Re: Flight of the crow: Next Mission (Camp Hope)
Elsbeth carried her concussion rod more for effect. Obviously, she would never actually us it on a person - at least not with an active singularity, but it was still an effective collapsible baton. The rod snapped open, when she sensed that the recruits were a little slow on the uptake to picking up their packs. "Move." she stated with a level of understated menace. To ensure that she was taken seriously, before the recruits were allowed to reassemble with Victor, Elsbeth took them for a ten minute run sprint around the compound with everything they had just picked up - the crackle and snap of the concussion rod ensured a nice pace. She told them that she expected them to sleep with much of that gear on or near their person from now on. Her idea of conditioning consisted of ensuring that drills were carried out carrying everything they were given. It was not that much weight necessarily, but the extra twenty or thirty pounds of gear and weapons always took its toll by the end of the day. Intervals of running and then shooting practice or sparring - she wanted her people tired, but driven. Elsbeth also trusted her own conditioning, despite the obvious bruises and minor scars from the previous day's battle - she ran every meter with the recruits and was willing to dig, spar, demonstrate, or shoot along side them, if necessary.
Ultimately, even though she had no children nor any real family, what Elsbeth knew that she needed to do was something that every parent grapples with. She did not intend to be the recruits' friend, she needed to make them productive members of society - which in this case, meant a good, cohesive fighting unit. Of course, she cared about them on a level that they likely would never understand - but, their reciprocating that care was neither required nor necessarily desired at this point. And, like most children who survive to adulthood, only in the long run might they thank her for whatever she might have done for them. Elsbeth knew that she only started to appreciate her makers training and instructors and her Marine drill instructors and their lessons some time well after they had been put into practice and proven time and again that they were some of the only things that kept her alive sometimes.
Elsbeth never minded playing 'bad cop' or 'taskmistress' or more accurately, 'harsh drill instructor', which to her was really more about being attentive and critical, a little callous and more than a little cruel to be kind. Her upbringing was more than fourteen years of what the recruits were about to experience over the next couple of days. It wasn't about sleep deprivation or rigorous routines, but she knew that repetition instilled familiarity and that pushing the recruits to (and perhaps beyond) certain limits would help them survive. And survival was the name of the game.
Despite her genetically engineered background, Elsbeth was aware of a number of sociological studies (hell, her entire existence up to the age of 17 or so had been one of those studies). The human condition is such that, when everything is stripped away, primal fears and instincts rise to the surface. And in some ways, Elsbeth knew that these people needed to harness that energy, that emotion, that fear. Her self-awareness about the nature of fear stemmed from her own personal experiences confronting and coping with such things: the accelerated learning and stilted military and bodyguard training, her time in the slave pits, and all of the time spent in Force Recon. Whether she could effectively translate that experience to something that the others could relate to remained to be seen.
Elsbeth also knew that she, Grym and Poppy would walk a razor's edge: only the most unstable would crack after only a couple of days of exercise and practice. But, raw emotions were a common occurance when dealing with stress and outbursts would need to be dealt with effectively and efficiently. Elsbeth was never really sure what the right method to effectively deal with such things might be, but tended to lead by example, her words often failed her - so, demonstrating a move or nuance or action often served her best. That and she was never above a little corporal punishment - again, a holdover from her upbringing. Elsbeth was not eager to call out recruits, but their aggression did need to be channeled and harnessed. And in the compressed timeframe crucible here, sometimes a well-placed dope slap, uppercut, or even a knife scar could help to curb any insubordinate tendencies and correct even the most egregious habits. Well, and Elsbeth was confident that anything they could dish out, she could take and return in kind. Her size precluded most from harboring any really damaging grudges or trying anything, but there was always one or two striving to make a name for themselves - those who had just enough previous training to make them slightly arrogant or dangerous or those that were big and naive enough to think that even a tall girl was not match for them. Again, when push came to shove - these boys needed to be focused and ready, primed to fight. Everyone's survival was at stake.
Many of the colonists they were given, were already somewhat combat hardened; and that was a good thing. But that hardening, did not always translate into unit cohesion or trust in their comrades or themselves for the upcoming battle. So, Elsbeth focused on getting them ready for those particular things. And that meant developing and stressing teamwork and trust for their fellow recruits. In some ways the colonists trusted each other, but not to the extent that she (and Victor or the Marshal) needed them to. So, this is where the razor's edge came in. Elsbeth intended to push the recruits: to learn about themselves and to trust their fellow recruits. While, Elsbeth knew in her heart of hearts that the recruits could trust her in the heat of battle, this was not that battle yet. Her role was not to coddle them or to nurture them, but to ensure that they could and would fight whenever and whatever was necessary. And, ultimately, they would not be fighting side by side with her, necessarily - it was the greenies to either side of them that they need to put their lives in the hands of.
So, Elsbeth pushed her charges as much as she could. It would not be their training that was their downfall. Not if she could help it...