Insubordination (after battle)
Ye bastards... When our boss hears of this, yer all finished...!
So if ye... uh, bow down and... beg fer...
W-wait! I'm not finished! Get away! Git!
Oh, that's convenient.
<......>
Nice. Now we know we can go up the chain and talk to their 'boss' in charge. Let's stop wasting our time here.
I don't want to have to crack open these shipping containers one by one and go through mountains of rotting corpses.
You can still point, right?
......
P... please...
The location of your boss. Mark it on this map with your finger.
I wasn't sure when she picked it up, but Ishmael was carrying a travel brochure of Marlin Port. She shoved it in the pirate's face, who struggled for a moment before pointing to a location on the map.
As soon as her trembling finger reached the paper...
<Ishmael, Wait - >
Well, we have our next stop. What are we waiting for?
Ishmael walked out, leaving nothing but shipping containers full of both old and fresh bodies behind.
What are the odds that the LCCB Agent we were supposed to meet is still alive...?
Depends on how rich they think we are.
... He could already be dead, then.
Even if the worst comes to pass, we should still find his body. That'll at least give us something.
... If that's all we find at the end of this, his corpse... Ishmael...
I... don't think I could forgive...
Ha... who, me?
No. Us. We who... didn't even try to save them.
<Faust.>
I am listening.
<Should we do something? Is she going to be okay? I mean, Ishmael...>
I can give you answers regarding her insubordination and her emotional state.
But this is not a matter in which Faust's answers can be of much assistance.
Executive Manager, such insubordination and nigh rogue behavior would have resulted in an on-the-spot execution in any other organization.
I am aware that punishing the Sinners is not a part of the authority given to you, but there must be penalties befitting her actions for proper management.
<Outis, you're always on my side.>
<Pretty much always, now that I think about it...>
I have been... a leader of men once, as you are now. I can sympathize with your troubles.
<I don't know if I can manage Ishmael anymore... I just don't.>
<Though it looked like she was acting rash, maybe it was... maybe she knew the right thing to do in this scenario.>
<If Ishmael suddenly decides to quit, or something...>
Faust will doubtless proceed to educate me on the various clauses that prevent Ishmael from quitting...
But it's not like I could force her to come along should this hostility escalate. Besides, she'd already acted without my orders earlier.
She did say that she'd follow my orders. But I wasn't sure how long that would last.
Executive Manager. That doesn't matter.
We don't need there to be 12 Sinners.
<... Are you saying that we leave Ishmael?>
Executive Manager. I have wandered for many years in far, far lands before making my journey here. And I have done so with steadfast determination - for a single clause on my contract with the company.
I came ready to face all the hardships that the journey entails. Adversity, conflict, and loss of comrades are simply facts of this quest that I must weather. Truth be told, I expect all of them to happen at some point in our journey.
Oh, I will always remain by your side, of course.
She smoothly added the last part, but...
But there was a growing suspicion at the back of my mind that, maybe, not everyone felt a sense of belonging from this group.
Maybe I was the only one who sought a sense of belonging from them. That we'd fight as one no matter what ordeal this journey threw in our way.