Desert Supply Run

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 31, Post Number 773

-Desierto, 7:30 A.M.-

Wearing polarized goggles over her face to protect herself from the sand being kicked up by the occasional gust of wind, Victoria rode through the desert on her DH-40 Centaur Prototype. Wearing her Azure Armor over her white Steel Matron t-shirt and wearing her black skirt with black bike shorts on underneath them, Victoria also carried her backpack of supplies. She was on a supply run from Berreb to a desert village called Nebdoui, which was said to be the home of a Wizard Saint. Unlike last time she had went to the desert country, this time Victoria was riding her new DH-40 Centaur Prototype hovercycle, which saved her a lot of time and energy.

Berreb needed someone to carry a shipment of arms to Nebdoui, which was in dire need of arms and ammunition. Victoria might get in trouble for being an arms courier, but this job was above board... she had the notice in her backpack in case the royal army stopped her and questioned the nature of her cargo. Besides, the brunette was not too worried about being stopped. The Centaur could move a lot faster than most horses and if push came to shove she could make a run for it with a good chance of getting away. Victoria was also comfortable with ferrying arms to people who needed them.

The brunette felt that the desert villages had a right to defend themselves against the outlaw gangs that roamed the desert. The desert villages did not have the luxury of sturdy defensive walls nor a well-trained and well-funded army to compensate for the lack of walls, so they needed weapons. Since the sultan did not really care about the people outside the Tri-Council City, why would he care if they armed themselves for self-defense? If the desert villages could protect themselves, it meant that the royal army could spend more time actually going after outlaw gangs or doing whatever it was that it did. The only thing Victoria was concerned about was Sabertooth's top brass taking umbrage at what she did and booting her out of the guild, if not getting the Rune Knights after her as well.

Part of Victoria did not care if every Rune Knight in the organization came after her.

The brunette had an anti-authoritarian attitude that stretched way back to the bad old days of life on the streets. She developed that attitude when authority figures who should have protected the weak and helpless like her chose not to help or actively participated in hurting them. While the Capital Crocus police were the worst offenders, the old Rune Knights did not seem particularly bothered about what was going on. Victoria could feel the disdain for the "filthy street kids" radiating from them when she approached one for help. Some "champions of justice" they were.

They were more worried about keeping their uniforms in good shape and how organized their parade ground formations were than actually helping people. The old Rune Knights only seemed to help when they stood to benefit from it. The new Rune Knights, on the other hand, seemed to actually give a damn about Earthland and were much more active in fighting for justice. They actually went out into the world and fought evil in its lairs rather than just reacting to it.

While Victoria had more respect for the new generation of Rune Knights than the old, that respect did not mean that she was going to kowtow to them. They were not due deference simply for existing even if they were the Magic Council's chosen enforcers. If she had to choose between arming the desert people and running afoul of the Rune Knights, chances were she would gladly run afoul of them so that the desert people would have the means to defend themselves.

Every law-abiding citizen had the right to defend themselves, not just the sultan or his chosen few.

The Rune Knights had no right to choose who was allowed to defend themselves and who was not.

Victoria would cross that bridge if and when it came. Right now she needed to focus on getting to Berreb so that she could receive the arms shipment that was to be carried to Nebdoui. At the speed she was moving on the Centaur, getting to Berreb would take far less time than it did the last time she and Abigail Windstrider had made the trip on foot. In a couple of hours or less she would be in Berreb and the job would truly begin the moment the crates were loaded onto her Centaur and she sped off towards Nebdoui. However, speeding through a vast stretch of hostile desert with crates of arms and ammunition was not the only trial she would face.

Victoria would need to go into this with both eyes open.

She would need to accept that what she was about to do could piss off some major power players. Even if it was a legitimate errand, the sultan could take serious offense to arms being ferried to desert villages and come down hard on the Sabertooth mage. He would do everything in his power to see the Sabertooth mage dead or in chains. Sabertooth might disavow her to continue to function as a Legal guild. Without Sabertooth to protect her Victoria would be left vulnerable to her enemies, which included outlaws, demon cultists, and possibly the Rune Knights and Dies Irae.

Once the crates were loaded onto the Centaur there was no going back.

Was Victoria ready to see this errand through no matter what happened afterwards?

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[Total Word Count: 938/5,000]

-Berreb, two hours later-

After a two-hour trip where she had plenty of time to think about what she was doing, Victoria arrived at the outskirts of the desert village and slowed down. She took off her backpack and fished out her job notice to have it ready to present to the village militia when they approached. Sure enough four men in tan uniforms armed with semi-automatic rifles approached her and Victoria remained calm. She waited until they got close, then slowly raised the job notice and waited until it was taken from her before she made another move. An older man with crisscrossed bandoliers took the job notice and read over it for a minute, then handed it back to her once he knew the nature of the brunette's business here.

"The chief's been waiting on you. You did good work for us last time. I'm sure that you'll come through for us again." He said to her with a smile. He motioned her forward and Victoria slowly moved the throttle up until she was moving forward at a walking pace while the militiamen followed off to the side. She easily navigated the slight incline without turning herself over or damaging her vehicle. She also avoided hitting any of the villagers or her militia escort, who had stepped back both to avoid being run over and to get a better look at the DH-40 Centaur Prototype which she was riding.

Victoria slowly rode into the village until she reached the chief's house while escorted by the militiamen. She shut off the Centaur and climbed off of it, then followed the men into the chief's house to meet with Berreb's leader and pick up the arms she was supposed to deliver. Victoria mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do.

-Inside the chief's house-

"Ah, welcome, Miss Sheridan!" the village chief greeted her warmly. Victoria raised a hand in greeting and stood in front of the table that the chief used as a desk, waiting for him to give her the details of the job. The older militiaman handed the chief the job notice and swiftly departed the tent to get back to his duties, leaving the brunette with the chief and his personal guard of eight men armed with semi-automatic rifles. The chief browsed the notice, then put it on the table and slid it back to her. Victoria approached slowly and took the job notice, then stepped back.

"I am glad that you took this job, Miss Sheridan. You came through for us last time and I'm certain that you'll come through for us again." He said to her.

"Thanks." Victoria said before asking for details on two very important questions.

"What do you need me to carry and where do you need me to go?" Victoria asked him. The chief smiled.

"I need you to ferry some surplus arms and ammunition to our ally Nebdoui, which lies many kilometers to the northwest. I believe that you may know it as the home of a Wizard Saint. Anyway, they need the supplies to begin outfitting the rest of their militia to better defend themselves from outlaws." He explained to her. Victoria used her special ability and saw that he was not lying to her about the errand. She relaxed a little, but she was still not certain whether she was ready to do what she was about to do. She must have been unable to conceal her uncertainty because the older man swiftly picked up on it and commented.

"I understand if you are uncertain about this errand. While the sultan claims he doesn't care about the desert villages just so long as they don't revolt against him, he may be displeased with weapons being ferried between them. If you do not want to do this, you may back out now and I will find someone else to transport the weapons." The chief offered. Victoria now faced the moment of truth.

Would she go through with the errand or would she back out?

The cause was just, but was she ready to face the power of the sultan, the Rune Knights, and Dies Irae should the sultan get upset about her activities?

Victoria took a deep breath. She made eye contact with the chief and spoke.

She would go into this with both eyes open.

"That won't be necessary, Chief. I'll take the weapons to Nebdoui." Victoria answered his question with confidence. She would stand behind the beliefs she had held ever since she was a member of Black Rose. She believed that someone had to stand up for the common man against evil. While plenty of guilds did that, Victoria felt that she had to stand behind her beliefs instead of wavering on them at the first sign of trouble. Not many guilds were willing to go against an entire government to help the common man and Victoria might piss off an entire government by the end of this job.

The chief smiled.

"Excellent. I knew that we could count on you. Now, let us get the weapons and ammunition loaded for transport. I trust that you did not walk here this time." He said to her. Victoria nodded.

"Not this time, Chief. You see, I recently got a vehicle from a couple of friends in Motor City and this is its first real test." Victoria informed him of how things had changed since her last visit to Berreb.

-Outside the chief's house-

The chief laid eyes on the DH-40 Centaur Prototype and was clearly impressed. So were the militiamen, who had stopped to look at the vehicle. Once they saw the chief arrive they hurried off to resume their duties before they got into trouble.

"I see this vehicle of yours, Miss Sheridan. I am impressed." He said to her. Victoria smiled.

"It should be able to carry what you need me to carry. It can also go pretty fast, so it shouldn't take too long for me to reach Nebdoui." Victoria said to him.

"Excellent. I will have your vehicle loaded and then I will send you on your way." He said. He motioned for a few militiamen to come to him. Once they had arrived he told them to get the supplies ready for transport to Nebdoui. They nodded and hurried off to procure the supplies. Meanwhile Victoria felt a strong wind blow her ponytail around as she cupped a hand over her mouth and nose to try and keep the sand from entering her mouth and nose. She had made certain to protect her eyes, but next time she needed to wear a face wrap to protect her nose and mouth from sand carried on the wind.

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-On the outskirts of Nebdoui, three hours later-

After a three-hour ride on the DH-40 Centaur Prototype which had six rectangular crates full of rifles and ammunition loaded and tied down on the back, Victoria finally approached a village full of canvas tents with only a token waist-high adobe wall facing the outskirts of the village. When she was 300 meters away from the village she gradually slowed down from 100 MPH to 50 MPH, then decreased speed even further to 25 MPH, being careful to gradually decrease throttle so that she did not throw herself over the handlebars of the Centaur and either kill herself or suffer a humiliating injury.

The ride had been lengthy and grueling, not to mention HOT. Victoria had not stopped for anything because she was afraid of being caught by roving outlaw gangs or the royal army and having the goods she was supposed to be transporting confiscated. While she had made the trip in good time without getting caught or otherwise inconvenienced, her backside was hurting from sitting for the entire ride and she was looking forward to standing up for awhile. At least she had made it here safely. She decreased speed to about three MPH and gently ascended the incline that led to the village, where a dark-haired youth in light-colored clothing and an older blonde woman wearing simple tan robes and braided hair waited for her.

Victoria stopped the Centaur just in front of them and turned it off, then got off the hovercycle to stretch her legs. Once that was complete she spoke to them.

"Hey there. I'm here with a shipment of weapons and ammunition sent from Berreb by its chief. Where do you guys want it?" Victoria asked them. The dark-haired youth smiled while the blonde woman looked at Victoria, blue eyes meeting Victoria's green eyes. It seemed like the brunette was being appraised by the woman.

"I'll have some of the village militia come and get the weapons. Just stay where you are, please!" The youth said excitedly and turned around to go gather some men to move the cargo while the woman at his side continued to watch Victoria. The brunette found that unsettling and decided to speak to the older woman.

"Hey there. I'm Victoria Sheridan and I'm from Sabertooth." Victoria spoke to the older woman. The older woman smiled a little and replied to Victoria.

"I'm Sophia Jarnefeldt. I'm the advisor to Chief Joshua Hamlin." She introduced herself to the brunette. Victoria's jaw dropped.

Was she standing right in front of Leona Jarnefeldt's mother?

"Yes, I'm Leona Jarnefeldt's mother. Perhaps you've heard of my daughter?" She asked Victoria. Victoria nodded.

"It'd be easier to find someone who hasn't heard of her by now." Victoria replied. Sophia smiled a little at that response.

Victoria had read a bit about Leona in a Sorcerer's Magazine from a little over a year ago and had learned that she was the Wizard Saint of Courage and that Desierto was her home country. She also learned that Leona had vowed to take Desierto back from the numerous outlaw gangs and make it safe for the innocent people of the country to travel without fear of being killed or captured to be sold into slavery. She also learned that Leona had increased her power at a frightening rate over the years, meaning that the blonde was serious about advancing her goal to wipe out the outlaws that plagued Desierto.

"You're right, Victoria. I've been buying editions of Sorcerer's Magazine from the Tri-Council City and I've found out that Leona's been working hard lately. She's increasing her power at a rapid rate. I'm glad that she's prospering, but I'm also worried about her." Sophia said.

"Why's that?" Victoria asked. The Wizard Saint seemed to be doing a good job of taking care of herself. Sophia looked down.

"Our relationship... it's not the best. We don't agree on certain things and it's driven us apart. My new status as the advisor to the chief hasn't helped at all." Sophia confessed to Victoria. Just then the dark-haired youth and several young men in tan uniforms with white headbands on their heads approached the Centaur and walked around the back of it to get to the crates. Victoria watched as they hurriedly undid the ropes, threw them to the sandy ground, and began lifting the crates and transporting them to another tent. Smiles were on their faces and a smile was on the chief's face as well.

"Thank you for bringing us these weapons and ammunition, stranger. We needed these supplies so badly and our contacts in the Tri-Council City suddenly seem to be too busy to deal with us like they used to!" Nebdoui's chief thanked Victoria for the delivery. Victoria raised an eyebrow when she heard that the village's contacts in the Tri-Council City suddenly did not want to deal with them. It sounded like the sultan had already started working to bring the independent desert villages under tighter control.

A good opening move would be cutting off a legitimate source of weapons and ammunition for the villages, forcing them to either make do with what they already had or to turn to black market sources, a move which carried its own risks. The next step would be to pull back the royal army and let the outlaws attack unchecked until the villages ran dangerously low on supplies and appealed to the sultan for aid. The third and final step would be making the villages submit to him in exchange for royal aid and protection. The villages, having likely been pushed to the breaking point by repeated outlaw attacks without any relief in sight, would have no choice but to submit in order to avoid the next outlaw attack possibly being the end for their people.

"I find that to be really odd. It's like someone's gone to them and told them not to do business with you guys." Victoria voiced her misgivings about the situation. Sophia nodded.

"I feel the same way, but we don't have any solid proof of anything suspicious and we don't want to burn any bridges. We're having to grin and bear it while we find other means to get supplies. We're going to owe Berreb for this delivery." Sophia said to the brunette. Once the last of the crates had been taken away the chief spoke to Victoria.

"Thank you again, stranger! You've helped us build up our defenses a little more by arming our militia. I can't thank you enough for giving us more of a fighting chance against the outlaws!" The young man named Joshua thanked Victoria for her assistance. Victoria gave a thumbs-up.

"No problem, Chief Hamlin. I'm glad I could help." Victoria assured him. All of her misgivings about the job had faded away when she saw the look of gratitude on the faces of Joshua, Sophia, and the militiamen. While all jobs like this would not be a clear-cut case of arming innocent people for self-defense, it was good to see that in this case she was doing the right thing by agreeing to ferry arms and ammunition to Nebdoui.

[Post Word Count: 1,200]
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Once the arms and ammunition had been unloaded that was the end of Victoria's job. Now she was waiting to see if Chief Joshua needed anything ferried back to Berreb before the brunette took off for the border to Fiore and back to Ace of Spades. While the brunette waited she looked towards the wall she had passed by, then looked towards the horizon. There was not a cloud in sight and there was sand, sand as far as the eye could see.

Victoria turned back to Sophia. The Sabertooth mage had a question for the mother of Leona.

"Earlier you said you were worried about Leona. I know I'm digging into something I shouldn't, but I have to know. She seems like she's doing a good job of taking care of herself, so why are you worried about her?" Victoria asked Sophia. She was well aware that she should shut up, go to Berreb, and collect her pay instead of pry into business that was not hers. But part of her wanted to know what it was like to have a parent who cared. The brunette did not even know who her real parents were or if her birth was even planned. For all she knew she might have been the product of a one-night stand who was dropped off on someone's doorstep when her birth mother could not or would not accept the responsibility of caring for her child.

"I'm just worried about her because of people's expectations for her. People around here say that she's one of the few reasons that this village is still standing. She takes that to heart and puts herself at great risk to keep this village going. People look up to her as the Wizard Saint of Courage. She goes out and takes the most dangerous jobs in order to live up to her title." Sophia gave a solid answer that explained some of the reasons for her concern about her daughter. It seemed like Leona was highly regarded, but according to Sophia that was not all it was cracked up to be. With esteemed titles like Wizard Saint came a lot of expectations, expectations that only grew the more Wizard Saints did the impossible.

"How do you feel about that?" Victoria asked Sophia, getting the feeling that she should have shut up after getting the first answer. Sophia took a breath before responding. Victoria had really put her foot in it this time.

"I don't like it at all, Miss Sheridan. It seems like Leona deliberately picks the toughest jobs to take and takes a lot of them. She also acts like she always has something to prove even though she's proven herself many times over. To me it seems like she values Earthland's safety and her guild's well-being more than she values her own life." Sophia gave an answer that got to the core of the problem. She felt that Leona was so devoted to her titles that she would gladly die to prove that she had earned the right to hold them. Victoria was not sure what to make of that, but she had asked the questions and had gotten answers. It was not Sophia's fault that the brunette was unprepared to handle the answers.

Victoria remained silent for awhile as she tried to find an answer to what she had just been told. She did not know what it was like to have a mother who cared for her like Sophia cared for Leona. The brunette had an adoptive father, but Lawrence Sheridan did not really know how to raise a girl. He still did the best he could and gave Victoria the best start he could considering that he was a mercenary who knew only how to fight. Florence Manderley was the closest thing she had to a mother, but Florence was a career woman who did not have time to babysit a brunette with family issues.

"Do you have a family, Victoria?" Sophia asked her out of the blue. Victoria shook her head.

"I have an adoptive father, but I don't know who my real parents are. All I know is that I was born in Capital Crocus and that I somehow ended up on the streets when I was six." Victoria answered truthfully. She had Lawrence Sheridan and Florence Manderley, but they were not her birth family. She had Sabertooth for acquaintances and friends, but she was hesitant to get close to them because she was unsure how long her tenure as a Sabertooth mage would last. Victoria was fairly certain that she had done some things that would make the guild's top brass consider kicking her to the curb before her antics damaged the guild's reputation. One of many questionable actions was berating an irascible librarian who thought that it was a good idea to hurl a book at Sybil Cassiopeia for being too loud in the library.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Sophia replied quietly.

"Don't feel bad, Mrs. Jarnefeldt. It is what it is." Victoria said to the older woman in an attempt to make her feel better. The brunette had grown up not knowing her family and it had not really bothered her, mostly because she did not have time to worry about it. She had bigger things to worry about like where her next meal was coming from or how far she needed to run for her pursuers to get bored and give up the chase. Victoria was someone who lived in the present and was not given to introspection. She figured that if her birth parents had really wanted her they would have tried to find her after she had been put on the streets to fend for herself. Sophia nodded and spoke further without being asked to.

"I just worry about Leona and want her to be safe, but I don't know how to tell her that because we don't get along very well. I'm afraid that I pushed her too hard on a personal matter and that she's avoiding me except when she comes here on a job. Neither of us want to give in on that matter... I don't want her to be in danger all the time and she doesn't want to live here the rest of her life." Sophia summed up the nature of the conflict with her daughter. It was all about an intensely personal matter that threatened Leona's independence, one that Sophia did not want to talk about and one that Victoria would do well not to ask about. For once the brunette took the hint and left a sensitive subject alone instead of pressing the matter to satisfy her own curiosity.

Again Victoria did not know what to say to that. It was best to not say anything at all. Victoria looked at her and tried to find something to say but decided just to keep quiet because empty platitudes like "Everything's going to be OK" and "She'll talk to you again" just would not cut it in an emotional struggle like the one going on between Sophia and Leona. Sophia saw that the Sabertooth mage was struggling for words and graciously gave her an out.

"Thank you for being kind enough to listen to me go on about my daughter." Sophia said, taking the blame onto herself.

"I shouldn't have pried into your personal business, Mrs. Jarnefeldt." Victoria said, taking the blame and putting it on herself. She really should have known better than to ask a complete stranger such personal questions. She had given in to her curiosity when she really should have known better than to do so.

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Sophia, instead of getting angry at the Sabertooth mage for the egregious violation of her privacy, chose to let Victoria off the hook. Victoria was sure that if she repeatedly dug into Jarnefeldt family business without permission that she would get in trouble for it next time. The brunette was lucky that the Wizard Saint's mother was so forgiving.

"It's all right, Victoria. I'm glad that someone was kind enough to ask about me other than my son Leonidas." Sophia assured her that there were no hard feelings from the brunette's probing questions. Sophia gave the impression that she was a vital but underappreciated part of the village's leadership, but that was a conversation for another day. Victoria did not question Sophia's leniency and decided to quit while she was ahead. She got onto the Centaur and turned it on, then maneuvered it around at a very slow speed to avoid hitting a tent or a person while she aimed the vehicle towards the desert. She pulled up beside Sophia and listened to the older woman.

"Farewell, Miss Sheridan. Good luck on your travels... and I hope that you find your birth parents one day." Sophia said to Victoria. Victoria turned towards her and was about to speak when Chief Joshua approached the pair while holding a medium-sized sack of Jewels.

"Miss Sheridan, please wait! I have something that I want you to take to Berreb's chief!" He bade her to wait. Victoria obliged and was handed a medium-sized sack of Jewels. She took off her backpack, put them inside for protection, and zipped it back up, then put the backpack on again.

"Tell the chief of Berreb that we appreciate what he did for us and that these Jewels are a down payment." Chief Joshua requested. Victoria nodded.

"I'll take them to Berreb right away and pass along your message to the chief." Victoria assured him. The young chief of Nebdoui nodded and went on his way, leaving Sophia and Victoria alone again. Sophia faced the brunette as the latter prepared to leave and spoke one last time.

"Good luck, Victoria." Sophia wished her.

"Thanks." Victoria said before she slowly moved forward and down the incline. Once she was on flat ground she took one last look back at the tent village that was home to a current Wizard Saint. With her enhanced vision she thought she could see Sophia standing at the wall, but she was not sure if the older woman was really standing there or not. Victoria then turned around and increased speed until she was at 25 MPH.

The Sabertooth mage had a lengthy ride ahead of her and she did not have all day to complete it. She set out in the direction of Berreb and increased speed until she was at 50 MPH. She was going to see if Dr. Hanlon and Dr. Reid had resolved the problem with the cooling system or not.

-Berreb, inside the Chief's house, two hours later-

By driving at top speed and not stopping for anything Victoria had made the trip from Nebdoui to Berreb in slightly over two hours. She had seen neither outlaws nor royal army, only the occasional merchant caravan or wagon full of religious pilgrims. Now Victoria was standing inside the chief of Berreb's home, where she presented him with the gift from Chief Joshua.

"Chief Hamlin sends this bag of Jewels as a down payment on the weapons and ammunition. He also sends his thanks for sending them to Nebdoui." Victoria told the chief, setting the bag down on the table. The older man smiled and accepted the bag of Jewels, slowly and carefully pulling them over to him.

"While the new Chief Hamlin is still untested, I see that he knows the value of our alliance. I am pleased with this down payment." The chief announced his pleasure with the down payment. Victoria was not sure what he meant by the "new Chief Hamlin" and she was not going to ask yet. Now that Victoria had completed the delivery of both the weapons to Nebdoui and the payment for them to Berreb, her job was finished. Before she left she would ask if there was anything else she needed to do for Berreb.

"Is there anything else you need from me, Chief?" Victoria asked him.

"Yes. In the future there may be more work for you. Berreb and Nebdoui may need someone to ferry supplies... and do other tasks to help our alliance. The Wizard Saint is strong and dedicated to our cause, but she can only do so much. Therefore we must turn to other sources of help." He said to her. Victoria nodded. She was always on the lookout for new and exciting job opportunities. The fact that she would be helping a good cause was a bonus.

"I'll keep an eye out for your job posts." Victoria assured him. She then turned to leave.

"Good luck out there, Miss Sheridan." The chief bade her before she left the house to make the return to Fiore and Ace of Spades. She had done her part.

Now Victoria had to wait and see if there would be any fallout from today's job. She would wait and see if she was still a member of Sabertooth a few days from now. She would wait and see if the full force of the sultan, the Rune Knights, and Dies Irae would be coming down on her head.

[Post Word Count: 915]
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