Capsule Retrieval

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 34, Post Number 838

-Mister Burke's Residence, the third floor meeting room, 8:00 A.M.-

Dressed in her winter camouflage gear with Arctic Armor on her torso, Scout Laser Pistol in its holster on her left hip, SHG-IV Smart Glasses on her face, and Ses Revanche in her right boot that was currently on the mat near the entrance to her client's house, Leona was standing in Mister Burke's meeting room. In her backpack was an assortment of gear including her Urban Nights Glowstick, some food, some water, her white balaclava, and her orange polarized snow goggles. She did not have her white balaclava on yet, but she would put it on when she went to her destination. In the job notice that had been sent to her she was told to "dress warmly" because the place she was going to go would be very cold.

"Hello, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke greeted her calmly from behind his computer desk. He was wearing a formal three-piece gray suit with a white tie, which was a radical departure from his normal casual attire.

"Hello, Mister Burke." Leona returned the greeting.

"I have called you here because I need your help with a retrieval mission of a sensitive nature." Mister Burke informed her of what her task would be. Leona made eye contact with the client.

"I'm interested, Mister Burke." Leona said. Mister Burke gave a small smile.

"Excellent. Then I will get to the point. You will be going to Silent Glaciers in search of a capsule that fell out of an aircraft that was flying over the region. The capsule contains a project of my mentor's that must be retrieved as swiftly as possible." Mister Burke told her more of what she was doing and where she would be going. Leona listened attentively as he motioned towards a pair of objects sitting on the left side of his desk with his left hand.

"You will need these items, Miss Jarnefeldt. One of them is a company iLac. We will use it to remain in communication throughout your search. The other item is a special tracker that will help you locate the capsule." Mister Burke told her. Leona walked over to the desk and looked at the items. The company iLac was a burgundy one like the one she had used several times before, so she needed no special instructions on how to use it. She could link her SHG-IV Smart Glasses to the iLac and stash the iLac in her backpack for safe, hands-free communication using the headset microphone of the Smart Glasses.

The tracker was a small black box that had roughly the dimensions of an average wristwatch face with a black wristband attached to the bottom and a square screen with rounded edges taking up most of the center of the box. There was a switch on the right side that was presumably to power the device on and off. There were also two arrow buttons just below the screen. One was pointing up and the other was pointing down.

"The wrist-mounted tracker is keyed to the tracking device on the capsule and it will help you find the capsule. When you power the device on it the screen will show a green grid and a blinking red dot. Just walk in the direction of the red dot and eventually you will find the capsule." Mister Burke gave Leona a brief description of how the device worked and how to use it. The device was so simple that even Leona could use it without difficulty.

"All right. I'll place the iLac in my backpack and take the tracker." Leona replied. She took off her Arctic Armor, then took off the backpack and opened it. She powered on the burgundy iLac and connected it to her SHG-IV Smart Glasses, then put the device in her backpack. She closed up the backpack and put it back in its place on the armor, then put the Arctic Armor back on. Leona then put the tracker around her left wrist and fastened the wristband.

"Excellent. We will keep in touch through the iLac. But before you go, I would like to test our communications." Mister Burke stated before making a request.

"Certainly." Leona said obligingly. Mister Burke produced a mint green iLac and put it on his desk. He powered it on.

"Go into the hallway and I will call the company iLac on my personal iLac." Mister Burke said.

"All right." Leona replied and left the room.

-Out in the hallway, on the third floor-

Leona shut the door to the meeting room behind her. She stood outside and waited for the call. She would not have long to wait.

"Hello, Miss Jarnefeldt. Are you getting this call?" Mister Burke asked.

"Yes, Mister Burke. I can hear you clearly." Leona replied.

"Excellent. Please proceed to Silent Glaciers as soon as you can. Let me know the moment you get there." Mister Burke requested.

"I'm heading that way now." Leona said. She set out for the staircase that would take her to the second floor. Once on the first floor she would put on her boots, exit Mister Burke's house, walk to the outskirts of Shirotsume, then summon Winged Lion and fly to Silent Glaciers as fast as Winged Lion could go.

[Post Word Count: 884]
[Total Word Count: 884/10,000]

-Silent Glaciers, two hours later-

Having landed ten meters beyond the frozen river she needed the help of her summons to cross, Leona dismounted Winged Lion, activated the heating ability of her Arctic Armor, and turned to face the wilderness ahead of her. She remembered that she was supposed to contact the client the moment she landed in Silent Glaciers. Now would be a good time to do that.

"Mister Burke, can you hear me?" Leona inquired. She heard humming and typing on a keyboard for almost a full minute before she got an answer.

"Yes, Miss Jarnefeldt. I can hear you clearly." The client answered.

"I've just landed in Silent Glaciers. I'm about to activate the wrist-mounted tracker and start searching for the capsule." Leona informed him as she raised her left wrist. She then looked at the switch on the right side of the device and gently flipped it. The screen came on and it was a black screen with a green grid on it. True to Mister Burke's word there was a red dot that blipped on the edge of the screen.

"Good. Does the tracker I provided you with work?" Mister Burke inquired.

"Yes sir, it's working. I turned it on a few seconds ago and I'm already getting a red blip to the north." Leona replied.

"Excellent. If you use the arrow keys located near the bottom of your screen you can zoom in and zoom out. If you zoom out far enough you should be able to see a number at the bottom left corner of the screen. Try it now." Mister Burke told her what the arrows did before instructing her to try it out now. Leona's hair blew about in the cold wind as she located the down arrow key and pressed it. The grid zoomed out a little and she saw a green number.

"I've done it. I zoomed out a little and I'm seeing the number like you said I would." Leona informed him.

"Good. What does that number read?" He asked her. Leona glanced down at the screen and read the number. It was 2,500.

"It's 2,500." Leona replied.

"All right then. You are approximately 2,500 meters away from the capsule. Just head in the direction of the red dot on your screen and you will eventually get to it. I will give you further instructions once you have reached the capsule." Mister Burke informed her.

"Understood. I'll start moving shortly." Leona replied. She quickly deactivated the heating ability of the Arctic Armor, took it off, set it on the ground, opened the backpack, fished out her white balaclava, and took off her SHG-IV Smart Glasses. She put the white balaclava on to protect her face from the biting cold, then put on her Smart Glasses again. Finally she fished out the Urban Nights Glowstick to have it handy in case she needed the glowstick for whatever reason, then put it in the left cargo pocket of her winter camouflage pants before closing up the backpack and putting the Arctic Armor back on.

"OK, I'm moving in the direction of the capsule now." Leona informed the client now that her preparations were finally complete. She activated the heating ability of her armor and the automatic setting did the rest, heating to a comfortable temperature that was not too hot despite wearing a thick jacket under the armor. In between the armor and the balaclava she would be able to traverse the cold expanse of Silent Glaciers in relative comfort. Now the biggest challenge would be walking 2,500 meters to the capsule in an area she had not explored very much of.

A month or two ago Leona had wanted to test the Arctic Armor's abilities on a long walk through Silent Glaciers but had been forced to postpone that test due to having to rescue a young woman named Amanda Smith from the cold region. She had been looking for another chance to try out the specialized armor but had not gotten that chance because her work took her to places that were not cold enough to warrant wearing the Arctic Armor. Today she would get to wear it on a long trip through Silent Glaciers, which should allow her to get some idea of how the armor fit and whether she could comfortably wear it for long periods of time before taking it into rougher conditions.

Checking her wrist-mounted tracker and looking in the direction the blinking red dot was situated, Leona began walking forward with the snow crunching under her boots as she walked in the direction of some woods that were quite a distance from her current position. It was going to be a long walk to reach the capsule, so she had better get moving. At least the tracker was here to make her job a little easier by pointing her in the approximate direction of the capsule instead of her having to walk in a direction and leave it up to chance whether or not she found what she was looking for.

[Post Word Count: 848]
[Total Word Count: 1,732/10,000]

-Silent Glaciers, 500 meters and forty-five minutes later-

Once she had put on her white balaclava to cover her head Leona had barely noticed the cold weather. She was walking along in the cold environment like it was nothing thanks to the Arctic Armor. So far the heating ability was working perfectly and the armor's fit was perfect. It was not moving up and down and it was not constricting her anywhere, which was a pleasant surprise considering that she had a larger chest size than the average female. Fortunately it was custom-made for her just like her Adaptable Armor was, so her proportions were taken into account when the Arctic Armor was created.

Leona continued to walk through Silent Glaciers while listening out for any words from Mister Burke. So far she had heard nothing but silence after their last communication, meaning that he might have hung up on his end. That was fine with her. So far it was an uneventful walk through the cold thanks to her Arctic Armor and her other winter gear. Thanks to her preparations the worst thing about this job was the tedium of walking through an environment without a whole lot of interesting scenery to look at.

At least the job itself was easy.

This job was a lot easier than the preceding job of fighting through Fat Monsterland to stop a cult set to perform a ritual at midnight only to find that by the time she got there she could not stop the ritual from taking place, only kill one of the cultists involved in it. Killing the cultist did nothing to stop what was going on because by the time he was killed the ritual was well underway and it succeeded in its aim of summoning a burly ax-wielding man named Zaeral the Infernal Headsman to the physical plane. After a tough and tedious fight where Leona was forced on the defensive she managed to eke out a victory, but it was a temporary one. Zaeral had not been at full power when Leona "defeated" him, but there was a good chance that he would have regained his full strength when he came back looking for a rematch.

This job was a lot easier because Leona did not have to fight for her life. She did not have to fight hordes of zombies and an ax-wielding man bent on decapitating her or splitting her in two with a single swing of an ax with a haft taller than she was. All Leona had to do was keep walking forward and move in the direction of the red dot on her tracker until she located the capsule, then let her client know that the capsule had been located and wait for further instructions.

Leona took a deep breath of cold air and kept walking as she raised the tracker on her left wrist and looked at both the red dot and the number in the bottom left corner of the screen.

She had roughly 2,000 meters to go before she reached the capsule.

Leona lowered the tracker and kept walking towards a dense forest of snow-covered trees. The forest was about another 500 meters away from her current location and it was on the path to the capsule. She did not see any practical way to go around the forest other than taking a very long walk around it and that would be a big waste of time, so she would just walk through it to avoid wasting time she might not have to spare.

Besides, she had never walked through a snow-covered forest before.

"Miss Jarnefeldt, are you still there?" Mister Burke asked Leona. The blonde was momentarily startled by the sound of the client's voice over the headset and waited a few moments before responding to give herself time to recover.

"Yes Mister Burke, I'm still here." Leona replied once she got over the surprise.

"Excellent. How close are you to the capsule?" He inquired. Leona quickly raised the tracker and looked at it.

"I'm about 1,960 meters away from it." Leona replied.

"Excellent." Mister Burke said before going silent again. Leona lowered the tracker and kept walking. It was going to be a long walk and she needed to focus on where she was going instead of staring at the tracker.

[Post Word Count: 724]
[Total Word Count: 2,456/10,000]

-In the forest, 500 meters and fifty minutes later-

After an uneventful walk Leona finally reached the forest she had spotted earlier and was walking through it while marveling at how the shadows of the tree branches seemed to dance on the snowy ground as they blew about in a gentle wind.

Leona had never seen anything like this in Desierto.

Leona could not pull eyes away from the enchanting sight and noted how oddly calming it was. The wind gently blew through the branches and the sight of the shadows dancing on the snow combined with the sound of the wind blowing lent the scene an otherworldly feel like she had stepped into a dream. She almost hated to walk on the snow because it disrupted the dance, but she had no choice but to keep moving. Mister Burke was counting on her to reach the capsule and secure it for him.

Leona heard the wind blowing as she moved, her boots crunching in the snow. She hardly noticed the cold thanks to everything she was wearing. The real life-saver was the Arctic Armor on her chest, which kept her warm and comfortable.

"Hello, Miss Jarnefeldt. How are you?" Mister Burke asked the Wizard Saint. Knowing that he was on the other end of the line, Leona was not startled like she was the first time he had contacted her nearly an hour ago.

"I'm all right, Mister Burke. I'm..." Leona started to answer but paused before lifting the tracker to her face and looking at the number.

"I'm roughly... 1,980 meters from the capsule." Leona finished her status report and lowered the tracker so that she could keep her eyes on the terrain ahead of her.

"Excellent." Mister Burke said before going silent again. Leona kept her mouth shut and kept walking. The wind blowing through the trees made for an oddly relaxing sound she did not hear too much of because she did not stop and smell the roses, so to speak. She would have to come back for nature appreciation some other time. She had a job to do.

-Outside the forest, 1,680 meters from the capsule, thirty-five minutes later-

Leona emerged from the forest and beheld another empty field with nothing to break up the monotony of snow, snow, and more snow for hundreds of meters. She lifted the tracker to check the distance to the capsule and noted that it was approximately 1,680 meters away from her present location. Leona kept putting one foot in front of the other until she realized that she could use Zephyr Dash to cut 100 meters off of the trip now that she was in open terrain. Without having to worry about slamming into a tree at high speed Leona did so and used her "flash step" to advance 100 meters in a matter of seconds.

Recovering from the Zephyr Dash, Leona resumed walking and was 100 meters closer to where she needed to go. In front of her loomed a field of snow with no distinctive terrain features but what looked like another forest in the distance that was hundreds of meters away. The Wizard Saint took a quiet breath and kept moving forward as the wind began to blow a little harder than it had been blowing for the past thirty or so minutes.

That did not deter Leona, though. The wind did not bother her and neither did the cold. She kept putting one foot in front of the other as she slowly made her way towards the forest in the distance and the capsule that was approximately 1,700 meters away.

[Post Word Count: 606]
[Total Word Count: 3,062/10,000]

-1,680 meters and two hours and fifteen minutes later, at the capsule-

After a lot of uneventful walking in an empty field broken up by a walk through another section of woods Leona arrived at the capsule in question. It was located in an open field and it was a large silver cylinder slightly longer than a person lying on the ground with a green section over the front... the green section looked like a screen of sorts. Leona was busy examining the capsule for any damage it might have sustained from the fall when she heard a familiar voice.

"Have you found the capsule yet, Miss Jarnefeldt?" Mister Burke asked.

"Yes, Mister Burke. I'm standing in front of it right now." Leona replied in the affirmative. She continued to examine the capsule for damage while waiting for a response from the client.

"Is there any damage to it?" Mister Burke asked. Leona did a quick walk around the capsule and examined it carefully, then made her report.

"Not that I can see, Mister Burke. There's what looks like a green screen on the front, though." Leona replied.

"Excellent. Is the screen intact?" Mister Burke asked another question. Leona silently looked the screen over and noted that it was opaque before responding.

"It's intact." Leona replied.

"Excellent. Is anyone else in the area?" Mister Burke asked yet another question.

"I'm not seeing anyone else right now. It's just me and the capsule." Leona replied. She wondered if anyone else would be interested in the capsule, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Splendid." He replied laconically before Leona heard rapid typing on a keyboard. After a few moments of rapid typing and a few mouse clicks she heard back from the client.

"Please remain with the capsule, Miss Jarnefeldt. I have dispatched a retrieval team that should be at your location in around... around three hours at best, six hours at the most." Mister Burke informed her that a retrieval team had been dispatched to her location. That was a good thing because Leona had hoped that she would not have to be the one to recover the capsule. Now that she had been told that she was not responsible for moving the object her life had been made a lot easier. All she would have to do was watch over it until someone who had the equipment and know-how arrived to move it.

"OK. What should I look for the team to arrive in? A helicopter?" Leona asked.

"Yes. A green helicopter, to be exact. A green helicopter with the number WI-4122 in black letters on the tail." Mister Burke replied with additional details.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Leona asked.

"Not at all, Miss Jarnefeldt. All you have to do now is stay with it until the team arrives and loads the capsule into the helicopter. Once they retrieve it and are airborne I would like for you to return to me at your earliest convenience." Mister Burke informed her. That was simple enough.

"Certainly, Mister Burke." Leona replied.

"I will let you know when they are close to your location. I will contact you later." He said before going silent. Leona had her instructions. She was to remain here and watch over the capsule until the retrieval team got here, then return to Shirotsume when the capsule was loaded onto the helicopter and the helicopter was heading to wherever it was going.

It was going to take quite some time for the retrieval team to get here, so with nothing else to do Leona began to walk in circles around the capsule. Doing that was a good way to stay active in a cold environment. It was also a good way to stave off boredom... at least for a little while.

-Silent Glaciers, one hour later-

It was one hour into the wait and the Wizard Saint had already begun making a circle in the snow around the capsule with the trail she had made during her walking. Leona stopped walking for a few moments and felt the wind pick up. It began to howl and kick up a little of the snow on the ground, but it did not kick up enough snow to do very much. The skies remained clear and visibility remained normal. Leona looked around for a few moments, then resumed walking in circles around the capsule.

She was sure that by the time the helicopter got here the pilot could see the circle she had walked into the snow from the air.

[Post Word Count: 762]
[Total Word Count: 3,824/10,000]

-Silent Glaciers, five hours later-

Leona had taken breaks from walking in circles to stretch her legs and do other activities that kept her somewhat alert before walking again, but now she was getting seriously bored. She was hoping that the retrieval team would get here and get the capsule soon so that she could get out of here and return to Shirotsume where it was warm. At least her Arctic Armor was doing its part to keep the cold climate bearable.

Leona started walking again just to have something to do and wondered when Mister Burke was going to speak to her again. It had been a little over five hours since their last communication and she was starting to wonder if he was experiencing trouble of some kind. Maybe the retrieval team had experienced technical difficulties of some sort that were delaying their arrival. Leona started her umpteenth lap around the capsule and had taken eight steps when she heard the client's voice.

"Hello, Miss Jarnefeldt? Are you still there?" Mister Burke asked her. She immediately stopped walking so that the sound of her boots crunching on snow would not interfere with her ability to hear the conversation.

"Yes Mister Burke, I'm still here." Leona replied.

"Excellent. The retrieval team should be arriving any minute now. Do you have a signaling device to let them know where you are?" The client asked Leona. Leona absentmindedly reached down towards her left cargo pocket and felt her Urban Nights Glowstick resting inside the pocket.

"Will a glowstick work?" Leona asked him. She heard a drawn-out hmm and worried about whether Mister Burke would find her idea to be a ridiculous one and shoot it down.

"While that was not quite what I had in mind, a glowstick should suffice provided that it is the right color." Mister Burke replied. Leona immediately understood his meaning. Using a color that stood out against the white snow like yellow or orange should do the trick.

"All right then. Is there anything special that I need to know?" Leona asked him. She doubted that there was anything more she needed to know than what she had already been told.

"Not at all, Miss Jarnefeldt. Just wait for the retrieval team to arrive and pick up the capsule." Mister Burke replied that there was nothing special she needed to know. That was good enough for her.

"All right then. I'll be waiting for the team to get here." Leona said.

"Excellent. When the capsule is taken on board the helicopter and is airborne again, I would like you to return to Shirotsume as soon as possible." He reminded her before going silent.

Leona looked towards the sky and did not see anything that looked like a helicopter just yet. The visibility was still good, so she should be able to spot it if she was attentive enough. Besides, it was not like olive drab could blend in with white snow. With that in mind Leona put one foot in front of the other and began walking in circles again.

-One hour and twenty minutes later-

Leona had done all she could to stave off boredom, but she was getting bored beyond belief. Not even walking in circles was able to alleviate her boredom any longer. She was not sure what she could do to stay focused on her task and was looking for answers when she heard a loud noise in the distance. Leona looked towards the sky and spotted a black dot that was approaching.

Remembering that she needed to signal the helicopter crew, she got her glowstick out of her left pocket and activated it, causing it to glow blue. That was not the color she wanted, but since there was no time for another option it would have to do. She held it in her right hand and waved it above her head while the helicopter approached. She kept waving the glowstick until the helicopter got close, then hovered in place for a few moments before gently landing ten meters to the right of the capsule with the rear cargo door facing the capsule. Leona was silently impressed by the precise landing.

Leona stepped back and looked at the identification number on the tail of the helicopter. It was WI-4122 printed in large black letters just like Mister Burke said it would be. She watched a group of ten men wearing white parkas with the letters WI in blue inside a circle with a black border and white pants with boots emerge from the rear of the helicopter with a length of steel cable and some other tools. Leona kept her distance and watched as the men worked to secure the capsule.

Soon Leona's task would be over and she would be able to set out for the warmer climate of Shirotsume. She could not wait to leave Silent Glaciers for the day. She really wanted some coffee or some other warm beverage to drink when she got to Shirotsume.

[Post Word Count: 838]
[Total Word Count: 4,662/10,000]

-Silent Glaciers, forty minutes later-

After a lot of work and a lot of effort the capsule was securely on board the helicopter and the crew had boarded. Leona watched as the helicopter took to the air, then turned around and headed back in the direction whence it came. Leona watched it fly into the distance, then stuffed the glowing glowstick into her left cargo pocket because it was no longer needed.

"I just received notice from the helicopter crew that they have the capsule and are on the way to their airfield. There they will prepare it for transport to a company laboratory. Good work, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke informed in over the headset. Leona noticed that he did not tell her what was in the capsule, but she kept her mouth shut. She doubted that he was up to shady business and he had been honest with her before.

"All right then, Mister Burke. I'll set out for Shirotsume as fast as I can." Leona said to the client.

"Excellent. I will see you in a few hours, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke replied before going silent. With that done Leona began to plot her route out of Silent Glaciers.
She could not wait to get out of this cold place and wanted to leave as soon as she could. She turned away from the place where the capsule once sat and began to walk when she realized something.

The visibility was still good and the weather was still calm.

Why not fly back to Shirotsume and save herself a lot of time and effort that she would have otherwise spent by walking?

Leona raised her hands to the sky and summoned Winged Lion. She climbed onto his back and telepathically told him that they were going to the outskirts of Shirotsume. He flapped his wings and began to run forward, building up momentum before jumping into the air and taking off with a mighty flap of his wings. Leona was on her way to Shirotsume and out of this place.

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's Residence, the meeting four hours later-

Having left her boots on the mat just inside the door, deactivated the Arctic Armor's heating ability, and taken off her white balaclava, Leona walked into the meeting room of Mister Burke's residence to meet with him and hear what he had to say about the outcome of her work.

"Hello, Miss Jarnefeldt. You will be pleased to know that the capsule has made it safely to the airfield." Mister Burke informed her. Leona was pleased to hear that her hard work had not been in vain. It was not like she had to work too hard to find the capsule since the tracker had pointed out the direction she needed to go in, but the constant walking to get to that point had been more than a little taxing on her.

"I'm glad to hear that, Mister Burke." Leona replied calmly.

"We are currently investigating whether the capsule's sudden fall from the aircraft that was transporting it was an accident or sabotage." Mister Burke informed her of another development. He did not see fit to share any other information on the subject, so Leona decided to let the matter pass without comment. She listened patiently for him to tell her something else instead.

"With that being said, my mentor is pleased with your work today, Miss Jarnefeldt. She appreciates you going to Silent Glaciers to find the capsule and keeping it safe until the retrieval team got there." Mister Burke informed her that his mentor was grateful for her part in the capsule's recovery. Again Leona was pleased to hear that her efforts were appreciated.

"I'm glad to help, Mister Burke." Leona replied to his last statement. She was not just saying that to make him feel good. After fighting Zaeral the Infernal Headsman a short time ago she was glad to be able to take a simple job like this one where the worst problems had been the travel time to get to Silent Glaciers and the cold weather of that region.

Mister Burke was about to speak further when a loud DING noise sounded. He turned his attention to the computer screen and his eyes darted back and forth as he read something. Then he frowned.

"Miss Jarnefeldt, I will need your help again. Another capsule... another capsule has just been dropped out of a plane over... over Fat Monsterland." Mister Burke informed her. Leona kept a straight face, but she was not pleased to hear that name come up.

"I'll go find it for you, Mister Burke." Leona replied calmly. Mister Burke's face showed relief when she offered to go into the danger zone without being prompted.

"Thank you, Miss Jarnefeldt. I will need to tune your tracker to the new capsule." Mister Burke said. Leona obligingly took it off of her left wrist and handed it to him. She then took off her Arctic Armor, took off her thick winter jacket and set it on the floor, then put the Arctic Armor back on before picking up the jacket. She would not need the thick jacket where she was going.

[Post Word Count: 866]
[Total Word Count: 5,528/10,000]

After a few minutes of work Mister Burke had reconfigured the wrist-mounted tracker to track the signal of the capsule currently sitting in Fat Monsterland. He set the tracker down on the left side of the desk and silently pushed it towards Leona. She set her coat down on the floor and took the tracker, securing it to her left wrist. She then picked up her coat and set it on the desk where the tracker had been placed.

"I'd like for you to keep this for me while I'm in Fat Monsterland. I won't need it there." Leona requested of him.

"Certainly, Miss Jarnefeldt." He replied and left the coat where it was.

"Is there anything special I need to know about this job before I set out?" Leona asked him. He shook his head.

"Not at all, Miss Jarnefeldt. It is the same as last time. Find the capsule and the moment you find let me know. I will dispatch a retrieval team just like I did to Silent Glaciers." He replied. Leona heard that last part and felt moved to comment.

"If you can avoid doing so, don't have your team land to get the capsule. There's zombies everywhere in Fat Monsterland. They tend to travel in large groups and I can't guarantee the retrieval team's safety if they land." Leona informed the client. She was pretty sure that he had taken the location into account, but considering her past experiences in that place, she felt obligated to warn him about the dangers of landing a helicopter and sending out a team.

"Very well then. You have much more experience in that place than I do. I will inform the team to make preparations for a different way to extract the capsule." Mister Burke said to her. Leona was sure that he would work out the details. In the meantime she needed to get going to Fat Monsterland to start her part of the new assignment.

"I'll get going to Fat Monsterland now, Mister Burke." Leona said before heading for the door. As she walked towards the door she heard Mister Burke call out to her.

"I will keep in touch with you over the iLac just like last time." Mister Burke informed her.

"And do be careful out there, Miss Jarnefeldt." He bade her.

"I'll be careful, Mister Burke." Leona assured him. She then opened the door to the meeting room, shut it behind her, and began making her way towards the first floor, where she would reclaim her boots before setting out for her destination.

-Fat Monsterland, three hours later-

Having used Winged Lion to transport her to Fat Monsterland, Leona hopped off of his back and dispelled him, then turned to face the first clearing she had traveled through less than a week ago. There were only three zombies staggering through it and they seemed oblivious to her presence. She decided to take this chance to contact the client and let him know where she was.

"Mister Burke, can you hear me?" Leona asked the client.

"Yes, Miss Jarnefeldt. I can hear you." He answered. Leona kept an eye on the zombies as she talked.

"I just landed in Fat Monsterland less than a minute ago. I'm about to start looking for the capsule." Leona informed him. She brought the tracker up to her face and checked it. She was approximately 1,800 meters away from it.

"Excellent. How far are you from it?" He asked Leona.

"Approximately 1,800 meters away." Leona replied calmly.

"Excellent. Since you are in a dangerous area I will keep communications to a minimum so that you can focus on the task at hand. Let me know when you reach the capsule." Mister Burke said to her before going silent. Leona took a quiet breath and drew her Scout Laser Pistol. She was going to clear out any zombies in her path because when the helicopter came through the noise it made would lure any zombies she had not killed to her location. Therefore it was best to minimize the number of zombies she would have to fight by killing as many of the undead as she could find, but she would only kill any she found directly on the path. Her mission was to find the capsule, not to hunt zombies.

Leona aimed at the head of a zombie walking roughly forty meters from her and led it a little, then fired a single shot. The laser hit the zombie in the side of the head and it crumpled to the ground. The other two zombies took notice of her and moaned, then started running towards her with their axes ready to plunge into her flesh. Leona remained calm and aimed carefully at the next one, firing a shot at its head which hit it directly in the forehead and instantly killed it. She aimed at the next zombie and fired a shot at its forehead, hitting and killing it instantly... all three zombies had been taken down before they had gotten within twenty meters of her.

With that group taken care of Leona began to walk towards the clearing while keeping her Scout Laser Pistol ready for action. There was no telling how many zombies had heard the commotion and how many zombies would be heading her way.

[Post Word Count: 890]
[Total Word Count: 6,418/10,000]

-800 meters inside Fat Monsterland, the third clearing-

After landing inside Fat Monsterland and using her tracker to get the approximate range of the capsule Leona had progressed deeper into the zombie-filled region fighting zombies as she went. She had already dispatched twenty of them to get here and she was pretty sure that she would have to fight many more before this night was over. The curious thing was that she had dispatched them in ones and twos instead of having a big skirmish where she faced them all at once. She was not going to complain, though.

Leona paused for a moment to check the tracker and found that she had roughly 1,000 more meters to go before she reached the capsule. She lowered the tracker and kept walking through the third clearing. She was halfway through the third clearing when she spotted a lone zombie twenty meters ahead of her. It had its back to her and was oblivious to her presence.

Seizing the opportunity, Leona aimed carefully for the back of its head and held her aim for several moments, then fired a single shot. The shot found its target and the zombie crumpled to the ground. Leona was pleased to see that her aim was improving to an extent.

Then again, it was not too hard to hit a zombie standing still with its back to her at twenty meters.

Leona frowned a little. Her inner critic saw fit to reduce her modest accomplishment to nothing. Then the blonde shrugged it off and kept moving because she had a job to do. She walked across the clearing without encountering any further opposition and entered the corridor that would take her to the next clearing.

-In the third corridor-

Leona carefully walked down the path with her Scout Laser Pistol at the ready. As she had learned during her last visit to this area zombies were able and willing to burst through the underbrush in an effort to get to her and she needed to be ready for them. She carefully proceeded down the corridor until she reached the thirty-meter mark. There she spotted a duo of zombies standing ten meters away and facing towards her like they had expected her arrival. They moaned and charged at her, prompting the Wizard Saint to act.

She aimed at the head of the first one and fired, taking it down with a shot right between the eyes. The second continued to charge until she aimed and fired at its head. She hit it in the forehead and its feet shot out from under it, causing it to land on its back with a dramatic groan. It did not get up after that, but Leona heard moaning coming from around her, suggesting that it managed to summon reinforcements before it had died. Leona saw two zombies break out of the underbrush just three meters behind her.

It was time to run to the fourth clearing and fight in open terrain instead of trying to fight in this natural chokepoint.

Leona ran through the rest of the corridor and more zombies burst out of the underbrush around her. After a few minutes of running and dodging zombies breaking through the underbrush in front of her she reached the fourth clearing.

-In the fourth clearing-

Leona ran into the clearing and looked around her for any more zombies. There were five of them in the clearing standing ten meters in front of her plus at least fifteen more in the corridor she had just emerged from. Leona stopped where she was and fired at the head of the first zombie, scoring a killshot with a shot to the forehead. The other four moaned and charged at her and Leona began to deal with them too. She aimed at the second and shot it in the forehead for an instant kill, then turned around to see where the other zombies were.

They were thirty meters behind her, but they were closing in fast. Leona prepared and cast a Wind Blast spell with her left hand, knocking the remaining three zombies in front of her to the ground and onto their backs, giving her valuable time to sprint by them. Leona sprinted by them until she was ten meters past them, then turned around so that all of her enemies were in front of her. The zombies she had knocked down with Wind Blast had gotten up and were charging towards her again while the ones in the corridor had closed to twenty meters. It was time to use her Silver Tempest spell.

Leona quickly holstered her laser pistol, then prepared a Silver Tempest spell. Once it was ready she thrust her arms out and spun in place for five full rotations, casting a silver tornado that hit all the zombies at once and killed them. Leona drew her laser pistol again... it was time to shoot each one in the head to make sure that they were down for the count.

-Five minutes later-

Leona had just finished shooting the last of the downed zombies in the head when she got a call.

"Hello? Miss Jarnefeldt?" Mister Burke asked Leona.

"I'm here, Mister Burke. I just finished fighting a large group of zombies." Leona answered and explained what she had been doing.

"Are you OK, Miss Jarnefeldt? Have you been bitten?" He asked her.

"I haven't been bitten, Mister Burke. I killed them all long before they could get within range to bite me." Leona assured him that she was not going to turn into a zombie because she had not been bitten. She then lifted up her tracker and got a glimpse at the distance.

"Right now I'm about 1,050 meters away from the capsule. I'm about to start moving towards it again." Leona informed the client.

"Excellent. Let me know when you get to it." He said before going silent. Leona looked all around her for any zombies who were arriving late to the fight. She did not see any, so it was time to move on. Leona walked briskly past all the dead zombies and made a beeline for the corridor that would take her to the next clearing.

[Post Word Count: 1,040]
[Total Word Count: 7,458/10,000]

-Inside the fourth clearing, ten minutes later-

After fighting her way through the third corridor and dispatching five zombies that were widely dispersed and uncoordinated Leona quickly walked into the fourth clearing, which was devoid of zombies. Rather than take comfort in the fact that the clearing was empty Leona was concerned because the clearing was empty. She knew that there were zombies out there somewhere. The trouble was locating them so that she could take them down, ideally before they could form into large groups and become a serious threat.

Deciding to handle threats when they came rather than worry about zombies that might not even be out there, Leona paused for a moment and took a brief break to check the distance to the capsule. She quickly raised the tracker on her left wrist and read the number in the bottom left corner. She was now 700 or so meters away from her objective.

She had just lowered her wrist and started walking towards the corridor that would take her to the next area when she heard moaning sound from nearby and saw multiple zombies emerging from the woods that formed the borders of the clearing. She counted twenty of them running towards her. Leona already knew the best and quickest way to defeat them.

The Wizard Saint quickly put away the Scout Laser Pistol and prepared a Silver Tempest spell. When it was ready she thrust her arms out to her sides and spun for five full revolutions, producing a silver tornado that quickly hit the zombies and defeated them all simultaneously. Leona then drew her laser pistol and started the task of walking around and making sure that the zombies were actually dead by shooting them in the head while they were down.

-Ten minutes later-

Leona had just finished shooting the last of the zombies in the head when she looked up and turned to face the path to the next area. She saw a lone zombie emerging from the corridor running at her from thirty meters away with its axe ready to chop her into pieces. She did not know how she had missed it earlier... it must have been a late arrival.

Leona quickly aimed her laser pistol at its head and fired a single shot. She missed making a lethal shot by inches, instead grazing the right side of its skull with the shot. Leona calmly aimed again and led the zombie a little before firing another shot at its head. This time her second shot hit it right in the forehead and scored a quick kill. It fell to the ground at twenty-six meters away from her and did not move. Once it was down for the count Leona began to walk towards the corridor.

-Inside the fourth corridor-

Leona walked briskly down the center of the path while keeping her eyes and her ears open. She had already killed one zombie and she was fairly sure that more would show up at any minute now. Leona did not stop to wait for them and kept moving towards the next clearing as fast as she could go. Remembering that she had a quick way to cover distances in a straight line, she stopped where she was, then prepared and performed a Zephyr Dash that took her 100 meters down the path and a lot closer to her destination.

She emerged from the Zephyr Dash practically at the end of the path. It was just a brisk walk to the end and into the next clearing.

-Inside the fifth clearing-

Emerging from the fourth corridor after a short walk, Leona stepped into the fifth clearing and immediately spotted a lone zombie shambling about forty meters away with its back to her. Leona carefully aimed at the back of its head and waited a few moments, then fired a shot. The shot hit the target and the zombie fell face forward onto the ground, where it lay motionless. The Wizard Saint took a quiet breath and raised her tracker to see how far she was from her objective.

She was now 480 meters away from the capsule.

Leona lowered her left wrist and looked around for any zombies that might be approaching from either the woods around the clearing, the corridor behind her, or the corridor in front of her. She waited and listened for them but after five minutes of waiting did not hear any, so she decided to get going while the coast was clear. She took a deep breath and started walking again.

Leona walked briskly towards the next corridor while looking all around her to make sure that she was not being followed by any shambling corpses she might have somehow missed while looking around the area. After a minute or two she made it to the next passageway without incident and kept going.

-In the fifth corridor-

As Leona walked down the middle of the path she looked ahead of her and saw nothing but a clear path ahead. The Wizard Saint was wary of the situation but did not let that stop her from pressing on for the sake of the job. Moments later she changed from walking to a jogging pace in order to move faster, but after five meters of jogging broke into a full run to cover as much distance as she could while the path was clear.

[Post Word Count: 904]
[Total Word Count: 8,362/10,000]

-In front of the capsule, the fifth clearing-

After a long journey broken up by brief fights Leona now stood in front of the capsule she had been sent to find. It was exactly the same as the one she had located hours ago in Silent Glaciers down to the opaque green screen on the front of it. It was time to let Mister Burke know about her success in locating the capsule.

"Mister Burke, I've located the capsule." Leona calmly informed the client as she looked around for any zombies to dispatch. Surprisingly the clearing was empty of anything except the object sitting in front of her.

"Excellent. I trust you did not have too difficult a time getting to it." Mister Burke replied, the first sentence possessing a tone of satisfaction.

"It wasn't too hard to get to it thanks to the tracker giving me a rough idea of where to go and the zombies being few and far between except in a couple of places, but my main concern's what will happen once the helicopter arrives." Leona informed the client.

"What exactly are you concerned about, Miss Jarnefeldt?" Mister Burke asked Leona without mockery or sarcasm.

"That helicopter makes a lot of noise. I killed quite a few zombies to get to the capsule, but when the helicopter flies through the airspace any zombies I didn't find and kill are probably gonna follow it right to me and there's no telling how many there will be. I'm worried about them jeopardizing the retrieval somehow." Leona informed Mister Burke about her concern.

"That is an understandable concern and I thank you for bringing it to my attention. However, I must retrieve that capsule. It is valuable company property and I cannot just leave it sitting in Fat Monsterland." Mister Burke replied to Leona expressing her concern. The Wizard Saint could see where he was coming from and did not argue with him.

"Fair enough. I'll see what I can do to secure the area before your helicopter arrives." Leona said. She was going to bring in some summons to help her fight any zombies that might head her way when they followed the noise made by the flying vehicle. She already had them picked out and all she had to do was summon them.

"Excellent. I will send the retrieval helicopter your way. It will take about three hours for it to get there, so please stay with the capsule until then." Mister Burke let her know the estimated time of arrival.

"Understood. I'll be waiting at the capsule." Leona replied before the line went silent.

Once her communication with the client was over she telepathically summoned Tempest Avian, Sky Champion Rafale, and Guardian Lion one behind the other, waiting until one had arrived before summoning the next. Once all three had arrived she telepathically ordered them to begin searching the clearing for zombies that might have wandered in. If they encountered any zombies their orders were to kill them on sight with a strike to the head.

Leona watched her summons disperse to begin patrolling the area and stood by the capsule with her Scout Later Pistol ready in case any zombies managed to elude her summons. As diligent and powerful as they were she could not rely on them to do all of the work. She would need to do her part and remain vigilant for threats.

-One hour later-

Leona stood next to the capsule and listened to her summons report to her about what they had seen during their patrols up to this point. Tempest Avian had dispatched one zombie wandering through the corridor she had traveled through almost two hours ago. Sky Champion Rafale had dispatched another wandering towards the clearing through the corridor that led to the sixth clearing where she had encountered the cult and Zaeral The Infernal Headsman. Guardian Lion had not encountered any yet and was clearly growing bored with waiting for enemies to come to him. He wanted to go hunting for zombies to kill but Leona had managed to talk him out of it by citing her need for him to patrol on the ground while Tempest Avian and Sky Champion Rafale patrolled the air.

While her three summons did their part to keep the clearing safe and secure Leona had been looking all around her to make sure that anything that somehow got past her summons did not get to her. She had not seen any zombies yet, which was a little strange. Either her summons were on top of things or there were not that many zombies out tonight. Regardless of which reason explained the low zombie activity Leona would not complain about her good fortune. All she had to do was wait at least two more hours and the helicopter would arrive to take care of the exacting task of retrieving the capsule while she ensured that any zombies drawn to the area by the noise from the rotors did not interfere with the retrieval work.

[Post Word Count: 842]
[Total Word Count: 9,204/10,000]

-Fat Monsterland, near the capsule, three hours later-

Leona and her summons had been keeping the area around the capsule secure for the past three hours. It had not been too hard since the quartet had only encountered six zombies total and her summons had swiftly killed all of them. Making matters even easier was the fact that the zombies had arrived individually instead of in a group, allowing them to be swiftly dispatched with no trouble whatsoever. It looked like a long but uneventful wait was the worst trouble that the Wizard Saint would face after fighting her way to this area.

Not wanting to relax too much and possibly let a zombie sneak up on her, Leona had been looking around the area for any zombies that might have gotten by her summons but none had presented themselves. The Wizard Saint could not wait to get out of here and get back to Shirotsume. She looked towards the sky but did not see a helicopter just yet.

"Miss Jarnefeldt, are you still there?" Mister Burke asked Leona.

"Yes Mister Burke, I'm still here." Leona replied as she looked around her.

"The helicopter reported that they are over Fat Monsterland now. They should be arriving at your location shortly." Mister Burke informed Leona. After a long and dull wait that news made Leona feel alive again. The end was in sight and all she had to do was wait a little bit longer.

"Understood. Do I need to signal the crew like I did last time?" Leona asked Mister Burke, reaching for the glowing blue glowstick in her left cargo pocket.

"Yes, please." Mister Burke answered. Leona pulled out the glowstick and held it in her left hand. Moments later she heard the sound of the rotors and began looking for the incoming helicopter.

"I believe I'm hearing them now, Mister Burke." Leona replied. She looked to the sky and spotted a black dot in the northwest heading right for her. She raised the glowstick and began to wave it left and right with her left hand.

"I'm waving the glowstick right now. Are they seeing it?" Leona asked him.

"Yes, Miss Jarnefeldt. The pilot is reporting a blue light being waved in his direction." Mister Burke confirmed. The sound of the rotors got closer and closer until the helicopter appeared over the trees. Leona stepped back from the capsule and continued to wave the glowstick until the helicopter slowed down and began to hover over the capsule.

Leona watched as the helicopter landed about ten meters to the right of the capsule and a cargo bay door was opened. Out came a crew of twenty men carrying tools and equipment needed to bring the capsule on board the helicopter. As they headed towards the capsule Leona telepathically warned her summons to be alert because there could be a lot of zombies heading for them shortly.

Leona watched as Lacrima lanterns were set up to provide the crew with light as they started their work. She then turned around and faced the corridor she had traveled through, keeping a watch for zombies from that direction as her summons continued their patrols. She hoped that the crew would get a move on because she did not know how long the area would remain safe before zombies arrived.

-The fifth clearing, one hour and thirty-five minutes later-

Over the past hour and thirty minutes the crew had worked Leona had dispatched five zombies heading down the corridor she was guarding with her laser pistol. Meanwhile her summons had killed ten zombies. Leona had expected a large horde to descend on the clearing, but to her relief the few enemies that had shambled towards the clearing had been easily dispatched. She looked around the area for zombies emerging from the forest but the area was clear.

Maybe it would remain clear until the helicopter took off with its cargo.

Leona turned around and saw that the crew had gotten the capsule on board the helicopter. Most of them had already gotten on board and a few were quickly packing up the Lacrima lanterns. That task did not take long and within five minutes of the capsule being brought on board the rest of the retrieval team boarded the helicopter. The cargo bay closed and the helicopter was soon airborne.

Leona watched it fly back the way it came and watched it fade into the distance. Once she could hear clearly again Mister Burke spoke to her.

"Well done, Miss Jarnefeldt. The crew has secured the capsule and is taking it back to the airfield. I would like you to return to Shirotsume as soon as you can." Mister Burke informed her that the second capsule had been successfully recovered and was on its way to the airfield. Leona took a quiet breath and put away the glowstick in her left hand.

"Understood. I'm about to head your way, Mister Burke." Leona replied. She put the Scout Laser pistol into its holster and dispelled all of her summons, then telepathically summoned Winged Lion. He soon gracefully descended from the air and landed in front of her. Leona quickly climbed on board and telepathically directed Winged Lion to take her to Shirotsume. Winged Lion turned to face the corridor and began running towards it before leaping into the air after twelve running steps and flapping its wings.

Moments later Winged Lion was airborne and Leona was on her way to Shirotsume. As the summon gained altitude and flew towards the destination Leona took a quiet breath and gently exhaled. It would not be much longer before her work was finished.

[Post Word Count: 946]
[Total Word Count: 10,150/10,000]

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's residence, the third floor, five hours later-

Leona had traveled from Fat Monsterland to Shirotsume, but not before making absolutely sure that no zombies had followed her beyond the borders of Fat Monsterland. No zombies had followed her and several hours later she was standing in front of Mister Burke in his third floor meeting room. She had returned both the burgundy iLac and the wrist-mounted tracker to him and he had returned her white camouflage coat to her.

"You have done well today, Miss Jarnefeldt. Both capsules have been safely retrieved and have been safely taken to a secure location. I cannot thank you enough for the important work you did on our behalf." Mister Burke informed Leona that the capsules had made it to their destination safely. Leona was glad to hear that good news. She had put in a lot of work today and she was glad to hear that it had not been in vain.

"I'm glad that I could help, Mister Burke." Leona replied. Mister Burke was a good client to her and his gratitude meant a lot to the Wizard Saint.

"Oh, you have most certainly been helpful, Miss Jarnefeldt. Thanks to you valuable company property has been recovered and both helicopter crews made it back alive and intact." Mister Burke continued to praise her for her work.

"But I know that you must be tired from all the traveling you have done today. I will not keep you here any longer, Miss Jarnefeldt. If any more important work needs doing I will send a message to you." Mister Burke said to her. Leona's work had come to an end and she was free to leave.

"All right then, Mister Burke. I'll keep an eye out for your messages." Leona assured him that she would be watching for any more work he sent her way.

"Excellent. Until next time, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke replied. Leona waved goodbye to him, then walked towards the exit to the room. When she reached the door she opened it gently, then gently closed it behind her. Once the door was shut she made her way to the stairs. She needed to reclaim her boots before she left Mister Burke's residence and set out for Silver Wolf Guild Hall, where upon arrival she would make a beeline to her room and go to sleep for a few hours before going to her office to take care of the paperwork that had likely accumulated in her absence.

[Post Word Count: 420]
[Total Word Count: 10,570/10,000]