Filled with hate, Xerox took a look over to Rachel to see how she was feeling. They had both grown up in the same place after all. As much as it was hurting him, it probably hurt her worse. With Galbadia launching nukes, things were grim, they needed to warn everyone else at Balamb, before things were too late. Duncan turned towards them, divulging the plan, [b]'Shit. Well the way I see it, we have two responsibilities. First and foremost, returning to Balamb Garden to warn them and evacuate. Second, to prevent any further missiles from being launched. Jake, your men will flank out around the team by a mile or so and protect them as they make their way to Timber. There will be search parties, so expect contact. Xerox and Jericho. You two are now in charge. I want you to work [i]together[/i] to come up with a good solution to return to Balamb; you know the locations of the airships dropped in prep for the Timber mission, try making for one of them. Take everyone with you and ensure that they reach Balamb safely. From there, report to Corvo and inform him of... that.'[/b]

Xerox listened to Duncan, in slight disbelief he was going to co-lead the team in Duncan's place. Xerox knew that of the group, he was most likely the one with the least experience, being the only recent SeeD graduate, however, if Duncan trusted him, he would get it done. He nodded in affirmation about taking co-command. He looked over to Jericho. Jericho had assisted the team during the SeeD exam, Xerox knew Jericho was experienced and trusted him. Of the other SeeDs, excluding Rachel and Duncan, Xerox next knew Jericho the longest in this group.

Duncan continued his speech, "detailing" his own mission, [b]'As for me... I'm going that way. I'll go on foot, infiltrate the base and blow the cunt up. Afterwards I'll commandeer a vehicle and head back to Balamb. All going well I'll be able to stop the next launch or otherwise misdirect it, but make damn sure that Garden is secured either way. Just in case. ... questions? We don't have a whole lot of time for democracy right now.'[/b]

[color=aqua]"Duncan, take this."[/color] Xerox had produced a pair of glasses with some paper. [color=aqua]"Infrared and x-ray glasses, instructions on the paper. I'm sure this will be helpful."[/color] A small gift, hoping for his success. It was Duncan's specialty, however, that did not mean it wasn't dangerous. Xerox was unsure of what else to say. In all honesty, almost since Xerox came to Balamb, he had been under Duncan's care. He held out his hand to offer a handshake.

After anyone/everyone else had their chance to ask Duncan questions or have a word with Duncan, it was soon time for them to split ways. Xerox approached Jericho, [color=aqua]"We should probably start discussing some plans in the vehicles. We don't know how long it has been since we were captured, or what has been happening, so it's probably good to approach Timber with caution. It's likely to be heavily guarded, and we don't know if we can use the same passages as before to enter and exit."[/color] Waiting for Jericho's response, it was time to get going.