Chapter Four (Jake and Kimiko)

[CarcerKango]

Jake's face flushed a little at the praise of being a hero, and he briefly busied his gaze on the medal handed to him. He returned the smile cautiously. "Well...it was mostly propaganda that did it...can't live long enough in the shadow of giants without admiring them and melding to fit with them." He realized he was rambling and coughed nervously. "At any rate, my grandfather--his name was William--was an engineer for the Second Royal Guards, the 'Pride of Skye', back in his day. Piloted an IndustrialMech to build fortifications. Never saw much combat, since they stayed on Tharkad when the Clans came in, but he had...I dunno how you'd say it. A sort of nobility to him. Dignity, y'know. He had /presence./ A man of few words, but the words he did speak, everyone listened to. He was the one who encouraged my idea of joining up initially, and he helped me convince Mom and Dad to let me go."
"I guess I get it from him, then. He'd do any job, no matter how meaningless, like it was his masterpiece, his life's work. He may not agree with what was being done or what he was being told to do, but--within reason of course--he'd do his best to carry it out. That, to me, was what being a soldier or a pilot was about. About doing things /right/. Worth more than the best combat record in the Sphere."
"I have his old unit patch with me--he gave it to me before I enlisted, and I've kept it with me ever since."