Binary

Chapter Six: New Orders

She glanced around occasionally to see if anyone was following her, but she wasn't overly worried. She hadn't been going in the direction of the hideout, and she was in no hurry to get back tonight. She grabbed a handful of stones and skipped them listlessly from the docks by the lake.

The giant lake served as Animas' northern border. In the distance, on the horizon, was a mountain range where people lived in tribes and traded regularly with the Animites. The surface of the lake was placid tonight. There was said to be a starship sunken beneath it, but that might have just been a myth.

She knew that if someone had been following her, this would be the perfect time for them to make a move to grab her. There was nowhere to sneak up on her from the docks. Although she'd be out of luck if they had a crossbow. More likely they'd want to take her alive so she could tell them where Ognus and the others had been hiding. They'd be in for a surprise if they thought they could just run out and snatch her up, no matter how many friends they brought.

After a half-hour, she ran out of rocks to skip and waited a few more minutes. She sighed in disappointment and wiped the tears from her eyes with the hem of her cloak. Then she sat down on the edge of the pier and wrapped the garment tighter around herself. Maybe they'd come if she looked less threatening. She'd give it another minute or two.

***

In a dark alley, with unpaved mud streets, Prognis knocked on a basement entrance and waited as the doorman peered out at her before letting her in.

"You're late," said the doorman as she stepped inside, "Come on in, Horus and Nadine got here a while ago. Some newcomer too."

Prognis didn't reply as the doorman undid the locks on the thick door.

"I heard about Lydon. I'm sorry..."

Prognis nodded.

"Me too," she said as she stepped in past him. She pulled off her cloak and hung it up by the door as she made her way to the living room.

The basement of the building had a recessed floor, making it a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. Horus was sitting there, with his legs crossed and a barrel in one hand that he was drinking from like a cup. He raised it to Prognis as she entered, and she waved at him.

She paused as she saw the newcomer the doorman had mentioned. It was a Human. Prognis looked him over curiously. He was a fleshy thing, he barely came up to her chest, and it seemed like every part of him flowed and moved and wobbled independently as he talked. She hadn't seen a lot of humans up close. Not a lot of live ones anyway.

"Prognis Ironheart, reporting in," she said, saluting Ognus, "the counterattack was a success, we've reclaimed the flower shop."

"A success," snorted Ognus, "from the other reports and the loss of one of my underlings, it seems you made quite a mess of things."

The breathing vents in Prognis's cheeks hissed as she sharply inhaled and stared down at her feet to hide her shame.

"He was avenged," said the Human, "and you were able to drive the Hatred out of the flower shop. It sounds like you did a good job of salvaging the situation. Horus told us you were able to handle yourself pretty well, even against that Mechian with those... creative modifications."

"Oh! Well, I mean I guess I didn't really think about it... I was just following my orders," Prognis said, glancing back at Horus who was trying not to make eye contact with her. She scratched her nose with one finger, though it had certainly never itched, "thank you, sir."

"This is Master Noran," said Ognus, and the Human smiled pleasantly at her. It startled her for a minute to see his face move, she hadn't been sure what parts of it had been opposable. She got over it quickly and saluted. Most underlings had no idea how the ranks worked in this organization, but if Ognus was calling this man 'master' then he was certainly higher on the totem pole than Prognis.

"You've got quite a pair of fists, are those your only weapons?" asked Noran.

"Yessir."

"I hope you'll forgive me for saying but that hardly seems a fitting arsenal for a warrior such as yourself."

"I don't know if I would call myself a warrior, sir, I was just in a lot of street brawls growing up. My fists are all I've ever needed."

"I see," said Noran stroking his greyish beard. The whole thing was made of hair, and it changed shape as she ran his hand through it. Prognis tried not to stare. He turned to Ognus, "I think she'll be fine."

Prognis blinked in confusion, her eyelids clicked loudly.

"...sir?"

Ognus sighed and frowned.

"We've received new orders. We're to fall back to secondary hiding locations."

"Ahh," said Prognis nodding, "...what exactly does that mean?"

Ognus glared at her.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Prognis. It means we need to go into hiding. Deep hiding."

Prognis frowned.

"Noran requires a bodyguard," said Ognus, "as one of our newest initiates, I know you don't have a hiding location yet, there wasn't time to establish one for you, so you'll go with him."

"You want me to be his bodyguard?" asked Prognis, looking over the older fleshy, human. Parts of him wobbled as he sipped his drink.

"Yes," said Ognus, "You're the most human-looking underling I have, so no one in Starlust will get suspicious if they see you two traveling together from a distance."

Prognis scratched her nose again and looked at the two men. She was an underling, so she knew that she had no say in the matter.

"I look forward to traveling with you, sir," she said, hoping her voice didn't betray her hesitation. Noran smiled at her.

"Thank you, Prognis Ironheart."