SHADOW OF DEATH

Chapter 21: The Traveler

"Hodi," came a male voice outside her door. A solid rap sounded on her front door. Joyce Njeri closed her book, placed her report on her desk, and looked at her clock. Past midnight-who would visit her at such an hour? She quickly tied a lesso around her night clothes, tightened the wrap around her braids, and went to her door.

She peeked outside from her window. There, a King's Guard towered over her stoop with his armored arm poised for another knock. Behind him stood the staunchly upright figure of the Asgardian prince. After hearing about the debacle in the marketplace, she knew he would seek her out sooner or later. Based on the hum of crickets, geckos, and mosquitos, it was decidedly later than she anticipated.

"Karibuni,"she said. She raised one eyebrow and opened the door wide enough for them to step through. She placed her reading glasses into her shirt pocket. She gave hushed instructions for her house girl to bring refreshments then she ushered for her guests to sit down.

The King's Guard gave a slight nod of his head in her direction and a slightly apologetic expression as he noted her night clothes. Then he sank into the intentional silence worn by those who must remain cloaked in the everyday invisibility of the mundane.

"So, you have come," Njeri said, now turning to the prince with her full attention. A dark green cloak covered most of him, despite the humid heat of the night air. He kept his long fingers motionless on his lap as he leaned against her couch with an easy grace. She waited for him to speak.

"I did not mean to give offense with my unchivalrous behavior, Lady Joyce," he said in a low voice. His face maintained an impressive impassivity that veiled his true emotions. He could just as easily be mocking her as sincerely contrite.

"Mmmmm," she replied, raising both eyebrows and fixing him with her stare. He met her gaze for a brief instant and then refused to look at her again. "You avoided me as if I were a malarial mosquito," she finally said. "Tell me, who do I remind you of?"

Loki's mask shifted and his eyes grew tight. He began to tap his foot on the red tiled floor. She watched him and sighed. She would not press him. He was here. That was enough. She sat up straighter on her couch and attempted to paint as much warmth as possible across her facial expressions.

"I am very happy you are here and we can meet now. You are very welcome and I look forward to getting better acquainted. I hope we can be of great assistance to each other. Now, tell me, Prince Loki Odinson of Asgard, what is the name you would like me to call you by?"

Loki grimaced slightly at her address. "Prince Loki will suffice. And you? I am not as familiar with the Midgardian honorifics as I was in past centuries."

Njeri chuckled. "Past centuries…eh! Eh! Eh! The questions I would like to ask you! Prince Loki, I will tell you something. When I am out in the world and need to be seen as a big woman, I go by Dr. Joyce Njeri. But tonight, we are not out in the world but in my home. In here, you will call me Njeri."

"The traveler?" Loki asked.

"Ah! Shuri told me you have a gift for languages! What a beautiful gift! So, it even goes so far as to understand Kikuyu names? Yes. I was named after my father's mother's eldest sister. It is somehow fitting, or so my sisters like to tell me, since they say I spend too much time lost and travelling around. Tell me, Prince Loki, does your name carry a meaning for your people?"

Loki sighed and at first she thought he was not going to answer. He tapped one long finger against his chin and pursed his lips slightly.

"My birth coincided with the end of the Ice Wars and so my name means 'to close' or 'the end' or 'the knot'-as in the knot that ends a piece of thread. I suppose my name, also, proves fitting."

Loki's expression grew dark with this contemplation. As much as she wished to ask him more, she instead bottled up her barrage of questions. As her mother used to tell her, "haraka haraka, haina baraka." She must be patient. So, she gave him what she hoped would be an encouraging smile.

A young woman slipped into the living room from a side door. She carried a tray of fruit and a pitcher of juice. She placed these on a small table between the two couches and silently vanished again. Njeri brought a plate to the shadows where the King's Guard stood in solemn watch over them. She whispered a few words to him and then rejoined her Asgardian guest.

Njeri watched him as he poked at a passion fruit with a spoon and a skeptical expression. He placed the barely touched passion fruit back on the platter, and picked up a piece of papaya instead. It received a similar fate.

"Tell me, Prince Loki, umekuja hapa kwanini? You did not come to speak of names."

"You know why I have come," Loki said with one eyebrow raised in challenge.

She weighed her answer. Some fish were best caught with a spear through the center and others were best caught by chasing them into a net. She decided to throw her spear.

"You are here because you threw half of Birnin Zana into an uproar and now T'Chaka has firmly requested you seek me out."

Loki's expression did not change. He stared at her and waited, as if he were the gazelle and she the cheetah. He would not make this easy for her. She sighed.

"Prince Loki, I serve as Cultural Liaison for the Kingdom of Wakanda. I assist their dignitaries who travel outside of Wakanda to other nations. I am a resource to all the wageni, or outsiders, who are invited into Wakanda. On the rare occasions an outsider is asked to enter, even if only to the fake capital at Hoima, I serve as their intermediary. I introduce the wageni to the culture and customs and etiquette of Wakanda. I also assist in mediating their needs to their Wakandan hosts. My job here, if you will let me do it, is to help you."

The mgeni gave her a dismissive glance which clearly communicated what he thought of requiring assistance in any of his endeavors.

"You speak of Wakanda as if you are not of them," he asked, meeting her gaze again.

"No. Si Mkanda. Mimi ni Kikuyu. Natoka Kenya."

"How did you come to be here?"

"It is a long story," she said, sensing his attempt to flow their conversation onto a different path.

"You wished to speak with me," the prince said with a half-smile. "Tell me your story."

"Sawa. I will. Take some more juice first," she said and refilled his cup. She sat back deeper into the striped blue and white cushions of her couch. "I met Dr. Okapi-you have met, indio?"

"Yes."

"Of course. Wakanda occasionally conducts humanitarian missions around the world. While the kingdom does not wish for outsiders, they see the benefit in sending their own people out to the rest of the world to gain ideas and exposure to the conditions elsewhere. Dr. Okapi was on such a mission in Accra during the early 90's. He was assisting at a medical training center for some time and I was working as a consultant for a government project at the University of Ghana. We spent some time collaborating on projects and got to know each other.

"Some time later, King T'Chaka came to Dakar for the summit for the Organisation of African Unity. Dr. Okapi invited me to attend with him and he introduced me to the king. We spoke for some time. He requested to meet me again and so, some months later, we met in London. By the next December, the king sent a representative offering me a position within the government of Wakanda.

"Well, an opportunity to see one of the most little researched countries in the world? I could hardly refuse such an opportunity. I've lived in Wakanda over a decade now and it has been an anthropologist's dream. Unfortunately, I cannot publish any of my findings outside of Wakanda, which has chafed. However, I do understand and I did swear to uphold their secrecy. Their very survival has for so many generations depended entirely on their secrecy. I cannot regret it. I have been very happy here and I am blessed to do the work that I do."

As Njeri finished her tale, the Asgardian uncrossed his legs, sat further back in his chair and fidgeting with an intensity that seemed fueled by some internal decision. She assumed, correctly, that he would not share his own thoughts or reactions, despite their obvious presence within his fervent gaze.

"Lady Njeri, you are tasked to teach me the ways of Wakanda. I will listen, though I make no promises to be an attendant student," he said.

"You would not be the first pupil who disturbs me," she responded with a smile. "Well, let us begin then. When you are too too tired and wish to finish, we will end."

He nodded his assent.

"I will try to summarize, but there is much you need to know. First, to understand Wakanda, you must understand their history. The houses of the present are built on the foundations of the past. All peoples have a story of their birth as a people. The Wakanda, they say they were born when a meteor fell from the heavens and gave them their sacred store of vibranium. The vibranium gives the land its fertility, the people their strength, and their economy its cornerstone. It also provided the impetus for the alliance between the five original tribes under the rule of Shenga, the first Black Panther.

"Unlike most of their neighbors, these tribes allied together willingly and for mutual benefit. No blood was shed and no conquest achieved. The Wakanda say this alliance occurred in peace because of a vision Shenga received from the goddess Bast on the night of the meteor's fall. Bast appeared in the form of a panther and spoke to him.

'Siri is your shield. Unyenyekevu is your spear. Ushirikiano is your strength,' she said.

"These are the Three Sacred Pillars of Wakanda that undergird everything else. Do you understand the terms?"

"Yes," the prince replied. "Secrecy, humility, and unity."

"Correct," Njeri said. "You cannot understand Wakanda without understanding these core values which are interwoven throughout every aspect of political, economic, social, and spiritual life. They say, 'it takes three legs to support a stool,' and these are the three legs which support Wakanda.

"Siri, or secrecy and hiddenness, is their shield or their protection from the hungry eyes of the rest of the world. What is unknown cannot be coveted or stolen. They fiercely protect their secrecy because it is their greatest defense against conquest. They have a saying, 'Walls keep in and keep out.' They have remained a self-contained island in an ocean of constant change and continual power struggles by building tall walls of invisibility around themselves.

"Next, unyenyekevu is compared to a spear because they say it is their offensive weapon against destruction. It is humility, but it is also modesty and a desire to stay small. They believe it is not power that preserves but the restraint of power. They say, 'the tallest tree is the first the meet the ax.'

"Some call this 'tosha' or a policy of 'enough.' Wakanda intentionally refuses to depend on growth based on unsustainable exploitation of human or natural resources, or through conquest of other nations. The vibranium, their land, their sacred herb which grows on the vibranium mound, are only enough when their hearts are at peace. If their hearts are hungry, they will eat it all and then starve. They will eat their own hearts in their desire for 'more.'

"Finally, ushirikiano is their strength because their cooperation and cohesiveness provides the mortar for all of Wakanda to build. They say 'if the grass is gone, the lion will starve.' This refers to the idea that the kingdom is only as strong as its weakest member and all are interdependent on each other. They believe that the fate of the king will be determined by the fate of the farmer.

"These Three Pillars they say were given to them by Bast in order to protect and preserve their sacred kingdom throughout all generations. Their oral history, which eventually developed into written history, says the alliance of tribes grew because they held to the vision Bast gave them. For thousands of years, they grew slowly by slowly. Their priests, shamans, and prophets developed spiritual protections for their kingdom. Their craftsmen build ever stronger vibranium weapons and tools. Their architects built monuments to reach to the sky and house all the multitudes. Their farmers' fields grew in fertility and production. The vibranium-soaked land bestowed upon residents a resistance to disease and a slightly longer life expectancy than surrounding peoples. As long as they maintained the Three Pillars, they thrived.

"They did not always remember or hold to their values. At one point, back when they were known as the Kingdom of Shenga, or Bashenga, they nearly forgot their origins. They say the king and his people grew proud. They desired to shine like a glorious flame for all their neighbors to see. They set up a public capital at Ntusi and decided to trade with other kingdoms. The metal work of the Bashenga was sought by all. Their salt mines in Kibiro brought them incredible wealth. Their cattle were a gift from the gods and the envy of all. Their trade networks ranged from Egypt to the Indian Ocean.

"Bashenga shone as the brightest star and the eyes of the surrounding nations grew envious. They were invaded by the Luo to the north in the 16th century. They abandoned their capital in Ntusi and returned to hiding.

"They soon forgot the lessons of their past a second time. They built a mighty empire which they called Kanda. Their trade of ironwork, ivory, salt, and firearms expanded their influence farther than it ever had before. They built a public capital in Masindi and developed a strong military to protect their people from invaders and slavers. They remembered enough of their pillars that they refused to join in the sale of slaves that began to infiltrate the continent like a contagious parasite. In the 18th century, they grew to be the largest of all the trees in the Great Lakes region.

"However, other nations grew and longed to be the tallest tree. Lands that the Kanda had conquered now began to fall to others. The Ankole took the lands in the south, Rwanda broke away, and the kingdom of Buganda fought to conquer their eastern edges and take over control of trade routes across Nyana.

"Buganda grew large and fat on the sale of slaves and weapons. They wished to be the tallest tree of all. When they could not defeat the Kanda quickly, the Baganda sold their freedom to the British colonizers to prove themselves the strongest. They gained their victory against Kanda and lost the real war and soon their kingdom fell to the British ax.

"At their defeat, the Kanda were reminded of the wisdom of their ancestors and embraced their Pillars again. They sought to remember their values. They no longer wished to be the tallest tree. They moved their public capital to Hoima and made sure to fortify their defenses even further. They hid. They developed both Muslim and Christian enclaves within their public capital to ensure the Arab and European colonizers had no reason to send missionaries. They refused explorers and humanitarian workers. Their lack of participation in the slave trade removed economic and moral justifications for their conquest.

"But, as you yourself said to the king, even a homely maiden remains a worthy conquest and Europe grew hungry. Like roosters sparring to show their strength, the kings of Europe met to show which would be the biggest and the strongest. They fought over a map and drew lines in ink which would eventually become lines of blood across a continent three times larger than that of its colonizers. They vied even over piles of sand and desert simply to make it theirs and show how great they were.

"Kanda and Ethiopia were the only survivors, though neither escaped entirely unscathed. Kanda was renamed Wakanda by Europe and has been known by that name ever since. Europe rewrote the entire continent with their labels and policies and reformed the people into their image. After decades of draining the resources from the rest of the world, Europe turned inward and warred to conquer itself. This led to two wars that spread across the world and provided tinder for what would eventually become a cry for freedom by the colonized.

"African nations spilled blood and many tears and gained their physical independence but not their mental and economic independence. There is a saying, 'the colonists never left, only their color changed.' The systems of exploitation the colonizers created were not removed, but simply given newer and hungrier masters to drain the continent. Seeds of violence and exploitation grew deep roots and bore fruit in many bloody, bitter wars.

"Wakanda has spent the last few decades surrounded by an ocean of conflict. This precarious position has only reinforced their reliance on their Pillars. As technology has developed, Wakanda has sent emissaries to observe the innovations of many nations in order to incorporate the best ideas into their own defenses.

"No people group is perfect and Wakanda certainly has their flaws. They will not tolerate outsiders, as you noticed, and will not hesitate to defend their land. Mob justice ensures no unrecognized outsiders are permitted to escape. There are strong social leveling mechanisms in place. Individual ambition, greed, or quests for recognition are taboo and seen as contrary to their values. The individual is secondary to the group and the nation and this leads to some feeling caged or trapped by their context. This also means certain elements of change or creative expression are seen with skepticism.

"There are some, especially those who have seen first-hand the violence of the past forty years in this region, who feel Wakanda should take a more active role in world politics. They say that they are obligated to help those less fortunate and share their wealth of knowledge and resources with the rest of the world-especially those who bear the scars of colonialism. They say Wakanda should allow refugees a home and place of safety. They say that Wakanda lives in perpetual deception and should be allowed to finally walk in truth.

"Their elders, however, feel very differently and say that the well-intentioned aspirations of the youth are simply a new form of the 'white man's burden' and a Wakandan version of colonialism. They cite the need to maintain their traditional values of humility, unity, and secrecy. They fear all outsiders, regardless of origin.

"Tensions have grown even tighter after the bombing of New York and subsequent global chaos of The Fall. The elders claim it is their Pillars that kept Wakanda safe and xenophobia has grown even worse. Riots have broken out around the homes of political proponents of change. There is growing mistrust of the royal family due to their openness to innovation and new ideas.

"Princess Shuri's gifts and creativity have encouraged more openness than has been permitted in generations. She does not handle boxes very well and tends to break all molds, whether intentionally or not, and she has transformed the nation repeatedly in her short life simply by being herself. Yet, the more conservative elements of the elder council distrusts the royal family because of their openness to Shuri's creativity.

"Your appearance on the gateway of Wakanda has not helped matters or furthered goodwill between the council and the king. These are turbulent times and, I fear, change is inevitable for all."

Njeri paused to gather her thoughts. She finished her cup of juice and let her eyes fall upon the photograph of her daughter nearby. Her daughter who would never be permitted to visit her in Wakanda….

"Prince Loki," she continued after she swallowed again. "You have been told the sacred Three Pillars of Wakanda. As a guest, you are requested to respect and uphold them and to protect Wakanda."

Loki smirked slightly in response to this. "I would assume that would include no more unaccompanied trips to the marketplace," he said.

Njeri gave a tight smile. "Only if you want to give the entire communications team another headache…they are still working to alleviate all the panicked citizens from your last visit. However, given your reputation for mischief, that might not be the best deterrent."

"Threats of imprisonment will suffice," the prince said with a grimace.

"I suppose that is better than the inconvenience of bureaucrats," she replied.

The prince gave a long, cat-like stretch that reminded Njeri of his orange-furred companion. He drew himself to his feet and stared at the King's Guard who sat with half-lidded eyes, leaning against the wall.

"Let us return," the prince said. "I have had my fill of learning for one day."

Njeri hoped it would only be the first of many such lessons.

Oooooooooooooooo

The sun's rays broke over the mountains by the time Loki returned to his room in the palace. He did not wish to sleep, despite his weariness. His nightmares were growing in frequency and duration as the nights progressed and he did not wish another occurrence. As he walked into his room, Goose accosted him with a leap into his lap and a resounding purr. Loki frowned and pushed the beast from his lap.

"Be gone, creature," he said. His commands never worked so he didn't know why he bothered. Goose merely accosted his ankles instead of sitting on him.

Loki's eyes were drawn to a small package on the floor near his feet. It sat in a wet puddle of Flerkin saliva.

"Disgusting creature," he said with a grimace. "What have you ingested now?"

He walked over and found a black, metal object with wires sticking out of each side. Beside it sat a note written on the stationary of the king.

"A gift from the Midgardian host of the Tesseract."

Loki could not determine which perplexed him further-how the basic components of a Kree communication transmitter came to Midgard or what was meant by a "host" of an Infinity stone? He turned the piece of equipment over and over in his hand to investigate. It showed signs of wear and possible battle. It was missing a few components, but none that could not easily be reproduced on Midgard.

If fixed, it could be used to communicate across the entirety of the Nine.

If properly calibrated and boosted with magic, it could be used to communicate all the way to Xander and maybe even beyond.

He smiled. The search for the rest of the Infinity Stones would not have to wait for a bifrost to commence after all.

Oooooooooooooooo

"So who is he?" Jane asked. She stared at the two pictures Shuri displayed on the screen and chewed on the cap of her pen. Shuri let her stare at the images a little longer. The first showed a clean-shaven military officer with a jaunty smile. The second showed a bearded man with bedraggled hair and shadowed eyes. It was the same man, yet somehow not fully the same man.

"James Buchanan Barnes, from Brooklyn, New York. I ran both fingerprints and facial recognition scans and both came back as positive matches."

"Great! So you have a name and a place. When he is, you know, fixed, he will be able to go home? I guess, if any of his home is still left."

"Hapana. There is a problem," Shuri said. She gave a sideways glance behind her and then dropped her voice to a whisper. "He was born in 1916."

"What! But that would make him…96?"

"Ni kweli. Records show he died in 1944."

Jane's mouth fell slightly open and she rubbed her hands on her temples.

"Right. So…can he be fixed?"

"I do not know. Dr. Okapi is consulting neurologists from around the world to see what he can find. I am going to hack into some more classified databases to see if I can discover what exactly was done to him and why he was declared dead."

"You know, I'd say all that is impossible, but, yeah. I spent the morning sitting with an alien cat that can ingest hammers with as much power as an atomic bomb."

Shuri shrugged. "I would suggest you expand your definition of 'possible'."

A tall figure strode through the door and dropped a black octagon on the lab table between them. Both women jumped in surprise before laughing at each other.

"You could at least make noise when you walk," Shuri chided. "You nearly made me swallow my heart."

Loki gave a slight bow. "My apologies, princess. I did not intend to startle you."

Shuri shook her head in mock reproach. She could tell by the way his eyes glistened that he fully intended to startle them and he took great delight in their reaction.

"Ah! It has been long! I have been waiting for weeks to run tests on this," Shuri said and picked up the device.

Loki opened his mouth and closed it again. He took the device out of her hands and held it aloft.

"When, pray tell, did this device arrive and why was I not informed of it sooner?"

Shuri looked at him curiously. He appeared very serious-and very annoyed.

"Your gift arrived the day after you arrived in Wakanda. Baba had it left in your room for you the morning after he received it."

Loki released a long-suffering sigh and grumbled under his breath. He placed the device back on the table for Shuri.

"By the Norns, Goose should be flayed alive and fed to the All-Father's ravens. The time that has been wasted….Tell me, where did it come from?"

"The note explained all we know of it," Shuri said, failing to hide her amusement. "Did you find the note?"

"Yes," Loki said. "It raised more questions than it gave answers."

Shuri raised her hands in an apologetic gesture. "Do you know what it is?"

"Of course. It is a Kree communication transponder."

"Kree?" Jane asked.

"Pompous, irritating warmongers that inhabit the planet of Hala, well outside the Nine," he said. "That is irrelevant. I wish to know how Kree technology came upon Midgard and, specifically, to me."

"I do not know," Shuri said.

"You are a terrible liar," Loki said. He raised one eyebrow and stared at her.

"Mimi si mwongo, bwana," Shuri said….she may only be leaving out part of the truth. She had promised Baba she wouldn't tell.

Loki grit his teeth and pulled a series of drawings out of a notebook.

"I need this fixed but I have not the time to do it myself. Here are all the specifications on how it can be done using Midgardian materials. Would you care to take it apart and put it back together in my stead?"

Shuri could not suppress her squeak of delight. She turned to see Jane already flipping through the drawings.

"Wow! Yes!" Jane said. "We would love to!"

"No, Jane," Loki said with a stern glare as if a father reprimanding an erring child. "You have enough to take your attention. This is for the princess."

Jane shot him a look of such betrayal that Shuri laughed out loud. Loki turned away from Jane and winked at Shuri. Alien technology-no force on Earth would prevent Jane from taking apart the entire transmitter and putting it back together again. A fact Shuri felt convinced Loki knew and was counting on.

"I am honored to take on this task and I will do my best to keep Dr. Foster focused on her task," Shuri said. Jane's look of betrayal now fell on her.

"Alert me as soon as you assemble all the specified components and I will attend to the tests myself," Loki said. "Even if I am away, do not push that button until I return."

"Why not?" Jane asked. She brushed her finger over the round button he specified.

"I dare not say," he said. "Or you will not be able to restrain yourself."

Jane stared at the button even longer now until she saw Loki turning to leave. "Oh, come on! You can't just say things like that and then leave. What will it do?"

Loki gave Jane the widest grin Shuri had yet seen from him and left without another word.

oooooooooooooooo

Author's notes:

Your reviews keep me writing and inspire me to keep going. Thanks for them and keep them coming!

This version of Wakanda is built on the Bunyoro and Buganda kingdoms of Uganda, pre-Derg Ethiopia, and a bit of Meiji Japan and modern-day North Korea for good measure. Since I already stuck Wakanda in Bunyoro, I figured I'd borrow from their history…and rewrite a bit of it. This is a super condensed version of their history that I hope to expand on more and develop further in future. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Translations:

Hodi: can I enter?

Lesso: colorful and very useful piece of cloth.

Karibuni: welcome

haraka haraka, haina Baraka: Roughly-to be in a hurry will make you miss blessings.

umekuja hapa kwanini: You have come here why?

Mgeni/wageni: visitor/stranger/outsider (singular/plural)

Si Mkanda. Mimi ni Kikuyu. Natoka Kenya: I am not a Wakandan. I am a Kikuyu. I am from Kenya.

Sawa: ok

Indio: yes

Siri: secrecy, hidden, mystery

Unyenyekevu: humility, modesty, to be lowered.

Ushirikiano: unity, cohesiveness, togetherness.

Ni kweli: it's true

Baba: father

Mimi si mwongo, bwana: I am not a liar, sir.