"To the empire of light? The navy? To the Grand chancellor? To the church of radiance? To my comrades? The blokes and broads who I take to bed?
"Nah, man. I'm not even faithful to my mech, I've been with other AIs and chassis. I'd say I'm in it for the money, but I'm not even loyal to that. Anyone pisses me off enough I'm out the door even if I'm expecting a couple mill on payday. I'm here because I like fighting. I like killing. I'm good at piloting and I don't got a conscience to hold me back, and that makes me useful to the military. They keep me fed, they buy another month of me. So long as the food's edible. seems to me they fired all the good cooks.
"See, Ever since those lizard people who can see in the dark and those weird shadow rabbits showed up, there's been a lotta talk about them taking their ancestral homes back. Getting some autonomy again. Maybe an independence movement within the great parliament, maybe what comes next if the good ol' empire says no. Seems to me they could use some help if it comes to that. They'd need some help. Probably pay well, or be in debt to anyone who helped. I'm not just useful because I have no angel on my shoulder, I'm one of the best mech pilots in the universe. I'm always wanted. And hey, Maybe it's time for fuzzier pastures. Might leave the "glowing perfection of human" behind. What do you think would suit me more? Fox? weasel? Hahaha.
"'Keeping the faith.' What a stupid phrase, kid. Nothing I'v ever seen's been worth that kind of time and effort. You want faith? Have faith in this: when I leave—and it's when, not if—when I leave, no one's gonna stop me. And when that comes, boyo, either stay out of my way, or make sure you've talked to a lawyer about a will and a priest about the rest."
[LAST KNOWN RECORDING OF FRANCIS RATTENFICKER, WAR CRIMINAL WANTED BY THE IMPERIAL NAVY FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND HIGH TREASON. CURRENT WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN]