Hakusan Angel (11 page)

The debate between the three had been going on for hours, and Kaede had stopped listening to it somewhere around the one hour mark. It was clear what all three wanted; it was simply a matter of compromise. Morwe wanted their source back. Their government didn't want to give him back, at least not without some form of compensation. The Inner Kingdom wanted them all to cease fighting so close to their mutual borders. None of them wanted to give their enemy any leverage. Kaede and Mari had nothing to contribute; they were only there at the demand of the Inner Kingdom.

"How long do you think we're going to be here?" Mari asked her, nudging her with her elbow.

"Depends on when they get tired of hearing their own voices," Kaede said, rolling her eyes.

"Great, we'll be here forever at this rate," Mari grumbled.

"Shhh!" Commander Sano hissed at them out the side of his mouth.

As the two of them exchanged wry looks, Kaede wondered how they had possibly reached this point. All her remembered rage had faded out, and while she knew why she had been mad, the words no longer made her angry. Now here they were, and Mari was laughing at her sarcastic remarks and leaning their shoulders together, the touch casual and unthinking.

They were making progress. Not just her and Mari––everyone. It was making their officers confused, but they were presenting a united front for once, and it was working. Sure, there were still a few misunderstandings, but everyone was more willing to try to work out their problems rather than stomping off and making disparaging comments across the room at each other.

And Mari... was different. Kaede was viewing her through another lens, and found that things she had once found unbearably irritating now seemed endearing.

To be fair, Mari's habit of rebellion and rule-breaking looked much better to her when she was sharing it with Kaede. It was much more fun when Mari skived off work for an extra ten minutes when Kaede was with her, huddled in some hidden nook, rather than being the one waiting in exasperation.

In the rush of activity after the end of the conflict, Kaede found herself treasuring those stolen minutes when they stretched their time together to its limit. As she wondered what it all meant, she kept finding herself coming back to one answer.

Should she tell Mari? Somehow, she thought that no matter how things played out, nothing would be able to tear down their hard-won partnership. It surprised even Kaede just how much she'd come to rely on Mari for support, even more than the fact she was quickly coming to terms with the changes in her life. More and more, Kaede was actually happy with her work. It helped a lot that sources and pilots were on better terms, but most of it had to do with her and Mari's growing bond.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice when the meeting finally ended. Mari nudged her side with her elbow, and Kaede blinked back into focus, realizing that she'd absent-mindedly rested her head against Mari's shoulder.

"What's happening?" she asked in a low voice that went unheard by anyone but Mari as they all got to their feet, the shifting of hundreds of bodies ample cover for her words.

"The source from Morwe is going to stay in the Inner Kingdom until they reach majority. The pilot is returning alone. In order for us to be allowed to continue with a functioning military Level 1 crew, we have to keep
Hakusan
more than fifty kilometres from our border with Morwe." Mari explained as the glass panel slid open to let them leave.

The three of them made their way back towards the source terminal where Commander Sano had a ground vehicle waiting to take them back to
Hakusan
.

"If we don't adhere to that stipulation, the Inner Kingdom will intervene again and disable
Hakusan
one way or another," Mari continued once they were out of hearing range again. "They have three Level 1 crews, so I don't think our government wants to argue with them. Morwe had to agree not to display any aggressive manoeuvres against us, or a similar fate will befall them."

"We have a 24-hour period to get
Hakusan
out of that fifty kilometre range," Commander Sano added. "So I suggest we hurry."

Kaede did the calculations in her head and groaned. "Looks like we'll be pulling a triple shift tonight.
Hakusan
doesn't move that fast. They know that, right?"

"It was discussed at length, but Morwe pushed it. They hope that we won't make it and that the Inner Kingdom will take care of us for them."

"Let's not give them the satisfaction," Mari muttered, and picking up her pace.

The ground vehicle kicked into action as soon as they were strapped in. Kaede rested her head back on Mari's shoulder and tried to get some rest while she could. The moment they got back, they'd be pushing to get
Hakusan
moving faster than she'd ever gone.

Just before she fell asleep, she felt Mari's arm circle her shoulder, and a slight pressure where her chin rested against Kaede's temple. A calm breath stirred the hair on her forehead. Kaede snuggled in closer, and with Mari's presence all around her, drifted off in the back of the ground vehicle.

*~*~*

Mari powered down
Hakusan
for the second time that night and waited for Kaede to come out of her trance. They'd been moving at top speed, but
Hakusan
's was like a crawl. Kaede was pushing hard, and it was draining her. There was the beginning of dark circles under her eyes. Mari waited, worried. They still had one more shift to go before they were out of the fifty kilometre range of the border.

Kaede was stirring, and Mari unplugged the three main plugs on her back before going to pick up Kaede's robe for her. As she did, the glow of Kaede's energy faded, and the lights dimmed slightly. One of the ingenious designs built into
Hakusan
included a storage generator that collected energy to use while Kaede wasn't hooked up to it, meaning that they wouldn't be in the dark in between shifts. It wasn't enough to run the entire machine, but the basics were still fine.

"Hey there, moon-angel. How are you feeling?" Mari asked, sending a look at the source technicians to keep them back.

"Starving. Also thirsty."

"There's food waiting for us in the mess. I can grab it."

Mari returned balancing two plates of food in her hands and said, "Come on. I found something that I want to show you."

"What? Where are we going?" Kaede got up to follow her. "When did you even have time to find it?"

"It was an accident. I was trying to find something else," Mari grinned over her shoulder. "It's even better than what I was looking for."

She knew Kaede was behind her, following her, even though she had no idea where they were going. Mari was a bit sorry that she was getting Kaede to come all this way when she was probably tired, but, this was worth it.

"Here, hold these a second," Mari said, passing Kaede their plates.

She scrambled up a nearby ladder and started turning the hatch-release on a door on the ceiling. It made a popping noise as it released, and Mari pushed it up and out. She went back down the ladder and took the food again, balancing it in one arm and using the other to climb the ladder.

"Are we supposed to be doing this?" Kaede asked as she climbed up behind Mari.

"The hatch was left unlocked, which is good enough for me."

They emerged from the hatch, and the still-warm evening air flowed around them like a caress. They were standing on the very summit of
Hakusan
, and the view around them was endless. The forest was spread out far out below them, and off in the distance, a crimson line marked the horizon where the sun hadn't quite finished setting. Above them, the moon had already risen and hung above them, only a few nights away from fullness.

Mari shrugged off her leather jacket and spread it out on the metal surface so that the two of them could sit and eat their meal. Kaede's side was pressed up against her, warm in the cooling air. The two of them watched as the red line on the horizon disappeared. One spot remained a faint orange, marking the lights of the capital.

It was quiet as they finished eating and then passed a canteen of water back and forth between them, waiting for a chance to speak. Mari had been trying for days to find the right time to say something, and now, here they were. They were alone, and it was peaceful. The night sky was bright and clear, and the air was fresh, just the right balance between warm and cool. This was the best moment she could have hoped for, but instead of saying anything, she was fiddling with the canteen lid and stalling.

"Nice night," Mari said, not looking at Kaede.

"Yes."

"I'm glad we came up here."

"Me too."

Mari picked up the canteen and screwed the lid back on. Then she opened it again and took a quick swig before closing it again.

"Um, Kaede. I just wanted to say ..." She saw Kaede tilt her head to look at her from her periphery. "That is, I was thinking ... that, um ... we really are good partners. And so... well, you don't have to agree or anything. Just ..."

"Yes?"

Mari lost her nerve. "Ah ... it's not important."

"What's not?"

"Nothing."

"Mari ...?"

Mari turned toward Kaede and was surprised to find her much closer than anticipated. Her eyes widened a moment before Kaede's small hand cupped the back of her head, and suddenly she was being kissed. She made a small sound in the back of her throat, and Kaede drew away.

"That's what you wanted to say, right?" Kaede asked her.

"Well," Mari squeaked. Clearing her throat, she continued. "Yes, that was it. Yes. How did you know?"

Kaede laughed. "It was kind of obvious."

"So, it's okay with you ...?"

Kaede answered by pulling her back in, shifting to settle herself comfortably in Mari's lap. Mari wasn't entirely sure what to do with a sudden lapful of beautiful girl, but it seemed as if Kaede had a few ideas. Tentatively, she put her hands on Kaede's waist, and Kaede leaned forward, capturing Mari's mouth again. She tasted clean and pure, like rainwater.

Mari yelped as Kaede's hands unexpectedly found her bare skin, running delicate fingers up the length of her spine.

"You know, we're still on duty," she managed to say.

Kaede smiled and replied, "You were the one that taught me to break the rules."

Mari let herself get lost in kissing Kaede for a few long minutes, their hot breath mixing in between them. Kaede's legs were bare and smooth beneath her robe, silky to the touch.

"Kaede, you know I want this, I do. But I also wanted something more ... solid. Permanent. I don't know if that's what you want too ..."

"We already have that. We're partners. Our bond grows stronger every day we're together."

"This might not work," Mari said, gesturing between them. "What then? What would it mean for our partnership?"

"I think that if we can reconcile our differences as a source and a pilot, then anything is possible," Kaede said firmly. "It took a lot of talking out, but we managed alright in the end. I believe in us. We can do it, as long as we keep working together."

Mari's watch beeped.

"We have to go back. They're all counting on us to finish this," Mari sighed, climbing to her feet and pulling Kaede up after her. "Will this conversation still be waiting for us when we're done?"

"You can count on it."

Kaede leaned up to kiss her once more before climbing back down the ladder. Mari gathered their empty plates and followed. They were heading straight back on duty as soon as they were back on the bridge.

Mari thought that this was probably how it would always be. They would find moments like that in between their busy shifts, finding time to themselves when their comrades weren't around. That was how it had to be, but Mari didn't mind. She had Kaede, and when one could find the perfect moment in the couple of hours they had to rest, she knew they would always be able to find the time.

"Who would have thought this would happen, anyway?" Mari asked as they descended.

"We tried our hardest to hate each other and it didn't work, so I guess we're stuck with each other now," Kaede replied. "It was meant to be."

It didn't matter whether it was meant to be or not; they were together now. That was what really mattered, in the end.

Alex Powell is an avid writer and reader of sci-fi and fantasy, but on occasion branches into other genres to keep things interesting. Alex is a genderqueer writer from the wilds of northern Canada who loves exploring other peoples and cultures. Alex is a recent graduate of UNBC with a BA in English, and as a result has an unhealthy obsession with Victorian Gothic literature. Alex has been writing from an early age, but is happy to keep learning to improve on their writing skills. Feedback and comments as well as any questions are appreciated! You can reach Alex at [email protected]