ARCH 3.9

“…and what it all comes down to, is that everything’s gonna be quite alright…”

10 May 2020, 4pm
Himalayas
Ghandruk, Nepal

Ren’s overwatch team came through; they received alerts on their phones that one of Emma’s fake id’s was being pinged and they were now abruptly being hunted by big money. 

The timing was unexpected, they had been careful, but it clearly wasn’t enough.

Mosa’s and Emma’s people confirmed unwanted questions in the area.

They found their way out of Bolivia while navigating the new and developing COVID global environment.

Their plans were forced to be accelerated even further, with less preparation and organization.

Bander heads out to meet Ghourka peoples in Nepal, not knowing what to expect, in hopes they will leverage their symbolic warrior support over the HUGBUG project.

Emma smuggles her way expertly back to the United States, where she aimed to persuade celebrity and influencer support over the same.

Mosa and Ren are on a lead for baby in Europe.

Everyone intends to meet in a pre-planned safehouse in Phuket after.

Bander travels escorted by close confidants from both Emma’s and Mosa’s support teams.

They hire a vetted translator guide and travel to Ghandruk, with gifts in gear.

They were noticed by someone that has been paying attention to the roads for years now, and invited them to meet.

Bander is brought to a local elderly Ghourka, sitting relaxed in a local tourist tea shop, wearing a 3 wolves 1 moon shirt, and a blade on his waist.

He has his daughter with him, kukri worn over her chest, she is chewing gum and more interested in her phone.

He has his son with him, large; scars, uptight, right arm missing, no kukri, scowling at them.

They quickly exhaust nice-to-meet-you-stranger pleasantries and Bander cuts to the chase, the interpreter working hard in keeping communication clear between them.

“Eh, so yeah, look, i come in peace man.  I don’t even know where to start, I got two things that maybe you can help me out with, point me in the right direction on who to speak to or something?”

Bander clumsily presents on the table 2 unique and heavily used Ghourka Kukri blades, one with a message on the hilt, securing the ghourka family’s awe and attention immediately.

“ooookay, I see these might mean something.  Good good, maybe we can talk about that, and I also have a crazy big request.  A weird favor to-“

The son interrupts immediately, points at the kukris wearing a revengeant face “Cassandro?”

Bander is taken back, he knew the possibility was there but didn’t expect that name to be brought up by them so quickly.

“…Yes…    …I had a run in with him, he entrusted this to a person who in turn entrusted me to return this to you”

The son reaches out his left hand anxiously to grab the kukri with no tag and the father angrily slaps it away immediately, then looks over to Bander in shame.  The younger daughter blurts a quick snort and laugh before acting serious again, and took pictures of the kukris with her phone.

“That one is my son’s, when Cassandro took both it and his arm, he made it a teaching moment and called it a magnanimous gesture. 
He came in 2009 and stayed for 3 months…    he grew with us, taught us, shared with us…

…he earned our trust and respect.  We celebrated him, i made and gifted him that custom kukri myself before he was set to leave us. 

Before leaving he told us we were not respectable, insulted our current state of subordinate living to money and entities who don’t care about us, that we forgot that what made us real warriors was simply that we were willing to fight to be there for each other…    … that we are marked as just another disposable martial race with empty honor, that we need to stop living on our knees and go back to protecting each other from exploiters who don’t care about us…    …my naik son here didn’t like what he heard from an outsider, called him a traitor to crown and country and he wouldn’t allow that in his presence, he then stepped to him with his kukri out.  Cassandro made an example of him in front of all of us…    …reminded us that we were vulnerable and weak with no honor nor unity behind our Kukris…    …we never saw someone fight like that and were scared and ashamed before him…    …he told my son to stop fake fighting, he then gave me this wolf shirt of his, and said he was going to Africa to continue freeing the world from wage slavery and hunt a stanford sage…”

Bander shakes his head and at the end of the interpretation scoffs, “artists, amma right?”.

The interpreter didn’t know how to interpret that, stayed silent and everyone nodded in non-understanding except the daughter, who smiled while looking at her phone.

The son speaks and is interpreted after a pause.

“he wishes to know, what he has to do to earn his Kukri back?”

Bander replies.

“The new owner’s name was Mosa, she’s some amazon jungle warrior woman in Japan right now with a group of friends with guns and armor looking for a son that was taken into the global child slavery market.

She really doesn’t care about you, me, Cassandro, or these kukris.

She asked me to give it back to the right people and to ask you guys for help. 

So yeah, that’s what i am here doing now, like, on a global scale, asking you to help advance and protect us on an aggressive peace project, is this something you and others around here would be open to entertaining?”

After the translator finishes the son takes his kukri back.

The younger daughter snaps her fingers at the brother and smiles proudly, smuggly, communicating in sign language that his mother made him that Kukri, and another native woman with no son got it back for you.

Art is communication, and that is warrior art right there, don’t fk it up; for mom!

The son looks away from his sister annoyed, to appreicate his long lost kukri.

it is heavier than he remembers and felt awkward now in his left hand.  It was overused. 

This made him feel empowered in a way.

He remembers his mother.  he remembers his military training and the feeling he had with them, he was a top fighter, he was going to be a sergeant soon back then he was sure of it, he remembers attacking Cassandro in impulse.  He remembers how fast the crown lied about not being able to do replantation, how they rejected him after being crippled, realize they were paying and treating him and the other ghourkas less than others and their complaints went into a void, their bloody earned warrior status didn’t mean anything in the real world…

The elder ghourka ignores them and takes the kukri he made Cassandro confidently in his hand.

Feels it out.  This was indeed the last kukri he made, he gifted it to Cassandro shiny and new. 

It’s seen heavy use and abuse, wear and tear and repairs.  if it could speak…

never thought he would see it again while at the same time knowing that he would.

He read the tag note.

It was in honor to the ashes of an african warrior woman packed inside the hilt.

“dangerous alone when good against evil.  Take me with you”.

The elderly Ghourka rested the kukri on his lap in silence before coming back to a confused and quiet Bander.

“what are you asking for?”

Bander shares the plan.

Breaks down with paper and pen on the table and draws out what he is speaking.

Dj woman brings a binder with information and pictures for reference before excusing herself back nearby.

Bander continues explaining; “Huge trains with all terrain wheels are currently being constructed.  Thousands of them.  They will connect the world through it’s border lines, and free all the landlocked countries and harmed peoples looking for safety, community and purpose outside of wage slavery. 

These machines will be self sufficient and circle the world, both land and sea, facilitating freedom of travel and trade between anywhere on earth with the primary mission of always looking to help make the world a better safer place and all that good jazz.

They will belong to everyone, everyone in the world is an owner of these vehicles, everyone can join and pitch in, including you guys…
…on this fantastical liberating global outreach project”

The daughter is paying serious attention, taking occasional pictures.

“Needless to say, it will need protection from everyone…    …It’s war out there.  It would be cool if we could get Ghourka training and protection of these vehicles and their initiatives…    …but yeah, big money doesn’t like it when sunshine and rainbows are free. 
So we are all hoping for the best, the world changes nicely and quietly…  but really that can only happen after we prepare for the worst, which is getting blown off our tracks.”

There’s pause after the translation.

The daughter shrugged the elder.

The elder speaks.

“…so it is death likely, honor guaranteed…”

The elder nods, looks over to his children, then continues to speak.

“Cassandro left a major impression to the women of the village.

He shamed them for not being the fighters and leaders they were built to be.

They started their own ghourka fighting clubs and kukri sword making and culture after.

The club includes as membership self reliance on food, water, electricity to support their activities.

They have support from the thousands of rejects of Ghourka inscription of the royal army…

the elder laughs.  The daughter gives her dad a playful punch in the shoulder.

ghourka warrior women inspire the warrior spirit in men. 
they understand your mission, and where these warrior women go, other warriors follow like lost puppies.

the elder shakes his head.   

Cassandro told us real warriors don’t want money, they just want what the money gives permission to have; safety, family, friends, justice, pleasure…   …for that you need to stop asking permission for the good things, and to trust in each other; money doesn’t do that.  Well, there you go.  Lets go do that.  Lets go speak to the warrior youth club on your war against the money monsters.  They have been waiting to speak to someone like you, another revolutionary”

Bander blushes.

The elder and son whip out their cellphones and start making some phone calls.  The daughters already was standing up texting to her warrior club buddies on how sht was about to get real soon and they heard it from her first. 

Bander tries the hot boba tea while the ghourkas are doing their calls and making arrangments. 

Bander looks around the view. 

He would have loved to put on his airsuit and just bullet around this place.

It’s the fkn Himalayas for crying out loud.

He wonders how emma is doing.

He misses her, and wonders if she is okay.