"If you can't do it, then find another soldier who can. That's what it means to be a leader: knowing how to deploy your assets to the best of their ability. Know what you can and cannot do; know what your fellows are capable of; choose wisely from there." This all comes from somewhere in a darker area. He's sitting somewhat comfortably in the shadows on a low ledge.
"Find a soldier with good social skills and order him to watch out for the people. There at least has to be one: not everyone is bad with civvies. If you have a Latino or Irishman that might be a good place to start if they have a likable personality," he says the last line with a grin. He's Latino himself. "If the platoon likes 'em it's a safe bet they're open and friendly, and therefore good with people. Trust me. It's in the genes."
"Camarillo," says Maxson immediately. "If there's anybody I'd trust with my family it'd be him, and I suspect there isn't a man, woman or child around here who doesn't trust him just as easily. Too bad the man's got no leadership ambition, but he's damn good with people."
"Are you familiar with the saying, 'To keep you is no benefit; to destroy you is no loss'?" The fact that this fellow's ideology was probably radically different from his own, if civilians even began to fit into the picture, didn't concern Gauron; the hypothesis at the heart of the question - namely, what he was willing to sacrifice to accomplish his objective as efficiently as possible - was still the same.
"If you tell the civilians following you that they're on their own when it comes to the basics of survival, your rescue operation will be more successful than would be possible otherwise. Sure, they'll bitch and whine and moan for a while, but when the time comes for them to look death in the eye, they'll surprise you with their resourcefulness if you don't help them." Gauron stared evenly back at him. "It's always worked for me, anyway." There was no room for doubt about that, at least; Gauron had learned about dealing with civilians from managing the New People, and they had far less exposure to survival training than even the most ignorant First-Worlders. Then again, that wasn't taking into account how many of them he'd had to kill...
There's silence for a while. Eventually, though, the armored man says very evenly: "Sir, the civilians in question are the wives, children, and families of my men. I will not do that to them. We're already in full secession and mutiny from our country. I won't cast off our families as well."
Comments 6
"Find a soldier with good social skills and order him to watch out for the people. There at least has to be one: not everyone is bad with civvies. If you have a Latino or Irishman that might be a good place to start if they have a likable personality," he says the last line with a grin. He's Latino himself. "If the platoon likes 'em it's a safe bet they're open and friendly, and therefore good with people. Trust me. It's in the genes."
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