The haze from the factories surrounding the city was blowing east, away from the bay that separated Baalkpan proper from the installation where Major I’joorka’s 1st North Borno Regiment was undergoing its final evaluation maneuvers before deployment east to join the fight against the Holy Dominion. The green regimental flag with a stylized—and very broken—Japanese destroyer and the words 1ST REGT NORTH BORNO INF hand-painted on it flapped in the early-afternoon breeze in the center of the Khonashi troops. About half of them were disconcertingly Grik-like in appearance except for what little coloration was visible beneath the tie-dyed frocks they wore. Clearly the same species as Grik, they were an entirely different race: tiger-striped rust and black instead of the typical brown and dun of the enemy. The other half of the new regiment were humans of ancient Malay descent. All were armed with Baalkpan Arsenal rifled muskets and arrayed in an open but precise skirmish order two ranks deep that extended roughly three hundred yards to either side of the flag, facing the dense jungle to the west.
