Tender

Late yesterday evening something interesting happened. I would say 'good' here, but ultimately I'll leave that judgment up to you. I'll keep it short because I'm still running a sleep deficit that cries to be balanced. 

A group of Union citizens were on the run, trying to evacuate from their small camp near the border. The fire caught them off guard, forcing them to pull up stakes and pack away everything they could before the flames got to them. Their way into Union territory was cut off. They had no choice but to angle northwest and briefly dip into UAS land. 

Where a group of UAS soldiers found them. 

Our people were small in number, just a family of five on their way from one community to another. They were on the road when the warnings hit, out of contact and unaware of the danger. The UAS patrol stopped them a few hundred yards inside the border, asked them questions for a while. Then the UAS soldiers did something surprising. 

They escorted our people north until they were out of the fire's range, then let them cross back over into our territory. 

Unknown to our citizens at the time, there was something of a disagreement over this among the soldiers and their commanding officer. From the description of the event passed on to me by the Union citizens in question, it appears the actual members of the patrol were real, honest-to-god soldiers. Like, men and women who used to be in the military. Their leader didn't seem to be. No military bearing, very sloppy appearance and undisciplined attitude. It was only when our people crossed the border and stopped their vehicle, exiting and waving to the people who had helped them, that they saw the result of that kind act. 

A fight between several members of the UAS patrol. It seems the leader of the group was furious and trying to order his men across the border to retrieve our people. The soldiers seemed to disagree, or at least most of them. 

The long and short of it is that the commanding officer and the few soldiers on his side were dropped right then and there. Shot by people who disagreed about what should be done with five innocent people who meant no harm to them. Our citizens watched the whole thing play out, and were waved off by the victors. 

Like I said, interesting. I don't know if it means anything or if this was an isolated instance of morality over duty. Whatever the reason, I'm happy to see our people safe. It's nice to know that some of the enemy have their heads on straight, though no one is counting on that to save us in the long run.