[He's been around for nearly five hundred years. Reading other's body language comes as naturally to him as open communication.]
I understand taking a back seat doesn't come naturally to you.
[Which is sort of an understatement. As long as he'd known her, Shepard had always struck him as someone who was not comfortable just standing by waiting for orders. To be honest, she was more apt at giving them and he wasn't exactly sure why she had not been allowed to when she had talent in that area.]
You're more qualified to give orders than I am, truthfully. Your personality is far more suited for it.
[His eyes watch her work, quietly appreciating the methodicalness of her motions. He's... well, he is somewhat religious but in a more universalist way than any set doctrine. But he can appreciate the ritualistic notions of it.]
But if I may speak my mind... perhaps there is something to be learned here. Speaking out and rebelling against the system set in place is... well, it only results in placing a figurative bull's eye on you.
To quote a famous leader from my home, sometimes it's best to "talk softly, and carry a big stick".
[It's ancient earth history, but the Villa hadn't just been good for night combat maneuvers and zero-g exercises. If she hadn't been book smart before she'd gone through N-School, she hadn't had the option to not be during. And as crusty as a foreign policy as it was, the armed forces (even an amalgamation like the Alliance) never forgot where they came from.]
I'm Navy so I like the one about five minutes being the difference between defeat and victory better.
[It's a brusque statement, chilly to the point that she might very well be blowing his advice out of the proverbial water. She turns the component in her hand, using her short fingernails to work the cloth into the grooves of the piece. There's little debris to be found there, but the practice is rote enough to settle.]
In my experience, stroking egos on a compromised field instead of getting the job done is a great way to start racking up the body count.
[Which actually makes him smile a bit. As long as they'd been room mates, Ferdinand had rarely probed into Shepard's background--mostly as as a respect for privacy but also because she was... quite frankly... intimidating. Still, it pleases him to realize that she's from a similar universe, if not the exact same time.]
...And that was Lord Nelson, I believe? I remember him... he was a very good leader as well.
[He watches her continue to go through her ritualistic cleaning, un-moving other than his gaze.]
Perhaps you are correct. But in this situation, all we can do is attempt to protect those who do not have the skills to survive, while appealing to our instructors for guidance. It's somewhat of a catch-twenty two. It isn't a perfect system by any means, and if you would like for me to personally inform you of the details I would be willing to share them.
[Something in her bristles over it, a flicker of something like real anger in the line of her shoulders - the angle of her neck as her head is bowed over her work. Because isn't that what she'd been doing? She'd spoken to leads, had chased the chain of command - not kindly and not passively, but for good reason. People were dead and missing and how anyone had the patience to be idle, to wait for guidance when there was something to be done wasn't something she understood - wasn't something she could sympathize with.
There's a muscle in her cheek; it's getting a work out. She sets the component in her hands aside and picks up another. Finally she says:]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
I understand taking a back seat doesn't come naturally to you.
[Which is sort of an understatement. As long as he'd known her, Shepard had always struck him as someone who was not comfortable just standing by waiting for orders. To be honest, she was more apt at giving them and he wasn't exactly sure why she had not been allowed to when she had talent in that area.]
You're more qualified to give orders than I am, truthfully. Your personality is far more suited for it.
[His eyes watch her work, quietly appreciating the methodicalness of her motions. He's... well, he is somewhat religious but in a more universalist way than any set doctrine. But he can appreciate the ritualistic notions of it.]
But if I may speak my mind... perhaps there is something to be learned here. Speaking out and rebelling against the system set in place is... well, it only results in placing a figurative bull's eye on you.
To quote a famous leader from my home, sometimes it's best to "talk softly, and carry a big stick".
no subject
[It's ancient earth history, but the Villa hadn't just been good for night combat maneuvers and zero-g exercises. If she hadn't been book smart before she'd gone through N-School, she hadn't had the option to not be during. And as crusty as a foreign policy as it was, the armed forces (even an amalgamation like the Alliance) never forgot where they came from.]
I'm Navy so I like the one about five minutes being the difference between defeat and victory better.
[It's a brusque statement, chilly to the point that she might very well be blowing his advice out of the proverbial water. She turns the component in her hand, using her short fingernails to work the cloth into the grooves of the piece. There's little debris to be found there, but the practice is rote enough to settle.]
In my experience, stroking egos on a compromised field instead of getting the job done is a great way to start racking up the body count.
no subject
[Which actually makes him smile a bit. As long as they'd been room mates, Ferdinand had rarely probed into Shepard's background--mostly as as a respect for privacy but also because she was... quite frankly... intimidating. Still, it pleases him to realize that she's from a similar universe, if not the exact same time.]
...And that was Lord Nelson, I believe? I remember him... he was a very good leader as well.
[He watches her continue to go through her ritualistic cleaning, un-moving other than his gaze.]
Perhaps you are correct. But in this situation, all we can do is attempt to protect those who do not have the skills to survive, while appealing to our instructors for guidance. It's somewhat of a catch-twenty two. It isn't a perfect system by any means, and if you would like for me to personally inform you of the details I would be willing to share them.
no subject
There's a muscle in her cheek; it's getting a work out. She sets the component in her hands aside and picks up another. Finally she says:]
I won't say no to intel if you're offering it.