"I never said you weren't good," Tycho says softly. "That is not the issue here, not at all." His voice is still soft, but it's starting to take on a dangerous edge. "I do know that much more," Tycho continues, "But I can't force you to agree with that, and you know what, it doesn't matter if you agree or not, because I out-rank you, and so no matter what you think, you have to listen to me."

Asuka is refusing to listen, and so she has brought out another side of Tycho, a side he doesn't often let show. He knows arguing won't get through to her. If calm respectful conversation won't work either, it's time for Tycho to change tactics entirely, to stop using lasers and switch over to proton torps. He looks up at her, and now his eyes are cold, like hard flecks of ice. This is a man who has killed more men and women than will comfortably fit painted on the side of an x-wing. This is a man who has ordered other men and women to go into battle in which he knows some will die without flinching. This is a man who has shot other men and women with a blaster and watched them die in front of him. This is a warrior, who has earned his rank.

"This conversation just became non-optional," he says in that same hard flat voice of command. "You will sit down and talk with me, and that is an order, Flight Officer Soryu. You will give my questions careful consideration, and you will answer them to the best of your ability. Do you understand?"