Van Eyck saw the invisible nod General Laprasse gave him, and felt his mouth go dry. He wasn't much for public speaking- sure, he addressed his troops regularly, but he never felt fully comfortable doing even that. Nonetheless, he straightened his necktie, checked his cuffs, adjusted his dark blue beret, and delicately cleared his throat. Finally, once he was sure he was as ready as he could be, he stepped up to the podium.

"At ease, ladies and gentlemen," he said to the military personnel who had automatically stood to attention when he stepped to the podium. He spoke in English, which seemed to have become the lingua franca for the team. "Please be seated. I will keep my remarks brief. 

"Firstly, I would like to say what an honor it is to be with you here today. I do not have the privilege of knowing all of you personally yet, but I look forward to working with and getting to know each of you over the days and weeks to come." Van Eyck paused, as he took a moment to look over his audience. Hopefully that line would at least buy him a little trust from the civilians. The research staff and military staff had formed their own exclusive cliques, rarely interacting and occasionally eying one another with mutual contempt and distrust. Not a healthy way to interact, given that their lives might depend on the other team's actions. 

"Just a few hours ago, we received a formal request for help from the governments of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda," he said with a gesture to the three ambassadors, awkwardly seated on stage. They were not trained diplomats, really, just someone's nephew or the recipient of a favor. Any man who is ambassador to Switzerland never expects to deal with much of a crisis. "We have been closely monitoring the situation for some time now, and in conjunction with these three governments we have arrived at the conclusion that there is a predatory kaiju currently living in Lake Victoria." He tapped a small button on the podium, and a map of the lake in question was projected onto the blank white wall behind him.

[center][img=http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/lakevictoria.gif][/center]

With a laser pointer, he highlighted a few points of interest. "Five weeks ago, there was a general decline in fish stocks in the lake- odd, but hardly remarkable. Then, four separate fishing boats sank with all hands aboard, almost like they were pulled underneath the water by some immense force. Goats, cattle, and other livestock have gone missing from farms and ranches situated around the lake, not to mention an alarming increase in missing persons reports in the general area. Large animals, such as buffalo, wildebeest, elephants, and hippopotami, have been disappearing at night from numerous game preserves around the lake. On more than one occasion, corpses washed ashore with enormous bite marks taken out of them." He clicked a second button, showing a graphic photo of an elephant missing its trunk, ears, and most of its torso. Parts of it had been messily torn away. "This elephant, by the way, was tagged by the rangers at Serengeti National Park, in Tanzania. It washed up on the shore of Koome Island- nearly a hundred miles away in Uganda."

He cleared his throat once again, taking a sip of water as he replaced the photograph with one of a wooden frame house, the walls pushed in from one side and the shingled roof peeled back like an onion skin. "The worst incident yet occurred early this morning, at a cattle ranch outside Mbita, on the Kenyan side of the lake. Five ranchhands dead or missing, twenty-six head of cattle butchered, a house destroyed, smashed to kindling. Several of the men and animals were dismembered and cut, as though by a gigantic razor-sharp blade. These three governments have been in conference with one another over this issue, this incident convinced them to seek our aid and advice. Ladies and gentlemen, we will be deploying in Africa at the earliest possible opportunity. If you have personal business here in Geneva, I would advise you to conclude or cancel it within the next few hours."

"Now, a few issues I wish to highlight," the colonel said as he returned to the map of Lake Victoria. "This is one of the largest lakes in the world- or at least Wikipedia tells me it is." He hoped his attempt at humor would cut some of the tension, he was not a naturally funny man by any means, but he knew the danger of going into combat full of anxiety and dread. Instantly feeling foolish, he cleared his throat yet again and carried on. "We have a difficult task ahead of us. Islands included, there is a shoreline of approximately 4800 kilometers- 3000 miles, for the Americans. Several major centers of population are situated on the lake as well. Kampala, 1.7 million people. Mwanza, 700,000. Kisumu, 410,000. Musoma, 140,000. Bukoba, 92,000. Jinja, 90,000. Not to mention countless smaller hamlets and villages. A kaiju landfall in one of these densely packed cities could outstrip the combined death toll of all previous attacks. Evacuation merely on a possibility would be ruinous to the local economy, as well as a logistical nightmare. Therefore, unfortunately, we will most likely have to take a reactive role rather than a proactive one."

"UN member nations have pledged support and resources to those of us in the White Gloves for the duration of this mission. The Bolivian Army and the Swedish Army have both pledged 150 infantrymen apiece. The Bulgarians have generously lent the support of ten T-72 tanks and crew, and the Ethiopian Air Force is forming our air wing with twelve Su-25 warplanes, to be placed under the command of Major Miller. The Japanese Self Defense Forces will be responsible for setting up a field hospital in order to treat both civilian and military casualties. The contractors of Silver Talon will help round out our ranks. Finally, the combined military forces of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya will be receptive to our advice." He refrained from commenting on the general state of African militaries. While those three countries had some of the better organized and equipped forces on the continent, they were still a long ways off from the standards set by many developed nations. 

"As regards the research team," van Eyck continued, "I will happily accept volunteers to accompany us into the field, though I stress you are under no obligation to deploy with us. Your knowledge and ability will be invaluable to our efforts, and I assure you that every soldier and contractor here will do their utmost to protect you from any harm.If you should choose not to come, we will be closely in touch via satellite phone."

He nodded to himself, before looking out at the assembled audience. "The floor is now open. Suggestions? Comments? Questions?"