The largest seat in the room, a well-sanded wing chair with a high back, was the one that Kairn sat himself in, behind the only desk in the room. Shifting through the many cabinets to each side of himself, the commander brought out a few sheets of paper and a pen, just in time so that he could shuffle them in a mature and professional manner when the first person to arrive, Kathrine Overture, stepped in, looking not-so pleased with the humid weather. He almost thought that he should warn her about the conditions inside the washroom that she would no doubt be wishing to go to, but her glare told him not to. She was someone who worked hard to be liked by others, after all, and probably wanted him to just ignore that melted-makeup face she had just shown him moments earlier.

Well, he liked to think that he was a kind and considerate commander, the good cop that balanced out the bad cop that was Clark Dumont, so he wouldn't say anything about it. Though she should work on maintaining her image on a constant basis, Kairn decided that he shouldn't complain. Masks were important, but they were also uncomfortable to wear. Especially in weather like this.

Of course, then there was Southey Doe, the second arrival who had the unfortunate lodging of having to sleep on the second floor of the building. In other words, the part of the building that didn't have quite as many options for ventilation, no plumbing, and generally was an intensely stupid place to sleep. He wasn't exactly sure why the girl didn't read the altitude forecast yesterday and realize that today would be a scorcher, but she was empty-headed enough for that, if nothing else. Smiling slightly as she flailed around like a dying fish, the commander stood up, retrieved a mug, before opening the top of the tank of water and dipping in the mug. It was as lukewarm as he expected, but unlike himself, Kairn doubted that the brunette cared. He placed the mug a few inches away from Southey's nose, before saying, [b]“It's not exactly ice-water, but there's more in the tank, if you want.”[/b]

Then, the infamous, impeccable Clark Dumont arrived, as confident and daring and dashing and unbothered as ever, with the dark and despairing Carbon tagging closely behind him. Really, those two were probably the only ones who could go through such weather without batting an eye. Of course, it might be because Carbon was in a constant state of self-suffering that no one noticed a change in his mood, but whatever. If nothing else, the swordsman was proving himself to be a monstrous paragon. Or an inhuman monster.

[b]“Morning to you too, Dumont. And Carbon, no death threats please. Some might actually want to die.”[/b] He was fairly certain that Carbon wasn't a psychopath, and was just joking in his morbid fashion...but it was best to be cautious. Wouldn't it look bad on his records if one of the people he recommended to be hired was arrested after strangling another Fae to death with his infinity scarf?

Isis, probably the only smart one of all who arrived, brought a water canteen that had drops of water vapor condense on its surface. In other words? Cold water. It would be really nice if people with refrigerators could move them into this underfunded Daedalus outpost. It would be really, really nice. He almost felt like abusing his power as the manipulator of pay checks in order to get it done, but alas, he had his image to uphold. Maybe one day, he'll catch Clark smuggling muscle-growth powders or whatever, and then use that leverage to make him threaten the refrigerator-owners to all 'kindly donate' their water-cooling assets to the outpost.

What a scheming king he was.

Second last to arrive was the functionally-useless, yet cute-as-a-button Rinshan, and Kairn waved cheerily at her, even though her smile was warm enough that he felt like he was going to die soon. Not of a heart attack incited by overt cuteness, but because rising blood pressure during hot weather was definitely going to give him a heat stroke. Settling back into his chair, he was about to wave off her concerns about being late, before the final Fae arrived.

Felix, the Fae of The Shadow. The one with the most cliche and grimdark name, but held by the most hyperactive person around. The Commander wondered if Clark and Felix would still reach double-digits in terms of butting heads when it was this hot, but considering how Felix was the third that didn't seem worn down by this weather, that was likely.

Maybe some running around would silence them.

Yeah, that'd be great.

[b]“No worries, Rinshan. People are only late until they arrive after you, so it's a-okay!”[/b] Giving her a thumbs-up and a smile, he pointlessly shuffled through the documents that he didn't read, before scratching the stubble that he'd been growing the past year.

[b]“Anyways, let's get to the matter at hand. Today's mission is that of search-and-rescue. Or perhaps, just searching in general. As most of you should be aware, tomorrow, visibility will be zero, and temperatures will plummet, so it will be instrumental that we complete this job today. Prepare to work until sunset if you must, but don't push yourselves if you start getting heat-sick.”

“Now, onto the contents. Yesterday evening, Ms. Herrmann, a widow from a small farm five miles west of here was found searching for her son, and has since then requested our help. Well, not like we could just turn a blind eye to this regardless, considering how small this place is...but anyways. The farmers nearby have already searched a three-mile radius around town, but due to terrain, can not search effectively over any area larger than that. The rest of the population has been accounted for, so this is an isolated case. There's been no sign of a struggle, so this won't be a kidnapping...but who would do something as stupid as that...or an attack by a wild animal. A flight level below the tree line will be optimal, and pay special attention to water sources. It's a hot day, so there may be chances that the child would be there.”

“Which brings me to two questions. Why didn't anyone other than Isis bring a water canteen? And are there any questions?”[/b]