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[@Plank Sinatra] [@NaraK] [@Kaithas][/center]

It was weird being home.

The airship had passed right over Redwood on the way up, low enough that Ben swore he could've seen the smoke rising from the forge. They flew pretty close to Vlitra's territory, too, though the ship diverted a little to avoid actually passing too close to it. The Datura was hibernating, but its holdings were still infested with Grimm and there was no reason to chance running into any of them. But the trip didn't stop there; their course was charted to take them further northeast, past the mountains. Pretty close to the northeastern coast. That was why the disruption was such an issue, it lay along the course between Vale and Atlas. Transportation, communication, all were disrupted. According to the briefing, at least. Their transport was setting them down outside the range of that disruption. Bastille, and their one-man-reinforcement, would have to hike the rest of the way. Infiltration from then on was their problem, and their call.

Which made it Ben's call. 

It was a little strange, taking over from the Atlesian military. Atlas was their ride, and their guaranteed extraction. But they were just holding the landing zone. The actual mission was Bastille's. It was how hunters and huntresses operated normally, but he hadn't quite expected to be doing it so soon. Granted, the last mission had been like this too. Unknown circumstances, little-to-no-intel, and a whole lot of unexpected developments. But it felt a little off to be wading into the thick of it with such a small group. Especially for a mission Atlas was so invested in. He'd have thought they'd insist on sending Specialists. 

Seemed like his team was getting a reputation after the last mission, if he had to guess.

The thought brought more than a spark of pride to life. They could do this. They [i]would[/i], and he'd have a story to tell Luke when they all got back.

Any remaining discomfort vanished as soon as he was off the ship. They were back in [i]his[/i] country. Vale was wooded, sure, and Lauren wouldn't even notice the difference. Amy wouldn't either. Sangue might, he didn't know much about the redhead's past, but they hadn't grown up in the woods like he had. One breath of the air was enough to tell. The types of trees, the terrain, the climate. It was all familiar. No curveballs here. This was home turf. His team was rock solid. The only real unknown was Jan. The boy had kept to himself, for the most part, and Ben would've preferred to know some more about him before they walked into hostile territory together. But those were the breaks. For the duration of the mission, Jan was Ben's responsibility too. Everyone who walked in walked out, [i]after[/i] they'd solved the problem.

[color=00aeef]"Alright, folks. We're looking at about a twenty, thirty minute hike to the facility. Report says there aren't any Grimm in the area, but we didn't see any outside the facility last time, either. Plenty of places to hide in a forest. So we're going to play it safe."[/color] The Redwood native was all business, checking the lacing on his boots, making sure Joyous Guard was strapped to his back, and his replacement tonfa at his waist where he could reach them. [color=00aeef]"Sangue, I want you watching our right. Lauren, our left. Amy, I'm gonna need you watching our six. Watch your footing."

"Jan, I'm gonna want you somewhere we can walk and talk."[/color] Ben eyed the Shade student out of the corner of his eye. Just because he didn't know anything about him didn't mean there weren't any ground rules to set. His team was ready. They'd coordinate fine. But their observer needed to be on the same page. [color=00aeef]"That alright with you?"[/color]