Page 22 of The Cerulean Sister
"I will let you know when she is ready to calibrate it."
"Yes, 99th Commander." He says, then turns to me and bows again. "Ma'am."
There is a long hall before we get to an open area lined with boxlike stalls to stand in.
99 guides me to the last cubby, barely large enough for us to stand side by side. The open space in front of us is pitch black, ominous even.
"We need to make sure the system can detect your light before we go into the simulator," 99 says as if I won't have any further questions.
A small control panel on the wall next to 99 clicks on, the red light casting a reflection on the metal surfaces. He turns to it and presses the only round button at the base of its frame. "Stand by for calibration, commander."
"Standing by," the voice crackles over the panel speaker.
A long row of lights illuminates a strip of the open space all the way to a stone backdrop, so far we would have to shout to each other to hear from the other end.
"Stand here." He moves me by my waist, angling my body until I am pressed against the booth ledge from my stomach down. "Targets will descend from the ceiling, aim for them."
I look over my shoulder at him, realizing I am out of my depth and this is much more than I thought it would be. When I pictured practicing my light at the fallen monuments, it was much simpler than this.
"I don't know if I can." I smile, feeling a little silly.
"You can." He comes in closer to me, pressing himself into my back.
"99, it is difficult to call it forth. I want to practice but?—"
"Listen to me, Ferren," he says, so close I feel his pelvis pinning me to the half wall in front of us, his helmet speaking directly into my ear. He combs my hair behind my shoulder, exposing my neck before he continues, "The temple cannot come here."
He knows that fear is the reason I want to practice my light. His reassuring words send a chill down my spine as much as the feel of his suede glove tracing along my throat does.
"What if they try?" I shake my head.
He breathes in deeply, running his finger down the pulse in my neck like his helmet is keeping track of its beat. "We can practice as much as you need to, but know that no one will take you from me. Do you understand?"
"Yes." My shoulders stiffen at the thought.
"Do you know what would happen if they tried?" His body is pressed firmly into mine, every inch of me covered by his armor.
I reach back and hold onto the base of his helmet, needing him even closer. A perhaps deranged part of me wants the relief of hearing him say how violent the consequences would be if they did in fact try.
The vibrations from his deep, approving growl tickle my back, eliciting a panting thrill that runs through our tether and spreads warmly across my skin.
"I know whatIwould do, but I want to see whatyouwould do, Priestess." He grips my wrist, pulling it off his neck and bringing it forward, hovering it in front of me.
I hadn't even noticed my light come forth until I see it slithering through the veins on my palm, too focused on the Viathan commander currently rock hard and pressed up against me to realize his true motives.
"She's ready," 99 says into the speaker beside me.
I turn and playfully squint my eyes at his clever trick, and he takes a step back and crosses his arms to watch me.
"Affirmative," the commander in the speaker says.
A whirling mechanical sound cuts into the dark space and a rectangular shape comes down from the ceiling. It's decorated in red circles within each other, decreasing in size until they meet in the middle with a red, flashing light.
More objects appear from the floor with insect-like arms, black with tiny lights adorning the interior, making a long tunnel in the direction of my target.
"At will," the speaker announces.
"Whenever you are ready, aim straight and the sensors on either side will collect information," 99 translates behind me.
