After months of only elaborate labyrinths and training scenarios in the Pen, walking in to the cavernous, empty space is jarring. Edward's first time here seems so long ago, but a tightness spreads through his chest as he recalls the day. The metallic clack of the opening doors reverberates around he and Bella. Jacob is with Alice in Observation. Emmett declined to join in showing off the team's transportation.
Bella's heart beats with the door's echo that runs through the chamber. The want to be happy, the knowledge that she should be happy, with having a quiet moment before a mission cools from Edward's resurfacing impulsiveness. Lilim has never seen different creatures aligned together on their own. And there is still so much they don't know. The pit in her stomach grows exponentially the more she thinks about it. Why isn't he just as concerned?
In silence, she leads him further in to the Pen. Their steps disappear in the air around them. The world is their's.
"Cover your eyes, Edward," Alice says through their implanted radios. Her voice is eager.
Edward turns to Bella, sheepishly. "Is that really necessary?"
"No," she says, smiling. Her frustrations get pushed to the back of her mind. "But it does make it more enjoyable for them." She tilts her head back slightly in the direction of the Observation room above and behind them.
With a sigh, Edward lightly places his fingers over his eyes. The darkness under his eyelids tinges red as small bits of light sneak through the gaps. "That's not good enough," Jacob says in to his ear, the remnants of laughter in his voice.
"Better?" Edward asks. He shifts his hands slightly but ineffectively and he smiles.
"Bella?" Alice says.
Pursing her lips, she glares in Observation's direction. A pause. A passing thought. Finally, she positions herself behind Edward. She brushes her hair back behind her ears before reaching around his head.
Her hands are cool as they press against Edward's fingers. The pink and browns of haphazard secrecy turn to black as she presses gently in to his eyes. The need to shutter runs up his spine, but he doesn't move. They just breath together. "Can you see anything?" Bella asks.
Edward shakes his head.
Shifting closer, Bella allows her forearms to rest on his shoulders. Despite his height, she finds the position comfortable.
Moments go by before Bella turns her head back and up. She can imagine the grins on Alice and Jacob's faces as they watch the two of them. Alone in the Pen. Bella's hands wrapped in to Edward's.
Come on guys, she thinks, hoping the look on her face is enough to convince Alice to get on with it.
Their breathing is replaced by a mechanical whirr from below. Vibrations run in to their feet and up their legs. A thunderous click leads to a grind as a yards long seam opens in the floor. Two large sections of concrete raise slightly and slide back at an angle revealing a dark shaft plummeting down.
Seeing nothing with his covered eyes, the cacophony thrills and intimidates Edward. The rumbles, growls and grinds carry through his body, bouncing from all sides. His heart accelerates, immersed in noise.
She waits until the vehicle raises completely from beneath the Pen and the noises cease completely.
"Ready?" she asks.
"Yeah."
Her hands drop as she steps beside him. The corners of her eyes wrinkle as she grins at Edward's look of awe.
"That's Shiva," she says.
The aircraft is smaller than Edward expected but still imposing. About twice as wide as it is tall, it's shaped like a rounded triangle though it's made with no curves. U-shaped, Its wings curve around its back like a diving falcon. Every panel meets its neighbor with a hard edge, and each a deeper black than he ever imagined, as if they suck in the light around them. Two panes of heavily tented glass blend with the surface of the cockpit that juts slightly from the body of the aircraft. It looks like a robotic bird of prey hunting in the night.
Edward says nothing as he circles the ship, taking it all in. Along the back he just makes out the rows of thrusters that line the wings. Indented handles accentuate the door inside the protective alcove of metal formed between the backwards curl of the wings.
"It's gorgeous," he says. "Shiva." He lets his hand glide along the paneling as he comes back around to Bella.
"Its official title is the S-H-V-A," she says. "Stealth, High-Velocity Aircraft. Obviously, Shiva rolls off the tongue better."
"It fits." Edward crosses his arms and stands beside her, admiring the marvel before them. First the ARMS, now Shiva, Lilim's technology continuously impresses him.
"You know this stuff could revolutionize warfare," he says, never taking his eyes off the machine.
"Why do you think it's kept secret?" Bella says. It's jovial but honest. "And before you ask, Emmett and I are the pilots."
He wasn't wondering. He's never had any desire to be a pilot, and the last thing he wants right now is something else to learn.
In silence they stand, the tension between them eased by comfortability.
Staring at the plane, blacker than death, a heat builds in his stomach as he ignores the reality hammering down on his mind. This is it. A real mission that they may not come back from. Suddenly, all his prior confidence is gone. He regrets the impulsive decision to improvise the assault. His hairs stand on end as he fights the terror starting to grip his shoulders.
"Ready to go?" he asks, concealing the tremble in his voice.
"Sure."
As they walk across the open floor, Alice speaks over the radio.
"Want me to lower Shiva?"
"No," Edward says, pressing his implant. "You and Jacob can go ahead and go."
They stop at the door to the Pen and he looks to Bella.
"I don't think I'm ready for this," he says. Weakness crashes through him as if his body were collapsing on itself. His breathing accelerates and he bites his tongue.
Lips tight, Bella tilts her head sideways and watches him a moment, taking in his honesty. There's no surprise, only empathy for her leader. She steps to the side the door and sits, her back against the wall. Her forearms rest on her bent knees. She keeps looking quietly at Edward until he sits beside her.
"Maybe you're not," she says, after a long silence.
"Thanks," Edward says, feigning offense.
Clear Water's question returns to Bella; is Edward is a strong leader. She stares at the black plane across the Pen. Words and platitudes she would rather not say linger like whispers in her mind.
"Have any team leaders died on their first mission?" His voice is steady.
"Yes," she says with a shrug. "They weren't good leaders though."
The thought to flirtatiously fish for a compliment comes to Edward, but he narrows his eyes and keeps it to himself. "How nervous are you about this mission?"
She weighs her response with a heavy sigh. So many things are unusual about what they are heading in to, things Bella would rather not ponder.
"I'm really nervous," she says. As much as she wants to support Edward, let him know that everything is alright, her need to be truthful matters too much. "I don't remember the last time I was so freaked out about a mission."
"Is it the lack of planning?" A hint of self-consciousness.
"Partly, yeah." Bella can't help but smile. "It's mostly the lack of information, though."
Still straight-faced, Edward simply nods.
"You made the right call," Bella adds. The statement comes from a genuine place. "We don't know what we're getting in to. A locked-in plan would be a waste of effort."
"It's so much easier when it's just humans shooting at you," Edward says. He shakes his head at the ridiculousness of the statement. "Even when it's you against a whole company, every battle ends the same." He takes a moment before looking at Bella. "That's horrible."
"No," she says, her face beautiful with acceptance and understanding, "It's not. It's true. This battle will end the same. The battle itself will be different."
Edward looks ahead. He knows it's getting late, that it's almost time for Bella to transform. He doesn't want this conversation to end. He doesn't want to talk to the Colonel. He doesn't want tomorrow to come.
"I think you're ready," Bella says, "For what it's worth."
"Thank you."
"Though I'm annoyed you decided to just perch me on the tower," she adds, with a false levity that he appreciates. "Just because I'm a sniper doesn't mean I can't help inside."
"Oh, I know you can," he says. He allows himself to relax, though it has slight effect.
"And I can't talk to you as a mandarugo," she says, continuing to keep the mood light. She sticks out her tongue and keeps it out as she speaks, making her words almost unintelligible. "Tha thung makesh thpeakin thuff." Her following laugh bounces around the Pen.
"I need you up there," Edward says.
"Why?" She chuckles to herself as she sticks her tongue out again. "Why thu you ned me up thair?"
"Because I trust you."
"You thusth meh?"
"Bella," he says, suddenly serious. His eyes stay forward. "You're the only one I trust."
Furrowing her brow, Bella examines his still face before looking away. Offense and flattery conflict in her chest. If he doesn't trust the whole team at this point...
"Jacob and Emmett will do what they need to do," he adds. "I know that. But Jacob is still inexperienced and Emmett..." His voice trails.
"Yeah."
"Yeah." Edward swallows hard and looks down. He feels an unseen shake driving through his body. "I like them. I like you all. Lilim is..." It seems silly, "... Lilim is amazing. But I trust you."
Flattery wins. "Thank you," Bella says.
"If something happens, you're the I want getting us out." Edward's eyes meet hers, wide, honest, and clear.
Her teeth grit at the lump in her throat. "You're a good leader, Edward."
He cracks a half-smile at the compliment and looks away.
"And nothing's going to happen," she says. Her brain shouts at her to not say that, but she dismisses it. She's fought a jinx before. "We're all coming back."