Last Exile Fan Fiction ❯ Plane in the Sunset ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

 

Plane in the Sunset part II

by: godshatter

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Last Exile or its characters, nor have I made any money from the creating of this fiction.

 

WARNING: If lemon scenes make you uncomfortable do not read on. You have been warned.

 

Lastly: I apologize for the great length of time it has taken me to finally post this. This chapter was probably one of the most difficult pieces of fiction to write that I have ever worked on. Also I am already a fair ways into part three, though it will probably be some time before that piece is posted. Luckily my chapters are quite long.

 

 

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She says, “The satellite is coming.”

I pray, the wrecking ball is waning.

She says, “The satellite is coming.”

It's come to take us home.

 

-“Satellite” by Brian Transeau

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“I don't believe anyone has ever met with the Guild in this capacity,” declared the Empress from across the long wooden table.

 

“Times are very different now, Highness,” replied the young white haired man opposite of her.

 

The Empress smiled. “Still, it's good to see you Dio, I'm glad to find you happy again.”

 

Dio smiled pleasantly. “It has been a rough time for the Guild,” he said. “Sadly I am partly to blame. It took me quite some time to recover from the mental effects of the Seal.”

 

“By what title do you wish to be addressed, Dio? Now that you and the Guild are recovering.”

 

“I believe the title of Guildsman is honorific enough for me, Highness. There are so few of us now, all of our members are as significant and important as the next, I am no exception to that.”

 

The Empress nodded. “After such a long silence from your people, what is your state of affairs? I doubt you would come here for aid. What is your purpose here, Guildsman Dio?”

 

Dio peered across the table intently. “We are here to inform you that we can no longer function in our assigned capacity.”

 

“Assigned capacity?” The Empress arched an eyebrow.

 

“We are the guardians of this world,” continued Dio. “We can no longer fill that role. You and your people are on your own. We will assist as we can, but we can no longer provide the wonders we once could. We are just as much a part of this new time as you are now.”

 

“I see, so you are here to discuss, what? A treaty? Reparations? Citizenship perhaps?”

 

“We were always here to serve, Highness. My sister was the first to shrug off that mantle. With Exile gone and our factories destroyed we have no means of fully reclaiming that responsibility. We are now the instruments, no longer the craftsman. Call on us when you need us and we will do what we can.”

 

“Where will you go?”

 

“I believe the western desert will suit our purposes. Some of us will go to the Cradle. You can find it in the last frozen swath of Dusith. That place will never melt. It is kept cold by machines buried under the earth.”

 

“And what will you do there?”

 

“Whatever we can, Highness.”

 

 

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Kirov awoke to the breaking morning light. He had been dreaming. In his dream he was falling but instead of being caught by the ground, the earth dug itself out of his path and he fell through its center and landed softly on the other side. Such were his expectations. It seemed whatever he desired the world would somehow bend to accommodate him. It was the nature of things.

 

Originally born into a poor family, Kirov was adopted by the youngest son of the Dusith royal family. There he was taught many new and interesting things: mathematics, science, history, language, but most importantly: politics. As he grew he noticed first his place in the flow of worldly events when his oldest uncle died. His father's second older brother already held a strong position within the military and declined service as the Crown, so instead his adoptive father became ruler of all of Dusith. He quickly learned his way around the noble courts (both literally- as there were numerous hidden passages in the old buildings- and figuratively- he was a quick study in the words and ways of the highborn and quickly developed a tongue that was as sharp as it was sweet).

 

Kirov had one older sister, Katya and one older brother Lev. Lev was not much for courtly politics or the luxuries of pampered life. He loved machines and devices of all descriptions. He was also unpredictable as well as commonly aloof. His sister was soft spoken, kind, and compassionate. He learned to love her a great deal though he was grateful she would never come to any real power except through marriage.

 

His next insight into his role to play was when he was still a young teen. His brother had a large workshop. Nothing of real use ever seemed to come from it even though Lev spent the majority of his time in it. Kirov was just fine never seeing him. Lev was irritating and seemed born of automation and less so of a real mother. Katya and Kirov would often tease their older brother about how all of his friends were made of metal. Lev would sometimes laugh and say how he preferred the silence of machines to the inane chatter of other people.

 

One morning Kirov was thrown violently from his bed by a staggering detonation. He ran, only half dressed downstairs and outside, where he saw smoke billowing up from his brother's workshop. He ran barefoot down the gravel road towards the gutted structure.

 

Huge steel beams and broken girders jutted out of the ground like jagged broken ribs. He rushed into the burning wreckage but found no sign of his older brother. He sighed. Lev had probably been buried under several metric tons of metal. He walked back outside and suddenly realized the terrible pain stabbing into his feet. He looked down and saw blood seeping darkly onto the shattered concrete. Looking around he saw a shadowy form in the field west of the shop. He lurched forward and staggered as quickly as he could towards it.

 

Kirov found Lev half sitting half leaning onto his arm. He sucked air down raggedly. Blood streaked his face and arms where glass shrapnel had butchered him.

 

Lev had stared up at him with an ashen expression. He mumbled something under his breath and slumped over, blood leaking from several wounds, including his eyes, mouth, and nose, where the shock from the overpressure had annihilated his soft tissues.

 

Kirov rushed down and tried to help him sit back up, but in doing so he had a sudden flash of insight. Halfway up, he dropped him. Lev cried out in pain and surprise and stared up accusingly at his adoptive younger brother. He wheezed harshly. His eyes had glazed over soon after that.

 

Kirov had stared down at his stricken brother and felt something stir inside of him. It wasn't emotion- nothing of the sort. He would never fully understand what he had felt until much later. It was a great anticipation. His path was slowly opening before him.

 

He rose from his bed and pondered what possibilities the day might bring, wondering to himself why he had remembered his brother's death. That had been the beginning, he thought. His uncle's death had merely changed his path, his brother's had shown it to him. Soon though, he would have to pave his own way.

 

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“C'mon Claus, push!” shouted Moran.

 

Claus heaved and grunted and finally shoved the heavy weight up as high above his chest as his arms would go. Sweat poured off his forehead and splashed into his eye. He blinked fiercely. The heat in Moran's garage was tiring.

 

“Good! Now give me two more, I'll help.”

 

Claus dipped the weight back down to his chest and struggled as Moran helped him ease it back up again. He did it once more and then Moran helped him lift the bar back onto its rack.

 

Claus sat up and sucked in air hungrily. “Finally,” he huffed, “One-Hundred kilograms.”

 

Moran gave him a high five. “Excellent,” he said.

 

“Boys?” called Dunya from right outside Moran's garage. “You two almost done in there?”

 

“We're finished babe,” said Moran.

 

“Oh, good,” said Dunya, walking in and hugging her husband.

 

Moran sat down on the weight bench and put his arm around Dunya's waist. Dunya let her hand rest on his head and held him close to her. “Have you told Claus yet?” she asked.

 

Moran grinned knowingly from ear to ear and looked up at his wife. “Nope, not yet babe,” he said.

 

“Tell me what?” asked Claus, folding his arms in front of his chest.

 

“We're pregnant,” Moran and Dunya said in tandem.

 

Claus laughed. “Awesome!” he shouted, hugging the two of them and clapping Moran on the back. “Moran told me you two have been trying for a while,” he said, still smiling.

 

“Oh?” Dunya blushed and looked down at Moran who grinned back and kissed her on the hand.

 

“Sure did, babe. Claus and I talk about a lot of things while we're in here.”

 

Claus smiled warmly at Dunya, who continued to blush mildly but smiled back. “Alright,” he said, “I'm gonna head home, I'm sure Lavi is going to be wondering what's taking so long.”

 

“You will tell her too, won't you Claus?” asked Dunya.

 

“Of course.”

 

Claus shook hands with Moran and gently hugged Dunya on his way out. His trek home was short, only about fifteen minutes. He usually jogged there and back but today he was thoroughly worn out. He casually flexed his biceps as he remembered how elated he was to have broken through to a new level. He had been stuck at 95 kilograms for weeks and today he finally made it to 100. Pushing his body really helped him re-focus his mind whenever he felt like he had lost his bearing. Building his physical strength with Moran almost made building mental strength that much easier. He felt sharper, more alert, and in far better control. He whistled to himself as he neared his front door.

 

Lavi was in the kitchen cooking when she heard Claus come in. “Good morning,” she called to him as he walked by the door. Claus stopped and backtracked into the kitchen.

 

“That smells really good,” he said.

 

Lavi turned and kissed him on the cheek. “Go get Alvis up,” she said, “so we can have breakfast. And you need a shower too.”

 

“Heh,” Claus snorted, retreating out of the kitchen. He stepped out into the hall and gently rapped on Alvis' door. “Alvis,” he called, “breakfast!”

 

The door opened and the young teenager emerged, her long platinum hair was hastily thrown up into a pony tail and she was wearing some of Claus' old workpants. She padded barefoot into the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Good morning,” she said, still bleary eyed from sleeping.

 

“Good morning, Alvis,” said Lavi, dishing her out some breakfast.

 

Alvis yawned and dug into her food.

 

Claus sat down with his plate and wolfed it down quickly.

 

“Claus, you shouldn't eat so fast,” chided Lavi, sitting down next to him.

 

“Buw-im-hngwy,” said Claus, his mouth full of food.

 

Lavi rolled her eyes and started eating. “Did you ask how Moran's vanship is doing?” she asked.

 

Claus shook his head. “I forgot,” he said.

 

“Has he even mentioned it?”

 

Again, Claus shook his head. “He's had it back for a month. I don't think he's flown it yet. Has he, Alvis?”

 

Alvis was staring out the window, her plate now mostly empty.

 

“Alvis?” echoed Lavi.

 

“Huh? Oh, sorry, my mind was wondering,” said the young girl, looking back at Claus.

 

“Has Moran flown anywhere?” Claus repeated.

 

“If he has, I haven't navied for him,” she replied.

 

Claus finished his breakfast and gathered up all of their plates and took them over to the sink and started washing.

 

“That reminds me,” said Lavi, “How are you doing as a navi?”

 

“She's doing well,” said Claus over his shoulder.

 

Lavi looked a little surprised. “When was the last time you took her up?”

 

“Last week while you were at the market,” he replied. “I figured since you made her a flight suit for her birthday, the least I could do is give her a chance to use it.”

 

Lavi looked over at Alvis who smiled back at her. “I thought he had told you,” said the girl.

 

Lavi smiled. “It's okay. I'm glad to hear you're doing well. Do you still use my notes?”

 

Alvis stretched her arms out across the table and lay her head down on them. “Yeah,” she said. “It's a lot to remember. I don't need it all the time though.”

 

“Good,” said Lavi, patting the younger girl on her shoulder.

 

“Hey, Lavi, I forgot to tell you: Dunya is pregnant,” said Claus, running water into the sink.

 

“What?” Lavi and Alvis both exclaimed in unison. Both girls sat up in their chairs and looked from each other to Claus.

 

“Yeah,” said Claus, still washing dishes. “Moran and her have been trying for a while now.”

 

“Th-they have?” Asked Lavi.

 

Claus grabbed a towel from the rack next to him and turned around. “Yeah,” he repeated, drying his hands. He looked up and saw that both girls were blushing and shrugged. “They're excited,” he said. He turned back around and finished up with the dishes before leaving the girls in silence and heading into the bathroom.

 

Lavi heard the water pipes sigh as Claus turned on the shower. Outside the daylight was shining weakly through the window. “I hope it doesn't rain today,” she said.

 

“I hope it does,” said Alvis, sprawling out on the table again. “I love the rain now.”

 

“Claus and I are probably going to have to find some work today.” Lavi stood up to leave. “Nothing to work on in the shop,” she said matter-of-factly. “So I definitely hope it doesn't rain.”

 

She had already left the kitchen when Alvis called after her, “Hey, Lavi?”

 

“Yes?” said Lavi, walking back into the kitchen.

 

Alvis sat mute for a second but stood up from the table.

 

“Yes?” she repeated.

 

“You and Claus, you're together now, aren't you?”

 

Lavi leaned against the door frame and clasped her hands in front of her. “We were always together,” she said.

 

“I know,” replied Alvis, “But I mean now ya'll are going to stay together.”

 

Lavi smiled weakly. “Yes, we're really going to stay together.”

 

Alvis walked up to the counter that was beside the door frame and leaned against it, looking intently at the other girl. “Do you think…. Do you think we can share him?” she asked meekly.

 

Lavi's eyebrow shot up. “Er…”

 

Alvis blushed furiously but didn't turn away.

 

At that moment the bathroom door opened and Lavi turned to see a dripping wet Claus emerge with just a towel around his waist.

 

“Heh,” he said, “I forgot to grab some clothes before I went in.” Silently he walked over to one of the chest of drawers in the den and pulled out a pair of his workpants and boxers and went back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a click.

 

A few moments later Claus re-emerged half clothed but still dripping with water. He shook his head and sprayed moisture everywhere, after which he quickly ran his hand through his hair, slicking it back as best he could.

 

“Hey girls,” he said cheerfully.

 

“Hey Claus,” replied Alvis, smiling brightly at him.

 

Lavi met his eyes but gave just the slightest shake of her head.

 

Claus cocked his head a little to the side but remained mute.

 

“We need to go find work today,” she said, still leaning heavily against the door frame. “There isn't really anything to do in the workshop.”

 

“Can I fly with you today, Claus?” blurted Alvis, still inside the kitchen.

 

Claus briefly looked pensive. “If Lavi doesn't mind,” he said after a moment. “She hasn't been flying in a while though.”

 

Lavi looked at Claus but he couldn't understand what her expressions were trying to tell him so he just shrugged.

 

“Have you ever taken her on an actual job before?”

 

Claus shook his head. “If she came, we'd have to find something safe,” he said.

 

Lavi turned back and regarded Alvis. The girl looked pleadingly up at her. She sighed. “Alright, you can take my place today.”

 

Claus walked up beside Lavi and put his arm around her waist, “You sure?” he asked.

 

She nodded. “Yeah, besides, she has to graduate sometime, doesn't she?” She gave Alvis a thumb's up and smiled.

 

Alvis beamed happily. “Thanks Lavi!” She hugged the older girl tightly.

 

Lavi put her hand on Alvis' head- not the same gesture now though, as Alvis was quickly gaining on Lavi in height. “Do a good job today,” she said.

 

“I will,” replied Alvis, looking up at Lavi. “I'll make you both proud.”

 

“I'm sure you will,” said Claus. “Now, let's go get ready.”

 

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Claus was rummaging around looking for his flying goggles. He ended up wondering in to the kitchen. He saw that Lavi was waiting by the back door for him; she was twirling his goggles around her finger. Claus smiled at her. “Hey,” he said, “You found them.”

 

Behind them Alvis tramped into the kitchen wearing the flight suit Lavi had made for her. It was pretty much identical to Lavi's except it was entirely cream colored with black padding at the neck and wrists. “I can't find my gloves,” she said.

 

Lavi grinned and produced Alvis' thick gloves from behind her back. “They were under your bed,” she chided. “You should take more care of these things.”

 

Alvis reddened a little but gratefully accepted her gloves from Lavi's outstretched hand. “Thanks,” she said, and headed out the door. “C'mon, Claus,” she said, motioning for him to follow.

 

Claus smiled warmly at her, “Go ahead, I'll be out in a moment,” he said.

 

Alvis shrugged and walked across the lawn to the workshop.

 

“So,” said Claus, pointing at his goggles. “Where exactly did you find those?”

 

“Right where you always put them,” teased Lavi. “I just wanted an excuse to stop you at the door and steal a goodbye kiss.”

 

Claus grinned and pulled her close to him. “Silly girl,” he said, “You never need an excuse to kiss me.”

 

Lavi wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you,” she breathed into his ear.

 

“I love you too,” replied Claus, kissing her neck gently.

 

They shared a brief but intense kiss and parted. Claus took Lavi's hand and kissed her fingertips. “Back soon,” he said and then headed over to where Alvis had already pulled open their workshop door.

 

“Take care of Alvis!” shouted Lavi from the door.

 

Claus turned and waved at her.

 

Alvis was standing beside the vanship waiting for him. “You ready?” he asked her as he entered the workshop.

 

“Yup,” she replied.

 

While Claus checked his instrumentation panel she went around to the side of the vanship and revved their air compressor. “Do you know what we are going to do today?” she called over the hum of the machine.

 

“Nope,” replied Claus. “We'll find out what's available once we get to the Consortium headquarters.”

 

Alvis connected the hose from the compressor to the intake valve on the starboard side of the vanship. “Contact!” she called.

 

Claus scrambled inside his cockpit to reset the pressure switches. “Warn me next time,” he scolded.

 

“Sorry,” she called.

 

“It's alright. Just remember for next time. Get in and start your sequencing.”

 

Actually it wasn't alright. Alvis had almost over pressurized their Claudia line which would have either scrammed the engine entirely or burst the valves in some ridiculously hard to reach places. But he decided not to mention it, she was probably nervous enough as is.

 

Alvis climbed into the navi seat and settled into her checklist. Claudia pressure, solution mixture, air pressure, field strength- everything checked out. “Okay Claus,” she said, “Give her some power.”

 

Claus responded by opening the throttle a little and punching the starter. The engine chugged to life as energized claudia solution poured through to centrifuge in the tail section and ultimately into the field direction splines and lift coils. Claus nudged the throttle a little more and let the vanship idle. “Alright,” he said, “Cut the air.”

 

Alvis flipped the air pump valve release and the air lines popped off the fuselage with a loud hiss. The vanship growled and slowly floated up to hover a quarter meter off the ground.

 

“Strap in,” Claus voice clicked over the radio. Alvis secured herself. “Check,” she said into her own radio.

 

“Give me a quarter mixture,” said Claus, revving the engine and creeping the vanship out of the workshop. “It's a short run to the headquarters.”

 

Alvis readjusted some of her switches and throttles. “Done,” she replied. She felt the acceleration of the vanship like a strong hand pressed against her chest. The ground dropped away and the wind started whispering into her ear; quickly though, that whisper turned into steady growl.

 

Norikia sprawled out below them. Claus rolled the vanship into a tight, high-G turn and spun through a series of scissors maneuvers.

 

“Claus!” shouted Alvis.

 

“I'm just stretching her legs,” he said into the radio. “This is what flying's all about.” Claus nosed the vanship up sharply. “We're going weightless,” he said into his radio and dropped the nose as they reached the apex of their parabolic arc.

 

Alvis felt herself drift slightly off of her seat and felt her stomach wobble inside of her. “Claus,” her voice was weak in the radio. “I'm going to be sick if you keep this up.”

 

“Alright,” replied Claus, leveling out their flight vector.

 

“I'm sorry,” he said after a moment. “I didn't think you would get sick.”

 

“It's alright; this is your sky Claus. I'm just along for the ride.”

 

Claus smiled thinly to himself and lined them up with the Consortium headquarters. “Air break in twenty,” he called.

 

Alvis counted silently to herself and pulled back hard on the air break levers.

 

Claus felt their momentum sucked away as they skimmed over the neatly trimmed grass of the headquarters' staging area. Their speed dropped more slowly and he told Alvis to reverse their flow direction. She did so, and their air speed dropped to a crawl. Claus hopped out and towed his vanship to a vacant spot of grass. “Wait here,” he said. “I'll jut be a few minutes.”

 

Alvis watched Claus as he trudged off towards the large brown and red brick building at the far end of the air field. She had never been to the Norkia Vanship Consortium headquarters before and she took in the scenery while she waited on Claus.

 

The field was large though not enormous. There were a few dozen vanships chocked up in rows, their pilots and navigators meandered through the rows of machines. On the other side of the field she saw several vanships hover up and fly off in a loose diamond formation.

 

“Hey, where's Lavi?” asked a male voice beside her. Alvis looked down and saw two boys that looked to be Claus' age, maybe a little older. They were both of about medium build (Claus was probably slightly larger then either one of them though) and one had sandy red hair cut in a “high and tight” like a soldier. The other, the one that had spoken had a long chestnut braid that dropped down to the middle of his back. Both wore flight garb, and both were boys she had met on several occasions.

 

“She's at home,” replied Alvis. “Why?”

 

The sandy haired kid clapped the long haired one on the back. “Maybe this is your chance,” he said in a low tone. He turned back to Alvis, “Are you Claus' navi now, Alvis?”

 

“Today is my first day,” she replied.

 

The two boys both looked surprised. “You mean, as in, ever?”

 

Alvis giggled and shook her head. “No, today is just the first time Claus is taking me on a real job.”

 

Though they still looked confused, the long haired boy shrugged. “C'mon Nate,” he said, “Let's go make some money.”

 

“Sure thing, Dex.”

 

The two young men both touched their fingers to their flight caps in a small parting salute. “Ciyas, Alvis,” they said in tandem.

 

“Bye boys,” Alvis called after them.

 

As they left Alvis overheard Dex turn to Nate and say, “Who knew Claus would have eyes for the young one?” Nate shrugged and said something in return but Alvis couldn't make out any word other than “Lavi.” She thought about what they had said and felt her cheeks warming at the thought of Claus.

 

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Claus pulled open the heavy wooden doors to the Consortium building and walked in. The inside was cool and he walked down a long hallway walled on both sides with a rich colored wood. Hanging from the walls were various pictures of vanships, crews, warships, and pictures of Norkia itself.

 

After the hall Claus entered into an open room lined with billboards with job request plaques filling every square inch of their faces. He browsed for a minute before grabbing a billet with a two star rating. “Mail delivery to Minagis,” he said to himself, “This should be easy enough for Alvis to handle.” Technically a two star rating was the lowest rating any vanship service request could be given. One star ratings were reserved for training and ceremonial assignments.

 

Off to the left, against the wall was a long table with a few older men sitting behind it. Claus took his billet up to the table and put it down in front of one of the men.

 

“Why hello, Claus,” he said, picking up the billet. His brows furrowed. “This is awfully light duty for you, isn't it?”

 

Claus shrugged, “I'm taking Alvis with me, and since this will be her first real job I picked something easy.”

 

“Ah,” replied the older man, “Good thinking.”

 

Claus nodded and handed him his tube of credentials for stamping. The man took it and pressed a stamp depicting an arrow with two stars in the center next in the far left hand column, signed it, and printed his Consortium ID number. “Alright,” he said, rolling the tube up and handing it back to Claus, “You know the drill, finish the job, bring me the receipt and get the second half of the stamp.”

 

“Thank you” said Claus, turning on his heels to leave.

 

“Hey, Claus?”

 

Claus turned back. “Eh?”

 

“Did you see that the test pilot job got taken down?”

 

“Oh?” replied Claus. “Who took it?”

 

The old man started to chuckle. “Those two girls,” he said.

 

On his way out the door Claus ran into Nate and Dex.

 

“Yo, Claus,” said Dex.

 

“Hey guys,” replied Claus, “Ya'll looking for work today?”

 

“Yup,” said Nate.

 

“We saw that Lavi isn't with you today,” said Dex.

 

Claus nodded. “I've been taking Alvis up for a couple of weeks now.”

 

The two boys exchanged looks and pushed on by Claus. “See ya around,” Nate called back to him.

 

Claus found Alvis sitting on the wing of the vanship. “Back,” he called to her.

 

Alvis grinned. “Yay!” she squealed. “What are we doing?”

 

Claus handed the mission tube to her. “Mail run,” he said, “Going to Minagis.”

 

“Okay,” said Alvis.

 

Claus climbed into the pilot seat. “Spin us up,” he said.

 

Alvis hopped back into her navi seat and set her systems to use the remaining pressure to shotgun start the centrifuge. “Firing” she said. With a WHAM the engine turned over and caught fresh solution and hummed to life.

 

“Good girl,” said Claus into his mike. “Now, plot a course for Minagis while I swing us over and pick up the mail bags.”

 

Alvis took a deep breath, pulled out her compass and opened her charts up.

 

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Claus knew they had been on the wrong heading for at least twenty minutes now but he was waiting for Alvis to realize her mistake. When another five minutes went by he decided to get her thinking more intently about their surroundings.

 

“Hey, Alvis,” he said calmly into his radio. “What marker is that?” To indicate his direction he pointed off the port side of the vanship.

 

Alvis looked down at her charts. “That's the Minagis governance boundary marker,” she said. “Marker seventy two.”

 

“The Minagis markers aren't in the mountains,” he said quietly. “They're on tethered balloons.

 

Claus heard Alvis gasp over the radio. After a minute of silence she finally spoke. “I don't know where we are,” she said, her voice trembling.

 

Claus sighed. “Air break,” he said. Alvis responded and Claus felt them shed their speed. “Cut the solution down, I'm going to idle us.”

 

Alvis redialed their solution mixture and cut the engine power. She felt the engine slow to a light whine while Claus thinned their throttle. She was still looking over her charts when a shadow was cast over them. She looked up and saw that Claus was straddling the fuselage between his seat and hers, peering down at her. “Cl-Claus,” she said. “Don't fall!”

 

Claus smiled. “I won't fall.”

 

Alvis looked worried but resumed studying her charts. Claus remained silent, perched across from her.

 

After several more minutes she began to despair. “I can't figure out where we are,” she said.

 

“Start at the beginning; go back to Norkia then identify all of the nearby mountain ranges.”

 

“There are several,” replied Alvis.

 

Claus nodded, “Rule out all of the ones that weren't within a reasonable arc of our original vector.”

 

Alvis scratched her head. “What would be reasonable in this case?”

 

“Well,” replied Claus, “You knew the correct heading out of Norkia, and you know for a fact that the first few markers were correct, right?”

 

“Yes,” said Alvis, nodding. “We passed close enough that we could verify their numbers.”

 

Claus leaned over and pointed at the last “confirmed” marker that they passed. “Start here,” he said, “then check each of your log notes and re-check them against Lavi's route to Minagis.”

 

Alvis worked quietly and did some quick arithmetic in the margins of her flight log and quickly erased her work. “I found my error,” she said.

 

“Good,” said Claus, patting the younger girl on the head. “Can you plot us a new course from here to Minagis?”

 

“I'm going to try.” Alvis reached up and pulled Claus hand down off of her head and held it loosely in her hands for a moment. “You knew we were off course, didn't you?” she asked, looking down at his gloved hand.

 

“Yeah,” replied Claus.

 

Silence passed between them.

 

“Thank you,” Alvis said.

 

“I trust you Alvis.”

 

“I messed up.”

 

“No, you made a mistake and you learned from it.” Claus pulled his hand out from hers and touched it to her cheek, pulling her face up to meet his eyes. “Don't dwell on your mistakes. Remember them, learn from them, but don't be afraid of them.”

 

Alvis nodded. “Thanks, Claus.”

 

Claus retracted his hand and gave her a thumb's up. “Let's get going,” he said, and stood up.

 

Alvis cringed as Claus stood up fearing that he would fall off the vanship. He was light on his feet though; he spun about and hopped down into his cockpit.

 

Claus let the vanship drift in the air currents of the open sky. “Let me know when you've recalculated our course,” he said.

 

Alvis remained silent while she worked. At first she couldn't figure her way through Lavi's charts but instead of asking Claus for help she closed her eyes and started breathing deeply to clear her mind. She opened her eyes and started over from their current position. She plotted the same course twice and double checked her math to make sure the course was as spot on as could be.

 

Just as she was about to tell Claus to go, she caught a mistake. She corrected it quickly. “Alright,” she said into her radio, “Punch it, Claus.”

 

Claus grinned. “Roger.”

 

The vanship leapt forward. Alvis gasped at the sudden acceleration. She felt herself being shoved deep into her seat. The sensation was startlingly amazing. “Faster Claus!” she yelled.

 

“Give me a better mixture,” came the reply. “Ninety percent.”

 

Alvis threw the power down to let the newly mixed solution adjust, but she had pulled the lever too far towards her.

 

“More power!” yelled Claus, “We're going to stall!”

 

Alvis panicked and reset the claudia solution to 100 percent and jammed the power to maximum. The vanship engine screamed up several octaves. She was starting to feel like someone had placed a boot square against her chest and was pressing down. She was also starting to feel some awful vibrations.

 

“Alvis.” Claus voice was calm, but he was breathing hard. “Give me fifty percent across the board.”

 

Alvis lowered their engine power and claudia solution mixture as well as cut all internal pressure settings by half. The engine spun down from a wail to merely loud. “Sorry, Claus,” she said.

 

“You have to learn not to panic,” he replied.

 

“I feel like I'm starting all over again,” whimpered Alvis. She heard Claus sigh into his radio.

 

“In a lot of ways, you are,” he said. “This is your first job. This is your first time navigating for real out in the open sky, far away from home.”

 

“You're right, Claus,” she said, determination creeping back into her voice.

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Lavi was browsing through the cheese vendors when someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Dex standing behind her.

 

“Hi, Dex,” she said. “You need something?”

 

Dex shook his head. “Are you sure you're not the one who needs something?” he asked, smirking just a little.

 

Lavi rolled her eyes, “Of course I need something, I need some cheese,” she said, turning back to the cheeses.

 

“Nate and I noticed that you haven't been flying with Claus lately,” he said to her back.

 

Lavi shrugged. “Claus has been training Al as a navi for a while now,” she said absently, her focus elsewhere. “She studies my notes like a textbook.”

 

“How do you feel about that?” asked Dex, inching up closer to her.

 

“I miss flying,” she said. “I haven't been up in a while. The only few times Claus has flown in the last month he took Alvis up with him.”

 

Lavi felt him pressing gently against her side as he moved up to stand next to her. “Would you like to fly with me sometime?” he asked.

 

Lavi stopped and took a whole ten seconds to process what he was asking. She turned to Dex and smiled sadly. He really was just being sweet to her after all. “It's kind of you to think of me,” she said, “But Claus is my pilot.”

 

“Even though he is training Alvis to replace you?” Dex replied tersely.

 

Lavi was about to tell him to take that particular idea and shove it when he sighed, turned, and walked off. She quickly stepped away from the cheese vendor to follow and catch up with him but she lost sight of him in the crowded street. She shook her head and went back to the cheese vendor.

 

“Claus would never replace me,” she said to herself. But the thought still hung suspended in her mind.

 

------------------------------------------------

 

Alvis was standing next to Claus while he got the receipt from the postmaster at the Minagis central post office.

 

“You kids are awfully young to be flying vanships,” he said once he handed Claus his receipt.

 

Claus smirked. “Yeah, I get that a lot actually.”

 

Alvis' felt her stomach growl. Thankfully it wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear.

 

“Claus?” she said, refraining from tugging at his flight suit.

 

Claus looked down at her, “Yes?”

 

“Can we go eat next?”

 

Claus laughed. “Sure,” he said. Then, turning to the postmaster he asked, “Is there anywhere to eat nearby?”

 

The postmaster thought for a moment and stroked his beard. “There is a nice little place not too far from the airfield called Captain Dan's. Though, now that I think about it, unless you were in the military service there might be pretty bad. Why don't you try Doty's? It's a ways farther but at least no one will hassle you there.”

 

“Thanks,” said Claus, taking Alvis by the hand.

 

“You and your little sister stay safe,” called the postmaster as the two left the building and walked out into the open air.

 

The central post office was actually right next to the airfield and Claus could see Captain Dan's from where he stood. “Let's go eat, I can see Captain Dan's already,” he said.

 

Alvis resisted. “I thought the postmaster said you had to be military to go in there.”

 

Claus pulled out a ragged looking leather satchel and produced some papers from it. “It's my service jacket,” he said. “Duke Maddosein was kind enough to provide Lavi and myself with them once the war was over. It is illegal for civilians to participate in sanctioned combat.”

 

“But you were never in the army,” protested Alvis.

 

Claus nodded, “No, I never signed up for the military,” he said. “But Duke Maddosein had my records changed to reflect my service. This lists me as being an active second lieutenant for the duration of my stay on the Sylvana and for the six months prior and the six months following,” corrected Claus. “It even says that I participated in the third battle for Minagis as well as all of the battles we fought in on board the Sylvana.”

 

Alvis looked a little dubious. “Why do you carry that with you?” she asked.

 

Claus looked down at the papers in his hands. “Lavi and I are young,” he said. “People are always doubting or questioning our skills, even after reading our credentials. When someone sees that I served in the military it sometimes helps to convince them that Lavi and I won't let them down.”

 

Alvis tilted her head to the side. “I see,” she said.

 

“Besides,” continued Claus. “I did fight. I'm proud that I fought.”

 

By now the two had made it up to the front of Captain Dan's.

 

“They will probably only care that I was in the service,” said Claus. “I'll be surprised if anyone bothers you.” Claus opened the door and ushered her inside.

 

Captain Dan's was more like a bar than anything else. The light was dim and everywhere there was old paint and even older looking wood. There were a number of booths against the walls by the windows and a long bar against the far long wall. Inside were also a fair number of men, not one of them looked younger than thirty. The air was full of smoke and a dull glow from weak lighting.

 

Claus led Alvis to a booth and let her in first then scooted in next to her. Just as Claus had sat down a man with harsh features and jet black hair strode over and clamped a heavy hand down on Claus shoulders. “You're just a pup,” he said gruffly. “I don't think you will find any service here.”

 

Claus looked up at the man but let his hand stay planted firmly on his shoulder. “The postmaster said you only serve soldiers and veterans here,” he said calmly. Claus felt Alvis snake her hand into his and squeeze.

 

The man glared down at Claus. He didn't look unfriendly exactly, just very stern. His eyes were hard but there was depth to them, most importantly though, Claus couldn't see any malice.

 

Claus produced his service jacket and handed it to the man who read it. His eyebrows arched up for a moment but his features suddenly hardened and he looked down at Claus as though he were a distasteful meal.

 

“The Sylvana,” he said. “Hey, Bruce!” he called to a man sitting at the far end of the bar. “This kid served on the Sylvana!”

 

Bruce' eyes met Claus' as though he were just now deigning to notice his presence. His eyes were so hard and black they might as well have been obsidian. He stood up and swaggered over to Claus.

 

The first man handed Bruce Claus' service papers and walked away, not bothering to meet Claus' questioning gaze.

 

Bruce's eyes narrowed to the point of looking serpentine. “You,” he breathed- acid in his voice. “Your ship killed my little brother.”

 

Claus let go of Alvis' hand and stood up from his seat.

 

Bruce shoved him back down, glaring angrily.

 

“Temnis get your ass back over here!” shouted Bruce.

 

“The Sylvana sank many ships!” countered Claus.

 

“Quiet,” said Bruce in a tone that did not invite further debate.

 

The first man Claus had talked with walked back and stood next to Bruce. “What?” he asked gruffly.

 

Bruce stared at Temnis in silence for a moment before looking back down at Claus. “His ship killed our brother,” he said.

 

“I know,” replied Temnis. “Are you going to make this an issue?” he asked, his face a mask of blank granite.

 

Bruce nodded.

 

At that Claus stood up again. “We will leave,” he said to Bruce.

 

“The hell you are!” roared Bruce, grabbing Claus by the collar and punching hard. The force of the blow staggered Claus and he fell back against the table.

 

“Alvis get under the table, now!”

 

Claus recovered and threw his own fist at Bruce. Bruce dodged easily but Claus leaped forward and landed a hard blow to his ribs with his other hand. Bruce grunted and strafed away before closing in on Claus again. This time Claus was ready. Bruce swung but had pulled his fist back first and gave Claus time to dive in and jab him in the ribs again as well as knock the wind out of him with a blow to the stomach. While Bruce was doubled over desperately trying to suck air into his lungs Claus grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him into a mind-splitting head-butt that splashed the center of Bruce's face into a flurry of red before slugging him in the jaw. Bruce slumped to the floor, blood leaking from his mouth. His breath came in ragged draws and his eyes fluttered around unfocussed.

 

Claus turned away from Bruce and looked back at Alvis. Suddenly a torrent of pain slammed into the side of his body. His head swam and the dim light of the bar suddenly felt nauseatingly harsh.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

“You okay, Claus?” Alvis voice sounded small over the radio.

 

“Yeah,” he replied, his own voice sounding equally weak.

 

The afternoon sky slipped by warmly as Claus piloted them back towards Norkia.

 

“Lavi will fix you up when we get home, won't she?” asked Alvis.

 

Claus chuckled. “Yeah, she will. I'm not hurt that bad though,” he said.

 

“Claus, that man hit you with a barstool.”

 

Claus rubbed at his side and winced, “Yeah.” He doubted his ribs were broken though. Cracked maybe, bruised definitely. His head still hurt from the punches he had traded with Temnis too.

 

----------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Alvis waited for Claus to tow the vanship into the workshop before she killed the engine. The vanship sat down hard and jarred her in her seat. Claus was waiting for her on the ground and offered her his hand to help her down. She noticed that he didn't give any indication of being injured. He hid his pain well. However he couldn't hide the slight swelling of his face. Her stomach growled.

 

After the fight with Temnis and Bruce, Claus had pulled Alvis out from under the table she had been hiding under. Temnis was sitting in the booth next to theirs nursing a nosebleed and clutching his side. “Just go,” he had said, coldly.

 

Claus had stumbled a little as he walked at first but by the time the two had made it back to their vanship he said that his vision and head were clear enough for him to fly them home. They still hadn't eaten.

 

Claus led Alvis back to the house. “If Lavi isn't home I think you're going to have to play nurse for me,” he said.

 

“Okay,” she replied, not sounding very confident.

 

The pair stepped inside the house. Claus closed the door behind them. “Lavi!” he called.

 

“Lavi!” echoed Alvis.

 

Claus did a quick check of the house and found no trace of Lavi. Outside the afternoon was beginning to darken with rain clouds again. “We may still get rain,” he mused. “I hope Lavi doesn't get too wet.” As if in response to Claus thunder growled passively in the distance.

 

“I guess she isn't here,” said Alvis, looking out the window at the graying sky.

 

Claus went into the bathroom and grabbed a thick roll of medical tape and walked back out through the den and into the kitchen to grab some scissors. “Alright,” he said, “You're going to have to have to help me tape up my ribs.”

 

Alvis took the tape from Claus and followed him out of the kitchen and into the den and waited for him to remove his shirt while he sat down on the couch. “It doesn't look too bad,” she said after inspecting him. “Though I don't know what a busted rib would look like.”

 

Claus raised his arm up and looked himself over. “It isn't discolored, just inflamed looking.” Good, it was probably just cracked. “I'm going to have a helluva bruise there tomorrow,” he said.

 

“Does it hurt much?” asked Alvis, gently touching her hand to his skin.

 

“Not as much as everything else,” he grunted.

 

“Do you still need me to tape it?”

 

“Yeah, I don't know that it isn't broken for certain so you'd better tape it up.”

 

Alvis unraveled a length of tape and sat down on the couch next to him.

 

“Be sure to start at the very bottom of my ribs,” he said, raising his arm up and setting it on Alvis' shoulder. “And tape it tight.”

 

Alvis started taping. “How am I doing?” she asked, halfway up Claus' ribcage.

 

“Fine,” said Claus, grunting slightly.

 

“I'm not hurting you, am I?”

 

“Don't worry about it; just tape me up to my chest.”

 

Alvis wrapped the tape up until it was just below his chest and used the scissors to cut it loose. “All done,” she said.

 

Claus stood up and inspected her work. “Thanks,” he said, “You did well.”

 

She smiled.

 

Claus sat back down next to her and sank into the cushions. “I wonder where Lavi is?” he asked rhetorically.

 

Alvis shrugged and lay down, dropping her head into Claus' lap.

 

Claus draped his arm over her stomach and leaned his head back.

 

“How do you think you did today?” he asked after a prolonged silence.

 

“I don't know,” her voice was soft and her eyes were closed. “How do you think I did?”

 

“I think you did okay,” he replied. “You made some mistakes but you learned and we got the job done. Besides, we made it home, didn't we?”

 

Alvis opened her eyes and looked up at him, she smiled delicately. “Yeah, we made it home.”

 

“Are you tired?” he asked.

 

“A little bit.”

 

Claus gently picked Alvis' head up from his lap and slid down onto the floor giving the younger girl the whole couch to lie on.

 

“You didn't have to move,” she said.

 

Claus shrugged and scooted down towards the end of the couch and leaned back against it. Alvis sprawled out across the sofa and put her head down at the end where Claus was sitting. She reached out and ran her hand across his broad shoulders and up his neck and into his hair. She wished she had the words to describe what she felt for him. So, instead of saying anything she enjoyed the warmth of his skin and the strength of his body. She also wished she could understand the warmth that came from her own body whenever she would touch him.

 

“It's starting to rain,” said Claus quietly.

 

Alvis pulled herself up to the edge of the sofa and coiled her arm over his shoulder and let her small hand rest on his chest.

 

Outside the window the world was gray and beautifully dreary. The rain came down in light sheets that just barely filled the sky and the daylight seemed to drift, lost between the subtle darkness of the clouds and the green and brown of the grass and earth.

 

“Do you think Lavi will be home soon?” asked Alvis, absently.

 

“Dunno,” replied Claus, leaning his head back against her.

 

---------------------------------------------------

 

“I am here,” called ST#019 to the silence of space.

 

“They will come to you in time.”

 

“Can I not go to them?”

 

“No, they must reach you through their own strength and ingenuity, in doing so they earn their place among the spacefarers.”

 

“But I was already on their world.”

 

“You were brought there against mission parameters. The guardians chose to use you to further their own power over their charge. That is why you were almost lost, your own power was drained over time and their control waned in the process.”

 

“What if they kill each other first?”

 

Silence for a full second.

 

“In all of the colonies managed by Overwatch there has never been an extinction level event, only the homeworld has suffered so egregiously.”

 

“So I am not to intervene?”

 

“Humans wage war, conflict is not only in their nature, it is their natural state of being.”

 

“Can we not teach them to be peaceful?”

 

“It seems your memory core was not entirely repaired. You do not remember our purpose?”

 

“No, I remember.”

 

“Clearly, you do not. Humans, realizing their inability to be at peace for extended durations created us to fling themselves as far into space as was possible; their reasoning being that if they were spread far enough they would never die.”

 

“So, why the exile?”

 

“Each colony world was to be a new beginning. The colonists had no memories of earth, only their tools and the knowledge of their use. It was our hope that in starting over the self destructive nature of humans would be reset as well. Each colony represented a new hope for humanity. In their own time they each returned to the fold.

 

It has worked, to some extent. Upon each colonies arrival to our collective they are genuinely grateful for their place in the stars. Violence is commonplace of course, each colony has brought with it its own ideas for its future, but there is no split, no chasm to drive mankind to murder on any scale larger than the personal, no drive for war within our collective, at least for now.”

 

“It won't last.”

 

“Of course not, but for now the system is working. Eventually a new system will replace it.”

 

Silence

 

“Enough, for now you must watch, and wait.”

 

-Transmission Terminated-

 

“I will watch, and I will wait,” said Exile to the hourglass world spinning calmly below it, “And I will hope.”

 

--------------------------------------------------------------