Galactic Forge: Nexus

"You may be just the crazy neighbour girl, but I trust you."

It was early in the afternoon, Nexus and Parker relaxed in her apartment. She lay stretched across her couch, computer in hand as she scanned the screen. A sour expression appeared on her face. Her old internet rival was continuing to refute her findings. His smug attitude made her want to snap her computer in half across her knee.

"Ughhh! Dammit Student 681966!"

Parker looked up from the game he was playing, just a few feet away, but shrugged and went back to what he was doing.

She had been arguing on and off with this same user for close to six months now. She'd avoided saying anything about the recent project developments, but she'd gotten fed up. Frantically, she started typing. "Alright you brainless, pedestrian clown. Stick your head between your legs and kiss your unremarkable ass goodbye, because I am about to murder you! You can't argue my hypotheses anymore, because as of last month they aren't hypotheses. I pulled it off!" Emphatically, she hammered the send key.

"That'll teach him," she said out loud.

"You sound awfully triumphant for a woman talking to her computer," said Parker. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Just arguing with some plebe. Nothing all that interesting."

Her device beeped shrilly.

Parker leaned in closer and they both peered down at the screen resting in her lap. It was a reply from Student 681966. A long one at that, spanning multiple paragraphs of equations, quotes and references to numerous article which supposedly disproved her claims.

"That him?" asked Parker, tilting his head slightly.

"Wow. Didn't expect him to-" she was cut off as her computer beeped again. "...Didn't expect him to respond so qui-" another beep. Two more droning, combative messages had appeared on her screen.

"Can you make it stop?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, easy." A few taps on the screen later, all the messages vanished and the beeps stopped. "And blocked. Let's see how he enjoys that."

It was then that there came a heavy thudding at Nexus's door. Parker pulled it ajar to reveal Khamal's towering frame hunched down to fit into the threshold.

His face quickly spread into a smile while the sound of buzzing and tinkering started behind him, uninterrupted.

"Where is it?" the aquarri asked, desperation creeping into his voice.

"Hey Nex, you were right!" he called back to her.

The mechanical clanging came to a halt. "As always. Let him in," she said, and Khamal could hear the smug pride in her voice.

Parker stepped aside and gestured Khamal inside with a sweep of his arm. "Right this way big fella."

He shrugged off his coat, a big brown jacket in earth style, much like the rest of his attire, and tossed it to the young man. He gave him a long, sideways glance while ducking inside. "What are you, Meryl's assistant?"

"What!? No, I'm her... You know, I... I'll get back to you on that."

Khamal shook his head and continued inside.

Meanwhile, Parker began searching for somewhere to hang the massive garment. When he held it out, he watched it unravel and fall to the floor with an extra foot of fabric left to spare. "Oh, your tailor must love you."

Almost completely ignoring him at this point, Khamal found himself staring with reserved awe at the huge, mechanical ring before him.

Nexus was leaning back against with her hands on her hips and her mouth tilted up at the corner in a cocky smirk. "I knew you'd show up."