“Ok, all done,” Mimi said, inserting a chip into a small terminal sitting in the center of the server farm. Apparently, terminals like this were commonly used for large-scale infrastructure maintenance and operation within facilities. Did the Valkyries base have one? Mimi couldn’t recall. Ignoring her thoughts, she pinged Reina.
No response.
“Reina, you there, over?” Mimi called again, isolating her voice with some Johrei so that no one else could hear her even if they were nearby. A lesser-used ability, as this one tended to eat up more stores than usual.
“Boss…” Reina replied. “Someone killed my Songbird, over.”
“What?” Mimi said. “Is this important? We can discuss this later. Are you able to access the servers now, over?”
“Affirmative. I’ll handle that from my end. But boss, this death…it’s Vera. She was the contact that Aio and Cyr were supposed to meet. The cleaner’s database found someone whose DNA matched hers during an excavation of one of the local reservoirs near the border of Lucens Mundi, only a a mile or two away from where I last lost contact with her. She was wrapped in a hunter’s curtain, but luckily, a part of her body detached under the water at some point and got stuck in the blades of one of the reservoirs’ filtering systems, giving us at least some forensic evidence to work with. It’s her. Boss, I don’t know who Cyr and Aio met up with, but its not Vera, over.”
Mimi needed to get out. She didn’t have time to think this over. “I’ll let Caz know when I see him, but focus on getting us information from the Clan pertaining to the Trepidor brothers, and that other matter I asked you to look into, over.”
“Roger, over,” Reina replied, and then cut off her comms.
She placed her ear against the door, listening intently to the footsteps walking by. There were scattered footsteps moving hastily in the floors beneath her. Caz probably got their attention by now. However, Mimi did notice something odd. A strange tapping sound, and yet, she couldn’t quite picture what was causing that sound, with all the ruckus happening around. Suddenly, the tapping stopped and the image that was about to form in her mind disappeared, as the sounds reverberated no more. It didn’t feel that close however.
Mimi decided to take the risk, easing open the doors. Keeping her footsteps silent, being mindful of her lowering Johrei stores, she began to make her way back outside.
However, suddenly, an older man crossed into her view. Cane in hand, their eyes locked, and the man’s eyes widened, and then narrowed.
How did he bypass my hearing? Mimi thought. His face seemed familiar…
“Now, this is a welcome surprise, Ms. Rainsong,” the man said, and suddenly it clicked for Mimi.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Daijo…Daijin…”
“In the flesh,” Timur replied as began walking down towards Mimi. Mimi stepped back, unsure of her next steps. The window was at the end the hall and she needed to get past him to get there. She could hear guards moving up the stairs from a few floors below as well as something larger between them…
That had to be Caz. Was he captured? Why is he surrounded by others?
As she eyed for a way to get around him, Timur spoke up. His voice was eloquent, practiced beyond years, and he had an air of dignity about him that belied the Clan’s representation of him, and the rumors which surrounded him.
“Ms. Rainsong, need I remind you that trespassing onto Clan property without proper authorization, is grounds for marking.”
A sweat beat rolled down Mimi’s neck. This was just one man. Why was she so worked up? But she realized. In all her years, no one’s footsteps had ever eluded her. He was clearly different from the rest.
“What can I say? I got lost,” she replied. Her head ran through the scenarios. There wasn’t too much doubt in Mimi’s mind whether she could take him on in a straight fight. A Shogun is a Shogun, feared as the greatest hunters of the last city, even if she was on the weaker end of that spectrum. The oddity that concerned his silent approach implied he had some kind of Johrei ability, though Mimi doubted it was something that could overcome her abilities as a Supplementor. Clan of Tribute members have always been hard advocates against the use of grafted Enthipid cores or armor as part of their bodies – something Inners like her were perfectly content with. Without that, a person could never tap into the full potential that such cores and armor offered, including its expanded range of abilities.
However, she can’t risk harming the leader of one of the three great Clans. Doing so, especially in such an unauthorized fashion, despite being a representative of the Clan of Venerers – this would only spell trouble for both her, and the Clan she represented. At best, it would shift the power balance of the city back into the hands of the Clan of Tributes, and at worst…
This could be considered a declaration of war between the Clans. Mimi didn’t want to think about the butterfly effect this would cause throughout the public sectors of the city. The Clans were pillars upon which the public relied upon for the enforcement of contract and law. It is the sole source of stability which, should it ever face internal confrontation - in the wake of this nightmarish planets of monsters and death – it would destabilize and dismantle the foundations upon which the citizens relied on for their fragile peace. The word of the Clans, regulated by the Auditors, and given authority by the councils of the city, stood as a beacon of hope in a grim world.
Timur noticed Mimi standing up straight, green pupils eyeing him fiercely, and raised an eyebrow. They were clearly nowhere near the ground floor, where visitors could get permission to enter the higher floors.
“I see. Well, if you’re still worried, don’t be. I’m just here to talk. Nothing more. I could never defeat you or any Division hunter in a battle, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have some advantage over you here,” Timur said pausing. “I may have the answers you’re looking for.”
“About what?” Mimi asked.
“Surely, you’re aware, are you not?” Mimi remained silent as Timur continued. “About why the brothers overtook Revenant’s Balance? About why they’ve committed unauthorized murder in a highly regulated district with a pact of nonviolence? How one of them became an Onyx Technician himself?”
Mimi’s eyes widened. She was stunned by the implications of his words. Though the data Reina is trying to access was more important to her at the moment, she couldn’t help but be drawn by the notion of Timur’s words.
“And why,” she started, “are you willing to give up such secrets?”