Muv Luv: Grim Alternative
Disclaimer: I do not own Muv Luv Alternative or the characters, only the OC. So let's get the show on the road!
'Thoughts.' Thoughts or Neon mentally talking.
"Hey!" Takeru talking.
"HEY!" Samara talking.
Chapter 5: Complete Squad and Blunt Message
'Yoroi Mikoto?' I asked Takeru.
"Yeah. In my original world she or he's a guy but here she's a girl."Takeru explained,"The first time I met her I couldn't believe it and when I…tried to find out for myself I got choked out for it." He finished in embarrassment.
"Obviously because what you did was perverted!" Samara said angrily, "Which is also obviously why she choked you out, if it was me you'd be dead!"
"I know that much."Takeru said nervously.
'Anything about her I should know in advance?'
"She's a bit of an oddball…just like my world's version and she tends to not listen to what people tell her."
"More like a bullshit way to say that she's retarded."
'Really? She can't be that bad right?'
"Just talk with her and see for yourself."
'I'll interact with her my own way and not the moronic way you did the last time.'
Cutting off the mental link, I looked at this world's version of Yoroi Mikoto, who was now looking at me in confusion.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" Mikoto asked, "You looked lost for a second."
"Hmm…Oh, nothing is wrong." I answered, "I just spaced out for a second."
"Ah I see."
Nothing wrong. So far so good.
"What's your name?"
"Yoroi Mikoto! Nice to meet you!"
"Cross Neon. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Hmm… I'll call you Neon and you can call me Mikoto."
"That I'm alright with. So you're finally able to come back to the squad?"
"Ah! Yes, I've been in the hospital for a while. Fortunately I can come back today and join my squad."
So this is the one Chizuru boasted to have the best survival skills of the squad? Interesting. She also seems aloof too for a soldier. Not like it's any of my business.
"Oh yeah! There's a new guy in my squad now. Can't wait to meet him!" Mikoto said in excitement. Is this girl dumb? She sees a guy in uniform and she doesn't even realize that he's a cadet like her? WTH!?
"You're looking at him." I deadpanned. Mikoto's eyes widened in shock at the piece of info.
"AH! Wait a minute…are you the new guy?"
I looked at her with the same deadpanned expression, "Didn't I just say that I'm that person or are you just that retarded?!"
"Eh?"
I face palmed in disbelief. Jesus! This girl IS fucking retarded!
"Hey! She's not retarded! She's just…eccentric."Takeru defended. I ignored him to just look at Mikoto who looked concerned at my reaction.
"Um…Neon-san? Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine Mikoto…Just fine…"
"Okay, Neon-san!"
"Anyways…I said that I'm the new guy in your squad."
"Ah! That's right!"
Takeru was right…This girl is a weird. Hopefully this doesn't become a routine because if it does I'll lose my mind and most likely go ballistic.
"Ah! Yoroi-san!" Miki called out. Looks like the squad managed to catch up.
"Aaahhh! Miki-san! It's been like forever!"
"Yoroi? What are you doing here?" asked a confused Chizuru.
"Ah! Chizuru-san!"
"Yoroi?" Next was Meiya with Kei beside her.
"Meiya-san too! And Kei-san, hi there!"
"…Yeah." Kei replied in her usual manner.
"Mikoto's recovered and was allowed to come back. Looks like the squad's now at full strength." I said.
"Yes it is." Chizuru said.
"I see that you've become acquainted with Yoroi." Meiya stated.
"Yes. And in the most unusual way…bumping into her." I deadpanned.
"Hahaha! That's right…Ah, that's right! I still have to see the Instructor!" Yoroi said before rushing off.
"Busy as ever."Takeru added. I just shrugged. Suddenly Mikoto rushed back to me.
"What?"
"Let's shake!"
She quickly grabbed my hand and gave it a shake while I returned the gesture. Her hands are pretty small but that's nothing of importance.
"I'm looking forward to training with you." Mikoto said excitedly.
"Likewise." I replied.
"Bye now." And there she goes. Quite the first impression…
"We should get going. We don't have much time left for lunch." Chizuru reminded.
"Neon, let's go to the PX." Meiya added.
"No need to tell me twice." I replied.
"It's yakisoba today." Kei said happily. Yakisoba huh? She must like it a lot.
"You have NO idea."
'No one asked for your opinion Takeru!'
"Geez no need to be mean! Still it's about time Mikoto came back."
'And she's quite retarded to boot. How the hell is she the survivalist of the group?!'
"She's not retarded. Just silly and eccentric."
'She seems retarded to me.'
"Agreed."
"Whatever! Damn…it's November already!"
'Yeah it is. What about it?'
"Just wondering how much of the future that's been changed."
'We won't know until we find out and it's not like Samara and I care about how much you change your future.'
"Yeah. All we care about is getting back to our own dimension."
"Maybe so but if we don't change things for the better you two may never return to your own dimension."
'What!/WHAT!"
"So we have to change the future after all."
"Just great! What did we do to deserve this?!"
'I don't know and honestly I don't want to know.'
…
'Brain Room'…
After lunch I made my way to what I now designated as 'The Brain Room', more like Takeru convinced me to show up there as he wanted to talk with Kasumi. Samara too wanted in as she wanted to interact with the girl too. Me…I didn't care too much. Besides all that girl does is stare at that brain in the center of the room. She apparently serves an important role in Alternative IV alongside the brain itself I don't see the usefulness or importance mentioned.
While I let Takeru and Samara take control and interact with Kasumi I decided to do some thinking of my own about the girl. She's been at the base for a least a year and all she does is assist the XO with this Alternative IV and somehow interact with the brain. She's got some form of ESP that lets her read minds which led to her uncovering the other people in my head. Something I didn't like and she realized it too. Luckily she never mentioned Samara to the XO since that would open a whole new can of worms. Kasumi also knew that I came from the same world as Takeru and found the fact that I'm here in place of Takeru disturbing. Funny enough Samara seemed to like Kasumi and the two of them were getting along well much to me and Takeru's surprise considering her tough nature. But after she was done talking with Samara she started to look at me sadly, almost in pity, which pissed me off. As I left the room she said something that confused me.
"I hope you find your true self."
True self? What the hell is she spouting?! I am who I am, Neon Cross, and that's that.
…
November 2nd 2011
Once more it was squad training and right now Meiya and I were engaged in a mock sword duel with the other squad members and the Instructor watching. She held her weapon in both hands in the classic kendo stance while I held mine one handed in a reverse grip. We waited for one of us to make the first move and after a minute of waiting, Meiya chose to start this mock battle. The Mitsurugi was good. That much I could see as she had the speed, technique and power in her attacks and Takeru stated that she was very good with a sword, katana to be precise, but I didn't let her get through my defense. I'm good at using a sword myself too but I prefer to use my fists more.
"Hmph! Not bad at all." Meiya complemented. I didn't let that get to my head, which was good as she dashed and threw a kick which I swayed from before blocking her follow-up slash. Even though we were using training swords this was preparing us for close range TSF combat.
"You're not bad yourself." I replied before we separated from our deadlock. I wanted to go all out and end this very quickly but instead for the first time ever…I decided to 'play with my food' this time. Which got Samara giggling at me. So I moved in quickly myself and made a slash at her which she was ready for, only to find out that it was a feint as I was already in her space going for a stab. As a testament to her skill she managed to barely parry that and stepped back.
"Tch! And here I thought that Ayamine was the only one who could do this well in close combat." Meiya said.
"Oh really…I never expected you to think so lowly of me." I deadpanned, "Oh you wound me Meiya."
"When did you ever get so melodramatic?" Takeru sweat dropped. I ignored him to focus on my opponent. He had told me earlier that he'd spared with Meiya like this the last time and was beaten to a pulp and he was awed at how I was easily holding my own against her. I wasn't surprised since at that time the kid was a whiny green as grass rookie back then.
Meiya and I exchanged blows though it was easily clear to everyone watching that I had the upper hand and Meiya was only trying to keep up and hang on. A few more close calls forced Meiya to jump back and try to regroup herself.
"Ugh! Honestly I never expected you to be this skilled." She said.
"So what were you expecting then? Me to be weak, dumb and arrogant?" I deadpanned again. Normally I'd press in and finish this since I have full control of this spar but I was playing with my food.
"I never said that and forgive me if I implied such a notion. It's just that there are many who neglect hand to hand combat as they begin to excel in shooting." Meiya replied.
"I'm not surprised and I can see why they would." I agreed. I've seen it many times myself. Soldiers so used to engaging in long range combat with guns to the point that they forget how to handle themselves when the enemy gets close or when they run out of ammo. And many times they never ended well.
In battle you have to be prepared for every single scenario that comes up whether you expect them or not. There are no do overs in battle. Once you're done you're done. There's nothing wrong with excelling at something, but if it makes you too one dimensional then you become easy to beat. Being a jack of all trades is much better than being a specialist.
"Anyways…" I began, stepping in and slashing at Meiya which she dodged. "…You seem determined to make this hard for me."
"I cannot hold back for any opponent, especially you who's good at everything." Meiya replied as she lunged with a stab which I parried and this time I smacked her on her exposed back and dropping her to the ground hard. Even so she still managed to get to her feet but the signs of exhaustion were starting to show.
"Mm…t-this will not…end soon." She said between ragged breaths.
I raised my eyebrow at her. "Really? Seriously?! It's not even half an hour and you're already ready to throw in the towel." I remarked. That got the desired reaction as Meiya glared at me with renewed vigor and annoyance.
"R-Remain silent!"
Tch! Lady you're a 100 years too early to defeat me.
Right now Meiya was trying to calm her breathing while studying me for an opening to capitalize on but having no luck on the latter. Desperation clear in her eyes, just like the many terrorists I've put down hard.
"You look like you can see my every move." Meiya stated.
"Hmm…Maybe I can, maybe I can't." I replied. She gasped at my reply, obviously not liking it. "What? Thinking you don't have a shot at winning?"
"Even if I did…I cannot stop now." Meiya adjusted her grip on her sword and kept her focus on me.
"You have a point there." I too did the same thing but changed my stance to a fencing stance.
"So you know fencing too?"
"I know a few tricks."
"Hmph…Well then, here I come!"
"Bring it!"
…
Post Exchange
Squad 207 was now at the table enjoying our lunch while everyone was talking about the mock sword duel between Meiya and me.
"Neon-san, you're amazing! I can't believe you held off Mitsurugi-san until the end." Miki said in awe.
"I agree with Miki here! I never thought you were that good with a sword." Takeru praised.
"Were you expecting any less from him?" Samara asked smugly, "Don't forget he was trained to the bone by many different people back in our world and also yours truly, me!"
"Really?! I never thought you'd teach someone yourself."
"More like I had to for our survival. I didn't want to be stuck in a weakling after all that would be insulting."
"True…"
"He didn't match me…he thoroughly routed me." Meiya corrected Miki.
"But wasn't it a draw?" Mikoto asked.
"No."
"Eh?"
"Cross drew the fight out." Kei said.
"Really?" Miki asked.
"Cross could have ended it anytime he wanted but he chose not to instead. There were so many chances for him to do so but he outright ignored them to make the fight last longer." Chizuru explained.
I didn't say anything as I saw no point in commenting.
"She's thinking too hard."
'Don't care.'
"Same here."
"You're both mean."
'Whatever/Don't give a fuck!"
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Chizuru asked me.
"Is there anything to say?" I asked.
"Unbelievable…you were so dominant that I don't even feel irritated." Meiya remarked.
"Don't make it sound so complex."
"…Can't hide it." Kei said.
"Like I have anything to hide." Well that's obviously not true but I don't need to say that.
"I was able to cross swords with a strong foe. I am satisfied with that. However, Neon, it will not be easy next time." Meiya stated.
"And I'll accept your challenge anytime." I replied.
"Neon, you're amazing~" Mikoto remarked, "I heard some stuff about you. Were you in some kind of elite unit or something?"
"Or something." I joked.
"Girl's pretty sharp." Samara pointed out.
'True but I don't need to reveal anything now do I?'
"Damn right you don't."
"Ah I shouldn't have gotten injured. Then I could have seen more of this." Mikoto continued.
"Anyways, Neon's presence here will raise everyone's skills, as well as morale, so I won't complain here." Meiya stated.
"Hey, hey, what are we doing this afternoon?" Mikoto asked in anticipation.
"First aid training." Chizuru said.
"First aid training?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ah, that's right. Neon, you're going to be impressed." Mikoto said.
"I'll take your word for it Mikoto."
With that everyone else began talking about random stuff, most of which I didn't pay attention to.
…
"Ah, the dog's back! Come here, come here…" said a red haired girl. A puppy came running towards her and the two boys that were eating with her.
"Cut it out already." The brown haired boy replied in annoyance.
"Let her do what she wants pinhead." The dark-skinned boy remarked.
"Quit calling me a pinhead."
"I'll stop when you quit acting like a pinhead."
"Hey Takeru-chan, can I give it your fries?"
"Why my fries? I'm not letting go of them."
"Here you go~" The girl snatched the boy's fries and gave it to the dog.
"Ah!? Hey!"
"Wow you suck pinhead!"
The puppy enjoyed the fries that the girl gave to it. Then Takeru growled at the dog resulting in him getting smacked upside the head.
"Owie!"
"Stop it, you idiot! Here you go eat as much as you want." The redhead urged the puppy to eat the fries while one male reached in futility for his fries and the other just shook his head at the scene.
…
Huh? What's with that memory? Who was that girl with red hair with Takeru and why did it feel familiar to me? Why am I getting this feeling of déjà vu?
"That's Sumika…Kagami Sumika." Takeru stated.
'Your childhood friend?' I asked.
"Yes…although who's that other person there with me and her. I've never remembered anyone being there with us at that time."
'I don't know…But I'm getting déjà vu vibes from it.'
"I get what you mean…still we have something to do here. Just wish Sumika was here…"
"Worry about your childhood friend another time." Samara chimed in, "We have the present to worry about and about why Neon here's having a memory that makes no sense to him."
'And giving me déjà vu…'
"Is something wrong, Neon…?"
Meiya's voice brought me out of my thoughts and I was looking at her and Chizuru in confusion.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.
"You spaced out…" Kei said.
"Really? I never noticed…" Odd. Did it seem like that to them? Maybe, they don't know about two other presences in my head.
"It's true. You had this distanced look in your eyes." Mikoto pointed out.
"Seriously? You must be seeing things."
"Ah! That means…you were reaaaally moved by that story!"
"No, I wasn't even paying attention to whatever you were saying."
"That's mean! And here I thought you were so into it!"
"Sorry but it sounded so boring that I chose to not even bother listening."
"Neon you're horrible!"
"No. You're just boring."
…
First Aid training was…okay I guess. Sure Mikoto was knowledgeable about treating someone with first aid while on the field but the thing was that…I was already taught all that and so it was like I was being told the same stuff over again. Then things got awkward when Mikoto wanted to demonstrate artificial respiration and I could see it from a while away that she wanted me to volunteer for it. I only agreed to it so as to get it over and done with. I could have easily switched with someone else but I changed my mind. Meiya of course pointed out my face having a shade of red on it but I shrugged it off with a flimsy excuse. Of course while she was demonstrating the procedure I was being hit by some images with one of them making me agitated for some reason. Next was hemostasis where I volunteered again and of course I also properly answered her questions about it with my reward being a big hug from the ecstatic girl, which once again agitated me and made him gently get her off. Of course this led to Mikoto thinking that I hated her which wasn't true. Maybe her retarded behavior but not the girl herself. Then I was called a liar by her and Kei!? What the fuck!? Finally there was the final part where one had to help relieve the patient of any mental anxiety. Here that's where I drew the line and left the classroom in a hurry and because I couldn't take it anymore. Three strikes and you're out!
"More like you're becoming embarrassed about being in such compromising positions with a girl." Samara pointed out, "You're entering puberty anyways and the trainers at UN haven't given you "The Talk"."
I tuned her out after as I didn't have time for whatever it was she was going to say.
…
"Hey, hey Neon, why do you keep avoiding me?" Mikoto asked worriedly.
"I'm not avoiding you. You're just imagining things." I retorted blankly.
"It's not your fault I was in the hospital."
"What does that have to do with this?!"
"Well one week apart can't come between us, right Neon?"
"Okay…what?!"
Her retarded behavior was starting to get on my nerves, to the point that I may have to get violent if this continued.
"Oya, isn't that Mikoto-chan!?" An older voice called out, and saving my sanity. Mikoto and I turned to see a woman who I recognized as the one in charge of the cooking here.
"Ah! It's Kyozuka-oba-chan!" Mikoto called out. Really? She called her old lady and is not getting bitch slapped?! Most likely she's used to it since she easily ignored that. The woman herself was big, much to my surprise. She's obviously a civilian and someone who didn't take crap from others, at least in the PX. Something Takeru mentioned to me while they were talking.
"…so is this the newbie I heard so much about?" The woman mentioned looking my way and getting my attention.
"Hello, name's Neon Cross, Neon being my first name of course." I introduced myself.
"First name basis huh?" Kyozuka said as she walked up to me. Yep the woman was big and could intimidate someone up close but not me. Even the UN Chief of Security said that I was impossible to intimidate and many people agreed when they tried.
"Hmm, hmm…not a bad man at all…you're even standing up straight…yes, I can tell that you're already a good soldier!"
Obviously. Then all of a sudden the woman smacked me in the stomach. I hid my surprise at that but I didn't even feel anything. It looked like Kyozuka herself was impressed at that.
"Oooh? Your body's pretty tough too! I've been told you were good at the physical and mental stuff…looks like they weren't lying."
BAM! Another smack to the stomach which I didn't feel but I was getting annoyed at her actions even if they were in good spirit.
"And who told you about me?" I asked.
"That's a secret." The older woman said. I chose not to press on about that as I had an idea who.
"Probably Marimo-chan." Takeru stated.
'Or Professor Kouzuki.'
"Anyway Chizuru-chan and the others should be glad they've got such a strong man on their squad." Kyozuka said.
"They obviously are." I chuckled.
"Make sure you make good use of him."
"I plan to." Chizuru said while eye smiling.
"Like that's surprising." I deadpanned.
"So you already noticed?" Kei asked.
"A long time ago." I replied.
"Ahahaha, you're fitting in, good man. Dinner will be ready in a minute, so wait right there." Kyozuka said before returning to the kitchen.
"That's Sergeant Major Kyozuka Shizue. She's in charge of providing meals for everyone on the base." Chizuru said.
"So she's part of the military?" I asked, hiding my surprise. I thought she was a civilian.
"She's the cafeteria lady." Mikoto added.
"I already figured that out."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Well she's really trust worthy especially to Ayamine." Miki said.
"No one needed to know that." Kei complained. I agree with her there. I also knew why too, she obviously ate the most of the squad with me now eating just as much as her. I ignored everything else they said, but somehow heard about Mikoto's growth spurt from her which I found ridiculous! Yeah right as if!
"What do you think Neon? Don't you think my breasts have gotten bigger?" Mikoto asked.
"Why the hell are you asking me that?!" I yelled in anger. Seriously she asked me that?! What the hell's wrong with her!?
"AH! You don't have to yell at me you meanie!"
"And you don't have to ask me such a ridiculous question!?" I retorted.
Eventually dinner was served and I went into line before anyone could start pestering me. We all got our dinner and went to our seats to eat. Mikoto kept pestering me and I kept ignoring her as much as possible. Then Chizuru got the squad's attention.
"Everyone we need to talk." The squad looked at her. I knew that whatever she wanted to talk about was going to be serious. "It's finally November. There's less than a month left until the Comprehensive Combat Skill Evaluation. Will we…be ready in time?"
"I'm already ready for anything." I declared, "What about the rest of you?"
"No problem at all!" Mikoto said.
"Yes." Meiya said.
"…yeah." Kei added.
"Me too!" Miki said with confidence.
"I should tell you now, Neon. It may be an Evaluation, but people do die in it." Chizuru stated.
"Like I said, I'm already prepared for anything." I replied confidently.
"Passing it will mark the end of basic training, allowing us to move up to TSF training." Meiya further explained.
"I know that."
"So we don't have to tell you what it is either?" Chizuru asked.
"Yes you don't. I already know about it being done in some random Southern Island jungle. It happens twice a year, summer and winter…and this is the winter one."
"Yeah, we failed the summer one already, so this is our last chance…" Mikoto said sadly. I already remembered someone mentioning about them failing this evaluation thing once and with Mikoto confirming it, this means that they can't fuck up a second time.
"Suzumiya, Suzumiya…" Kei said, much to Chizuru's annoyance. Ah! A rival huh?
"Suzumiya Akane. She and Class Rep have been rivals back in my world." Takeru explained, "I didn't meet her the last time in this loop but if we're successful in this evaluation which I know we'll be then we'll definitely meet her."
Mikoto explained that that Suzumiya was the leader of the other squad who had passed the summer evaluation and were now doing TSF pilot training. Miki also added that Squad 207 was divided into two teams and here I was in the second team.
"Anyway! We cannot allow ourselves to fail! Don't you dare forget that!" Chizuru said.
"It'll be fine! We have Neon this time." Mikoto said excitedly.
"That is true. We must not slack off, but there is certainly less to be concerned about now." Meiya added.
Chizuru had a long face now and I had a feeling it had to do with the last evaluation. Takeru explained to me why they actually failed the last time due to him being such a rookie then. It all had to do with a crappy chain of command, lack of respect and trust and refusal to obey orders. What idiocy! If they cannot even grasp an iota of something as simple as that then they shouldn't even be in military to begin with! I didn't bother to ask as I didn't want a repeat of what happened the last loop so I kept silent. Of course someone noticed my silence.
"What is it Neon?" Meiya asked.
"Nothing at all." I replied.
Of course Chizuru didn't believe that. "Why don't I try to guess what you're thinking?"
"How about you don't?" I retorted. Of course Chizuru ignored that and still went on anyways.
"Why didn't we pass last time? Am I right?"
"That never crossed my mind…"
"You don't want to know?"
"I don't. More like I'm not bothered to."
"Well I'll say it anyways." What!? I said that I don't want to know. And why's she bringing it up? Even Takeru had no idea why she brought it up and neither did we expect that either. "It's due to an incompetent leader who couldn't control her team, and subordinates who wouldn't obey orders."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I felt that you needed to know. Anyways that's about right."
"S-Sakaki-san…" Miki muttered.
"W-Why're you bringing this up again?" Mikoto asked.
That's exactly what I wanted to avoid. That event's about to happen all over again.
"No it isn't. The land mines got us is because we obeyed your orders…" Kei stated in anger.
"Ayamine-san too!?" Miki muttered.
"Yoroi advised us to take a detour. At the time we knew how important it was to value Yoroi's intuition…" Meiya explained.
"It was too late." I finished for her, which Meiya nodded at. An uncomfortable silence followed.
"Awawa…what do we do?" Miki panicked.
"Don't ask me, I don't know…" Mikoto said.
I was angry at the situation. Why did Chizuru have to open her mouth and sour the mood? We don't need crap like this messing with morale. So I decided to squash this crap right here and now!
"Alright you guys…" I began in a cold tone that got the girl's attention, "I do not know why Chizuru and Kei needed to bring this up even when I didn't want to hear about it but I'd like to say something."
"What?" Chizuru asked.
"Why the fucking hell are you all playing the victim!?"
Everyone felt uneasy with my cold glare being leveled on them. I was going to be blunt with them as they were acting like fucking morons!
"As a unit, organization is vital! And that same organization needs an absolute chain of command." Kei had an agitated look on her face but I ignored it to continue. "Since we're cadets we're all inexperienced and the organization is not so great yet, which is understandable but out there you can't afford to have that! No matter how they got in command, leader is the leader whether you fucking like it or not. Insubordination is unacceptable! If you don't like it then do something about it and become the leader yourself! Of course in the proper way! That's how it goes within an organization." Kei was getting angrier. Same with Chizuru.
"Still the leader has to value the lives his subordinates. Orders are absolute no matter what and yes there are incompetent morons who shouldn't even be given charge of a unit."
"I think you're right, but…isn't that kind of extreme?" Mikoto spoke up.
"Yes it is!" I answered her, "It is that extreme."
"But…"
"You may not like it but it's something that we have to put up with, whether we like it or not. However when it comes to orders there's no right or wrong. Sure there are crazy fools that give out just as crazy orders but they do so because they've been given the authority to even though the ones who did so have to be fucking idiots to even give them that kind of power. Only those who have the skill and responsibility to do it right should be given such power right?"
"Not at all." Kei spoke up. "There are powerful people with no skill…"
"Yes I know that such people exist unfortunately and their ways of achieving the same objective might differ from yours and those same ways can upset you. Worst part the objective is the top priority with the lives of their subordinates coming second…which is sadly true."
Kei clearly wanted to explode from what I said. Not surprising since I had that same reaction when the UN Chief of Security talked to me about the same topic. In fact I wanted to tear out the man's spine and beat him down to kingdom come.
"Right now complete destruction of the BETA is the ultimate objective for humanity. And the leaders have free reign to do whatever it takes to achieve that objective no matter what their subordinates think about it."
"They might get us killed for no reason." Kei said.
"I agree with you there Ayamine…there are those incompetent morons who would get their subordinates killed due to poor judgement calls. However what if your leader gives an order that is good but you choose to disobey and it gets you killed, then what? That is why insubordination is a problem because subordinates who can't obey orders can easily get the unit killed."
"Neon is right about following orders." Chizuru said, "But you say it as if you've experienced real combat before." I have but I don't need to tell you that.
"My GSG-9 relative has had to deal with incompetent squad leaders who didn't know two shits about leadership at all and also moronic subordinates that couldn't obey orders. Both cases he nearly went ballistic as their actions put those around them in harm's way too many times and he had to put his foot down and take action. I admit that if I was in his shoes those fools wouldn't see the next sunrise."
"Hmm…that was a very colorful way to get the message across but I understand your point." Meiya said.
"I'm glad. I know that the way I conveyed the message was too forward and uncalled for but it felt like the only way to do so. Sorry if I went too far though."
"You need not apologize but…"
"But what?"
"I want you to be aware that what your relative went through does not guarantee that you or him are right."
"Really…Explain." I rested my chin over my hands and looked on at my fellow cadet.
"There are no absolutes in human behavior. That is one thing we can be absolutely sure of." Meiya explained. I nodded in agreement with her. "It felt to me that you acknowledged that fact of chain of command you also held a simplistic view of following orders no matter what."
Is that so? Is that how I've always been? One who always obeyed any order no matter what even if it's given by a moron? No! I only took orders from the Chief of Security and I used my judgement call to handle my missions. So it's not the same thing…or am I in denial?
"Of course I will obey my orders but that doesn't mean there won't be situations where I would pause to reconsider." Meiya continued, "If you want to be a leader yourself then you must be ready to evaluate the consequences of your orders. Someone like you should not overlook that contradiction."
"Spot on Meiya. Spot on!" Takeru muttered.
"The girl knows what she's saying and was even able to call you out on what you said." Samara added, her respect for Meiya rising.
'She didn't call me out on anything. More like she just said what I know already.'
"Well I'm going now." Chizuru said getting up from her chair.
"May I ask you something Chizuru?" I asked, "Why did you bring up the subject in the first place?"
"I know that you wanted no part of it but I wanted to know your opinion on it." The Squad leader said.
"I see…Well that makes sense. Well thanks for asking." I also got up and made my exit. Not long after everyone else followed suite and left for their rooms.
Chapter 5 End.