Phoenix Rising

[Meraki]

The walk back gave Riva some time to think. She was no vigilante, no powerful piece in a game – she was just a lowly little street urchin with a pretty smile and quick feet. Sure, she could run from trouble – she knew these streets like the back of her hand – but running into trouble? It was against her very core beliefs that she had any damn say in this crazy world they lived in. Her job was to find ways to survive, no matter what, and that's what she did. She did it well, too. Her family had enough water and while she was certainly thin, she managed to keep herself alive and well in the bustling world of Ormaia.

She knew she didn't actually get in Ark's hair, but it was a long day and they had a lot on their plates. Somehow she could not shake the feeling that they weren't done yet and that unnerved her quite a bit. It should have been as easy as informing someone in the government and sitting back to let them take control and distribute it, but in a city like Theta – the corruption far outweighed anything else. People were bought and sold daily through bribes and special interests and the people felt the backlash of that. Not to mention that the law enforcement had upped their game and were on the prowl for any suspicious activity and sniffing for any whiffs of an uprising.

God forbid the unhappy people of a nation make their voice heard.

Her father talked about it often in the safety of their own home, the dire situation they were in and that someone needed to do something – but Riva was not that someone. She was just a scavenger, damn good at her job too. That was it.

"Well, we got the pieces you wanted," Riva smiled, shifting back into normal conversation with Ark and thumbing through their haul for the day. I wasn't particularly bad at all, perhaps better than usual with the parts that Ark had managed to dig out, and once they were through it all they made the same exchange they did every day. He got his parts, she got her money and the world spun on.

"I should probably get going," Riva stretched her arms above her head so that her back could crack and pop pleasantly, "Gonna be dark soon and I got some errands to run. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah? Thanks for coming out with me today. I had a hell of a time."

With a smile, Riva slipped out of the shop and into the oncoming night. She still had some errands to do – picking up food and dropping off at her parents' house before heading back to her own hole in the wall apartment to sleep before she was up at dawn to do it again. A few days, Ark's uncle had said, a few days until they knew the fate of the cave, but Riva was curious. Maybe she'd head out that way tomorrow, just to see if they kept their word.

After all, what could it hurt?

 

[Nav]

Arkadi had never been the boy blessed with all the common sense. Give him a few wires and a circuit board and he could build a city with it, but he had never been very good at figuring people out. He was excessively generous and kind, and believed strongly in the goodness of all people, even those who gave him all the reasons in the world for him to despise them. There were few people he had learned to dislike in the world, and while his Uncle always made him uncomfortable, he didn't hate the man. The silence between them as they walked weighed heavily on him though, as he knew what was going through Riva's mind.

She was decidedly less trusting than he was, and it made him question his own trust. Maybe what they had done hadn't been right, but then he wasn't entirely sure there was a right answer to begin with. It settled heavily on his heart in a way Arkadi didn't really like, so when his little shop came into view, he was glad for it. The four grimy walls of that oil-slicked shop were comfortable and familiar, and he quickly brushed their day's findings away… letting himself forget all about it entirely.

"Ye, we got some of the pieces I want," he agreed, not ever going so far as to say he got all the things he wanted. Naturally, he would have loved to have dug up some mint operating chip, but that wasn't going to happen, so he was satisfied with what they had found. Most of the parts he'd just end up melting down and selling as raw materials anyways, knowing he'd be able to make a few credits on top of what he would pay Riva. It was good enough—the profit margins were never large, but enough to survive was enough to survive. Exchanging credits for the hessian bag of product, Arkadi gave a weary smile and dumped the little parts out across his front counter to begin sorting.

"Sure, sure," he glanced back towards her when she announced it was time for her to leave. Good timing too, he thought to himself, as he was dead tired and just about ready to crawl into bed once he got his new objects sorted. "N' yea, thanks for inviting me out," he smiled. After all, he had gotten a belly full of water out of the deal and Riva's company never hurt either, "It was a good time." And that wasn't a lie, but he ultimately decided he preferred his job in the shop to hers.

Once she had left, he had done exactly what he thought he'd do. He put away his new finds to be dealt with later in the week and closed up the shop. The doors were locked and the garage secured with an additional padlock before he grabbed his bag and made his way closer towards town where his apartment was. Frying himself up a cactus steak for dinner, Arkadi sleepily watched a few minutes of television before dragging himself off to bed and cozily slipping below his duvet and sleeping… the memories of the day already long gone.

 

[Meraki]

The next few days were uneventful at best.

Riva worked through the motions, up early to scavenge and hit Ark's shop before heading out to grab food and water rations for her family. She spent the rest of her afternoons at her parents' place, hanging out with Jay and trying to help with some of the upkeep. Her father was struggling getting around and the last thing Riva wanted was for him to get overwhelmed, his doctor had scolded time and time again that he needed to take it easy or he was going to hurt himself worse, but he was Riva's father through and through. Even when Riva went over to help tinker with some of the appliances that weren't working, he hovered behind her and gave advice.

"Riva," he would begin, always calm and collected, "That is not the correct wrench."

She wanted to snap and tell him to do it on his own if he was so damn smart, but Riva bit it back and just listened, pulling out the correct wrench to do the job, though either would have worked. It was hard, especially, not to tell them of the water she found. That night, especially, she was sitting down to dinner with her family – nothing much beyond bread and beans – when her mother spoke of water for the first time in a long time. "How have we used this much already?" she cursed under her breath, though never incriminating anyone. Her mother was a firm believer in one for all.

"Jayesh needed to bathe and I had a half a glass earlier today with my medications," her father explained, never touching his food until everyone was seated.

"I dunno why it matters when Riva can just get us more," Jay shrugged his know-it-all shoulders, "It's not like we don't deserve it as much as the other people."

"Careful with that," Riva spoke up, interrupting the thought her father opened his mouth to speak, "You know it doesn't work that way Jay. I can't just make water. I find what I can and I do what I can."

"Things will change Jay, I promise," her father said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to promise, "We deserve water as much as anyone else, everyone does and we have to hope that the government will see that soon as well. Now, eat your dinner. I will have no talk of politics at this table when we are lucky enough to have everyone home."

That conversation stuck with her all the way until the next morning when she set out for her scavenge. Jay was far too young for those thoughts – or so she thought. Of course he was frustrated, it was maddening to think that their family's ration was so small that they could not manage to bathe once a week, and it wasn't like jay knew that Riva gave half of her own ration to them. Sure, she found bits here and there to give them, but more often then not, she was providing for them. No, it wasn't fair. They deserved the same as the wealthy, both the middle and lower class did, and the government needed to see that.

She hoped to see that they used the newfound water for good, but she could not shake the feeling in her gut.

It was not until she was headed back into town with her haul, did she step on a newspaper in the street. It was just the front page, a headline, and she picked it up to read it closely. Water Ban Lifted in Upper District, Government Officials Hopeful. Immediately she picked up her pace, heading towards Ark's shop where she entered as usual but there was a distinct almost-panic in her appearance. "Have you seen this?" she asked, handing him the newspaper.

"They did it," she brushed the tendrils of hair from her face, "They gave access to that water only to the upper districts, but there's nothing in that article that says anything about our rations. So what? Everything stays the same while they're drinking ice in their water?"

 

[Nav]

Black, vicious, and pungent, the crude oil seeped between the small cracks in his skin and stained the cinnamon color of his skin black. Half an hour later, the starboard engine finally sparked to life. As smoke poured from the exhaust pipes, Arkadi engaged the gears and the propeller began to spin… soon, both engines were working in tandem and the hiss of pneumatics filled the small garage. Soot stained around his face and his hair was slicked back with sweat, as the temperatures inside the small building continue to crawl upwards as the day reached its peak.

"Can you hand me the thing?" Arkadi mumbled into the handkerchief that had been pulled up over his face to protect himself from the thick, grimy exhaust pooling out from behind the engine. The man standing over him was shorter than Arkadi, but he had to lean over to see over his shoulder seeing as the mechanic was crouching down by the back wheelwell. The man must have come from a monochromatic world as even his skin looked to be the colour of dirty snow. Behind black rimmed glasses were eyes of grey, if they had ever been blue it must have somehow leached out along with his humanity. It had occurred to Arkadi some time ago that he shouldn't judge the client so harshly, seeing as he was a man paying good money for repairs to his vehicle and hadn't caused any sort of ruckus.

Still, judging from his quasi-pressed suit, he must have some from the city. He wasn't the filthy rich type, but he had a nice car. He was richer than Arkadi, that was certain, but he seemed like the type who was set on pretending he was richer than he actually was. Judging from the underbody of the car, all the parts were post-market. The exterior finish was gorgeous, but under the hood—she was just a hobbled together piece of shit.

"The thing?" the man asked politely, turning to the working table and furrowing a brow.

"Yes… the-the-the the wrench, please," Arkadi's brain was like a jigsaw puzzle that hadn't been taken out of the box yet. It made a picture, but no one had bothered to put it together.

"Mm, this?" The man pulled a hanky from his pocket before reaching for the tool, handing it to Arkadi who grunted a positive response. Securing the last of the bolts, he stood back up and tossed the wrench back on the workbench before rubbing his hands clean on the thighs of his trousers.

"Well, I got it up and running for you," he scratched a hand through his hair, "Bring it by next week and I can install those new parts on it. You can just pay me then."

The man thanked him and looked as though he was about to extent a hand to be shaken, but looking down at Arkadi's hands, he quickly rethought the plan. Though the bell hanging over his front door did jingle and as the man took back his keys, Arkadi began to wander back up to the front desk.

"I'll be right with—oh," he paused when he caught sight of Riva, noting the furious expression on her face and stepping over to the paper she slammed down on his desk. "I uhh—no, I haven't seen this," he admitted, reaching for a rag and continuing to try and swipe his hands clean.

 

[Meraki]

Riva took a moment after exploding into Ark's shop to catch her breath. There was no need to get too worked up over it because if anyone caught wind of Riva's anger towards the government, she would never see the outside of a cell. She had seen it hundreds of times, she knew better. Working with Gabriel and his gang, she saw men and women detained on bullshit charges because the government could not afford for the morale to go any lower or there was certain to be a rebellion. It was why her family spoke softly at the dinner table and even then, they often times left the government out of their conversations. That was why she worried so much about Jay. His mouth was big, his heart even bigger, and their family could not lose him.

"Sorry," Riva cleared her throat and wiped the sweat from her brow, "I didn't mean to just barge in on you, 'specially when you have a client but—"

This was what she was afraid of. This was what it felt like to have her ever-present hope ripped out from under her feet again.

"They called off the water ban in the upper district. They're not being limited to rations anymore, but nothing changes for the middle or lower districts. The article says that there are studies being done to help expand that supply, but this basically says that the upper districts deserve that water. All of that water. Why not just greaten the rationed amount? How does it make any sense to lie to everyone?"

"We saw it, Ark," she sighed, resting her hands on her table and leaning her weight onto them, "We saw that water, we drank it, swam in it. Without that water, people won't be able to live on these rations for much longer with the worst of the summer coming…I—"

"And we can't even go to your uncle," she realized immediately, a lightbulb flickering on in her mind, "it wouldn't be safe to walk back into a government building and questioning them. They'd arrest us on the spot to keep us quiet, no matter who you know."

It was an impossible situation to be in. Riva knew that if she fought back like she wanted to, her family would lose the only person who could provide for them, but if she didn't stand up and fight – she would have to watch the people in the poorer districts, her family and friends, die one by one without enough water. It was already happening and with the worst of the summer months coming upon them, there wasn't much hope to be found anywhere.

 

[Nav]

"I don't really know anyone, Riva," he reminded her in a quiet voice. Sure, he knew his Uncle, but he was distant family at best. It wasn't like his Uncle was someone close to him in any way. He had a connection there, but it was weak at best… certainly not strong enough for Arkadi to use to argue their point. He reached for one of the rags on the counter and continued to nervously wipe his hands clean, through the oil had long since left stains on to his skin that wouldn't be so easily wiped clean.

He was a simple man, really, and there was a very large part of him that wished he had never gone with Riva that fateful day to begin with. If he hadn't, they never would have found the water, and he wouldn't be shoved into the terrible predicament he was in now. All he wanted to do was run his little shop and invent his little inventions—dreaming that someday, somehow, someone would see the worth in them, but deep down he knew no one ever would. He wanted to come to his shop every morning and turn the lock. He wanted to repair things for people, he wanted to buy the goods the scavengers brought to him, and he wanted to fervently wish a good, programmable computer chip would settle on his desk one day so he could get that giant hunk of ATV metal sitting only a few yards behind him to start running.

That's all he wanted. He didn't ask for much. He certainly didn't ask to make the biggest discovery of the century, yet there he was all the same… wrestling his conscious with his desires.

"I dunno," he finally admitted. He was sure those weren't the words Riva wanted to hear, but he wasn't truthfully sure what were. There wasn't a single thought in his brain that could fix the problem they were in and there certainly wasn't much Arkadi could do. "I'm just not sure what we can do about it. We could tell people 'round here about what we found but… I'm not sure starting that kinda conflict would do anyone any good."

He finally set the rag down again and glanced back to ensure his client was gone. Thankfully, both he and his vehicle were no longer on the premises. "I guess I'm just not sure what to do from here." He had been the one who suggested they take their information to the proper authorities, of course, and that clearly hadn't worked out as well as either of them would have hoped, so he was hesitant to throw in additional suggestions.

 

[Meraki]

"We wouldn't survive a minute if they caught wind of us doing that. They have our names; they know the information we brought. I'm sure they'll find a way to keep an eye on us," Riva said, a deep exhale letting her mind settle a bit. He was right. They were caught in such an awful place that neither of them could really change what was happening. The only thing they had hoped fervently for had not happened and it was unsettling, disappointing – but more than that, it made Riva a bit frightened. She had no idea what would happen now and beyond that, she had no idea how long her family and so many other families could go on living like this. Poverty was one thing – they could live off beans and bread for the rest of their lives, but without water they didn't stand a chance. Disease had already started to spread through the outer regions.

"I'm going to keep my ear to the ground," she said finally, "just see if I can get an idea on what's happening exactly. I just – I wish I could say 'I can't believe they'd do this' but I knew it. I knew it in my heart and my dad says you have to give hope a chance – but this is where it got us."

She shook her head and looked down at the bag she had thrown on the table, full of little bits and baubles that she had collected out in the sand but it all seemed so useless now. She knew she couldn't think that way – she needed to keep working to keep up providing for her family but she wondered what the hell any of this was for if no one would ever reach out to them, to help them. It wasn't just the poorest districts either, everyone was suffering in their own way, except for the upper districts with their rooftop pools and ice cubes. And what was even worse was that she knew there were children in the upper districts who had nothing to do with this, people who just happened to hold higher paying jobs and fell into that bracket, but they were not who she was mad at.

She was mad at the corrupt fucking officials who orchestrated all of this.

"If it's okay with you, I'm just gonna leave this here and whatever you want, you can pay me for tomorrow. I just have to go check on my family and make sure everyone's alright after seeing this."

"But listen," she scratched her head and glanced away, "regardless of how it turned out, I'm real glad you came out with me the other day. So I put out some feelers and I just happened to have a few connections and managed to find, well – uh, here." She dug a little brown paper wrapped package out of her pocket and placed it in his hand. "I hope with all the shit that's about to hit the fan, this makes your life a little easier."

Little did he know that through Gabriel and the rest of the crew, she managed to find a scrap dealer on the far side of the city who just so happened to owe Gabriel a favor and was more than willing to fork over a functioning computer chip to a girl who could offer a little extra water and a handful of credits. "And don't even think about giving it back," she laughed, turning to start out of the shop with her hand raised in a goodbye, "Just do some good with it, yeah? See you tomorrow, Ark."

 

[Nav]

"Wish I could say the same," he admitted, "Not that your company isn't nice or anything, I just… I just don't belong in something like this." Arkadi knew what he was in the world. He knew his place and he was happy with it—a simple man and not a very smart one, at that. He was good with electronics and computers; he knew how to put pieces together to build something, but he wasn't good at much else. He had never done well in school and he was still an embarrassingly slow reader. He didn't know much about politics because he really didn't understand it and he didn't mind that. Truthfully, he had no interest in being a part of anything. He wasn't a leader, he wasn't a revolutionary, and he sure as hell wished he had never had anything to do with the discovery of that water reservoir out in the desert.

Her bag clattered on his desk and he picked his fingers through it, giving a small nod. "Sure thing," he replied. There was a lot of things Arkadi wasn't, but if there was one thing he was it was trustworthy. He'd never try and rip her off or give her less than she deserved for the haul. Come tomorrow, he'd pay her a fair price for everything without giving a fuss or trying to cheat her out of Credits. "I'll go through it tonight n' let you know tomorrow when you stop by, alright? Go take care of your family."

He was just about to rip open the bag and begin to assemble the pieces across his work station when she held out a small paperbag to him. He hesitantly took it from her and peeled back the edges, glancing down inside. "I can't—" but she already cut him off, telling him to not even think about giving it back. The chip itself was worth well more than several weeks' worth of hauls she could pull in from scraps in the desert and he flipped it hesitantly in his fingers a few times. Such a small little thing—jet black and lined with the familiar silver veins that funneled information. Something so small… something so powerful.

"See ya—" but the door had already fallen shut behind her, the bell jingling for a moment before falling silent. "Tomorrow."

Again, the chip was spun around between his fingers and he just shook his head, setting it aside for the time being. Every inch of him was dying to see what it could do—if his invention would work like he hoped it would, but he had promised Riva he'd sort through her gatherings properly and get her trade in order for tomorrow. So, he diligently went to work pulling everything out and organizing each piece.

 

[Meraki]

Riva hadn't been gone more than a few hours.

She went to her parents, to speak with some of her neighbors about the news and it worried her. There was inklings of uprisings all over the lower district of Theta and while her family was far removed from those threatening to rise, Riva knew one thing about rebellions – rarely did anyone survive. It was not her place to even be a part of those. She had a family to watch out for, a livelihood to protect, and even though being a scavenger wasn't glamorous work – at least it was honest. Everything Riva had was earned and she feared what fighting back would mean for her family who could not defend themselves. Her mother was a pacifist, her father crippled by an accident and Jayesh was so young that she couldn't even imagine him being involved.

So she went against her gut feeling and she did not go to the government. She did not speak of the news with Gabriel in the others in her little hole in the wall neighborhood. They were all growling and grumbling about change, but Riva just wanted to live and let live. She wanted to go to see what Ark had managed to do with the chip, find the scrap she could and make an honest living – no matter how small it was.

And Riva was small in the grand scheme of things. Nothing more than a fire ant in the universe.

It was late when Riva finally was heading back to her apartment. It was dark out, a chill in the desert air as she slipped through people living on the streets to her little sad excuse for an apartment. It wasn't much, but then again most of her hauls went to supporting her family. She just knew that living at home was not an option when she needed her independence. If her family knew how much she worked, how much she did for them, her father would never let it continue – but they needed it.

Riva wasn't even at her door by the time she felt a strong hand grasp her hair and yank her back towards one of the narrow, suffocating alleyways in Theta. Riva had never feared for her own safety on the streets, not when everyone protected their own, but she knew the minute the hand yanked her back that the man who pulled her was not a local. He worked for the government and while the shadows masked his face, he was quick to land a few hits including one to her abdomen that sent her down immediately. Gasping for air, he grabbed her throat and shoved her against the building, his voice low and cold in her ear.

"If you tell them, we will find you," he growled before letting her go, "Be sure of that, Riva."

Before she could respond, he was gone and Riva was coughing, trying to catch the breath he stole from her with his hit. She wiped a bit of blood from her lip, the heat of her skin where the bruises would form sent chills down her spine against the breeze.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

 

[Nav]

There was very little in the world Arkadi couldn't accomplish when he was tinkering. All the thoughts bled out from his mind and he could just relax and think about nothing—or everything. Whatever he decided, he could do. He had been spending most of his hours in his little shop, humming delightfully to himself as the water they had found escaped his mind. As far as Arkadi was concerned, his involvement with it was done. They had done what they needed to do—they had done what was legal—and that was all there was to it. Naturally, he had felt that initial pang of regret and remorse over the news Riva had shared with him, but Arkadi had never seen himself as anything more than a tinkerer.

It was a dangerous question to ask: 'what more could I possibly do?' but Arkadi sullenly could only remind himself of his place in life. No one took him seriously, not really, anyways. He was just "that weird kid in the garage down the street." People trusted him with their cars and electronics, but precious little else. Even if he told everyone about the water they had found, no one would believe him… not really. So, he let the thought be forgotten and he kept on keeping on.

The clock behind him stroked midnight and gave off a soft 'ding' to announce the arrival of a new day, causing Arkadi to straighten up at his workbench and glance back at it, squinting to make out the small hands as they ticked dangerously fast. He snorted, hunching back over the small electronic he had busted open and worked the wrench deeper into it, prying out the memory card and dropping it on the table. Soft classical music piped throughout the room and a slight smell of disinfectant with heavier overlaid scent of coffee lingered, causing him to toss the electronic (which had once been some kind of controller device, but it was hard to make out in its stripped down state) on to the table and swung around.

The windows were painted black with darkness outside, though a few faint lights could barely be made out over the desert. Thinking little of it, Arkadi poured himself a second cup of coffee and stood at the window, looking out over the desert. "I really ought to get going to bed," he told himself in a scolding tone… but then again, the upgrades to Lucy were so close to being done, he reminded himself, glancing back over his shoulder at the parts sprung loose across his workspace.

"Mm, maybe just one more hour. One more hour, then I must go home."