Hello again. Sorry for the lack of chapter last week, but I was away with my family, so I couldn't finish it on time.

So. Last time we seen each other, we finished the Orisian Arc with the Battle of White Pass. BEO's army was destroyed by Resistance and KOW armies, while emperor died in battle and was replaced by his son, after capital of the country was taken by Resistance Drop Corps. Today, we're starting the Gernea Arc. So, we're gonna go back by few days to the time, when both groups of White Squadron moved out to make contact with the inhabitants of other continents.

So, without extending, let us begin.

Chapter 29

,,Getting local"

October 5, 2150

14:11

Sky over the Great Ocean

After moving out of Fort Terhis, White Squadron divided in two. Half of them flew to Orisia, while the other half turned towards Gernea. This group consisted of Dora, Yuko, Suvi, Aqi and Arlette. They slowly continued their flight towards the third continent, while keeping the radio silence for as long as they could, more out of habit, than because someone could detect them.

"So, what are we gonna do, once we get there?"Yuko suddenly asked.

"Simple."Dora replied."We're gonna have to find some locals and try make contact with them. Because who knows, what can we find there?"

"Pina said, that Gernea is a continent inhabited only by Humans."Arlette pointed out.

"Yeah, so I guess we shouldn't be worried?"Suvi asked.

"She did mention, that there are some non-human creatures there, thought."Aquexymeva added.

"But she said, that these creatures are no longer dangerous."Dora said.

"True."Yuko agreed.

They were flying forward for few more minutes in complete silence. But then, finally, they could see something on the horizon in front of them. A dark line, slowly becoming bigger and bigger.

"I think we found it."Yuko said.

"Yes, we did."Dora said."Okay, now, let's fly there and find a good place to touch down."

They hit the afterburners and quickly flew over the small cliffs making the shoreline. Next, they continued inland along the nearby river and after few more minutes of flight, they managed to find a good place to land in form of a glade in the middle of a forest. They turned in that direction and touched down using the VTOL mode. Next, they jumped out of their cockpits and immediately started scanning the trees in front of them.

"Clear."Yuko said, as she stopped looking through her thermal scope.

"Good."Dora said, lowering her weapon.

Everyone stood around her.

"Now what?"Aqi asked.

"I have an idea."Dora said.

She reached into her fighter's storage, just beside the cockpit and opened it. From there, she pulled out two cloaks, long and wide enough to cover entire person.

"I'm gonna go and find the nearest village and ask the people about where we are."Dora replied."Someone want to tag along?"

"Can I?"Suvi asked, with smile.

Everyone looked at her.

"Anyone, but you."Dora said.

"Why?"Suvi asked like a sad child.

"With you and your pull towards any guy and girl you see? We would be known here within minutes."Dora explained.

Suvi puffed her cheeks and looked away with angry face.

"I will, if you want."Arlette said.

"Sure. Here."Dora handed her the cloak.

They quickly put them on, taking the hoods off. Now, they were covered from feet to neck.

"You two look like some monks."Aqi said.

"That's maybe better."Dora said."Let's go, Arlie. Others, keep an eye on our stuff."

"On it."the other three replied.

With these words, Dora and Arlette left them behind, to find the nearest village.

Few minutes later…

Two cloaked figures slowly walked between the trees, making sure to hide behind any trees they could, so no people passing by would see them. But, fortunately, they met nobody, so they continued their way.

"Man, this forest is big."Arlette said.

"Yeah."Dora said."But it needs to have an end, right?"

"Oui."the French said.

And Dora was right. Not even five minutes later, they managed to exit the forest onto a dirt road. In the distance, they could see some smokes coming from behind the nearest hill. But these were not smokes from a burning village, more like smokes made by a fireplace. The two looked at each other.

"Finding a village was easy."Arlette stated.

Dora only nodded and entered the road. Next, she started walking towards the village, with Arlette following her.

"That's a good sign. But now, we need to find out, if these people are friendly or not."White Squadron second-in-command said.

"And what if they are not?"Arlette asked.

Dora looked at her and patted her thigh.

"We have guns."she pointed out.

"True."

So, they walked towards the smokes. On their way, they were passed by a man driving a wooden carriage attached to a horse. He waved to them and the two nodded back. The man soon disappeared from their eyes.

"I think this replies to the question of friendliness."Arlette said.
"Not fully."Dora stated.

They climbed on top of the hill, from which they could see the place, from which the smokes were coming. It actually was a village, pretty cozy one too. It resembled Medieval English villages from Earth. On the nearby hill, stood a castle in unusual, because triangular, shape, made out of reddish stone. A river was flowing near the village, with bridge over it.

"Looks pretty nice."Arlette stated.

"I have to agree."Dora said."Let's go, we need to find a local tavern."

Arlette looked at her with asking look.

"Why the tavern?"she asked.

"One thing I know about Medieval times, is that tavern is the best source of information."Dora explained and started walking.

Soon, the two reached the village and entered it. Once they entered the village, they saw a number of people talking in the streets, while children were running around, playing with each other. Next to the bridge, they saw a tannery. Or, more precisely, smelled it, as the smell coming from the building was really strong.

"Ugh…"Arlette said, as her stomach started turning.

"This is nothing strange in this place."Dora said."Come on. We might ask the tanner about the tavern."

Arlette just nodded and followed Dora. They entered the tannery and looked around. They saw a lot of skins, tools and other such things. Their eyes then landed on the tanner, which was working on another skin. Dora came up to him.

"Excuse me."she said, putting the nice and kind face."Can we ask you something?"

Tanner stopped working and looked at her with smile.

"What do you need, young lady?"he asked.

"We're new here. Is there any tavern in this village worth visiting?"White Squadron second-in-command asked.

Tanner thought for a second and nodded.

"Yes, there is."he said."It's called The Heaped Platter. Go down the main street and you will notice it immediately. It's the two-floor building."

"Thank you."Dora said and turned around.

She came up to the door and left, followed by Arlette. They walked down the main street, until they stood in front of said tavern. It had a sign with it's name written on and was only building bigger than one floor. The two looked at each other.

"Let's go in."Dora said.
"Sure."Arlette replied.

The two opened the door and were immediately hit by the smell of various liquors, as well as sound of talking, singing and other tavern things, with waitresses walking around. The two quickly made their way towards the empty table and sat down, taking off their hoods.

"You really think we will learn something here?"Arlette asked.

"Sooner or later…"Dora said.

"Hello."a cheerful voice said.

The two looked to their side to see a woman in the middle of her forties, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Dora also noticed a ladle hanging from her belt. She had a bright smile on her face and pretty friendly attitude.
"My name's Jenny, I'm owner of this tavern and your waitress for today."the woman said.

"I'm Dora and this is Arlette."Dora introduced them.

"Nice to meet you."Jenny said."I never seen you here before, by the way."

"We're just passing by."Arlette said."Say…Why owner of a tavern is working as a waitress?"

Jenny looked at the other waitresses.

"One of the girls got sick and could not come. This is why for a time, I decided to replace her."she explained.

Dora nodded.

"And say…What is this village called?"she asked.
"Wensley. A village in the shadow of Castle Redmont, home of baron Arald of Redmont Fief."Jenny explained.

"Thank you."Dora said."And do you have a beer to drink?"

"And some wine?"Arlette added.

Jenny nodded.

"Of course."

"Then beer for me and wine for Arlie, for now."Dora said.

"On the way!"Jenny said and left.

Dora watched the woman disappear in the back of the tavern.

"Well, at least we did get some info."she said."So it seems, that we are in this Redmont Fief, which is ruled by baron Arald."

"Would be nice, if we could meet and talk to him."Arlette stated.

"Yeah. But I don't think it's gonna be that easy."

Jenny soon came with the drinks for the two. Dora got a mug of beer and Arlette got glass of wine.

"Thank you very much."Arlette said.

"No pro…"

Before Jenny could finish, the door to the tavern swung open. Everyone looked in that direction and saw a group of five men. They were all dressed in black. The man in the front had a thick beard and emanated with arrogance. He entered the tavern, followed by the others, like if it was his house and made it's way to one of the tables. A dread silence hung in the air.

"Who is that?"Dora asked.

"Calvin and his bandits."Jenny replied."They've been terrorizing the area for some time now, since local Ranger left."

Dora and Arlette risen their eyebrows. Meanwhile, Calvin and his bandits started making noise.
"Will you finally serve me here? We came to eat and drink!"the bearded man, probably Calvin, said.

One of the waitresses fearfully came up to the table, at which the group was sitting.

"Y-Yes…?"she squeaked.

"Give us some ale and meet!"Calvin ordered."Now!"

"O-Of course…"the girl said and waked away.

Meanwhile, one of Calvin's men grabbed another waitress and forced her to sit on his lap. Although the girl tried to resist, the man was holding her tightly and started touching in inappropriate places, with the girl whimpering.

Finally, second waitress brought them their drinks and food, placing the plates and mugs in front of the men. They quickly grabbed them and started eating, drinking, shouting and tried to sing. Everyone else in the tavern tried to keep as far away from them as they could, while the unfortunate waitress was being tormented by one of the bandits.

"Could you guys shut the hell up?"a sudden voice said.

Tavern once again was filled with dead silence, as everyone looked in the direction the voice came from. More precisely, the table, where two girls wearing long cloaks were drinking beer and wine. Fear appeared in everyone's eyes, even Jenny's.

"Better stay quiet…"Jenny tried to tell them.

"And allow them to disturb our time here?"Arlette said."No, thank you."

Hearing this, Calvin himself stood up and walked towards the table, where the two were sitting. He slammed his fists on it.

"You tell me to shut up?"he asked with anger."Who do you think you are?! Do you have an idea who am I?!"

"Probably simple bandit robbing elder ladies in the forest."Dora said casually.

Calvin took a deep breath. Oh, they were going to regret it.

"If you are so hard, why don't you try yourself with me?"the bandit leader asked with wry smile.

He saw Dora rising her eyebrow. He was sure, that she will not accept the challenge and simply try to ask him for forgiveness. And only forgiveness she would get, was by going with him to bed.

But Dora had other plans.
"Challenge accepted."she said, startling Calvin.

Before the man could reply, entire content of her mag was splashed on Calvin's face, entering his eyes and startling him. Next, Dora simply smashed mug on his face and kicked him in the gut, sending him flying on the floor.

People in the tavern were shocked by what they just saw. Leader of a group terrorizing the local populace for some time now, was simply put down with no problem, by a girl which just came here. Seeing this, some people started cheering, while others still stayed silent. But Calvin's men were not the cheering or silent ones.

The four quickly stood up, letting the waitress go, and started making their way towards the table. As they were coming closer, Arlette quickly finished her wine and threw the glass at the bandits, hitting one in the face, shattering the glass. Next, they quickly took off their cloaks and threw them at the other two, covering their eyes and making them tangle up in them. Next, the two kicked them in the gut, pushing them towards the wall.

The bandit hit with wine glass shook himself and stood up, preparing to attack, together with the other remaining bandit. They charged at the two and tried to hit them, but Resistance soldiers were better prepared for that than them. With one swift move, Dora grabbed one of the bandits by his shirt and simply slammed him into the table, breaking it. Arlette dealt with the second one by making a spin kick and hitting him right in the face.

Everyone looked at that with shock and disbelief. Five grown men were beaten up by two teenage girls. All of that happening in less than two minutes.

Dora turned to Jenny.

"Well, they will not torment you all anymore."she said."Sorry for the destroyed table."

"No problem, it's just a table…But…"Jenny said, looking at them.

The two looked at each other and their uniforms.

"Yeah…I think we have things to explain."Arlette said.

"You do."a new voice stated.

Everyone started looking around, searching for the voice's source. Finally, their eyes landed on a hooded figure sitting in the corner of the tavern. It was a tall man, wearing green cloak.

"How long did you sit there?"Jenny asked.

"I came just after Calvin's bandits."the man said, standing up.

He came up to Dora, Arlette and Jenny, taking off his hood. Now, Resistance soldiers could see his face. Judging by the looks of it, the man was somewhere in the middle of his 50s. He came up to Jenny and kissed her.

"Sorry that I came just today, but I had some work with the King."the man said.

"Don't worry. As you saw, those two dealt with them easily."Jenny said, pointing at Dora and Arlette.

"Good job with those five."the man said to the two."Who are you by the way? And what's with those strange clothes?"

The two quickly saluted.

"Captain Dora Hiedel, Resistance Navy."Dora said.

"Corporal Arlette Blancharde, Resistance Navy."Arlette said.

The man risen his eyebrow.

"Resistance?"he asked.

"Yeah. But you might know us as Other Worlders."Dora said with grin.

All guests of the tavern immediately gasped, hearing this. Even Jenny and the man were surprised. Yes, they heard travelers and merchants from Falmart taking about the new power which challenged Sadera, which came from beyond the Gate. But all of them were described as demons with powers equal to gods. And yet here stood two Humans, which said were Other Worlders.

"What do you want here, then?"the man asked, reaching under the cloak.

Dora slightly tilted her head and noticed the hilt of a sword.

"Lay down your sword, we're not here to look for fight."she said, lifting hands in defensive gesture."Our mission is to make peaceful contact with local populace and if possible, with member of authorities."

"So you just want to talk?"Jenny asked.

"Yes."Arlette said."But if someone attacks us, we have rights to self-defend."

The man eyes the two for few more seconds, before moving his hand away from the sword. He nodded.

"If you're saying the truth, and I don't see why would you lie, I will allow you to meet with local ruler."he said."By the way, the name's Gilan, Rangers Corps Commandant. But friends call me Gil."

"Nice to meet you, Gilan."Arlette said.

"But before we do, could we bring our friends?"Dora asked."There are five of us in total."

"Alright. Meanwhile, I will take these guys"Gilan pointed at the five bandits"to the castle. Maybe few days in dungeons will get to their heads?"

"Maybe."Dora said.

Arlette came up to the two bandits tangled in the cloaks and took them, handing one to Dora. They put them on and walked out. Meanwhile, Gilan tied the hands of the bandits together and made them follow him and his horse Blaze. Once at the castle, he handed them to the guards and went to find baron Arald to talk about the situation with him.

Later…

Castle Redmont

Gilan stood in front of the castle's gate, waiting for Dora, Arlette and their friends to come. He still did not know, what to think about all of that. These two really seemed to be people you don't want to mess with. After all, they easily beaten down five bandits like if it was not a big deal. Their friends must probably be the same.

"Were they really supposed to come here?"the man accompanying Gilan asked.

"They did, Sir Rodney."Gilan replied."But I start to wonder abut it myself."

"And what if they are some agents from other country?"Sir Rodney continued to say his worries.

"I can just take them out, right?"

Sir Rodney looked at the commander of Ranger Corps. As all Rangers, Gilan was skilled with the bow and could easily fire several arrows in just few seconds. Rodney himself saw it a few times.

"Wait, you hear that?"Gilan suddenly asked.

"Hear what?"Sir Rodeny replied with question.

But Gilan just listened to the rumbling sound. The sound was still far, but it was faintly audible. But what could make such a sound? Not known creature was able to make such sound. But the only thin Gilan and Sir Rodney could do, was listen to this sound, as it grew louder and louder approaching them.

Suddenly, five large shadows flew over them, accompanied by the same loud rumbling sound. When the two looked up, their eyes widened, seeing four large, clearly metal objects colored in clue, accompanied by fifth painted in black and red, fly through the sky at large speed. The objects made a few circles over the are, until they turned towards the castle. They started hovering and slowly descending, until they touched the ground.

The frontal parts then opened, allowing five figures to get out of them. As Gilan noticed, they were all dressed just like Dora and Arlette were. They all came up to the two, with Dora in front.

"Sorry for that little show, but I just couldn't stop myself."Dora said.

Gilan nodded, still a bit too surprised to talk. But then, his and Sir Rodney's eyes fell upon a demonic creature colored in black and red, just like one of the flying objects. Sir Rodney immediately grabbed his sword, with Gilan doing the same.

"Why do people always react to me like that?"Aqi asked.

"Maybe because you actually look like a demon from hell?"Yuko said.

"Hah! They did not see me without the armor."the Tertan stated.

Dora grabbed the two's swords and lowered them.

"Calm down, calm down."she said."She's not a demon. Where we come from, there are hundreds of intelligent species. Humans are not the only ones. Besides, she's my teammate. And I won't allow anything to happen to my teammates."

As she said that, she made a face which could easily kill anyone who looked at her. Rodney and Gilan sheathed their blades.

"Thank you."she said.

"Who are your other friends, by the way?"Gilan asked.

The three in question saluted.

"Second class ensign Yuko Hagamoki."Yuko said.

"Second lieutenant Suvi Felinainen."Suvi said."Are you free by any chance?"

"Free?"Gilan asked.

"Suvi, he's got someone."Arlette said.

"Never bothered me before."Suvi stated with smile.

Gilan risen his eyebrow, just like Rodney.

"She's always like that, just ignore her."Dora said.

"Okay."the Ranger said.

"Captain Aquexymeva Nequxorop."Aqi said."But friends call me Aqi."

Gilan and Rodney nodded their heads.

"Gilan, commander of Ranger Corps and Sir Rodney, battlemaster of Redmont."Gilan introduced them to the three.

They all shook their hands, even with Aqi.

"So, follow us to baron Arald's office."Gilan said.

The group then went through the gate and entered the castle's courtyard. Immediately, people looked in their direction, seeing four young women in strange clothes, accompanied by a tall creature dressed in black-red armor. They started thinking, that this creature will simply jump on them for no reason, but nothing like that happened and they just watched as the group made their way to the main keep.

They entered inside and started climbing up the stairs to the floor, where baron had his office, again accompanied by the looks from the servants. But none of them said anything.

"Well."Gilan said, as they stood in front of the door."I will ask baron if he can talk with you. You will wait here with Sir Rodney."

"Sure."Dora said.

Gilan opened the door and entered inside. The rest simply stood outside, waiting. For few minutes, they just stood there, not saying a word. But after that time, the door opened and Gilan came out of the room.

"Baron is waiting."Gilan said, opening the door for them.

The five entered into the office and their eyes immediately fell on the wooden desk, behind which they saw visibly chubby man with mustache on his face, with hands on his belly. The group stood in front of them and saluted.

"Sir."they said.

"No need to be so official."the man said."Sit down, please."

Their eyes landed on five chairs brought here especially for them. They sit down.

"My name is Arald, baron of Redmont."the man said.

"Pleased to meet you, sir."Dora said.

Baron adjusted himself on his chair and cleared his throat.
"What brings you, the famous Other Worlders, to our country?"Arald asked.

"This is a longer story."Arlette said.

Dora quickly explained the situation and why they were sent to other continents. Arald, Gilan and Sir Rodney nodded.

"So in short, you want to seek alliance with other countries in the world?"Arald asked.

"Yes."Aqi said."But the goal is simply to open diplomatic relations with them, not so they would help in our war with the Empire."

"Unusual, I must say."Sir Rodney stated.

"This is how politics work in our world."Dora said."Or at least worked, before the whole mess with Holy Order."

Hearing this name, Arald, Gilan and Rodney risen their eyebrows.

"Holy Order?"Gilan asked."What is it?"

"Once more, be ready for a long story."Dora said.

She quickly explained the origin, goals and everything else about the Holy Order, additionally explaining the idea of space travel and off-world colonization. With each word, the three's eyes widened even more.

"…and here we are today."Yuko ended.

Arald, Rodney and Gilan just sat there, thinking about what they just heard. All of it was just…too unbelievable. On the other hand, they were talking to people from completely different world, so it should be expected, that something would be different.

"So you're saying, that you're able to easily travel between planets and stars, and you fight the two decades-long war against someone, who simply wants to be complete and unopposed ruler of everything?"Arald asked.

"In short, yes."Dora replied.

"I must admit, this Holy Order sounds like a terrifying enemy."Gilan said."And you say, that before, they used to be simply splinter group of Humanity?"

"Exactly."Suvi said.

The three looked at each other.

"Then it's good, that it's you not them, that crossed the Gate."Sir Rodney said.

"Can't argue with that statement."Dora said.

"So, what do you want now?"Arald asked.

White Squadron members looked at each other.

"Simple. We would like to talk with this country's king or queen, so we could talk about the start of diplomatic relations between us and Araluen."Aqi explained.

Gilan and Arald thought about it and finally nodded.

"This can be arranged."Gilan said.

"Exactly. Just let me write the appropriate paper and it will be done."baron said.

"Until the answer from the king will come, you can stay in the castle."Sir Rodney said.

The five stood up and saluted.

"Thank you."Dora said.

Arald nodded and pulled out a piece of parchment and tarted writing on it. Next, he placed his seal on it. When he was done, he handed it to Gilan.

"Would you deliver this to the king?"baron asked.
"Of course."Gilan replied.

He grabbed the piece of paper and left the office.

"How long will it take him."Yuko asked.

"He should be done withing day or two."Arald said."Rangers' horses are good at long distances and are really durable."

White Squadron members nodded.

"Now then."baron said, standing up."Shall we show you your rooms?"

"With pleasure."Dora said.

With these words, everyone left the office. Meanwhile, Gilan jumped on his horse and was already on the way to the capital.

XXX

And this concludes the first chapter of Gernea Arc. Resistance made the first contact with locals, but now, they will be meeting the king of the country. And people familiar with Ranger's Apprentice probably already know, who the king is. But this in another chapter.

For now, goodbye!