Sitting in her office, she decided she'd waited long enough. They'd have had time to think, cool off, and accept where they where by now.
She left her office, heading down and grabbing two soldiers as she moved through the building. They made their way quickly to the barracks, O'Brian deciding to deal with Goodman first. They headed over, stepping into the entrance of the barracks. Goodman could have heard the sounds of boots as the soldiers saluted outside his room.
The first thing he would see was the two soldiers stepping in, their rifles trained on him, tracking his movements. Then the young woman. She made her way to one of the beds, perching on it
Commander Goodman. Please take a seat. We have a lot to discuss here. Why don't you start with why you returned to Bretonia?
She crossed her legs, waiting patiently for the answer
"Commander Goodman died in a fire at his home a year ago, Admiral. These days I go by my first name. As for sitting, I'll elect to stay standing for the time being." He replied, not moving as he stared into the mirror, "Though I suppose I'll give you the respect of at least facing you and your armed guards before they decide to do something irrational." He drew a long sigh afterwards, raising his hands in a non-threatening manner as he turned to face the woman and the soldiers.
"As for your question." He stated, looking for at her directly. "I never left Bretonia. I took a job as a factory worker under an alias on Leeds before the invasion commenced. I've been planet side since... well... today." He paused, looking from the Admiral to the soldiers. "Could we... perhaps have the room to ourselves? I don't exactly feel comfortable pulling the throats out of people aiming weapons at me. Especially throats of my countrymen."
You DO realise you're not in a position to be making any demands, right?
She raised an eyebrow, looking at him
Especially not when you threaten to rip the throats out of good men either. Doesn't exactly make me feel safe. However, whatever you may think of me Goodman, I'm not here to have you shot.
I'm in a little bit of a pickle really.. I've got a jumped up MP, calling for me to retire, speaking about things he certainly has no idea about, and then you bring me the Prince of Gallia, heir to the throne. You've actually made my day.
She smiles lightly
In fact, I'm prepared to call for your name to be cleared. I'm not sure we could do too much officially, but I can at least have you on the payroll again. You wouldn't have to keep looking over your shoulder. But still, it stumps me. Why exactly did you willingly hand yourself and that Prince over?
"Those two? Those two aren't good men, Admiral. The only good men are the ones who've died fighting this pathetic war. The ones that you and I have sent to their deaths." He stated, raising his hands to signify that he wasn't a threat.
With his hands still held in the air, he made his way over to the bed opposite of the Admiral and sat down across from her. Only then did he lower arms, clasping his hands together and resting them on his legs as he leaned forwards. He stared silently at her for a couple of minutes before drawing in a breath and closing his eyes.
"DeFrance nearly killed me on Leeds. Two weeks or so after the invasion. Eh... time is a bit hazy for me. Either away, rather than actually killing me he left me to die from the wounds that I suffered during our fight. When I came around, I was surprised to see that I had yet again managed to evade death. So, I took it upon my self to hunt the bastard down and put an end to him." He paused, opening his eyes once more to look at her. "It was sheer luck that I found him again after months have gone by. Pissing in some back alley on a couple of burnt out corpses. Caught 'em quietly literally with his trousers down, as one of our Commodores would've said." A light smirk crossed his face as he continued.
"Every damn second of every damn day that I was on that rock, I wanted to kill him. Can't blame me if I still do, he deserves to be opened up for every child, every woman and every one of my comrades whom he has slaughtered. I may have betrayed my country twice, Admiral. But I'm not a cold blooded murderer. Not like him, not like Siona Kithe, and certainly not like Nancy Sweetwater. I don't need any more nightmares... I've got plenty of them already."
He brought his hand to his face and leaned down. In this moment, he swallowed hard before straightening himself out and looking at her. A trail of water could be seen streaming down his cheeks and droplets formed on the dusty cargo pants he was wearing. "You ask why I turned myself over and him as well? Why I would risk my own life to keep him alive, to keep myself alive long enough to make sure he was brought into the hands of the Armed Forces? I've lost more people in this war than anyone would care to admit. This is me doing the only thing I know how to do anymore, and that's serve this damned house first and foremost. I could have been married, living a new life anywhere in Sirius after I've burnt down my own house. But I chose to stay and fight because I've sworn an oath to the Queen. Bretonia is my home, Admiral."
