Chapter 18: The Kryptea

Angie sat at the finely polished wooden table with the news on hologram in front of her. She was using it as a cover to watch Harold and Meno’s discussion on the sofa on the other side of the room. Paba hadn’t come out of her room much in the last two days. Angie knew that she was avoiding their questions.

Harold had spilt the beans, and she was the only one out of the three of them who had signed up for this. Whatever the hell this was. Paba had sold them something or given them something in exchange for security. She had made a deal.

Meno wasn't given that option. Angie felt far more cautious around Paba now, but at the same time knew rationally that she couldn't hold it against her. Paba was, after all, on the run, much like Meno and herself, and they had only known each other for less than a week. What a fucking week, she thought as she rapped her fingers across the table. She and Meno had known that something was slightly off with her from the get-go. There was no way that someone who was that unfamiliar with a ship's controls was a pilot.

She looked through the light of the hologram that had panellists debating the future of Yeley over and over again, and saw that Harold still seemed confused as he spoke to Meno. The old advisor had been dropping in every now and then to continue his study of Meno. The boy was taking it well, showing genuine interest in what they were trying to find within him. There had been a reason that he had been saved, a reason that he had been removed to a safe-er environment. He didn't seem to see it as exploitation. She did, though.

“She always said that I wasn't showing anything”, Meno said to Harold across the room.

“And she was a seer?” asked Harold. Angie knew that Hellen was no seer, but she also knew that Meno had never shown any signs of using resonance. She looked out the open window at the oppressively perfect weather that never seemed to change.

Harold had explained that Lady Olivia was something of a seer, and that Meno didn't present as she would have expected. Angie knew that they would be under scrutiny from the Traes, but not like this.

Meno’s immunity to HX-31 had stumped her for years, and now, with his torus field not showing any hint of energy manipulation, and Harold’s thoughts that those two things were connected, some other thoughts came to Angie.

Meno had been able to overpower those Dorlec soldiers when they were leaving Gol. With no tech, no primer gift, and no apparent ability to draw on energies in any way. Harold had explained that Liv was a primer, and a seer no less. She had an uncanny gift to see ‘threads’. Harold had explained that her vision allowed her to see resonance signatures that everyone had, including non-primers, and that how she saw those threads was on someone's torus field. The natural electromagnetic field that was cast around people. Apparently, Meno had none of it. Not even the torus field.

She had seen them before, of course, the torus fields that Liv could see, during the war. But only when primers were pushing their resonance in the heat of battle. She remembered seeing the spheres of light around them as they ripped through battlefields and cities. However, she had only seen it on a few occasions, when she was unfortunate to be close enough to primers who were facing off, like watching two gods, surrounded by light, breaking reality as she knew it.

How would that be connected to his immunity to HX-31? She didn't know enough about resonance to know if manipulating energy could protect you from a disease.

“...And that’s what we have been saying, Jorre, there have been more disturbances to our once peaceful city than ever before,” said the Hologram in front of her. “How are we meant to feel safe in our own homes? How can we expect parents to walk their children down the streets? Now I’m not saying that I am against the Yelean Front. In fact, I think it’s important for the population to have their voice heard, but, as you know, people are starting to ask questions. When will the Traes respond to the accusations being laid against them? Yeley is being crippled by regulations and farming practices that do not work with our current infrastructure. Do they even care about what their citizens are going through?”

“They have responded. Let’s not pretend as though we don’t know that the Traes are reinforcing their guard with Kryptea. They are hiding behind armed forces so that the people cannot revolt against them. The information has been corroborated by the Traes themselves. What does that mean for us? You can pretend like that is enforcing the protection of the people, but only three Kryptea, clearly, that is for the protection of the family itself, not the people. Once again, the Traes show their true colours. They will allow regulation to tear this planet apart, so long as they are safe behind their temple walls surrounded by soldiers”.

It had been going on like this for the last two days. The whole city was riled up, and actively being riled up. Angie had seen many a city collapse, but this seemed…forced.

“I think that’s a great point, Huwe, all we see from them are PR stunts and a nonchalance like nothing is happening to the people of Det’em, but clearly the Traes are concerned over themselves. Olivia, of course, the First Daughter, parades around through the city with her guards and her posse, acting like meeting with the people and passing platitudes will make everything alright. When are we going to dig into the real issues here? Our planet is being strangled by an alliance that we aren’t even part of. How does that make any sense?”

“Look, the Kryptea being here is because of the attack on Lord Louis Matise, we all know that, dont we? It’s clear that there is unrest in this sector, and it is perhaps precautionary”

“Yes, that’s a convenient story, Huwe. Let’s put that into perspective, shall we? Yes, Lord Louis Matise was attacked, but on the Lotus. A place that is known to draw in the wrong type of crowd, a dangerous lot, and if rumours are true, it was an Ortu attack. A terrorist organisation that has nothing to do with Yeley at all. Honestly, we should not be linking the two at all. On a separate note, I dont think that a House Head should be doing whatever he does on a ship like the Lotus anyway, but that’s just me, maybe I’m old school”

“Should we not be concerned about the Ortu? Let’s not forget that these are radicals who want the old-god Emperor back? If that is correct, surely precautions like this are…”

“He’s dead! Has been for decades. All these Ortu are is a terrorist organisation. Travel far enough and you can find fifty just like them. Let’s not sit here and give credibility to lunatics, shall we?”

This argument had been circling more than most of the last day or two, with each news agency having its say on the matter. An attack on a House Head was undoubtedly a very serious act, and one that would no doubt bring consequences, but this planet was independent. Sprinkle in the threat of a terrorist network like the Ortu, and suddenly you have a faceless, planetless entity ready to jump out at every corner. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was all being put to the public with a purpose.

Angie trusted her paranoia. It had always served her well, and right now, it was screaming that Harold was right. Something was happening, and it was being forced to happen quickly.

“The real, and bigger problem that the Traes have is Professor Grasci, of course. The head of Yelean Front has told his members that he will be speaking at the Sun's Rising Festival. The Traes have said nothing in response, which I find very telling”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Telling? Mev, are we not blowing this all out of proportion? The Traes have steered this planet well for generations now, surely we should trust them in times like this rather than question it? I know that these new standards are forcing difficult conditions, but last time they spoke, they did ask for patience, surely we should give that to them?”

“Nonsense, the people of Yeley have allowed Yeley to succeed. The Traes are figureheads, and they are proving that now, more than ever. It’s only the lunatics that are supporting the Traes now. A dangerous lot that believes that everything should remain as it is. We must change in order to move ourselves forward”

Are you then in support of The Front?”

“I’m in support of the people of Yeley, and for that…”

“If you are watching the news and hearing opinions, that is propaganda,” Meno said to Angie from behind the hologram. She hadn't realised that he was standing there, and felt her heart jump.

“Swan teach you that?” she said as she turned off the Hologram. He nodded with a smile. “Where’s Harold?” she said, seeing that it was just the two of them in the open-plan apartment, besides Paba, who was still hiding.

“He’s been called by the Traes”, he said, clearly trying to hide a level of excitement. She furrowed his brows at her, and he almost jumped. “The Kryptea are here!” he said with excitement.

Ten minutes later, Angie was standing at the door waiting for Meno and Paba, the latter of whom had been moping around since being dragged by the former out of her room. He had so much energy, thought Angie.

“We’re going to see actual Kryptea!” he was saying to the downtrodden Paba. For whatever Angie thought about Paba’s deal, Meno didn't seem to care in the slightest.

“Kryptea are fucking mental Meno” Paba said looking up at him in surprise. “If they think for a second that you are threatening them, they can kill you, just like that. They have the authority to do that,” she added, snapping her fingers. It didn't deter Meno even for a moment.

They walked through the corridors of the temple, surrounded by guards in full exosuits and helmets, much like the suits that she had once worn. Though these sported some purple inlays where hers had gold. The suits were old, about the same age as Angie’s had been, and that thing had been patched up and fixed for twenty years before she finally ridded herself of it.

“They say that they can even smell better, and see better, that they…”

“Meno!” Paba said exasperatedly, clearly wanting her space to continue her sulk. He chuckled slightly and apologised. Angie liked that about him. He didn't seem to care that she wanted to be unhappy. He had decided that she didn't need to feel any way about it, and so he wasn't going to treat her any differently.

Angie realised she could learn something about that. She walked to the side of Paba and bumped her slightly. The much smaller woman looked up at her with fright in her eyes, but Angie gave her a wink and a small smile. Paba had done what she had needed to do to survive; how could that be held against her? Paba took a breath and gave a strained smile back, and Angie noticed that she didn't try to place any space between them.

They were led by the guards to a balcony that looked down onto the interior of the temple. Their balcony was empty save themselves and the guards, but Angie saw that the levels above and below them were teeming with people peering over the edge, all in anticipation.

Still being held out of reach, she thought. It was probably a good thing.

She looked down into the entrance hall of the temple. An entrance that they had not been able to use yet. It was adorned with two large wooden doors, elaborately carved with their deified founder, Det’em, with flowing roots growing all around her. The stone room was large, and guards were posted on all corners. Opposite the doors stood the three Traes, all wearing the white flowing robes that Angie now recognised as their mark of their rank. Besides them stood Harold, his smile persistent and his eyes nearly closed, and flanking him were four guards. All of their personal guards, thought Angie. She could understand the thoughts from the news now as she saw it. Why did guards trail every movement of the Traes family even within their own home? It did seem excessive.

Pac Traes held up a hand, and the hall stilled, even the balconies within the temple, littered with ministers, caregivers and staff, hushed into silence. Angie looked to the door and saw Meno craning his head to get a view of them.

It had been a long time since she had seen a Kryptea. Not since the war. She looked down at Paba, who was also facing the door. She was right. The Kryptea were about as dangerous as they got. Trained from childhood in the harshest conditions, in the most brutal of environments, to be forged into weapons.

During the war, she would hear whispers of how a small team of Kryptea tore through opposing units, how they slaughtered towns without hesitation, how they would charge forward even into certain death without any concern for their own lives. The Silent Army. The army that never disobeyed an order, that never even questioned them. The perfect weapon. Now the Autarch's weapon.

“Here they come”, said Meno nearly breathlessly. Lor’s fascination with the Kryptea was clearly something that had been passed down.

Sure enough, through the doors emerging from the light came three towering figures, wearing simple beige cloth robes that draped over their shoulders and hung like skirts around them. It didn't hinder their reddish tinged skin that lay beneath from being visible. Each of them was tall, lean to the point where each movement showed their muscles at work, and each had a shaved head with ascetic gazes as they easily walked forward on bare feet.

The room and the onlookers from the balconies held their breath as the three walked in. The lead Kryptea was a woman who had a more severe expression than the other two males. She and one of the other males walked with the crude, thick black steel swords that all Kryptean citizens carried. The last, and the largest of the three, held no weapon, but wore a mess of scars on his back and shoulders and trailed a bit behind the other two.

“Do they have different classes?” whispered Meno in confusion. Angie was sure that Lor would have told him as much as he knew about the Kryptea, but clearly, it was just about what they were like in battle.

“He must not be a citizen yet”, explained Angie, also keeping her voice low. “Kryptea must take a name to become a citizen and have the right to carry a weapon”

“They choose a name?”

“No,” said Paba sharply, looking down on the three Kryptea as they bowed before the Traes. “They take a name. Someone else's name, when they kill them”. Angie knew from the moment they got the news that Kryptea were coming, that Paba was uncomfortable with them. That was perfectly natural, even expected of rationality, but the way she said that was different.

The Kryptea bowed low to the Traes, their large black swords never touching the ground.

Angie watched as the female Kryptea rose and said something to the Traes, who all nodded to her. Even from this angle, Angie could tell how they towered over everyone in the entrance hall. Pac Traes said a few words to the female Krypte, who nodded curtly, before the three turned and moved below her vision from the balcony.

It all felt off, she thought, slipping into her paranoia again. Nothing independently seemed strange before today. A House Head getting attacked was practically unheard of, but not completely unexpected. They were the most powerful people in the galaxy. Someone would hold that against them. The riots of Yeley, and the rise of an opposition party? Fine, that happens. The Dorlec encroaching on someone else's space was effectively a daily occurrence nowadays.

Their very recent escape from the Dorlec, though? Then being sent to a relatively peaceful planet with a mission to protect the First Daughter, whom they knew virtually nothing about. Worrec and his cryptic organisation, which was somehow connected to Harold. And now, the arrival of the Kryptea. The most powerful military force in all the galaxy, which deployed three soldiers onto a planet that was independent? A military force that was under the direct control of the Autarch. Each was slightly strange in itself, but all of those things happening together? It was too much.

She looked at Meno, who had a massive smile on his face. And him, a kid that was immune to a disease that killed everyone else it ever touched. He caught her gaze and said,

“I want to meet them”. Paba sighed and looked at him,

“That’s because youre a fucking idiot, Meno”.