“I’m more concerned about this recruitment plan,” said Durn Soshu, the Pillar of the Black Tail clan. “It’s always been traditional for graduates to swear oaths to their clan. A year or two spent as a Finger is the best thing for all young people.” This time, there were many nods of agreement, although Shae knew the argument was not really about tradition or the well-being of youth. It was by design that the clans took all the jade talent straight out of schools for their own ranks, with exceptions made only for the noble professions of medicine, teaching, and religious penitence.
General Ronu stood with his shoulders back and his expression firm, having clearly anticipated the skepticism he would face. “Unfortunately, that tradition is part of the problem, Durn-jen,” he said. “Green Bones in the national military arrive as recruits with different amounts of jade—granted at graduation, passed down from families, or earned in the clan. They’ve been steeped in clan culture and carry those allegiances into their units. They expect to be able to wear jade however they like and to win more by challenging their fellow soldiers. It’s hard to train them to prioritize corps above clan, to value squad cohesion over individual prowess. I’m speaking as someone who once had to go through that transition myself. To be frank, Green Bones raised and trained in a major clan make excellent fighters, but poor soldiers.
“When I enlisted twenty years ago, I was met with disbelief and disapproval from my family and fellow Green Bones,” Ronu went on. “As a mid-rank Fist, I was told by everyone that I was taking a step backward. That attitude has barely shifted in over two decades. I’m asking you to help me change that. By permitting graduates of the martial schools to enlist in the military before becoming set in clan ways, you would send the needed message that it’s as respectable and honorable to serve the country in uniform as it is to swear oaths of brotherhood to a clan.”
Shae scrawled rapidly on her notepad. We need to run the numbers on impact to both sides of the clan. Suggest delaying vote until next quarterly meeting. She pushed the note in front of Hilo. He glanced down at it, but the Pillar of the Six Hands Unity clan spoke up first. “General Ronu is proposing a consequential change that we need time to fully consider. We ought to let each clan discuss the issue among its leaders and with its allies, and we can reconvene in a month or so.”
Chairman Canto began to stand back up. “That sounds reasona—”
“Surely, if there was ever a time to act decisively to reassure the public of our national unity, it would be now.” Ayt Mada’s voice interrupted the chairman mid-sentence and mid-motion. Every pair of eyes in the room pivoted toward her. “I agree completely with General Ronu that the Kekonese military ought to be accorded more jade, more people, and more respect.”
Up until now, neither Ayt Mada nor Kaul Hilo had said anything. As the Pillars of the two largest clans, their opinions mattered the most and all decisions made in this room would ultimately come down to them. It was typical for experts, officials, and the leaders of the minor clans to speak first if they had anything to say or wished to exert any influence on Ayt or Kaul. It would not have been any surprise if the meeting had adjourned with neither of them yet declaring a position. No one had expected Ayt Madashi to weigh in so quickly.
“Since my Weather Man is out of the country on important clan business and could not be here today, I’ve brought Koben Yiro with me,” Ayt said. “Koben-jen is a successful businessman who owns a number of radio stations and also has relatives in the military, so he has a better understanding than most of us when it comes to the concerns of ordinary civilians and soldiers at this anxious time.”
With his Pillar’s permission, Koben jumped into the conversation like a horse given its head. “I’m honored to offer any insight I can to my Pillar and to the KJA,” he proclaimed in a deep, resonant voice. “The Koben family is a large, proud, middle-class family with many Green Bones and jadeless relatives. Like all hardworking and patriotic Kekonese, we care most for the safety of our families, our livelihoods, and our cultural traditions. What happened on New Year’s Eve has stirred hate for Ygutan, but the ROE presence that has loomed over the country for so long can’t be trusted either. In the end, we can rely only on ourselves.” Koben grew impassioned and jabbed a finger in the air. “That’s why people are looking to the Green Bone clans they trust, hoping for a swift and strong message of resolve.”