Ka'ne-Yuri: Ka'ne "The Way Things Are" Chapter 1

Ka'ne
        Life in my world is rough...Pfft! Hahaha!!! Rough is an understatement. I’m not entirely sure how it is that I’ve survived these past five years. Anyone else would have committed suicide or been killed by someone already. There’s no dying of natural causes in my world. A world ruled by one man...no, one creature. Its name is Lanazo. Lanazo is a Freyon: a pale, scaly, poison green freak. The Freyons are a humanoid reptilian race; they’re ruthless in their pursuits and very cunning. No one really likes them unless there is messy business to be taken care of. So it should come as no surprise that Lanazo is owner and founder of Lanazo Corporation, the largest warmongering company there is. Of course, the warmongering part is strictly under wraps. To the general public (and authorities), he sells weapons, transport ships, battleships, and brokers mercenary and body guard contracts. Under the table, they also broker assassination contracts, aid in staging coups, and (obviously) starting wars, among other things I’d rather not mention. If you have the money, you can get (and smuggle) anything you want from (or to) anywhere and the authorities either won’t know or won’t look.
        Now, you may wonder, “Well what do you have to do with all this?”
        . . .
        I’m the one that starts the wars. I am also his best assassin, my services used for select targets. I have been given a small “task force” to aid in assignments related to coups and starting conflicts. The only reason I am still alive is probably that I am his greatest asset. Then again, I am also his greatest liability. He destroyed my home planet.

        Many years before I was born, my grandfather King Seiji of Serians had trouble putting down a rebellion. He had his soldiers steal money and anything of value to sell from the human settlements throughout the planet. The funds gained from the expeditions were used to pay Lanazo for mercenaries and technology far more advanced than the simple lead bullet guns and heat lasers previously used. Naturally the rebellion was utterly crushed and Seiji’s rule became absolute.
        Unfortunately, the money used to pay Lanazo was not enough. Seiji died before repaying his debt. Lanazo was not as stupid as the Serians, he knew Seiji’s son Yoshi was only five years old when he took the throne despite the fact he appeared much older. He confronted Yoshi, but the boy proved powerful in terms of evalescence, the force of life and power also called magic or chi, so he backed down calling a truce. Yoshi agreed to pay him off as he could, but the needs of his people came first.
        Yoshi, my father, died when I was a year old. The debt remained. Rael, a rebel, took control and he was not so intelligent. He wasted what money was left and taxed the citizens to continue to pay for his extravagant parties and keep the military loyal. Lanazo was getting increasingly frustrated. Finally, when I was eight years old, he’d had enough. He kidnapped Vael, Rael’s only son, threatening to kill the boy if he did not pay back the debt in full. Rael panicked and sold everything he could bear to part with and extorted more money by raising taxes to ridiculous heights. In the end, he could only pay two thirds of the debt.
        My mother sent my twin sister Nariko (Nari for short) and I to Lanazo’s ship where Vael was held. Only a few hours later Rael was assassinated and everything taken. The planet was destroyed by a prototype machine in development at the time.

        Lanazo did not have Vael killed. He continues to keep him prisoner. He sees the connection between Vael and me, though he doesn’t understand. He hates me; he hates my sister and Vael because we are Serians. Actually, Nari and I are only one-fourth Serian from Seiji; otherwise we’re all Zamuran, but more on that later. The point is, Nari and I are useful and he keeps Vael as insurance for our cooperation. He’s had me trained by the best warriors and assassins. Nariko has a gift for healing; decent medical treatment is hard to come by when traveling in space. Thus we are alive, given food and a place to sleep, but little else.

                “Ka’ne,” Nari says. “Ka’ne, wake up. The alarm broke again, we almost slept in.”
                “I don’ wanna geddup,” I mumble into my pillow.
                “What?” Nari asks, starting to sound annoyed. “Ka’ne whatever you said, I don’t care just get up! Lanazo will get mad. You want to get Vael killed?”
                “Fine, fine. I’m up,” I sit up. “Why do I even care?”
                “You care because you’re his Guardian. He may not be a Kisai but he has a purpose and needs to live until he fulfills it. You know that.”
                “He’s not even Zamuran! What kind of purpose could he possibly serve the in order of the Universe? Besides, you’re a Kisan, where’s your Guardian?” I say spitefully. That always touches a nerve.
        She shudders, silent for moment and then says, “He probably died five years ago you...you...arrgh!”
        I roll my eyes, “Let’s just get dressed.” I get out of bed and stretch, yawning loudly. Nari walks over to the wall next to her bed and yanks open a drawer sulking the whole time. I walk over and grab a shirt and pants. Nari coughs.
        I sigh, “What now?”
                “You know what today is?” She asks, not looking at me.
                “It’s Thursday,” I shrug and pull the shirt down over my head.
                “No. It’s our birthday. We’re thirteen today.”
                “What’s it matter? It’s not like Lanazo is going to let us take the day off to celebrate.” I tie off the drawstring of my pants. “We’ve survived another year. That’s good enough for me.”
                “I hope things change soon, for the better.”
        I put a hand on her shoulder “Hoping won’t change anything. Someday I’ll find a way to get us out of here. Come on, let’s finish getting dressed and go, okay?”
                “Yeah, sure,” she shrugs. Neither of us expects to ever get away.

                “Why are you late?” Lanazo asks us when we arrive. His voice is calm and he seems only mildly irritated, but we know to be cautious. Freyons don’t express their emotions as flagrantly as other races. Despite his expression and behavior, we can tell he is very angry.
        Nari and I remain silent. Any excuse given is never good enough.
        He is silent for a moment, then says, “Ka’ne, there is a new group of recruits for you, pick who want and send the rest to Izaki. Nari, go to the infirmary. You’ll be having a busy day.”
        We both take a slight bow and exit his office.
                “New recruits?” Nari asks. “The turnover on your taskforce is about twice year isn’t it?”
                “Yeah,” I reply. “They burn out, die, quit, and the longer they stay the cockier they get. That leads to sloppy work.”
                “Ka’ne.”
                “Yes?”
                “Save me the trouble and don’t hurt too many, okay? Just kick them out.”
        I laugh, “If it were that easy I’d be doing it already. They never believe that I am Ka’ne and their egos are always enormous. I have to beat some sense and submission into them.”
        Nari shakes her head and walks off to the infirmary. I go to the main entrance of the ship to greet the new recruits. (We’re docked at headquarters for Lanazo Corp. on a dry planet called Lereene. Great climate if you’re a humanoid lizard like Lanazo.)
        I arrive to find the recruits acting as always, milling around, sizing each other up, showing off and getting agitated.
                “All right!” I yell to get their attention. “I want four straight lines right here!” I point to the ground in front of me.
                “Who are you?” The tallest one present asks.
                “Yeah, you’re just a girl in house clothes. You lost?” asks another.
                “I am Ka’ne and I am not lost. Now line up before you start to annoy me,” I wave my hand as if batting away their stupid questions.
        And they laugh. They always laugh. I just sigh, as I always do.
                “I’ll ask you nicely one last time, four lines in front of me, now,” I say firmly while remaining calm.
                “Ohh,” the tall guy taunts. “What are you gonna do if we don’t? Throw a fit?” He laughs, and the others laugh.
        I crouch down and spring upward (using a bit of evalescence to add momentum) with a right uppercut, concentrating a little bit of evalescence in my fist. The blow lifts him into the air. I jump again and deliver a back leg round kick in mid-air propelling him into the wall off to my left. Several that were too slow to get out of the way are knocked over. I land, crouching again with my right knee on the ground and then stand up.
                “Line up, four lines!” I raise my voice, yelling but not screaming, “If you don’t I’ll kill you. You’re nothing but a worthless gaggle of pussies and I couldn’t care less if you all killed each other right now. At least you’d be saving me the trouble.”
        They shuffle into four lines, but they are no where near straight.
                “I see four groups, not lines. Do it right! If you’re too stupid to get in a straight line you’re worthless as soldiers. Line up!”
        More shuffling and they make passable lines.
                “First in each line step forward….Closer…Closer…Stop,” I step closer to the first one on the far right. “What’s your name?”
                “Chieju,” he says, smiling rakishly.
        I kick him between his legs and he falls over grabbing his crotch. “Get out. You’re useless.”
                “You little bitch! Why’d you do that?” He chokes.
                “You don’t respect me; then you won’t listen and follow orders. If you can’t do that, you’re useless. Get out.”
        He crawls away. I walk to the person at the front of the right middle line, a skinny guy shorter than me. “Tell me your name and what you can do that might actually be useful.”
                “Jent. I’m quick with knives.”
                “Really?” I summon my Guardian armor and take the knife out of my right leg guard. “Show me.” I nod for him to attack.
        He whips out a knife that was hidden in his right boot and steps forward flicking it near my face and thrusting it toward my throat. I duck and step off to his left side. He turns and swings it down toward the space between my left shoulder and neck behind the collar bone. I turn, swinging his target out the way and stab him in his side. He stops.
                “You’re fast, not faster than me, but good enough. Consider yourself lucky. I didn’t hit any vital organs but I suggest you see my sister in the infirmary if you want to make it to first day of training next week.”
        He nods and sprints into the ship. I continue with my inspection of the other recruits.

Vael
        No one really knows this, I’m sure, but I will confess to you: I am the master, oh yeah! What? What is that? “Why?” You ask? I’m stealthy, quick and quiet. I am an escape artist and master thief. I took my chance when Lanazo gives out his daily orders to Ka’ne and Nari. I rewired the lock open and was out of there.
        Now, you may be wondering where I went. Well, I am currently at the city built around Lanazo Corp. I’m on my way to get Ka’ne and Nari a little present. There’s this swanky bistro down the street from the Corporation Headquarters complex. It is the only place you can get Salirian wine. M-hm. Salirian wine is expensive, costs about ninety-eight lairen for a one-ounce serving. It is very rare and very potent. I always swipe a bottle when we’re in town. The bottles are about the size of a large fist but it can last you months if you ration it out right. One little sip of the stuff and my holding cell gets blurry. I get a little dizzy, too, but it’s okay. That’s enough to make me forget where I am and why it matters.
        Anyway, the restaurant is still busy with the breakfast customers so it’ll be easy. Just watch. There’s a back door where they toss out old and unworthy food (very high standards of freshness and perfection in their ingredients for cooking), they tend to leave it open to let the extra steam and heat out. The wine is kept in a refrigerator on the floor near the door. I just have to wait for the right moment; then I sneak in and snatch it. It’s really simple.
        That chef looks almost done with his fish, then he’ll put it on a plate and dress it up a little and finally, he serves it himself. There are no waiters at this restaurant, only a couple of greeters (that are also bouncers) that lead patrons to a table, notify a chef that’s not busy, clear the table when the patrons leave. Oh! There he goes, now’s my chance.
        I dart over to the refrigerator, slide open the door and grab a bottle. I slide the door shut, scurry out the back and keep running. I don’t stop until I reach an alley on the other side of the Lanazo Corp. complex. I lean against the wall of a building and try to slow my breathing. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, calming down…good. I sprint off back to the ship.

Ka’ne
        I chose all of ten men to join my special task force. The rest are either injured (by me of course) or kicked out. So that makes about thirty men in all for my task force. I lost that many men on the last mission with them. I still need more, but there’s nothing coming up soon so I can wait a little longer. Besides, I’m concentrating on my secret “little project”.
        It’s not really little, but it is secret. I got a small interstellar ship and gutted it. I built and programmed the computer. It’s an excellent navigation system, of course, but the best part is I’ve made it an intelligent, intuitive computer. It’s self aware. I named it Kibou and programmed in a female voice. We’ve had several conversations, “she” learned quite a bit searching through databases and studying the way different races think. My favorite part about her is her ability to tell my moods and her humor is excellent.
        Kibou can gather relevant information no matter where it is. I’ve programmed her to hack intuitively when it is necessary to find information. No encryption, password, or firewall can stand against her and she doesn’t even leave a trace. She cannot be hacked or invaded by any viruses either. When she senses someone or something trying to access that isn’t me she can neutralize it and keep a log of who, what, when, where, and how the would-be infiltrator tried to enter.
        I’ve taught her how to retaliate against such attacks at will. It’s quite funny, really. I was able to find a hacker a few weeks back that challenged me and Kibou. I let her do all the work. She had the poor man crying in about ten minutes. His computer was totally fried and all his data was lost. I got him another computer and told her to restore his data. She made a package file with all the data and made him find it hidden somewhere on the information network, rewarding him with clues as he solved puzzles she made for him. She enjoys puzzle games.
        Ha-ha! “Enjoys.” Strange, attributing such a sentiment to a computer. She is learning the meaning and purpose of emotions, though I’m not sure whether or not she feels them. She is programmed to ensure her survival. In the case where her continued survival is dangerously low or non-existent she will create packages and hide them all over the information network. It will be done in such a way that only I can find them and put it all together again.
        Sorry, I’ve gone on and on about Kibou and haven’t even mentioned what else I’ve done with the ship. The bridge has room for eight to sit comfortably. A hall leads out of the back of the bridge to the medical center and an elevator below the main deck. The kitchen is on one side of the hall and my quarters are on the other. There are four small but comfortable cabins below the main deck with a communal bathroom below where the medical enter is. Storage is below the bridge. I just have to finish painting the outside of the ship, and that can be done by the end of the day.

Nari
        Ka’ne sent over sixty men to me. The damage ranged from simple bruises to broken bones. Some were even in critical condition; I had to send them to the hospital back at the port. It took me all day to tend to everyone. I am so tired. I’m already collapsed on my bed. Ka’ne isn’t here, though. She’s probably with Vael, she visits him often. Theirs is a strange dynamic. They can hardly stand each other but they can’t live without each other either. Guardians and their Kisai or Kisan have a bond deeper than they can ever know or express. No matter how much one may hurt the other, they always come back, because being apart is worse than being together. A Guardian literally living for another, that other person living to fulfill one purpose…that is our destiny, the way of the Kisé, of all Zamurans.

Ka’ne
        Vael tosses me a bottle when I get inside his holding cell.
                “Picked it up this morning, am I the best or what?” he says with a self-satisfied smile.
        I roll my eyes, “Whatever you say.” I sit next to him on the bed.
                “Don’t you want to know how I got this?”
                “I don’t. What is it anyway?”
                “Salirian wine,” he says, obviously proud of himself.
                “Salirian wine? We’ll see about that,” I open the bottle.
                “Don’t take too much, I want it to last.”
                “Fine,” I sigh and take a sip. I cough on the pure sweetness of the drink. "Whoa. You weren’t kidding."
                "Haha, told you. Give it back I want some."
                "Sure," I hand him the bottle. He swallows the wine as if it were water. He closes the bottle and sets it under the bed.
                “You didn’t see that,” he says trying to be serious.
                “I’m not going to tell anyone,” I laugh.
                “Right,” he says and leans on my shoulder.
                “Don’t pass out on me.”
                “Nah, not yet,” he mumbles trying to kiss me. I push him away. He picks up the bottle and hands to me.
                “Are you trying to get me drunk?” I take a sip.
                “Nooo,” he says, drawing out the word. “What makes you think that?”                 “Forget it, it doesn’t matter.” I take another sip and give him the bottle.
                “Good, because I am,” he has a second sip. “I’ll be drunk too, so it’s all right.”
        I laugh, or maybe I cry, probably both. “I’m gonna kill in you in the morning if anything happens.”
                “I’ll take that chance,” he kisses me.
        I don’t bother to push him away this time. I take the bottle for one last sip and anything after that is forgotten.

Nari
        Ka’ne came back really late last night (actually early morning). She was obviously drunk, smelling sweet, not sour like vinegar, which means only one thing: she had Salirian wine. It’s the only alcoholic drink known to make Serians drunk, anything else just turns to vinegar in their stomachs.
                “You’re drunk.”
                “Oh,” she says dully. “Does it show?” Then I see the blood on her hands.
                “Ka’ne?” I ask.
                “What?” She replies, opening a drawer and pulling out clothes.
                “What happened?”
She waves her hand, indicating her desire not to talk about the subject. She continues to take out clothes.
                “What are you doing?”
        She doesn’t answer and takes a chest out from under her bed. She starts stuffing the clothes in it.
                “Ka’ne, tell me. What happened? Is that your blood?”
                “It’s Vael’s,” she snaps the lid of the chest shut.
                “Is he all right?”
                “He’ll live,” she sets the chest on the floor and tilts it on its end prompting wheels to pop out. She walks to the door, the chest rolling along behind her.
                “Where are you going?”
                “I dunno, I don’t care,” she says and then she’s gone.
        Vael. I run to his cell.

                “What happened?” I demand when I arrive.
        He doesn’t answer. I kneel beside him and examine his injuries.
                “Broken arm, bloody nose, black eye…what did you do to make her mad?” I ask.
        He still doesn’t say anything. I feel his abdomen and he groans.
                “That’s why you aren’t talking. It hurts some to breathe doesn’t it? You have a couple broken ribs,” I say. I close my eyes, and a whole other view takes over. I can see his evalescence. Overall his health is fair, but he’s obviously as drunk as Ka’ne. There, two ribs broken. The fractures aren’t deep but they’ll slow him down.
                “You’re lucky they didn’t puncture anything. You’ll need to rest for a few weeks,” I say.
                “Can you fix--argh!” He cries out.
                “Shh. It’ll hurt but I want you to take a deep breathe...slowly...good. Hold still a moment.” I place my hands on his chest and channel a small amount of evalescence, “Now breathe out very slow.” He relaxes.
        I can use evalescence to quiet the nerves that broadcast pain. Being a Kisan, it comes easily to me.
                “Where is she?” he asks.
                “She came and left. I don’t know.”
        He sighs.
                “What happened?”
                “Ask her next time you see her.”
        I nod and channel more evalescence to help heal his injuries a bit faster, but at over two weeks normal healing time, I can’t shorten it by more than three days.

Ka’ne
                “Are we finally going somewhere?” Kibou asks when I toss the chest in my cabin.
                “Yes,” I say.
                “Where are we going? Do you have a particular destination in mind?”
                “No. Take us somewhere far away and off the grid.”
                “You’ll have to narrow it down more than that.”
                “I just want to leave.”
        Kibou starts up the ship, "You are upset?”
                “Yes.”
                “You do not wish to be found?”
        We exit the abandoned dock I had built the ship in.
                “Correct.”
                “Come to the bridge, I’ll show you the set of coordinates I have chosen.”
        Lereene falls away and gradually shrinks in the distance, eventually becoming a small brown dot.

        On the bridge Kibou shows me our destination on a star chart.
                “What is the planet called? How long will it take to get there?” I ask.
                “It is called Gaia. It will take about three days to arrive.”
                “Good. Lanazo’s best would still take weeks.” I was sure to make this ship faster than anything else Lanazo can get his hands on. This ship also has very good range. We can make it without refueling, saving time.
                “Do you wish to know more about our destination?”
                “Go ahead.”
                “It has diverse landscapes. There are several settlements spread across the planet. The inhabitants are Human but their technology is relatively primitive. Do you want to avoid them?”
                “Yes, but I want access to resources. We can hide from them without being too far from a settlement, right?”
                “Correct.”
                “You said it was inhabited by Humans?”
                “Yes.”
                “I thought they were only on Renalia.”
                “According to the legends of Renalian Humans, there was a great disaster. The planet was struck by several meteors. The Humans had attempted to divert a very large meteor but they only succeeded in splitting it into several smaller ones. Many Humans died. A group of those that were left gathered what resources they could and built a fleet of space ships. They eventually arrived on Renalia but not without heavy casualties. It seems they were unprepared for life in space.”
                “What about those left behind?”
                “It seems their collective memory begins approximately one-hundred years after the disaster.  It starts out very primitive. They have not progressed much since then. The Renalian Humans took their most advanced technology with them.”
                “I’m going to back to my cabin to sleep now. That Salirian wine is making me feel tired.”
                “Your behavior gave away your obvious intoxication.”
                “Why didn’t you say anything?”
                “I wanted to leave. I did not feel very stimulated with the ship just sitting in that empty dock.”
                “You were bored, huh? Well I guess I can’t be surprised. I made you that way.”
                “I’m going to look through local information network on our destination planet while you sleep.”
                “Tell me some of what you learn when I wake up.” I say
                “Yes.”
        I go back to my cabin.

I am running away. There is nothing for me on Lereene, only pain.