A/N: it's been a while, huh.
I'm gonna be up-front about this: this is a long (~30k words total), talky story mostly about a pair of OCs I wrote about twice three years ago and barely since. (See Determination and Hesitation - you should probably read those first).
It's probably not my best work. When this is over I'll have a big old post trying to break this thing down and what went right and wrong.
But I hope you enjoy it anyway. This is the first full story I've finished for this blog in three years, and it's the first story I've finished period in darn near two. I haven't been writing for a long time. And I'm sorry to anyone who's enjoyed my stories and has been waiting for more. (That includes me, honestly.)
And before we go any further, a billion thanks to my beta readers demitsorou, snakewater, tundra-tiger, and roadtrip-robot. It really does mean the world to me that you took the time to read this over and give feedback.
So. Three years of weirdness out of the way - for now - let's get on to it. Parts 2 and 3 will be posted tomorrow/Tuesday most likely.
There weren't many Skakdi living in Tysen.
There were quite a lot of reasons for this, first and foremost that Tysen was a sleepy seaside town on the western edge of the southern continent, and therefore decidedly not Zakaz, which put something of a damper on its appeal to the population.
The few that did live there came from, if not all walks of life, then at least two or three: guardsmen, vagabonds, mercenaries. There was a pair of Ta-Skakdi who had been arguing with each other longer than most of the buildings in town had been standing; there was a Po-Skakdi who occasionally took time out of his day to lift the younger Matoran up on one arm, and then their parents if there were complaints.
And then, of course, there was the scar-pitted, forest-green Bo-Skakdi who would vanish for days at a time, then stumble back into town grinning and covered in dirt and less pleasant substances some midnight, be drinking a troupe of traveling Toa under the table by midday, and be throwing out her more fire-aligned brethren by nightfall.
Which was to say: Semeka Tantarus had been running the only decent bar in Tysen for nearly two years now, and she still wasn't sure if she liked it.
True, in her time here the worst trouble she'd had to deal with was a bar fight that would've barely qualified as marking the start of rush hour back on Xia. There was never any worry that the mixers she ordered were tainted with some half-wit distiller's attempt at making a protodermis shake, and the tools of her trade were actually in working condition whenever she needed to buy replacements for them. The customers all paid their bills on time instead of running up tabs, and the local economy was not dependent on the outcome of the most recent turf wars. Plus, her second line of work guaranteed her steady, only moderately dangerous jobs to supplement her income, and even came with a small amount of legendary destiny to really look good on the resume.
On the other hand, it turned out that Xia and Zakaz had perhaps mislead her about what 'civilization' and 'local municipal services' considered 'acceptable standards of sanitation', which was why she was spending her afternoon going to town on each of the fifty-five shot glasses behind the counter with something that could charitably have been called a cleaning cloth.
There was a light clang as the bar's door opened behind her. She pushed the rag into the bottom corner of the glass – damn, how had someone managed to actually solidify their drink? – and started scraping at the residue there. "With you in a sec," she called back. "Have a seat. Peanuts are on the house."
There was the clatter of something falling to the floor, and she paused. Too small to be a barstool, too metallic to be a glass. A weapon? Who the hell came in guns blazing and dropped it the moment they got through the door –
She turned.
The Toa standing in the doorway opened his mouth, then closed it, his eyes all but popping out of that old brown Ruru. His crossbow lay where it had fallen, slowly wobbling back and forth.
For a good ten seconds they stared at each other.
"Oh," she managed.
Jodhan opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again, and that was when a Matoran in a gunmetal-grey Akaku stuck his head around the Toa. "Do excuse me. Am I interrupting something?"
Semeka tore her gaze away from the Toa and to the Matoran. Kychell was the picture of innocence.
"Jodhan," she managed, "could you flip the sign to 'closed', and then could you lock him in the storage closet?"
Without so much as a backwards glance, Jodhan reached up with one hand and flipped the sign, then looked down at the Matoran. "Well, now," Kychell said, "let's not be so hasty-"
The Woman With The Other Face
A clink, a clank, a pop, a hiss, and two glasses of the finest Onu-Metru rum were waiting for them. Jodhan picked his up and downed it in a single go. She raised a brow. "Not bad. Should I be worried you've been practicing at someone else's bar?"
As a general rule, Skakdi weren't the type to consort with Toa on a regular basis - and while there was no love lost between Semeka and her native heritage, it was a rule she didn't go out of her way to break. The Toa of Iron sitting in front of her now was what she considered an acceptable exception to the usual flow of things. They'd met back on Xia, when he'd tried to play the hard-boiled PI in her bar and she'd nearly laughed him out of the place. But she'd kept an eye on him, and while he'd proven to be about as naive as he'd looked, there'd been something good in him as well: a determination to do what he felt was right, and a belief in justice that wasn't nearly as cloying coming out of his mouth as it was for most Toa she'd known.
One thing had led to another had led to a shared target and an impulsive night, and if she'd had any sense that would have been the end of it. Instead she'd caught wind of a few overeager Barraki guard-dogs on his trail, and a few months later she'd wound up on a dinky backwater island playing messenger. They'd parted on good, if hurried, terms, and again things should've ended there, if not for a certain Akaku-wearing Matoran who'd made her a job offer.
He put the glass out, and she filled it once more. A few seconds later, she filled it one more time. "Okay, starting to go from amusing to concerning, Toa."
He put the empty glass down onto the bar and took a deep breath. "Do you want to start, or should I?"
She leaned back against the shelves and plucked a toothpick from her stash. "Well, I imagine Mr. Clever back there could probably fill things in better than either of us could on our own."
They each tilted their head to listen to the muffled pounding coming from the back of the bar.
"Eh." She slid the pick down between two of her side teeth. "Guess I'll start." It would be easier to get the lying out of the way.
"Where did you go after – last time?"
"Just hopped along the archipelagos for a bit. Found a few other islands in the same situation as you, actually, but most of the folks there had the good sense to get out while the going was good. Didn't even need a scapegoat to push them along." She saw his hand tighten around the glass. "Hey. Thought we got over the angst back when we settled on our little plan."
He smiled weakly. "I'm afraid it wasn't quite that simple. But go on."
"Nothing too fancy after that. Made my way up to the continent eventually and wound up here. Town like this's small enough to avoid any major trouble, but does enough trade that occasionally folks in need of my skillset come through." She nodded to a simple wooden case that lay along the bottom shelf. "Keeps me occupied."
"Something you probably shouldn't be telling a Toa."
"Hey now, I've got rules. You know that well enough."
"I do," he said a little wistfully. "So... you're doing well, then."
"Well as can be expected. The bar business here ain't up to Xia's levels, but that ain't always a bad thing. And I've got a partner of sorts for the other work. Nice lady, name'a-"
There was a particularly sharp knock from the back room.
"-Gali," she said pleasantly.
Jodhan frowned. "That's the name of one of the legendary Toa."
"Oh, is it? Well, can't blame someone in the field for using an alias or two."
"She's reliable, at least?"
"Pretty reliable. Maybe not Toa-with-something-to-prove reliable, but I make do."
He smiled again. "I'm glad to hear it. I really am."
He looked away, and the two of them fell into a rough silence. She worked the toothpick up and down absentmindedly; fibbing to him was no fun, but the Order wasn't the kind of secret he was likely to be able to keep. And while Johmak was a hell of a partner in more ways than one, she'd made it very clear to Semeka that the moment the Skakdi let word leak, she had a one-way trip to the Pit waiting for her. She wasn't entirely sure what "the Pit" was, but it was the kind of name that didn't need a lot of further explanation.
"How 'bout you, Toa? How's life been treating you the past few years?"
He looked down, brought a hand up to rub weariness from his eyes. "It could be worse."
"Everyone got off that island okay?"
"We did. Physically, at least. It hurt them to leave their home behind, Semeka. And damn if it didn't hurt me too."
"But you got out clean, at least."
"Thanks to you." He sighed, pushed the glass back and forth on the counter. "Not that anyone knows it."
"I take it nobody's going to be inviting me to Naming Day dinner."
"You're a demon in their eyes. I have to step in and keep the tall tales from getting too out of hand. Semeka, the great warlord Skakdi. Semeka, seductress who steals away a hero's heart. Semeka, stands twelve bio tall and can turn invisible."
"Tell me more."
He didn't laugh. "It's been a long two years, is all. I – at least Azak and Kychell understood, but damn me if I didn't want to just shut the rest of them up once in a while. Which – I know, I know. I'm a Toa, and they are my people. All of this is for their sake. But that doesn't mean I liked listening to your name get dragged through the mud."
She sighed. "Look, Jodhan. You done good. They're safe, and that's what matters. And hey, you even managed to bump into me again. That's gotta be worth something."
He smiled and looked up. "Yeah. I'm glad to see you."
"And it's been too long since I had an idiot Toa around," she said, more than a little affection lining her voice. It was nice to get back to a bit of truth-telling. "What brings you to these parts, anyway?"
"Kychell's says the mayor of this place is a local mover and shaker. He thinks she might be able to help us with the construction we've got going on."
She raised a brow. "What, you're making a whole new village from scratch? Plenty'a cities around here you could've settled in."
"Not exactly. We met another group of refugees – Po-Matoran, mostly – not long after we made land, and we set up camp together. Things kind of snowballed from there."
"Least you got a place you can put down roots."
"Yeah. We do. It's taken some getting used to, but – we're getting there. We're close enough to a good vein of sandstone and iron that we've managed to get some industry started. Nothing fancy, but at least we're back to trading."
"Which brings you here."
He nodded. "We need a few resources we can't get our hands on easily. What we could really use is a Toa of Stone to help us build, but it turns out most Toa are pretty busy."
"Speakin' a Toa – how's Azak?"
"Better. It took him a little bit to get over everything that happened, but he's moving forward." Jodhan fell silent for a couple of seconds, then went on, "Senn hurt him, you know, and that doesn't go away easily. But whatever you told him last time seemed to help."
She rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "I swear, I should start charging for the advice, not just the booze. I could skip the merc work altogether." She chewed absently on the toothpick. "But then I'd be stuck listening to Toa with no sense of scale all day. Merc work sounds more fun."
He chuckled, and the room fell silent again. She took a good look at him; he was trying not to look back, at least not obviously. She smirked. "Didn't ever find a missus Toa, then?"
He started. "No, I – I mean, there wasn't time – I mean, it's not like I was looking – but that's – er –" he took a deep breath, then sunk in his stool. "I mean, if you found a nice Skakdi to settle down with, congratulations –"
Semeka chuckled. "Cool it. I'm just tweaking you. Gali made a pass or two, but that was all."
She could practically see him trying not to ask the question.
"One time, Jodhan. Decided it wasn't what I was looking for, she agreed, we went back to being work partners. Nothing special."
"I mean – that's your business, not mine – if you found someone who makes you happy –"
She chuckled again – or, no, this was a full-fledged cackle. "Great Spirit, Jodhan. If you weren't making me feel as good-looking as I know I am, I'd almost feel sorry for you."
He groaned and looked down at the bar. "I – well, I don't really know what to say – I know you're not –"
"Hey." She reached across the counter and put a claw beneath his chin to tip his head up. "Don't rush it. This kind of situation doesn't get solved in twenty minutes, and I'd say it's a bit early to try and figure out where we're going from here."
He forced a smile. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Sorry."
She looked into his eyes. They were honest as ever, flustered, weary, but – there was happiness there, too, and she felt a smile come to her own face.
"That said," she went on, and leaned in close to him, "if you haven't got any plans for the rest of the afternoon-"
His eyes went wide, and before he could reply, she pressed her mouth to his. He did the best he could in response. The size difference was always going to be a spot of trouble –
There was a sharp set of pounding from the back room, and she broke away grinning. "Damn. Hardly two sentences into the flirting. You'd think your master tradesman'd never heard a healthy Skakdi-Toa relationship before."
Jodhan was still staring into the space where she had been a few seconds earlier, and she patted him on the head. "Back to reality, Toa. I'm sure you and Mr. Clever back there have work to do."
He blinked a few times, shook his head. "Uh – yes, yeah, definitely. I'll go let him out."
He made to stand, and as he passed by she leaned over the counter. "Of course," she whispered, "even if the afternoon's booked, nobody said anything about the evening."
Now, that was interesting. She hadn't even known Rurus could change color like that. As the Toa scurried off to the storage room door, she leaned back against the counter and flicked her toothpick away. Yeah, it was good to see him again.
"You're so full of shit, you know that?"
Kychell shrugged. "You have a very odd way of saying 'thank you'."
"For what, setting me up to have to lie to one of the few folks who actually kind of cares about me? Spiriah's spines, Kychell, couldn'ta been a bit more subtle in sending him my way?"
"No," he said simply. "I had to be around to see if you'd try to tell him the truth."
She growled and took a sip of her drink. Jodhan had left to go gather up his things, and now she and the Matoran were sitting alone, the first rays of the setting sun coating the back of the bar in burnt orange. It wasn't the first time she'd had this kind of back-and-forth with her Order handler over a bottle, and she doubted very much it would be the last.
"Like, what's the game here, Kychell? I've gotta put up with your little cover story as long as he's around. And are you planning to stay here tonight to make sure I don't let anything slip? Because if so, you're gonna be hearing quite a bit more than you bargained for."
"Please don't do that."
"Skakdi-Toa romance for beginners, a special lecture series. You can have front-row seats."
He bristled. "This was my way of trying to thank you for all the work you've done for the past few years. Johmak gives you absolutely stellar reports, you know."
"Johmak also has me play wingwoman for her whenever work takes us to any actual cities. She better be giving me good reviews, because that woman has no game whatsoever."
He put a hand to his forehead. "Please stop alluding to the love lives of my subordinates."
"You know what she can do with that shattering trick of hers?"
"I'd really rather not."
"It's almost a shame she's not interested in the other team, I used to know a fella named Zaktan who could do the same-"
"This is your way of tormenting me, isn't it."
"Not very fast on the uptake, are you, mister master strategist." She took another sip of her drink.
"Look," he said with a heavy sigh, "I understand your frustration. But it's the price all of us pay. You knew you wouldn't be able to talk when you signed on."
"Hey," she snapped back, "your recruiter pals did enough digging into my brain that I couldn't even drink straight for a week, and then they told me that my options were 'yes' and 'mind wipe, possibly imprisonment'. Just because we do good work doesn't mean you get a free pass for this stuff."
"Would you rather I had not brought him here at all?"
She leaned over the bar and glared down at the Matoran. "I would rather you don't pat me on the back with one hand and punch me in the gut with the other."
Kychell shook his head. "Look, it's not just about you. Jodhan misses you, he really does."
"That I gathered."
"The past few years have been rough on him. I thought helping the two of you to meet again would be good for him. Get him to... move on, maybe."
She looked down at the Matoran a few seconds longer, swirling her drink in her glass. "You want me to break it off with him?"
"Semeka!" the Matoran's voice grew sharp. "I realize it amuses you to paint me as some heartless machine –"
"- Mostly because you make it so easy –"
"- But Jodhan is my Toa, and I care about his well-being. I'm glad the two of you make each other happy, but be reasonable. He's chasing a dream he can never achieve."
"What, a house, little rock fence, two Matoran-Skakdi kids?"
"I think so."
She snorted, took a swig of her drink. "You don't give him a lot of credit, do you?"
"I'm asking you to find a better way, Semeka. That's all. If you want to... keep doing whatever it is you do at night, fine. But it's best for the both of you that you decide what that means now. After all–" he stopped abruptly.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"It's never nothing."
"I seem to recall the solution we settled on last time worked out precisely because the two of you were little more than a fling from your perspective."
She took a long sip of her drink and resisted the urge to spit it back in his face, more out of a disinclination to clean up the mess than anything else. "Oh, I don't even know where to start with that. First off, what I do or don't feel for Jodhan is none of your damn business. Second off, have you ever considered I let myself take the fall for all that crap precisely because I cared about him?"
"Enough that it was worth separation?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, at the time I didn't realize I was going to be working for a secret society within the month and playing dumb for the rest of my life."
The Matoran's face grew dark. "Is that what this is about, then? You want out?"
She snorted. "You sound like a bad Xia crime boss. We both know I couldn't get 'out' now even if I wanted to, not 'less I wanted a few dozen hunters on my back for the rest of my life."
"You aren't answering my question."
She downed the rest of her drink, then held the empty glass up to the light. Still dirty. "It's nice to fight on the side of the good guys for once. There's no love lost between me and the Dark Hunters, and I never was a fan of Makuta. And the pay's a lot steadier than picking up bounties. But if you think I'm in this for your grand old Mata-Nui worshiping ideals, or that I'm going to take the way you treat your folks without complaining, you're going to be sorely disappointed."
He drummed his fingers on the bar and stared up at her. She didn't bother to meet his gaze.
"As a friend –"
She coughed.
"As a friend, I'd like to make something clear. This little town is not the whole world, and the missions we send you on aren't just for fun. There are dark days coming, and the Order needs to be prepared for them. There will come a day when someone with greater authority than myself will ask you to come to Mata Nui's aid, and on that day you must not turn away."
"I ain't planning to 'turn away'. Get that through your mask."
"A few words today mean nothing tomorrow."
"You got anywhere you're going with all this?"
His fingers stopped their tapping. "I brought you to the Order because I wanted to offer you purpose, and you have begun to find it. Do not underestimate the weight such a thing carries, and the sacrifices that will need to be made along the way. But if you embrace it, you will find a better life waiting for you. I can promise you that."
She reached behind her and grabbed the rag that was still lying on the shelves. She dipped it into the glass and scrubbed away at the spot there for a little while.
"So," she finally said, "how's that working out for you?"
Kychell smiled just a little too wide, and for an instant Semeka saw the fury the Matoran spent his days hiding. "Better than you might expect."
There was a clatter as he hopped from the stool. He looked back at her, his face returned to its usual impassivity. "One more thing. There may be... complications with the trade I've come here to do. I'll have Johmak get in touch with you as necessary. Jodhan should be involved only if there is no other choice."
"Only use the Toa of Iron who'd probably follow me into Karzahni if absolutely needed. Got it."
He smiled slightly. "Too much sarcasm is bad for your health, you know."
He turned and left the bar. Semeka watched him go, sighed, and put the glass away. What did you even say to that?
"Semeka?"
She looked up; Jodhan was standing in the entryway, a pack slung over his shoulders. "I bumped into Kychell outside. Everything all right?"
"Peachy," she said. "Just clearing the air a bit."
"So," she said later as the Toa curled up to her, "how long you planning to stick around?"
"Not long," he murmured. "Kychell says the negotiations should only take a couple of days." Smiling, he looked up and added, "But I can probably tack a few more onto the trip if you're interested."
"Well," she said, "we managed to get the pillow halfway across the room this time. It would be fun to see if we can get it through the window at some point."
"And the sheets?"
She held a tattered piece of cloth up. "May as well hold off on replacing them 'till you leave."
She didn't even bother opening the bar the next day. Jodhan left not long after dawn – "negotiations", he explained in the same tone one might say "executions" in – and she stepped out herself soon after. The sun was dipping in and out of a few clouds, and the streets were bustling with a lazy afternoon's mess of shoppers and strollers. A few food vendors called out to her as she walked, and she ignored them. In her opinion, if someone really wanted to make a killing around these parts they'd open up a Zakaz-style food-hole and charge by the plate. Back in Xia there had been one half a district over that had been the source of many a blissful post-job meal.
But here? She was one of about six or seven Skakdi in the town, as far as she could tell, and only about half of them she was on speaking terms with. Part of being a Skakdi was rivalries, and apparently her family had pissed off another family and now they were enemies unto death and yadda yadda yadda. She tried to avoid her fellow immigrants; there was a reason she'd left Zakaz, and it sure as hell wasn't so she could deal with family issues.
She stopped at an unassuming house on the south side, closest to the main road out of town. It was barely a story tall, made with the kind of overly-ordered brickwork that suggested a Toa of Stone had passed through during construction. She knocked once, twice, three times.
Johmak opened the door, dressed as sharp as ever. "You're up early."
"Taking the day off."
She nodded but raised a brow. "Taking the day off, or taking the day off?"
"Actually just relaxing for once, though king K'll be changing that in the next few days."
"Figures. Been a bit too quiet around here lately." She threw the door open. "C'mon in."
It had been a long time since Semeka had had a consistent partner for her work - in all its myriad forms - but whatever boxes that position needed ticking, Johmak marked them off and kept on going. She was razor-sharp and more than able to tangle with foes twice her size (which was to say foes about Semeka's size, to the Skakdi's constant amusement); the fact she could disassemble herself into thousands of tiny pieces and reassemble at will was another plus. The other Order member had been at it for years, maybe decades, before Semeka had joined up, and there was the tacit understanding between them that part of the reason she was there was to make sure the Skakdi didn't try to cut and run at the first opportunity.
But Johmak never seemed to let that bother her, and pretty soon Semeka learned to do the same. Over the past few years they'd travelled up and down the continent handling whatever wet work the Order had lined up for them: an infiltration here, a finger on the scales of local power there. She respected Johmak, for whatever that was worth: the other woman could be humorless and almost unnervingly dedicated to her work at times, but she'd yet to let her down on the job. The two had even briefly flirted with attempting the whole "girlfriends" tack (in several definitions of the word), but soon enough had realized to their mutual relief that keeping social calls limited to one or two a month was about the right level of interaction between them.
Which wasn't to say that the Skakdi wasn't familiar enough with Johmak's home to be able to silently judge it whenever she stopped by. The Order member kept the house clean and orderly – "helps when you're away for months at a time" – and Semeka was always vaguely irritated by it. She was no slob, granted, but there was clean and then there was sterile, and Johmak had always leaned a little too far towards the latter.
Breakfast was seared fruit seasoned with spices that were conspicuously local. Semeka chowed down as best she could. That was another point in the old food-pit's favor: two years of veganism was really starting to wear down on her.
"So," Johmak said – no food in her mouth, of course. "How's life?"
"Could be going worse. Only had to throw out one farmer with very loud opinions about society this week."
"Impressive. I thought your record so far was three."
"I'm still aiming for the perfect score, but you can't always get what you want. And you?"
"Got a surveying trip next month. Shouldn't be difficult, but at least a map a year, that's the minimum to keep the Onu-Metruans from getting too suspicious."
Semeka took a sip of water. "You'd think for all the intrigue, they could manage to get someone to pay off a few archivists to not look too closely."
"Believe me, I've asked. Too obvious a traceback, they say. And besides, those guys are obsessive. Never seen anyone that into data."
"Might be fun to show them your actual maps one of these days."
"That's my exit strategy, actually. I figure if my cover gets blown I'll just show them Zakaz topological survey 7-G and their brains will overload."
Semeka grinned. "Have you considered a new day job? I could use a rival establishment. I haven't got any enemy barrels of wine to pour seawater into. Gets boring."
"I'll have to decline your generous offer."
"Shame."
Johmak returned the smile and downed her own drink - a Voya Nuian juice that seemed innocuous but was apparently quite capable of doing a number on one's organs if one wasn't capable of disassembling and reassembling them at will. "I hear we've got visitors."
Semeka took another bite to keep her face neutral. "That so."
"Couple'a Matoran and a Toa from down south. And a control freak, but I figure he spends enough time checking in long-distance that it doesn't make much difference if he's here in person."
"That's for sure."
"The other ones are more interesting, though. We don't get a lot of Toa of Iron around here."
"That's for sure."
Johmak looked across the table at Semeka, the hint of a smile curling her lips. "There's no need to be coy."
She took another drink of water. "'Fraid it's my natural state'a being these days."
"As we're all very well aware. But you wouldn't have stopped by if you didn't want to dump your brain. So?"
Semeka finished the glass and leaned back in her chair. "Kychell's a jackass."
"Duly noted."
"Were you in on this?"
She rolled her eyes. "Please. If you hadn't noticed, nobody's ever 'in on' anything in this organization. We just get our marching orders and carry them out before we can get thrown in the clink for asking why."
Semeka plucked a toothpick from a pocket and began to work it up and down an incisor. "Makes me wonder why I ever signed up."
"It helps when said orders save the world from time to time. But no: I didn't know Kychell was planning to set up this romantic little reunion."
She snorted. "Yeah, romantic. He gave me the whole song and dance about how it's really a favor to the two of us."
"You don't believe him?"
"I believe that the day Kychell shows actual altruistic concern for another being is the day your Mata Nui drops from the sky and does the tango with a shoulder-beetle."
"Tell me that wasn't one of your metaphors."
She grinned with her whole mouth in response.
"Classy as ever. Anyway, I wouldn't complain if I were you. Kychell might be a cynical, manipulative bastard, but he's at least giving the two of you the chance to clear the air."
"'Clear the air', hah. The air was clear, give or take the world's most convoluted evacuation plan."
"You're glad to see him, though."
The toothpick stopped for a moment, then clinked as it dragged across to the next tooth. "Yeah. I think so, at least."
"Not certain?"
"Look, I'm happy I met Jodhan back on Xia, and I don't regret going to pull his behind out of the fire back on that island of his a few years back. But I don't like something like this getting dropped in my lap. I would've preferred to track him down when I felt like it, not have him turn up at my doorstep one day."
"Wow," Johmak deadpanned, "it's almost like you can't control what other people do with their lives."
"But I'd prefer if I could keep some over mine, is all." She flicked away the toothpick. "It's been an interesting couple of years with you lot. And before you start giving me the evil eye like Kychell did, I'm not planning to go running off. But I miss the days where I was in charge of the stupidity in my life, not some micromanaging Matoran."
Johmak tilted her head to the side. "And we both know what happens when you feel like you need more control in your life, hm?"
Semeka scowled. "Watch it. Just because I acknowledge that you know about my past doesn't mean I give you permission to talk about it."
Johmak shrugged and stood to get another bottle of juice from the kitchen. "So, what are you going to do now?"
Semeka plucked another toothpick from the pack. "See what happens, I suppose. Jodhan's happy as a Manas with a new shell to see me, so who am I to deny him that?"
"I thought I heard a bedstand break last night."
"You know it. 'Sides that, though, I figure I'll give him a tour of the town and then deflect a bunch of questions about why I'm living in this podunk little place."
Johmak returned, bottle in hand, and gave Semeka a sad smile. "Everyone's favorite part of the job."
"Yeah." She bit the end of the toothpick gently and began to flick it up and down with one finger. "I'm getting mighty sick of lying, is all. And it turns out it's a mite harder when you're doing it to someone you give half a toss about."
Johmak sighed. "You have no idea."
"That sounds like a story."
"Not mine. You remember Jerbraz? Old friend of mine. He used to do the whole double-life thing: Order agent by night, dork with a little mining operation by day. Then he wound up invisible. Turns out that's a bit hard to cover for."
"So what happened?"
"He died," Johmak said simply. "The Order blew his house sky-high one night and let word get around that he'd been inside it when everything had gone up."
"Hell." She glanced out the window; outside, a few of the townspeople were going about their day, hauling baskets of who-knew-what. "Did he have a family?"
"A few good friends. They gave a terrific eulogy at the funeral, he tells me."
"That's just messed up."
"He wasn't too happy about it, no. Truth be told, it wouldn't surprise me if he slipped word to them one way or another that he was still out there. But I'm not going to be the one to drag him in on that if he did."
"Yeah."
Silence descended on the room. Johmak sipped her drink, and Semeka kept bobbing the toothpick between her teeth.
"See," the Skakdi finally said, "that's what I'm talking about."
"Sorry?"
"If someone wants to tear up their life, maybe only tell a few folks where they're headed - that should be up to them. Not some higher-ups who decided they needed to cover their tracks."
Johmak chuckled. "Yeah. But hey, that's why we do what we do. So all the idiots out there have the chance to tear up their lives when they want."
"That in the official Order charter?"
"No, but I'm petitioning for it."
Semeka looked back and grinned. "Fighting for the right to be an irresponsible idiot everywhere. I like it."
She was scrubbing away at a day-old beer stain when Jodhan got back to the bar. The Toa looked like he'd had the mental equivalent of a run-in with a rather temperamental Tahtorak, so she flashed him a grin. "Diplomacy going well?"
"You try debating contracts with a Ce-Toa for six hours," he grumbled. "How did I wind up a Toa who spends his time on trade agreements?"
"If I was the kind of person to make terrible puns, I'd say it was because you're so agreeable."
Jodhan blanched. "That was terrible."
"Claws and knives are getting old. I figure weaponized words are the next big thing." She tossed the rag back and hopped over the counter. "So, care to see the town outside of a dive bar and the mayor's house?"
The Toa perked up, then suddenly froze. "That's - are you asking - I mean, would this be-"
Semeka grinned mischievously. "If you start freaking out over the definition of a 'date', I'm telling Azak."
"Great Spirit, anything but that."
"In that case -" she swept past him, grabbing his arm as she did and jolting him towards the door - "we'd better get moving."
Jodhan stumbled once before he managed to match pace with her. As they stepped out into the street, he glanced down at her hand on his arm. "Not worried the locals'll ask questions?"
"Let 'em ask. Or even better, let 'em speculate. I wanna hear what stories they'll make up about me this time."
He smiled a strained smile at that, but made no comment. Outside, the sun was shining, the breeze was flowing, and had there been any birds around they probably would have been chirping. Instead, the warm hum of the village filled the air. As they made their way down the winding road, half-known neighbors nodded to the pair; most didn't manage or didn't care to keep the curiosity from their faces, and Semeka grinned back at each and every one.
Jodhan's head was turning at each new building, surveying them with a glint of nostalgia in his eye. She nudged him in the side. "Not bad, huh?"
"Reminds me an awful lot of home, to be honest. What's keeping this place afloat?"
"We're close enough to the coast that we can do trade up and down the archipelago, and there's decent farmland out east. This place ain't ever gonna be Xia, but for a backwater, you'd be surprised how much happens here."
"Hopefully not the same kinds of things that happened back at your last job."
She chuckled. "Nah. Like I said, I still take the occasional job inland, but not a whole lot of intrigue happening around here. The mayor's got a good eye for business, but not so good it gets the attention of anyone important."
"I dunno about that," he said as they passed a storefront with a dusty old Vortixx sweeping out front. "She can drive one heck of a bargain, if today's talks are anything to go buy. I thought we were offering a good price, but now we'll be lucky if we get away with paying twice as much as we hoped."
"Should'a sent Azak up to help you out. You two could do good Toa, bad Toa."
He shook his head. "Someone had to stay and look after things. Besides - how did Kychell put it? - Azak's not exactly a stabilizing element at the best of times."
"I seem to recall a lot of hammers being involved whenever I spoke with him."
"That's funny. He recalls a lot of knives."
Semeka grinned. "Well, they do always say no two people remember the same thing. I guess the truth is lost for all eternity."
They stepped over a gully that ran through the street - somehow it had never gotten plugged up - and began to wind their way up and out of the town. Beneath them, the cobblestones of the road were beginning to show signs of damage or were simply missing, never worth replacing.
"What made you pick this place, anyway?" Jodhan sounded genuinely curious. "I thought big cities were more your style."
She shrugged. "Once you rule out Xia, 'big city' shrinks to Metru Nui and whatever they're calling the League's capitals these days. Neither sounded tremendously appealing."
"Still." He gestured to the houses around them - simple structures of straw and stone, with only an occasional wind-cycle leaning against a fence to hint at grander technology. "Place is a lot quieter than I'd take you for."
"Are you calling me a loudmouth?" she teased back.
"Well, that one's a biological fact."
"Not my fault you Toa haven't got any lungs on you."
"And it's not my fault you could huff and puff and bring half this village down."
"They don't seriously still tell that stupid story to Matoran when they're growing up, do they?"
They wandered and chatted a while longer, the houses around them slowly beginning to thin. The whisper of fall was in the air, and in a few spots the grass had already begun to fade. Winter wasn't going to be fun, but it wasn't going to be unmanageable, either.
In time, they found themselves sitting down beneath a gnarled old tree on a hill overlooking the village. Semeka sighed in contentment and stretched out, listening to her joints pop and creak. "Nice to take a day off once in a while."
"Work keeping you busy?"
"For the most part. Not as bad as I used to have it, back on - not as bad as I used to have it."
He tilted his head a bit, and she waved him away. "'S nothing."
"You know, you never did get around to telling me what exactly it was you did back on Zakaz."
A sour knot twisted in her stomach, but she forced herself to keep smiling. "Might be there's a reason for that."
His own smile vanished. "...Ah."
For a few minutes they sat without speaking. Down in the village, Semeka could see a few Matoran chasing what looked to be a very unhappy Mahi through the streets.
Jodhan's voice was quiet when he spoke again. "I really am glad to see you, you know."
She looked away. "...So, are we doing this now?"
"'This'?"
"Come on, Jodhan. You're dense, but you're not that thick."
"And you're not as good at hiding nerves with insults as you used to be."
"Guess I'm losing my edge."
A few more beats. Damn if she hadn't forgotten how irritating it could be to know someone who could catch you off guard.
"Okay," Jodhan finally said. "You want me to give it to you straight?"
"Better than the alternative."
He reached out and laid a hand on her should. "Every time I meet you, it's just… it's the strangest thing. There's always some crisis to deal with, but every time, I'm just happy to be with you."
"That's a total of twice, you know."
"I do." She glanced back and saw he was looking up at the sky, a look of resignation on his face. "So I know how dumb it is to say this, but: I care about you, Semeka. Not as a friend, or as a one-off partner, but I think as -"
"Yeah," she said quietly. Hesitantly, she reached up and laid her own hand over his. "I know."
"And -" he closed his eyes and sighed. "I know that you don't feel the same way about me."
She tightened her grip on his hand softly. "I don't think it's that simple."
"Nothing ever is."
She shook her head. "Nah, that's just it, y'see? For you things are that simple. You're a Toa, and that means you've got baddies to beat up and people to protect. You know who you are, and where you're going. So this's got to be easy for you. Falling in love, I mean."
"I don't think the usual legend-tale romances involve Skakdi, if that's worth anything," he replied, the ghost of a smile on his face.
"I'm hurt," she replied mockingly, then squeezed his hand again as she dropped the cheer. "Look, it's - I like you, Jodhan. Great Spirit knows I enjoy talking with you like this, and -" she lightly bit her tongue for a moment, working through the words in her head - "you're probably the most supportive person I've known in... years. All my life, maybe."
"Semeka."
"But it's not that easy for me. I can't just look at you and go, 'yep, I want to be with him'. I'm built for change, alright? I spent most my life drifting, and you - you're an anchor." She let out a shaky breath. "That was awful. Tell me I don't talk like that when I'm giving advice in the bar."
"Well..."
"Oh, shut it." She realized she was smiling again, and forced it away. "Look, my point stands. I care about you, Jodhan, but if the question is if that goes beyond spending a day together here and there, the answer is just gonna be 'I don't know'. I don't think I can know, at least not yet."
He closed his eyes. "...That's fair."
She turned to him and moved her hand to cup his face. "Look, I'm sorry. I really am. You didn't pick a very romantic person to fall for."
He shook his head. "To hell with romance, then. You've helped me when nobody else could, Semeka. That's worth a lot more to me than a few old clichés."
"That so."
He nodded.
She closed the distance between them, moving her hand away to wrap her arm around his chest. She felt his own do the same to her. When they broke away, she was grinning again. "Good, because you realize the mouth sizes are just never going to work out."
"Well," he said in a voice that was all resigned cheer, "we're both going to have to make sacrifices if we want to give this a shot."
Johmak was waiting outside when they got back to the bar, idly scratching away at a tablet. Semeka whistled a sharp tweet as they approached, and motioned for Jodhan to step out in front when Johmak looked up. "Gali, this is a friend of mine. I may have mentioned him once or twice."
"The infamous Toa Jodhan, I take it?" She offered a fist. "Gali. Semeka and I have worked together."
"And slightly more, I hear," Jodhan replied, dead-serious.
Johmak shot a glance at Semeka. The Skakdi in turn managed to keep a straight face for about two seconds before she had to turn away to stifle a cackle, and Jodhan's own face split into the smile he'd barely been restraining. "Sorry. Somehow my urge to be a smartass goes up around her." He returned the offered fist.
Johmak smirked. "Happens to all of us. I think she's a bad influence." She looked back over her shoulder to the bar. "You're staying here, I take it?"
"Already worked one night. I don't see much of a reason to change things up now."
"That's fair." She looked back to the two of them. "Semeka, could you swing by my place later? I've got the latest figures in, and I could use some help deciphering them." Translation: Kychell had work for them.
Semeka kept her face neutral. "Asking a Skakdi for help with math? It's a miracle you're still in business."
"Well, you know. When time's a-wastin', beggars can't be choosers." Translation: in-the-very-immediate-future kind of work.
Jodhan was watching the conversation with a look of curiosity. "Sorry - what was it you did again, Johmak?"
"Geological surveys," she said, "with occasional mercenary work on the side. Tonight's related to the former, I'm afraid. Quite boring."
"I don't know, survey work can be interesting-"
Johmak took a step forward and put on her best pained smile as she dropped her voice to a stage whisper. "These invoices are from a joint Onu-Metru and Ko-Metru research team. The sums on them alone could drive lesser men mad, and that's before you get into the actual work."
Jodhan took a step back in return and put up his hands. "Oh. Alright then." He gave Semeka a quizzical look. "When did you get into extreme accounting?"
Semeka just smiled back. "It's no big deal. I'll pop over later tonight - shouldn't take long."
"I'm sure I can keep myself busy." He seemed to remember something, and put a hand to his forehead as he sighed in exasperation. "Come to think of it, I've got my own paperwork to deal with before I go back to talk to Mayor Senrah again tomorrow. When did becoming a Toa start involving paperwork?"
"Welcome the real world," Johmak said chipperly. "I'm afraid there's not as much grand adventure as you may have been lead to believe." Semeka stifled a snort. "I'll see you later, then, Semeka."
With that, the Order member strode off down the street. Jodhan watched her go, curious. "So, you two really -"
"Yep."
"I can see why it didn't work out."
She let a sharp grin come to her face. "Oh, don't worry, it was strictly personality. Did you know she can disassemble herself at will?"
He blinked. "What?"
"Oh yes. And reform herself just as easily. She was very creative-"
He shuddered. "For my sake, don't finish that sentence."
She leaned over and nipped his shoulder affectionately. "Well, you'd better start getting creative if you want to keep up."
"Since when was it a competition?"
"Since I decided it would be more fun that way."
A single light was on in Johmak's house when she arrived. She knocked five times - knock, knock knock, kno-knock - and Johmak opened the door quietly. "Come on in."
Semeka stepped inside, and saw that Johmak's weapons were laid out across the table. "Mission?"
"And soon. While you were out stargazing or whatever it is you two were doing -"
"-It was the middle of the day-"
"-Our favorite Matoran dropped by. Seems there's going to be an attempt on the mayor's life tonight."
Semeka blanched. "Senrah? Who gives a toss about her?"
For an instant, she thought she saw Johmak miss a step, but then her partner was crossing the room as natural as could be. A stack of tablets was piled up next to the weapons. "Search me. But Kychell seems certain of the info."
"What's the situation?"
"Merc group's been hired to do the job. I've got a list of dossiers the Order's compiled on them. Take a look."
She leaned over to take a look, and that was when ten years came screeching to a halt.
The name on the tablet stared back up at her, seemingly oblivious to her attempts to make it change by re-reading it a dozen times. This can't be right. Here? Now? It doesn't make a lick of goddamned sense. There's no way she could be here.
Look who's talking.
"Semeka?" Johmak's voice was concerned, but as always there was an edge of suspicion beneath it. "What's wrong?"
She cleared her throat. Bit too obvious with her body language just then to play it off as nothing. Think fast. "Polonious."
"I'm sorry?"
"This name –" she tapped a tablet distinctly different than the one she'd been staring at. "Polonious. I know it."
"Where from?"
"There was this island out east, from what I hear. Mostly Po-Matoran. One of the Barraki took it down."
Johmak frowned. "What's so concerning about that?"
"Rumor has it they didn't just do it for the resources. Used to be a mighty powerful Toa of Plasma there, name'a, well, Polonious. They took him away, stuck him in a cell for two years, threw everything in the book at him. He came out different."
Johmak's frown deepened. "Now that you mention it – I recall hearing a report to that effect, though I couldn't tell you the details. Is he dangerous?"
"Next time he saw his hometown he burned it to the ground. I'd call that a yes. If he's on this list, he must've gotten out of the Barraki gig and gone freelance. Someone like that's got nothing to lose, if you'll pardon the cliché."
Johmak put the back of her hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut in thought. "I need to go collect Kychell anyway. I'll ask him if we have any information about this Toa that could give us a tactical advantage. I've fought plasma-wielders before; it's not fun."
"'Not fun'?"
"You ever try to put yourself back together when some of the pieces are melted?"
"Can't say I've ever tried to put myself together in the first place. But I see your point."
Johmak reached across the table and grabbed the tablet. "Alright. I'm going to go find our favorite Matoran-turned-spymaster. Finish reading the rest of the intel we've got; I won't be long."
Semeka nodded, and the other biomech strode out of the house, deep in thought. Semeka waited until the door had squeaked shut before she let out the breath she'd been holding. Seemed like half her time was spent practicing her lying these days, and it was getting mighty sour.
She glanced back down at the list, looked past half a dozen other names that meant nothing to her, to the single word that had knocked her life off its tracks.
Automatically, she reached for a toothpick, but her hand stopped halfway to her mouth. With a sigh, she dropped it and laid a hand across the name, as though blocking it out would erase it.
"You never could leave well enough alone, could you, sis?"
Johmak returned with Kychell in tow, and the Matoran shot her a look of suspicion as soon as he was through the door. "Jodhan?"
"I left him at home just like you asked, sir. If it makes you feel better, I don't want him involved in this any more than you do."
The Matoran nodded, but glanced at Johmak out of the corner of his eye. She gave a light shake of the head in return. Semeka crossed her arms and looked down at him. "You're wary, Kychell, but you're not dumb. You really think I'm going to get on the Order's bad side for a little extra backup? I can take a Toa of Plasma or two."
"Let's hope it's just the one," Kychell replied dryly, and pulled another set of tablets from his pack. "I'm not deeply familiar with the Gukkos, which means I can't say who they might be sending for this."
"Sure we're not up against all of them?"
"Not likely," Johmak replied. "A simple assassination? They're not going to waste firepower. Expect two at most."
"I can work with two. What's the plan? Head them off outside of town?"
"That'd be ideal, but we don't know where they're camped out. We'll infiltrate the mayor's house and wait for them there."
"We planning on telling the lady in question any of this, or is she just going to wake up to a few merc corpses?"
Kychell clasped his hands. "I'm afraid it's not quite so simple."
Semeka leaned back against the wall and looked closely at the Matoran. His Akaku was as emotionless as ever. "You know why they're after her, don't you."
"The Order has a vested interest in better understanding the circumstances behind this assassination attempt. That is all I can say at the moment. In addition to protecting the mayor, we ask that you look for any evidence in her home of... unusual or illicit dealings."
"You think she's a smuggler?"
"I can't say what we think she may be. But the Gukkos aren't cheap to hire. Someone wanted dead that badly surely has a few secrets worth knowing."
She rolled her eyes. "Why is it that sometimes I think you'd all read the minds of everyone in the universe if you could?"
"We most certainly would. It would save an incredible amount of time and effort. Entrance strategy, Johmak?"
Johmak nodded. "I'll take point as we enter the residence. Any sign of guards or other trouble, I can go smoke -" she phased away one of her hands for a moment - "and make my way back to you. You stay outside and keep any eye out for anyone suspicious. You see something, handle it. I'm gonna need time to find anything worth finding."
"'Handle it'. Glad we've got such a detailed plan."
"We always do." Johmak looked back to Kychell. "And you?"
"I'll make myself scarce as usual. Contact me if things go south; I'm authorized to call backup as needed."
"Great," Semeka muttered, "they'll get here just in time for us to be long dead."
"Positive thinking is the key to success, you know. Any other questions?"
"Other than the usual 'what do you know that you aren't telling us', not a thing."
The moon was half-full, giving just the ghost of a pearl glow to the streets below as Semeka and Johmak slipped through them. "So," Johmak said quietly. "I got a question too."
Semeka kept her face as neutral as possible. "Shoot."
"What are you keeping from us this time?"
"No more than normal."
"Bull." They turned the corner and into an alleyway that snaked between a few old stores. "Something's got you on edge, Semeka."
"Just the usual angst over my star-crossed romance, I'm sure."
"See, this is your problem," Johmak said quietly. "Half the time you don't even try to hide it when you lie, but you bite off anyone's head the moment they try to dig deeper."
"You're really critiquing my character now?"
"I'm critiquing anything that could endanger the mission, Semeka. If there's something you're hiding, and it's got to do with what we're up against, we need to be on the same page."
"If this turns into a speech about unity, I'm gonna-"
"Semeka." Johmak's voice had dropped a dozen degrees. "You can play the free-spirited loner all you please when you're tending bar. But you don't have that right when we're working."
"Oh, so I'm just supposed to turn off my personality when we're doing these little missions?" she snapped. "Sorry, but I don't buy the idea of turning into a block of wood with a knife the minute I get a job."
"The first dossier we compiled on you included a big red warning, you know that? Individual-mindedness a potential risk factor. Likely to hide information. Often believes she should be in charge despite contradicting evidence. 'Loner who wants everyone to do as she says' was the official one-liner, I believe."
"Nice to know the Order's staying creepy."
"Look, I don't care if you feel like keeping an ego big enough to blot out the sun. But if you start hiding things from me that could save a life, I can't in good conscience call you my partner. And if that's the case, I'm better off working alone."
Semeka paused as they came to the end of the alley. "Is that a challenge?"
Johmak looked back at her, and Semeka saw darkness in her eyes. "You knew one of the names on that list."
"Plasma-boy's, yeah."
"No. I know you think you're the world's best people-watcher, but that doesn't make the rest of us blind. Your eyes damn near popped out of your skull when you saw that list, and it wasn't because you thought some Toa might kick your ass. What was the other name you knew?"
"Doesn't matter, does it? Odds are they won't even be here tonight."
"Semeka." Johmak crossed her arms. "Tell me, or I go ask Jodhan."
Semeka blinked. Didn't see that coming. "Am I missing something, or did you just threaten to blow our cover sky high because you're pissy I'm not coming clean about a merc?"
Johmak didn't smile. "I go find him, I wake him up, I explain exactly what it is we're doing here. I'm sure he'd even come help on the mission. Then, assuming we all made it out alive, I'd have no choice but to turn him over to the Order for processing. The end result of which is either a massive memory wipe for him - and for safety's sake, we would blast the past few days entirely, including that little reunion of yours - or he joins us and gets to go through what you're going through right now." She brought one of her hands up and looked it over for dirt that wasn't there. "How do you think he'd handle that? Think he could lie to his whole village again, or would it be easier for everyone just to vanish him?"
Semeka realized her mouth was hanging open, and she shut it with an effort. "You out of your head, Johmak?"
She lowered her hand and looked Semeka dead-on. "I'm reminding you that this is the life you chose, and these are the terms you have to live with. In the morning, I'll be as sympathetic as you want. But right now, you either drop the bullshit, or I go pinch your pressure point."
The Skakdi scowled back. "Oh, this is a real pleasant partnership we've got going here, isn't it? All fun and games until something doesn't go your way, and then it's 'pressure points'. You could try trusting that I know what's good."
"No, I can't."
"And why not?"
"Because the fact you're stonewalling me this hard means you don't trust me either."
The two stood there, glowering at each other. Semeka weighed her options. If Bohrei was here, she was her business, not the Order's. Could she take Johmak down, handle things herself, make a break for it in the morning? Go rouse Jodhan and hightail it out of there?
"Semeka, please."
Or -
She looked to Johmak again - really looked. The Order member's face was a drawn line. All business.
Too much business.
She saw it all, then - how Johmak was standing ramrod-straight, when ordinarily she let herself slouch just a hint; how one of her hands kept beginning to splinter before it reassembled; how, just for a second, her eyes darted down the street, towards the hill where the mayor's house was waiting in the night.
This was a shot in the dark, but she'd always had good aim.
"Same question to you, then."
"What?"
Semeka took a step forward. "This mission. What's so vital about it that you're playing paranoid all of a sudden?"
"Don't patronize me, Semeka. I'd do the same for any job."
She raised her head and smirked. "No, you wouldn't."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because you haven't in the past. This isn't the first time I've kept a few things close to my chest, and it sure as hell won't be the last. Yet somehow it never wound up in a pretty little standoff like this before. Now, why is that?"
Johmak's face remained impassive, but Semeka saw her hand shudder. "Maybe I'm not as perceptive as you think."
Semeka laughed at that - threw her head back in a silent cackle, even. "Oh, no, no, no. You're not dumb, Johmak. You've let things slide before because you don't care that much. Your pal Jerbraz's proof of that. So what is it about a little showdown with some mercs that's got you running scared?"
"I could ask the same of you."
"And we could go around in circles for hours. So let me take a stab." She grinned as wide as she could. "You know why the Gukkos want the mayor dead."
A flinch, just for a quarter-instant. Validation. Johmak looked away. "If I do?"
"Then it explains why you were so quick to take point, and it explains why you're so afraid I might muck something up. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if it's got you this riled up, it's not official Order business, either." She softened her tone, made it smooth as silk. "And that means we're at an impasse."
Johmak didn't look back at Semeka.
"Because if you keep pushing me, then after this mission's over, I go tell Kychell you knew the answer to his questions all along. And I just bet that if you're going to all the trouble to hide it, it's because you never plan to tell him. Now, that might suggest-"
"Makuta Senrah has been a very dear friend of mine for all my life. She took me in and helped me when a storm wiped out my entire town in the blink of an eye and taught me how to shield my mind from the Order's psychics. When Teridax came for her, I helped hide her away, and then I volunteered to be stationed here so that I could watch out for her. The Order does not know. The Brotherhood of Makuta does not know. But someone does. And after I get her out of that house, I'm going to peel those mercs until they tell me who."
Semeka blinked again. Johmak turned her head back slowly; when she did, Semeka could see the fury dancing below the surface of her eyes.
"That's my story, Semeka. Now, care to tell yours?"
The Skakdi cleared her throat. "That's - huh." She shook her head. "You didn't strike me as the kinda person with a secret lover, Johmak."
Johmak didn't smile. "That's funny. You didn't strike me as the kind of person who'd ignore a show of trust."
"All right, all right." Semeka put her hand behind her head and sighed. "What is it about me that makes people spill out their personal secrets without me hardly askin'? Is it just a natural trait for bartenders?"
The glare continued.
"Okay. Fine. You win. Look, you remember back when I got recruited and your Order folks did that fun little dive on all my memories? You remember my sister?"
Johmak seemed to relax slightly. "...Damn. Bohrei, wasn't it? Same name as one of the Gukko. How'd I miss that?"
"Guess I'm lucky you had your own sordid pasts to worry about. Would that we all had Makuta to teach us how to keep mind-readers in the dark."
The Order member pressed her hand to her chin in contemplation. "Alright. She was an Onu-Skakdi, correct? I'll keep an eye out tonight. If she's here, I'll take her alive as best I can."
"Now hold up a minute." Semeka took another step towards Johmak and bared her teeth a hint. "First of all, I'm the one who deals with her if she's here, not you or Kychell or whatever brute squad he calls 'backup'. And second, 'as best I can' ain't good enough."
"If the only way for me to save a woman I've known all my life is to take the life of a Skakdi I've never met, I won't hesitate to make that choice, Semeka. That's all."
"Then you better not let it get that far, Johmak. Because you won't like what happens next if you do."
Johmak's mouth curled into a grim smile. "Well, then. I'm glad we've established what might lead us to plant a knife in each other's back before we got into the meat of things. It's nice having that kind of clarity, wouldn't you agree?"
Semeka looked up for a moment. The clouds were still streaming across the sky, with the moons peeking through only intermittently. She returned the grin. "It actually is, when you put it that way."
"Then let's move along, shall we?"
The two took off into the night.
The mayor's home was a simple two-story structure with a thatched roof and a weather-worn stone exterior; other than the fact it rested on a small hill overlooking the rest of the village, there was little to set it apart from any other home in the town. Semeka and Johmak approached it quietly. A paltry gate lay across the path, but Johmak simply shattered herself and reassembled on the other side, while Semeka scaled the metal in a few breaths.
"So tell me," Semeka muttered, "there's not going to be any kind of devious Makuta traps waiting for us, is there? I'm not really lookin' forward to getting turned into an ice bat if I step on the wrong tile or anything."
Johmak shook her head. "No. Senrah's not stupid. Anything too powerful would run the risk of attracting undue attention."
"I'd think that'd outweigh leaving yourself a sitting duck if trouble comes knocking."
Her partner chuckled under her breath. "Semeka, you must never have met a Makuta if you think they're defenseless just because they don't have an evil lair to guard them."
The two made their way up the path slowly. "So," Semeka said, "you still want to take point in the house?"
"Yes. I don't trust either of us to make it far in there without being detected, and Senrah's less likely to burn my head to a crisp than she is yours." For a moment, Johmak looked pensive. "Well, probably."
"Not on the greatest terms?"
"Let's just say that Makuta make for high-maintenance girlfriends and leave it at that."
"I'll leave her to you, then." Semeka gingerly stepped over a thorny tangle of vine that had been left to grow out over the path. "But if I hear the earth start to shake, I'm getting out of here."
"I'll endeavor to avoid that." Johmak slipped past her and up the steps to the house's simple wooden door. She glanced back. "Keep an eye out. I'll be back as soon as I tell Senrah what's coming, but I'd rather not get any surprises before then."
"Oh, sure, no problem." She drew one of her knives and looked it over. "I hear Skakdi make excellent guard dogs for Makuta. Something of a pastime, even."
"I promise if Spiriah comes knocking, he's all yours. Until then, just keep watch." Johmak turned away and took a breath; in the next instant, she was smoke, filtering through the door.
Semeka shook her head and slowly began to make her way around the house, looking out over the town as she did. The moons had slipped out from behind the clouds again, and the streets were lit with an alabaster hum. It wasn't a bad place, really, just quiet. Wouldn't have been her first choice, but she got the feeling that 'choice' wasn't a big priority in the Order's books. This Makuta must be pretty boring if this is her idea of a retirement spot.
It was a funny thought, really. The place was damn near idyllic, and it turned out to have a Makuta for a mayor. Then again, maybe those two facts weren't exactly disconnected - any real troublemakers had a tendency to vanish, even if she and Johmak never got an assignment. Was that who had hired the Gukko? Some crime boss getting pissy their agents couldn't case a podunk little town?
She continued the patrol, watching for any movement in the shadows below and listening for any signs of approaching footsteps. This really wasn't what she'd signed up for when she'd joined the Order. There'd been promises of action and glory and serving a greater purpose, but mostly she still spent her days tending bar - just with the understanding that she didn't have the freedom to go run off and do something else if she wanted. It rankled her, honestly. Kychell might have hit the nail on the head a bit more than she cared to admit when he'd guessed she was looking for something bigger to do with her life, but calling any of the work she'd done so far 'big' was a bit generous.
Hell, this is the closest to something interesting we've had in months, and Kychell doesn't even know it. That was fun to think about, at least; like all the other members of the Order, she'd been trained in mental shielding, which meant Kychell wouldn't know about Johmak's side play as long as nobody told him. It was probably for the best; the little control freak's head would explode if he knew there was a Makuta living in his patrol beat.
There was the crunch of a foot against a branch.
Semeka slid into the shadows, all thoughts of Kychell gone. She kept her knife close to her and the blade covered with one hand, so as not to risk catching any moonlight, and peered out into the distance. A single figure was making its way up towards the mayor's house. One of the Gukko? She squinted. It wasn't Bohrei, that was for sure - too thin, not enough spikes. Had to be a Toa. Polonious? Or-
The moons peeked out from the clouds once more, and she felt her stomach drop. You've got to be kidding me.
Jodhan seemed to be deep in thought as he climbed the hill, and she could just barely make out that he had a scrap of paper in his hands. A letter? She glanced up at the house. Any time you want to get that Makuta awake and ready, Johmak, be my guest.
She turned her attention back to the Toa. He stopped at the gate and looked around; she caught a flash of guilt on his face as he reached out and the lock undid itself. As he approached the house, she saw him starting to scan the area, and she pressed herself into the darkness of her hiding-spot as best she could. Jodhan didn't seem to see her; instead, he simply looked down at the parchment in his hand once more, his brow furrowed.
He looked up furtively, and then, in a whisper-shout, called out: "Kychell?"
Semeka blinked. What?
Jodhan looked to be at a loss himself. Semeka glanced around furtively - no sign of their favorite Matoran anywhere. What was he doing? Why had he called Jodhan up here?
What was taking Johmak so long?
It was a cliché among Skakdi to say your spines stood on end when you got a bad feeling, but as she charged out of cover and towards the door to the house, she would have put damn good money on all of them being directly perpendicular to the rest of her as she ran. And from the way Jodhan's eyes bugged out of their sockets as she went, she'd be able to say she had a witness to boot.
She was two steps from the door when the rest of the house exploded.
The force hit her like a cobble-brick road after a rooftop misstep, and then it just kept pushing. Flames pushed past her armor and into her skin, drinking deep of her flesh. She was vaguely aware of a roar escaping her mouth, an expression of pure Skakdi rage and instinct, but that was all she could manage.
The rest of her mind had to deal with the pain.
When she managed to push it away for an instant, she saw a torso, a blurred sky, light and smoke.
When she managed it again, later - she didn't know how much later - she saw nothing.