Pnwed

Rationalization

He couldn't sleep. He couldn't eat. He drank, and heavily. By trading his meals to half-fed supply-starved mechanics, he got all the drink he needed. Drunken, he raided intelligence stores. It seemed all it took was a tip of the hat and a clutched fist to open most doors for enlisted. He sipped at a flask while he listened, with oversized head phones.

" (High Pitched Beeping) .. z... Brooklyn is secured. Frontlines seem far from here... no enem.. wait... in the sky... captai-"

He rewound and played the tapes over again. Pilots, dying in their mobile suits, radioing their last words. Some men bravely charged into the overbearing fire. Others ran, cut down from behind. When he arrived in California Base, he stored his mobile suit in a hangar, locked under forged orders from high command. This man a transfer into the Military Intelligence division simpiler. This way, he'd have his mobile suit, and access.

The screams of dead men filled his ears. For hours, he listened, mediatating. Finally, he started to write. He noted the ways they died, their positions, the relative position of the enemy. The amount of fear each man seemed to display. He fast forwarded through one man's appeal to a dead wife. Another's appeal to a live daughter. One man seemed to call for his father - whose status was unclear. The final man's words haunted him.

That's when the headphones were pulled off.

"So, got tired of being an adventurer already?"

"Dad!"

The two men embraced. The father quickly noticed the equal ranking, championing him about his vigor in battle and earned recognition. As Tony started to talk, the elder Knight simply nodded, letting him pour out his thoughts and feelings. The arrival of his father made a wave of relief come through Tony. The two walked to the mess hall to grab a bite to eat.