Just after returning to base

[majestic_keiki]

[After returning to base following that clusterfuck in Russia, Kei hung around the hangar for a bit. She'd found a quiet corner amidst all the technicians running around to attend to the returning mecha and their need for maintenance. Leaning against the wall with her helmet next to her, she was drinking something from one of those foil packs astronauts take their meals in.]

That was so messed up...

[She didn't really speak to anybody, but in a busy hangar you might very well have heard her anyway.]

Comments

[majestic_keiki]

I know...And, yes, it was a five-way battle at one point. More or less, at least. Sarah still nominally worked with the Knights and Loni and his group with us.

[abugslife]

Nominal situation and the real one are sometimes vastly different. A leader must take that under consideration.

A second time Gavin's group fights alongside Unity Group, and a second time something like this happens. Pat yourself on the back for averting a very close catastrophe.

[majestic_keiki]

I'd rather that they were just removed from any military roles. They're just in it for their own egos.

[abugslife]

They do not have any military roles. Their participation in this fight is strictly independent.

Your assessment is completely correct. At this rate, eventually someone from Gavin's group will go too far, to the point when Unity Group will not be able to tolerate them any longer. I can only imagine what will happen then.

[majestic_keiki]

Why are so many officers so useless? Somebody has to give them orders, provide robots and so on and they're responsible for whatever these people get up to. It's that admiral all over again.

[abugslife]

No, not this time. They do not have any superior. As far as I know, they are not a part of any organization in this world.

[majestic_keiki]

How? They have to have gotten those units somewhere and somebody has to tell them where to find the Good Men.

[abugslife]

Private funding. And we are talking about people who were fighting the Lady's Good Men for as long as Unity Group exists. They have gotten really good at tracking them down.

[majestic_keiki]

I know...I just wonder who funds them and why they're okay with their utter lack of discipline.

[abugslife]

Have I told you about how Gebian society looks like? About how we value personal achievement above anything else, and the way towards high positions leads through showing you are fit for them through excellence and skill?

[majestic_keiki]

Yes, but I'm not sure how it applies here. These people aren't skilled at anything other than the piloting itself.

[abugslife]

The truth is, that is only how it looks in theory - the ideal society we strive to achieve. But reality often fails to live up to that ideal.

Many high-ranked Gebians, including soldiers, gain their positions through nepotism.

[majestic_keiki]

That doesn't surprise me...Seems common here too. Loni is related to someone important?

[abugslife]

That is what I believe, yes.

[majestic_keiki]

Kinda surprised someone would send somebody they care about like that into battle when they aren't prepared for it. They must not value his life very much...

[abugslife]

Some people do not treat war seriously. This includes both those who had no direct contact with it, and those who had too much.

[majestic_keiki]

At least as long as they're idiots. I guess Loni's dad or whatever thinks his son is going to be a hero and win lots of glory.

[abugslife]

I suppose Loni thinks so as well.

I hope this matter is not going to end in a catastrophe. But I get the feeling that this hope might be in vain.

[majestic_keiki]

It seems inevitable, doesn't it?

[abugslife]

It is something that happened once already.

[majestic_keiki]

Yes...And it'll keep happening as long as people get power like that.

[abugslife]

As long as war goes on, young, overconfident fools will keep getting themselves killed.

This is another reason why I strive for peace.

[majestic_keiki]

I'm sure they'll find some other way to get themselves killed when there's peace.

[abugslife]

Indeed. I am sure that if there was no war, I would be forced to kill my daughter because she spilled her drink or did not take out the trash.

[Complete deadpan.]

[majestic_keiki]

Sorry. I was thinking about Loni and Desta...They seem like the types to climb Mt. Everest and refuse to listen to the guide.