[center][h1][color=f7941d][b]ISAAC BLACK[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

All good things must come to an end.

Things were doing alright.  They had the game, they had a healthy bit of conversation, and they even had another taker in the form of a new Private.  They hadn't been formally introduced, but one look said it all: She was a Darcsen who had the look of someone who didn't have time for your crap about why you hate Darcsens...or women, judging by the her question by way of introduction when she wanted to be dealt in.  The thing is, yes, she had been there for a while, but it was in fact her quiet up until now that had let her be overlooked.  Isaac looked over the offered matches and nodded at her.

[color=f7941d]"Fine by me.  Anyone that smokes needs matches, so yeah, no problem."[/color]

...but it turns out he spoke too soon, because a Sergeant Talas soon came to their position and asked for Private Mehetabel and Sergeant Schafer, as per orders from Captain Middleton, that they had a mission to perform, so they had to prepare.  This, in turn, had Isaac gathering up the cards as those two started off back into the trenches proper.  Naturally, there were some protests, but the Lance-Corporal held up his hands to silence their woes for a second.

[color=f7941d]"Yes, I know, but if that was Middleton, then I know what comes next."[/color]

[b]"Lance-Corporal Black?"[/b]

[color=f7941d]"And there it is.  Present and accounted for."[/color]

In short order, another man had indeed appeared in the wake of the Sergeant to deliver him the message from Middleton to prepare for a misison.  Curiously, it was different from what Talas had just told the other two.  He also didn't like the fact that he was pretty sure he understood what it was the Grumpus wanted, even without additional explanation.

[color=f7941d]"Well, there you have it.  We'll pick up another time."[/color]


[center][h1][i][b][color=ed1c24]Britta Hagen[/color][/b][/i][/h1][/center]

She had only just put away Private Blanc's extremely valuable and highly-sentimental weapon away in the footlocker when someone came for him.  A sergeant had come in and asked for him by name, looking somewhat irritated by the fact that the man had been hard to find.  Of course, Marius had been sort of lost and without orders or direction, at this time, so one could hardly blame [i]him[/i].  Smiling slightly, Britta nodded at the man and said [color=ed1c24][b]"Well, I guess now you have your orders.  I'm sure they'll be able to straighten out everything.  Just the same, you take care of yourself, Private Blanc."[/b][/color] before he left.  Britta then turned to tidy up the Isaac Store locker for a moment, so everything was in order and the gun was on the bottom, when...

[b]"Private Hagen?"

[color=ed1c24]"Right here.  How can I help you?"[/color]

"Orders from Captain Middleton, ma'am.  You're to meet him and others at the Supply Trench for laying duty.  More instructions to follow there."[/b]

She looked up after locking the container up.  Laying duty?  There was something familiar about that, but she couldn't place it at the moment.

[b][color=ed1c24]"Is this in any relation to the Sergeant who just asked another man in my midst to head for the Assault Trenches for a mission?"[/color]

"I wouldn't know."

[color=ed1c24]"Alright, thank you.  I'll be on my way."[/color][/b]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The two Gunners arrived at the Supply area not too long after Diana had arrived.  Isaac nodded at her greeting.

[color=f7941d]"Doing alright.  Five minutes ago, I was better, though."[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"Winning hand?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"Not-Losing hand.  The take is so-so.  I deposited it in the box and headed over here.  You?"[/color]

[b][color=ed1c24]"I was there when I got the order, but I had to get the rest of my gear ready, since I wasn't on patrol, like you."[/color][/b]

Diana had mentioned she was distracted by her own thoughts, so she hadn't been paying attention.

[color=f7941d]"No problem.  This, though...is as feared."[/color]

He gestured to the wound wire mesh that was sitting nearby.

[b][color=ed1c24]"Oh, you know what we're doing?"[/color][/b]

[color=f7941d]"I have a strong impression.  You see, you set up things among your crops to deter birds and animals from eating them, you do the same for livestock, but a bit differently.  You gotta keep chickens safe from foxes, and you...gotta keep the wolves we got away from them too, just in case they keep any ideas.  Barbed wire helps, makes for decent fences, so I know a thing or two about setting it up."[/color]

The Lance was pretty sure about this.  'Laying Duty' - with setup and cover - implied that the stuff they used to foil people sneaking through No Man's Land needed to be deployed out there.  In the time of their being at this trench, this very job had probably been undertaken several times, because of course what both they and the [i]enemy[/i] did was crawl through No Man's Land, looking for a point of infiltration, cutting [i]through[/i] those sharp wires in order to reach the other side.  Thus, they would have to be [i]replaced[/i], and that meant going out there to work on the stuff, with someone making sure that all their asses didn't get shot.  It was dangerous, it was tedious, and it was kind of necessary...which made it a [i]definite[/i] Middleton kind of assignment.

That's assuming, of course, that Isaac was in the right.  Part of him actually hoped that he was, because if it wasn't...it could be worse!