Silverwind was again surprised by the general lack of questioning to the mission. Though, it was such a potentially volatile mission that stunned silence was an entirely understandable reaction too. 
Naida up, and she held up a drive in one slim paw. 
[quote]The entire crawler looked spotless, as if a military unit had lived there. We did not question it at the time since our mission was to save hostages. But now, we wanted to be sure to bring it up. Why would the crawler be cleaned up? I believe this may have the answer." She held the drive up to Silver "We recovered surveillance footage from the crawler's security booth before we were attacked on the bridge."[/quote]

He took the drive in his left hand, the plastic fingers closing around the drive with a slight [i]click[/i] against the hard surface. "I'll pass this on to the signals and intel department - they'll get further with it than we will, and they've got the equipment and expertise. Thanks for turning it over. Regardin' the Crawler - well, the other members of the crew explained the captain, who's still missin', is ex-military and had kind of a military attitude t' runnin' his outfit. All the same, I agree that don't account fer all of it. Mebbe yer right, and this will tell us a lot more."
He cocked his head as Esailia continued, his large ears twitching as he listened to her words. 
[quote]"What about the child we found with these undercover operatives? Or the janitors and the third civilian? Were they cleared?"[/quote]
"The third civvie and her kid were just that - civvies, an' the rest of th' crew were legit too. Like most 'crawlers, they take on passengers on charter, and some of 'em were travellin' around th' place. Th' operatives said they were travellin' incognito to blend in and avoid too much attention. It's slower than travellin' by air, but less obvious to anyone an' theres a lot less customs ta go through as well". He grimaced as he paused. "I'm not sure [i]why[/i] the Emperors' daughter an' her bodyguards are travellin' incognito an' without any kinda retinue, an' I am especially not sure why their own people are after 'em. But I sure as hell think it's somethin' that bears lookin' into. Especially since there's a third party involved too and they're tearing up bits of Landren over whatever it is goin' on. It's out here in the tail-end of nowhere now, but I don't wanna think about what happens if they get somewhere populated".

He turned to Mike and Aiden as they both spoke up in turn. He shut the projection off as he listened, and the room lights slowly climbed up to normal levels again as he took their comments and questions.

[quote]"Sir, with all due respect-" he nearly bit his tongue as he wrongly formulated his speech intro, then quickly changed the subject "but I don't think you are accountable for today's tragedies. No one is. Throwing or assuming blames won't bring anyone back to life, but what we could do to honor them is to make sure their sacrifice was worthwhile and fight harder on the field. If things ran differently today, we wouldn't have become cautious for tomorrow's hardships."[/QUOTE]

Silverwind fell quiet for a moment, his muzzle pursing into a thin line at the medics' words. He didn't disagree, but the burder of command was a heavy one: Responsibility for actions was his, as he issued the orders that sent everyone into the field and dictated their tactics. Accordingly, it was hard for him not to feel as though their deaths were on him. But experience - thankfully not too much of his own, but learning from others - told him that Aidan's words were right: It wasn't all on him. 
"I'm in command," he said, not angrily, but matter-of-factly, and calmly. "Which means that when I order any of you into the field to carry out a mission or a tactic, then I run the risk that my information or judgement could be wrong about a situation. I misjudged this situation, and executed my strategy poorly. I should have kept the GEARs together and made better use of Ken's overhead surveillance when assaulting the valley. And I should've held us back and waited for the Landcruiser when we assaulted the mine: the GEARs could have been better outfitted to back up the Captains' team with heavy, short-range firepower and sensors, while they picked off any anti-armour snipers for us. But that's hindsight. 
"Would I have done it differently again? Absolutely. But that won't bring back either of them, and that's something I have to live with. The memory of that is on me, and I have to explain to their families or loved ones why they aren't coming back home. Their memories will mean I do better next time, and that we'll all be harder, tougher and better next time."

[QUOTE]"How long'til we get to Martenstown, sir?"[/quote]
He checked the PADD and replied. "About eight hours travel from here, accountin' fer geo-magnetic interference, dust-storms and any other Badlands weird-ass shit between here an' there, naturally. So... probably [i]double that[/i]"

Mike was the last to speak up after the briefing, the feline looking confused as Blade had felt reading the briefing notes when he'd received them.
[quote]"secret military sector with unknown tech, and expertly trained?" mike asked scratching his head. "If I didn't tango with them earlier id say you were a chemtrail chaser, no offense sir."[/quote]
Silverwind gave a short bark of a laugh and wagged his tail in reply. "None taken - I don't blame you fer sayin' it either. It's like I said right back when we shipped out - there's a whole lot of weird shit out here. An' there's probably a whole lot more we don't know about. After all, there's the whole South ta start with." He shook his head and shrugged, his expression hardening a little as he did so. 
"More seriously tho, I can't say what we'll be up against, or who. At least we got some advantage in seein' some of 'em in action, an' maybe that drive-" he wiggled it in the air "-will have some more answers too that we can go on. Best we can do is try an' find out as much as we can to remove all the mysteries an' get ourselves some facts. In the meantime..." 
He stood up from his leaning position, and took on a more somber air. "A short service will be held at nineteen-hundred hours fer Lieutenants Michelete and Arcade. Dress uniforms. Captains' also said the wardroom is ours afterward too, until midnight. In the meantime, yer all dismissed. I'll be in my office wi' the door open, or on my PADD if y'all need me fer anythin'"
He gave a nod and a wave to the others, and crossed the room to the corner door for his office. Stepping in, he left the door open and settled into the chair behind the smallish desk. 
Now he had to write euologies for two people he barely knew, but make it sound like he'd known them well. He tapped a control on the touch-sensitive desktop, and holographic screens blurred into life in the air above the desk, along with further controls.
'"Net, bring up the records for Lt. Michelete and Lt. Arcade".
[i]"Yes, Colonel Blade. One moment please",[/i] the omnipresent 'net replied in the ever-familiar and unchanging tone. 
Moments later the service and citizen records for both pilots appeared in the air above his desk. Leaning back in his chair, Blade sighed, propping his muzzle on his cybernetic arm and darting his single eye between the photographic portraits of the pair. Myrina looked the same as always: unconventionally attractive, her independent and feisty streak showing through even in an archived photo. Arcade looked as he always had, for the short time Blade had known the man: Surly, introspective and grumpy. More so than himself. 
[i]How do I sum you both up?[/i] he thought with a groan and continued to stare at the photos.