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Given the lack of experience among our ranks, perhaps there may be more efficient means of readying you all for war. I, myself, suggest demos--for you to place yourself among the ranks of trained soldiers in wars long in the past in order to learn discipline and tactics.

The reason why I don't suggest sessions in the Virtual Reality Simulator is simply because it would have no effect on the world. Perhaps you could change the outcomes of wars to the benefit of the Initiative. While such a thing is no concern to me, I still volunteer my assistance. This is not my war, but I have experience to offer.

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Gathering supplies would be much the same of this concept. Regardless, so much as shifting a vase in another era could have dire consequences. From the standpoint of a man experienced in war, consider--

If we maintain one supply of food, another catastrophe such as the undead plague would uproot this base and leave those dependent on food to die in the ensuing struggle. On top of those things, the ones maintaining the supply could vanish. Simply collecting supplies from the past in small groups will not suffice, either. The ones doing the gathering could vanish as well.

People of this universe do not seem to vanish as we do. Regardless of your views of imposition upon others, in the span of a war, the people you fight to defend will be inconvenienced immensely. A soldier will thrust himself before a blade turned on a civilian, but in return, the civilian must ensure that such soldier does not starve.

I am very new to this concept of time travel. If simply shifting a vase could change future events then maybe we should not be gathering supplies from the past either. It will make it more difficult for us, si, but we should find a way to make do.

I am only a banker, not a soldier.

[And well, an assassin, but he's not like to admit that on an open network like this. ]

If the people chose to support our cause then I would feel better about it, but the way you were speaking it sounded more like a conquest. And Kings... I have no use of them. I would have the people free to make their own paths in life. I would not support a system of serfdom run by puppet Kings. I hope you were not suggesting one.

When one wages a war against a monarch, one has to behave quite a bit like one. [Of course, he was stealing from the rulebooks of Camelot's enemies, but they weren't ineffective ideas in play--simply bordering on moral standards Lancelot barely clung to.]

I have no interest in controlling a king. I simply know measures which allow one to fight a King effectively.

When one weighs the moral consequences of their actions, they tend to think on an immediate scale. Will taking this man's life cause unending grief for his wife? His mother? His children? In reality, you should weigh him in terms of your goals.

Will ending this man's life weaken the King? Will taking his grain impact the King's soldiers? An unwilling war is our 'modus operandi' as a whole, but... there are none here who can shoulder the weight of decisions with such consequences. It must be taught to these soldiers, since they refuse to rally under a single banner--that clinging to morality is something only a hero can do. If they're to win, they would do more harm than good attempting to be such heroes.

I agree in that some times dangerous men must be killed in order for conflicts to be won, but disagree in most else.

You are far too quick to risk others lives. Have you no conscious about the things you suggest at all? A death must be weighed against what would be gained and what would be lost. A blade should be used only when there is no other option. It should always be a terrible thing when a man dies, because all life in precious. The people have no duty to serve you just because you are a soldier and they are not.
You claim these are the thoughts only a hero would have, as if that is a terrible thing. Should we not all strive to be better than we are, to consider these harsh realities carefully before bumbling in and sacrificing lives?

Moreover, this is not a conventional war. We can not fight it as one. There is no one King to defeat. You can not rely on castling or setting up supply chains in the past. The reason why the Initiative only runs limited missions, I assume, is that the United Earth would set out to destroy any kind of permanent base in the past and we can not defend the past and the present at the same time. We do not have a large enough number.
It makes far more sense to me to do limited surgical strikes... much as the Initiative has been. With no warning when and where we will be the United Earth has less opportunity to strike back and therefore fewer people would be placed in danger.

You are reckless and arrogant. Your methods would serve only to escalate the situation.
We are up against an idea and a set order that has been in place for generations. The United Earth exists only because the people within it tolerant it. If they were shown what their government was doing would they stand for it or would they find their voice and decide to join us? I think their sense of compassion, that notion you dismiss, would see them join us and there would be little need for your immoral soldiers.

What naive thinking-- as if read from a storybook.

I will rescind my beliefs, then. If these people require heroic men too distracted by relying on fairy-tale ideals to win, then I will be useless to them. If and when such confrontations require killers suited for war, then I will respond. For the moment, I need only consider where it is we are in terms of victories and losses to see how morality has shown who the better men are-- how the Initiative's methods have gained them anything.

I will always find men such as yourself to be admirable, but as I've grown into adulthood, my experiences have taught me better. If you find compassionate men and women in the United Earth, then you'll have found something even more rare than myself.

If you think idealism is naive. I hold that there is always hope for a better tomorrow. In time people will come to understand this and treat each other with respect and kindness.

I also never said the Initiative was moral, I said only that their manner of attack and retreat was better suited to our number. I take issue with their methods as well. I see no reason why people should be kidnapped from time and brought here to serve as soldiers in their war.

[As for the rest Giovanni shook his head. ]

Sadly men like you are not rare. It is very easy to become jaded and see brutality as the only way. I have met many such men in my time.

[Killed many such men even. ]

It is regrettable we can find no way to agree on this.

Men of my mentality are not rare. Men of my talents, fortunately, come to this world very rarely.

However, I do not view such things with regret. In my age, such idealism was a thing of beauty. In my times, I've fallen to darkness and cannot agree with them anymore. I may be one such reason why I believe those ideals cannot come to fruition.

Unfortunately this is something we can agree on.

[This said with a measure of regret but their ideas were polar opposite. It was possible it might even set them against one another in the future, if Berserker ever chose to act on his plans. ]

However, I must pity you. If you're correct and I am at fault, the world will be all the better a place.

If I am correct and you're at fault, then none should be the victor.

There is no need for pity. I am well aware what I seek might be difficult or even impossible to attain, but I am still willing to fight for it all the same.

Quite the romantic, then. I've not met men such as yourself in years.

I wonder where you have been looking. I am not unique in this belief.

[It is a feeling many of his assassin friends hold as well. ]

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