Log [Alison, Nathan] Still learning...

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

COs have their own drills to run on a regular basis, and their hit and miss count is just the same as everyone else's. A debrief session, where Nathan's expertise in small units tactics is put to good use.

Rather nice to be on the analysis end of things this time, Nathan thought, fast-forwarding through the Danger Room footage and making another note. This one had been complex, much more so than his ones with Lorna. It amazed him sometimes how well the Room could duplicate complicated tactical situation... Tactics. That's it. The realization hit and he paused, leaning back in his chair, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. His back protested - though not as loudly as it would have a few hours ago - and he closed his eyes for a moment, deliberately focusing on the realization rather than the pain.

Still frowning, Alison walked into the room slowly, hair damp from the quick shower she'd taken before heading in for the review she'd asked Nathan to do. The look on his face reminded her of Scott's and Ororo's when she was still a trainee, after they'd gone over one of her more disastrous training runs and she couldn't help but sigh a bit. "You've got That Look," she remarked evenly, pride still stinging over the last run - along with a few bruises which would serve as a good reminder to think twice the next time she did this. Which would probably be very soon, at that.

"It just occurred to me that I know what the problem was on that run," he said with a quick smile, looking up at her. Easy to fall into the debriefing mode - old habits died hard. "Call it a crime of diligence, maybe? You had suddenly altered tactical conditions and you focused on adapting to them, when your original strategy might in fact have been better. And yeah, I know. Highly ironic to hear this from Mr. Flies-By-The-Seat-Of-His-Pants."

Biting the inside of her lip, Alison nodded, even as she tugged one of the chairs clear of the table and slowly sank in it. Normally she'd have made a face at him for the last line, but her pride felt rather dented so say the least, at that particular moment. A few bruises and soreness - that was all she would be taking out of a session in which the entire team had 'died' rather messily. "I... know," she finished weakly, leaning back with care. "I know." And looking back on it now, she most certainly did know.

"What were you thinking when the second wave of attackers came in?" Nathan asked thoughtfully, glancing back at the footage still playing on the screen beside him. "You changed your deployment so fast. Setting aside how the scenario ended, by the way, your reaction-time when it comes to decision making is right where it should be."

"Because we could handle the second wave with the changes as implemented." The third and fourth however, had been another story - and when things had started to go awry rather nastily. "It's that warning that got sent out that meant the third wave came in so fast - and the divine and conquer maxim works just as well when the other side is using it." She sighed, the stretched one arm slowly, rather relieved when nothing reacted badly to the motion. She wanted her arms and hands unharmed, far moreso than anything else. "I should have figured on a triple redundancy in their warning system. Covered the first and second with the changes implemented. Not the third."

"Hrm. As soon as you saw that second wave, you knew that the information you'd initially been working with was wrong," Nathan pointed out, his tone light but the words serious. "I know it seems counterintuitive to say 'fall back on the original plan' when that happens, but I think in this case that was precisely what you should have done. Stick with the garrison mentality, protect your hostages... you did have a drone-me, so you theoretically had a reliable source of shielding. You could have held out at least through the third wave, I think. Possibly not the fourth, but definitely the third."

He paused, contemplatively. "I think having Haroun in charge of the second team coming to extract you, rather than with you, was probably part of the problem. It left you down one aerial scout, and that could have opened up your options, intelligence-wise at least. Without knowing what was coming... yeah, I can see why trying to make a quick exit seemed like a more palatable option."

"I know." She was repeating herself, though the usual anger at failing so miserably in a run was distant somehow. There, but lost in the background, overshadowed by other things. Not that it wasn't trying to come up to the surface right and proper, though. "Sorry." Shaking her head, Alison focused on the topic at hand - and realized that he'd done that on purpose - assigned Haroun away from her.

"The drones are programmed to mimic and react - I could have fallen back into pure defensive mode right then and there." While she'd been showering, about three different alternatives had all come to mind. It had been, by then, far too late of course. "I'm used to the added information an aerial provides. And… maybe I've grown too reliant on it. Tunnel vision. I didn't stop to think of the alternatives as a result..." And the blow to her pride on that one hurt, and then some. She prided herself on being able to think her way out of situations. Not think herself into them. "Damn it," she murmured softly.

"You were pretty confident about your plan going in," Nathan said, having read the mock-briefing she'd filed before running the scenario. It was something that the COs did that he hadn't realized, before he'd started doing the occasional tactics review. "Justifiably so, I think. I know we preach the gospel of flexibility around here, but sometimes holding your ground is the best option. Then again," he said with a smile, "I could se easily have seen myself doing the exact same thing in your place."

A short-lived, small grin greeted that, Alison nodding at his words. "It was a good plan, for the preliminary situation." She was certain of that, just as she knew she could have done better once things had started to require change. "I can already think of several alternatives I could have gone for. Things just went - very quickly, once the situation started to deteriorate. I can't afford for this to happen out there, not with-" she paused, giving Nathan a strained expression "But you know that." At least, she thought, Pete was far more dependant on himself than her, out there. The thought, unbidden, was sharp and edged in her mind. He knew exactly what he was doing and other than just meeting up with him monthly and keeping track of the information he found…

Nathan leaned forward, frowning a little. She'd felt... odd, there, for a second. He wasn't precisely sure how. "You okay?" he asked gently. "Didn't hit your head or anything in there, did you? That's usually my schtick..."  She didn't answer, and he instinctively started to reach out to touch her mind, but stopped himself.  Privacy, Dayspring, he told himself. "That's why the review's good," he said, trying to sound encouraging. The scenario getting her down a little, maybe? "Go over all the alternatives, even if it's after the fact..."

"I'm fine," she answered, after silence had lingered for what she realized belatedly was too long. The spike of pain in the back of her mind had been unsettling, and she took a slow breath, wondering if this was going to happen every time the shields which had been set in her mind reacted to something like this. She repressed the urge to rub at her eyes, which didn't hurt form the light anyway, she reminded herself sternly. "And there was the shielding one as you mentioned. Also could have sent in a diversion with Colossus to keep them busy, along with myself and Beast. Two for close combat, one for distance. And sent you and a backup further off, with the hostages we had gathered already. Shielding and long range back up for on the ground intel updates. Beast could easily have taken over any tech we'd have obtained and sent back false information to their central station, too, if we'd managed that…" Just like Pete was doing, in a sense - and with that, the headache solidified, drawing a faint wince from Alison.

"Okay, are you sure you're all right?" Nathan asked, a little exasperation slipping into the worry. "You look like you're getting a migraine or something... we don't have to finish this now?" She'd probably take it entirely the wrong way if he threw her over his shoulder and hauled her off to medlab just to make sure... yeah, she probably would. Hrrm. Didn't mean it might not be the thing to do anyway.

"Headache. S'all it is." Or so she was going to keep telling herself until the nausea hit full force, since she was skipping at least two of the usual symptoms due to her power. The tension edging about her neck was another sign she decided to ignore. For all of two seconds. Finally giving in, she pinched the bridge of her nose lightly, closing her eyes. "Didn't hit my head in there. Might have shaken some originality into me if I'd done that, though."

"Don't start sounding like me, or I'm going to think that you really did hit your head and just don't remember," Nathan warned, trying to keep his voice light. "We can finish this later, seriously." Giving her some time to get over the apparently fast-attacking headache would be good. Giving her some time to put the self-ass-kicking behind her would probably be better. "Hell, you could even draw up your alternatives in written form and let me critique them that way, too."

"We can do that." The agreement was reluctant, but she wasn't about to argue. Rising to her feet, Alison tried to nod - and ended up very carefully placing one hand flatly on the table, until the light bout of vertigo passed. "Ooooh. It's been a while since I've felt that," she breathed, remembering the hideous migraines she'd suffered from for months while her power took it's own sweet time to surface. "Ok. Maybe it is a migraine after all."

"Hrrmph." Nathan got up, coming around the table. "I could be gallant, risk Haroun's wrath, and carry you to your room?" he asked, a certain mischievous gleam in his eyes. And if he happened to take a turn through the medlab, who'd be the wiser? Well, unless Moira saw him wandering around carrying Alison, in which case she'd probably laugh herself into early labor.

The snort of amusement at that one was short, cut halfway by another rather gleeful spin of the world around her. "Hate vertigo," she muttered, before sliding him an indignant look, which was somewhat spoiled by the fact that she still had a hand up to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. And leaned on the table a bit more. "I can walk just fine." The offended look fell though as she muttered lowly. "Just not right now I think. Gah." She closed her eyes as the persistent throb of pain settle in, stabbing through on eye and winding down into her jaw.

"I don't think I'll risk gallant. But a hand? Or an arm, at least?" he asked, offering. "We could always stop in medlab on the way upstairs and get you some quality headache-banishing pills? Or, wait, no... you and drugs don't generally agree, do they?"

"Drugs bad," Alison agreed resignedly, accepting the proffered arm without a second thought at that point. The pain seemed to have leveled somewhat, the steady ache gleefully making sure she didn't forget about it for a single moment. "If it doesn't go 'way, Hank can fix something…" He'd done so before, when she'd been shot through the leg with her own laser in the Morlock tunnels.

She was slurring her words - just a little, but enough to be noticeable. "We'll just go see him, won't we?" Nathan asked, patting her arm reassuringly. "He'll come up with something to make the migraine run screaming. I have all faith in him."

"Good thing screaming doesn't bother me when m'like this," she said slowly and carefully, keeping her grip on his arm probably a touch too solid as he started to lead her out of the room. She'd been told this might happen, due to the complexity of the shields layered in the back of her mind - two for her, as opposed to one for Pete... "Ow." She stopped at that and gave up thinking on the spot, breathing shallowly.

They were going to medlab, Nathan reassured himself, unable to help a worried look down at her as he led her out of the room. That was the important thing here. Even if it took them a little while to get there.