Training Exercise HOPLITE

[Tracy Burns]

Tracy was pleasantly surprised by the fact that both the Keeper and the Bailiff wanted her as the team Captain. "Alright then," she said to the pair, giving the Shadows a sweet smile. Knowing that Dillon wouldn't be taking any of the positions himself, the petite Gangrel had to figure out how they would arrange the rest of the team. "Well, that leaves the position of Lieutenant to one of you two, and the other will pick things up in the case of...casualties." It felt a little strange to be speaking of casualties, considering this was all just a training exercise. Regardless, they needed to have a hierarchy in place in order to begin.

"Bailiff Sage," said the redheaded Deputy to Daniella. "I'm of the opinion that you should serve as the team's Lieutenant, and Herald Villiers can take either one of our places if we are eliminated from the exercise." Tracy's reasons for picking the exotic-looking Mekhet were simple; she had never had the opportunity to work directly with her...so she wanted to see how well they could work together. "Once Reeve Connery joins us, we can be on our way and begin to discuss some strategies," added the little Savage, offering the two women with her another smile.

[Dillon Connery]

Dillon had slipped away to the vehicle he'd driven while the others finalized their decisions, and retrieved the maps he had forgotten when they first arrived.

Undoing the drawstring on a portfolio, the maps that come out aren't much bigger than laminated cards. About the size of a common restaurant's additional menu inserts. They have to be small enough to carry around in the midst of 'combat', after all.

He passes one to Callum, one to Hans, and one to Tracy. As he offers the final copy to Daniella, he smiles. "I concur with Deputy Burns -- sorry, Captain Burns. You are our other enlisted officer."

There was something poetic about the Reeve and the Herald being led by their Deputies, for a change. Doubly so for Dillon and Tracy; the Whip leading her Priscus. The prospect of he and Martha playing loyal and subordinate soldiers on the field has a certain amusing ring to it, as well.

MAP 1.0
There will be a number/letter coded version of this map soon, possibly vectored for higher resolution. This should suffice for the purpose of organization.

"Now. One final thing before we go our separate ways." Dillon makes sure to meet everyone's eyes.

Pause for effect.

"In case none of you guessed yet, invoking Gifts of Kindred Blood is one-hundred percent permitted. With the exception that you do not cause any trauma that overlaps beyond this exercise. No claws for anyrhing but climbing, and no rewriting memories. That sort of thing."

[AlphaStrike]

Zachary smiled at the permission. His opponents had a definite advantage when it came to combat and recon, but Team B might have some definite surprises in store. Now, the teams needed to separate and organize.

[Martha Villiers]

Martha listens to Dillon and Tracy. Adds a sensible salute to Tracy and Daniella. As the map is revealed, she spends time listening, smiling and watching.

Paying attention, she's ready for orders.

[Jokor]

"Right then." Hans spoke up to his team after Dillions last rules, having given the map a look over. "Lets get going quickly so we still have some time to discuss our plans." As soon as they all where far away from the other group, taking in account that they had meketh who most likely had enhanced hearing, hans addressed his group.

"Right basic battle plan is quite simple. We are going tot he bright blue block on the lowest left part of the map." He pointed at the blue block at the lower left of the corner, motioning towards mcCann to show the rest of the group the location. "And take a defensive position there. there is a big stretch of mostly open space between that building and the rest. Making it easier for us to spot incoming members of the other group and give us a mostly clear shot from a great distance. They have mostly people who are armed for close range combat and they are probably more trained in that type then us. So we need to deny them their favored range. We also put our rally point inside the building, making losses we suffer quickly replaced. I will take position on the roof of the building to get a better shot and view of the opposition. While you three will guard the flag and rally point inside the building. Any assault of ours shall wait till we have thinned out the opponent enough. Any questions."

[Tracy Burns]

Once Dillon gave the last instructions and distributed the maps, Tracy took a quick look at hers in order to get a feel for the place. As soon as the other team started to be on their way, the Gangrel Deputy Red Team Captain, gestured for her squad to follow her as she walked in the opposite direction. Once she was confident that they were out of the other team's earshot, Tracy came to a stop so they could form a huddle and discuss their strategy. "Alright. So looking at this map, I'm thinking we should set up base on this pink building here," she said, pointing at the respective spot on the map. "The one that is labeled as the cinema." The redheaded Gangrel paused for a moment, making sure they were following her train of thought before continuing. "Its a pretty central location, with a lot of other buildings around it, making it a fairly defensible location. We can use the other buildings to set up ambushes for the other team when they come looking for our flags," she said, looking around at the rest of her team to see if anyone had anything to add.

"However, before we move any further with our planning, there is something that will be essential to our success," added Tracy as a little smirk formed across her lips. "To work well as a unit, we need to know what each of us is capable of. By knowing our weaknesses and strengths, we can better prepare to work in a manner that is most beneficial to us as a unit." With those words, the petite Savage turned to her Priscus as her smile widened slightly. "Care to start us off?" she asked Dillon, giving him a quick wink because there was no reason for them to have a little fun with the exercise.

[AlphaStrike]

Zach noted how Hans decided on plans before he knew his teammates. Not good....

"Would it be a good idea to figure out each team member's optimum combat proficencies before assigning stations, sir? Also, there may be a secondary win condition not based on the obvious one."

Zach let Herr Osterman decided whether or not to listen. He may just be a take-charge military guy who's relied on himself for too long....

[Jokor]

"Yes that might be a good idea indeed. Thank you Herr Griffiths." Hans said after the man reminded him of that. It had been quite long since he had worked together with others. "As for the secondary win condition; I rather have us already reasonably defended before we try and think about that. We have a superior enemy to fight against. I rather not be caught in the open by them." he looked over to the group, waiting for them to give their opinions so they might adjust their battleplan.

[Dillon Connery]

In order to be concise, Dillon attempts to narrow down his list of abilities to those that will be an advantage to the parameters of the exercise.

And in order to not sound like a braggart, the information is delivered with quick, simple uniformity. "I'm extremely fast, even without employing any tricks of the blood to bolster that speed. It is that mobility which caused me to choose the pistol instead of a larger weapon. I'm a marksman as much as I am anything else, including hand-to-hand skill, but the compact pistol will grant me freedom of movement; I don't need the range.

"I can merge with the soil, hide inanimate objects from sight, grow claws..." Which Tracy had witnessed firsthand. They'd bared their claws together. Of course, there won't be a call for destruction like that tonight unless it is to remove a barrier. "I can take the shape of a wolf, a dog, a bat, or a whole... cloud of bats."

That last bit is just hard to describe, and even harder on his mind. Heck of a impact, though.

"The only Dark Miracle of Longinus I possess that may serve us tonight, is the ability to store blood in inanimate objects. The Kindred that removes that blood gains the benefit as though they fed... but without risk of the Vinculum.

"I also have an Ace or two up my sleeve." He allows himself a wink, but no more. He looks to Martha in curiosity, thinking that the soldiers should probably choose which capabilities to list and reveal before the officers do.