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It's true that many manufactured weapons are readily accessible to the military....

But as you've seen here at Rhodes Island, there's always people who have other ways of acquiring such things.

There's a lot of them?

Yes.... That is a big one, the military usually has a numerical advantage unmatched by civilian organizations.

Rhodes Island today can only compare the standing army of maybe a backwater nomadic city in a small country.

Whaa? I thought Rhodes Island was really powerful...

For a non-governmental organization, Rhodes Island has done very well for itself. But we couldn't dream of challenging a state.

But we have such amazing operators. Like Skyfire, she goes 'swoosh' with her staff and everything goes 'fwoom!'

But there's only so much you can do in the face of an overwhelming numbers.

Do you remember Gus, from the garrison? He was the toughest guy there by far, but if a dozen men ganged up on him...

Exactly. Numbers change the calculation even for a mediocre combatant. One Beagle couldn't take on Skyfire. But what about ten, or a hundred Beagles? Think about it.

A- a hundred mes? We- we could crush Skyfire...

Sorry, Skyfire....

Heh. Exactly. The number of times a lone individual has used her individual strength to influence warfare on a national scale is zero. In the entire recorded history of human conflict.

Anyway.... To digress a little, there's a reason I haven't been systematically explaining the Army to you in your prep courses. There's just no value to it.

My greatest hope is that you'll never have a chance to apply any of this knowledge. This little lesson here is completely voluntary.

So numbers aren't the answer either?

Well, it's an answer, but it's more of a descriptor of the military itself, rather than a soldier.

Hmmm....

Um. Is it following orders?

What makes you say that?

I just thought back to our time at the garrison. The captain said that as a soldier, you have to follow orders no matter what.

Correct.

Huh? I got it right!

You did. The defining characteristic of a soldier is obedience to the chain of command.

There's a saying: the best soldier is one who can't think. An army does not need soldiers to think. Only to follow orders.

But isn't that kind of cruel?

War is cruel. And if you must engage in it, giving up thought could be a kind of relief.

But....

Isn't it cruel that you have these questions at all? Aren't soldiers human?

Obviously, a soldier is not a machine. He comes closer to death than anyone, and he knows better than anyone exactly what it is he is facing.

Can a soldier still muster up morale when he knows he's carrying out an incredibly stupid order?

I think... no?

Of course not. So when faced with such a situation, you have two choices. Do you know what they are?

...No.

One is to prevent the soldier from noticing the order is incredibly stupid.

But that's difficult. The men on the front lines know exactly what kind of danger they are facing. You can't fool them.

If you could, you could've made a better choice.

And that other choice is to just issue the correct orders.

Huh?

It may sound a bit silly, but it's the truth. How else do you get a soldier to surrender his inclination to question orders?

How do you get him to relax, and trust in his command?

It's simple. Just issue convincing, correct orders from the beginning.

But not everyone makes the right choice.

After leaving the Autonomous Government, I moved to join the Resistance. But in the end I left. Because it wasn't any different there.

Woah. Instructor Dobermann even joined the Resistance?!

Yes. There's a picture in the second drawer under the wardrobe. Take a look

Wowww. You looked so cool back then, Instructor.

I wanna see!

Woah. She did!

Put it back when you're done.

Things didn't go well there either. And eventually I left Bolívar and came to Rhodes Island.

My expectations were low.

But I was pleasantly surprised.

A soldier knows when he's been given a stupid order, but he may not know what to do about it.

That's another reason you need the right orders.

And Rhodes Island provides those.

(whispering) Fang, do you get what she's talking about?

(whispering) Kinda...

Don't worry about it too much. It's just me waxing philosophical.

The main point here is you could stand to appreciate Rhodes Island a bit more.

You can safely give yourselves to Rhodes Island. Even if you don't think about what you're fighting for, you won't lose anything.

There's an age old question: If we know we have to move forward, but forward is always in front of us, how do we know which way to move?

There's no answer to that question. But you can at least trust in Rhodes Island when they tell you which way is forward. You can't go wrong moving that way.

Trust in Rhodes Island.... I think... I think I get what you're trying to tell us.

Yeah. Basically, Rhodes Island is a good place?

........Heh heh. Yeah. That's about it.

It's an pie-in-the-sky paradise that a few idealists are desperately trying to keep going, for the sake of a little hope.

I know Rhodes Island is good... But is it really that good...?

Heh heh. It might take a while for you girls to realize it.

All right, that's enough cleaning and chattering. It's time for you two to get some chow.

Ah! Oh no! It's almost 1!

Yep. Thanks for helping me clean up. You have something to eat. I'll be right along.

Okay, thanks for the lesson, Instructor Dobermann. I need some time to digest it.

Me too!

Don't take it too seriously.

Also, I changed my mind. I think I might put this on one of my tests.

And if you two feed me back exactly what I just said, you get a zero.

Aaaaagh! No way!

I- I'll think very carefully about it! Thanks again for your lesson today, Instructor!

Instructor, huh.

Somehow, I'm getting used to teaching.

I've had many students, some of whom have long surpassed me. And others have bright futures.

I've found a new purpose in Rhodes Island. And I'm willing to believe in the future that Amiya and Dr. Kal'tsit have painted for me, but....

Alan.

Juan.

Jose.

My roots are still in Bolívar.

I'll go back, someday, and see for myself.

Someday.