It's not easy being team leader

[empress_without_a_throne]

[The stuff with Ken's fistfight and the discussion that followed has left Mizuki with some things to seriously mull over as she walks the halls of the Sakihama base.  Her DEEP IN THOUGHT look's only undermined by the cup of some... thing in a salty broth she's occasionally slurping.]

... Director, I hope you know what you're doing, sending him here when he's like this.  Then again...



Beggars can't be choosers, can they?  Just hope he gets his head on straight, for everyone's sake.

Comments

[ugyuuya]

[Entering the room and getting the bottle of tea and one of water Vincent turns back to Mizuki handing her the latter.]

Yeah, he's a good kid but the whole family mess really left a chip on his shoulder and a feeling that he's got to prove himself to everyone, and the same can be said for Ken.

I'll tell you a bit about Yuuya and you can compare it to Ken in your head and tell me how alike they are.

Yuuya's father left before he was born so his mother had to live with her father who was a very close minded angry old man who hated the Japanese more than anything. Yuuya grew up with constant arguments between his mother and grandfather and the area of the country he lived was pretty insulated from overseas influences so tended to shun outsiders as they called them. Yuuya lied to enter basic at 17 without his mother's approval and graduated the TSF schools when he was 18. The next year his mother passed away and he when he came back from leave he was a man possessed. After a few months of that there was an accident which killed the Lieutenant of his test flight. Yuuya was cleared but still felt it was his fault and left the test unit he was in and was reassigned to Yuukon Base. After a few weeks there the Unity Group started up and our flight was brought here where after a simulated test flight and argument with the lead developer where she belittled his piloting skills Yuuya met Ken.

It wasn't really a good situation to walk in to and, while Yuuya didn't throw the first punch, he's just about as guilty for starting that fight which is why Lt. Takamura interceded on his behalf and this wasn't escalated to an official reprimand. She's not happy mind you but she understands and Yuuya got a pretty impressive ass-chewing out of it himself.

[empress_without_a_throne]

So two teenagers with troubled childhood, a need to prove something, and hair triggers...

Wonderful.

[ugyuuya]

Well Yuuya's 20 now, the inquiry took a while to complete to clear him in the accident. Thankfully the events leading up to coming here and his time with the Argos flight have matured him a bit and he's not so bad as he used to be. Before he got into a fist fight with one of his old squadmates Leon where he threw the first punch because they're both Japanese-American and Leon corrected Yuuya on the omission.

The real problem is that if someone starts something he's too stubborn to really let it go but if that were an offense that would disqualify from service Lt. Takamura wouldn't be around either. I doubt he'll start anything else with Ken though because he lost that fight rather badly and was in an armored pilot suit when it started.

Also there's a saying what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If they do manage to patch up their relationship it may just be a good thing for both of them in the long run given how similar their issues seem.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Here's hoping they do. From what I've seen, teamwork is critical for TSF squads, and Sara and I can't afford to waste time restraining Ken every time he lets his attitude get the better of him.

... There wouldn't by any chance be some team-building exercises you could pass along, would there?

[ugyuuya]

Well we don't really have time to run Ken through basic and the TSF schools, not that they'd really be that necessary for him. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to put him on a team with Yuuya in a training exercise. It's a controlled environment so they'll have a distraction to keep them from fighting each other and it will let them show of their piloting skills and personalities. Yuuya's not fully up to speed with the XFJ-01 yet but he's getting closer to mastering it and it should serve well enough to settle Yuuya into his "comrade" mentality which will give us a bit of breathing room to work with Ken.

Otherwise we just lock them in a room together for a week and let them work it out.

[empress_without_a_throne]

... I was actually meaning teamwork within my own little group. Sara, Ken, and myself... we've only participated on one mission together and we weren't exactly coordinated during it.

Gotta learn to crawl before walking, after all.

[ugyuuya]

Hmm... Well TSF teams tend to foster that type of relationship by training recruits in squads from the very beginning through to final graduation to actual active duty but that's not actually feasible for you guys at this point I'd think.

Simulators may be difficult if what I've heard rumors of is true but any training exercises you can get involved in or arrange on your own for your team will help. Perhaps more than anything is just talking, you're not a formal military unit so the briefing structure isn't there like it is for Argos flight or some of the other units here but even just reserving one of the rooms and going over the old combat data and discussing why each of you did what you did can really help. If you know and understand why your team mates did something it will help you predict actions in similar situations down the road.