Traal Anno 9
Harky gives a fairly thorough accounting of his feelings on this matter, though there are shades and subtleties to what he’s saying that might be skipped on first reading. He’s not as radical as Hammerhead: he knows that working with the Peacemakers to bring down the Corruptor Beast was the right thing to do for their combined people. Without that decision, a whole settlement would’ve been destroyed, if not all Arkerra.
But his word choice shows the difficulties of his position: “I cannot allow you to do it again.” Harky considers it unlikely that working with humans will be the necessary, only choice in the future, as it was here. But if it were, he knows Penk would do what was necessary. And yet he must punish this and forbid it. His whole political career is basically tied to the platform of “no mercy for the humans.” He can’t recant it without stepping down, and his stepping down just now would be disastrous for the cause, considering his likely replacements as Rebel commanders are Don Gobligno and Iver. (Arfa would put up a fight, but her age and some races’ sexism would probably doom her bid.)
Harky turns back to face the sun, much as he did when he first appointed Penk his herald. Then as now, he sought perspective on the present and visions of the future.
♫ Harky’s herald Penk did sing, “humans helped us ‘gainst that thing”
Harky answered, ‘be thou mild? Humans, rebels reconciled?”
How canst thou deceive thine eyes to the humans sins and lies?
Therefore do I now proclaim, thou shalt not do like again
*claps*
Nice!
If I remember correctly, this was the first open conflict between Harky and Penk where Penk isn’t looking at Harky with hero worship.
Panel 3 makes it sound like this rebuke was public. But Magda’s question seems to indicate it was not.
Yes. Wouldn’t it be better to punish Penk in front of everybody and then explain to him the nuances of this admonition in private?
Harky when they are done here:
“Good talk, Penk. Now go approach me in the center of the camp so I can punch you again!”
Look at all the interior design on this page! Armour too, of course. :)
Harky does show all the canny and hard-wrought wisdom T speaks of but his very last sentence here gives us a glimpse into his feelings, and those feelings are not very different from Hammerhead’s. His hatred is real and runs deep and as thankful as he is that he had a proxy to do the necessary evil of working along with humans to destroy the beast in his stead, he can’t forgive his lack of mercilessness.
Like Iver, just a couple pages before he spoke one more time than he should have, widening what was but a crack on the confidence and respect Penk felt for him. He demonstrated to be capable of nuanced logic but incapable of nuanced ethics. That is what eventually made Penk realize that he needed to challenge him, with everything that it implied.