January 15, 2363 AIA

Rising’s Home Base

Email received at 0186. Relayed immediately by request. Received at 0201.

Opened at 0708.

Account: A. Reyer CV0396

From: Ito Y. 0002

To continue our discussion from the other day, Little Warrior—you remember the next question, don’t you?

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Reyer stared at the tablet, trying to puzzle out the message.

She and Ito would often exchange emails that were nothing but a single line of text. It was a way of being in touch without taking too much time. However, they only did it while they were on base together. Sending such a casual message through velox wasn’t worth the effort.

But apparently, this time, Ito thought it was.

Alix did remember the question. It was one of the most famous passages of the book. Ito had quoted it so many times, Reyer had it memorized before she’d even read it.

Still…

Alix went over to the small shelf that held the few displayable possessions she and Adan owned. Among them were five bound-paper books. The True Heart of War was one of them.

She opened to the relevant section.

Reyer realized she’d been half expecting some kind of hidden message—a paper bookmark or penciled note in the margin—but there was nothing except the familiar passage.

Before you pick up a weapon, know your cause.

Before you know your cause you must first know yourself. Know your strengths. Know your weaknesses. If you know at least that much, you might be able to see how you lie to yourself and what you hide from yourself.

Beware of wars where men ask how far you’ll go to do the right thing and never stop to explain what the right thing is or why it’s right.

Ask yourself, what is the right thing to do?

Then ask yourself, how far will you go to do it?