Staff Sergeant Tenoch stood behind his desk, both hands were clenched into fists as he pressed them into the desktop, leaning forward as he regarded the quartet of Landsguard cadets that stood in front of him at crisp attention. "I appreciate the four of you coming to me with this, it's certainly a matter that we need to look into."

The broad-shouldered tonawawta let out a long breath as he considered his options. He could rally a proper Landsguard squadron and send them in, but these cadets were young enough that they might be able to infiltrate the Baron's activities from the inside. They were young and untested, though, could they be counted on to do what was necessary?

Pushing off the desk, Tenoch paced around it with a measured tread. "What I'm about to ask of you is well outside the purview of cadets like yourselves, but I find myself in possession of a unique opportunity given your relative young ages." He leveled his gaze upon the four of them, looking each of them in the eye. To his surprise, not a single one of them averted their gaze, the white-furred xbr'aal, Xochitl, even dared to lift her chin imperiously as if daring the Staff Sergeant to challenge her.  A born leader, that one.

When he was met with no dissent, he nodded. "Excellent. You're to return to quarters and change out of your Landsguard uniforms and into plain clothes. The more destitute-seeming the better." He looked at the four of them in turn once again. "I'm going to ask you to infiltrate the Baron's operations and see just how far his reach extends. He has to be able to hawk all that loot he gets from the children somewhere." Tenoch's jaw clenches slightly. "I have some other things I suspect, but that's not for the ears of raw cadets.  For now, find out what you can and report back by the end of the sennight.  Understood?"

The four of them popped a crisp salute in near-unison. "Yes, Staff Sergeant!"

Tenoch nodded again. "Your leader is Xochitl for this mission." He said, leveling his gaze once more on the tigress. "These recruits are under your command; their safety and well-being are your responsibility. I know what I'm sending you into would strain even the most seasoned veterans under my command. If you feel like you're not up to the task, let me know now and we'll scrub this mission. I'll send in a proper squadron of seasoned Landsguard to clear out the Baron and take custody of the children."

To her credit, Xochitl didn't immediately answer. She instead looked down the line of her fellow recruits. In return, each of them looked at her and, one by one, they gave her their nods of assent. They not only believed themselves capable of this mission, but they believed in her and her leadership. Xochitl gave a small smile of both pride and fondness for these, her friends and comrades. Their permission given, her ears lofted and she returned her regard to the Staff Sergeant, the silver of her eyes hardening to cold steel. "I accept this responsibility, Staff Sergeant, and I will lead my comrades with confidence and conviction."

Giving a grunt of acceptance, Tenoch motioned with a hand toward the door. "Dismissed, recruits.  Xochitl, stay for a moment longer."

Atlan, Pixie, and Iczo all filed out but not before giving Xochitl confident smiles, Atlan daring to give her a thumbs up before disappearing out the door. Xochitl had to suppress the urge to laugh at the blond man's antics. However, she returned her gaze to Tenoch, still standing at stiff attention.

"At ease, cadet." He said, circling back around his desk to settle into the chair there. "Sit." He said, gesturing to one of two arm chairs on her side of the desk. Xochitl obediently sat in one. He let her get comfortable before he continued. "What gets said here doesn't leave this office, understood?"  The tigress nodded, so Tenoch continued. "We've long suspected that there's someone within the Landsguard that's been diverting reports of certain criminal activities, but we've never been able to pin-point who it is. If you see any evidence of this Baron having some connection to someone in the Landsguard, I want you to report that ahead of anything else."

"Yes, Staff Sergeant." She said, brow furrowing, making her look very stern-faced."Do you understand why I'm sending you and your squadron, rather than a group of seasoned guards?" He asked her, he wanted to see how keen her mind was and if she could see and understand what was being asked of her, despite being so young. These young men and women were still in their teens, what he was asking of them was heavy and monumental at so tender an age.

"Yes, Staff Sergeant." She said, folding her hands in her lap. "Because we're teenagers. The children under the Baron's control are all ranging in age from six or seven to somewhere in their teens. We're ideal candidates to infiltrate the Baron's operation and up-end his schemes from the inside." An amused, wry grin crosses her features. "Adults also tend to ignore children and pay little attention to them, take them for granted, so it will be easier for us to snoop around and learn things without drawing a bunch of undue scrutiny."

Tenoch smiled in approval before gesturing with one hand toward the door. "What can you tell me about your squadron?"

The tigress cast a glance over her shoulder before looking back to the Staff Sergeant. "Atlan is a good, affable man. People like him by default, but he has no guile and tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve making him easy to manipulate to the wrong people. Pixie, ah... Tlapixqui, she's both keen of eye and ear, you can't ask for a better long range scout than her, but she can be a bit high-strung and nervous in stressful situations. Izco is street smart and cunning, a better lockpick than most, and able to sneak in and out of a place better than most rats, but he can be a bit combative when given orders. He doesn't like people bossing him around."

Her assessments were clear and concise, listing both perceived strengths and weaknesses for her crew. She'd made no excuses for their shortcomings, merely accepted them. Tenoch could see why the others followed her so willingly. If she made it through her recruitment phase, he'd certainly see if she were interested in the officer track.  Vidraal only knew they could use more decent officers with how much Tural was growing.

Coming back from his ruminations, Tenoch smiled at Xochitl, giving an approving nod. "You have your assignment, Xochitl.  You have the temporary title of Field Commander while on this mission, so you'll report back to me directly and no one else, all right?  A sennight from now, you're to meet me at the Fo'ard Cabins and we'll discuss what you've uncovered then."

Getting to her feet, the xbr'aali woman gave him a sharp salute. "Yes, Staff Sergeant."Tenoch returned the salute. "Carry on, Field Commander."  As Xochitl turned to leave, he called after her. "And good luck."

Putting her hand on the doorknob, she looked back at him with a smile. "I don't need luck, sir.  I have a good squad."  

And with that, she departed.