Hakusan Angel Page 3

  "Whoa," Mari whistled upon seeing their quarters. "This is ... rather a lot of room."

  That was putting it mildly. She had been fine, back on base and sharing tight quarters with her fellow pilots, but it seemed that someone was trying to persuade them to be amenable to their changed status. There was so much space that Mari felt a bit out in the open, especially surrounded by furnishings that probably cost more than she made in a year. For Mari, as a military person, such a lavish and decorous room made her uncomfortable. She wanted to stand in the very middle of it and stay as far from the polished wood and lush fabric as possible––and they expected her to live in it!

  "What are they playing at?" Kaede asked, surveying the room with a critical eye. "They could stick us in a hall closet and get no protest from either of us. Why are they giving us all this?"

  "What?" Mari couldn't believe that. "I thought sources were given pretty much anything they wanted. They live like royalty, by all accounts. You're the only Level 1 Source in the country. You could probably ask for anything, and they'd give it to you."

  "This isn't what I would have asked for, had I been given a choice." Kaede looked around the room with a sneer. "What kind of manipulation are they thinking up? It looks like they're giving me what they think I want."

  "You just said that you wouldn't protest though," Mari pointed out, thinking that if Kaede was a source that was actually here for duty and not because of selfish monetary gain, then perhaps they could get along.

  "I can't really protest anything, not after what I've done," Kaede answered. "It's either serve out my contract until retirement, or I get an automatic prison sentence."

  Mari goggled helplessly at her. "What?"

  Kaede rolled her eyes and explained the widespread damage that she had caused with the accident at the bar, not to mention the fact she had been purposefully hiding her true power range for years. In reparation, she had agreed to an amended contract that would keep her as a servant of the military until she was of an age to retire.

  So she was a self-serving source after all, just one that had been backed into a corner.

  "Why did you hide your power?" Mari asked.

  "It's dangerous to be a Level 1. I'd be a target, especially since Morwe is just looking for a reason to attack. What is the point of living in luxury if I might die at any moment?" snapped Kaede. "You wouldn't understand. You would probably consider it an honour to die for your country."

  Mari jerked back, stung. Kaede was right about that, but whereas Mari was proud of that fact, Kaede made it sound like an unspeakably stupid way to think.

  "Look at you, with your nose in the air. You think you're so smart! Finding ways to squeeze benefits out of the military, taking advantage of the arms race and our need for sources. You think we're stupid for wanting to serve and you have no respect for us because pilots are so replaceable and you aren't. Well, you know what? I'm happy to serve, because my payment isn't in money, it's the knowledge that I'm helping to keep my country and my people safe!"

  Kaede raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

  "You're just a scavenger, a harpy. I feel no pity for you, because now you might finally do your duty to your country instead of hiding out in a more comfortable place and using the system to keep you happy and rich."

  Mari stomped away, and finding a door adjoining the separate halves of the suite, slammed it closed.

  *~*~*

  Kaede didn't care what Mariko thought. She didn't.

  She was just like all the other pilots, thinking that they were better than sources for having the high moral ground. They didn't ever stop to think of how lucky they were. Those pilots with their swaggering about, camaraderie and willingness to serve were all exactly where they wanted to be. They were happy doing this.

  Sources, though, were never given much of a choice in the matter. High level sources were actively pursued by the military, and worn down until they agreed. The military knew everything, they had all the information they needed to find out what would make a source sign a contract. Holding out for the benefits was better than signing and getting nothing at all in exchange for their lives, and most sources were smart enough to know that.

  Giving their lives didn't mean dying, although she didn't like the idea of being in danger either. She might have wanted to be something else: a writer, a scientist, an archaeologist. There was no way that the military would allow a high level source to do anything like that though, not with the constant threat of Morwe starting a war hanging over their heads.

  Kaede had never understood what made Morwe want to attack them. They were an aggressive nation and had already annexed several smaller countries before the Inner Kingdom had threatened to intervene. Their own government had started stockpiling weapons, not trusting the Inner Kingdom to keep their word, initiating the current arms race situation.

  Sources made the best of it, they bragged to each other about their benefits and commiserated about their jobs together because that was all they had left.

  She didn't owe it to anyone to explain, especially not that holier-than-thou pilot.

  Kaede was still silently fuming when there was a knock on the door. She thought briefly about waiting until the pilot got up and answered it, but decided against it. Talking to Mariko again wasn't going to happen again unless it was absolutely necessary.

  It was a source technician dressed in blue robes.

  "Yes?"

  "Nomura Kaede, come with me please," the technician smiled. "We must update your power port network before your training begins."

  Kaede followed her down the hall and into the medical wing. She didn't realize that she got her own medical bay, but she supposed her upkeep as a Level 1 was high priority. They gave her a hospital gown to change into and led her into an operating room.

  "You are now a Level 1 source. We need to install three new ports in order to even out your network," the technician calmly explained. "You have been working as a Level 3 Source for nearly four years, and as such, your energy web has probably settled in an unbalanced pattern. The new ports will stretch it all out and hopefully realign it into a more natural position."

  "Won't that hurt?" Kaede asked.

  "Yes, it will a bit, but it will be better for you in the end. You didn't realize it, but you were slowly crippling yourself by working at only a fraction of your capacity. It will hurt at first, but then it will feel much better. Like stretching yourself out after being shut up in a confined space."

  "I was hurting myself?" Kaede had never stopped to think of that when undertaking her plan.

  "Yes. While it is possible to confine your power to a lower level, it isn't healthy. Have you ever tried breathing through a straw? It's like that, possible, but deprives your body of oxygen."

  "Okay," Kaede relaxed, and allowed the tech to position her on the table. She trusted that the tech knew what she was doing, and that her best interest was Kaede's health.

  "This should only take fifteen minutes, twenty at most. We can put you under, or you can stay conscious and we'll use a local anaesthesia on the part we'll be operating on."

  Kaede considered possible trauma versus convenience and asked, "Where are you operating?"

  "Your back. We'll be putting in three ports, one at the base of your spine, one in the small of your back and one on the back of your neck. They're rather bigger than you're used to."

  "I'll stay awake," she said, trying to keep her muscles loose and relaxed. The last time she'd been put under to have her first set of ports installed, after she had woken up, she'd been sick for hours.

  A moment later, she felt the touch of a jet injector in several places along her spine, and then the area went numb. Last time, when they'd inserted her Level 3 ports, she'd been put under because they'd needed to install so many ports in multiple places around her body. It was odd. She could feel the pressure on her back, and she could feel a sliding motion under her skin, but it didn't hurt.

  "Those are going to sting
a little for about a day, but they'll heal up nice and quick. Try not to move around too quickly or you could tear them out."

  She could already feel where the metal and her skin met and how it was sending tiny shocks over the area around the ports. Her biology wasn't used to the new acquisitions yet. The technician wrapped her torso in gauze to protect the newly implanted ports and told her to get some rest to speed the healing process.

  She was on her way back to the suite when the lights flickered once and went out. Kaede halted, hand reaching for her comm before she remembered that it had been disabled. There was no way of contacting anyone to report this. The cause could be anything, she reminded herself. Maybe there was a thunderstorm outside. Kaede had the feeling that it wasn't though.

  Kaede couldn't use her own energy as a light source, not without agitating the new ports. Having just decided to turn back and feel her way along the wall until she was back in the medical bay, the lights flickered and came back on in red. Emergency power was back online.

  Still wary, Kaede resumed walking slowly, trying to keep her footsteps light and quiet. She was almost back to the suite when the door to the stairs opened. She started backwards, ready to run when she realized that it was three women in source robes. They looked vaguely familiar, as if she'd seen them around before, but not often enough to form a lasting impression. They stopped at the sight of her, and looked her up and down with critical eyes.

  "She's a source," the one closest said to Kaede. "What is she doing up here?"

  "I don't know who she is," the other agreed. "Do you recognize her?"

  "I've never seen her before. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

  Taken aback by the woman suddenly addressing her, rather than answering the question, Kaede took a few more steps in the direction of the suite.

  "Did you take out the lighting system?" she asked.

  "Listen, girlie. We're the ones asking to questions here. How did you get in? We don't know you, so you aren't supposed to be here. You should leave."

  "I can't leave," Kaede replied, backing toward the door to the suite.

  "Tell us who you are."

  All at once, the lights came back on, the door to the stairs slammed open to admit a squad of armed soldiers and Mariko came out of their suite directly behind Kaede. The soldiers all lowered their weapons as they realized that everyone in front of them were military personnel.

  "Asami, were you the one that put the lights out?" one of the soldiers asked, eyes narrowing.

  "This is our building," Asami said, glaring at Kaede. "We've never been restricted from anywhere, and suddenly the top floor is off-limits. Something is going on and we want to know what. Who is she?"

  "It's classified information."

  "Classified information is never kept from us. Who is she?"

  "I don't know, but High Command ordered them to be put here. Go back downstairs, please. We've fixed the power, so don't go and break it again just to get past the door locks."

  "I demand to know who she is!" Asami said, eyes flicking back and forth between the guards and Kaede. "You have to tell me!"

  She was still protesting loudly as the soldiers gently but firmly urged them back down the stairs, leaving Kaede and Mari by themselves again.

  "Who were they?" Mari asked.

  "The Elite Ten, must have been," Kaede replied tersely. "Level 2 sources. If you think the Level 3 sources are self-entitled and narcissistic, they have nothing on the Elite. There are only ten level 2 sources, as you must know, but they refuse to interact with anyone they deem beneath them."

  "Charming," Mariko said dryly. "Where were you at anyway?"

  "New ports. We start working soon."

  Kaede couldn't help but shiver, a tingle running down her spine and between her fresh ports. The Level 1 machines hadn't been touched in 20 years. She and Mariko would be the first people inside for decades. She didn't know whether to be excited or afraid.

  *~*~*

  Mari spent a tense couple of days trying not to agitate Kaede, but it seemed that everything she did in her proximity made her eyebrows draw down and her mouth thin. Mari had never been so bored in all her life. While she did her best to keep out of Kaede's way, there was no one else to talk to and nothing to do.

  She felt stuck, trapped between certainty that she was right and not wanting to apologize for her earlier outburst, but also not wanting to make Kaede more angry with her. They had to work together, and it was uncomfortable enough already with Kaede's rigid silence and prickly mood.

  It was only three days, but to Mari it felt like it took forever for Kaede's ports to heal enough for them to go down and do a test run. Kaede went to the medical wing twice a day, and Mari always waited by the door so that she could ask if they were clear as soon as Kaede returned. It was the only time that Kaede would willingly say something to her.

  When Kaede finally reported to her, "Tomorrow," Mari was so excited she couldn't sleep. She'd been waiting her entire career for this chance to advance.

  The next morning, Mari couldn't keep still. The two of them ate well and were checked over in the medical bay one final time, just to be sure. Mari kept tapping her feet and drumming her fingers, practically vibrating with energy.

  "It's time."

  They were under escort by an armed guard when they passed by a group of Level 2 sources on their way through the building. Mari recognized Asami glaring at them from afar. Kaede ignored them, not even taking her eyes off the guard in front of her, but Mari couldn't help making a face at them as she passed. She grinned at their affronted expressions and continued on, a new jauntiness in her step.

  "They suspect, and no doubt they are investigating, no matter what their orders," Kaede said, voice flat and monotone.

  "So? High Command is keeping everything classified."

  "Yes, and that's exactly it. No one keeps information from them, which is suspicious enough in itself. To keep everything under wraps like this is a mistake. Someone is going to connect the pattern, find everything that High Command isn't telling them and connect the dots. The absence of info is just as telling as the info itself."

  "Not everyone is as clever as you, Kaede," Mari said with a slight laugh.

  "They don't have to be. All they have to do is listen to those that are."

  "No one is going to figure it out," Mari said, but she couldn't help but think that if she could figure it out, then it was possible someone else could as well.

  "Really? How do you propose that High Command is going to cover up a power loss that encompassed the entire east coast? Not to mention that our largest military base was without power or defences for three days? People will notice that. It's glaringly obvious."

  "Morwe didn't notice. They'd have done something about it if they had."

  "Well maybe Morwe is better at keeping its operations covert than us"

  "It's your fault! You started it!"

  "If I hadn't, we'd both still be Level 3 and I'd never have been discovered. Decide what you want, you can't have it both ways. Either I stay completely under wraps without anyone but me knowing, or everyone knows; there is no in-between. It's too late now anyway, so why don't you just shut up?"

  Mari did. She wondered if Kaede was truly mad at something she had said or whether she was just angry at everything in general and Mari was just the easiest target.

  "What's this then?" Kaede asked their guard as they came up to a tiny building. It was the size of a shack and was starting to rust around the edges.

  "This is where we were to take you. Your commander is inside waiting for you. Go to the very bottom."

  There was an elevator inside the building, and nothing else. The doors were battered, a bit dented and rusty, but the inside was all shiny steel and glowing buttons. Half of the buttons were symbols that she didn't recognize the meaning of, but there were levels to choose from. Mari pressed the lowest one, and the elevator smoothly started its descent, whirring softly.

  It t
ook ages to descend, moving swiftly past most of the levels, then passing very slowly after that.

  "How far down do you think this is?" Mari asked.

  "Far."

  The elevator finally pinged, and the doors opened. They both stepped forward, and took their first look around.

  It was a massive cavern, the walls and floors covered in what looked like bolted steel. Mostly, it was dark, and the gloom hid whatever was further back. It was very quiet.

  "Hello there," a voice said, and Mari spun, heart jumping in her chest.

  A man was standing there in a sharp, military uniform. He surveyed them both. "I am your commanding officer, Sano Kenji. We have a source technician monitoring us from one of the above decks and engineers waiting on standby. Follow their instructions. We've wired you both in to the Level 1 network, so your comms should be working again. What you are doing today is getting a feel for the machine."

  "Why are we on the ground level?" Kaede asked. "The docking bay for a machine this size is going to be several levels up."

  Sano smiled. "I just wanted to give you a look from the ground. I'm sure you know objectively how large this machine is, but I wanted you to see it, the entire thing, for yourselves. Just so you know in your head the true enormity of the craft you will be driving. It truly is a fortress, a mountain among machines. This is the only one still in good repair. Nomura, Ishigaki: this is Hakusan."

  The lights all came on, revealing the towering presence of the incredible war machine. Mari tilted her head back, and still further back, and even then she couldn't take in how tall it was. This monstrosity would surpass all the trees and hills around the base; every building and every other machine would be dwarfed. It could hold all ten of the Level 2 machines inside its belly. It could house an army, and carry that army anywhere.

  It was named for one of the sacred mountains, and Mari felt miniscule in its presence, as if it really did contain a god.

  "I am to pilot that?" she whispered, eyes wide and unblinking. She turned and looked at Kaede, tiny, delicate Kaede and said, "You can power that?"