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Post by Victor Reinhardt on Dec 9, 2013 15:13:29 GMT -5
Reinhardt had been sitting in one of the birds on their way back, having a feeling of relief now that the battle was finally over, it wasn't quite what he had expected he was almost surprised at how terrible things had gone. Luckily he was alive though and unlike the grunts he didn't have to relate to the casualties as that would surely affect how he handled the job.
As the bird landed he got out after the ramp had lowered with his helmet under his arm and walked to the bird he knew Hobbar's platoon was in, not to talk to Hobbar but to get a hold of Vinigan at a time where he'd surely be exhausted and not able to keep himself calm. He couldn't get Vinigan in trouble directly but getting him to yell or cause physical harm would be more than enough to report the young private.
As the ramp to the other airframe landed he quickly noticed Vinigan, who seemed to also notice the coming trouble, and the sense of annoyance that could be seen on Vinigan was almost enough to make Reinhardt smile although he kept a cool head.
When Vinigan walked down the ramp Reinhardt put a hand on his shoulder "Let's talk" he said with an unnerving voice before leading Vinigan over to one of the corners of the hangar where there weren't many people in.
Reinhardt placed Vinigan against the wall to give him a proper feeling of having no way of escaping him. He took a deep breath before he started to talk with a low voice "So Vinigan, as you might be able to guess I have a problem with troopers displaying disloyalty to the course, which means I have a problem with you" he spoke with a calm and neutral voice but he knew many felt threatened by him which was more than enough to begin with.
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Post by Lucien Vinigan on Jul 22, 2014 11:39:08 GMT -5
He wasn't surprised to see Reinhardt waiting for him but he had hoped to avoid it, nothing good could out of being anywhere near that guy, he seemed like just another bully this time with the power and influence to do something without getting in major trouble about it.
The attempt to ignore Reinhardt seemed useless and he wasn't sure why he even tried since he had barely gotten to the bottom of the ramp before a cold voice and a hand on his shoulder lead him towards one of the corners where he reluctantly followed, not being sure what to do in this situation, laying low was most likely to late.
The armour made a slight sound as he was placed against the wall and although Reinhardt spoke in a low voice he stilled scared Vinigan, and he felt a chill travel down his spine and squinted as he was being called disloyal. He took a deep breath before speaking to not stutter "If you have a problem I suggest you talk to my superiors.. And let me move" he said obviously very nervous.
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Post by Berlioz Lamond on Jul 22, 2014 12:00:18 GMT -5
In all honesty, the last thing Berlioz wanted was confrontation with the Lieutenant. Their previous encounter was several weeks ago, but the shear sense of threat that he exuded was unmistakable. But now it was Vinigan who was under the Lieutenant's pressure, and he didn't deserve to be there.
Vinigan hadn't done anything wrong, it was more likely that the Lieutenant was feeling shaken by the firefight and needed to assert himself as a figure of authority. Berlioz decided that the best course of action, for now, would be at the very least make the Lieutenant aware that someone else was watching him. He hoped that no trouble was made for Lieutenant Hobbar.
He quietly strode so he was just outside arms reach of Lieutenant Reinhardt, Vinigan could see him from around Reinhardt's shoulders but didn't say anything. Berlioz cleared his throat loudly, "Is there a problem here with PFC Vinigan, Lieutenant?"
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Post by Victor Reinhardt on Jul 22, 2014 12:53:30 GMT -5
He gave a light grin at Vinigans 'talk to my superiors' comment he was certain it was going to be easy to break this boy and he was just about to speak again before he heard a voice interrupting behind him. As he turned around his somewhat neutral expression turned into a smirk as he saw the person he hadn't attempted to break for a few weeks, although it was now two against one he still felt like he had the upper hand since he felt none of them would dare being violent against an SS officer.
"Lamond! How nice of you to join us.. I must admit I had only thought to have to deal with one of the worst soldiers the Corps had to offer right now not two, at least it saves me some time" He looked between the two for a short moment "of course you can also just help me deal with this... Coward and i'll excuse your interruption" he offered hoping to root the two against each other, it would be useful to have someone to help him.
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Post by Lucien Vinigan on Jul 22, 2014 15:33:19 GMT -5
He felt more relieved when Berlioz walked in on the conversation although the smirk on Reinhardt's face only unnerved him more than before. At the comment of being one of the worst soldiers in the corps and a coward he clenched his fist, he had gotten quite a good scare back in basics and unlike so many others he was still alive. "I'm not a coward" he grumbled while controlling himself not to punch Reinhardt, it wouldn't look good on his so far clean records. "At least I am in the Expeditionary Corps" he mumbled to himself doing the best he could to not look Reinhardt in the eyes. He felt like he knew Lamond Well enough to trust that he wouldn't turn on him as well since it didn't sound like they had the best of pasts together.
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Post by Berlioz Lamond on Jul 23, 2014 10:33:31 GMT -5
Berlioz felt his eyes narrow at Reinhardt's words, he knew that the Lieutenant probably didn't believe those words and was just saying them to get under his skin, it still pissed him off to no end. "If myself and Private Vinigan here are the two worst soldiers you can find in the SDC then I'd say the quality control must be doing its job, right Sir?" The hard edge on the last word wasn't intentional but he was getting tired of Lt. Reinhardt. People like him wore Berlioz down and right now he was already worn out.
Looking around Reinhardt he said to Vinigan, "Like I said before", his eyes now switching between both Vinigan's and the Lieutenant's gaze, "You aren't a coward, you fought with everyone else. Vinigan concerns were legitimate, that operation was botched from the moment it was briefed to us. We lost too many today, far too many for what we accomplished."
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Post by Victor Reinhardt on Jul 23, 2014 13:05:21 GMT -5
Victor gave a degrading stare towards Vinigan at the comment about the Expeditionary corps, if it hadn't been for a silly mistake he would probably have been in charge of a unit and he would have had real power over these fools. But he couldn't let his feelings affect him and quickly resumed his previous expression before looking back at Berlioz. "I would say they been sleeping on the job, a kid of no real record, just another grunt who gone through comm's training, two years and no real recommendations of anything not even a nice word about you... he looked between the two before completely focusing on Lamond "And you, my favourite you been here for even longer wasting time and other peoples life to get nowhere not even a service of good conduct or a reward, and that's even after what happened on Rohan" He smirked for a moment before continuing "I wouldn't be surprised if you hid in the rouble in fear" he stated with a cold tone "We know everything even what happened last you were home" he looked directly at Berlioz now hoping to have struck a weak spot.
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Post by Berlioz Lamond on Jul 23, 2014 13:42:45 GMT -5
It was like the world ground to a screeching halt, Berlioz felt all the colour and warmth drain from him. Ice cold fear ran through every inch of his skin. That night, the blood, the image of her lying on the ground running through his head. He could feel the cool sweet beading all over him even though it wasn't actually that warm and he currently felt like he was freezing. That smirk on the lieutenant's face said it all. He knew that he had Berlioz in a vice grip now and there was no way he was letting him loose.
"Th- That has nothing to do with what happened today." He shakily replied. Berlioz was having trouble keeping his thoughts in order, it was like his entire thinking process had been derailed just with a single sentence.
It was like everything Berlioz had spent years trying to hide, cover up and disguise was crumbling apart and there was nothing he could do to stop it coming to the surface. It was likely that if Reinhardt knew then soon enough so would Hobbar and then it would be over for him. They'd take his rank, his gun, everything he clung onto to stay alive, to have a reason to be alive.
He'd be left with nothing.
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Post by Lucien Vinigan on Jul 23, 2014 14:12:27 GMT -5
He would have punched Reinhardt by now if it wasn't because it would both ruin his record and mean he had gone into the trap that was being set for both of them although how the target changed to Berlioz suddenly was a bit surprising and he didn't believe that any words would crack Berlioz shell he was a hardened veteran after all and he'd seen worse than the words that Reinhardt spoke. Although to his big surprise Berlioz seemed like he was shaken by something that had been said and he looked worried at his friend who had only come over here to try and defend him.
"I suggest you stop now Reinhardt this is only going to end bad for you" he said not being sure what exactly would happen but he knew that he would soon have to step between them or at least try and hurt Reinhardt and he couldn't imagine being punched with the gloves on the armour without getting hurt a lot.
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Post by Victor Reinhardt on Jul 23, 2014 14:34:14 GMT -5
Finally! he could feel that he was close to breaking Berlioz, getting rid of him would surely make his job easier with the rest or at least set an example for the rest of what he was capable of and having a rumour of fear would only serve to his advantage in the future and surely make his superiors proud, or at least show his effectiveness in finding the weak links in the unit.
He ignored the threat from Vinigan, he didn't consider either of these two person able to hurt him they were just grunts in the infantry and they didn't have the gut to do anything against a member of the SSI it would only hurt their reputation and their leaders. "It has everything to do with this, you're a disgrace to the uniform, it's a disrespect that you are even permitted to wear that armour and call yourself a soldier, you have fled before and tried hiding and you will do so again.. Your friends can see this and look around nobody is here to defend you" he said leaning towards Berlioz "Vinigan isn't the coward here... You are, and always have been. You aren't worthy of any respect, the way you flee from your guilt and let others deal with it so you can feel better about yourself.. You make me sick" he said with a very judging voice.
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Post by Berlioz Lamond on Jul 24, 2014 18:54:43 GMT -5
He didn't know if it was Reinhardt's words screaming around his head, the fatigue from fighting or the guilt from killing, but his mind finally gave way. The shell that had grown so many cracks and fissures crumbled.
Before he was even really aware of what was happening, his sidearm was in his hands and aimed right between the Lieutenant's eyes.
He couldn't stop the words coming out of his mouth.
"What do you know of guilt?! What do you know about cowardice!?"
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Post by Lucien Vinigan on Jul 24, 2014 19:25:39 GMT -5
His friend who had only come over here to defend him seemed to have been shaken quite a lot from what Reinhardt had said and although punching had been a viable option he was sure that Berlioz would agree on it being better to just go to their superiors, at least they would have to discuss this after. "Berlioz let's lea-..." his words was cut short as he suddenly noticed Lamond drawing his gun as a result Vinigan drew his own almost as a reflex. Although it seemed the upperhand was Berlioz as he had gotten the weapon drawn and pointed at Reinhardt surprisingly quick. Instead of pointing his own weapon at his friend he pointed it down at the ground not wanting to hurt Berlioz over somebody like Reinhardt "Berlioz... P...put the gun away... He isn't worth it" He stuttered still obviously surprised at what was going on.
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Post by Victor Reinhardt on Jul 24, 2014 19:44:15 GMT -5
Although initially happy to have seen the veteran crack he was far from expecting Lamond to suddenly draw a weapon and point it directly at his face. Reinhardt looked down the barrel of the gun not being entirely sure how to react to this but his smirk had disappeared completely and he was now just showing the cold and neutral expression people knew him for, although inside he was feeling a bit of fear and uncertainty, a feeling he didn't like at all because it meant he was no longer in control of the situation and listening to Berlioz's voice made it sound like only a question of time before the trigger was pulled.
He held up his hand knowing that two guns had been drawn but needing to focus at Lamond made him unable to see where Vinigan was pointing his, if both of them had been equally unstable this couldn't end well. To his luck it sounded like he wasn't supporting the idea of shooting, unless it was just something he said so he wouldn't suspect two guns at his face and he could shoot him! He took a deep breath before finally speaking "Shooting me won't remove your guilt, it'll only prove me right, it'll ruin your career, you'll be branded a traitor, only a coward shoots an unarmed man... Now I suggest you do what your friend says and put the gun down" He spoke somewhat hesitantly not being able to imagine many outcomes right now that would make things end well, he didn't feel like dying right now.
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Post by Berlioz Lamond on Jul 24, 2014 21:15:32 GMT -5
Virtually all the self restraint that Berlioz had built up over years fell away as he gripped the gun tighter. "Remove my guilt? You think I believe killing you will remove my guilt? Lieutenant you couldn't be more goddamn wrong. Nothing can get rid of it! This guilt! This shame! It runs through my veins like the blood that keeps me alive and it's been pumping through this rotten, wretched heart for nearly 7 years! You wanna get rid of my guilt?! Bleed me fucking dry!"
His voice was shaky but in the hanger it reverberated around the hangar, most likely getting the attention of those still leaving their dropships and dropping off their equipment. Berlioz knew that there was no return after this. This was it. The end of everything he'd worked so hard to keep together.
"You talk about my career like it's something I care about. Why the hell do you think I have so many deployments? You think I was trying to prove something? I was trying to die! I wanted, to die! I still want to! I can't keep going on with their goddamn faces in my head every single time I put on that helmet, and pick up that gun. Every time I do I'm reminded of every life I've taken and the friends that I've lost!"
The shakes in his voice were getting worse as his throat started to get raw from the shouting. The lump in his neck was getting tighter.
"I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of carrying this shit in my head and I'm tired of people like you looking at us soldiers like you're better than us! What goddamn right did you have to pull Vinigan over here?! What goddamn right do you have, every single time you threaten someone just for voicing their opinions?! You wanna hear my opinion?! The UCHD is a uncaring and soulless machine! A dying, bleeding machine that runs on the lives it takes. I'm sick of losing men to this machine and killing for this machine!"
The tears were starting to flow freely now. He knew that there was no hope for him now.
"I'm sick of seeing caskets and folded flags. I'm sick of seeing poor men and women buried away from home. I'm sick of the killing and sick of the blood on my hands I can't wash off! I've been living with that blood on me for so long I forget what it feels like to not be a killer! How do you think living like that is? It's not living! I don't remember what living is! I don't remember what right and wrong is!"
He stepped towards Reinhardt, flicking the safety off on the weapon. His face a mess with the sweat and the tears. Pressing the gun into the Lieutenant's forehead with his other hand he grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged his face next to his own so he could even feel Reinhardt's breathing on his face.
"Please Lieutenant, remind me. What does right and wrong look like?"
He removed the gun from his forehead and forced it into Reinhardt's hand, pulling it up to Berlioz's temple, his hand on the lieutenant's, both their fingers on the trigger.
"Tell me, is this right? Is this wrong? BECAUSE I DON'T FUCKING KNOW ANYMORE!"
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Post by Lucien Vinigan on Jul 29, 2014 12:52:43 GMT -5
He didn't like to hear one of his few friends in the squad talk and act like this, it was a weird situation, he knew some might break but he had never expected it to be Berlioz who would end up like this. "Berlioz, put the weapon down now, nobody has to get hurt.. Both of us lost friends, seen their caskets. But you don't achieve anything by shooting Reinhardt even for the idiot he is, it isn't worth it not even dying yourself" he spoke a bit hesitantly, he wasn't sure what to say in a situation like this, he had been trained in a more violent diplomatic approach. "Remember you still have friends in the squad, don't join the many losses we had today.." He was hoping that at least one of the things he said would help on the situation.
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