The Kota

by Sunshine Somerville

  “I scanned their memories a little on the ride here,” Alex confessed. “We’re four very different people.”

  “The four of you will have personality clashes, I’m sure, but you’re young and I’d expect as much. I’m certain you’ll grow to love each other. I suspect Ryu will step in to keep the peace between Loree and Zaak when they fight over who’s in charge. You’ll find your own way to bring insight to the group. And, like I said, I promise to guide you however I can.”

  Alex looked at Trok and tried to probe his mind, but once again he shut her out.

  Hmm, she thought. He sounds like he’s already seen our days ahead.

  Trok, perhaps detecting her in his head, smiled and looked away. “The instant you met my niece and nephew, a new portal window of the future opened. That’s why I was a little late getting here. I’ve now seen a bit of what’s ahead. I’ve seen that, with Loree and Zaak’s help, you and Ryu will both find your place. You will. Trust me. I’ve been watching over this whole thing for a long time.”

  She thought of something else. “But you haven’t been able to see everything. Not my abduction.”

  He laughed at this. “You certainly don’t give up, do you? Do you really think having all your questions answered will help you control anything? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s your nature.”

  “So will you help me find answers about my abduction? You promised you would, last time.”

  Trok sighed. “Remember how I told you I’m not connected to reality and can therefore hide myself from your mind?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I think the Magi are also disconnected in the portals and can also hide. I can’t find them anywhere or any-when. I am looking. For now, you need to put the Magi out of mind for a while. Concentrate on this new life. It’ll drive you crazy if you try to figure out everything at once. I’ll help you where I can, but you have to let go and have faith.” He smiled. “Knowing everything doesn’t make life any easier, believe me. Have faith and let whatever happens happen. Stop questioning everything and follow your heart. You did that just now when you said you’d join Loree and Zaak.”

  Alex sighed, again surprised by the accuracy of this stranger’s perception.

  Still, she thought, perhaps Trok sees something in me that I’m too self-involved to see. My own ability to delve into others’ minds has taught me that people are often blind to the deepest truths about themselves. I’ve always thought my constant need for answers is because I’m so left in the dark. But maybe Trok’s right and I simply have an unnatural obsession with controlling my circumstances. But I can’t ever really control anything, can I?

  Alex laughed at herself and shook it off. “Okay. I guess I’ll just use what the Magi gave me and let you find the answers. I’ll focus on learning what to do as a Warrior. I can already tell I’ll have to train twice as hard as the others just to break even.”

  “I know you’ll need more help than the other Warriors, Alex. I’ve known that from the start.”

  Alex looked at him a moment. “You’ve watched us a lot, haven’t you? I’ve seen in your mind, don’t forget.”

  “Yes, I’ve spent more time watching after you four than you can imagine. But it’s all worth it, now that you’re together. Now we can finally move forward and figure out the Warrior mission.”

  “If this is so important, why didn’t you jump around in portals and bring us together a long time ago?”

  “Because the choice was yours. I’ve learned that my job as your benevolent Bearer requires…delicacy. I think the prophecies are so vague because it’s humanity’s nature to rebel – if we were told what exactly to do, I don’t think we’d accept it. Ordering my brother around certainly never worked.” He frowned, then let out a sigh. “It’s been a struggle to be patient, but some things couldn’t be hurried. Time had to take its course.”

  She saw a glimpse of Trok’s mind. He shines a light to draw Loree’s attention to a chapel in Monaco. He recommends a southern hotel to Lilae. He watches as Zaak saves a little boy whose descendants will one day discover cerebral augmentation. In a food stopover, he makes sure a certain table is empty so Ryu will overhear a distinguished man – Beathabane, Trok knows – talking to Peno, the bigoted drunk. He makes a wrinkle in the carpet at Free Labs so Alex will trip by a table…

  Trok blinked and closed off his thoughts, but he gave her a slight smile.

  Alex made a face. “So you do step in occasionally and…”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Well, sometimes events need a little of my Interceder tinkering. At times during your lives, I’d made slight adjustments here and there to help things along, but usually by lurking in the shadows. Now that you’re a team, we can work together openly. It’ll be nice to feel like a part of your lives at last.”

  He’s like a bizarre father figure, thought Alex. He watches over us, guides us when he can, but mostly he hopes we’ll make the right choices on our own. This must be why he seems to know us so well. He’s been in our lives since… Since before our lives, really. From what I’ve seen in his mind, the whole point of his existence is to fulfill these prophecies that say we’ll save Earth. So, the point of his existence is… us. How strange.

  Alex suspected Trok’s responsibilities would tax anyone, and he’d done it all for them.

  I’m going to do everything I can to pay him back, she thought. He clearly needs friends, and I doubt the others will have the time to really understand him. I can see a bit of his mind, so I’ll connect with Trok more than the others can.

  Alex shook her head in amazement. Something about all this was surreal. But she genuinely believed this Warrior thing was what her life had been missing. She was the Seer.

  Breaking up her own thoughts, she said, “You mentioned that you see into the future. Does everything turn out okay? Do we somehow save the world?”

  “Ah, always with the questions.” Trok smiled. “I only know what I’m shown of the future, Alex. Foresight comes in its appropriate time – it wouldn’t be good for me to know everything ahead of time. What I’m shown only comes one future point at a time.”

  “Well, what have you seen?”

  Trok smiled with a secretive twinkle in his eye that Alex suspected she’d come to know well. “This new future shows me that you Warriors will tackle the work set out for you by the Warriors Prophecy and the Mark Prophecy. There are other newer prophecies I haven’t deciphered yet, but I trust they’ll make sense in time. For now, I can only give you this, Alex.

  ‘The Re-Life

  The final battle’s end

  will spark life and light.

  Peace will illuminate the land

  and glow in the Warriors.

  Out of an end

  will beam a radiant dawn.’”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know, but it sounds good, doesn’t it?”

  Trok made a motion with his hand, and a red and yellow swirl burst into existence behind him. With a final wave, Trok jumped into the portal. It disappeared right after him.

  Alex, alone in the gym, took a deep breath and smiled to herself. Lifting her dress as she walked, she went to find where the others had gone.

  Part IV

  The Mark Prophecy

  __________

  19

  “A card to play”

  For a month, the Warriors sequestered themselves in the base, getting to know each other. Loree had decided Zaak first take Ryu and Alex through basic weapons training, and they’d progressed quickly from there. She speculated that it wouldn’t be long before they were ready for missions against the Dominion, but they weren’t there yet. Still, the group watched daily newscasts from the cities above, and Loree knew some things couldn’t wait.

  She’d learned earlier that Zaak was familiar with the black market, considering he bought most of their supplies from dealers like Blaze. He even knew the Dominion sold to dealers while publically denouncing the illegal market. What he didn�
�t know was that there were set places around the Northern Continent where the Dominion interacted with the black market. For example, operatives regularly joined in card games to bet away less valuable equipment, vehicles, and weapons to the dealers. Most of the dealers were aware whom they were betting against. It was a humiliation to cooperate with the Dominion, but necessity demanded that they do so.

  Via her former life, Loree remembered that one such black market card game was held monthly in the upper room of a pawnshop in El Miret. She’d set it up so she and Zaak were granted access to a game.

  Not that we need Dominion equipment, thought Loree, but I might get something out of this if I play my cards right.

  The upper room of the pawnshop was dark, but a single bulb hung over the round table. Cigar smoke wafted from one of the five players, and the dingy walls displayed years of grime. Drinks left condensation rings around the table, and an ashtray sat before the smoker. No one was in a hurry, and discussion was minimal as they played. Everyone was trying to decide what he or she owned that was worth betting.

  Loree’s gaze tracked around the table.

  I hope we didn’t make the trip for nothing, she thought. This should work if everyone does as I told them… I hate relying on other people.

  Seb, the dark-skinned man to her brother’s left, had an arm in a sling, but he managed his cards as he requested one from the dealer.

  To this man’s left sat the husky smoker, Dingo. He scratched his stubble as he looked at his hand. “I need two.”

  Embroglia, a scrawny woman with a shaved head and Dominion tattoo, wasn’t even trying to hide her loyalties. Everyone at the table knew she was an operative, even Seb, who didn’t speak a word of any Dominion language. Embroglia passed Dingo two cards, but she took none for herself.

  No need, thought Loree. She’s already got three on her lap.

  “Anyway,” said Embroglia out of nowhere, “did any of you hear the newest bounty? Three thousand kronar. I’m to spread the word. Anyone with experience is wanted.”

  Zaak’s blue eyes widened as he looked at his worthless hand. “Who’s the target?”

  Embroglia examined his clothes. “You don’t look like you need the kronar, but I’ll settle your curiosity. The mark is one of our operatives who disappeared several months back. Her code name was Bullseye.”

  Loree glanced at her brother, who kept his eyes on his cards.

  Good, Zaak, she thought. At least you weren’t dumb enough to look right at me when she said my name. Let’s see what else I can get out of this woman.

  The citizen-dressed ex-assassin tipped back in her chair. “Only 3K? Doesn’t sound like you think it’ll be that tough a slay.”

  “Interested?” Embroglia turned her shaved head to Loree.

  “Yep.”

  “Can we play cards, chas?” Dingo demanded around his cigar.

  Yes, thought Loree, time to get the ball rolling.

  She glanced at her cards, removed her antique knife from her boot, and jabbed it into the center of the table. “It’s worth 2K more than the operative traitor, apparently.”

  Zaak folded, as they’d planned earlier for him to do. Not that he had a poker face.

  Seb babbled away in his own language, and Dingo translated. “He’ll wager a used pace bike parked out back. It’s worth same as that knife.” Pointing to Seb’s broken arm, Dingo added, “He doesn’t trust the bike much anymore.”

  Embroglia sneered at them. “You should tell your friend to learn a legal language. He’ll be arrested if patrols hear him talking like that.”

  Loree told Seb in his own language that he spoke beautifully. Then she looked at the confused operative and snorted. “It’s not like patrols bother with this part of town. No soldiers I know dare come far into El Miret.”

  Dingo folded.

  Embroglia looked Loree over. “I’ll tell you what. As a wager, I’ll up the bounty to five thousand kronar.”

  Loree pretended to think about it. “Acceptable. That’s call, then.” She displayed her cards on the table.

  The operative grinned and laid out her own cards, which beat Loree’s hand by far. Of course they did, considering she’d replaced three cards with ones from her lap.

  “Sand,” said Zaak when he saw her cards.

  “Well,” Embroglia said with a clap, “this isn’t good for business. I’m supposed to be getting rid of junk we don’t want, not picking up used pace bikes. Sorry, cha, looks like I’ll be taking your knife back to Cruelthor with me too.”

  Wouldn’t that be a nice surprise for him? thought Loree with a smirk. The second he recognized the knife, he’d slit your throat with it.

  It was time for phase two.

  Embroglia didn’t notice, but Loree made a slight signal to Dingo.

  The big man rose from his chair, threw his cigar, and grabbed Embroglia out of her seat. He yelled a string of obscenities into her face and held her by the throat, dragging her to the nearest wall. Here he pinned her by the throat, and she struggled and kicked.

  Seb glanced at Loree and played along. He rose from his chair, and in a strained voice he babbled away at his friend, pretending to be upset.

  Dingo growled. “Why should we give her anything? No one in this city would blame us! She’s just another Dominion liar! I’m sick of these operatives coming in here and taking our kronar, giving us nothing that actually works!”

  Loree watched from the sidelines.

  Wait for it, she thought. Wait for it…

  Dingo squeezed harder, and Embroglia gasped for air. She swatted at his arms, but she soon weakened. Then she looked for help, and her eyes met Loree’s.

  Bingo.

  Timing her move, Loree pushed out of her chair. Before Dingo knew what was happening, she kicked the back of his legs and dropped him to his knees. Embroglia fell from his grip as he went down, and she gasped for breath as she sat against the wall. Loree elbowed the big man between his shoulders, and Dingo slumped to the floor. This done, Loree spun around to grab her knife on the table.

  “No!” Zaak grabbed her arm. “No slaying! I know that’s what you’re best at, but not now! We don’t need a bloody mess again!”

  Loree noted the overacting, but she knew Embroglia was watching. With a smirk, Loree slapped Zaak’s back. “Sorry, bro. Got caught up in the moment. Old habits, you know?” She tossed the knife on the table and walked to the woman on the floor.

  Embroglia accepted Loree’s hand, rose to her feet, and stomped to the table. “You might not slay him, but I’ll be happy to. I’ll take my knife now, if you please.”

  “Yeah, about that,” said Zaak. “It’s not your knife.”

  Embroglia stopped. “I just won it from her!”

  “No. She wasn’t the only one still in the game.” Zaak pointed to Seb.

  With a toothy grin, Seb picked up his cards and faced them up on the table. Loree wondered how he’d switched his hand so quickly, but this probably wasn’t his first time cheating. Seb’s hand won.

  Embroglia’s superior expression disappeared.

  Seb laughed. In his own language, he gibbered away at them, but no one bothered translating. His friend was still moaning on the floor, anyway.

  “Looks like he keeps his pace bike,” Loree told the operative. “Plus he wins my knife and that 5K you wagered.”

  With a sigh very near a growl, Embroglia pulled out a bundle of kronar tubes from a back pocket and walked to Seb. He held out his good hand, and she scanned five blue tubes over his palm. Once she’d paid up, Embroglia tucked the tubes into her pocket to file later as receipts. She wasn’t the brightest bulb in the room, but she wasn’t foolish enough to leave a payment unaccounted for.

  Loree turned to her brother and pointed at the door. “I lost my most valuable possession, so let’s get out of here before I flush away the rest of our kronar.”

  Zaak winked at the frustrated operative. “Nice meeting you.”

  Together they walked toward the door.
/>   Moment of truth, thought Loree. Everyone did well, but will she fall for it?

  “Hold on,” Embroglia called after them. “From what I just saw, you could handle Bullseye. Are you still interested in that bounty?”

  Loree spun around on her heels. “Sure, why not? Any other information on her whereabouts? How can I find this Bullseye?”

  “We have reason to believe she teamed up with Matsuri, another operative who turned rebel. That’s all the information I can give you. Cruelthor keeps Bullseye’s file classified even now, though no one’s sure why since he seems to want her slain so badly. The rest of us don’t know much. Her mission records were always auto-wiped. By the time she disappeared, it was too late to start any kind of file.”

  Good to know, thought Loree.

  “Already,” Embroglia continued, “we have six or seven assassin operatives hunting her, plus freelancers like you. Remington, the top assassin now that Bullseye’s out of the ranks, was the first assigned to this case. That should tell you how serious Cruelthor is about finding this cha.”

  Not so good, thought Loree.

  “Sounds like I deserve compensation for the extra effort required.”

  The humbled operative again reached for her back pocket and pulled out more kronar tubes. “I’ll give you ten percent now and the rest when you bring us the body.” She held out five red tubes to Loree.

  “I want fifty now.” Loree crossed her arms, knowing what percentage she’d end up with.

  Embroglia looked over at Dingo where he lay moaning on the floor. “Alright, I suppose I owe you. Twenty-five percent is the best I can offer without getting my treatment injections revoked.” She pulled out more kronar tubes.

  “Deal.” Loree motioned to Zaak, who came forward and held out his palm for the operative to scan.

  Embroglia smirked at Loree’s obvious lack of an ID tag, but in El Miret this wasn’t unusual. Without question, she scanned the kronar over Zaak’s palm. That finished, she tucked away the empty tubes, looked one last time at her defeated assailant, and left the room.