PLEROMA - a few days after the raid

[leicesters]

[Despite Claude's best efforts to shut his emotions out of this communion, it's impossible to fully avoid muted feelings of anger and bitterness leaking across the connection. Still, he addresses his thoughts in a calm, measured way, even if he's noticeably more downbeat than usual.]

Hiya. This is Claude, one of the new guys. I know most of us are still licking our wounds after what happened in Achamoth, but I wanted to discuss a few things.

What was the point of invading Achamoth, really? We attacked an enemy's stronghold, took back two of our own like we planned, sure-- but we lost two more in the process, and at least one smaller dragon lost its life trying to save us. And what else did we get out of it? A single prisoner? Some superficial damage to the city, which mostly would've just hurt civilians?

I don't want to act like war is just a game of numbers, when so many of you cared about the prisoners to go to these lengths for them, but strategically, the whole idea was insane. Personally, I was reassured a plan was being worked on, and that I just had to trust it was in hand. Sure, the big dragon that helped us was great, but it had to give its life for us. Both lives, even. And our escape route only came in the nick of time! If the forest dragons hadn't sympathised with our cause, we would have all been screwed.

If we mount any coordinated attacks in future, can we actually think about it at length? You know, plot it out from start to finish, try and account for as many variables as we can, not just talk about what enemies we might face and how they fight. And if we're going to walk into obvious traps, can we actually think about what the trap might be and how to mitigate it?

[He pauses. He's angry, if only because for a sect so supposedly dedicated to defending life, so many of them are too reckless about throwing lives away just to save a handful of others. Some casualties are inevitable in war, but these losses didn't have to be. That's what bothers him about all this more than anything.]

Anyway... I don't want to just gripe, so I also wanted to consider our long-term goals. I spoke to the dragon -- Estinien and the other thing? -- before the fighting started, and they made it sound like a direct assault on the Regent is nigh impossible. The Regent's corruption in that part of Horos is too powerful, the Citadel especially.

So, I think if we want to make them vulnerable at all, we have to figure out a way to purify the land. I don't know how yet, and the dragon wasn't sure either, but I want to believe it's possible. If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Comments

[superbshot]

[Caitlyn had been assuming there would have been more of a plan as well. Estinien and Akua both had spoken to her about planning something, but the execution had forced their hand as she'd understood it.]

What would you have done differently, Claude?

[She's not happy either, but something about this doesn't sit well with her. She's not angry or anything, but there's a muted sense to her emotions in the communion. Contemplative, thoughtful.]

Estinien would have gone by himself, and he wouldn't have been able to get to our comrades alone. The Regent announcing the execution forced us to attack when we did, however I believe it was a trap to deal with the Innocence Entity. Based upon the behavior of the enemy destroying it was the real goal, but it was still a tactical error on our part. There's no denying that, but what would you have done? It's clear from the way that you speak you're more familiar with battlefield strategy than most of us.

[She'll address the other thing later, because she's curious, but this feels more important. If he's good at this then he should be able to voice himself.]

[leicesters]

If it were up to me, I would have talked Estinien into sharing his intentions with everyone. I don't know him personally, so I don't know how realistic that is, but if we could have all talked about it I'm sure we would have come up with a better proposal even he could have agreed with... Not just him using himself as a shield to buy the rest of us time. [For all his criticisms, he is genuinely sorrowful about that.] We could have divided our forces to save him and the prisoners, especially when it became clear the Kenoma were focusing most of their firepower on him.

[Really, if it were up to him, he'd have preferred not to have gone at all, but he can tell how much this meant to the other Pleroma, so he's trying to compromise here.]

Those spears, too... Did you see the way they flew up? They looked like they were stationed around the city, but we didn't pick up on them at all. Of course we couldn't have guessed their purpose at the time, but sending scouts away from the main body of the fighting to try and determine any traps could have gone a long way.

Sorry, it's been a hell of a couple of days.

[superbshot]

I don't disagree with you. That could have been handled better. We...should have defended him and worked together to do something more than what we did. The Innocence Entity does have goals of its own, but we should have predicted that it would show and planned around it.

[The big dragon...well...that was something, wasn't it?]

I confess, I didn't really see much of the spears or the battle. I was occupied by one of the Kenoma, and got a little banged up. [Having it out with Ciel at first, and then the factory fubar.] But I'll take your word for their presence.

[A sigh.]

Reconnaissance is definitely something that we should have done better. I don't know, Claude. I agree with you, I just...[She huffs.]...this is very far outside of my wheelhouse. The situation was dire, and it wasn't a winning one. Yet, I can't help but feel like we at least accomplished something, bringing Himeka and Abel out.

I feel that, don't worry

[leicesters]

Maybe we accomplished something, but we also lost something. There's no way any of us can congratulate ourselves just because of one success.

Look... I'm not asking for military perfection from anyone. I just don't want the same kind of mistakes to happen again. If we keep rushing from crisis to crisis, freaking out every time one of our friends is taken away, then all the Regent has to do is keep hitting us where it hurts in the same ways, over and over. This is a war.

[People die in wars, and prisoners are taken. You have to have a certain level of emotional disconnect to make the kind of rational decisions needed to cope with that, or at least learn to think that way fast, even if you don't come from that kind of background.]

All of us have to seize this conflict with our own hands, if we want to make it through this and win.

[superbshot]

Agreed. On, again, all counts.

[She doesn't expect even Police discipline from the Pleroma.]

We need to focus. And we need to really unify. We lack leadership and organization. I was trying to work on the latter before Godsblood, which you weren't here for. Things have been in disarray since the Regent's mass address. Hopefully that will be something I can continue, now that Abel is back.

[There's a pause.]

You're obviously of a military mind, and you've mentioned goals. So, perhaps that should be something we create a list of. Things that we absolutely need, in order to progress and build some semblance of organization. We can perhaps bring this list to the collective group and see who has experience where, and build from that.

[leicesters]

Good idea. Instead of focusing on what we can't do, we need to figure out what everyone can do. The resistance can plug some of the gaps, and if we still lack things after that, we can build towards them.

[Whether that be in terms of skills, knowledge, or resources. It would give the group a sense of purpose and direction if they worked towards improvements, too, even gradual ones.]

Can you tell me more about the Regent's mass address? What happened to rattle people this badly?

[superbshot]

Yes. That way we can build a team. We're...mostly friends I would say, but only by necessity. There's not been a lot of information sharing.

[Which is bad. Of course.]

The mass address was...honestly a little stunning. The Regent brought every Aion into a mental chamber and spoke to all of us in a direct communion. That alone would be cause for alarm. The rest of it was all threats, promises that we would come around. But again, it highlighted the gulf in power between the two sects.