Chapter 11: A Vast Universe

(Setting: Crystal Kingdom: High University- Mr. Yarish's Astronomy Class)

(Scene: Baku appears outside the Astronomy Classroom)

[Barrtio]: *Sneeringly* Hey, Baku... I dare you to sit right next to Princess Savannah!

[Baku]: Wh-What the hell!? What're you guys following me for!?

[Barrtio]: We don't have anywhere to be, we both have study halls that we're skipping to watch you fail. *Smiling* So break a leg, buddy!

[Finn]: *Mockingly* C'mon, Baku... A hundred bucks says you won't!

[Baku]: Neither of us have that, you jerk, and you know it!

* Just then, Princess Savannah enters the classroom and sits in the front row like she normally does for all of her classes throughout the day.

[Baku]: *Heart beating intensely* ... Oh crap, there she is…

[Barrtio and Finn]: Dooo it... Dooo it... Dooo it…

[Baku]: *Thinking to himself* Damn it... The Princess looks extra beautiful today... D-did she get her hair done? No, that's not it... Is that a new uniform!? N-no, I don't think so... Holy crap, she looks the same as she does any other day... So why does she seem so different now!? Is it because she said ,”Hi,” to me earlier!?

[Baku]: This would be so much easier if these two dumbasses weren't here, I can sit beside her normally any other day, she'd just ignore me usually… But for some reason, today’s different and I don't know what to do! Why is today so different!? Why is anything different!? What the hell were things like before!?

*Baku finally gains the willpower to walk into the Astronomy classroom.

*Barrtio and Finn watch their friend in complete silence and in anticipation of what he is going to do. As he slowly walks further into the lecture hall, his heart pounded against his chest with each step as he got closer to where the Princess was sitting. There was an empty seat right next to her that nobody else had claimed yet. It was free game.

*Baku felt time slow down by the second with each proceeding step closer to the front of the classroom. Everything felt like the whole world became silent and began to focus in on him and nothing else. Suddenly, the young student was one row of seats away from where Savannah was sitting. It was now or never, Baku had to decide if he really had the courage to make a move on the royal princess.

*But then, as soon as it became clear that Baku would actually have to try to speak to the Princess, using words, he realized that he wouldn't have anything remotely interesting to say to her! He had no idea what kind of stuff she was into. Or how she would react to anything he could think of saying to her.

*Baku was a peasant from the fields who liked videogames and anime, and the Princess was the freakin' Princess! They had nothing in common that Baku could even attempt to work with! So without a second thought on the matter, Baku nervously decides to sit in the seat right behind Princess Savannah.

*He can hear Barrtio and Finn laugh hilariously loudly outside of the classroom door making fun of him. Baku knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it after class, or for the rest of his life... Suddenly, the instructor, Mr. Yarish burst into the classroom full of energy as always. His hair was messy, and shirt wasn't ironed, but at least he was wearing his favorite polka dot tie.

[Mr. Yarish]: ALRIGHT STUDENTS!!! TODAY'S CLASS IS GOING TO BE A DOOZIE!!! The discussion will be about the galaxies in our massive, ever expanding universe.

*Mr. Yarish presses a button on a remote and begins a slideshow displayed by the widescreen monitor powered by a crystal. It revealed a intergalactic map of the solar system in which Planet Eternia and the Crystal Kingdom resides.

[Mr. Yarish]: Okay, so you all know that we've previously discussed the Crystarius Galaxies star system and the ancients of Planet Eternia believed that the 5 planets orbiting the sun were also the deities that served the Holy Goddess in protecting and providing the living planet with energy. Alright now, BAKU!!! I want you to name another galaxy in our universe and describe it in 1000% competency!

[Baku]: Uhhh... Okay, so there's one named the Infinious Galaxy. It is quite similar to our own in the fact that it is home to a star system that has many large planets and spacial bodies that our astronomers discovered almost a century ago. It is also approximately 2,150,000 light years away from the Crystarius solar system.

[Mr. Yarish]: Excellent answer, Baku!

[Princess Savannah]: *Sigh* ......

[Mr. Yarish]: Alrighty then, let's see who else I can have either enlighten us or embarrass themselves... PRINCESS!!!

[Princess Savannah]: *Surprised* Y-yes, professor?

[Mr. Yarish]: You seem distracted, so I'm gonna to bother you. Now, describe for the class another galaxy neighboring our own, AND DO IT KNOWING THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE!!!

[Princess Savannah]: ... Okay... Another galaxy found in our universe is the Milky Way... The following planets are found residing in it: Mercury, Venus, Dirt, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto... However for some reason people debate if the last one is actually a planet. I don't see why not though... Also, only one of its planets are said to have conditions suitable for sustaining life, but it is unknown how similar the races on it are to our Planet Eternia's because scientist haven’t studied it enough, as it takes a long time for information acquired by researching it to return to us.

[Mr. Yarish]: Perfect, as per usual, coming from the Princess of our just and proud Kingdom that we so love and praise without question! It is also important to know that the Milky Way galaxy is approximately 15,970,000 light years away from the Crystarius galaxy.

[Princess Savannah]: *Raises hand* Mr. Yarish, I have a question…

[Mr. Yarish]: DAMN IT! What’s your question?

[Princess Savannah]: Why does any of this matter for us to know about these galaxies that are so unimaginably far away from ours? Are we to be expected to concern ourselves with the happenings of these galaxies?

[Mr. Yarish]: *Siigghh*...... Baku, won't you please answer the Princess' not-so-silly question?

[Baku]: Alright... From my understanding the Crystal Kingdom has an incredibly advanced space program that is connected to it's military. The administration that runs the program enlist members of the military who volunteer for massive missions which send fleets of interstellar arcs and space ships, which are developed by our brightest and most genius divisions of astral-engineers and rocket scientist. They are sent across the galaxy and beyond that in order to achieve the Crystal Kingdom's goal of exploration in the name of scientific discovery.

[Baku]: Of course, like we just discussed, the destinations set by the brave men and women who volunteer to embark on the journeys are incomprehensibly long and far away and can take up to multiple lifetimes. So, we talk about these things so we may remember the courage that the friends and families of Xeria's military exhibit, whom we very well will never hear from ever again…

[Princess Savannah]: But instructor, since the Crystal Kingdom leads such an advanced military, why don't they invade Planet Eternia and conquer it? Wouldn't that be easier than finding another suitable planet to live on so far away from our original and rightful home?

[Mr. Yarish]: You see, Milady... If the Crystal Kingdom were to ever go to war with the entirety of the Planet Eternia... It would result in what ancient philosophers described as an "Unholy War". The likes of which would make the 1000-year long war seem like it a childish dispute between a group of nine years old at a third-grade playground.

[Mr. Yarish]: This is due to the fact that because our militaries weapons are so advanced and capable of such power, that if in theory, the denizens of Planet Eternia had the capabilities to match our strength, a war at such a scale, will very more than likely destroy the entire planet, very much of the galaxy, and possibly even further beyond that!

[Mr. Yarish]: So, because of this possibility, the Crystal Kingdom Xeria does not interact with the surface world under any circumstances, we can only observe the planet from our orbital barrier that suspends us in space separate from it...... NOW THEN, MOVING ON TO SOMETHING MORE POSITIVE!!!

*Mr. Yarish continues his lecture. However, Princess Savannah turns around and faces Baku directly. Her light violet eye shadow made it seem like her dazzling purple iris' were looking right through the peasant boy who was petrified by the sight of his crush looking directly at him.

[Princess Savannah]: Baku, why aren't you sitting next to me like you normally do? I miss your company… Are you bored of me?

[Baku]: *Nervous* Uh-uhh... N-no I, err... Just, uhh... lost a bet... with my friends...?

*The more Baku tried to explain himself, the stupider he sounded.

[Princess Savannah]: *Confused* That... sounds so silly... But I think I can relate, my bestfriend likes to make fun of me sometimes too... Often... Anyways, I wanted to ask, how do you know so much about Xeria's space program and military? Don't you live, like... Outside?

[Baku]: *Nervous* I… Uh... read a lot of space magazines and technology articles. Each of which have sections about the military that talk about things like inventions, upgrades, discoveries and the such...

[Princess Savannah]: Oh... Wow... I'm surprised you actually read despite having little to no interest in school or your grades… Isn't that kind of stuff kind of nerdy? I didn't think you were into that...

[Baku]: *Nervous* Hehehe-hehehe... Yeeaahh... That's absolutely true... *Thinking to himself* Great, now she knows I'm basically a nerd too… And how does she know my grades suck!? Do I have a reputation I don’t know about!? I'm so freakin' confused right now...

*The bell rings and dismisses the students from class.

[Mr. Yarish]: Alright, you youngin's. Have an amazing rest of your day and remember to make a difference in the world by doing something positive!