02-15-2020, 11:38 PM
Alvarez’s Office, Buttercity, Lauchenoiria
15th February 2020
Knock, knock.
“Come in!” called Alvarez, distractedly as she read through a piece of proposed legislation by a Green which was actually decent, deciding whether or not the government should support it.
“Sorry, your secretary isn’t there, I think she went to the bathroom, so…” trailed off the voice at the door. Alvarez looked up.
“Leonie? Come in, I wasn’t expecting you. Is there a problem?” she said, putting down the report and gesturing for Leonie to take a seat.
“Well, kind of, I guess. I just… I’m worried about the Veronica thing.”
“She’s no threat to you, I promise,” Alvarez said gently. “She was open with me, and she seems to genuinely care about you and the other two, and I promise she won’t hurt you like the Kerlians did during the war.”
“No, that’s not what I’m worried about. I spoke with her on the drive here and in spite of what she is, I can get over that. But I’m worried about what will happen if it’s discovered that you, of all people, are working with a Kerlian agent.”
“Ah,” said the Prime Minister, sighing and leaning back. “We haven’t really spoken since the climate protest affair, have we? I didn’t want to have to do that; the Conservatives forced me and we must maintain an image of stability at all costs.”
“Kicking the entire committee of the youth wing out of the party is not why I’m here. I’m here because if they find out, they will remove you from office, probably try you for treason, and then it’s gonna turn into a witch-hunt for anyone with Kerlian connections, or anyone with alleged Kerlian connections and a lot of people are going to suffer! I can’t just stand in silence while that happens! That is not what I fought for last year,” Leonie said firmly, staring Alvarez in the face.
“I know, Leonie,” she sighed. “I do. And I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen, I promise. Gabriel Fleming is a much greater risk than Paul Doberman and the like, though, and this is something I have to do.”
“Who?” Leonie asked.
“… how much do you actually know of what I’m doing with Ms. Penners?” the Prime Minister queried after a pause.
“Just that you’re doing something. I don’t know!” Leonie said, slightly exasperated at the entire affair.
“Leonie, you should leave it there. This sort of thing is dangerous. I don’t fully understand what is going on myself, but there are things happening outside of my control, and certainly outside of yours. Please, trust me.”
Leonie paused, tapping her finger against her leg. “I did,” she said finally, “before you started allowing people like Thomas Averforth to influence your policies. I visited Shuell for the Olympics, you know? It was interesting, to see their society. Very different from ours, of course. Their sheer hatred of communism was fascinating, and frankly understandable. The authoritarian kind, anyway. But they’re authoritarian too.”
“Yes, they are…” Alvarez said cautiously, uncertain where Leonie was going with this.
“I had just turned 18 when the coup happened. I was in the middle of my final exams in school, and I got involved with the Resistance delivering messages, at first. I thought we were going to protest the Chaher regime, that we were going to resolve things peacefully at first. Then war came. I was completely out of my depth, it was a situation I was unprepared for entirely. But at no point did I want to back out. Because the things I was fighting for, democracy and freedom, were worth the risk. Even after all that happened to me, I still believe that.”
“Leonie…”
“But what exactly do we have now? The extradition crisis, that poor Shuellian who is probably now a shadow of his former self. Those Xiomerans, who are now in prison for that embassy protest here despite the fact that their colleagues who returned home have since been released. All the Kerlian refugees who have been detained at the border out of fear of Auroras even though we know that’s not how they come! The media blames all this on Marwick, a convenient scapegoat. But what exactly are you doing to further the causes of freedom and democracy? Cause the way I see it, you’re letting yourself be controlled by Averforth, by Shuell, and by Sanctaria.”
“Okay, Leonie,” Alvarez said firmly. “That’s enough. I understand why you feel that way, but look at it from another perspective for a moment. You worry about outside control? Okay, well I’m trying to remove that as soon as possible. In order to do so, we must appear stable, especially before the April elections. Noguera invited the Shuellians here, and until we can undo some of her mistakes, we have to play ball in order to remain safe. I understand that things are bad, and I do in some ways regret some of the alliances I’ve had to make politically, but I am trying my best to protect Lauchenoiria.”
“I want to speak to Councillor Hale,” Leonie said suddenly.
“I’m sorry? What does that have to do with anything?”
“I don’t think I told you, but when I was in prison in Kerlile, they were trying to take this girl away who they’d previously fed full of propaganda, but who was trying to question it. I wasn’t about to let them, so I made a scene. And one of them was going to kill me. She had a gun pointed at me, and I was certain I was going to die. But Hale was there. She saved my life, and I still don’t know why. I don’t know why any of that stuff with her happened. I know your relationship is complicated, but the thing is: right now, I trust her more than I trust you.”
“A Kerlian Councillor?” Alvarez said sceptically.
“The woman who saved my life. And she knows you. You ask me to trust you on this? Well, I don’t. But I trust her judgement, and if she says you’re doing the right thing then I guess you are.”
“A Kerlian Councillor? You trust a Kerlian Councillor over me?”
“You have my number, get her to give me a call,” Leonie said, standing up and walking over to the door.
“Wait, Leonie, we’re not done here!” Alvarez called. Leonie paid no attention, pushing open the door and closing it behind her as she headed out of the office.
*
Meeting Room, Kerlian Intelligence Service Building, Grapevale
The seven women sat awkwardly around the table in the room, waiting for the people with the paperwork to return. The two youngest sat together at the side opposite from the door, one dressed in typical working-class Kerlian clothing, and the other wearing an expensive Xiomeran dress which complimented her skin tone well. She kept glancing at the other ethnic Xiomeran in the room, who sat at the back with two of the Kvask-assigned women, discussing something in hushed tones.
Opposite the two youngest were the two eldest, a sullen southern-Lauchenoirian-looking woman who was scowling, next to the third Kvask-assigned, the eldest, who was singing softly to herself in a language that the young two didn’t speak. The youngest, a pale woman who’d been sent to LOM, lay her head down on the desk and closed her eyes, as if trying to sleep.
“What’s that song?” the Xiomeran-looking young woman asked of the oldest.
“It’s a Kvaskm lullaby,” the woman said, her accent heavy. “What are you called? I was Daniela, or Slavjena, take your pick.”
“Nelichē,” she replied, smiling slightly. “You were in Kvask?”
“Yes, for many years. I trained with Charissa Clarke, you know. We were friends once upon a time, though I hear she became rather cruel as she got older. You don’t use your training name now you’re back?”
“I don’t know,” Nelichē frowned suddenly. “I guess I don’t. You don’t use a Kerlian accent yourself,” she smirked, teasing.
“I suppose I don’t,” laughed Daniela, or Slavjena. “So, did you…”
“YOU LITTLE PIECE OF TRAITOROUS SCUM!” yelled one of the trio from the back suddenly, interrupting the conversation. All four of the others turned to look at the back.
“For Goddesses sake, Orla,” the Xiomeran one said, “you don’t need to make a scene. I’m sure if Luska here is guilty of treason, she’ll be arrested.”
“They won’t arrest me, Zichitla, because I’m not guilty of anything!” the third one, Luska, said, turning her back to the other two.
“Her name is Nelly, and you are the worst kind of scum to walk this earth!” hissed Orla, and then she stood up and walked over to the door, throwing it open and storming out of the room.
Daniela raised her eyebrows and exchanged a look with Nelichē. “What was that all about?” she asked of those in the back.
“Orla, by training, is rather extreme in her views that we should not care for anything other than the Matriarchy,” said Luska. “She won’t even tell us her third name. I prefer to go by mine, as does Zichitla.”
“As do I,” said Nelichē. “Though I’m not sure why. I’m Nelichē, by the way,” she said, introducing herself by what Auroras called her third name. Few knew, though perhaps more since the leaks, that Auroras have three names. That of birth, that of training, and that of cover. They did not know their first, but for these seven, that was about to change.
“Charlotte,” said the youngest next to Nelichē, by way of introduction. “Or Susanna, by the second.”
“Emelia,” said the Lauchenoirian as the others turned to her, then she looked away and said nothing more.
The door opened, and Orla returned, along with two employees of the KIS, carrying seven files between them. Orla took the spare seat next to Nelichē, much to her discomfort, rather than returning to her original space.
“Okay, now that all your debriefs are out of the way, we can present you with these files which contain everything you have the right to. They contain your original birth certificates, and the details of the bank accounts in which the money you’re owed has been deposited. Also contained are keys to apartments we’re providing you with for up to six months, after which you’ll be expected to find your own accommodation. The money contains your payment for services, capped at up to 5 years backpay due to budgetary constraints. And no, nobody is being arrested for treason,” the woman speaking looked pointedly at Orla.
“Right, raise your hand when I call your KCID,” the other woman said. “19966899.”
Luska raised her hand, and was handed a file. She didn’t open it, instead waiting as the others were given theirs. Orla glared at her as the second woman continued to read out Kerlian Citizen ID numbers and hand files. Once all the files had been distributed, the two women stood.
“We shall leave you to ponder the contents by yourselves. You may leave as you wish. All further information is contained in the files. Please contact us with the name you decide to use within the week. Have a good day,” the first one said, and then they both left.
The seven former Auroras all looked down at their files, and at each other. There were several minutes of silence as they worked up the courage to open them. Each of them had spent so long without knowing the truth of their identities and birth, and that was what the file meant to them, quite aside from its other contents. Eventually, the Lauchenoirian worked up the courage to turn the page, and the others followed suit.
Nelichē looked down at her file and pulled out the birth certificate. Her date of birth was the same as she had always known, she was relieved to see. Her father wasn’t listed, which intrigued her – if he was unknown, then perhaps he was still alive? Her mother was named, a Xiomeran name coupled with a surname that sounded like it came from an English-speaking country. Had she adopted the surname to fit in with the bureaucracy? Or perhaps it had been a grandmother.
She looked at the name she had been given at birth. It was Kerlian, not Xiomeran. Her mother was listed as residing in a location Nelichē knew to be a prison. She was suddenly overcome with disappointment and despair. She didn’t even know if her mother had named her, or if they’d taken her away right after her birth. She felt a dampness on her face and reached up to see that she was crying. She felt no connection to the name on the paper, but she was overcome with a sudden desire to find out who her father was.
Standing, she gathered the paper back into the file, dug out the keys and looked at the address listed. East end of Grapevale, middle-class area. She picked up the file, and left the room, ignoring the others who were still engrossed in their own files. She walked determinedly down the corridors and out of the building, acknowledging nobody as she went. She made her way to the nearest bus stop and sat in the shelter to wait, thinking.
Her life had always had a purpose, a mission. That was what it meant to be an Aurora. Now she wasn’t one, but she still had a purpose, a mission. She was going to find out exactly who she was, and exactly what had become of her family. And she’d already made her choice. She was a Xiomeran-Kerlian, and her name was Nelichē.
15th February 2020
Knock, knock.
“Come in!” called Alvarez, distractedly as she read through a piece of proposed legislation by a Green which was actually decent, deciding whether or not the government should support it.
“Sorry, your secretary isn’t there, I think she went to the bathroom, so…” trailed off the voice at the door. Alvarez looked up.
“Leonie? Come in, I wasn’t expecting you. Is there a problem?” she said, putting down the report and gesturing for Leonie to take a seat.
“Well, kind of, I guess. I just… I’m worried about the Veronica thing.”
“She’s no threat to you, I promise,” Alvarez said gently. “She was open with me, and she seems to genuinely care about you and the other two, and I promise she won’t hurt you like the Kerlians did during the war.”
“No, that’s not what I’m worried about. I spoke with her on the drive here and in spite of what she is, I can get over that. But I’m worried about what will happen if it’s discovered that you, of all people, are working with a Kerlian agent.”
“Ah,” said the Prime Minister, sighing and leaning back. “We haven’t really spoken since the climate protest affair, have we? I didn’t want to have to do that; the Conservatives forced me and we must maintain an image of stability at all costs.”
“Kicking the entire committee of the youth wing out of the party is not why I’m here. I’m here because if they find out, they will remove you from office, probably try you for treason, and then it’s gonna turn into a witch-hunt for anyone with Kerlian connections, or anyone with alleged Kerlian connections and a lot of people are going to suffer! I can’t just stand in silence while that happens! That is not what I fought for last year,” Leonie said firmly, staring Alvarez in the face.
“I know, Leonie,” she sighed. “I do. And I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen, I promise. Gabriel Fleming is a much greater risk than Paul Doberman and the like, though, and this is something I have to do.”
“Who?” Leonie asked.
“… how much do you actually know of what I’m doing with Ms. Penners?” the Prime Minister queried after a pause.
“Just that you’re doing something. I don’t know!” Leonie said, slightly exasperated at the entire affair.
“Leonie, you should leave it there. This sort of thing is dangerous. I don’t fully understand what is going on myself, but there are things happening outside of my control, and certainly outside of yours. Please, trust me.”
Leonie paused, tapping her finger against her leg. “I did,” she said finally, “before you started allowing people like Thomas Averforth to influence your policies. I visited Shuell for the Olympics, you know? It was interesting, to see their society. Very different from ours, of course. Their sheer hatred of communism was fascinating, and frankly understandable. The authoritarian kind, anyway. But they’re authoritarian too.”
“Yes, they are…” Alvarez said cautiously, uncertain where Leonie was going with this.
“I had just turned 18 when the coup happened. I was in the middle of my final exams in school, and I got involved with the Resistance delivering messages, at first. I thought we were going to protest the Chaher regime, that we were going to resolve things peacefully at first. Then war came. I was completely out of my depth, it was a situation I was unprepared for entirely. But at no point did I want to back out. Because the things I was fighting for, democracy and freedom, were worth the risk. Even after all that happened to me, I still believe that.”
“Leonie…”
“But what exactly do we have now? The extradition crisis, that poor Shuellian who is probably now a shadow of his former self. Those Xiomerans, who are now in prison for that embassy protest here despite the fact that their colleagues who returned home have since been released. All the Kerlian refugees who have been detained at the border out of fear of Auroras even though we know that’s not how they come! The media blames all this on Marwick, a convenient scapegoat. But what exactly are you doing to further the causes of freedom and democracy? Cause the way I see it, you’re letting yourself be controlled by Averforth, by Shuell, and by Sanctaria.”
“Okay, Leonie,” Alvarez said firmly. “That’s enough. I understand why you feel that way, but look at it from another perspective for a moment. You worry about outside control? Okay, well I’m trying to remove that as soon as possible. In order to do so, we must appear stable, especially before the April elections. Noguera invited the Shuellians here, and until we can undo some of her mistakes, we have to play ball in order to remain safe. I understand that things are bad, and I do in some ways regret some of the alliances I’ve had to make politically, but I am trying my best to protect Lauchenoiria.”
“I want to speak to Councillor Hale,” Leonie said suddenly.
“I’m sorry? What does that have to do with anything?”
“I don’t think I told you, but when I was in prison in Kerlile, they were trying to take this girl away who they’d previously fed full of propaganda, but who was trying to question it. I wasn’t about to let them, so I made a scene. And one of them was going to kill me. She had a gun pointed at me, and I was certain I was going to die. But Hale was there. She saved my life, and I still don’t know why. I don’t know why any of that stuff with her happened. I know your relationship is complicated, but the thing is: right now, I trust her more than I trust you.”
“A Kerlian Councillor?” Alvarez said sceptically.
“The woman who saved my life. And she knows you. You ask me to trust you on this? Well, I don’t. But I trust her judgement, and if she says you’re doing the right thing then I guess you are.”
“A Kerlian Councillor? You trust a Kerlian Councillor over me?”
“You have my number, get her to give me a call,” Leonie said, standing up and walking over to the door.
“Wait, Leonie, we’re not done here!” Alvarez called. Leonie paid no attention, pushing open the door and closing it behind her as she headed out of the office.
*
Meeting Room, Kerlian Intelligence Service Building, Grapevale
The seven women sat awkwardly around the table in the room, waiting for the people with the paperwork to return. The two youngest sat together at the side opposite from the door, one dressed in typical working-class Kerlian clothing, and the other wearing an expensive Xiomeran dress which complimented her skin tone well. She kept glancing at the other ethnic Xiomeran in the room, who sat at the back with two of the Kvask-assigned women, discussing something in hushed tones.
Opposite the two youngest were the two eldest, a sullen southern-Lauchenoirian-looking woman who was scowling, next to the third Kvask-assigned, the eldest, who was singing softly to herself in a language that the young two didn’t speak. The youngest, a pale woman who’d been sent to LOM, lay her head down on the desk and closed her eyes, as if trying to sleep.
“What’s that song?” the Xiomeran-looking young woman asked of the oldest.
“It’s a Kvaskm lullaby,” the woman said, her accent heavy. “What are you called? I was Daniela, or Slavjena, take your pick.”
“Nelichē,” she replied, smiling slightly. “You were in Kvask?”
“Yes, for many years. I trained with Charissa Clarke, you know. We were friends once upon a time, though I hear she became rather cruel as she got older. You don’t use your training name now you’re back?”
“I don’t know,” Nelichē frowned suddenly. “I guess I don’t. You don’t use a Kerlian accent yourself,” she smirked, teasing.
“I suppose I don’t,” laughed Daniela, or Slavjena. “So, did you…”
“YOU LITTLE PIECE OF TRAITOROUS SCUM!” yelled one of the trio from the back suddenly, interrupting the conversation. All four of the others turned to look at the back.
“For Goddesses sake, Orla,” the Xiomeran one said, “you don’t need to make a scene. I’m sure if Luska here is guilty of treason, she’ll be arrested.”
“They won’t arrest me, Zichitla, because I’m not guilty of anything!” the third one, Luska, said, turning her back to the other two.
“Her name is Nelly, and you are the worst kind of scum to walk this earth!” hissed Orla, and then she stood up and walked over to the door, throwing it open and storming out of the room.
Daniela raised her eyebrows and exchanged a look with Nelichē. “What was that all about?” she asked of those in the back.
“Orla, by training, is rather extreme in her views that we should not care for anything other than the Matriarchy,” said Luska. “She won’t even tell us her third name. I prefer to go by mine, as does Zichitla.”
“As do I,” said Nelichē. “Though I’m not sure why. I’m Nelichē, by the way,” she said, introducing herself by what Auroras called her third name. Few knew, though perhaps more since the leaks, that Auroras have three names. That of birth, that of training, and that of cover. They did not know their first, but for these seven, that was about to change.
“Charlotte,” said the youngest next to Nelichē, by way of introduction. “Or Susanna, by the second.”
“Emelia,” said the Lauchenoirian as the others turned to her, then she looked away and said nothing more.
The door opened, and Orla returned, along with two employees of the KIS, carrying seven files between them. Orla took the spare seat next to Nelichē, much to her discomfort, rather than returning to her original space.
“Okay, now that all your debriefs are out of the way, we can present you with these files which contain everything you have the right to. They contain your original birth certificates, and the details of the bank accounts in which the money you’re owed has been deposited. Also contained are keys to apartments we’re providing you with for up to six months, after which you’ll be expected to find your own accommodation. The money contains your payment for services, capped at up to 5 years backpay due to budgetary constraints. And no, nobody is being arrested for treason,” the woman speaking looked pointedly at Orla.
“Right, raise your hand when I call your KCID,” the other woman said. “19966899.”
Luska raised her hand, and was handed a file. She didn’t open it, instead waiting as the others were given theirs. Orla glared at her as the second woman continued to read out Kerlian Citizen ID numbers and hand files. Once all the files had been distributed, the two women stood.
“We shall leave you to ponder the contents by yourselves. You may leave as you wish. All further information is contained in the files. Please contact us with the name you decide to use within the week. Have a good day,” the first one said, and then they both left.
The seven former Auroras all looked down at their files, and at each other. There were several minutes of silence as they worked up the courage to open them. Each of them had spent so long without knowing the truth of their identities and birth, and that was what the file meant to them, quite aside from its other contents. Eventually, the Lauchenoirian worked up the courage to turn the page, and the others followed suit.
Nelichē looked down at her file and pulled out the birth certificate. Her date of birth was the same as she had always known, she was relieved to see. Her father wasn’t listed, which intrigued her – if he was unknown, then perhaps he was still alive? Her mother was named, a Xiomeran name coupled with a surname that sounded like it came from an English-speaking country. Had she adopted the surname to fit in with the bureaucracy? Or perhaps it had been a grandmother.
She looked at the name she had been given at birth. It was Kerlian, not Xiomeran. Her mother was listed as residing in a location Nelichē knew to be a prison. She was suddenly overcome with disappointment and despair. She didn’t even know if her mother had named her, or if they’d taken her away right after her birth. She felt a dampness on her face and reached up to see that she was crying. She felt no connection to the name on the paper, but she was overcome with a sudden desire to find out who her father was.
Standing, she gathered the paper back into the file, dug out the keys and looked at the address listed. East end of Grapevale, middle-class area. She picked up the file, and left the room, ignoring the others who were still engrossed in their own files. She walked determinedly down the corridors and out of the building, acknowledging nobody as she went. She made her way to the nearest bus stop and sat in the shelter to wait, thinking.
Her life had always had a purpose, a mission. That was what it meant to be an Aurora. Now she wasn’t one, but she still had a purpose, a mission. She was going to find out exactly who she was, and exactly what had become of her family. And she’d already made her choice. She was a Xiomeran-Kerlian, and her name was Nelichē.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax