Kenji
The deep, powerful hum of the VTOL's engines gradually softened to a low whine as the transport ship descended. Kenji felt a gentle thud as the landing gear made contact with the ground, the vibration running through the metal floor.
For a moment, the cabin was still, the only sound the faint, rhythmic beeping of the onboard systems. "We are on the ground," Rita's voice cut through the silence, sharp and professional. "Stand by everyone."
With a hiss of hydraulics, the heavy ramp began to lower, flooding the dark, cramped interior with early morning light. The air that rushed in was thick and heavy, carrying the smells of damp concrete, dust, and the lingering scent of smoke. Kenji blinked, his eyes adjusting to the brightness as he took his first look at the district.
It wasn't the warzone he had half-expected. The buildings, though scarred and damaged, were mostly standing. Debris littered the streets, and boarded-up windows were a common sight, but there was a sense of strained order to the place.
A temporary command post had been set up in what looked like a shattered storefront, with local firefighters in gear coordinating with police officers. A handful of Schicksal agents were managing a makeshift communication hub.
And then there were the survivors. They were gathered in small groups, their faces looking exhausted yet grateful to be alive. They watched the VTOL and the Valkyries emerging from it with curiosity, their gazes lingering on the pristine battlesuits and the gleaming Schicksal insignia.
Rita was the first one down the ramp. Kenji noticed some agents straightening to greet her. Then a man in a police captain's uniform, his face etched with lines of fatigue, strode forward to meet her.
"Miss Rossweisse," he greeted, giving a short formal bow. "Captain Sato. We've secured the perimeter as instructed. The survivors have been gathered."
"Thank you, Captain," Rita replied, her voice just as formal. It was clear to everyone present that she was the ranking officer.
Sato's eyes shifted to Kenji and the others, "So these are the extra hands you spoke of?" He gave them an analytical look that slowly turned to confusion as he focused his attention on Kenji.
"I wasn't aware of any Knights in this year's batch." Just as the words left his mouth, Kenji suddenly became aware of the stares that were now focused towards him.
This wasn't good, "N-nice to meet you Captain." Kenji started, extending a hand towards the man, "I'm Aoyama Kenji, and yeah I did get into St Freya a little later than everyone else. But that was due to some family matters, I was already registered as a student from the beginning."
"I see." He said, and took Kenji's hand in a firm handshake. It wasn't clear if he believed Kenji's words or not, but decided to let the topic go for now.
Sato then takes a few steps back, looking at his entire team before giving a bow.
"I cannot stress how grateful we are that you are here. To have capable Valkyries… and a Knight will do wonders for morale."
Aside from the fact that he nearly forgot to say knight, having a high level official recognize and appreciate you gave Kenji a warm feeling. It must have been the case for everyone else because they all looked happier after Sato's words.
"Don't worry Captain, whatever you need us to do we got it!" Kiana cheerily said. No one else voiced their thoughts, but they were all in agreement with Kiana.
Sato nodded and gestured for them to follow him. They passed through multiple service workers moving crates and attending to civilians. Finally arriving at a huge tent with two Schicksal agents stationed at the entrance.
Seeing their group arrive, the two agents nodded and walked aside for them to go in. Inside the tent were lots of people, some coordinating in groups discussing matters that Kenji couldn't quite make out, another few were looking at screens that depicted the surrounding area.
Once their presence was finally acknowledged, Captain Sato called out to everyone to gather up. They did so swiftly, as more than 50 people now stood in neat lines in front of their group. Seeing everyone organized, he turned to Rita and motioned for her to take the lead.
She walked past the group, people's attention now focused on her. Rita didn't look a bit nervous and kept her signature smile on her face.
"Let's begin the briefing," she stated, activating a large holographic map that materialized in the air between them. It displayed a detailed, three-dimensional layout of the district, with convoy routes, building schematics, and population density markers all glowing with a soft blue light.
Kenji watched, impressed despite himself. He knew that as a S-Rank Valkyrie, she wouldn't just be strong, but also have a ton of other skills to boot. Seeing her right now, leading a large-scale operation coordinated with such effortlessness. It was another reminder that he was playing in a completely different league now.
Rita's voice was clear and left no room for misunderstanding as she began to issue commands. "The supply convoy will park along this designated street," she said, a glowing line appearing on the map. "Unloading will commence on the distribution team's signal. The supplies will be moved to this community center, which will serve as our primary warehouse and distribution point."
She turned to the police captain. "Captain Sato, your personnel will maintain the perimeter and manage the flow of civilians. I want a single, orderly line. No one enters or leaves the distribution zone without clearance."
The captain nodded, his expression firm. "Understood." Turning to his men who nodded in return.
Finally, she turned to his own team. "Miss Zaychik," she began, her gaze landing on Bronya, " You will work with the distribution team—" She pointed to a group to the right "and will establish the registration and inventory hub at the entrance to the center. Coordinate our supply manifest with the precinct's existing records of the local families. I want this distribution to be fair and meticulously documented."
Bronya gave a curt nod. "The Bronya understands."
"Miss Raiden." Rita continued, turning to Mei, "You will cooperate with the designated civilian representatives—" Pointing to another group in the middle "Address their concerns, maintain order in the line, and be the primary point of contact."
Mei bowed her head slightly. "Yes, ma'am."
"Miss Kaslana, you will be on morale and distribution support. Assist where needed and ensure the more vulnerable survivors, particularly the children, are attended to." She finished while pointing to the group at the back of the line.
Kiana, somewhat caught off guard by her task, quickly focused to meet Rita's gaze and nodded, her expression serious. "Got it."
Rita's eyes finally landed on Kenji. "And Kenji. You are on primary unloading and heavy transport. Work with the supply coordinator and ensure the supplies get from the trucks to the warehouse safely." This time, she pointed to a single woman at the very left of the line. The woman's eyes linger on Kenji for a moment before turning back to Rita.
"Understood."
Rita surveyed the group of people one last time, her gaze sharp and assessing. The briefing was over as quickly as it had begun. "You all have your assignments, let's make this work." she said, her voice ringing with finality. "Dismissed."
/ — /
Kenji
After Rita's words, the silence of the briefing tent dissolved into a flurry of activity. The fifty-plus service workers moved quickly, breaking off to their assigned stations.
Kiana lightly smacked her cheeks a few times to focus, "Alright, time to go cheer up some kids! Hope you all have a better time than me!" Kiana said before jogging off toward the growing line of civilians.
Even if she doesn't like what she's told to do, she still does it with maximum effort. Something you can honestly appreciate about her.
"I better head off too then." Mei said as she began walking away, giving him and Bronya an encouraging smile. "Good luck you guys. Don't overwork yourself." With that, she headed toward the front of the line to liaise with the civilian representatives.
'Alright, let's start the day off with a bang.' Kenji thought as he tried to hype himself up. He turned to bid farewell to Bronya, "I'm gonna go too, good luck Bronya— huh?" Only to realize that the girl had already left.
'Cold as always…'
Kenji was left standing alone for a second, watching his teammates disappear into the crowd. He felt a little awkward now that he's the only one not moving around. So he scanned the area and tried to locate the supply coordinator from before.
It didn't take long before he spotted her near the back of the tent, directing a small team of local volunteers. She looked like a no-nonsense woman in her late 40s, wearing a standard Schicksal logistics uniform. She looked absolutely sleep deprived, but her eyes were sharp and focused. Kenji approached her, navigating through the bustling command post.
"Excuse me," he said, his voice polite. "You're supply coordinator right? I'm Kenji Aoyama, from Team 7."
The woman turned, her gaze sweeping over him for a split second before facing him. "Anzai," she said, her tone tired but trying to be as professional as she could. "And yes, that's me. You're the extra muscle that principal sent over. Good. We need it." She nodded her head in approval. Kenji extended his hand for a handshake but she had already turned away. So he quickly pulled his hand back and cringed at himself.
"This way. The convoy is parked on the main access road." She said as she bid farewell to the volunteers.
Kenji followed her out of the tent and into the soft morning sun. As they walked, he took in the scene at ground level.
A massive, perfectly circular hole had been punched through the concrete, it had to be one of his misaimed air flicks during the battle. He winced, the guilt twisting in his gut. What if someone had been hiding in there?
Some buildings were absolutely reduced to rubble, crates all over the ground, and dried blood on the ground and broken walls. While he did a good job at killing a lot of honkai beasts and did a decent job saving people, he didn't really pay attention to the collateral damage he was causing.
Was he too careless? Should he have been more cautious? Questions among questions filled his mind until he was able to finally stop himself.
Even if he felt guilty for the lives lost, he shouldn't blame himself for not being able to save more. He had only ever fought a few honkai beasts at once and only had a few months of battle experience.
The fact that he was able to walk out alive was a miracle in itself. And that was mostly thanks to Elysia…
"It's been a rough couple of weeks," Ms. Anzai suddenly said, snapping him out of his thoughts. Her voice sounded flat, tired. "We've been running on fumes since the eruption. Having you Valkyries—and a Knight—here... it helps. Takes some of the pressure off."
"How have the supply levels been?" Kenji asked, trying to sound professional.
"Stretched thin," she replied with a sigh. "This convoy is the first major restock we've had. The people here are counting on it. To make it worse, some higher up decided it was a good idea to not only make us bring civilian supplies, but also reconstruction material…"
She glanced at him and stared, her sharp eyes softening just a fraction. "You kids from St. Freya... you're all so young to be doing this." It was clear that even if she knew Valkyries and Knights were necessary for the world, having people so young fight the most dangerous battles felt… wrong.
"Don't feel too sorry for us ma'am." He stopped, making sure to choose his words carefully.
"Every other Valkyrie— we'll the ones I know, are fighting because we want to do something for the world… We know how dangerous it is, and that we could lose our lives at any moment. But if our fights mean normal people can feel safer, then it's all worth it."
As he finished, he saw that she was now giving him an intense stare. He hoped his answer would have soothed her at least a little bit, but it didn't seem like that was the case.
Finally, she turned her gaze forward and sighed. "You have a good heart, kid… But you've only seen the surface of what this world has to offer. Valkyries—Schicksal… things aren't always as they seem."
She didn't say anything else after that, leaving Kenji's mind confused and a little afraid. He just wanted to cheer her up, why did she suddenly become so cryptic?!
'You can't just say those things and not elaborate!' But he didn't say his protests out loud. Not because he was afraid, but he didn't think anything productive would come out of it…
/ — /
Kenji
Finally, they walked into a section with many workers walking about. There was a closed off section where Ms. Anzai had to show clearance before they could enter. They rounded a corner, and Ms. Anzai came to a stop. "Alright, Aoyama-kun. Here we are."
'Ok, lets see what were dealing with— oh fuck me.'
Kenji looked up and froze. Lined up along the street was a convoy of massive, military-grade trucks, their engines idling with a low rumble. The rear doors of the first truck were wide open, and the sight within made his breath catch in his throat.
It was packed from floor to ceiling with heavy-looking, metal-banded crates, each one likely weighing hundreds of pounds. He could see markings for water purification units, portable power generators, and heavy-duty equipment. This wasn't just food and water; it was the machinery needed to rebuild.
"All this needs to be moved to the community center on the other side of the square," Ms. Anzai said, her tone matter-of-fact as she gestured to the truck's contents. "Most of our heavy-lifting equipment was damaged in the tremors, so we had to make due with what was left, along with manual labour..."
Kenji stared into the first truck, his mind trying to calculate the sheer weight and volume. It would take a normal crew of at least 30 people working all day to move just this one truck's contents. Heck it might take even more than that!
He swallowed hard.
Then, Ms. Anzai gestured down the street with her chin. "There are 15 more trucks just like this one waiting in line."
Kenji's jaw dropped slightly. He looked from the seemingly endless line of trucks back to the first crate, which more likely weighed more than him. Then he stared at the other workers, some using the available forklifts and remaining machinery, while some groups worked together just to lift a few boxes.
This didn't make sense to him. How could a world with flying battleships and futuristic tech not have more resources to make this much more efficient?!
…
'Oh,' he thought, a slow, dawning realization hitting him with the force of a physical blow. "I'm the extra resources.'
There must not have been enough time to supply more equipment to help with civilian aid and rebuilding, so Schicksal was probably contacted for assistance.
He looked at Ms. Anzai, who was watching him with an expectant expression. He let out a long, resigned sigh, and cracked his neck and knuckles.
"Alright, let's get started."