Hotel Saragarhi: Just Passing Through
Oct. 26th, 2009 12:04 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsThe X-Men arrive in Pakistan, and meet their military contact, Major John Greycrow.
One thing that the X-Men had learned was how to get in and out of places that they weren't strictly supposed to be in quietly. It had been a long flight, followed by a brief teleportation to get them on the ground at the US SOCOM station in Southern Pakistan. The area was quiet, little more than a short flight landing strip and a few pre-fab barracks serving as a temporary stop for supply runs. Special Ops used it for certain classified missions, and the Army units stationed there had learned to 'forget' planes coming and going.
They stood near one of the buildings, shaking off the flash of light and looking at the two helicopters painting in Indian standard camo. From the building, a man walked out, wearing the regular battle fatigues of the Indian military, although he was clearly Native American in the light.
"Obviously you're the crew from Xavier's. Come on in." He pulled his cigarillo from his mouth and motioned at them with it. "We're going to be airbourne in fifteen minutes, so this is going to be one short briefing. Name's Major John Greycrow."
Lex nodded at the man, and proceeded towards the building. He felt a little jumpy, as he always did before a mission, and his fears were increased by the knowledge that he wouldn't be holding a gun at any point in the operation. It would be interesting, to rely solely on his powers, but after the intense training of the past few weeks he felt he'd be up for it.
"I gotta pee," Clarice announced as she munched on a power bar that she'd had a pocket. She always carried energy bars and such with her, teleporting took energy. A LOT of energy. They had been traveling for too long and were about to go into a combat situation. Peeing was always a good idea.
Tabs stifled a snicker. "Hurry up, woman. We've got things to do, people to rescue." Adrenaline started to buzz in her veins.
Jan followed the group going to the building, walking rather than flying as she had remained full-sized. They weren't in combat yet, and there was no need to give the appearance of trying to hide.
Greycrow gave Kyle the same sort of feeling that Logan did, or Garrison sometimes. That aura of confidence and self-assurance. This was definitely a guy who knew he was in charge and knew he deserved to be in charge. Which was just fine by Kyle, since it seemed like everyone else was either nervous enough to smell nervous, or had too much coffee that morning.
"Once you people have finished hitting the head, there's a stack of Indian BDUs on that table. The coats and hats won't fool anyone up close, but from a distance, you'll have the right outline leaving the chopper. The co-pilot is fluent in Hindi, Punjab, Urdu, and Kashmiri, so anything coming over the radio, we'll button it up and he'll do the talking. I'm authorized to give you twenty minutes on the ground before bugging out. This one is a personal favour to the General by SOCOM, and if we get caught, it's going to be enough of a shit sandwich that there'll be room for everyone to take a big bite." Greycrow nodded at the planning table. "Last call for any questions."
"I can just go ahead and shrink now," Jan suggested. "No need for me to even be seen at all, unless we want an extra person to be seen for some reason."
Tabitha held up a uniform shirt doubtfully. She tossed down the set she had and went for one that would fit over her leathers. Heat be damned, she wanted the protection. She pulled the extra clothing on where she stood. "Yes, but is he decent in English?"
"What army do you think this is, miss?" Greycrow said, just a touch archly.
Lex's look mirrored Greycrow's. He may not be in the service anymore, but insulting the army still felt like an insult to his family. "There's not much the specialists can't do, Meltdown. We'll be in good hands, so long as the helicopter the Indian's provided us with doesn't crap out."
She held up her hands in a peace gesture. "Just double-checking," she protested. "We ready?"
"Ready!" Clarice said, running in from the bathroom and grabbing her own set of clothes to pull on over her uniform. "Sorry!"
One thing that the X-Men had learned was how to get in and out of places that they weren't strictly supposed to be in quietly. It had been a long flight, followed by a brief teleportation to get them on the ground at the US SOCOM station in Southern Pakistan. The area was quiet, little more than a short flight landing strip and a few pre-fab barracks serving as a temporary stop for supply runs. Special Ops used it for certain classified missions, and the Army units stationed there had learned to 'forget' planes coming and going.
They stood near one of the buildings, shaking off the flash of light and looking at the two helicopters painting in Indian standard camo. From the building, a man walked out, wearing the regular battle fatigues of the Indian military, although he was clearly Native American in the light.
"Obviously you're the crew from Xavier's. Come on in." He pulled his cigarillo from his mouth and motioned at them with it. "We're going to be airbourne in fifteen minutes, so this is going to be one short briefing. Name's Major John Greycrow."
Lex nodded at the man, and proceeded towards the building. He felt a little jumpy, as he always did before a mission, and his fears were increased by the knowledge that he wouldn't be holding a gun at any point in the operation. It would be interesting, to rely solely on his powers, but after the intense training of the past few weeks he felt he'd be up for it.
"I gotta pee," Clarice announced as she munched on a power bar that she'd had a pocket. She always carried energy bars and such with her, teleporting took energy. A LOT of energy. They had been traveling for too long and were about to go into a combat situation. Peeing was always a good idea.
Tabs stifled a snicker. "Hurry up, woman. We've got things to do, people to rescue." Adrenaline started to buzz in her veins.
Jan followed the group going to the building, walking rather than flying as she had remained full-sized. They weren't in combat yet, and there was no need to give the appearance of trying to hide.
Greycrow gave Kyle the same sort of feeling that Logan did, or Garrison sometimes. That aura of confidence and self-assurance. This was definitely a guy who knew he was in charge and knew he deserved to be in charge. Which was just fine by Kyle, since it seemed like everyone else was either nervous enough to smell nervous, or had too much coffee that morning.
"Once you people have finished hitting the head, there's a stack of Indian BDUs on that table. The coats and hats won't fool anyone up close, but from a distance, you'll have the right outline leaving the chopper. The co-pilot is fluent in Hindi, Punjab, Urdu, and Kashmiri, so anything coming over the radio, we'll button it up and he'll do the talking. I'm authorized to give you twenty minutes on the ground before bugging out. This one is a personal favour to the General by SOCOM, and if we get caught, it's going to be enough of a shit sandwich that there'll be room for everyone to take a big bite." Greycrow nodded at the planning table. "Last call for any questions."
"I can just go ahead and shrink now," Jan suggested. "No need for me to even be seen at all, unless we want an extra person to be seen for some reason."
Tabitha held up a uniform shirt doubtfully. She tossed down the set she had and went for one that would fit over her leathers. Heat be damned, she wanted the protection. She pulled the extra clothing on where she stood. "Yes, but is he decent in English?"
"What army do you think this is, miss?" Greycrow said, just a touch archly.
Lex's look mirrored Greycrow's. He may not be in the service anymore, but insulting the army still felt like an insult to his family. "There's not much the specialists can't do, Meltdown. We'll be in good hands, so long as the helicopter the Indian's provided us with doesn't crap out."
She held up her hands in a peace gesture. "Just double-checking," she protested. "We ready?"
"Ready!" Clarice said, running in from the bathroom and grabbing her own set of clothes to pull on over her uniform. "Sorry!"
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