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Ella's journey to Hereford Base bothered her little. With her headphones in and at least 5 language books in her carry-on, the flight was a breeze. Once in the tarp-covered trucks, she kept to herself, keeping just one headphone in, in case of instructions. As it slowed to a halt, all the other men and women dropped out of the tarmac, and Ella followed, glancing around to take in her surroundings. Hereford base seemed small, out of the way, the perfect place for a more clandestine meeting. She trudged alongside the other recruits, and into a dimly lit hall. Ella did note, however, that the acoustics were excellent, and she could feel the footsteps of military personnel reverberating throughout the building. She considered testing a few of her Songbird speakers here, but reconsidered, as it would probably be deemed unprofessional, and she would surely find time for it later.

A hush fell across the gathered group, and there was only one set of footsteps left. Despite not being able to see the mystery person, Ella could tell from the footsteps that it was male, middle-aged or perhaps older, and a veteran of the military, extremely experienced and regimented. As he stepped up to the podium, her assumptions were correct, not that they were often wrong. The man was familiar to her, a colleague of Lesion's, but she could barely remember his name or callsign. Catch? Latch? Match? It was something along those lines. 

As his speech went on, not a particularly motivational one mind, she noticed Lesion standing to attention there, and a small smirk came across her face. He looked so ridiculous, all formal and civilised. Most of the times when she had seen him, it was in a more relaxed environment, but she knew how he could be while in the field, and she had heard tales, tales she would rather not share. 

As the names came along, she heard Lesion's, and then another name that sounded familiar, Jane Feng, a fellow SDU Operative. They spent little time together, Ella arriving in the Unit much later than Jane, and placed on radically different missions, but she was still aware of her experience and expertise. Ella, Jane and Ying were still the only three women to date to pass the SDU selection process, and achievement that brought Ella a certain amount of pride. When her name was called, she responded with a curt nod and nothing else, catching the eye of the new leader of Rainbow just enough.

When all was said and done, she considered talking briefly to Jane, but she was gone before Ella had the chance. She went to collect her note and promptly opened it. Her alias 'Songbird' was to be expected, as it was the name of the mission that inspired her to become an Operative and her own name of the speaker systems she had assisted the tech department in creating. Without much else, Ella head to her room, which was further away than she had imagined.

Once she was there, she immediately got to setting up flawless surround sound and played a few test samples to ensure that each of the Songbirds was working in perfect harmony. When she was satisfied, she played a recording she had made of the streets of Hong Kong, a small reminder of home. She sat on the bed, and practised her Arabic, while the busy street sounded around her.