(TFT) A conversation

[Pasha and or Rick Smith <pnrsmith@istar.ca>]

	While inspecting the fort Ben takes the new Decathon 
leader aside.  He says, "Captain, we need every fighter we have 
ready to fight.  I understand your showing 'lm who is in command, 
but we need him back in his armor, and ready to do his job."

	Decathon' Doror Tm Cremp snaps, "Damned if any
bloody bastard can insult me to my face, damn me, I intend to see
him broken!  How do you expect to maintain DISIPLINE if you
bloody well let troopers insult and question an Officer's right to
command!  Damn me! I won't take it.

	The Padrone insists, "Sir,  I agree that Im' deserves to be 
punished, but you've smashed him unconscious already!  We have
more than 6 centuries of enemies out there and Im' Sions is one of
our best fighters!  We can't, CAN'T enthrall him!

	Decathon' Cremp starts to answer but Padrone Gibeah
interupts,  "Just listen for a minute, I have to say something while 
we are alone!  I have the the best 'thon in the 7th Century, and elite 
troops must be commanded differently.  I expect, _demand_ that 
they show more initiative than regular troops and they are not used 
to strict disipline.  It is not needed with these men!

	"Also, moral is important.  You don't whip your horses to 
the bone if you wnat them to work well for you for a long time.  
Likewise, slaves take a certain amount of care and compassion to get 
the most out of them over the long haul.  While you are clearly an 
excellent leader in battle, I would like to have charge of the workers, 
because I have been able to get them to work efficiently and we need 
to keep them at peak efficiency.  I really could use Pak there, as he has 
a way with them.

	"Finally, and this is only a suggestion, but I think that the 
Thorsz will be more than willing to provide the appropriate 
compensation to any fool merchant who demands it of him if we draft 
a few of the workers as privates.  If you are willing, we could increase 
our number of fighters by half or more if we take the ones with some
aptitude for fighting and train them.  They won't be able to do much, 
but they may make the difference.  And if any live, this will be their 
"Death Test".  They aren't the troops I would choose, but we take what 
we can get in a crisis.  Unless you want to train the ones fit for fighting?  
You have the look of a man who can fight well, and train other to fight 
by your example.  Training time will be short, but I hope you will let 
us train some of them.  When I scouted the nearest fort, I saw them 
piling up the bodies of the peasents they killed like so much cord wood.  
And I think they were planning on eating them.

	"Give our workers a chance to at least fight back against the 
enemy.  They won't revolt here.  If they did, they know we could 
simply open the gates and tell them they are free.  And they would all 
be dead inside a day.

	"It may never be safe to draft soldiers from workers again, 
but here and now, they owe us their lives, and they know it.  They 
already helped us kill trolls.  We let some over the wall, killed it, and 
let them keep it down with torches until we could burn the body 
completely.

	"It's your call Captain, but I know that either of us could turn 
some of them into decent privates in a week, given the motivation they 
have.  And we need them...."

	Padrone Gibeah falls silent, and the Decathon' cocks an eye-
brow.  Seeing that he is 'permitted' to speak he takes a deep breath and
says "I bloodly well, HAVE heard of you and your 'thon, which is the 
ONLY reason I let you say your piece."

	"You are a bloody fool; no, you're worse than a fool, you're
mad!  It is death for a peasant to touch a weapon.  Should even one 
owner object to you illeagally freeing a slave, YOU can be enthralled!	
For someone who bloody well claims to know how to 'take care' of
peasants, you will have them all hung!  You're acting pretty damn 
murderous towards them right now.  
	
	"I don't know how any damned centaur armies are run, but it 
takes a HELL of a lot more time to train a WELL BORN squire to become
a soldier!  Damn me!  We are talking years of bloody hard work! You're
a bloody damned idiot if you claim you can make fighters out of these damn
scum in a couple of days!  I'm bloody well not saying they would be no 
use.  They could draw fire!  But don't expect me to entertain for a single
bloody second that you can make fighters from them!  You could train 
the damned animals for YEARS and the won't turn into proper soldiers!
They lack breeding!

	Damn right they owe us their lives!  They bloody well owe us
their lives every damn day!  EVERY damn day!  

	"Padrone Gibeah, I don't bloody well like to meddle in things 
that are working well so I planned to give you a free hand with your people, 
but you have some sort of ghastly mad house here!

	Damn me, sure as I'm standing here you will get all of those
peasants hung!   Your troopers are talking back to officers!   Your 
second in command is sending off troopers while slaves arm themselves!
Damn me!  You're bloody well, telling me that you can make soldiers of 
these sheep in a week!?!  MADNESS!

	You bloody well saved the lives of me and my men, and I am 
damned greatful but this is too much to belive!

	So, what would you bloody well have me do?  I believe in 
results, and you have the only intact outfit this side of the dam.  You
damn well have a FINISHED fort!  Damn me! You saved my bloody
life!  Can you bloody well give me a _single_, one SINGLE BLOODY
reason why I should let you do ANY of the bloody mad things you have 
asked for?



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