At the Synthesis Loom.
It was the night before the mission. The air in the room was filled with the serious feeling of what was about to happen.
Jonah and Vanessa were working together. They were making the final touches to a small, crystal sphere, which was about the size of a car. This was the Runic Cockpit, the most important part of the mission. Tomorrow, they would be inside that sphere, wrapped in Nomad’s body, and launched into space.
Jonah’s hand began to shake as he tried to connect a small power line. His fingers felt heavy, and his mind, which was usually sharp and focused, was a million miles away. He took a deep breath, but that didn’t help to calm the fast beating of his heart.
He tried again. His hand paused just over the connection port.
Vanessa, who was working on the other side of the cockpit, looked up. She had been moving fast and exactly right. She saw the worried look on his face and how tensed he was.
"Hey," she said softly. "You with me?"
Jonah flinched, snapping out of his thoughts. "Yeah. Sorry. Just... thinking."
"Thinking is my job," she said, with a small smile appearing on her face. She put down a tool she was holding and walked around to his side of the Runic cockpit. "Your job is to feel. What’s wrong with you?"
Jonah looked away from her, his eyes now looking at the polished floor. He looked hard at his own reflection. He saw a tired looking stranger in a high-tech flight suit.
"I’m scared," he said.
Vanessa’s small smile became wider. She rested her body on the cockpit. "Of course, you’re scared, Jonah. We’re about to get shot into space to fight a magical death satellite. I’d be worried if you weren’t scared."
"It’s not that," he said, looking at her. "It’s not about dying. I’ve faced death a dozen times. Back at the Undercroft, in the mountains... It’s not what I’m afraid of."
He took a shaky breath. "What if I fail? What if we get up there, and Nomad isn’t strong enough? What if Sterling’s weapon fires, and I can’t stop it?" He looked at her, and he couldn’t help but spill his deepest fear out, raw and honest. "I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of leaving you to die alone, all because of me." Read complete version only at NoveI-Fire.ɴet
The buzzing of the Loom seemed to fade away. For a long moment, Vanessa didn’t say anything. She didn’t quickly try to cheer him up or give him a logical reason not to worry. She just looked at him, really seeing through him, and let his fear stay in the quiet space between them.
Then, she reached her hand out and gently held his hand. Her fingers were warm and firm around his.
"Look at this place, Jonah," she said, her voice calm but strong. She pointed with her free hand to the huge, glowing machine that surrounded them. "Look at it."
He looked where she was looking, taking in how impossibly huge her creation was. The glowing symbols, the crystal power lines, the immense power it held.
"Look at what we’ve built together," she said. "You brought a living thing into existence from nothing. You made Nomad, a creature born of stars and imagination. I created this machine, which can safely use the power of a giant magic storm.""
She held his hand tightly, drawing his attention back to her. "Neither of us could have done any of this alone. You are the heart of our power. You are the soul. I am the mind. I am the one who builds the body that is strong enough to contain it."
She looked him directly in the eyes, and her face held a belief so strong that it completely amazed him. She had no doubt in him, not even a little bit.
"We fly together," she said, each word feeling like a strong promise that couldn’t be broken. "We fight together. And we will come back together. I am more certain of that than anything."
The fear he’d felt all night, that tight feeling in his chest, finally began to loosen. It wasn’t just her words that made it loosen. It was the certainty in her voice. She wasn’t simply hoping things would go well. She was sure. She believed in them as a team.
All those times they almost talked about their feelings, all the times alarms and enemies broke the silence, all the hidden feelings that grew in the spaces between missions, it was all for this moment. Here, inside the machine they built together, right before their most important fight, there were no more distractions. Their time for avoiding things was over.
He saw the same deep feeling in her eyes. This feeling was a unique kind of power, stronger than any Progeny, more complicated than any machine wiring.
He moved closer to her, and she moved to meet him.
The kiss wasn’t hurried or out of control. It was calm and sure. It tasted of coffee and the faint, sweet smell of her hair. It was a promise, not just for the love they shared, but of mutual survival. A silent vow that repeated what she had just said.
When they stopped kissing, his fear was totally gone. He felt a calm, steady warmth take its place and spread through his body. He looked at her, and a genuine smile appeared on his face for the first time all night.
"Okay," he whispered. "Okay."
She smiled back, her eyes looking bright and clear. "Good. Now hand me that transducer. We have a world to save."
They returned to what they were working on, moving together in a smooth way. The buzzing of the Synthesis Loom no longer sounded like a warning. It sounded like a promise.
Outside the thick walls of the room, the first light of dawn was beginning rise. There was no turning back now.