Dust Devil

The trees sprung up around Rowan and Masaki as he led them deeper into the forest. Oak, larch, maple, there were so many different trees all around that they all just blended into a patchwork pattern that Mother Nature sewed together into a complimentary mismatched quilt. But was stood out against the backdrop of greens and browns was standing, or rather parked, next to a large redwood tree.

"What in the world..." Rowan tailed off, turning her eyes up to the sky to where the large robot-like vehicle ended.  

"Yeah, that's my mech" Masaki stated in a off-hand manner, making his way to the foot of the large aircraft. 

"So a mech is a large sky robot ship?"

"Basically, yeah"

"And I get one?"

"Yep"

Rowan stood still for a moment, trying to wrap her brain around that. But Masaki had other ideas for her. His yell came from the top of the mech, where he was already sitting in the part where that head was, with the face opened like a garage door.

"Come on! The door is by the ankle"

And indeed it was. Rowan entered the tiny service entrance by the ankle and made her way through the network of catwalks amid machinery and circuit boards. Her eyes danced from one wall to the other, trying to absorb as much of this mechanic phenomenon as she could. She finally finds Masaki sitting in the pilot seat at the head.

"Welcome to the helm" He smiles.

"So this is the helm, huh?" She takes the only passenger seat available, the one next to him. 

"Yep. All the controls to function the mech is up here. On this side you control the left arm, on the opposite side are controls for the right, and so on." Rowan followed his explanation as he motioned all over the goddamn dashboard. She'd just have to ask for directions to her own mech at a later date.

"So where are we going, exactly?" She ventures to ask.

"To the HQ" He starts pulling levers and flipping switches.

"And that is where exactly?"

"You'll find out. You'd better put on your seat belt, lass" She quickly did as she was told. 

"Are we ready to lift off yet?" She could barely keep still in her seat. She really couldn't wait to see how this mechanic behemoth could fly.

"Calm yourself, lass. Things like this take ti-" The rest of Masaki's sentence was cut off as there was a deaf-inducing roar and the whole mech shot into the air, pressing Rowan back into her seat. After a few moments, Masaki leveled out the aircraft, and the pressure lessened, allowing her to sit up right again. She watches as Masaki plugs in some coordinates. 

"So, are you going to finally tell me where we're going?" She leans in closer to sneak a peek at the destination. The jumble of numbers were absolute Greek to her.

"We'll be there soon, you'll see for yourself"

She huffed and leaned back in her seat. "Alrighty, then" 

Shortly after, silence ensued. Rowan started fidgeting quietly, unsure what to do with herself. She wondered if this thing came with a radio. But just then, Masaki  swiveled the chair to face her. His strange dragon mask took her off guard again, it's lenses staring at her. 

"This is taking longer than I thought" He said.

"I wouldn't really know, because I've never been there. Or at least not that I'm aware of. Maybe if you told me..." She left the rest for him to follow on her lead.

"Nah, you'll find out when we're there."

She barely managed not to pout.

"So, how are you?" He asked suddenly.

"You know, I'm just in a strange cockpit with a strange man, going off to a strange ship to fight a strange unknown enemy. You know." She gave him a crooked sly smile. 

"Ah yes, that." He thought for a moment. "Well, how has that got you feeling, then?"

Rowan had to stop and think for a little. Then she gives a chuckle "Pretty intense, that's how. I'm excited for some action. I've been pretty out of luck with work for the few months"

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm assigning you a task" His statement is accompanied with the sound of steam echoing around a walled area, then ended with the shudder of the whole mech landing. The flutter of excitement renewed itself in the pit of Rowan's stomach. She kept up the casual conversation as the two started to climb back down through the mech. 

"So I'm not just going to be a pilot? I'm going to have various other tasks?"

"You didn't think joining the Rebellion meant you could do nothing, did you lass?" He chortled as if it were some inside joke. 

Rowan offered up a shrug, "S'pose I'm just used to freedom."

"Bah, you'll be fine, we usually have a good amount of time for chilling in the lounge"

"Sounds cool" She blinks at the sudden light flooding her face as she exits the mech.

"Ah, there you are, Masaki" A figure stands tall on the empty landing pad, aside from the mech. His cap and vest are pristine and his expression portrays a no-nonsense mood. Rowan is instantly humbled and walks slightly behind Masaki as he goes to join the new figure.

"This ought to be good..." Masaki mumbles.

Rowan swallows, not liking the sound of that at all.

**to be continued** 

Reviews

[Trigorin]

Not bad, but I'd take out the 'to be continued' at the end, and just make sure to check your spelling and grammar, and I'd really consider writing this in past tense, as present tense is somewhat odd to read at any real length. I'd also make sure to avoid passivity, as you seem to lapse into it now and then. This is a good start, it just needs some tweaking.