CHAPTER 11 KAT #2
They were so close to completing the Raider Program. So close to reaching their dreams and everything they’d ever wanted. They would last, wouldn’t they? They would ride off into the cosmos like they’d always planned. The two of them were infinite. They were Kat and Lee.
She was still mulling over the blessed twist in her life a few minutes later, waiting for her suit to take a spin in the refresher, when she got a message from Lee.
Some of the crew meeting for wind tunnel surfing. We in?
We.
A spark of giddiness set that blessing aglow. Leaping out of her towel, Kat pulled on her freshly tossed all-terrain suit.
Surfing. Plans dredged up from what felt like years in the past. That was also what they did on Thursday afternoons.
Of course, she was back to doubting their plans by the time she’d run a brush through her hair and caught up with Lee.
Who would be coming today? Whistler would be there for sure. And they often met up with Flyn or Ness for surfing—although, she hadn’t kept tabs on whether or not they’d also fallen prey to the raid rumors and wished to avoid them.
Her thoughts tapered off when she found Lee.
He was leaning with his back to the railing of the upper skywalk.
Moisture clung to the hair that swept down over his brow, catching on his ears.
The hard muscles of his stomach evident even through his suit were drawn taut as he gazed out the opposite window.
He turned to face her when she got to him, bright green eyes sliding down her body before he caught himself and dragged them back up.
She grinned, sauntering even closer. “You clean up nice.”
Lee’s answering smolder had her gut tightening once more, her mouth suddenly parched, thirsting after this man.
“We could just catch up with them later…” he suggested.
“You know I want to go back with you.” She had to catch herself on the railing to stop herself from swaying from the longing. She would love to go back to her dorm with Lee and spend some very luxurious time with that smolder. “But…”
“But we’ve got to face them eventually,” Lee guessed. His brow smoothed, his face softening as he jerked his head towards the stairs. “Come on.”
They started heading down to the lower levels of the ship. “I’m ready for the next one—of your nicknames,” she clarified, giving him a shy look.
“I think she’s beginning to like them,” Lee said, eyeing her sidelong, a brow raised.
“Eh. They could be better.” She cringed away, laughing as he snuck an elbow to her ribs.
Of course, she was straightening again as they reached the base of the Heptagon.
Whistler was already there and shoving his legs into one of the pressure-regulating raid suits when they rounded the corner.
Demi, Whistler’s new boy toy, with his silky dark hair and golden earrings, stood by Whistler’s side, looking nonplussed.
His body did visibly relax, though, as she and Lee came over towards them.
“How’s it going? First time riding the air waves?” Lee asked him.
“Surprisingly, yes,” Demi said, chuckling nervously.
“Don’t worry, it’s safe. Mostly,” Kat said, giving him her most innocent smile. There was a reason few knew about their favorite pastime.
Flyn, Marco, and Neha stood a little apart from them, Ness holding a small stack of Canteen trays in her arms.
“Yo, Waters. Hanneman.” Flyn greeted them casually, but there was a bit of a forced edge to his light tone and stance, like he was being strategic keeping it as such. “I feel like you two have been entirely MIA lately.”
“We’d been wondering if you’d finally peaked,” Neha said, coolly. She barely bothered to disguise the contempt in the upward tilt of her elegant eyes. “Or gotten too distracted with other things.”
The implication she funneled into those last few words…
Kat knew she’d probably fallen out of Neha’s good graces since getting involved with Zane.
And who knew what she made of her being with Lee.
But she’d wager as well that Neha wasn’t over not getting picked for the Segura assignment a couple weeks back, along with whatever else she now made of them.
Whistler was lucky he wasn’t being grouped into Neha’s ire. But he was often underestimated—by herself as well not too long ago.
“Just easing back in,” Lee said, but it was Flyn he was watching as he said it.
“Is that what the Laser Rounds were, then? Easing in?” Flyn challenged.
Lee tipped his head towards him and then to the others. “Easing—or crashing.” He shrugged, lifting a shoulder as he slid his hands into his pockets.
Flyn threw his head back in laughter. “You, man, go harder than anyone I know. Or excuse me, than any man, that is.” He shot Kat a knowing glance, for which she was most appreciative. She gave him a small smile.
But Neha still eyed them—eyed her. “You say you’re still in this? Prove it.”
Kat held her gaze. “Give me that.” She swiped the second raid suit, hastily pulling it on over her other and sealing the helmet in place. She nodded to the borrowed trays in Ness’s arms.
Eyes flicking between Kat and Neha, Ness wordlessly handed Kat one of the trays.
“You’ve got the door?” Kat asked, then, to Flyn.
“Yes ma’am.”
She’d had enough chitchat. It was time to surf. And her competitive nature indeed took control of her mouth as she let it wash over her, let herself coast on those reckless waves.
She flipped the sturdy, tempered tray in her hands. She’d show them peaked.
“Aight!” Whistler hollered, gathering a second tray for himself. He slipped an arm around Demi’s shoulders. “Watch and learn, mon ami.”
Flyn took just a minute to tap into the settings by the door, confirming the atmospheric pressure on the other side of the door was where they wanted it, then priming the door seal for quick release. “On your ready,” he called across the landing.
Kat wedged the tray under her boots, eyes on the cargo hold door, breathing steady as she braced herself for that low-pressure pull.
“Ready.” She grit her teeth.
She was both mentally prepared and fully caught unawares when the current snaked around her legs and up her middle, and all sense of resistance was ripped away and tossed asunder.
“Void yes!” she squealed when she found her balance, riding the lip of her lunch tray over grated floors and unfounded doubts alike as their makeshift wind tunnel reeled her in.
Much too soon, she was being tossed through the door, slowing to a loose glide before settling deep in the cargo hold. The tide of exhilaration and determination crested up over her tray.
“And that, right there, is why we wear the pressure-regulation suits,” she overheard Whistler telling Demi back on the other side of the door.
She was grinning triumphantly as she strode back into the main Heptagon. Flyn patted her on the back, sealing the door again to reset the room pressure.
And just because she could—just because she wanted to—she strode right up to Lee and kissed him. They could think what they wanted of her. They could think what they wanted of her rankings and standing and whatever frills came with the Academy. But when it came to Lee, they stood together, always.
Over Lee’s shoulder, Kat could see Ness watching them, lips parted slightly. She looked surprised but also happy, too. Like something was clicking in her mind.
Neha rolled her shoulders back, flexing her hands before her. But she’d lost that edged gleam to her eyes. Kat would have her cake and eat it too. And that would have to be good enough for everyone.
As the others laughed at Whistler’s whooping and howling, claiming the next ride, Kat turned back to Lee, repositioning her lips against his. Like the muscle memory of zipping up her all-terrain suit, they had slipped back into their familiar roles as cocky Gammas of the Academy.
Dax had made a fair point earlier that day. At least some of the other cadets knew them and wanted to trust them. They wanted something to aspire to and a competitor to rival.
And maybe she couldn’t go back to the raider she’d been before. Maybe she’d never agree with the actions the General had taken on that raid, or the mold for which they wanted her to conform. But maybe she could move forward and find a way to reshape that mold into something she believed in.
And in the meantime, she would put her head down and play the game. She was good at it. She’d been playing it for years.