A/N: Well, I'm back again, and just in time for my first day of college tomorrow! I hope you've all had a good summer and that you all enjoyed the American Eclipse as much as I did! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 7: Locating Loss
Alena knocked on the door and patiently waited, shifting her bag on her arm. After a few minutes, the door slid open and a big man beckoned her inside. Giving her old friend a large smile, she obliged him, stepping into the building as the door slid shut again. Inside, the man gave her a big hug, and she grunted at the sheer force of it, attempting to reach her own arms around him to return the affection. Needless to say, she couldn't do it, and her arms uselessly fell to her sides as she gasped for breath and her host lifted her off the ground.
"Okay, okay," she finally managed to choke out. "Thanks; I've…missed you, too. Now…can you please…put me down, Odin?"
Odin finally relented and released the young woman, and Alena paused for a few minutes to catch her breath while Odin sat in a nearby chair. He was a large, strong Human in his early-to-late forties with jet-black hair and skin the color of caf. And he had a reputation for being a very jolly, happy person, despite the uncertainty of the Empire looming above the galaxy, which Alena always found a bit confusing. Nevertheless, he was a good friend of Dakota Farthing's, and she knew he could be trusted.
Finally having caught her breath, Alena straightened up and sat across from Odin in another chair. He smiled gladly at her, dark eyes twinkling playfully as he spoke.
"Well, Alena, it's good to see you again! How long has it been, at least a month or so?" He waved his hand dramatically as he spoke rapidly, seeming to have several thoughts in his head at once he just had to get off his chest. "Ah, never mind about that; it's time to catch up! Gorgeous weather today, isn't it, chica? It's been the strangest bout of weather we've had here; only a couple days ago, this planet was blanketed in snow, and now it's like the first day of spring. Isn't that incredible?"
"Erm, yeah," Alena stuttered, trying to see how she'd get a word in edgewise as he continued chattering away, and also a little guilty for not going to see him for such a long time. He didn't seem to be bothered much by that fact, but she knew very well that he could just be hiding his emotions away, like how she always hid behind a smiling mask lately. But she shook those thoughts away; she was there for a reason, and she couldn't get sidetracked from it. Thankfully, Odin seemed to be winding down on his talk about the weather, or the government officials, or a random homeless man he saw on the streets.
"So, how have you been, Alena?" He finally finished, not even appearing to take a breath during the entire time he'd been talking. Alena steeled herself, regretting ruining his day with what she was going to say next.
"Well, Odin, now that you mention it, there is a reason about why I'm here today." Odin's great grin wavered a little at her serious, business-like tone as she opened her satchel and showed him a flyer of the so-called "Kalifa's Saviors." "Now, there are a group of rebels on the planet, and they think that they should break up this gang that's been hounding around the capital city. Unfortunately, they don't know where these people meet up, so I was hoping you might be able to tell me."
Odin reached for the flyer and scrutinized it as he took in the young woman's words, eyes narrowed and smile now vanished. He appeared to ponder it over, then stood and walked over to his desk, beckoning Alena to follow. There, he opened a drawer and took out some datapads, selecting one and activating it. The 'pad lit the room in a blue glow as it showed a map of Masato City.
"Now, let's see all the police reports of where these people have had their meetings," Odin began, taking out another datapad and linking it up with the holomap in front of the couple. After a few taps, several buildings turned red. Alena looked on in respect and admiration as Odin continued speaking; she wished she could be as capable and self-sufficient as people like him. "Now, the red buildings signify where all the meetings of the Saviors have been held. However, according to the reports, none of the buildings were used as meeting places more than once, and every time the police attempted to raid them, they always found the buildings cleared out and empty." Alena nodded along with Odin's words as she stared at the holomap and the red buildings. As she studied them, she couldn't help but feel like there was something familiar about the particular pattern of the meeting places. It felt like the answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't remember what it was.
"And, how do we figure out where they'll have their next meeting?" Alena inquired to her friend.
He shook his head at her as he answered matter-of-factly, "Well, actually, Alena, we don't figure that out."
What? Now Alena was confused about why he had even shown her the holomap in the first place if it wouldn't help them find out where the next meeting would be held. "What do you mean by that, Odin?"
"I mean that we won't know the specific place they'll have their meeting until they've had it, unfortunately." Odin explained patiently. "I believe that the attendees of the meetings first meet up with the Saviors in the same place, and then they're told where the meeting is to be held. It's quite ingenious, really," Odin added as he focused on the 'map. "You can't figure out where an individual meeting will be held exactly by looking at just the buildings, you have to look underneath the obvious to find what's actually happening. Fortunately, in our case, that's a literal term." Odin finished with a smile as he tapped on his datapad. Alena was about to ask what his cryptic words were supposed to mean when she noticed the change in the holomap. There was still the image of the capital city, but now there was a second image inlaid beneath it, a labyrinth of tunnels and caves that interconnected each other in a seemingly never-ending maze. It also connected the buildings the Saviors had used.
Now Alena remembered why the pattern of the buildings looked so familiar. A memory surfaced in her mind of when she was a young girl, wide-eyed with innocence, and her old mentor, Dakota Farthing. She was showing her pupil a map of the area around and in the capital, tracing a certain pattern on it with a red stylus. The same pattern that was now the exact thing that was in front of her. She couldn't believe she didn't see it before. Then again, it had been several years since that day. "So, the Saviors are using the underground tunnels beneath the city to hold their meetings?"
Odin nodded with a small smile. "Yes, and all they have to do to escape the police raids is slip underneath the building through hidden trap doors, I imagine. All the attendees have to do is go underground and follow the people already there to the meetings. The police never thought to check the old archives in their investigations, so they knew they'd be in the clear if they were careful."
"Wow, this is…this is incredible, Odin! Thanks; I'm sure that this will help the rebels to stamp out these people." Alena exclaimed excitedly at the possibility of those terrorists no longer being a threat to Kalifa. She smiled largely at Odin in gratitude and got ready to leave, slinging her satchel over her shoulder.
"You're leaving already?" Alena paused at Odin's words and turned back, smiling apologetically.
"I'd like to get this information to the rebels so they can have enough time to form a good plan," she explained, and Odin nodded. "Is there any other reason that I should stay?"
"Well, it's been a while, Alena; I'd like to catch up with you, see how you've been."
Alena bit her lower lip nervously, unsure how to answer. Yes, he was an old friend, but she really wanted to get her information back to the rebels. But she supposed it couldn't hurt to talk for a little while. She sat back in her chair. "All right, what do you want to talk about?"
"Well, for starters, how's your job going?" Odin began, looking at her quizzically.
Alena smiled as she answered. "It's alright, I suppose. I'm still working at the cantina and it's…interesting, to say the least. The customers there can be pains, but none of them are criminals, thankfully, so I'm pretty safe working there, for the most part."
"That's good; it's always nice to have a pretty stable job," Odin agreed. "But I was wondering about an old friend of ours, Victoria Violetta. Do you know how she's been?"
Alena remained silent at his question, jaw angrily clenched as she thought about what to say about that…that person. Now she wished she had politely declined Odin's invitation and just left. Talking about Victoria always put her in a bad mood. Now she was stuck.
Gritting her teeth, Alena slowly answered. "She's…so hard to work with, Odin. I keep thinking she'll kill me in my sleep; she's always so angry. Odin, she uses every opportunity to push my buttons, and it's so infuriating! She's just so…ergh!" Alena groaned angrily as Odin solemnly looked on. She knew she should have a better control on her temper, but she always lost her cool around Victoria.
"What makes you think that she's so horrible?" Odin stunned Alena with his question. Surely, he didn't think Victoria could ever be trusted with anything? Her blow-up when she grilled Alena about the rebels proved that.
"Because of all the things she's done, Odin? Don't you remember that she left the planet, abandoned us when we were in the worst position ever? And for them, of all the people in the galaxy?! The most horrible people who've ever existed! And she became one of them! And then she comes back after five years, and just expects us to welcome her with open arms and forgiveness? After all she's done?! She deserves to be treated like dirt after all that's happened! She can't be forgiven, Odin! She just…can't." Alena sighed sadly as her voice softened. "I wish we could forgive her, Odin; I really do. But some things…they're just too horrible to forgive. And it's not like she'll ever change, anyway, so what's even the point?"
"Well, I wouldn't write her off so easily, Alena," Odin spoke up, looking at his friend intently. "She was raised here by Rebecca and Dakota for the first twelve years of her life, after all. A person who's been immersed in teachings like that for that long can't just walk away from that kind of life as easily as you seem to think. And she's back, Alena. She's not working with them anymore, because if she was, this planet would be much worse to live on."
Alena shook her head stubbornly at Odin, feeling a bit sorry for his hopelessly naïve attitude about things. Couldn't he see that Victoria hadn't even tried to change her angry attitude that had no doubt been instilled into her during her time away from Kalifa, from them? From her? "Just because she doesn't look like she is, doesn't mean she isn't, Odin. She was with them for five years. And you've seen her since she's gotten back. She's…different. More angry and prone to violence, more…dangerous. The fact that she hasn't made a move yet probably just means that she's biding her time until our guards are completely down. Then she'll strike and wipe us all out. She cannot be trusted anymore. She made her choice, and now," Alena took a shaky breath, "now she has to live with it, I'm afraid. Nothing can ever be the same anymore."
As she turned to leave again, she couldn't help but hear Odin's parting words. "I hope one day you'll change your mind, Alena. Because one of the worst things you'll regret is leaving things unsaid until it's too late to say them."
Violet slung her arm around her younger sister and pasted on a false smile for her benefit. Rebecca had been in the city for a few days, and she was due to go back soon. Violet wanted to make the most of her visit; it had helped to have a distraction around to keep her from thinking about…other things. Like Vizino's threat, Violet thought bitterly. That man had no conscience whatsoever, making it seem like cheating on someone's wife was normal, even expected of him as soon as he said his vows. She could hardly stand to look at him and his repulsive aura; it make her sick even thinking about him.
As a result of the two Humans' mutual dislike of each other, things had been…tense when Violet went to work. It always seemed like she was in a battle with him, and each time, with his horrible smile at her dilemma, she lost. She just didn't know what to do anymore.
Why didn't Mother tell me things would be like this in the world? Why did she have to coddle me so much?
Logically, Violet knew that her mother probably had no idea that something like this would happen, but she couldn't help it. Her mother had taught her all she knew, and not once had she talked about how horrible regular, everyday people could be, and how you couldn't know it until you got trapped by them. Not really. Did she think that, somehow, Kalifa was free from all the pain the rest of the galaxy endured every day? How could she—
"Hey, Violet!" Violet shook those thoughts from her head and looked down at her sister, who was tugging on her sleeve. "Look at that! They're dancing!"
Indeed they were; in the middle of the main square of the capital city, a large number of Humans had gathered around and were dancing a traditional Kalifan folk dance, with the women in long, drab skirts and the men in old-looking suits. Violet allowed her sister to tug her to the square to get a closer look at the people, a genuine smile on her lips at Rebecca's obvious joy at seeing the dancers. She shuddered at the thought of Rebecca's light being tarnished by the realities of life, of seeing the joy in her eyes give way to hopeless desolation.
She pushed those thoughts away and focused on the dancers and their complicated-looking toe-tapping, and Rebecca's poor attempts to imitate them.
After the dance ended, Violet placed her hand on Rebecca's shoulder and carefully guided her back to her apartment, keeping a close eye on the people who looked like they'd give them trouble. As they headed back, Rebecca sighed happily, her white aura settling around her, and said, "I wish that things could always be like this, Violet, with people happy. But I know that's crazy to say because it's not always true," her aura dimmed slightly, "and there will probably always be people who want to hurt others."
Violet wrinkled her brow, confused by her sister's unexpected wisdom. "Where did you get that?" When she had been Rebecca's age, their mother hadn't told her much about suffering and the horrible things in the galaxy. "Did Mom tell you that?"
Rebecca nodded earnestly, oblivious to the spark of jealousy that flared in Violet. So, Mom thought that Rebecca was old enough to learn about things she hadn't deemed Violet worthy of hearing about. That was just like her, to presume things without her daughters' inputs.
Violet was again pulled out of her thoughts by Rebecca speaking to her. "It's really interesting, what Mom's teaching me. There may be horrible people in the world others think they can't stop, but that doesn't mean that they should just give up, you know? You have to keep fighting for what's right, even if it's hard or bad things might happen to you, to help others and to keep them safe."
Violet blinked as Rebecca spoke, becoming more and more sure of her decision regarding Vizino's stupid blackmail. Of course! It was so simple! She had to protect her sister from people like him, and the way for her to do that was to expose him for what he was before he had a chance to sink his claws into other innocent people like Rebecca. Yes, that was what she was going to do.
Violet picked up the pace to her apartment, now with a spring in her step, and she smiled broadly, failing to notice a shadow by the buildings watching her.
A/N: Please comment on this chapter, everyone; I'd really enjoy knowing your thoughts about this. For example: do you have any speculations on Victoria's dark past? Leave a thought in the comment box, and I hope you all have a good day! See you in two weeks!
