[center][h1][color=8dc73f]Boomer and Duke[/color][/h1][/center]
[center][h2]Camp Hannula, Pöyrisjärvi National Park, Finland[/h2][/center]
[center][h2]0500 Local Time[/h2][/center]

[color=8dc73f]Chuck[/color] had put his armor back on so he could walk it off the plane. He stepped off the plane with the team. He stayed towards the back since he could see over everyone’s heads. Chuck called Duke to his side. Chuck had experience keeping a professional cool demeanor. He knew they would be called to the mat for not delivering Skye. Chuck had accepted that Samantha had made the call. She was the lead at the time and he had accepted his decision. He was new to the team and knew that there were team relationship dynamics and politics that he might not be aware of. Chuck was still not sure what all had happened or the ramifications of it all. He was a military man of action and tactics. He didn’t understand enough about what he had heard about the technology in question to form a definitive opinion. 

Chuck watched as the scene unfolded. He had expected a pissed off superior officer who was looking for someone to blame. Chuck braced at attention as he eyes went from speaker to speaker. Chuck listened as Oracle seemed to be focusing on Samantha and her leadership. He found the whole interaction interesting. Coming from a military background as he did, usually if an op went sideways, debriefing happened as quickly as possible. They also tended to interview team members individually before bringing them together to discuss what they could have done differently to change their outcomes. He was a little surprised by the animosity that was being thrown at the entire team. It confused Chuck and he didn’t understand it. 

Chuck moved to intercept Athena. He stepped between her and Tahlia as the conversation became heated. Chuck had been in the thick of it with Tahlia and she had his back. He would have hers now. He understood that Athena was Freya’s sister and he could see the family resemblance. She was drop dead gorgeous but he didn’t like her attitude one bit. You would think that her sister would have more respect for the team that Freya was on. That didn’t seem to be the case. He would not allow Athena’s worry over her sister to spill over onto Tahlia. He simply planted himself between them and gently guided Tahlia back behind him and Samantha. He knew that would piss the Kiwi off but she would forgive him later. 

The focus shifted back to Samantha as she went off on the leader. Chuck didn’t know the woman well. They had just met after all. He could respect that she was taking ownership of her decision publicly and emphatically. He appreciated that she felt she was protecting her team. As someone who had been under bad officers, who didn’t hesitate to throw their team under the bus, he appreciated the grit that it took. He watched her walk off shaking with rage and once again wondered if his transition to Raven Squad was the right one. He then thought back to the drugs and what they had found at the compound in Columbia. He knew he was ridding the world of a bigger evil. He kept his mouth shut and followed along. He stroked his hand down Duke’s back. He could read the tension in Duke’s body language. He didn’t like the raised voices and the tension between the people. 

[hr] 

They had entered a building that would house the team on base. He took one of the red painted doors in the hall after they were told to take a room. He smiled seeing a basic set of gray sweat pants, sweatshirt, sneakers, socks, and boxer briefs on the unmade bed. He took his armor off and set it up to charge. He then went to the bathroom and pulled off the inner ballistic suit. He washed it out in the shower with the wand attachment and hung it over the shower door. He then gave himself a nice scrub in hot water. He was feeling the need for a run. He was pretty sure Duke was too. No one had told him that Duke needed to go to a kennel. So he kept his dog with him. He then whistled for Duke and took off for a run. They needed it to finish releasing the tension from the battle and the escape. After being cramped up on the plane, he needed to be outside in the crisp clean air. He needed to feel his body stretching and moving. He didn’t leave base but he did run along the fence line to limber up his body. He figured by the time he was back, maybe they would be ready to debrief him. He let his worries fall away as he took in the natural beauty of the land around him.