Nonkululeko turned to address all of us. “Lastly, on the shoulders of each outfit, you will notice a shoulder disk. Tap either one at any time, and a screen will appear. With it, you will be able to locate each other.”
Nonkululeko turned to Chord and our Protectors. “Kulindas, we do not have uniforms for you, but we do have disk locators for you to attach to your shoulders as well.”
Father Zouadin attached his disks, and Nonkululeko continued, “You will be able to distinguish each team member by color. Kulindas, you show up as purple on the locator grid. Aziz, you are green. Joelle, blue. Teo, you're yellow. Hantaywee, you're red. And Yaya, you show up as orange.”
Sigvard clasped his hands. “Now, you must make haste. We are to meet very soon with the High Council and others for your Showcase. We need to try and get as many tribes and groups working together as we can. We will have to open a scrambled Partix Wire line to connect with these groups from their locations on the other Sectors via Hologram. We will showcase your powers and then ask for their support.”
So, we had to try and get some of the most difficult groups on our side. Nonkululeko had told us earlier that The Arms of Justice would be attending. So we would probably see Janto Eliswear.
Rival gangs, The Venoms and The Scavengers were also set to attend. The two gangs, usually found on the outskirts of town, were mutually opposed to each other. For the most part, they kept to themselves, but they were always on the lookout for new recruits who had had enough of the Houdakin regime.
Nonkululeko picked up, “Once they see your abilities, they may be convinced. The Houdakin are assembling a Mechanical Army. You will be up against them as well as the Houdakin Security Army, which is enough in itself.”
The Houdakin had become so concerned with their looks and staying alive that everyone wore what were called Bio-Skins. There were two kinds: Power Bio-Skins that enhanced the muscles, and Vanity Bio -Skins that improved looks and prolonged youth.
The ultra-thin skins, consisting of embedded neuro-transmitters, adhered to the skin and delivered the appropriate medications. Power Bio-Skins were affixed from the base of the neck to the base of the vertebrae and sent a concoction of steroids, adrenaline, and electrical impulses into the nervous system. The bio-chemicals penetrated the muscle tissues, ligaments and spinal column, increasing strength and flexibility. These skins improved strength, flexibility and reflexes. Used primarily by the Houdakin army and security forces, officers were able to lift five times their weight.
The Vanity skins worked in a similar fashion. Virtually every Houdakin including Borche had them attached, He was in his sixty’s, but looked the same as the day he assumed the throne at age thirty-five.
Like a virtual face/body lift, the Vanity Bio-Skins worked a little differently. Sensors in the skins released holographic reflectors in the capillaries making it appear fresh and smooth. Another set of chemicals tightened loose muscles, making the skin above it appear youthful and taunt. Once the skins were removed, your skin snapped back into it's original state, wrinkles and all. Needless to say, the Houdakin practically wore their skins year round.
The strips improved strength and looks, but it also disabled the body's natural mechanisms. As a result, when the strips were left on too long, the muscles slowly atrophied.
Most Houdakin left their strips running, plugging them in to recharge while they were still attached to their bodies. Most Houdakin had never seen what their actual bodies had deteriorated into.
After we all received our uniforms, we all went into the locker rooms to change and met back up in the main training room.
I absolutely loved my outfit. Far from being the cartoon underwear-over-tights look of the 21st century, our outfits were really nice: comfortable, simple and svelte. They were all a very natural oatmeal color and seemed to all be a combination of cotton and Rute Leather, a type of natural leather made from the bark of the Rutelan tree.
My scarf was what I loved the best. The under scarf was a large triangular piece of stretchy fabric that I tied around the front of my forehead and secured by wrapping around my bun in the back. It was attached to a long rectangular loop of fabric that draped down almost to my navel. The Rute Leather jacket fit perfectly, and came down almost to my ankles. A turtleneck and set of wide legged pants completed the outfit.
Everyone else's outfits were equally as stunning. They fit perfectly and were pretty tough. All together, we were quite a sight.
Sigvard held up his hands, “Ah, and I almost forgot. One of the coolest attributes of your uniforms. Right now, they are a natural wheat color. This is their resting state. When you choose to activate your gift, and Engage, your uniforms will do something pretty amazing. Why don't you guys give it a try?”
I looked down at my outfit and began to Engage. As I felt the energy begin to course through my veins, I gasped in shock. The very color of my garment morphed from wheat to a stunning shade of dark grey steel. Everybody's outfits made the same transformation, and the end result was very impressive. Now, we looked like a unit, a team that was a force to be reckoned with. It was the extra boost of confidence that we needed.
“....Yeah, this'll work. This will definitely work.” Aziz ran his hand over the smooth Rute Leather sleeve of his jacket. We were all extremely pleased.
“Excellent,” Nonkululeko began, “Ok, so you guys can go out into the dining hall to get your lunches. Grab a bite to eat, and then feel free to enjoy it in the hall or outside in the common area. We will all gather in the Main Meeting Hall in about forty minutes.”
We filed into the hall, each grabbing a sandwich and then decided to take our wraps outside when we heard music.
A group of kids ranging in age were gathered around a group of crates, buckets and metal pots. Two kids were playing the makeshift drum set while others were taking turns jumping in the middle, showing off their skills with the latest dance moves. We all found spots near each other while we ate and enjoyed the show.
I was seated near a young girl who was playing with some adorable handmade dolls.
I watched her for a while, munching on my wrap filled with sauteed vegetables and mushrooms. Several of the little dolls were in a group standing near a small wall made of tiny pebbles and rocks. The little girl picked up one doll and brought her near the wall. 'Its too heavy!” I can't break it down!” she said for the doll.
“Push!” she exclaimed, lowering the pitch of her voice for a second doll, “Give it everything you've got!”
The little girl brought the doll near the rock wall and gave a grunt as the doll attempted to knock over the wall. “I can't do it! Come on, help me!” the first doll said.
“We're coming, we're coming! Hold your horses.” The girl altered her voice again to speak for the second doll. I had to chuckle. This little girl sure had given these dolls a personality.
“Oh!” another doll exclaimed, “You're right! We'll never break the wall down. I'll never see my family again!”
I smiled. Then I had an idea.
“Need a little help?” I asked.
The little girl looked up at me, surprised that I had taken an interest in her play. She nodded wordlessly.
I spotted a cup of water nearby. I took a quick peek around, making sure that no one was looking at us. I coaxed a drop of the water to separate from the rest of the water in the cup,
“Look!” I said, assuming the role and speaking for one of the dolls. “Its a water drop cannon! Let's see if this works. I circled my fingers to make the drop spin in place and then hurled it at the wall. It splashed against the rocks, leaving a big wet stain but not moving the wall at all.
I looked at the little girl. She raised her eyebrows in amazement and shook her head. “Let's try again, Ok?” I said. She smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
“Again!” I spoke for the dolls again. I hurled another drop of water at the rocks, but still they didn't budge. The little girl looked at me and shrugged, skeptical.
“One impo
rtant thing to always remember...” I said in my real voice, whispering as I leaned closer to her, “...is that one drop may not have been able to do it. But a lot of power can be found if many drops work together.”
With a quick swish of my finger, a trail of water rose up from the cup, and collected a little ways from the wall. I began to wiggle my fingers and the water became agitated, sloshing and churning in place. I dashed my fingers forward and the water became a tiny tsunami. It raced towards the wall and crashed against it, effectively knocking it over. The little girl giggled with delight, and so did I. But then I looked around. I had gotten so involved in the play that I hadn't noticed that we had gathered a small audience.
At that same moment, a low horn bellowed from the lookout tower at the top of the Training Pavillion. A general sense of alarm shot through the air. Those around us immediately began to scramble. I sat frozen, staring at one boy who had witnessed my interaction with the little girl.
“What's wrong? What is that alarm for?” I shouted through the noise.
The boy kept his eyes on me. “It's the alarm to let us know that the Governess is on its way!”
The Governess was the name given to a group of remote controlled disks equipped with cameras and search lasers that the Houdakin used to patrol remote areas.
“They're here because of you. Because of you all. You brought them here. I know who you all are. I saw what you did. The Prophecy, right?” The boy shook his head accusingly. “I don't even believe in God. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't hail one of those patrol disks and turn you all in.”
I shot a panicked glance over to the rest of our group who had heard the boy's comments and had gathered near. I raced through my mind for the right words to say, but I only heard one thing.
This is not happening right now.
Chapter 2
“...God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' “
The Holy Bible KJV, The Old Testament
Exodus 2:4
“We don't have time for this!” Aziz muttered, aggravated. He began to walk over to the boy, fully intending to pick him up and toss him somewhere.
“No, Aziz! Wait!” I said, holding my hand up. I looked back at the boy. “It doesn't matter that you don't believe in God. But we do. And we have taken oaths to protect all of His creatures. To go on behalf of them all to negotiate for a better way of life. For justice and fairness for us all. And that includes for you. We may not always agree with each other. But that should never overshadow our being good to and caring for one another. Our disagreements should never turn us against each other. If we don't work together, we just become millions of individual solitary drops.” I glanced over at the little girl's rock wall. The boy followed my glance. He stood for a minute pondering my words. I felt the shift as his mind thought back to the mini tsunami I had made for the little girl.
“You're right,” he said. “Follow me.”
The horn sounded three short blasts. “They're getting close. That sound means the are about 5 minutes away. Hurry!”
We raced through town and found ourselves at the Training Pavillion. “Hurry inside,” the boy said, and we all filed in quickly. I stopped him before he turned to go.
“What's your name?” I asked.
“My name is Brant,” he said, still a little guarded, but much less than before.
“Thank you,” I said. He'd had a choice. I was so grateful that he had made the choice to help.
He smiled. “And thank you. Thank you all. I figured this would be the best place to help you hide.”
Sigvard and Nonkululeko rushed over, overhearing the tail end of Brant's words.
“You were right to bring them here. Its one of the only places that can hide them from the Governess. Come on! We've got to hurry!”
Sigvard and Nonkululeko lead us over to the walls of the main training room. They peeled back sections of the fabric to reveal the bamboo support columns underneath. Every few feet, there was an open space just big enough to hide a person.
“Everyone, find a spot. And then remain as quiet as possible. The Governess disks will go around and scan each area. They are looking for you all. May The Creator protect you.”
“Amen,” we each whispered as we hastily tucked ourselves into the wooden cubbies.
“The fabric on either side of the bamboo is made of a special material. The Governess disks cannot see through it. Just say still and you will be safe.
Our Instructors maneuvered the fabric back in front of the wall and made sure it was smooth and in place.
Within minutes, we could hear the loud mechanical whirr of the Governess disks as they entered town. The Governess machines were menacing looking black saucers about fifteen inches around. Along the perimeter of the objects was a half inch opening that revealed a strip of laser that, when activated, could scan the surrounding areal up to 60 feet.
The laser feed was sent back digitally to Techs on Viakee. If it found something or someone suspicious, the disk either threw a containment field around the person, or shot out an electrical charged blast to disable them.
They flew into homes, stores, everywhere. Whenever the Houdakin needed to search an area or were looking for fugitives, and didn't have enough soldiers on the ground, they sent a team of Governesses out.
We heard the whirring grow louder and louder until we knew that one was in the room with us. We heard the scanner start up. I tried to control my breathing, but the agonizing moments behind the fabric was beginning to make me feel claustrophobic. Beads of sweat were started to form on my forehead. This couldn't be over soon enough.
The digital voice began to sputter. “Sigvard and Nonkululeko MoneEves. Clear.”
The Governess began to scan the rest of the room. I sucked in my breath and waited. O Creator, keep us hidden. Keep us safe. My heart quickened. I heard the Governess whir close to the area Joelle was hiding. All was silent for a few moments, but then I heard Joelle cough.
Oh no! I thought as I nervously bit my lip.
Then I heard another cough. It was Nonkululeko. She coughed a few more times, subtly elevating the pitch of it so that it sounded like Joelle's. The disk flew over to Nonkululeko.
“Forgive me, it is the dust in the air. I'm allergic to it.”
The Governess hovered in front of her for a few agonizing seconds. All was silent as the Tech pondered what to do. More moments went by before it finally responded. Nonkululeko's excuse must have been enough. “Allergies confirmed. Scan level 2 canceled.”
The disk's whizzing stopped abruptly and a different sound began buzzing in the space of the open room. I leaned over a bit and carefully used my index finger to move the fabric so that a tiny sliver was created. The disk began to emit a huge holographic projection in the center of the room. The other Governesses were doing the same from their positions around the camp.
“This is a message from your Emergency Governess Protection System.”
I almost sucked my teeth aloud. The disks were certainly not for our protection. The name alone was insulting and demeaning. They never came when there was trouble or when one of our people were in need.
They only sent them out when they wanted someone captured or wanted eyes on the ground. The Houdakin detested cold weather, so RoAam had virtually no guards. Naturally, their Sector got the majority of disks sent to it.
“Inhabitants of Sectors 2, 3 and 4. It has come to our attention that certain rebels may be hiding amongst you.”
“Be certain that these troublemakers mean to upset the delicate balance of our relationship to each other.”
I shook my head. The speaker wasn't fooling anyone. The audio transmission continued. “They mean to upset the import and export lines. They mean to put you in harm's way. It is of utmost importance that you turn in ANY suspicious people or groups that you see. Failure to do so will result in serious consequences. If we do not hear word about the fugitives within the next week, we
will begin to implement punishments to help jog your memories and motivations. Remember, the safety of your families are at risk. Do not jeopardize what you hold most dear. If we don't hear any responses by the end of the week, we will begin to execute certain punishments as well as kill the prisoners we have taken from the Sectors.
See that you don't waste this opportunity to save yourselves.”
The screen went black and the digitized pre-recorded ending displayed in big white letters, “End of transmission.”
The hologram disappeared, and the Governess turned to leave. We waited silently for at least another thirty minutes as it scanned the rest of the Pavillion.
Finding nothing, the Governess machines jetted out, meeting in a triangle formation in the sky before returning to Viakee.
We heard a horn blow two short blasts followed by a third longer one, letting us know all was safe.
“Ok, its Ok to come out now.” Sigvard said. We emerged from our hiding spots, shaking the stiffness from our limbs.
“As if we needed any more obstacles before the Showcase.” Teo muttered, echoing our thoughts. Most groups were already aligned with us and our mission. But there were a few groups that had their own opinions on what should be done. Gaining support was going to take a whole lot of convincing.
Brother Vasyl entered the room minutes later, looking very serious.
“Gifted 5. Someone is here to see you.” Behind him, in walked Papa!
We all gasped. I let out a yelp of joy. “Papa!” Aziz and I ran over and bear hugged him.
“Oof!,” He grunted, laughing, “Easy, easy! Your Papa is still healing!”
We loosened our grip a bit, but all of the intensity of the emotion remained.
“Sorry, Papa! Oh, Papa! Peace of the Most High to you! Are you Ok? How did you get here?”
I looked at everyone's faces. They were all radiant and excited to see him. He was such a welcome sight.
“It sure is good to see you Father Fadi!” Joelle said, a huge smile on her face. The others sounded their agreement.
“Your Kulindas have been taking good care of you, I trust?” He said, greeting the others.
The Azurean Trilogy (All Three Books: 1, 2 & 3): Essentia, Burgeor & Manifest Page 17
