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LUNARA
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Chapter Fifty-One: Musings of Duty - Part Seven
Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant
Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation
Solar System: D-447
Planet: Ora
Location: Beneath the planet's surface, Naro City, Lower City Markets
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***
A month ago
***
For months I have searched endlessly for my Grandfather, scouring every continent of planet Ora. So many countless Kuwathi cities that I have ventured to, searching in vain. Each one filled with the desperate eyes of those who are unfairly oppressed. My companion, Fennec, is all but impassive to the growls of their bellies, telling me not to give too much or I will build a reputation as someone to exploit. Too much? Is giving food to hungry children really too much? Were they citizens of the Republic, in my house’s domain, they would not know hunger lest they wanted to. They would not toil in such a Netherically poisoned world. Unfit for normal people, let alone children. The Imperium knows the conditions they are made to suffer. It is not without purpose though. They want the rest of us to know what the bottom truly means. A constant reminder of what happens to those who try to rise above the Imperium.
Hearing the echo of my grandfather’s words rippling through those who are hopeless is strange, yet somehow it brings me comfort. The Sage, they call him. Many say he is dead, some even whisper it was in this very city that he died. That cannot be though, Inquisitor Victoria would not have sent me halfway across the Galaxy for a rumor… or perhaps she would. The long days of this journey have made me begin to doubt more than just the Imperium, I find myself doubting my father even. Hearing the words that my grandfather passed down to these desperate people has begun to change me. To see those with so little, clinging so hard to life, that has changed me more though. What is it that drives them I wonder, to endure so much for so little.
The Kuwathi are a strong people, even in their demise they still cling to some kind of honor. That is more than Alverians could claim were the situations reversed; this much I am sure of. Still, even with honor, there are those who would exploit. Everything about their society is to keep them in a constant state of decay and collapse. As though a thousand years of persecution were not enough, now they have perfected a system of oppression which they cannot hope to escape. There are many doubts in me of late. The Imperium allows this, no… they encourage it. There is no honor in it, nor should there be duty. My hand clenches harder, yet here I am. Trying to use them to find someone so that I can save my own house. Am I also deaf to their cries?
“Any information will be rewarded,” I say, trying to hide my Hekatian accent as best I can, Fennec said it will draw attention. It is also why he told me to dye my hair. He asked that it be dark brown, but I decided to do blue, to honor Kotina. I did not hear the end of his grumblings for at least a week.
“I saw the Sage last month.” A man says, his eyes seem deceptive, his front teeth are missing, his face is covered in a litany of scars, including a brand on his neck.
Handing him a Kezox Corp ration bar, one of the thousands that we bought in one of the Arasha cities, I wait for him to speak. However, I have little hope of learning anything new.
“I am worried for my safety, perhaps another ration would help.” He says, I hear Fennec behind me grunt at the words.
Handing the poor man another ration bar, he bursts into a fit of laughter.
“In my dreams!” he yells, fleeing from me.
I do not give chase, letting out a loud sigh, at least he will eat tonight. Fennec moves to pursue the man, but I hold up a hand.
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“It is fine, he needs it more than us.” I say to him, turning to the next person I ask “What do you bring me?”
“The Sage spoke this to me once.” An older woman says.
There is earnestness in her, I can feel it. Even so much that she wishes to whisper it, so that others may not repeat to cheat me. She reminds me of Yekka with the way she braids her hair.
“With resolve comes movement, with movement comes change, with change the world begins to shape to our will. It is our duty to shape it better than the world we were born into.” She whispers to me.
When I first heard it, I remember pondering on those words. Musing my own duty; daring to wonder if my life would not be better spent trying to help these people. Is that why my grandfather came here? Searching penance? Searching for resolve?
“Yes, I have heard that one, do you have anything else?” I ask her, hoping that her words can bring me closer to the source of his echoes.
The old woman shakes her head, lowering her eyes. She is about to turn from me, but I grasp her hands, placing in it a ration bar. Would that I could do more for her and the others.
“I have nothing else to give.” She says, trying to push it back into my hand.
“As he taught, compassion is among the greatest of virtues,” I say.
She gives me a strange look at first, but a warm smile comes as she nods to me. The next that come, I learn nothing from, save perhaps the good feeling that compassion brings as I give them food. Such a small thing to me, but for them, it could mean survival. I still do not understand their customs. Fennec does not speak on his people, yet somehow I feel that he thinks he is above them now, as if he worries that feeling for them will drag him into the mire of their reality. Feeling nothing though… that is a greater crime in my eyes.
“There is a time and a place to feel sorry for oneself.” A man says loudly over the crowd.
He pushes toward the front, his eyes are striking, a deep black line around each iris, golden yellow with speckles of color laden in them. From what I can see of his covered face, he is around my age, maybe a year or two younger. His black hair is shaven on the sides, the rest braided loosely, forming a knot on the back of his head. Looking down, I see he wears furs like the others, though they are tattered and worn through in some spots. The words he spoke, I have not heard anyone else say them in the months I have been on planet Ora. They remind me of my childhood. It is something my grandfather would say when he caught me crying over something I could not control.
“When?” I ask the man, crossing my arms.
“Never,” he says, but the way he says it makes me laugh, for the first time in what feels like an eternity.
“He used to say the same thing to me when I was a girl.” I say, fond memories coming to me now, thinking deeper on the last few months I finish with, “His words have shaped me, I feel them in my actions even now, after so many years.”
I give him a ration bar, sliding it into his hands, and gripping them warmly. Even the gloves he wears have patches on them.
“Do you know where he is?” I ask him, gripping tighter.
Before he answers, a girl with dark green hair and eyes like a verdant forest in the spring comes. She grabs his arm, pulling his hands from my grasp as though laying claim to him. Putting her head on his shoulder affectionately.
***
My teeth grind, how could I have been so foolish? The man with the yellow eyes, he distracted me so the other could take it. I stare across at him now, having just saved his life after the city's guard fired upon us in the rafters above. Despite his treachery, I did not wish to see him die, he has clearly experienced hardship. The cursed Edict sits in a bag between us on the ground. His face is no longer covered, I can see his eyes looking down at it. Yet he moves toward me instead, trying to help me up. Strange. There is guilt on his face as I rise without his help. My head aches, a large crack in my mask. I am lucky the gravity of this world is only a little stronger than the Galactic Standard. Otherwise, I would be dead. For a thief no less.
“Take it.” He says, bowing to me deeply “Thank you.”
My eyes watch him hold the bow, Fennec told me the Kuwathi rarely say thank you. Letting out a sigh, I pick it up, putting it on my belt, folding my cloak over it.
“Good luck to you,” I say.
His face grows deeper with guilt at my words, which was not my intent. There is no time to explain that I don’t blame him for stealing, I can scarcely imagine what it is like to suffer as they do. Before I can say anything else, he is gone, just like that. I need to leave too and find Fennec. There are shouts in the distance as the dust and frost settle, I can see a few guards wearing old Merchant Federation infantry armor, so outdated it’s a wonder it still works.
My holopad buzzes with a notification, looking down I see it is from Fennec.
We need to disappear, quickly, there is chatter on the planetary comms. You have made a scene. Meet me at the shuttle… My lady.
***
My feet barely pass the threshold of the shuttle and Fennec has already closed the loading bay doors.
“Strap in,” he says.
“Fennec, what is this chatter about?” I ask him.
He glances at me with a scowl “You’re supposed to call me Archie when we are not in Arasha cities.”
My eyes roll, his constant evasive techniques have been grating on my nerves for months.
“Fennec, don’t test me today,” I warn, slumping down in the seat.
He groans, flipping a few switches on the old shuttle's controls.
“Did you manage to get it back at least?” he asks, his tone clearly annoyed.
“Obviously,” I say, patting it against my side.
My eyes widen at the shape my hand feels. It is spherical. Not cubed like the cursed Edict. My hands struggle to open the drawstrings, peering inside. My heart drops.
“Frag…”