The days continued and the crew grew restless. After three nights they finally saw the lights of Oz town far away on the horizon. Willy alerted the crew and told them to prepare for docking. They gathered themselves and their belongings back to the tank and waited as the old sailor carefully docked the ferry. John started up the engine as the ramps of the ferry fell onto the concrete of the docks.
Migs guided John to a workshop where they would stay. It was still night time and the crew were exhausted from the trip. The workshop they arrived at was owned by a long time friend of Migs, Bailey.
Bailey provided some mattresses and blankets for the crew. They slept in one of the empty garages and parked the Stoat in the neighbouring garage.
The next morning, Migs woke up early and brang Ehma to discuss the turret and gun with Bailey.
"So, watcha got it mind fellas?" Asked Bailey.
"We could get a large calibre if we wanted. Hugo's got no trouble loading heavy shells by himself."
"Is that so? Well if you want a big gun, you're also gonna want a big turret. The Stoat's chassis is pretty robust so it could take any of the ones I've got." Bailey replied.
He then unfolded several pieces of paper and brought out a book of the blueprints he had. Ehma and Migs took their time browsing through the designs. They both eventually lock their eyes on a particular gun. A 100mm high velocity gun.
"Good choice that one is. Able to shoot armour piercing and high-explosive. Though it needs two gun charges everytime it fires, it has an effective firing range of 2km with a max range of 5km." Bailey explained with deep passion, "I'd assume you'd want a turret with a basket too. Here are some I've got." He points to some of the designs in the book.
"Make sure to consider some of this, yeah? If you're gonna be shooting on the move, I'd suggest a turret with a stabiliser. If you want more visibility, there's some with more viewing ports and a bigger cupola. Don't forget about armour and ammo stowage as well. I know your mate can haul anything but it would probably be a pain to constantly go down from the turret and grab more ammo from the hull."
They continued to brainstorm while the rest of the crew began to wake up.
"Hey Migs, we're going to go out to town. Do you want anything?" Asked John, pointing to himself and the group behind him composed of Hugo, Kaze and Suki.
"Sure mate, the gold's in the tank. Get me a pack of Barter's Beer if you can. Palmer at the gas stop should have some." replied Migs.
The group then split off with Hugo and John heading for the gas station while Kaze and Suki went deeper into the districts of Oz Town.
"Kaze, we should buy some herbs and spices. We're about to run out. Some meat and vegetables wouldn't hurt either." Explained Suki.
The swordsman agreed and they went towards the store that was on a small hill with a farm. The ground was a bright reddish-orange with yellow and white streaks crossing over. The trees were smooth with white bark and had strong, minty aromas coming from the leaves. The seaside air changed to be more arid as they climbed the hill. The sound of cows could be heard as they got to the front of the store.
"G'day, sorry for the inconveniences but I've gotta deal with something right now." Said the middle aged woman who was covered in dirt.
"Is there a way we can help?" Asked Kaze, "we could really use some supplies here."
The woman thought for a moment.
"I don't see why not. I'll throw in a discount as well." She replied.
She took the two outside and stopped to lean on the fences of the cow pen.
"You see, I've got a client who's waiting on a specific cow. This cow's been fed a premium diet and has cost us quite a bit. But last night, the winds and rain really rocked the fence and it broke. That premium beef is now somewhere out there." The woman points out towards the bush with sparse trees.
John and Hugo arrived at the gas station. Skinny, wrinkled man with a mullet was reading a newspaper, paying no mind to the two strangers.
"You are Palmer, correct?" Asked John.
"Who's asking?" Replied Palmer with a suspicious look to his face.
"Migs wanted some beer from this establishment." John replied back.
"Oh Migs! Why didn't you say so? I've got the good cold stuff at the back here." He jumps up and ruffles through the freezers in a room behind the counter. "Mig's a good bloke. Dishonest at times but he's proper."
He drops three, six packs on the counter.
"Since Migs is back, here's two extra. I'm sure he's gonna want to party a bit after a long journey here." He laughs to himself and collects the gold from John. They both leave with a smile and make their way back to the garages.
The sun was high in the sky now. The blistering hot weather cooked up the workshop where Migs, Ehma, John and Hugo were.
"Fack me, I don't miss this heat at all." Complained Migs
"I'll put on the air-conditioner." Laughed Bailey
The group helped themselves to the beer that John and Hugo brought back.
"Anyhow, I've got the gun in storage but the turret's gotta be recast since there's none I've got in stock right now. Should take about three days." Said Bailey.
"No worries. Me crew's gotta rest anyway." Assured Migs. He looked around and noticed two people missing at the moment.
"Wonder where the swordsman and cat lady are. It's been a few hours now."
"Do you see it, Suki?" Kaze asked with his arms crossed.
"No." She replied simply.
They were standing in an open desert plain with sand getting kicked up around them by the wind.
"Which way was the town again?" Asked Suki.