A nod at those words-- no truer sentiment had been uttered and, if times and situations were different, Cliff knew that he would have at least hospitalized Albel for what had happened. But, unfortunately, the infinite wisdom of space-age politics supported a very different outcome when it was applied to Luceti.
"But it's not you," he said, "and we're not in Japan. You of all people should know how death works around here. If you had killed him today, he would only be back in a week with something missing and more rage than I wanna imagine in it's place. He'd target you, and it'd be a never ending cycle." He shook his head. Clearly, he had given these moral quandaries plenty of thought during the idle moments when he didn't feel like sleeping. Such was the life of a man who had spent over a decade working on the opposition of the dominant political opinion in a galaxy populated by billions.
But, life was different in Luceti. He had forged bonds with people. At the very least, he realized, he owed Souji an explanation. It would pale in comparison to the reality, but there was always the chance that they could face more dangerous trials.
...above all, he didn't want to sacrifice any of his bonds.
"I know it's gonna be hard for you to believe after today, but Fayt really is the only person I've seen Albel show any loyalty too. This is a guy who is Captain as well, with troops following his orders and a chain of command to work with. We fought out there, and it was a bloody mess, so it really is saying something that he dropped everything and jumped off his planet with us.
...Odds are that he's kicking himself for what happened. Considering how he treats everyone? That's gotta be a bigger punishment than death ever could be."
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"But it's not you," he said, "and we're not in Japan. You of all people should know how death works around here. If you had killed him today, he would only be back in a week with something missing and more rage than I wanna imagine in it's place. He'd target you, and it'd be a never ending cycle." He shook his head. Clearly, he had given these moral quandaries plenty of thought during the idle moments when he didn't feel like sleeping. Such was the life of a man who had spent over a decade working on the opposition of the dominant political opinion in a galaxy populated by billions.
But, life was different in Luceti. He had forged bonds with people. At the very least, he realized, he owed Souji an explanation. It would pale in comparison to the reality, but there was always the chance that they could face more dangerous trials.
...above all, he didn't want to sacrifice any of his bonds.
"I know it's gonna be hard for you to believe after today, but Fayt really is the only person I've seen Albel show any loyalty too. This is a guy who is Captain as well, with troops following his orders and a chain of command to work with. We fought out there, and it was a bloody mess, so it really is saying something that he dropped everything and jumped off his planet with us.
...Odds are that he's kicking himself for what happened. Considering how he treats everyone? That's gotta be a bigger punishment than death ever could be."