Don Kuat

Rais Land is big. Not quite as big as the Citadel, but still a daunting warren of rotting buildings to get lost in. Getting into Rais Land wasn't a problem, this embryonic, or rather failed state, had zero border control. All I needed to do was just walk into Rais Land in broad daylight, the airborne bulwark patrols not bothering with another nameless scavenger looking to eke out a living in this dump. It was only when I had gotten into Rais Land that I realized maybe I might have made a mistake.

I knew from the start that searching Rais Land for the Saint by my lonesome was always going to be a tall order, but there was always the possibility that I could jump the Rose squad sent to this area and pump them for more information. That was in fact what I had been counting on, Red Roses were not known for being discreet and Citadel Valkyries were bound to draw the attention of the locals. I quickly found an abandoned apartment in the outskirts of the city to use as a base and began the waiting game. I figured there was no point in running about like a headless chicken until a lead revealed itself to me.

Unfortunately I had figured wrong.

There was zero commotion in the city about Red Rose squads throwing their weight about. Even worse, the local scuttlebutt was that Rais Land was sending beast girls straight into Coalition territory under some kind of arrangement. Coincidence?

Obviously not. I had no way of proving it, but at the end of the day, it came back down to the issue of the Saint. Rais Land was not sending old beast women to the Coalition. From what the locals were saying, it was clear that every single beast girl sent packing north to the Arcology matched the vague description of the Saint given to the Roses. I had begun to suspect that the Coalition bulwark patrols were set up explicitly to prevent Citadel Valkyries from entering the region.

Everyone wanted the Saint, and for good reason. After all, she was part of the fulcrum this world revolved upon.

"Fuck everything." I sigh tiredly while continuing my night time patrol in the old banger of a car I procured recently. I managed to buy it, no questions asked, with a single gold coin from the Rose's stash I made off with. I probably overpaid for this piece of garbage, but its nondescript and wouldn't draw a second glance. I had spent the last few days quietly tracking the airborne patrols, hoping they would lead me to something of interest, but so far all I got was zilch.

If its any consolation, the Leader's blimp is still approaching the target area, meaning the Citadel is not any closer to securing the Saint either. And if it comes to the worst, I had the option of directly attacking the blimp or the Rose camp to ferret the Saint out. So I still had options. High risk ones to be used as a last resort, but this search was by no means dead ended.

"Don," the com unit squawks from the seat next to me, playing the recorded message it received from Wu, "I have taken Lisa to see Sarkar at the Cathedral. I have every confidence that Lisa will pass the tests Sarkar will arrange for her. The wheels have been set in motion for the canonization of the next Saint."

Good. That means the plan is still on track. Earth needs to control the Saint in order for us to retain administrative access over this world.

"Which makes it vital for you to succeed in your mission." Wu continues after pausing for breath, "Lisa with Sarkar's help can fake the security credentials needed to assume the role of Saint, but if she is challenged by the real article, the world will reject her. Sarkar was very clear about this. The real Saint must not be around to interfere with the canonization."

"Feeling very left out here." I idly comment into the darkness. I had never met Sarkar before and the greenhorn gets to meet him straight off the bat. I get that its part of the job, but its still feels annoying.

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"One final thing," Wu's voice garbles slightly from the static, "Sarkar tells me that the blessings from the Divines are getting weaker. That means world stability is declining. We don't want to be here when the bubble pops, so to speak."

Yeah, that could be a problem. This just confirmed the Management's hypothesis that the dirac sea is being drained out at an unsustainable rate. I lick my lips nervously, casting my eyes up into the sky, expecting it to fall down upon everything at a moment's notice.

"Stop being silly." I mutter to myself. Even my most pessimistic predictions put the sky falling down on us in around six months time. There's still a chance to turn things around.

But the clock keeps running.

"Earth prevails. Wu out." my unseen interlocutor concludes as the recorded message ends.

"Not wishing me good luck?" I grumble to empty air, "Not even a 'keep working hard'? That's cold Wu. Ice cold."

I needed to travel outside the city limits to receive and send transmissions to Wu. With the Coalition being so active and the possibility of Blue Ocean's presence, I did not want to risk our communications being intercepted. Earth language wouldn't be a problem for Blue Ocean operatives trying to crack the messages. It was a lot of inconvenience for me in exchange for news, some of which might be good, and the rest being unequivocally bad. I flick the knob of the com unit, setting it to search frequencies.

There's a buzz of encrypted incomprehensible nonsense from the com unit's speakers. The device then automatically jumps signals, searching for the next available communication to eavesdrop into.

" - next delivery will arrive on -"

Some chatter from the industrial district. Boring. The com unit jumps frequencies again as I continue my evening ritual of trailing the airborne bulwarks.

"Raw, Uncensored! Its Pirate FM with the latest -"

Huh, that's odd. The Coalition bulwarks are very active tonight. A whole bunch of them are heading toward the border of Rais Land. I gently press down on the gas and my car begins cruising down the deserted night streets.

"Unknown bulwarks -" the com unit blares before being cut off by a burst of static. But the unit compensates and locks on to the signal again.

"As authorized peacekeepers, we demand that you submit at once." the flat voice rings out from the com unit's speakers. My ears immediately prick up and I jab a button on the device, causing it to to stop jumping frequencies.

"Comply now." a plain straightforward demand, not brooking opposition. This isn't some kind of regular police operation. That tone tells me everything I need to know. Whomever is giving orders is clearly expecting plenty of trouble from the other side.

I immediately pull up by the side of the road and begin fiddling with the com unit, getting a measurement of the transmission's signal strength. There, its coming from somewhere deeper in the city. I bite my lips in consternation as the airborne bulwarks steadily drift further and further away from my position. Two separate locations, making investigating either a mutually exclusive proposition. But as worry clouds my mind, the signal I am tracking begins to fade, static once again blocking everything out. The com unit is still locked on, but there's something interfering with the transmission.

If I don't act now, I'll lose the signal completely. But at the cost of giving up on whatever the airborne bulwarks are going after.

Screw it, I spent the past few nights following those airborne assholes already. Might as well try something different for a change.

Throwing the car in a one eighty, I begin speeding down the road, my only guide being the signal strength indicator of the com unit. The tiny little bars ebb back and forth like a tide as my car travels blindly through the city, but eventually I get the rough direction that I need to head in. Straight into the inner city core.

Which is a bad thing. I've not had a chance to familiarize myself with that district yet. The past few days had me circling the city's outer rim since that's where the Coalition's patrol routes were taking the bulwarks. The com unit also doesn't come with a handy map, meaning I'll need to navigate by guesswork. Nothing for it though. I've made my choice, so I'll need to deal, one way or the other. The car takes me deeper into the decaying core of Rais Land. But to my horror, the signal abruptly begins to weaken again. I'm sure that this is the right direction to be driving in, so that probably means one thing.

Active jamming.

I need to move quickly, before this lead is lost for good. But whether I can do it, is all up in the hands of God. Ironic. I would pray, but toss that stray thought aside just as quickly. Praying to Yah leads to nothing good at the end of the day. And then I hear it.

The howl of jet thrusters, coupled with the clang of weapon against weapon.

The signature sounds of bulwark combat.

"I have you now." I whisper, an eager grin spreading across my face. Patience had finally been rewarded.

With little time to waste, I slam down the accelerator and speed off into the encroaching night.