July
Part 10
by kebzero
AC 207, 10/07
Memoirs of a Warrior
This is meaningless.
I have tried to make them understand the necessity of what the Preventers do, and why it is imperative that they lend their skills to support the effort. Appealing to their common sense does not seem to suffice. Nothing I say, reaches them.
Do they really expect that they can live such carefree lives if we do not ensure our safety first?
Quatre, I can at least respect. Financial muscle and political backing of the Preventers' cause is badly needed. Sweet words of nothing wins you votes in an election. To do the actual tough task rarely brings accolades, unless you manage to put the proper spin on it afterward - and you can bet the bumbling mediocrities that are your political opponents will undo your work as 'expensive nonsense' or suchlike, while they have no compunction about adding pork for their own districts.
In the voting ballot, all anyone cares about is which bad choice is the lesser evil, nobody seems to notice all of that which ensures that you get to make that bad choice in the first place - and they would never vote for anyone who flaunted the 'do what is right' option unless they put a populist spin on it.
There are plenty of politicians who feel the Earth Sphere government is a bad idea. With only one big playing field, they have less room to flaunt their feathers and air their bluster. Actors make good politicians for a reason.
The only thing worthwhile about staying here, are the few talks I have had with Rashid, the defacto leader of the Maganac mercenary team. They are, of course, disbanded as a paramilitary faction now, but they have not abandoned their creed. If conflict was to erupt, they are ready to fight whatever evils may come. I sense steel in the man, and I am proud there are still a few of his kind left.
It pains me to know that any potential adversary the Preventers may unearth, will have none of that mettle, nor anywhere close to such a sense of integrity. Those who believe only in greed and power, can never be allowed to lead. This, unfortunately, includes much of the present cabinet.
Like Lady Une, I am not a fan of democracy. The people elected tend to be the exact wrong people for the job - but they have the support of the people they rule, for the most part. The few politicians that are the right men and women for the job, are the only saving graces of democracy - and save it they frequently do.
Rashid has shown me the catacombs that lie below this mansion. Once their hideout in war, it is now their home in peace. Yet, they are not so tied to the place that they would not abandon it. The Maganacs know that a siege mentality can only bring defeat, in the end. Mobility is key to winning a war. If you wall yourself in, you build yourself a prison.
A part of me wonders if that is not exactly what the other pilots have done. They hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil - and when evil smashes against their walls, they are overcome and crushed by their own bricks and mortar before they know what hit them.
What really irks me, is that even Heero has fallen in this trap. It is an appealing trap, certainly. It is also deadly.
Heero has always been one to do what is necessary. When the Preventers formed, I would have thought he would have been among the first to enlist. Instead, I learned that he had drafted himself for another purpose entirely. He says he is preparing for the future, that perhaps the next generation will need their five scientists coming up with solutions to keep the peace. Perhaps there is some wisdom in his words - but why can he not combine scientific pursuits with at least advisory duties with the agency? There are many men and women within the Preventers who would to well to go in his tutelage. The same could be said for Trowa, or even Duo.
Field duty is my choice, though. I need to handle the problem directly, to be certain that the weeds are plucked out in a way that they will not grow back and mar your vision the next spring.
However, the garden is large, there are too few gardeners, and the powers that be would not allow us to use a lawnmower. Such is the weakness of a democracy.
'When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.'
- Chang Wufei
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