Morals |
Summary: | Regas speaks to Reighner about his scathing letter. |
Date: | 29 ACH - 12/12/2008 |
Related Logs: | None |
Players: |
.... |
You head towards Ward Room.
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Ward Room Genesis - Deck 11
29 ACH 6735 Souls
The Ward room is used for meetings. Carpeting covers the floor in a muted gray/blue color. Colonial flags line along one wall, representing all the colonies. A sideboard for refreshments is along one wall and a large conference table sits in the center with a dozen, comfortable chairs around it.
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Reighner has arrived.
Regas is over by the flags along with Ensign Peters. Never miss a good time to get something done. A couple of the flags look in need of a repair here and there. Pepper is writing this down and then she glances toward the Commander to see if he needs anything else. When he shakes his head, she heads to the door to leave.
Reighner steps in from the corridor, almost running into Pepper. "Oh, excuse me," he says.
Regas reaches out a hand and turns the stand of the Leonis flag just a tiny bit. When he seems good with all of them lining up as they should, he turns at the voice.
Pepper ducks back, "Sorry, Captain, excuse me," and she is off and out of the room. Busy. Busy.
Regas walks over to the table where some papers are laying, "Come in Captain Reighner. I would have contacted you sooner, but there were other things to attend too."
Reighner walks up to the table. He remembers protocol and offers a salute, albeit a poorly-performed one. "That's alright, sir, I wasn't expecting a response."
Regas returns the salute and then motions to a chair, "Then, I will hope that by now cooler heads will prevail. Were you simply venting and decided to add me to your fan mail?" He also takes a seat now and pulls the papers over toward him.
Reighner takes a seat. He sighs when he does so. "I suppose I could have used better language," he says. "But I stand by what I said."
Regas raises the paper with one hand, too much like a high school principal at this point. He leans back in the leather-backed chair and places a finger near the top of his upper lip. One of those 'uhhuh' sounds emerges. His glance comes up finally, "So you feel that a person who has helped annihilate atleast 800 people deserves to live and possibly breed in what small society we have left?"
"If he's lucky," Reighner answers. He tries a small grin, but that falters. "Poor joke, sir. Let me try again. My point is not that he be freed, my point is that he not be killed."
"Ah. Then we should let him work off his crime? I don't know, maybe 60 to 80 years?" Regas lays the paper aside now, watching the Captain.
Reighner seems pretty forthright about his intentions. "I understand the counterarguments, sir, I simply believe that the costs are worth it. I think that it's time this barbarism ends, from a health standpoint, yes, but to be honest, mainly from a moral one."
Regas leans back up now, placing his elbows on the table and tenting his fingers, "Moral. Tell me, Captain, would you feel the same had your family been on the Pandora?"
Reighner takes the time to think about it. "Probably not, sir. But I think we can both agree that the desire for vengeance or revenge does not lead to moral outcomes."
"Nor would I, Captain. And all those people had family, even if it was those they lived with," Regas concedes. He then brings a piece of paper up and lays it on top. "I've got 20 orphans, still without a family. Some have too many children, some have no way to help them. Some simply refuse. Mankind does funny things in the middle of a crisis. You tell me it is barbaric to end the life of a man, who was a terrorist. Who took so many lives and we have a moral code to uphold. How does our moral code work on a child with no family now? Would you adopt one?"
"The moral obligation is to care for these children," Reighner replies, skirting the question. "And I'm certain that we are. What I'm talking about is the realization that a life is without qualification. This man is not a man who was a terrorist, who killed others. This man is a man. The same way we'll protect those children, but we rationalize the protections away from those who we feel have wronged others, without realizing the inherent dignity of life."
"I didn't think so," Regas comments. "My moral obligation is to six thousand people at the moment. Yes, they are being taken care of, with what we have. And when you put this man or men to work, you are pulling food from their mouths. As soon as we get more, then the food will be pulled from your mouth. Tell me how much you are willing to give up, to let murderers work off their sentence?" He leans back again now, waiting.
Reighner asks, "You tell me how much I need to give up." It's a rhetorical reply. "Sir, you're weighing a person's history against their eligibility for basic rights."
"No, Captain, I'm weighing one man or ten men, against six thousand. Once you've commited such a heinous crime, you have no rights. You lost every right that the law has allowed. Even though, the law is given to them and it is weighed and they are judged." Regas' tone hardens now, "Your letter will be taken under further consideration. Thank you, Captain."
Reighner watches Regas for a few moments. "Thank you, sir," he says quietly. There's sadness in his eyes. The captain puts his hands on his knees and stands. He performs another salute and walks mutely for the hatch.
Regas rises up as Reighner does and picks up the paper, "Captain?" He begins walking now toward the other man. "I'll tell you what, you get me 25 signatures of people that feel the way you do. If you can, we'll try it your way, until we can no longer do that. Fair enough?"
Reighner pauses at the hatch and turns around. He lets the news sink into him, and then there's a vigorous nod and a more forceful, "Yes, sir."
Regas nods, "All right," then like the Top Dog Bastard he can be, he waits for the door to be opened.
Reighner has no trouble with opening the door for Regas. "Thank you, sir," he says, more meaningfully this time, and waits on this side for him to pass.
Regas steps out when the door is opened and heads off down the hall somewhere. It's about that time that Pepper appears and shows him some picture that is around the recreation areas of the ship. The Commander takes a look at it and busts out laughing. "Frakking pilots did this, I know it." Then he is off again.