I leaned against the workbench, my eyes tracing the contours of the Ultra-Light Nexus Scout standing before us. The sleek form and small size; it was honestly nothing like any mech I’d ever seen or even imagined. It was designed for agility and stealth, something that none of the other mechs had any real ability for due to their hulking size.

I chuckled, thinking about it. What if the reason mechs were always big and loud was because they weren’t any good at being small? The Nexus Scout wouldn’t stand a chance against the big boys, it seemed to me, and standing there not much taller than I was, I wondered if it wasn’t too delicate for the harsh world outside our bay.

Sighing, I turned my head and checked for Elli. She was holding a sheaf of cured parchment, busily going over one of CD’s blue screens, checking off items from their diagnostic readouts. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she wore out the nub of her quill.

“Everything checks out,” she finally said, turning to face CD and me. “But specs and simulations only tell us so much. We need a real test.”

CD’s holographic form flickered slightly, which was his way of showing his annoyance with us.

“A practical assessment is advisable, yes. I have no real worry about the performance of the mech. However, I feel some doubt about the abilities of the orangutan that will be piloting it. This isn't a battle mech. It isn't meant to be run into battle at the first opportunity and swung about like a club.”

“Hah. Yeah. Understood. I'm feeling some jitters too, buddy,” I said, shaking my head, wondering how long it would be until I got my ass kicked. Would I even get it moving?

CD narrowed his shimmering eyes.

“But, as apes go, I believe we might have chosen the best possible specimen to try out the highly advanced piece of fusion technology we have created. It should be familiar enough to ape minds, yet it has powerful battle aspects of my people built into it. I expect that the fusion is similar enough to afford tremendous synchronization.”

“I can’t wait,” I smiled, though a cool nervousness was growing in the pit of my stomach. “And thank you for your confidence, CD.”

It wouldn’t be long now before I’d have to take it out on a spin. Walking about in the bay was one thing, but doing some battle or trying to move about stealthily was something else entirely. I genuinely hoped I wouldn’t screw it up.

“Let's grab some lunch,” Elli said. “Head up to the roof, give the city a looksy. I think we’ve all earned a break.”

Clattering through the larder and the small cubby corner of her kitchen, Elli took over food preparations, laying out bread, and opening small sacks of vegetables and dried meats. I sat awkwardly on a workbench in the meantime, waiting next to CD as she hadn’t allowed me to help.

“Why are you so quiet, Alaric?” CD asked.

He shimmered into the form of another Elli, dressed as she had been for our big night out to the tavern.

I closed my eyes, blocking out the sight.

“Don’t do that,” I said, sighing. “Never, ever do that.”

“It is undone,” he responded.

I opened my eyes and saw him shimmering before me in the form of a flame-haired orangutan. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That’s . . . better?” I muttered, feeling both insulted and delighted at the notion that he had such knowledge. Replicating extinct creatures from our world’s distant past was a feat in itself.

CD scratched his armpits and danced.

“I understand that it is human custom to try to fit in with the people around them. I believe that in this custom I have, just now, dramatically succeeded.”

My chuckle grew deeper.

“Yeah, CD. I’d say you pretty much nailed it. Now you’re one of us.”

He cocked his simian head.

“Why do you hate seeing me as Elli? I have seen your reactions to her and monitored your life force when she is near. Your heart rate rises. Your pupils dilate. You breathe more quickly.”

He turned his head pointedly in her direction. She was humming and smiling as she prepared our meal.

“And the same is true of her, but on a much higher level. She truly has the . . .hots for you? Is that how you simians call it?”

I snorted.

“You know, you already answered your question without even knowing it, CD. There’s just one Elli. Two real Ellies in the room would give me a heart attack, I think.”

“How interesting,” CD remarked. “The way the two of you act with each other fits all of the information I have on mating protocols. And yet she isn’t your mate. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially considering the biological data I have collected. When will the two of you become mates?”

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I put my face into my hands, trying to think about how to answer the question. I breathed deeply, the fumes of metallic construction wafted off my palms and deep into my lungs.

“Mates fight,” I finally said. “They scream at each other and cry, and break things. Some of them hit each other. It’s complicated, but none of that stuff happens before the ceremony. I like how we can just be together without any expectations. We don’t have anything to fight over.”

CD hopped up to the bench and sat beside me, putting a long hairy arm around my shoulder.

“If you don’t fight before mating, but do after, maybe that means there is more worth fighting for after the ceremony has taken place?”

My eyes shot to his synthetic ones, honestly a bit in shock at the idea. They flickered, and they were artificial, but it was easy to imagine centuries of wisdom hiding within them.

“And what would that be? We already have everything.”

CD laughed and indicated the Nexus mech with his unnaturally long arm.

“If an ape already had all of his bananas, he wouldn’t be looking for more bananas.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Elli, who was absolutely beaming as she brought a large checkered cloth with her. Its edges were tied together and the considerable bulge within suggested a wonderful meal just waiting to be had.

“Care to join me, Sir Alaric, Future Lord of Alnda and King over Chic-A-Go?”

My heart sped up, my pupils dilated, and CD gave me a wink before hopping off the bench.

“Have fun in the rafters, my simian friends. A day of climbing and heights should do you well,” he said in farewell, off to who knew where and leaving us to ourselves.

Elli offered her free hand and I took it, her calluses somehow warm and soft on my own. We took the stairs, slowly at first, before she announced the first one up got a foot rub later, and took off on a galloping lope, leaping three stairs at a time while the picnic meal banged and bounced off her shapely hip.

I laughed hard, attempting to pass her. But she had an annoying habit of always getting in the way.

Right up until the end, anyway, at which point I seized her fully right before the hatch to the top, turned, and deposited her behind me, the rail walk echoing with her giggling cries.

“You cheater!” she exclaimed.

“As the future lord of Alnda, I was certainly reminding you of stately protocol,” I informed her, struggling to keep a straight face.

To my surprise, she didn’t retort. Instead, her face corkscrewed into a lascivious grin as she knelt on one knee.

“Oh, forgive me, my lord. I shall perform penance in any way you may deem sufficient.”

I choked on the swirl of life that ran through my body, suddenly awkward with desire.

“Uh, ha. Yeah. Come on, Elli. Let’s get up to the roof and break some bread. I’m starving!”

Banging open the hatch, I pulled myself out onto the roof of the bay before reaching back down to take the picnic goods from Elli’s hands and then helped her up beside me.

Elli grinned and took the sack from me, undoing its ties and spreading the worn cloth across the roof’s flat surface. It was a simple motion, but the action of it transformed our hangout spot into a beautiful dining area with a view that stretched endlessly across the city. From our vantage point, the hustling chaos of repair, cred-slinging, and life living below seemed a world away.

Even farther than that when she began setting our meal between us. She unpacked it all slowly, dramatizing the food set-up and teasing me with her preparations, arranging the food with ceremonial reverence. Thick slices of crusty bread formed the centerpiece, a small dish of oil and pepper laid next to it in which to dip torn chunks. I reached out to take some, and she whacked my hand with a block of cheese.

“Hold your fingers, Al. I’ve been working all morning. I deserve a nice meal with you.”

Around the bread she placed a variety of clean carrot and radish slices, her eyes daring me to try and take one. Grabbing a stack of meat strips, she laid these out into piles immediately in front of us both, the smell of its herbs and curing driving me to swallow hard.

I’d heard before that the best chefs also played with expectations. This was torture, and I could tell from the dimple on her cheek she knew it. I knew what she’d say, too, if I mentioned it.

Half the taste is in the anticipation, she’d tell me.

I chuckled, and she laughed right back at me, almost certainly reading my thoughts.

“Almost there!” she exclaimed.

Reaching behind her, she pulled out a leather wineskin and uncorked the top, taking in a deep draught of its contents.

“Hey!” I yelled, amused. “I thought we had to anticipate all this.”

“The royal chef must check all royal consumables for poison,” she said, winking before handing me the skin and stealing a piece of jerky from my pile.

I tipped her cheers with the skin, before taking my own long draught of the liquid. It was cool and soothing, not the dry wine I’d expected but rather a refreshing herbal lemonade, infused with mint and a hint of lavender.

“That is wonderful,” I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my arm. “Where’d you get it from?”

She pointed out to the city.

“It’s all out there, Al. All of it. You just need the creds.”

I nodded, getting what she was saying.

“We’ll have it all very soon. I’m certain.”

She grabbed a piece of radish and popped it into her mouth, crunching it loudly.

“I’ve got energy bars for dessert, too. This is going to be fantastic, Al! With the mech, we can keep going out and getting parts. With those parts, we can run our own shop, and then even upgrade to a guild. Start doing regular runs to Chic-A-Go, making the world like it was. Maybe, you know?”

She blushed.

“Yeah. I know.”

We settled into a comfortable silence, eating and drinking, looking out over everything. Her hand came out and grabbed my arm.

“Are you an honest man, Al?” she asked.

I narrowed my eyes on her, unsure of the question and the tone in which she spoke. She held my gaze for a moment and then looked away. I did so as well, looking out over the city, the diamond glitter of the brown-blue river dancing dots into my eyes.

“I hope so,” I answered.

Elli pushed the rest of her food aside and scooched over to me, her shoulder pushing into mine.

“For the next few months, don’t be. When we start making it in this city, people aren’t going to like it. Not the ones on top, and not the ones on the bottom either. Lie. Fight. Cheat. Swindle. And whenever things get too dangerous, be damn sure that you save yourself and come home. Even if you have to . . .just do whatever it takes.”

I was startled by her words, as it wasn’t something I’d thought she’d ever say.

“Elli—” I started to say, but she stopped me, grabbing my head. Her lips pressed in on mine then, Elli drawing me into a hard and long kiss. My food dropped from my fingers, and my hands found her long, messy hair, curling into it as I returned the kiss, years of defiant hesitation pouring into the act.

When we broke, she had tears rolling down her face, but she was happier than I’d ever seen her.

“You and me, Al. No more free-girl-serf-boy stuff. We are together. We’ll make it official. We’ll do it right. But it starts now, you dumb idiot. Because, things are going to get hard before they get good, and I don’t know what my life would be like if I never got to have you before you were gone. We’re going to change that right now.”

I opened my mouth to speak and she shoved her face onto mine again. Pulling back, she giggled as I stared, stunned at the most beautiful woman I had ever known.

“Come on, you Simian,” she said. “It’s time I finally get some.”