witchesreign | Announcement

[The man was in the library when the announcement came. Setting the book he'd been thumbing through back in his proper place on its shelf, Roy left the library. Presenting himself before the door to the office promptly afterward, the man gave a single knock against the door.]

Instructor Mustang, reporting.

Enter.

[She rises from her desk as she gives the command. Given what she intends to discuss with him, she owes him at least that respect.]

[He walked silently inside and stood respectably at attention in front of the Commander's desk. Hands held loosely together behind his back.]

You wanted to see me?

Please, have a seat. [She gestures to the chair opposite her desk, even as she returns to her own seat. Studying him, she considers how best to begin. This isn't the way she prefers to do things... but she doesn't have time to do them her way.]

I understand that, before coming here, you were a military man on your own world.

[At the request, he seated himself quietly and nods once in response to the statement.]

Yes. I was a general in my country's military before my arrival here.

[She nods at that, abstractly. It meshes with what she knows.]

To be blunt, Instructor, I need someone I can trust. I don't know you well enough to know that I can trust you, so instead I will trust that a man who rose to that rank earned the trust that comes with it.

You may refuse the offer I am about to make you without punishment or prejudice, but if you do, it does not leave this room.

I see. [He can understand that situation well enough.]

And the offer is?

Right to the point.

[She can appreciate that. It might have been easier to explain in general before growing specific, but directness is a virtue of its own.]

I need a person willing and able to head a team for the purpose of primarily-independent investigation of Galbadia's military.

[Well that was certainly interesting. He considered the purpose specified and wondered how much more detail he could gain without a commitment. Likely not much, if he wanted to be honest with himself about it. Get ready for a barrage of questions, Commander.]

I'm interested. What investigation would the team be doing concerning Galbadia's military? Do you have a specific part of it you want examined, or do you want the whole of it watched and studied? Will you be picking the team to do this, or will that be my own responsibility?

[She folds her hands on the desk in front of her.]

I will tell you something you probably already suspect: the Galbadian military, out of all the forces that could possibly be arrayed against us, is the most dangerous. We have almost no hope of opposing it successfully, if it opened hostilities tomorrow. We need information. We need plans. We need opportunities to turn defeat into victory.

Most importantly, and most cruelly, we -- that is to say, Balamb Garden at large, myself, and Headmaster Cid -- need plausible deniability. If the worst happens, no one can justify retribution on Balamb at large if an offworlder, acting... 'independently'... has enacted a 'personal' operation against Galbadia.

In other words, you will have the luxury to select and direct your team as you see fit, with the understanding that such independence carries that price.

I believe I understand what you're asking.

Should in any circumstance, my team and I are discovered, you have no idea that we were even doing what we were caught doing. We're on our own the moment my team leaves Balamb to carry this investigation out in other words.

I believe I should be capable of doing what you're requesting. How long do I have to select the team I'll be using? I trust that should I need to leave, you'll take care of the other duties I carry as an instructor, correct?

You're at liberty to conduct this operation in the matter you see fit, though I'd advise you to operate out of Balamb as much as possible, except when actually conducting on-site investigation -- we can make sure you receive missions as suitable cover for those. You'll have the usual coverage for your classes during missions. Ideally it will all appear perfectly normal.

To that extent, pick your team as you see fit. I'm authorizing you to include cadets as well if you find any that have skills you deem necessary.

[Implicit, then, is trust that he'll treat the cadets responsibly and carefully. Zabala doesn't like extending this trust, and putting cadets at potential risk in doing so -- but it is necessary. So she does.]

We'll arrange to justify compensation through normal-appearing channels.

[He'll have to look into possibly making contacts then in around the world. That'll be the best way to gather information without actually having to purposely seek it out himself. If he did missions in casual clothing, he could perhaps be more capable of mixing in with the people of this world and thus in due time have himself an information network that only he knew of set up. He'd considered the idea before, but hadn't actually carried it out, since he hadn't the liberty really to act on anything he might have learned from it.]

Understood. I may increase the amount of missions I'll be taking in the future in order conduct the steps needed to set things up for this operation, especially if I'm to be running it from a distance the majority of the time. I've already shown my ambition here in double specializing during my enlistment, so the increase in missions can be passed off as an ambition to regain my previously held rank.

[She nods.]

Which in turn is a suitable reason to give you the increase in Rank that you deserve but we can't give you directly. So that all works out quite nicely. We'll think up some reason to reward your team as well. Presumably they'll be going on missions with you, so likely that will be our route as well.

[He gives an understanding nod.]

Yes, that sounds like a viable method to use.

[She lets that hang a moment, before posing the necessary question outright.]

Will you accept?

Yes. I'll accept.

[He'd pretty much had already accepted the responsibility the moment he'd begun to quietly plan on how to go about this task.]

I'll inform you of when I have those I will be using for my team gathered.

[She had expected that. It's why she didn't scruple to explain the task before he accepted.]

Excellent. [And she even smiles for that.]

Announcement

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