Interdimensional

Chapter 4

  Leaj rubbed the back of her head as she stared at the glass projected screen. She's working on a few calculations on the computer programs to which has been malfunctioning lately. She suspects that it needs to replace a new crystal charges to work fully. But her coordinator never listened. He kept telling her that the crystals are too complicated to replace when she volunteered to work on it. She was the first female technician to be part on the crew. She knows it. Females of their kind are known to be inferior in this world. She shoved off her distaste on this ideology and get back to work.

Figures and indistinct Meerian scripts appeared on the glass screen on which she search for some discrepancy. She tapped on one of the windows and pop up a series of error warnings. "Can't read main board." It says. She sighed. "When will I keep on doing this." She rolled her eyes and head on the main lab where the main board is. It's just that last month, this error occured. And it annoys her.

"Can I ask for your help?" She said as she entered the lab. A canine-like figure appeared, to which similar to her friend Nima're. Their species are called Weustyr. An Anthromorphic wolf type features. He towered her as he came on front of her. Weustyrs have similar height to humans yet the tallest might be 6'5". Female Weustyr could be up to 6'0 tall. This Weustyr is 6'0 tall. Leaj was too small for a normal Kalefyn though. Kalefyns could be 6'2 for the tallest, females can reached up to 5'7 yet in some rare case, the shortest would be same as her height. She was only 5'4. A tallest height for the male Loire. Which made her be the center of ridicule when she's a kid.
"I know why you're here." The Weustyr's voice is hoarse yet gentle. His fangs could be seen as he let out smile.
"I'm sure you are." She grinned. "I hope I'm not bothering you again, Sir Louve."
"No worries, it is my duty to fix everything. Like any of us do, right? I'm an engineer anyway." He snorted and escorted her.
Metallic plates and wires are intertwined connecting to the glass or crystal board. These metals which have blinking lights consist of crystal frames which has micro disk. They stopped on a metal plate that has a name of Section 45. A department to which Leaj part of. Louve, tapped a metal frame sliding up the glass frame.
"The disk is still working, fully." He said after checking it.
"I know that, but what I was about to concern is the glass frame, maybe the connection keeps on loosing because the crystal glass didn't function too well now, check the glass, I'm sure you'll gonna see some tamper and scratches." Leaj said.
"You're right." He said, inspecting it.
"I told the coordinator last month but he seems to forget it. Do you have access on the Engineering supply?" She raised her brow.
"I can file a request to the engineer manager, but this one will take long. I'm working on something more priority. As the Coordinator of Section 21 told me." He pursed his lip.
"More priority seems a powerful word..." She pursed her lip. "What about your crew? Dani could work on this one right?" She waved.
"Dani will be working with me, my crew will gonna help me out to do this job that ordered us. It is a bit complex for their main memory and disks were affected by the metal plate damage." He gestured pointing on to the burned metal plate.
She sighed, she remembered that last week Section 21's plates got shortcircuit and burned, damaging the plate. It was a rare case, might be the wires and crystals wasn't connected properly. The coordinator on Section 21 was very angry to Louve that time. It was the first time Louve encountered such mistake. Yet she knows it wasn't his fault. There was a new intern who Louve assists that time, and he helped out Louve on replacing metal plates last month. Louve understands that his apprentice still getting use to his job so he took the blame instead. He was his intern by the way so why not.
Louve is a good person, she respected him, not only that he's the one who keeps assisting her when she came to ask for help but he always told her advice and compliments on work. Louve is a few who works here, that didn't bother to work with a female. He told her once that when she started to work as a female tech, he wasn't so surprise, there are many females out there that can do their work yet didn't even given the chance.
He told her once that he admired her courage. After the lady councilor Rikka proposed some rights on female Meerians to work equally to males. Eventually the society change, a bit. Yet still, there are limitations. Too much limitations.
"If only, you know, I could do the work so it'll make your work a bit easy." She hesitantly said.
Louve smiled, and looked at her. "I'd love to but, you know the rules here. If they saw you working here, we're doomed." He snorted.
"I knew that." She rolled her eyes as she watched him wipe clean the glass and put it back to the plate. "Why don't they just give me a chance! I've fixed the circuit wirings on the pipe crystal once." Her ears went down.
Louve just laughed nodding. "Don't worry, once we're done fixing Section 21, we'll proceed to yours next. Immediately" He said. "Go check if it's okay, I'm sure it should be working fine for now."
She nodded and smiled, bidding. She past through glass doors that automatically opens as they passes. She moved her way to the bright hallways, walls made of metal covered in white gold. Doors are made of glass or crystals. She regarded the illuminated walls and floors of the She noted the time on her pocket watch. It is 5 hours more before she'll left the facility. She wondered what Ford is doing by now.
She left him on her secret lab on the forest earlier. Stanford still awed on the place. Coming back to her small facility, she noticed how disastrous the portal looked like. Her lab is a mess, noting all the litters around as they walked in.
"You'll stay here and wait for me until I come back." She said.
Ford turns to face her. "How long will you've been gone?"
"Just 8 hours."
"That's a long waiting time!"
"It'll be just fine." Leaj take out a cube, size similar to a rubics, it is made of white gold metal with engraved buttons. "I want you to study the design and structure I made for my portal." She tapped the cube revealing large hologram of portal design and functions. Ford took a closer look at it.
"Interesting." He noted.
"Oh, you think?" Leaj raises her brow.
"The design is a bit different from my portal but I might learned the construction eventually." He said.
"You seem so certain of that." Leaj tap the cube turning off the hologram. "Let me know if you get something new." She said tossing the cube to Ford who barely catches it. "Ill get back soon." She added turning around.
Ford began to inspect the broken portal. His face filled with curiousity.
"And DON'T TOUCH anything." Leaj added, when she haven't heard Ford responded.
Ford, stared at her as she turns her back and walks away, he mumbled, touching the crystal frame of the portal though.

The computer has functioned well when she came back. She works on the designs and structures of Meerian techs, including computers, machines and vehicles. The only thing she haven't permitted to work is on mechanism of the Portals. Only expert Engineers and Scientists have given such duty for Portal structures are very complex. They have been using Portals for transportation on to other Worlds, but it was just recently, just five years ago.

Ever since the Portal traveling started, Leaj began to study about it, her curiousity leads her to learn a few about Portals. Which leads to their so called great plans for the future.
Leaj stretched out her arms finishing her work. She decided to submit the results tomorrow. 8 and a half hours have been gone and she's still on her unit. She remembered she had to go back to the lab for Stanford might be bored to death, and kinda gives her a feeling he would do something so weird. Keeping him in her lab was not a good idea, but keeping him on her house was the worse. She turned off the screens and head on the parking side.
Leaj managed to head back to her lab sooner, only to find her lab different. She knew it! Her mouth agaped as she walks down her small facility. All the litters and scattered equipments were gone. Her tools were neatly placed on her shelves. The only thing looks the same was her broken Portal. She was amazed yet displeased to what happened. She noticed a wide glass plate layed on the table.
It has a structure and diagram of her Portal, yet it is not drawn by her. She noted some unfamiliar markings or scripts written on every part of the diagram. "Stanford!" She murmured and strolled through the lab.
She finds him on the small units or desk. She was about to give him a slap but slowed down her pace when she noticed he was sleeping. She came in front of him looking. With a sigh, she rubbed the back of her head. "Stanford you are dead!" She murmured. But she looked at him, observing. He returned to his human form, she thought he's not really not used to the Kalefyn form.
She tilted her head as she watched him sleep. For her curiousity began again, she slowly came close to him, reaching out to touch his face. Her four fingered hand was about an inch when she slipped it away. "What was I thinking?!" She blinked. She never came close to an alien before. She might have encountered humans before but she haven't been this close to anyone. She wanted to know more about him. About his race.
She was snapped out from her thoughts when Ford moves. She quickly stand up before Ford notice her. Stepping back she stared at him as he raised his head from the desk.
"Ah! You came back. How long have you been here?" He said, holding back his yawn.
"I just came." She answered. "Haven't I told you not to touch anything?!" She said sternly.
Ford looked at her. "Sorry, I got bored and decided to clean up the mess did... You... Don't like it?"
Leaj sighed.
"I did use a glove so not to leave any trace of my human filth if you don't like to." He said raising his brows.
Leaj stayed silent and head back to the main lab. She looks at her shelves once again as Ford caught up. "Look, I'm sorry if I..."
"Have you find a solution?" She asked as she takes the glass plate. "You made this." She raised the glass plate showing the diagram to Ford.
"I really haven't figured it out, but I have some ideas." Ford answered.
"What are these?" She rushed to Ford and pointed out the scripts she can't read. "What does it say?"
Ford realized that they don't understand human scripts. "Oh. Yes. That's an alphabet, those letters are written in English."
Leaj blink. "Interesting. Tell me about it! What does it say?" She asked curiously.
"Those words written on every part of the diagram are mostly names of the material I think should be use for rebuilding the Portal. If the materials I used on Earth would work on the Portal, then that would be great." Ford smiled. "But..."
"But?"
"Will these materials could possibly be found here in your Planet?"
Leaj tilted her head, thinking. She furrowed. Let us see. "What are these materials about?"
"I thought of changing your Portal into 80% of metal. I noticed you've used only 40%, the rest are Crystals." Ford explained. "Which might explains why your portal kept on breaking."
"But it's just your theory." She remarked.
"You've trusted me to do this don't you? Are you not?" Ford raised his brow.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm just clarifying."
"Noticing you're using more of crystals than of metals, using metal for your portal might be a lot of change for you."
"These crystals can conduct energy and highly stable to use. Since crystal is our main resource."
"There's nothing wrong if we try to use this new material." Ford gestured.
"Alright, be my guest." Leaj nodded. "I know someone we can rely on these materials. Cloak yourself as Kalefyn. We gotta catch up to his shop. He's in the city though."
We're going to the city?!" Ford's tone of excitement could be obvious.
"We're not going for a tour. We'll gonna have that sometime." She rolled her eyes as she wears a jacket. "Come on, I'm sure we'll gonna find a lot of resources there."
"Well, I'm very interested to land on the city." Ford noted with a smile as he transformed on to his holographic mask, changing to his Kalefyn form.
"Another reminder. " Leaj stopped her pace. "Let me do the talking first. And don't talk to anyone as much as possible."
Ford raised his brow. "My mother keeps telling me that when I was a kid."
"She's very smart then." She said and proceed to head to the hover car.  

A/N: I guess this one's a bit shorter than the previous chapters.. Hope to upload the chapter 5 soon. 

Stay safe y'all! Xiao.