As expected, Carbon was the first to interject, shutting down both Rinshan and Kathrine with his abrupt question regarding the mother's question. Well, for someone who was all death and despair and gloom and darkness, he seemed eager enough for this mission. Dogearring his pointless documents as he wondered how much information he should impart at the moment, Kairn waited till Rinshan also said her part, as she also seemed to be interested in the mother, before replying, [b]“The mother's currently being taken care of by Farmer Fry, the man who owns that cornfield...two kilometers south of here? Feel free to ask, but don't expect to get too much out of her. I would say...that she's not exactly typical.”[/b]

Finally using his pen and spinning it three times before letting it glide on the back of one of those important-but-useless papers, the Commander thought for a moment, before marking down a few things and finishing, [b]“Actually, Clark, you should accompany Rinshan and Carbon in their questioning, before rejoining with the others in their search. It would be a good chance to pick up some canteens too, wouldn't it?”[/b]

Really, he always had to improvise when making up things for the cripple and the emo to do, but hopefully, being semi-useful would bolster their ego? And lead to good things in the future? At least, that was textbook theory. Being a commander made him feel more like a teacher nowadays.

And, like any teacher, he'd have to be a guardian for a bloodthirsty kiddo like Felix, who seemed to think that getting thrown onto the ground multiple times by an older man was fun. Even when it was hot as hell outside. Guess there was nothing to lose if he got a sprain or something though, considering the weather tomorrow. Clearly, Felix wasn't so foolhardy that he'd go flying out in the clouds. Or maybe he was, and didn't care either way. [b]“For real? I'll allow a sparring match, but nothing 'for real'. Wouldn't want any broken bones or gouged out eyes. You can have five minutes, no weapons.”[/b]

He would mention something about no knees to the crotch, but then again, he always wondered whether Clark's balls were as steel as the rest of his body. It would be funny, to see the impassable mountain fallen over in a fetal position. Kairn smiled at that thought, before allowing the honor student to do her little pep talk, and finally saying, extending his little memo that he made two minutes ago, [b]“Southey, we'll be going now, so try not to faint now. The basic plan will be as follows. You'll be flying, roughly, in pairs, triangle-formation. Two pairs will be in the front, with a proper amount of distance between each other, with the final pair being settled between and behind them. Kathrine and Isis, you'll be the first pair. Felix and Southey, the second. Carbon and Rinshan, the third, the pair that stays behind the first two. You two will be responsible both for transporting Coordinator Clark Dumont, as well as helping rehydrate the other two during their search. If you do intend on asking the mother some questions, it's alright to join the search party later.”[/b]

Of course, that just made Carbon and Rinshan water-boys, but that should be alright. If they complained, he could just say that they were also meant to pick up on what the vanguards may have missed.

[b]“As usual, we'll be using a single radio channel to communicate, with a separate channel for specific orders by Clark. Try not to use it too much though, because batteries are getting expensive, and I don't want to cut your payrolls just to deal with budget deficits.”

“Anyways, you may go off now. So yeah. Clark, keep me updated. Good luck, have fun, and be a hero, don't just play as one.”[/b]