Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Jun 30, 2009 1:45:08 GMT -5
OOC: This thread is only for SWC characters. If you do decide to intrude, then be prepared for your character to be attack and/or captured by some of the best soldiers in the world. Just warnin' ya!
IC: Dougal took a deep breath and watched the land coming up in front of him. That encounter with Katrina hadn't turned out how it was supposed to have, and he was feeling pretty shaken. How was it that Katrina was always able to say something just when Dougal was about to put his foot down? It was probably coincidence, but it was freaking the hell of out him at the moment, especially as he'd never even given anyone any hint of his longing for a normal life. An enemy agent might be able to extrapolate what they knew about him, but an enemy of that calibre wouldn't waste its time on someone who rarely saw the king and who would rather die than betray the crown once again. No, it seemed that it was by sheer dumb luck that Katrina kept on saying certain things.
Sighing once more, Dougal closed his eyes and raised his face to the sky. He felt the warm sun and the cool breeze on his face and he smiled slightly. It felt good. Then he started to think about the task ahead. How many people would he have to kill before the enemy was in terror for their own lives? Scores, if not hundreds. Oh, how good would it feel to be back on the battlefield again and away from all these petty troubles of life! The smile became slightly feral and Dougal open his eyes again. There was no longer sadness or compassion or anything else positive in them. They were feral and ready for battle. The feral smile increased to a half snarl and he knew that he was ready.
As soon as the ships hit the shore, Dougal was out on the sand, getting his land legs back together. If there was one thing he loathed about sea travel, it was what being on a ship did to your balance. Still, it was only a minor problem if you could ignore the strange sensation. The other members of the SWC were off the boats with similar speed and it was only ten minutes or so until everyone was ready to move out. They didn't need any horses or mules to carry supplies - each man was carrying a week and a half's worth of rations - and so didn't have to wait until they were unloaded. With a loud bellow that belied his size and demeanour, Greer yelled out to everyone on the beach.
"Anyone under Captain Dougal had better get a move on or you're going to get left behind!"
The men swarmed towards Dougal, who had already started to jog inland. If the reports he had received while in Araluen still held true, the Aslavian army was five days of normal travel away from La Rivage. The best defensible/ambush area was about two days out, which meant that what remained of the Gallican and Toscani forces would probably be headed for there. If The SWC could get to point where they were behind the Aslavian army when it attacked the Gallican and Toscani forces, they might be able to slip through the lines by posing as a scout and kill the Aslavian general. If not, well, they could still have some fun with the rear of the Aslavian army and set up the expectation that they would be attacked form behind. That might just make enough difference to weaken the army significantly for when the Araluen forces faced it.
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Post by ivory on Jul 1, 2009 11:40:37 GMT -5
"Anyone under Captain Dougal had better get a move on or you're going to get left behind!"
Though Angel had been fighting under Captain Dougal's command for the lesser part of a decade, she doubted she was thought of as one of his own. It was common knowledge that he had a dislike for women and she doubted she was an exception. Neither, did she think was Lea - the only other woman in this 'elite group of warriors.'
She hadn't met the girl yet, but figured she would eventually. The thing about elite groups was that there were few people elite enough to enter, thus enabling that they all met eventually.
Angel fell into step behind the others and though she found those faces she was more than a little familiar with, she didn't speak. Not much of them tried to hold conversations with her either and those that did, quickly dropped it after sharing a look. Excitement was building within her at the upcoming mission, but she didn't let it show nor control her. She kept her face blank, moving only her eyes as she repeatedly scanned their surroundings.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Jul 3, 2009 5:07:02 GMT -5
They made good time. Within a couple of hours they were sixteen kilometres (10 miles) within Gallica and moving rapidly towards where the ambush area was going to take place. If they kept this pace up, they would reach their destination, about two kilometres beyond the best defensive position, in a day and a half. That would give them ample time to rest and recover for the battle ahead. However, a hundred men (and woman) travelling at that sort of speed was going to raise eyebrows amongst the Gallican villagers and, if the Aslavians had any competent scouts, this would tip the enemy off. Dougal had never intended on keeping his forces together, anyway, and now seemed to be a good time to break the groups up.
Calling a halt, Dougal gave orders for the ten sections to make their own way to the final destination. He told them only that they had two days to get there and that they could not use the same route. Hopefully, when the Aslavian forward scouts asked the villagers if they had seen any troop movements, the villagers would only be able to say that they had seen a team of scouts heading for the Aslavian army. That wouldn't cause too many problems and would hide the real nature of what was actually going on. At least, that was the plan.
Before ordering everyone to start out again, Dougal asked Angel to join his section and swapped out one of his men for her. While he really didn't want to bring up personal issues during work, there were still a few things from the ship that were bugging him. He'd never really had any female friends, especially not after Katrina, and he wasn't entirely sure how the female mind worked. It was showing a lack of self control, but Dougal wanted all his emotions out of the way by the time of the battle.
For half an hour or more the section jogged steadily towards the rendezvous in silence. The Dougal looked over at Angel and asked his question.
"Angel, is there anything at all about me that a woman could find attractive? I mean, honestly, is there?"
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Post by ivory on Jul 3, 2009 12:25:31 GMT -5
[lol. uh...yeah...I'm so not the one you should be asking about the female mind. *grin* I'm just as puzzled at it as you are. lol. :-) But uh...I'll try *grin*]
Angel stumbled a bit at the question, but quickly righted herself and kept formation. She chewed on her tongue for a full ten seconds, wondering if this was some kind of trick question/another test. She couldn't say she cared much for either, but if she got to choose she'd go with the 'another test'. Trick questions were well, tricky and hardly ever meant what one thought they meant. Tests on the other hand, had a start and and end and though they may have blimps and curves along the way, they were easier than trying to double-think yourself, which was what trick questions called for. But how to answer?
On a physical sense he wasn't that bad looking, at least not in a rugged way. He was all male with hardly much softness about him, but though many, herself included, might find that attractive, once they got to know him that kind of vanished, at least for her it did. But what did she know about him really except that he hated all women and strove to make her life Hell? Nothing much.
And besides, the men seemed to like them, but men were well, more basic than women for lack of words. Though not as different as a lot of people made them out to be, they did have their differences. She doubted the men found him attractive in any way, but liked him because they respected him. Now she too respected him, but where the men liked him, she could happily wring his guts. See the difference?
She stopped chewing on her tongue, having come to the conclusion that too much thinking would turn this into a trick question, but unable to come up with an answer she decided to stall. "Truthfully?" Then thought better of it - doubting he had much patience - and tredged on albeit slowly, "Well...you uh...have it going in the looks. All male. That's uh, attractive to some." Heavens help her. She wasn't used to soft-coating things, but figured she liked life so that's what she did. "And um...well...you're nice, to men." Oh forget it. She turned her head to flick her eyes to his before scanning the terrain again. "Frankly, only at a distance. And if they didn't hear the rumored truths. You're not really, how to put this nicely?..." Finding none, she just blurted it out, "um...nice to women." She shrugged a single shoulder and added, "But I'm sure you have a reason for that."
Despite the fact that she wanted to wring his guts more times than not, she respected him in the field and since she was part of his unit, she kind of didn't want him distracted in the least. If he was, the results could be deadly. And even if they weren't and he simply lost his men's respect at his leadership, well then, there goes this mission.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Jul 5, 2009 5:10:55 GMT -5
Dougal listened that what Angel said with a half smile and he thought it over for a few minutes. She was probably lying about him having good looks, even prostitutes new to town avoided him, but he did have to admit that she was right about how his personality had probably kept most women away. Katrina was probably the only woman since Rhianwen who had seen the softer side of him, so she would probably decide against a continuing attraction if she knew his other side. The thing was, Dougal didn't want to show that side around her.
That brought up a new point. If Dougal was treating Katrina differently, should that difference apply to all other women? He'd revealed his softer side to Katrina because they had endured similar hardships, but what tied him together to other women? Well, there was the fact that Angel and Lea were tough and just as capable as any of his other men, sometimes more so. Still, he'd never been able to fully shake the feeling that they were only using him for their own ends. It was paranoid for sure, but he understood the reasons behind his thinking and knew how hard it would be to overcome the paranoia. Perhaps he should try, nevertheless.
Finally breaking the silence, which had stretched on for longer than he had intended, Dougal tried to get more of a straight answer out of Angel while also being more polite than normal.
"Could you please answer the question again, without any sugar coating? I'm trying to work out someone's motives and I need a female perspective."
Dougal paused for a second, and then continued.
"Also, do you think that you could look at me from the perspective of a twenty-something noble woman when you answer the question?"
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Post by ivory on Jul 5, 2009 9:09:40 GMT -5
Well damn. She'd hope that was the end of it. She thought briefly to ask him if that was an order or not. If not she wouldn't answer to save her life...well, if it was that dire she probably would. But with a sigh, she dismissed the idea and began to answer. Thankfully, he saved her for a few precious seconds as he said, "Also, do you think that you could look at me from the perspective of a twenty-something noble woman when you answer the question?"
She wondered who this 'twenty-something noble woman' was and though she was tempted to ask, she didn't. Not saying that she wouldn't find out, just not through him. He didn't seem well...stable. At least, not as usual as he did and since he seemed like the type to hold the majority of his feelings inside, she wasn't sure how significant that was. So she refrained from asking lest she get herself in more trouble than she wanted - not that she wanted even a little bit of trouble. A little bit, she'd found out soon enough, usually ended up in a failed mission...especially if they were 'another test'.
Sighing inwardly again, she parted her lips to answer, then bit her lower one. Didn't noble women usually sugar coat things? Especially if they wanted something? Spoiled brats never could work for themselves, well, not any that she knew. She refrained from saying all that though and decided to not gloss over her words - noble woman's perspective or not.
She turned her head and looked at him for a seconds, chewing on her tongue as she did so. She cocked her head to the side as if to get a different angle...and still came up with nothing. Maybe if she cocked it in the other direction? Somehow she doubted that'd help. But still, there had to be something. She chewed some more before looking foward once again and with a sharp nod she had her answer.
"You're lethal. They might see that either as a challenge or a chance to rebel. Of course, I doubt they'd ever come out of the closest with you. Probably just meet you secretly, keep you as their own little secret just for the thrill. Might tell their friends and-" Crap.
She chewed on her tongue some more. Where had her head been? She'd just almost told him that they'd laugh over him. Dougal - the man who hated all women. How was telling him that they'd like him only to use him going to help? Damn it.
Not able to just leave it at that, she turned back to face him and tried to fix it. "But noble women aren't well, that noble really. They're quite rude. Maybe you should lean toward a...uh...someone with more fighting ability? Someone like..." She quickly did a search in her head of all the women she knew that were possible candidates. Four. She frowned. Really? Only four? Lea, herself, Sir Katrina, and Marina. Yeah, only four. And two of those were definitely no-shows since they worked for him. So that left Sir Katrina and Marina. And Marina was too young for him - in her teens she believed. "...Sir Katrina."
She looked away when she said it, not sure that she was helping more than hurting, or even helping at all. Her luck, she was just making things worse. The thought that she was doing better than any of his male troops gave her a little bit of hope - albeit half the size of a piece of sand, but there all the same. Maybe she'd come out of this still mostly intact.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Jul 7, 2009 2:46:44 GMT -5
Angel seemed to consider sugar coating her words once again and Dougal realised that he had really screwed things up with his hatred of women. Yet, somehow, the fact that Angel didn't want to incur his wrath was satisfying, as though he was living something like the relationship he should have had with Rhianwen. Oh god, there he was thinking about her again. Would he even be ready for the upcoming battle at the rate he was going? Yes, he would have to be and the closer it came to that time, the easier it would be. That didn't make the current situation any more pleasant for him, though.
While he was still thinking, Angel replied and obviously had decided not to sugar coat things. Of course, it did appear that there had been a misunderstanding. She seemed to be talking about the daughter of a baron or...Wait, was Katrina even of noble birth? If he thought about it, he knew very little about her life before her training as a knight. She was probably the daughter of a rich merchant or a knight who had different ideas about gender roles than most. A noble woman would probably never be raised in a way that would let them even consider knighthood as a career path anyway. At least things started to make sense. Then again, things still might be confused. After all, Angel wasn't a noble woman, was she?
"...Maybe you should lean toward a...uh...someone with more fighting ability? Someone like...Sir Katrina."
Dougal shot Angel a sharp look and tried to figure out if she was playing match maker or not. Rumours about what had happened between himself and Katrina would spread like wildfire as soon as the SWC got a moments peace, but he wasn't sure if Angel had heard in the brief time they had been on the beach. He decided that she hadn't, so he gave her a disdainful look and snapped at her. It felt good.
"I'm trying to figure out someone's motives, not look for a wife! Get yourself together, woman."
As soon as he said it, Dougal imagined himself speaking to Katrina and instantly felt bad. Still, he couldn't back down now, so he kept his face blank and increased the pace. He could hear some of his men and groan knew that they would be shooting dirty looks at Angel. It made him feel even worse, but she did deserve it for trying to play match maker instead of answering the damn question!
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Post by ivory on Jul 7, 2009 7:17:26 GMT -5
Despite that she was no longer looking at him directly, she caught his sudden look to her words. Well, well, well. Jackpot. She should've known really. Why else would he be asking? She started to say something [though she didn't know what exactly], when he snapped at her. She bit hold of her tongue to keep from snapping back. One of the hardest things she had to learn was when one of higher rank in the military said something, you kept your mouth shut and did it. She was still learning that one.
She bit it harder when he picked up the pace, but was keeping too hard not to laugh to groan like those beside her. Though she did remember who shot her a dirty look [the whole squad actually] and knew to be on her guard around them until they decided to get her back - which they would. Men were like that, at least those she had the tendency, or the curse depending on how you look at it [*grin*], to hang out with.
The pace though, confirmed her suspcions about him and Sir Katrina. She wondered briefly if he was attracted to the Lady just because she had the title 'Sir' in front of her name. She bit her tongue harder and kept her mouth closed. But still, one had to think. And if one thought, they'd definitely see the irony in it. She couldn't help it, she grinned.
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Jul 11, 2009 2:40:33 GMT -5
The section jogged on until it was almost dark. They had made a lot of ground over the course of the day and would probably be the first group to arrive at the RV. Assuming, that is, that no one else pushed their section as hard as Dougal had. He could see that he hard perhaps pushed his men too hard, for he heard them cursing Angel under their breath and saw the deadly looks they were giving her. Nothing would come of it, they were too professional for that and, besides, they also respected her for the simple reason that she had defeated Dougal in a one-on-one fight. Anyone who could do that was definitely worthy of their respect. And so they just muttered.
Sitting down with his back against a tree, Dougal thought about how he had snapped at Angel. If he really had any feelings for Katrina, if he wasn't just using her as a means of getting part of his life back, then he shouldn't keep on acting the way he did towards women. Mentally, he laughed at himself. For fourteen years or so, he had managed to keep his hurt and the memories of Rhianwen's torture sessions out of his mind. Funny how the very gender he had avoided in order to keep those feelings hidden was the one to force him to bring them all back up, yet he was not unhappy. Confused, yes, but not unhappy. Even if he did not end up with Katrina, he now had some hope of settling down with a family and, hopefully, feel some of the love that he had been craving his whole life.
He had a nightmare that night. He was back in Rhianwen's makeshift torture chamber and she was telling him about how much she loathed him and hard it had been for her to keep herself from flinching whenever he had touched her. One of Morgarath's men had groped Rhianwen and she had used him as an example of how a real man should look and had started kissing him passionately. Dougal woke up with a start and looked around frantically. One of men who was on sentry duty inquired if he was alright, and Dougal mustered his confidence enough to reply that everything was fine in a voice that convinced the sentry that everything was fine. The last thing he needed was for his men to start doubting him.
The next day Dougal set a less brutal pace, but they still reached the RV an hour before anyone else. Everyone sank down with assorted moans and groans, but Dougal knew that they were fine and would easily be able to jog for another three hours and then fight for two more. They were as tough as he was, if not tougher, because Dougal was really starting to feel his age. His bruises seemed to pain him more than they would have when he was in his prime, and his cracked ribs were troubling him slightly. If it wasn't for the battle at the end of the run, Dougal would probably have wondered if it was all worth it. But, this time, it was. It was not everyday that you got to go right into the heart of the enemy camp and kill their leader, after all.
When all the sections had arrived, Dougal made sure that the camp was set up as best it could be without making things obvious and prepared his men the best he could. In only two days time, as he said, they would finally attain the battle and honour that they deserved.
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Post by ivory on Jul 11, 2009 11:41:30 GMT -5
Despite the harsh pace she felt more relaxed than tired when they finally stopped. Hard work had the oddest way of calming her nerves despite the fact that many of her muscles felt strained. The numbness in her legs felt good and when she lay down that night, she had a smile on her face. Of course, that could also be because of her previous thoughts.
She stretched out on her back, fully clothed and armed, not because she was wary of the men around her, but because she'd always done so. Besides, she didn't need weapons to kill her opponent. Her fingers worked well enough and the best thing was, a majority of them knew it. She stared at the night sky blanketed around her, her blanket folded up to use as a pillow. Though it'd get a little cold during the night, she'd rather be slightly uncomfortable than entangled in a blanket should she need to rise quickly.
Her hands lay folded neatly on her lap, making it easier to roll to her feet should she need to. When she finally fell asleep, the nightmares of her childhood began.
A hand touched briefly on her shoulder, making her stomach coil in digust and fear, but she was older now and reacted. She grabbed it and rolled. She woke at the sound of a muffled yelp of pain and found her clothes matted in dirt and a hand twisted awkwardly beneath her. She quickly released it and rose to her feet, heart pounding heavily in her chest. Her only apology came in the form of a single nod before she turned her back on him. His arm wasn't broken, probably just sore, and he'd be able to fight when the time came. Still, she didn't doubt that she'd be punished for it and knew that she deserved it. It'd been years; she should've had it under control by now. Her mouth was dry when she took her post as sentry during the few hours until dawn.
When they marched, she made sure to walk beside the man with the shift before hers. She chewed on her tongue for a while before finally working up the courage to apologize. The words were stiff to even her and after he shot her a hard gaze, she let it drop.
She forced her thoughts away from the memories and was glad when everyone regrouped again. Two more days. She enjoyed the challenges the most, the surge of adrenaline, the edge of the cliff that she'd either fall off on or balance upon. But most of all, she loved the danger. Two more days...
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Post by Tandar on Jul 13, 2009 14:21:10 GMT -5
Tired from several days of quick marching, the biological warfare unit stood next to their packs in a line parallel to the oncoming column--Dougal's section. They were lucky they were able to locate Dougal on such short notice.
"Captain approaching!" Lieutenant Killington called out to his unit. "Attention!"
The men snapped to rigid stances, their eyes staring straight ahead. As Dougal's section came closer, the bio war unit saluted in unison.
"The bio war unit, sir," Bolt announced.
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Dougal
Apprentice Messenger
Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Jul 17, 2009 5:26:19 GMT -5
"Captain approaching! Attention!"
"Oh good lord," Dougal whispered to the person beside him ,"Does Killington ever get the message? I think that I'll have to order him to stop saluting before he actually gets the hint."
There were several chuckles from the rest of the section, as they got the inside joke. Dougal really hated being saluted and treated as though he were a knight or something. As long as his men respected him, he didn't care if they gave him the finger and called him one of the various non-complimentary names that he knew existed for him, even within the SWC.
"The bio war unit, sir."
Dougal rolled his eyes and shook his head in mock sadness.
"Killington, how many times have I told you that I hate salutes and that I hate formalities? We're the Special bloody Warfare Corps. We don't need to salute each other when we don't have company. And, even when we do have company you should only really salute them, not me."
Then he grinned and held out his hand. It was good to see Bolt and his mob. They'd come in handy when it came to destroying the Aslavian army and were actually great company once you got them drunk.
"Anyway, its good to see ya, mate. How's things going?"
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Post by Tandar on Jul 20, 2009 13:50:52 GMT -5
Bolt's bearded face broke into a grin and he let his salute drop as he shook the captain's hand. The lieutenant loved picking on Dougal by acting all stiff and formal. The old joke ran way back to when Bolt was first selected for the Special Warfare Corps.
"Good to see you too, sir. I'm doing great, but some action would be nice."
Killington eyed the female soldier over Dougal's shoulder. He was surprised. Bolt had never known the captain to invite a woman into his section.
"We've been out here a good month or so, scouting out the area. Mostly though, my men and I have been keeping an eye on the Grizzlies. Those mercenaries can be quite a nuisance. Anyway, what's the word? Are we accompanying you to the front?"
The unit leader was excited by the prospect of an encounter with the enemy. It had been a while since the biological warfare unit had been assigned any real missions.
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Post by ivory on Jul 20, 2009 14:18:47 GMT -5
Angel didn’t bother to hide her interest, as she stood with her arms loose at her side and her weight balanced to where she could move quickly if necessary. She watched the banter between the two men and judged them to be old friends. The thought made her wary, but that, she hid behind her keen interest. It wouldn’t do to show any kind of weakness, especially now when she was a ‘wanted target’ for making Dougal pick up the pace yesterday.
"We've been out here a good month or so, scouting out the area. Mostly though, my men and I have been keeping an eye on the Grizzlies. Those mercenaries can be quite a nuisance. Anyway, what's the word? Are we accompanying you to the front?"
Now there’s a thought. She chewed on her tongue as she thought it over, then shrugged a shoulder and turned her attention to catch Dougal's answer.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Sept 8, 2009 4:27:54 GMT -5
OOC: Apologies in advance for any spelling/continuity errors. I've really been out of the game for too long . IC: Killington shook Dougal's offered hand and grinned. That was the man Dougal knew and loved. Even the long range recce hadn't done much to dampen the young Lieutenant's spirits. Hell, the fact that he was still capable of joking around with the man who had put him through Hell was a testament to how hard it was for anything to disturb Killington. He was, in Dougal's own words, a good man to have. "We've been out here a good month or so, scouting out the area. Mostly though, my men and I have been keeping an eye on the Grizzlies. Those mercenaries can be quite a nuisance. Anyway, what's the word? Are we accompanying you to the front?"Ah yes, the Grizzlies. If it wasn't for the Rangers and Royal Scouts already being in a position where they could attempt to take down the mercenary nuisances Dougal would have loved to have had a crack at them. Even outnumbered, he was sure that his men were capable of taking out that particular threat with only a limited number of casualties. That wasn't just talk. the Grizzlies sounded more like normal outfit that had been assigned to Special Warfare duties. the SWC had been built from the ground up for their line of work, making them theoretically better at their job and, Dougal was willing to bet his life, they were better than the Grizzlies in practice. But the duel between the two corps would have to wait. He had bigger fish to fry. The Biological Warfare Section was just what Dougal both wanted and needed right now. The enemy was still a day or so out, and that gave them time to rig a few surprises. Depending on what Killington had, they could put various diseases in the wells of nearby towns, where either the top brass of the lazy bastards who wished that they were top brass would naturally gravitate. If done right, large sections of the Aslavian army could be disease riddled within days. In theory, hygiene practices would prevent the disease from really spreading, but Dougal knew that most soldiers either didn't care about those particular regulations or understand why they had been put in place, leading to violations that would hopefully lead to an epidemic. One thing, though, struck a chord with Dougal. It was the question of whether or not the Bio Warfare team would be coming with Dougal to the front. After having so many bad memories brought up recently, Dougal needed a bit of a laugh and, knowing that anything more than a chuckle would unsettle his men, allowed a short but joyous chuckle to pass his lips. They were ahead of the main army, getting ready to ambush the enemy. They were the front line. He told Killington this in no uncertain turns, a broad, happy smile on his face. No doubt the chuckle coupled with the unusual smile was already causing a few raised eyebrows, but he didn't care. "We are the front line, Bolt. There's no friendlies in front of us, only enemies." He paused and the happy smile turned feral. "Tell me, how many wells do you reckon you could disease?"
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