’s strong, but she’s also got a lot riding on her shoulders. She doesn’t need to deal with a broken heart as well.”

Pursing his lips, even though he was still pretending nothing had happened, Trevor felt like the only thing he could do here was nod, so nod he did.

Seeing this, Carlos patted him on the shoulder before standing up and picking up his empty tray, ”I’ll see you at the test tonight. We’re going to double the power output this time to see if our calculations still hold. If they do, we’ll be able to make some real progress on sealing up these damn Spatial Tears.”

”Sounds good to me,” Trevor smiled, truly looking forward to the day when the alliance no longer had to worry about being wiped from existence.

For a moment, for a brief, brief moment, everything seemed right in the world.

Sure, danger was still looming around every corner, and even if they managed to overcome the threat of the Spatial Storms, there would still be a huge mess to clean up across the entire Terran Alliance, but for the first time in many years, Trevor genuinely felt hopeful for his future, and the future of mankind.

In fact, many on the research base, from the military personnel to the scientists, technicians, engineers, and workers who made up the core of Project Twilight, everyone was feeling buoyant today.

Everyone had a little extra spring in their step and a little brighter smile on their face.

It was with that kind of positive attitude that at precisely 17:00, station time, the research bases’ ion turbine reactors spun up, its specialized void generators engaged, and the experiment number 126 commenced.

Less than 10 minutes later, all hell broke lose...