Thanner stood among the regiment's new recruits, and could not help but turn up his nose at the stench of cheap liquor in the air. He knew that the regiment's soldiers considered themselves to be separate from the pirate crew aboard the [i]Intruder[/i], but he found it difficult to make that distinction himself. As he glanced across the room at the veterans of the unit, the likely source of the foul odor, he noticed one of the soldiers pointing a finger at him and muttering about. Thanner smirked and turned away, undoubtedly projecting a foulness of his own. It was the stench of arrogance. Of elitism. A stench not so easily washed away. In his short time with the Rebellion Thanner had become privy to such accusatory gestures and mutterings, and he had become exceedingly adept at shrugging them off. Perhaps too adept. 

Thanner refocused his attention as the new Lieutenant spoke.

"My name is Lieutenant Durod Byron. I understand you folks have been holding your own out here for some time, and Fleet Command is real happy about the way you boy... you folks do work." 

"Not a great start," Thanner thought to himself, glancing around again at the rugged folks in his midst.

"Now we're here to fill in some gaps, and help you keep doing what you do best. I know this can be a little awkward, and hopefully we'll get used to each other pretty quick, but in the meantime I just want you all to know that I'm not here to change the way you fellas do business. I'm gonna do my best to stay out of your hair, and together we'll get the JOB done, your way. So. Take a few minutes and get acquainted. The new guys brought a little extra gear, feel free to help them square it away, and we'll meet up in the briefing room in two hours. Got a hot new target in mind, should be a good hit."

To say that things would be a little awkward was surely an understatement, but Thanner was confident that he would soon be able to smooth things over. He had been in tough spots before, but he had always been able to talk his way out of a situation. In truth, his tongue had saved him more times than he could count, and it was what allowed him to excel as an agent of the Empire. Thanner had much less confidence however, in the Lieutenant’s ability to lead. Thanner knew that, above all, these gruff military-types responded to authority and detested weakness. After what these men had been through, they had no place for weakness. Lieutenant Byron possessed authority on paper, but he oozed weakness through every orifice, and Thanner knew that the veterans would detect this as surely as he detected their disgusting aroma. He wondered how long the Lieutenant could survive in this environment.

After the Lieutenant finished his address, Thanner made his way across the hangar, deliberately walking past the same soldier that had been unsubtlety gesturing in his direction previously. 

"Guess he doesn't want us punching the new guys just yet, huh,” he heard the soldier say. 

“I should certainly hope not,” Thanner replied casually, “For your sake.”

Turning his back to the soldier, Thanner carried on. He saw the Lieutenant whispering something to a woman before exiting the hangar, and he managed to catch the woman’s eye with his own piercing gaze. He strode over to the woman and extended his hand, ensuring that the display was seen by the soldier he had mocked. 

“Sergeant Sekula I presume? My name is Antares...Thanner Antares.”