Oh I'm fine with it, just don't expect them to be 100% goof-free. That being said I'd like them to have a second-in-command. A yes-person (this is the most important qualification) who knows how to motivate, shows initiative, can handle pesky correspondence with skalds/scientists and the likes, can direct the cleansers in a meaningful way .... oh, and if they can communicate with the puffins (Icelandic) that would also be kinda cool.
Maybe that would be something for Karri?
Sure, sounds good! Karri's Icelandic might not be the absolute best but they understand it fine and can speak it pretty well and will remember more of it as they use it. Definitely yes-person material
Also, goof-free would be boring! Who wants completely businesslike leaders?? not me that's for sure
*Back in Mora, Sara facepalms.* She's been cc'd on the expedition organization memos (and has been kiiinda eavesdropping on the radio traffic), and she's got a very clear picture of how this is going to go down. She'd better start drafting condolence notes right now.
She's heard about this "Fimbulvarg" person -- very much in the "punch trolls and blow s*** up" school of Capt. Eide from the Y90 expedition. Well, that kind of gung-ho combat leadership has its place as long as it's counterbalanced by someone prudent and cool-headed (like that nice Dr. Madsen), with all the *other* necessary qualities to get an expedition out and back safely, recovering not just things but knowledge.
Fimbulvarg's draft job description for a second-in-command isn't bad, even if it leaves out all the "prudent" and "level-headed" parts:
A yes-person (this is the most important qualification) who knows how to motivate, shows initiative, can handle pesky correspondence with skalds/scientists and the likes, can direct the cleansers in a meaningful way .... oh, and if they can communicate with the puffins (Icelandic) that would also be kinda cool.But that is *not* the impression she's getting of Karri, the person who volunteered for the post. Young, over-energetic, poor impulse control, spendthrift, speaks "some" Icelandic (in Sara's experience, all resumes are inflated)... and if they're a yes-person, they'll be aiding and abetting some crazed Norwegian adrenaline-junkie (with a
nom de guerre like that, she has to be a crazed adrenaline-junkie) who probably believes in Valhalla and has no problem taking dozens of valuable young people with her.
Sara rolls her eyes.
On the other hand, Karri does seem to be staying on top of the correspondence (if not necessarily the financial record-keeping). So there goes one stereotype, about Norwegians being barely able to read.
And if she's cut from the same cloth as Captain Fimbulvarg, at least they'll get on well together. Sara's heard depressing stories of expeditions, research teams, and businesses collapsing because their leaders just couldn't get along. Or the leaders got on just fine, but they weren't respected by their underlings. Presumably Cleansers would do better under the direction of one of their own than a toffee-nosed, aging civilian like herself.
Well, it's their lives on the line, not hers (as Swedes are reminded every Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day). Sara sighs deeply, leafing one more time through the sheaf of personnel reports and shoving them back into their folder. How many of those bright faces won't come back?
Note to Curry and Fimby: Sorry for the less-than-respectful descriptions. This doesn't reflect my actual opinion of either of you, just Sara's rather jaundiced view of your SSSSonas.