by Ain Soph
“So then Ulric told you he sent me on a last minute mission and let you know to expect me,” I finish for Loka. “Well, now I’m here, and I obviously come in peace, so you can untie me and bring Edric in here.” I try controlling my attitude, knowing that speaking down to the militia’s commander will only make things worse for me, but I can’t contain my irritation. We’re both on the same side, and she knows it. Why kidnap Edric and I at all? Why treat me like a criminal? I thought Loka was exactly like how I envisioned- up until the point she actually started talking. This woman is all over the place. One second she’s tough, the next angry, the next laughing...it’s an emotional tornado that’s hard to keep up with. Is she casual and I can speak to her as equals? Is she tyrannical and just biding her time until she can pounce? I don’t know how to work with her. How does Edric do it?
Loka shakes her head in amusement, “We have to check you out girlie. You’re supposed to be one of the best mercs in the business, and you want us to what? Let you walk around freely? And then, there’s the real issue here. If you’re so good, then how did you never- in all the years you worked for him- figure out Ulric was working for the Scarlet Reapers?” I was wrong. Loka does know how to cut straight to the point, and cut down the person she’s talking to in the meantime. I lose my breath for a moment from the shock of her statement. I, too, wondered how I didn’t notice the signs. Did a part of me know Ulric was working for them, and I just ignored it? This is the first time I’m hearing it from someone else though, and it’s throwing me into a self pitying tailspin. “Oh, of course. I almost forgot. We found your little fake note too. Now, we really lucked out there, because Ulric already left his note, and nowhere in it did he mention writing you something. So we inspected it real nice and close, and what do you know! It’s a fake! But...if Ulric didn’t leave that note for us, we might have fallen for your trick, and I don’t easily trust people who almost pull one over on me.”
I sigh and rest my head on the back of the chair. I hate having my name attached to the Remnant camp- to Ulric’s. Not only is it going to haunt me, but it’s a scar of my reputation too. “I didn’t realize Ulric was working for the Reapers. If I had, I wouldn’t have been working for him. I’ve had family members disappear just like everyone else. And as for the note, that’s not my fault you almost fell for it. That’s on you. I just needed a way in. You somehow knew about the kidnappings and I want to find your source.”
Loka’s eyes are skeptical as she lifts a brow in question, “That’s really all you got for me? Honey,” She squats down to eye level again, “having a family member or two disappear is pretty much the easiest cover there is. You realize Ulric also had family members who were kidnapped, right? Some sister that ended up escaping the suburbs with him when war broke out. She’s gone. And as it turns out, Ulric was the one to make that happen- all as a ploy to hide the fact that he was actually working with the Reapers all along. Having missing family members means absolutely nothing in this world. Your tragedy could just be a cover for whatever evil is hidden inside you.” Loka shakes her head in disgust and stands with her arms crossed.
“I didn’t know he had a sister or that she was kidnapped,” I admit. There’s so much more to the Remnant’s contract than I realized. How could Ulric have kidnapped his own sister? I’ve spent so long trapped in a mental prison of my own making that I lost sight of what was happening in the world around me. Still though, prison or not, I doubt I would have been able to find out all of that information on my own. How did they? “How do you know all of this? All of these details...they go beyond Project Artian, right? You actually have information on Ulric’s family, his private life.”
Loka bites her tongue and eyes me suspiciously before answering, “Two of their men made a trip to our compound. One more than important than the other. We almost shot the important one before he got a single word in, but,” she shrugs her shoulders in nonchalance, “Apparently that was his lucky day. I mean, really on any day, an intruder has a fifty fifty chance of getting shot. I guess on that particular day we were all just in good moods. Anyway it turns out he had been working very closely with Ulric for some time and found out a few things that he just couldn’t keep to himself.” I furrow my brow, falling into deep thought. There were rumors among the Remnant mercenaries that Ulric and his previous messenger had a violent disagreement that led to the man deserting the entire militia. After he left, Bulfort stepped in to take over as Ulric’s right hand man. Maybe that messenger is who Loka’s referring to?
The metal door creaks open and a chill wafts through the air. My head snaps toward the door’s direction while I try to suppress a shiver. Maybe they’re finally bringing in Edric like I asked. Instead, the man walking through the door is a complete stranger. I swallow down my disappoint and search my brain for any recognition. I don’t know if he’s Ulric’s previous messenger. I never saw his face. He was infamous for being a hermit who stayed out of sight. He’d just use cryptic notes and signs to give us our missions. No one else in the camp ever referred to him or talked about him either. It was like he was a ghost. That’s why it was so shocking (or more like good aristocratic gossip) when rumors of him and Ulric getting into an argument spread around camp. I couldn’t imagine any man that anti-social actually getting into an argument with the Remnant leader, so I wasn’t sure what to believe. Loka though, makes it seem like the previous messenger has a lot more courage than anyone gave him credit for. And for all I know, this stranger standing in front of me is, in fact, the very man I’m thinking about.
The stranger gives me an apologetic look, and I squint my eyes at him, trying harder to remember if I’ve seen him before. “Do I know you?” I whisper. “Are you the one who gave up the Remnant camp? I don’t think I’ve ever seen your face before.”
The man stuffs his hands in his pockets and shrugs his shoulders, giving me an easy smile, “I wouldn’t expect anything different from you. You were always so keen on getting your mission and getting out of there, I doubt you’d recognize me anyway. And no, I’m not the guy who sold our the Remnant camp. I was never Ulric’s messenger. I just came here with the guy who was.” So he’s the useless guy Loka was referring to. I feel bad thinking about him like that, but I don’t have much else to go on. He looks good though- like he’s holding himself to much higher standards than his old militia. Unless they were an aristocrat, the Remnants always looked so grungy and filthy. The man in front of me is cleaned up and clean shaven. His blonde hair is trimmed and gelled into a perfect side part, and it seems like he’s adopted the black color scheme of the Dagger Corps. In fact, he actually looks a lot like Edric, but much lanker and with dark eyes instead of blue. Still, I’m not sure why he’s important enough to be in the room with us. If he’s not the one who brought the information to Loka, then he’s not really serving a purpose by being here.
I turn toward Loka, “If you can bring this guy in here, then I think you can bring Edric too. And I deserve to be untied. I’m obviously not a threat to anyone in this compound. All I want are some answers to the questions Dean gave me, and it seems like the Dagger Corps can’t give me those. The person I need to find is the guy who gave you the information. I’m interested in him; I couldn’t care less about you.” My words are icy and Loka purses her lips for a moment in thought.
Loka motions for the two men still standing at attention to come untie me. “I know all of that, dear Luxem; I’m not stupid. You on the other hand... You really have some fire for a woman who’s bound to a metal chair, don’t you! Well, I suppose that’s why I’m leading a militia and you’re a lone wolf.” Ouch. Again, Loka really knows how to cut straight to my heart. “Anyway, the concerns I had were completely valid. Although, I will admit, Casimir here put most of them to rest days before you arrived. You should be thankful to your kind stranger here. He vouched for you just enough for us not to kill you on sight. And, forgive me for my curiosity, but I wanted to see how an esteemed merc such as yourself would hold up under pre
ssure.” She grins, showing a golden tooth I didn’t notice before. “I mean, come on. We couldn’t have you leaving here and spouting nonsense about some luxury visit to the Dagger Corps compound, right? It’s best we rough you up some- make sure you leave here able to tell others that we mean business. And look at it this way. You don’t even have to lie. We did you a service here, Luxem.” As logical as she’s trying to sound, I have a feeling Loka gets some sort of sadistic pleasure from all of this. It’s just a hunch- but strong enough to convince me it’s the truth.
The two soldiers finish untying my bindings and I finally crack my back and stretch my arms above my head. “I can’t say I’m too happy about the way you choose to greet your guests, but I’m sure it’s more fun from where you’re standing.” Loka gives me a good-natured grin and shrugs her shoulders, any animosity from her previous statement seemingly completely forgotten. “And Edric?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow. “If you didn’t think I was actually a threat, I doubt you were worried about your best mercenary being one. So, can he finally come in here and join us?”
Loka rolls her eyes, “Your boyfriend’s fine, Luxem. I’ve already told you multiple times. He’ll join us in a moment. I currently have my chief of affairs reprimanding him for disobedience. I think you might be forgetting- he planned to help you with a mission to sneak into the Dagger Corp compound. You think we’re just going to slap him on the wrist and let him go?” Loka tisks under her breath and shakes her head at me in an agonizingly condescending way.
My mouth twitches in irritation and I sit back in the chair, this time slouching until I finally feel comfortable. I can control my temper around Loka and avoid any further conflict, but I refuse to show her any other niceties. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to wait for Edric to start this meeting, won’t we? And to think I almost gave away the new intel I collected so easily.” I adopt the same patronizing tone Loka had and smirk. Two can play at her game.
Loka sighs and drops her shoulders with a groan. She stares at me with an unreadable expression for an uncomfortable length of time before finally snapping her fingers at the closest soldier, “Go. You heard her. Let’s get this thing over with. Go fetch, Edric.” I watch the interaction with surprise. Either the two men aren’t as high ranking as I thought or this woman wields more power than I realized. She treats her high up officers like average grunts, and they just accept it without complaint.
Casimir walks farther into the room and stands against the wall beside my chair, “It’s really good to see you again, Luxem. When I left the Remnant camp, I wasn’t sure if we’d ever cross paths again.” His smile is friendly and laid back, but I squirm under his warm gaze. I have no idea who this guy is. He’s just someone who, as far as I know, would just watch me come into camp and collect my mission- always from a distance (apparently). And whatever brief interactions we may or may not have had with one another somehow led to him developing a childish crush on me. As grateful as I am to him for vouching for me, Casimir makes me slightly uncomfortable. I don’t want to be rude to him, especially after he helped me out, but he needs to stop acting like we’re friends. I need to focus. I don’t have time for this. It’s cold-hearted, I know, but this is me on a mission. This is how I stay focused. I let my guard down with Isoline, but I’m not going to let Casimir break through my walls. For all I know, he’ll end up with the same fate.
“It’s good to see you too, Casimir. I’ll admit, I don’t have a lot of memories of us meeting, but it’s always nice to see a friendly face. And if you weren’t a part of whatever darkness the Remnants involved themselves in, then you have my kindness.” I pause uncomfortably, trying to think of more to say, but I’m coming up short of any new ideas. Casimir was smiling the whole time I was talking, but now, as my words drift off, he starts looking more unsure of himself and embarrassment is prominent on his face. I sigh and rub the back of my neck. This is horrible. I hope the soldier Loka sent out for Edric is almost back. Loka’s over by the control panel looking through different screens set up around the front of the room, talking to the other soldier that stayed behind. She’s completely ignoring the awkward interaction between Casimir and I, but I know Loka’s listening because she keeps glancing in my direction and smirking.
“Commander, Edric is now present,” The soldier Loka sent to find Edric has returned and beside him is a familiar face. Familiar, except for the bruised right eye that can barely open and sweat covered clothes that cling to his body.
“This is what you meant by disciplinary action!” I yell, looking at Loka. “I thought you said he was fine. Look at his face. Not even just his face- look at all of him. He doesn’t look fine at all.” I gesture toward Edric’s black eye and glare hard at Loka.
Loka pauses her conversation with the soldier beside her and looks between me and the soldier at the door, anger etched in her sharp features, “Excuse me, children. I’d like to finish my current conversation before starting two new ones.” She turns back toward the soldier and lowers her voice, “Just check out the lenses on the cameras in the south. The focus has been off for the last week, and I’m sick of looking at blurry screens. It looks like I’m trying to see underwater. I’m a person, not a fish. Got it?” The soldier nods his head in understanding. “A human. You remember that.” She jabs her finger into his chest for emphasis before finally facing Edric. She lets out a low whistle and laughs, “Well, you made my captain one angry man, didn’t you Edi? Usually our disciplinary measure don’t get so...out of hand.”
“You should see what his face looks like,” Edric gruffly responds, violently shaking off the hand of the soldier who fetched him. He walks toward the wall farthest away from me and drops his body into a heap on the floor. I look at Casimir and take note of his stuttering breath, eyes wide with discomfort from the exchange he just witnessed. He’s obviously a Remnant who enjoyed his fair share of Bliss while remaining safe within the walls of the camp. I wonder how he managed to actually make it to the Dagger Corp camp with the Remnant’s old messenger. It seems like a pretty dangerous mission for such a gentle-hearted guy. I suck in one of my cheeks to keep myself from laughing and try to catch Edric’s good eye, knowing he’ll have the same reaction I do to Casimir’s shocked expression, but he avoids my gaze. He’s still angry then. Edric hasn’t let go of the conversation we had earlier. My shoulders slump in disappointment, and I look again toward Loka, immediately drawing back in surprise. She’s been examining me this entire time. Well, no wonder for all her insanity she’s the Dagger Corps’ leader. There’s neither a single exchange she misses, nor a single fact she doesn’t store for later.
“Well, we’re all here, Loka. So where are we going to start?” I meet Loka’s gaze with a fire burning behind my irises. It’s time for me to get down to business and complete my mission- not the one Ulric sent me on, but the mission I personally created for myself the day Lucie disappeared. I’m going to find the Scarlet Reapers and end the disappearance- namely Project Artian- for good. Getting whatever I can out of Loka is just step one to my end game.
“Well, I suppose we can begin with the new intel you seemed to have acquired in the days after the Remnants’ demise. In the letter you mentioned another militia. What makes you think there’s even a second one involved?” It feels like all eyes in the room are burning into me as I sit in the chair. I should have stood up before beginning the meeting. Sitting down makes it feel like I’m in an interrogation. I glance over at Edric to see if his eyes are one of the many I feel trained on me, but he’s not even looking in my direction. Instead, he’s checking out the two soldiers and Casimir, most likely trying to remember if he recognizes them.
I sigh and briefly look at Casimir before addressing Loka, “Ulric said the youngest person they kidnapped was my sister, Lucie, at age twelve. But a while ago, in Timberwood, there was a slew of disappearance, some of the children involved younger than Lucie. We’re talking four year olds here- way younger than Ulric’s youngest.” At the mention of Timberwood, Ed
ric snaps his head in my direction and listens intently. “Ulric also said that Artifs have the responsibility of kidnapping Artifs, and humans worry about kidnapping humans. They don’t mix. Putting the facts together, I think it’s reasonable to say that there’s another human militia working with the Reapers as we speak, and not only that, but they were carrying out kidnappings at the same time as the Remnants. That means that even though the Remnants have been stopped, there’s still another militia out there just doing the same thing. And who knows if they’re the only ones. If the Reapers are offering power and protection, I have a feeling there will always be another militia to take the place of the one before it.”
Loka swears under her breath, “The only way we’re going to be able to stop the disappearances is by ending Project Artian. There are too many different power hungry militias out there with low morals. It’s going to be tough to figure out which ones are in league with the Reapers. If we didn’t have Dryden’s help, we would have never discovered the Remnant’s involvement...or even what Project Artian is. We got lucky. I doubt priceless information like that is going to fall into our laps again.” I snap my head up to look at Loka when she mentions Dryden. Is she talking about the same guy I’ve spent to long looking for? It seems too good to be true (too easy), but I have to check.
I open my mouth to speak, but before I’m able to say anything, Casimir beats me to it, “So then every time we try to take out a militia that’s contracted with the Reapers, a new one will take its place. Whatever promises they’re making to these militias have to be amazing- and more importantly, they must be following through. I doubt the militias would remain working for them if nothing they’re promised is delivered.” Maybe I underestimated Casimir. When I initially spoke to him, I wrote him off as another Remnant hippie, but he makes a good point. I can analyze him later though. Right now, I need to ask Loka more about Dryden.
