Fic: Salute
Sep. 11th, 2023 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereA lovely Lee & Erin scenario from killabeez (used with permission), combined with a prior idea I had for Erin fencing with various opponents, resulted in a short piece I wrote a while ago. I got busy with other stuff and promptly shelved it, but I'm trying to procrastinate less, so gave it some extra detail over the past couple days. As it stands, it's the shortest story I have written, and the least angsty. Hope you like it, Killa.
Gen, post-series.
* * *
Salute
1. A blade action performed before a bout or lesson. Indicates respect and good sportsmanship.
2. A gesture of respect and civility performed with the weapon.
The fencing chamber was a little-used gym, smaller and out of the way, lacking the foot traffic of the treadmills and basketball court. Erin wasn't the only person to make use of it, but it hadn't occurred to her that Lee might have need of the space until she crossed paths with him here during the aftermath of Valhalla Sector. He hadn't bothered her things, only lined up the mats to practice jumps, kicks and falls by himself, having lost all his sparring partners to the choices he'd made. She suspected he would prefer her to walk on by pretending she hadn't seen, and yet... all the terrible things he'd done had been to protect them. She couldn't look away from that, so she tapped on the open door to announce herself.
They weren't friendly enough to consider fighting hand to hand. Fencing was a better fit. It gave Lee an outlet he wouldn't admit to needing and Erin enjoyed having a partner who wouldn't read too much into a bout.
Lee favored speed. He would hold back, refusing to be drawn by her feints, defensive and sullen until there was an opening and then his advance was sure, if not always successful. He improved swiftly and she had to keep her wits and reflexes about her as the months went by - an increasing challenge as losses were incurred and war loomed, yet however precarious life in the Mountain grew, neither of them called a halt to their duels.
The end was approaching, however. Arrangements were being made for Erin to leave the Mountain. The army at Four Roads had scattered, the founders had sued for peace and yet the resulting power vacuum was only causing more bloodshed. No one left in charge had the ability to manage so large a territory. That was where she came in. She'd gone over well at the peace talks they'd held, and become the eastern delegates' preferred person to deal with. She had to volunteer.
Lee took the news indifferently, as she'd expected. It was mildly hurtful how he insisted on talking shop purely about the work ahead of her, as if she no longer had a say in the running of the Mountain. As if she'd already left, so far as he was concerned.
Erin lunged unsuccessfully, Lee surefooted in retreat. It would be no easy task, although she wouldn't be alone, precisely. There would be an entire retinue of soldiers and civilians she'd be taking east with her.
Somehow it didn't seem like enough.
"You need to make sure they're properly vetted for the task," Lee insisted. He'd been harping on the subject all day. "No matter what agreements have been made, you'll be entering enemy territory."
"Rachel isn't an enemy."
Lee took offense and they cycled through quick stepping beats and parries before breaking apart, neither the victor. "Her goals aren't necessarily ours," he said steadily. "She's not Alliance."
"You really don't like her, do you?"
"I don't trust her."
"You want to narrow that down to any particular reason?"
"Only that her power comes from having an enemy to fight. If the war's over, you should be asking if she really wants that."
"She has a place at the table."
With people she has good reason to hate, Erin thought. Lee had a point, as he stepped backward to avoid her own. With all the distractions lately, she was completely off her game.
"Besides, her group is still very small. I don't think she wants to risk them more than she has to. The peace will hold, Lee."
He seemed unconvinced. "The others will also be a problem. They wanted you for the role because they think you'll be easy to manipulate."
"Then they'll underestimate me. Oh, and John's agreed to act as cultural interpreter, since he speaks psychopath." If she said that precisely at the moment it would distract Lee, allowing her to deploy a successful feint, deflect his blade and drive straight to the heart, that was between her and her God. "Touché."
He nodded briefly, equally serious whether he won or lost. He carefully removed his mask, their signal to break, and she yanked hers off in turn. They sat on the bench to catch their breath and Lee held out her water thermos.
"These people, each with their own agendas. Resistance, ex-army, freed laborers and the citizens who profited from them. Erin, you're going to need someone to watch your back. Someone who isn't there just to follow orders. Someone you can trust."
"Well, I don't disagree, but it's a short list. I'd ask Jeremiah, only... I don't think it would help."
She wasn't sure staying in Millhaven was the best thing for him either, but if he was going to start fresh, it definitely needed to be somewhere that wasn't soaked in bad history. Leaving Millhaven for Daniel's country was frying pan to fire. Besides, it wasn't her he would need, anyway.
"And Kurdy should be here, for him. For Markus. What comes next. They should stick together, no matter what." Thinking about Markus was still painful to her, a fresh bruise yet to heal. It was best for them both to have space, but that didn't make her plans any less of a sacrifice. "There's Gina, but I don't feel like I know her that well."
She didn't mention Theo. Theo had her baby to think of, and Erin never knew from one day to the next where they stood with each other.
Her entire family were in the west.
"That's precisely what I'm talking about," said Lee insistently. "You'll be a stranger to everyone over there, and even if they start to respect you, it's important to have someone you truly know..." He trailed off, his tone more than usually serious.
Someone you can trust. Always the same concern with him. It made her smile, already starting to miss Lee. He was, after all, truly the steadiest among them. "You offering?" she asked playfully, half a joke.
He stared at his feet without answering, and granted, Lee had no sense of humor but Erin could have sworn she'd hurt his feelings. It seemed unlikely. She wouldn't have expected him to be bothered by her departure, let alone...
Grill her incessantly on every aspect of her future security. Not who would fill in for her absence. Not all the trouble she was putting Markus to by leaving.
"Wait, are you offering?"
"If you'll have me." He looked up at her and then he did something she'd never thought to see. Lee Chen started to babble. "I know I have a lot of work to do. Markus brought me back in on probation, and I can't prove myself to him - or you - overnight, I know that, but if you'll have me, I know I can-"
"Yes," she said without hesitation.
He fell silent, more surprised than she was. Ever the pessimist, he'd probably been geared for a refusal, but she could think of none better to assist in the work ahead. He could maneuver in tight corners, operate in hostile environments and sift information to its source. He fought tooth and nail for their sake, whatever the cost to himself. Of course, he was exactly who she needed for this. "Thank you, Lee."
killabeez (used with permission), combined with a prior idea I had for Erin fencing with various opponents, resulted in a short piece I wrote a while ago. I got busy with other stuff and promptly shelved it, but I'm trying to procrastinate less, so gave it some extra detail over the past couple days. As it stands, it's the shortest story I have written, and the least angsty. Hope you like it, Killa.Gen, post-series.
* * *
Salute
1. A blade action performed before a bout or lesson. Indicates respect and good sportsmanship.
2. A gesture of respect and civility performed with the weapon.
The fencing chamber was a little-used gym, smaller and out of the way, lacking the foot traffic of the treadmills and basketball court. Erin wasn't the only person to make use of it, but it hadn't occurred to her that Lee might have need of the space until she crossed paths with him here during the aftermath of Valhalla Sector. He hadn't bothered her things, only lined up the mats to practice jumps, kicks and falls by himself, having lost all his sparring partners to the choices he'd made. She suspected he would prefer her to walk on by pretending she hadn't seen, and yet... all the terrible things he'd done had been to protect them. She couldn't look away from that, so she tapped on the open door to announce herself.
They weren't friendly enough to consider fighting hand to hand. Fencing was a better fit. It gave Lee an outlet he wouldn't admit to needing and Erin enjoyed having a partner who wouldn't read too much into a bout.
Lee favored speed. He would hold back, refusing to be drawn by her feints, defensive and sullen until there was an opening and then his advance was sure, if not always successful. He improved swiftly and she had to keep her wits and reflexes about her as the months went by - an increasing challenge as losses were incurred and war loomed, yet however precarious life in the Mountain grew, neither of them called a halt to their duels.
The end was approaching, however. Arrangements were being made for Erin to leave the Mountain. The army at Four Roads had scattered, the founders had sued for peace and yet the resulting power vacuum was only causing more bloodshed. No one left in charge had the ability to manage so large a territory. That was where she came in. She'd gone over well at the peace talks they'd held, and become the eastern delegates' preferred person to deal with. She had to volunteer.
Lee took the news indifferently, as she'd expected. It was mildly hurtful how he insisted on talking shop purely about the work ahead of her, as if she no longer had a say in the running of the Mountain. As if she'd already left, so far as he was concerned.
Erin lunged unsuccessfully, Lee surefooted in retreat. It would be no easy task, although she wouldn't be alone, precisely. There would be an entire retinue of soldiers and civilians she'd be taking east with her.
Somehow it didn't seem like enough.
"You need to make sure they're properly vetted for the task," Lee insisted. He'd been harping on the subject all day. "No matter what agreements have been made, you'll be entering enemy territory."
"Rachel isn't an enemy."
Lee took offense and they cycled through quick stepping beats and parries before breaking apart, neither the victor. "Her goals aren't necessarily ours," he said steadily. "She's not Alliance."
"You really don't like her, do you?"
"I don't trust her."
"You want to narrow that down to any particular reason?"
"Only that her power comes from having an enemy to fight. If the war's over, you should be asking if she really wants that."
"She has a place at the table."
With people she has good reason to hate, Erin thought. Lee had a point, as he stepped backward to avoid her own. With all the distractions lately, she was completely off her game.
"Besides, her group is still very small. I don't think she wants to risk them more than she has to. The peace will hold, Lee."
He seemed unconvinced. "The others will also be a problem. They wanted you for the role because they think you'll be easy to manipulate."
"Then they'll underestimate me. Oh, and John's agreed to act as cultural interpreter, since he speaks psychopath." If she said that precisely at the moment it would distract Lee, allowing her to deploy a successful feint, deflect his blade and drive straight to the heart, that was between her and her God. "Touché."
He nodded briefly, equally serious whether he won or lost. He carefully removed his mask, their signal to break, and she yanked hers off in turn. They sat on the bench to catch their breath and Lee held out her water thermos.
"These people, each with their own agendas. Resistance, ex-army, freed laborers and the citizens who profited from them. Erin, you're going to need someone to watch your back. Someone who isn't there just to follow orders. Someone you can trust."
"Well, I don't disagree, but it's a short list. I'd ask Jeremiah, only... I don't think it would help."
She wasn't sure staying in Millhaven was the best thing for him either, but if he was going to start fresh, it definitely needed to be somewhere that wasn't soaked in bad history. Leaving Millhaven for Daniel's country was frying pan to fire. Besides, it wasn't her he would need, anyway.
"And Kurdy should be here, for him. For Markus. What comes next. They should stick together, no matter what." Thinking about Markus was still painful to her, a fresh bruise yet to heal. It was best for them both to have space, but that didn't make her plans any less of a sacrifice. "There's Gina, but I don't feel like I know her that well."
She didn't mention Theo. Theo had her baby to think of, and Erin never knew from one day to the next where they stood with each other.
Her entire family were in the west.
"That's precisely what I'm talking about," said Lee insistently. "You'll be a stranger to everyone over there, and even if they start to respect you, it's important to have someone you truly know..." He trailed off, his tone more than usually serious.
Someone you can trust. Always the same concern with him. It made her smile, already starting to miss Lee. He was, after all, truly the steadiest among them. "You offering?" she asked playfully, half a joke.
He stared at his feet without answering, and granted, Lee had no sense of humor but Erin could have sworn she'd hurt his feelings. It seemed unlikely. She wouldn't have expected him to be bothered by her departure, let alone...
Grill her incessantly on every aspect of her future security. Not who would fill in for her absence. Not all the trouble she was putting Markus to by leaving.
"Wait, are you offering?"
"If you'll have me." He looked up at her and then he did something she'd never thought to see. Lee Chen started to babble. "I know I have a lot of work to do. Markus brought me back in on probation, and I can't prove myself to him - or you - overnight, I know that, but if you'll have me, I know I can-"
"Yes," she said without hesitation.
He fell silent, more surprised than she was. Ever the pessimist, he'd probably been geared for a refusal, but she could think of none better to assist in the work ahead. He could maneuver in tight corners, operate in hostile environments and sift information to its source. He fought tooth and nail for their sake, whatever the cost to himself. Of course, he was exactly who she needed for this. "Thank you, Lee."
