by L. Fergus
“I’m sorry,” said Raph.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” said Snowy. “She needed this.”
“Excuse me, Minister,” said the Grand Ambassador.
“Yes?”
“Is she always going to be so difficult?”
“Ambassador, if you were one of the most powerful beings in the universe and had yourself ripped apart and all the pieces hidden from you, would you be so calm? Just tell the Grand Panel that helping her now may be a minor inconvenience but will generate goodwill and loyalty.”
“I see. I will pass it along.”
“Hawke,” Snowy called. “Do you mind showing the Grand Ambassador out and telling Case I’ve got some things I need to do. Give me a call when Kita wakes up, and we can resume.”
“Sure, I’ll be your errand boy.”
“I suggest as a male you prove you’re worth and in a hurry. Kita doesn’t put up with attitudes or stupidity from men. It’s the fastest way to try to learn to fly without wings.”
“I’m pulling my weight.”
Snowy raised an eyebrow and then vanished.
Kita woke up in a large bed. The buzzing in her head had stopped. She rolled over and looked up from the pillow and groaned. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. She saw a kaleidoscope of colored waves and auras in the room and out the window.
She closed her eyes and plunged back into the pillow. In her head, an explanation appeared. The computer’s automated system had started after the reboot, and a list of active and passive programs were waiting for her to take over. When she didn’t respond, it asked if she wished for the tutorial.
Kita had no idea how to say yes. A flash of images on how to operate the computer in her head went by. She struggled to keep up. The images slowed down for her.
The computer loaded another tutorial. She learned her vision was routed through the computer. Her eyes went back to their biological wiring if the computer failed. The current problem with her vision was simple. The computer had loaded new lenses for her. One set let her see a broad spectrum of wavelengths. Currently, she could see the communication spectrum. With a thought, she returned her vision to normal and faced a new problem—how to control her vision.
The computer asked her a question. It had verified her identity, so why did she need all the tutorials? Odd it would ask, but maybe it can help. She explained her situation. The computer reported some services, routines, programs, and processes were offline, and access was denied due to encryption. Could the encryption be broken? To her dismay only the basic encryption software was available. The rest was locked. The computer offered her full control. No, but offer assistance to any situation. A paperclip appeared in her mind. The computer asked if it should take over memory management.
“By the Crushing Depths, yes.”
“Kita, are you awake?” Case called from the next room.
“Yeah. I’m just having a conversation with myself,” she yelled back, sitting up.
Case knocked on the door and stuck her head in. She giggled. “Poof,” she said, moving her hands away from her head.
“Oh, shut up.” Kita laughed as she fell back into the pillow.
“Someone’s in a much better mood.”
“How long have I been asleep? A few hours?”
“Two days,” said Case, moving to Kita’s bedside.
“What? But…What about?”
Case put a hand on Kita’s shoulder. “It’s handled. Apparently, there are three Angels. You failed to tell anyone Snowy is an Angel.”
“Of course she is, but I thought they were talking about species.”
“It didn’t seem to matter. Snowy took care of the acceptance of Angels into the galactic community. She told the Grand Panel bluntly that Angels are unlike any people in the galaxy—aggressive, highly intelligent, very powerful, and incredibly independent. If they want peace, they need to be respectful. I think the testimony of the Grand Ambassador’s experiences didn’t hurt either. But if you’re awake, I’m told to feed you, get you cleaned up, and get you over to the arena. The humanity panel will start as soon as you arrive.”
Kita groaned. “Oh, boy.”
“You’re the leader.”
“So, is everyone there?”
“All except me. The boys and Lacy are back on the ship. I volunteered to babysit you. It sounded better than listening to politicians.”
Kita pouted. “Is that all I am to everyone?”
“You do require an enormous amount of upkeep. How do you ever survive on your own?”
Kita thumped backward onto the bed and covered herself with her wings. “By being very alone,” she muttered. “Go away.”
“You are used to being babied, aren’t you?”
“Go away!”
“If any of the rest of us acted this way, you’d throw us out the airlock.”
Kita swept her wings back and launched herself off the bed. She landed and then stormed for the door.
“The truth hurts?” Case said as she stood aside for Kita.
“To the Crushing Depths with you and the rest. Find your own way back to Earth.”
“And where are you going, Miss Nomad?”
“I feel the sudden urge to make as many things bleed as possible.”
“I can’t imagine you’ll get far. There’s a lot of Tet-Sec out there.”
“Like I care.” Kita slung on her kit.
“I wonder what color aliens bleed?” Case mused with a twisted grin.
“I can start with red.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Case said, throwing up her hands when she found an arrow pointed at her chest. Kita had drawn the bow and arrow so fast she didn’t have time to react. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m just teasing you. It’s just weird not being the one babysat. Auggy and Lacy sit on me all the time.”
Kita put her bow away. “I know. I’m just messing with you. I know I’m the center of the universe. If you don’t like it, get out.” Kita smiled.
“Bitch,” Case accused with a sigh of relief. “I take it you’re feeling better?”
“Yes. My computer is up and running itself. I’ve added some new toys, but most of the good stuff is locked away.”
“And the vision?”
“Under control. No more sneaking up on me.”
Case chuckled. “You know, you’re almost becoming interesting enough to date.”
“Almost, huh?”
“That’s what I told my last boyfriend, and he was league MVP for the Empire Arena League. It’s too bad, too. He was gorgeous to look at, but only arena strategy and sex ran through his head. He wasn’t even that good at sex.”
“You’re comparing me to some muscle head jock? I can throw him farther than he can a ball.”
“A girl’s got to have standards. I’m not like Cotton, I won’t settle.”
“Then I will scratch you off my list of possibilities. I was thinking of actually lowering myself to date a human.”
“You’d make me an Angel if you could.”
Kita huffed. “You’ve got to prove yourself worthy and useful. Try doing at least one of the two before you boast that you should be carrying around ten pounds of feathers.”
“You’d be in so much trouble without me. You’d still be stuck on Angelica station.”
“With five thousand corpses and living the life of a starving artist.”
“Please, you’d never starve.”
“And you’ll never be an Angel.” Kita offered no trace of laughter or hint that she was kidding. Case’s smile faded. “It’s not meant for everyone, kid.”
“I…” Case looked at Kita, shocked.
Kita touched Case’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t take it so hard. You’re not the first to be rejected. The first tried to sell me out to my nemesis and ended up dead. But I don’t think you’d do that. Still, if you’re curious why, who are you loyal to? Your Grandmother or me? Blood or someone you just met? Think about it. You’ve got one bullet and have to kill one of u
s, who are you going to shoot…And more importantly, why? Because you want wings, because she’s family, or because I’m your friend? I know what I would do if I had to make that choice between you and my Grandmother…”
“What would you do?” Case whispered.
“Shoot myself. Be loyal to those who are loyal to you.”
“Would Jess become an Angel?”
“Definitely. Regardless of whatever misguided romantic feelings she has for me, she is loyal. She gave up everything to help me. She’s proven it in the heat of the moment. Jess is a good girl with a large ego, super smart, and wants nothing more than to be a friend. She didn’t ask for anything or expect anything. Angels come from people with a crisis. Snowy literally had an identity crisis. Tina was raped and tortured for years, turned into a husk, and trapped in a metal suit. Jess never had a friend until I came along. She still has trouble making friends, but I will help her. What crisis do you have? You have everything else, smarts, beauty, but what’s going to hold you to us? What are we going to give you that you can’t find anywhere else?”
“You don’t want me because I’m normal?” Case whispered.
“I’m a misfit, and I look for other misfits. It really is a moot point. I can’t do it. I’m sorry.” Kita turned to go back to the bedroom.
“Wait,” Case whispered as tears ran down her face. “I didn’t just leave my family because I didn’t want to follow the rules. I ran away. Everything you see is fake. Hair, eyes, face, fingerprints, hell, I’ve even grown two inches. I’m not just a princess of the Bush family. I am the Princess of the Bush family. I am next in line. My grandmother is dying. They can’t keep her alive much longer. You can see it in the Empire. Angelica would never have happened if she was stronger. But I’m not like her. I don’t want to rule. People tell me that’s a great quality for a leader. It makes you wise, humble, and miserable. I don’t want to be miserable. I liked having friends and doing things. When you become the Emperor that all goes away. It’s a solitary life. Everyone treats you like you’re a fragile god. No one sees you for you. They just see the Empire. I don’t want to be seen as a thing. I want friends. I want fun. I want to laugh and cry. I want to take care of someone and fall in love. I want to feel like I belong, for me. I thought I had that with you.”
“And what of Auggy and Lacy?”
“Uhm, well, Lacy’s my sister and isn’t much fun to be around, if you haven’t noticed. Auggy is…my dirty little secret.”
Kita raised an eyebrow.
Case moved nervously. “Don’t hurt me, please.”
Kita raised both eyebrows. “Of course I won’t.”
“As you can imagine there’s really no place to hide from the Political Bureau. I tried. Like I said, I changed my appearance to fool cameras, readers, scanners, everything. When that didn’t work, I tried to run. You can only run so fast, and they eventually catch up. We came to an uneasy agreement. Auggy is my handler. I told you they were always watching. I just lied about how much.”
Kita sighed. “Well, he can’t do much harm out here.”
“Ah…well…I’m sure he’s sent an FTL message on where we are and what’s happened.”
Kita’s face flushed.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” said Case. “Don’t kill me. Don’t kill him. He was just doing his job. It’s my fault. I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t kill me.”
Kita took a deep breath. Her face drained. She turned from Case and glided to the door to the outside. She flung it open and drifted upward.
The megatropolis glistened in the artificial light as she thought about what to do. All these people were in danger. Not now, not in a year, but soon. All because one girl didn’t want her birthright. Is there anything I can do? Not really. She had no army, no nation, and no support structure to call on.
In the distance, was the arena where the summit was being held. She could warn them of what was to come. The two sides had clashed already, and humanity had lost. Making them believe they could lose the next time would be hard.
“Kita, please talk to me,” said Case. She stood by the pool, her face drenched in tears.
Kita landed in front of Case. “Get cleaned up. We’re going to the summit.”
“Ok,” Case whispered.
Kita smacked Case. “That’s for not telling me about Auggy.”
Case accepted it with as much grace as she could and didn’t flinch when Kita grabbed her face. She jumped in surprise when Kita kissed her.
“That’s for coming up with the best crisis since my own.”
“You don’t think I’ll betray you?”
“No, should I? I’m going to talk to Auggy. Anything you want to tell me before he does?”
“You know it all. He doesn’t take orders from me. He’s usually giving them. This is the first time I’ve been free to do what I want in years.”
“Stick with me, and all you’ll have to worry about is what I tell you to do, which usually isn’t more than ‘attack that over there’ and ‘what did you do last night.’ I don’t pick people because I want to tell them what to do. I pick them so they can be free to make their own choices.”
Case threw her arms around Kita and hugged her.
“I promise I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe,” said Kita.
“Thank you,” Case whispered. “And I promise to be the best that I can be for you.”
“I know. Come on. Let’s get changed and get to the arena.”
Kita and Case arrived at the arena just as the summit broke for a break. The volume of people pushed Kita’s guard detail on top of her. Someone grabbed her wing and Kita swatted them. She’d never try to pet the cat that had tried to grab her.
As they fought against the stream of bodies, a cloaked figure reached out and grabbed Kita’s arm. Kita tried to wrench her arm free, but the grip held firm against her strength.
There was nothing but white. No definition or reference point to give her a sense of perspective. She took an exploratory step and nothing happened.
The cloaked figure appeared. The gloved hands swept back the hood to reveal Snowy. Kita’s computer immediately countered the thought. The markings were wrong. Kita asked for what information it had, but the computer said it was inaccessible. So, I do know this person.
“Who are you?” said Kita.
“Hmmm. Mother wasn’t lying about your condition. I am Kamikaze, your only biological child. Snowy and you are my equation parents. You and Re’drum are my god parents. Your greatest fear is being powerless.”
An image flashed in Kita’s head. The computer reported an encrypted section had opened. Details of Kamikaze flooded her mind. Snowy had created the child to save her. At the age of six, Snowy had cast her out into the world with the mission of restoring an amulet that recalled Kita from space. After ten years, the girl had succeeded. Kita had found her dying. She had sacrificed herself to destroy an unknown enemy and save Kamikaze. It had cost Kita her freedom and Kamikaze had guarded her for ten thousand years. Kamikaze was fiercely loyal to her. She had partnered with an Angel named Tenshi. Kita’s memory ended there. The rest remained sealed by another level of encryption.
“I’m sorry I can’t unlock the rest,” said Kamikaze. “To unlock your basic memories of the others you need to look them in the eye and have them say their name and something negative about you. Galina really hates you. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“It’s ok, love. It’s not your fault, but mine. I should have had the courage to dump her long ago.”
“I don’t have much time. The longer I keep this pocket dimension open, the greater the risk of being discovered.”
“What’s going on between, you, Tina, and Snowy?” Kita said, confused.
“I can’t tell you, for my protection and yours. I will say my mother came to her senses and told me where to find you. You’re the epicenter of a game of the gods. I can’t guide you directly, but I can give you a hint. You need to find a cloud and follow it home. I h
ave to go. I love you, Mom. So do Kylee, Tenshi, Denver, Veronica, and the others.”
“Get out of the way,” said the hooded figure.
Kita moved, and watched the figure disappear into the crowd.
“Hey, come on,” said Case, pushing Kita gently.
The Grand Ambassador guided Kita to a VIP waiting area. “I’m so glad you are feeling better, Vicereine.”
“Yes, thank you. Even I need to sleep.” Kita smiled. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes, though I cannot guarantee an answer.”
“A woman after my own heart. I just wanted to know your name. Titles are nice outside, but when we’re not there, it’s overdoing it a bit.”
“It is rare someone doesn’t wish to be addressed by her title. Many have worked hard to earn it.”
“I know, but as I was discussing with my friend, a title hides who you really are, and you can get lost in it. I prefer to remain grounded and not let my ego run wild.”
“I understand, Miss Kita.”
“Just Kita.”
“Kita, my name is Grand Ambassador Hali C’Zar Ah’tem. You may call me Hali.”
“Nice to meet you, Hali. Excuse my ignorance, but I know nothing of Aurorian culture or history. How does one become Grand Ambassador?”
“I could say the same for you. How does one become a Vicereine?”
“From what I know, reluctantly. I became the Vicereine to save my homeworld. Snowy would be the one to ask. My past is being kept from me to protect me. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.”
“Very strange. Do you know why?”
“Not really. I trust them.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Kita told her of her travels from Angelica to the Tet.
“The galaxy is full of a trillion different stories,” said Hali. “That one is remarkable. It says much about the person who lived it.”
“And it’s all true,” said Case.
“I did not doubt that. Kita isn’t normal, and neither are you, Princess.”
“Call me Case. I’m only a princess when I want something.”
Hali chuckled.
