Authors: Joseph Picard
The driver got out and opened the
sliding side door of the van. “Come on, then.” Kirison stepped out
with the other man directly behind him. They were in the middle of
nowhere, on the dry flats, where sand often blew over from the open
desert. The edge of the sandbox. A few hundred kilometres in the
other direction would lead to actual greenery.
Not far away was what looked like the
foundation to a house. It was hard to tell if the house itself had
long ago burnt down, or if this was just a crude ‘dugout’ home.
Sand and dirt covered much of the cement floor, making it hard to
guess the actual size of the foundation. With a little effort, it
could be very well concealed.
There was a hatch on it, laying flat.
The driver went over to it, and stomped on it twice, then once
more. A knock, then two more came back up. Then the man repeated
his earlier stomps, and got off. The hatch opened a couple
centimetres to allow the driver a place to grab the edge and open
it up. A staircase awaited below. “Alright, in you go.”
Kirison walked down the stairs into the
relative darkness. He passed a crude mechanism of some sort. He
couldn’t tell what it was exactly, but it looked like a trap for
unwelcome guests. The man stationed next to it probably ‘disarmed’
it before opening the hatch for them. The ‘doorman’ looked at him
with stern distrust, and then turned his attention to the driver
and his friend, nodding at them. “This is him? Eh?” The doorman had
one of the most guttural Aguei accents Kirison had ever heard. Not
that it was just the accent… he sounded like a person who had been
through a lot. The kind of person you’d expect to find in a hole,
hiding behind a booby trap. “I heard you coming. Elder knows you’re
here.”
The driver nodded back. “Come on,
Samuel.” Samuel was the name Kirison had made up to use with these
people. The two of them walked through the main room. To say it
lacked a feminine touch would be a gross understatement. It had a
concrete floor and walls, but could bed a dozen men if need be. A
couple terminals and the lights were the only other features of the
room besides mattresses.
Kirison was led into a smaller room,
the driver following. This smaller room was a mix of two themes.
One was traditionalist Aguei, with wall hangings and a rug that
depicted various Aguei myths. The other theme was that of a cheap,
cheap office, punctuated with a flimsy metal office
desk.
Behind this desk was an Aguei man of
indeterminate age. He was weathered, but looked fit. Lean, but fit.
He sort of looked like an ‘upgrade’ from the doorman. While the
doorman was the type to hide behind a rock, this man behind the
desk would be the one standing on that rock.
“
Elder Horad,” the driver
said, “this is Samuel.” This was not any kind of Elder that was
recognized officially by the Aguei nation. This man was a thin skin
stretched over too much hate. Even Kirison could sense this, and
began to fear for his life in a way that he hadn’t before. Don’t
tremble. Don’t tremble.
“
Fine.” Horad grumbled, “You
can go.”
The driver turned to the door, and gave
a quiet suggestion to Kirison as he passed. “Show respect,
norther...”
Horad stared at Kirison for a moment,
then gestured for him to sit. Kirison walked around the ornate rug,
and sat. “Call me crazy. But this is the A.R.A., isn’t it?” Of
course it was, but it’s best not to look too eager.
Horad sighed. “We are people concerned
with maintaining traditional values of the Aguei nation.” Kirison
nodded solemnly. Or at least what he thought would be perceived as
solemnly. Don’t tremble.
“
So. Tell me, Samuel.” Horad
sat back with an examining gaze. “Why is it, that a norther seems
so interested in what we should do? In our concerns?” One of the
men from the van must have communicated his ‘drunk rant’ at some
point.
“
Norther or Aguei. A good
man knows wrong when he sees it. If his eyes are not clouded by the
flood of lies that is always fed to us.” Kirison was starting to
have fun again. A little. Must be careful not to overdo
it.
“
What wrongs? What lies do
you see past?”
“
Elder Horad. Have you seen
the statue in the Yute temple?”
Horad smirked slightly, and a thin but
rigid silence fell between them. The smirk seemed to tell Kirison
that Horad had indeed seen it. It was imaginable that Horad had
been there for any number of reasons. Maybe he had been a member of
the guard there at some time? That didn’t seem right. Maybe he
snuck in once? Surely he was never a member of the Grand Elder’s
entourage. But if that were the case, it could open up other
theories as to why he called himself an Elder.
“
Have you seen it?” Horad
asked.
After a pause, Kirison answered. “No.
But I have seen government papers dealing with it.” That much was
honest. “You’re familiar with the government’s attitude towards
Aguei folklore?” That was close, he almost called them
myths.
“
The government smiles and
nods, paying the Aguei beliefs polite lip service, while laughing
to themselves about how ridiculous we all are.” This came out of
Horad very smoothly. It was a statement he’d spoken
before.
“
Hrm. That is not true.”
Kirison said, stroking his jaw thoughtfully, “Not entirely. Not on
all levels of the government, at any rate.” He looked up to Horad
to make sure he had his attention. He did. “By any chance, do you
know the story behind the statue itself?” No one did. And if Horad
did, or thought he did, it could foul up his whole plan.
“
As much as anyone else. I
do believe it was built by our ancestors.”
Aha. Bingo. “Yes, but more than that.
It is the vessel of your ancestors. It is the symbol of all the
Aguei who have passed on.”
“
Where do you hear
this?”
“
It’s been covered up for
generations! All of it stuffed neatly in a filing cabinet! After I
read it all, they searched me up down, inside and out to make sure
I wasn’t carrying anything out!” he considered pausing to let it
sink in, but decided it was time for an emotional rant. He stood,
leaning on the desk with one hand, using his other to point at his
own head. “But they can’t erase this! They can’t erase what I know,
and what I know to be right!” he beat his fist on his chest once
for drama. “They can’t erase what’s right! They can’t!”
Elder Horad stared up at Kirison and
his red face. “So they guard it to keep people out?”
Kirison collapsed back in his chair.
Oh, there had better be an Oscar in this for him. “No, no, you
think they care if someone takes a few snapshots? They’re not
guarding to keep people out, they’re keeping the strength of the
Aguei in. In that room, bound to that statue, unable to be
free!”
Kirison leaned forward, head in his
hands. “I never used to believe this stuff. But when I saw those
papers. You know the Aguei are strong! Do you think they’re second
class citizens because of ‘economic’ factors? You don’t think, that
if the playing field were even, the Aguei would truly become the
equals of anyone else?” He was rambling a bit, but that was good.
It sounded unrehearsed this way. “Maybe I’m a traitor for saying
these things, but…”
Horad had picked out enough of the
rant. “The strength of the Aguei? Is being held in the
temple?”
~~~~~
:::C /13
~~~~~
Jim and Cassidy were nearing the end of
an overnight watch. The sun had a firm grip on the edge of the sky,
and washed across the front doorways with promise of another lazy
day. Cassidy noticed Jim craning his neck now and then towards the
base.
“
Expecting a delivery?”
Cassidy asked.
“
Hmm?” His response was a
tad automatic. He wasn’t really listening.
Cassidy watched him, his eyes unmoving
from the base. “Gonna be a hot day, ya think?”
“
Yeah.”
“
Giant monkeys are playing
hockey beside the walrus vats today. You going?”
“
Uh huh.”
“
Jim?”
“
Yuh-huh?”
“
Karl’s behind
you.”
Jim woke up and jumped, looking behind
him. “What? No he isn’t. What are you taking about?”
Cassidy chuckled. “Ohhhh poor Jimmy’s
got it bad.”
“
Jeez, shut up. Is it that
obvious?”
“
Well, it didn’t take long
for me to figure out that your thoughtfulness about cookie
deliveries coincided with Karl’s shifts, and you always ended up
talking to him for quite a while.”
“
So…?” Jim played it coy,
despite his secret being blown. “He’s a nice fella! Karl’s my
chum!”
“
Yuh-huh. Positively
cookie-worthy, hmmm?”
“
Yes. Isn’t he? Would you
deny Karl his fair share of cookies?”
“
I think you’re after his
cookies, Jim.”
“
Oh shut up,
Cass.”
“
Poor, poor Jim. He wants
hot Karl’s cookies.” Cassidy couldn’t help smiling. Partly because
a crush was always cute, and partly because it was fun to jerk
Jim’s chain.
Jim coughed. “Don’t call him
that!”
“
What? Hot Karl? OOOOooooh!
Hot, hot Karl!”
“
JEEEZES, seriously! Do you
know what a hot Karl is?” Jim looked mortified, more than Cassidy
expected.
“
Um…No?”
Jim sighed, shaking his head, slowly.
“Do us both a favour, and go look it up before you use that phrase
again.”
They stood silently for a bit, Cassidy
feeling like she was in trouble somehow. Whatever. “You want his
cookies.”
“
Shut up.”
“
Ya do.”
“
Yeah, well, shut up about
it for two seconds, here he comes.”
The morning shift was approaching, and
sure enough, Karl was among them. As he and his watch partner
passed them by, Cassidy couldn’t resist.
“
Hey Karl.”
Jim’s eyes widened with horror, rage
and fear, but he remained silent.
“
Hey.” Karl replied, slowing
a bit. “Oh hey, Jim. Are you okay?”
“
Don’t worry about Jim.”
Cassidy said, feeling a little merciful. A little. “He’s just
feeling a bit hot. I’m sure once he gets off, he’ll get some
cookies, and everything will be fine.”
Jim shook his head slowly, and gripped
his spear just a bit tighter. “Cass, you’re an idiot.”
“
Well, you two have a good
one.” Karl continued on to the upper doorway as Cassidy and Jim’s
replacements stepped up. Jim and Cassidy were relived, and they
headed towards the base, unintentionally keeping a bit of a
distance from the other four people that had just gotten off shift.
Jim tried like heck not to make eye contact with Cassidy, lest he
provoke further teasing from her.
“
So, um…” Cassidy looked
around to make sure she could speak freely, if not too loud. “Do
you even know if he’s…?”
“
I don’t know…” Jim sounded
more wistful now, the teasing forgotten, “but I kind of have a
hunch. A good feeling. When we talk, well, I get something from
him.”
Cassidy smirked, and tried not to
giggle. She looked down, trying to ignore all the jokes she could
make about a ‘good feeling’, and ‘getting something’ from him.
“Well, that sounds promising.” Jim crossed his fingers.
Cassidy liked getting back to the base
in the morning after an overnight watch. Being free to be lazy and
sleep on a nice morning was pretty darn relaxing. The early morning
had a quiet mood to it. Day shift had just left of course, leaving
a small vacuum of activity. Today however, Cassidy stepped into the
barrack to find something new.
A new member of the team was setting up
her bunk next to Cassidy’s.
The newbie was maybe a year or two
younger than Cassidy. Her hair was just off the shoulder, and a
deep chestnut brown. She had brilliant green eyes. Standard issue
sunglasses sat on her head with a tether dangling loose. Cassidy’s
eyes were drawn down to her civilian boots, black with blue trim,
but her gaze took a bit of a detour at her regulation khaki shorts.
Those shorts had an excruciatingly perfect pair of thighs growing
out of them.
“
Hello, Cassidy.” Cipriana,
seated across the aisle on her own bunk, snapped Cassidy back to
earth. Cipriana's face almost betrayed a bit of a smirk, having
caught Cassidy staring at the newcomer.
“
I...? Hi. Hi Cip. –riana.
Uh, how’s it going?”
No longer betraying her bemusement
outwardly, Cipriana made introductions. “Cassidy, meet Sergeant
Cheryl Lowe. Cheryl, this is Leftenent Cassidy Stanton.”
Cheryl turned to greet Cassidy, and put
her hand out to shake. Cassidy almost saluted. Don’t salute,
stupid, she’s lower rank! Are you staring again? Don’t! Take her
hand and shake it! Act normal, dammit! Wake up!
“
Nice to meet you.” Cheryl
said.
Ooh, nice voice too. And nice hand.
Okay, let go of her hand. Damn. Act normal! Cassidy categorized
Cheryl in her mind as a ‘cute’ type. That wasn’t generally her
type, but Cheryl wasn’t a peppy annoying cute. Cassidy had a
general rule not to ogle. It made things awkward. Especially when
they turned out to be straight or something disappointing like
that. Calm down. Act normal. Are you breathing harder? Stop it.
Stop over-thinking it, and say something.