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behind the chair. Sure enough, there were three larger cables running along the back of the chair. There were gaps, and Mari could see the ports along Kaede's spine. Mari had never seen anyone with ports on their back, and they were quite a lot larger than the others running up Kaede's legs and arms.
    "Won't these be uncomfortable?" Mari ventured to ask, looking at the plugs that would be connecting Kaede into the machine's power mainframe. "They're ... very big."
    Kaede looked up from where she was plugging cables into her legs and scoffed, "I'm used to this, you know. Do the words 'walking battery' ring any bells?"
    Ah. So maybe Kaede was angry with her in particular after all.
    She waited for Kaede to finish with the rest of her body, not daring to offer to help with the other ports even though it would speed up the process. All things considered, Kaede probably didn't even want her touching the three she couldn't reach.
    "Nomura, are you plugged in yet?" The comm crackled.
    Kaede jerked her head up at Mari and so she pressed her comm pressure point just under her ear and replied, "She's just finishing up now, sir. We'll be up in about three minutes."
    "Good, we're on standby . "
    "Okay, now you can do it," Kaede said, expression not betraying a thing.
    Mari leaned back down and examined the plugs. She decided to go from bottom to top, and reached for the first one. The metal was cold, and Mari felt her own spine tingle in sympathy.
    "I'm about to insert it. Three, two, one."
    She slid it home, and Kaede jerked slightly as it connected.
    "Okay?" Mari asked, pausing before she reached for the next one.
    "Yes, fine. New ports always feel a bit weird the first few times they're used." Kaede twitched again and settled back in the chair. "It's okay, just go."
    Mari slid in the next one, and this time Kaede managed to hold still. The last one was going into the back of her neck, and Mari nudged the edge of her braided hair aside carefully. She positioned the plug and waited for a second.
    "Ready," Kaede said, gritting her teeth in anticipation.
    Mari pushed it in, and Kaede made a sound in the back of her throat. "That made my back molars sting."
    Mari stood and went back to her control panel.
    "Right, let's get this thing started. Beginning initiation sequence." She began priming her controls.
    "Beginning initiation sequence," Kaede repeated behind her, and her body started to glow.
    Hakusan lit up around them and purred into life, stirring and shifting awake. Mari could hardly breathe as she gripped the controls. She'd been dreaming of this moment forever, and now it was hers.

3
    Kaede squirmed in the seat, trying to adjust herself to the odd new feeling of having ports that close to her spine. It didn't hurt, it felt ticklish somehow, as if someone was scratching at those three spots with the edge of their fingernail.
    "Beginning initiation sequence."
    Kaede was barely aware of herself repeating the words as she leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes and relaxing. She started the breathing pattern and brought her mind to the familiar place where she visualized her energy web. Hers was made up of stars, diamonds and light, criss-crossing and interconnecting.
    She felt the energy flare to life beneath her skin, starting to flow through her body like a stream, thrumming up within her until she felt close to spilling over. She let it trickle out, finding the spots all over her body where the energy could escape outwards.
    All at once, her mind was everywhere instantaneously. It happened like that every time she synced up with a machine. Kaede could sense all the pathways that her energy took, saw in her mental map how she had to control the flow of her energy. She expanded steadily outward, keeping a careful tab on where she was directing the power.
    Hadn't the technician said this was supposed to be difficult? This wasn't so bad. Nothing was aching or stretching yet in a way she hadn't expected.
    And of course, that was when