Healing from IMDB flu

[childofrebellion]

Cassian feels like himself again though he's still far too tired. That's why he's curled up on the couch with a pot of tea, a bowl of soup, his datapad and the remote. He needs to put together a plan for the mission on the other side of his door but the show that seems to involve very rich women is oddly distracting. His face is paler than normal and his throat still hurts but he's getting better.

The thoughts from the man he thought he was are still sometimes teasing at the back of his mind, which is disconcerting, he needs to know who he is. After some searching he found an explanation for the flu in the infirmary, but knowing what it happened doesn't make it any less strange.

(OOC: Cassian is recovering from IMDB flu and knows who he is once more but a character can still catch the flu from him.)

Comments

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato has maps, and ringbinders full of pages and coloured tabs, and a notebook full of formulas as he approaches. He also looks like he hasn't necessarily been getting much sleep these past few days -- those are some definite dark circles under his eyes.

"You look like shit," he says, flatly. "Need me to cook you something?"

Even being busy and sleep-deprived can't kill Yamato's mother hen instincts.

[childofrebellion]

"So do you. I have tea and soup. What are you working on?"

Cassian shifts his partly empty soup bowl over so that Yamato can use the low table.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Harsh," Yamato says, amused. "Just ironing out some details on something."

He'll get into details, but he wants to be sure that Cassian's okay first. He does put his work down on the low table, though.

"What's up? You really don't look healthy."

[childofrebellion]

"I'm getting over a flu that made me think I was a doctor named Ray. Now I know who I am and I'm recovering so I can get back to my mission."

He doesn't look horribly sick just worn out.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"... What is up with this place and evil flus. Wait there."

Cassian might not look too sick, but even if he's recovering, this is something that clearly requires action. So, Yamato heads off to the kitchen and doesn't return for about ten minutes.

When he does, it's with a flask of something that smells very strongly of ginger and garlic.

"Here. Shoga-yu. It's got ginger, honey, yuzu, potato starch, and I've added some garlic, too," he says, firmly. "Drink."

[childofrebellion]

"I don't know, the last one I caught from here had me sneezing glitter."

Cassian takes the flask and attempts to sniff it and his eyes go wide as the ginger clears his sinuses, "That's potent."

Then he takes a sip and then another.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Well, it works fast, so don't complain," Yamato says, sternly, sitting down on the arm of the couch. "What mission are you working on?"

[childofrebellion]

He finishes drinking the flask and rolls his eyes at Yamato. Once he's finished the shoga-yu, he says, "Shadowing someone."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Who?"

It's the obvious question, Yamato feels.

[childofrebellion]

"Someone who might be deeply connected to the Empire. I'm trying to see what I can learn. You?"

And then if they need to be eliminated.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato raises an eyebrow, just to silently indicate to Cassian that he's entirely aware that this mission doesn't necessarily end with sunshine and rainbows for the target.

It's the kind of work he wouldn't be comfortable doing, but the usefulness of it isn't lost on him.

"Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, possibly. Or maybe not," he says, as far as his own mission goes. "The Mystery Man's got himself an army to flatten a trading town with. I volunteered our services for keeping it unflattened. The odds aren't great, at least in purely numerical terms, but I've got plans, and now all that's left is to keep making preparations until the day."

[childofrebellion]

It's not the sort of work that Cassian likes to do but he can do it. He doesn't know what the Titanic is but listens with concern.

It seems like the sort of problem that Yamato and the Chosen would take on, "Would it help to review your plans with me? I can be a new pair of eyes and I'm used to horrible odds."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Maybe," Yamato says, shutting his eyes for a moment. He pauses for a few seconds, because closing his eyes suddenly makes him really wants to sleep, then nods his head at Cassian's datapad. "What's your plan, anyway? If we're offering fresh pairs of eyes."

Since they seem to be talking shop (proverbially speaking), he may as well offer help.

[childofrebellion]

Cassian pulls up the plan to a factory on his datapad, showing his spot to watch that's across the way and high up. His choice clearly involves him thinking like a sniper,

"I've been keeping watch there but might need to get a little closer."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Yeah, possibly," Yamato says, frowning. "But it looks like the kind of place the Empire would have pretty heavily secured. Get even a little closer, and the risk of being caught could skyrocket."

[childofrebellion]

"It is but there are holes and I have a cover to get me in if I need to be. And I'm already inside the security system,"

He touches the screen to show the various surveillance that he has access to.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Definitely useful," Yamato notes, looking over the screen. "What's your cover, if you end up needing it?"

[childofrebellion]

"A bureaucrat that worked in shipping. They manufacture ships in there and there are always new regulations."

He'd rather not use his Willix alias because there are enough camera droids, it could be too risky.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Wryly: "Sounds like it should work. High up enough to be able to ask questions and speak to the people in power, low down enough that nobody will pay you much attention, and disliked enough that everyone will be in a hurry to forget about you as soon as you're gone."

Nobody likes bureaucrats.

"Got all the documents you'll need for that? Someone'll definitely ask to see it, and if you're unlucky, they're going to be the sort of person who's enough of a stickler for admin that they'll see any irregularities in your papers immediately."

[childofrebellion]

"Yes, he's a useful cover. I do, I always keep the papers I have with me ready and up to date. Details get you caught and get you through."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Good. I'd tell you not to take any risks, but."

Well, that'd be as useless as Cassian telling him not to take any risks on his mission. The risks are already baked in. Missions like this are just 100% risk.

"All right," he says, picking up a few maps. "Which part of these plans do you want to hear about: The general defence of the town, or the plan to deal with MetalEtemon?"

[childofrebellion]

Cassian nods with a sad smile as he pours out some tea,

"Start with general defense and then get specific about MetalEtemon."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"General defence is a long one, fair warning."

Not that either of them have places to be when one of them is sick with the last lingering vestiges of flu, and the other one is half-asleep.

"So, we're outnumbered maybe eight to one, as things stand, by an army composed of three different bandit groups and a few miscellaneous mercenaries. It's mostly Hanumon, Troopmon, and Bakemon. Apart from a numbers advantage, they also have a level advantage -- almost half our forces are Child-levels, whereas they're all Adult-levels."

Which is a decently huge difference in power.

"We've got a wall, but if we try to fight them back from there, they'll just kill us all. Getting caught in open combat is the fastest way for us to die," he says. "So, we man the wall long enough to thin out their numbers with cannons and catapults, lure them in, then retreat and let them take it. Drag them into the town."

He taps multiple points on the map, indicating a lot of traps, before moving to tap ambush spots and sneak attack positions. "From there, it's guerilla tactics. We wear them down with traps, sneak attacks, ambushes; confuse them by flooding the streets with smoke and ash to lower visibility; but we never commit. Small groups only -- I assigned everyone into squads that maximise the advantages each of their abilities give them a while ago."

His mouth twists a little as he points at the castle. "Eventually, though, even with those tactics, they're going to reach the castle, but if we pull this off, their numbers will be severely reduced by then. A few hundred 'mons will defend the castle, while the rest of our forces use these maintenance tunnels and waterways to get behind the enemy and trap them in a pincer movement."

[childofrebellion]

"I can see that. Its useful that you have a walled town to use as a base. It gives you the advantage of knowing the ground when they don't. When do you expect MetalEtemon to attack?"

The losses are always heavy when doing guerilla warfare, its all about trying to last longer than your enemy.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Hopefully pretty quickly. If we can take him out early, then the blow to the enemy force's morale should work in our favour."

He rubs the back of his neck, a little awkwardly.

"-- But, er. If the canary won't sing ..."