When Roland spoke in a hushed tone to Gregory, Gregory merely gave him a weary look and replied in an equally hushed tone. "Believe me when I say that I made the same complaints and recommendations. I have plans to potentially fix this later with some connections I have at home. That's all I'll say about that." The bag wasn't very interesting to Gregory. He knew that it was loaded with tech, but didn't pay it too much heed. It wasn't his charge to fuss over every little detail and thing that Roland decided to carry with him. When Roland decided to move on to speak with Kevin, Gregory merely stood and waited for the VIP to arrive. He seemed rather stoic, though anyone who knew Gregory also know that this was really just routine.

When Professor Valkinai Gregory felt a small sense of relief as the mission would probably be properly underway soon. Gregory quashed his pride at being recognized by Professor Valkinai and returned the handshake. It was nice to be appreciated, but accepting flattery wasn't the most useful thing when you needed to get a mission underway as soon as possible. With Professor Valkinai now present Gregory relayed the same information he told Roland before. "Yes. I am Captain Gregory Fietmaal, current field commander of Alpha Team. I've been briefed about the mission, including payload. I don't personally like land transport, but we don't have many other options." Pausing for a few moments to allow Professor Valkinai to make a statement, Gregory posed a rather important question to Professor Valkinai about the van he was going to use for transport. "Professor, what is the maximum efficient speed of your vehicle? Speed is critical on a mission like this and I don't want to be in any one place for any amount of time. Along with that, I'd like to request that you bring along any advanced sensors you may have, my tank has a long range siege cannon-" Gregory once again stopped to indicate the presence of the large cannon mounted upon the hull of the Fortress of Arrogance before continuing to speak once more. "And I can shell a target from long range with it. The problem lies in target identification and other things of that nature. That would be where having advanced sensors come into play. They will help with target acquisition and identification. As much as I enjoy having free fire orders, I don't really care to shell civilian, allied, or neutral targets."

Gregory once again received a questioning ping from Ba'al, which he once more answered with an assurance ping that Ba'al didn't need to do anything. It used to annoy him that Ba'al would respond to every small motion in it's general direction, but once Gregory had spent time with the AI and learned the reasons why it did the things it did Gregory actually grew to appreciate it. It was nice to have something that was constantly on point and aware of it's surroundings, even if it meant having to constantly reassure the tank that nothing was wrong.

With his questions posed, Gregory could do little but wait now. The armored cart was interesting, and likely either the package that they had to deliver or a part of it. Regardless, Gregory was relieved when Roland moved it into the van. It was going to be a long drive, and hopefully they could get underway soon. Gregory felt the longing for air support once again, but knew that there was no way to acquire it in a reasonable timeframe. All he could do now was wait on others to be ready, then they could begin the mission. Many of his team members likely hoped for action, but Gregory hoped for boredom. A boring mission was easy to complete. A mission full of action and combat encounters, while thrilling, was a logistical headache since one had to keep track of energy levels, ammunition reserves, vehicle or valkinai condition, and other nuances that could make or break a battle.

It was better to burn fuel and time than to burn through ammunition and energy and be left overall defenseless. Few of the younger pilots recognized this, which is why people like Gregory were usually assigned to guide them in the hopes that one day they would come to understand the full scale of combat and how it was much more than bringing a big gun to the front lines and hoping it worked. Regardless of his personal feelings, all Gregory could do now was wait. Thus, wait he did.