Guess who finally decided to show up. <:======================================:> In the next hour, the reinforcement ships appeared in the distance, five LAATS flying low to the ground. Within twenty minutes, they were landing. General Tantali and Commander Seth stood outside of the door, watching them unload. As some of his men rushed to greet old friends and help move things, Seth took a deep breath, trying to ready himself to work with the commander who he knew had arrived. Although whether to help them or make things worse was still to be determined. <:======================================:> Commander Flint spotted them immediately. General Tantali and Commander Seth, watching the proceedings. Not that it was hard; Seth certainly stood out in a crowd with a face like that. Even from several yards away, Flint could see the scar stretching across the senior commander's face, from his right temple to the left corner of his mouth. Finally, Flint, deciding he had stood there long enough, started toward them. He noted that Seth tensed slightly as he noticed him approaching, and Flint smirked inwardly. They always did that. He stopped and saluted at the General, giving Commander Seth a nod. Seth nodded back, but Myris smiled. Flint was slightly taken aback at this; he was used to getting barely a glance. But he recovered quickly, relatively sure neither of them saw it. The thought left his mind as the General started speaking, ''Thank you, Commander, for coming to aid us.'' Flint shrugged. ''Wouldn't be a party without us, sir.'' In his peripheral vision, Seth stiffened. Flint managed to keep from snorting, but just barely. Looks like Seth was still a stickler for formal protocol. Well, that was good for him, but Flint had better things to do with his time. General Tantali laughed, shaking his head. ''I'm sure you and Lara get along very well.'' This time, Flint really did snort. ''About as well as you'd imagine.'' <:======================================:>
As they made their way back to the main tactical room, Seth took a moment to study Flint. He hadn't missed the small start of surprise when General Myris asked for his voice, but he'd gotten over it quickly, and now he was walking in that relaxed, almost casual manner, with the easy smirk he was so often wearing. Seth narrowed his eyes. He knew sometimes he was too strict, but you'd be crazy to say that of Flint. That was one of the things he was known for, Seth reflected. The best way he could describe Flint's battle tactics was ''chaotically controlled.'' That same term could apply to his men, he thought dryly. As though he felt Seth's eyes on him, Flint turned his head, smirk widening, and winked, reminding Seth of the second thing Flint was best known for. Unlike the deep brown of most of his brothers', Flint's eyes were an odd dark green, almost the same color as the stripes on his armor. Actually, although he wouldn't admit it, everyone knew that was largely the reason he chose that color. Seth glanced down at his similarly colored gear. Did people think they'd meant to choose the same color? Then he scolded himself. It didn't matter what others thought, as long as he did his duty. As they arrived at the lift, the General turned and grinned at him, signaling that he had sensed Seth's doubts about his armor color. He sighed to himself. So much for acting professional.
