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"Tribal Understanding"

March 16 2528 - Hour 1241

SGT Alba

Aboard the UNSC Roman Blue, Orbit over Reach

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Alba liked to think herself a simple individual- small groups are easier to handle than big ones.

Many males of her species would disagree with this out of pride, but the truth was quite basic: if you have too many unruly heads under you, then you are going to have quite the headaches for a long time. The stubbornness of Jiralhanaee was a common trait for many to know about, but she was... sure this batch was not 'common'.

Atriox was meant to be her newest burden together with the few war-brothers that had been 'vetted' to join the military. In a way, this should have not happened as the war was turning to an end by official means, but Alba knew that the announcements of the UNSC was meant to be taken seriously by those that were 'human conscripts'. As far as she was made aware, BALMUNG would remain active during the conflict with the Covenant's splinter organizations.

Back to her team, it was expected for friction to come up. The 'Seniors' against the 'Juniors', the 'original team' against the 'rookies'. She had been warned of this, but Alba had already braced herself for this- that didn't mean just staying put and let disaster happen, but rather have a solid speech with her old team and taking her new one for a 'walk'.

While the war had slowed down, simulations were still feasible and it allowed for small-scaled battle to ensue. Alba didn't feel it was the same as the war, but it taught her one thing she was aware the new batch lacked to some extent: self-control in handling orders down to a T.

Instead of leading them on the field, she left Atriox in charge of the group for the simulation. While many would see this as a risky move, Alba was aware that the other members listened to her through Atriox. He was a strong individual when chatting and it was clear that, while loyal to her, he still retained the full respect of his subordinates.

In a sense, this was actually a 'fair circumstance' by Jiralhanaee's standards as it was a matter of tribal understanding: the clan leader may be the boss, but he wasn't absolutely in charge of all. Giving chores and duties together with rights and prerogatives to leaders was what allowed for some 'military bureaucracy' to exist within the group. She was the boss of all, but she couldn't afford due to her own limits to lead them all 24/7. Hence why 'second-in-commands' were a thing and why she refused to mix the teams as one.

The simulation she decided to put them through was a relatively easy one: secure a small area, defend it for ten minutes, then leave the room. Nothing about it specified the need to kill all enemies- in fact, there was an 'untold' detail that she was sure they hadn't picked up as the test started: they had limited bullets and couldn't bring any hammer on the confrontation.

So yes, taking a note from her fellow 'leaders', Alba had set up a rather specific trick test- she wanted to see if they could control themselves in not wasting ammo in a bloodlust. To humans, this was an easy task, to 'Brutes'... it was not the case. They couldn't be afforded the 'I am a Jiralhanae' card however, as this war demanded quality that only those strong of mind and body could allow.

As the 'wargame' began, the group shifted through and directly decimated the large contingent between them and their targets head-on. It was gruesome and yet a 'clean' affair. The issue? They depleted 75% of their current ammo on this first wave. Two more of the same size were bound to reach the position and force them to a choice- accept defeat or find a away to last as long as it was needed.

"We are running out of ammo. When can we receive supplies?"

Atriox was the only one with a direct communication with her, and she had been waiting for this silly mistake to come up.

"Supplies? Why would you need any for a mission with an appropriate amount on your squad?"

At this point, Alba thought he would have snapped. Shock, panic, terror and genuine... anger. But no, Atriox merely tensed up, eyes widening a bit as he realized what was going on and... then nodding with a resigned sigh leaving him.

"Understood."

And that's where she felt coaxed to give a 'reward' for the coolheadedness he was displaying.

"Your current position is geared to allow cautious close encounters without being too exposed. You have a good mind, Atriox, and your squad listens to you as a proper squad leader- use both in a proper way."

A mere nod came, and Atriox did just that. Despite the time of defending coming to an end, Atriox still held his men behind to clear up a proper path rather than risking it. There was no penalty in defending beyond the time limit, so Alba allowed this to be a fair way to solve the mission, but the cheerful nature of the squad minus Atriox came to an end as they left the simulation room and stopped as they saw her making her way to them.

"Leader, we made it-" One of the group tried to happily suggest but-

"We lost," Atriox remarked gloomly, stunning his subordinates with this grim response that was nodded upon by Alba. "The point was to spare ammo, not waste them."

"I am glad to see you could understand the point, and since you sound like you will not make this mistake again, I suggest you and your group train up to fix this weakness. It's dangerous for you and us."

It was stern, but not too harsh. Atriox nodded, upset about the matter but knowing that his leader was not wrong. In fact, Atriox appeared 'awed' before this circumstance. Usually, leaders would use their own deeds to show their leadership, but for Alba, who has long ditched a lot of her species' traditions after how she was inducted in BALMUNG due to how it all happened, it was a matter of 'changing things for good'.

She wasn't up to enforce 'human traditions' on her team, but she had a lot of time to think, and a lot of time to understand how some of the traditions back home were no longer acceptable on a reasonable level. They were Jiralhanae, and while they were wild that shouldn't make them outright savages. They had good brains, good morals and good teachings- it was tragic that those were severely buried under lies and idiocies spread from tragic pasts for all clans.

After making sure that her teams had gotten this under control, Alba decided to write a report and contemplated something else as she felt the good mood of a job done right coaxing her to add a few lines to the message she sent to her boss.

Sir, would it be possible for us to hang out for a day?

AN

Alba is a bit of an odd case within the potential romance. While many thinks that the 'Brute' would be blunt and direct, she is actually picking her plotting seriously and not rushing it. To an extent, this is advantageous to Serin and Thela, but Alba has a bit of a calm grasp over her boss' mindset and knows what to say and do to get the message across.

Still, next time, a promotion for the team as a whole!