Morning brought Hyuga to the gear dock below Shevat. They would not set out for Solaris for hours yet, not until the sun was above the horizon at least, but the sky called, and sleep refused to return to him. He had followed Maria to Seibzehn's under the pretext of protecting her from the possible presence of a rogue Solarian soldier, but they both knew it was only an excuse.

She said nothing when she left him at the door to prepare her gear for the invasion, and he was grateful. For such a young girl, she certainly knew the value of silence.

He wandered down the hall until he came to the launch control room, and paused there, hand hovering over the touch pad. It was the same room he'd destroyed seven years ago while leading the invasion force. Without it, the gears in this quadrant of Shevat were unable to launch, and while the militia rushed to survey the damage, he'd been well on his way to the next checkpoint, and the next bout of destruction.

Sometimes one must marvel at fate. Had he not devised that tactic to win his way into the city, he wouldn't have met her.

Hyuga pressed his hand over the touchpad and it bleeped in protest before the door opened to admit him. The room was empty, of course; the launch code was linked directly to Seibzehn's system, so Maria could depart at a moment's notice, should she have to. There were no other gears in the area.

The door slid closed, and he was left with the soft hum of idle machinery as his company. The window drew him forward, stretching across the far wall above the console, and when he leaned over to peer out, an endless expanse of deep blue greeted him, broken only by the misty outline of the island Solaris used as its anchoring point. They were very close to the 'enemy.' Would Shevat be able to stand up to an assault, if Solaris deigned to notice their presence?

He'd wondered more than once how such a weak nation stood up to the might of Solaris. They couldn't even boast half of the manpower Aveh or Kislev possessed. Nisan's militia was bigger, though not half as well equipped.

A romantic would have said Shevat possessed the humanity Solaris lacked, and thus would always endure. Hyuga knew, however, that when push came to shove, overwhelming numbers and superior technology could kill that humanity.

It put their little rebellion in a different light. Parallels could be drawn between the current standoff and the mysterious war of five hundred years ago. If he only knew more, perhaps he could change the outcome. But even the Emperor was silent on that matter.

The door whirred open again, and he watched Yui's reflection walk in, still in her robe, hair flowing loose and unclipped. She was a ghostly, angelic shape, made so by the bright overhead lights.

He kept his vigil. He wanted to turn around and take her into his arms, but that would only make things more difficult.

"Midori told me you would be here," she said by way of explanation, folding her hands together. "I know we spoke last night, but I want to see you off."

Full circle? Hyuga nodded to her reflection and there was silence between them, with only her padding footsteps and the scent of coffee to remind him that the ghost in the window was real, and not just memory.

She'd caught him at the second terminal, one level above Seibzehn's. He wasn't usually one to indulge in overconfidence, but his orders were the easy sort - wreak havoc and get out. Your unit will take care of the rest. The point of such a strategically useless attack was lost on him, even now, but they had been Krelian's orders, and one simply did not ask questions in that situation.

And so it was again. Hyuga did not question Krelian's desire to allow the children to infilterate Solaris. He'd made a few educated guesses, but what did those matter? The Emperor wanted him to obey, and so he would. Just as he had allowed himself to be clumsy and draw the attention of Shevat's guardian - though he would admit that he'd hardly expected to be met with such fierce resistance.

He fingered the hilt of the sword at his waist, let his eyes wander back to Yui. You wanted to come with me. His own sword was still mounted to the wall of the house in Lahan. This weapon was not any better or worse than his own, and it was sentimental for such a practical gift.

It would be a reminder, when Krelian tempted and the Ministry laid task after task on his shoulders, that he did in fact have a place to return to if he left them for good.

Yui caught his gaze in the mirror and smiled.


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Notes:

I died halfway through this, so the second part is rather forced. As for the first part... well, apparently it has been too long since the last time I tried to write Shitan. I'd continue it, but starting a new fic would be a better idea. Persisting with this one would only jinx it.

I credit an old member of the LMN boards for part of this idea. We spoke at length about the Uzuki family, and it was that old topic that inspired me to (try to) write this.