One Down. Three To Go.

[Jude Dorrian]

ooc: This is set... after Jack's speech, but before the battle. See?

This wasn’t going well.
He would’ve spoken to Jack if he’d had the chance- but of course he didn’t get it. However, he had been surprised to learn that Jack managed to get the chance to dump Olivia (even on the verge of war, word travels fast in Orchid Hill). However, it was a time of stress and panic. Jack hadn’t lost respect. If anything, he’d gained it from how well he was coping with the sudden announcement the enemy were on the march. Nobody was even really judging him for the Olivia thing. It had been expected. The two had been growing apart for a while. Okay, so the timing was bad.
But it was expected, nonetheless.
Perhaps one of the problems about being a Spy was the fact that y’all didn’t really… get ready for the unexpected. There were no surprises, because you already knew what was coming at you. That was their job. It was their job to reach out and uncover the secrets of the enemy. It was their job to forewarn the school of every plot and ploy the Forces were planning against them.
So right now, the Spies felt pretty stupid.
“We should’ve seen this coming.”
“Did I miss something on look-out duty?”
“Oh, god, how long have they been planning this?”
“Why didn’t we stop it?”
“GUYS!”
Kira was up on-stage, waving frantically. The hall was buzzing with a throng of Spies and Warriors, running and collecting weapons. The front line had already disappeared; and the second flood were heading out. The hall did not stop moving, but it quietened a little as every member respectfully suppressed their panic.
Kira didn’t waste time.
“Jack’s said basically everything you need to know,” Kira called out, her voice admirably steady, “but I just want to make one thing absolutely clear to all of my Spies: this is not your fault.”
Magic. Jude probably wasn’t the only one who smiled. It was like she’d read their minds.
Kira gave a curt nod. “Alright- now- let’s go out there and get her back!”
A roar of approval met her words, and the hall’s noise did not drop. Jude watched Kira hop down from the stage and disappear from sight with a sudden dull sense of foreboding. His eyes searched the crowd, but he found no Tameron. He doubted she was even still here.
Jude turned, and continued to pull armour over his body.
The adrenaline was beginning to pound.

[Ailith Rayner]

Ailith's furious thinking was interrupted by a familiar address, "GUYS!" Ailith focused her head to listen to her Head. “Jack’s said basically everything you need to know, but I just want to make one thing absolutely clear to all of my Spies: this is not your fault.”
Ailith's face dropped from grim to quiet alarm. Kira. Jack.
Madeline was targeted for a reason. To weaken Orchid. Though with Jack being a strong enough leader there shouldn't be much cause for sufficent weakening for the Forces to think they had a chance against a structured school. Even if it was sudden. Well the fastest way to disrupt the structure of any orgainisation was to hit at the top. Madeleine was first. But what if there was a second? Or a third? The school could be left with no leader and in the disarray the Forces would have a fair chance. Something had to be done.
Where's my mission buddy? Ailith again used two tall Warriors on either side of her to elevate herself above the heads of the crowd. There!
Ailith patted a thanks on the shoulders on her obliging props and dropped to the ground rushing through the tussling crowd towards the armoury. After mere seconds (people become very obliging if they think you're not just bunking the queue) she reached Jude.
She griped his elbow and made sure he was paying attention, "Hurry up and get set I need to talk to you. Over there at the wall." She pointed towards the opposite end of the hall where the surge of people, desperate to get the good armour, was less concentrated. With that she started her progression against the crowd just as someone chucked her a set of plates. She gave a grateful thumbs up to Scott who nodded in aknowledgement. Good lad. He knows a girl on a mission when he sees one. As she walked, Ailith slammed the metal into her chest causing the back-plate to pass around her body and she crushed her shoulder blades together to seal the tear. Well it was easier than shrugging into it like normal people, subsequently punching several people in the face.
She reached the wall for Jude to burst his way through the crowd. Maybe she was being paranoid but God this was a time for paranoia.

[Jude Dorrian]

… was that Ailith?!
His armour was moulding itself to his skin, when, as Jude turned, he thought he caught a glimpse of his girlfriend’s face skimming the heads of the Warriors and Spies surrounding him. He blinked, and she was gone. For a few seconds, Jude honestly believed he’d lost his mind.
Then she appeared at his mind, and the reassuring squeeze of his elbow told him he was still safely in a place of sanity.
Jude knew that look.
It was the first expression he’d ever seen his girlfriend wear; way back last year when they were put together on their first mission.
Determination.
There was something behind her eyes, too; something indistinguishable, but sure. It was obvious something was on her mind. He followed her without a single question.
They reached the edge of the crowd quickly (most of the students were in the process of leaving the hall anyway) and Ailith turned to look up at him.
Jude half-grinned. Felt like old times. “So. What are we gonna do?”

[Ailith Rayner]

"I need to ask you something to make sure I'm not getting over-excited." Ailith studied Jude's face, his smile seemed to ease her mind. She saw his confidence in their partnership which in turn gave her some sort of subconcious support. It was a handy trait and Ailith would rue the day if she didn't see it. Ailith considered how to focus her question enough so that Jude would be on the right thought track but reach the conclusion himself. If he got to the same idea she had reached then something definately needed to be planned.
"Why would kidnapping just Madeleine weaken this school?" Ailith watched Jude's eyes carefully as he considered her question.
Jude pushed his hand through his hair, like he was looking for his hat. He tipped it back when he was thinking with it on. He was a Texas guy through and through. When he realised it wasn't there, his hand fell back. "Because she's Madeleine," he said softly, "she's Head of the Warriors... and the Warriors is the largest group, but it's also the army. Our army is our defence. If the enemy breaks our defence... that's us. We're finished."
"Is that what's happened?" Ailith nodded towards the crowd of people all getting kitted up like it was drill, "Are they broken?"

[Jude Dorrian]

Broken wasn’t the right word. No. They weren’t. Scared, yes. Jude could read the panic etched into all of their faces all too clearly. Others looked angry. Others grim. Others determined.
But hopeless?
“No.”
After all, Madeleine wasn’t dead. They still could save her. After all, it wasn’t as though they were at a total loss. They had Jack- who was, apparently, appointed just in time- and they had Kira, too, who was a good Head in her own right.
… which was just the point, wasn’t it?
They still had them. So they still had hope.
“What are y’all thinkin’…?” he asked slowly. He had a feeling he knew already.

[Ailith Rayner]

"The Forces aren't stupid. If they managed to - somehow - know exactly when and where Madeleine and Jack would be." Ailith sighed at the logic, "It goes to figure that they'd also see that Jack is an apt Deputy Head and that the other Heads are equally as important to Orchid's structure." She looked up at Jude who was frowning down at her. Did he get it? Was she thinking too hard? "Surely they could see that removing one Head couldn't disarm us so badly that we couldn't at least hold our own. Do you see what I'm gettin' at?"

[Jude Dorrian]

Yep. They were definately on the same page.
Jude nodded. "I know. You're right. As long as Jack, Kira, Macy and Will are still here, we all still..."
A long, long pause.
Thinking aloud is a strange process. Lots of, 'um's, and 'er's. Not the most practical thing in the world. But for some reason- perhaps he was channelling Ailith- today the words and thoughts fell in place quickly and easily.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Just like a jigsaw.
"Madeleine was targetted because she is one of the Heads, obviously," Jude muttered, giving into the instinct to push his hair back, even though he was missing his hat. "But we can- just about- manage without her. But knock us while we're down by targetting another Head..."
We're finished.
"I'm with y'all," he said darkly.

[Ailith Rayner]

Ailith didn't know whether to be relieved that Jude recognised the possible danger or to be even more anxious for the same reason. She rubbed her eyes and sighed again. "So now what?" She spoke through her hands. "Do we tell them? Is there any point even if we do? Becuase let's face it, Kira's as stubborn as a mule as is Will, Macy's unlikely to hunker up on the whim of two spies and Jack can't sit this one out anyway but we definately don't want him looking over his shoulder constantly when he's got people to run." Ailith breathed in deeply. It wasn't panic as such but not knowing exactly what to do next daunted her. But Jude had a certain ability to puzzle things out with her. He kept her on the right lines and sparked off ideas. That's why she relied so heavily on him.
This felt like old times.

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude paused, weighing it up.
"True. All true."
Several things had to be taken into account. If the enemy was thinking along a similiar line as Ailith and Jude... then it followed that they would start to target the Heads.
First of all, Macy.
"Macy probably won't be targetted," Jude muttered slowly, "Macy is an Academic, and so it follows she'll probably be with the rest of them observing the battle on the roof. If we were to alert some Academics, they could keep an eye on her for us."
Next, Will.
"Will's a Carer... hmm. She could be in danger- however, medics aren't usually attacked on the field. If she's following out a similar role as last time... then she'll probably be with those coming in off the field. And if that's the case, she will be surrounded by Warriors and Spies being carried in for Healing. If an enemy was to try to get to her, they would have to fight through all of them first- but even before that, they'd have to push their way through the forest to the school. I think... Will should be okay."
As for Kira and Jack...
"I don't know." Jude groaned slightly. "You're right. And they're our leaders in this battle. They've got to be on the field."
Wide open to attack.

[Ailith Rayner]

As soon as Jude reasoned out Will and Macy's safety and narrowed it down to Jack and Kira their course of action became blatently obvious.
"So how would it be if we simply acted as bodyguard to them?" Ailith put it out there, "Of course it'll be difficult having to watch someone else's back as well as our own and there's always the chance that we... might not be able to get to our principle in time. But do you think it's worth a try?"
Ailith considered just how difficult this could be. Which ever of them was assigned Kira would have her speed to keep up with and that would be simply impossible without outside help. The person with Jack would probably have the most attacks to fend off but he would be easier to mark. Put that along with the millions of possible ways they could be attacked and the job looked bleak. But what choice did they have?

[Jude Dorrian]

Did he think it was worth a try?
A smile felt odd under the circumstances, but still, one somehow managed to find its way onto his face as he considered his girlfriend’s proposal.
“Hell, yeah I do.”
After all, this was a war. Kira and Jack were their leaders. Their duty was to lead.
And Ailith and Jude? Their duty was to follow.
This just meant they’d be following… a little closer than Kira and Jack suspected, that was all. It wouldn’t be easy. Jack was 2i/c, and Kira was a Head. But Jude reckoned, maybe… with luck… and on the confusion of the battlefield…
They could get away with it.
“Okay,” he said, nodding at her, “I think we can handle it. Who should we each follow?”
Jack was slower than Kira, but probably more likely to be attacked. Jack was also less likely to detect his follower. Then again, Kira wasn’t as tough as Jack. If she got hurt, she mightn’t hold up as well.
It was a tough one to call.

[Ailith Rayner]

“Okay, I think we can handle it. Who should we each follow?”
Ailith opened her mouth and shut it almost instantly.
Logically there was no way to decide.
Jack would have relentless attacks and so protecting him would be tough going. Ailith and Jude would would be able to cope pretty well though. Kira had super-speed and neither Ailith nor Jude would be capable of keeping up. They would have to rely on stamina, which didn't help since they were pretty much equal on that level.
"Perhaps you might be able to spot Kira better than I could but either way help is going to be needed to keep her in check. But apart from that... I can't figure it out. Any ideas?"

[Jude Dorrian]

Well… yeah, actually.
Just the one.
And it wasn’t… the best of ideas. In fact, it was goddam risky. And stupid. And rash. It was the kinda thing Lee Norris would’ve been ashamed of. But it was the best idea Jude had got. There wasn’t time to reason things out and think logically.
They had seconds.
Mere seconds.
And those seconds were flying by fast.
“Right,” Jude’s hand disappeared into his pocket and he pulled out a pound coin. “Heads or tails?”

[Ailith Rayner]

“Right,” Jude reached into a pocket and produced a coin. “Heads or tails?”
Ailith looked at him as if he'd just sang Thriller and done the moonwalk, "You're seriously suggesting we decide which of us protects the two most important people in Orchid... on the flip of a coin?"
"... um... yeah. Reckon so.", Jude replied.
Ailith continued to stare at Jude in disbelief. Well... she had no better idea. She lifted her fists to her hips and sighed out, "Tails."

[Jude Dorrian]

Her disbelief was understandable, though a little discouraging. Staring at the coin in his hand, he wondered for a moment whether or not this was one of those moments when Ailith wondered why the heck she was going out with this guy anyway?
“Tails,” Jude said, determined for once not to blush. “Alright.”
And he tossed it.
The coin spun two times 360° in the air before Jude snatched it back and slammed it into the back of his left hand. Raising his right hand, he looked down at the coin to see the shining side glinting back up at him.
“Tails for a Jack,” Jude nodded at Ailith, pocketing the pound. “And I guess that leaves me with Heads. So you’re with Jack. I’m with Kira. Sound okay?”
Heads for a Head.