"Must you insist on whistling at absolutely all hours of the day and night, Jhaj?

It was late into the second day of travel for Śaiḍō Company - a team of four members of the Indus River Confederation's Department of Special Activities, the very clandestine and constantly denied department of the War Office in charge of espionage, sabotage, and other such activities. Around a month ago, plans made their way through the Confederation Congress to take control of fertile farmland downriver from currently controlled IRC territory, in order to provide adequate food for a growing population. The Hutters especially wanted to establish control of the area before the winter was over, so basic preparations could be made in time for the beginning of the growing season. A diplomatic delegation was sent to the region's current occupants, a primarily agricultural nation run out of the ruins of Sukkur, offering rapid integration and significant benefits if they would agree to join the Confederation. Unfortunately, after significant debate within the Sukkur government, a few particularly loud objectors won out, and the resulting... pointed recommendations to reconsider by the delegation caused a fight to break out, and one of the delegation members was nearly killed. In response, the DSA was authorized to change the minds of the Sukkur government, by any means necessary. So Śaiḍō Company was deployed, and after two days of river travel and far too much whistling, they had nearly arrived.

"Oh give me a break Kandraya, we're almost there. Besides, no one was talking, and I wanted to practice."

"You have practiced enough this trip to last a lifetime, and if you don't stop soon I'll knock so many of your teeth out that the only noises you will be able to make are whistles and cries of pain."

Śaiḍō Company was known for being a bit of an outfit of misfits - agents that were too good at their jobs to fire or disappear completely, but too insufferably to stick them in any other unit. Tunneler Kandraya Munjal was the only female of the group, and only one of five in DSA history to make the rank of agent. This has left her necessarily assertive and naturally defensive, qualities that lead to multiple fights in the academy (most of which she won). The current bane of her existence is Surpreet Jhajharia, or Jhaj, the prodigal Bunker whiz kid whose intelligence made it a near certainty that he would make it through the academy, and the ego that accompanied him made it an absolute certainty that he would piss off everyone else along the way. His laid-back attitude towards even the most serious of DSA operations especially got on Kandraya's nerves, who fought far too hard to let a little shit like him make a mockery of her service.

"How about you both shut your mouths before I toss you off this boat!"

Captain Jagjeet Nahl was the fearless leader of Śaiḍō Company, a former Tunneler officer in the Confederation Army who's prowess in battle got him a spot at the academy, and who then proceeded to shoot and shout his way through training. While an undeniably courageous and impressive leader, it usually worked best when the man who's first solution to a locked door is to kick it down is left back at the base to direct the other, more subtle agents.

"I wouldn't do that boss, if I heard a loud splash near the boat I would absolutely shoot first, then again, and again, and probably never ask questions, and I would prefer not to shoot another agent."

Hutter Ashjot Bhinder, or Ash for short, should never have made it through the academy. His default state is anxiety and paranoia, constantly setting "defensive traps" to protect himself and his company, an unfortunately itchy trigger finger, and an irrational fear of "glowing people" - something he thought he saw during his service with the army and has been terrified of ever since. He was put in Śaiḍō Company when his "defensive perimeter" managed to kneecap his previous commanding officer. Ash belongs more clearly in an institution than a DSA unit, but his unparalleled knowledge of all things explosive continues to be an asset to the Department, and he probably will be until he kills someone "in self defense".

"Oh c'mon Ash," Jhaj laughed, "you wouldn't shoot me!"

"Not on purpose, of course," Ash replied, "but I don't want to know what kinds of monsters live downriver. Giant crocodiles, man-eating river dolphins, or maybe water-breathing glowing people! Regardless, whatever I thought it might be, I would shoot first and check its identity later, because I'd rather you be dead than me."

"OK morons, shut up now," Kandraya interrupted, half whispering and half shouting, "we're here."

The ruins of Sukkur were barely ruins at all - being so far removed from any major city meant that the only damage to the city has been through mother nature and time. The people that had taken up shelter in and around the city had done their best to rebuild it, but ended up mostly just expanding the city outwards, with the gorgeous repaired city center going to the elites. The roads in and out of the city were well worn with the hoof- and tire-prints of traders passing through, a testament to the importance of the Indus River Valley's food production to the people outside of it. The Confederation had been happy enough trading for food when it came up short through it's own production, but the population recently surpassed a million people, and a more steady and secure food source was needed. Captain Nahl turned off the motor of the boat, and Śaiḍō Company silently glided towards the shore.

"Jhaj, you got your night 'nocs?" Nahl whispered.

"Always do, Cap."

Jhaj, in his constant obsession with tinkering with old world tech, had found and repaired two specialty scopes in an old army base in Lahore. While extremely bulky and unwieldy, they allowed the user to see far more clearly in the dark than they could with the naked eye, so of course Jhaj had to make them even bulkier and fashion the two of them into a pair of binoculars. Nevertheless, they had proven their worth already on more than one occasion, and Jhaj always offered to carry them himself, so no one on the team could see a reason to complain. He took out his prized creation and began to survey the landing area.

"Lets see... looks like the Recces were right, this would appear to be the moneybags dock. A bunch of nice looking restored boats and only two guards, and they are paying far more attention to people trying to get ONTO the dock than walk off it. We should be good for landing."

Quickly and quietly, Śaiḍō Company moved from the boat to the dock and crept towards the guards. Use of force was approved, but only as a last resort for the uninvolved - the goal WAS a peaceful annexation after all - so they slid around the sides of the unsuspecting watchmen and moved into the city center. As silent as a shadow the team swept through the city, peering in windows and attempting to establish the location of the two main opponents to annexation. They finally found them together, sitting in a late-night bar and drinking heartily.

"I say we just shoot them." Jhaj offered.

"Not good enough," Ash replied, "if we wanna be sure, we take down the building. A couple of charges along this wall, which appears to be load-bearing, and they won't be leaving."

Nahl looked ready to smack them both. "No you morons, we aren't doing ANY of that. Kandraya, you still got those poison pills?"

"Way ahead of you Cap," she responded, "be back in 5."

Kandraya slipped off her backpack, loosened her hair and clothes, and walked into the bar. Waving off the server that was coming to seat her, she took a seat near the targets and waited. As a waitress walked towards them with a couple of drinks, Kendraya got up and "accidentally" bumped into her, taking advantage of her loss of concentration to drop the pills into the drinks and walk directly out of the bar. She smiled as she walked away, and watched both marks take a large swig of their now deadly beers right as she left the building. Jogging up to the rest of the Company, she grabbed her pack, smiled, and raised her eyebrows in the universal sign of 'it's done, now lets get out of here fast'. They hustled back towards the boat, but were stopped dead in their tracks. Their boat was lit up like a red light district nightclub, and guards were all over it looking for the owners.

"Fucking hell..." Nahl swore under his breath. "Ash, tell me you left a thermos on the boat?"

"You know I did boss," he replied, sounding dangerously like a giddy schoolboy, "right at the back near the motor."

Ash had a penchant for creating explosives that looked dangerously like common household items. This one was little more than a thermos filled with nitrogelatin and a timed detonator, but it could very handily be set off with small arms fire.

"Good. Get ready to blow it. Kandraya and Jhaj, go find us a ride, I take it we will not be welcome here for much longer."

The two agents quickly found a restored army truck meant to become a luxury ride for the rich people that owned it. Kayandra quickly jimmied open the door, and Jhaj got to work hotwiring the engine. Suddenly, screaming could be heard from the direction of the bar.

"Almost there Cap!" Jhaj yelled.

"We had better be, because we are out of time!" Nahl yelled back. "Ash, blow it!"

Ash quickly sighted the small canister in the back of the boat and pulled the trigger. His De Lisle carbine, one of the quietest guns ever made, barely made a sound as it sent a bullet flying towards the hidden bomb. He turned away just as the blinding flash nearly vaporized the boat - and the evidence it contained - and threw half the guards on the dock into the water. Ash ran towards the truck and hopped in just as Ash finished the hotwire.

"Floor it!" Nalh screamed.

The truck sped through the inner city, crashing down alleyways and streets barely big enough for it as people poured out of their homes to see the sources of the screaming and the explosion. The two guards at the front gate helplessly tried to close the gates as the truck just blew through the checkpoint, and sped down the road away from the city, and back upriver. No one gave chase.

A few weeks later, diplomats from the IRC Foreign Office and the Sukkur government hammered out a favorable treat of annexation. There was no resistance. The IRC immediately took control of Sukkur and the surrounding area of the Indus, started the process of integrating the new citizens, and began making preparations for the coming crop season.