The King and the Jester 1

The Sarkaz woman was getting impatient. Her arms were crossed as she glanced at the repairs being done to their transport vehicle, the harsh sands which rolled through the barrens having damaged some rather important internal components. This caused her squad to become stranded in the middle of the wastes a long distance from their base.

It was just one bad event after the other, she somehow felt like her luck was running out. A click from her tongue was enough to make some of her squad mates tense up. They had good cause to be nervous around her. She wasn’t deaf to the rumors flying about Rhodes Island whenever she ended up in the Land ship to make her reports.

The afternoon sun was harsh on her even as she wore her cloak, holding up her hand to block the light before she noticed something in the distance. The other Sarkaz belonging to her squad were roused from their resting state as they eyed something in the distance. Her finger twitched as she observed an approaching desert vehicle headed their way.

It reminded her of caravans she once took down with her old Mercenary Company.

“W, what’s your take?” a Sarkaz Guard asked from behind her.

The woman named W smiled and waved her hand, “Stay on your toes. As tempting as it is, we’re not exactly in the position to raid caravans anymore.”

The Guard had a difficult expression, “But you thought about it though.”

“It’s fine as long as it stays in my head, alright?” W replied as she glanced at the Guard. The man tensed before shaking his head to return to his position guarding the vehicle.

W crossed her arms underneath her cloak, her right hand ready to swing her weapon at the ready. She watched the approaching desert vehicle with sharp eyes before it let out a tooting horn from a distance. That caused her to raise an eyebrow before it soon came to a halt a few feet away from their broken down vehicle.

The vehicle let out a toot before the engine cut off. W stared at the vehicle while recognizing it as a small scale truck. It didn’t look like a transport vehicle for materials and the gaudy, flashy design on the side of the truck led her to guess that it probably carried some goods.

The driver’s door opened and out stepped an ancient looking Petram man. His back was arced low, causing him to lean forward as he tried to keep his hat on. The sun shined down his scales, brown spots which came with age marking his neck and hands.

The old man was wearing a white buttoned shirt over a brown vest and had a friendly look about him. However, that appearance did not sway W’s squad from their tense stances.

“Greetings! It would see like you folks are in a spot of trouble, are you not?” the man greeted them with a friendly tone, “Perhaps I could be of assistance? We’re all travelers on the road, would you mind if I lend a hand?”

“Awfully nosy, aren’t you, grandpa? Why don’t you mind your own business if you know what’s good for you,” W replied as she gave him a dismissive look. He doesn’t seem armed nor does he seem to be escorted by anyone.

The old man laughed before saying, “Well, if it’s business you wish to speak about then I’ll have you know I’m minding it now. It must be tough waiting under the desert sun like this which is why I have some refreshments for sale. I can see that your companions are pretty parched.”

He then held up a button and pressed it. The truck behind him let out an audible toot and transformed, revealing its insides as a storefront suddenly appeared. The metal plates which hid the storefront extended, revealing supplies and sundries alongside some weapons. There were also some food and cooled drinks available.

W felt like this was a bit much now, wasn’t it?

She glanced at the Sarkaz behind her as they looked away with uncomfortable expressions. A low growl left her lips as she held up her hands.

“R-Really?” one of the Snipers of her squad asked.

“Go before I change my mind. It’s not my money I’m wasting,” W replied as she crossed her hands. She then glanced at the old man, “Got no problem serving Sarkaz?”

“My store is open for everyone. I don’t discriminate who I serve especially not in this barren waste. I fancy myself being a small spot of relief, you see? Even at a small price,” the old man said as W’s squad went to buy their things. The man then walked ahead and said, “You can go ahead and window shop, Miss!”

W gave him a look before turning to the driver working on the transport vehicle, “How much longer?”

“Well I’d say an hour or so. The sand got into some rather delicate places. I have to suck it all up and put on a new filter. Not unless that merchant truck has some spare parts I can use. Sorry, W,” the Driver said as he shook his head.

“Whatever. Just get it fixed,” W replied as she went towards the truck. Some of her Mercs were buying up a ton of bottles of water while a few others were inspecting some weapons for sale.

The old man manning the counter smiled as she approached, “Found anything you like, Miss?”

“Not a bad business practice. You drive up to some hapless stranded folk and milk them at their most vulnerable. If that’s not a sophisticated version of highway robbery, I won’t know what it is,” W said as she shook her head.

“Well, if anything, it certainly works, Miss. Feel free to have a look around. It seems like you’ll be here for a while, go ahead and you might find something you’ll like,” the old man said.

W clicked her tongue as she took his advice. Not that he had anything for her to—

W stopped and looked at one of the items underneath the counter on display. That’s some limited edition chocolate imported from Rim Billiton. The dark yellow packaging caught her eye and would no doubt be a decent purchase.

This was annoying.

She looked up to see the old Tortoise chuckling to himself as she took out her wallet.

“Highway robbery,” she hissed under her breath.

The old man then nodded and said, “Pleasure doing business, Miss.”

…..

….

…

It was late into the evening on Rhodes Island when Amiya returned to her office. Running around and taking care of everyone’s needs was taking its toll on her but she couldn’t imagine the effort it was taking the Doctor to handle most of the administrative tasks. The young Chimera rubbed her shoulder as she looked down at the tablet she managed to take from the Doctor and oversee the tasks left for the day.

She could finish them up in her office without having to inspect places herself. Amiya was fortunate enough to evade Doctor Kal’tsit the entire time or no doubt she’ll find herself on another lecture. Maybe she could relax a bit now that the day was almost over.

Amiya moved through her office and noted that there was a packaged chocolate bar on her desk. Her ears perked up before she picked it up. It’s imported chocolate… To her knowledge Closure didn’t have these in stock so where did it come from?

There was a knock at her door and a familiar figure stepped in. The Doctor had some documents in hand as they spoke, “Amiya, you forgot some contracts that needed approval—Uh, you okay?”

Amiya held the chocolate bar and walked past the Doctor. She glanced outside and looked up and down the hall.

Confused, the Doctor asked, “Something wrong, Amiya?”

“Doctor, did you see anyone come by here?” Amiya asked in turn.

The Doctor’s expression was hidden by their mask but they did rub their chin out of habit, “Not that I recall. Oh hey, is that chocolate? Sweet! Can I have some?”

“Doctor, I’ll have to tell Doctor Kal’tsit about you eating sweets again. Besides, this is mine,” Amiya said with a bright smile.

“Dammit. Fine, just don’t tell Kal. Anyway, W and her squad just came back while we were busy an hour ago. We should go make sure they don’t get into some fights,” the Doctor said as they sighed. They then turned back to walk away, leaving Amiya in her office.

A small smile curled upon her lips. She had a suspect for who would bring this chocolate bar here.