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Drabble: Ashes
Aug. 23rd, 2023 10:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pebbleinalake(Just barely still Wednesday, but I technically made it on time! Double drabble today because this thing didn't want to stay at 100 words lol.)
Some days, it really was impossible to reconcile the consequences of their actions with the ideals that precipitated them.
As Napoleon surveyed the burnt wreckage that had once been a home, his heart ached for the displaced residents that would never be coming home -- and for the ones that never left.
It wasn't necessarily their fault that THRUSH's latest retaliation had taken out a few civilian buildings in addition to the U.N.C.L.E. outpost nearby. Just as it wasn't their fault that there hadn't been enough time after cracking the encoded message to prevent the attack. And it was beyond impressive that they'd manged to save as many people as they had before the buildings were completely engulfed.
So, all in all, things had certainly turned out better than could be expected, given the circumstances. No doubt, the higher ups at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters would be more than pleased with the lives they'd saved today. Maybe he should be, too. But "good enough" meant nothing with the ashes of their defeat still clinging to his shoes and swirling forlornly through the air.
As he turned away from the charred remains, Napoleon promised himself that next time they wouldn't settle for "good enough".
Some days, it really was impossible to reconcile the consequences of their actions with the ideals that precipitated them.
As Napoleon surveyed the burnt wreckage that had once been a home, his heart ached for the displaced residents that would never be coming home -- and for the ones that never left.
It wasn't necessarily their fault that THRUSH's latest retaliation had taken out a few civilian buildings in addition to the U.N.C.L.E. outpost nearby. Just as it wasn't their fault that there hadn't been enough time after cracking the encoded message to prevent the attack. And it was beyond impressive that they'd manged to save as many people as they had before the buildings were completely engulfed.
So, all in all, things had certainly turned out better than could be expected, given the circumstances. No doubt, the higher ups at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters would be more than pleased with the lives they'd saved today. Maybe he should be, too. But "good enough" meant nothing with the ashes of their defeat still clinging to his shoes and swirling forlornly through the air.
As he turned away from the charred remains, Napoleon promised himself that next time they wouldn't settle for "good enough".
