Coding to Conquer the Universe

// Initiating Spatial Displacement Protocol...

// Target: Administrative Core, Homo Nebulas

// Encryption Key: ███████████████

// Status: EXECUTING...

The moment the code executed, Jewels felt her stomach lurch as space folded around her. One second she was standing between Zylo and Dunce, and the next, reality itself snapped like a rubber band.

Then—chaos.

Deafening voices boomed from all directions. A thousand overlapping conversations, gavel bangs, and the hum of hovering drones filled the air. Jewels' vision blurred from the sudden transition, and before she could steady herself, a blinding light beamed down from above, illuminating her and Julio like they were animals on display.

Julio groaned beside her, gripping his stomach. "I think I just shit myself."

Jewels wobbled. "I think I just…wait, where the hell are we?"

Her eyes adjusted to the sheer enormity of the space they had been dropped into. The Galactic Congress of Homo Nebulas was beyond comprehension. A coliseum of impossible proportions stretched infinitely in every direction, its seats filled with a sea of representatives from the galaxy's most powerful sectors. Floating holograms projected live feeds of the event across the chamber, each displaying a different angle of the two of them.

A massive, golden throne sat at the highest point of the chamber, and atop it lounged the undisputed ruler of humanity,King Laviticus III. He was draped in elegant white robes trimmed with circuitry, his silver crown pulsing with faint blue energy. His piercing gaze locked onto them, radiating absolute authority.

Jewels blinked up at him. "…So uh, what's happening?"

The answer came immediately.

BOOM.

A massive gavel slammed down with enough force to shake the entire chamber. A deep, mechanical voice reverberated through the air.

"THE GALACTIC CONGRESS OF HOMO NEBULAS WILL NOW COME TO ORDER."

Julio swallowed. "Oh, we're so dead."

Jewels' thoughts raced. Where the hell did Dunce and Zylo go?! Those bastards had dumped them into the middle of what looked like a galactic trial, and now they were left standing before thousands of the most powerful figures in human history.

She elbowed Julio. "Okay, play it cool."

"PLAY IT COOL? JEWELS, WE JUST GOT DROPPED INTO FUCKING GALACTIC COURT."

"SILENCE."

King Laviticus' voice alone was enough to shut them up. He leaned forward on his throne, fingers steepled. His cold, calculating eyes bore into them like a scalpel.

"You stand before the Congress of Homo Nebulas accused of unauthorized interaction with a Pre-Ascendance relic. As per the laws governing the preservation of our history, you are to be judged accordingly."

Jewels scratched her head. "…Wait. What year is it again?"

The chamber went silent. Thousands of beings stared at her in complete disbelief.

Julio groaned. "Oh my god."

One of the representatives, a woman dressed in a sleek black suit with glowing orange circuitry, pinched the bridge of her nose. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, do these two even know the gravity of their situation?"

King Laviticus drummed his fingers on his throne. "It appears not."

Jewels threw up her hands. "Look, I kinda get it. We touched an old piece of junk and now we're here. But honestly? The whole 'trial in space' thing is throwing me off a little. Can we get, like, a summary?"

A tall, reptilian man, the representative of the Trade Bastion, sneered. "These imbeciles are playing dumb."

Julio coughed. "She's playing dumb. I'm just trying not to pass out."

The representative of the Residential Sphere, a plump older man with cybernetic eyes, cleared his throat. "Your Majesty, permission to ask the accused a question?"

Laviticus gave a slight nod.

The man turned to them. "Where did you find the relic?"

Jewels hesitated, then shrugged. "Uh. A City-Ship."

The chamber erupted into immediate debate.

"A City-Ship? Impossible."

"Most of them have been gutted for centuries."

"They wouldn't have been able to access a secured vault."

"This is unprecedented."

Julio leaned toward Jewels. "I feel like we should be running right now."

Before they could even consider it, the Industrial Ring representative, a stern-looking woman in an exosuit, raised a hand. "Your Majesty, if I may."

Laviticus gestured for her to continue.

She pointed directly at Jewels. "Describe exactly what happened when you touched the relic."

Jewels hesitated. "Uh. It glowed red. Then I screamed. Then I blacked out."

"…That's it?"

"Pretty much."

More murmurs spread through the crowd. Some were skeptical, others deeply concerned. The Outer Wards representative, a scarred man with robotic arms, leaned forward. "Your Majesty, this is dangerous. If the relic reacted to her specifically, we may be dealing with something beyond normal Technomancy."

Laviticus studied Jewels with unsettling focus. "Tell me, girl. Have you always possessed… anomalies?"

Jewels stared blankly. "What?"

The king's lips curled slightly. "Strange occurrences. Disruptions in reality. Oddities in the code of existence."

Jewels scratched her head. "I mean, my sense of time is a little screwed. I keep forgetting what year it is."

The chamber fell into dead silence.

Julio smacked his forehead. "Oh my god Jewels stop talking."

Laviticus steepled his fingers. "Curious."

The Administrative Core representative, a sharply dressed woman with a mechanical third eye, spoke next. "Your Majesty, I recommend immediate containment and further study. If this girl has unknowingly interfaced with a relic, she could be a danger to the entire Nebulas."

Jewels paled. "Hold on, containment? I don't like that word."

Julio gritted his teeth. "Yeah, that sounds like fancy talk for 'let's lock them up forever.'"

The chamber began to argue again. Some agreed with containment, others debated further investigation. The chaos reached its peak when the Trade Bastion representative slammed his fist on his podium. "Enough talk! We should just wipe their memories and be done with it!"

Jewels' eyes widened. "I definitely don't like that one."

The arguing continued until Laviticus finally raised his hand, silencing the room instantly.

His gaze swept across the chamber before landing back on Jewels and Julio. Then, after a long pause, he spoke:

"I will decide their fate."

Julio muttered under his breath. "Oh great, no pressure."

Jewels forced a smile. "Soooo… Can I put in a vote for not being executed?"

Laviticus' expression was unreadable.

"Your fates will be determined soon enough. Guards, remove them from my sight."

Before they could react, the floor beneath them pulsed with energy.

// EXECUTING: Containment Transfer Protocol...

// Target: Unknown.

// Status: EXECUTING...

Jewels barely had time to scream before the world collapsed around them again.