(Lyka gives us inside look at the role of captain she has been promoted to and how the decisions she has made led to two of her command to volunteer for a suicide mission. It’s her dedication to the job as she describes it that makes her the excellent leader of company that she is. ) 

---

Russ: and how is this captaincy coming for you, are you enjoying this part of it, your military life so far? 

Lyka: well......

Russ: I haven’t talked to you since you’ve been such. 

Lyka: no I’ve made up my mind, I am a lifer..

Russ: good.

Lyka: I am going to do the full 500 years.

Russ: 500?

Lyka: yes.

Russ: whew, I didn’t know it was that long.

Lyka: well it’s only half my life.

Russ: well yeah.

Lyka: if I live that long which I plan to, I plan to do everything to that goal. I wish to live a long time.

Russ: uh-huh. Now one thing you did mention was code of conduct.

Lyka: code of conduct yes, code of conduct.

Russ: we really didn’t discuss a lot of the code of conduct except of course in making sure that everyone is following the leader.

Lyka: okay, now there is two sets of code of conduct. Let me start with the one that I’ve been trained to deal with as a first of all a cadet lieutenant, then as a second lieutenant and finally as a captain. The code of conduct for an officer is first and foremost your personnel come first above your own existence. They are more important than you are. It is necessary to make sure that the guards are set before you go and rest, your personnel are fed before you feed, you have to be fitter and more active than they are, you have to know when to listen, you have to be genuinely concerned about the well-being of each member of your company, you have to know all of them by name, you have to respect that they have each their own special needs, you have to be able to discipline them when they do something wrong and yet be their friend after it is all over and done with. Basically, it can be boiled down to look after your men, look after your women, look after your personnel, they are the reason for your existence, they come before everything else. You do not sleep until they have slept, you do not eat until they have sat down to eat, you do not go to the bathroom until all and every last one has been to the bathroom, you do not go into a warm environment until they have been warmed up, you do not go into a cool environment until they have cooled down. They are your reason for existing. Code of conduct for the ranks. Respect your officer, look after her, protect her, make sure that she is of good health, don’t give her any unnecessary headaches. I’m just saying from what I’ve read, I do not know it that well unfortunately having never been in the ranks. Any questions?

Russ: no but you’ve definitely put it in a perspective that’s very helpful for anybody who reads this.

Lyka: uh-huh. As a commanding officer, respect your personnel, they're more important than your own life.

Russ: well that will earn their respect, that’s for sure.

Lyka: uh-huh, lead by example

Russ: hmm, well you're going to make a wonderful captain.

Lyka: I’m going to try, I am just a cadet captain.

Russ: well for now.

Lyka: uh-huh. Even though the company is mine and I am in charge of the company, I can be relieved at any time, I do not have to go through the formal procedure of a normal relief for whatever reason. If I make a small mistake that would normally be just a quiet whisper in the ear, I can be relieved.

Russ: hmmm.

Lyka: I have to be spotless.

Russ: it's a lot of pressure.

Lyka: hmm yes however, there is one thing they cannot relieve me for….

Russ: hmmm.

Lyka: and at the moment I can’t anyway, if I was a cadet captain and cadet captains are quite common and I got pregnant.

Russ: hmm, is that common with cadet captains?

Lyka: no, it’s not that common but it’s not unheard of. 

Russ: oh.

Lyka: then I would have a second lieutenant or rather a first lieutenant assigned to me.

Russ: didn’t your captain get pregnant before you guys left?

Lyka: uh-huh.

Russ: hmm, so she wasn't able to go with you?

Lyka: no, pregnant officers and personnel do not go into combat.

Russ: right.

Lyka: and whilst we’re in combat we're given medication once and once only that stops us from being pregnant.

Russ: ahh, excellent.

Lyka: also halves our menstrual cycle.

Russ: well that’s good for you.

Lyka: oh yeah. Actually when we had our little……

Russ: problem?

Lyka: yes, our little mess, I happened to be PMS'ing at the time.

Russ: that must made you just a little bit more aggressive?

Lyka: uh-huh.

(her and her company had been surrounded at the time on a third dimensional sister world of Sirius)

Russ: so here’s one question for you, as with a commander who counts their charges as more important than themselves, how do you deal with it when they get removed from living?

Lyka: I take it personally……

Russ: I imagine you might.

Lyka: I take it very personally.

Russ: isn’t this harsh on you though, more stress?

Lyka: yes, it is. First of all I get angry at the fact that they were stupid enough to get themselves terminated…..

Russ: right.

Lyka: and then I get angry at myself for putting them in the position where they have to give their lives. Sometimes it’s unavoidable. I look at it this way that it was their time to go, that there is nothing that I can do about it however, I’ll do my damnedest to make sure that it doesn’t happen. I had to……one of the last few weeks that we were in combat, I had to assign two individuals to do something that I knew that they wouldn’t come back from, that I was basically sending them to their death.

Russ: and they knew this?

Lyka: they knew it, they accepted it and the hardest part was sending them off, telling them, “I’m sorry I’ve got to do this to you but it is important that that matter be dealt with.”

Russ: there I would question my own leadership abilities in that matter.

Lyka: yeah, I questioned myself tremendously. When I saw my commanding officer of my regiment, he asked me how I dealt with it and I explained to him how I did it and he goes, “would you do it again?” And I sat there and I said, “I don’t know.” And then, he asked me a very interesting question concerning one of our special operations and he asked me was could I ever kill in cold blood and I really don’t know. I did, I have done and I don’t know if I could do it again, each thing is case-by-case.

Russ: oh wow.

Lyka: anyway…

Russ: anyway.

Lyka: on a happier note…

Russ: happier note indeed.

Lyka: uh-huh, you want to talk?

Russ: we don’t have any time to talk, we have more speakers to come and….

Lyka: we have one more.

Russ: oh we only have one more.

Lyka: well if you want to pause your thingy there and go and get two of your blades, I’ll kick your ass again.

Russ: all right, hold on.