It was with a certain sense of pride that Duncan watched his students absorb the adhoc briefing, adding their own insights and opinions. A good part of this test was leadership and ingenuity, both traits that they were beginning to display. [b]'Intel suggest that we won't be encountering Crabs or Gim-Ns; X-ATM092 and GIM47N respectively. Instead there's a large compliment of Sammies and Gim-As, the lizard things and the flying ones. Both will be present at the substation, some active and some being recharged. Then again intel's been wrong before, so be ready for anything.'[/b] He fell silent as Xerox outlined his idea; he had in fact been issued with plastic explosives for that very purpose, but SeeDs were normally expected to source their own equipment in the field. Xerox's method was relatively easy and made good use of what could be captured from the enemy. [i]Not bad,[/i] Duncan thought wryly. [i]I had you pegged for a machine fetishist, but you've got potential.[/i] Once his student was finished, he nodded appreciatively, forgetting that Xerox was in the other bird. [b]'Good plan. If we go by the assumption that it takes you say, two minutes to rig a mech for demolition, we'll need at least six once we secure the disabled mechs before the towers can come down. I reckon we can hold the Galbadians back for that long.'[/b]

Duncan fell silent again as Syrus spoke up. Actually he had picked up on a solid point there... [i]Looks like intel dropped the ball... again.[/i] He sighed. [b]'Well that complicates things.'[/b] His shoulders slumped and Duncan ran his hands through his hair in frustration, trying to come up with an on the fly mission redirect; with two targets the best method was to split into two teams as Syrus suggested, but this was a test and Duncan had to observe all of them to grade their performance. He couldn't very well be in two places at once and there weren't many options presenting themselves... To his blunt surprise, it was Eika who volunteered first, making it sound as though she would be sent off alone. If he hadn't been concentrating so hard, he might have noticed the strange behaviour of her... balls. If he had, he probably would have struck her from the team immediately; nervousness was expected but if ever got to the point that it impacted combat ability, the poor sap in question could be a liability. [b]'Wait wait wait... I ain't letting any of you go off on your lonesome. But how the hell...'[/b] Glancing down at his watch, he realised that he had precious little time before- The floor suddenly jolted, throwing Duncan against his restraints as the airship dove suddenly. [b]'Incoming flak! Hold on candidates, approaching drop point!'[/b] The instructor cursed under his breath as he made his decision; probably not the smartest but damned if he would let one of his students go off without backup. [b]'Fuck it, I'll hit the second substation. I have enough C4 to level half the city, I'll manage. Xerox, you're in charge til I get back. Take those towers down and stay there.'[/b] The airships were over land now, less than a minute out from the main substation. And there... there was the other one, five minutes yomp from ground zero... [i]Fuck my life... Gotta do it.[/i] Duncan turned to the others, gave them a manic grin. [b]'Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!'[/b] With that he leapt from the airship, hundreds of feet into the air and screaming profanities as he fell. Nearing the last thirty feet, he reached within to cast Float and bring himself gently down to the ground in a ready pose, rifle up and scanning for targets. The kids would be fine; each had a lifetime of training to drawn upon and enough allies to cover one another. [i]I'll be fine too. Just a hop, skip and a jump...[/i] After a deep, sobering breath, Duncan started creeping through the undergrowth toward the substation, with Vinzer clamped silently to his master's back.

Back on the airships, the flak was getting intense. [b]'I-Instructor! W-w-wha... What are we gonna do?'[/b] Kein was clearly panicking, leaning out the side of the airship to catch a glimpse of Duncan's fleeing form. A near miss threw him back inside, nearly landing in Riella's lap. Outside the open beaches narrowed into rocky crags and up ahead a complex of small buildings loomed; the substation. Already troops could be seen running back and forth, frantically setting up defences and activating mechs. The candidates were in for a hell of a fight. [b]'Drop in ten...'[/b] The copilot's voice echoes through both airships as they rapidly decelerated, coming to a hovering standstill fifty feet off the ground just inside the substation perimeter. [b]'... two, one... Go, go, go!'[/b] Not wanting to be the last, Kein threw himself out bodily, flailing to activate his magic in time. The unfortunate boy hit the ground feet first and activated his Float too late; his knees pistoned up into his chest, winding Kein the moment he hit the ground. The first Galbadian soldiers on the scene stared as he fell and winced in sympathy as he landed, all enmity temporarily forgotten... But it didn't last long and several squads of soldiers converged on the landing site, swords and rifles at the ready.