Aftermath(SHIELD)

[Sage]

Having moved to the main bridge of the Helicarrier after receiving word of the rogue mutants and sending her super powered team off to deal with it, Sage watched as the scenario got worse by the second. The only ones that seemed to be doing their job effectively were Black Widow and Spider-Girl, they had been left in charge of evacuating the civilians within the danger zone as quickly as possible and they certainly were managing that. Zephyr, Dryad and Demon's performance however was poor to say the least.

Rushing in and confronting the mutant causing the most destruction, trying to talk them down and reason with them, wasting valuable time a bad move indeed. Demon and Zephyr should have known better, Zephyr from his basic training and Demon from his training with the X-Men. Dryad of course had done what she did best and dealt with the magma flow using her own connection to the natural forces however by pitting her against the energy user they had just proven that no matter what training they had had, they still needed more in order to function properly as a team.

Finally when the magma wielding mutant was taken out, Sage turned momentarily from the screens to send a few protocols threw the Helicarrier's systems preparing a room aboard the craft for the girl where she would be facilitated until such a time as she had deemed what the best course of action would be. However when she heard Demons words she turned abruptly to stare at the screens once more taking in the new sight that presented itself. Of course she had expected some rebellion when the boy found out who the mutant he had been sent to take out was but as a SHIELD agent he had to learn to put personal feelings aside when the safety of others was at risk.

The appearance of Magneto, Emma Frost and Gambit onto the scene caused her to frown and she watched as they took the girl claiming it as their right. Enough was enough, words definitely would be had with the new leader of the Xavier Institute but for now she had other matters to attend to. Turning to the nearest agent she spoke quickly with an air of disdain. "Get the area cleaned up, any problems and i will be in my office" She turned and left the bridge making the short journey back to her office where while she paced she sent a message to her super powered team over their comms. "Team return to base, Dryad, Zephyr and Demon report to my office immediately" Satisfied that they would not be long in their return she finally stopped pacing and took a seat behind her desk waiting for the agents to return and face her.

[Zephyr - Adam Westin]

Zephyr swept in over the Helicarrier's deck and dropped Dryad off, then dispersed the sphere of air around him and dropped down to the deck as well, pushing a hand back through his hair and shaking his head a little bit. "Where the hell do those assholes get off, anyway?" he said, walking angrily towards the lift, pulling his gloves off as he did. "If they wanted her back, I would have understood their jumping in, instead the bastards sit and let us do all the dirty work, then swoop in and act like THEY have the moral high ground! Emma Frost could have put her out like a light and not even have had to worry about the heat." And without killing her, too. He walked into the lift and leaned against the back wall, fuming. He could have hit her with a high pressure blast, or just gone ahead and cut off her oxygen entirely... instead he'd tried to let Demon calm her down, and THAT had gone spectacularly, hadn't it?

"They were just trying to help her..." Dryad said, her voice soft as usual, but Zephyr shook his head.

"Even if they were, my point still stands. The op was screwed hard enough when she started going nuclear, now we don't even have her in custody. You know damn well Sage is going to say we should have hit her hard and fast, and she's right. The other guy wasn't even a threat next to her, and we wasted too much time." He hit his head against the back of the elevator, closing his eyes and swearing under his breath. As first ops went, he wasn't sure how things could have gone worse. Dryad had repaired a lot of the landscape damage before they left, but other than that...

Dryad put her hand on his shoulder, frowning a little, and glanced to Demon. "You know she was-"

"Doesn't matter." Zephyr said, opening his eyes and looking over at Demon, just managing to stay the calm side of pissed off at the other member of the team. "What matters is how it turned out. FUBAR." He sighed slightly, and banged his head against the wall again. This day was really starting to suck.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

Damien ignored Zephyr’s reproachful looks and obviously guardedly polite words. He kept his eyes down cast, not in meekness or even defiance but in contemplation on what had occurred. He wondered how Amara had come to be in that situation. Why had she been in that diner alone? Why had she let that idiot bigot mutant get under her skin so much that she lost control and went into literal meltdown?

Why had she not contacted him?

He only looked up and nodded to Dryad who seemed, out of anyone, to understand why he did what he did. Yet even now he had to wonder if giving her back to the X-Men, to Magneto most especially was the right thing to do. But what he knew so far about Sage, at that moment in time, the former mutant terrorist seemed the lesser of two evils and the safer choice for his beloved.

As the elevator opened the brooding, demonic mutant had to smirk at the armored guards waiting to escort them to Sage’s office. In point of fact he was utterly sure that they were here for him rather than his teammates. No this was not his vanity but he was, if out of control, the most dangerous out of all of them and it was he who had given Amara back to the X-Men. He probably had a lot to answer for and a hell of a lot more to lose. “Aye gentlemen, are ye going to read me my rights?” He quipped despite not being in the best of moods. The grounds said nothing however and only stepped aside for those in the elevator.

“They hate you… all of you. To them you are just freaks assigned by another freak to take their jobs.” The voiced of Legion inside roared with sadistic laughter. “You are what they are trained to stop. Superhuman threats… You and your partners and most especially Tessa… They hate you for what you are.”

These statements made Damien grimace more for her knew that for some of these humans it was true. Some agents within SHIELD did despise he and his new team as mutants and freaks looking to take human jobs. They most especially hated Sage for it was she who had killed Nick Fury, SHIELDs longest running and most respected Director to date. Damien did not know who many knew this though. He only knew it was Sage, or rather Diana Fox, her alter ego, who had brutally murdered Fury some time during the Alien War, because of Legions recent attack on her. Doubtless Black Widow knew and other higher ups in the organization but was it common knowledge beyond that? He could not say but he had looked into the dreams of several of these men and women he would be working with and he knew through this mutant power that there was hatred in some of their minds and hearts.

Damien continued down the halls following the guard until they reached Sage’s office. “Inside, the Director is waiting.” The lead guard gruffly spoke which caused the young man to smirk again as the thought; Of course she would be waiting in her den like a hungry scorpion waiting for its prey. He moved past his teammates, he would be the first to go in, the first to confront Sage. He would look into those disdainful eyes and let her look back in his.

[Green Goblin - Norman Osborn]

Norman Osborn had been immediately alerted to the mutant altercation in the city and as Director of Superhuman and Mutant affairs it was his responsibility to investigate an act accordingly. He arrived at the Hellicarrier in moments of calling Oscorp personal chopper and had made it clear his presence was not to be alerted to Sage until he saw fit.

On board he had watched the altercation between the SHIELD team and the rogue mutants which resulted in the destruction of several city blocks. To say the least he was not impressed with the way the new team had composed themselves but their blundering in this battle could not have gone better were he to have planned any of this. Indeed this whole situation was going to ensure a large amount of support for the new Sentinel program he was now heading. The X-Men’s last minute involvement was the icing on the cake. The picture he would publicly paint… he would soon be in complete control.

When all was said and done he made his way to Sage’s office and made his presence known. Sage was, as he expected, not pleased to see him to say the least but his position afforded him much say in the running of SHIELD and that included being present at times like these and if he wished taking part in interrogations and debriefings.

First it was Black Widow and Spider-Girl who sat before them and explained, in their own words, what had happened during this operation. Natasha only condemning them for being amateurs but praising for doing the best they could being thrown into a situation far over their heads. However it was Spider-Girls debriefing he took much pleasure in. Watching her squirm was a secret delight to the sadistic man. It was the fact that he had been the one to commission her very creation, a fact she seemed completely unaware of, that made it all the more sweeter to barrage her with questions as to her credibility and that of her team. It had been he several years before the rise of the New World Order, before the Alien War that he had contacted the Jackal and taken him under his employ. The Jackal never truly knowing that it was he all along who had killed his beloved Gwen Stacy. He had commissioned him to try and create another clone, one made from the genes of not only Peter Parker but the other spider heroes as well, including copying the Venom symbiote for an even more lethal tool. He had watched her creation from the shadows, he had made sure to have a part in her development and mental training and when she had escaped not too long ago he had been irate at losing a perfect tool against his most hated foe. That was until she resurfaced as a so called hero and member of SHIELD. Now she was, more or less, back in his control and his plans for this clone would come about I a timely manner… that was after all of this was finished.

It did not go past his notice as the lethal claws emerged on the young heroines fingers, this made Norman smirk more as he pressed her with more questions concerning the operation. It was only as the doors to Sage’s office opened and the other members of this team entered did he once again compose himself, moving behind Sage to allow her the chance to address her subordinates first.

[Spider-Girl - Reilly J. Parker]

Spider-Girl stood within Sages office as the door opened and her team entered. She had arrived ahead of the rest of them on a hover transport and had been immediately debriefed by Sage and Norman Osborn who stood also in the room. The fact alone that the bastard was there and she had to answer to him stirred up pure hatred inside he, only apparent the razor like claws, akin to Venom and Carnage, which had formed at the tips of her fingers. She had done her best throughout the whole debriefing to not only defend her team but also keep control of herself, the symbiotic costume and not lunge at the evil man which had caused the Parkers so, so much pain.

“Hey guys…” She sighed as they entered then looked to Sage ignoring Osborn’s presence. “Director I would like to stay and stand by my team. If there is to be any punishment I will take it with them. As I believe, that is what it means to be a team.” She stood and moved beside Damien and Zephyr, lightly patting their shoulders, making sure not to cut them with the claws on her fingers.

“Dah, that is what a team is…” The voice of the Black Widow piped up from the corner where she leaned against the wall, her arms folded over her chest. “Even our esteemed Director has assuredly not forgotten what team means?” Natasha quipped with a sly smirk directed at Sage before standing straight and moving beside the others. Though she did not agree with most of her subordinates actions the former Russian assassin turned hero did agree that a team stood or fell together.

[Sage]

Sage had been irked to say the least the moment Osborn had arrived on the Hellicarrier. Despite his best efforts to remain anonyms she had detected his presence through her near constant technopathic connection with the carrier. It grated on her nerves knowing he would be involved in this whole mess and she could do nothing to stop him.
Sage was sitting behind her desk having only finished the debriefing of Black Widow and Spider-Girl as the rest of the team entered her office. She waited until each and every one of them were seated in front of her before sending a message through her glasses and pulling up holographic screens in front of her and replaying the scenario that they had just dealt with. "Now before I even begin can any of you tell me what is wrong with this" she asked clasping her hands as her eyes shifted between the three of them.

Hopefully none of them would have a smart ass comment for her but given that they were about to be blasted unless she got some decent answers she had a feeling there would be. "Can anyone tell me why they forgot their basic training or perhaps more importantly common sense?"

[Zephyr - Adam Westin]

Zephyr smirked slightly as the doors opened, and Demon made his comment about being read his rights. He was pissed, sure, but Zephyr wasn't the sort to stay pissed, and Demon wasn't a bad sort... just a little emo, perhaps, and a bit overly serious when it came to a certain fire-wielding mutant who might just have cost them all their jobs. "Only thing any of us are gettin' read is the riot act." he said, mimicking Damion's accent exactly as he followed the man out, and Dryad hid a very small smile as she followed him.

Hell with it - if they were walking into a minefield here, at least none of them would be the only one.

"Hey, Spidey-Girl." he said as he walked in and she greeted them, then he stepped into his position at the line with Demon and Dryad - then Black Widow and Spider Girl joined a moment later. He smiled, almost imperceptibly, at the show of solidarity, but only for a fraction of a second. He even managed to hide his reaction to Osborn's presence... it wasn't the first time since he'd joined SHIELD that the man had inserted himself where he was manifestly unwelcome, so he was less surprised by it than he might have been... every other time had also been at the scene of a screwup. This just happened to be the first time it had been HIS screwup, and he didn't look forward to hearing the man's lecture on the subject. Sage was one thing. The instructors at the academy had been one thing. Being lectured by some asshole bureaucrat with hair that looked like it belonged on a petri dish was quite another thing. He - like most of SHIELD - was not cleared to know about Osborn's history as a villain... or he would have been even more pissed off.

As it was, though, he could practically feel the waves of pure hatred coming off Spider Girl, especially when she touched him, and a harsh debrief simply didn't explain that. He didn't know why she hated him so much, but considering she was probably his favorite teammate at this point - other than his sister - and generally a pretty alright gal, that was all he needed to know to decide he could safely hate the sonofabitch, too.

Plus, he could tell Sage didn't like him either. And when you could tell cold-as-ice Boss Lady didn't like a person either... well she REALLY didn't like that person.

He lifted his eyes and watched the holos until Sage asked her question, and he looked over to her. "Maam, we thought Target Two could be subdued nonviolently once Target One was down... we were incorrect, Maam." No point going over the point that Demon had wanted the chance to try and calm her down... instead seeing him had only made her worse. Still, he wasn't about to throw Demon under the bus about it, pissed off as he might be about the outcome.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

Damien said nothing at first, he only stared in the cool eyes of Sage. Her question however, was not lost on him. Demon had recapped the event in his own mind several times and on him the blame did truly rest even if the others would not yet say.

Well he would say for he would not let his team suffer needless reprimandation at his expense.

"Article 363 of the SHIELD mandate states and I quote: I'm highly dangerous situations which, involves potential friendlies, SHIELD agents are to take stalk of the situation and if determined possible and safe, make contact with said friendlies and aid if needed." He paused a minute to move his eyes between Sage and Osborn before continuing. "This is a slightly outdated rule placed down back in the 60s by your own predecessor, Nick Fury, but is still a rule and has yet to be amended. I made the call not to attack the subject Amara Aquila for this reason despite her being the more dangerous of the two. My familiarity with the subject led me to believe that when the second target was neutralized I would have been able to talk her down peacefully."

Again he paused then looked to his team and sighed. "I was obviously wrong and for that much damage was caused. But it was my call and it is I who will take full responsibility for what transpired. I request that you do not punish or reprimand the rest of the team in any way. They only did as i asked, they gave me the chance to try and make contact with her as per article 363 and seek a peaceful resolution."

[Green Goblin - Norman Osborn]

Osborn almost laughed out loud at the young mutant’s selfless little speech. The little man wanted to play hero and yet from reading the file on the boy he seemed rather more the perfect candidate as a pawn in the game so to speak. Possessed by demons, a bona fide killer and a specially trained X-Men member to boot… then again they were all very good prospects and he had every intention of capitalizing on them when the time was right.

“That is all well and good young man but there us no I in Team… and as for this old directive, you are right, in this day and age it is outdated and a team such as yours should and does know better then follow it or hide behind it in situations such as these.” He crossed his arms as he stood behind Sage and looked at the holographic screens change every few minutes. “As you can see here there has been a significant damage to property both civil and city thanks to your sloppy actions. Now yes I will give you that the loss of life was considerably low, that I am told is in part to Agent Black Widow and Agent Spider-Girl, but there was some. Perhaps unavoidable… perhaps not were you all to have acted correctly considering the extremely dangerous ad volatile nature of the situation.”

Slowly Osborn stepped around Sage and leaned against the side of her desk making sure that both she and these agents knew who was in charge here. “You have not only cost the funding for superhuman affairs a great deal of money to repair the damage to the city and compensate all those affected with your blundering you have embarrassed SHIELD with your inept antics. Let me make one thing clear… You are not heroes; you are not classified as superheroes like the Avengers. You are SHIELD agents and there for you have even stricter rules and guidelines to follow then those classified as Heroes under the Superhuman Registration Act. You not only represent SHIELD you represent the UN and all the countries affiliated with it. Now, knowing that how does your poor showing today make each and every one of those world leaders, who have put their trust in this originally strictly American organization look?”

He took this moment to pause and look in the eyes of each member of this team. Yes he was blowing this way out of proportion, he knew it. It was his plan. The more pressure he put on them… the worse he made this, the harder on Sage it became and more under his thumb she was forced and with her SHIELD. Yes she answered to him as her superior at the moment but she still had the majority say in the running of SHIELD itself however the worse job she did the more he could dictate policy and there for the more control he had over her and the organization as a whole.

Not to mention the pleasure he took from watching her and the rest of them squirm…

“Things have changed, ladies and gentlemen, from the by gone days when Super Powered Individuals answered to no one and when SHIELD was strictly a top secret American organization. Please keep that in mind…” He now stopped and turned to Sage, motioning for her to carry on, knowing it would infuriate her even more as he showed off his power over her so blatantly. She would never show it nor admit it but he knew the woman well enough…

[Spider-Girl - Reilly J. Parker]

Spider-Girl said nothing as she stood there slightly in awe that Damien, who though a hottie, had seemed to date the least likely to of the team to do something so selfless, put his own ass and career on the line in order to defend the rest of them. Even if what he said was true it was shocking to say the least. She who , as of yet, was not in trouble was more than happy to stand by her team especially with Norman Osborn blowing this whole situation out of proportion and proverbially breathing down the Directors neck.

[Sage]

Having asked only the most basic of questions, Sage sat back in her chair her hands still clasped to await the teams answers. However rather than answering as a collective, she received a poor answer from Zephyr followed by a slightly more detailed response from Macleod. She was not surprised at all with the way he assumed full responsibility for what happened however they would all learn what it meant to be part of a team and not sole agents working as individuals.

Now him quoting an outdated article in the SHIELD mandate did not faze her in the slightest because although outdated it could still be used even if she wasn't willing to accept it as an excuse for the poor execution of the mission they had been tasked with. No matter how they presented their excuses they had let the situation spiral out of control for a lengthy period of time allowing for extensive damage to be done to New York.

She was just about to open her mouth and respond to the excuses given to her when Osborn stepped in and added his own two cents about the team and how they had handled things. Needless to say it left her less than impressed however she waited until he had finished addressing them clearing her throat, her lips pursed tightly. Her expression showing for once how she felt at that moment in time.

She turned her head to glare at Osborn as she spoke "I tolerate you aboard the Helicarrier because you are the director of superhuman affairs and i have no choice in that matter, i even tolerate you being here in a meeting that you were not invited to BUT i will not tolerate you talking to my employees like that, I am director of SHIELD not you so sit your ass down and shut up do you understand me the venom in her voice was clear for all in the room to hear.

Before even waiting on a response from Osborn she turned back to face the others, her expression becoming neutral once more as she unclasped her hands and placed them flat on the desk in front of her. "As you all should remember I told you to deal with the situation promptly to minimize both casualties and damages, however because of the choice you all made to follow the bad judgment of one person in the team, the damage to that area of New York was extensive and the reparation costs will be high..." she paused for a moment to look at each member of the team before continuing.

"Not only that but you also failed to allow the main perpetrator to be brought into custody in order for me to deal with her, instead firstly you blocked the other agents from taking control of her and transporting her back here like i had ordered and then secondly by handing her over to the X-Men, Do any of you wish to explain what you were thinking when you disobeyed a direct order from me?"

[NPC]

Though the team of SHIELD agents were about to reply to the accusations presented before them they were, for the moment, saved by the preverbal bell as one of Sages many inter-carrier communication links sounded a soft yet annoying alarm indicating an emergency transmission.

On the other end as the holo-screen projected one of the numerous communications officers sat with a slighting nervous expression on his face. This man knew what I meant to disturb the current director when she was busy whether it was important or not. Never the less the standing order was if it was earth shattering to contact her at once no matter what. He considered this one of those times.

“Ma’am, Commander Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. on board the Peak space station is wishing to make contact with you. She says it is a Level Red emergency.” His voice was a bit shaky for a Level Red was the highest emergency code S.W.O.R.D. used. It meant a threat to the entire planet was possibly in the works.

[Green Goblin - Norman Osborn]

Osborn only smirked at Sage’s outburst towards him. Things were going as planned for her and this was just one of the few signs. Her mental faculties were wearing thin, she was losing her cool more and more. The more he pushed her, the more strenuous situations she was put under, the closer she was to cracking…

At the sound of the communications officers voice however Norman Osborn was shaken from his musings. S.W.O.R.D., another branch of this worlds defense he had some sway over, though because it dealt more with interstellar threats and was based off world, it had yet to feel his presence or had much contact with him for that matter being stationed in orbit.

That would all change soon…

“Communications officer, this is Norman Osborn, Director for the Commission of Superhuman Affairs and your superior’s superior…” Osborn emphasized the last part and turned to glare at Sage as if to accentuate the point and also warn her to keep her mouth shut. Her disrespect would only go so far with him. “Open up the communications array and establish contact with the Peak installation. Make Contact with Commander Brand and patch video and audio to this room. Also make sure that the channel is secure.”

Osborn paused as there was silence from the Communications Officer. The man on the bridge did not know what to do. He knew Norman Osborn’s position and that his Authority in many things outweighed the Director’s, yet he was unsure if this was one of those times.

“Do as you’re ordered boy or find yourself scrubbing every toilet on this flying behemoth.” Osborn growled and then turned to Sage. “I want to hear what Commander Brand has to say. It must be important if she is using that code.” He then looked to the team who sat before them. “This could be important, they will stay.” He looked among them slowly and then pointed to the two young men who had thus far been somewhat outspoken. “You two… and Miss Romanova, please stand forward with your Director and I as we address the leader of S.W.O.R.D., S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s sister group.” He called forward Black Widow, Zephyr and Demon as he then turned to the holoprojection which had suddenly appeared over Sage's desk.

[Sage]

Instead of responding to Osborns comments and shooting him down once more Sage remained silent instead waiting for the link to be established between them and SWORD before addressing their commander. “Abigail this is Sage we received your code red and are responding what is the nature of the alert” She spoke in a calm tone showing no hint of her annoyance at Osborn.

"Code red was used because we have spotted Galactus on a direct trajectory towards earth, as you will be aware there is nothing we can do to slow him down or stop him" Brand replied in her usual matter of fact tone the only difference today was the fact that there was also a hint of urgency hidden in underlying tones.

“I see, well I shall contact the Fantastic Four and get them in on this operation as they are the only group to ever have had any success in turning Galactus from our world before but rest assured we will be prepared for his arrival and will keep things under control on the ground level, I will send my best teams to reasure civilians and stop rioting” Now this was a serious concern and made the damage that the mutant girl had caused seem like a minor issue in comparison. Her brow creased slightly as she started to send communications to various teams aboard the Helicarrier to assemble ready to be dropped depending on the location Brand specified as the most likely point of contact.

“Where can we expect Galactus' presence to reside over?” she asked awaiting an answer, at this point she could not let on about her knowledge of the Nullifier although she strongly suspected that this was the reason for Galactus approaching Earth and if that were so she only hoped that Magneto and Ironman had already taken the steps he had mentioned to procure the item so it could be sent off world and divert the end of their world by the devouring entity.

"Judging by the trajectory of his approach we suspect that he will remain above Muir Island, United Kingdom, Intentions are unknown but we can only assume as per last time he approached earth that his purpose is once again to devour our world" Brands answer was brief but again to the point just the way it needed to be given the fact that they know had to cross an ocean to get to their destination, not that it was a problem for the Helicarrier, although given the speed at which Galactus approached the last time she could tell that there was little time to prepare.

“Thank you Commander Brand, communication cease” Sage spoke quickly while sending orders to the bridge to plot a course for Muir Island, no she wouldn't just send in her best teams, she would be there in person to witness as events unfolded. Before turning back to the others in the room however she sent a message to the Fantastic Four alerting them and requesting that they rendezvous on Muir Island with a plan in mind as to how to turn the devourer once more from their world.

[Damien MacLeod - Demon]

Damien was utterly shocked at this turn of events. First they were being reamed out for conducting a mission somewhat poorly and now SHIELD was on alert for an impending attack by the planet devouring Galactus. This was just one fucked up day with one fucked up situation after another.

“We can destroy him Damien; we are infinitely more powerful than Galactus. Just give in, let us out and we will end this threat.” The voices of Legion roared in the young mutants head which made him grimace darkly. The infernal creatures were tempting him. They wanted out. They wanted release and complete control of his being again. They would use the noblest of promises like this to tempt the youth yet he was determined not to budge. “Come now Damien, think of it… you would be praised as the savior of the universe. Countless millions would own their very existence to you. They would worship us…” That was it wasn’t it. They wanted to be worshiped, their power increased by those who would give of themselves freely. The claws of the demons, unseen by others, clawed at his mind like white fire and almost caused him to fall to his knees in the immense pain. “No…” He whispered hoping none would take notices as he regained his footing then again became mute and stared at the holographic displays transmitted by SWORD. The Ravager of Planets was coming… ever steadily… His Star Sphere could already be seen by the advanced sensors of the SWORD insulation.

That in mind something had to be done and SHIELD had to be involved. Damien was relieved when Sage had ordered the Hellecarrier to Muir Island but as big and fast as the carrier was a small team on a hyper-jet transport could reach the engagement zone far quicker. “Director, if I may be so bold as to suggest that our team also be dispatched to Muir Island to aid the Fantastic Four if needed or at the very least help in the evacuation of the islands slam civilian population.”

Damien spoke with a respect he did not often afford Sage due to his sheer contempt of her and how she had thus far manipulated him to her own ends. But he knew that in a situation like this a clear chain of command was necessary and time was of the essence.