FicWad

"Lord Botta, sir, I can't work with him!" Private Rogers protested one day, "Please, can't you get me transferred to someone else's command?"

Botta was surprised. "Has Sergeant Grey been treating you unfairly?" he asked the young recruit.

"Well, no," Rogers admitted, "At least, not yet. But - but he's..."

Botta's expression changed, hardening subtly. "I see. Follow me, Private." He led the young man to Yuan's office, and knocked on the door. "Lord Yuan? May I speak with you?"

"Come in, Botta," a voice called from inside, and Botta entered, with Private Rogers following nervously. He'd heard the rumors about their leader; they said he was some sort of unnatural creature. He wondered what he'd gotten himself into.

As they entered the rather lavishly decorated office, however, Rogers was surprised to see what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary half-elf sitting behind the desk. His confidence grew; surely no kinsman could refuse his complaint.

"Lord Yuan, Private Rogers here has a complaint to make about his sergeant," Botta informed the leader.

"Does he, now. And who is your sergeant, Private Rogers?" Lord Yuan asked neutrally.

"Sergeant Grey, sir," Rogers informed him in a clipped tone.

Yuan glanced at Botta briefly, then nodded. "I see. Botta, thank you for bringing him to me. You're dismissed." Botta saluted briefly, then left Rogers at the mercy of their leader, who turned his intense emerald gaze on the recruit.

"I assume it's the usual complaint?" he asked, using the same tone as before.

"Sir?" Rogers wasn't certain what he'd expected, but he was fairly sure this wasn't it.

"It happens every year; some raw recruit comes in complaining that his - or her - superior officer is a human." Lord Yuan seemed almost bored with the whole exchange.

Rogers nodded vigorously, "Yes, exactly, sir! You understand! I can't possibly-"

"Shut up, Private," Yuan snapped harshly, and Rogers did so, surprised. "Now you listen to me," the Renegade leader continued coldly, eyes flashing, "Sergeant Grey is a far better man than you are, I can tell already. Do you know why?" Rogers shook his head mutely, afraid to speak. "Because although he was rescued from a human ranch, he has never shown the slightest bitterness toward the half-elves in our ranks."

Rogers' mouth dropped open. "But sir," he protested weakly.

"Do you remember what the ultimate objective of the Renegades is, Private?" Yuan asked suddenly.

"To stop the Desians, sir. Because what they're doing gives half-elves a bad name. I understand that, sir, that harming humans is wrong, but do we have to live side-by-side with the people who burn down our villages?"

"Sergeant Grey doesn't seem to have a problem with that," Yuan pointed out, "But at any rate, you're wrong. Stopping the Desians is only part of our objective." The leader locked his gaze with that of the frightened recruit, "The goal of the Renegades is to bring about the existence of a world where everyone can live without fear of discrimination. Not just half-elves, not just humans, but everyone. And yes, before you ask, that does include elves, quarter-elves, and everything in-between. Dwarves, too," he added almost as an afterthought, "although they usually prefer to live away from the rest of us anyway."

Rogers was speechless. "But...they haven't suffered like we have. You're a half-elf, you must understand..." His tone was pleading.

Yuan raised one eyebrow. "I think you'll find, Private, that individuals from all races suffer from discrimination. And you can't even claim that half-elves have suffered the most; that title goes to quarter-elves, who are so divided from one another that most have nowhere to turn at all. Half-elves can generally depend on one another, at the very least. If you have a problem with our ideals, you're free to leave the Renegades, but I'm not transferring you to another command simply because you can't stand the thought of serving under a human."

"I...I suppose," Rogers said, defeated, "As long as he doesn't side with his own kind over others..."

Yuan gazed at him speculatively. "Private Rogers. Do you trust me?"

Rogers blinked at him, stunned by the question. "I, uh...of course, sir!"

"Why?"

"Well, you're the leader, sir. And half-elves don't betray one another; it's an unwritten rule."

Yuan smirked, "But I'm not a half-elf, Rogers. Not completely. I used to be, but I've...changed since then."

Rogers was becoming nervous again. "...Sir?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh, come now, surely you've heard the rumors," his leader replied, apparently enjoying Rogers' discomfort.

"I have, sir...but you don't seem any different from a half-elf..."

"Appearances can be deceiving, Private. Remember that." Yuan smirked, "Dismissed. Don't forget what I told you about our goals. There is no place for unreasoning hatred or mistrust among our ranks."

"Yes, sir," Rogers replied, and made a hasty retreat.

Once Yuan was sure the younger man was gone, he raised his voice slightly. "All right, you can come out now," he called.

Botta emerged from the secret passageway behind the bookcase. "That was well-handled," he told his leader.

"We'll see. I think I gave him enough to think about; keep an eye on him and see if he changes his attitude."

"Of course."

Yuan sighed, "He's the fifty-second complainer this year; that's better than before, I suppose. I wonder if we're starting to get through to people, or if I'm just getting a reputation."

"Does it matter, sir?" Botta pointed out, "As long as they stay where they are, they all eventually learn to give up their mistrust of humans as a race. Dangerous missions do have a tendency to bring people together." He smirked a bit, "Perhaps all of the officers at that level should be humans, just so that the lesson gets through to everyone."

Yuan smirked back at him, "There's a thought. If only we could, it might make it easier to teach some of the slower ones..." He sighed, "Someday, if we succeed, we won't ever have to worry about distrust between the races again."

Botta just nodded sympathetically, "Someday."

"And until then, I'll just have to keep yelling at the idiots," Yuan finished exasperatedly, "You can go back to whatever you were doing, Botta; I won't keep you here."

Botta nodded, understanding the indication that Yuan wanted to be alone, although his friend wouldn't refuse his continued company. "I'll be sure to bring you any other fools I find, so you can yell at them," he promised as he left, with an impish smirk.

As the door closed behind him, Botta heard the distinct and familiar sound of Yuan's pencil cup hitting it, no doubt scattering writing utensils all across the floor, and chuckled as he walked away. A passing subordinate glanced at him uneasily - it was unusual for anyone emerging from that office to be mirthful - but seemed to decide that it wasn't his business and moved on. Botta smiled as he went on his way; being allowed to annoy Yuan and still keep his job was one of the perks of his friendship with the Renegade leader, and he indulged in it perhaps more frequently than he should.

The look on Yuan's face, though...