Inquisitor's Promise (Act Three, Chapter Sixteen)

The Holy League had been united, but the Grey Globe continued to move towards Earth. Aeneas and the members of his inner circle knew they had much to do and little time to prepare.

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Chapter Sixteen: Draka

The Draka Mountain Range was a series of jagged peaks that run from the cold lands of Regnum Pacis at the southernmost Afrique region to the tropical Congo Jungles in the north. At the base of the mountains were grasslands as far as the eyes can see. Much of the settlements in the area were small rancher villages known as the Kraals.

The Boer Kraal lied on top of a large hill. Down below the cliffs was the large River Draka. The river had been used by the kraalmen of Boer to feed their cattle.

Shaka’s airship landed near the village. With the Inquisitor’s privilege given to his group by Aeneas, Shaka was able to set up his camp just a few Imperial miles off the Boer Kraal. It was a small camp. The only inhabitants were him, Kunoichi, and a small group of ninjas that Aeneas had recruited back in Tokio.

The pathfinder knew that his uncle Arnold de Boer would most likely be unhappy at what had transpired, but he had informed the Chief of the Boer Kraal beforehand.

But more importantly, Chief Arnold had little to worry from Shaka. The pathfinder had no intention of claiming his birthright.

Despite that, Shaka and Kunoichi found themselves mobbed by men and women after they had set up their camp. They were the inhabitants of the nearby Kraals. The ninjas had to jump in to hold them back.

“Lord Shaka, Lady Kunoichi,” the ninja commander Minamoto Ryu said. “There are so many of them. What do we do?”

“We should talk to them,” Kunoichi answered.

“Of course,” Shaka said uneasily. The pathfinder then turned towards one of the kraalmen, a man with skin dark as coal and black hair so short he might as well be bald. “What is that you want?”

“You’re the son of Chief Christiaan, are you not?” the man asked.

“I am.”

“God had finally answered our prayers!” the kraalman declared. “The young lord has arrived to reclaim his birthright and free us from that tyrant Arnold!”

“Tyrant Arnold?” Kunoichi asked.

“And you must be his new wife, you are very much beautiful,” the villager said.

Flattered, Kunoichi was taken aback. “Oh, thank you.”

“Sorry, but you’re getting it all wrong,” Shaka spoke up. “We’re here to look for someone who’d been sabotaging Holy League supply operations. Nothing more.”

At this point, the kraalman’s face dropped. “You must be pulling my leg, sir. For ten years we have chafed under the slavery of the mines.”

“Slavery?!” Kunoichi cried in shock.

“Yes, my lady. Ever since Chief Christiaan was murdered by his brother Arnold, we had been rounded up and put to work in the diamond mines below the mountains,” the villager explained. “I’ll show you myself if I must.”

Her heart moved, Kunoichi turned towards her husband. “Shaka.”

The pathfinder was uneasy, he wanted to turn these people away. But seeing his wife’s silent pleading was too much. “Let’s go.”

And thus, the kraalman led Shaka and Kunoichi towards the diamond mine under the Boer Kraal. But they had to do it carefully, lest they draw the attention of the guards.

The mine was damp and had little lighting; it was clear that whoever in charge had been cutting some corners. Shaka saw men working in backbreaking conditions, slaves. One of the men fell down as he was pushing a cartload of diamonds. The angered guard forcefully picked him up and forced him to go on.

“This is terrible!” Kunoichi cried. “We must stop this madness.”

“The only way to do so is to overthrow Arnold,” the kraalman said. “Taking out the guards won’t do anything. We’ve tried. They’ll get new ones, if not from the locals, then from abroad. And then we’d be worked twice as hard.”

But it was at this point that the guard noticed Shaka, Kunoichi, and the kraalman. Understandably, he was alarmed.

“Halt!” the guard yelled as he rushed towards the three of them. But the guard’s eyes widened as he saw Kunoichi. “Pardon me, ma’am.”

Kunoichi was puzzled but played along. “Just looking around. Don’t mind us.”

“Yes ma’am,” the soldier answered before he left.

Seeing that they had just dodged a bullet, they immediately left the mine.

“That was a close one,” the kraalman said. “I thought they’d cut my fingers off for sure.”

“But why did the guard do that?” Kunoichi asked. She did not expect to be treated respectfully here.

“It’s because the chief has a new woman, she looked exactly like you,” the kraalman answered. “I would have been scared myself if I hadn’t learned of the young lord’s marriage.”

Kunoichi turned towards her husband. “Shaka, could it be?”

Shaka nodded. “Has to be. It’s your clone.”

“Thank you, sir.” Kunoichi said to the kraalman. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Louis, ma’am. Louis van Zulu.”

“You should probably return to your post. You and your friends,” Shaka said.

“Aye, sir,” Louis said dejectedly.

As it turned out, many of these people had snuck out during their shifts. Others were on their day off. Kunoichi wanted nothing more than to free these people. After all, these slaves had taken a great risk in order to meet them. But Shaka thought otherwise.

“Our mission is to take out the clone Kunoichi, dead or alive. Nothing else matters,” Shaka stated.

“I don’t understand,” Kunoichi said. “I never thought you’d be so callous about your own people.”

That statement stung Shaka, but he ignored it. The first thing that he had to do was to talk with his uncle Arnold. He knew that the current Chieftain of the Boer Kraal had requested for such a meeting.

Arnold had wanted for the meeting to happen in the Boer Kraal itself while Shaka had wanted for the meeting to happen at his camp. In the end, they both agreed to meet in the middle point.

The meeting itself was tense. Everyone was sitting down, but no one was relaxed. Shaka looked at the man in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel unnerved. It was like looking in a mirror, in more ways than one.

“It has been a while, Shaka,” Arnold said.

But despite the chief’s cool tone, Shaka was not happy. “You know why I’m here.”

“I hope you’re not trying to claim your late father’s position,” Arnold sneered. “Because we both know how I got it to begin with.”

“I’m not here for that. I only want to know of a dark felinid girl,” Shaka said before he motioned towards his wife next to him. “One that looks just like her.”

“No, I’ve never seen her,” Arnold said flatly.

As if possessed, Kunoichi jumped up from her seat. She then pointed her finger rudely at Arnold. “You’re lying! We know that you harbor her!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, black cat,” Arnold said calmly before he turned towards his nephew. “I suggest you keep your woman in line, my dear nephew.”

“No, she’s telling the truth,” Shaka said, shaking his head. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Tell us, uncle. If not…”

“Then what?” Arnold asked mockingly. “You’re going to attack the Kraal and reclaim your birthright?”

Shaka was taken aback and did not know what to say. Kunoichi wanted to say something in return but remained silent when she noticed her husband’s distress.

Arnold chuckled when he saw what was going on. “I suggest you leave this place. I have nothing that you desire.”

With that, Arnold and his retinue left the meeting place. Shaka did not say anything and Kunoichi knew that she was missing some important context. It was because of this secrecy that the felinid girl confronted her husband. She had to know; as his wife, she had the right to know!

“Why don’t we just attack the Kraal? Not only will we figure out my clone’s location, but we’ll also free your people,” Kunoichi pleaded.

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Shaka snapped.

“Then why are you so hesitant?” Kunoichi said. Her eyes once more pleaded with the pathfinder.

Not sure how to proceed, Shaka paused to consider his words. But there was something in Kunoichi that told him that he could not hide it any longer. More importantly, there was a look of compassion in her eyes. It was the very same one that she had given her adopted father on that fateful day in Tokio.

And Shaka knew that he could not keep it a secret any longer. “Okay, Kunoichi. I’ll tell you.” He then paused, taking a deep breath. “The truth is, I was responsible for my papa’s death too.”

Kunoichi gasped, but she kept calm. “How?”

“Papa, he wanted me to become an Inquisitor just as our fathers had been for generations. But I didn’t want to. I wanted something else for myself,” Shaka said.

“And how did your papa respond to that?” Kunoichi asked.

“He never found out. I could never tell him; I didn’t want to disappoint him. But my uncle did. At the time, my papa had been a target for assassination because he opposed the Zaibatsu’s attempt to expand the diamond mining operations in Draka,” Shaka explained. “With very few around him to trust, I became his bodyguard.”

Kunoichi nodded. She did not say anything as she took everything in.

Shaka continued on. “But then my uncle convinced me to leave my Kraal and follow my own path. He told me that he would protect him in my stead. So I left the Kraal, and the next day I found out that he was murdered.”

“I’m sorry,” Kunoichi said.

“I never told anyone. Not even my family know of this. It all happened so quickly that they didn’t think about my involvement,” Shaka said. At this point, he was holding back tears.

Kunoichi then acted, she pulled Shaka in towards her. Their faces were now touching. And she kissed him.

“Soldier or inquisitor, it doesn’t matter. I love you.”

That was all Shaka needed. He had expected some sort of chastisement but was instead given his wife’s unconditional love.

With renewed confidence, Shaka wiped away his tears and smiled. They still had a job to do. But for now, the issue of slavery in Draka could be put aside for the moment. They were certain that Chief Arnold was harboring the Kunoichi clone.

But in order to obtain the evidence of such, they would have to wait until nighttime. Kunoichi had agreed to scout out the Boer Kraal. Worried for her safety, Shaka had pointed out that he could send their ninjas instead. But Kunoichi pointed out that they could have easily been detected. Meanwhile, Kunoichi as a felinid would have a better chance in sneaking through the place undetected.

With that, Kunoichi left for the Boer Kraal and was able to sneak inside. This was possible as Shaka had convinced one of the kraalmen to sneak her in through his truck. She had to spend much of the evening amongst the cattle until the sun finally set.

With Kunoichi now inside the Boer Kraal at night, she stealthily made her way towards the main houses of the Kraal. Kunoichi snuck through by avoiding two things: the lamps attached to the huts and the wandering patrolmen whose purpose was to make sure that the ordinary kraalmen do not leave in the middle of the night.

With no issue, the felinid girl reached the Chieftain’s House. It was the second largest hut in the Kraal. From outside of the hut, Kunoichi overheard a conversation. Kunoichi moved closer and saw the woman she was looking for. Her clone, Kunoichi II, was talking to Chief Arnold. And for some reason, the clone’s face was scarred. A little odd for Kunoichi as she was sure that it wasn’t caused by Shaka.

“They’re onto you,” Arnold said. “You have doomed me!”

“On the contrary, I am the only one that kept you alive ever since the Zaibatsu had turned against you,” the felinid clone answered.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” Arnold said, sighing.

“Will you abandon me, just as my father did?” the clone asked pointedly.

“No, I…”

“After all we’ve been through. I even got rid of your shrew of a wife.”

“You’re right,” Arnold said. “Marie could never understand, why I did what I did. But you did.”

And then the two kissed.

Kunoichi had seen enough, in more ways than one. She turned to leave the Kraal but having been too focused with what was going on inside the Chieftain’s House, she did not realize that she had been spotted.

“Who goes there?” a guard shouted.

Seeing that her cover had been blown, Kunoichi threw a smoke grenade at the guard and began to make her escape. The loud sound of the alarm blared throughout the Kraal.

Kunoichi managed to hide herself at a corner, just in time for some of the guards to pass through. Knowing that this would not suffice, she climbed herself up towards the hut.

The felinid girl looked down and could see guards all around the streets — surely looking for her. Kunoichi then saw that she was close to the walls of the Kraal. Seeing her opportunity, she jumped out to the top of the walls and then outside of the Kraal.

This was a terrible mistake.

She was soon spotted by the guards. The pathfinders of Draka, known throughout the Holy League for their impeccable marksmanship, spotted her. But they held their fire.

Kunoichi got out of the Kraal, but she was still in danger. In fact, she was in greater danger now that she was out in the open. Though it was dark, the kraalmen were expert hunters. With the use of their night vision goggles, they could see the fleeing form of Kunoichi.

The pathfinders fired and Kunoichi was struck, twice at the same time. The two shots hit both of her lower legs. Her energy shield had ameliorated the hit, but it still hurt. More importantly, she fell down.

The felinid girl struggled to get back on her feet but was soon tackled to the ground. And not by a single person, but by many men. She was held down by the guards who had rushed out of the Kraal.

Kunoichi struggled but soon realized of its futility and stopped. She looked up and saw a very familiar face in the dark —her own.

“Hello, sister.”

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