2023-10-07: Reporting for Punishment
- Log: 2023-10-07: Reporting for Punishment
- Cast: Soma Peries, Sergei Smirnov
- Where: REA Military Base, Indonesia
- Date: U.C. 0097 10 07
- Summary: Dutiful Lieutenant Soma Peries reports to her commanding officer to receive punishment for her failure.
-- REA Military Base, Balikpapan, Indonesia --
A knock comes from the door of the office Colonel Sergei Smirnov is currently
occupying. He glances away from his terminal to say, "Enter."
The voice that replies through the door is a familiar one, "Roger." Lieutenant
Soma Peries enters the office, firmly walking her way up to stand at attention
in front of the Colonel's desk.
Sergei looks at her for a moment, before greeting her, "Lieutenant." He reaches
over, turning off the screen for his terminal and hiding the rather sharp
communications from REA Command regarding the recent mission and loss of
Gayatri D'Cruze. Sergei then looks at Soma expectantly, waiting.
Understanding the look, Soma starts, "Sir. Reporting for my punishment."
Sergei raises an eyebrow for a moment, but nonetheless remains calm as he asks
simply, "Punishment?"
Soma nods firmly, "Yes sir. My error yesterday resulted in the failure of the
mission and the loss of one of our own. That is unacceptable for a super
soldier of the Republic." She failed. She wasn't perfect. That shouldn't be.
She knows this. So much was put into make her the best soldier she could be.
And she was letting them down. All of them. The Colonel. Her comrades. The
people of the REA and the Federation.
She was ready to accept the punishment for her failure.
Having already spent quite a bit of time with Soma Peries under his command,
the Colonel was well aware of her feelings on this matter. His knowledge,
incomplete as it is, of the project that created her gave him insight into her
thought processes that most in the REA Forces did not have.
And of course, his far greater battlefield experience meant he saw this matter
in a different light.
"The error was not yours, Lieutenant. It was mine." Soma would object to this,
but she won't disagree with a superior officer. Sergei continues, "I should
have further considered the possibility of Captain Dispersal's ability having an
affect on you. However, after the previous incident, I believed it would not
have been an issue." Perhaps this was another lie perpetrated by the former
Super Soldier Program researcher.
Or perhaps Yuliana Dispersal's abilities were so different that even the
precautions they had taken were not enough.
"Do you know what happened? Was it like what happened before?"
Soma Peries shakes her head at the questions, "No sir, it was not like what
occured with the Celestial Being Winged Gundam. There was no pain. No fear. As
I approached the Captain's machine, I rapidly lost consciousness. I'm not sure
for how long, but I believe it was only a short time. I awoke again as you
were pulling me away from the Captain, somewhat confused but otherwise
unharmed."
Sergei hmmms thoughtfully, "I see..." Unfortunately, there's still many
specifics about the Lieutenant's creation that he is unfamiliar with. For now,
he can only be more careful, "We will have to limit your exposure to Captain
Disperal. Particularly at close range. In any future mission where there is a
possibility of encountering her, make sure to use a long range loadout." He'll
have to make sure he's the one who engages her up close, where necessary.
Now that the matter is settled, Sergei finishes, "Dismissed, Lieutenant."
Soma Peries firmly salutes, "Roger." She then spins on her heels and walks out
of the office. Part of her feels guilty that she didn't receive any punishment
for her poor performance. But she resolves herself to be better prepared in
the future. Now that she's aware of her weakness, she will overcome it like
the super soldier she is.
Once the Lieutenant has left, Colonel Smirnov lets out a thoughtful sigh. It's
unfortunate that he must keep dragging her into battles like that. The thought
of what the program that created her must have put her through disturbed him.
And yet he continued to use her on the battlefield. They needed her strength
though... Given the current state of the world.
And he couldn't disobey orders from Command.
Speaking of... The Colonel reactivates his terminal and stares at the orders to
retrieve Gayatri D'Cruze from the vessel known as the 'Toy Box'. How exactly
did they expect him to do that?