[Princess Squeegee's private office in the Palace] [mini start] * PrincessSqueegee detransforms as her office door closes. She's wearing gym shorts and a well-worn TM Swim Club hoodie. * PrincessSqueegee curls up in her oversized office chair. "So. What's up?" * Lord_Darkmoon stands opposite her, rather formally. "First, I want to thank you for listening, in there. And commend you on saving the lives of the team and the non-magical people yesterday. Your plan worked well, in that regard." Plan? There was a plan? * Lord_Darkmoon allows a small smirk to twist his lip. "Trick, then." I thought we were running for our lives. However... Lady Mallet is correct. We could have done more. That mission need not have failed as it did. Have you ever led a Team before? * Lord_Darkmoon is talking calmly, with no rancor. Unusual, for him, when dealing with a Princess. Not for too long. I was with Her Majesty for a long time, then had a team for six months, then when the present... system arrived, I got moved out here to do finance and political intel full time. * Lord_Darkmoon nods. I cannot claim to have ever been a leader, myself. However, I have had...some training in that area. *sighs* I never lost anyone, though. And with my powers, Ningyo on land don't pose much threat. No, they wouldn't. And protecting your team, those serving you, is your duty as a leader. If you're going to tell me I should have saved that ship, just stop now. Because I couldn't have. But, Princess, sometimes one must take risks, and make decisions that endanger one's Team, for the sake of the mission. It is a hard decision, but one that must be made constantly. You... I feel you made an incorrect decision, yesterday. *holds up his hand* I might have kept it up for two minutes. And then been so exhausted I could not save us. The ship was a goner, by the time you chose as you did. It is my fault, everyone's fault, as much as yours that we did not think to approach the Admiral sooner. If I remember correctly, it -was- your idea, in the end, to do so. That was done correctly, or as correctly as possible. That is not the error you made. Leadership is based on trust. And trust must go both ways. You know of my...problems...with the Hierarchy. I hope that I did not let that interfere with my duties yesterday, but... it is a possibility. I don't see where you're going here. I'm sorry, I'm getting side-tracked. A team must trust its leader. But, so too must a leader trust her team. Three of us were telling you that we could do something more. No, you couldn't have saved the ship. But we might have saved the Admiral's life. We might have stopped the Ningyo from getting...whatever they were after. That trick you did with the water, so we could escape - could you have done it to get us inside the ship? Not nearly as well. The place we jumped off was not under direct assault by the Ningyo. Going into the front like Leena wanted? I might have made a bubble, where we would have run out of air. And none of us knew the inside structure of the ship. I considered the options. There were none that would work, and none that were survivable, save the one I took. The Admiral... yeah. That woulda been a good idea. * Lord_Darkmoon smiles quietly. "Lady Mallet has often shown that structures are of no matter, if all one wishes to do is get from one side of a wall to another. Perhaps you were right. I admit, I was angry with you for retreating yesterday. But you did the right thing, in protecting those you'd taken under with you. You did a good thing, saving their lives." Sakura woulda shot me if I hadn't. And... I really, really hate to waste resources. As I said, the problem boils down to trust. We...did not trust you enough to accept that we were defeated. You did not trust us enough to believe that we might have had a chance to stop the Ningyo. Resources? Resources. You are a resource. Your team is an exceptional resource. My friendship with Sakura is a necessary resource. Ah. I am a resource. *shrug* In many ways. It was not the Team's lives I was speaking of, but that is not a relevant matter at the moment. I made the judgement call. If you and your friends disagreed with it, that is your right as human beings... but I don't especially care, since it was my call to make. I think, Princess, that you need...a Team of your own. People you trust, more than you trust the Hunters, and people who trust you. That you had to use and Order to get us to follow you...is bad. It is our fault as much as yours, for, as I said, trust must go both ways. There certainly was no time for discussion. And Leena *was* going to kill herself. She certainly was trying hard throughout the whole situation. * Lord_Darkmoon 's expression darkens. He takes a moment to force it back to neutrality. "Leena...is impulsive." I have already discussed her...behavior...with her. And I know you don't trust me. I'm Squeegee, the auditor. The enforcer. The assignor of unpleasant tasks. In a lot of ways, I don't want you to like me. 'Like' and 'trust' are two entirely different things, Princess. Sakura runs things looser, and I understand her reasons. But I'm not going to apologize for doing things my way yesterday. I... regret that you dislike it. I don't regret keeping the Hammer alive. You shouldn't. This is not a problem that is your fault, Princess. It is a problem that needs to be fixed, one way or another. The point isn't that you were wrong for Ordering me to retreat with you. Or for Ordering Mallet to retreat with you. The point is that you should not have HAD to Order us. It is a matter of neither side knowing the other. You do not know our full capabilities, or our full limitations. We--well, I, at least--do not know yours. Rin... * PrincessSqueegee shakes her head. We don't know each other's motivations, we don't know each other's past records. We don't have reason to trust that the other knows what they're talking about when they say something. You've shown remarkable-- *flinches when she calls him that* Rinada. Please. This organization... is a colossal mess. You know that. Yes. Decisions were made about four years ago about how we were going to grow, and what our ultimate goals were, and those have compartmentalized us to a huge degree. We act more as cells than as a unified structure. You've shown remarkable skill at observation, for all that. And you have, to my surprise, been very willing to listen to advice. In some ways, I have probably unfairly misjudged you, Princess. * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "We do." The Queen is the only true unifying force. That, and the culture of 'we're all magical girls, here'. Which is just a form of teenage cliquishness. One of the results of that is that the core leadership tends to be a cell of its own. We're intended to be inscrutable. And that only works when the "Core" is only a faceless entity. You can insulate the mystique of "The Leadership", but insulating the actual leaders... *shakes his head* Doing that ruins your individual effectiveness as leaders. It leads to messes like yesterday. Which makes for horrid corporate structure. Now, the discussion we had out there today is the first step in emerging from that mess, but there are a lot of Princesses who don't want to deal with being a part of more than a club. So... yes. You're right. But it's not something I can change, not on my own. We just need to continue to prod Her Majesty into more internal, and even external, openness. * Lord_Darkmoon nods, almost a bow. In the meantime... * PrincessSqueegee 's voice hardens. "I'm going to serve the Queen as best as I know how. Is that understood?" More than understood, it is to be expected. I was not attempting to chastise, Princess. Merely offer observations. My advice, obviously, is not perfect. I hope, however, that in the future, those you command will trust you enough to follow, and you will trust them enough to lead. * Lord_Darkmoon smiles, a little sadly, but kindly, "Good luck, Princess." Yeah. "Rinada", huh? * Lord_Darkmoon nods. How's that work? Do they know? * Lord_Darkmoon looks away. "They do not." Does... Sakura? Sakura knows. But Mysteria does not? How interesting. And you come to me talking about trust? Heh. I suppose it's a different level, though. Well, I won't give away your secret. * Lord_Darkmoon turns cold eyes on the Princess. "Rin does not have anything to do with this Team anymore. She still cares for the Pets, but she cannot do this anymore. Conflicts--" He bites his tongue. "Believe me, you don't want to deal with her views on this situation, right now." ...thank you. I will do my best for them. I will protect them, and fulfil our duties. You need not concern yourself about that. ...I thank you for your time. For listening to my concerns. And...for not telling those who do not yet know. Oh, so you're pretending you're separate personalities? A little advice - it won't last. Her Majesty tried that, back in the beginning. She kept it up for two years, and it ripped her to shreds before she properly integrated. I am myself. It's just easier to not be one while in the form of the other. *looks up* What!? * PrincessSqueegee frowns. "Maybe we wouldn't be in... never mind." She was always the strongest-willed of us, too. I know others, who couldn't keep it up that long. * PrincessSqueegee looks up. "It must be hard for you. But none of us are really two people." Of course not. That would be frightening. Even more than...well. I will not try to justify my decisions to you; I have a hard enough time justifying some of them to myself. I'm always betraying someone, leading a double life. It's easier to keep the loyalties separate. ...and I don't even know why I'm going into this with you. You have concerns of your own, and I am not your responsibility. I apologize, Princess Squeegee. * PrincessSqueegee smiles weakly. ...it would have been so much easier if I were just Rin. Just a normal girl...but *hardens his mask* that was not to be, was it. I'm Lord Darkmoon, whether Rin likes it or not. And I am Rin, whether Lord Darkmoon likes it or not. Good day... I am a Princess - it should be my responsibility. But those of us who care can't spread ourselves enough for those that don't. Good day, Rin. Good hunting. * Lord_Darkmoon examines Squeegee again. "...I -have- misjudged you." He shakes his head, and smiles softly. "If... I can help with anything, you know how to reach me. And thank you. Good luck with...everything." * Lord_Darkmoon turns, and lets himself out. [end mini]