Lenn

 

Lenn strolled down the busy streets of New Asia, Kang bounding along beside him, the rest of his team further ahead.

The glistening silver eagle felt heavy in his pocket.

“You know there’s gonna be a fireworks display tonight?” Kang asked Lenn as they wandered down the packed downtown streets.

The town center was in the shape of a ring surrounding the factories and is the most prosperous area of the slums.

“We have one every year, don’t we?” Lenn replied. He couldn’t remember a single time in his childhood when fireworks didn’t light up the sky during New Year’s Eve.

“Yep,” Kang answered.

“But… why though? Isn’t that quite a lot of gunpowder?” Lenn asked.

“No, no, you clearly don’t know enough…” Kang said jokingly, patting Lenn on the shoulder. “It’s about tradition and raising spirits. A lack of fireworks would mean we’re short on resources and a sign that we’re losing the war.”

“…I see…” Lenn mumbled.

Ahead of them, Rei and Ying were busy looking at the goods on display at a second-hand store. There were cameras, phones, computer parts, and all sorts of other novelties. Lenn had heard of a time when these things were plentiful and relatively cheap, but ever since the war started, resources had to be dedicated to the war effort, and little remained to produce surplus goods.

“Ten thousand for the camera?” Rei was asking the store clerk as Lenn and Kang walked up.

“You read that right. These models of cameras are long out of production, finding them is hard,” the store clerk responded in a heavy Japanese accent as he wiped down a little coffee machine sitting on the counter. “Fancy some coffee, any of you?”

“Of course,” Rei said as the clerk took four little cups from the cupboard behind him and laid them down in front of the machine. “We can discuss the price la…”

“What’s all this ruckus about?” Kang shouted as he came over, slapping Rei roughly on the back. “You want to get this camera? Ten-thousand? That’s some steep pricing if I’ve ever seen one. Let me have a look at it. What makes this thing so special anyway?” He asked, reaching down to grab the camera from the counter.

“Manners,” Rei snapped, slapping down Kang’s outstretched arm.

Rei comes from a wealthier family and often places great emphasis on manners and respect.

The clerk poured some coffee beans of questionable origin into the top of the machine and pressed a little button. The machine whirred and churned, then produced a little cup of a rich-smelling, dark brown liquid.

Lenn drank coffee a lot. It was essential for keeping him up during long missions and tiring days. But the coffee he is used to drinking has always been made from instant coffee powder and sometimes boiling water, but more often just room temperature water.

The clerk handed him a little cup, which he accepted gratefully with a little nod. He took a little sip, burning his lips on the hot liquid. It tasted bitter, very bitter. But it had a flavor, a depth which made him want to have more.

Lenn looked over at the rest of his team, who were all sipping at the coffee too, Kang included, although he seemed to be taking swigs a little too large and constantly grimaced as his tongue got scalded.

Ying seemed to be quietly enjoying the drink with her eyes closed, steam from the cup lifting the stray strands of her hair.

Once he finished the coffee, he gently set down the cup and reached for his wallet to pay.

The shop clerk saw him doing so and put his hand out to stop him. “No need!” He said, imitating one of those benevolent men from movies and stories.

“You sure?” Lenn asked.

“Quality control batch is for free!” The clerk said, laughing as he saw the look of horror on Lenn’s face. “I’m just kidding. I assure you it's completely safe. I picked out the roaches from the machine by hand after I bought it. But still, keep your money. You can see it as a gift from me for your service to our city,” he said, gesturing at the arrow-shaped tattoo on the back of Lenn’s hand. “Fighter pilot?”

“Yeah,” Lenn answered.

“What squadron?”

“Forty-fifth Heavy Fighter Squadron.”

All squadrons have a unique patch for identification. The 45th’s is a flaming arrow, its pointed tip piercing their enemy’s defenses.

“I'm guessing these are your teammates?” The clerk asked, taking the cup and putting it in the sink.

“Yeah,” Lenn answered. “Did you serve too?” He asked, thinking the man knew more than a layman should reasonably know.

“That’s right,” the clerk said, clicking his heels together and giving a textbook salute. “Mission specialist Takeshi at your service! Ah… haven’t said that in a long time,” he chuckled.

Is it a thing that all mission specialists are like that? Lenn thought to himself while stealing a sideways glance at Kang.

“What fighter did you pilot?” Rei asked.

“Oh, the old jet-powered ones,” Takeshi answered as he quickly cleaned the machine and lined up four more cups. “I used to fly the J-40 for most of my service. Just before I retired, I flew the JF-120 for a little while.”

“How many kills?”

“Eight, maybe ten,” replied Takeshi as he scratched his thin beard.

“So you’re a double ace?”

“Anyone who survives till they retire nowadays is probably an ace.”

“Well, we’ve already got one under our belt!” Kang cut in, excitedly holding out a finger in front of Takeshi. “And we’ve only just graduated from cadet school.”

“I didn’t even go to cadet school. They just threw me in a plane and sent me out there,” Takeshi fired back. “I learned while I fought, unlike you lucky ones.”

“I promise we’d have ten by the next year!” Shouted Kang.

“If you even make it that far.”

“Oi! Take that back!”

“Hahaha, I take it back,” Takeshi laughed. “I like your spirit.”

He handed four other customers little cups of coffee, which they accepted gratefully.

“They are?” Lenn asked, gesturing at the four people sat further down the long bar table.

“Travelers,” answered Takeshi. “Hitched a ride here on a merchant flight earlier tonight. Wanted to see the city.”

“Where you from?” Lenn asked the man sitting closest to him.

The man glanced at him, his pale eyes a flickering orange in the fluorescent light. “Valkyria,” he answered.

“Your clothes have European insignia on them!” Kang shouted suddenly, pointing at a small symbol on the shoulder of the man’s jacket. “Where’d you get that?”

“I… well…” the man stuttered.

“Spoils of war,” the young woman next to him answered. “We scavenged it from a downed plane.”

“Woah!” Kang exclaimed. “That’s awesome. Is it for sale?”

“If we sold it we’d have to walk around naked.”

“Oh, right, never mind—”

With a loud smack, Rei’s clenched fist impacted the top of Kang’s skull, sending the latter down to the ground, writhing in pain.

“What was that for!?” Shouted Kang, his arms wrapped around his head.

“Pardon my teammate’s rudeness,” said Rei to the travelers, ignoring the screeching Kang.

A group of dancers flaunted down the street behind them, a large crowd of heckling people following close behind. New Year’s Eve is always like this.

“Do you own this business?” Rei asked once the noisy group had passed.

Takeshi looked up while cleaning the glass cups they had just drank from. “Yup, it’s my little shop.”

“What made you want to start a little shop like this after you retired? And what’s that little badge on your belt?” Lenn asked, pointing to a golden widget pinned on the side of Takeshi’s wide belt.

“Oh, I didn’t start it, I was… well… let’s just say I was invited. After I got big in the trading business, I was given this shop,” Takeshi said with finger air quotes. He looked around at the other people around him, then leaned in close to Lenn and his team, resting his elbows on the table. “I’ll let you in on a little secret… I’m more than just the owner of this shop,” he whispered, pointing at the little badge on his leather belt. “This little thing here marks me as a member of the underground organization known as The Merchant’s Cabinet, and I happen to be a well-respected member.”

“The Merchant’s Cabinet?” Lenn asked, somewhat mystified.

“Yep. It’s an organization of merchants with a reach far greater than any of the cities. We have connections in every little town and village and all across both of the supercities. Aside from the two supercities, The Merchant’s Cabinet is the most powerful organization on the planet,” Takeshi said rather proudly.

Lenn looked at Takeshi with some doubt. Though what Takeshi said didn’t sound unreasonably stupid or crazy, it was just a weird thing for him to divulge suddenly. “Why are you telling us this?”

Takeshi looked at Lenn for a moment, then started laughing. “Why such suspicion? It’s not a super secret organization or anything. It’s just rather… how do I put it… hard to get into. You won’t die for knowing it, I won’t die for telling it, but aside from knowing that we exist, there isn’t much else you can do. As a matter of fact, both supercities have known of our existence for a very long time, they just won’t do much about it.”

“Oh, I’ve heard about that before,” Rei added as she shuffled closer. “People say The Merchant’s Cabinet knows everything before the government does. The most up-to-date news always comes from them. Yet the government never tries to destroy them because it's a good source of espionage, but I’ve always taken that with a pinch of salt.”

“Hahaha! Of course, The Merchant’s Cabinet knows a lot, but we don’t know everything. We’re powerful in many ways, but we’re also powerless. We exist for the sole purpose of benefitting traveling and stationary merchants across the globe. The government can get information from us if they want, but then again, anyone can with the correct payments.”

“Right…” Lenn mumbled, nodding slowly as he considered the information in his head.

“Sorry… just wanted to boast a little,” Takeshi chuckled, then quickly returned to being serious. “But… I’ve been getting lots of intel on stuff happening over at Europa. Apparently, the system over there is destabilizing, and they are planning something to end the war quickly.”

“What exactly?” Lenn asked.

Takeshi shook his head. “Don’t know. The Merchant’s Cabinet may know a lot, but we are not omniscient. We just know something big is coming,” he leaned in closer. “I like you guys. I had fun chatting with you today. Now, the badge is only offered to recognized and trusted members of The Merchant’s Cabinet, such as me. But for outside acquaintances that have gained our trust, they only need to intertwine their fingers like a businessman about to make a proposal, and inquire about us.”

Lenn leaned his head to the side to express his confusion.

Noticing Lenn’s confusion, Takeshi intertwined his fingers and said, “What use is The Merchant’s Cabinet?”

Suddenly, Lenn understood, and he nodded vigorously to express that understanding; he had just been made an acquaintance of The Merchant’s Cabinet.

“At every little village or town, you will most likely find a member of The Merchant’s Cabinet. And if you happen to be in distress, you can ask us for help that way. However, remember that we are merchants, which means we don’t do stuff for free," Takeshi explained, straightening his body to stand up. “Use that information wisely. It will come in handy in times of trouble… You guys should go. There’s a temporary food court over near Unification Square, plus the fireworks show, both of which I’m sure you won’t wanna miss.”

Dusk had already turned to evening as stars began to bespeckle the dark sky.

“You’re right,” Lenn mumbled, getting up and gesturing for his team to follow. “Thank you for the coffee.”

“No worries.”

“You four,” Kang turned to the four travelers, “want to come with us?”

The travelers looked a little bewildered at first, but the woman quickly stood up.

“Sure,” she said. “But I don’t think we've introduced ourselves yet.”

“Oh, yes. I’m Kang!” Yelled Kang, saluting half-heartedly more for fun than anything else. “These three are Lenn, Rei, and Ying,” he continued, gesturing at each person in succession.

“Charlie,” the woman replied. Then she pulled on her three friends and got them all to stand up. “Come on.”

“Tyler,” announced the big and bulky man.

“Erwin,” said the slightly shorter guy.

“Kate,” mumbled the much shorter girl.

“Okay, well… Charlie, Tyler, Erwin, Kate, let’s go have some fun, shall we?” Kang asked. “It's New Year’s Eve, after all.”

 

******

 

TV screens flashed and speakers blared as the New Year’s Eve show hurtled towards its climax. Songs and voices filled the pub, the customers drunk with joy and anticipation for the coming year.

The eight recent acquaintances sat outside under the night sky, shoulder to shoulder, their drinks crowding the little circular tabletop. Below them, the crowds were growing bigger still, the children playing more cheerfully still, and the night growing livelier still.

“…So when I play a card like this, for example,” explained Kang, laying down a black +4 card at the center of the table, his arm navigating between the drinks. “Then the next person has to take four extra cards from the pile unless they have a plus four card as well.”

“Wait, what do they do when they have a plus four?” Charlie asked.

“They can put it down as well, and the next person would need to take eight, and so on.”

“I see,” Charlie nodded.

They were trying to teach the travelers how to play UNO so that they could get started with a drinking game. Yesterday’s celebrations had only tickled their appetite for alcohol, and today was their chance to satisfy it, except for Ying, who doesn’t drink.

“Got it?” Kang asked the four travelers.

“Yes,” They answered.

So the drinking game began. Round after round they played, and glass after glass of drinks were downed. Rei paid for it all out of his pocket, as his father had awarded him some extra spending money for his recent graduation.

Soon, though, just when Lenn felt like the alcohol was dulling his mind a little and warming his heart, the four travelers could go no further. Erwin and Tyler were breathing heavily, propping their heads up with their hands. Charlie was still holding a half-finished glass, staring at it idly, unable to decide if it was wise to take another gulp. Kate was just lying on the table, completely out of it.

“You four light… drinkers?” Asked Kang, pointing at the unfinished glasses of golden beer. “Even worse than a little… little guy like me?”

“Kang, you’re slurring your words as well,” Ying whispered.

“Hey don’t…” Kang argued back, swiping an arm at Ying, who deftly leaned out of the way. “Oi… you…”

“We don’t…” Charlie began, barely getting the words out, her cheeks pink and her eyes cloudy. “There is… isn’t much of this… uhh…”

“Take your time,” said Lenn, reaching behind him to pull a little bin next to their table, in case anyone’s body decided that they’ve had a bit too much to drink.

Charlie put down her glass and rubbed her face violently against her folded arms, her hair going crazy in the process. “There isn’t much of this… stuff… to go around where… where we are from,” she managed to get out after her face rubbing.

“Where the hell has no beer?” asked Rei incredulously.

“I don’t…” slurred Charlie, unable to finish her sentence before collapsing into her arms.

“You okay…?” Kang mumbled a few seconds later after he realized that Charlie had just collapsed.

“She’ll be fine.” Ying cut in, grabbing the bin that Lenn had pulled over and placing it next to Charlie.

Kang hesitated for a moment, took another swig from his glass, then turned to Lenn.

“What do you think the… guy we talked to earlier is about?” He asked, his voice somehow more coherent now after another big gulp of beer.

“No idea,” Lenn replied. “Maybe just some old veteran who’s too bored with normal life after being done with the war.”

“Do you think what he said is like… you know…like even real? The whole Merchant’s… uhh… Cabinet thing,” Kang asked, wiggling his fingers to show the air quotes.

“I mean… does it really matter?”

“Well, I guess no…” Kang mumbled, putting down his glass and picking up the UNO cards. “Anyways! You three want to play a little more?”

Of course, the three agreed. The night was still long, and they were not going to pass up on some fun in these trying times.

Soon, it was closing in on midnight, and the new year would soon be upon them.

Lenn placed down a +4. Then Ying, the next to play a card, looked sideways at Kang, before smugly putting down another +4.

“Are you…” Kang mumbled, holding a big stack of cards. “You’re kidding, right? I have… like the most cards here.”

Ying shrugged.

“You have like three… cards!” Shouted Kang, gesturing angrily with his free hand at Ying’s last four cards. “Come on. Hey now. Just take the four. I beg you,” he pleaded, but Ying shook her head. “Why me?” He exclaimed once again. “What… do you want from me? What have I ever done to you? Please… I beg you to reconsider.”

Ying shook her head and smiled.

Lenn wasn’t sure if it was a sly one or a good-hearted one, maybe a bit of both.

“Unbelievable!” Kang shouted, throwing down his thick hand of cards and shrinking into his seat. “I’m never going to forgive you for this.”

“That’s alright,” Ying replied.

“What! What did you say? Oh, ok then. I was actually going to forgive you. But now that you said that, I’m never gonna-”

“Guys,” Rei cut in. “Keep it down. Everyone’s looking at us.”

“Ying, I swear if you don’t take back that plus four right now, I will…”

Lenn watched on with bemusement as Kang reached forward to try and grab Ying, who leaned back in her seat, keeping just out of reach of Kang’s stubby arms. Rei was trying his best to get in between the two, all the while without making too much of a scene.

It was times like this that made Lenn believe maybe the war wasn’t so bad after all. That the fighting, the killing, the suffering, all seemed to be bearable. That with these three around, it will always be alright.

The commotion roused the four travelers, who seemed a little more alive than before, now that the effects of the alcohol had begun to wear off.

The travelers woke just in time, as the clocks had struck 0000, and the first fireworks of the new year shot up from the ground in brilliant trails of sparks.

They all looked up as circular rainbows of flaming colors fanned out across the sky, painting the pitch blackness in wondrous hues of red and blue and pink and orange.

It reminded Lenn of the rockets and missiles, the colorful explosions a somewhat grim metaphor of how he may one day die—on the wrong end of a fragmenting warhead.

But he shook his head, driving away those nasty thoughts.

“Isn't it beautiful?” Erwin whispered.

“Yeah…” answered Lenn.