Scouting

[Vega]

23rd Cylus, 720.....

Vega was scouting the stormlands with a group of volunteers and knights. The knight in question who was in charge was, in Vega's opinion, an unmitigated asshat. He and she had not got off to a good start. As they had got ready, she'd made sure to introduce herself - as any who knew her would know, doing so was an important thing to Vega. His response had been clear. "I don't care who you are. You are aware that I am in charge here and you will follow my command," Vega looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Right. But if we don't know each others names - communicatin' is gonna be tricky, innit?" He looked at her and said, firmly. "Call me Lieutenant. And I'll call you Vega." She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Vega wasn't good with rude, and she wasn't good with stupid, and she really really wasn't good with arrogant - and this guy was all three. So, Vega had looked at him and she smiled. "I'm gonna call you Jack, because I don't call people by their job-title, it's rude. An' I don't like rude. So. Jack." 'Jack' gave a slight shrug and Vega returned a cheery grin to him. He hadn't asked her why the name, but he would, she knew. He was holding on, but he wouldn't be able to resist eventually.

As they made their way, things did not get better.

'Jack' barked orders and Vega had to bite her tongue more than once. There were four knights other than Jack, and four volunteers other than her. Ten of them in total to scout the Stormlands and try and see if they could recover any of the lost animals. When Jack called her, he called her "Civilian! Vega!" She thought frankly that she deserved some kind of medal for not folding his face in half then, but then there was the moment where he clicked his fingers as he called her.

" Did your mother not love you?" Vega asked, looking at him. "Or did the other kids beat you up when you were little? Or maybe, yer overcompensatin' for yer incredibly small penis?" There was a guffaw from one of the other volunteers, and a few of the less highly-strung knights flickered brief smiles. "I don't know what yer boggle is you insufferable turd, but I'm not someone you wanna be clickin' your fingers at."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, really? And what will you do about it? I've heard about you and your exploits, well there are people here now with real discipline, and as such, you're going to have to learn to stay in line. So if I click my fingers, girl," he clicked his fingers once more. Vega watched him calmly. "Then your only response is 'how high, sir?'" Vega shook her head. "An' as for what I'll do about it," she said, and she pulled her sword and moved towards him. "I'll tell you what I'm gonna do about it."

His eyes widened and then he realised that not only was Vega pulling her sword, but so too were all the soldiers and volunteers. He recognised this as Vega said, "If you irritate me too much, I might not save yer life from this lot." She stepped forward as the frogernickels and two mother-nickels burst forth out of the ground close by them.

"Close up the ranks for the love of Xiur!" Vega said and Jack started shouting orders. The Knights fell in and got moving, and she did the same. But, as she looked at what was happening, slicing at first one creature, then another, Vega got a sinking feeling.

"Where are they comin' from!?"

[Vega]

23rd Cylus, 720.....

Jack was quick to react, Vega had to give him that, but there were quite a few of the critters already. She looked around and spotted a small ruin, "What about defendin' there?" It was more or less an outcropping of rocks which had once been some kind of building, but it had a little bit of shelter and it meant that they would be above the creatures. That would be helpful too, and they could stand in a loose almost circle and protect each other. Vega had to admit that, as obnoxious as he was when things weren't all suddenly flying to the Beneath in a Bread-Basket, now that they were in a moment of crisis, he was calm and cool. He glanced, once, at where she suggested and he nodded. "Follow Red! Form a semicircle, protect the resources. Jim and Briant, with me!"

Two other knights, presumable Jim and Briant, fell in with him and Vega (assuming that she was 'Red'), led the others up to the area. As she did, Jack, Jim and Briant fought of the majority of the creatures which were coming at them from what had been, mere trill before, behind Jack's back. However, a few came at the main group from one side, and Vega jumped in to defend, making sure that she didn't get in anyone else's way, but also covering and protecting the others. It was important - vital even - that she did that, and so the remaining six made their way, getting into formation as Vega sliced her way through some of the smaller beasts.

One, two, three fell. At this point, Vega knew - it wasn't about the individual level of danger. It was about the fact that there were just so damn many of them. She could take care of them individually, and she did so mostly with ease. But it was as they swarmed forward that the volunteers and knights were going to have issues. Because they were stronger, individually, and they were greater in number. This was a very bad situation and Vega knew it. They were going to have to use every resource they had at their disposal.

"Focus yer fire!" She yelled, and backed towards the main group. She'd arrive there just before Jack and the other two, and they'd be just in time to fight off the gnarlies. So, she continued to move, backing off and stepping further and further away until she got to the main group. "We need to keep together, keep it tight, COME ON JACK!"

The three of them were slow, and Vega let out a cry of frustration as Briant (or maybe Jim, but she thought Briant) got overwhelmed. "Git BACK HERE!" she cried, her own sword moving to defend against the oncoming hoarde. There was no doubting it, in Vega's mind. There were too many of the baddies and too few of them. So they'd need to take whatever advantage they could.

And that would probably be more than a little bit tricky.

[Vega]

23rd Cylus, 720.....

Three of them had stood to defend the others, and buy them time to get to where there was what seemed to be some ruins or rubble, or something, and only one of them made it back. Jack - as she had named him - legged it back to them and Vega grabbed and shoved him behind her, as she dropped her bow and drew her sword. "There's too many!" Vega yelled, her sword moving immediately. She had led them up to the ruins and, from there it became obvious that being higher up was helpful for them - and also being able to put themselves in a place where only four of the things could come at once. That was still too many, but by virtue of the layout of the area, Jack and three of the others could stand with their backs to the three who were fighting close combat - they could then use bows and distance weapons against the few who could reach, as it was a much more sheer drop that side.

It might be the best chance they had, and Vega knew that it was the only damn advantage. So, they needed to keep the damn things far enough away from behind them that they could fight them from above. Keeping their advantage was vital, Vega knew and she yelled out to the remaining members of their group. "Come on! Here!! Fight them from above, an' we'll have more chance!"

They fought - and they fought. It was bloody and it was exhausting and Vega never, ever thought of battle as glorious, but this one was exhausting. At the end of it, as the now-seven of them still alive stood together, she glanced down with a dispassionate gaze at the long slice down her arm which was bleeding. Ignoring it, for the moment, Vega looked around at the others. "They're gone. For now." Her words were rough - ragged. Looking at the other survivors, Vega pushed aside her own feelings, her own worries and despair. Or she did it the best she could.

And in trying to do that, she realised that it was the wrong thing to do.

"Alrigh' so, this sucks, but we've got to keep goin'. We're goin' to carry them back an' give them a proper send-off," she said, firmly. One of the survivors looked ready to argue, but Vega glared at him and he shut up. "Because it's the right thing to do an' because we feel crud enough, without addin' guilty about leavin' the fallen behind. So get on." Jack looked at her and sighed. He wanted to argue too, he wanted to but he didn't. "You've got a nasty cut. Hang on, an' I'll clean it." Vega said, and she moved forward, grabbing the cleaning liquid from her satchel and starting to work on the jagged wound on his forehead. "It's gonna sting. It don't have to but I chose the special stingy one jus' for you," she said quietly and Jack give a dry, hollow-sounding chuckle.

"Why did you choose the name Jack?" He asked.

Vega smiled slightly. "Because you behaved like an ass," she said, honestly. He looked at her and they both, simultaneously, burst into a grin and chuckled. "An' you are an ass. We've got to work together you know?" He nodded and was about to say something, but Vega - with her usual lack of charm and subtlety - charged on. "An' you don't need mavericks, an' you don't need no one who pulls you down. I get that. Yer as strong as your weakest link. But I'm not that." He nodded and motioned around. "So I see, Red. So I see."

That said, Vega gave him a companionable thump on the shoulder, and forgave him. She told him so, too, by virtue of saying, "an' if you click your fingers at me again, I'm gonna see if I can punch you so hard that my fist meets the inside of the back of your head." But, there was no more putting it off. They had to get these bodies back to the keep.

And that was what they did. They rigged up a large stretcher-like device, and they carried the three bodies back. When they got back, tired and sore, Vega broke away from the rest of the group and went to sit, quietly, on a burned-out log. She needed that time alone, and so, she took it. She was tired, emotional, and finding it hard to cope on a trial-to-trial basis. There was just no let up and she was afraid.

But, Faldrun's daughter was such through no choice of her own. Her choices had led to her being marked by the siblings Xiur and Qylios and so, Vega knew that she couldn't give up hope, she had to keep going. There was no part of her which was giving up, or even thinking about it. It simply wasn't her way. So, after a few moments, she got up and re-adjusted her sword belt.

And with a mutter of "Bloody Jack-Ass", Vega got up and moved on to the next thing that needed doing. She didn't know what it was yet, but she was sure there was something. Here, there always was.

[Squirrel]

Wherever she was going, she wasn't going to make it. Not before a figure suddenly appeared from a nearby street and nearly collided with her in his haste. "There you are." Jack looked somewhat different. Back within the safety of Storm's Edge he'd quickly abandoned his heavy-looking armour and replaced it with what once might have looked like a very smart-looking uniform with badges upon his breast depicting his order and a small handful of distinctions. "I've been looking for you, Red." There was an accusation in his tone, as if it had been her fault he'd taken so long, but the hard look in his eyes softened a moment later with no small amount of strain. "You performed admirably today. Exceptionally, actually. Fought with bravery and skill in the face of danger and made the right decisions for the good of us all, no matter how difficult they might be, so that the families may pay their respects. It's a rare thing... and... well, in these rare circumstances, this feels appropriate."

He looked, for the first time, slightly nervous as he reached into his pocket and pulled from it a small bronze badge with a pair of wings on the front. Looking from her, to the badge, and back again, it was clear he still struggled with the decision he was nevertheless about to make. "I understand that you think I was unnecessarily rude and arrogant today, and in a way, I was. But in case you didn't already know, I will tell you now that you are not an average fighter. When lives are at stake, it is important for everyone to accept and follow the commands of leadership, for the good and the survival of all... and when lives are at stake, if we never put faith in the volunteers, we will never be disappointed." He put up a hand in case she tried to respond. "I understand that this also sounds cruel, but please try to understand. We have no way to verify their combat ability. How they work under stress. The mouthy brat with a gilded sword might turn tail at the first sight of a desert mouse." He was rambling, and he knew it, as he stopped himself before he could continue.

"With that in mind... I'd like to give you this." He offered the small bronze wings face-up for her to take. "Field commissions are a thing not done for many, many arcs, but we need you in the field. Both for this battle and the ones that come after it. And nobody deserves to make the same mistake that I did, including you." He shot a rare smile. "This connotates the full rank of Justiciar Wayfarer and all the appropriate privileges. It is, I'll admit, partially a reward for the work that you did today. But it is also a responsibility. We need you here. Not just for today, but for all the work that you have done for the Knights. And you won't be able to do it as a civilian, no matter how good of one you are."

He might have been reading from a script, the way he finally relaxed after the final word and let her take the badge. "Take the night to consider it. If you're ready to assume the role, just clip on the badge and approach the main office here in Storm's Edge; the Commander's Assistants will add you to the books and register you formally, as well as fill you in on all the necessary little details of your new rank and its responsibilities. I hope it's to your liking." He half-turned, then paused. "And I hope to work with you again soon, Vega."

With that, 'Jack' turned smartly and headed back the way he'd come.

[Squirrel]

Vega

Points: 10
Knowledges: Leadership x3 Tactics x3
Renown: 10

Additional Notes:

From this moment forward it can be assumed that Vega is now an official Wayfarer Justiciar for the Lightning Knights! However if you wish you are free to self-mod a thread discussing what your new role means and gaining any gear befitting a Wayfarer Justiciar.