Author's Notes:
I've done up some of the notes explaining the logic behind the Air Force in Chapter: Dramatis Persona. If you're interested feel free to have a look to quench your curiousity. Logic in fiction has always been a fascination to me, like how Chris Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy adds some logic to Batmans fictional gear and gadgets.
Five Minutes Ago-
…
(Car horn blaring) "Move it you goddamn rookies!" The Armored Column had spent nearly twenty minutes on the narrow trail in the mountains on their way to King's Bridge. And just when things couldn't get worse, the 2nd Battalions' Lead 8x8 ICV gets its engine busted for reasons unknown.
The was a nonsensical rivalry going on between the 1st and 2nd Battalion Hussars. Mostly it had to do with their heritage, one was Kyrati and the other was Canton, members of the families that came in an exodus with Pagan to Kyrat two decades earlier. Even though none of them were alive to be offended by the other it was a matter of pride in their backgrounds that distinguished them.
Despite his rank as second-in-command, Bipin had struggled to get them to carry out even the simplest of tasks. It was clear that his appointment meant nothing to them in general, but they complied only to the very basic of orders so as not to get Court Martialled for insubordination.
"Come over and fix it then! Sei Pok Gaai…." The mechanic shouted back at the driver of the 1st Battalion Command Vehicle that was commanded by Anish.
Anish sat back relaxing as he watched them send shouts and insults at one another with distaste. He was more than familiar with these conversations. Bipin leaned against the Commander's cupola on his fire support vehicle where he was at.
"Anxious?" Anish asked, looking at Bipin passing looks at his watch every ten seconds.
"…. We have the time to quarrel while Golden Path are overrunning our fortress."
"You think they did it intentionally?" He jerked his head towards the lead vehicle.
"What. To delay so that Ajay would get surrounded and they'd come in like heroes?" Whispered Bipin.
"Or simple too late." Anish stared at him waiting for his response. But Bipin didn't seem willing to accept, Anish sighed and threw on his vehicle helmet. "Start up old Aahlaad, Japa." He told the driver to turn on the engine to his namesake vehicle.
"I have a simple solution to our problems."
"What is it?"
"You willing to foot the bill?"
"What bill?"
"Ishat! Load Sabot!" He told his gunner, to which the gunner pressed load sequence to the automated loader to place said round into the gun breach.
"What's my target?"
"The lead vehicle."
"He!" The gunner chuckled with a grin.
Seeing what Anish was about to do, Bipin called out to the lead vehicle crew men.
"Lead Vehicle! Bail out immediately!" At first, they had no idea what he meant, but seeing the gun of Anish's vehicle line up on theirs they ran in panic away.
"Fire!" (BOOM) The sabot round cut through the thin AFV armour and detonated some of the ammunition inside of its remote weapons station, turning the once mighty vehicle into a flaming wreck.
"You Bastard!"
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Our Commander will hear of this!" The crewmen shouted at him but he ignored.
"Right, Japa. On ahead, full speed!"
"Aye, sir!" Japa put the pedal to the metal and shook the Ratel IFV named Aahlaad forwards into a charge. The crewmen of the late Patria jumped out of the way as his vehicle rammed it and pushed it down into the steep slopes. Beyond that, Anish remained unphased with what he'd done as he led the armoured convoy down the path. The vehicles behind follow almost immediately when the road was clear. Their path was clear again for them to proceed with aiding Lanka.
But the time they reached, it was already too late.
Since the beginning of the appearance of fast-movers over Pacchim Valley, there was a non-stop flight of Jets and turbopropeller planes flying to and from Sagarmatha Air Base. Their targets were the known Golden Path bases in Tirtha, off Sleeping Saints Training Camp, Vyatha and of course Banapur. Which was to be levelled as planned. These strikes were coordinated between on-site hunters' laser-designating the targets out in the field for fighter jet carrying JDAMs, napalm, fuel-air bombs and submunitions. There were occasional tremors throughout Pacchim Valley that made some oblivious folks run to the central civil office to report an earthquake only to see unfamiliar silhouettes of fast moving aircraft fly over.
On Kamran's return flight from the Royal Fortress, he had brought over Arjun, Maya, Colonel Raja, Brigadier Kul and Saras. Virtually all the members of the Commanding forces to personally see the end damages of the night raid on Lanka.
When they arrived overhead, looking down through the viewing ports was smoke billowing from every corner of Lanka, Bastions One to Four were all in similarly bad shape. The worse was Bastion Three, which had been reported to have been bombarded by and aerial attack from that AC-130U Spooky. Helicopter units were dispatched to look for survivors of the crash to interrogate.
They landed on the helipad in Bastion Three due to the flares that were popped there by the Hussars that arrived.
Alighting from the helicopter, the strench permeated the air so strong and thick that some of them couldn't help but vomit on the stop.
"The hell happened here…?" Were the mutual words that came out of Raja's mouth.
There were bloodstains and scorch marks all over the place, including shapes of where bodies had been but had disappeared, perhaps discarded or collected for cremation.
"Over there." General Kul pointed to the gathering of civilians and armor soldiers who had dismounted their vehicles. All staring at something over the other side of their human wall.
As they approached, the people at the back saw who they were and parted to make way for them.
What they saw was, Ajay. Moving to and from dragging bodies or some parts of it towards a ditch. He didn't throw them in, but carefully rested them in organised rows and columns. Before he went for another body, he pulled out their metal nametags to confirm their status with the office.
No one helped, not even the Hussar Battalion soldiers. They just watched with blank stares as he did all the work despite his visible bloodstains and injuries. He never mouthed a word of complaint nor a show of discomfort at what he was doing. He simply did it.
They noticed that all of the dead bodies were at a certain age group, then it hit them of who they were.
"PDF?"
"Yes, sir. All of them, including my men." A voice from the crowd answered. They turned to look, what they found was a bandaged soldier held up by a young girl who wore the patch of a golden bird.
"Captain Phanish….. 12th Infantry Company of the Garrison at Lanka." He struggled to salute with his bounded hand.
"At ease soldier, I'll forgive you even if you didn't salute. Can you tell me what happened here?" Arjun asked, Phanish nodded.
Phanish told him of the entire account from when the Golden Path and the Yinke Commando Group assailed the walls and assumed control of Bastion Four, then they attacked the other Bastions with the Central Keep as their main objective. It was thanks to the vigilance of the men and the contingency routine they followed through that they had delayed the Golden Path and YLA for so long and hindered their efforts. With a jammer in place, all radio communications were cut off. Commandant Gurung and Captain Kul went to fight their way through the Golden Path to get to the emergency landline. No one made it back.
General Kul collapsed to his knees weeping. He'd feared the worst and now it had come true, Arjun sympathised with his colleague and could not give any condolence besides his apology they were too late.
Phanish continued with how Badala appeared and rallied the forces with an understanding of who they were dealing with. He also destroyed the jammer allowing shortwave radio communication with the forces still available. He battled with Vasu and Jason Brody singlehandedly and used the former to negotiate for a temporary ceasefire to gain proper footing at Bastion three with their remaining forces. Jason Brody was incarcerated in Bastion threes prison but had escaped some time during the fighting.
He described the slaughter the gunship dealt out on them, how Badala had fooled it once into firing upon the Golden Path briefly. Phanish's use of the stingers had deterred it temporarily. Then at some point he returned extremely battered in a fight with someone or a group, they didn't know. A young militia named Biraj led the forces in Phanish's steed valiantly but at heavy casualties due to being outnumbered by Golden Path and Yinke soldiers' efforts.
Badala fought through the horde like a beast despite his condition. When the gunship came back, it fired upon everyone outside leaving no one alive save for Badala. Phanish was safely delivered from the fight by Nehal the leader of a PDF Company because he was in need of medical attention so they both survived like the civilians.
Phanish finished his account and gazed at Ajay still gathering bodies.
"Why is he the only one-?" Arjun asked and Phanish immediately answered knowing he would ask.
"Because he asked no one to touch them." The group now understood all that had happened and approached him.
"How long has this been going for?" Saras came over and asked anxiously, as what was on her mind was the still untreated injuries, the worst she'd ever seen on him save for the horn of Karkadann.
"About… over an hour."
Arjun grit his teeth at the sight of the bodies Ajay dragged, some weren't even complete. He'd go looking for every part before moving on to the next. To think that Ajay had gone through every body with the same amount of care, he didn't know whether to admire him or pity the boy. He realized why everyone here didn't leave. If they weren't allowed to help, they would at least stay through the entire process to show their respect. For the Royal Army, it was saluting the PDF for their bravery despite their position. And for the civilians, it was a sign of gratitude for having a tomorrow thanks to them.
They decided to do the same as they stood watching him, but Maya passed by them and entered the area, she helped pick up the other end of the body Ajay was carrying. The rest were shocked at what she decided to do instead of the rest, and more so with what she did after Ajay caught her hand and shouted.
"Don't touch them!" What she did then, surprised them all. As a fist struck him on the left cheek, Ajay fell to the ground. If that wasn't enough, she pounded him whilst on the floor.
"Maya!" Saras called out in shock. But Bipin got in the way and shook his head.
Maya continued to pummel him on the face that was already bleeding from the cuts.
"You damn arrogant fool! Why can't we give them a proper burial together?! Why is it only you! Is it because you're the only one feeling guilty?! That their lives only matter to you?! You bloody IDIOT!"
Maya pummelled him to a stop as she grasped him by the collar yelling as such. Ajay just looked at her in the eyes.
And like a dam that had let water through, tears rushed from his face so twisted with grief. It made the crowd feel as if a knife had stabbed them in the heart.
"Why…. Why wasn't it me again….why again…. Only me…." Maya soften her approach and brought him to her chest and embraced his head. Her face too had tears falling from it.
"Then why can't just be thank you? Thank you all for keeping my friend here safe and sound." She said in a gentle tone.
"uh-…..aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHH-!"
Ajay wrapped his hands around her waist but his face still buried in her bosom. He released a muffled by pained cry of a beast resounding within the Bastion, one that none of the people in the crowd had ever heard before. Arjun and the rest of the soldiers sighed at the sight. Truly, it was too much to handle even for someone as stoic as him. A few civilians sniffled at the scene, some mourned.
Saras released a wry but sadden smile, once again Maya had beaten her to it.
It was a sight to behold, a tragic one that melted their hearts upon the sight of the demon crying. The very same demon that had taunted his powerful enemies with dread and laughed at odds more terrible than slaughter itself. Grief was a very human emotion that they simply could not see a monster wear. Especially when he grieved not the lost of kinsman, but the young and brave he tried with everything to save yet was saved himself by them.
The Demon wept the passing of its friend and companion, the Jatayu.
The mountain tops were the most inhospitable place they'd ever been in. It was like there was a blizzard forever rolling in. They were forced to seek shelter in one of the many caves dotted around these mountains. Curiously, the caves had an unsual warmth to them which was a relief, perhaps it was due to isolation of heat energy or the presence of a geothermal deposit further in. The men took this moment to rest easy from the running that was involved. They had managed to lose those dangerous Hunter specialists and outrun those aircraft thanks to the harsh weather up top.
Recollecting the events that took place. The regiment, now only comprising of five hundred souls had covered the escape of fourteen thousand of their senior brethren towards their home through the passageway valley East to Yinke. They on the other hand had bombed that secret route to prevent the Royal Kyrati from advancing into Yinke, they led the Royal Army away as they took the more dangerous route back to Yinke. However, it was one that they were not so familiar with and with the lack of GPS coverage they were forced to rely on maps and compasses although they'd been going in circles a number of times.
-An Electro-magnetic interference?- He theorized.
They had successfully escaped the clutches of the Royal Army. But they thoroughly regretted what they had done, every bit of it. Through their witless action, they had placed their homeland in greater jeopardy than what was best for the country by finding the founding father and assisting him in this rebellion gone on too long. Instead, their presence forced the Kyrati Kingdom to unleash their hidden military might in the form of a modern air force. Namdak was forced to leave behind the tank battalion that had become sitting ducks to the close air support loitering about.
Even then, all manners of aircraft and even attack helicopters pursued and killed them to the last man. He recalled as they returned to Banapur to find the charcoalled corpses of the inhabitants left of the blackened buildings.
"Everything that Badala said had come true…." He murmured.
And now, that demon would likely heard over to the homeland to exact vengeance upon their people. They had to return as quickly as possible to report their findings on the Royal Kyrati Army, Air Force and the Demon himself. Namdak had received the account from his adjutant of how he witnessed the Deva Vasu shrew his way effortlessly through the horde of Royal Army soldiers by the hundred. And he himself watched as Vasu was grasped unconscious by Badala over the wall as he negotiated with Mohan, not that they gained anything. He freely gave back Vasu Sen as if he meant nothing. That was how terrifying that person was.
Even now, his words last left for the Yinke soldiers, thanking them for their actions that spun forth the end of Yinke resounded in all of them.
"This can't be happening.."
"Damnit! Was the founder a jinx-." Namdak grabbed the soldier that mentioned that by the collar.
"You are not permitted to speak ill of the founder. Your insult stems not just to him but to the state of ideals our country run in harmony thanks to."
"Fo-Forgive my transgression!" The trooper apologized.
"It's alright, I know you've been through a lot. As have the rest of you!" He assured them he cared.
"Then get us out of this frigid place, Commander." They laughed.
"I will, you don't have to worry about that. And we'll return to help out comrades in the coming fight. In Kyrat, they might have the advantage but they will be going to our Yinke. Our Home ground! And we'll help remind them that once we return." Namdak had successfully rousted the mens' morale and smile at their cheering.
Just then, a scout he sent earlier to investigate the deeper parts of the cavern came back.
"What did you find?"
"It seems your assumption was correct, sir. There was a geothermal deposit." Namdak chuckled as he noticed the scouts carrying buckets of hot water.
"How nice of you."
"It was the least we could do to cheer up the rest." The scout leader said.
"Alright, Thapa. You and your men performed quite bravely back at the passageway, you'll get to bathe first."
The Company commander scratched his head as the men did press him to go ahead.
"… Alright. But no peeking." They laughed again.
"No one wants to see your plumpless ass, Captain!" The laughing echoed louder.
"Sir, here's yours." The scout handed him a pail as well.
"Oh, thank you. Then I'll help myself."
He and the first batch undid their clothing without issues, the cave was well insulated against the icy cold much to their relief. They could even spend the night here if need be.
Namdak poured the hot water over his head, a warm sensation filled his freezing extermities and felt a little dizzy spell strike him due to the comfort.
"Hmm?"
(Sniff) (Sniff) Although, the waters had a strange pungence to it. Not sulfur like a hotspring but something else. He took a cup of water with his hands from the pail that was given to him and looked at the water carefully, but nothing seemed wrong with it as it looked clear as spring water. As he did, some of it spilt onto the icy floor and caused a rapid cooling of the water against ice and formed a mist.
But this mist was orange in colour.
"This hotspring must have a lot of impurities." He figured. The men seem to have the same idea as they were hardly going to complain against a hot shower in a blizzard.
Then as they were indulging in comforts not afforded to them even within the army. The most strange thing occurred as its echo resounded from outside of the cave in the wilderness followed by a strange hollow voice.
"ROOAAAAAAARRRRR!"
AWAKEN….
AND WALK BESIDE US
In the end, everyone else helped in bringing the bodies to the pit where they would cremate them and build a burial mound in the centre of the compound of Bastion Three. When the bodies were gathered and wrapped and balmed with special oils, Ajay threw the torch that set the pit ablazed. The civilians left to access the damage on their properties and file for claim and relief with the Governing office that was managed temporarily by Arjun till the appropriate personnel arrived. The soldiers cleared the streets of the bodies belonging to the Golden Path and Yinke Commando force, albeit not as gently as the bodies of their own comrades. They stacked them on trucks to be dumped in a mass grave that they would burn later. The weapons and unspent munitions were gathered and pictures were taken as evidence to what had gone down in Lanka and for the atrocities the Golden Path and YLA had commited. Arjun ordered the Military Police on site to investigate and gather proof to accuse the rightful parties of this massacre.
The only one not in a stable mood was General Kul with the loss of his son, he screamed out Vasu's name upon hearing the conclusion the investigators assessed from the deep stab wounds that crushed his organs and ribs from a powerful blow from a blade. How they knew it was him, was due to the knife left impaled in his body bearing the initials of Vasu on the hilt of the kukri given to him in decoration during his Royal Guard days. Arjun sighed, there was nothing he could do save remove Brigadier Kul from duty temporarily to have him calm down. Maya coordinated with the Mukti Tigers who came to provide relief aid for the civilians displaced by the devestation in Lanka.
Ajay sat by the burning pyre of bodies contemplating his thoughts and questioning whether he should be merciful or even more demonic.
"Which ones the right answer?"
"Whichever one you decide, I'll be there for you." Said Saras sitting next to him, she may not have been there to break his bottled-up emotions but she would at least be around to give her support. Maya and Saras promised to keep Biraj's passing away from Bhadra for the time being. She may find him annoying, but he was still a friend and a part of her journey in life. To hear that he died in the most painful way could cause the sensitive Bhadra to have clouded thoughts for a long time. Biraj's painting scroll was slung on Ajay's harness next to Kamala's urn. At this rate, he would collect memorundums off anyone that he knew well enough. It made him think of whether he should find a suitable spot to bury her ashes, perhaps when the everything was over. It was weird to say it but having her close in spirit gave him comfort, like the ashes he would one day give the scroll to Bhadra.
"So what happens now?" Saras asked.
What happens now? The Golden Path look up in horror to see bombs dropping upon them and their homes. Where would they go? Ajay knew where.
"Provided Pagan approves, which he will. Your father will organise a task force to bring Yinke to heel." He didn't say it lightly either, yet she found it almost unbelievable. That Kyrat was actually going to invade their neighbour, force them into submission and demand reparations for the atrocities and the failure to declare war in advance. Yinke had just asked for a war that it would regret, what was the other neighbouring states' view on this she wondered. The pride of the Kyrati Kingdom and its subjects weren't for anyone to step on however.
"Golden Path will seek refuge there. But for the first time, Kyrat is free of Civil War and yet… none of the fighting has stopped."
Saras realised it as well, with the departure of Golden Path seeking sanctuary in Yinke that would mean that Pacchim Valley was entirely theirs again. And yet, no one was in a festive mood.
"And you're going?"
"I am." Was his response, but Saras's was to take his lips and kiss him strongly. Only returning them when she wanted to say something.
"This isn't a rebellion any longer, its an actual war with another country on their homeground, Ajay. In this kind of war, anything can happen."
"Mmm, it can. But if I don't go, the expeditionary troops will be left vulnerable to attack from Mohan and the Devas. I can't leave them be knowing what they're capable of."
"…."
She understood, Saras was one of the few that knew about the unnatural power that the Devas wielded. It wasn't hard for her to understand when she was one of the only people to have been up close and personal with Yetis
She embraced Ajay as they gazed at the pyre like sitting by the fire which they had never done before.
"Say Ajay, what am I to you?" She got up the feeling to ask as there had been tremendous changes in their relation to one another without them saying anything to enforce it.
"I was wondering when you'd say that." Ajay chuckled warmly.
"So, what is it?"
"At one point, I was gonna say friends with benefit- ow!" She pinched him out of that insensitive remark.
"I said one point! Jeez…. And I was joking."
"So, what is it now then?" She said pouting.
Ajay looked back at the fires for a while thinking. She didn't stop him from doing so.
"Thinking back from when we first met. Back then, I saw everyone as a tool. But then Kamala's appearance changed that… Giving me a time to think that everyone was only human and that they were worth saving from this civil war. Coming back home, you were kinda annoying to begin with."
"Hmph!"
"Sorry, but I'm being honest here."
"Continue." She sighed as she hoped her mood would improve with the latter half of the story.
"I have no idea why a even let you go on that trip with me to that mountain. I guess some part of me wanted to confirm that everything I knew wasn't just a hallucination on my end. But now I realize what I did was a bloody stupid mistake!"
Ajay looked towards her.
"I put you at risk to something just for my own convenience, for that I can't tell you how sorry I am for doing that to you."
"Its ok-."
"No, it's not. When I woke up in that cave, when you weren't there, something in me died again. I don't-….. know why but you not being there was incredibly lonely again. And for me loneliness is hell." Saras placed her hand upon his to hold as he elaborated on his thoughts and feelings.
"When Kamala died, it was equally painful. The only person I cared about, the only person that made me give a damn about this place again was her, and they took her way from me. I wanted them all to die, but most of all. I wanted so much to bite the bullet as well."
She was there after all.
"Then you did something I never expected you'd do. You actually accepted this reality, somehow I felt happy I wasn't the only one in this world. But I was equally afraid, that this world would take you away like it almost did in the mountains." Ajay squeezed her hand tightly as if afraid she'd suddenly spirit away.
"You left to settle things with New Delhi, there at least you wouldn't be in danger of the monsters that lurked here for a time at least. Although, you brought back a pretty nasty parasite." Saras broke into a giggle.
"Way to spoil the mood!" She shared a laugh with him at least.
"And after your return was where I got the idea we were just having a physical relationship, for the sake of having one. Was I simply indulging your selfishness? I don't know." He said honestly, but she wasn't mad at him for his truth feelings. Although, it wasn't the end of it yet.
"After what happened last night, it made me rethink about how I've been treating myself. You see….. I've always held thoughts that I was inadequate to be a part of all this. This was a Kyrat based on what Kamala wished for, I hadn't any aspirations for this small and secluded place."
A worried look appeared on Saras's face. What he said reminded her of Noore's words on his ideals. That he never saw himself as a part of their being here. A part of having a future in Kyrat. To hear it from his mouth was a concerning fact as Noore's analysis proved accurate.
"Ajay….."
"But that's not what everyone else saw… is what I've come to realize. I'm a part of this place as much as everybody else. I should have been sharing my joys and my woes with all of you much sooner."
"What was it? What kept you back initially?"
"Something that I did that make me live in the remainder of my days in eternal purgatory, even so I deserved every bit of it. I'm too ashamed to say it, Saras. Please understand." She nodded reluctantly after seeing him plead with his eyes not to pursue that question.
"Thanks. Perhaps I'll tell it to you one day when all this is over. Although… there was one thing that I couldn't never quite understand, what you ever saw in a jerk like me, Saraswati Roka?" Ajay laughed a bit at himself.
"It's there alright, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there, Ajay. But since you're keeping something from me, I'll do the same." She said chuckling.
"Fair enough." Ajay smiled.
"….."
Ajay took the pause in their conversation to gaze deeply into her eyes as he placed a hand on her cheek. Saras became self-conscious about what he was doing.
"W-What?"
"What worries me now is what the future will bring. But really, what's the point in worrying over that. I should just do it first and hope for the best afterwards, don't you think so?"
-Yes. What I should have been doing was make the best of tomorrow there ever was. Isn't that right, Kamala?- He said to the urn on his harness.
"I guess. Yeah, do the damn best that you can!" She said encouragingly, to which Ajay smiled.
"Alright, then how about this….?" Ajay placed his other hand on Saras's making her baffled.
"Saraswati Roka, marry me."
Parachutes opened as the Antonovs released their passengers overhead from where Ajay and Maya were seated. The parachuters, the members of Unit 58 were in the midst of perfecting their air-jumps as was intended of them. Nearly a week had passed since the attack on Lanka, now everyone including Kyrats neighbour knew of the terrifying air force arsenal they'd built. Although it was still filled with certain imperfections, one of the most key problems were the absence of Kyrati-born pilots. But that was a given, piloting took years to fully qualify as a competent combat pilot, unfortunately they had no such time on their hands then. A batch of young officers had been sent to India to be tutored on how to fly their nearly identical aircrafts to the Indian Air Force. Because they didn't have the facilities to train their own, they required their airframes to be similar to Indias.
What occupied the seats of those airframes were Indian pilots loaned to them by New Delhi to fly the air superiority fighters, the similar Su-30s they flew back in India. The MiG-29Ks, A-4S, Su-25s were flown by a mixture of mercenary aviators on Ajay's payroll under a Private Military Contractor Group he listed in Switzerland thanks to Longinus, named Lupus Caelum LLC, the sky wolves. It even had a logo primarily based off Vajra with wings painted on it.
Whatever nationalities he had, you name it. UAE, France, Russia, India, Jordan, Egypt, United Kingdom. When he first posted for recruitment, the scrutiny of their examinations and tests were rigorous. They weren't expected to have any sort of criminal discharge from their native air forces, of course nobody was perfect and there were a few. But he needed to maintain check on these foreigners, because they were flying around in his multi-million dollar assets. And it was no surprise that at least thirty percent of them were intelligence agents reporting back to their respective countries. Curious about the little state that had not entered anyones radar till now. Pagan's spy ring was so impressive that they could list who worked for which national intelligence agency. Ajay didn't bother to question how they did it, because it always got the head spy to give his signature phrase "We have ways." Ajay knew how good they were from the previous timeline as well, they knew the CIAs presence in Kyrat for awhile and which of Yuma's Lieutenants were embedded assets too. The only reason they didn't go after Ajay was because Pagan had kept them on a tight leash.
He was initially surprised with the numbers that were available in the open market. Apparently, they were the victims to national budget cuts and laid-off pilots in armies that were downsizing their military might. Paul Ferenc joined in as one of the mercs since he was stationed here by Tel Aviv and wanted to earn a few bucks. Having been qualified to fly cargo planes from way back and now was his opportunity to do so again. Although he had all manners of stranged requests, especially the one where he asked to be posted as co-pilot to Michelle Dachss, also in the cargo squadron. They apparently had a history together in Longinus's native Africa and were one of the few survivors to an all-out war between defunct mercenary groups fighting for conflict diamonds.
Ajay's response was to have him ask her himself to bunk together, where his response was "Ah- come on, man! I'm asking you a favour here."
To own a favour from the Mossad agent, Ajay felt like he unconsciously licked his lips and reassigned him with Michelle. He had to deal with the latter though, complaining to him in her native tongue and threatening to leave the company despite the early withdrawl penalties. It was clear she didn't like him all that much as he did of her. In her words, he was a "Porc Chauvin". Ajay felt the pressure from her and reorganised the timetable so that she would only deal with Paul in certain shifts.
Returning back to the mercenary aviators, not everyone was familiar with the airframe they were given. i.e. The Emirates pilots flew American-built F-16 and none of the Russian-based fighters in their inventory. So he had to send them to a piloting course in India a few months prior, their previously established knowledge on fighter doctrines helped them curb this problem of relearning greatly and they were more than happy to learn new tricks as he gave them oversea bonuses.
The Indian pilots weren't bounded by contract as they were here out of an alliance Kyrat had with India. Giving them incentives could be viewed as bribery or laundering by their higher authorities so there were no monetary dealings with the IAF pilots, but they were given comfortable accommodations to stay it.
It was no surprise that word travelled throughout Kyrat of their presence as the first-generation airmen, becoming instant celebrities for repelling Golden Path from Kyrat which had been a feat not done for over twenty-years. But everyone knew who was the ones that truly weakened the Golden Paths strength, that was the defenders at Lanka and the ground-based Royal Army who had protected Kyrat for two decades.
Yet there were no parades being held like there should have. Because Kyrat was actively preparing for war. There were still pockets of resistance dotted about Pacchim valley but nothing Yuma's Royal Guard couldn't handle. Mohan wasn't in Kyrat any longer, but in Yinke as its 'Founding father'. Ajay laughed at the thought of him being some 'supreme leader' to a communist state.
"Twenty-seven jumps and counting. (Sigh) Didn't think you needed to do this many jumps to qualify as a paratrooper." Maya said exasperated with the amount of equipment they had to prepare as they dropped down thousands of feet from the air. The preparation was immense.
"You don't. But boss just wants them to have the chance to practice while they have the chance, no?" Ricardo knew better than anyone in regards to parachuting, he was after all in the Italian paratrooper brigades. Samson and the rest had a big part to play in making Unit 58 air-ready.
"Have you ever had enemies fire anti-air while you slowly descend from the sky?" Ajay asked as a light question. Ricardo turned pale, it was clear the operations he'd gone through were carefully planned and needn't go through that ordeal, partly also because they were mission in the middle east that didn't involve flying straight into non-hostile zones.
"You're not-."
"No. But that wouldn't stop a patriotic young man from firing his shotgun at a helpless soldier that would invade his country the second his boots touched the ground."
"…." It was a typical response when an invader came to rob you of your freedom and your countries sovereignty.
"So anyways, Mr Chiffon told me to tell you the uniforms and badges have been finished."
"Right, tell him to bring it to the assembly hall. And tell the Battalions to report there at 1700 hours." Ricardo nodded and prepared to move off with the chart that Ajay had signed for certain procurement of items.
"By the way, I heard Saraswati declined your proposal." He said with a cheeky grin. Ajay was a little shocked, how fast did word travel out?
"My, how fast word travels." He said sarcastically.
"She talked to Stella and Stella told me. Not laughing at you or anything, boss. Just rooting for you as always! In the end, you might end up like me." He showed them the newly acquired ring on his finger.
"Cheeky bastard, you intentionally showing off?"
"So, both of you-." Maya gasped. She referred to Ricardo and Stella.
"Was a small ceremony with our families in Florence, then a brief honeymoon in Venice." Ricardo bragged bubbly about it.
"Congrats to both of you then."
"Thanks. Right I'd better give it to Mr Chiffon then."
"Please, drive safely and be careful of any steep curbs or randomly flying .50 cal rounds." Ricardo flinched at Ajay's passive aggressive threat hidden behind caring words, his boss always had a way with words. He quicly left the scene so as not to be within his sights.
It was at this moment Maya turned to him.
"You proposed to Saras?"
"I did." He didn't bother hiding it.
Maya found it extremely weird that Saras had rejected him despite her constant longing to be with him.
"Did you dun goof?"
"No. It just wasn't the right time that's all." He said with a smile.
"Are you doing this to indulge in her selfishness?"
"I'm doing it for both of our selfishness. But, even so. She cares for me and you too much. Her reason for rejecting me…." Ajay knew she wanted to know as well.
"She only wanted to marry Ajay Ghale." He said smiling wryly.
"…"
It meant that it would only happen when he discarded that mask of Badala could he come to claim her hand. Ajay ruffled her hair gently, she let it grow out from her original short hair look, but was now tied into a bun.
"What the hell….."
"You might look more mature and all. But to me, you'll always be that bright and chipper girl."
"That hardly sounds like me." She said frowning as she pushed his hand off her head.
"Maybe to others, but your eyes never hide your excitement." Saying that made her self-conscious about showing her eyes to him. Ajay chuckled at her display.
"They never lie about how you feel. Not that you've ever had the need to hide your feelings about things, or that way you felt when I prevented them from moving the bodies. You were right, Maya. It was my arrogance, thinking that they died for me, because of me. Even so, I'm grateful to them. It felt as if a heavy burden just fell off my shoulders, and it was all thanks to you."
His words had a deep meaning, she reflected on them as well.
"Was proposing to Saras one of them?"
"It was, being around her has never been boring. But most of all, I feel as if perhaps I can love all over again. You're pretty special too yunno. You can't possibly imagine what a big influence you are on my life choices, you've always reminded me that in face of despair, there is always a way. And for that, you have no idea how much you mean to me."
"The hells with that logic…. If I meant that much then why are you chasing Saras instead of me?" Ajay chuckled in defeat.
"Yeah, what's with that logic, eh? Honestly, I don't know. I feel is if you're like a wall that's unassailable, a beacon to bright to touch. Like you were an angel sent down to give us pitiful sods meaning. I don't want to use the word but I lack the proper description for it. I can't help but want to venerate you."
"That makes…. No sense at all."
"It doesn't, right?... I'll never forget what you've done for me, Maya. If there was anything you ever needed, I'd get it. If helping you meant turning against the world, it's a price I'd happy pay."
Maya was left speechless, she knew that Ajay rarely told lies or didn't keep to his word. It gave her a complex feeling, one she was completely unfamiliar with. A burning sensation in her chest that felt like a knife had driven through it and remained there.
"Then I should charge my max worth out of you then." She smiled awkwardly.
"Oh dear, I think I may have incurred heavy toiling upon myself." Ajay laughed away.
"Hmph! You bet, but those words, you'd better not take them back. I'll be sure to work you like a horse when I need you." She said snickering away evilly.
Ajay got up from his seat and walked downstairs as the Brigade had assembled to fall out.
"I won't. Now, we'd better get going before Er Hu reaches, then we can perhaps extort him for more liquor."
"You're on." There was nothing like the taste of Hunnic Baijiu. A liquor that would become the state secret until many years when it was released to the public.
Ajay had left to organise the assembly to get them reequipped with their new standard gear as an airforce paratrooper unit. As Unit 58 now fell under the jurisdiction of the Air Force and not the Army.
"I'll be sure to work you…" She murmured to herself.
In the assembly hall, the men and women of Unit 58 had arrived five minutes earlier than appointed time and formed up. They noticed that in the front by the podium were tables lined up with boxes of newly made items Ajay intended to distribute to them.
"What do you think it is this time, something good?"
"Last time was the thermals and optical sights. What could be better than that?"
The five Commanders Er Hu, Sandesh, Loken, Nagesh and Indrajeet whispered to one another.
Ajay appeared next to a metro looking fellow, Captain Maya, the second-in-command of Unit 58 and Jeeval, the boy that would be their Commander. They had rather high hopes for him as their leader and had heard of his exploits as well. He didn't put the name, Demon's apprentice to shame when he killed Sabal whom had entered the tutelage of the Devas and had been proclaimed one as well. His prowess wasn't a question, but being a commander meant leading men, not just fighting in the front to inspire them. He promised he would work on it, he gave his oath. Although it was weird how it had been known that there was friction between Housa Hamal and Badala. Why did the Duke choose to take him under his wing? Did he not represent House Hamal then?
Er Hu was the only one that didn't really mind anything, he admired strength and Jeevan fit that quality rather well despite his slim appearance, there were hints of well toned muscles hidden from plain sight. In fact, he had led some fights with Golden Path before, and in the most recent case was when they were deployed to mop up the resistance after the main force of Golden Path fled the area. He was presented with a challenge, they had been tasked to investigate Chal Jama Monestary for evidence they had been working with Golden Path and had been in fact siphoning donation funds to support Golden Paths rebel actions.
Which he did as he led them to storm and unravel hidden weapon caches under the statues. Jeeval presented a smile to the Abbot before announcing his crimes against the state and the kingdom. Then executing him on the spot, but even his actions were considered pale in comparison with the Royal Guards. While he did kill the head abbot, he spared the monks and clergy as the head abbot accepted the responsibility of the organisation. When the Royal Guard found similar traces of Golden Path sympathy, they slaughtered everyone. Such was the way of Yuma, the Demoness of Durgesh now the Queen of Kyrat.
They say that behind every great man, was a woman. She would be the one that fit the bill with plus A-marks in every category.
"FORM!" At the command, he men stood at attention.
"At ease." Maya ordered. An order from Nagesh who was the current appointed Supervising Officer-to-Brigade (SOB) what the men joke as the 'Sonnovabitch' called the men to take an eased stance. By now, their former allegiances had all but vanished, it was now a memory of a time serving in the company of another Organisation. They were through and through, members of Unit 58.
"Today, on the 17th of March 2015 marks a very special day to us all. It is the day that upon declassification of the SkyGrasper Program to the public authorises the commission of the Royal Kyrati Air Forces very own special forces paratrooper unit. I guess we can say Happy Birthday, Unit 58! But that was the old name when we were but an experiment that was trying to prove itself worthy to stand amongst our friends in the Army as a military arm." Ajay then motioned to the man next to him.
"This is Mister Mumu Chiffon, the Royal Tailor to His Royal Highness King Min. Mr Chiffon personally had taken charge in helping us design the most critical element to our organisation. Which is the colours which we'll wear."
The men looked at each other for a bit, not sure what to make of it. What was this sissy in charge of?
"In fact, many of you especially the former Royal Guards are quite acquainted with his work. He was after all the gentlemen that designed your uniforms."
The odd man took a pose of pride that Ajay had announced his good work amongst so many individuals.
"Ohhhh- you flatter me, your Grace. In fact, when you gave me the call to commission a design for your troops I simply couldn't resist! It was an honour I just couldn't deserve yet was given to me, son of House Chiffon." Mumu announced from the podium like he won an emmy. Ajay chuckled lightly, he'd let Mumu have his fun for the while as the least he could do for all the work he had done. His armour had saved him many times over even thought they came back in the same order as 007 brought back his cars to a disgrunted Q.
"So with that being said, you can probably guess what Mr Chiffon has prepared for everyone."
It was their uniforms, the garment that represented all for one and one for all.
They were organised based on their Battalions to collect them to distribute. Everyone had four sets which made a grand total of sixteen thousand unison articles produced. It wasn't just the uniforms but matching combat harnesses that and camoflauge cloths for their helmets, bonnie hats. There was also a red beret for them to take, a symbol of their status as a Para Commando force.
"Grey and Navy Blue pixel camoflauge with a background colour of black and trim of yellow on the collar and cuffs. Just like you asked, and I couldn't agree more with your suggestion, Aj- oph! Your Grace." He quickly corrected himself. "I can imagine it already, an army that absolutely emminates fierceness." He said in excitement.
"You've outdone yourself again, Mr Chiffon. Congratulations." Ajay said to thank him.
"Not quite, your Grace."
"Oh?"
"I've not forgotten about you as well. You expect me to let you go out there in that atrocious salvation army hand-me-downs? Pft!" He said with a flip of his wrist to indicate it was inacceptable.
"(Clap) (Clap) Hurry up, Chang-san. Where was that enthusiasm you had in the workshop?" Chiffon called out a young man that tried with his might to pull a trunk that looked like it weighed a hundred kilos. Sighing, Maya went over and took over due to the time he took to pull it. When she did, it was like a light carry luggage on a plane. The young man named Chang-san dropped onto his knees and his hands to the floor in despair that a woman was stronger than him.
Ajay chuckled as Mumu shook his head. "My intern, hopeless in carrying those yarns of linen or rolls of silk. But a protégé at the needle work you'll have him to thank for doing that portion with your new armour. In another life, he could have been a fair-lady seamstress. Perhaps in that bygone era, her actual wish was to be a man- but whatever! That's ancient history. Now, onto the present."
Mumu unlocked the case since his intern wasn't going to do so. And lo and Behold was the third iteration of Badala's armour, affectionately named Vengeance Mark 3. Hopefully, one day he wouldn't need to see another iteration.
-Let this be the last.-
Ajay walked up to pick up the gauntlet from its rest on the trunk mount. Some soldiers were curious of what Ajay had gotten and looked from afar before Er Hu knocked them on the heads and told them to help the others in distribution for the right sizes. They had the luxury of tailors on sight to take down their measurements to taper or adjust the lengths for them on the stop if some didn't fit the pre-made sizes based on the sizes they gave to their officers who handed it to Ajay for commissioning their uniforms.
Ajay held the gauntlet and felt the fabric underneath.
"Same combination in layer composites, Aramid, Gore-tex, Nomex for your fire-proof, tear-proof, water resistance and stab-proofing. And for the main ballistic protection, a custom-made dragon-skin style plating made of harden ceramic with titanium lining in case of spalling. Give you a protection of about level four maybe…." That was equivalent to stopping armored piercing high-powered rounds just above 7.62x51mm NATO, perhaps an armor-piercing bullet from a Dragunov SVD sniper rifle.
"Maybe?" Chiffon was rarely unsure of his own work.
"It was mainly theoretical, my boy. The last time I procured that sniper rifle from darling Samar to try it on the plate, it crushed the outside portion and bent the titanium but made a dent on the back ceramics. You'd have a nasty pain from that protrusion."
"Doable, you've saved me from death. That pain is livable." Ajay justified it, he was honestly surprised that Mumu was aiming for the armor to be comfortable after shot. His standards were way too high.
"Just the sort of thing I wanted to here! Why can't you be a bit more gungho like his grace, Chang-san?" He went on to abuse his intern.
"But-."
"There are no buts in this line of work, how many times have I told you!" He reprimanded his intern, it appeared that Mumu was very strict with his tutelage of the young designer in rational garment design.
"Thanks for helping Mr Chiffon in building it Mr Chang-san." Ajay never forgot to thank the appropriate parties.
"Uh-.. no. It is an honour." He bowed, and Mumu puffed proudly.
Ajay went back to looking at the armour. It looked closer to what the mark 2 had been but with a little more 'beef' to it due to the enhanced protection. Mumu highlighted the hardpoints for attaching ammo, sidearms, knives, medical and combat syringes and grenades. The weight distribution had changed making it seem lighter as well.
"Thank you, Mr Chiffon."
"Always a pleasure. Ah! I just remembered-… this!" He brought a box out from the podium as he proceeded to cut the box open.
"What is it?" Maya asked curiously. Out of looking through her own attire being tailored to her dimensions.
"This was his grace's last order. Which I have to say, who drew it? I've never seen such a beautiful design?"
"It belonged to a dear friend of mine, he passed on at Lanka."
"My condolences, Golden Path has taken away yet another muse of expression." Mumu shook his head sadly, he meant it from the heart as a kindred member of the arts.
"It's alright, his spirit lives on in his creations." Mumu nodded in agreel to his words as he totally agreed with them.
What Ajay brought out was an insignia patch meant for the shoulder sleeve that members would wear to represent their unit.
"Is that-…?" Maya recognised it as Ajay had once shown her the insignia of Biraj's Company which she was thoroughly impressed with.
"Let's distribute it to the men." Ajay and Maya placed the box in front and caught the crowds' attention.
Nagesh ordered the men to line up to receive the one patch each from Ajay and May personally. It was for ceremony sake that the two Commanding officers present each man and women the insignia to welcome them into the family.
The men returned to their groups having a close look at the insignia and talking about the cool design.
The design was slightly different from the PDF Company's one. It was rounded but retained the hawking golden bird, but where the sword was originally under the swooping talons was a yellow-coloured barren willow tree. Only to Ajay, it wasn't a tree. But the symbol of Yalung and his coat of arms as the Duke of Lakshman. Underneath along the circumference of the insignia was a written motto in Latin like many English mottos.
"I'll assume that many of you are wondering about what all the figures in our insignia represent." Ajay spoke and everyone quieten down to hear him.
"The bird design belonged to a young friend of mine who enrolled in the recently decommissioned PDF 7th Company. He was…. An aspiring painter of sorts, it was both a hobby and he was hoping a way to win the heart of a young girl." Some of them chuckled at that puppy love that boy had.
"So naturally, his company asked him to make their insignia for them. And he made for them this golden bird, it was the mythical creature Jatayu." They were in whispered discussions as to the valiant bird they thought was an eagle but turned out to be that inauspicious bird that fell.
"Yeah. They had the same reaction, but his reasoning was this. "When Sita was taken by the Demon King who stood up to such a fearsome foe but the old and weary Jatayu, no longer the young and vibrant majestic beast it once was. It attacked the demon king with vicious attacks from its claw, each stroke gorging deeply into his flesh and wounding him to the point that had he not used life-saving boons to protect himself and shrew the bird. He would have been the one to fall. Eventually, it did ultimately fall but it had given the demon king wounds it would forever remember it by even after death."
"It is an auspicious symbol that I've adopted for this unit, what it means is that for everything that has a beginning will eventually have an end. These are the laws of natural which we will abide by and acknowledge. That being said, it now comes down to a the matter of how the end will be and how we choose to define it our closing. That's where the motto comes in."
"What's it say?" Er Hu asked on behalf over everyone.
"per cicatrices, meministi nos. In Latin as Ricardo Allegretto translated for me. And in English it says, 'By your scars, you remember us'."
There was a rise in the ranks of men as they begun to see the light of the powerful message it sent and to be sent to any potential opponents.
"It acknowledges that as a unit, and even as the most elite of units in service to the King. We have our limits and we know them by heart. But don't think that our limitations will bog us down from accomplishing our mission, or achieving success. Because if we don't, then neither will you. If you try to corner and hunt us to the last man, then be warned. As you will not come out unharmed, and you will forever regret the mistake of crossing paths with us."
This was the motto of their cause, their drive and what they do. Before their courage, there was honour, before that was their eternal loyalty to the king like the Jatayu to its family.
"For we are Unit 58 Brigade, 'Jatayu' Para Commandos. And by your scars… you will remember and fear us."
