Bad Day

[Sam Guthrie]

Their losses had been far too many, and as Samuel Guthrie looked over the final count of the dead, a growing rage and frustration bubbled up in his gut. He wanted to please Magneto, he wanted nothing better than to come up to his master's quarters with the collected heads of the menace and say "In which trophy case do you want your latest conquest my Liege?"

But with the way things were going, he'd need a plan fast. These...things.....would soon be advanced enough to withstand even his attacks soon.

If only that screw-up Orion was here, then he could work out his frustrations. Instead, Samuel pounded his fist into the desk as he threw the document across the room. Sheets of paper fell like snow.

Something had to be done.

((open))

[Deefer Mallone]

Deefer had found herself just as irritated as her commanding officer in regards to their latest...escapade.
It was only her training and mutant abilities that had kept her from becoming injured. Just.
She still hadn't really managed to do much damage and that did not please the half-Japanese woman, not one bit.

Just as she was walking past the planning room, she heard a bang from inside and the fluttering of paper.
Frowning to herself, she knocked lightly on the door and peered inside.
"...Sir?" she said softly, regarding the sight that greeted her.

[Sam Guthrie]

Samuel looked up to see one of his soldiers, peering in at him.

Deefer Mallone. Stealthy, thanks to her mutation. A good soldier. Currently involved with Sam's punching bag, Kenneth Orion.

It was a shame really, he supposed that not all men were like himself. Poor thing, having to settle like that.

"Just looking over our losses for today.." He said, still obviously flustered, "Our lord has placed his faith in me to take care of this...infestation and they frustrate even my boundless patience and ability to lead.."

"If only I could find a way around their.....irratating tendency to adapt, we could wipe them off the face of the Earth..."

[Deefer Mallone]

Deefer nodded slightly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.

"Sir, our lord would not have put his faith in you lightly" She began carefully, "He believes you can do this, and so do I, you'll find a way." she said confidently.

It unnerved her slightly to see her commanding officer so thrown, but she pushed it away, it was momentary, she was sure. She had to be sure, she had every faith in Sam's ability - he wasn't their leader for nothing.

She crouched down, gathering up some of the papers that had fallen. "There must be a way around it."

[Sam Guthrie]

After a few breaths Samuel was starting to get a hold of himself now, and as he extended his hand out for the paperwork that Mallone was holding, he set his mind to work.

He'd find a way. Or find someone who could.

"Of course there is, it's only a matter of time before we crush them beneath our feet." Samuel replied, "If our lord demands it, shall it be done."

His eyes drifted over to a page about the results of an analysis of one of the fallen enemy. Although he would have much rather smashed the enemy into defeat, a smarter approach would be needed.

"You know, you've come a long way since you joined up Mallone." Samuel added, "I wouldn't be surprised at all if big things were headed your way in the future."

Of course he didn't know that for sure, Magneto was ultimatly responsible for promotions and the like, but it never hurt to grease an axel before you put the cart to work. A happy soldier was a good soldier, after all.

[Deefer Mallone]

She straightened up, handing over the pages with a nod of agreement.

There was a faint smile on Deefer's face at his next words - nothing much, but probably equivilant to a beaming grin on other people, when Deefer was in 'professional mode', she stayed that way. Mostly.
"A.arigatou. Thank you sir, it means a lot to me to hear that coming from you."
Ok, so she slipped a little, but mentally she was practically jumping for joy. Praise from Sam Guthrie wasn't easy to come by, even the oft-stoic Japanese woman could probably be forgiven for being thrown by it.

[Sam Guthrie]

"Think nothing of it." Samuel replied, as he looked back down at his paperwork. Of course, she would have been wise to do that in the first place, but Samuel could see a glimmer of pride in her features.

"You earned it"

He was no idiot, he knew just what his troops thought of his infamous views on compliments. What they didn't know was that it was premeditated.

Samuel knew that a kind word spoken at the right time could motiviate a person to do great things, and motiviation was what his troops needed. His little compliment would motivate Mallone, there was no doubt in his mind, but the real beauty of it was she would not be the only one. When word spread that the impossible-to-please Samuel Guthrie had payed a compliment to Deefer Mallone, the rest of his soldiers would in turn work harder, clinging to the hope that Samuel Guthrie would grace them with a kind word as well.

He was a genius.

[Deefer Mallone]

She nodded firmly, sobering herself up. Now was not the time to bask in praise, however faint, there was work to be done.
Not to mention, she reminded herself, she had earned that praise by being professional and doing her job, she had to prove he was right to give it away by working even harder.

Yes, Samuel really was a genius.

"Is there anything I can do to help with this, sir?" she asked, motioning to the papers on the desk.

[Sam Guthrie]

"Unless you can figure out how these things work, or know someone who does, I don't think so..." Samuel replied, holding up a schematic of one of the enemy. It was worth a shot to ask.

Better to ask her for assistance than Magneto.

[Deefer Mallone]

Oh but she wished she could say yes, that her knowledge of technology was enough for her to be able to pick apart those diagrams and tell him exactly what he wanted to hear.
It wasn't, it wasn't even close.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't think I could." she said honestly, shaking her head slightly.
She couldn't do it herself, but maybe... "How about Dr McCoy, sir? Surely he'd be able to shed some light on it...?"
Granted her commanding officer may well have already considered Dr McCoy, but offering a solution was being productive, it was the next best thing to knowing it herself...sort of.

[Kenny Orion]

As Kenneth Orion was heading down the halls looking a little beat, he heard two familiar voices coming from the planning room one was someone he'd like to hear and one was someone that made him upset and with that he head inside the room. "Excuse me am I missing anything?" He asked as he entered the room standing like a soldier should.

[Deefer Mallone]

Deefer turned as a new voice entered the room. She offered Kenny a small nod of the head, but little more - Deefer firmly believed in keeping her work life and private life separate, which meant that when she was 'on duty' she treated Kenny like any other soldier. Mostly.

Always so eager, so desperate to please, to be included. She felt bad for him, she really did. But sometimes she felt he tried too hard to be liked, instead of just concentrating on being better.

She shook her head slightly, but didn't reply, turning her gaze back to Samuel - it was up to him what he wanted Kenny to know.

[Sam Guthrie]

Of course, McCoy would be able to tinker around with the damn things, he should have known that.

"Of course, I had considered enlisting his help, but thank you anyways Mallone." Samuel replied, not even making eye contact with Orion.

"You're both dismissed, I have a lot of paperwork to sort through...so if you'll excuse me."

And that was the only mention of Orion that Samuel made as he gathered his paperwork and headed out to his private quarters.

[Deefer Mallone]

"Yes, sir." Deefer nodded, stepping aside to let him out, with a salute as he went past.

She felt guilty for a moment, he'd acknowledged her, thanked her for the suggestion, and yet the only concession he made to Kenny's presence was to accept that fact there were two other people in the room apart from himself.
The guilt passed and she told herself it certainly wasn't her fault.

[Kenny Orion]

Kenny looked upon as Sam passed by him and saluted but was really feeling pretty mad as he felt like being ignored by the leader. "He doesn't even care if i show up, he thinks I'm just a lackey" he said with feeling very angry that he felt like he wanted to hit the wall