Disclaimer – Everything either does belong to Joss or it should. I’m just borrowing his shiny ‘verse for a while.

The 21st Lancers belong to the British Army so I’m borrowing them too. I hope they don’t mind.

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‘All the computer files in the ‘Verse are no match for good first hand knowledge of the other sides personnel and that’s what we got from Wilkins. Just because an officer has a shiny file doesn’t mean they’ve got talent at soldiering it just means they’ve got talent at brownnosing.’

Lieutenant-Colonel Helen Fushida - Cortex Interview - 2530AD

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Fort Obsidian – Beyond the Outer Rim – 2521AD

‘We’re asking you to save lives’ van der Heijden declared. ‘You were the highest ranking Honest-to-God battlefield commander in the Alliance ground forces and not just some damn politician in uniform’ he went on. ‘You know who the other real officers were and I need to know that too.’

Book looked him in the eyes. ‘You’re asking me to help you write a death list’ he said coldly.

The Admiral sat back down on the single chair in Book’s cell and crossed his arms. ‘You know as well as I do that troops without proper leadership are far more likely to collapse under pressure’ he said. ‘If I can break their morale I won’t need to break their bodies and a list of the more dangerous senior officers to remove from the game on day one will heavily increase the number of garrisons who will surrender or bolt. I’d rather do that than have it require more drastic efforts to get rid of them’ he continued. ‘If I know who the political appointees are and who the genuine combat soldiers are I can decapitate the units that most need it and leave the incompetents where they are to make the wrong choices.’

‘You want me to betray my principles’ Book stated.

‘I was under the impression your loyalty to the Alliance had waned over the last few years’ van der Heijden responded. ‘Or is it your religious faith, not an unwillingness to commit treason perhaps?’ he asked.

‘I