CHAPTER 45 KAT
THEY HAD coordinates.
They had the means to get there, and get there undetected.
And now all that remained, was making it to this evening, when they would board their skimmer and start up the engines that would take them across the galaxy.
And that was proving the hardest feat of all.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Kat stared into the eggshell panels of the back wall of the training room, resisting the urge to glance back down at her hyperband as the Rad cadet walked them through their theoretical raid scenario and all of its potential fall backs.
And when she finally gave in—when she finally looked at its glowing face—she was affronted by the mere six minutes that had passed since she’d last checked.
Her hyperband didn’t show the seconds, but she could imagine each and every one.
The slow dripping IV that dragged by in tantalizing heartbeats as each one slicked by.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
She nearly jumped from her seat as the door set in that back wall opened.
But it was only one of her cadets, apologizing for their tardiness, having slept through her alarm that morning.
She’d purposefully scheduled solo practicals for the morning, intending to use this time to run through any last minute personal preparations in her head.
What she hadn’t banked on was there being nothing actually needed for her to be personally preparing.
All she had left to work through was the minute details at this point.
How should she do her hair for the flight?
And would her all-terrain suit or a hoodie combo be more comfortable given the anticipated length of their journey?
In all good-nature, she should have instead used this time to impart all those vital truths she’d learned outside of the training rooms from her years out in the cosmos as a cadet.
That would have been the selfless thing to do.
Wasn’t that what they were doing, after all, in leaving the Academy to begin with?
Putting aside their own ambitions and dreams to go help Segura for the sake of their galaxy?
Was that what Lee was doing with his trainings this morning? She hadn’t even thought to ask.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick…
She was relieved when that first hour ended. But there was no way she could endure this for three more solid hours…
By the time she slipped through the door to her next training, she’d already re-structured the entire course. If she had to be stuck in these training loops all morning, she may as well use them to calm her nerves.
“Now, for today, we are going to put your trainings to the test. I’ve created a hypothetical situation for you.
And I’d like us to walk through this step by step.
Let’s say—due to a result of your given mission—you end up out on a raid in a borrowed ship, with your local law enforcement on your tail for a situation where, despite your differences, you are certain you are in the right.
What steps would you take as you prep to make your big escape? ”
She was actually feeling quite calm about things by the time they got out of her last training and broke for the day.
She followed along after the cadets, streaming up towards the Canteen in disorderly shackles as she always did, scouting the throng for Lee.
She was actually excited to tell him about her morning when she got another message from him on her hyperband, instead.
Lee: won’t make lunch. heading down to the greenhouses instead.
Kat: do you want me there with you?
If he needed her, she would make that time for him in an instant. But just as she’d thought—
Lee: not this time.
Lee: I’ll find you when I’m done here.
That didn’t surprise her. He had to do this for him. She understood that. Just as she’d wanted to be alone when she’d gone through her things and packed up her duffle. They were packing up a life here, their own mini history. Maybe someone would remember that they’d once gone here.
Not wanting to do the Canteen without him, and not feeling that hungry, anyway, she bypassed the stack of trays and their usual table, skirting back around to slip up to the Hideaway.
She’d barely gotten her green juice when the twins slid up on either side of her.
“What are we drinking today?” Kiara asked, studying the cup in her hands.
“Pineapple Verda,” Kat grinned, as both Kiara and her twin requested the same.
“This isn’t too bad,” Kamata commented as they dragged up an extra seat around one of the little cafe tables. As if it was just another ordinary day on the ship. Just three friends hanging out.
“Not at all,” Kat agreed. They spent a good hour attempting to narrow down exactly what ingredients went into the creation of this particular flavor combo, and Kat tried not to begin her mourning early. After today, she would likely be going without green juice for who knew how long.
“Speaking of combos,” Kamata segued, leaning back a little in her chair while she twirled the straw of her green juice. “I’m thinking I’d like to do a little experimenting of my own…” And the way her voice dipped and her eyes gleamed, Kat was pretty sure she wasn’t talking green juices.
“What are we thinking, new positions? Or maybe some additional pairings?”
“I’m thinking a fuller dorm might be fun, if you know what I mean. A little ménage à trois,” Kamata said, now positively glowing with feral delight at the idea.
Kat snorted. “Let me know if you find any of our cadet boys willing to share.”
“Why, are you interested in joining?” Kamata waggled her eyebrows.
But it was Kiara who cut in before Kat could make her retort. “I’m afraid that ship has probably sailed. Our girl here is a one-man kind of gal.”
Kat couldn’t deny that, either. And not just one man.
One particular man. She supposed she’d tried to evade that truth her entire time here at the Academy.
And now she couldn’t remember why she’d even bothered.
Especially as she heard those steady footsteps crossing into the Hideaway.
The weight in the tread was as familiar to her as her own heartbeat.
She felt him, before she saw his shadow.
His very presence speaking to her heart.
“Hey Lee,” she smiled, turning, and rising up onto her toes to wrap her arms snug about his neck.
“You guys are missing out,” Kamata teased, Lee blinking back at her around Kat’s grip on him.
And as the twins excused themselves to, presumably, go do some experimenting, her eyes landed on each of theirs in turn.
First on Kamata. And then Kiara, an unspoken agreement passing between the three of them.
She’d find them again. Someday. Somehow.
That’s what soul sisters did.
“How were the greenhouses?” she asked quietly, squeezing his neck even tighter, soaking in the warmth of his neck on her skin. She wasn’t quite ready to turn away just yet.
“It was good. They were good,” Lee said, a gentle rumble against her arms. Eventually, she pried her face back so she could read the emotion in his eyes. She understood that, too. What they’d had was good. That was why they had to do this.
Dinner was a quiet affair as conversations and lives and plans raced on around them. Another day at the Academy—for everyone except them.
She kept an eye out as they stacked their trays with protein and carbs, and as they claimed their usual table, wishing and hoping they could run into them one last time. Thank them one last time. But she didn’t see Zane or Whistler come through the line.
It was probably for the best. She didn’t know what else she’d add or if she even had anything more to say. And when staff began to clean up dinner, they dumped their trays, starting a slow trek back up through the Heptagon.
She and Lee parted ways at the upper skywalk so she could grab her holoblock and fuss over her messy ponytail. She was brooding over the irony at how such a slow day could possibly have passed so quickly when she heard the crisp knock on her door. Lee had come to get her.
It was just like that first time—and now for the last.
“It’s time,” he said, when she opened her portal door. And when she remained standing there, he took a step towards her—just one, placing him near enough to cup her cheek in his hand and caress her face with his voice. “You ready for this, Hanneman?”
Kat sucked in a breath, giving a short nod as she released it, sending her nerves riding out with it. “I’m ready.”
And as Lee stepped back out to the grated hallway, she went over to her desk, scooping up the hoodie she’d laid there, and tucking it into her arms with her holoblock. She peered around her dorm room one final time, feeling for those memories, that sadness to crest over her once more.
But the only thing looking back at her this time was an empty room. There was nothing more left for her here.
Even the sensor panel by the door felt cold to her touch as she slipped out. And then it was just her and Lee, standing there in the rounded hallway. They were on their own now.
“I was looking for that.” Lee nodded towards the hoodie bundled in her arms.
“Uh-uh.” She angled her arms and the hoodie just out of his reach. “Mine now. I hope you brought extras.”
“I’ll just have to find other ways to stay warm.” He chuckled, side-stepping around her to give her and his favorite hoodie ample room as they headed to the skywalk.
A restlessness and a stirring filled the air, one that hadn’t been there earlier. It seemed to grow and charge as they wound their way down through the Heptagon.
Or maybe the static was them.
They paused when they reached the central skywalk, stopping midway through to gaze out at the stars as they always had before boarding a ship. She wouldn’t miss the power drinks.
“I always knew these would end, eventually,” Kat said, admitting one more truth to the eagerly awaiting darkness outside. Even the stars outside were listening to her tonight, watching to see if she’d follow through with it. “I just never thought they would end like this.”