<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Despite the rocky start, the loading and drop prep went with encouraging efficiency. Once or twice, Shvedova had to look away to hide the treacherous break-out of a grin when the men responded to their sergeant - not with "yes, sire" - but with the peculiar antiphon "Crystal". It seemed to originate in the men Brekke had served with before, but the other half of the squad seemed quick to adopt it too. It wasn't exactly standard vocabulary, but neither was it contrary to regulation and she had to admit she kinda liked it.<br/> <br/>Nodding her thanks to Brekke as she passed him, she proceeded to the mobile command center behind the cockpit. Across the hangar, the second dropship mirrored every action of the one she was in, programmed as it was to automatically replicate its path and movements. It was an experimental technology that had proven successful once or twice before, and she hoped it wouldn't bite them in the ass this time. It wasn't something the USCM would ever rely upon when dropping into actual combat. The absence of APCs was the other reminder that they weren't going in hot. It had freed up a little more space aboard the dropship, which would hopefully speed up the ferrying of colonists somewhat.<br/> <br/>From her seat in the command centre, she listened to the whooping and banter of the marines in the stowage cabin behind her. It seemed like all of the hostility from fifteen minutes ago was forgotten. She hoped that would last.<br/> <br/>"On my mark," Zabinska declared. "Five, four, three, two, one, release."<br/> <br/>Gravity seemed to suck in a deep breath and then released it with a scream and the two dropships plummeted towards the cloudy green orb that was LV-186.<br/> <br/></span></span><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Garner patiently listened to Captain Dressler give her appraisal of the situation with barely disguised boredom, until she gave her final assessment for how long the entire evacuation would take. Six hours, huh? Six hours until the end of his career, or at least what it might as well be. Seven trips, even with the capabilities of the UCSM? It threw into sharp relief just how ill-equipped the entire of humanity was for a shake-'n'-bake colony to be abandoned and evacuated wholesale. Colonies were supposed to be a fire-and-forget affair: send the lucky winners off into the blackness of space on a wing and a prayer and your blessing to never look back. But here he was, with the prospect of doing just that.<br/> <br/>"It'll hold together," he said when the silence between him and Karn risked seeming impolite.<br/> <br/>The two dropships lowered themselves onto the platforms, and Garner noticed some unusual lighting in the cockpit of one of them. Only one ship lowered its ramp and discharged a formation of armed and armoured marines. He had to admit, it was kind of impressive, and for a moment seemed almost like overkill given that this was essentially just a ferry home.<br/> <br/>The first of them to catch his eye was an Asian woman who looked about Garner's age, and suddenly the notion of dealing with the USCM didn't seem quite so wearisome after all. Garner straightened his back and his shirt, but before he could wonder if the Asian woman was in command, another woman - short but with tall features - strode out to the front and addressed him.<br/> <br/>"Administrator Garner?"<br/> <br/>"At your service," Garner replied with a lazy, almost sarcastic salute. "Shall I send word out that the taxi has arrived?"<br/> <br/>"In good order," the commanding woman said. "I'm Lieutenant Shvedova. This here is Sergeant Brekke: he'll be running things on-stage. I would request that until all Almayer personal have been extracted, you liaise with him and give him your full cooperation."<br/> <br/>Garner gave a lazy eye to the man introduced as 'Brekke'. He seemed more of a classic jarhead, as well as the kind of guy who had little patience for tolerating nonsense. That was fine; Garner didn't intend to give him any.<br/> <br/>"That's fine," he said. "All I want is for this to be as easy as possible. This here is my chief of security, Karn Dressler. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to assist your boys in any way they need assisting."<br/> <br/>He glanced at Karn in a way that suggested he wanted her to deflect as much of the heavy lifting of this situation from him as possible.<br/> <br/>"That's appreciated," Lt Shvedova said with a short nod. "But I'll need you to be contactable in the event of any complications that require administrative clearance."<br/> <br/>Garner sent a distinct leer towards the Asian woman he'd noticed earlier, who was now milling about with the rest of the marines. "Don't worry. I'm happy to stay close by."<br/> <br/>Lt Shvedova tightened her lips, then gave a curt smile to Karn. "Officer Dressler, are you able to lead Sergeant Brekke to a suitable operations center from which to coordinate the evacuation? I'll remain in the command center on the dropship, but Brekke will give the the codes to contact me there if you need to. Also, we're going to need access to the crash site. I understand a request was sent ahead for some suitable staff to consult with about that?"</span></span>