California was on fire. In other breaking news, water is wet. There were theories and ideas about why that particular fire was burning or why there seemed to be more or worse fires than there used to be. For Ranger, that was beyond the scope of his mission. His focus was on the fire from a near ground level perspective.

Due to the work of Tempest, Haven was welcomed with open arms as an non governmental organization to assist with the disaster response. Haven was able to easily slide themselves into the incident command system flowchart chiefly in operations and logistics. Incident command was still managed by a state employee. Ranger had never worked an operation running on the incident command system of the national response framework, but he had been trained to step in were something truly catastrophic happen.

Ranger pulled the Fordasaurus (an extended cab Ford F650 with a shell over the bed, scissor doors in front, falcon wing doors for the rest of the extended cab, diesel tanks for running boards, lights on top, and ALON windows, and a radio suite to allow communication on any national or local channel whether land, sea, or air) loaded to the brim with gear and equipment into the camp. He had Luke Benson with him. The kid was to hang close to Ranger and assist as needed. The kid had been warned not to overstep or, as a minor, he’d get shipped back to New York.

When the monster of a vehicle stopped Ranger put it in park and turned to the kid in the copilot seat, ”Alright, Luke. First order of business is t’ figure out who’s in charge an’ get an update. Command will be passed t’ me but we need t’ know what’s happenin’ before we can be trusted with decisions."

Opening his door, Ranger jumped out of the urban assault vehicle, ”Our task is t’ keep this camp runnin’ smooth. In a perfect world we’ll manage everythin’ from on site… Y’ ready?” Ranger asked the question before moving around to the rear of the vehicle to slide out an aluminum attache case.

It was an awful lot to take it, and Luke was trying his best not to look shell-shocked or anything.

Signing up for the team had seemed like a great idea. And he didn't really want to go back on that, or anything; the issue of wildfires in California was kind of a big deal since, y'know, lots of people live there and huge parts of it are on fire? Of course, now that he was actually in Cali, it was kind of a rough thing to adapt to.

First off, he'd never been on a plane before, and while it wasn't exactly a passenger plane (oh God that would have been a nightmare), the fact that his teammate(?) got them a ride on a military transport/bomber was...a different experience altogether. Luckily he'd dozed off after about an hour, so it hadn't been the worst thing.

Then there was the 6-hour drive to the scene of the emergency, which had been 'interesting'. The truck had AC thankfully, because the steps between the plane and getting into the vehicle had felt like he'd stepped into Hell. What conversation they shared was basically ground rules and basics. It had repeatedly been made for Luke that he was to follow his superiors and not get into stuff on his own. That was fine, really; he wasn't really feeling any bravado right now.

The majority of the trip was him trying to psych himself up into this. He'd done training and all, and it seemed like things were in control--at least on the leadership level--but it was still kind of nerve-wracking. He was trying to keep himself focused and relaxed, but he was pretty sure Ranger would notice his fur all puffed out in anxiety.

"Gotcha. And following your lead." The situation report first, then they would get to work. Steps helped. Luke hopped down from the huge truck, and immediately the heat hit him, almost literally. Recoiling as he shut the door, Luke winced as his tongue instinctively slipped between his lips. That was probably not going to look too professional, but it wasn't like that was on him.

"Guh..." Luke grinned sheepishly at Ranger. "We don't get weather like this in New England, huh?" The smell of smoke was pretty strong even from here, and he definitely picked up the faint, almost ephemeral sound of the raging flames.

Ranger could tell Luke knew he was in out of his depth. That wasn’t a bad thing at the moment. They lacked intel so caution and inaction were the best options available. Once they were apprised of the situation was when the real test for Luke would be. Acting when the heat and pressure were on.

Luke commented on the ‘weather’, Ranger held out a hand and caught some falling ash on it like it was snow. ”Looks like New York in December t’ me.” Ranger looked at the fiery glow on the horizon, ”If y’ don’t look out yonder.”

That said Ranger shut the back of the Fordasaurus and made his way to the command tent. It looked like it was Desert Storm surplus that when the military was done with they handed off. The used military look of the temporary structure helped the Ranger feel at home as he slid in.

Several tables with screens or computers had been set up. Men and women in uniforms were moving around and attempting to coordinate rescue efforts. The incident command chief was an older man, his uniform indicated he was from the California State Military Reserve. No doubt he was activated in response to the wildfire.

”Colornel.” Ranger called to the man and he turned, ”Michael Hunter, I’m y’r relief.”

The colonel gave Ranger a once over. He did not look impressed. While the colonel was in his ACU camo uniform, Ranger was wearing very tactical or utilitarian clothing. Cargo pants, steel toe boots, and a black short sleeve shirt. He was dressed for work not to look good for some higher authority figure.

“Yes. I was informed you were coming… Sergeant.” The colonel said the last word with a level of disdain which indicated he was not thrilled to have his command taken by some private contractor NCO who was forced to retire. After a sigh he said, “You have my TOC.”

”Thank you, Colonel.” Ranger said as he dropped his attache case down on top of documents on the desk the colonel had been using.

Opening the case revealed a laptop, radio, and a corded phone. Ranger fished for an ethernet cable and plugged it into the laptop. The laptop was hooked into the phone and the radio. It was a system designed to create the most secure possible line of communication. It also had a pair of earpieces. Ranger stuck one in his ear and handed the other to Luke. The earpiece was tailored for Luke’s particular ear needs.

“Alpha team. Omega team is on the ground, but not for long. Temperature is reading 31 Celsius. Beginning appraisal of the westward line. Over.” Tempest ’s voice came over the radio and through the earpieces.

Ranger pulled up a map of the fire, waved over Luke, and replied, ”Roger that Omega. Alpha Team has the keys here at command. Monitoring all channels and changing conditions. Over.”

The computer showed the spread of the fire, prevailing wind patterns, predictions for the spread of the fire and locations of incident relief resources. This included the location of Haven operatives in the field. ”As people report in this map’ll show the location of men and material. Also shows what the fire’s doin’. It does not show civilian locations unless they’re radioed in. We’ll need t’ keep an eye out f’r them headin’ in. When they arrive we’ll need to make sure they receive any medical treatment they need before findin’ them a tent t’ hunker down in.”

Ranger turned to a state guardsman, “Sergeant. I need a map of this camp.” Ranger pointed to one of the screens on a table, ”There.”

“Yes, sir.” Came the reply before a few moments later a map of the camp popped up. It showed where the medical tents, the command tent, and the barracks all were located within the camp.

”Capacity?” Ranger asked and was met with the maximum number of refugees they could handle in the camp and how many had already arrived.

To Luke Ranger said, ”From here on our job is keep this operation runnin’. Sort an’ manage refugees, facilitate lines of communication an’ provide intel to ground crews, an’ be on hand for any major kinks that come up.I’ll need y’ t’ keep track of refugees as they come in. Sergeant… Adams… There will help you. We need counts, injury reports, an’ t’ know if anyone was left behind from their group.”

Okay. This was fine, Luke was fine letting the adults do the talking. That was like ninety percent of his role anyway, right? Ranger's demeanor certainly helped him stay focus, seeing as he clearly knew what to do. Like it was routine, really, and it kind of was, right? California wasn't exactly new to the wildfire situation.

Luke followed Ranger's path, keeping an eye on as much around him as he could. It was slightly cooler out of the direct sun at least, and the smell of the inferno was blocked out a bit too. Luke slipped the earpiece onto his head; he'd used the sort of thing before since it was an adjustment most people didn't have. It had a larger pad that fit over his ear, kind of like a rubber band though not too tight. The bud itself was large and round, and didn't need to be pushed into the canal at all, so it really just sat snugly on his temple.

There seemed to be a lot of duties for him, but he could handle it. "Roger." With a confident reply, Luke turned to the Sergeant. "Okay, are there people coming in right now, or any who need help getting to medical?"

Sergeant Adams looked a little bemused at him, but seemed to snap out of it quickly. He couldn't really blame him, but it felt kind of bad if he held anything up by being so conspicuous. Adams quickly informed him that a team was bringing a large group, 5-6 adults, in, with at least two injured. "Okay, I'll be there in a moment."

After a pause, Luke turned back to Ranger and asked, "So far, so good? I'm off." Then he hurried out of the command, wincing at the renewed sensory onslaught, before following the Sergeant's lead through the camp.

The idea of someone as young as Luke in the command tent seemed to give several of the personnel present pause. Nothing that caused issue, just a moment to think about the absurdity of the situation before moving on. Sergeant Adams was the most noticeable as she was interacting directly with Luke.

Sergeant Adams informed Luke of a large group that was incoming. Luke told her he would be along and then turned to Ranger and said, “So far, so good? I'm off.”

Ranger gave a thumbs up but kept his eyes on a monitor showing the location of assets and the progression of the fire. ”Y’ got this, kid.” Ranger punctuated the statement with a quick glance with a smile to Luke.

”What birds’re ready f’r flight?” Ranger asked.

A lieutenant at a computer began reading off air assets that were mission ready. A few helos, a few smaller planes, several larger aircraft, and two retired and refit bombers.

”How long t’ fill up the 747s?” Ranger asked, looking at the staggering nearly 20,000 gallon capacity.

“Thirty minutes. But they can fly so many times before they have to undergo maintenance.”

Nodding Ranger looked again to the map of the fire. The airpower seemed impressive, but several planes dropping 20,000 gallons of fire retardant would only minimize damage, at best help steer the fire.

”Keep deployin’ the birds as yall have been. Hold back one DC-10 an’ two helos. They’re now our rescue service. Deploy them as needed to provide cover or escape f’r those caught in a bad position.”

The lieutenant made a call on the radio, while talking the pointed to their monitor indicating the tail numbers for the aircraft that were now dedicated rescue aircraft.

A call came over Ranger’s earpiece and he touched it to hear better, "Alpha Team, this is Omega. We're on schedule. Could you see if we have someone available for animal control? Maybe the authorities already have people on it, but if we have someone with powers to help, it would be great. Ask the X's too. Over."

”Omega, this is Alpha. Animals are aggressive or need rescue? Over.” It was an important distinction. Aggressive animals could be more swiftly dealt with. Animals needing rescue meant possibly allocating resources. The first case would require action but minimal the second would require more resources but would be secondary.

Ranger then spoke to Luke. ”Be advised, we might have another job. Stay on task f’r now. Confirming details.”

((Svetlana Sergeyeva ))

The call had come in not a moment too soon, it seemed, since by the time Luke had gotten to the entrance a group of people arrived. If he had to guess, they looked related so it was probably a family thing, though his usual scent ability was so overwhelmed with smoke he couldn't really know.

The half-dozen group, four women and two men, were dusted with ash and mud. Two of the women were obviously hurt; one had bloody gashes across her body, and was barely supporting herself, leaning heavily on one man. The other was limping and had a stab-like wound in her thigh, but wasn't as worse for wear.

Several of the other base camp staff rushed in, getting to the uninjured folks to account for them. Luke moved quickly to the pair of injured women. The man holding up his wife(?) was almost as tall as Luke and much wider, dwarfing the tiny, middle-aged woman he held. As Luke approached, the man finished giving his name to the responder, then regarded Luke with a suspicious gaze. "Medical is this way, do you need help getting over there?"

"I got her, it's alright." His tone and words weren't hostile, but his expression was. Luke couldn't really blame him, in fairness; sure, it sucked getting that look, but in these circumstances it was probably hard to give someone into a stranger's care at all. And at least the man didn't seem to have trouble keeping her up, and she didn't look so seriously hurt that it was a code-red crisis or anything.

The other woman, who was short-haired and athletic in build, nodded wearily at him. "I'd be glad to." She exchanged a glance with one of the men, who looked to Luke and nodded. "Okay, let me-" Before he could say more, the woman half-jumped and half-fell onto him, hugging him like a sloth. She wasn't heavy, so even by surprise he had little trouble staying upright.

"Oh, okay. That's fine. Let's go." Luke was caught a little off-guard by the sudden intimacy, and he suppressed the instinct to drop her at the sudden discomfort. She laughed quietly, and since her grip across his shoulders was pretty tight, he just lightly held her from behind, careful not to put his claws near the tears in her shirt.

They were definitely a bit of a strange sight, but at the very least he could hustle to the medics without too much issue. Carefully setting her onto one of the cots and helping adjust her leg into a supported spot, Luke exchanged a weak smile with the woman, who was chuckling quietly. She was clearly coming down from an adrenaline rush, but seemed lucid enough, so he left her feeling pretty confident in her well-being.

The other man arrived with his wife(?) moments later, though he seemed far less stable once she was off him. "Well done." Luke said to him at the opening of the tent. The man looked a little surprised and confused, but nodded weakly in response.

Just as he stepped out of the tent, Ranger's voice came clearly into his ear. "Okay, that last group's safe and sound. Keep me posted." He replied. He was feeling better now; nerves were dwindling as he found his confidence a bit more. So far so good!