“Are you calm now? And can we have a proper conversation?” Richard put his hand on the back of Anya's chair.
Anya nodded slowly and winced, nursing her temple gently. “Yes, Father.”
She squinted her eyes as her vision slowly started to return to normal.
Richard stood back and pulled a chair to sit on.
“Okay, now. This is what happens when you poke your nose around in things you aren’t prepared for.” He leaned back, his arms on the chair’s armrests.
Anya looked at him and bit her lower lip, trying to gather her thoughts and construct questions relevant to what she wanted to know. Above all, her mind piped in, ‘Stay calm, Anya.’
“What did I just see?”
Richard smiled at her tone and demeanor as his right hand moved up, recalling files on his eye HUD.
“Says here you accessed the aftermath video? The one titled 1.” He looked at Anya, who nodded in response.
“What issit that you would like to ask?”
“Noa… she… she’s my sister, right? Of our blood?”
Richard nodded to himself, his mind churning.
“Yes and no.” Noa is your sister, yes… but we had… trouble procreating, so Noa was adopted after the Mallifars were wiped out.”
Anya frowned, remembering the comment Noa had made about her parents making more babies,
Anya nodded, wishing she could talk to Noa. This was the longest time they had gone without contact, which was unsettling to her. Her thoughts were a jumble of questions and speculation, and she didn’t like that.
“So… is that why she wasn’t picked for this… alliance?” the final word left a distaste in her mouth.
Richard nodded as if he was waiting for more.
“And…” Anya’s mind raced. Recalling her lessons on histories, she asked, “Didn’t House Mallifar go too far in their administration of the quad-cities? That was the reason for the Wars of Rebirth, yes?”
Richard looked at Anya, somewhat approving of her seeming control over her emotions.
He nodded, “Yes, I don’t have to repeat the lessons you have learned. But accessing that video was too early for you. There is a ton of other information that you are supposed to go through before that part.”
Anya frowned. That didn’t seem to make sense to her; then again, she had just learned she didn’t know much. She absentmindedly started to bite on her thumb before she looked at Richard again.
“Okay, so why can’t I seem to raise Noa on comms? I don’t think it a coincidence that all of a sudden, I can’t reach her.”
Richard seemed to sigh as he leaned forward.
“Noa is continuing to do gig work, right?”
Anya nodded, frowning as she wondered about the relevance of that reply.
“And I know you have done a lot with her. So, aren’t comms always up when on a job?”
“Y… yes, but the call gets muted when I call Father,” Anya blurted out, frustration beginning to show.
Richard shook his head. “Anya, I am doing what’s best, not only for you but for our House. I might add that this… communication issue you have with Noa is minor compared to what you have to take on soon.”
“What? Don’t change the subject, Father; why are my comms with Noa cut?” Her voice began to rise.
Richard stood up, confrontational in manner.
“Anastasiya! Watch your tone! I will look into this… comm issue, but only if you continue with your lessons.”
Anya’s hands formed into fists. She gripped the armrests on her chair; her knuckles were turning white.
“Breath, Anastasiya, stop letting your emotions control your actions.” Richard watched her response.
Anya closed her eyes and started controlling her breathing again. She wanted more from Richard's answers. She knew that the only way to settle this was to talk to Richard with Noa around, so that is what she would do.
Her eyes opened again as she looked at Richard, who seemed poised for anything, while he looked at her.
She stood up. “Okay, fine. I will continue with the lessons because that is what I need to do for our House, so you will get off my back about what I have done for the House and our family.”
Richard seemed satisfied with her answer and nodded curtly at her response.
“Good, now, return to your studies. PAT will keep me updated on your progress, and I have locked all the other archives that you are not ready to view yet.”
Anya’s eyes seemed to grow as she almost spat at Richard, “Fine, you do that,” before she spun and stormed out of their room.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The car’s engine screamed as Noa sped down the motorway. Her mind was filled with one purpose when an icon with House Essedar’s crest flashed up on her HUD. Her communicator automatically picked it up, much to her disdain, knowing who it probably was on the other end.
“Noa. What is the meaning of the message?” Richard’s concerned voice greeted her.
She sneered at the question and nodded to herself. Mira really did send them, after all.
“I want to see your face when we talk about it; no more lies.” She bit her tongue and shook her head curtly as if to wash away the tears welling up in her eyes.
“How did you gain access to these? Do you realize what you’ve sent are treasonous fakes? The Council of Houses will persecute anyone for even theorizing what are on those.”
Noa scoffed jeeringly at the question. Her mind split between a myriad of emotions and thoughts. ‘That’s what he wants to know??’, her mind screamed within.
“If they’re fake, why are you calling me now? And where the fuck is my sister!”
Richard was silent for a moment before he continued. “Are you headed here?”
Noa shook her head in disbelief, opting not to say anything as she checked the distance to her destination.
“Noa, please stop your heading and turn back. I will meet you once you calm down. You seem to be in distress.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? NO! We will meet when I arrive, or I will burn the whole fuckin house down.”
She cut the call and returned her complete focus to the drive.
The sun had just passed the horizon on its way up, outlining the dense treeline around the High-Rise area. The stark blue sky, mixing with the sun’s orange and yellow, served as a backdrop to the green of the woods as her eyes fleeted on the view.
She was always privy to this view but was always from the other side of the parameter. She noted the tall spires that ran around the compound's parameter and only then noticed the blinking light at their top, something she never realized before.
The trees near the entrance and the spires grew exponentially larger as she closed in on the Essedar High-Rise compound and steered onto an offramp. She had never had to drive from Lowbie Town to High-Rise manually, and it took longer than she had imagined. Her nerves were frayed.
As she repeatedly reviewed the video in her mind, it made more sense. Her memory added all the other documents, official or otherwise, that she had uncovered, with and without Mira’s ‘help.’
She reached the outer compound of the property. A sturdy, bunker-like structure sat on one side of the road she was on, and she saw three armed robots and a man in full-decked-out gear standing around. A barrier rose out from the tarmac, disallowing any vehicles to pass.
‘Now is the time for that hover car,’ her mind said as she slowed her car to a halt before the barrier. Her window slid down as the guard approached.
“This is house Essedar property. Please turn around,” Was his command.
Noa frowned and shook her head. “What? You better lower the barrier if you wanna keep your head… guard; I’m Noa Essedar.” Her mind seemed to fight back as she said it out loud.
The guard hesitated, then nodded. “One moment, please.”
Noa breathed in deeply and closed her eyes; this was not happening, was it?
After a few moments, the guard turned to Noa again.
“I’m sorry, miss, but I am instructed not to let you pass, and you are instructed to alight from the vehicle and submit yourself to a check.”
“What!? Idi Na Khuy you dumb Lokh!”
The guard stepped back, raised his automatic at Noa, and repeated himself.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
“Please, step out of your vehicle and submit yourself for a check, miss.”
Noa nodded as if in understanding and raised a hand, signaling submission, while her other hand slowly opened the door.
“Okay, okay, exiting vehicle.” She looked around, and her HUD registered the three robots that stood around. Her eyes blinked in a set sequence, and small red chevrons appeared above each.
Her hands were raised as the guard moved a hand to his helmet. His head moved slowly down, then back up, pausing at Noa’s still-holstered pistol.
“Please disarm yourself, Miss,” the guard said, his hand still at the side of his helmet as he continued scanning her.
Noa nodded and slowly pushed her pistol from her hip holster, pinching the grip between two fingers as she raised it slowly.
“On the ground, the pistol, and do it slowly.”
Noa nodded and slowly knelt. Her right hand moved back slowly as she released the catch to her knife while she slowly placed the front of the pistol on the road. She looked up. The guard still had one hand on the trigger of his weapon, with the other at the side of his head. His eyes showed no emotion as they fleeted on Noa and her car— a soft blue glow on one of the irises.
The guard repeated his instruction when he noted the pause in Noa’s movement.
“Okay, okay, I’m doing it,” Noa replied, annoyed.
The guard didn’t reply and started nodding. He seemed to be on his communicator with someone. His focus seemed split between the call and Noa while his eyes drifted up to look at the car and lingered momentarily.
Noa suddenly burst forward, and her right hand stabbed upwards, the black blade in her hand cutting through the thinner armor between his legs as he screamed out in pain, the weapon in his hand firing a moment too late.
Noa’s left hand picked up her pistol simultaneously as she pulled her knife back and stabbed again at the same area, the robots reacting now. The guard moved his rifle downward, but Noa was too close to him.
She raised her pistol and shot at a robot, disabling its firearm before the other two started firing. Deftly, she twisted the knife while pulling it out and rolled back toward her car as the rounds from their shots penetrated and went through the guard.
Their rounds started hitting the car as loud metallic sounds rose while they perforated Noa’s car. The robot without a weapon was heading to the gun the guard had dropped.
She aimed her pistol and emptied the entire magazine into the robot’s more sensitive areas, guided by her aiming reticule. The rounds finally hit the more crucial parts of the robot, and it crumbled to the ground.
Satisfied at the sight, she reached up to her hood and pulled the face cover down as she slid behind her car.
REFLECTIVE MODE: ON
Noa paused as she checked her hand, seeing the car instead. She smirked to herself and waited for the robots to replace their magazines. She deftly undid her equipment belt and laid it on the ground, pulling her baton from it. Then, she slid it into one of the pouches in the com-suit.
As soon as that time arrived, she rolled away from her car and made a broad arcing movement to the side of the bunker, leaving her pistol where she had crouched behind the car. She peeked in via a sight slit, screens with red text and boxes seemed to rise, which told her the alarm was raised and that this was now an active hostile zone.
She peeked around the corner. The robots had stopped firing and had now commenced a search. Silently cursing, she realized she hadn’t brought any combat stims. The use of the new suit had begun to affect her gig preps.
She dug into the suit's pouches, producing the dark blade she had used earlier, and the baton, while she took another peek at the two robots' whereabouts. They had split up, one heading away and one drawing nearer to her.
She slid closer to the side of the bunker, and the blade in her baton slid out as she crouched, ready to strike the robot that was closing in. Her mind counted away at the pace of how the robot was walking.
When it finally appeared, she lunged at it as it spun toward her direction, only to have Noa’s baton pushed roughly into its chest before she rolled away from it while simultaneously engaging the shock function she had in the baton, disabling the robot. At the same time, she arrived at the side of her car, now filled with holes.
The other robot had turned and started firing as Noa glided toward the rear of her car, where she had left her pistol. Rounds from the robot hit the vehicle's rear and the tarmac beside her. Following an imagined arc in her head, she slowly slid in the opposite direction of the car she used as cover. Just then, the robot suddenly flew forward and fell onto the tarmac beside her, a loud report echoing through the area.
She raised her head, her mind immediately thinking of Anya.
Duke’s comm icon appeared on her HUD, and she picked it up.
“Thank me later,” came Duke’s voice over the comms.
Noa scoffed and stood up.
“Well, don’t rest yet. Alarm has been raised. I’ll suggest suppressor usage for your long gun if you don’t wanna get gunned down gloriously.”
She replied curtly and circled her car. Her head shook as she saw the damage to her favorite vehicle, adding to the anger inside her on top of the other things.
She climbed onto the driver’s side of the car and picked up her automatic rifle from inside, the HUD reading it still had a full mag on it. She tilted it in her hand, making a mental note to use the face cover from the other Limpen suit she had to wrap around any weapon she had if there was a next time.
She rounded her battered vehicle and recovered her pistol, replacing the magazine with a fresh one, before she spun away from her car.
“I’m going in.”
“Wait, what? Noa! What the fuck!?” was Duke’s reply to a Noa who was already making her way into the manicured woods of the Essedar High-Rise.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anya peeked out of the room she was in. The bustle from outside piqued her interest as she removed the headphones she had been wearing.
“PAT, what is going on?”
“Mistress Anastasiya, we have an intruder on the grounds. Reports indicate she is utilizing a form of cloaking technology. Residents are advised to stay inside while the security teams ensure it is safe.”
Anya nodded, the side of her lips forming into a smile as she knew exactly who it was.
“Okay, keep me posted, please,” She replied as she ran toward the front of the large house; just when her communicator buzzed, Richard’s icon flashed on her HUD.
“Yes, Father?”
“Anastasiya, stay where you are. House security will handle the issue.”
She nodded. “Of course, Father.”
The line cut as she smirked, recalling memories and knowing which route Noa would likely take.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noa had successfully snuck through the wooded area and was now closing in on her destination—a drainage cover she and Anya had manipulated to obey their commands when they had started doing their own activities years earlier.
There were drones up in the air, and Essedar security kept their stance cautious, only going into the wooded areas when they had a sizeable team.
The gentle sound of flowing water greeted her as she stayed away from the edges of the woods and followed the small stream to its origins.
“Psst,” a voice suddenly broke through her focus, and she spun to her side, her body already relaxing, knowing who it was.
“Noakins!” Anya burst out from behind a tree; her hands immediately wrapped around Noa in a tight embrace.
“Anyanas!” Noa cried out in unison, tears forming immediately in her eyes as she embraced Anya tightly. Her entire being rejoiced at the feeling of her sister in her arms.
They embraced for what seemed an eternity, Anya joining in with Noa as tears rolled down her cheeks, both muttering how it had been too long for them before Anya pulled back and wiped the tears from Noa’s cheeks.
“Hey, it's ok, I know.”
Noa bit her lip, and a smile formed on her lips as she sighed; deep relief enveloped her as she nodded at Anya.
“I know, too,” she smiled weakly.
“Are you OK? What are you doing here? And… Why is the security team out in force? Did you pull another crazy Noa stunt?”
Anya’s hands held Noa’s concerned face, and she couldn’t help but smile wide.
Noa inhaled deeply. She snickered at the remark and shrugged. Her eyes blinked at the tears while she sniffled and nodded, chuckling softly.
“I… I need to speak to Richard.”
Anya nodded. “Mhmm, you and me both.”
They spent a few more moments before Anya turned, tugging at Noa’s hand. “Let’s go get this settled.”
Noa found herself giggling, somewhat surprised at how driven Anya was. She nodded and smiled, choosing to stay silent, letting Anya lead the way to the drainage cover they both knew.
Anya’s HUD suddenly flashed with Richard’s icon, and she picked up the call.
“Anastasiya, what are you doing out there!? Get away from her!”
“No, Father! We’re going to talk this over! No more secrets! No more lies!”
Noa suddenly froze and tugged at Anya’s hand, her free hand signaling that she noticed threats.
“What are you doing?? Call them off! It’s Noa!” Anya screamed into the communicator.
“Contact left!” Noa suddenly called out as she raised her rifle and fired a burst, Anya hitting the ground next to her.
“Gun!” She called out, her right hand reaching out to Noa, who nodded and tossed a pistol to her.
She picked it up and aimed toward the direction Noa had shouted out. Aside from the lifeless body of a guard, she could make out a few more hiding behind trees.
“They’re gonna call in the drones soon,” Anya said.
Noa nodded. Options ran through her mind as she kept her aim down her sight while staying aware of the arcs in front of her. Soft bags were easy to handle, but drones and robots are different, as her current kit wasn’t prepped for that.
“Home? Or Father?” She replied curtly,
“Father...” Just as Anya answered, rounds started hitting the trees around them as the familiar hum of drones reached them.
“Fuck, too late, home then,” Noa started to back away from her cover.
“Wait! Down!” Anya suddenly screamed out, and Noa felt Anya’s hands forcefully shoving her to the ground as rounds meant for her hit Anya, sending her flying to a tree near them.
“Anya!” Noa screamed out as she fired her rifle in the direction the rounds had come from, burst after burst of fire at whatever her HUD had picked up, the round count on her HUD going down fast before she clicked empty and pulled back behind the cover of another tree and reloaded her weapon.
She peeked at Anya, who had slid down from the tree and lay unmoving, bleeding from rounds that hit her upper body.
“Anyanas! Get up! Get the fuck up!” She screamed again, her voice shrill, cracking. Gunfire was still directed their way, rounds hitting the tree she was behind and hitting the open ground between her and Anya.
Her whole being suddenly felt like being torn into shreds and imploding simultaneously. Tears welled up in her eyes. There was a meter of open space between her and where Anya fell, and it might as well have been a few kilometers as her mind wanted to pull her away while her body and soul wanted to grab Anya.
Time suddenly seemed to grind down. The gunfire toward her direction, hitting the tree, kicking up spurts of earth, it all seemed to move to some form of time that refused to continue. Noa’s vision blurred into a single focus on Anya's still, unmoving body through the gunfire, and all that she heard was herself screaming Anya’s name.
“Get your ass out of there!” Mira’s voice suddenly broke out on Noa’s communicator, pulling her out of her mind.
“Mira? What??” Noa looked around as the sound of rapid gunfire paused momentarily and broke out again.
“I have temp control of their drones, but their diggers won’t let me stay in control for long. Get your ass out of there, NOW!”
She peeked again at Anya. She could feel the rage inside her spilling free, yet she held her ground and took control of her breathing. Her mind raced through her options as she darted quick looks from behind her small cover.
Chevrons that her HUD had marked out bopped and weaved as their owners either shot back or took cover from the storm of rounds that the drones were firing their way.
She knew what she had to do, but it wasn’t an option she liked. She leaned forward as she started to move and paused in hesitation. She darted a look at Anya and prayed for her to move.
She leaned toward Anya’s body, and a hand reached out, trying to grasp at her sister’s foot when a burst of fire barely missed her.
“Get the fuck out!! NOW!” Mira’s voice repeated on her comms.
She leaned back against the tree, screamed, and banged the back of her head against its trunk.
Her heart pounded despite the breathing control she was trying to exercise. She screamed again, angry at herself as her mind forced the option she had picked. Tears spilled out from her eyes as she cursed out, screaming it out again and again before she lunged away. The continued sound of gunfire masked her low, burst movements from cover to cover.