futures and pasts: Elite

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She woke, her eyelids fluttering open and her eyes letting soft light through into her groggy mind. She knew he was there, looking down at her where she lay. She could feel his presence.

"You're awake," she heard him say. Something in his voice stirred her and she tried to sit up, "No don't move," he said quickly, resting his hand on her shoulder.

That moment of fleeting contact drew a gasp of surprise from her, as she felt a wild surge of emotion leap from him to her. Her heart suddenly beat wildly as her mind whirled to his feelings of longing, need and desire, each distinct and dizzyingly potent. Equally though she could feel his concern and fear for her, and the confusion that all these feelings caused inside him. Then, as he pulled his hand away from her, the roar died back to a murmur and she managed to calm herself.

She opened her eyes fully and looked up into his face. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head slightly, indicating with his eyes to the CCTV camera that was pointed down over her bed. It would be incredibly risky to speak what was on her mind in that moment.

"The nurse will be here in a minute to give you a shot. After that you should be up on your feet before the end of the day, but right now it's risky to move," Chen told her, keeping his voice neutral as he spoke.

Right on cue, the door opened and painfully bright light poured in from the corridor beyond. Sakura gasped and shielded her eyes.

"Shut the door again quickly please," she heard Chen say, his voice seeming drastically raised in volume.

"Sorry Commander, I'll try and make this quick for her," she heard the nurse reply in a voice that boomed in Sakura's ears. She turned her face to the pillow and tried to bury it away from the light and sound. The sudden movement caused an agonising jolt of pain through her skull.

"Careful Sakura, careful," Chen said softly, making Sakura realise the cause of her confusion. Her senses had become massively heightened through the implant process and were yet to learn how to adjust.

She felt the needle pierce her skin and her nerves screamed in protest at the invasion, but she was prepared for this now and she breathed with it in the way she had been taught since childhood. Even so she was thankful that it was brief.

"What was that?" she asked once the nurse had left the room.

"It's a shot of nano-bots that they have to give you once you're conscious again. They help with sensory adjustment and they speed up the healing process," he explained.

"Does this mean I'm out of danger now?"

He didn't answer her for a second, and in the silence that fell between them, she could feel his inner turmoil again. She looked inquiringly into his eyes, and could see the storm raging in them. She felt her own surge of emotion then, a bitter-sweet swell inside that almost brought tears to her eyes. Without thinking, she reached out to touch his cheek. This time he gasped, his hand flying up to cover hers, all the composure he had been struggling to keep gone. That touch, his touch, completed the connection and once again she was exposed to the full rawness of the feelings inside him, while being aware that he could feel all that was in her own heart.

She was struggling for breath, sinking, drowning with her eyes locked to his. The intensity in his eyes took on new meaning now that she could taste the emotion behind them, emotion that was like a force of nature, contained only barely inside him. In the midst of it she tried desperately to find calm, to find something to cling to to stop her from going under completely, and as if in answer to her desperation, she suddenly felt the full force of his love for her. It took her completely by surprise. It was a purer, clearer emotion than any of the rest of them and it cut straight through all the noise, dispersing it. She smiled at him, feeling calm return, and felt her own love for him fill her. It was only in that moment she realised how her own feelings matched his.

She felt his deep reluctance as he lifted her hand from his cheek, but she knew, just as he did, that all this would have to wait until they were safely away from the prying eyes of the Corporation camera's. Carefully, he laid her hand on top of her blanket and took a long breath. Finally, he answered her question.

"These next couple of weeks are all dangerous," he almost had his voice under control as he spoke,

"Not only are you having to work through acclimatising to all the changes the implants have made, the chance of rejection is still very high. More than 50% of candidates that survive the operation don't make it through the first couple of weeks. Once you've done that, then you're out of danger,"

"So what happens now? What do we do while we wait this out?"

"Most mentors keep their students restricted to their rooms and work them through it under observation, but I've got a better idea," he told her, and there was something in his eyes that told her that she would like his idea.

"What is it?"

"We'll take my Hawk up into the mountains. The fresh air and the peace will be good for you,"

She did like his idea, but she was immediately concerned that it might seem suspicious. He must have been able to sense this because he quickly tried to placate her fears.

"I'm going to take you to the place where my own mentor took me. It's a much better way to adjust than being cooped up in the Academy trying not to hear what some 2nd Elite is murmuring in their sleep," he told her with a brief smile.

They left pretty much as soon as she was back on her feet. It was a few hours before sunset and Chen flew at a leisurely pace over the lush greenery of Enceladus to give Sakura time to soak up the view. Even so, the paradise moon was small and it didn't take long for them to reach the mountain range, named the Olympiads by the Corporation Cartography Department. It was a range of five peaks, most of which couldn't really be called mountains, that surrounded the largest lake on Enceladus, Aphrodite's Mirror. The lake got it's name from the fact that it was perfectly smooth and clear, reflecting everything around it like a piece of polished glass. Dotted around it's shores, at the foot of the mountains, were the villas of some of the most senior executives within the Corporation. Chen explained that because of their presence, tourists didn't come to the Olympiads, leaving the mountains unpopulated and mostly untouched.

Chen landed his Hawk high on the side of the Tallest mountain, Zeus, and carefully helped Sakura climb out, then they stood together in silence for a moment, breathing in the pure clean air and letting their souls feast on the rare, wild beauty surrounding them.

The mountainside was clad in tall Pine trees, mixed with a smattering of Beech, Ash and Oak. Where Chen had put down there was a clearing on top of a cliff, down which poured a slender waterfall, dropping over a hundred feet into the forest below. The lake was spread out far beneath where they were standing, reflecting the clear azure of the Enceladun sky and it's handful of wispy white clouds perfectly. The sussurus of the wind caressing the treetops and the distant rumble of the waterfall were the only sounds that hung in the air, apart from the occasional phrase of birdsong and the soft sound of their own breath. After the noise of the academy and the whine of the Hawk's engines it was soothing to Sakura's ears.

"My mother told me that there were places like this in China, before human greed ruined Earth," Chen said quietly, breaking the silence. Sakura turned her head to look at him, her hair stirring in the breeze and blowing across her eyes.

"Isn't it strange how they can turn a lifeless world like this into a paradise, but they can't seem to fix the world that human life began on?"

Her question startled him. For some reason, he had never thought of it before, but as soon as she mentioned it it seemed perfectly obvious. He hazarded a guess.

"The War perhaps?"

"Perhaps," she replied with a heavy sigh, unhappy about being reminded of the darker realities of her life. The merest mention of the War brought her reason for being here back to her, and that reminded her that at some point, she would have to go back to it. Chen reached out and brushed the stray hair from her eyes. He was regretting mentioning it, because he could feel how much it had dampened her mood. They were alone together now, he wanted it to be perfect.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he told her, "Let's just forget about all the politics and war in the System for the next two weeks. Let's just enjoy this place and each other's company, and let reality go for a while," he finished with a bright smile that lit up his dark eyes in a way she hadn't ever seen before. Looking at him she couldn't help but smile back, while her heart leaped in a way that was almost like falling in love with him all over again.

"Ok," she said, reaching up to put her arms around his neck, "But answer me one question,"

He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close, revelling in the contact and the intense emotion she was radiating.

"Of course, anything for you," he answered her.

"Where are we going to sleep?"

Chen laughed, then whirled Sakura off of her feet and into his arms.

"Let me show you where we are going to sleep, "

Sakura woke late, alone in the makeshift bed Chen had made for her in the back of the cave. It took a great deal of effort to drag herself up, every muscle in her body was aching and her head felt groggy. Chen had warned her this would happen, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable. After what seemed like an age she managed to get herself up and tie a light Kimono around her waist, then she made her way, slowly, to the entrance of the cave to look for Chen. She knew he wasn't far away, because she could still feel his presence.

She stepped out into the clearing, pushing the wisteria and ivy curtain aside, and stopped dead in her tracks. Chen was there, in the clearing, stripped to the waist, with a sword in his left hand. Just as she had been about to walk out of the cave entrance he had leaped high in the air, back-flipped and landed in a full split. He was back on his feet again before she could draw breath to speak to him, spinning with his sword then flipping forwards and landing right in front of her on one knee, his sword sheathed.

"I didn't think Elite were trained in swordplay," she said as she brushed his dampened hair away from his eyes. He smiled at her brightly, and she could feel his happiness.

"This is what my father taught me. Sword forms to strengthen the mind and body,"

"Wushu?" she asked, reaching for the hilt of the sword on his hip.

"It's been in my family since long before Titan was settled. Grandfather claims it goes back to the days of the Manchu Empire," he explained as she began to draw his sword slowly from it's sheath.

"More than a thousand years?" he nodded.

She brought the blade up in front of her eyes so she could inspect it. Compared to her Kitana it was a light blade, straight and flexible, and somewhat shorter too. It was completely unadorned, with a simple hilt wrapped in black leather above a plain, steel crosspiece. Yet, in spite of it's plain looks, she could feel it's strength as a weapon. It was fast and could be used in a whip-like manner as well as for cutting and slashing. As a single handed weapon it could be spun quickly, hefted from hand to hand to unbalance an opponent, and leave the other hand free to take up a second weapon. The principles of the use of such a weapon were very different to those she had been taught by her father and in the Samurai school in Tokyo, but she had taken the time to study the theory. After another moments contemplation, she handed it back to him.

"Show me more, Chen,"

He grinned at her and moved to oblige, setting himself into the first stance of a different sword form, then moving into it with such speed and agility it was mesmerising. Sakura tried to keep her mind on the technicalities of the form, but found it impossible. She was transfixed by his beauty, it was as simple as that.

It was the way his hair flowed as he moved, falling in front of his dark eyes when he paused. It was the soft sheen of sweat that made his golden skin gleam in the light of the SimSun. It was the ripple of his muscles as he moved from stance to stance and flicked and spun his blade . It was the power and depth in his voice as he forcefully expelled the air from his lungs. It was the grace, aggression and speed with which he executed each technique. It was his breathtaking agility.

He finished kneeling again, sword point driven hard into the ground, fist clenched around it, eyes glinting at her through the curtain of his black hair. She stood frozen, staring at him, the beating of her heart thundering in her ears. Her head was spinning, and darkness was rolling at the corners of her vision. The last thing she was aware of before she crumpled to the ground was his sudden panic.

She knew he was there, watching over her, before she even opened her eyes. The first thing she had become aware of was his anxiety as conciousness began to reassert itself over her.

"Chen," she managed to say his name. The weakness of her own voice surprised her.

"Sakura," she heard him reply, his voice echoing the desperation she felt in him. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. There were tears in his. She wanted to reach up and brush them away, but she couldn't muster the strength to do it. With a pang of fear, she wondered if she was dying. She had never been afraid of dying before.

"I should take you back, get the medical team to check you over," he said in a rush. A second stab of fear gripped her. If she had to die, she wanted to be in his arms. If they went back, that could never happen.

"No!" she managed, although she needn't have said it. He could see into her heart.

"I can't let you die! For the first time in my life I feel like I have a real reason to live, I can't have that taken away from me!"

She knew she had to muster the strength to speak, even though she didn't feel it. She had to explain to him.

"Chen," she began, finding the effort of that one simple word exhausting, "Until now I only had vengeance as a reason to live," she managed somehow, finding strength from inner conviction, "But if you take me back and I was going to die, I would have to die alone. Don't let that happen to me," her voice broke then, her strength gone completely.

"Sakura!" she heard him cry and she felt his terror. It was agony to her to feel his pain. She forced herself to smile, and let the love she felt for him flow from her. How else could she make him understand?

"Hold me, Chen," she managed somehow, her voice no more than the faintest whisper.

"Sakura," he breathed, wrapping his arms tightly around her, pulling her to him.

She had no idea how many hours had passed when she woke again, but Chen was asleep beside her, his arms still around her. Reflexively, she ran her mind over her body, checking and testing for weakness, finding it lingering here and there, but to her surprise most of it had dissipated as she had slept. Her body didn't ache in the same way it had, and she could feel a return of her normal strength to her limbs.

Her relief was quickly followed by a surge of embarrassment and shame at the fear she had felt.

futures and pasts

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

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