Preston Whitmore could put every military in the world to shame. Thucydides Beauregard could think nothing less than that as he completed his inspection of the the [i]Ulysses[/i] and the accompanying vehicles, submersibles and all of the weaponry they'd been equipped with for this expedition. He'd thought that Whitmore had spent obscene amounts of money on just the Icelandic expedition, but this...he couldn't fathom how one man could have managed such feats of machining and science. Good thing that his friend hadn't ever considered a political career. He'd dominate the world by now.

He paused a moment to draw a cigar from one of the many pockets of his fatigue coat. Whitmore had even provided custom uniforms for the expedition, which Thucydides couldn't help but chuckle at when he'd first seen the things. Yes, the old man had covered every single one of his bases here. The big man smiled as he clipped the end of the stogie and slipped the thing between his lips, striking a match against his cheek. He took a slow, satisfied puff as he strolled along through the ship, taking that one last opportunity to breath in the sea air before they'd be embarking. 

The Hungarian was already down in the departure bay when Thucydides made his way down again. He offered a polite nod as he approached, looming at 6'6" and easily outmassing the geologist. 

"Find everything to your liking, Mr. Zalan? Whitmore spared no expense here by the look of things." The big man offered a smile around his cigar. "Afraid I'm not the best of judges with the excavation equipment."