Nabras Prime: Love and Loss

Rena folded her arms over his chest, resting a chin against them and grinning at him. The two of them were rivals as children, which, as it turned out, brought about a stirring passion within them both. It was true that they always argued, but the arguments usually lead to more pleasant things. Add to that the certain forbidden nature of their relationship, and it was a recipe for disaster, but they were teenagers, and it didn’t particularly matter to them.

Jorge chuckled at her as he folded his arms behind his head. “What?” He asked, and then after a brief pause, he smirked at her. “That’s uncalled for,” having read her surface thoughts with ease.

“It’s true, though,” Rena pushed herself up and began to dress. She had things to do that afternoon. August was sitting in trade negotiations with Father, and it was her turn to sit with Father’s first officer as he went about conducting ship business on the Everlasting Divinity. This was an exciting time, actually, as next year she and August would both be placed on one of Father’s ships. They were both to work on those ships for a few years, and then work with Mother’s agribusiness a few years. Rena was not looking forward to the latter. She was tired of being planet bound.

Jorge twitched slightly, but Rena ignored it. He chuckled and proceeded to dress himself. As Rena was redoing her hair, Jorge snuck up behind her and held her close, suggestively. “Tonight behind old Binetto’s barn,” he whispered in her ear, and then he left.

Rena shook her head, laughing softly. Jorge never asked anymore. It was a given, he thought, that she would show up. She paused in mid-thought, glancing at herself in the mirror. It never occurred to her that, as she hoped to become the heir to their Father’s Warrant, she couldn’t let Jorge presume to tell her where to be or when. Not until, now. The thought was fleeting, however, and she dismissed it readily. Hormones win again.

That night, though, Jorge was not where he had said he would be. Rena checked her chrono one last time before she decided to try to covertly check on him at his Father’s estate. She didn’t mind that she was forbidden to be with Jorge. She couldn’t see herself joining him in some permanent marriage contract. Besides, her father had bigger plans in mind for his children. He was adamant that none of them would marry anyone of a lesser rank than he or their mother. As one of her Mother’s citizens, Jorge’s parents were not considered suitable in-laws, though they were of a powerful noble family on Nabras.

Adept in slipping into Jorge’s room from the second floor balcony using a nearby tree, Rena skillfully made it into the estate’s manor. The room was dark, but she was accustomed to that. She whispered Jorge’s name, but the response she received wasn’t the one she was expecting.

Rena…

Rena paused. Rarely did Jorge ever speak into her mind; it was a frivolity that was highly discouraged except for the direst of circumstances. Cautiously, the young woman slipped out of the room and down the hall. She made sure to avoid the creaking boards and any servants in the house. Oddly, she had encountered a few of the maids, but, after having barely escaped their notice, Rena began to feel as if their behavior might have been a bit unusual, strange even. Dismissing it, she made her way down the several flights of stairs, trying to determine where Jorge was.

Rena…

There it was again. Rena shivered. There was something off about this whole situation. Jorge had been acting just a little strangely over the course of the last week, but it hadn’t occurred to Rena that something more than just an aggravation over their secret liasons was the cause. Now, though, she had the eeriest feeling that she should have paid closer attention. Distracted by her thoughts, Rena ran into someone even as she was trying to be stealthy. It was Jorge’s father, Carlos Menandez.

“Master Menandez! I’m…,” Rena chuckles nervously, “What am I doing here? I could have sworn I had snuck into my Mother’s estate. I am terribly sorry, if you’ll just…” She stopped. Carlos hadn’t done a thing or said a word to her. Normally, he would be shouting vehemently in the ancient Nabras tongue, worried that he would be punished by her Matriach of a grandmother by allowing her to be there. When she took a moment to study him, she realized he was staring blankly at the door in front of him. “Master Menandez?” Nothing. “Sir?” Still nothing. She jostled his shoulder, “Carlos?”

Rena’s feeling of unease increased, her heart fluttering. Jorge… She thought to herself. She had no evidence to tell her that Jorge was responsible, but there was something about this, added to his odd behavior that week, that just screamed ‘out of control psyker,’ and the only psyker capable of this in this household… was Jorge.

Rena…

Rena ignored the mental whispers. The more she thought about this, the more terrified she was… and the more sad. She knew what had to be done. A psyker of Jorge’s potential couldn’t be allowed to continue to misuse his abilities. With a shaking hand, Rena drew the laspistol she was given to train with. She took in deep breaths and, thinking upon the danger of the situation, concentrated deeply on her Grandmother. Of all the psykers with telepathic tendencies on Nabras, her grandmother was the most powerful. She just hoped the old woman was listening, and that Jorge was not trying to hinder her.

NO! The mental shout was enough to stagger Rena. She steadied herself on the railing next to the stairs using her free hand. She knew then that she had to create for herself a mental wall, the kind of wall that her Grandmother had taught her to build. It was no more than simply strengthening one’s will, but the mental picture of a wall always helped Rena to accomplish the goal.

Stepping into the grand hall in which the Menandez’s met with visitors, Rena finally saw Jorge. He stood with his back to her. If ever she was going to make her move, she should do it now, but she hesitated. This was Jorge. She had grown up with him. As she stood poised to shoot, Jorge turned. His eyes shimmered in the darkness of the grand room.

“Rena,” he whispered, “So concerned for the boy child. Come walk into the parlor. NO! No. Rena, go away. Stay! I insist. No time like the present to discuss your future. Shut up! Stop it! Hahaha, it is too late, boy child! A deal is a deal. Stop fighting. Argh!”

Rena watched with rising fear as Jorge argued with… himself? Was he insane or was he… Had he succumbed to the daemons of the Warp? With the two of them distracted, Rena knew she should make her move. Again, she aimed her laspistol at Jorge’s head.

“NOOO!” Jorge growled, focusing on Rena. For the briefest of moments, Rena found it difficult to move her hand. Steeling her will, she regained control of herself, but to keep him off-guard, she lowered the laspistol just a little.

“I could never shoot you, Jorge,” she whispered. Jorge relaxed and smiled.

“Rena,” Jorge spoke, “I never told you this, but I… I want you to join me. We could be great together. Great leaders for our people. Rena, I lo—“

The laspistol rose and delivered a piercing blast to Jorge’s eye. As Jorge fell to the floor, Rena dropped the laspistol, her hand raising to her face. Leaning against the wall, the strength in her legs gave, and she slid to the floor. She fought the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. It had to be done. Jorge had fallen. He had made his choice. He had made a pact with a daemon of the Warp. It was only then that she realized how lucky she was to be alive. She’d heard stories, even seen the results of the Oriah Incident on the Southern Continent. A daemonhost was a formidable opponent even to the fiercest of her Mother’s psyker police. She shivered, hugging herself, and stared at Jorge’s still form on the floor. That’s how the back up that her grandmother sent found her.

Hours later, Rena sat with a hot cup of cider in her hand in her grandmother’s study. Her mother and her grandmother were working together to straighten out the political mess that was the Menandez House, now. Everyone in the manor, save for herself, had been irreparably damaged. The entire family and household had been euthanized after the Council had walked through the manor, finding nothing redeemable in anyone’s mind. Now, with a different sort of terror in her heart, Rena waited for the inevitable scolding.

Finally, Grandmother entered. Her mother wasn’t there, likely dealing with other matters relating to the incident. After she treated herself to her own cup of cider, she settled slowly into her chair, setting her cane off to the side. She was an old woman, but her mind was still sharp. After a few minutes of silent introspection, Grandmother spoke.

“Do you know why we rejected the possibility of uniting our House with that of the Menandez line through you and Jorge?” Her old voice crackled. She sipped of her cider while she waited on Rena’s answer.

Rena thought this an odd question to ask in light of recent events. She squeezed the warm cup of cider in both hands, taking a deep breath before answering. “Mother and Father did not wish me or my siblings to join with Houses of lesser rank.” That was the story, anyway.

Grandmother shook her head gravely, “That, my child, was not the only reason. When it was apparent that there was an attraction between the two of you, I did a Foretelling.” She gestured to the cards on her table. “The answer was a very strong and adamant no. There was an inclination that the House would fall to evil before you were even ready to enter into a Union. With that in mind, we did monitor them closely.”

Rena’s brow wrinkled as she stared at the old woman. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Grandmother sighed softly, “My child, remember your lessons. A Foretelling can be changed in some circumstances. We would not want an anathema planted against the Menandez family if the evil had been somehow deterred.”

Staring at the cup of cider in her hands, Rena’s mind whirled with turmoil and a hundred thousand different questions. There were so many of them that she didn’t know what to say.

“I can’t answer every question that is roiling through your mind, dear, but I can answer one. We were monitoring the situation, but I had also Foretold another piece of information.”

Rena looked up at her Grandmother.

“That you, my dear, have great things to accomplish in your life, and you needed that moment there in the Menandez estate to realize your potential.” And with that the conference was over, and Grandmother sent Rena to her quarters – bewildered.