[ Herc stares at this message for a long moment, though there's no flicker in his expression. it says something about a man, when he tells you to take care of his important people. it isn't necessarily a sense of martyrdom— but in their field, what they did— you had more of a chance of not leaving the battlefield than ever getting home. there was a reason there weren't many pilots that had family outside the PPDC. there was a reason not many pilots had family outside their Jaegers.
Chief didn't have to ask.
of course Herc would do it. they'd be like his own and he'd do as well by them as he would his own people. (he was a rough man, chipped around the edges, not good at people and not good at conversation but Herc, for all his faults, had a love for humanity). ]
[honor. duty. valor. self-sacrifice. these are the tenants of being a spartan- no, a soldier. it's a code that they adhere to, it what separates soldiers from men with guns.
he's already lost cortana twice, he can't keep losing her like this. more and more, he can feel her slip away from him; all compass has to do is snap its fingers and he's in the void. how long is he going to mourn for her?]
Spartan 034, too. He's my second in command, but you know how little brothers are. He sacrificed his life, he shouldn't have to keep sacrificing it.
[he doesn't know war, is what he means. to sam it's not losing your family, your friends, entire planets. he's never walked into a brute camp and seen the bodies of what used to be people, or seen the tortured POWs. he's mourned for 32 years, please let him stop. he's so tired.]
[ his little brother; Herc lifts a hand, rubs the back of his neck despite himself. there's something to be said about having family with you, and while Herc and his younger brother aren't even what you'd consider family anymore, he does have his son. ]
Can't stop them if they've got their mind set on something.
Sir, you know that the request is mutual, right? I'll look after them.
[sam and him were part of a pack, once. kelly, fred, linda, sam and he were blue team, and then over the years it just became him. he has to keep them together, for their sake.]
[ it's an answer, even if it seems like a deflection and Herc swallows, despite himself. ]
I appreciate that.
[ it seems cold, over text. rough in ways that Herc can't help but be because somewhere between joining the military and fighting kaiju his ability to say anything emotionally plainly has been stunted. he knows he's no good at it, just like he knows you can't always teach an old dog new tricks
(but he's trying, even if they can't tell, for the sake of his boy). ]
[he doesn't understand emotion, he was trained to leave those behind. the words mean what they mean; it doesn't matter if they have levels to them. herc appreciates it, even though it's expected. as far as he's concerned, he's being overly polite about something that's required of them.]
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heracleidae) wrote2013-09-06 11:57 pm
(xi. v.)
Both are civilian consultants for the UNSC, and while I'm aware there will be some of us around, they get into a lot of trouble.
(xi. v.)
Chief didn't have to ask.
of course Herc would do it. they'd be like his own and he'd do as well by them as he would his own people. (he was a rough man, chipped around the edges, not good at people and not good at conversation but Herc, for all his faults, had a love for humanity). ]
Not planning on doing anything stupid are you?
(xi. v.)
he's already lost cortana twice, he can't keep losing her like this. more and more, he can feel her slip away from him; all compass has to do is snap its fingers and he's in the void. how long is he going to mourn for her?]
Spartan 034, too. He's my second in command, but you know how little brothers are. He sacrificed his life, he shouldn't have to keep sacrificing it.
[he doesn't know war, is what he means. to sam it's not losing your family, your friends, entire planets. he's never walked into a brute camp and seen the bodies of what used to be people, or seen the tortured POWs. he's mourned for 32 years, please let him stop. he's so tired.]
(xi. v.)
Can't stop them if they've got their mind set on something.
[ still ]
Anyone else?
(xi. v.)
[sam and him were part of a pack, once. kelly, fred, linda, sam and he were blue team, and then over the years it just became him. he has to keep them together, for their sake.]
(xi. v.)
I appreciate that.
[ it seems cold, over text. rough in ways that Herc can't help but be because somewhere between joining the military and fighting kaiju his ability to say anything emotionally plainly has been stunted. he knows he's no good at it, just like he knows you can't always teach an old dog new tricks
(but he's trying, even if they can't tell, for the sake of his boy). ]
(xi. v.)
Master Chief, out.
[he doesn't understand emotion, he was trained to leave those behind. the words mean what they mean; it doesn't matter if they have levels to them. herc appreciates it, even though it's expected. as far as he's concerned, he's being overly polite about something that's required of them.]