I left the bathroom wrapped in steam. Skin warmed by the bath.
Kiara had the holoscreen open. Switched it off quickly when she saw me. "That was a long bath." Her usual casual tone.
I smiled in response, unwilling to prolong the conversation.
She sprawled on the sofa. One foot over the other. Relaxed posture. Increasingly familiar. The thought came, inevitable. There was something about her, a way of existing, that reminded me of Maia.
I lay on the bed. The mattress absorbed the weight of the past few days. Exhaustion swallowed me. No thought took shape. I drifted off. Slept like a stone.
S-2879 • L9 Fluxluna • D00 Silensi
"Fluxluna opens a current of beginning. Silensi anchors zero in gentle radiance. The tide draws a map in the blue dark. The story enters a crystalline flow."
A quiet breakfast. I chose something simple as my Crone said goodbye.
I sat on the sofa and faced Kiara.
She spoke first. Perhaps she could read my unease. "Ask whatever you want, but silence is the only guarantee."
My hands clenched into fists on my knees. I organized my thoughts. Tried to find the right words. The image of the girl who had been shot churned inside me. "W-why so many children?"
Kiara shrugged. Her expression neutral. "When you're shaped by an ideal, when that life's all you know, you learn to accept it. To follow orders. The whole process is easier with children. Children are blank sheets of paper."
"B-but…" I swallowed hard. Words trapped in my throat.
What she said made sense. A sense that hurt. I had grown up with an ideal too. Learned to follow orders. Respect hierarchies. But the difference between those children and me was abyssal. In Zenith, my life was protected. I had rights. Comfort. Safety. And them? What could I do?
"Cron said something about a favor. What was that?" I changed the subject. Sought to understand more of that world.
Kiara gestured. "Everyone has something they cling to. An idea. A belief. An object. Whatever. Cron had the worst one of all. Someone." She fixed her eyes on mine. "When you live this life, you have to stay alone. Because if they're after you, they'll go after your bonds."
I felt the echo of that cruel truth. Their existence was disturbing, but they were still lives. They knew only that way of living. Blaming them would mean denying the circumstances imposed by the Aether Network.
"And…" I cleared my throat, hesitant. "What are all these mercenary classes?"
"Goes up to nine," Kiara began, as though reciting something learned long ago. "At the top of the hierarchy, there's the Aurum class. They divide mercenaries according to their ability to fulfill contracts."
"Who are the Matriarch and the Patriarch?" I asked quietly. Almost cautiously.
Silence weighed heavily.
Her lips stiffened. "Think we'd better stop here. We've got an intense seluna ahead."
I understood. A question whose answer lay beneath veils. Only to be revealed later.
S-2879 • L9 Fluxluna • D02 Silenli
"Fluxluna kindles a current of beginning. Silenli radiates brightness in a short thread. The tide draws a map in the air. The story weaves a luminous step."
Our meeting with the Matriarch would take place in the next few days. Kiara suggested a bar. I hesitated at first. In the end, I accepted. Took advantage of my Maiden's playful mood.
We reached AndroLounge.
Colors lit up like living waves. An explosion of neon lights. Brilliant blue. Ethereal pink. Luminescent green. Dancing on the metal walls. Bass-heavy music vibrated through the floor. Animated voices of mercenaries and androids. Warm metal and alcohol lingered in the air. Scattered tables. Three bars surrounded the central dance floor. Nanodrones hummed softly. Delivered drinks in time with the frenzy.
We chose a more secluded area. Less noise. The table's integrated LI blinked. Requested our orders.
I chose a gin and tonic.
Kiara, well… "DroidDraft's a plugin. Makes our nanosystems feel the same effects alcohol has on you."
"That's new to me." I smiled shyly.
Shortly afterward, two mercenaries approached. Kalifa. A Class 7 mercenary. Long dreadlocks. Honey-colored eyes. A striking presence. Tribal tattoos adorned her toned arms and neck. Her pupils split into two vertical lines. She reminded me of a tigress.
Thabo stood beside her. Also Class 7. Long blond hair, braided. Intense black eyes. A face tattooed with gray neon ink. A small monkey, a nanoprosthetic in its left eye, rested on his shoulder.
"Kiara," Thabo greeted her. "Can we join you? We just got here."
"Of course."
They brought extra chairs. Settled at the table.
"What brings you to Tentro?" Thabo made conversation.
The LI blinked again. They both ordered IcyNova. Straight vodka. The mercenaries' favorite choice.
He smiled with his eyes. Before she could answer, he went on. "Already know. The contract. Everybody's talking about it."
"It's all they talk about." Kalifa's voice resonated like thunder. "Nobody knows where to find the target."
"True. They said her last signal was in Santos. Nothing since. And they classified it as easy?" Thabo frowned. "Remember the last contract with a big payout? Think it was worth about twenty-seven million."
Kiara only shrugged.
Our drinks arrived.
I noticed their curious glances at my choice.
"Rare to see mercenaries drinking anything other than vodka," Thabo commented before looking away.
"She's from outside Nobody's Land," Kiara answered directly.
Their expressions softened.
"How was the last mission?" she asked.
They exchanged a knowing look and laughed.
"Where do I start?" Thabo rested his elbows on the table. "Kalifa and I were sent to Nkayi. In the Republic of the Congo. The Carapaces, local rebels, were plotting an assassination. The Nationalist Party's representative in Bouenza."
"But then you took their side?" Kiara guessed, raising her eyebrows.
"Exactly." He laughed. "The contract required us to eliminate their leader. Latasha, known as the Blade of Justice. But Kalifa… well, she fell in love."
Kalifa smacked him on the head. Thabo roared with laughter.
"I recognized Latasha as an equal. A strong woman." Kalifa purred the r.
"She must be, to put up with you…"
Another smack.
I chuckled.
Kalifa flashed a dangerous grin. "What's stopping me from crushing your head right here, right now?" She mimed squeezing with her hands. "See? Your head exploding. Your brains too."
"Maybe your love for me." Thabo smiled smugly.
"Go on." Kiara interrupted, holding back a laugh.
He resumed the story, animated. "We spent some time with the Carapaces. Discovered the regent of Nkayi was the one who commissioned the contract. Planned an infiltration of the fortress with them. Kalifa and Latasha handled the front line. While I…"
"Made noise." Kalifa cut in, rolling her eyes.
"Exactly. I made a fuckload of noise!" He let out a loud laugh.
I watched, fascinated. It felt like the story of an exciting film. Every detail was so interesting. More than any zenithian conversation about markets, whatever kind they might be.
"We entered the fortress through a pipe. It emptied into the nearby river. Kalifa and Latasha took out the guards. I positioned my Head-Exploder minibombs." He widened his eyes theatrically.
Yes. Friendly as they seemed, that manic side of them gave me chills.
Thabo took another sip. "That was it. Magnificent. Everything exploded. Kalifa and Latasha went after the regent."
"Latasha was fierce. Drove her spear into the man's heart." Her eyes shone.
"Yes, yes." Thabo pointed at the mercenary. "She talked about it the whole way back."
"It was glorious." Kalifa ignored him.
"And the reward? Pretty big, right?" Kiara seemed slightly intoxicated.
"There are things more important than rewards," Kalifa answered firmly.
"Tell me, did you and Maia ever go through anything like that?" Thabo raised an eyebrow.
Kiara threw her head back, laughing. "All the time. You know how she was." She smiled in an unsettling way.
"Of course. I shared a mission with her."
Kalifa nodded. "I liked her."
My stomach twisted. A knot formed in my throat. Kalifa's voice sounded distant, like an echo in the void.
Maia.
They spoke about her as though she were still here. And everything still lit up with her presence.
Kiara read my discomfort, but said nothing.
"Yeah. Y'know, that reminded me of Lagos in 2837, when they tried to eradicate the slums with containment nanodrones," Kiara commented.
"Hah. My parents died in that shit." Kalifa turned the glass between her fingers, thoughtful. "TIP's sanctions changed nothing. The government just switched tactics, but the periphery kept bleeding."
"And Kinshasa in 2873? The dictatorship fell, but people like my uncles did the dirty work first." Thabo lowered his eyes.
Kiara rested her chin on her hand. "Fucking awful. If anyone says it was only TIP that brought that government down, they're lying."
She waved a hand, changing the subject. "What's the next mission?"
They looked at each other.
"Need to confirm with Trix. Think we're fulfilling a contract in China," Thabo answered.
"Oh, I know that one." Kiara was tipsy.
"That one's great."
The night wore on. We kept drinking. Every new story more fascinating than the last.
We decided to call it a night. Exhaustion already weighed on my shoulders. Kiara seemed slightly concerned. I had drunk a little too much.
At Verdant Suites
I went straight to bed. A fleeting sadness surfaced. The mention of Maia reverberated in my heart.
"Thank you, Kiara." My voice came out trembling. I held back tears.
"I imagine it's hard whenever someone mentions Maia," she murmured, surprising me. "Maybe, when all this is over…" Kiara stopped speaking; watched me, still intoxicated.
I swallowed hard. Let one solitary tear fall, containing a flood.
The truth was, my heart was crushed with every mention of Maia. Whenever I met someone who had known her, I wanted to ask everything about her. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never know that side of her firsthand. I tied it all down.
I turned to Kiara and forced a weak smile. "A little, but I want to know everything I can about her."
I took a deep breath. Even if that meant hearing truths that hurt to accept.