<div class="floatright">(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/jillvader/mw-nmfkmpkarimonero_zps55a1bf27.jpg)</div>Kari nodded a little as Emily spoke, knowing that this was going to be painful and not get any easier. Still, even if she wasn’t hiding her feelings about Damian, there was a definite softening in the attitude as they got to the more personal matters of the losses. “He died fighting, yes,” Kari nodded. “He… he gave his life to let others get away. I’m probably only here because of what he did.” She swallowed audibly as she considered all that she’d heard from Damian. Her father’s death had likely been messy and painful, and knowing that would probably not help the unit’s already delicate morale.<br/><br/>She took a deep breath before continuing. “I mean, if had been anyone else, yes, I’d be hurt… devastated… I don’t know. I saw Muriel’s<em>Herc</em>explode right in front of me and all, but… yeah. My father, my only family. It hurts, and it’s hard to deal with on top of everything else we have to deal with. But I’m going to do this, even if just for him.” She sighed loudly, then realized just how much she’d been digging her fingers into her thigh while she’d been talking.<br/><br/>There was a pause as Kari composed herself. “Obviously we’re not going to be able to pick and choose our recruits, and it’s going to take some work to weed the bad apples out, but I think you’ll do an awesome job of it. After all, you did brow-beat a certain wet behind the ears Mechwarrior into shape and teach her that she couldn’t just rely on her family name to get by,” Trying to joke about the past might have been an effort to break the tension and her mood. It was hard to tell if it worked. “And by all means, I give you permission to go nuts and do whatever it takes.”<br/>