Talk:Vesstil

I've always thought it stupid that Vesstil had no legal liability for defecting. I can understand why the Race wouldn't bother punishing him if they had the chance, but that they had no grounds to do so? Sure, Straha was his superior, but he wasn't at the very top of the chain of command, and the order he gave was not a legal one. If a US Army colonel orders a private, oh I don't know, to shoot a prisoner of war, let's say, the private is not insubordinate for refusing, but is subject to a court-martial if he obeys. And don't give me that "The Race is hierarchical" bullshit because the more hierarchical they are, the more they should respect the entire chain of command and not be completely enamored of their immediate superiors. It's soldiers who do not place a value on the hierarchical structure of the service who ignore countermands of illegal orders. For instance, such a soldier might feel that he's got the right to decide for himself which side to take in a civil war, and would be willing to align himself with a charismatic general who seeks to overthrow the national government and set up a military dictatorship. Turtle Fan 08:30, February 2, 2010 (UTC)