Two

[keaalu]

     The grass-covered roof had finally dried out – well, mostly – by the time Blink had emerged to wait for her friend’s arrival, after a small eternity of soaping to scrub the last of the ground-in dirt from her fingers and the engine grease from her hair.

     The ground being dry rekindled a little optimism in her skinny chest, because so far? Things had not gone too well. She’d emerged from her shower to find the radio blinking merrily to itself, indicating someone had called. Horrified, she’d tried to return the call… and the signal wouldn’t connect. Argh! The one time she’d have actually appreciated the Interface appearing in the middle of her shower, and it was the one time the computer had elected not to do so!

     The fessine hastily got dressed, cursing everyone she could think of – from Rae (for not dragging her away from her workshop sooner) to Sadie (why pick today, of all days, to give him his infusion?!) to the Interface (for being a bloody-minded little tyrant) – and bolted for the rooftop, swearing all the way.

     The skies were still empty when she arrived, heart pounding, breath coming in sharp gasps, unable to hear herself think over the laboured thuds of her own heartbeat in her ears. She scoured the cloudless blue for a sign, but only the native wildlife whirled in the updraughts, way above her head.

     “Where are you, Dash?” she whispered, plopping down to sit in the grass. It couldn’t be possible that her friend would have tried to communicate, and given up after not getting a reply. Not after this far, this long.

     Tickled by a sound her conscious mind failed to notice, one triangular ear twitched. She turned to look in the direction it indicated, but could see nothing. Maybe it was just the sound of the waves, far below? Perhaps a vehicle, moving carefully through the once-abandoned streets of Kust.. The sound of engines was no longer alien to the planet, after all. Since the Institute residents had announced the discovery of the key to the cure, the Hesgeri Consulate on tiao’I finally agreed to release planetary quarantine to a select few scientists, and colonists were slowly making their way back, in little dribs and drabs. The virus was still a real threat, and feral blights still roamed the ruined streets, keen to bite, but the planet was at last beginning to heal.

     Or maybe just her imagination, fired up from waiting so long and not sure what to do now it might have moved out of imagination and into the real world. She bit her lip, determined not to allow disappointment to creep in. You didn’t imagine it.

     Another sound, from way out over the water, and this time, not caught only by her subconscious. The strange, ethereal song of powerful electric fields, the roar of air.

     Engines. And there was no way these were just the engines of a vehicle in the city. These were unmistakable, burned into Blink’s memory with the intensity of a lightning bolt. These fairly sang through the atmosphere. And they were approaching, growing louder by the second. Blink strained her eyes, struggling to check every inch of clear sky. Where are you, where are you.

     At last, she saw it – the bright white contrail stitched into the intense blue afternoon sky, out over the ocean.

     Blink leaped to her feet, clutching the handset to her chest. It suddenly felt like all the air had been sucked away. She could feel her heart beating.

     This was it. The moment she’d been anticipating and dreading for the whole of the past year. Her knees trembled, threatening to give way beneath her. [Adrenaline] surged like electricity in her blood.

     The radio crackled, subtly. “Blink? Are you there?” a familiar voice asked. “I think I missed you last time; is everything all right? Please be there?”

     Blink fumbled at the buttons, almost dropping the device in her haste to answer it. “I’m here, I’m here-!” The words came out as a breathless squeak.

     “Are you all right? Where are you?”

     “There-… a headland.” She could barely squeeze the words out through the constriction in her throat. “I’m-… I’m on top, in the grass. I-I can see you!” She stretched her whole body up on tiptoe, frantically waving an arm, wishing she’d brought a bedsheet to wave as a flag.

     “Ah, I see you too,” her best friend’s voice soothed. “I’ll aim for the paved area in front. Sound good?”

     “I-… yes!”

     Blink staggered into a run for the edge, only barely catching herself before she nosedived over it. How to get down? The ladder would take too long to climb down, and the lift would take even longer… She sat down on the grass, and scooted over the edge – sliding gracelessly down the long smooth bank of solar panels at the side of the atrium window, as though tobogganing, and ending up on her backside on the pavement. Pain jangled up her legs and spine from the impact, but she barely felt it.

     The sound of approaching engines woke everyone else up. Rae staggered out through the small access door to the side of the main window, blearily wiping the sleep from his face. Even Sadie heard them, in a laboratory buried somewhere deep in the bedrock, and emerged with her oversized labcoat flapping around her like a cowardly ghost.

     Like a great blue phoenix, the owner of the wings swooped in for a graceful landing in the Institute’s massive paved courtyard, pointing her toes and bringing powerful heel-mounted ion engines under herself to counter her immense weight. She covered the last few metres so easily, it was as though she’d stepped down off an invisible platform.

     Seeing her only via the viewscreens had made it difficult to contextualise just how huge Skydash was. The blue flier towered over them all, more than three times their height. Blink couldn’t even begin to guess how many times heavier she must have been, built of all those flight-capable alloys and with enormous engines .

     Blink decided very quickly that she didn’t care. She hurled herself at the giant, fearlessly, even as the sound of metal contracting and clicking echoed off the Institute’s glass windows, armour plating still cooling from the raw heat of atmospheric entry. “Dash-!”

     The giant settled to her knees, leaning down closer, and in cupped hands, Skydash scooped the laima bodily up off the pavement. “Bee,” she murmured, softly, lifting her close and bumping her whole face against the small body in her palms.

     Blink flung herself out of the hands and wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging so fiercely that it was a wonder she didn’t wring dents into the soft grey polymer of her friend’s throat. “Skydash…” She choked on the words. Her throat hurt, tight with emotions. “I’m sorry. I missed you so much. I-I never meant-… I’m so sorry-!”

     Skydash freed one hand, and used a fingertip to carefully stroke her assailant’s small back. “It’s all right.” The soft crackle of faint static underlaid her words. “I know. I missed you too. It’s all right.”

     “…I’m so sorry.” Blink pressed her face against her friend’s shoulder. She could feel the pale blue enamel vibrating subtly. “I’m such an idiot, I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to hurt anyone-! I never even thought, I just had to go away-”

     “Ssh.” Skydash let her head rest carefully to one side, cheek pressing lightly against her friend’s shoulder. “Please, don’t. Not now.”

     “But-”

     “Please. It’s such a relief to see you.” Skydash cupped her free hand over Blink’s shoulders. “You’re alive, and you’re healthy, and I missed you like you can’t even imagine. Let me enjoy having my best friend back for a little while. We’ve got all the future to talk about the past, if we have to. Just let me enjoy your company in the here and now for a while.”

     Blink sagged against her, trembling, but nodded. It did feel good, just being together again, after so long convinced that long-range communication was the best they could ever hope for. “…i love you…”

     Just like everything, Bee. One step at a time, and you’ll get through this, too. Both of you.

     For a long time, they simply sat together, silent, relieved and revelling in the other’s closeness. Like Skydash had said – and the future felt a very long way away – they had plenty of time to work things out. Plenty of time to figure out if Blink’s mess – both of them – could ever be repaired.

     The hands resting carefully around her, to ensure she didn’t fall, felt strangely delicate – as though Skydash wasn’t sure how tightly she could hold her without hurting her; like fingers trying to cage a porcelain butterfly.

     “I’m not made of glass,” Blink scolded, at last, smiling through her tears. The emotional claws clutching around her throat felt like they’d eased, a little. “You won’t break me.”

     “I’m not sure how to hold you. I wasn’t expecting you to be so small,” Skydash confessed, voice barely above a whisper, as though afraid that speaking louder would hurt her. “I mean… I knew organics were small, but… I didn’t realise how small. Everyone looks the same size, on the communication screens.”

     Blink looked away, and confessed, quietly; “…I know it’s stupid, but I wasn’t expecting you to be so big, either. I mean-… compared to how I remembered you.”

     At last, Skydash bent forwards and let her back down to the ground. Blink clung to one hand, as though scared that letting it go would mean the dream was over and her friend would disappear like a mirage.

     “I missed you. I’m so sorry.” Blink wiped her face with both hands, annoyedly swiping away the stray tears, but more kept emerging to replace them. To her frustration, she didn’t seem capable of thinking up anything to say except more apologies, either. All the words she’d dreamed up, from all the times she’d imagined this first meeting? She’d have had more success catching fog in a net. “I never meant to hurt any of you, I just-… I was scared. And I only realised how much I needed you – all of you – when I was too far away to do anything about it.”

     “You could have come home. We’d have tried to work something out. There’s nothing we’ve been unable to beat so far.”

     “I know.” Blink forced a smile. “I was scared of what you’d say. And the longer I left it, the more scared I got. I ended up getting stuck in a loop. It took my friends here to knock some sense into me and realise that I was just… running further and further from the one thing I needed more than anything else.”

     Skydash looked over Blink’s head, at something behind her. “Speaking of friends. Are you going to introduce me to them?”

     Blink glanced back at the Institute’s entrance; Rae and Sadie had at last been joined by Aspazija, and all three huddled uneasily together in the doorway, as though trying to keep the doorframe between them and their visitor, just in case anyone needed to make a hasty exit. “Oh! Uhm-…” She held out a hand. “Come on out. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

     Skydash settled on the ground, folding her legs tidily underneath herself. “Hello,” she greeted, wiggling her fingers in a wave, in as non-threatening a manner as she could. “Please, don’t be alarmed. I know Blink has already explained who I am; you know you don’t need to hide from me.”

     Rae found his courage first. He edged closer, and coughed, to clear his throat and unstick the words. “Uh, yeah. Hi. I wasn’t-… I mean. You’re bigger than Blink was.” He pursed his lips, acutely aware of how stupid he sounded. He tried again: “Nice to meet you.”

     “You’re Rae, correct?”

     “Uhm.” Infamous. The spur scratched the back of his head, trying to evaluate what this might mean Blink had told her, and whether she knew about his, ah, indiscretions. “…yes?”

     Skydash offered a vaguely chastising little smile, and Rae knew that said indiscretions had probably been discussed in great depth. “Thank you for helping keep my friend safe,” she said, anyway. “And thank you for being a friend when she needed one. It’s nice to finally meet you, too.”

     “You’re welcome? Uh. I think she looked after me, mostly.”

     Seeing Rae successfully avoid a squishing, Sadie decided it must be safe for her to emerge, as well. It was never especially easy to read expressions on the hind’s blocky, animal-like features, but right now her anxiety was quite plain. She puffed up her thin chest and thrust out a hand, boldly, although it was clearly shaking and her tailtip looked to be tying itself into anxious knots. “It’s nice to finally be able to put a face to a name,” she sort-of-greeted, unable to quite shake the uneasy squeak in her voice. “Well, properly. I mean I saw your photograph. Just… wasn’t counting on-”

     “-me being so big, I get it.” Skydash smiled, taking the proffered hand and squeezing back, as firmly as she dared, then perked her head to one side, curious. “My photograph?”

     Sadie gave her big eyes an exaggerated roll. “It’s always in her pocket. It’s a wonder it’s not the same colour as her hands, most of the time.” The fringe of thick, hair-like tentacles on the back of her head finally looked like they were going to consider relaxing from their bolt-stiff alarmed-porcupine posture. “She took a bath specially for you, you know? She’s usually some shade of dirty.”

     Blink found an interesting spot on the pavement, and examined it intricately. Her ears had already flushed an obvious shade of plum.

     “Well that certainly sounds like the Blink I know.”

     Self-conscious, Blink showed her friend to the huge hangar doors that led into the Institute atrium. They’d already carefully moved all the old displays out of the way, to give Skydash enough room to enter, but the tall flier still had to stoop to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling.

     “Hmm.” Skydash pursed her lips, warily. Her wingtips almost touched the walls. “It’s quite… pinchy, in here.”

     “It was mainly for if it rains. I thought you might not want to get wet,” Blink scurried around her legs, like a small herding animal, gathering up errant possessions and stray cushions, and ensuring there was nothing in the way to trip her. “I mean it’s not acid rain, not like back home, but it’s still cold and uncomfortable and it stings if it get into places it shouldn’t-”

     Skydash leaned closer and placed a finger over her lips. “I didn’t say I didn’t appreciate it,” she scolded, amused. She lowered her bulk carefully to the ground; her heel thrusters had already left an engraved line of dirty circles on the dove-grey linoleum, the last she wanted was to leave blue paint transfers as well. “Just thinking out loud. You know how claustrophobic we get.” She gazed at the big windows. “There’s plenty of sky to look at. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

     Blink plopped down in the heap of cushions, as close as she could get. “So what happens now? When do we go?”

     “Aw, come on. We can’t go anywhere yet,” Skydash demurred. “Not for a few days, anyway.” Her smile broadened. “I’m tired, Bee. I’ve been travelling a very long time, and haven’t really had the chance to do any system maintenance. Let me at least defragment a little before we fly off into the void again!”

     Blink let her gaze drop, sheepishly. “I’m sorry-”

     “Stop. Apologising.” Skydash nudged her under the chin with a gentle finger. “Listen. How about see if you can find me a hookup, so I can pull off the power grid for a little while? I can start getting my systems defragmented and a little more stable. Once I know how long it’ll take to get my stacks clear, we can think about what we do next.”

     After some minutes rooting around in storage cupboards, Blink finally re-emerged with a spool of heavy-duty industrial cable that must have weighed almost as much as she did. “There were ones with better connectors in there, but they were all really short,” she apologised, struggling to locate the end. “I thought you’d want to be able to move around a bit, so you don’t have to be stuck in here, so I was going to strip some of the casing off this, if you think it’ll work?” She finally produced the cut end with a small flourish.

     Skydash examined it, briefly, and nodded. “It might get a bit warm, but it looks like it’ll hold the current I need without burning through.”

     “Excellent.” Blink produced a utility knife from one of her endless pockets and bent to do battle with the thick black plastic, artfully carving away layers of insulation and revealing the bright metal below. A few minutes (and one nicked thumb) later, she offered her friend one carefully trimmed and divided end.

     Skydash accepted the cable, introducing the hastily-handcrafted connector into the socket just under her left arm. Her automatic repair system accepted it, tweaking the raw edges and making it fit properly without stray wires heading in all directions. “Mmh.” She visibly sagged, as the current started to flow, her broad wings drooping as she relaxed. “That’s good. Not as good as a proper drop of fuel, but a lot better than those solar collectors. I feel like I spent half my journey just gathering power.”

     Blink settled in a clear spot on the floor in front of her. “Did you get much opportunity to talk to anyone when you were travelling?” she asked. “I thought about you every day. I worried about you, being on your own, but I didn’t want to annoy you by pestering.” Her lips quirked to a brief, apologetic smile.

     “I don’t think I would have minded. A lot of my travel was quite lonely, and it wasn’t always easy to find a connection that even worked.” Skydash relaxed back against the wall. “You know me. I’d have soon told you if you got ‘pester-y’.”

     Blink laughed, although it was a strangely awkward sound. Skydash didn’t push, concentrating on getting her batteries topped up.


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