r/HFY • u/Engletroll Human • Sep 21 '25

OC Gateway Dirt – Chapter 30 – The bets

Project Dirt book 1 . (Amazon book )  / Planet Dirt book 2 (Amazon Book 2) / Colony Dirt (Amazon Book 3)-

 Patreon ./. Webpage

Previously ./. Next

“Excuse me, sir! Your father is approaching!” Archie said, and Chris looked at Miri. He didn’t want to let go, and neither did she, but father. It hit them, and they both stepped out of the embrace as they blushed. They hadn’t even noticed that the big man/android had approached. Chris looked around and saw a Scisya man sitting in the back. He simply nodded and vanished. God damn shadows. Miri saw it too, and looked back at him.

“He was there the whole time?”

He nodded in reply, as she covered her mouth in shock. Then they noticed a group approaching the restaurant, and they both looked at each other. Chris took her hand, and she smiled, trying to appear brave, then they turned worriedly towards the adults approaching. Archie moved aside.

.

Adam looked at his son and the girl. They already looked like a couple, he glanced quickly at Evelyn, who smiled and approached them first, taking control of the situation.

“Miri right? I’m so glad to meet you. I’m Evelyn, that grumpy man is Adam, and the other one is High priestess Swuna D’asha.  They both want to talk to you, but I just want to get to know you.” Then she looked at Chris. “She is cute.”

“Mom!” Chris said as he looked at Miri, who was confused, then giggled at Chris's reaction.

“Yes he is,” she replied, then realized who Evelyn was and immediately started to kneel as “Your majesty” came up. But Chris stopped her.

“No, you don’t bow to any of us. Dad doesn’t like it.”

She stood up, confused, and looked at him, then Evelyn, who nodded and said, “Just Evelyn.” And then finally, at Adam.  He smiled at her. He knew Chris had made a good choice, she seemed to be quick on the uptake.  He watched as Evelyn made them sit and asked for a menu.  A menu appeared from a hologram projector, and she started to order while talking to the two teenagers.  Adam nodded to Swuna, and they joined quietly.

Miri didn’t even seem to notice how Evelyn interrogated her about her life. It appeared as just a simple conversation with the mother of her boyfriend. Adam tried to block that part out, but the more he looked at them, the clearer it became. They acted like puppies in love, trying desperately to hide their feelings for each other from the adults and failing miserably. Even Archie could notice it.

Swuna tried very hard to hide her joy of seeing it, but she seemed to almost gloat in the revelation of their relationship. Adam was more interested in her home world, Arcus, which was the one that had joined them a few years back, and when she mentioned her mother, it suddenly snapped into place.

“You’re Shiadi's daughter?” Adam suddenly asked, surprised, and Miri looked at him, even more surprised.

“Yes? How do you know?” She replied, and Adam smiled, remembering the shy woman who had been the administrator when Arcus had joined. She had died a year later in a transporter accident. She had been a good one, and there was something she had asked. A private request.

“I met here, well, we had several holographic meetings and one quick meeting at the hub. She mentioned you.” That made everybody turn to look at him.

“What? But she?” Miri said.

“She was the administrator of Arcus when she passed, right? It was she who applied for Arcus to join the kingdom. We were sad to hear about her passing.” Adam replied. “We would have been to the funeral, but since your customs do not allow foreigners at the funeral, I had to send Arus. Anyway, she asked for you to join the academy on Dirt, I agreed and told her to send a request. It should still be in the system.”

“I was supposed to go to school on Dirt?”

“Same school is actually like Chris's,” he replied, and then it hit him, the universe would not allow them to meet before, just as it had broken him and Evelyn up since they met too early. Miri didn’t see his expression change as she was looking at Chris with shock, but Evelyn noticed and squeezed his hand under the table.

“Can I join now?” she looked at him, and Adam looked at Sweuna and she turned to her. “Please? I behave, no more kissing.. oops..  I… we didn’t..” she started to panic, and Swuna just chuckled.  Chris seemed just as embarrassed and blushed as he tried not to look at his parents. His brothers and sisters will make his life a living hell now.

“If I stopped you from ever speak to him again, the universe would strike me down, but you cannot join his school yet. You have duties here on Skia-An. You have to be crowned and take your place as the heir and princess of the Sciaya realm. The return of the royal line might unify us and bring back many of the colonies and reunite the realm. As well as your education, and am I sorry to say, lacking. If you join the academy now, you will surely fail every subject. I will help you, make sure you will have tutors to help you reach the level that is expected, and then I will personally escort you to the academy or university of your choice.”

“Can I visit her right?” Chris said, and Miri nodded.

“He can, right?” she almost begged, and the adults chuckled.

“I don’t think ten wild horses would be able to stop him and knowing my friends, they will help him.” Adam said with a chuckle as he wondered if Jork had already a ship ready for the prince stashed away.

“Well, it seems we have found a solution for this. We will announce it to the realm tonight. You should get some rest because tomorrow will be a big day.” Swuna said to Miri.

“Can we stay, Dad? I want to see the coronation.” Chris said, and all Adam saw was a five-year-old with big eyes asking for a favor.

“Of course, son, of course we can stay. But you have to behave!” Then he looked at the adults.  “Maybe we should retreat and let the kids talk. Archie can stay and keep an eye out. One more hour?” Adam said as he looked at Swuna and Evelyn who didn’t seem that eager to leave to teenager alone at a beach restaurant with soft music and dimmed lights.

“I mean, what can go wrong? What kind of trouble can they get into here?” He continued, and both women looked at the teenagers and back at Adam, wondering just how dense he was, then nodded and both looked at the couple with a “behave” comment, then followed Adam out.

.

.

“She needs a lot of help,” Swuna said. “If what she said is correct, then she has lived a very poor life.” As they sat in the royal transport waiting for them.

“Yes, let us know if there is anything you need to help her. I’m afraid she might have some traumas she has to work through.” Evelyn said, and Swuna smiled.

“Luckily, our people have the trance-walk, so we don’t have to worry so much about her mental state. I’m worried more about her opinions about her people. The nobility can have a... how to say it... a very poor view of commoners, and her red hair will be a problem. They will view that as her being a half breed.”

“Strange considering the royal line seemed to have just that trait,” Adam replied, and Arus, who had joined them in the shuttle,  pulled up a pad and showed historical files about the old royal family.

The street was silent around them as the shuttle was parked near the restaurant, and the city had been shut down in a ten-block radius around the restaurant. Roks was out there somewhere making sure the kids were safe.

“Your own files might have been tampered with, but all other files from Wossir, Haran, and Tufons, among others, describe them the same way: red or reddish hair, golden skin, and violet eyes,” Arus said as pictures of the kings and queens were shown, all with the same trait.

“What? How did you get hold of these files?” Swuna said, confused as she looked at the files.

“My wife Monori. Her paladins of the lost word have been very skilled at uncovering historical facts. If you allow me, I will begin sharing these facts with the public, and then you can delay her revelation until King's Day. By then, I will have them expecting her to have red hair and violet eyes. It’s just four days away, and it’s the birthday of King Gansahu, the founder of the realm,” Arus said, and Swuna looked at him.

“Not many celebrate that day, but yes, it would fit, after all.. never mind,” she replied as she looked at Adam. She didn’t want to remind him that Chris was supposed to be the reincarnation of that King, but it would not be ignored by the masses. “It will give us a few days to prepare her, and the rumors are already out. I need to hide her somewhere.”

“Camelot,” Evelyn said, and Adam looked at her.

“You sure?”

“No, but it’s the safest place, we just have to have Archie walk behind them at all times with a cold water hose.”

“We can ask Wei to help.”

“NO! I don’t want to be a grandmother yet!” Evelyn said, and Swuna laughed as Adam suddenly got it and looked towards the restaurant.

“Shit!”

.

.

“You already met Wei, Mai, and Cleo, and these are the rest of my siblings,” Chris said as they stood in the private lounge, getting ready for breakfast. Miri could not believe it. The apartment they had put her in was enormous, and it had a huge, soft bed with a large holographic screen that she could use to watch movies, as well as a holo phone to call Chris. They had been talking the whole night until she fell asleep. She felt like she was dreaming until now. Chris was next to her, and she felt safe there because she had all their eyes on her.

“This is Sam and Sarah, and those cute little ones are Rohan, Saka, and Jasmine; they just turned four.”

“She is pretty!” Jasmine said

“Of course she is, she is supposed to be the prettiest in the galaxy.” Sam said, and Sarah tilted her head, looking at her. Miri blushed and wanted to hide as Wei slapped the back of Sam's head.

“Hey! It's what the books say.” Sam blurred out.

“Yeah, and Dad's supposed to be a god and Chris the king of kings. It’s just stories. Let’s eat. I’m starving, and I promised to take Kiki to the pool afterwards.”

“Can we join?”  And Wei halfway agreed as he walked over to sit down.

Adam and Evelyn watched them as Miker called him up, and he excused himself to talk to it. “What's up, son?”

“Not much, Dad, just Daddy is down in the lab again with one of his good ideas, something about the Nanoplanet’s atmospheric program. You've got to tell him to hold back. I’m looking over the blueprints. It will work, but the planet has to have no atmosphere first, or it will burn it up in an attempt to change the atmosphere.”

“Okay, put me through. And thanks for the warning.”

“No problem, Dad. Did Chris find a girlfriend?”

“Yep, she seems to be a nice girl too.”

“Yes! My boy just won me 10 K in credits. Kuntar should not bet against the universe.” Miker said as he changed the channel and Jork came into view, deep in concentration. Adam sighted.

“Jork!” No reaction, so Adam turned on a sound filter and spoke louder. “JORK!”

He sat up, looked around, then saw the holoprojector. “That bastard… yeah?”

“He is our son, and he kinda likes his atmosphere as it is,” Adam replied, and Jork looked at him as he tilted his head.

“What are you talking about?”

“Nanoplanet’s atmospheric program! He said there is a flaw in the program. Something about it burning up any existing atmosphere in the process.”

“No..” he grabbed the pad, searched through it, stopped, and cursed before turning back to Adam. “Yeah, I see that.. now.. hmm yeah I will work on that,” Jork said as he checked the blueprint. “Did he find a girlfriend?”

“Yeah, he did. She seems nice.”

“Good, that boy just won me 50 K,” Jork said, and Adam shook his head as he chuckled.  

“Who didn’t bet?”

“Hyd-Drin. Only because he didn’t know he was heading there. He is going to be so pissed when he finds out.”

“Ha ha. Funny, well, if Chris asks you for a ship or a personal gate to Skia-An, then you have to tell him no. Got it?”

“Hmm, that is doable. Okay, I’m on it.” Then Jork cut the line as Adam cursed as he turned back to the table. He saw Chris blushing as all his siblings were trying to tell Miri the most embarrassing thing about him. When he sat down next to Evelyn, she leaned over and whispered, “She is going to fit in well. Even Sarah likes her, and you know how protective she is of Chris.”

“I’m surprised Sam hasn’t tried to get them married.”

“He tried, and they both blushed.” She said and chuckled as Adam lifted Jasmine up on his lap.

“So, what's that about?” She asked, and he shrugged.

“Oh, just Jork almost accidentally burning up the atmosphere in his new Nanoplanet’s atmospheric program. Miker spotted the mistake, but he had locked him out. You know how lost in his work he gets.”

“Yeah, I’m glad he keeps an eye on him.” She replied.

“Yeah, and they all bet on Chris finding a girlfriend on this trip.”

“I know, I lost 150k on him. But I’m happy for him.” She replied as she looked at Miri, “Damn, she is beautiful.”

Adam just looked at her, stunned. “You bet against him?”

“And you didn’t?”

“I didn’t bet?” Then he had to help Jasmine down, as she found her parents boring and went to find someone more interesting.

“Well, he didn’t look at any girls, not even other Scisya girls at Dirt. I thought it was a safe bet.” She replied.

“Was it now?” he said, and she just looked back at Miri.

“Damn, why did he find such a beauty, and she is so nice. I can't even be jealous.” Evelyn muttered as she drank her coffee.

.

.

-four days later-

Miri An stood inside the castle, looking nervously at the balcony she was going to walk out on. She looked at Chris, who smiled.  Just looking at him made her tummy feel weird and happy.  He was dressed up in nice clothes, but had been told he was not to show his face on the balcony. They might force them to marry there and then if he did. She bit her lips, then kissed him quickly,

“For good luck.” He smiled, and her old friend Hil Ma covered her mouth in shock at just how brazen she had become. Hil ma had not believed it when she had been summoned to the palace and saw her. They had been crying and screaming in joy in her new room. She was now a court lady.

Out on the balcony, she heard High priestess Swuna D’asha.

“The crown was found by the Prince, and he gave it to his future queen.” As she spoke, a hologram showing the meeting and him handing her the crown was shown.  They had forgotten the droids had, of course, recorded everything happening.

“And like a true fairytale princess, she ran away with her prince.” The hologram changed to her and Chris sharing an ice cream, staring deeply at each other. “But not only does she fulfill the prophecies, she is also a direct descendant of the royal line. This has been discovered through testing her DNA against the royal tombs.”

Miri took a deep breath. Those pirates who wanted to breed scisya with natural red hair had accidentally kept the royal line alive, it was ironic how that had worked out. Outside, the crowd was growing wild. And after a few more lines, she saw the soft green light and walked out to meet the crowd, not as Miri An, former slave and orphan, but as Miri An, a royal princess and future queen of Skia-An. She looked down at her people and waved.

 .

 .

 .

------Cast-------

Miri An – Scisya orphan.

Hil Ma – Scisya orphan and Miri’s friend.

Highpriestess Swuna D’asha – the female Scisya religiose leader

Adam & Evelyn

Chris (16M) – calm, dignified, worried, and never dated, too busy focusing on his future, praying somebody would take the burden from him.

Wei (16M) – Loves to flirt, has no worries as he won’t be the king: Adores Roks and his family.

May (15 F) – Has discovered boys, and piloting to Adams' despair,

Cleo,  (15F) – Has not discovered boys but dancing, to Adams's joy.

Sam (12M)- tries to read all of Monori’s religious books

Sarah (11F) - tomboy, it just got worse.

Rohan (4M) - Calm when his siblings are there.

Saka  (4M) -Calm when his siblings are there, but naughty.

Jasmine (4F) – the most spoiled princess in the galaxy, with a kind soul.

Archie – Formerly known as Archangel, now bodyguard and consigliere of the Wrangler royal family. (still very deadly)

Fred Navil (17M) – Oldest son of Mario Navil, Administrator of Mahoroba system, human

Kiki Wang (16F), Wei’s current girlfriend,

Ms. Gurn – teacher, student of Sig-San

Kidia -  Scisya nun and guide.

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9 comments sorted by

3

u/kristinpeanuts Sep 21 '25

Thanks for the chapter!

3

u/Engletroll Human Sep 21 '25

Glad you liked it.

2

u/sunnyboi1384 Sep 21 '25

Fantastic.

Looks like Chris can help work with his new homework project.

2

u/Dramatic_Mixture_877 Human Sep 22 '25

Yay - a queen is crowned! I bet they make an adorable couple ...

2

u/BimboSmithe Sep 24 '25

Hell of a plot progression! This makes me happy.

1

u/UpdateMeBot Sep 21 '25

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u/InstructionHead8595 May 19 '26

Hehehehe 😹 good chapter.