A/N: Okay, so this was inspired partly by our discussion in APUSH class on the millions of soldiers killed in WWI, and also from a quote in one of Tamora Pierce's books, which says (this may not be exact) "Good rulers are rarely nice people, Kel." Anyway, hope you enjoy, and they're at least one more on the way soon.
-Title: Good- -Word Count: 190- -Warnings: No spoilers, but a decent amount of Roy angst.-
Good men are seldom good commanders, Roy knows, and good commanders are seldom good men. A good commander must be ready to throw soldiers lives' away without a second thought, in order to achieve victory. A good man would keep his subordinates safe, even if it meant defeat in the larger picture.
Or so they were taught.
Roy Mustang was not a good man. He believed that wholeheartedly. He had done far too many terrible things to be called good, now. At the same time, he knows that he is not a good commander. A good commander would not have gotten to know his subordinates specifically and personally, just so that he would never be tempted to make such a decision.
Maybe it means that he will never be a good commander.
Maybe there is another way.
Maybe it is hindering him on his path to become Fuehrer.
But he has to at least try to keep a shred of his humanity intact. After all he's seen and done, he could not let people be killed without reason, not again.
Because he could never live with himself he did.
