Russell did his best to hold back an expression of surprise at Niko's blush, but he didn't quite succeed.<em>There's a lot more I could do to make her blush, but this is neither the place nor the time,</em>the young Marine thought impishly. Beside, he was still 'on the clock' so he had to act with some degree of decorum. When the blond elf addressed him he cocked his head in interest before turning to look at Private Mitchells, who had her own question for him in answer to Niko's words. "She's curious about that little dolly you were patting, Jessie," he informed Mitchells. "Niko was just asking whether it was a talisman or good-luck piece of some sort."<br/><br/>As he waited for the private's answer Russell watched Lt Black pack away the map he had been conferring with Namos over, as well as the maps the mayor had left behind as a gift. Listening to the lieutenant's decision and his explanation he nodded in agreement. "Sounds good, sir," he stated, looking out the window to observe the sky starting to darken. "We've got a couple of hours until sundown so we've got time to find a place to laager down with the Humvees and the Stryker. A couple hundred metres outside the town walls and a fair distance from the main gate should be good - keeps us far enough out of the town that we won't be tripping over locals gawking at the vehicles, plus we won't be obstructing any traffic into the town. On the other hand there's bound to be an inn or something we can stay at overnight, if you want to make sure everyone's well-rested in real beds rather than on the ground." His free hand came up to rub his chin thoughtfully. "Either way you might have some of the troops asking if we can drop into an inn or tavern for breakfast in the morning - most times fresh local food beats MREs hands-down," Russell commented. "But if you want to cure them of that idea we can feed them some cooking by some of the guys I served with in Iraq. Just don't expect 'em to be off sick call for a couple of days," he noted with a smirk and an overdone cringe of horror.<br/><br/>The veteran Marine's voice and expression became serious as he continued to speak. "Lieutenant, once we settle down for the night I'd like to check the fuel state of the vehicles with the drivers," Russell asked. "The Stryker's mostly loaded with spare fuel for the Hummers, but if we're running low we might want to call back to base and see if they can shake loose a Blackhawk to shuttle us enough fuel to top up the gas tanks." He turned to face Lt Black directly. "It's your call, sir, but those are just some suggestions that occurred to me," he offered.<br/><br/>Once h had heard Lt Black's reply he turned to address Niko. His voice became quieter and more gentle as he spoke to the attractive elfmaid.<em>"Lady Niko,"</em>he began, using the  same respectful form of Gatespeak as he had used when addressing Namos,<em>"my commander has said that our group will remain here overnight, and will leave for Niflguard in the morning. Will you be able to be packed and ready to leave by an hour after sunrise?"</em><br/><br/>