Hiro Kuat

"I want to go hoooome ..." Nomi whines over the squadron frequency as our bulwarks cruise over the deserted landscape of the concrete desert. I diplomatically keep silent as the squadron leader guides us along a stretch of picturesque coast, the foamy surf crashing into the shore below us. In the distance is a small city dug into the beach side ruins, where ramshackle huts compete for space with hollowed out concrete husks.

I hear the squadron leader chuckle lightly at Nomi's complaining. Our assigned Red Rose leader has been surprisingly tolerant so far, probably because in our tiny squadron of three, Nomi and I have her outnumbered. Nomi has never been the sort to be quiet whenever she's feeling unhappy, but she would never dare act this way in front of our actual Commander. Its also not usual procedure to divide up Valkyries into such small squadrons, but with manpower in short supply, the Commander and her Red Rose counterpart felt it was the best way to cover as much ground as possible.

"What are we doing here again?" Nomi gripes while giving the Red Rose flying ahead of us a sneaky middle finger.

"We're looking for the Saint, Nomi." I reply patiently, well aware what my friend is about to say next. After all, she had been saying it for the past few days.

"Oh, I see. Looking for the Saint." Nomi nods, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "I didn't know looking for the Saint required lugging a huge backpack about on foot after the getting dropped off by our plane."

"It uses less divine energy that way." the Red Rose needles, well aware of Nomi's irritation, "Was the backpack too heavy for you?"

"And!" Nomi snaps, ignoring the Red Rose's comment, "I didn't know looking for the Saint involved digging trenches to be used as latrines!"

"We needed to help prepare the camp, Nomi." I console, "We did camp rough as part of our training, remember? It was part of the survival exam held by the Academy."

"We had Militia to dig the stupid latrines and setup the camp for us then!" Nomi blares, "Since when do Valkyries waste their time with this trivial crap?"

"Oh, yeah." I muse, "You also hired a servant then, right?"

"I still do! Valkyries bring entourages with them into field all the time!" Nomi huffs, "If we had gotten earlier notice of this mission, I could have called and arranged for someone to tag along."

"Who's going to feed your servant while we're out here?" the Red Rose leader idly asks as the formation begins to dip. From this height, I can see piles of junk and dirty mattresses piled up on the beach.

"Myself, of course." Nomi snorts and I picture her rolling her eyes underneath the bulwark's helmet.

"And your bulwark," the Red Rose continues, "its not a standard model isn't it?"

"Custom made." Nomi answers smugly, "Personally blessed by the chorus themselves."

"Your friend, Hiro Kuat, is quite something." the Red Rose addresses me directly with amusement.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Nomi grumbles unhappily.

"Nothing." the Red Rose says lightly, "Ah, Hiro, do you know how many Valkyries other than your friend actually have entourages of their own?"

"I think our Commander does." I muse hesitantly, surprised at how personal the Red Rose had become with me, "She has a personal assistant if I recall correctly. Can't think of anyone else off hand."

"Precisely, Hiro. Precisely." the squadron leader smirks, leaving her statement at that and letting Nomi stew.

"Uh, look Squadron Leader," I quickly cut into the conversation, hoping to defuse the tension that had been building, "The city up ahead we're visiting, its called Delmak right?"

"Mari." the Red Rose answers sweetly.

"Pardon?" I ask, as Nomi growls in the background of the line.

"That's my name. Mari." the Red Rose gently repeats herself, "Please call me by it, Hiro."

"Uh, OK?" I mutter, "So, we're going to Delmak to search for the Saint, right Mari?"

"Yes and no." Mari says, her tone all business now as her bulwark begins to pick up speed and pull away from us, "It will be easier to explain once we get there. So let's pick up the pace a little."

Nomi and I exchange glances and shrug, speeding up and bringing up the rear of the formation. And so the three of us continue our journey under the morning sun, travelling as the crow flies.

...

"It stinks."

Those are the first words that come from Nomi's mouth the moment we land our bulwarks by the beach and dispel them from existence. Unfortunately, she's also right. Delmak's beach is absolutely beautiful, with fine white sand coupled an enticingly blue sea that is positively inviting. But the whole image is spoiled by the piles of garbage dumped all over the place. Old furniture, scrap metal and from the scent, waste food and feces.

I turn away from the disgusting sight at the beach and cast my eyes at the buildings that make up this neighborhood. Many of the homes here would have been once considered beautiful, built to be spacious and with conspicuous engravings on the pillars and beams. Unfortunately, all of them are now crumbling into ruin, with many homes missing walls and having been repaired using sheets of scrap metal or large pieces of tarp. A few beast folk peek out at us from the slap dash collection of rotting buildings before disappearing back into the shadows. Towering over the ensemble are a series of grotty apartment blocks that stare down at us from the distance.

"Welcome to Delmak." Mari says spreading her arms wide, "The paradise by the sea. Or at least that's what the scholars think it was before the Age of Strife."

"I suppose it would have been classy once." Nomi reluctantly agrees.

"Delmak's best days are behind it, that's for sure." Mari nods, her ringlets moving in unison with her head, "As you can see, the beast folk have made this place their home."

"You said something odd about Delmak while we were flying here." I point out, "What was that about?"

"Alright. All this restricted information, so don't go spreading what I'm about to tell you. Officially, yes, we are currently in the town of Delmak." Mari continues, "But -"

"The maps are wrong." Nomi hisses, her voice tight with anxiety, "You brought us into Coalition territory didn't you?"

"Delmak is not claimed by the Coalition." Mari sniffs, but she is also getting nervous at just being here, "Anyway, they are based further north of us."

"The northern garrison is completely hopeless!" Nomi hisses tersely, "Everyone knows the Coalition comes and goes whenever they please. We're screwed if they discover us here!"

Sweat begins to stain the back of my shirt as I hurriedly scan the area, half expecting to be set upon by a wave of Coalition soldiers at any moment. But other than a small number of beast folk wandering about, the place is as peaceful as can be. I get why we have to be here. If the Saint is a beast woman, then searching Delmak for her would be a no brainer. But if Nomi is right, we are in far greater danger than I had originally expected.

"Settle down." Mari commands, tired of Nomi's hysterics, "Yes, the Coalition is here, but in only a very limited capacity. If we keep our wits around us, we will be perfectly safe."

"What do you mean?" I ask while squeezing Nomi by the hand to get her to calm herself. Nomi gratefully reciprocates the gesture and her breathing settles down.

Mari frowns slightly at us as she points at the apartment blocks in the distance, "From the air you would have thought Delmak comprises the beach and the city center over there, right?"

"Yeah." I confirm, "This place is obviously arranged as a single city."

"Wrong." Mari shakes her head, "Delmak is made out of only of this beach side town. The reason why you made that mistake is because Delmak was absorbed several years back into part of Rais Land."

"Rais Land?" Nomi repeats.

"A beast woman warlord calling herself the Rais made a splash close to a decade ago." Mari explains, "She managed to get the backing of the Coalition and started going about conquering the other beast folk tribes. You can see her motto painted on that wall."

Both Nomi and I scrutinize the graffiti scrawled over the nearby wall. It looks like a incredibly ugly coat of arms, but the art is so badly painted that we can't be sure exactly. But there's no mistaking the meaning of the words painted underneath that garish monstrosity.

"Strength through unity." Nomi murmurs.

"That's right." Mari takes up the thread again as a black limo zooms past us, riding down a road that leads deeper into Delmak itself, "Crazy talk of course. The Rais has no way of expanding any further south to the beast folk villages there since we would slap her down the moment she got closer to the Citadel."

"But we're still in danger here if this Rais person is in bed with the Coalition." I protest, "How are we supposed to search for the Saint in these conditions?"

Mari smiles confidently at my question, "By going through the system set up by the Rais. You see, Rais Land trades with the Citadel. As long as our presence is not openly advertised, we will be left alone."

Mari then begins walking down the road, past the ramshackle houses that gloomily observe our progress. The three of us begin drifting steadily away from the stinking beach as we follow the road through what's left of the residential area.

"So, uh, how are we doing this?" I ask, "Are we going to walk about with a sign asking for Saint candidates?"

"Maybe we should just snatch the beast people in the houses." Nomi murmurs as she stares into the darkened buildings, "Easier and faster."

"Stop being ridiculous you two." Mari scoffs as she tugs at my sleeve, "We're doing this in an organized and civilized way."

"We'll be going shopping."