System Seven (64 page)

Revolution, in order to be creative, cannot do without either a moral

or metaphysical rule to balance the insanity of history.

- Albert Camus, 1913-1960, French Existential Writer

Johan stepped from the
train onto the sunny platform at Murcia in the southeast of Spain. Near the
station entrance a man in a yellow and blue windbreaker turned and began walking.
Johan followed him to the parking lot. They climbed into a red Citroen C4 and
set off on the highway for the Spanish coast.

They rode in silence
as the city fell behind and the hills of the Baetic mountains rose around them.
Johan used his phone to finish reading the article in the Mirror Online about
the British playwright, Harold Hughes, who’d been among those arrested in a
child pornography sting. His lawyer issued a statement indicating his client
had been framed as retribution for not paying out to a blackmail threat.

Marco looked over. “As
I said, uncommon awareness.”

He put his phone away.
“Some would call it freakish, now.”

“Not that bad, I
hope.”

“Not exactly bad. But
freakish, yes.”

“Maybe later you can
show me what you mean.”

“Maybe. Is she there?”

Marco nodded.
“Soldado, too.”

A patrol SUV with
Guardia Civil markings passed them. The untrained sweep of meta told the same
story as Italian police forces had. Spanish peacekeepers were on edge in the
wake of what the media was calling
los
Dias de Diablo
, the Days of the Devil. Not far from the truth, considering
what Bastion had launched. The domino effect would take months if not years to
stabilize – provided a truce with Maria held.

While a central power
vacuum never appeared to form, the Comannda faltered in the days following the
ingress at the Core. A period of obvious command and control issues resulted in
frozen or exposed operations, dangling intelligence structures, and the
triggering of sometimes violent self-sealing mechanisms throughout the ranks of
Groups Two and Three. In a sense, the Comannda experienced a Scattering of
their own; the first ever recorded.

“How’s Samantha?”
Johan asked.

“She’s got a green
thumb now with those plants on her sill. That was a nice gesture. She’s loving
them. Otherwise nothing new.”

Five days prior, the
blog produced a clear message indicating the return of Maria to a state of
grace at the controls of the Comannda. What it lacked was an indication of
intent.

“Neutrality is
difficult in times like this.” He watched the passing hills.

“Anything pressing
you?”

Johan shook his head.
“Only the korjé, searching still. Nothing of the others.” He looked to Marco.
“Any word on Austin’s dad?”

“No, nothing.”

“We’ll have to work on
that.”

Three cars lined the driveway
at the house in Bolnuevo. Marco and Johan entered the front room to the sound
of light applause. Soldado, Sean, and Rachel stood along with a smaller woman
whose aura was veiled but still unmistakable. The stranger came forward and
slipped into Johan’s embrace. He pressed his lips to her head, thankful for
Anki’s presence.

She looked up.
“Holding in there?”

“Yes. You?”

She shrugged.
“Knowledge is a hurtful thing.”

“If we’d known that
before, would we have not tried?”

She stared back,
holding on to her reply. There had been no choice. “I’m told there’s a surprise
in store for me this evening. At this point, I absolutely hate surprises.”

“No clue what it is?”

“No, just that it’s
something big.” She didn’t admit to being scared but didn’t have to.

Sean greeted him with
a handshake. “I told her not to worry but she won’t listen to me. Is Austin
going to make it?”

“Not likely. He’s
still holed up with Kaiya in the ship, responding to only the biggest
emergencies. I’m trying not to bother them.”

Anki said, “I’d say
they’ve earned as much quiet as we can offer.”

Soldado came over and
hugged both Johan and Anki. “Good to see you, hombre. Close call.”

“No shit. Thanks for
everything.”

“Wish I’d done more.
Totem busted my game.”

Johan nodded. The
encryption sequencing had changed across all Comannda networks.

“There’s still a small
chance my Booty2 survived somewhere on their net. If so, I might hear back from
it in time.”

“Here’s to hoping.”

“Okay, okay, let’s go
people,” Rachel called from the kitchen. “This food isn’t going to make itself
and I sure as hell am not doing it alone.”

The group spent the
afternoon putting together dinner. Rachel and Anki ran the kitchen and had
Marco and Johan grating cheese and chopping vegetables. Sean sat at the table
and shared with Johan in recounting their recent and narrow successes.

Maria’s conspiracy
threaded through key areas of the Comannda. Vital to her plans were the three Volgograd
research teams. With six members each, they had worked toward and recently
achieved a state the Korda referred to as
dùnadh
,
or joining – something the Korda had previously been unable to achieve. When
joined, the korjé became exponentially more capable in Saoghal and presumably
in Raon. Team three was the most powerful, with team one being the weakest.

Second team had
contained Maria while third team had captured Johan and later held Cathbad. It
was team three that had sworn secret allegiance to Maria. They insured second
team’s bodies were killed to free Maria and then helped Austin and Johan with
the Council itself.

The risks of Johan joining
the dùnadh had been great and were still cause for concern. He’d had little
choice at the time, but in joining with team three he shared himself on deep
levels. Identity, core desires and fears, and techniques had been laid bare
equally by all seven. Liabilities were born at the same time new understanding
bloomed. What that meant for the future wasn’t clear but the exchange allowed
both sides to reach their immediate goals.

“Do they know you
learned the method of dùnadh?” Rachel asked.

Johan shrugged. “I’m
guessing yes. Joined like that, everything flows. It’s all laid bare.”

“So what’s next?”
Soldado asked.

“We work on
strengthening our Confrere and rebuilding the families,” Sean answered. “We’ll
see what Maria’s plans are. Many of the new geopolitical structures remain in
place. I suspect System Seven has begun, like it or not. We face the Conflict
as long as the world is still hostage.”

“What about the Mu?”
Soldado asked. “Did they help Austin with the AG ship?”

“We’re still not sure.
Whoever he was in contact with warned that the Mu weren’t all they claimed to
be. It could have been a Mu whistleblower or it could be another race.”

Johan didn’t mention
the Pure or the Owners and the Factions they controlled galaxies with. Until he
was able to verify what he’d experienced, there was no sense in complicating
things.

As if sensing an
omission, Sean said to Johan, “I’ll want to spend some time with you
recollecting your capture and release, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t know about
everyone else, but all this is making me very, very hungry,” Rachel said. “Can
I get some help setting the table?”

Dinner and drinks
carried them past nightfall and out onto the deck. Stars overhead lent the
gathering a timelessness and purpose that was unmistakable. Johan leaned
against the railing with his back to town. He’d noticed four times the number
of guards as before and more in a neighboring house down the hill. Bràthair
folded the night air in a wide ring. Expectation raised the hairs on his neck.

Sean joined him.
“Figured it out?”

“Someone important
arriving?”

“Can’t put anything
past you.”

“But who?” Johan
asked.

Sean nodded towards
the headlights on the road. “You’ll see.”

A black sedan rolled
up the drive. It stopped and two passengers emerged from the back seat. An
older man dressed in black looked up and waved. The other was a younger man.
Together they headed for the entry.

Sean announced the
guests’ arrival as they stepped out onto the deck. “Please welcome our patron
and respected friend, Father Eduardo Apodaca.”

The white collar was
missing but the look was complete. Edward appeared and felt like a veteran
clergyman. “Beautiful night for a party. Good to see you all again. I’d like to
introduce my old friend, Steffan Lawrence.”

Anki sat up and held the
arms of her chair. Her vibe shifted and it was Clare that stood and stared.

Edward smiled. “I
believe you remember Steffan, Ms. Clare.”

She hurried to him and
fell into his arms. For a moment it was apparent to all that mother and father
and daughter shared the loving embrace. Soft applause mixed with
congratulations.

Edward went to stand
with Johan.

“Father Eduardo. Have
you come to receive my confession?”

Edward smiled. “Thank
you for the hard work in training our bràthair. It might have been months or
longer before they figured out dùnadh.”

“Oh, I don’t think it
would have taken more than a few encounters with their teams to get the feel
for it.”

“If they survived,
that is. I also wanted to hear directly from you on Cathbad’s leaving.” Edward
made himself available.

“I see.”

He summoned the memory
and set the scene for them both. It played out as it had, complete with his own
decision to stay on.

Edward nodded, his
gratitude powerful in the moments following.

“Have you found
anything of Austin’s father?” Edward asked.

“I was going to ask
the same of you. He had to have fled or been taken after being shot.”

“Contact with Maria?”

“None.”

“Be careful there.”

“Oh, I know.” Johan
turned to the railing and looked out at the coast. “Let me ask, have you ever
thought maybe the Runa Korda and the Comannda are part of something bigger?”

Edward joined him. “What
do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Like
two chopsticks, being used to accomplish one goal.”

“I rather think they
are at odds, don’t you?”

“Unless there is
something greater working the sticks.”

Edward studied him.
“What else happened out there?”

Johan looked over.
“I’m just thinking big picture. Do you suppose we would realize it if we were
being played?”

“You could drive
yourself nuts imagining things.”

Johan chuckled then
shared his encounter with the Pure.

Edward took it all in
and responded with a frown. “If true, this changes things. The Mu wouldn’t be
just observers, they would be guards, agents of a Faction.”

“Which explains the
warning Austin received about the Mu.”

“But who helped him?”

“I don’t know.”

“That space, it needs
to be explored. Work together with dùnadh to better understand it.”

“It’s literally chaos.
I’m not sure taking them there is a good idea.”

“You made it okay.”

“No, I fell down the
Rabbit Hole and someone lifted me out. I’ll get back to you on that. There may
be a way to do it safely.” He sipped his drink. Maybe the Pure would help. “So
why else are you here?”

Edward turned to
receive a glass from Rachel. “Gracias. Would you believe to thank you for being
who you are and for doing all that you’ve done?”

“I might.”

“Actually there is one
more surprise for Anki. Or rather, Clare.”

“You’ve found her a
new host.”

Edward nodded. “Should
be here within the hour.”

“How will it affect
Anki? Clare’s been there her entire life.”

“The absence will no
doubt be substantial but we think so will the freedom. Duality has its own
burdens. She’ll need you.”

“I’m there.”

“I know. Time for a
toast.” He turned to the group and gathered their attention. He spoke to them
but also to the thousands of Korda who would receive the Words and someday,
perhaps the world.

“Despite the recent
and ongoing horrors and tragedies, tonight we have reason for gratitude and
hope. Our understanding of reality has expanded, offering the opportunity to
create a better framework for the rise of all of mankind. The long journey towards
disassembling the ruling empire has reached its most challenging and intriguing
miles. We have found the Change and replaced the most hostile Comannda leaders.
I cannot imagine a better indication that we have followed the right trackways
to the future we desire. You all have my sincere thanks for making it so.” He
raised his glass. “To Johan, Austin, and Anki. To Cathbad, Javier, and to Mug.
To all those lost and whose fate is yet unknown. To surprises and friends to
share them with. To long life, and to change!”