A Harper on the Coast

[Cosmic Charlie]

It's what I do.

Like any war, it is long periods of utter boredom interruped by short bursts of sheer terror. Only this war doesn't end and the terror isn't confined to battle. Most of what I do sounds simple enough, push the good guys closer together and pull the bad guys further apart. It is anything but easy. From my perspective it seems the various good guys would more often rather dispute the small things that separate them than face the gulf that divides them from their real foes.

I watch. I listen. Sometimes I offer a word or steer a conversation. Sometimes, rarely, I act a bit more directly. If the proverb that battles are won before they are even fought is true then more victories come from subtle preparation than overt acts of bravery. The times I fail are the times I forget this simple truism.

So now the word comes down that we're to be on the lookout for some <excised>. Typical Harper efficiency, that. A couple of tendays ago I'm sitting around the fire listening to some <excised> maniac <excised>. I figured he was one of the random crazies we get from time to time. Had I known then, I could have tagged and followed him, maybe learned a bit more. Now, I'll be lucky to recognize him unless he starts ranting again. There's a lesson to be learned, every piece of information is potentially valuable. I need to be sharper.

I've been called weak and a coward. That's from those I consider my allies. My ememies simply overlook me then wonder how their plans went awry. When I do my job well, no one suspects me. When I do my job really well, no one even remembers I was around. When I pass on, no statue will be raised in my honor.

It's what I do.