Highway Robbery: Off To Work We Go

Scouting the Wilds
Employing Debora and her band of Jaguar Bandits was an...unorthodox procedure, to say the least. While IMAC couldn't afford to have their reputation tarnished by taking them in as official employees -especially given their involvement in the deaths of staff members and customers- they were able to find a loophole. By hiring them as a mercenary force, one that didn't have direct ties other than fiancial ones, this enabled IMAC to still have direct control and ability to manage Debora's particular band without being associated with the Jaguar Bandits as a whole. Thus, she was transformed from raider into a mercenary captain over the course of an arduous week of tedious red tape and paperwork being filed out.

Thus, when she had gathered her team of able bodied men, they'd meet up with the four Wizards of the Phoenix Guild to oversee their progress and give them instructions if need be. Noriko Hayate, dressed like before, was their leader while Yui Tetsukumo, Victoria and Christina answered to her authority, but not to Debora's.

Their mission was one of reconissance and exploration. Overall the theme of their priorities was to get a good grasp of the lay of the land while also marking areas that'd be suitable for the company's tracks to be laid down. What's more, areas that'd have good sight over the countryside could be classified as "Watch Tower" locations. All of the data would be immediately recieved by NST and documented, so no tangible marker that could be removed or eroded by the environment potentially undo their work. Mundane as it sounds, it was important for the company in order to make their inevitable accpetance by Stella and Iceberg clear so they can begin building lines towards their countries.

Finally, the last of their goals was to clear out hostile threats. Whether that be presiding criminals living in the wilderness, Dark Magicians who aim to attack known affiliates of Phoenix or IMAC or natural predators of the sort that could harm the railroad workers that'd come by. Exterminators and a clean-up crew of a more massive scale, they were but a necessary part to ensure IMAC's progress eastward couldn't be hindered in the near future.

With Debora stationed at the head of her troops, Christina and Victoria watched their immediate left and right flanks. The prior hummed a happy tune while she wielded her enormous cross-shaped sword; the latter of which chewed some gum while trekking in the wilderness while being the most fashionably dressed, complete with suit and tie, of the whole lot. Noriko watched from overhead in the treeline of the forest they were traveling through, and Yui stood a few meters ahead of Debora and her immediate trustworthy colleagues.

They were a couple of hours into their journey and, apart from some indigenous herbivores, nothing seemed to be warranting such a large bodied presence of armed and magically talented individuals...yet.

"Hey, Master," Yui piped up, suddenly talkative after hours of no real conversation other than some affirmations and orders being carried out. Her arms were crossed behind her head, legs raising up exaggeratively in long strides of idle boredom. Her sigh indicated as much, with a sloppy raspberry being blown out for all to hear. "You know that feeling when you know you're doing a good job that no one wants to mess with you?"

"What about it?" Noriko asked through the ring, crouching upon a thick branch of a large trunked tree.

"I kinda want something to go wrong..."

"Being bored is part of the job, Yui," She chuckled with humor, leaping in an agile, cat-like manner to wrap her hands around a branch to swing to the next one and flip over to stand above them. "If every mission was a life or death situation, then you'd get bored of it and worn out. You need a bit of variation every once in awhile."

"I'll pass on this kind of variation," Yui huffed with a pout.

"I'm just glad no one has gotten hurt yet," Christina tried to sound positive, despite a yawn coming up that she had to fight back.

"I have nothing optimistic to add to this conversation, so carry on," Victoria replied in a dry tone with a deadpan expression crossing her dark skinned face.

Turning to look over her shoulder, Yui asked inquisitively towards Debora, "What? Are you and your bunch usually this quiet, or is it because I smell and you don't know how to break it to me?"