Talinn listened patiently to Silvertongue, more, perhaps, than he would have for most beasts on the Hide, given his promise to the Songfox clan to watch over him as if he were another son of his. Arguably, he had to admit, that did not count for much given how he had treated his two boys, but he was going to try to be a better father in the future, and he might as well start with the latest member of the Songfox lineage. He did, however, want to sigh a bit, as the younger todd actually questioned whether or not they had the authority to do what they did to the shrews, as if those deceptive, cannibalistic bastards would have questioned for a single moment putting him in a pot of stew and sharing his remains at whatever ‘Gates-damned cursed festival they would put on if they had won.
There have been, of course, missions of dubious morality that the Imperium has undertaken, but mostly for its own security. The world is harsh, and resources are limited, and at the end of the day, you are either on top or are under the heel of other beasts. But what we did to those shrews was completely justified given how they attacked us first and refused all offers of negotiations*.
“I will recover…” Talinn replied calmly, glancing down at his broken body, which had barely scraped by,
“...though it may take some time.”
He paused, taking a breath.
“As for the mission, Mate Stowett and Bosun Waverunner know, but now that you are an officer, I can illuminate you. The Imperium is a bastion of civilization in a lawless and brutal world, welcoming everybeast who is willing to serve the Empress, regardless of their background, as both you and Greeneye have found out, protected now from your pursuers by Her Majesty. But to maintain such a position, resources are required, and the cost of acquiring those can be quite high.”
He paused, gesturing downwards to the hold, where the idol was.
“That idol has the ability to generate the steam that runs this ship, which is the future of the Imperium in so many ways, with only a few side effects. No constant exploitation of the land for coal and lumber, nor the risks involved with acquiring and transporting either, which could easily lead us into much larger conflicts where thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of beasts could die. If we are able to unlock its secrets, and find out where even a small portion of such is, countless lives could be saved not only now, but in the future.”
His words rang true, because he believed them to be. He did, of course leave out many key details regarding how such would massively increase his own family’s power and security, but the Songfox did not need to know that.
“As for the marines, they signed up knowing what could happen to them, and knowing to trust in their superior officers. It was unfortunate that the intelligence provided to us woefully underprepared us for such an assault, and it will be dealt with in time.”
Talinn’s voice was particularly cold for a moment at the last few words-whoever had provided him with the incorrect intelligence was not going to have a very good time in the near future.
“But, as an officer, which you are now, no matter how much you plan, you have to adapt to complete the mission at all costs. That is the backbone on which the Imperium, and your mates, rely upon. And, if necessary, you are to sacrifice yourself to do so.”
He pointed downwards at his own broken body to illustrate the point of sacrifice, letting the words sink in.
“As for the shrews…” he took a deep breath
“...despite them ending the lives of countless Imperium beasts, and other beasts, over the decades, remember, Silvertongue, that we offered them the chance of parlay to avoid bloodshed, and they instead took the opportunity to not only attempt to capture you, but launch a surprise attack to kill all of us, and do what they would do to our corpses. Even when that failed, we did not go forward to conquer them, but simply held our position once we sufficiently secured a landing until we could achieve our objective-we did not make them mount another attack against us. Like most conflicts, it is kill or be killed at the end of the day.”
He paused, taking a paw and rubbing his forehead.
“The taking of a life is always something to consider, and I have never taken one that I did not think was necessary**. In their own fashion as you have pointed out but, we, too, have brothers, fathers, sisters, mothers, beasts we love. But if you think of such during battle, or, linger on it too much afterwards, it is difficult or impossible to raise one’s sword again. As I said, in the end, it was us, or them, and lingering on it will drive you mad.”
*Talinn, of course, being unaware that the shrews did offer a parlay, which was cut short by a marine’s crossbow bolt, either because those involved had died, or because no one wanted to report such a colossal failure to him.
**Although Talinn’s definition of necessary may not exactly agree with the morals of most normal beasts.
@Silvertongue Songfox
