<div class="floatright">(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/jillvader/mw-nmfkmpkarimonero_zps55a1bf27.jpg)</div>Kari had expected some sort of counter-response from Allia; after all, she and Damian were very different people and had very different approaches in all things. What she hadn’t expected was just how emotional that response would be. There was a clear passion to what she said, one that made Kari cringe a little at her own initial agreement with Damian’s figures.<em>And she’s making a lot of sense there too</em>, Kari had to admit. Allia was very much a people person, as much as she tried to claim otherwise.<br/><br/>Of course, for all that, Damian’s response was every bit as cold and dispassionate as Allia’s was warm and concerned. Whereas she spoke of people, he spoke of numbers and viability. She was concerned for what effect letting those people go would have on their lives, he spoke of what effect keeping them would have on the unit. Head versus heart. It was amazing how directly opposed the pair of them could be on so many matters and yet work so effectively together.<br/><br/>And right now, there was a part of Kari that wanted to be anywhere but here, and another part that wanted to tell them that they were both right. And neither was an option at the moment.<br/><br/>Instead she took a deep breath before continuing. “You both have good points, and I’d love to agree with both of you. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation says otherwise. I’ve been over the books, and they’re grim; as much as I’d like to keep everyone, we just can’t.” She shot Allia a glance, an apologetic look on her face. “I’m sorry. As much as I’d like to scrimp and save on everything, that’s not enough right now.”<br/><br/>“Our rebuilding plan has us at a target size that’s still smaller then the old unit,” she continued. “That means that we end up with a lot of redundant staff. It simply makes sense to reduce the numbers to fit. However…” she was clutching her hands together, trying not to let her nerves show. “I think we also need to explain the situation to those effected and explain why. Offer some voluntary redundancies for those who want to leave or have other options or the like first. That… I guess softens the blow a bit.”<br/><br/>With each word, she more and more wanted to be somewhere else. As much as this needed to be done, Kari hated doing it.<br/>