Prologue

The skies turned red as the battle went towards its finale. The Scouting and Pioneer Command (SPC) of the Empire of Akol were engaged in a fierce battle for a month. It was not a normal battle in which a regular army or any military force was used. It was a battle between the humans and a horde of monsters which the Scouting Corps of SPC discovered on the outer side of the 2km buffer zone between the civilisation and the wilderness. Scouting and Pionner Command was a part of one of the three pillars of the military of Akol. It belonged to the Survey Corps, the pillar responsible for the exploration of the vast continent of Flambistan and the safety of the Empire of Akol. The rest of the pillars, namely The Homeland Security forces (responsible for policing, internal intelligence, counter-terrorism and defence industries) and The Garrison (responsible for Border patrol and Conquest of known lands and enemies of the empire) maintain the internal and external peace of the empire. With a strength of 50,000 dedicated soldiers, the SPC was a formidable force of explorers.

As the battle continued, Major Lieutenant Rai of the 10th Scouts division with his team of eight other warriors marched forward. Facing an incoming horde of wild monsters, the 10th Scouts assembled themselves in their most effective formation, The Hawk with sturdy and huge staff sergeant Hades forming its beak, Major Lt. Rai, Lt. Juto and Sergant Futon forming its right wing, the left wing formed by Lt. Lunana, Corporal Sochi and Corporal Samara and its tail by Fire mage Shikara and Squad doctor cum healer Al Mar. Passouts from the same academy, this group of nine was a united and strong force. They had several medals and expeditions to their credit. Battle-hardened, this encounter was just an intensive practice for them.

"50 more to go", shouted Rai as they leapt across the woods, destroying monsters as they reached towards the base camp. Al-Mar, 28, a skilled doctor trained for emergencies with Green Healing magic was just behind him. This mission, she felt, was somewhat easier than most of the missions they were assigned. She looked back and observed her other squadmates as they leapt forward. Everyone was in good shape with a few abrasions. "Thank God", she shouted in her mind. As Hades killed the last Meta Bat (p.s. the law forbids killing of animals and birds which do not have dark energy factor unless and until they pose a direct threat to the person and in the case of Meta Birds, 7 feet long with a wingspan of 15feet are certainly monsters residing in the Residua Forests near the Southern Buffer Line), sirens and tongs from the other squads were heard. The battle was over. The SPC successfully managed to control the horde with no casualties and this was an achievement on the part of the SPC since they were the ones who suffered from most of the casualties. The members of SPC are considered elites and are generously paid and if a soldier of SPC dies due to the mission assigned, the family of the soldier receives 3/4ths of the salary of the soldier for 1 year and an assured government job. Well anyway, the battle was over. The commander of this expedition, Major Avicenna congratulated the soldiers for their bravery and for fending off a horde of around 150,000 monsters including Meta Birds, Meta Wolves, Meta Felines, Greater Goblins, Orcs etc. It was indeed a tough battle but Major Avicenna was happy since for the first time, there were no casualties in the SPC in a major mission.

Back in their camp, Samara brought food and Masta (a non-alcoholic healthy beverage, a speciality of the South Akol) from the repository. As she entered their tent, she saw Al-Mar writing something in her journal, while the Boys were busy playing Risk. Lunana and Shikara were having a serious discussion about something inaudible while Sochi was tending her wounds. Samara glanced at the wound and wondered how could a person get so stupidly injured while simply walking. Anyway, Samara thought, it was good that they were still together. The 10th Squad was still the same after 500 expeditions, 70 major battles and 8 years together in the service. All were around the same age and had become best friends or one may say, Brothers and Sisters. The usually loud Hades, the silent Rai, the jolly Futon, the simple Juto, Sochi the shinobi, the funky Lunana, the ever serious but sometimes stupid Shikara, Al-Mar the super smart and finally Samara, the composed or whatever she called herself. Digging into the meat Hades declared that he would shave his massive moustache if someone could beat him head-on. He had an unusual habit of making weird declarations and always found himself stuck and defeated by his clever squadmates which also happened today as Sochi silently took out her hairpin coated with Mivacurium, a rapidly acting skeletal muscle relaxant and pricked Hades's nape with the sharp end of the hairpin. Hades fell and became flaccid. Then, Sochi took out her dagger and shaved his moustache. Helpless Hades could do nothing as others laughed. After having a small discussion everyone went to their respective tents and waited eagerly for the next day to come as they fell asleep.

The next morning, they headed towards the capital of The Empire of Akol, Maida. The SPC was summoned by the Emperor for its outstanding performance. The convoy was welcomed at the Lal Dwar, the main gate of Maida. The SPC walked triumphantly as the crowd roared and cheered the homecoming of the heroes. The emperor congratulated the Commanders of SPC and gave the medals of Bravery along with 50 pieces of treasure to each of the 15 scouting divisions with 150 squads. Lt. Rai was called to receive the medals and treasures for the 10th Scouts. The Emperor also announced the formation of a new Rank system for the SPC, The Class System. As per the new system, members of SPC were divided in terms of their skills and powers. This was suggested by the Chief Advisor for the Military and the Commander of Weermag, and the Secretariat of Defence of Akol. 5 classes were announced namely:

1. Warriors (includes sword wielders, samurais, knights, spearmen, axe-wielders, mace wielders, and the rest)

2. Assasins (includes shinobi, guerillas, poison users, snipers and the rest)

3. Healers (doctors who are trained with Green and Red healing magic)

4. Mages (all elementals, summoners, crafters etc)

5. Engineers (engineers with qualifications in construction magic, Navigators, Architects, Strategists etc)

Along with the class system, a new rank structure was announced for the Scouts. As per this system, each squad was assigned a rank between F, E, D, C, B, A, S and Z. As per the ranks, different duties will be assigned to different ranks. Ranks F, E, and D are responsible for logistics, and surveillance of the explored lands and waters and act as rearguards during major wars. Ranks C and B are midguards with the main task of signal relaying in a major war and can go on scouting expeditions up to 15km outside the buffer zone. Ranks A and S are Vanguards in a major battle or expedition. They are responsible for facing enemies head on and they are allowed to go for scouting expeditions 30km for A rank and 50km for S rank scouts. The Z-ranked scouts are the highest ranked and must have sufficient experience in more than 50 major battles. They are responsible for scouting expeditions more than 50km of the buffer zone. There is no upper limit. They act as Pioneers and are responsible for all the intelligence and survey works in any major battle. This system allows better division of labour and more efficient management of resources. As per the new rules, each squad should comprise at least one of the above-mentioned classes and there is an upper limit of a maximum of nine members in each squad. The squads after taking the pledge of loyalty to the emperor are free to take up any mission they want as mentioned in the Defence Directory but under any national emergency, they are bound to follow the orders of the Defence Secretary.

After the rules were announced, a member of the Secretariat of Defence came near Lt. Rai and gave him and his squad Z class licence and once again explained the terms. Lt. Rai was awarded the position of the Leader of the 2nd Z Class Squadron and requested the signature of each of the members of the squad. Delighted Lt Rai gave a glance to his mates and received a nod of approval from them. Lt. Rai's squad was named Purab and with this, the names of the rest of the four Z-class squads were announced. The Emperor welcomed each of the squads namely Paschim, Purab, Uttar, Dakshin and Madhya. Each received a badge of their insignia and their uniform with their colour. The Purab was awarded the colour Purple. They were given a rest for a month after which each of the squad will depart for their missions. Also, the rest of the ranks were announced and the remaining squads were assembled for a ceremony and then adjourned for the rest of the week.

Rai quickly glanced at the license of his Z class squad, Purab and looked at its contents:

(front)

THE EMPIRE OF AKOL

The Directorate of Defence Services

SURVEY CORPS

SCOUTING AND PIONEERS COMMAND

Z-CLASS SCOUTING LICENCE

Squad Leader: Lieutenant Rai Bahadur (Navigator: Engineer)

Squad Members:

1. Hades Persay (Warrior:Axe)

2. Futon Tola (Warrior:Sword)

3. Juto Tobay. (Warrior: Knight)

4. Shikara Sumatra (Mage:Fire)

5. Samara Shigki. (Assasin:Shinobi)

6. Sochi Yamada. (Assasin:Shinobi)

7. Lunana Man. (Strategist, Engineer)

8. Al-Mar Dewan. (Doctor: Green Magic Healer)

(back)

BATTLE FORMATION: THE HAWK

ARRANGEMENT:

BEAK: Tank,Axe (Hades Persay)

BODY: Centre: Strategist (Lunana Man)

: Left. : Mage (Shikara Samara)

: Right. : Navigator (Rai Bahadur)

Left Wing: Warrior + Assasin

Right wing: Warrior + Assasin

Tail: Healer: Al-Mar Dewan

He was happy that they were a complete squadron otherwise what would have happened to them, they would have to be separated. 'Whatever' he muttered as he entered his 1BHK apartment, went to the kitchen to cook some ramen and went to bed. The same sequence was followed by the rest of his squadmates except Al-mar who was sitting on her balcony reading her Surgery and Emergency Medicine book. Then she took out her journal and began writing nonstop. Nobody knew what fate had written for them. At 11 PM, she went to her bed with a deep sigh.