Nokgorka -- Bahamut
Maya raises her chin.
" 'The princess, alone, stood shivering in the city of the dead.' " She slips a hand under her jacket and hooks the chain around her neck; she draws the three-sided locket (made of heavy steel, the Fleet's red star on the front) out from under her thermal top. It's worn and well-loved, a gift from better days. " 'Whispering to herself so as not to hear the moaning of the damned.' "
She opens the locket.
" 'Lifeless faces stared back at her.' "
Graduation photos -- Marcus in the left panel, handsome and boyish; Alexandra in the right, a hint of a smirk on her face; Maya in the middle, young and dreamy-eyed.
Marcus. Alexandra. Only one of us left, and I'm still dreaming of yesterdays.
"There you are!" crowed Alex Goncharova, her hands on her hips. Her hair was cropped short besides the unruly shock in the front; she wore the baggy brown-and-red uniform like she'd been born to it (and sometimes, Maya thought she had). "Reading that illegal book again? You want to get arrested, don't you?"
Maya Vlasova sat against the stone pillar, long legs splayed, heavy book resting on her knees. Thick blonde bangs were in her face as much as ever. "Hi Alexandra!" she chirped, without looking up. "I'm at one of my favorite parts -- where the goddess of the moon has just bonded her sword to the soul of the princess, and--"
"Sounds kinky!"
Maya's head snapped up. "Shut up!" The drawback to fair skin -- it was immediately apparent when she flushed. Across the grassy academy quad, eyes began to turn their way; she lowered her voice to a hiss. "It's nothing like that!"
Alex's grin was bright and sharp, smug with the satisfaction of having gotten a reaction. "Hey," she drawled, waving a lazy hand, "you want to get arrested reading underground books, that's your thing. I'm just playin' messenger for lovesick boy again."
"--What?" Maya demanded, dismayed. "Again?! What did I do to get him so interested in me?! I've never even met him!" She slumped back against the pillar.
"He's a boy, Maya." Alex rolled her eyes. "All you have to do is breathe. Look, he seems nice when I talk to him. Why don't you just read the letter and I'll tell you if he's worth your time ... or at least, what he's really after, okay?"
"Well," Maya muttered, taking the letter and adjusting her glasses, "if he's interested in me, he's probably ugly."
Alex huffed an exasperated breath. "Will you stop mumbling and read the letter!"
Maya sighed sharply and held the letter up in front of her face. "Dear Maya Vlasova, I am a soldier, not a writer, so please forgive my use of another man's words. I promise if you will allow me the privilege of meeting you, that you will hear no thoughts other than those you have inspired in me. Until then, here is a passage from my favorite poet. I hope you enjoy it.
" 'It were not merely as if the world had--' " Maya's voice started to falter, slowing. "--'Stopped, died and been reborn anew, but that there had been no world at all until he first saw her...' " Blue eyes flew open.
"What does it say? Keep reading!"
"Alexandra--" Maya tore her eyes away from the letter; she held it close to her. "How soon can I meet him?!"
"Oh-ho-ho!" Alex cackled aloud. "What is this? Little Ms. Storybookland is suddenly Action Girl! Take it from me, kid-- the ones that are good with words are the most deadly."
"But he's read this book!" Maya held her book up at Alex, as fierce as if she were pointing a weapon at her. "He quotes one of my favorite passages!"
"So? You're two criminals who buy underground books? That's love?"
"Oh, don't be such a hag, Alex!" Maya snapped. "Just bring me to him, will you?"
The kind of moment that changes your life forever. Transformation. How old was I when I learned the transformation protocol? Probably not much older than the child that took your life, Alex. I was in awe of the silence of the isolator tunnel. 'The passage to hell,' as the vets say.
It always felt like a sacred place to me. There were as many prayers spoken there as in a church. Warkasters pleading with the universe for deliverance... For safe passage.
I'm ready for the final door, Alex. To take the last short walk toward oblivion.
I've been born.
Tried to make sense of this world. Tried to understand its abstractions and boundaries.
Known love.
Lost love.
Only the departure remains.
I have no fear.
To see you again? And Marcus? Even as ghosts.
I never stopped thanking you for introducing me to him, did you? It drove you crazy!
I was breathless the day you pointed him out to me. Even to remember it is bliss. The thrill of the stadium on the final day of athletic events before graduation. Marcus looking so serious as his coach gave him his final checks, then smiling so much when his brother leaned in. I didn't know who was more handsome, Marcus or Urik.
Uri was so different then. So much more alive. He never recovered after Marcus's death.
I suppose neither of us did.
When a star like Marcus has brought his light into your life ... everything afterward is shadow.
The engine pull. Marcus broke Urik's record that day. The way he combined his telekinetic and physical power-- It was something to behold.
"That's him?!" Maya demanded, sitting high in the stands and watching the solid mass of corded muscle -- who was apparently named Marcus Antares -- haul the enormous engine down on the stadium floor. "He's interested in me?!"
Alex, grinning and shaking her head. "He's somethin', huh?"
Yes. Yes, he was.
Was.
Alex was, too.
" 'The princess, alone, stood shivering in the city of the dead.' " She slips a hand under her jacket and hooks the chain around her neck; she draws the three-sided locket (made of heavy steel, the Fleet's red star on the front) out from under her thermal top. It's worn and well-loved, a gift from better days. " 'Whispering to herself so as not to hear the moaning of the damned.' "
She opens the locket.
" 'Lifeless faces stared back at her.' "
Graduation photos -- Marcus in the left panel, handsome and boyish; Alexandra in the right, a hint of a smirk on her face; Maya in the middle, young and dreamy-eyed.
Marcus. Alexandra. Only one of us left, and I'm still dreaming of yesterdays.
"There you are!" crowed Alex Goncharova, her hands on her hips. Her hair was cropped short besides the unruly shock in the front; she wore the baggy brown-and-red uniform like she'd been born to it (and sometimes, Maya thought she had). "Reading that illegal book again? You want to get arrested, don't you?"
Maya Vlasova sat against the stone pillar, long legs splayed, heavy book resting on her knees. Thick blonde bangs were in her face as much as ever. "Hi Alexandra!" she chirped, without looking up. "I'm at one of my favorite parts -- where the goddess of the moon has just bonded her sword to the soul of the princess, and--"
"Sounds kinky!"
Maya's head snapped up. "Shut up!" The drawback to fair skin -- it was immediately apparent when she flushed. Across the grassy academy quad, eyes began to turn their way; she lowered her voice to a hiss. "It's nothing like that!"
Alex's grin was bright and sharp, smug with the satisfaction of having gotten a reaction. "Hey," she drawled, waving a lazy hand, "you want to get arrested reading underground books, that's your thing. I'm just playin' messenger for lovesick boy again."
"--What?" Maya demanded, dismayed. "Again?! What did I do to get him so interested in me?! I've never even met him!" She slumped back against the pillar.
"He's a boy, Maya." Alex rolled her eyes. "All you have to do is breathe. Look, he seems nice when I talk to him. Why don't you just read the letter and I'll tell you if he's worth your time ... or at least, what he's really after, okay?"
"Well," Maya muttered, taking the letter and adjusting her glasses, "if he's interested in me, he's probably ugly."
Alex huffed an exasperated breath. "Will you stop mumbling and read the letter!"
Maya sighed sharply and held the letter up in front of her face. "Dear Maya Vlasova, I am a soldier, not a writer, so please forgive my use of another man's words. I promise if you will allow me the privilege of meeting you, that you will hear no thoughts other than those you have inspired in me. Until then, here is a passage from my favorite poet. I hope you enjoy it.
" 'It were not merely as if the world had--' " Maya's voice started to falter, slowing. "--'Stopped, died and been reborn anew, but that there had been no world at all until he first saw her...' " Blue eyes flew open.
"What does it say? Keep reading!"
"Alexandra--" Maya tore her eyes away from the letter; she held it close to her. "How soon can I meet him?!"
"Oh-ho-ho!" Alex cackled aloud. "What is this? Little Ms. Storybookland is suddenly Action Girl! Take it from me, kid-- the ones that are good with words are the most deadly."
"But he's read this book!" Maya held her book up at Alex, as fierce as if she were pointing a weapon at her. "He quotes one of my favorite passages!"
"So? You're two criminals who buy underground books? That's love?"
"Oh, don't be such a hag, Alex!" Maya snapped. "Just bring me to him, will you?"
The kind of moment that changes your life forever. Transformation. How old was I when I learned the transformation protocol? Probably not much older than the child that took your life, Alex. I was in awe of the silence of the isolator tunnel. 'The passage to hell,' as the vets say.
It always felt like a sacred place to me. There were as many prayers spoken there as in a church. Warkasters pleading with the universe for deliverance... For safe passage.
I'm ready for the final door, Alex. To take the last short walk toward oblivion.
I've been born.
Tried to make sense of this world. Tried to understand its abstractions and boundaries.
Known love.
Lost love.
Only the departure remains.
I have no fear.
To see you again? And Marcus? Even as ghosts.
I never stopped thanking you for introducing me to him, did you? It drove you crazy!
I was breathless the day you pointed him out to me. Even to remember it is bliss. The thrill of the stadium on the final day of athletic events before graduation. Marcus looking so serious as his coach gave him his final checks, then smiling so much when his brother leaned in. I didn't know who was more handsome, Marcus or Urik.
Uri was so different then. So much more alive. He never recovered after Marcus's death.
I suppose neither of us did.
When a star like Marcus has brought his light into your life ... everything afterward is shadow.
The engine pull. Marcus broke Urik's record that day. The way he combined his telekinetic and physical power-- It was something to behold.
"That's him?!" Maya demanded, sitting high in the stands and watching the solid mass of corded muscle -- who was apparently named Marcus Antares -- haul the enormous engine down on the stadium floor. "He's interested in me?!"
Alex, grinning and shaking her head. "He's somethin', huh?"
Yes. Yes, he was.
Was.
Alex was, too.