Everything is exotic to the correct perspective. Sebiestor would be exotic to the Khanid, I’m sure.
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Let’s not get off topic here . . .
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It’s been suggested that I’m never on topic.
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What happened to the blonde anyway?
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My natural hair colour was making me antsy. I’m sure it will make a resurgence when I get bored.
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Is it because of the Sebiestor?
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It’s possible.
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Redheads are best anyway.
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Something something honour, you get the idea.
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This is a somewhat common tactic amongst the apostates and heretics of the Sani Sabik and others, of using non-combatant vessels loaded with victims, then loudly declaring the immorality of anyone firing on such vessels.
I’ve encountered it myself. I think the object of the exercise is propaganda - some twisted attempt to gain the moral high ground in the eyes of onlookers who do not know the full horrors that await anyone in the hands of the Sabik.
The danger is that one starts to lose their capacity for empathy. When the choice is to hesitate and let the Sabik get away with it (encouraging them to do it again), or to shoot and probably kill the people one had hopes of rescuing, then the only option is to open fire. Following such an incident, there is a risk of becoming numb to the destruction, of retreating into oneself to try and maintain ones sanity. This risks becoming the kind of inhuman monster that you fought against.
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About a year and a half ago, Mr. Nauplius retired for a while. At the time, he seemed to be having a crisis of faith. He had a few tens of thousands of people in his custody, and, didn’t seem sure what to do with them. I made some offer or other-- I forget what-- but what he really wanted, was a hug.
So I gave him one. (And here we are.) (Still don’t actually regret it.)
… And, got myself and SFRIM a few tens of thousands of people and a humanitarian crisis. I was pretty involved in what followed: weeks maintaining what was more or less a refugee camp crossed with a hospital amid a frantic attempt to find the vitoc composition that would save their lives. I … spent a lot of time in the medical facility, at that time.
We didn’t save everyone.
After it was over, we had a memorial for the dead: a name read out … a bell tolling… another name read. For over eight hours. Under a sky this absurd shade of blue.
I remembered their faces, some of them. I couldn’t match most to the names, though. There were just too many.
I’ll never know any of the people we killed yesterday; I’ll never see their faces, or match those faces to names. Even if we got a comprehensive list of the dead, the names would be meaningless to me. … they’re people I never met.
But I did meet others, from similar circumstances: victims of the Butcher, that I couldn’t save.
It’s them I think of.
That’s what I think of, when something like this happens.
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Why are you using hand anything, “smart” or otherwise? Are you hobnobbing with civilian non-capsuleers?
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There is room for only one evil genius in the cluster!
Muwhahahaha!
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Sometimes airgaps are needed. Particularly when you need to be reliably difficult to track. Burner devices airgapped from all personal systems do the trick.
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Sometimes you get lucky.
Sometimes you get lucky twice.
It is always worth the risk.
Take it from we Praetoria with some years of experience dealing with this: carefully aimed laser fire can greatly increase your chances of leaving survivors. Missiles are terribly imprecise and drones are too difficult to micromanage to the needed degree to avoid reactor systems and cargo comparments. Even with perfect accuracy, mistakes happen and the pilots may purposely maneuver to throw off your aim. Still, it is possible to achieve results such as shown.
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@Arrendis and @Nomistrav
I am sorry that you read my comment in this way. My understanding was that he was in no real danger, being surrounded by an escort fleet and given the size of the attacking force. I was not there, however, so should probably not have made this assumption.
I apologise for any offence caused and assure you that I am no hardened warrior myself!
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You can get pills for that.
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Naughty! 
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You can get pills for everything, even for things you didn’t even know were a problem. Such as Antinapukpetin, a pill that remedies split skin on your heels.
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