Read Hakusan Angel for Free Online

there," a voice said, and Mari spun, heart jumping in her chest.
    A man was standing there in a sharp, military uniform. He surveyed them both. "I am your commanding officer, Sano Kenji. We have a source technician monitoring us from one of the above decks and engineers waiting on standby. Follow their instructions. We've wired you both in to the Level 1 network, so your comms should be working again. What you are doing today is getting a feel for the machine."
    "Why are we on the ground level?" Kaede asked. "The docking bay for a machine this size is going to be several levels up."
    Sano smiled. "I just wanted to give you a look from the ground. I'm sure you know objectively how large this machine is, but I wanted you to see it, the entire thing, for yourselves. Just so you know in your head the true enormity of the craft you will be driving. It truly is a fortress, a mountain among machines. This is the only one still in good repair. Nomura, Ishigaki: this is Hakusan ."
    The lights all came on, revealing the towering presence of the incredible war machine. Mari tilted her head back, and still further back, and even then she couldn't take in how tall it was. This monstrosity would surpass all the trees and hills around the base; every building and every other machine would be dwarfed. It could hold all ten of the Level 2 machines inside its belly. It could house an army, and carry that army anywhere.
    It was named for one of the sacred mountains, and Mari felt miniscule in its presence, as if it really did contain a god.
    "I am to pilot that?" she whispered, eyes wide and unblinking. She turned and looked at Kaede, tiny, delicate Kaede and said, "You can power that?"
    Kaede replied in a voice so soft that Mari nearly missed it, "Yes."
    When they had looked their fill, Sano took them up to the docking level, where Mari and Kaede would enter the bridge.
    "Normally, Nomura would be attended by several source technicians and the bridge would have a navigation crew and a commander. For now, we don't need all the extra noise, not until you're used to it. We'll only be doing this for about twenty minutes, and we won't be moving far. Go on then. Nomura, you're the only one that can open that thing, just follow the instructions of the techs and engineers."
    Kaede carefully removed her yukata and hung it up in a locker room on their way to the docking door. Her body was slim, and her stature slight. Mari reckoned that her arm was twice the size of Kaede's. Where Mari's skin was rough and darkened by the sun, Kaede's was smooth and pale.
    "You're a moon-angel," Mari said without thinking.
    "I'm a source," Kaede replied, continuing on to the entrance.
    Even Mari could tell it was chilly and she was wearing her full uniform and a bomber jacket. She couldn't imagine what it was like for Kaede, her body exposed to give access to her ports. Kaede didn't appear to notice the cold, reaching out a hand to place it on a console.
    Her hand briefly lit up blue, and the entrance rumbled before opening, groaning from disuse. They stepped out onto the bridge, which was covered in a fine layer of dust. It took her a minute to get orientated, but eventually Mari figured out which set of consoles was for her use.
    The commander had a high seat, so that everyone could see them. Her consoles were quite near the commander's position, and the navigators were farther back. She recognized her dials and controls from running Level 3 machines, but they'd had no use for a navigation crew. Kaede's seat was right in the back, obvious technical equipment arranged for her ports.
    Kaede sat in the seat and made a face. "I'll require your help in a moment."
    "What, why?" Curious, Mari came up beside her.
    "I usually do this myself, but I can't reach the ports on my back. I suppose that's what technicians are for, but there are none here at the moment. Once I'm done with all the other ports, you'll have to hook up the three on my back."
    Mari leaned down and peered