Blind Date

[l3wt]

Arland noticed Nebraska's obvious discomfort pretty fast. His brow furrowed, and he seemed to be studying her face quite intently. There wasn't a hint of a smile on his face when he next spoke.

"No. It's really not."

He set down the beer, leaned back and sighed.

"You know, I keep thinking. The invading Gauls and Corsairs and such? I have little sympathy for them, trying to subjugate or loot places wherever they go. I have no qualms about fighting them - they need to be stopped if Bretonia is to survive as a nation. But when it comes to smugglers... It gets pretty complicated. Morally speaking."

He pauses briefly, considering his next words with care.

"Say I encounter and identify someone as a smuggler, clearly and with irrefutable evidence. I order them to stop and pay the fine for their contraband, repeatedly, and they don't. Unlike pirates or foreign militaries, smugglers are obviously civilians. Thus an uncomfortable question arises that otherwise is not an issue: Who am I really shooting at? A self-serving, greedy criminal, who doesn't care whose lives the contraband he carries might destroy? A thrillseeker, who's in the business for the kicks? Or someone who's just trying to make a living any way they can, running away because they can't afford to lose their cargo?"

He leaned forward in the chair by a bit, watchful and... Apprehensive?

"So here is my question to you... Nebraska. Imagine yourself in my position, behind the controls of a fighter in the situation described above. You're in command - the initiative is entirely on you. What would you do? Do you do your job or do you turn a blind eye? What is the right thing to do?"