Story:Kings of Strife/Part 35

Part Thirty-Five
Vik had almost forgotten how hot it was in Nneoh. After traveling through the freezing cold of Norzaven, drifting through the temperate beaches of Inusia and fighting in the windy ports of Shorica, returning to Nneoh and being confronted with its unique heat was almost baffling to him. Unlike the desert of Inusia, Nneoh held an incredible humidity and impact to its heat, instantly inducing sweat and a parched feeling to one’s mouth. Vik loved the feeling and smiled nostalgically as soon as he stepped off the boarding ramp of the commercial airship he had taken to arrive at Nures, in northern Nneoh. His companion, however, was most likely not enjoying it as much as he was. She – or he?! – was visibly sweating. Vik had, as Vainia dropped the two off at a Shorican airport and paid for their travel, remained relatively unchanged visually, although he had ditched the dual handcuffs around his wrists. The Baron chosen to travel with him, named Jütenas if his memory served him correctly, had also not changed – although this was not a benefit to them. Skinny to the point of looking emaciated and covered in clothing from head to toe, Jütenas Kinandorf was not properly equipped for the tropical weather of northern Nneoh. What was most bewildering was the fact that Vik could not discern their gender at all, despite any close examination he attempted to lay upon them. There was no discussion between the two, not as they boarded the airship or left it. Although their silence was awkward at first, after their airship had lifted off into the air and the two reached their small cabin without any issues, Vik began to use his thoughts instead to ponder the complex situation he found himself in. No matter how he looked at it, Vik was the envoy and messenger of a rebel. A courageous, ambitious, and unbelievably successful rebel. It was impossible to wrap the mind around how Vainia had successfully escaped from Zeta Academy, enlisted a Knight and five students of the Academy to work for her, destroyed and taken over two large cities, assimilated control of an entire nation, snuck into Inusia of all places, and hacked into an entire communications corporation. Then she escaped from Inusia completely unharmed. Such accomplishments were unheard of. Not only was this woman dynamic and capable of the impossible, but now Vik was sworn to work for her. How ironic. If his father were to see him now, he would surely laugh in Vik’s face. Vik made it a point to himself not to make any form of contact with his father – not yet. He couldn’t show his face at the estate at all until his deeds were done and his ties with Vainia severed completely. Vik was completely lost in his thoughts when he found himself and Baron Kinandorf surrounded by Nneonian soldiers in the Nures streets. “I figured it wouldn’t be long until we were caught,” Vik muttered to himself as he walked in front of Jütenas, both of them in handcuffs and escorted by men in the desert brown Nneonian army uniforms. “What made you think that, I wonder,” Jütenas asked, their voice dripping with sarcasm. Vik did not pick up on this. “Well, for one, I’m an international fugitive from this place, and you’re a ward of one of the most wanted women in the world.” “…Wow,” was all Jütenas had to say. As they were escorted to the center of the sprawling tropical city, at which point they would undoubtedly be taken to the same bureaucratical headquarters Vik had been debriefed before climbing Mount Gulg, both Vik and Jütenas were given the chance to take in the sights of both Nures and Nneoh as a whole. The streets were lightly paved, the people walking around in droves were barely clothed, palm trees jutted up from the ground and swayed in the light wind, the sky was painted a pleasant lavender. The two of them were roughly jostled and lectured by the soldiers around them, but the walk was almost cathartic for them both. That ended for Vik when he neared the large headquarters building. All at once he was struck with feelings of unease and nostalgia. These swirling thoughts were perpetuated by glimpses of his previous comrade’s faces in his memory, and then the startling revelation soon after that, in all the months he had been gone, he had forgotten what all of his squad mates had looked like exactly. He felt dirty for failing them like this. Everything was much like it was the first time Vik had visited the place. The only difference in any of the circumstances was that Vik had an accomplice. It had felt like he was shackled in handcuffs the first time he had been debriefed. “How good it is to see you again, Lieutenant Colonel Vikcent Hyusei. We were beginning to think we’d lost you,” teased the faceless voice from behind the two-way mirror in the interrogation room. This time the solitary table behind the mirror had two mahogany chairs beneath it; Vik and Jütenas sat in them silently before hearing the first voice. “Don’t toy with me,” Vik growled. “I was dead to you and the rest of the world.” “Oh, not exactly. We’ve been seeing you all over the place. You sure did get around on that paid leave of yours, Lieutenant Colonel. But who knew you’d walk right onto our doorstep next?” Somehow, the seemingly playful prodding of the Nneonian officials angered Vik much more than they should have. “I want nothing to do with you lying bastards. I didn’t then and I don’t now. Justice couldn’t be further from your minds.” The fire of Vainia’s revelation still burned brightly in Vik’s chest. The makeshift eyepatch he reapplied over his right eye covered it as the optical organ throbbed in his irritation. A deep and condescending laugh could be heard from behind the mirror, and afterwards another, older-sounding voice replied. “Vikcent Hyusei. You are blind to the world.” “There is no justice in this world,” spoke the hidden voice that had greeted the two upon entering. “No winning or saving or redeeming. Only surviving, profiting, and flourishing. We have tried to get you to realize that.” “Okay, and then what?!” proclaimed Vik. “My life is over. We all knew it is. After that mission you were going to have me killed or shipped off somewhere and labeled crazy. Just like you did my father.” He bit his lip in bitterness. “Vance Hyusei was a decorated hero of the Civil War. We only gave the most honor and relief to his name,” subtly claimed the deepest voice from behind the mirror. Vik stood up in anger, almost knocking over the table. “Bull-fucking-shit! You tried to manipulate me into working for you like you did to him, and then use me to commit more of your hive mind injustice! You were probably behind the deaths of my teammates, too…” He looked down with sudden pain. “Was all this your plan to get me to work for you? To gather the –“ “We are here for a reason,” spoke up Jütenas for the first time. Vik immediately stopped speaking upon hearing their voice, and apparently so too did the men behind the mirror, for no other words were said until Jütenas continued. “We work for Nolstuvainia Sestrum and the nation she seeks to build in her name.” “That is known,” said a man from behind the mirror. All amusement was gone from his tone. “We demand your cooperation and come bearing negotiation terms.” “Ridiculous!” screamed the hidden deep voice. There were no more laughs from the group watching Vik and Jütenas. “The only reason why you weren’t executed on sight is because you hold information on the Zeta Rebellion. This is your opportunity to tell us everything you know before you will be tortured and eventually executed. The time for negotiation has long passed!” Vik looked at his reflection with a complex frown. “Vainia did nothing to Nneoh… Yet you stand against her with such passion? How could you dare claim you aren’t under the same illegal conglomerate that holds all of the world?” Silence reigned for a moment. “You are blind to the world,” repeated the deep voice. “As if there is anything to explain to future cadavers, anyway.” Jütenas continued unabated. “You will discretely disobey your orders from the World Government and you will support Vainia’s revolution through secretive yet effective methods. You will also make Vikcent Hyusei the ambassador of your relations with Queen Sestrum. As her Baron of Foreign Affairs I so speak.” Jütenas crossed their legs and their arms in finality. Now, finally, laughter resounded from behind the mirror. “You dare come in here and spout such absurd demands? What kind of decrepit old fools do you take us for? You mock us!” Vik looked at Jütenas and met the slender figure’s eyes in thought. An instant later, he looked forward, clenched his fists, and gulped decisively. “Do you think we’d have come to you if we didn’t have the power to back up our demands?” The laughter abruptly stopped. “Vainia was smart enough to take over most of Shorica, infiltrate and hack Inusia, and escape. She wouldn’t have sent two envoys here without a good plan.” “Vikcent Hyusei here is Vainia’s newly admitted officer,” added Jütenas. “We have a Crystal. He knows how to harness its power. Buckle to our demands or you will all be decimated. The interrogation room rung with deadly silence.

*****

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