[h3]The Lone Survivor[/h3]
	Initially, it had been hard to rationalize his own physical reaction to this confrontation, encounter, whatever one wished to term it. There were no guns pointing at him, no shells or shrapnel to tear through flesh and bone, no scorching plasma or mechanized monstrosities that could crush you under their treads. Just one lone woman with equipment that was no match against his, and she was not even [i]trying[/i] to come across as being capable of meaningful retaliation. Not willing to endanger her faction, yes, but they [i]both[/i] knew she would have had no chance against him if he went on offense. Never mind that he had had a gun pointed at him by guards of his own faction more times than he cared to count. Why, then?
	The stakes were not functionally all that different, were they? If he could not convince this woman he was not a threat, that he did not intend to undermine what she stood for, if she decided to eliminate him, he would most likely die the same he would if he took a bullet, no? If she decided he was a threat, and he let her go, her whole faction would turn hostile, yes? And not only was it likely that she was one of the very few who would as much to care to listen, but finding another faction within walking distance which [i]also[/i] had someone who would listen... What were the chances? If he failed now, it would be a death sentence after all, after he had lived ([i]deserted[/i]) to see this day, albeit a much slower one. 
	Never mind that he had trained for war, had been in multiple skirmishes, and hearings had protocol, things he was supposed to say and how. No protocol for circumstances like this. Stakes were similar to what they would have been in battle, but he did not have a [i]bloody clue[/i] what he was doing, and thus he had panicked. 
	Even as he finished his - what was it, an explanation? Justification? Plea? - he remained uncertain, watching the woman's - Kay-Gee's - face. She did not appear as defiant anymore, more ... regretful, was that it? In the end she merely sighed, finally offering him a smile.
	[i]“So you need a place to hide,”[/i] she stated, opting to gaze at the ground rather than him. If anything, it at least signified that she no longer expected him to attack. Did not feel the need to follow his every movement and be prepared to counter his actions. Somewhat awkwardly, he shifted his gun fully onto his hip, removing his hand from the trigger and placing it on the middle of the barrel - seemingly more to keep it pointed harmlessly at the ground but also far enough away from his feet than anything else. His other arm fell uselessly to the side.
	"I guess," he noted, tone somewhat uncertain. 'To hide' seemed to imply that it was only a temporary setup, something one did until the circumstances changed. But they were hardly liable to change - being unlisted was permanent. "A place to [i]be[/i] would perhaps be more apt way of putting it. To serve and live in."
	He was silent again, listening as the woman described her faction's defenses. It seemed bizarre, not having any military. Sure, he was aware that Trenians had "civilian" settlements, but those, too, were generally guarded by at least a few units. And only manning anti-air when you [i]expected[/i] trouble? It was not like they handed out warnings... It did not seem like it would be [i]safe[/i], or even remotely enough to have any kind of effect on the outcome of a flyover bombing. They - his old faction - had known to expect an attack last night, since they had picked up a part of the convoy moving out, but planes were much faster... Wherever the anti-air the Trenians had fielded the last night was from, it was [i]not[/i] from Eighfour. And if someone did decide to target them, they would have barely anything to put up serious fight with.
	"People are afraid of the fog, mostly," he muttered. "And they don't want to spread their forces out, risk running into something that can take them out, or being left beyond contact-range. Or having forces out of response-range, should they be needed somewhere else. Things like that."
	"[i]Here,[/i]" insisted a bird. Maybe they were getting tired - bored? - of the interaction taking so long. 
	Clutching the barrel of his gun harder than was perhaps necessary, he listened in silence as the woman continued - not about the situation he had gotten himself into, but ... naming conventions? When the woman looked up at him again, she found him standing almost unchanged from before.
	84-kiloton nuclear bomb. Nukes we a bit out of his expertise, but that was probably enough to level her entire faction if it went off, given that Eighfour really was as small as he had been led to believe... Still, he was confused. Was it a test of some sort?
	"Why are you telling me this?"