[hr][center][h3][u][b][ShieldTown - Interior][/b][/u][/h3][/center][hr]

[b][color=#7270db]"S-Stranger?!"[/color][/b] Wolf stammered.  She flinched, inhaling a sharp breath as the tea stopped on its journey to the ground... no, it was just moving slowly as [color=8dc73f]HK[/color]'s processes jumped into overdrive.

[color=8dc73f]HK[/color] rewound the video from the eye feed, grabbing the overhead view from the drone in a separate window.

[color=8dc73f][Appropriating additional resources]
[Checking for additional surveillance] . . .

[Query Drone_Bay]
[Units on Operational Standby]
	[Albatross_02][Lockdown_Protocol_Suite]
	[Manta_01][Interceptor]

[Time to launch] [02:46]

[Analyzing Video Feeds] . . .

[Run GAIT_WATCH.EXE]
[Run Facial Recognition]
[Considering new parameters. Processing] . . .

[Subject Identity - ShieldTown-SpecialGuest-Aegis01 - 96% [b]VISUAL[/b] match]
	[Gait Mismatch - Advise further study]
[Run PATH_TO_VICTORY.SIM] . . . [/color]

[color=f26522][Thermal Warning][/color]
[color=8dc73f][Rerouting Albatross_01]
[Retasking Drones: Stranger Protocol Initiated.]

[Objectives Updated.  Waypoints Updated]
[Returning Host Processes] . . . |[/color]

The teacup smashed against the ground, splashing Wolf's boots, and she slowly raised a hand to the stinging heat behind her right eye, too stunned to say anything as Dean closed the door.  Her face had become flushed, and beads of sweat began forming on the right side of her brow.  [color=8dc73f]HK[/color] apparently took the insinuation that they'd made a mistake personally.  Wolf took a breath to collect herself, watching the view from the Albatross overhead in a sub-window as it winged over into a new flight pattern and began scanning the settlement.

The [color=8dc73f][Launching Albatross_02][/color] countdown timer was disconcerting.  She guessed [color=8dc73f]HK[/color] wanted the additional viewpoint but... the "Lockdown Suite" had some serious hardware on it too.  Hopefully it wouldn't be coming to that.  Wolf started towards the first waypoint when something new caught her attention.  She inhaled... was... was Dean making [i][b]Bacon?![/b][/i]

[hr][center][Elsewhere...][/center][hr]

[color=#d9145f][i]Stupid![/i][/color]

ID admonished herself as she huddled in the darkness under an awning several blocks away from the tall central house.  It didn't happen very often, but she'd had a strange dream which jolted her out of her sleep.  She never could get back to bed if she woke up in the middle of the night either, so she decided to get some air and walk around the settlement instead.  Some sort of seismic disturbance caught her attention, though whoever caused it was long gone by the time she found the origin point.

What HAD been left behind was a faint trail of [Crimson] that had been... admittedly very expertly scrubbed.  Whoever disguised that signature was a pro, she [i]almost[/i] didn't catch it, which had piqued her curiosity even further.  Getting caught trying to peek in the window wasn't ideal, and whoever was on the other side of that weapon had some serious mental fortitude to fire so accurately under the [Deadly Dragon's Gaze].  ID mentally flagged the wolf-eared soldier as a high risk engagement.  

Thankfully, she never wandered the town unmasked during daylight, so there was [i]basically no risk of being recognized[/i] even though she was in casual dress...

There was a waft of [Suspicion] and [Alarm] coming from the tall house, but as long as she didn't draw attention to herself she should be able to make it back to the hostel without further incident.  ID pushed herself off the wall once she was sure it was clear, and walked down the street casually.  She exhaled a sigh, planning a circuitous route back to the Hostel just in case.  

Got a little greedy on that one... technically she was off duty, so... that [i]definitely[/i] wouldn't be making its way into her next report.