Imminent Victory

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Of course, he would purposely keep it covered during the daylight hours. He couldn't risk her being spotted by a patrol drone. Nights weren't much better; there was one drone on dispatch whilst the others recharged, but it made rotations around the compound in 15 minute intervals. Hardly enough time to view what was left of the land outside those concrete walls.

The last time she took the risk of lifting a corner of the shroud during the light hours, her brother caught her. Her punishment was a week locked outside of the room, forced back into the bunker housing their people. The vast underground base was a melting pot of those who lived in sector 6. She'd memorized every name and face over the past 3 years; a remarkable feat for someone 19 revolutions young. Yet, not one of them knew her name. At least not the one bestowed upon her at birth.

"Move girl," a large, barbaric man called Isaac growled as she was unwittingly blocking his path to the mess hall. He was a bull of a man, large and dark, his muscular frame taut from hard physical labor. He had a large scar over his left eye, which attributed to a colorfully descriptive encounter with a bear. In that particular battle, the fittest survived. He kept a claw from his felled foe on a piece of leather string around his neck.

She stuttered out an apology and stepped aside, bumping into Sanaa. She was a beautiful, older woman of Tamil descent who looked out for the girl. "Careful, Amara. You don't want to get between Isaac and his food."

"I didn't mean to, auntie. I'm feeling out of sorts."

The woman took the girl's hand and led her to a couple of pallets out of hearing distance. Too many people kept eyeing the girl, in her blue cotton blend sweater and black pants. She and Sanna, in turn, continued to watch everyone shuffling about, moving from the mess hall to either the worker's tunnel or off towards the housing cells. They donned identical uniforms of grey linens, regulation shirts with collars and straight pants with elasticized waists. They were miserable, but they were safe to a degree. In those days, safe was in short supply.

"What's going on, dear? Why aren't you in your privacy pod upstairs?"

The girl stared at her hands, refusing to meet her eyes in shame. "I was curious to see the land, auntie! Khalid caught me in his meditation room-"

"Did a drone catch sight of you?" Sanaa was gripping her arm painfully, her large brown eyes filled with concern.

"No! You're hurting me," Amara's green eyes were filling with tears, proving the truth of her words. Sanaa release her.

"How could you be so foolish, child?"

"I just wanted to see the land in the day. Even if it's a desolate, hellscape unfit for human life ... I just want to experience something outside these walls. This can't be my total existence!"

"This is your reality for now," Sanna tried to soften her tone. "When the Sentients took over, we knew they were priming land for artificial life, not human. That's why that so-called 'hellscape' is barren now. But it was not always like that."

"I've never known anything else. I was in isolation until my 16th revolution. Before that there was only Khalid, Uncle Pradeep, and you. I still only come down when I'm being punished, and no one cares for me. I'm the weird, privileged girl with the kinky hair and freaky vibes."

Sanaa tried to suppress her smile. "Kinky? Freaky? Amara, where did you get these terms?"

"I found some old VR holovision clips. Did you know there was a time Black people like me were enslaved in this sector? And your people had oppression in South Asia too; women were treated so unfairly! And don't get me started on the colonial take overs! The world has always been in turmoil- why have the Sentients just now decided to try to wipe us out? And on top of it all, my headaches and visions are getting worse."

"Your visions are back? You didn't tell me this. Does Khalid know?"

She nodded. "He says they're a byproduct of my overactive imagination."

Sanaa muttered something harsh in Tamil and climb to her feet, dragging Amara to her feet as well. "Come child, we must go."

"Where are we going?"

Sanaa didn't answer her, pulling her along behind her. They made it to the portal tube that would take them to the top level privately, bypassing the hatch opening.

Unauthorized Access!

The alarm flashed red as Sanaa stepped in first, but quickly quieted once Amara set foot inside. They were transported to the upper floor and Sanaa marched her ward towards the meditation room.

"Auntie, Khalid locked me out-" she stopped talking once she noted the keycard in the woman's hand.

Sanaa swiped the card at the entrance and the metal door slid open. Khalid was nowhere to be found. The window was covered, but from the increasingly fading light Amara knew it'd be dark soon.

"Sit," Sanaa said authoritatively as she dragged a large, colorful pillow to the center of the room. One of Khalid's treasures from his ancestral home in Ghana, no doubt.

Amara did as she was told. Sanaa went about her gathering a ceremonial bowl, some tinctures and potions, candles, and a large piece of chalk. She drew a chalk outline on the boarded, black rafters, in the shape of a large circle with Amara at it's center. She then lot candles and placed them in holders to Amara's left and right sides. Then, she mixed up a concoction in the ceremonial bowl, before drawing out a small dropper full of the liquid.

"Head back, eyes open," she said in a soft but stern voice.

Amara didn't question her. She held back her head obediently as Sanaa put 3 drops in each of her hazel-green eyes. She blinkeed furiously as the woman lit some incense and walked around the room, perfuming it.

"What now, auntie?"

"Relax your mind. Free yourself from any anxieties. Focus on your dream. Then, I want you to prostrate, make the sign of the all seeing eye, and bow your head to the ground 3 times. Then, my child, the prophecy shall reveal itself to you."

Amara got on her knees and brought her hands in diamond formation to her head. She followed the instructions and as her hands touched the ground the third time, she was under a trance.

Brilliant lights flashed around her, along with pictures she couldn't quite make sense of.

"Focus on the first clear image you see," Sanaa's voice sounded so far away.

Amara could suddenly see a scene crystal clear. It was a man and a woman, holding a child. The were sitting on a blanket on the lush green grass of a field. There was a wood burning fire not to far, with a man tending to roasting a lamb on a spit. They wore traditional dashikis of purple and gold. The woman was gazing at the baby in her arms like she was the most precious thing she'd ever seen. The woman was strikingly beautiful; fair skinnned with a sharp nose and green eyes. The woman's hair texture even matched Amara's own, with bountiful tight curls. Her accent wasn't like many Amara recognized, but she did hear her utter a phrase in Greek. The man was tall and strong, looking a lot like Khalid but buffer. He had a Ghanian accent, speaking in the tongue Ewe.

The pair were discussing a name for the child. The man explained she needed a name befitting a princess. But the woman gently reminded him of the prophecy.

"She is destined for more than being a princess, my love. She is to be a warrior, ending the tyranny and oppression of Perses."

"Who is this Perses? I shall strike him down now!" The man thundered.

"Kofi, there is no stopping what is to come. In my culture, Perses was a destroyer. Everything he touched came to a horrible end. In her 20th revolution around the sun, she will have to face him and destroy his empire. Only then can she restore peace in the East.

"I have a better idea- we stay here! We have wealth and comfort here, my lovely Agata. What reason do we need to travel to America? So this vermin can try to wipe out my family and human life as we know it?"

"I live in America. It was always the plan to go home. And despite what you may think, fate has a way of making a mockery of our plans. She and Khalid will be separated from us. They will find themselves in a challenging position with only each other. The Sentients will gain control, and our daughter is rhe only one who can restore order and freedom."

"I don't wish to discuss this any further. What name shall we give her? It has to be as strong as Khalid's."

"I agree. We shall name her Nike. The Greek Goddess of victory."

"Nike the Victorious. I love it."
Amara could feel tears streaming down her face, overwhelmed at seeing her parents for the first time in a vision. Other images began to unfold before her in rapid succession. The night of her parents' slaughter at the hand of an army of Sentient battle bots. Khalid hiding her in a secret passageway behind a wardrobe in their parents' bedchamber. Sanaa and Pradeep finding them and getting them to the interment compound safely. Even Pradeep choosing the name Amara for her to keep her identity hidden.

When Amara came out of her trance, she realizes Sanaa had too been crying. "I wanted to tell you, princess. But you always had so much joy in the little things. But with your 20th revolution fast approaching, you needed to know."

"Why me? Why not Khalid? He's the oldest."

"Khalid was a product of your father's first marriage. It was destined that your mother's offspring would be the one to free sector 6. And that will be a huge step to stopping Perses' assault on the entire globe."

"If the land isn't suitable for humankind, how am I even supposed to go outside? Let alone battle drones, Sentients, and some evil dictator the world has never seen?"

"That, you have to figure out. And there's 2 more things that you should know. The first is that someone in this compound will betray you. You must tread carefully for now, pretend you know nothing."

"And the 2nd thing?"

"Before my precious Pradeep died, he figured out something about the outside. He told me on his sick bed that sector 6 is not what it seems."

"What does that mean?"

"He said there is something unnatural about the skyline. He remembers the scenery vividly, and there was an abnormal 'tear' in the sky. The day he claims to have seen it, he was staring out the window with your brother. Actually, come to think of it-"

"It was his last view before he fell ill," Amara finished softly.

Sanaa was so engrossed in her advice and ceremony, she hadn't heard the door slide open behind her. There stood Amara's brother Khalid and Isaac. The expression on his face was terrifying.

"I think it's time you go, auntie. I need to talk to my sister. Isaac, you know where to take her."

Amara tried to get to her feet but she was still woozy from the drops. Sanaa stood silently, erect and stoic. "This is how you honor your parents? Selling out your sister and your people?"

"These were never my people. Soon as this nonsense is over, Perses promises to return me to my ancestors."

"You're foolish if you believe a mad robot named after literal destruction. You will pay. And your sister will be victorious."

"Sadly, you won't be around to see if your silly prophecies hold any more weight than your poor, sick husband's delusions. Isaac!"

Isaac approached Sanaa who shoved her chin up proudly as Amara wept on the floor. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the door. She dragged her heels so she could turn and see Amara one, last time. "Now is not the time for tears. Now is the time to fight."

With that she was gone. Amara was alone with her brother and had very little idea of what to do. She shut her eyes tightly and prayed something, anything would come to mind. It did, however it may have been her worst laid plan yet.

As Khalid tried to approach her, he realized the chalk circle kept him out. Sanaa had bought her the time to make her last ditch effort to best him before he could dispose of her. Not wasting the moment, she found the strength to climb to her feet and backed up as far as she could within the circle. And with a speed she didn't know she possessed, Amara took off towards the window and hurled her body through it, taking the shroud with her.

As she tumble towards the ground in horror, she felt herself slow. It took a moment before she realized it but there they were- wings on her ankles. She was suddenly flying towards that patrol drone and smashing it to bits.

Victory wasn't hers yet, but it was imminent.