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Thana rolled her eyes a bit at Beatrice when she said thanks mom but she smiled slightly none the less. It was about as good as she was going to get from the woman. Now that they knew she was back, she wanted to go sit down. Just go sit down, lean against Ash and take a breather. That wasn't happening it seemed. She knew what this was about but she thought it would wait at least a few minutes but then again, she knew her dad. Why put off anything when you can do it right now. Nodding towards Panama she walked with the others to the Briefing room, her eyes scanning the room and knowing where she had to sit through this. Sighing she started to make her way towards the front of the room.

Stopping when she passed Ash she knelt down and took his hands. She wasn't sure what to say or if she should say anything. Taking a breath she just smiled up at him as she reached up and cupped his cheek. "I love you," she said softly as she leaned in and brushed her lips to his. When in doubt, just remind him she does love him. Letting go of his hand she stood up and walked over to the table, taking one of the seats behind it. She sat much like she had the day she came to Newnan. Back straight, on the edge of the chair, ankles crossed, hands in lap. Somethings didn't change. Her eyes focused on the door to the room as she waited for her dad to get there.

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Tatiana was a bit perplexed when people were called out to leave. Turning she took note of who was leaving. Ash, Thana, Beatrice, Thalia, Alexander, and Manny. Her eyes narrowed a bit. It wasn't an angered or even worried narrowing of the eyes. It was more like she was thinking on something. "Probably vhy she vas not here. People important to Thana. Make sense. Private. No one elses business," she said to her husband as she looked over to him and then leaned against him gently. Those four had been with Thana for a long time and it was obvious to even the blind that Thana and Ash were in love. Hell it had been obvious they were smitten with each other even the night of the reception. She remembered talking about just what was going on with those two as herself, Jack, James, Miss Sally, Leon, and others were sitting around. Before the whole world got turned upside down for a second time.

Chuckling she looked up at her husband. "Remember our first dance?" she asked him. They hadn't done some slow song. No graceful dance steps. No. Tatiana and Jack did what they did back when they thought Newnan would be around for a long time. They were just bubbly and bright and silly. Their first dance at the reception had been the Chicken Dance. Jack putting on his best dance moves, which were horrible, but hilarious. Looking down at her wedding band she sighed happily. It sucked Newnan fell and everything so much was lost but they had had their wedding. It was a bit of normalcy in a world that didn't have a lot of that anymore. She treasured that memory. And the fact she kept her vows. She promised Jack if he left this world before her she would carry on. She had thought it was gone for sometime but she kept moving forward. She always would.

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You see, it is exactly why Wayne and Hank were Heterolifemates. Shit like this. When you have two over the hill guys with thinning hair and bad attitudes standing there singing about gutting fish and frying them up like it is the worlds worst spontaneous musical, that shit, is bonding. Maybe next time they would find some green tights and show that real men wear tights! Tight tights! And could kick it like the Rockets! He'd have to make sure his seams were straight though, but of course they would be, every time. Oh yeah, he'd have to find that movie. I mean come on, no better movie than a Mel Brooks flick. Hey, wonder if this place has a Sheriff, a black Sheriff, it worked in Blazing Saddles.

Wayne nodded towards Hank. A Nap sounded like a good idea but now he had Mel Brooks on the brain. And well when Wayne's mind is going there really is no pause button or stopping it. You just kind of have to let it run its course. So that was what he did. Moving over to where the VHS tapes were, he was still singing, Men in Tights this time. He seemed a bit disappointed when he couldn't find it but he did find History of the World Part I. That would work! Good enough anyways. Striding over to the VCR he put it in and rewound it. These fuckers needed to learn the BlockBuster motto - Be Kind, rewind! Kids these days. Once it was rewound he hit play and sat down. god he could use some popcorn right now.



Temperature: 83F (28C)
Humidity: High (Around 73%) - No Rain
Wind Speed: 12 MPH (19 KPH)
Cloud Coverage: Overcast

Mizrahi looked over as Panama came in and announced the names. He nodded towards Thana as she left but stayed where he was. He knew what this was about. They'd be back soon enough as long as nothing went wrong and if it did he knew she and Gunny could take care of themselves. Victor didn't seem to want to talk, he just shook his head and moved away from Amelia. Moving over to where Tatiana and Ash had hidden out from time to time since the space wasn't being used right then. Major took the door watch as usual as Checkbook was over with Hunter to play pool.

"Yeah, you can play the winner," Checkbook said to Riley with a grin before turning her attention over towards Hunter. "Nikki, well Nikola but everyone calls me Nikki," she said introducing herself. She smirked a bit and shrugged. "Yeah, well I'm the problem child in camp, if I can make it here anyone can," she told Hunter as she chalked up her pool stick. "Shit, it's a lot easier now, when I got here, it was 2 months of solitude in a room with nothing to do. That was a hell of a way to start. If you crack you were good," she said truthfully and rather bluntly. Seemed things were a lot easier now than they had been. "Granted can't blame them back then, shit was hard. Half these people came from outside and well this place was no cake walk in the beginning," she added.

Leaning over she took aim to break and smirked a bit at Hunter as he said he was a bit of a pro. "Oh really? Good, I like a challenge," she said before popping a bubble with her gum. Looking back at the cue ball she took aim and crack. Cue ball hit the rest and broke them, Standing up she watched as one dropped into the side pocket. "I'm solids," she said as she started walking around the table, trying to get an idea of which ball she would go for next. Another aim and another went in. "That's two." She missed the third however and shrugged. "Your turn cutie," she said as she leaned back against the table.

Over in Briefing: Panama stood at the back of the room, shoving his hands in his pockets and huffed slightly as he waited for this whole thing to begin. It wasn't long before Gunny walked through the door. He had a folder grasped in his hand as he moved to the front of the room where his daughter was sitting. Having the two next to each other showed just how closely they resembled each other. More than just the Martin eyes, it was the way they held themselves. There was no doubt that these two were father and daughter.

Dropping the folder on the table he looked at the five that had been called for this debriefing, other than his daughter. The folder was flipped open and he reviewed it for a minute before letting out the smallest of breaths and looking back at them. "On April 1st of this year, Commander Thana Martin left a house in Quincy, Florida after the emergency amputation of Thalia Carmichael's right forearm in search of medical supplies. After an extensive search that traversed an estimated thirty miles, Commander Martin was forced to seek overnight shelter at the Calhoun Liberty Hospital in Blountstown, Florida. On the morning of April 2nd, Commander Martin set out from said location, heavily laden down with medical and food supplies, to return to Quincy, Florida. There was a set back." There was a slight pause.

"On Commander Martin's return, while on the Julie Munroe Woodward Highway she encountered a large hoard of Roamers heading due southeast, just past the bridge that traversed Quincy Creek, less than three miles from the house off Selman Road where she had left Thalia Carmichael, Alexander Polawski, Beatrice Decker, and Emanuel Newman. Commander Martin concluded there would not be enough time to find a secondary route and evacuate said squad from the location in time. In a split moment's decision, Commander Martin decided to act as bait to draw the herd and change their direction." He paused and his jaw locked for a moment before he continued. "While on the bridge, there was an event, of which we do not know the origin, that sent Commander Martin's vehicle careening over the side of the bridge and into the creek below."

He stopped and looked down, flipping one of the papers over in the folder. Swallowing slightly he looked back at the five of them sitting there. "Extraction Team Alpha was out on search and witnessed the accident. Order was given for search and rescue. Commander Martin was pulled from the river. The extent of Commander Martin's injuries were not known at the time. Evident injuries were mass trauma to the chest and arms, severe laceration and disfigurement to the upper and lower right quadrants of the face, and a compound fracture to the right femur. No breath or pulse were detected. Commander Martin's attempt to reroute the herd's direction was successful. Redirecting the hoard north and into the creek. Had it not been for Commander Martin's efforts said house of Selma Road would have been over run." If Thana hadn't left they all would be dead, if she hadn't distracted the hoard the truck on the return would have gone off the bridge anyways and the house still would have been overrun. In the end, her leaving for supplies was the only reason any of them still drew breath.

The man's voice was still steady, he paused and looked down to the papers, flipping another sheet over in the process. As Gunny looked back up and continued. "Emergency field trauma and resuscitation was begun and continued through transport here. On arrival Commander Martin was handed over to Doctor Michael Willis. Thirty seven minutes had passed without detection of a pulse or self-sustained breath." Dead. Thana had been legally dead all that time. "Adrenaline was administered, as well as defibrillation. A pulse was detected and Commander Martin was rushed to the operating room and underwent multiple procedure's in an effort to stabilize vitals." During this portion of the heavy information dump, Gunny slipped out a secondary folder from the papers and stepped out from behind the table. Moving over to Ash and the others and holding it out to him. Within it where X-Ray's and images taken before and after. The injuries were extensive and graphic. A femur protruding from the right thigh muscle, a right side of the face that was unrecognizable, bruising, lacerations. It was easy to lose count of the amount of clearly broken bones in the X-Rays, even for those that didn't know exactly what they were looking at.

Turning, Gunny walked away and back to the front of the room, pulling out a chair and sitting down next to his daughter. "Surgery lasted seven hours and twenty-three minutes. Commander Martin was moved to recovery afterwards. Vitals, while still critical, where stable. After anesthesia wore off, Commander Martin did not awaken. Measure's were taken to make the Commander as comfortable as possible. Placed under continuous watch. On April 7th, a feeding tube was placed." He stopped and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face slightly. He knew this was a lot for them to take in but it was time they knew everything now that she had returned. It had been a lot of bad news, news he had had to live through. Even for a Martin, it was hard to reign it in when it was someone you loved on the line even if you already knew the outcome. Thana had nearly lost her shit and went down a crack in the earth trying to get to Ash when Newnan fell. If it hadn't been for Gavin grabbing her, she would have died the same way Ryan and James had that day. Even though they knew she was alive now, seeing and hearing all this had to be trying.

Leaning forward, Gunny laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the table. "On May 2nd, Commander Thana Martin came out of her coma. Due to the extent of the injuries Commander Martin was initially unable to communicate. Commander Martin utilized morse code in an attempt to speak." Swallowing he looked more directly at the group than he had been. "Thana's first words where your names." A pause as Gunny looked to the group but his eyes focused on Ash the longest, that was why they were there now being given this information. "Over the next several hours, it was pieced together the events that lead up to Commander Martin's incident and the last known whereabouts of Thalia Carmichael, Alexander Polawski, Beatrice Decker, and Emanuel Newman. An extraction team, lead by Colonel Martin was sent out for search and rescue."

Turning another page and reviewing it for a moment, Gunny continued. "Over the course of the subsequent three weeks, Commander Martin began recovery. Extraction teams were continuously sent out during this period. Teams were sent to the last known positions, which include but were not limited to: Quincy, Zebulon, Peachtree City, and Newnan. Though obviously, we were unable to locate you all." Adjusting the paper slightly there was a pause. "On May 23rd, Commander Martin left bed and began extreme recovery and acclimatization against Doctor Willis's recommendation." Gunny's eyes went to Thana for a moment before looking back at the group. "On June 17th Commander Martin accompanied by Mechanic Aton Mizrahi, whom volunteered, left Camp Mexico Beach on one last search and rescue. It was to be an extended search to last four weeks. They were due back on July 14th." Picking up another piece of paper he turned the page but he was pausing, that was a lot to take in so far.

First Master Gunnery Sergeant Macsen Martin allowed all that had just been dumped onto the five new comers to Camp Mexico Beach set in. Briefing meant he was to let them know what they needed to know. Nothing more. Referencing the last sheet in the file for a moment, he then closed the file before him and stood back up. "It was per the Commander's request that you were not to be given this information until she returned," there was a pause as the Gunnery Sergeant swallowed slightly and looked down, "or we recovered a body if she should perish." Those ever present Martin eyes looked back at the group. "Commander Martin wished if you were to arrive safe to remain safe." The man's eyes seemed to rest on Ashton's far longer than the rest in the group before looking away. He hadn't lied to any of them. He never said she was dead. He said she was there at one point and wasn't anymore. Whatever they assumed was their own assumption. No one brought it up after that or asked more questions.

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Amelia was not happy right now. She looked at Victor who didn't even reply as he moved away in solitude. This hurt her somewhat and made her mood veer into the sour side of things. She wanted to talk with someone she used to get along with, but with him being like this it was just not possible. She sighed and displayed a little bit of dejected expression as she turned around and walked back to where she was sitting down just earlier. Judging by how things were, they had changed too much in the last year. A lot had transpired to them and she didn't know what Victor had went through after all, maybe that was no longer the Victor she used to know. With a heavy feeling in her heart, Amelia reached the simple conclusion that she has to give up on trying to approach him.

She looked at Riley who had went to play pool? Yeah she after the initial lapse in memory she did indeed recall the word for it was indeed pool. The Hunter guy was also there and it made Amelia stay as far away from there as possible. Admittedly seh realized he was NOT a dog, but she couldn't help associating him with the one he had along. So keeping away from him for probably a while, a long while.

Still looking around in search for maybe something to do, people were doing their own stuff, until her eyes fell on Wayne who was rummaging through the VHS tapes while singing. Amelia was looking at him with curiosity until he finally found something he seemed happy with then went to play it. She observed the entire process of rewinding all the way to the point the movie started playing. She blinked a few times, before quietly she stood up and carried her chair closer to the TV as to be able to see hte movie better. It was a comedy film by the looks of it and she now wanted to watch it too!

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Riley looked between Matchbook and Hunter and smirked a little bit and nodded towards them. "Sounds good to me then." Riley said as she leaned back a little bit. She would occasionally look over at Amelia as Victor seemed to brush her off and headed over towards the corner that Tatiana had made for herself and Ashton. She raised an eyebrow at that wondering what was actually wrong as her girlfriend started to make her way over towards the couch as Wayne was putting on a movie to watch. "Well let me know whoever wins and i'll be more than willing to beat who the winner is." Riley said towards them.

She watched Matchbook making a few good shots, before making her way over towards Amelia and wrapped her arms over her girlfriend's shoulder and looked at her. "Is everything okay Amelia?" Riley asked as she looked over towards the screen. "What are we watching anyway?" Riley asked Wayne, as she watched Matchbook and Hunter playing pool, she did want to play a round or two just to have some fun as well and to try and beat the winner as well to. Though Riley was pretty curious why some of the others were taken out of the room for as well.

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"Yep, you totally do got a lot of Roman on your mind." Erica said as she smirked a little bit as she leaned back in the chair as she waited for Nigel to reply to her, seeing as it would take a bit. She watched the former redhead with the bald head now moving away from the French man who seemed to go and sulk in his own corner. Erica watched everyone in the room seeing that the couples were kind of doing their own thing while Hank was sleeping on the recliner. She started to think a little bit remembering when she was younger she would always mess with her grandfather who slept out on the recliner during most of the day.

"I wonder what the others were all taken out of the room for." Erica said looking over towards Nigel and gave the guy a slight nudge with her foot to try and get the man to wake up out of his Roman daydream. She watched Matchbook and Hunter while the two of them were playing pool, and Riley would be able to play whoever ended up winning the round. She thought about. She also started to watch whatever was on the screen that was being played that Wayne had set up.

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Ash felt a little tingle as Thana brushed her lips against his. For his sense of professional decorum, he couldn't help but smile wistfully at the woman. He lay a hand on hers as she cupped his cheek, leaning into it and whispering, "And I love you." Following the tender and meaningful exchange, much like his Navy counterpart, Ash straightened back into a seated attention pose and waited for whatever was coming next to happen.

It didn't take a very long time until Gunny entered the room, folder in hand. This was beginning to feel a lot less like an apocalypse scenario and more like a standard briefing; one of many that he would have been a part of prior to new orders or on the outset of a mission. It was lulling, in its own way, for someone who had chosen the Army as their career prior to dead people eating most of the living ones. Ash wouldn't allow himself to be seduced simply by the structure and order presented to him thusfar, nor the relative bounty of supplies they could produce, though these were amazing selling points. Fortune favored the brave; fortune favored the prepared. Take all that away, if Thana was there, this place could be a fortified cave where they would survive on an infrequent diet of mushrooms and lizards, he'd still give it a shot.

Listening carefully to what was being divulged, Ash began to put together a story. Rather, part of one involving the group that assaulted Eden so many months ago. If it was any indication of how the rest of the briefing was going to go, then it wasn't going to be a a very cheerful or sunny one. Ash gave a subtle glance toward Thalia and her new prosthetic. The girl was tough. Considering the family she came from, that might have been expected. But what really began to get to Ash was the description (presented with an amazingly flat and sanitized tone) was the lengths to which Thana had gone to help and protect the people under her care. This was further hammered home by the description of her injuries sustained, the lengths taken to keep her alive, and the pictures... The images were physically haunting. To his credit, Ash remained solid throughout the briefing, his emotion detectable by the details in his face. The eyes expressed more than the rest, but an alternating tightness of lips and the small swallow every now and again, or a tiny, sympathetic movement betrayed that his calm demeanor was being challenged by the news, even though he knew the outcome was eventually positive.

The fact that Gunny seemed to be singling him out for inspection in regular intervals wasn't exceptionally pleasing, either. Ash supposed he had the right, though. She was his daughter, after all, and Ash was the guy her father had never met, but probably heard about.

In the end, Ash merely nodded with an accepting look on his face. This was the way things were, and the decisions made were done for the preservation of human life, directly or indirectly. Even the mild stretching of the truth or misleading by assumption had a purpose. Betrayal was not an issue here - in order to betray there first had to be an understanding, or some element of trust. There was no such provision between the ruling members of the community and Ash, nor anyone else who came in with him. Ignoring the stare that he was getting from Macsen, Ash's eyes went to Thana. He gave her a small smile and a single, slow nod. He held no grudge and gave only his support, and that was only if she needed it.

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"Holy shit, I lost my arm on April Fool's Day? Worst prank ever." Thalia's eyes widened and she looked around with a sudden sense of alarm; for the life of her, she didn't know if she had said that out loud. Not usually the joking type, Thalia had been in elevated spirits in the short amount of time since they had discovered that Thana was alive. That, and just sometimes her inner thoughts became outer thoughts whether she approved the vocalization or not. Ordinarily this wasn't a big issue. This time, under a formal-ish setting in a manner that might show disrespect to both Thana and her father, it was different. Thalia understood the concept of a close family, especially when they favored one another like these Martins obviously did. It kind of made her homesick. If the tables were turned and she was the one sitting in front of this gaggle of misfits she referred to as friends (if only to herself) down in the family's complex in Monterrey, she'd be a little miffed if someone interrupted her father while he was filling in serious gaps in their information.

Lucky for her, she only got as far as a quiet mumble and a glance down at her prosthetic.

Taking out the personal nature of what was being passed along, this greatly reminded Thalia of the briefings that she would have to sit in on, and occasionally speak in front of, where they discussed procedure based upon specific assignment at her uncle's security firm. Nepotism might have played a part in getting her hired, thinking back on it honestly, but it sure as hell didn't affect her professional/threat ratings or occupational certifications nor did it have a damn thing to do with her position. All that was earned the hard way, just like Thana. She was already the woman's friend, but the more she heard about her (now from family), the more she was impressed. The two of them had more in common than she initially thought. Rather than being close despite differences, it looked more like it was because they instinctively saw similarities in one another that they just hadn't discussed in any depth.

Thalia remained respectful and still, if not as rigid as Ash or Thana with their uncanny ability to soldier on command. Every so often, upon listening to what their former group leader had done to help them and had to endure as a result, Thalia would let out a quiet, unobtrusive remark like, "Damn, girl," or the like. This was a bit louder when it was her turn to view the images of her injuries and recovery. She looked again at her partially missing arm, up to Thana, and back down to her arm. The similarities kept coming.

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A good chunk of Hank's flagging consciousness wanted him to remain awake and see whatever it was that Wayne was putting on television next. Hank wouldn't have claimed to be a huge Mel Brooks fan, though he had seen a lot of his stuff before. It was okay. Of course, a functioning television with actual movies? Hell, Hank might be inclined to sit through some Candace Cameron something-or-another that had something to do about feelings or ... eh, womanly complaints, maybe teach some lesson with strong religious overtones that sounded more like chunky tofu-fueled hypocrisy. Then he remembered that, even the world had gone to shit, he still had his standards. Mel Brooks movies were alright. But the bottom line was, he mentioned that he was going to take a nap, and a nap he was a-taking.

The spurts of random mental flashes began to give way to a more structured thoughtform, lining up and materializing in his visual subconscious. He was a slightly less mature and cranky bastard, coming home from one of the fairly lighter days at work. A quick shower and a change from his uniform to some jeans and a flannel, and Hank had a little time to relax before his dear Mrs. Wright finished preparing supper. Yes, it was idyllic in a sort of 1950's way, if that was your thing. Not something that Hank had planned for, his life just kind of worked out that way. They had a daughter who wasn't quite a woman yet, still convinced that video games were the best way to occupy her time after school (provided that homework was done, of course). She had just gotten into a very retro-looking one based around a short, knightly fellow with a proclivity for beating down villains with a garden spade.

He walked in to see his little girl giving the unholy smackdown to an array of oddly shaped enemies with a shovel. She liked this game. She kept saying, "He's like you, Daddy! He fights the bad guys and keeps everybody safe!" Tears spilled from Hank's face. When he lived through this the first time, he didn't know what would happen a few days later. Recalling it in a dream, he did and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Hank would get a call around 4 p.m. while attending a Law Enforcement convention in Michigan, telling him that an undiagnosed heart condition claimed his dear wife while driving their little girl home from school. The resulting crash killed them both.

"You're my Shovel Knight, Daddy!"

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Beatrice mouthed PDA at Thalia once they were in briefing and Thana shared a kiss with Ash. She knew it was obnoxious of her to do so, but it was more or less what her default move was - to be a bit bitchy. She still didn't know what exactly had happened with Thana, whether or not they had been abandoned or if Thana had been brutally injured and almost died without them (as would line up with her face). Gunny walked into the room and started to enlighten them, with Beatrice paying close attention. This was the story she had wondered about from time to time - the one that would settle in concrete her opinion of Thana. She figured that Roamers was the terminology they used for the undead here, given context clues.

The story that they were told... Beatrice didn't doubt its accuracy. This was a military camp. They were being told everything that went down like some sort of after action report - and it was all about the facts, no attempts to make someone out into being a hero. Beatrice clenched and unclenched her hands. This was a lot of information to process, but it answered the question in the back of her mind - Thana hadn't abandoned them. She hadn't been the coward that couldn't admit wanting to bail when things got hard. She ran her finger around the rim of the can of O's. Her hand clenched again as she was shown the images of Thana's injuries.

"Thank you," Beatrice said quietly, her gaze and words directed at Thana.

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Jack nodded in agreement with Tatiana's assessment. Whatever had happened to Thana, the toll it took on her body at least was apparent. And with some people (read: Wayne) around, having it be a private affair was probably for the best. They just didn't have space in the bookshelf fort for all of them to have a private conversation at once. His mind was taken off of that train of thought though as Tatiana brushed up against him and he gave her a large grin, looking at his amazing wife. The stability of being in Quarantine had been nice. He was still worried about her and that would never change, but they were safe from the walkers in here - at least for now. Jamie was getting to play with toys and crawl around and have a stable source of food. It was the most normal they had had since Newnan.

"How could I evah fohget it?" Jack asked his wife. He caught her gaze going down to her wedding band and it gave him a thought. There were a few less people in the room at the moment, meaning that there was no space to move. And they hadn't ever really gotten much of a honeymoon or an anniversary dinner or anything since their wedding, so... He quickly glanced at Jamie, hoping that their son wouldn't wonder off for at least a moment or two, as Jack held out his hand. "Tatiana Newnan, my nightingale... Would ya do me the honohr of havin' this dance?" he asked.

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Manny was quiet as Gunny spoke. It didn't take long to figure out what was going on here. He was explaining the events of the last few months, but from the point of view from Thana, and Camp Mexico Beach. Manny's thoughts of those months have left him very emotionally divided. There were moments where he felt sad, where he felt guilt, where he felt bitter, and where he was hopeful. Sometimes there was a combination of emotions that Manny couldn't understand which only left him frustrated. After all his years on this earth, it was weird for him when he experienced a part of himself he didn't understand. And just like he had at points over the last few months, he didn't know how he felt yet again. He was glad to see Thana alive and well enough, he was worried about her condition from the injuries she received, he was frustrated with the fact that she left without sorting things out on their end, but thankful that she took the steps to keep the horde of their back. But even with that forethought, it was still forethought. Even with the best intentions it was still risky as hell.

But what other choice did they really have? Who could go with her and do an effective run? Other then Beatrice, no one really. Alexander despite his best efforts at the time was still limited in mobility, Thalia was bedridden and at a high risk for an infection that may or may not kill her, and Manny himself was getting too old to do anything that required speed and efficiency. Plus, even though he didn't doubt Beatrice's and Alexander's abilities to keep Thalia safe while in recovery, if the infection got worse and Thana didn't come back, there were not a lot of people who could start on plan B's. Manny thinking about that too, he wasn't a great option for that either. He wasn't that kind of doctor. Just... A doctor. The wrong kind, but still a doctor. No... Even without knowing what they know now, someone had to leave and get supplies. It was a miracle that Thalia didn't get to a state that they couldn't treat her with what they had on them.

Manny took a moment to look at the photos of Thana in recovery. He didn't flinch or react much looking at them. He opened up people's faces for a living, before and after the world was taken over by walking corpses. Though this was on a much more drastic scale then he usually handled. He made note to take note from the doctors here at some point so he could try and learn a thing or two from them. It was a miracle Thana was alive, but she was, and so was Alexander despite all that risk, and so was Thalia despite all the risk there.

Manny regretted not trying to follow things up more once they heard a little about Thana, at the very least to know that she was alive, and just out looking for their little group... "okay... this is.. a lot to take in." He let out with a heavy exhale. He almost wished he was a brewer again, a drink would be good about now. Maybe he should have put it on things he wanted to do when he filled out that paper a week ago. But all things considering, their little group was back together and alive. And now, a lot more then a little amount of people. Everything they had gone through the last few months has led to this. To Camp Mexico Beach. Only time would tell what this place would be like, but Thana being here, alive and still fighting, that was a good enough reference for Manny.

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Hunter decided that this girl was someone he could like, though he would have to find ways to not compare her to people he used to know. She was pretty strait forward with her name, and Hunter did appreciate that. He was sure she did have a code name, everyone here seemed to have a code name. But he liked the fact that she gave a real name. "That's a nice name. Both... The short and the..." He was tripping over words again, he wasn't particularly stressed right now, so he wasn't completely sure why. Though fluke situations did happen sometimes. He hasn't really talked to people in a long time. "You know what I mean." Nikki did reassure Hunter that if she could make it here, anyone could. He stopped himself from saying 'We'll see about that'. He figured it wouldn't help anything.

Hearing how things used to be Hunter did a bit of a chuckle to that. "Two months? Damn, that seems excessive. And expensive. Especially when considering half the people here were from the outside. Even a week is pushing it in my mind, but they can do that if they really want. Just wish there was more to do in here. Even if it was just some simple tasks or jobs." Hunter was back to thinking that this place was a bit over the top sometimes. Yeah he got why they did quarantine, but damn. This stuff took forever, and was expensive. And the only reason pool was entertaining now was because he had someone new to talk too.

She was competitive which Hunter liked a decent amount, though he would be eating his words in a bit. She broke and sunk a solid in right away. Hunter rarely got anything in on the break, so things were definitely interesting now. She lined up another shot and took the shot, sinking another one. The third shot didn't bare any fruit, but damn. He wasn't ready to eat his words that fast. Once she told him it was his turn, he took aim with the cue and lined up an easy shot. "So how long have you been here? You don't seem that old if you don't mind me saying."The stripped ball went in with ease, and another almost easy shot was lined up. The white ball, a solid ball, then a stripped ball, all in line with one of the corner sockets. "Huh." Feeling bold, he lined up the shot, and hit. At first things were going good, then the stripped ball entered the socket, then the solid one got close, and eventually fell. "Mother fucker." His tone was hushed, he didn't think he could start fights in here with profanity, but he didn't want to chance it too much.

It was at this moment that he looked around and saw that the other girl who wanted to play pool had left. Didn't take him long to find her, she was watching, just waiting for her turn he guessed. She was hanging out with the red headed girl who seemed to want to avoid Hunter at all costs. Even before he had lost it on day 1, she seemed to want nothing to do with him. He didn't get it, then again he wasn't the most sociable of people. "Your turn." He stopped mid sentence, just registering that she said something else earlier. Did she call him cutie? "Yeah uh... Your turn... Nikki" He decided that maybe this was why he was struggling to pull words again. He also decided this time in quarantine is dulling his ability to stay aware of his surroundings. Or maybe he was being too relaxed? And why did Nikki call him cutie? Was she just paying a compliment? Was it more then a compliment? Hunter regretted not being more socially adept.

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Thana sat there, listening as Gunny retold the events in dry detail of what had happened. She stared out blankly to the room in front of her. Refusing to look anywhere but from a single point at the wall in the back. This was her story. She had written the facts down that she knew and others filled in the rest. She had been told what she wasn't awake, or even alive, for already. She knew the complete report and had read it already, doubling checking for accuracy. She had seen the images. Her own reflection. She knew what she had done and the work it took to ensure she was alive today. Thana didn't want to sit there, rehashing it again. It was a painful memory, still much alive in her own mind. The physical pain had died down, for the most part, but even now, it still stung both mentally and psychically. Yet there she was. A debriefing was a common practice in the military. And in truth it was the easiest way to hand over the information to people. She knew if she hadn't they would question her, ask her, drill her most likely. People were always like that, demanding answers. Thana didn't. It wasn't something she could bring herself to do.

Her eyes went to Ash for the briefest of moments before she looked away. She would never ask him what took so long, what had had endured to get there. She wouldn't make him go through that again just to sate her own curiosity. To do so to someone was cruel. To someone you supposedly trusted showed you never did truly trust them. It was one thing to question those you didn't know, that you didn't trust but once trust was established, to Thana, no explanation was ever required again. That was the purpose of trust. To trust someone with your six, and your heart. To trust what they did without explanation. No, she wouldn't do that to him, or the four she had lead and had their backs for over a year. If they volunteered it that was one thing but if they didn't that was their choice and she wouldn't put them in that position. Ever. And now that she was back, she would do what she could to ensure they didn't have to explain what they had been through anymore. They were there, that's all that mattered.

By the time her dad was done speaking, Thana seemed oddly detached from the moment. She heard what the others had said quietly. Caught the small nods or looks. Slowly she stood up and cleared her throat. "Gunny, I request that Polawski, Carmichael, and Newman be returned to Conference at this point. And that the remaining members of the Newnan Safe Zone be brought to Briefing as I have some vital information on the settlement and perhaps some closure for them." Her voice was dry as she spoke but firm.

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Tatiana giggled a bit. Of course he wouldn't forget. Much of their relationship before Newnan fell was built on some rather silly things but it was who they were, or had been back then. His colorful bookbag, playing Monopoly, drawing hearts on walls with their names in them, doing the chicken dance. Jack made her smile so much back then. Back when she was bubbly and bright. Maybe they could have a small part of that again here. Sure, this place was rigid about things but it was working. Over five years here and still standing? Being able to be as rigid as they were. And they had a lot of different people and personalities it seemed. And yet it still worked. She wouldn't let herself get soft though, yet looking at a good majority of the people here that they had met, these people weren't soft. They had survived as well. Made her think of Miss Sally. Looking at the woman at first one would have thought she was just a kind grandmotherly type but out of all the people of Newnan, Miss Sally would have been the last person she would have ever wanted to piss off. Maybe in a way Miss Sally was still around, even if only in spirit.

Looking over at her husband she smiled at him and placed her hand in his. Standing up slowly. She half figured he wanted to chicken dance again. It would be something he would do. The man was horrible dancer. Okay, he could slow dance. But even that took some time for him to get. He had been known to step on her toes a lot when they first started dancing. "I'd love to," she said as she waited to see just what he was going to do. Jamie was fine, he had toys and while there was maybe one or two people she trusted with Jamie,she wasn't afraid if he crawled or walked around. The room was sealed, he couldn't go far and would be in their sight if he did start getting into something. Her eyes followed Jamie as he waddled over to where the TV was and grabbed Waynes leg as the movie started. Yeah, Wayne could watch the kid for a dance. He seemed protective of her and Jamie since they arrived and she had spent nearly the last week with him trying to teach that crazy man to dance. He seemed alright in her book. Crazy, yes. Homicidal, probably. Hurt Jamie, nah.

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Wayne was fine with others coming over and watching the movie with him. To him everyone should experience the joy of Mel Brooks. The man was comedic gold. Looking over towards Riley when she asked he laughed. "History of the World, Part I. Hey Sportacus! Should get in on this shit! They have a great scene about Rome," he laughed. Oh yeah, it had a scene about Rome, one that would probably make Nigels blood boil. That alone was worth offering a seat to the man if he wanted to come and join. The movie was absurd but that was what Mel Brook did and the cast, well the cast was awesome. And the movie had everything. Unics, cavemen, treasure baths! It was nice. Okay, maybe not thrilling, but nice. It was no Princess Bride but it worked for him!

Looking down as he felt something on his knee he spotted Jamie. "Hey there, little kick ass," he chuckled. If this kid turned out to half half the right hook his momma did the kid would be just fine in this world. Even if Wayne didn't like kids, it wasn't like he was going to hurt him. Wayne was crazy, he wasn't stupid. He'd seen what the kids mom could do with just her fists towards someone who hadn't hurt her child. He did NOT want to see what she was capable of if someone endangered Jamie. Okay, maybe he did, but as long as he wasn't the target. Reaching down he picked the kid up and placed him in his lap as he got comfortable. "Okay, pay attention kid. First thing you're gonna fucking learn is critics are everywhere," he said as the movie started up.


Temperature: 83F (28C)
Humidity: High (Around 73%) - No Rain
Wind Speed: 12 MPH (19 KPH)
Cloud Coverage: Overcast

Nikki looked over towards Hunter and nodded, blowing a bubble and popping it. Riley was heading off and she gave her nod. Sure, she'd let her know who won. Anyways seemed she went back over to the other bald girl. Yeah, they were a couple, that was easy enough to spot the way they were together. Looking back over towards Hunter she smirked. "Yeah, I get ya. Have to admit though, I like Checkbook. Didn't at first. Got called that because my mouth kept writing checks my ass couldn't cash," she said with a laugh as she took a step away from the table so Hunter had room to shoot. "Naw, back then it was basic food just to survive, a lot of fish, god so much fish, I was craving a fuckin' MRE by the time I got out," she added with a smile. "Chili Mac and Cheese - together, boom!" she said making a snap of her fingers.

"Hrm." Nikki thought for a moment. "Three almost four years now. Martin Musketeers picked me up on the road, saved my ass from some Douchers. Was nearly starved to death. Would have gone anywhere for a Klondike bar," she said as she chewed her gum. "Nearly got kicked out about six months later for breaking into the distillery and getting shit faced. But hey, Maddog has a soft spot for troubled teens." She grinned a bit. "He keeps my ass out of trouble." Squatting down she watched Hunter. "I'm only 20, well 5 if you want to count my actual birthdays," she said. then she realized that might not make since. "Birthday's February 29th," she added. Seeing him miss the shot and curse she laughed. "Oh Boo-Fuckin-Hoo," she teased as she stood back up and took the pool stick back in her hand as she walked around trying to find a shot. "But hey, thanks, one for me." Winking before she looked back at the table.

Leaning over she lined up a shot and took it. It went in. "Oh, I got you on the run now," she taunted him. Walking around slowly she looked for another shot. "Hey, that's your dog in the Vet quarantine isn't it? She's a real damn sweetie. Loves the fucking beach, I gotta take her out later for her walk. She's been a lot of fun to have around," Nikki added in passing before taking another shot. It went in as well. Third shot she scratched and shrugged. "You're up."

Over in Briefing, Gunny looked over at his daughter and nodded. "Granted, Panama, take Polawski, Newman, and Carmichael back to Conference and bring me," he started before looking down at his papers. "Payne, Ridgeway, and Mr. and Mrs. Newnan," he said before sliding a folder over to Thana.

"Sure thing Boss," Panama said as he motioned for Alexander, Manny, and Thalia to come with him. "Come on y'all, let's get you back to the others." Walking out he waited for them to join him before heading down to Conference and dropping them off. "Amelia, Riley, Tatiana, and Jack. Gunny needs ya in Briefing now," he said. Waiting for them before leading the new group over to briefing and letting them have a seat. Gunny sitting down, this was Thana's show for this round.

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"Hey." Amelia called quietly when Riley came over to join them." Yeah, I'm... yes I'm fine now." Her stentence stopped midway for a moment before she started again and said it properly with a shift in her eyes to show she was. She was fine now, they had all changed, her old French talking friend included. There was nothing to be done, it hurt, but after thinking it through now, she concluded, that she would be fine, she had Riley and the others after all.

"Ohh... ehh..." She started unable to recall the name, luckily she was saved by Wayne when he chimmed in and stated the name instead. She smiled at Riley again, enjoying the closeness." Seems like it's going to be fu...n?" Her voice turned questioning as she spotted something moving with hte edge of her vision and looked down at the floor to confirm, only to spot a little adorable baby that was now holding onto Wayne's leg. This brought a hapy smile to her face again. Her eyes wandered over to Tati and Jack, they seemed to have decided to enjoy their time too. Wayne was looking after Jamie, which was also nice.

What was NOT nice, was that Panama showed up with the ones that had left earlier and called them to go over instead. Amelia sighed since she was going to miss on the movie's begining, but she looked at Riley and stood up." Guess it's time to go eh?" She asked her lover and started walking for the door. Time to see what Gunny had to say on this. She was wondering if he was going to tell them who got accepted from them or if it was going to be about something completely different entirely? Stuff like saying who was to stay here seemed more something to say to all of htem in one room though, but if that was the case, she had no idea what this briefing would be about. She supposed taht in the end she'd just have to wait and hear it herself.

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A briefing. A good, old fashioned military briefing with everything it required: Waiting on the NCO to brief them, the date of the previous mission or mission-releated incident, the contents of said mission or event and how it was affecting the whole strategic position in their sector of South Vietnam. And lasty, what they were going to do in order to adress this issue. That was the standard proceedure Alexander had gone through, time and time again back during the war, and he could so vividly see one of countless briefings flash across his face. Hey, where's 'Sarge? He'll be here soon enough, Bunker. He's never been this late before. Well duh, he's obviously back home making sweet, sweet to your mother. Screw you! Yeah screw you George. It ain't 'Sarge, Bunker's from Alabama you know, they do it differently there. I'll beat you, Polawski! All right everyone one, shut your faces and sit down. Here's the situation…

Alexander sat quietly on his chair and gave Gunny a welcoming nod as they were finally beginning the briefing. As the fold of papers were put on the table and Gunny began to turn them, Alexander asked himself what this could be about. The first thing to cross his mind was those asswipes at Eden they'd thrown back to Hell where they belonged. Were they still a threat? Had they followed the Eden group down to Florida? Or where Mexico Beach going after them? What he did not expect was a briefing about Thana.

The old veteran's eyes remained fixed on the two Martins as Gunny debriefed of everything that had went down; Thana leaving them for supplies, leading away the horde, nearly dying and coming back to life, and their reunion. His posture remained as straight as Alexander could manage in the pressence of the military, though his head slumped forward more and more as he thought to himself; Thana was alive all along, and they weren't told? They hadn't been straight up-front with them, giving them a half-truth in that she had been there and was gone. What did they think Thana's friends would take of it? That she was out shopping for groceries!? It was just like the military to do. Lying, never giving the fighting men the whole picture and instead handing out blurred images of what 'might' be. And in his silent observing of the briefing, it angered it. It seemed that nothing changed.

Nothing changed.

But then Gunny came to the last page, the last step on the way of clarity, and Alexander's head rose up again. It wasn't Gunny, General or anyone else in Camp Mexico Beach who'd taken the decision to without the truth. It was Thana herself. Thana saved them, on several occations. In leaving them behind and giving them a half truth half lie, she saved them. Alexander could only imagine himself demanding to leave the camp in order to get Thana back, or even more anyone else of his squad. Thana had gone through Hell and back in order to keep them alive…her soldiers, her friends. In the end Alexander had to respect that, even for all the fear and sorrow he'd felt over her absence, how many nights he'd prayed for her safe return or safe passage to Heaven.

"Then let the past be past, and go faithfully into the future now that all is well…" Alexander whispered to himself while the others took in the information just as hard as he had done. He didn't know what else to say. No questions to ask, not orders to follow, no mission to conduct. But now they all knew what had happened. Alexander looked at Thana one last time as they were requested and lead back to the Conference room, giving her a brief smile and a look of an old grandparent who was just glad everything had turned out all right. Alexander followed Panama and the others back to their rec-room and found himself a seat near the TV for once. He didn't say anything or seak company, but he was a fool not the recognize a Mel Brooks movie when he saw one!

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Perhaps Nigel shouldn't have asked that question? Whether Erica was hoping someone would, by some miracle show up at the gates of Camp Mexico Beach, someone she missed. Erica only gave him a slight shrug, she didn't think so. She had never been big on sharing from her personal life, even to Nigel, but a whole lot better at it to him than to their two grumpy old men. But when Nigel thougth about it, he couldn't recall whether she'd mentioned anyone from her earlier life, so he figured the "I don't think so" spoke volumes. Nigel looked up at her with an apologetic look, but didn't excuse himself for asking, not knowing he had done a stupid thing. But he would answer his own question. "I hope so. We can only hope. Hope is the dream of a waking man."

The sorry look on Nigel's face melted slowly back into the grin from earlier, glad to hear Erica laugh again. He missed laughing, a sign of what normal life should be like. He liked it. He liked Erica's laugh. "Yes you are. One of these day's you got to start giving me something to nag you with." He laughed back at her, then looking as the group of people were taken out. "My thoughts exactly…but if I know these people, we won't be fed any answers with a silver spoon anytime soon."

Nigel didn't expect the foot nudging from Erica, and didn't realize it was her for a moment, looking down at his foot before finally seeing it was her foot. He had to chuckle, giving her a nudge back as a "Yeah, I'm awake." Looking around the room, he couldn't help but notice that to his great but pleasent surprise, Hunter was playing pool with one of their younger guards. "Looks like Hunter is making friends." Oh yeah, Nigel sounded like a proud father at this point. Wayne had put another movie on the TV, calling forth Nigel "Sportacus" to join and watch a great scene about Rome. Nige shook his head, both in obvious annoyance and eye-rolling amusement of Wayne. The man was clearly crazy, but the way he also carefully handled little Jamie, there was something geniune going on there. "What do you say? Want to make more fun of my Roman disposition, Erica?"

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Riley wrapped an arm over Amelia and gave her a soft smile, as she started to relax a little bit, as she watched what was being played on the TV as Wayne answered her question. History of the World, Part I was a movie that she didn't know but by the looks of it was certainly a comedy. As she watched it a little bit longer she turned her attention back towards Amelia, she was the only person who kept her going now pretty much and she was glad to be with her and sharing a room again as well. "I haven't seen it before but by the looks of it, it's pretty funny." Riley said smiling a little bit.

As she looked over and she noticed that little Jamie had crawled up over towards Wayne, seeing the little guy seemed to be pretty comfortable with the big guy. Riley looked over her shoulder seeing that Jack and Tatiana were having their own little bonding moment which made her smile towards them. She was glad that the couple finally did end up meeting again and they were certainly very lucky that they ended up bumping into her in the road. Then she heard her name, Amelia, as well as Jack and Tatiana to which made her raise an eyebrow wondering what it was about. "I wonder what it's about." Riley said softly as she stood up and started to follow shortly behind Amelia, and the others into the conference room seeing the others were still there Riley smiled towards Ashton and Thana before taking a seat.

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Erica looked towards Nigel, seeing the apologetic look he had given her though she had kept more of her personal life away from the others, she didn't feel like it was necessary at the time to divulge the information anyway. And she didn't like to talk about her family, since she had lost them, and she was the only person left in her family alive which was still a bit painful to talk about. Though she had been opening up more as she had gotten to know Nigel. "Well you can make some cop jokes and me liking coffee and doughnuts if you'd like." Erica said with a slight laugh, though she did spend some time as a beat cop in Detroit before becoming a detective.

"Well hopefully they will tell us if we are accepted or not, i'd certainly like to know that soon." Erica said softly as she watched Hunter and Checkbook playing pool. "They certainly would make an interesting couple." Erica pointed out as she felt Nigel nudging her foot back after she did it and blushed slightly. Then Wayne spoke up about the movie seeing it being played looking over towards Nigel and shook her head slightly. "Nah, besides you get enough hell out of it anyway. I am sure they called you that nonstop while you were sleeping together. I mean unless you'd prefer me to call you Sportacus."

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As Thana asked for the non-Newnan members to be returned and the rest of Newnan to be brought back, Beatrice almost asked to go back with them. While she had been a part of Newnan and had made friends there, she felt that her leaving the settlement with James, turning her back on them, meant that she was no longer a part of that group. It was a chapter in her life that was over and done with. If she were to be thought of as part of any group, it would be the group that was currently in briefing - and even then, she felt it was dangerous towards their chances of being accepted if they continued to define themselves in that manner. Integrating into a new society had a cost - a loss of previous group identities.

Beatrice just didn't need to feel the need for closure about Newnan. She only stayed in the room for closure as to what had caused James and Ryan to die. It had been some sort of natural disaster. But maybe Thana had more information on it. She would revisit all of this, not for herself but for her friends who had died and couldn't come back. She remained seated as the non-Newnan members left, and as the Newnan crew came into briefing. This was going to be interesting.

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Jack grinned as Tatiana accepted his request to dance. He didn't know too many dances, but there was one that had come out a few years before the Outbreak that he remembered. He couldn't say what the artist's name was anymore but... "Now, solovey, in yah intense trainin' did ya evah learn how to do... the Cha Cha Slide?" he asked her with a smirk. He knew that he could have gone with something like the Macarena, but the Cha Cha Slide was a classic. In his opinion, every person in the world should know how to do it. His head snapped so fast he almost gave himself whiplash as Wayne picked up Jamie, but then he relaxed. It seemed they had a new designated babysitter. He knew Tatiana had been working with Wayne some so she had to trust him... so... that was... fine. (Jack was barely fine with it).

He returned his attention to Tatiana and started recalling the lyrics/instructions to the dance as best as he could. "To the left, take it back now y'all / One hop this time, right foot let's stomp / Left foot let's stomp, cha cha real smooth," Jack sang, doing each motion as the song required. He was trying his best not to giggle a little bit, making a big point out of each stomp of the foot he did, but he really got into the cha cha movement. He was about to sing the next phrase when Panama and some of the others came back, telling them that they needed him and Tatiana, as well as Riley and Amelia, in briefing.

"...We can Cha Cha latah," Jack said to his wife. He glanced at Wayne. Should he bring Jamie with him to briefing? He seemed entertained at least, watching a movie with the babysitter. "Wayne, we will be right back," Jack said. "...Please watch Jamie," he requested. He didn't know what was going to happen in briefing but back in the day as a cop, briefing usually involved some grisly and not appropriate for a little kid sights. Besides, there were guards in this room. They wouldn't let anything bad happen to Jamie. It was incredibly difficult for Jack to let Jamie out of his sight as he went to briefing.

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The eyebrow arch that expressed on Ash's face was one of the more motivated ones of his life thusfar. This briefing was already a roller coaster of emotion, be they mostly buried behind his trademark stoicism. Admittedly, less than usual; his carefully developed persona of hardened calm and logic had taken several hits as of late. Even the positive ones - the warm, fuzzy glow of love and trust, the joys of being alive and seeing Thana alive as well - were hard to keep back, even though this was supposed to be a professional, cut and dry briefing. Not that he was trying to hold those emotions back. His default kept him fairly unexpressive while he was "on the clock", as it were. But it was on his face. My god, as virtually unheard of as it was, Ashton Jameson Holloway was content. Happy, even. The was hope etched all over him, even if he was sitting at attention.

But back to that eyebrow arch. It was the request by Thana to have three of their number escorted out, to be replaced by the rest of the surviving Newnan group. Something about information and closure. Asking a question now would be pointless as they were all going to find out whatever it was they were going to find out after the others arrived. He had to admit a sense of growing curiosity, though. Patience was usually a thing he had in respectable amounts. Today, amid the swings from heartbreak to bliss, he found that his patience was a little bit wanting. Ash kept it under wraps. They had things to tell him, and while not as epic as Thana's story, he had things he wanted to tell her. Looking to her with pride and determination, Ash elected to respond with a simple, "Thank you, Thana." Then likewise to her father, "And thank you, sir."

This was a momentous occasion. And while there were several things he would likely never puzzle out without a lot of background, Ash gave a trace of thought to a single, mundane detail: What was with the SpaghettiOs?

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Thalia just realized that that bitch still had the can of Os! She was sitting with it, caressing the can, like she wanted it noticed. Fine. No big. This can be circumvented. Thalia was a frigging mestiza ninja. If anyone was going to be capable of surreptitiously retrieving those blessed rings of pasta and generic red sauce, it was going to be her. Oh yes, those Os would he hers.

Naturally, the thought occurred to her that this particular can of SpaghettiOs had absolutely nothing to do with the original issue last year. Nothing at all. In fact, by all rights they were Beatrice's and Thalia had zero claim to them, by law, spirit, nor expectation. They were found by Thana elsewhere and given to her directly as a gift. But that wasn't the point. Thalia had already decided to do with this settlement as she had with Fairburn; that meaning that she would stay, train, live as one of them and come out of it stronger. Hell, she may even embrace the military lifestyle, and add that concept to her repertoire in addition to her training with Familia, Company, and Vikings.

Strangely, she thought that she remembered a comic book like this, about a person drawing skillsets from different lifetimes, but just couldn't remember the name of it. Well, it'd come to her. The point was, those goddamn Os were a mere focal point around which she would train. After all, how does one train stealth in a closed community? How indeed... It was a lesson for later. Thalia gave Beatrice a warm, supportive smile (kinda) as she was getting up to leave, and she quietly said, "Talk lateh, Bea." Her eyes mischievously darted toward the can once more before she exited the room.

There was one thing that gave her the slightest bit of annoyance. Being referred to by her last name, though you'd think that it was something commonplace for her, often served as a reminder that she had always been an outsider wherever she went. Some of the time it was a good thing. An asset, even. But sometimes it reminded her that she was never given the name of her father, the only family she knew since she was ten. (until she revisited the concept of "family" during the apocalypse, but while true that wasn't germane to the point) Maybe it was a silly thing. She liked her name, it had a touch of class to it. Even sounded a little badass if you said it just right. Still, it was a reminder that, while Gonzalez was expected of her, she was born under different circumstances. Maybe she'd even make that work here. Trivial, but ever so sightly annoying.

Upon returning to the Conference Room, Thalia leaned against the wall and gave a long look at the people from Newnan as they filed past. There was a sense of tactical curiosity as to what they would be made privy to, and what was important enough to warrant a secret pow-wow like the one she had just gotten out of. She didn't think asking directly afterward would be a great idea, and it wasn't her concern really, but the more guarded element of her personality had her questioning a situation that, while she felt better about it, was still fairly fresh to her. That wasn't going to change except with the passage of time.

Thalia crossed her arms in front of her and continued to lean on the wall, her hazel eyes perceptively scanning the room and the people within it. Maybe it wasn't her name. She would always be a little bit of a outsider and it was probably because she made herself that way. Though the name did get the ball rolling in certain circles.

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Hank's eyes fluttered open. He wasn't in his personal Hell anymore. Just the regular one. That meant that he hadn't died just yet and there was more to do before he got to see his family again. One day at a time. Of course, he wasn't suicidal - and there was no way that he was going to abandon his friend Wayne, even if he was a total nutbar. They'd been through too much and, even if he was a little intense, Hank got the man. He was one of the good guys.

Indistinctly, Hank felt a trickle of movement on the side of his face. He was still a little disconnected from his nap, and didn't realize what was going on until he raised his hand up to wipe his eyes. "...i'mnotcryingyou'recryinggotohell..." he mumbled, rousing himself fully into the waking world. He un-reclined the recliner and looked over to Wayne, who had somehow acquired himself a small child. That was odd. Hank quickly looked around the room, checking to see if the kid's parents were present and okay with this. He knew that Wayne was the kind of guy who could be trusted. But he also knew that not everyone else knew that. Satisfied that everyone was either absent or okay with things, Hank gave baby James a look over. "Well hey there, little man. Big ol' Wayne's not a scary guy, is he?" He gave a half-hearted shrug, as if trying to convince himself of this statement. "Yeah, nevermind. Look kid, these are good people here. Hell, I was a dad once, long time ago. You just say if you ever need help changing an alternator or beating the crap out of someone with a shovel, and Uncle Hank'll come running, okay buddy? Okay."

Hank looked over to Wayne, a contemplative sort of look crossing over his face. "Hey Maldonado," he began, a serious tone to his words, "This isn't just about us fishing off a boat in Florida anymore, is it?" It was the excuse they gave for doing this, but it kind of felt like a piece of pipe dream bullshit that kept them moving in a direction until they eventually died, by whatever multitude of ways this world could kill them these days. Now that they were there, this had to be about something more, or else he really was just the asshole he constantly portrayed to other people.

But yeah, retiring in Florida to fish had to feature heavily. It was the principle of the thing.

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The briefing was hard, but it was well needed. And thinking about it, Manny could see why they did it. The scene was almost like ripping off a band aid, get it over with once, then it would likely be dropped forever. Who didn't have an experience like that at some point? Everyone probably had a lot of those now, some worse then others. Everyone had a moment to process what they were told, Manny barely registered that it was time to leave until he saw everyone getting up. Did someone say something? Was he so in his own thoughts that he wasn't registering things correctly now? He stood up, and noticed Beatrice was staying behind for the time being. Thinking back, he did remember some names being listed, hers wasn't one of them. Manny almost offered to stay with her as everyone else was leaving, but he figured that wouldn't help anything at this point.

Manny followed the others back and found himself a comfortable enough chair to rest in. He couldn't get the images out of his head, the story that they have been told, everything. It was... a lot to take in. Manny normally in situations like this would think of something to say to help bring up the mood, but he had nothing now. He looked around the room to see what had happened while he was gone, seemed Wayne was now watching babies. Manny wouldn't have considered that though very much, but the man seemed protective enough. Though Manny did question his care taking abilities. Thinking about it, Manny never had kids, and decided as long as he wasn't being a dick to the kid he was probably fine. They seemed to be having a good time. He noticed Hunter playing pool with one of the guards, a girl surprisingly younger then he was by the looks of it. It was cute in a way, Hunter seemed like an awkward teenager who was just going with the motions struggling what to say. Manny missed those days, but he was glad to see that there was some good things happening still.

There was another movie playing, Manny never got into movies as much. Sure there were exceptions, but overall they were just not his thing. Though he did notice everyone having a good time with it. The last few months were hard, painful, and scary in more ways then he could count. But, things were looking up for the first time in a long time. He just needed to see this place outside of this room to get a good solid idea of what this place was really like. That was most of his stress and fear now, what was this place actually like?

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To say that Hunter was socially inept, was a pretty accurate statement. The only people he really got along with growing up were his siblings and their friends. While in the National Guard he got along with some members of his unit pretty well, but he wouldn't really call any his friends. A lot of it stemmed from trust issues he never knew how to overcome, and the fact that he lived in the middle of nowhere with a pretty comfortable life. As comfortable as living on a scrap yard could be at least. But it was heaven for him. Even int he worst of times. Especially in the worst of times. So all of this, trying to get along with people who other then a few minor instances in the early days haven't done much to make Hunter feel like he would get stabbed in the back, was strange for Hunter. Everyone he felt he could trust since the world changed seemed to betray Hunter in some way, and he just couldn't get his mind across all of this as well as he wanted to.

But Nikki, Checkbook, was something different. He was still worried that this was a trick, but she seemed nice enough. He laughed a bit at the reasoning for her code name. "I had several members of my old unit call me Greyjoy, I never understood why until near the end of my training when one of the guys told me I reminded them of someone in a book who smiled at all the wrong things. I asked what book, they told me the name, can't remember it now. I just remember the name sounding silly." She was right about the mac and Chilly with cheese. Probably the best MRE as long as it didn't make you sick. "There was a beef jalapeno one I really liked though, found it once, never again. Should have written down which meal it was." He said thinking back to when he raided his old Units food reserve. Hunter let out a laugh for the distillery situation. He stopped once he realized he laughed out loud. He stopped himself with a look resembling fear. Did he laugh too much? Did he show too much of himself? Did he even know what of himself he was showing? He relaxed at the talk about Maddog. Seemed right so far, though he wasn't a fan of getting threatened to get shot. Sure first day kind of justified that, but he felt the other times it was over the top. But maybe that was the point.

She seemed to be enjoying the fact that he fucked up his shot. He let himself smile again as she took aim again. When she told her age though that confused him, even with the clarification. He stood there puzzled and confused. Almost like someone spoke to him in a language he didn't understand. Then it registered. "Ohhhhh. Okay that makes sense now." As if answering his own thoughts. Not long after it was his turn, but he was still hung up on Checkbook's comments about Izibell. He was glad to hear she was doing well, getting air, enjoying life. But it was hard for Hunter to be without her. She made him feel safe, helped with with his nightmares. He made sure she ate before he did, she meant everything to him. He missed her, but was glad to hear she was okay. His emotions were showing again, he realized before he took his shot and wiped his face off noticing nothing. And he put on a strait face again, like nothing had happened. "Cool cool. Yeah lets uh..." He was distracted. He was struggling to stay focused on what he was doing. Then he remembered, it was pool, something simple.

He set up for his next shot and took it. The shot was clearly poor, but it went in well enough. He took a deep breath and made another. "Huh, looks like I am having a comeback. Better watch out or you'll lose to some poor asshole stuck in a conference room." He took another shot, it went in. Hunter surprised himself, he rarely got a third in a row, this was his chance to come back. He took another shot a bit preemptively and messed it up. "Welp, that sucks." SO much for getting the upper hand. "Well it seems that the pool table is cheating again. Not sure what to tell you other then you wont be able to see my true powers of pool while it's in this mood." He was going to make the most out of now, he knew that soon he would get his fate determined. That scared him, like most things. But unlike most things that Hunter was scared of, this one couldn't be solved with a sawed off shotgun. Not with a high likelihood to win at least.

Temperature: 83F (28C)
Humidity: High (Around 73%) - No Rain
Wind Speed: 12 MPH (19 KPH)
Cloud Coverage: Overcast

Nikki looked over towards Hunter and chuckled, it seemed she wasn't the only one that had a nickname for a specific reason but then again, she knew the back story to most of CMB's call signs, so it made sense. Yet she had no idea who Greyjoy was or what book the guy was talking about. "Yeah, no clue what that ones about. Maybe you'll get something new here," she said as she leaned against the edge of the pool table. As far as the food went she couldn't remember. MRE's weren't eaten alot anymore around CMB. They had a good food supply and so real food was the day to day around here. They had moved past a lot of old canned goods anymore, finding ways to survive and eat without having to rely on what the world had left behind.

Watching him, he seemed nervous but she couldn't be sure about that. She hadn't really spent a lot of time around Gunny or Major so hadn't learned the art of reading people. Those two, they could ready people like a book just by looking at them. They were like walking human lie detectors. Most of her time since getting to CMB had been around Maddog. That was until Thana showed up. She had spent a lot of time watching that woman and then talking to her once she started training to leave to go search for people. She liked the woman, seemed that Thana was a bit of a problem child when she was younger. It was hard for her to believe at first but as Thana opened up and spoke about her past it made sense.

"Oh I see, well seems your charms aren't working on the table right now. Or maybe it just thinks I'm cuter than you," she said before sticking her tongue out at him. Walking around the pool table she looked for a shot. Leaning over she took a shot and sank a ball.She only had one left but didn't make the next shot. "Fuck me!" she grumbled before giving a shrug. Looking over towards the door, she noticed Panama coming in and changing out people. Some came back, some left. Didn't seem to concern her much, other than taking note of who left and who remained. The mood at least seemed to be improving, well safe for the Frenchman in the corner avoiding everyone and everything.

Back in briefing, Panama just leaned back against the wall and Gunny sat there, waiting for Thana to take control of this part. This was not something that had been CMB's doing. Well they had carried it out but it was because of her that they did, so it was fitting for her to be the one to deliver the information to them. Hopefully it would do some good, especially after everything that had happened to make this soon to be briefing possible. Macsen kept watching Ash from time to time. Yeah, he might have been the second in command and a Marine, but he was also a father. Thana hadn't spoken a lot about Ash to her father, her grandfather knew the whole story. All he knew was that Ash was important to her and well, any father worth his salt kept an eye on the man looking all goo-goo eyed at his daughter.

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Thana stood up slowly and took a deep breath. While Panama was changing out who was there, Gunny left the room and returned with a beaten up file box and set it on the table, sliding it over to his daughter before taking a seat once again. This was going to be a hell of an information dump on the former residents of Newnan and she knew it. She was tired, it had already been a long day and it was only gearing up to be even longer. The woman wanted to and needed to sleep. It had been days. Yet, work came first. Clearing her throat she opened the box of files and pulled out a stack. Rubber-banded together. They didn't look like the clean crisp ones that had been seen in the hands of others in CMB. They looked more worn.

"Durin' the course of searchin' for Thalia Carmichael, Alexander Polawski, Beatrice Decker, and Emmanuel Newman, what will be henceforth known as the Eden Squad, a plan was made. Startin' at their last known location and move South towards here. After which they were to move North, retracin' our steps back to Peachtree City and eventually Newnan in case it was deemed a safer direction of travel by Ms. Decker, who was left in charge." Sadly, over the course of their they had never found the others but even knowing where someone had been rarely meant they would find them. In the dense woods of Georgia and Florida it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Even when the world was right, it was not uncommon for someone to go missing and not be found until after they were long dead, only miles from home, and to be identified with dental records.

"While CMB is well staffed and equipped, there is a cost for such an extensive search. Arrangements were made to offset these." No one did anything for free, not when there was a community to take care of and Thana knew this. Thana did not explain what the arrangements were. "When Extraction Team 1 reached Newnan, it was sufficiently abandoned. The amount of destruction was absolute." Reaching into the box she pulled out another file and stepped out from behind the table. Walking over to Ash, she handed it over to him. "Within this folder is photographic evidence. While they are there for your inspection, the images are hard to view. Even for one such as me that was a member of the community for only a short period of time." Inside was images of Newnan taken from above and on the ground, so many were dead in the streets and turned, many pinned down by rubble. It would not be easy for any former member of Newnan to see those they lived along side to see. Walking back to the table she continued. "Only a few houses remained and part of what was known as the Franklin Section."

Taking a breath she looked down at the reports in front of her, still not touching the stack she had originally taken out. "Supplies from this location were few and far between but what we did acquire was knowledge. Captain Holloway's home was only partially destroyed and within it we were able to recover records of Newnan: includin' agricultural notes left behind by James Grady, self written engineerin' records of the Hordebuster, personnel records, duty rosters, prisoner treatment, new member detainment, procedures, incident reports, and Lt. Col. McCormick's records," she informed the group. Thana looked at the stack of older files and then looked to Ash. CMB knew Newnan now. Newnan's past was now CMB's past as well. "Yet, to obtain these, took time. The air was polluted and causin' issues. Why? We did not know at the time but samples were taken and brought back. Air. Soil. Combined with records from a local library, analysis was done." Thana's background was in Botany this was part of what she did whens he was in the Navy before the world fell.

Pulling out a sheet of paper from a file before her Thana double checked what she was about to say before she continued. "We now know why Newnan fell." Thana looked towards Ash. "The air and soil was contaminated. The air was heavy with natural gas that was not only highly explosive but also caused such side effects as headaches, nausea, and hallucinations." Thana stopped and took a breath. She had heard things that she did not think she should have while in Newnan. Ash himself had spoken of seeing things that were not there. When the results came in, they made sense to her on many levels. "Soil samples revealed high levels limestone. And examination of the pipes below Newnan that were exposed due to the destruction revealed heavy wear that was brought on by years of use. It was concluded after heavy analysis that the Safezone formerly known as Newnan came to an end because of the limestone below the city finally givin' away. Leaks of natural gas from cracks in pipes caused other issues. The sudden onset of the large sink whole that took the town was inevitable. Even if the world had never incurred a breakout, Newnan would still have fallen to time. The winter storm of 2011 was just a catalyst. It was, for lack of a better term, an act of god. A natural disaster."

Thana paused for a moment before continuing. "There was nothin' that could have been done to prevent or minimize the damage and loss of life that was incurred. This was no one's fault."

Swallowing slightly she turned her attention back to the rest in the room. "Extraction Team 1, alongside Supply Team Alpha, did what they could to put to rest the resident of Newnan that were still trapped." In other words, those that had died and turned were finished off so they would no longer be Walkers. "During the time in and around Newnan and Peachtree City, CMB recovered as many supplies as possible, usin' a Newnan Bugout Map and my personal knowledge. Four bodies were recovered on the second trip to these locations on my request. James Grady, Ryan O'Reily, Gavin Comfort, and Lola Holler. They were laid to rest with honors in the CMB cemetery outside of our walls here and you may visit them at the end of Quarantine if you should wish to pay your respects." While Thalia had to be lead out and back to Conference, Thana would make sure she knew that Lola was close, she figured her friend would want to say good bye to the Crazy Tank Lady. They had seemed close.

Letting out a long breath, Thana sat back down and let that all sink in for now. She couldn't bring Newnan back, or the lives that were lost. No one could. Her eyes trailed over to Ash, she hoped at least now they would get some closure. It was the best she could do for them.

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Tatiana looked over towards Jack and giggled, dancing along with him. He was a goofball and there was nothing that was ever going to change that. Sure he was a bit more, for lack of a better term, dark these days but who wasn't? They all had been through some shit over the past years. Yet, at least now, he was starting to show a bit more of the old Jack that had drawn her to him in the first place, it was his silliness that was a large part of why she had fallen in love with the man in the first place. His ability to smile and just be happy even during the bad times. It seemed naive at first but it was sweet and she came to find out that it was very needed. Sure, if everyone was like Jack people would go nuts, but a person here or there like that was good for everyone.

As Panama came in and called their names, she nodded. She was going to ask Wayne to watch Jamie but it seemed that Jack was ahead of her on this one. Worked for her. She smiled slightly and left with the others and headed over towards Briefing. Taking a seat by Jack and looking up at the front of the room where Thana was. Then came the information dump. That was a lot to take in. A lot. Tatiana heard there was a cost for this but it didn't seem that Thana was telling them they were going to have to pay for this. It did make her feel a bit better that the ones that had died had been put down and that at least some of them were here. A grave was good. It at least gave some people a chance to say goodbye. Three she either didn't know or hadn't bee close to but James. That one hit home. She would go say goodbye to him. Looking out of the corner of her eye towards Ash, she figured he would as well. They had been close, like brothers.

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Wayne let Jamie curl up to him and grinned. "I got the little ass kicker, no worries," he said towards Jack as him and Tatiana left for whatever the hell was going on. He wasn't really thinking if another group would be taken. All these people seemed to have some connection to Thana. He didn't. Other than thinking she was hot when he saw the video tape but after Ash's coming back from his interview, yeah, she was claimed. His head rolled slightly as he looked over towards Hank and shrugged. "Hey, gonna have to teach the kid how to fish," he said with a broad smile. He actually wasn't swatting at anything with Jamie in his lap. Normally he was a lot but when he was focused on the kid, it seemed to go away. Not that his eyes didn't dart to places in the room where no one was but that was about it.

Turning his attention back to Jamie, he watched the kid. Making sure he was in his lap. Jamie was cool just sitting there snuggled up to his Uncle Wayne. It worked for Wayne. He too had been a dad at one point in his life. He knew how to take care of a kid and Jamie seemed to have a calming effect on deranged man. The movie played on and Wayne would sit there pointing things out to him while Jamie babbled and grinned, giggling from time to time. It was odd to see a man who usually ran right into a fight with walkers or off into the woods to have private time being this oddly calm fatherly figure but hey, babies could turn the biggest brutes into babbling morons. Old saying went - If a two year old hands you a toy phone, you say hello! NO matter how badass you were.

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Amelia was really wondering why they had called them, before arriving in the briefing. Ash was already here and so was Beatrice. She also spotted Thana and Gunny, so what was this about? She was curious and slightly concerned as she took herself a seat to listen to the explanation or should she call it briefing nowdays? It was called a briefing room after all and they were located at a mostly military ran location. Anyways, her confusion lasted not too long before the now scarred Thana started her speech.

Parts of the speech were affected her more than others, for example the one about the Eden Squad didn't bring her attention too much, at least until it got to Newnan. From there everything was just a roadtrip down to hell as memories started to resurface once more. She just turned quiet as she was listening to what was being told down to all details. The cause, the effects and the aftermath. It all brought memories that she didn't want to recall, but they were still so livid inside her head. Closing her eyes, she could still hear the rumbling and see the devastation happening before her very eyes. It was overwhelming as she gripped the edges of the chair to the point her knuckles were white, silently trembling in it. Eyes darting about the room, searching for evidence that everything was going to hell yet again. When she closed her eyes, she could almost heard the rumbling happening...

Suddenly Amelia really wanted to get away from the room and hide somewhere or maybe just go in the middle of a fucking grass field instead. The revelation that it was no one's fault made things only worse, because at this point if it truly was an act of god, well... didn't the damn bastard have enough of their suffering already!? Why didn't he just end it all already!? Amelia hide her face in her palms for a moment before she started rubbing her temples. She wished this to end faster as she couldn't help it as all the information given was on a constant playback loop inside her head. The more she tried to not htink the more she brought it to the surface.

Finally the last bit of news just was the drop too much. James was burried around here too, yet another person added to the long list of rare friends that had slipped away and there was no way to avoid it now. She hadn't dared to bring to the surface of her memories him and the others from Newnan, that they lost back then, and yet today they were rudely brought forth in the limelight. She hid her face again for a moment, trembling." Can I... leave... now, please?" In the end she finally asked with trembling voice. She was sure she had gotten over it... she thought so, convinced herself. She didn't think about it... didn't dare think about it, because if she did, she'd have to face it again.

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Alexander was trying to keep out all the various distractions that kept him from focusing completely at the Mel Brooks movie on the TV; Wayne who was for some reason permitted to baby-sit little Jamie of James and Tatiana, Hank who decided to wake up just now, Hunter the young soldier with a troubled mind akin to himself playing pool with Nikki and…oh, who was Alexander fooling? It was difficult for the old veteran to not pay attention to what happened around him, it was an old habit that dragged itself up from the bloody mud in 'Nam and to the conference room of Florida. For an old man though, he was quite good at watchig both the TV and the others.

Manny wasn't sitting with Alexander for this one, so Alexander didn't have anyone else to keep his mind occupied. So he couldn't help but wonder how in the Hell Wayne was able to keep watch over little Jamie, but he didn't object to it. He hated getting involved in matters like that, but more so was what Hank said about being a father. It struck a chord in ol' Alexander, giving the veteran a sad smile that filled his face for a moment as he fell deep into thought.

He wanted to be a dad himself, he really did. Judith wanted too…she had wanted too, but…It was a memory Alexander had repressed for a very long time now, but he held his jaw shut and his tears in check, like so many times before. It pained him, but the pain was nothing new and he had gotten used to repressing it, even before the whole world ended and God decided to make Alexander question everything that was holy.

They had wanted to be parents, both of them…but God was not on their side…and it was hurtful.

Alexander broke his forced stare of the TV, slowly looking up at Wayne and Jamie, both of who were soley invested in the movie, briefly looking over at the screen himself as he forced himself into conversation. "So…how's the little trooper? Okay?"

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Nigel let out a sigh of relief at Erika giving him something to make fun of her with, laughing a little like she did, glad that she didn't take her own person as seriously as he did himself…perhaps Nigel "Hadrian" the neo-roman was as stuck up as Wayne made him out to be? Probably not, but he was glad nonetheless. "I'll try to remember it when the times is right, can't come up with anything right now, sadly…but thanks." Nigel said back to Erika, waiting for her judgement on them possibly joining the two old, 'wise' men of Hank and Wayne for more possible joking around himself.

While he listened to Erika's view on their verdict of whether or not they'd be allowed to stay, and what the deal was with between Hunter and Checkbook. She was right indeed, it would be an interesting match if things played out the way Aphrodite might have wanted it to be. Then again, Hunter had made progress since the first day they arrived at the Camp, and Nigel had slowly grown used to sharing quarters with him. The kid was scared, probably having seen a lot of shit since the wrld ended. Deep in that thought, Nigel almost didn't register the look on Erika's face as he'd nudged her foot back. For a moment he didn't realize what was wrong, but then he did, blushing a little himself and only giving her a brief glance. He tried to say something, but thankfully Erika broke the silence.

"Yeah…thanks, Erika…I'm glad at least one here calls me right…" Nigel thanked Erika, looking back up at her after their foot nudgeing, giving her a quick and playful tap on the shoulder at her last comment. "Hey! Don't you start having any funny ideas, okay? I can give you names too, you know…Officer…Officer Longhair Donuts?" Nigel managed to pull of a joke as he turned his attention towards what he had almost jumped into himself; The movie on the TV and Wayne. He had to admit, he had at first no idea what to make of the scene; Wayne sitting there calmly and collected with Jamie on his lap, keeping watch over the kid and enjoying the movie like…a loving adult? But the more he looked and the more he thought about it, it made more sense.

Wayne, the Calligua of the 21st Century had probably been a dad before Hades and his hordes conqured the living. And Jamie…he was keeping him in check. His madness. No more, if not less swatting around and talking into thin air, Wayne was so focused on little Jamie, it made Wayne more humane…it was really odd, yet beautiful to witness. Perhaps there was hope…"Perhaps there is hope, after all, for us all…? To begin again?"

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As Riley took her seat she leaned back a little bit as she looked over towards Thana as she started to speak, starting the briefing which she still didn't really know what it was for. Mentioning The Eden Squad, which Riley didn't really know other than it was the group to attack Eden while whoever was in Newnan tried to escape. And then started to mention their former home now, as she leaned forward to look at the pictures that were there. Seeing the destruction, Riley closed her eyes remembering that they were just barely out of the walls when everything happened. They were going to the funeral home, and remembered watching her sister Chloe killing herself right in front of her.

Then Thana answered the question what had caused it all in the first place, natural gas and the ground as well which explained the small amount of hallucinations that she experienced. Riley shook her head slightly she didn't like to think that she was slowly loosing her sanity when all that happened. Riley looked towards the others that were in the room, and then towards Amelia seeing that her girlfriend was really uncomfortable with all of the information. Riley reached over and gently rested a hand on Amelia's shoulder to try and comfort her girlfriend as best she could. Riley felt a little bit better that the cause of everything wasn't due to some attack, but still she wished that there was something that they could have done regardless. Though Riley couldn't help but be curious what kind of arrangements, after getting all of this information for them they did spend a lot of time and resources to get some answers.

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Erica looked over towards Wayne as she watched him holding the little baby Jamie in his arms, she was actually surprised that he had pretty much mellowed out after tending to the little guy. She then turned her attention back towards Nigel she smiled slightly and shook her head slightly. "I don't think that one is going to stick, nice try though." Erica said giving him a slight smile as she looked at the rest of the group a little bit more who remained in the room. Seeing the older gentleman named Alexander moving over towards Jamie and smiled a bit. "He seems to be pretty good in Wayne's hands." Erica said

Erica then turned her attention back towards Nigel for a moment, when he asked his question she wasn't sure all safe zones had their problems, other hostile groups or a large walker herd coming through or even mother nature. So far CMB seemed to be doing pretty well for themselves as well, and maybe it would be a chance to start new. "What, are you thinking of settling down and having some little mini Sportucus's running around at some point?" Erica decided to tease him a little bit, though she wasn't sure about restarting they haven't been given the greenlight if they could stay yet or not.

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"Arrangements were made to offset these," speaking about costs for an extensive search. It's what struck Ash first. True, nothing comes free in any world, but survivor recovery? Granted, that might apply if they were part of the Mexico Beach community, which they weren't yet officially and definitely weren't while they were being searched for. Thinking logically on it, the only one who might have given any portion of a rat's ass, let alone enough to make arrangements for incurred expenses, was the only one who knew they were out there: Thana. Depending upon how the local economy worked here, had she just indebted herself to her own people on their behalf? He would have to ask her about it later.

The description of Newnan was a little harder to swallow. He was there. He knew what happened. He got one hell of a view of their home collapsing as he navigated around it in his Hordebuster, sweeping for survivors. He got to see the earth open up and swallow everything they had worked so hard for, bled for, that many of them had died for. The collapse. The fires. I his mind's eye, Ash was back there, observing the hell that was made of it all.

Ash didn't know why he was handed pictures of Newnan, post destruction. Upon being told what it was though, he had to look. It was crushing. This was their home. A dream of Leann's that he fully supported, and later took over. It was doing well, too. Crops coming in, people getting back a piece of what they lost, building new lives. He skimmed through the images quickly, but it was burned into his mind like he spent time memorizing them. Why he passed them on for others to view was beyond him. Maybe they needed closure, too. Newnan was dead. On spark of hope that came from it was the recovery of his engineering notes, and James's agricultural ones. Those were to be the blueprints of a secondary site in case they needed to expand. Or help others to rebuild. Those and the other records were part of the proof that they were a decent, ethical people that tried to help humanity thrive under the most adverse of conditions.

Somehow, hearing the full reason why Newnan fell didn't make him feel much better about it. While learning that there wasn't anything he could have done about it, he didn't assign blame to anyone, including himself. Not for this. What troubled him about it was, for a brief moment, he thought that it might explain away some of the psychological symptoms that he had been afflicted with. The problem was, he wasn't overly sensitive to things like that, and they had been plaguing him for a long while. No, it was still something that would remain with him. The toxic air just exacerbated it for a time. Well, more than ever, Ash knew who he was. Whatever had knocked him off his rocker was tucked firmly away, still part of him but no longer trying to influence. It always was part of him. Realizing that allowed him to overcome it.

The last part was surprisingly relieving to hear, in a bittersweet way. They had recovered and properly interred some of their dead, specifically the ones that had passed outside of Newnan's walls. He had no idea who Lola Holler was, but he knew the others. James. Yeah, when quarantine was over, he was paying his respects. Glancing about the room, Ash note that people were looking at him. Trying to read him still? It didn't matter. He had nothing to hide. His face was, as always, toward the stoic side, though his eyes were red-rimmed and telling of sorrow; not the open grieving of fresh loss, but the memory of a highly cherished what was.

"I would greatly appreciate paying my respects. Thank you." His voice was solid, with weary undertones, like a man placed under the burden of heavy responsibility. Not unlike the officer he once was. "You've done us a great service. I hope that our records can help Camp Mexico Beach thrive. We'll talk about how we can do the same, if you all are willing." Granted, he was still operating under the hope that all of the Newman group was deemed worthy, by whatever litmus test was used to judge them. That was the next hurdle to overcome, and he had a feeling that the results were likewise tucked away in their files already. These people seemed organized. Very.

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Thalia was still leaning against the wall after the others walked past and had their own session in Briefing. She made a decent enough showing of keeping tabs on the people in the Conference Room, but in reality, he mind was buzzing with what she had learned. There was a lot that went right, a lot that went wrong, and a ton of coincidences that brought them in the position they all were in. Part of her wondered what would have happened if she never got a signal on her old company satellite phone a year and a half ago. She might never have known what happened to her family with any certainty, nor her battle-sisters, and she never wold have met these off people that she had been with for a while now. Though Thalia wasn't the overly expressive type, she did sometimes consider telling them that she regarded them highly, both as friends and as being a vital part to her survival strategy. The last part - not as touching. But it was high praise from a woman who was a confirmed survivalist.

Maybe she wouldn't have lost Lola, though. Maybe she stayed with the eccentric Kiwi in her fortress of iron and they cleared the path all the way back to her family's place in Mexico, breaking through whatever trouble others were warned about. A tank was a hell of a force multiplier, this day and age. That was a hard "what if" to deal with. Things were what they were. This was something different than to which she was accustomed, and it was all a little uncomfortable for her still. But she had friends, even if she kept them at a distance, that she wouldn't have ever known if those thins hadn't come to pass. And more was opening up because of it, too.

In truth, Thalia was also a little nervous. What did she have that any of these people could use? She was basically the outdoor equivalent of an assassin. Her foray into Eden taught her a lot about herself and her willingness to take lives. Not just that, but she could still the righteous fire burning in her from all the way back then, knowing that she was killing people who deserved it. She was getting a taste for it. If felt good. It didn't used to, but in her defense she had come across a group that was downright ambitious in their pursuit of human suffering. She killed their leader with all the moral ambiguity of a lady peeling an orange, and felt great afterward. Even took a couple of bullets in trade. There was something inside of her that was way too much like her uncle Caesar. How would that be of use to a military run community? Would she even be able to find a place among these people? how long before she was pining to be back outside of these walls, fire-hardening a freshly cut spear and cooking a feral dog over a firepit? Yeah, and fuck this air conditioning. It made people weak.

No, she promised that she would give this place a chance. She had motivation to do so now. She wouldn't allow herself to get weak. Thalia would train. Harder and longer than ever, until she got her edge honed back, better than before. She could decide what to do from there. For now, she waited. One more day.

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"Well hell yeah, we teach the little guy how to fish." That would mean that they learn all about it before. Now, hunting he could do. Fishing, the more relaxing of the manly, food-producing sports? Nothing beyond putting a line in the water and hoping for the best. But hey, that's why they were there, right? Right! That and the other thing. It was a massive other thing that he was just now contemplating in fullness as he expected to be dead long before getting here, but it counted. The whole "hope for humanity" bent aside, Hank was giving specific notice to the attention Wayne was drawing on account of that little baby boy taking a liking to him. Maybe the baby just had good taste. Or was just as crazy as the rest of them. Back in the day, both of them had their own families. That kind of instinct never goes away. Just like Wayne, Hank was marked by the experience of being a father. Anyone who was would have noticed what was going on. What got Hank was the fact that some of these people seemed surprised.

Hank took a glance back at the other two in their survival party, Nigel and Erica. They hadn't spoken a whole lot since Quarantine began, ad that was easy to figure out. The same stubborn, mildly insane qualities that kept them alive out there were hardly endearing. Now that they didn't have to huddle close to keep from being found and eaten by Assholes, both dead and living, there was little reason to tolerate each other. They weren't going to just evaporate, though. They would be behind the same walls for a while, accident barring an unfortunate death. Might as well extend an olive branch. "Hey there ...ah, Sportacus! Apocalypse Barbie! Why don't you c'mon over here and join us, huh? Can you really say NO to an adorable baby and a Mel Brooks movie? Bring it on in, guys."

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Manny wondered what Thana was talking about when it came to the other survivors. Though he did take note it wasn't all of them, but many of them. He decided not to focus on it too much, if she wanted him to know, she would tell him. Manny found himself a chair and sat down, nothing fancy, but the lack of doing regular jogs and walks was hard on him. He couldn't wait to get out of quarantine. He couldn't wait to go outside and see the sun, he couldn't wait to do something more productive. He couldn't wait until they told them who was going to stay, and who was going to get kicked out. Manny didn't see a reason that he would be kicked out, but he wasn't worried about that to begin with. At this point, he was more worried about this confined space then being outside of the walls of any community.

Even though this place is a lot better then Eden, he was still restricted to a single room that felt more and more crammed every day. The coffee helped, the friendly faces helped, seeing the others here have a good time helped. There were reminders everywhere to show him this place was okay. He had no reason to think otherwise, but he felt like a prisoner. He did his best to hide it, and overall did okay. But the stress of this room was starting to get to him. TO help calm himself down he got up and looked for the book he started on the first day. Sure he read it already, but something seemed better then nothing. No luck though.

Deciding that he needed something to keep his mind occupied, he figured a little mind rotting would be okay. He made his way over to the television and the people by it with a smile on his face. He noticed Alexander there, but he wasn't really sure what to say, or if he should say anything. But he did do a little wave and a smile, before finding a seat in view of television. He could understand why people thought this form of media was entertaining, but Manny rarely found anything he enjoyed on television. It all felt too... easy to consume. Though he did find some elements of it funny. So he gave the TV a point.

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Hunter wished playing pool was as easy and sending hundreds of bullets of many different calibers off at some poor bastard. This, required precision, patience, and to not hit all these balls as hard as he could. Or even hit his own balls as hard as they could. Last thing he needed was to knock them clean off the table. Unfortunately for Hunter, Checkbook was a lot better at hitting her balls then Hunter was. She had one left, plus the eight ball. Thankfully, Hunter wasn't far behind, and was pretty sure he could finish things up without a problem. He lined up his shot, and he would be dammed if he couldn't hit his balls with some harsh skills.

Outside of the realm of pool though, Hunter was enjoying the conversation. "I don't know the book either, a lot of guys in my unit knew the book, and read it. Never did so... Who knows. Maybe Greyjoy is a total epic badass who isn't threatened by death at every corner." He was disappointed about the lack of MREs. He really liked those, mostly because others hated them, but they were cool to Hunter. And Hunter liked the ability to be able to just eat food from a can because It's probably safe to eat like this? as he would eat any and all foods in recent years right from the package. "SO other then guarding assholes like me do you have other jobs you do here?" He asked in a very casual tone.

Hunter hit his shot on the table. A few of his balls went in, and before he knew it, he had only the eight left. He grinned, an evil grin. He lined up his shot and took aim, he would be forced to bounce the ball off the wall to make a corner shot. Not too hard, but something he needed to be careful with none then less. He took his shot, and the white ball bounced missing the 8 entirely. "Mother Fuckbuckets." Precision wasn't a strong skill for Hunter.

Temperature: 83F (28C)
Humidity: High (Around 73%) - No Rain
Wind Speed: 12 MPH (19 KPH)
Cloud Coverage: Overcast

Nikki shrugged a bit as she blew a bubble with her gum and let it pop. Sucking the gum back into her mouth she chewed it a few times as she leaned against the pool table. "Mostly just work in supply with Auntie, when I ain't either skateboarding or swimming," she said as she waited for Hunter to finish up his shots or take the game. As he missed the eight ball she grinned. "Oh you done fucked up now," she giggled as she hopped around. Lining up a shot she put the last of her balls into a pocket before eying the eight ball. Yet she didn't take the shot just yet. She had leaned over and lined it up but stopped before looking up at him. "What am I gonna win if I make this shot?" she asked with a sly grin on her face.

Mizrahi wasn't paying attention to the game. He was just sitting there, having finished his meal and relaxing in a chair as he watched the door. Waiting for the other to return. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on. Thana needed rest but he knew she wasn't going to put anything off that she could go ahead and tend to. It was just how she was. Major stood at the door, watching the group. The Frenchman was still just sitting behind the bookshelf and wanting to be left alone. Things seemed to be pretty calm, even Wayne. The movie looked like it was a good idea for now. Tomorrow they would get the run down of what information they could be given and then final decisions would be made.

Once Thana was finished talking, Gunny nodded towards the group and stood back up. "Panama, go ahead and let them get back to the conference room. Commander, I will need you to review some files and give your opinion on final decisions come morning but do take the rest of the evening off to recoop," he said before holding out his hand and waiting for her to turn over her weapon. "I will have the paperwork delivered tomorrow at 0700 hours." After which Panama lead the group back to the conference room. Holding the door open for them when he got there and waiting for all of them to get back in. Panama would be on the overnight crew today since Major and Nikki had day so he was leaving as soon as everyone was back in conference. Gunny carrying out all the files that had been brought into briefing and returning them to admin until morning.

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Thana looked over to her father and took her side arm, handing it over to him. She was fine with it. She knew she needed to relax a bit and get some rest and some food. She hadn't eaten yet, or in a while. As he told her she would be doing the final review after recommendations were filed she quirked a brow. It made sense, at least in some part. She did know some of these people. Either in passing or having traveled with them for a long time. It would not make sense not to take her opinion into consideration but she knew at the end of the day The General would make the final call. That was how it worked.

Stepping out from behind the table she shook her head towards Ash and leaned in. "Ash, you're a new recruit here and ain't no openin's fer promotions," she said in a whisper where only he could hear her. It was her way of reminding him of the first day in basic training, what happened, what was expected, and more importantly - they weren't needed here, so CMB wouldn't hurt if none of them remained. They had nothing new to offer that this camp didn't already have. Though that should have been clear by now even with the limited amount of the base they had seen. Food was fresh, electricity was there, fuel was enough to do long term runs, clothing was washed daily, in good condition, they had the resources to put people up for a week, enough medical to save her, enough to let her leave to search, to find out what happened to Newnan, to bring back bodies for burial. If anything, it should be more than clear that if the entire group in Quarantine left, the only one affected in CMB would be Thana and that would only be on a personal level. Sure more bodies would be a good thing to keep civilization going but it wasn't needed.

Following Panama, Thana made her way back to the Conference room with the others and looked around. She nodded towards Mizrahi before spotting that most were around the TV. That left another couch open that wasn't near it and she went towards it. Sitting down and letting out a fatigued breath. Looking back towards the door, she watched for Ash, hoping he would just come over and sit down with her. Even if they didn't talk about anything, which honestly she didn't want to do right then after everything, it would just be nice to curl up next to him for a while. There was a tired smile on her lips as she held her hand out him. She wasn't on duty now, so she didn't have to keep distance. No weapon meant she didn't have to have watching the others on her mind. She did need to talk to Thalia about Lola but that could wait a bit. At least until her mind calmed a bit after that large information dump between the two groups.

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Tatiana stood up and stretched a bit. That was a lot to take in but it was over with now. There was nothing to do about the past, one had to keep moving forward and she would. This place was set up and Jamie was well taken care of here. If she got in, she would do what she could to remain, if she didn't she would do what she had to make sure that Jamie stayed. This place was a better chance for her son than out there, even with her. She wondered if this was how women felt who had to give their children up for adoption. When they knew they couldn't give their child the best chance. Some would say that a child is always better with their mother but Tatiana didn't believe that. A child was always better off in a place they could thrive and this place seemed to be it.

Sure a little more structured than she was used to, especially after Newnan, but so what? Sometimes that was how it had to be.
It worked. Though she had to wonder about the cost. Specially what Thana had mentioned. Yet, once again, it wasn't mentioned that anyone there owed anything and the way this place ran and was about thing she was pretty sure that if the costs were being passed down to the former members of Newnan over all they would have been told. No, someone else had to cover the cost, or something else had to. Maybe they got enough from those runs searching to cover them. Maybe Thana was having to pay. Either way, not her problem. It might have been cold but her son was her only true concern. Her husband was second but he was grown man and could survive.

Walking back into Conference room she looked around. She was about to go get Jamie but Jamie was happily watching the movie with Wayne with others and seemed just fine. In fact Wayne seemed to be doing better. Instead she just wandered over to a chair and had a seat, keeping a loose eye on her son but mostly just letting him be with the crazy scary man that seemed to have a soft spot for kids. Hell, the place was peaceful right then, she wasn't going to upset it. She turned her head and noted that Froggy was still just sitting alone. Something was going on, but she wasn't going to get mixed up in it. If he had shit to work out, she would leave him to it. He could talk to her if he wanted but she wasn't opening that door on her own. Not when Quarantine was almost over.

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Wayne looked over towards Alexander and chuckled. "Little Kick Ass here is doing just fucking fine," he said as Jamie stood up in his lap and held onto Wayne's shoulders, bouncing his knees. The kid babbled and laughed, drooling a little. "Shit kid, yer fuckin' teething," he said as he pulled his shirt up and wiped the drool away. "Gonna start biting the shit out of people aren't you?" he chuckled as Jamie blew a raspberry and kept jumping. Kid seemed happy to keep doing that until he finally pulled his knees up and just let the full weight of his body crash into Wayne's crotch. It caused Wayne to grunt, his eyes looking like they were going to pop out of his head. "That's fine kid, not like I'm using them right now anyways," he grunted as Jamie laughed.

Jamie clapped his hands and rested back, yawning slightly. Wayne let out a little sigh and just held the kid, patting him slightly as Jamie finally started to calm down as the others came back into the room. Jamie pulled at Waynes shirt slightly, starting to chew on it but Wayne let him be. Kids put shit in their mouth and a clean t-shirt was nothing to worry about. At least it was soaking up all the drool from the kids mouth. That was a good thing as far as he was concerned. And the kid wasn't crying in pain. Though it did make him wonder just what this place would give a teething kid. Would they have children's pain killer or would they just do what parents did for centuries, rub booze on the gums. Not only did that take away the pain but it knocked the kid out for a few hours so it was win win.