Malcolm recommended Brigadier Svesion to replace him. Bryant looked over his record.
"I see he was part of the acquisition team. How are his tactical skills?" Bryant asked.
"As a major, he ran three tactical ground operations. He has a good head. But, we're all out of practice, a little. It's been a while since we had this kind of action. I don't have anyone that's better; and, I don't believe the other Fleet does either." The General summed up with an indisputable argument.
"Okay, let's do it. But, we'll both have to keep our eyes on him; and steer him if he seems to be going astray. Give him a little head, though. I got a big surprise from Nichols. You may find you have a diamond in the rough, like I did. Call him in." Bryant finished.
Ten minutes later the Brigadier appeared and they went through it all again. He was in for the whole thing; so, they conducted the ceremonies.
"Ian, I've keyed up new command codes for your new position. Don't install them, yet. When you do, you will eliminate all those below you. The problem is the Draco Fleet. If we manage to make contact before they arrive, their Marines would be disabled, automatically. Enter them when the other Fleet is parked here and issue new codes to your sub-ordinates. They in turn will have to issue codes to their subordinates and so on down the line. Congratulation to both of you. We will get together when the other Fleet is here for tactical meetings." Bryant finished.
Bryant heard the blink, blink, blink of his system enunciator. He opened the mail. It was more Fleet wide postings from Moe.
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobil Fifth RAC sub-Commands, OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
By order of the Mobile Fifth Commander, a Mobile Fifth Marine Corps Command is established, immediately, in accordance with OESA regulations and the consent of the OESA C&C and Emperor Edward III. Boots and Draco Fleet Divisional Marine Commands will receive direction from and report to this center from now on.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Mobile Fifth Commander
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobil Fifth RAC sub-Commands, OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
By order of the Mobile Fifth Command be advised that, effective immediately, Grace Tonaka has been elevated to the rank of Vice Admiral and assigned as Commander Boots Fleet, in accordance with OESA regulations and the consent of the OESA C&C and Emperor Edward III.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Mobile Fifth Commander
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobil Fifth RAC sub-Commands, OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
By order of the Mobile Fifth Commander be advised that, effective immediately, Stephen Nichols is elevated to the rank of Rear Admiral and assigned to the position of Task Force Commander of Boots Fleet Task Force One, in accordance with OESA regulations and the consent of the OESA C&C and Emperor Edward III.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Mobile Fifth Commander
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobil Fifth RAC sub-Commands, OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
By order of the Mobile Fifth Commander be advised that, effective immediately, Ian Malcolm has been elevated to the rank of Lieutenant General and assigned to the position of Mobile Fifth Marine Corps Commander, in accordance with OESA regulations and the consent of the OESA C&C and Emperor Edward III.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Mobile Fifth Command
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobil Fifth RAC sub-Commands, OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
By order of the Mobile Fifth Commander be advised that, effective immediately Anna Arce has been elevated to the rank of Commodore and assigned as Commander Columbia Group, in accordance with OESA regulations and the consent of the OESA C&C and Emperor Edward III.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Mobile Fifth Command
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobil Fifth RAC sub-Commands, OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
By order of the Mobile Fifth Commander be advised that, effective immediately Brigadier Svesion is elevated to the level of Major General and assigned as Commander of Boots Fleet Marine Division, in accordance with OESA regulations and the consent of the OESA C&C and Emperor Edward III.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Mobile Fifth Command
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobil Fifth RAC sub-Commands, OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
By order of the Mobile Fifth Commander be advised that, effective immediately Tahu Moahu is elevated to the rank of Rear Admiral and assigned as Chief of Staff for the Fifth Mobile Command, in accordance with the OESA regulations and the consent of the OESA C&C and Emperor Edward III.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Mobile Fifth Command
Then, George composed the following notes.
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: OESA C&C
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
Sirs,
You will find enclosed several warrants for field promotions of staff required to meet the needs of the temporary command established to deal with the current critical tactical situation. We have christened this the Mobile Fifth Rapid Action Command (Mobile Fifth RAC). These staff changes permit me to gain full and immediate control of both Fleets you have assigned to my command. All parties involved understand that, these elevations may be temporary. However, they have all been handled publicly as if they are permanent. We will depart Barnard's star on the fourteenth, the day after Draco Fleet arrives here. This allows one day to make additional moves required to ensure complete command and control of this second Fleet. In addition, you will find attached today's postings; so, you may gain a perception of the atmosphere created by these changes. I would hope you would concur with my orders that were necessary to establish a proper chain of Command and coordinated operations of this tactical unit.
George T. Bryant Admiral Mobile Fifth Command
He called in Moe; asking him to check and send the memo to the C&C and the Emperor, immediately.
Then, he left the office for the day and went back to his quarters to wait for Marie. They spent a quiet evening visiting the Star Gazer pub for dinner and a few drinks with the rest of the senior staff and their better halves. The rest of the night was spent in quiet passionate embrace. Neither slept much. Too much was happening.
In the morning, after breakfast, he went to the office and began a memo for posting throughout the entire Fifth Mobile Command.
MEMO
From: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
To: All Mobile Fifth RAC Personnel All Mobile Fifth RAC Commands
Re: Invasion
Date: February 13, 2249
All,
I want to take a minute to relay to you all a little of what is happening, within our Empire. We are currently at war in the Lepus and Eridani systems; and, that war is not going well, at the moment. In an effort to reverse our losses, the C&C have established this new mobile command, with the assent of our Emperor. It is our task to travel to space that is foreign to most of us; and drive the invaders from our territory. To facilitate this, Mobile Fifth Command has been endowed with the assets of both the Boots and Draco Fleets; and, has the authority to engage any further assistance it may need from tactical units, in the war region. As you know, by now, I have been elevated to Admiral and tasked with Comma
nding this operation and achieving its goals. To create a strong chain of command, I have elevated and reassigned several people; with, the full consent and knowledge of the C&C and the Emperor. All this disruption must be disconcerting to some; but, I must ask you to bear with us. All my actions are designed to achieve our goals as quickly and efficiently as possible with as little injury or loss of life to our own personnel as I can manage. Though I would like to win the upcoming confrontations, my priority is the wellbeing of those in my command. Your understanding and cooperation in these trying times is appreciated.
George T. Bryant Admiral, Commander Fifth Mobile Command
The enunciator sounded from the system as he finished his memo. There were two encrypted messages. He called in Moe.
"Can you witness this, please?' He asked his chief as he punched in the decryption keys.
'Note it in your log. One is a message from the C&C. The other is from...the Emperor." He finished as he opened Edward's, first.
MEMO
From: Emperor Edward III
To: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
My dear friend George,
I am suffering a little knowing you are about to risk your life, your command, your loyal people and the love of your life to attempt to save our Empire. I read the memo you sent yesterday. I have asked the C&C to cooperate in any way they can. I believe they would have, anyway. They are big fans of yours.
If you need anything else from us to succeed at this endeavor, you need only to ask. If we have it to give, you will get it.
Tell all your personnel we hold them in our hearts and hope your ships’ shields protect them from harm. Keep them close to your heart. They are all such wonderful souls. And give the special lady of yours a hug for my wife and I. We love you both like family.
Your dearest friend.
Edward Delnikov Emperor of the Orion Empire.
MEMO
From: The Team at HQ
To: Adm. G.T. Bryant Commander Mobile Fifth RAC
Re: Invasion
Date: February 12, 2249
George,
Whatever you need to do to accomplish your goals with the least possible loss of life is okay by us. Your actions to this point have all received our approval. We will try to make anything else you need available to you. Just let us know. Please note that, where you come into joint operations with other Quadrant / Theatre Commands, they have been ordered to follow your lead. You have full operational field command. Keep your people as safe as possible. Look after that beautiful wife and all the wonderful people in your command; and, keep your head low.
Your friends
Brian Williamson Fleet Admiral C&C OESA
David Dickinson Fleet Admiral C&C OESA
William Stephenson Admiral Quadrant Three Command
"Moe, I'm going to forward you my memo. Please post it to the entire Command; and ensure Draco does, too. Please also post these replies from the Emperor and the C&C throughout the entire command. They will help cement my command of the force." Bryant said as he wiped a tear off his cheek.
He forwarded the two memos to Marie marked FYI; so, she could see them, first.
Draco appeared out of an event horizon at eleven hundred. George knew all messages including all the memos would be transmitted immediately. A shuttle departed a few minutes later. That would be Vice Admiral Palakiko making her way over to report in. She would be greeted by Captain Olivia Hurst, Admirals Nichols and Tonaka and a full honor squad complete with bosun to pipe her aboard. Tonaka was to notify him as soon as she was aboard.
He entered his key code and transmitted it; immediately rescinding all her Fleet Operating Codes; but, assumed the existing new ones Grace had activated, the day before. Palakiko was dead in the water; until he issued new codes.
"Vice Admiral Palakiko reporting as ordered, sir." She stood at attention in front of his desk.
He rose. "Welcome Admiral. I am Admiral Bryant, your new commander. Draco has been assigned to the new Fifth Mobile Command. Did you receive all the correspondence regarding this change?" He asked.
"Yes sir; and, I'd like to say, you have received some very impressive support. But, regardless of that, you are now my commanding officer; and will have my full cooperation, as a matter of course. I would like to ask you what the hell is going on, anyway?" He could tell she was still in the dark by her tone. The war must not be public knowledge to those not involved. At least, not yet. You can't hide a war for long.
"Have a seat and I'll give you a quick update. I have extensive tactical meetings planned for our trip to the site. It all started three weeks ago. We were attacked by an invader. They struck at our border in two thrusts and are now attempting to close a pincer. The attack took place in Eridani and Lepus. If they succeed with the pincer movement, they will own twenty percent of our space. Mobile Fifth was formed quickly; because a defense was discovered. But, such an attack would have to be delivered from outside the battle field. I have established my Command and its staff and have a complete chain of command. We moved to Barnard's to be close to Rigil for communications and close enough for you to get to us quickly. Tomorrow, we will make the first leg of the trip jumping sixteen light years from here to Epsilon Eridani. That will take three days; so, we'll park for half a day to give everyone a break. Then we'll jump to Gamma Lepus which will take another four days. We'll take one day’s rest there. Then will make a long jump from there to Aldebaran. We will do that jump at thirty percent. Even at that it will take nearly six days; so, we'll need a day before any action. Aldebaran will essentially be our staging point. Based on the intelligence I have, it's the best place to run my tactical plan from. Of course, we need continuously updated intelligence and field reports; but, as it stands now, we will use a pincer, to counter attack. This species seems to be two dimensional in their logic patterns. They have stayed strictly between plus and minus ten-degrees declination; so, we will attack from above and below. I want the entire senior team to travel together, until we get to Aldebaran. We will offer our Columbia hospitality to you; so, you, Grace, the Task Force Commanders and the Group Commanders can sit together and work out a very detailed plan that covers all possible alternatives. We need to plan everything a dozen different ways; because it is a big field. But, I believe, at the moment that, if we attack closer to our border we will interrupt supply and communications lines while damaging the rear of the main body. Three full fleets are fighting from inside our territory; so, this should really stress them. The three Fleets in action do not seem to like to use their raptors much. They may be small; but, raptors have a lot of firepower. If all five fleets attacked with half our raptors at the same time, it would mean they'd face two hundred and fifty additional enemy vessels on top of our massive ones. Anyway, we have time to refine the details. By the time we get there, the whole plan might not be feasible and we may need plan B, or C, or D. That's why I say we need to plan a dozen different ways to skin this cat. You on board? Are you ready to move over here and put your nose to the grindstone with us?" He asked with a smile.
"Get me quarters and I'll be moved in tonight. I need a couple of hours to pack and to meet with the team. We need to leave some people in charge if all the senior commands will be here." She added.
"Your quarters will be issued by Captain Hurst, when you get here; but, they will be on this deck, of course. I have to issue you, new command codes. All Quadrant three ones have now been rescinded." Admiral Bryant said as he went to his system to generate the codes. One additional thing I would like to do is take a walk through two or three of your vessels. This would not be a formal inspection - more like a little socializing with some of the officers and crew. I would not want to be formally piped aboard any of them. I would prefer to visit like anyone else. I'd also like to get your past week’s logs and a copy of your logs for a week ending five weeks ago. It will give me a very small peek at what your people have fa
ced recently. Finally, I will access the full files on your senior Commanders. This is not for critical purposes. I want to attach faces to files. I want to feel I know some of these people before we are introduced. The plan would be to get those files first. I'll spend a few hours on that, right after you return to the Israel. That is still your flag ship, right?' She nodded as he continued. 'I'll visit your flag ship before we leave, tomorrow. Then I'd like to visit your Task Force Two Commanders Flag ship during our first stop. It would be nice to see one Cruiser at the second stop. Finally, I'd like to see a Frigate and a sub on the day we land at our staging site. Remember, these are unannounced walk-through visits. They're not about the ships. They're about the people. That is, unless you need something. You can point out deficiencies, if you need to. In fact, if you have any serious ones, you should let me know, now. We can alter the plan. A day or two stop at the shipyards at Earth or Rigil would not be out of the question if you have anything that's patched and can't be repaired properly in normal operations. I will post a new Mobile Fifth Amendment to the Rules and Regulations. We will no longer pipe flag officers attached to mobile Fifth aboard vessels. This will be reserved for visiting Flag officers. We will no longer require staff to acknowledge each of a duty or senior officer's entry in a space. They will acknowledge the senior once per shift. After that, officer will come and go without all the disturbance to stations' operations'." He stopped for her interruption.
"Well it's about time. These kinds of protocol rules were enacted by people who lacked confidence and had giant egos. It's nice to work for someone who doesn't feel like they should be treated like god; because of a few stars. You are a refreshing find, Admiral." Vice Admiral Palakiko was almost yelling.
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