The Past

“What have you gone and done Kyra?” The tall muscular woman stood from behind her desk and moved around to the front so she could address the woman more directly. She was a full two meters tall, slight patch of grey tinted the front of her Mohawk, which she wore with pride. It was rare for a gang leader to live to old age and this Escher not only managed to see her grey hair come in, she did not have any bionic augmentation or debilitating injuries. Sure there were plenty of scars to boast about, but for the most part this woman was whole. Such success gave her a lot of respect. Not just with the elders of House Escher, but within her own gang as well. And it was the internal matters of the latter that drew her attention now.

The woman set before her was not as tall, or as muscular, but her frame and build lent for a more agile appearance. Where her Matriarch was thick, she was wiry. Where her leader was purposeful in her step the subordinate was light of foot. The young woman, Kyra, dared to raise her eyes as her Matriarch came around the corner of her desk.

“How could you have been so stupid?” The elder said as she sat on the edge of the desk.

Kyra dropped her eyes back to the floor at the reproach. It had all been a mistake. Well, not really. When it all began it was with her head up, eyes open, and with a head full of steam and wild abandon. It was not like anything she had ever done before. As a matter of fact it was exactly the kind of thing she had always managed to avoid in the past.

“So, you know what you have to do. There cannot be any question. You need to correct this, and the sooner the better. I know just…”

“But,” Kyra interrupted as she raised her head to look into her leader’s eyes. “I am not so sure that I want to, ‘correct’, it.”

The older Escher woman just starred at her Lieutenant for a long moment.

“You are not sanctioned by the House. How do you propose to conclude this endeavor?”

Kyra frowned. She had not considered that and it came crashing down upon her mind. If this ‘endeavor’, as Pandora put it, worked through to the logical conclusion, she faced exile. Not just from her gang, but from House Escher as well.

“I… I… hadn’t thought about that.”

“Well, it is too late to worry about the past. We need to look to the future now.” The older woman tore off the corner of some scrap piece of paper that littered her desk and scribbled something on it. “Go and see Vera, have her review the situation. She will provide you with the options. Say nothing else, but return back here immediately after.” Pandora took a moment to gauge if her Lieutenant was paying attention or dismissing her advice. “Once you return we will discuss what you plan to do. I want you to know that I will assist you… no matter what you decide.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

Four hours later Kyra returned, her shoulders slumped as if she bore a heavy burden, to Pandora’s office. Kyra’s mind was racing so fast that she did not hear Pandora the first time she greeted her.

“Kyra!” the gang leader shouted, finally gaining her subordinate’s attention. “What did Vera have to say?”

“She said that there were no alternatives. The process would have to be aborted immediately.” As soon as Kyra said those words a wave of emotions flooded over her. Emotions she had not allowed herself to feel since her days as a juve. “She said since I was not a sanctioned Matern it is not permitted for me to see this through to completion.” She was fighting her emotions with all her strength. Looking up, Kyra sought her Leader’s approval. She wanted to know what Pandora had to say.

“And what do you want? Do you going to see this all the way through, or are you going to follow Vera’s, and thus House Escher’s, recommendations? Now that Vera knows there is no putting off the decision any longer. Our sisters in Hive City probably know already. I can see that you get transferred to the Matern offices. I am sure you would be well taken care of.”

“The gangs have all I’ve ever known. I doubt that I would be well received, comfortable or not. I’d probably revert to my more, ‘aggressive’ tendencies. No, I want to see this through. I may not have realized I was heading down this path when I started, but I started willingly and I plan to take it all the way.” Kyra said standing up, bracing herself for her leader’s reprisal. But it never came.

“Then you are going to need a few things, come with me.” And with that Pandora led her out of her office.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

Kyra had no idea what to expect, or where Pandora was leading her. Her little venture was not known to anyone but the two of them, but these things do not remain a secret for long. And unless you have the censure of the ruling house you can bet that un-sponsored endeavors will be cancelled at the next earliest convenience – and the originator could expect nothing short of an unpleasant end.

“Kyra! Pay attention!” the young Lieutenant had drifted off into her own thoughts and not heard her Matriarch addressing her.

“You will meet with my contact at ‘The Jolly Sump’. Take this guilder, it is coated with a special chemical that will only be visible to who you need to meet, and she will know what to do.”

Kyra looked up into Pandora’s eyes. She was searching to see if there was any indication if this was the end for her, but her boss was impossible to read.

“When will I be able to come back?” Kyra finally asked.

“When you have seen your mission through and not before. You entered into this business on your own, and now you will see it through on your own.” The elder said as she put a reassuring hand on her arm. “You will make it through this.”

And with that Pandora turned around and left Kyra to gather her things. Kyra just watched her leave and then stared at the door for several minutes that closed behind her Matriarch. It was only as she looked around her small room that she realized that there really was not much to take.

An ornate broach presented to her from Pandora when she was made Lieutenant, a few hair pieces and dyes, a few changes of clothes, a simple auto pistol, but the one thing she prized above all things was an ornately decorated sword presented to her by her mother when she was accepted in to Pandora’s gang – the Prowlers.

She hefted up the light sword. It weighed only two kilograms and was a mere one and a half meters in length. Not all that imposing in size but it had served her very well, which she was reminded of as she eyed the score of kills marks etched into the sturdy hard synth-leather scabbard. She slowly drew the blade from its resting place to look upon the etchings in the blade itself. Ancient characters spelled out “Death comes swiftly”, at least that what she was told. She could read Necro-Gothic, but these characters were nothing she had ever seen before, but they were beautiful. She slid the ornate blade gently back into its sheath and slung it over her shoulder. Slipping the auto pistol into the holster strapped to her thigh and throwing her small backpack she turned on her heals and headed off to meet her fate just as readily as she had begun this chapter of her life.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-

“The Round Sump” was busier than usual. Located in the dead center of “Davin’s Deep”, an old miner’s camp, it was not known for its atmosphere. The patrons of this particular watering hole only wanted one thing, and that was to forget their troubles. What attracted ‘The Prowlers’ to the Sump was that it was owned by a particularly tough woman known as Grenda. Even though she was not Escher born, she had proved often enough that she could deal with even Goliath-like troubles.

Kyra looked around. All of the tables deep in shadow were taken, as was to be expected this far from Hive City, so she took an empty stool located at the far end of the bar.

As she sat down on the stool Kyra placed the guilder coin she received from Pandora on the bar, then flagged down the barkeep to order a glass of Wildsnake. As she waited she patted the bar nervously.

Grenda was fast tonight and set the glass down in front of her latest patron. Almost before Kyra realized it the barkeep was scooping up the guilder.

“No, wait!” Kyra practically shouted. “I mean, her take this one,” she said reaching into a pocket on her vest. “That’s my luck charm.”

Grenda just shook her head and dropped the old coin back on the counter and walked away. In her nervous state Kyra picked up the glass and gulped down the foul beverage, worm and all.

“Should you be doing that in your situation?”

Kyra spun around to see who was speaking to her. The person who was now standing just behind her stood just shy of one and three quarters of a meter tall, and dressed in a long trench coat with no other visible clothing. It was impossible to determine the speaker’s sex as the trench coat covered any distinguishing features, and the person’s head was completely bald. Kyra could not even look into the speaker’s eyes as they were completely covered with rectangular shaped, deeply tinted, goggles.

“When one is fleeing for their life, is it wise to consume intoxicating beverages?” The speaker spoke again pulling Kyra back to the situation at hand.

“Excuse me. Do I know you, and what business is it of yours?”

“I believe we have a common acquaintance, Pandora. Yes?”

Kyra eyed the stranger up and down. She, or possibly a he, was definitely from the Delaque, and they were not generally known for their trustworthiness.

Seeing the distrust in Kyra’s eyes the stranger pulled a guilder coin from a pocket in the trench coat. Placing it next to Kyra’s guilder it became obvious that the two fit together like pieces in a puzzle.

“If you want to make it out of here you need to follow me. I have already made arrangements.”

Without hesitation Kyra dropped in behind the stranger and left “The Round Sump” to begin the rest of her life.

-=-=-=O=-=-=-