by Selina Brown
Saratoga City
Tarus returned from visiting the agitated Chaos Entity. Nyx’s Safeguard was far too effective and he had to go deeper into the labyrinth this visit. The agitation had been triggered by Ara who had been attacked by a male. He had to come and see her to make sure she was alright. He strolled behind and watched eleven-year-old Ara chatting with her siblings in the city. Her hair was in a ponytail and swinging from side to side. Her brothers, Henry and Ashley, hung on her every word and when they could, they managed to get a word in.
He was loyal to the Chaos Brethren, and the fight for the New Empire. But he was protective of the Vanguard too. There might not be any rules to this unconventional war as outlined in the Dictates of the Righteous but Tarus wanted to ensure that, on the path to fighting for their New Empire, they maintained some semblance of honor. The problem was Cobra and Viper were corrupting already, and the more time they spent inside the Lacuna the worse they became. Tarus worried for them. He also hated the changes in the radiation and inherent malevolence of the system in Iota, which ate away at them like rot in a piece of fruit. He didn’t want to live in an empire built on shameful acts and misconduct.
Ara’s laughter brought him out of his reverie and the family ducked into a large apartment store heading to the clothes department. He tagged along, and rifled through some shirts, listening as Ara helped Ashley and Henry pick out clothes while hiding from her mum who was trying to get her to try on some dresses.
“Honesty, Terance. Where is she now?”
“In the boys’ section.” Her dad’s voice was bored.
The family rarely went to Toga City, the main northern city, preferring the beachside city. Usually they stopped for hot chips and spent some time at the beach. As Ara was dragged back into the girls’ section he wondered why Trickster hadn’t stopped them from placing Ara in a baby biosuit. He was sure he could have, or transferred the Vanguard into an adult biosuit and, while he expressed his concerns to Cobra, Viper, and the Chaos Brethren, they all told him it didn’t matter, that they needed the time to prepare to get out of the Alien Crucible. He had found data that revealed Maya had been injecting Ara with a chemical to keep her Sawol and Nexus in line with her biosuit’s age, but not her Superlunary component. Tarus wondered if it had to do with the Chaos inside her.
He pulled out a blue shirt, finding it too big; he’d have to search the teens’ section. For some reason, during the splitting stages of their Triad, he’d kept the blond hair and blue eyes but was only five three and of slender build. The shirt hung on him so he returned it to the rack but found another rack of smaller sizes. He took three shirts of varying colors and styles, trying them on in front of a mirror over his blue t-shirt. In the reflection, he smiled as he watched Ara stomp her way into the girls’ dressing room. He hadn’t noticed her corrupting at all, not physically or mentally, and was puzzled by that. Had Trickster added something to the biosuit that helped Ara? It made sense because Nyx was doubling up on missions in an attempt to make good use of her Vanguard’s time while Nyx herself was hidden in the system. After being placed in the baby biosuit, as well as the Vanguard, Nyx baby had disappeared but nothing said that Nyx had to engage with them at all. There were no rules after all. Since Trickster was rarely with the Vanguard, they assumed he was with Nyx, determining Nyx’s primary mission—was the Alien Crucible causing too much suffering?
Staring out at the domestic scene, with Ara now allowed to go to the toy section with the boys, and grinning like a loon, he struggled to see the “suffering”. But it was prevalent, simmering under the nice veneer of Aryan Society. And when he compared it to the Consortium in the Void, who left their doors unlocked—if they had doors—where there was enough for everyone there was an obvious drop in quality of life in Iota especially. Their days were filled with making life better, more enjoyable and spending time alone or in company. The main pursuit of one, or more, of the Five Expressions—consisting of the so named Arts, Literature, Music, Dance, and Plays—was considered a necessity in life. Each one of those had special significance and meaning in their lives. Everyone had to take part in the basics such as agriculture, education, sports, games, and such like, and there were no major conflicts, and no wars. Of course, that’s why there were test sites in the—
“You should wear that blue one.”
Tarus blinked, finding large, blue eyes staring at him in the mirror. He nodded and took off the grey one draping it on the chair while his heart pounded. Once he’d put it on, and fumbled with the buttons, he locked gazes with her again.
Ara nodded and smiled. “See, that looks nice.”
Even at eleven Ara was tall, almost as tall as he was. She was wearing baggy pants, sandals, and a halter top, evidently hoping for that beach trip. That was when he noticed the bruises on her arms where the Avatara had gripped them. Rage filled him but he quickly suppressed it.
“Thank you. Do you work here?” He smiled at her, confirming in his mind now who she was. Tarus was relieved when she giggled, very much a young girl still.
“No! I’m a farmer.”
“A farmer?” He smiled just a little. Chaos had backwashed again, making Ara younger.
“She eats all the farm stuff.” Ashley burst through some racks, pulling at Ara’s arm after eyeballing Tarus. “Come on, Dad said we can go to the beach today.”
“And fish and chip night after?”
Ashley pulled a face. “If we are good.”
Ara groaned but glanced back. “Bye!”
“Bye.”
It was good her brother was protective of her. Like Ara, Ashley would be tall and slender too, and the pang he felt watching them leave hand in hand reminded him sharply of when they used to do that when they grew up. As Tartarus, he had loved her from the start, but their love would and could never be. Nyx hadn’t allowed it to bloom.
Pen and Terance were adding the clothes to their account. He took another side-long look at Ara before heading out. He flushed slightly thinking of the change he, Cobra, and Viper made to Nyx and the Vanguard’s genotype. He heard Ara laughing again, and the three ran ahead of Pen and Terance, who were holding hands, as they headed for the beach. Tarus worried for Ara too. The pressure on her regarding being the Mobile Unit would mount. She must be bothered about it even as young as she was. He would apply a little pressure to Viper and Cobra to tell her she was more than the Mobile Unit. His EBrain beeped at him and he pulled the tablet-sized device out of his bag. Aryan technology wasn’t too bad. He touched the screen to activate it, and flicked through the data that made him fearful. He called Cobra using his sleek new Voice—it was oblong, blue colored with a small screen and white touchpads that sat nicely in his hand—and told him.
“Alright,” Cobra said with disbelief. “Just to clarify, every time we behave dishonorably the Chaos Entity has shifted in the Safeguard?”
Tarus flushed at his tone. “I know what it sounds like.”
“If you mean it sounds like you are trying to fuck us with that crap, you are right…”
He held the Voice away from his ear and tried to get to a quieter location, he ducked down an alley as Cobra was now yelling at him.
“…one job, all you have to do is steal the Artifact and switch it out. If you fail, the Natal will shut us all down. Get it done!”
Tarus pressed on the “end call” icon, leaned on the wall and closed his eyes.
Marc was used to the steely gaze of Jamie and Diane by now. At least Jamie had calmed down. He’d been ranting about Ara being attacked by Ike even though Ersen had taken care of it and the CU logs she’d been receiving but they couldn’t do anything about those. Marc had always suspected Jamie had been through something serious when he was younger but he never talked about it, not now, not on the Repco, or any of the times they had been stuck on rangers together travelling long distances. While Pen and Terance took the kids shopping, Marc had agreed to this meeting.
“What?” He saw them both staring at him.
“That’s Dad’s job.” Even to his ears, he sounded petulant.
Jamie looked amused. “He told us to tell you that now you are activated in her protective detail it’s your job.”
Marc leaned over and accepted the EBrain. He couldn’t really complain. He’d asked for it. “So, she needs to check this before she goes anywhere, does anything, and before she farts?”
“Pretty much.”
Marc lifted his eyes to Jamie’s. They both remembered Marc’s rude rendition of what Jamie could and couldn’t do on the Repco. Diane glanced from him to Jamie but kept quiet.
He sighed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll give her the speech and show her the code.”
Diane’s hazel eyes held her relief and a smile broke out on her oval face. “Thank you. Now that she’s getting older we need to make more and more adjustments.”
Ara’s mountain climbing had been the toughest to roster but Jamie had found several climbers and designated them the climbing detail. Rather than have one team follow Ara around they had several, which allowed for specialization and less fuck ups. While most Pure-Gens had protection details, Ara’s was over the top. Her “Mobile Unit” designation, the instructions from Maya for her to be protected, and hints of Ara’s main purpose linked somehow to matter levels rising created tension amongst all the races. No one wanted genocide or for the Maya to release antimatter from the Cardinal Unit. By the time Marc left and decided to walk to his car in the outskirts of town, he was feeling tense himself. He was glad Jamie hadn’t asked him to contact Aven. Every time he did, he had to put up with Aven’s scathing comments about Ara, and digs about his own betrayal.
Homestead
Marc drove home along the main road, and waved to a few people along the way. Slowly sprawling homes with smallish properties gave way to farmland and shortly he turned right onto the windy and long, dirt driveway that led to their home. He parked under the homestead in one of the open carports and sat for some time. Finally, he got out and walked up the steps that were dug into the hill and attached to the side of the homestead. It didn’t take long to find Ara and he drew up a chair by her nook while she packed up her homework. Math by the looks.
“Ara”—he placed the EBrain down in front of her—“this is a security communication that you’ll need to check before you do anything or go anywhere.” He glanced at her seeing her stare at him, not at what was appearing on the EBrain monitor. “Ara?”
“Are you a guard now?”
He sat up a little straighter, hearing her tone as being genuinely interested. But Marc knew her too, she was a practiced liar. Suddenly, she was grinning. He laughed lightly and draped an arm around her slender shoulders.
“Come on, sis. What do you think?” He tapped a finger on the monitor.
Ara turned her attention to the EBrain and nodded. “I won’t use—”
Anger filled him; his mental touch became aggressive, surprising them both. “You will use it and you will report to me or Dad.”
Tears filled her eyes and shame filled him. “Ara, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” But he did know. Aven had been particularly scathing of Ara, telling Marc he had given up most of his life for her and for little thanks. That wasn’t Ara’s fault. Marc had made the choice and for Pargo’s sake, she was only twelve.
Ara sucked in her lips, trying to control her tears.
He felt a complete jerk especially after how brave she had tried to be after Ike.
“I meant I won’t use it in that format. I’ll forget to look at it. I’ll make a color coded holo stream so that I’ll notice it.” She flicked her finger over the data and nodded. “I’ll add an alert system too so that if I forget to look it’ll beep. A recognition scanner or something. Tekko can help me.”
Marc swallowed the lump in his throat, grateful Ara was trying to breach the awkward gap that had formed between them. “That’s a great idea.” He didn’t know what else to say and withdrew his arm. He should have mussed up her hair as he usually did but, for once, Ara had acted more maturely than he had.
That night he tossed and turned in his bed thinking of Aven and their last mission together. It was just before he had speared off to help with Ara, just having learnt the Maya had fabricated the baby. For some reason he couldn’t remember why it had been so important. But it had to be important, surely? Because he had left Aven to complete the mission on her own. And that had been a grave mistake and, even now, Aven wouldn’t tell him the details of what went wrong.
Sub-Log XIII
Ersen, her Aether brother of the Nexus sHe, sat on the bed behind her. Ara had learned that Ersen’s real parents were Senta and Kel. His ability to fight Ike made sense now and his reluctance to explain how he did what he did. Sacha’s real parents were of the Sawol, and they were named Nalia and Craig. Marc said she had to keep that secret after releasing that data for her. He helped her to modify her Inner Guardian and barricade to place the data into a special neural network with gates. In the end, Ara developed a program and neural interface because it was easier for her to use technology than use her Aryan mental prowess.
Ersen was waiting while she studied herself in the mirror. He had his sandy hair cut again. He was almost finished with his apprenticeship to the Aryan Government as an Administrator for Space Ways Org. His office was always filled with model rangers and mapping systems, which was handy because Marc was now a fully qualified cartographer, just branching out to space.
“Three hundred and eighty-nine.”
“So precise?”
“Well, if no one interesting presents for my Virgo then it may be give or take a year or two. But I drew the information from Maya. That’s what she says.” She was now taller than her parents and everyone in the family except six-foot Marc.
She straightened her dress again. “It’s a jungle party. Are you sure this is alright?”
“I’m sure.”
Marc popped his head in. “You look nice, party?”
She looked back at herself. She was almost at her full height, leggy, at five eleven. Lithe figure honed by hours of climbing every month. She was too thin, but strong. Her boobs had developed slightly, but she feared that was it for them. Caleb was more into hunting than climbing but Terzon and Tekko often joined her, so did Ashley. Oaran was a Second-Gen prince with a brilliant mind from the queen’s palace and had started joining them too. He was a sweet male and smitten with Ara. Too smitten. It got Caleb’s back up. She wasn’t sure whether it was because she got on well with the lower Gen or that Caleb himself was feeling insecure with her.
She checked her nails for grease. “Remind me to finish work on the no. 6 tractor when I get back.”
“I will, glad you’ve taken over the farm machinery duties.”
She preferred that job to the picking and getting twigs in her hair all the time, not to mention the scratches, cuts, and sunburn. Of course, if she wore long sleeves, as Dad told her, and gloves, as Mum told her, and put on a hat and cream, as Sacha told her, she would have been injury free all those years. She sighed and turned. “I’m ready.”
Saratoga Park
Ersen drove her to the party and stopped in the car park after he found a shady place. “Ara?”
She paused after the door swung open with one foot already out.
“The Maya’s Virgo date for you … it doesn’t mean you have to do it then.”
She laughed softly. “I know, but thanks, Ers.”
Out of her brothers, Ersen was someone she could really talk to about normal stuff. She scanned the full car park. “Do you know much about Cupid?”
“If you mean personal experience, no. Don’t they teach that at school now?”
She nodded. “Just the technical data about how it’s a speci
al type of Exergon Line and Link, where the plasma energy meshes Superlunary, Nexus, and Sawol of two people.” She gave him a sly look. “It really was quite intriguing.”
He snorted in laughter, not hearing her little dig. “For once I get the impression it’s the non-technical aspect you are interested in.”
She feigned disinterest but Ersen knew her too well. At least she had been able to keep her knowledge of who he was a secret. It was dangerous knowledge and the less it was spoken of and thought of the better. She had no intention of endangering her family and inside her the fear grew. Fear of accidently blurting it out verbally or mentally. Fear of genocide. Fear of those who often stared and whispered when she was around.
Ara spotted her group while a number of others waited for their safari vehicles to come and pick them up. Sliding out, and closing the door, she smiled at Caleb who was still in his vehicle. Ara waved goodbye to Ersen as she shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun. She was greeted by a few other girls as she joined them, aware that Caleb’s eyes were on her. They headed to the gardens and walked around admiring the flowers while the males eyed them off. Caleb sauntered over, his body had filled out, pale, lithe like she was, his red hair left free and long. He was gorgeous, more so to her because she loved him. As usual, she struggled to talk unless it was to tell him off or correct him. As usual, he started bragging about something, usually about his Spatial Engineering abilities. What they couldn’t manage to say, their braids with secret messages at least offered them some anchor. It was a childhood game that turned into a meaningful way to communicate their affection.
Two off roaders approached and they piled in. During the hour of being crammed in the vehicles, they avoided painful awkwardness by chatting with everyone else. After they arrived at the park’s main meeting place, Ara and Caleb walked together down a sheltered and cool path in the forest.
