Chapter Text
September Y99
Cal raised his hand in a final wave as he watched the plane disappear towards Atara. He wrapped his arms round Dace's neck and buried his face in her mane. The feisty mare seemed to understand how he was feeling and, for once, didn't protest, simply whickered softly in his ear.
He sat back up in the saddle and turned Dace back towards the outpost. He'd agreed to take a few shifts out there, nominally to allow Logan time to get to grips with fatherhood. Logan's reaction to that suggestion had told him that his boss understood hiding out there better than he was willing to let on.
He'd gone into this, whatever this had been, with Jean with open eyes. He'd known from the start that she wasn't staying and that suited him. He wasn't ready to settle down, especially not the thought of adding a baby to the mix. It didn't mean he wasn't going to miss her though. He'd got a idea of what was possible in a relationship. Those quiet moments of just being together. He wondered if that was how Wen and Mi-an felt all the time, then frowned. Neither of his friends would admit it, but there was something off there. He hoped they sorted it out, whatever it was. They were his two closest friends in town, and he didn't want to be in a position of having to pick between them.
Dace whickered at him, tugging on the reins as she shook her head, and Cal looked up in surprise to realise they were at the outpost already. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts, he must have ridden the whole way on autopilot.
"Sorry, girl," he said, patting her neck as he dismounted. "Will pay more attention to you in future. Just been an odd day." Dace nudged his shoulder as he started to removed her saddle and brush her down. Max and Logan were in talks about how best to add a stable to the outpost building, but for now, he tied her reins to the hitching post and took her saddle inside.
Dropping the saddle and his kit bag inside the door, Cal climbed up to the crow's nest, looking out over the Eufaula and over Sandrock itself. He stayed there, watching the sun set, until it disappeared completely. Climbing down the ladder, he shook his head.
"Time to get on with the future," he muttered to himself.
June Y100
"I must say, Mi-mi, you've really blossomed in your time here," Estelle announced.
"Now, now," Stanis replied, "you know our daughter would have done well wherever she was, you don't need to sound so surprised."
Mi-an smiled at the unaccustomed praise. When she'd invited her parents to accompany Gustave to the summit, she hadn't expected them to actually come. They'd always been too busy to leave the workshop for long. Apparently her cousin Oliver had worked out far better than expected, so leaving for a week was manageable, especially since Howlett had arranged flights for all the visitors.
"Have you thought about when you'll return home, Mi-mi? After all, wasn't your contract only for three years? That's five years you've been here now."
And there was the question she'd been dreading. No matter how often she tried telling her parents she was happy in Sandrock, the question kept coming up.
"I've told you before, Ma. I am home," she replied. "I'm settled here, I have a well established workshop, I'm making a difference. Mayor Howlett will tell you I'm a large part of why the city has improved as much as it has. All things you always told me I should be aiming for."
"But Sandrock? You have no higher goals? That nice Director Gaudi was telling me about the Northern Development plans. Don't you want to try that? Advance to Governor, maybe?"
Estelle sniffed delicately. She'd made it clear what she thought of Mi-an's decision to stay in Sandrock over the last few years, and Mi-an was pretty certain she knew what was coming next, too.
"And how much of that is to do with that boy, hmm?"
Mi-an tried not to roll her eyes. There it was. When she'd told her parents about Wen, she'd expected they'd be happy for her. After all, a builder and a researcher working together - just think what they could achieve. But no - he was too young, he lacked ambition, had no prospects. Even now, several years later, they seemed unwilling to change their minds. Sometimes she wondered if the reason her ma had been happy for Mi-an to accompany Wei to Sandrock was in the hopes that the Guild Commissioner would be a suitable match. Not that Wei would have been in on such a scheme - he'd be as horrified at the notion as she herself was if Mi-an shared her suspicions, she was sure. But still, she wouldn't put it past her ma.
"It's got nothing to do with Wen, Ma," Mi-an replied. "I belong here, whether he's here or not."
"Is there anything we can do to change your mind?" her pa asked.
"Sorry, but no. Now things have settled down a lot, I will try and come to visit a bit more often."
"At all would be an imp— ouch!" Estelle glared at her husband, who looked round innocently. Mi-an gave her pa a small smile before once again changing the subject.
"I see you have the same ability Qi has to get completely immersed in your work!"
Wen jumped at the voice behind him and turned to find Director Curie from Vega 5 looking at him in amusement. They had been introduced briefly at the Summit the previous week. She was leaning against the wall, and he wondered just how long she'd been there.
"I'm so sorry, Director," he apologised, but she waved it away.
"It's fine, I'm pleased to see a young man so absorbed in his work. What are you working on, anyway?"
Wen blinked; he wasn't used to people actually taking an interest in his projects.
"It's nothing," he said, "just looking at ways to improve power generation and storage in the villages surrounding Sandrock."
"Really? That doesn't sound like nothing. In fact, it sounds like something that could make a huge difference. What are you thinking of?"
By the time Qi arrived back at the research centre a couple of hours later, Wen and Curie had thoroughly dissected all Wen's blueprints. Although she'd suggested a couple of small tweaks, overall the Director had been very impressed with his plans.
"Well, Director? Was it worth your while spending the afternoon here?" Qi asked.
"Indeed it was. This young man is everything you told me and more. He's come up with solutions that some of the best in the institute wouldn't have thought of."
"Didn't I tell you? He's far exceeded anything I can teach him here."
Wen looked between the two of them in confusion, and Curie smiled at him.
"I have a research position available, and I'd like you to consider taking it. It would be a two year contract to begin with, with a view to extending it. Normal researcher's stipend which is far more generous in Vega 5 than other places. You have a new and unconventional approach to problem solving, one that comes from having to work with limited resources. I'd love to see what you're capable of with what we can offer you."
"You want me to go to Vega 5?" Wen asked, shocked at the offer.
"Face it, Wen, there's nothing else I can teach you here. You're wasted in Sandrock," Qi said.
"I… I really need to think about that," Wen replied.
"I'm here until the end of this week, I have some research to discuss with Zeke as well. Please think about it and let me know," Curie replied. "I'm at your saloon if you want more information. Director." She nodded at Qi and left.
"Wen, please give this offer proper consideration. I know both the mayor and I have offered to sponsor your studies either in Vega 5 or in Atara, but this would mean you were earning your own money."
"My ma would go nuts," Wen sighed. Qi shook his head.
"You are twenty six years old, Wen. When are you going to stop letting her run your life? She clearly doesn't support you."
"I…" Wen realised he had no answer for that.
"Look, think about it. Consider all the variables. Talk to Mi-an, Cal, your sister. Don't talk to your ma, you know she'll talk you out of it. You'll regret it if you waste this opportunity, though."
Mi-an. Shit, he hadn't even considered her. Mind you, she'd encouraged him in the past to consider Atara or Vega 5.
"Yeah, I prolly oughta talk to Mi," he replied, running his hand through his hair. And really, really think about this, he thought with a frown. Qi is right about Ma. If even he has noticed what she's like about my job, I ought to admit it. She doesn't want me to succeed.
Mi-an was on the decking outside her workshop when Wen found her. Most of her work she did in Max's yard, making use of the extra space, but she still maintained a few machines here. She waved to acknowledge him, so he stood back and watched her as he waited.
She was still the same cute girl with the gumption to stand up to Qi that had caught his attention when she first moved here, but she'd grown up. He had as well over the last five years. And that was the problem, he realised. They'd both grown up in different ways and now wanted different things in life. Mi-an was settled here, she'd told her parents last year that she was never going back to Tallsky and he was, he was… Curie's offer had reignited the itch under his skin that had brought him into Sandrock from the villages in the first place. The desire to do more, be more than people thought he could.
"You okay? You look miles away," Mi-an said, wrapping her arms round his waist. Wen dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and sighed.
"Director Curie spent the afternoon working with me in the lab," he said. "She said she was impressed with me, wants to offer me a job in Vega 5."
Mi-an stepped back and looked up at him. "So when do you leave?"
Wen looked at her, trying to see any anger, any upset, but there just seemed to be acceptance, even a touch of pride.
"I haven't accepted yet."
"Why in the world not? You've been talking about going there as long as I've known you. You'd be silly not to take it. Plus, it's a job, not a scholarship, you'll get paid?" Wen nodded. "Because I know not wanting to accept sponsorship was a big reason you refused to go sooner."
"That's it? No wailin' and beggin' me to stay?"
"Is that really what you expected? Come on, we both know this is what you want. Besides…" Mi-an's words tailed off and she started picking at the front of his shirt. Wen covered her hand with his.
"The spark's gone, hasn't it?"
Mi-an hesitated then nodded. "I love you, and would be content to spend the future together, but I'm not in love with you any more. And I think it's mutual?"
"Yeah." Wen sighed. "I need to do this. I want to do this. Curie said the contract was only for two years."
"Puh-lease," Mi-an countered. "Wei told me this might only be a year's contract. In fact, that's how he and Gustave convinced my parents to let me come here."
"Oh, reminds me, how did lunch with them go?"
"Same old," Mi-an shrugged. "Had to tell them again, once and for all, that I'm staying in Sandrock."
"How did they take that?"
"Better than I expected. My pa took it better than my ma. She still blames you."
Wen snorted. "Like I have any say in what you do!" he exclaimed.
It was only when Mi-an smiled sadly at him that he realized that he'd made her point for her.
"So when do you leave?"
"Curie said she's here til the end of the week, so, a few days?"
"A few days to pack up and say goodbye to everyone?"
"Yeah. Light, I ain't lookin' forward to tellin' my ma."
"Can I be there when you do? Please!"
"Probably need you or Cal as back up. Peach, tellin' him is gonna be even worse, don't think he's got over Jean leavin' yet."
"Yeah, he's calmed down a lot, don't think I've seen him seriously look at woman since she left, have you?"
"Now you mention it, Light, I am worried."
Mi-an giggled and nudge him with her shoulder. "Come on, let's get you sorted to move to Vega 5!"
When Wen arrived at the saloon that evening, their corner was already full. Least I can get this over in one go he thought. Cal, Bill and Logan were arguing about how to deal with boxing jacks, while Max and Mi-an were giggling over something in the corner.
He sat down next to Mi-an as Owen appeared with a tray of drinks.
"Is Miya about?" he asked. Owen nodded.
"Got some news to share, can you grab her and both of you join us?"
"What's goin' on?" Logan asked, as Owen and Miya came over.
Mi-an grabbed his hand and looked at him encouragingly.
"Director Curie stopped by the research centre this afternoon. Seems people have been singing my praises to her. Anyway, we spoke for a while, she looked at some of the work I've been doing, and, well, she's offered me a research position in Vega 5. I leave on Friday."
The corner erupted. Some people were pleased, some shocked.
"Have you told Ma yet?" Miya asked, pulling her baby brother into a bear hug.
"Not yet, no. And I ain't looking forward to it, you know how she'll react."
"Yeah, she was bad enough when I told her Aakil an' me were gettin' married an' movin' to town. Look, kiddo, you deserve this, don't let her tell you otherwise, okay?"
"I won't. I'm going to make sure everythin' is in place before I tell her, won't give her enough time to do anything' about it."
"Good lad," Miya said, "you'll be amazing!"
Wen smiled and turned back to the table, where Cal was glaring at him.
"You're serious?" Cal asked. "You're going to Vega 5?"
"It's only for two years initially," Wen countered.
"Pfft," Mi-an scoffed. "I told you, me coming to Sandrock was only supposed to be for a year. And Cal only came here to help with the Duvos invasion for a few days, didn't you? Go, make the most of it, when you find it's where you're meant to be…"
"You're okay with this?" Cal asked her.
"Totally. I've been trying to push him to go there or Atara for a while, there's nothing for him here."
"No? What about you two?" Cal asked. Mi-an looked at Wen and shrugged.
"We figured out we were better as friends, so, yeah," Mi-an told Cal. "This is for the best. And I'm genuinely happy for him." She squeezed Wen's hand.
"Huh," was all Cal could say.
He kept his peace until the two guys were walking back to the apartments later.
"So you're ditching Mi to go to Vega 5?" Cal asked.
"When you put it like that, it sounds bad," Wen agreed, "but it's not like that. She's encouraged me all along to go after my dreams, and this is the first time it's come up. When we talked, we agreed that what we both want from life no longer lines up. She's happy and settled here and I'm not. She was the first person I spoke to after Curie made me the offer, and it was a mutual decision."
"It just seems so out of the blue."
"Yes and no. Some stuff we've spoken about, Light, as long as we've known each other. But it did force us to address a few other things that we'd been ignoring."
"Like what?"
"Like, how did Mi put it? We love each other, but we're not in love with each other."
"There's a difference?"
"Yeah. It's… look, you told me you liked Jean, you enjoyed spending time with her, she was a good friend, right?"
"Yeah…"
"But you couldn't imagine spending the rest of your life with her?"
"Okay, I see what you mean."
"I do have one favour to ask, though?" Wen said.
"What's that?"
"Can you keep an eye out for Mi-an, please? She has a bad habit of getting caught up in what she's doing and neglecting herself. I think I've more or less got her out of the habit of skipping lunch, but just make sure she doesn't start again."
"That I can do."
The next few days flew by, and Mi-an was reminded of her sudden departure from Tallsky to Sandrock. As a result, she was able to suggest a few things that Wen could do to help him be better prepared than she had been when she arrived.
"Light, I still remember my shock at the colour of yakmel milk," she said with a smile.
The one thing Wen was dreading was telling his ma. He put it off as long as he could, but finally on Thursday afternoon he rode out to see her. Cal came with him as company, though he waited at the Robertsons' ranch nearby.
As expected, his ma exploded at the news.
"I'm going, Ma. End of story," he told her once he could get a word in. "You can either be happy for me, and celebrate how well you've raised me that I can do this, or you can sulk and never hear from me again."
"You've never spoken to me like that before. It's that girl, isn't it!"
Wen snorted. His ma liked Mi-an about as much as her parents liked him. The big difference being that hers were far enough away that it didn't really matter. The first year of his relationship with Mi-an had been full of his ma trying to find excuses to fill up his free time and stop them seeing each other. He wasn't sure if his sister had had a word with their ma, or if the birth of Miya's third child had been convenient timing, but after Isea was born, Jet had backed off some.
"If you mean Mi-an, well, if you must know, she's staying in Sandrock."
"And she hasn't even tried to convince you to stay? How on earth will that work with you so far apart? Do you trust her?" Wen rolled his eyes at how quickly his ma could pivot an argument to work in her favour.
"We agreed we were better as friends," he said with a shrug. Admitting that had been the hard part. Once they had, everything had gone smoothly. No-one in town had even seemed that surprised, not even Cal once he explained everything.
"In other words you wasted the last five years of your life with her?" Jet asked, smugness dripping from her tone.
Wen pinched the bridge of his nose. Twenty five years of taking his ma's crap had finally built up and spilled over.
"Look, Ma, I know I've never lived up to your expectations of me, but just for once could you try to be happy for what I've achieved? Getting offered a research post in Vega 5 without any qualifications is practically unheard of. Yet they came to me. Director Curie, on the basis of an afternoon's discussion, saw something special in me. I'm only sorry that after all this time you can't see it. I'm just your disappointment."
"Owen, I—"
He held his hand up. "I don't want to hear it Ma, not right now. I'm taking this job. I don't care if you like it or not. I'm leaving tomorrow, ten o'clock from the airstrip. If you want to come and respectfully say goodbye, I'll be happy to see you. If not, well I'll write."
"Well! I've never been spoken to like that in all my life!"
"An' that's half the problem. Maybe if I'd stood up to you before now, you'd have seen me as who I am an' not who you wish I was." He stood up and gathered his stuff, ignoring the stream of excuses that spilled from his ma's mouth. He'd heard it all before but for some reason, today it had hit differently. Or, more accurately, didn't hit at all.
Mounting the horse he'd hired from Cooper, Wen headed to Sora and Anton's ranch.
"That bad, huh?" Cal asked when he walked in. Sora put a mug of tea in front of him before reaching for Anton's bottle of moonshine on the top shelf and adding a splash to it.
"The usual," Wen replied. He tried for a casual shrug but he could feel himself shaking. "I stood up to her. I actually stood up to her."
"'Bout time someone did," Sora said. Wen smiled at her. He wasn't sure what had happened, but over the last six months or so, Sora had softened, becoming friendlier, less bitter. "I'll keep an eye out for her once you go, make sure she's doin' okay."
"That would be good, please. Miya's so busy at the saloon, an' with the kids, I think she got too reliant on me, y'know?"
Wen drank his doctored tea quietly, listening to Cal and Sora chat about the geep and how the expanded herd was doing, as well as Chun's relationship with Joshua.
"Elsie seems to be spending a lot of time with them," Sora said. "Thought she'd just be here until we got the milkin' 'quipment set up, but she's still round a lot. They really oughta tell her to leave 'em be. A young couple needs space to, you know, bond."
Wen caught Cal's eye, and they both tried not to smile. Neither wanted to be the one to tell Sora that, according to town gossip, all three of them were happily bonding together.
The two men rode back to town, chatting about Wen's plans for Vega 5. They took the ride steady, wanting to spend as much time chatting as they could but, even so, Cal could feel Dace starting to tire. Her gait was no longer as steady as it had been.
When he dismounted and led her in the last hundred yards or so, her head was low and he could swear that her shoulders were slumped.
"Ev'rythin' okay?" Wen asked him.
"Hmmm, not sure. She seems a bit more tired than I'd expect," Cal said as he brushed Dace down. The mare nuzzled into him, which also concerned him slightly. He patted her nose and sighed.
"Don't think she's sick, just tired. She's about the same age I am, though, maybe even a little older than me, and that's pretty old for a horse. Reckon I need to go have a conversation with Mister Howlett."
Cal took his hat off as he walked into City Hall. The place wasn't exactly fancy, per se, but he did feel like he wasn't fancy enough for it, not in his desert gear, anyways. But…what he had to talk to Mister Howlett about was more important, he thought. Dace deserves a good retirement while she's still healthy enough to enjoy it.
"Well, howdy Cal, what brings you to City Hall?" Howlett asked, taking off his glasses and gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Take a load off, boy. I ain't cranin' my neck to look at you," he said.
Cal nodded and sat, putting his hat on the chair beside him. "Well, sir, it's about Dace. Um, she's…I think she's done patrolling, sir," he said.
Cal watched the man he thought was the fairly easygoing Mayor of Sandrock suddenly become anything but. Howlett's smiling visage became stern and his eyes sharpened, zeroing in on Cal's own. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, and Cal fought not to fidget under that focussed gaze.
"No, not like that, um, she's fine, sir! I'd've made sure Doc Beauregard saw her if she was sick or hurt. It's just…she's been gettin' real tired at the end of patrols for a bit now, and, well, this last ride out to Dry Creek today, she was stumbling a little near the end, so I got off and walked her in. She seemed…almost…I don't know, ashamed of it, too. She's still got so much heart and sass, but, well, I don't think she can do a full patrol anymore, sir. Not without at least a few days to rest up, anyway," Cal said.
Howlett sighed. "Yeah, I knew this was comin'. She's…twenty-two, I think. Be like….well, she ain't as old as m'father-in-law, but she's gettin' up there," he admitted. He rubbed his chin for a moment, obviously thinking things over, then nodded.
"I'll get Letty - Doc Beauregard - to look her over, 'n'then I'll arrange for her to be put out to pasture. She's earned her retirement. Meanwhile, if'n you need a patrol mount, talk to Justice and see if you can borrow Truth. I'd say you could take Merle, but she cain't do a full patrol, herself. Leastways not out in the far desert, where you go."
"Yessir," Cal said, relieved that Mister Howlett was taking this as well as he was. "Not sure if Rambo will let me ride him, but that might be an option, too, since Logan doesn't patrol full time anymore."
"Yup, that's a good notion. Talk to Logan. As for longer term…" Howlett started to say, but Cal held up his hand.
"I've been riding Dace for the last four years and you haven't charged me a gol, sir. Light, I don't even pay her boarding fees. I've saved up a good bit. I can for sure afford to rent a horse from Mister Cooper if I need to. Could probably buy a pretty decent horse, actually. Well, maybe," Cal said, considering. Wouldn't be as good as Dace, but he'd figure something out.
It was a sombre group that headed to the airstrip to see Wen off to Vega 5. Jet had set a message via Miya making it clear that she did not approve and would not be turning up.
"I knew she wouldn't come, but it still hurts," Wen said as he sat in the yakmel with Cal and Mi-an.
"You're doing the right thing, you know," Mi-an told him. "Even if you come back in six months, you'll have had time away, it changes your perspective on, well, everything."
"She's got a point," Cal added. "Leaving Atara was the best thing I ever did."
"I guess. At least you two both still get on with your folks, even if you are so far away."
"Cal might. Mine still has her moments. Swear to Peach, the only reason I got to come here was they thought it was a fixed contract. If they could force me back, they still would."
"They might not mean to, but I sometimes think parents' only job in life is to fuck us up," Wen said.
"I know what you mean," Mi-an said as they took the last turn towards the airstrip. "I mean mine are… what in the Light is that?"
Planes were a fairly familiar site in Sandrock by this time, but the vehicle on the tarmac in front of them was far from a plane. Instead of wings on its side like a bird, this one was a round body with a spiral blade above it.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Curie asked as she came over to greet them. "We found a book in a ruin from an Old World builder, lots of wonderful designs, including this. Of course our engineers enhanced it, and came up with the final design! Uses fewer power stones, is faster and much quieter."
"It's certainly something," Mi-an replied.
A woman in a uniform that matched Curie's dress came over and took Wen's luggage. Not that he had much, just a suitcase and several portfolios of designs.
"You're happy you and Max can get those windmills built?" he asked Mi-an.
"Wen, you've given us such clear diagrams and instructions, Andy could build them!"
"Fair, I just, I know it will make a big difference out there. Let me know how they go."
"Of course."
"Boarding now!" the pilot called over.
Wen looked at his two best friends. "This is it, I'm excited and terrified at the same time."
"I know the feeling," Mi-an said.
"Yeah, I did it the sneaky way," Cal added with a grin.
"If you see my ma, tell her… you know what, don't bother. I'll write once when I get an address and leave it up to her."
He gave them each one final hug and turned towards the flying machine.
Cal and Mi-an stepped back and watched as the pilot pulled the doors closed behind them. The spiral above them started turning, pushing the air down and lifting the vehicle.
Mi-an sniffed and wiped her eyes. She was happy for him, didn't mean she wouldn't miss him, even as a friend. Cal slung an arm round her shoulders and squeezed. "He'll be fine. We'll be fine."
"I know, just one of the biggest changes since I got here."
"I get it."
The vehicle rounded the top of the cliffs and headed south. They watched until it was a speck on the horizon.
"Let's get back to town."