A/N: Yes, it's been ages since I've submitted anything. That's what happens when you research the theories you're putting into the story...and here's why.
Disclaimer: This fanfiction is INCREDIBLY technical and will delve deeply into astrophysics. Any head explosions are STRICTLY at the fault of the reader.
Now, on with the story...
"So when applied to stellar mechnics, we find that the so called "hole" in the stellartime area can actually be used as a link to spillspace."
Professor Saarah Renier clutched the chalk in her sweaty hand, it hovering over the equation she had finished sketching. The silence was deafening, only to be broken by the occasional cough. A crunched up piece of paper whizzed by her ear, aimed for the trash bin in the corner. The professor's hand reached out easily and caught it. She tossed it around a bit, then turned to face the class.
The lecture hall was full of teenagers squeezed in to attend the last class of the day in any science. Most were scribbling in their notepads, a few tapping away on their commpads underneath the safety of their desks. Interest was lost from the beginning of the class.
Professor Renier closed her eyes and breathed deeply, then snapped them open and scanned the crowd.
"Talee." Her gaze rested on a dark skinned, young man that was suppressing a grin. He waved as nonchalantly as he could muster at the frustrated woman before him. He stood in mock respect. "Professor Renier, James Talee." His navy blue uniform pants crinkled as he stood. His mother may take extreme care of his school supplies, but his school spirit…Renier contemplated the student's sarcastic respect for a few seconds, staring him down until his posture squirmed.
"James, tell me," the class drew in a collective breath, waiting for the verbal execution to begin. "Tell me your thoughts on links to other galaxies. Other universes even?" She crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow.
James tensely swept a hand through his dark hair and collected his courage. The teen turned around and winked at the class. A small amount of tension left the students as they laughed. "Professor, to be honest, what are you trying to teach us here? Aliens are out there?" He clutched his face and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "The aliens! The aliens! They're gonna get us!" James smirked at Renier and dropped back into his seat.
Saarah opened her mouth to retort when a high pitched scream echoed down the aisle. The students sitting in the aisle seats attempted to suppress laughter as a little boy came running down towards the front, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Them aliens! I seen them, really!" Saarah squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for the child to be only in her imagination. His little fist tugging at her pants squashed the prayer halfway through. "Really Miss!" Saarah bent down to pry the boy off her pants and backed up to keep him from latching on again. Whispers floated around the students until James cleared his throat.
"Professor? Is it true? Are the aliens going to eat us?" The whispers in the audience shifted to full scale laughter, and only increased when Renier glared at them. She knelt down with a sly smile and whispered into the boy's ear. He nodded enthusiastically and took off back out of the classroom. Saarah turned around to organize her papers. "Test tomorrow, and don't forget, your essays on the differences between Pilkan and Ienstin are due soon." The class groaned collectively along with the bell. They slowly filed out of the classroom.
Saarah let her breath out in a sigh and picked up her notebooks. The door to her right led to her office. Once inside with the door firmly shut, she collapsed into a chair and lay her head down on the desk. The cold pressing against her cheek brought her thoughts into focus.
Why are they doing this to me?
She thought back to her first faculty meeting, and facing the cold stares of the other professors. Was it just because she was so much younger than them? So what if she was a quick learner? That didn't mean the biochemistry professor had to send her six year old son to harass her during class.
A knock on her door jolted Saarah out of her thoughts. She peeked through the window and beckoned the intruder in. Jason Chiang, the astronomy professor, stepped in and shut the door behind him. Saarah quirked a teasing eyebrow at him. He shrugged and picked up a pen from her desk to fidget with.
"Class go ok?" Saarah inwardly sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Jason was a classic geek, complete with glasses and a graphing calculator sticking out of his pocket. Yet he was the only one yet to greet her with warmth. So she endured.
"If screaming six year olds counts as ok, then I guess so." Jason's eyes widened, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Calry's son again?"
Saarah nodded and leaned back in her chair. "For some reason, that woman finds it necessary to make me look even more like the inexperienced teacher I am to my students. Like I need anything more to fuel Talee's antics."
Jason let out a small laugh. "I remember Talee. Thank goodness he didn't want a career in astronomy."
Saarah rolled her eyes. "He doesn't want one in stellar time studies either, but if he gets to harass a new teacher while filling the science requirement, of course he'll take it." She shook her head and stared at her hands, contemplating why she seemed to repel respect. Jason noticed her mood shift and started to reach out for her hand when a massive shudder went through the building. The walls seemed to contract as bits of cement rained down on them both. A shock wave ran through the building, shattering the window. Saarah flew back against the wall, knocked out. Jason fell into the computer, sending it crashing to the floor. A pipe in the wall ruptured, spewing the natural gas heating the building.
A spark leapt from the shattered computer and exploded.
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