Welcome to Gaia! ::

Jhala shrugged.

"Life is what you make of it. If you think life is shitty, it's because your mentality. Take my team for example. This is my seventh time here. You don't see me moaning and complaining. I'm sittinghere, enjoying free food, free heat, and I don't have to worry about fighting for a while. Almost like a vacation really."

He took another bite, chewed, then swallowed.

"Have faith in people. He don't seem like the type to hurt your sister. Sure, you don't trust your government. But he had nothing to do with it. Nor did the other people you probably harassed. Instead of threatening people, which would probably ruin anything they probably had for your sister, why not give them the rope to hang themselves with? Let them think you as uncaring. Then if they ******** up...drop the hammer.'

He finished off his sandwich.

"Hell, I'm sure a bunch of people would be willing to help. Or sell tickets. If Captain Winters really requires castration, I'll probably hold him for you. But I don't see that happening. It's a shame you don't either."

Jhala leaned the chair back.

"Oh? how did you fail to save your family? What could you have done? What did you do that lead to their deaths? Not a damned thing. That's why you're so angry. Nothing you could have done would have prevented their deaths. If anything, you would have added your death as well, leaving your sister all alone. And then where would she be?"

He grabbed a mango from the fruitbowl in front of him, picked up a fruit knife, andbegan slicing it.

"The problem with your sister is you refuse to give anyone a chance. Guarenteed, if i even made a thought of going after her, you'd sit there and try to intimidate me as well. I may work for the guys that want nothing more than a piece of a**. But for men like myself and Captain Winters, all that does is make you look like an overbearing p***k. I'm surprised he didn't slam your face into the table. I'd've backed him if he did."

He bit into a slice of mango.

"You want to stop all this bullshit, let go of the guilt. I didn't say the pain, I said the false guilt. you didn't cause it, Captain Winters didn't cause it, and Average Joe c***k Zoid Pilot for the OA didn't cause it either. Accidents happen, regardless of the circumstances. You don't have to get rid of the anger towards the day, but perhaps you should direct all that anger towards making sure nothing like that ever happens again."

He finished a slice of mango.

"You're not stuck, my friend. You're simply misguided and lost."

"The same reason i am still part of the Alliance. They are my people. My brothers and my sisters. The citizens rely on me to protect them. To defend them. To let the sleep peaceably at night. Now don't get me wrong, I despise the Alliance Government. They make Chairman Mao and Iosef Stalin look like Care Bears."

He sighed and put the mango down.

"My father was the last President of Nepal. nepal is now a province of the Oriental Alliance. My older sister is the Provincial Government. Meaning she's a puppet. A figurehead. I don't fight for my government. I fight for the average person that happens to live within the borders."

He picked the mango back up.

"Not arrogance. More like a sense of purpose. You didn't cause it, but you are a victim. 'Play the victim and you shall be the victim.' Instead, be an avenging angel. Protect the citizens of the Coalition from having to go through something like that ever again. Every time you mount your Zoid to go into combat, think of the people that live in the Coalition. Every Tom, d**k, and Sally that trust you to keep them safe. AS you extend your blades, think of the woman that tucks her children into bed every night. The father that reads his children one more bedtime story. let them become your sword and shield. Let them be your motivation for everything you do."

Jhala gave Jarid a look that said 'tell me another one.'

"Then explain the new rank on your collar. The unit transfer to 3rd SOG. The ability for you to remain a Blade Liger Pilot. The only mistrust here is you in the Coalition as a whole. You're blaming the entire Coalition for an accident that occured."

He placed his crossed feet on the table.

"Considering the conflict between yourself and Captain Winters, I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, as a POW, I'm entitled to food. I'm not finished yet. And you cant just leave me here, considering I'm not restrained. And I have a weapon."

He tapped the kirpan on his right hip.

"And it's one that you are forbidden by law to remove from my person. So, since I'm still eating, you have to stay here."

((Also, COL Jackson DID ban Jarid and his team from the Hangar for a bit. It was never lifted. So they won't let him in without mission orders.))

Jhala narrowed his eyes.

"My honor would require me to not only deny your bribe, but to punish you for offering it."

Jhala stood up as well and got in the exact same stance as Jarid.

"I have enough sense that in your shoes, I would know my sister is in the fastest Zoid in existance, going to a safe area, accompanied by the best fight pilot the PAC ever produced. So by 'seeing' your sister off, you'd be enhancing your own image as a childish p***k, as I'm sure the entire Hangar is aware of the tension between the two of you. And before you go calling someone self-righteous, I suggest you look in a mirror first."

"I doubt that. Pilots of powerful Zoids just aren't removed, even in the Alliance."

He shook his head at jarid.

"You have no real idea what 'self-righteous' means, do you? It means confident of one's own righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others. To be honest, that actually describes you more than any other Coalition pilot I've met."

He sat down.

"To be perfectly honest, you should stop focusing on your sister and focus on yourself. Remember how I stated your vision had been clouded? How you were distracted? Your sister is part of the reason. You're so focused on her that you're neglecting yourself. You're not your father, no matter how much you try to take his place."

"Funny. I recall were were in a stalemate before we had to go rescue your sister. Which means no one won. Nice try. And you are intolerant of other's opinions. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten so upset earlier at Captain Winters. Nor would you have started insulting me on the battlefield by calling me a pawn because I know the Coalition a lot better than you do."

He ate another slice of mango.

"While I can admire that, that is a trait found in parents. Not siblings. Ask her if she'd prefer you as a brother. I'd put my next paycheck on it she would prefer you to stop being so overbearing and father-like."