Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm not worried. I can face whatever he pits me against. I've...grown, since we last met. It's been good to see you, mein gutes Herr.

Iden was smiling inside. The wyrm's chosen was quite the prize indeed. He looked forward to the challenge of keeping her. Korbinian's warning was well heeded, despite his confidence...it meant Iden would go into this next raid overarmed, rather than under.

When he reached the waters edge, Iden turned and took Korbinian's hand in a firm grasp to shake.

Thank you for the hospitality. Give the rest of them my best wishes.

Not even a week later, Iden had given all the information to Commander Richards. The plan was for a quiet insertion into Changchun to blow the proper hell out of the Pentex building. While not literally an assault job, Iden had his team assembled from his own private forces, rather than ARMS ghouls. They were armed for war, despite the discretion noted in their briefing. Iden meant to get a good, solid look inside the facility above all else. Silver ammunition were issued, along with the full loadout of explosives and other supplies.

All that was left was to stage the raid. Nervous though he was for the stakes, Iden was fully calm as he made the final touches, both in cooperating with Richards and with the men that would be with him on the raid.

Damn right you are. Grab a ROMAN, I want you to at least HAVE one, even if you choose not to use it. We head for the airbase in five, and fly out as soon as we're stowed and cleared.

Iden, for one, was in his normal kit with a few additions. The military grade outfit of pocketed pants and a formfitting top was adorned with a pair of underarm holsters for his sidearms; the ROMAN was belted to his side, as always. About his waist and along his legs was pouches and gear belted in place; he had enough ammunition and explosives to be a one man squad in his own right; C4 at one thigh, ammo and grenades at his waist, his ribs, and his calves...with the claws on his arms adding to the gear, he was ready to kill. Hell, he even had a small knife tucked away under the lip of his bandana. There were no chances to be taken, not with the Wyrm or its minions. His men were similarly well equipped, though they all bore long arms as a primary weapon. The men were armed according to their unit breakdown, and armored as per their allegiance to their company. The Scorpions were ready to mobilize. All that was left was the drive to the air base, and things would be underway.

Don't worry, Javos...nobody is going to be taken unless its over my properly liquified remains. I'll bring her home to you.

Iden lightly patted the cat's head, and ran his fingers along the fur that lay there. It was with a smile that he watched Alyna regard her new weapon; he hadn't expected her to appreciate it properly.

Alright boys and girls, lets go. Load up and hit the road!

As per his order, Iden was the first out the door. The pair of trucks they had gotten a hold of were meant to fit them in the bed, where they could enjoy the cover preventing people from seeing JUST how well equipped they were. All the better to avoid a public scene...Iden was driving one, one of his men had the other. Once they were all loaded, it was off to the base.

Iden could get them on base; he had the ID, the reason, the orders even. As soon as they'd driven near enough, they parked the trucks and filed out onto the tarmac. Without needing spoken orders the men began to run their final checklist for pre-flight, while Iden went in search of Richards.

Iden had passed on word that Alyna was a specialist as part of his squad...he just hoped she wouldn't blow the cover out of the water; dealing with the bullshit after the fact would prove irritating.

The young brawler, for one, was quite content with how things were running. The men were organized and capable of acting without his orders, and Richards seemed to be in good enough spirits for the whole matter. Iden greeted the man with a broad grin and a nod.

Yes Sir, everything's shipshape so far. The men are eager to get airborne, so they can touch ground again. We're ready when your pilots are.

It'll only get noisy if they make us. I don't intend on shooting first, Sir, but I do intend on bringing my boys back.

Iden turned, and started walking along beside the commander. Up ahead, the soldiers were already filing aboard and stowing their weapons for the flight. It went like clockwork, leaving Iden to part from Richards with a pleased nod.

Aye, thank you sir. See you here when we return.

With the parting words given, Iden joined his men aboard their ride. He was the last aboard, and felt almost immediately at home amidst the quiet jests and battlefield humor the soldiers shared. It would be a long flight...he was looking forward to it.

The men knew who she was, WHAT she was. Iden had included it in the briefing; they would keep their hands off. One was rather polite in greeting her and asking how she was holding up; in fact, they all were quite civil to the token woman among their number. Not too long into the flight, she was given her chance to rest by Iden. The men all saw how she looked at their boss, it didn't take much to know what she wanted.

Iden, for one, was silent unless spoken to. He was staring into space until they reached the chinese border, pausing only to offer his thoughts when addressed.