Even as Yoko turned away to hide her facepalm, Duncan leaned forward to address the inquiry, his face a deadly serious mask. [b]'Indeed. Acquisition of provisions is a primary concern; as such, I will be appointing [i]you[/i] to go ashore once we reach Timber to procure the necessary supplies.'[/b] His eyes narrowed to a point, greatly exaggerating the gravitas with which he spoke. [b]'... And if you forget my cookies, [i]I will demote you all.[/i]'[/b] Something in his tone suggested that Duncan might not be joking, but he rapidly returned to his normal casual laziness. [b]'Of course we could always just get takeaway every night, that'll go down well. "Excuse me, I'd like an eighteen inch pescatore pizza to Warehouse Seven... Yeah, the shady, subtly guarded clearly-not-a-top-secret-base by the pub." As I said, this is a stealth op. Load up on snacks [i]before[/i] you go.'[/b] Assuming that inquiry to be satisfied, Duncan turned to the next raise hand [b]'... I think I drunk a lot. [i]A lot.[/i] But no, we can't say for sure. We have verified as much of their credentials as possible on short notice and so far they've come up clean. The majority of their investors and sympathisers are confirmed to be pro-democratic, or at least anti-Deling. And so Garden has decided to take a calculated risk.'[/b] The information was still coming in from Garden's field operatives, but there was no evidence to suggest that the faction had been anything but completely honest... so far. The risks they were taking to overthrow the President were obvious and that alone had been enough to convince Corvo, himself bearing a long-standing grudge toward the Deling. [b]'Besides, the Galbadian Army isn't our enemy per se. Despite recent events, a lot of Garden graduates go on to become Galbadian soldiers, often officers. The country isn't the threat, just Deling. To be frank, we've been planning this for some time. it was inevitable that someone would eventually call a hit on the old man. I've always had my money on separatists or rebels; shows what I know.'[/b]

As he spoke, Duncan felt his communicator vibrate and glanced down to check the new message. Updated orders from the Head Instructor, including specific instructions on how they were to get to Timber. It was a pain in the arse, but Corvo's caution was understandable, even if his PR-centric actions made Duncan's life more difficult. [b]'Right, minor change of plans. Because I'm not technically a SeeD anymore, I'm not to be seen travelling with a group of SeeDs, surprise surprise... So, you will all be travelling via train from Balamb and I will meet in Timber. Yoko has your tickets and such so, uh... Well. See you all there.'[/b] As Duncan strode from the room, Yoko stepped forward, clearly flustered by the sudden change of plans. Rifling through an armful of paperwork, she eventually produced a sheaf of boarding passes, handing them to Xerox to distribute. [b]'A-as Mr Lerwick said, we will be taking the train. It leaves in... seventy minutes, so please pack your equipment and meet me in parking bay five ASAP. Once assembled, we will proceed immediately to the station and Timber. Thank you.'[/b] Beckoning for Kein to follow her, Yoko turned and followed Duncan from the room, Kein in tow. At this point she barely know any more than the others, but orders were orders. At least she would be able to keep her lover close though. [i]Which reminds me, I must pack the taser this time...[/i]