Homecoming

Mt. Dakun, Rebellion-Held Aviye

Amri

Arriving at the headquarters of the Sunrise Sword felt anticlimactic compared to all the adventure Amri had experienced over the last few days.

The base was kept deep inside a cracked mountain. Carved into the stone for level after level were open rooms, many linked by bridges in the middle. Amri stared as she saw thousands of revolutionary civilians and soldiers moving about, an energy to them that spoke of the desperate situation unfolding even before she drew within range to feel their minds bustling with worried speed.

The bottom floor of the mountain base had every type of land vehicle imaginable and even a stable for horses and a single pair of tamed marsh dragons. Trucks, tracked transports, and artillery pieces rested in junctions or along the first floor walls, the cleft wide enough to allow a half-dozen of the widest trucks to pass through it if the need ever arose.

Captain Zai spent the journey in silence, sitting next to Rabbit, her mind a jumble of grief and jagged puzzle pieces, no doubt contemplating the implications of everything she'd learned.

Though it had been a lie that she could read minds, Amri found that her ability was indeed shifting away from its focus on understanding to a more general capacity, one she found all at once scary and exciting for the insights it gave her. Perhaps it was needing to focus her ability for almost every waking moment since her capture that triggered this growth in her.

The Major was no slouch when it came to protecting the Nightravens. As soon as they entered the base, the squad was relieved of its prisoners and escorted to a barracks. They were given just enough time for Zai and Amri to clean themselves up before reporting to the Major's office.

Major Fang Riel was tan-skinned and short. Her hair was stark white with streaks of silver, and the stress lines along her brown-green eyes gave her a serious demeanor. Her office was simply furnished, and her four attendants were constantly in motion, handling reports and phone calls. Despite being a head shorter than Amri, the doctor found her intimidating, her mind firm and resolved, relentlessly seeking to find order in the chaos around her.

Zai walked up to her desk, stopping at the position of attention behind one of two chairs and rendering a perfect salute. "Captain Zai, 13th Infantry, reports as ordered."

The Major returned the salute. "Rest, Captain. Take a seat."

A fifth attendant made her appearance felt, a lieutenant who started serving all three of them tea before moving to stand nearby.

Amri sat, sipping her tea as she felt the Major's gaze sizing her up. She wasn't relaxed enough to sense what Major saw in her, only that she seemed to reach an understanding she approved of.

After giving them long enough to have their first sip of tea, the Major cleared her throat, addressing Captain Zai. "Major Qirees' confession has put us in a bit of chaos. We'd hoped to intercept General Jiang before he arrived, but it seems he's no longer coming to the emergency conclave. His radioman reported a 'significant delay' though he was unable to provide details. As of your report, I am considering General Suleika of the Southern Theatre the new commander of the Sunrise Sword, and have relayed the details of what you have discovered to her..." She leaned forward. "I won't lie, this is the worst state the Rebellion has been in since the factions first joined together. In thirty years, I never thought I'd see such betrayal reach so deep..." In this light, the way the Major held herself made Amri feel the burden already present in her mind. "I need you to give me the whole story, before I ask for the both of you to compose a written report."

"I agree Major..." Zai said heavily. "Before we begin though, Sergeant Lorn had something she wanted me to tell you... something I didn't want to say over the radio when last we spoke." Zai's plan for interrogating Qirees had hinged entirely on Major Riel's trust of the Nightravens, her willingness to give them enough time to extract a confession for her to witness. Amri could feel that trust had deepened beyond the point of simple loyalty. It carried in it the echoes of family.

Major Riel nodded grimly.

Captain Zai took a breath. "She wished for me to tell you... that she's sorry. That you're the last one."

Amri could feel the Major's steel mind soften; pain like glass, clear and sharp, cutting through steel resolve. "Thank you, Captain. I bet you're curious as to what she meant." The Major's hand shook just a little as she sipped her tea.

"I would be lying if I said 'no,' but I won't ask for it." Zai replied.

"It's alright..." the Major said. "She and I have been the last ever since I was a lieutenant. We were injured at Bolao Valley and sent to retreat with the rest of the Rebellion... Back then, Colonel Wuya told us both to become mothers..." She sniffed once, looking away for a moment. "We were too stubborn to give up so much time, so we would joke that we became raven mothers instead." She chuckled ruefully. "That is what I am the last of now." The last Raven Mother raised her cup in a silent toast to Sergeant Lorn, and Amri joined Captain Zai in silent reciprocation before each set their cups down.

The waiting Lieutenant stepped forward and refilled everyone's cups. The Major thanked her, calling her Lieutenant Xu.

"Thank you, Major." Zai said. "I will now begin my report..."

Two hours later, Amri's voice was sore. She'd aided Captain Zai in her report, filling in details about what they'd encountered with the 38th. The Major showed surprising restraint at the beginning, putting off an explanation of Amri's powers and the details of becoming Ascendant to get the full picture of what actions had occurred.

When they finally circled back, Amri gave an even more detailed description than what she'd told Captain Zai, discovering that Major Riel was enough of a student of history to understand and go over specific facts that only enhanced details instead of contributing to the main point.

The whole time, Amri felt a complicated calculus at the forefront of Major Riel's mind, like a massive, steel machine into which her information went into as a single gear, entire sections of information rearranging themselves around it as they integrated her knowledge, her skills, and her powers into the whole.

Amri even found herself confessing her theories on how her own powers worked and grew. But there was one thing she kept from her report that weighed heavily on her. The same thing she'd kept hidden from Captain Zai... plucked from the mind of the Second Ascendant of Lightning herself...

In the end, Amri couldn't tell them, even though she badly felt that she could trust them. She didn't know if the knowledge would leak out and find someone unscrupulous enough to turn apotheosis into murderous game the way the Hegemons did. She would not have that blood on her hands for words that might turn the Sunrise Sword to the same practices as their enemies.

Even though the guilt of knowing made her eyes turn down, it came as a relief when Captain Zai waved the Lieutenant over for more tea, giving her the time to think about the final point she was willing to discuss.

Amri just hoped Captain Zai was ready for the news. She lowered her refreshed tea after a long pull. "Major... the last thing I want to say is that... I believe Captain Zai has already managed to set foot on the path to apotheosis."

Zai's eyes widened. "What? I barely started the meditations you taught me."

"I know, Captain. The fact that you have become so this quickly must mean you were already cultivating yourself without knowing it..." Amri explained. "I was just wondering if you'd noticed yourself, though it seems you didn't."

"I think I would notice if I were suddenly feeling people's thoughts." Zai shot back.

Amri's eye twitched. "Didn't you listen when I told you about previous Ascendants? I even repeated myself in front of the Major. Most of them were warriors, not mind-readers. That means physical cultivation. Strength. Speed... and I guess thick-headedness in your case." Amri hated repeating herself, more so because Zai had given nothing but the impression of a thorough understanding up until she revealed this bit of forgetfulness.

Major Riel cleared her throat. "Doctor, please refrain from insulting my ravens. They do their best."

"Sorry, Major..." Amri took a breath. "I'm not just saying this. Sergeant Ruu noticed you'd used Rabbit-"

"Used what?" Major Riel interjected.

"My combat frame," Captain Zai supplied. "Sergeant Ruu named her Rabbit after we got her speed up."

Amri politely sipped. "As I was saying, Major... Sergeant Ruu noticed that Zai had been running Rabbit at minimal resistance for maximum speed. I'm not an engineer, so I'm unfamiliar with the technical usage, but what she told me was that the Captain here shouldn't have been able to do much of anything after fighting in Zuret village and getting shot in the leg."

"You got shot?" Major Riel asked. "Why did you leave that out?" Riel shot the questions at Zai in a raised voice. "I would have come to you in sickbay instead."

"It didn't seem important..." Captain Zai muttered, surprisingly sheepish like a girl evading her mother's interrogation.

"If I may!" Amri asserted herself. "I also checked with Quynh... she said that your leg was healing fast. Too fast to be a normal wound. And the fact that your torsion injuries from operating Rabbit were gone after barely a day was something she'd never seen before. She thought you were just good at hiding pain, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized there wasn't any pain for you to hide." Amri left out that when she saw Zai back in Lutis village, she'd felt a sense of deeper connection to the Captain that hadn't been there before they were separated.

Captain Zai looked thunderstruck. "I didn't even notice..."

"My last point, Captain, is that you haven't limped at all since we got off the truck here. In fact, I think it's safe to say you won't feel any pain when I do this-" Amri slapped the Captain's leg right on the place where she'd been shot. It was amusing to see Zai jump, expecting pain, only to be surprised by its absence.

Major Riel sat back in her chair, a chuckle building to a laugh in her throat. "Of course it would be you, Zai," she rubbed her eyes, blinking back tears. "You're a Riser now," she looked at Amri. "Did I say that right?"

Amri nodded once. "Congratulations, Zai," she said to the Captain.