Loyalty

It is a strange thing, loyalty. When we talk about this, do we mean the loyalty of love, that stays true out of fondness, or the loyalty fear, that stays true out of dread for the consequences of acting otherwise? Loyalty out of a sense of duty? Loyalty out of business ethics?

Does it even matter from whence our loyalties arise?

Apparently so. Family: that is what PRETA considers itself nowadays, with Yishal and Myrhial in the lead and my own loyalty, oh queasy irony, in question. Loyalty out of love is painted as the only true loyalty. I wonder whether it will prove as true as they believe; love is fickle. Still, perhaps they have a point. If a culture of headstrong killers is what you have to shape, a "family" may be exactly what is called for.

I will have to watch closely how this progresses.

It is not, however, a form of loyalty I can or do share. Yishal seems all too aware that I am not a good fit for this particular approach to running a pirate gang, and she's quite correct in that. She's hardly likely to be aware of the irony of the situation: treacherous though my intentions were, I am caught in my own ill-spun web and have little choice but to prove, demonstrate, and prove again that I am a loyal minion to the Cartel.

Loyalty based in well-founded fear is enough for the Dominations, it seems, if not for PRETA. I will have to find ways of ensuring that this distinction does not become problematic, though I am beginning to wonder whether Yishal can even recognize loyalty that is not based in love.

If either of PRETA's founders ever "loved" the Ghosts, it was Kyoko, and she left us-- for love, no less.

For me, they were always a means to the end. Once, they were a means of gaining access to the Jovian technologies the Cartel is believed to possess, but the Cartel is not so sloppy with its secrets. Now, they are a means of survival, a way I can make myself useful and demonstrate my willingness to serve my masters.

Well. Hopefully, this will not become a problem: if it becomes a matter of choosing between Cartel and corporation, my path is unfortunately very clear.