Desert Company: Retrospective

Act III: The Dineh Kazaàd

The sans of time are finite, those who wish to succeed must learn to fail at a great price.

Saya woke up to the rough swaying of the ground below her. She felt the weight of her sword hit her back as her body tumbled to the left. Hitting her head, she got up slowly. Her eyes revealed to her that everyone was below the deck of the ship, and were chained up. Saya looked down to see special binds that had a large glowing compartment. Sunlight beamed through the windows, and the air was sodden. The filthy smell of feces lingered on the floorboards, and the boat was subjected to violent sways.

“Gh…”

“You’re awake?” Hyun-woo tugged her shirt. She realized that everyone was wearing their Al-Wa uniforms. Not only that, there was an assigned number to each of them. On her left sleeve, was her surname Izdaha imprinted, while her right sleeve had the number 04. Was it their serial number?

“What happened? Did we do it?” She asked, looking at the tiny windowspace. She saw the coast of Azutami, the buildings of Wakoku miniscule in the distance. The Z̆ongren boy stared downward with a sullen face.

“We lost, Saya.”

He showed the broken hologram recorder in his pocket, smashed to pieces. It confirmed her guess, as the expression on people’s faces confirmed the outcome. They were on the ship en route to the Dineh Kazaàd. Everyone was locked in cages of five people.

“Stop, Suruj.”

Saya turned her head to see Suruj sitting on the floor, spitting on his cuffs, and then trying to wriggle out of it. Toqemur sat next to him, attempting to stop him.

“You know what they said. The cuffs have sensors that if you take them off, they’ll be notified,” She grabbed his arms, but Suruj ignored her without a word and continued. Saya made her way towards him. When Suruj saw her, he stopped what he was doing and just gazed at her with a broken face. His face was beaten up, scratches and bruises.

“Suruj…” Saya swallowed. “What happened?”

“... That Al-Wa soldier, Tayang. He pummeled me.”

“I can see that but… What happened at the pier?”

Minutes passed. She couldn’t tell what he was going to say. She imagined the worst outcomes. Wasn’t L supposed to come with them? Suruj curled up in a ball and rested his head. He started to weep quietly, hiding his tears.

“L’s dead.”

“...”

It didn’t take long for memories of her and L flashed through her mind. She had never felt such a sense of dread. The person who’d save her from her small fights in the capital, who’d give her free pandesal, who’d chastise her. Saya’s legs quaked, her shoulders shivered. However within that duration, the anxiety changed into grief. Breathing calmed, and mind calmed.

“If you want to cry, cry. Because nobody is going to reward you for holding back your tears,” Saya consoled him, with wetness in her eyes. Suruj looked up at her, face contorted, filled with despair.

“You weren’t even there when he was killed. How could you understand?” He groaned with sadness in his voice. Saya’s throat sobbed to speak. Even if she could argue that she’d known L longer than Suruj, Saya decided to keep her mouth shut and let him vent his sorrowful thoughts. She gave him a reassuring look and walked back to her spot. There she covered her head and led out an exasperating cry so silent, no one could hear her sobbing. Stings of guilt stabbed her hard, for she wasn’t there.

However they had to continue L’s plan. She rubbed her hair, tearing out a few strands, trying to think of something.

A man walked down the path between the two cages, with a rifle slung around his shoulder. Wearing a hooded cloak, he stopped near Kwazhak’s cage. The prince stood up and went up to him, but she could not understand their conversation because of the language barrier. The contingency plan. Kwazhak’s bodyguard, Yeow Khouw.

“Oy, Li Ngùe,” A grunt dropped down into the lower deck, as Khouw slyly drifted away from the cage, “Be ready to feed them later on. We need to make sure they are in top shape by the time we arrive in Port Eshnuk.”

“I’m aware of the situation,” He spoke with no hint of doubt. Nobody said a word.

“We better be careful. The antis are getting more targeted towards corporations. Before we put to sea the boatswain spotted a massive mob swarming the Kurana Pier. I hope this all ends soon, this job is the only thing paying the bills…”

“...”

“Well you sure don’t talk much like I remember. Just make sure you do what Tayang says or he’ll beat us to a pulp. See ya-”

“I have a request to make.”

The soldier was about to climb back, but stayed for what Khouw had to say. Wasting no time, he gave a suggestion.

“Treatment of our fighters like this can wear down their morale. Perhaps taking them above deck for fresh sunlight would be nice.”

“...” He paused for a moment. Then he drew his gun at Khouw. “That stinks of something fishy. Are you the Li I know?”

Khouw just looked at him. Without flinching, no words were exchanged. Khouw’s face was expressionless as stone. She held her breath. Just when Saya felt like a firefight was beginning to unfold, the soldier put his pistol back in holster.

“Haha, just kidding man. I’ll ask Captain Tayang about it,” He patted Khouw’s shoulder roughly, to which his response was an annoyed look. The grunt climbed back up, as Saya and the others let out a sigh of relief. Being crammed in a tight steel cage frightened her. They could destroy the cage in an instant, but since their binds had sensors, any use of sahar would immediately trigger it. It seemed that Suruj set his off and was roughed up because of it. Khouw almost had no leeway, being that they were out at sea with nowhere to flee. Suruj suggested breaking out and stealing the ship’s lifeboat, but was soon shot down by Kwazhak, stating that there would not be enough space for everyone, let alone provisions to survive in the ocean. Khouw would give them extra rations, making sure not to drain the supply, while they awaited his request.

The response soon came, with Captain Tayang himself coming down the ladder. He gave off a sense of strict and malevolent aura, which Suruj showed some hatred towards the man specifically. Tayang made his way towards the two cages, and gave his answer.

“I take your request, Li. But only when we take a stop in the Walang Sahar de Islas, is when we will take them above deck. Got it?” He crossed his arms as Khouw stood upright.

“Yessir,” He bowed in reply.