My hand rests on the glassy surface of Violet’s medpod. Supposedly she should be awakening any moment now. Unfortunately it is just me, Lemon and Apple. The others weren't able to get clearance to enter the headquarters. Apparently it was a big headache to even get Violet and I clearance.

  Apple jumps up. Then, Violet’s eyes open, they are really pretty. I missed seeing them, just a bit. They seem to suck me in, and I almost forget that I am supposed to be doing things.

  “Welcome back to life, o great warrior.”

  She turns to look at me, and her face immediately takes on that familiar scowl of hers. “Fuck you, ima go back to being dead.” She, with a great deal of effort, rolls over to turn away from me.

  I Blink to the other side of the pod so I can look her in the eyes. “Now come on, can't I at least get a thank you for stopping whatever the fuck was trying to destroy you?”

  “I never asked for your help. I was perfectly in control.”

  “Well that is just a blatant lie. You explicitly asked for my help. And if that was ‘in control,’ then what the fuck would happen if you lost control? You were already brought to near soul-death. Which I hear is not a very pleasant existence to have, something about the mind really not liking it when the soul is gone.” I gently tap against the glass, as if to reinforce my point.

  Her face turns a bit red, and she shrinks back into herself a bit. “Well… uh, thanks?” She speaks as though the words are painful. But it's good enough for me.

  “You're welcome. Now, can you move? If not I could carry you back. Gaema said it would be best to rest back in a real bed. Oh and we leave tomorrow for our first fissure term.” I would really like to carry her, especially in my arms. But I highly doubt she would allow that, even in her weakened state.

  At my mention of carrying her, she bolts up, practically jumping out of the pod and onto her feet. Her legs start shaking and then prompt give out. Anticipating her fall, I Blink next to her and catch her, wrapping my arm around her to support her. My heart rate accelerates just a little bit, must be because of the effort to support her – armor isn't exactly light. “Fuck off, I can walk by myself!” She tries to shove me away, only for her to fall onto her ass in a cute fashion. Apple rushes over and tries to help her as well. But he is too small to do much beyond provide emotional support.

  “You clearly cannot. So I can either help you walk, or I can carry you on my back, your choice. Though if it was up to me, I would carry you in my arms.” I really would like to carry her in my arms, but there is absolutely no way she would allow that.

  “Imbecile.” She sounds angry, but allows me to pull her onto her feet. She then leans against me, conceding to needing help. Though I swear that she tries to step on my toes at every possible chance. But if that is the price for helping a cute girl get around, it is one that I am gladly willing to pay.

  Our escorts offer to help, but I quickly wave them away. No way in hell I am giving up this once in an eternity opportunity.

  We enter the tube and Violet immediately pushes me away and collapses onto the chair. She is breathing heavily and looks exhausted. Apple is sitting next to her, nuzzling her side.

  Maka, Apple says you should try to carry her. Lemon says.

  Hmm, I do not think she will allow me to do that. I might get punched just for suggesting it again.

  Apple says to just try. He seems to be convinced it is a good idea.

  I muse over the idea for the rest of the trip. Apple does have a connection right into Violet’s brain, so maybe I can trust him. But wait, does that mean Violet actually wants me to carry her? That is definitely not possible, she must just be weaker than she appears and might allow me to carry her.

  “Violet, you are too unstable and walking is clearly exhausting you, I'm going to carry you the rest of the way.” I say, hoping my confidence will make her accept without thinking too much.

  She looks me in the eye and starts speaking, only to stop. Her brow furrows in an oddly cute way. Seemingly hesitant, she whispers, “Okay.” She lifts her arms up a bit, to allow me to pick her up easier. Wasting no time, I wrap my arms around her and pick her up in my arms. She feels warm and very soft, and her scent quickly fills the air around me. But I can also feel layers upon layers of muscle beneath her armor, especially around her lower back. It takes all my effort to actually lift her up and continue conscious thought. “Wait, no, on the back.”

  “Too late, you forgot to specify that beforehand. Geez, you better be careful around lawyers, or should there be any fae lurking about.” I start walking towards our quarters. We draw quite a few eyes. After all, it's not like you see Cadets being carried around after fighting space itself very often.

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  “The other races are legends at this point. No contact has been made with other empires ever since the shattering.” she says, matter of factly. “There would be a lot bigger problems than me if a fae appeared.”

  “Nerd.” I say, which causes her to lightly punch my side. I think she meant to do it a lot harder, but she is too weak. “But you are right, we were kind of at war with them before the shattering. I wonder if any of those empires are still around. Who knows what lurks out in the betweenlands.”

  She speaks softly, like she doesn't want me to hear her. “Yeah. We will just have to go find them, if they still exist.”

  “Sounds like a plan then. We will show those monsters that they messed with the wrong universe.” I look down at Violet, and she is just staring at me. Her scowl seems to have mostly disappeared, but her mouth is still curved a little bit. It's really cute.

  We arrive back at our quarters and Lemon and Apple open the door for us. They seem to be on good terms, which is good to see. I was worried that Lemon might get lonely with how intelligent she is compared to most dragons – not that dragons aren't intelligent, but young ones especially shouldn't be as smart as Lemon and Apple.

  The others are waiting for us in the common room, and Liv launches onto her feet when we enter. “Oi Maka, did you really have to carry her?” Liv then sets into the kitchen to grab some food, muscleheads need to eat a lot after all. Muscles are expensive to build and upkeep.

  “She probably would've been fine. But I really wanted to carry her.” I respond, smiling. Violet looks at Liv like she wants to say something, but doesn't. I set Violet down on the couch and sit next to her, much to her chagrin. She doesn't push me away though, maybe she is still too tired.

  Moxie walks over and shows me a bunch of runes. I recognize quite a few that are similar to the ones in the observation chamber. “Really advanced runes.” She says, as though I couldn't tell already. “Monsters doomed.” I can’t wait to see what kind of dragonshit crazy spells Moxie cooks up. I should really spend more time practicing magic, even just being able to reliably cast a fireball would be a massive boon.

  Stephen walks up behind me and places his hand on my shoulder. “Maka, you are really something else, aren't ya?” I am unsure whether or not it is a compliment.

  “Uh, thanks I think?” I laugh a little bit, and Stephen joins me. Even Moxie lets out a chuckle. I watch Violet out of the corner of my eye, she is just looking at us. It looks like she wants to say something. “So Violet, was your tango with Vixelos worth the cost?”

  “No, but it was valuable. Next time, I think I can control it.”

  “Didnt you say you were in perfect control?” I ask, which earns me a glare of death. “Either way, I doubt we will get a chance to try again for a while, with the whole fissure thing. Plus they probably have to repair the room, and hopefully improve the security.”

  Liv walks over, plates of food in hand and sets it out on the table in front of us. Violet pokes at the food hesitantly for a few moments, but then accepts that it is probably safe. “So, what are these fissures dohickeys even really about? All I hear is that we get to go to places and fight monsters.”

  Stephen, ever the prepared commander, has the answers. “There are two types of fissures, for the first one, we basically go through a rift and we will get taken to a place, most likely a planet. It will be infested with monsters and smaller rifts known as hives. We fight monsters, and once all the hives from the planet are removed then humanity regains control of it. This is the type of fissure we will be taking. Though I think the plan is for us to only tackle hives, and the surface infestations will be cleared before we give it a try.”

  Then surprisingly, Violet chimes in. “The second type is far worse. We have to defend an inhabited planet from a monster attack.”

  The room goes silent. After all, every day several planets are attacked by monsters. Some are saved, but many are still lost. It is a damn miracle that humanity has survived at all. Let alone the fact that we have started to reclaim some lost territory.

  Everyone focuses on finishing the food. Which is just rations really, though thanks to technology it is very tasty. Apparently we were told to start eating rations for a few days before fissure terms, since that is all we will have in the field.

  We casually chat about various things. But Violet remains quiet, but she does seem to be listening. It is nice for us all to sit together and just chat a bit. Violet does seem to get physically stronger during even the brief chat, it's nice to see her looking a bit less pale. It even seems like the others are starting to warm up to Violet. Though Violet still seems to maintain distance, one day maybe she will join in.

  We stay up quite late into the night talking and chatting. Even Moxie seems to grow a bit comfortable and chimes in a few times. Though most of her words are references to books that no one but her has probably ever read. I still try to laugh, but she always can tell it's fake.

  I head back to my room, my ribs a bit sore from laughing and lingering injuries. It doesn't help that Liv managed to successfully tackle me and nearly broke my ribs with her hug. She really doesn't know how to go easy. Thankfully, Moxie had her Heal skill on standby, which removed most of the pain.

  I settle into bed, Lemon taking her typical spot across my legs. This time she opts to curl up a bit between them, so at least she isn't being a complete bed hog.

  Tomorrow we set out for our first fissure dive, which is sure to be exciting. Not only will we get to level more, but also fight monsters and gain augments. Though I bet it's going to be very tiring, so it's good that I will be able to get just about 5 hours of sleep before we depart.

  This time, there is no strange voice before I fall asleep.

  Next Chapter: To The Stars

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  ? The Dragon Striker (Steampunk fantasy) ?

  by DanWerkhoven

  In a frozen wasteland stands a city built from the slaughtered corpses of an ancient race…

  The Dragon Striker.

  What to Expect:

  - Complex family dynamics

  - Alchemy and technology-based magic system

  - A cold, harsh world invaded by dragons and monsters