In The Rough

[Reeves]

Though he smiled at her dark humor in respect of the helmet's protective qualities, there was an undeniable amount of bitterness and even regret on his face. The corners of his eyes did not wrinkle to suggest that the smile was genuine, it was likely that even in his relatively brief tenure as Commander, that he had endured the loss of people he cared for. There was at least one such well circulated rumor to suggest that. "I designed it for rough use and even harsh conditions. All in the hope that even if the helmet can't be recovered, at least we'll still have you." He tried to enunciate his smile with added sincerity, and that was at least a partial success.

"I want for our people to have no difficulty recognizing you. It must seem vain, but I did assemble your helmet to catch the eye. So that even if there are people who don't remember, nobody will ever forget you. I never want for you to languish in obscurity ever again. Your place is here now, at the forefront of this movement. And it's important you don't forget how valuable you are either, hence the stone." Clearly he was more eloquent when it came to expressing sentiments, and even if he seemed conflicted by some distant recollection, the tone of what he'd expressed was no less personal and respectful.

"I'll have somebody move another desk here, preferably facing the window. I don't use this office very much, so it'll technically be yours, I'll visit whenever I need your help. I might also visit to simply talk to you, in my capacity as a person and not the Commander. But I'll understand if you have reservations against such a thing. It's not very professional of me, that's for sure." For a moment, he glanced around the room, perhaps rearranging it in his head to figure out the best way to accommodate a working space for her. It was unlikely that he had anything else that was pertinent for discussion, but all the same he hadn't told her to leave. That was her decision to make in light of what he'd just said.

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On indefinite hiatus because the current state of gameplay sucks - ping me over discord if replies are needed