The cafe was less than lively at this time of morning and the day was unseasonably cool for the city of Az Zaiqraa. She idly wondered if her waitress was at all cold considering how low cut her top was. The smiling monkey tattoo on her chest was distracting at first but she wouldn’t begrudge the things a girl would do for attention and tips. She had let her waitress know that if she liked her suggestions she would gladly leave her something nice and was looking forward to sampling the local cuisine. It wasn’t often that she found herself within the borders of The Holy Republic of Varalfa after all.

The wait was short and her waitress explained that she had given her harissa and a Rooibos normally native to Africa but cultivated in the city. She thanked the girl with a smile and took a delicate sip. The tea was smooth and slightly nutty, a very good blend, and while at first it seemed to pair well with her harissa, the more she ate the more of the delicate flavor of her tea washed out. Was this a local flavor quirk or was her waitress just inexperienced? No matter she decided.

The tea really was excellent on it’s own and she would have to see about securing some leaves before she left the city. Unfortunately the harissa was not an ideal pairing and that combined the stress of waiting on a cultist fouled the experience. She had always thought that the need for a uniform or identifying marks was the height of folly for clandestine organizations, but a woman with no arms shouldn’t cast stones. What other groups chose to do to cement the loyalty of the stupid was beneath her, but even fools had their uses she supposed.

She cut her musings short as she caught sight of her party approaching the lovely cafe she chose to hold their most recent meeting at. She discreetly touched her index finger to the base of the palm of her hand and with a satisfying click and a light hum she could be confident that no one could listen in on them.

“You’re late.” she said. Whether or not he was actually late was irrelevant but she felt that there was a proper script one should follow in situations like these.

“A thousand pardons madam.” He said before taking the seat in front of her, a waitress took notice of the new addition to the table but the man waved her off. She took the time to drink his appearance in, he wore black flowing robes and pants in the preferred style of the area for the last century. Perfect for the arid conditions of the region and identical to many of the men going about their business in the streets. His hair was black, slicked back, brown eyes, medium height, medium build, the perfect picture of forgettable ruined by the tattoo on his wrist that he discreetly flashed her. A black snake with 2 tails marking him as a member of the Cult of Echidna.

“Yes yes, let’s get on with it.” She said with a sigh, tamping down on the small thrill that came with playing secret agent.

“As you wish.” He shifted in his seat keeping an eye on the door. “We have confirmed that the gift is in fact what you suspected it to be.”

“Well of course it was.” She stated imperiously. “As I told your little club, a first generation Vain Glory unit doesn’t stay hidden for long.”

“Unfortunately the item is already in transit. Acquiring it at this stage would be unwise.”

“Who’s handling the delivery?” she asked, taking a long sip of her tea. There were no shortage of mercenary companies and independent contractors in the region after all, Varalfa prided itself on the amount of pilots the region produced. If someone was foolish enough to provide something with such value with subpar protection then swooping in with enough force to take it would be child’s play.

“Glory.”

“Well shit.” She said. At the mention of the company a dull ache began to burn in her back, past injuries reminding her of the importance of her mission.“How many units are are acting as escort?”

“No questions about the intel so far?” He said sounding far too pleased with himself.

“Oh please, neither Indira Izz nor that pest Gloria Vain have a subtle bone in their body. The woman named war machines after herself it wouldn’t surprise me if they decided to haul a shipping container plastered with their names and faces on it.”

The man smiled at her from across the table clearly holding back a laugh. “I must say, you are far more pleasant than my predecessors implied.”

“The units?” She chided, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“Four active units confirmed, but six other women.” The man said. “Ah and one man driving which means that unless lightning struck twice they potentially have six other units on standby.” He reached into his sleeve and placed a data stick on the table in front of her. “These are all the details we could gather on the route they’re taking and the units we saw. Asherah thankfully was not among them and it’s pilot has not been seen leaving the Academy.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Small mercies. When is the item due to arrive?” She took the data stick and with casual flick of her wrist inserted it into the storage compartment that opened in her right arm. If the man sitting across from her was at all surprised he hid it well.

“Later this evening. The Crown Princess wishes to make a spectacle of the activation and bonding and has decided that her birthday would be the perfect occasion. Which leaves 2 days if you wish for us to acquire it before it is fully claimed. I must confess, my… Club as you called it would much rather deal with the palace guard than Gloria Vain’s lapdogs. We have confirmed that Glory is strictly on hand for the delivery, security for the event is being handled by a mercenary group.”

“Oh? Which one?” Her interest was piqued, there were only a small number of groups that the royal family would work with after all and as far as she could recall none of them had a very large Vain Glory compliment.

“Solstice Security Solutions. Old players, slow to adapt properly to the changing conditions of the battlefield.”

“How do you mean?”

“They have a large conventional force but minimal Vain Glory units, one custom suit and four Great Machine units one of which was taken out of commission in a recent training accident.”

She took a moment to marvel at the breadth of information gathered and presented to her. She expected a brief update and a request for further instructions or perhaps a report stating that they had suffered a large number of casualties, the Cult of Echidna was mostly known for their fanaticism and penchant for collateral damage. Her organization typically casting them in the role of hired thugs or elaborate distractions, if more of their agents were like this she may have to rethink that position later.

“Is that information included in the data stick?” She asked.

“Indeed it is, I assume that our interaction has been thus far satisfactory?”

“Assume whatever you like.” She said with a smile.

“Then just to confirm, we are of one mind concerning the items retrieval. Solstice would be much easier to assault with our assets in place than the Glory convoy. Once it has passed into the palace’s custody but before the princess has claimed it we’ll -”

She held up a hand to cut him off mid sentence. “I’ll trust you with the details from this point forward. The delivery coordinates are unchanged. Is there anything at all you need on my end?”

“Need is a strong word.” He said, casually leaning back in his chair. “If you have the time I do have some questions?”

“And perhaps I have answers, though a question of my own first. What do I call you?”

He appeared to start at her question, then sat up and with a smile declared “Enigma, for the purposes of these meetings you may call me Enigma Crowe. It may even be my name.” He said with a cheeky smirk.

She marveled for a moment at the utterly stupid sounding name he had given her. It reminded her of what some girls did after learning that they had a high enough Vain Glory pilot affinity rating. Names like Jinx Thornheart, Belladonna Dread, or Lydia Lazzaro, names that reminded her of her own circumstances and deepened the aching of her back. It’s not like she was unsympathetic to the notion of changing ones name to symbolize a clean break from their past but there should be a limit to how many people chose names based on what they thought sounded like a strong protagonist or valiant hero.

“Enigma then, I am-”

“I am aware of who you are. Your reputation precedes you, and may I just add that watching you in your prime piloting Apex Valkyrie was the closest I may ever witness to perfection in action.”

His statement gave her pause, it’s not like she had tried to disguise her appearance at all but being clearly recognized was a surprise. She was active as a pilot at the start of the Glorious Era so there were few who’d still remember her Vain Glory from her combat circuit days, and it was now 22 G.E. She picked up her half forgotten harissa and took a slow deliberate bite.

“I see, your questions then?” she asked.

“How did it feel?”

“Did what feel?”

“You were Blessed by Echidna, commanded her brood as if it were your own flesh and blood only to have the privilege revoked. Is it true that cripples can no longer pilot regardless of compatibility? Does the fact that a man capable of becoming Blessed as you were bring you hope that you may pilot again someday or despair that he’s brother to Asherah’s Blessed? Does it gall you that you can no longer deal death as simply as breathing?” His smile grew almost too wide for his face as he placed both arms on the table and leaned in, questions rapid firing.

What a shame she thought. Of course the member of the fanatical cult would in fact prove to be a fanatic, this always happened with the interesting men in her life. Something about her brought their flaws quickly to the surface, at least it saved time she mused. She slowly reached her left arm above the table drawing languid circles on his right hand before clamping down on his wrist and yanking him towards her more quickly than he could blink. The smile not diminishing in the slightest.

“Let’s answer those in reverse shall we?” She said as she leaned her face closer to him, her expression more a bearing of teeth than anything close to a smile. “As you can clearly see dealing death-” she said rolling her eyes at the phrase “remains as simple as breathing.” She placed her thumb over his tattoo and began to apply pressure then with a twist of her elbow let the taser in her prosthetic briefly activate. To her amusement the tattoo flickered from the image he had flashed her to an eastern dragon and back again as the pressure mounted.

“Ah, SmartInk tattoos have been making a bit of a comeback recently, haven’t they? Shame they still haven’t figured out how to insulate them.”She observed. It seemed that despite his flaws he at least had the wherewithal to not keep a terrorist banner on his skin for the world to gawk at.

“Where were we? Ah yes Yukiko’s special snowflake brother, which I suppose ties into the question of whether or not I can still pilot.” She continued to squeeze harder but Enigma’s expression remained unchanged. “I don’t think about him at all and as for whether or not I remain ‘Blessed’ maybe one day you’ll see.” She punctuated her sentence by puncturing her thumb through the center of his tattoo. Then with her free hand guided her empty teacup to just under her thumb and released him, causing his blood to flow freely into the cup.

“Wouldn’t want to make a mess now would we?” She cooed. “We’re done here Enigma. Clean yourself up.”

She pressed her index finger into the center of her palm once more and with another satisfying click the subtle hum faded as she stood and left. Her hips swaying though whether or not that was for Enigma’s benefit he couldn’t tell, smile still plastered to his face and breath coming in ragged gasps. The waitress quickly approached him with a first aid kid and began treating him.

“Should I follow her Brother?” She asked. “Perhaps pay her back for the discourtesy?”

Enigma looked down at her. From how he was seated he could clearly see the smiling monkey tattooed on her chest, ready to shift to a familiar snake at a thought and specific flex from it’s owner.

“No, don’t bother. I would never waste a Blessed on such a trivial matter.” He said. She blushed in response and finished treating his wound, then stood at his side. “I knew I liked her. A woman like that is wasted in Pandora’s ranks.” He stood and they began to walk off together. “Rally the others, we have a package to deliver and a palace to burn.”