Kimika
NAMELESS DROP-OUT
I’m falling a thousand feet through the air. Rapidly approaching towers, other buildings and solid pavement that await my inevitable contact. Perhaps I’ll also meet my guardian wrapped in the ominous light which defines protection, love and bravery. This could be called bravery too. But this is reckless. This way of freely tossing myself out of a mobile spaceship is just suicidal.
Presently. This is just another mission.
My teammates are around me and falling as well. All wearing distinct masks. We’re doing a space-dive and our designated targets are on the ground. Rouge, mutated entities affected by the dark nebula implants, causing them to exhibit behaviors of destruction and murder. The nebula infects any biological being at random once they’re within a one hundred meter radius. It has a source. A host which transmits its effects to compatible subjects before the nebula deteriorates the host itself. Afterwards, the nebula would have already been transferred to a more suitable being and all the while evolving.
That’s what I’ve learned in fighting these things. The atrocities of Paramount Dominion.
I don’t want to think about that now. As the air tugs at my body and caresses my skin, beneath the garments of the close-fitting salyon suit, my hair floats and I feel free. I am at peace. My eyelids are closed so I see nothing. I can never see anything. But I feel everything. And now I still feel empty, I lost her and
“...mi...” a sound develops, forcing its way into my consciousness.
“...mika... Kimika-are-you-okay-in-there?” Shadow’s voice pulls me from my daze and the blurry thought clears to the water droplets scrambling over my face. That’s right, I got lost in the shower channel’s soothing reverie.
“Yeah, I’m okay Shadow.” I press the button on the wall to stop the overhead shower. “Just a bit tired.”
“We’re-not-on-mission-remember? T.A.I.J.E. (Tish)” she says lightly. Habits from my past life still linger on with me. Here, your given name and chosen name shouldn’t co-exist. Both serve a separate purpose of identification. And here, you’re not automatically punished severely by saying either. “We-have-quest-review-so-Rickard-wants-us-on-the-flight-deck-in-five.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.” I shift the curtains and take the towel off the rack to wrap myself in.
Although I’d rather feel the fabric as I dry off, I’ll have to use the heat cubes this time to get it done faster. I take the small cube off the bathroom sink, press it, and then toss it to the floor. Stepping closer so that it’s almost exactly underneath me, I relax as the moderate heat erupts and subsides, leaving me dry. My small square bundle of clothes rests at the door so I pull them on and put on my aero ankle shoes. I could have worn something that gives my feet a bit more room to breathe but I’ve always felt safer with thicker material around some parts of my body, whether I’m shifting or not.
No doubt it’s an after-effect of having to shove through life threatening situations for ten years. Where an instant of discomfort could cost you a limb or your life.
Using my tails, I take my gloves from the wall behind me and pull them on while stomping the toes of my shoes. Time to go.
My name is Kimika Kuu-Bo. That was my given name but I’ve also been known as Octavia, Big Hair, Pet and now my pending code-name is Magna-K. I’ve been sixteen for almost a month now.
I’m not sure what I am, some sort of unknown entity. Something I’ve at least suspected since childhood, wandering around villages alone. My feet are as capable as my hands, except they are webbed claws or talons. My ears are that of a beastling, furs and all. And I have two tails that I’m accustomed to keeping intertwined throughout their four-foot length and held at the tips with metallic braces that has grown with me. I’m visually impaired and based on what others have told me, my eyes are white or simply without pupils. Lastly, my thick black hair is kept in a neat bundle beneath my waist with two hair-puffs on opposite sides of my head and two beside my neck. These are not mere hair-puffs though, contrary to what others may think. I bear the weight and the pain to prove it, a secret that I fear could terrify those around me if my control slips. A secret that I’ve naturally adapted to holding onto throughout my life.
My birthplace is also a mystery. The baby years of my life are blurry. But for the past ten years I’ve been an assassin-in-training by an organization without a name—hence referred to as Nameless—surrounded by several other young vals. Fighting the environment, natural disasters, unknown enemies, and worse of all we fought against each other. During the final five years we were scattered and forced to survive and live until eight of us remain. That was the intention. Eight, yet only four would have graduated alive as the chosen. Every day was a different version of a nightmare. A nightmare I shared with someone.
My best friend—Guardian Saestaenne—caused an abrupt end to it all before it got to that phase. She triggered a wide explosion in the attempt of saving my life, crazy as it sounds. I haven’t seen her since. But I know she’s alive, I can feel it and I have to find her. The fact that I’m here now means her actions worked as she intended and I’m no longer a Nameless puppet on the brink of death. Every night when I do happen to get some small rest I reach for her instinctively as she was always the source to pull me from my nightmares and ease my trembling. Now I’m forced to do that myself. I use my anger to stifle the sadness that erupts during those moments. How dare she not be here? We’re supposed to always be together, die together even.
Now I’m with Team Central of the rogue vigilante League Stage, searching for any signs of her while I travel and assist them on missions throughout space. According to what they know, Saesta concentrated her energy on a nebula fragment which was the epicenter for the explosion. But that’s what I’ve told them and I don’t plan on sharing the rest of what occurred that day. I’ll keep it to myself no matter how much it hurts. Part of me truly believes that she’s somewhere out there, maybe connected with one of these things. But the more days pass the smaller parts of me that believe otherwise grow centimeter by centimeter.
I was unconscious when Central’s ship, the Gambit, found me floating in outer space and later I was revived. On operations each Stage member is granted a unique suit that induces invisibility. They are also given a code-name which is often times a chosen word as well as a lettered initial, and a mask to help conceal their identity. T-Shadow stands outside my door.
“Come-on, we’re-gonna-be-late.” Taije smiles and drags me down the hallway without a second thought.
Circular friction pads along the ground makes it difficult to fall. Taije has been strangely nice to me since we met. I keep expecting her to try and strangle me in my sleep or something. And her way of easily giving physical contact almost always forces me to shift to eliminate the threat. But thus far I can sense it is normal for her as the grid-like pattern of her slips into my mind again. Violet and indigo streaks, happiness and another feeling. She’s smiling and looking ahead as our feet stomp down the corridor, making little sound.
Taije’s home zone is thousands of light years away but her family is so large that they’re scattered and have been known to be a part of each of the leagues.
She seems a bit nervous or uncertain. That’ll explain the indigo streaks as her palms pulsate through mine. The reason for this may be connected to my latest mission. It didn’t go as well or as acceptable as the previous four I’ve been on in the past three weeks since I’ve been here.
We stop after taking a left and an abrupt right up the two flights of stairs. She releases my hand and spins around facing me, slowing down her heartbeat a little.
“Hey, don’t-worry-about-it,” she says. “After-all, what’s-the-worse-that-could-happen-right?”
I nod. She’s saying this more to settle her own nerves rather than lessen my unease. That now, makes it harder. I swallow and exhale, walking beside her and approaching the wide frame of the door, its green ‘S-like’ plasma outline vibrating in my subconscious. If I can face all those monsters in the past and survive, even on my own, I can survive a harsh meeting with Spy Rickard without losing control.
The doors open and I step inside but no one greets us. They’re all watching something in the center of the room above the desk. Hardy turns around to my direction. Taije walks over and takes her seat behind him. Raymond, who’s not interested in what’s being shown, is to my right in the corner, sitting on cushions on the rectangular slab and eating a fruit with his knife, smirking as he notices me. That should be his code-name and not Blade-I. I walk towards the last empty slab and take my—
“You’re late,” says the low and firm voice of Rickard. “Come around and sense what we’re looking at.”
His emphasis on the word ‘sense’ was not loss to me.
“Blake” he adds.
Hardy gets up and walks to where I stand. He places the visual cube magnet at the center of my chest and pulls out the thin plastic cables. Two are pasted over my shoulders and two around and above my waist. He rests both his hands on my shoulders gently, before turning away. I go to the desk and stand with my back to the rest of the team. Underneath the screen they were watching, four dimensional images slowly propel into my mind.
I’m diving to the ground. The footage speeds up in showing Kit, Blade-I, Shadow and I defeating the affected Rouges. My takes are a little more forceful than the others and Kit’s mostly detecting and falling back for added support while we target the suspected rouges. In retrospect, I was trying to find a way to incapacitate them without having to slay them, though regardless of what I thought of I ended up killing them anyway and giving in to what I was trained to do for all my life. By the time I spotted the source, the others have already gotten to that final rouge. Swinging through the building passages in haste, I hold the pole with my feet before reverse swinging and slamming my crossed arms into the chest of the creature. Thanks to Shadow’s ability, after she touched him, five seconds later my collision phased us through the walls of the abandoned building. I knelt on the target’s chest and slide to a stop across the dusty floor.
The others rushed to join me inside. I remember hearing Hardy’s words about activities coming from the Enforcer squad a couple miles east. They somehow knew where we were. My hand pressed on top of his chest and as the nebula piece touched my hand I paused. Of course that’s when I—
“Freeze Frame,” orders Rickard. “Do you mind telling me what the hell was that?”
“What?” I’m reflecting on that moment and although my back’s turned I feel Rickard’s intense glare all over my face.
“You. Froze. Almost like you saw something—sense something—whatever. Now, What happened?” His tone is measured, assessing my response.
“It was,” I begin. “It was a little difficult to sever it from the host—”
“Never happened before.”
“I completed the task—”
“Several seconds well beyond the average time limit.”
“We completed the mission. The town’s safe and we made it back here.” That’s what he should be focusing on more than anything. I shattered the nebula rock before it could revert to its gaseous state to find another host too.
“You froze! Bad enough the Enforcers were within meters and closing fast. As for how they knew where we were initially, that’s another issue, but Blake gave clear instructions before and after you held the nebula rock. Twenty seconds to leave as we could clearly see that an upper agent was headed directly to your location. The Enforcers’ strength is speed, ours is invisibility and you jeopardized that fumbling with a rock and daydreaming. It could have easily moved to another host during that lapse, and then what? Your extra fifteen seconds delay could have cost the whole team. Are you that stupid or reckless to think you could take on an entire division? Those fools have killed enough of us and—”
“I didn’t join this team to carry on with some silly feud between you and the Enforcers!” I’m not cautious or nervous anymore and my aggression and frustration spring to the surface in the form of words. I disconnect the link from my body and toss them aside before turning towards Rickard and the rest of the team “I came so I can find her—”
“But how are you going to find her by putting yourself in unnecessary danger like that dear?” says Bridget gently. Her voice and attention always has a sudden and strange soothing effect on me. When I first awoke, subconsciously I caused a lot of damage to the team, including the ship, until she settled my rampage. Now, whenever I’m on board the Gambit I assist her on the garment repairs. Besides fighting and operating in the field, designing fabric has been one of my favorite natural habits or skills. We’ve woven, enhanced and built upgraded versions of suits for each member of Central so far. And whether we use the synthetic machinery in the prep sector to tighten the elasticity or use our hands to do a more personal or precise treatment, my abilities have made her happy because they could now get coated for tasks much faster than usual.
“Those rocks are clues” I turn away from her to keep my level of anger from falling or else I feel my point won’t be strong enough. “It’s bad enough that I have to destroy them but that time there proved I was right in my initial stance to examine them at least for a bit at first. That time I felt—”
“What? That your little friend would just pop outta the rock and say hi?” Rickard stands, forcing me to focus on his outline.
I can sense stuff about everything else, whether I’m close by or not. Intentions, moods, injuries, truth and falsehood. But with him, there’s nothing beneath his pattern. Like a vacuum. I ignore the amused chuckle of Raymond in the back. Hoping he chokes on what he’s eating or his knife silences him.
“You lost one friend. I’ve lost several, countless dead and missing. Doesn’t mean I’ll cut you some slack for trying to get some more of us killed.”
“I didn’t think—”
“Right, you didn’t think. Had the movement of that Enforcer not mysteriously stopped all of you would have been in trouble.” He focuses over his shoulder. “That includes you too Raymond, so I suggest you take this seriously or the next review will be on you. I do recall you leaving Kit to take down a rouge when his duty is to sense while you’re to eliminate.”
Raymond sets his knife down and shifts his focus from Rickard to me. I sense all his anger being directed at me since he cannot hold his leader with contempt. Taking long strides around Rickard, I hurry towards the exit.
“And where are you going?” He asks as I get closer to the door.
The repulsive aura pattern of Raymond develops before me. I fold my arms and clench my jaws. “Move”
“I don’t believe your assessment’s done yet rookie” lowering his voice, he adds “Best be careful, you haven’t been initiated yet and I bet no one’s told you what happens if you fail” I can smell his breath and body fluids. A mixture of soap, palm and whatever fruit he had—
‘ELATIN’ the frustrating lettering run across my mind with the fruit and a description label as well. ‘A FRUIT THAT IS PRIMARILY LOCATED ON DAMAGED MOONS AND INDEPENDENT VIRTUE STARS. IT HANGS FROM A PLANT THAT GROWS APPROXIMATELY FOUR FEET IN HEIGHT AND IS VERY SIMILAR TO -PEACH- FROM THE LOST WORLD OF DISORIA’
The warning signs in my head are flashing red, omen of my anger level as the fruit’s stupid description vanishes.
“Let her pass Raymond” Rickard sighs. “We’re done for now.”
Before he could move out of the way I shove pass him and he stumbles to the side, barely retaining his balance.
‘As if anyone here could stop me’
“Two strikes, two” I hear Rickard’s voice telling them.
“I don’t know why we need her though” Raymond says. “After all Rick you already—”
“Keep quiet” he snaps.
Lowering the volume in my head, I try hard not to think about what I saw and why I froze. Sobs and lifeless eyes. Eyes I feel I know and yet I don’t know. Eyes that might confirm my worst fears. Turning left, I walk into the training room, a place I use to think. Upon pressing the switch, the equipment moves to the sides, leaving the center free. I roll out a mat along the floor, remove my shoes and gloves and start my stretches.
Need to try and release some of the tension I’ve just built up. These cellans did rescue me, regardless of the circumstances and I’ve dealt them damage the moment my body was revived.
I work my muscles and flex my bones in the many ways learnt throughout my time with Nameless as I think about the meeting.
We both need each other so I’ll stay as calm as I can be. Even though it’s so darn difficult to stay in control of my emotions when Saesta is missing and I haven’t got a solid clue on where she is. That vision I had earlier has built up my unease, a vision, though unclear, I do not want it becoming reality. Not to mention that wherever I was on Nameless—as in that entire zone—is probably just a fraction compared to this whole world. They call this a galaxy of sorts. Andromeda.
I do hand stances, sending my body weight vertically ideal while spreading my legs like wings and spinning as fast as I can on my hands. I know he’s here.
“What is it Hardy?” I release a breath and push off the ground, high in the air, rotating over and over before landing flawlessly on my feet. It’s only been a few minutes but my blouse is already drenched with sweat and sticking to my breasts.
“How do you do that?” He asks in awe, standing near the entrance.
“Well, I’ve been training for more than half my life.” I do a few more arm stretches and then I walk to him with one arm in the air and the other squeezing as tight as an iron vice.
“That’s not what I meant.” He clears his throat. “I mean, how do you always know when someone is close by or watching?” He never tries to hide his intrigue or curiosity, constantly wanting to learn more and more.
“Actually” I switch hands and stop a few inches away, not wanting him to get caught up in my routine. Besides the fact that I’m sweaty, I’ve understood since being a part of this team that my body and most likely those of the other vals from Nameless, are a lot sturdier than these cellans. Perhaps stronger than all other entities. Hardy reluctantly told me in detail what happened after I first woke up and the damage I did to the ship and to everyone. I was in a daze and wasn’t quite myself until the second time I awoke on the cold bed in the Gambit’s rest bay. But a single val that can put the bulky Spy Rickard in a coma, shatter a reinforced cylindrical barricade, blast through the collarbone of Raymond (although he received instant rejuvenated surgery shortly thereafter) and so on, is not something any entity should try to get close to as fast.
And now that I consider it, that’s the main reason Raymond despises me so much. Hardy also filled me in on how the Gambit declined my plasma particles until after I awoke and fell asleep, thus restoring the ship’s power source at an astonishing rate and saving the team.
I realize I’m in the middle of making a point “you’re the one that said I have the rare and ancient case of ‘advanced synesthesia.’ I don’t know, but since the beginning I can sense things, sometimes they’re in the form of colours, or a distinct smell and such. There’s always a ripple once anything at all is within my perimeter I just...know I guess”
I notice he’s just standing, listening keenly and smiling in wonder. His aura displaying his true mental disposition at my statement.
“But you have heard all this before.”
“I sort of...forgot?”
I frown. “I’ve only known you for a short time Hardy. But one thing I do know for sure about you is that you, never, forget.”
Sensing my rapid rising frustration he says “fine...I guess I...” He’s focusing on his feet, anxiety, nervousness, those feelings are highlighted in my brain. “...like hearing you talk about yourself.”
I know he’s not lying or else I would sense it but either way I don’t like the tone of things and I don’t want any complications. “You mean you like analyzing my genetic makeup or whatever.” I turn away to continue my work out.
“No, that’s not it Kimika—”
Something heavy’s on my back. Initial impulse is to use my shifting abilities but I hear the familiar purrs and touch the fuzzy coated paws.
“Kit!” I hug him tightly in my arms. As I sit on the floor and embrace my partner all previous tension or anxiety magically diminishes. Like me, he was also discovered by Team Central. Trapped in some sort of ceramic casing until after I woke. So my life plasma assisted not just with the ship, but also with Kit. It revived him and we’ve been inseparable ever since, a connection that’s a bit difficult to explain. Growing up on Nameless, beasts and plants were also a constant threat but I’ve surprisingly adjusted quickly in his case.
Kit’s fur is thick, with the colors of dark green, his paws are black and white. His tail has the rings with these same colors. Sometimes when he sleeps his fur covers his small body that can cause anyone else to think it’s just a ball or a bundle of rolled up fabric. Hardy has yet to figure out what type of creature he is, though he believes that Kit has some relation to the mighty and dangerous beasts called hymegas. But what’s important to Stage is that Kit and I have made it several times easier to locate source rouges and extract it at a faster rate than most Stage teams are capable of through sensory and perception. We’ve made their vigilante rescue operations move on well above average.
I think he’s a lot more capable than what he lets on. Privately, K-Leo has displayed incredible reflexes and force. Strong enough to push me over in a pounce. Even more so if I give him a type of meal he despises. A few times Raymond purposely switched Kit’s food with some of his after realizing that Kit’s fur changes and gets all puffy due to the ingredients. I had the urge to flatten the idiot after he started laughing. Since then I’ve managed to help construct a fridge just for Kit’s small supply of food. Neither of us eat much anyway.
“You alright partner?” I ask him. He gazes up to me and lets off a sound while rubbing against me. “Oh” I say, something’s bothering him.
“I found him wandering outside your room again. Figured he missed you.” Hardy says.
“Thanks.” There’s a nagging feeling that I can’t put my finger on developing within my stomach as I rub Kit’s ears. “I left him inside my room. Our room, it was locked and he was asleep. How did he get out this time?”
“What happened with the rouge Kimika?”
That’s it, no matter how smooth or caring Hardy may appear to be, it’s times like these I know who he truly is. He’s simply following protocol like the programmer he is, trying to figure out the best way to solve a problem, an answer to an unknown.
“Did Rickard send you here to quiz me?” I’m mildly upset and I have no intention of answering his question.
He takes a few steps before bending close to us and says “No. I just want to know. I can help you out with anything. I want you to know I’ll never hurt you okay?”
I sigh. My hand pauses over Kit and he’s shaking. I place my palm over his furry cheeks and he doesn’t feel any different but his plasma pattern is glowing, much too bright, causing him to shiver.
“You didn’t answer my question by the way” I hear myself say. My words slightly strained.
“Well he was walking around on a bed outside your room—by the way when did you remodel that door? It’s like it’s made of curtains now. I thought your ability was shell-skin shifting so I’m not quite...”
Hardy’s speech fades away and I gasp. No. It can’t be. I jump to my feet, still clutching the shivering Kit.
“Kimika?”
“Why aren’t we moving?” I whirl around.
“Well, uh” he knows something’s off with me now. My eyelids are probably open wide and perhaps I’m also trembling and not just Kit. “Bridget wasn’t feeling too well and Rickard just wanted to—”
“I can hear her” I focus my sense of audio on Bridget, not even paying attention to the partial truth/lie indicator that just went off from his response. “She’s fine and eating in the dining hall.”
“We need to get the Gambit moving. Now!” I cradle Kit and rush past Hardy. I know what I have to do, my body knows it too. As dangerous as it may be I have to know for sure but then what? How am I supposed to face..?
“Kimika what’s going on?” Hardy makes haste, trying to follow us closely.
No, no, no, not now. Not here. It shouldn’t be possible. I dash down the corridor with Kit now clutching on my shoulder and Hardy breaking off in one of his rare sprints. This can’t be happening, not when I’m alone. Not when Saesta isn’t here to protect me.
I get to the pathway towards my room and an unwelcome scent pierces my nostrils. I touch the curtains, formerly my door and the plasma circuit is magnified mentally. Magenta colored roses. Hardy comes to a stop behind me, his hand rests on his knees but I don’t have time for him to catch his breath and I’m afraid of sensing what’s inside.
“Could you, go in my room and take a look if there’s anything, not like me in there?” I ask him and my vocal cords are becoming tighter. Whether I’m sending him into danger or not isn’t registering to me. I might be losing thought.
“Huh?” he’s puzzled but nonetheless he moves the curtains as I stand back. “Kimika—”
His communicator goes off and he answers. I can hear Taije’s voice yelling at him “Blake, what-in-the-astro-crumbling hell-did-you-modify-my-room-for? And-what’s-with-the-strange-toys-and...cake?”
In shock, Kit falls through my arms and I start to feel light-headed.
“Kimika what’s wrong?” Hardy holds my shoulders and I push him away.
“You have to start the ship” my voice has fallen to a mere whisper now.
He lifts my chin and stares at me saying “Tell me what’s going on...please”
Emotions of desire circulate within me and I know that it’s not just because of his contact right now.
Before I lose myself even more I say to him, in between gasps “Every male is...in danger of dying on the ship and for the females, maybe even a worse fate... Another Nameless assassin is here Hardy”
“That’s ridiculous. No one can get on the Gambit, even if they managed to find it through our stealth mode, they’ll still have to get a coded entry from personnel on the inside and then simultaneously enter pass codes internally and externally. Besides, no breach has even—”
A blaring and sudden alarm cuts off his explanation “INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. IN-truu...”
The ship’s system goes down and the power blinks off and then on again. Spy Rickard requests our presence in the flight deck but we’re already running.
The door slides open. I focus on the entire room, searching rapidly. There, resting on the table is an orb, carrying the scent of someone I definitely don’t want to sense or think about. This must mean she’s alive. And out there like me, but what side is she on? A stupid question. Apart from Saesta, every assassin’s goal is to eliminate the other until they are chosen. It’s the same with her, she’s just like the rest, but a lot more dangerous. A lot more twisted...Margaretta.
“How did this get here?” I ask.
“It’s a message. A warning” Rickard ignores my question.
“The Enforcers” Hardy says “But how could they—?”
“It appears they have figured out how to get through our stealth. I’ve been fearful of this since Rayner died. But what I’d like to know is who sent this. And why warn us?”
He presses a button on the orb and Mistress Margaretta’s voice says “I’ll be accepting my favour soon” and then the voice of ‘Agent Harumi’ is revealed on the recording as the agent that chased us in the last mission. She’s being ordered by Margaretta and within seconds the warning is issued. The Enforcers now have the technology to break down Stage’s invisibility, stealth and mirages. They can find and detect us anywhere now.
“How about you? Any ideas on—”
“No” I say. “I don’t”
My room reverts to its original state and I finally lie down in the night, increasing the volume through my ears focusing on a particular room. The Mistress may have broken in and yet she isn’t here. But I know she was either here or close and that is enough to alert me. Words are coming from the flight deck, still in meeting. Rickard, Raymond and Bridget are there. Hardy is working on something in his lab, probably the orb and Taije is snoring away in her room.
I don’t need to listen any longer because they’ve now confirmed that the grand Stage League assembly on Sin-Claire will move on as planned.
