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Thomas walked around the building, peering into the windows trying to catch a glimpse of what they were getting into. The building was seemed like a prisoner that wouldn’t give up its secrets, even through the windows there wasn’t much to be gathered. He could only assume what was to come – tight corridors, booby traps, bottle necks, a web of connected rooms and hallways, and maybe even an attic from which they’d be shot from. He was so deep in thought that it hadn’t occurred to him that they might not even be attacking the structure, they could be defending it.

Suddenly he felt a tap on his left shoulder which brought him back to reality, he turned to see a fully kitted out operator who was five inches taller than he was. The stranger spoke, [color=limegreen][b]"Good morning! Kirill, Latvia. But you should call me Pravda."[/b][/color] He then shot out a hand from underneath, open palmed and with good intention. Thomas took his hand and shook it with a firm, friendly grip and replied with his own introduction, [color=#4262B7]“I am Thomas De Rossario of the Philippines. They call me Armoury”[/color] His accent wasn't as rough as before, but a few quirks still showed. They both looked back at the structure when Kirill asked, [color=limegreen][b]”Thoughts?”[/b][/color] A loaded question that sent Thomas’ mind thinking of a string of answers. There were many things to address, many factors that might lead to the mission ending in failure.

He nodded twice and let out a deep sigh, [color=#4262B7]”There are many things to consider...”[/color] he eyed the building and glanced around the room. He noticed someone was approaching them, one of the personnel that the man yesterday had told them to acknowledge – Franklin. He turned to face him, Franklin stopped in front of them both and wiped his finger across the camo paint that was on Thomas’ face and examined it carefully before he scoffed, [color=Red][b]"Cam-cream?"[/b][/color] when he said that, Thomas’ instantly knew what he was going to talk about, back when he was with the Scout Rangers they would always apply it in stripes across the face, it was how they would apply it even during deployments. When he got into the Light Reaction Regiment, he was taught different variations and applications, but every now and then he would still use those black streaks which is why he was given the callsign “stripes”. Franklin gave him a look, smiling and all the while berating him for his use of Cam-cream [color=Red][b]"Not a good first impression. I can understand if you think looking like a bootlegged Rambo makes you tactically superior, but if you're going to bother using precious cam-cream, at least do something proper with it. None of this [i]Apocalypse Now[/i] shit."[/b][/color]

When he heard his assumptions, he was at first confused, why would anyone apply cam-cream just for the sake of looking “cool”? Back in the Philippines, the Scout Rangers would do this instead of wearing balaclavas, the LRR did the same thing. However, as he gave it more thought, his eyes widened and he was caught dumbstruck – he had applied his cam-cream in a sloppy manner, it wasn’t done properly not to mention that they were in an urban scenario, a full black out pattern would have done better than simple diagonal stripes. This lack of attention was something that could’ve gotten him killed. Usually he wasn't this careless, could it have been the jet-lag? Could it have been him rushing to get to the training grounds early? Could it have been the pressure of making a good impression getting to him? Or perhaps it was a combination of all these factors? Whatever it was he certainly wasn't sure.

Franklin eyed him up and in a short glance at where they entered, he noticed there were more operators coming in, and without saying a word he turned around and walked away. This gave Thomas a peak at Franklin’s character, he could’ve made an example out of him, he expected harsher words, but instead he walked away before anyone else could be involved in the imbroglio. He glanced at the incoming operators and then around the room at the people who arrived early, and then he turned back to face Kirill and shrugged. [color=#4262B7]”Well, after that encounter, I guess I should give you my take on our current situation and what I think about it. No use crying over spilled milk.”[/color]

He then gestured around the room as the other operators arrived, [color=#4262B7]”Take a look at each interaction even the tiny ones and see what I see...”[/color] Thomas payed attention to how everyone dressed, how everyone talked, how everyone walked, even down to the tiny mannerisms that people make. He then continued, [color=#4262B7]”Notice how everyone is different, notice how no one is huddled up in one big group but in small disconnected groups… This is a problem, we do not know each other, we have no team cohesion...”[/color] he let his voice be loud enough to be heard but not too loud that it was obvious, [color=#4262B7]”Team cohesion is a priority for any successful team, if we cannot work together then everything falls apart. We all have different levels of communication, different cultures, different experiences, different backgrounds etcetera. If we cannot bridge the gaps quickly then this simulated mission will fail whatever it might be.”[/color]

The room was filled with many examples of this, Jaime and Aleks had awkward interactions, where Aleks is very quiet and reserved, Jaime is the complete opposite; where as Ella and Jane seem to have a kinship and have both interacted with Jaime at this moment which shows that they’re willing to interact with people; Franklin gets along well with people of similar cloth and people he’s worked with, but seems harsh against new people – this was especially evident when he came up to Thomas to bring up his sloppy Cam-Cream application and Thomas was sure there were other examples that were yet to be seen.

He then drew his attention back to the building with a small wave of a hand, [color=#4262B7]”Now back to the building...”[/color] As he spoke he pointed with his hand to four key locations, the door, the roof, the windows, and the wall, [color=#4262B7]“These are four points that we can breach through, the door is obvious if we were to do it by the books, the windows are pretty good places to breach but it’s going to be slow, the roof is good – hit them from above, but it’s hard to access, and then there’s breaking the wall wide open create an entrance opportunity. All of them have advantages and I will have to point out that these are crucial if we are going to be on the defending side as these are things we will have to consider and even then we don’t know the building’s layout...”[/color] He paused for a second and examined the south wing structure, [color=#4262B7]”If I were an insurgent, the south wing would be easy to attack in [i]hindsight[/i]..”[/color] he gave more stress the word “hindsight”  [color=#4262B7]“because I would know the layout of this base. If I didn’t have the layout of this base then it would be difficult. Attacking the building before us is the same principle, if we know its layout it will be easy to assail and defend. Information gathering will be key to our success or failure.”[/color]

He stepped away for a second to grab a file from his ruck – it was the file that Rainbow had given him to catch him up on current situations. He flipped through the pages and opened it on a particular page, [color=#4262B7]”Look here, the description of the enemy at Bellagio hotel. Their gear, their usual tactics, etcetera...”[/color] He handed the file to Kirill, knowing that he too had the same file, [color=#4262B7]”I’m sure you’ve read this, but knowing that this is Rainbow’s threat makes me sure that whether we are defending or attacking the enemy is going to use similar tactics and similar gear. We will have to account for that if that is the case.”[/color] He paused for a moment and asked Kirill, [color=#4262B7]”What about you, any thoughts? Anything to add that I might have missed?”[/color] He smirked as he tacked on something on top of his question, [color=#4262B7]”Even if it’s about the Cam-cream feel free..."[/color] he lightheartedly joked about his own mistake and continued, [color=#4262B7]"It’s better to get to know each other now rather than later."[/color] Thomas took his mistake rather well, he knew he was only human but that didn't stop him from getting better. He was the embodiment of the saying, [i]"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."[/i]

[sub][@Sifter][/sub]