The muscle-bound hero snaps off a salute to Navigator regardless of his humble protestations. It was only right, after all. The BDP also spent much of their propoganda venerating war heroes to<em>their</em>nefarious purposes. Glamourising Churchill et al they seemed to think fit in with their ethos of British, white, protestant superiority. Navigator as part of Union wasn't only for his superhuman abilities, put it that way.<br/><br/><br/>St George makes a mental note.<em>Banter with vampires - not recommended.</em>Still, he respected his elders, and Jack was certainly his senior.<br/><br/>He hadn't seen the magazine that Abigail talked about - and he frowned a tiny bit as she carelessly threw about her real name at a Union meeting - and probably never would. It would have been, of course, picked over and analysed by Union's communications department (which at the moment, consisted of Darren, an post-grad intern, whom George caught gawking over pictures of the females on the team every now and then). "Your...extrovert nature is something we can probably use. Either that or your bank account, if you'll excuse my bluntness. This operation is still in its starting stages, and funding may be dependent on our first few successes. Of which, I am in no doubt that they are imminent. Which brings me onto my next topic."<br/><br/>He nods at Tigress, unable to get a read on her through her facemask, hoping she wasn't feeling too intimidated. A few blips on his touchpad brought up a further blown-up vision of London, scrolling through the boroughs and districts to the Mall, stretching outwards from Buckingham palace, a huge road swathed in trees either side, and depending on the occasion, Union Jack flags. There were no such flags flying at this time of night on the screen, however.<br/><br/>"Your first assignment as Union will be here, tomorrow at oh-six-hundred hours. One of the very few remaining anti-BDP groups, the BlackJacks, so-called for their flying of our nation's flag, the Union Jack, in various shades of black and grey in honour of Holly Lazenby, a girl allegedly beaten to death by BDP troopers. They say that black is the only colour that truly represents the country now, not to mention that they do have a few known, but low-threat, anarchists in their ranks. Needless to say, the BDP have been persecuting the BlackJacks at every oppurtunity, and the official court inquiry into Holly Lazenby's death has been indefinately suspended. It has taken the BlackJacks months to get permission to stage a protest here, and the only slot they were allowed was this early in the morning, both in the hope that they would miss prime time coverage and also fewer eyes to see any BDP violence. As you can imagine, the BDP will be there in force, and looking for any excuse to start laying into them with stun batons and tazers and god knows what else."<br/><br/>St George took a breath.<br/><br/>"The right to stage a demonstration is essential to any democracy. I don't have to tell you either that the use of force against unarmed civilians is sickening to all civilised people. You are going to be there to make sure that it doesn't happen, and the BlackJack's protest goes ahead as planned, and with no violence. If excessive force is employed..."<br/><br/>If one were watching or listening closely, they might be able to detect a tiny surge of pleasure in St George's vocals.<br/><br/>"...you are fully licensed to employ your own. I don't need to remind you however that there will be a lot of civilians, perhaps only a hundred or so as that's what the BlackJacks have been reduced to, in the immediate area. Your skills in observation, restraint, and non-lethal takedowns will be most valuable here. I recommend you have at least one flyer in the air at all times."<br/><br/>Again there was a tiny tickle of pride and pleasure.<br/><br/>"This will be the first time the BDP see Union, and they will instantly paint you as enemies. They should see you as stalwart, powerful, capable, and working as a team. Although not prime time, your appearance will most certainly cause a ruckus in the press and across the country. We want the BDP to see public opinion sway in your favour, and make them think twice about trying to quash public opinion again. We want them to think that they have, as we say in blighty, dropped a bollock. Excuse my French."<br/><br/>St George managed to look actually uncomfortable that he used a curse word, and at an official meeting, too!<br/><br/>"For now, you can make yourselves welcome here at HQ. We have food packed the the rafters in the kitchen area, your quarters are made out to your individual tastes and requisites, and I encourage you to use the training room. I should let you know that all sparring matches are recorded for training and monitoring purposes. I won't be accompanying you on this mission...there is too much media sensationalism over me as it is, Governess doesn't have to pull up the most recent headlines on me from the rags here, you may or may not know that our journalists are creeps and conmen. Tomorrows mission isn't about one man and his sidekicks, it's about a team. And that team's name is<em>Union</em>."<br/><br/>"I will open up the floor for any questions you may have, but as of now you're free to do as you like within the HQ. Goodnight and godspeed."