Training: Debrief part I.

Samuel groaned as he sat down. He wasn't a young man any more, and Kim's… error had changed the parameters of the exercise. Gone where the days when it would be called once the main goal was no longer achievable —now it had simply been converted into a 12 hour gauntlet of fighting the synthodrone "terrorists" in crowded streets, with other crowds of panicked "civilians" running around and complicating things, while they fought their way to the secondary LZ.

Most of the young sprouts were shaking it off and preparing to go to dinner after the debrief, but Samuel had first worn the uniform two years before the Fall of Saigon. It was a credit, and boost to his ego that people still mistook him for being in his fifties, but he wasn't, and infantry combat was a game for youth.

"I must admit." He said to Taggert, "Your debrief to Kim was a work of art. Thirty minutes discussing her origins, parentage, and likely fate, and never once did you fall into vulgarity or repeat yourself. I think if she blushes any more, she'll spontaneously combust."

Taggert grinned, a little sourly, perhaps due to the cheery "DEAD" placard he was using, a bit of (to Verne's mind) sophomoric humor on the part of the Australians. Everyone who had died in the exercise would have to wear one of those cards until 24 hours had passed, whereupon in a ridiculous little ceremony, the lowest ranked "live" soldier would resurrect them.

On the other hand, maybe not so sophomoric. It was outwardly ridiculous, but for the next 24 hours, the unit would be reminded every time they saw a "DEAD" label what a 42 percent KIA rate looked like.

"Well Tara's not overly happy either." Taggert said. Nighthawk one had survived but Nighthawk 2 had been downed by a missile team that had hidden among the alleys. Not Tara's fault, and nothing her squadron could lay claim to, but 50 percent of her "command" hadn't come back.

"Well, not entirely bad." Verne said, "You pulled it out, your subordinates did well after you ah, died, and it's always a good thing to occasionally have a completely unpredictable wrench tossed in the gears."

"Fine." Taggert said, "Now sir, in the spirit of inter service cooperation, especially when one of my superiors gets around to reading the report and asks what the hell was I drinking, would you mind explaining a bit more? You expected it."

"Not only that, I set it up. I was pretty certain something like this would happen when I put my 'dirty trick' together." Verne said. He sighed. "What do you know about Kim."

"What Tara has told me—she saved the world, hell I remember that, then crashed and burned…and evidently is also practicing how to sink drills that were going well."

"And how many clubs was she on?"

"Oh God, Tara would talk about that forever. Every one, and if there weren't any, she'd invent some."

"Right. Hold that thought. Now, Ronald, suggested she join an SOG, and I'll tell you what was in the back of his head, being, like you, a straightforward and honest soul, not at all devious like me."

"Yes?"

"Verne will run Kim thought some exercises, tell her she doesn't have what it takes physically, and then I will have given her a shot, but won't have to risk her life."

"You think that is what he was thinking?"
"Maybe not consciously, but Kim, and what happened to her, is a huge part of Ron's personality make up."

"So why not?"

"It wouldn't work. What's your evaluation of her physical capability."

"Mmmm…. Superior and excellent across the board. A lot better than I expected."

"Me to, but the fact is, telling her she wasn't physically able to cut it would be useless because first of all, it isn't true, and secondly, she'd just work until she was able to cut it, whereupon we'd have to think about letting her in, or let her realize we had been lying."

"And this has what to do with you pulling strings to get her time on a one million dollar a day simulator and messing up one of my simulation slots?"

"Don't worry, you'll get a replacement date. The 101st is rotating through next month and the CO owes me a favor." Verne paused, "So Kim can do it physically…but mentally, no."

"Oh?"

"Oh yes, you should see her ratings on empathy. High across the board." He chuckled, "A certain Rabbi warned me about Kim's mental state. I should apologize to him, but I know far, far more about Kim and her mental state then he does." He shrugged, "All through her pre-prison days, she helped. Always, not just the big stuff but little stuff. I doubt she was happy unless she was doing something…which probably had as much to do with her problems in prison as anything else. She was suddenly cut off from what made her life worth living." He turned to look at Taggert. "Too high. She literally couldn't, in my professional opinion separate out "enemy I have to kill" and "person I might be able to get along with quite well if I could sit down and chat.""

"So yes, with malice aforethought, I arranged to have her experience what every SOG soldier may experience, once or more than once. You've done it, hell I patterned the encounter on what I had done. You know as well as I do that when the enemy doesn't wear uniforms or adhere to any standards of law, sometimes we cannot take prisoners, even when it means killing someone, in a very ugly, personal way."

"Yah." Taggert said, and the two men said nothing for a few moments.

"And?"

"Now I'll talk to her. I don't think this is what she needs to do. She'd burn up or out…or one day make the same mistake that cost you in this simulation. The hard part is letting her know it, in a way that can convince her."

"So she goes back to the day care center?" Taggert asked. He shrugged, "Mentality aside, her physical skills seem to make that kind of a waste."

"Maybe, maybe not." Verne said, "But James, her 'hero' days ended in disaster, no doubt about that, but before they did, she literally changed the world—and not for the worse. If she does nothing more than that, for the rest of her life, or hell, anything else, she'll still be far ahead of most people in the 'contribute' column."

"World's Changed." Taggert said. Verne paused, and looked over at the younger officer.

And So have we. But telling Taggert that wouldn't help, not much. Verne at least had a sixty plus year life to fall back on, and things really were different in his day. Not Taggert. Verne laughed softly.

"What?"

"Maybe that's what she needs to do."

"Sir?"

"Change it again." Taggert looked a little confused.

"The world, captain."

TBC.