"Yes sir. I would appreciate the relief." Can answers.
"Do you know if Loki Group has the same problem?" I ask
"No sir, it doesn't. Because Admiral Leeds had to stay so close to it, Chan couldn't have his way. She would order changes where they were needed. There was constant friction between them. She must have overruled him about a dozen times in the last few months. But, it was always about Loki Group. She couldn't leave it to check out Thor. Without a Group Commander and with Chan like he was, she had to sit on the Loki Group." Can answered sincerely.
"My other question is about Amrit Singh. Is he still here?" I ask trying to hold back a chuckle.
"Yes Kurt. He's probably in his office, now." Can responds.
"Is he a good Chief?" I ask.
"My COS is much better. Maybe, Singh would make a good bookkeeper. But, he can't run your staff. If I remember, you have two hundred seventy-nine staff. He might be able to run a group of six people. His desk is piled high. There is paper everywhere. He doesn't know what to do next." The Commodore explains.
"So, I need to look for a Group Commander, three Captains and a Chief of Staff." I mumble.
"For a start, sir. Remember that, Phoenix was the last Fleet assembled in the expansion. All the others were complete, by then; and, all the ones with losses in the war were replenished by that time. We essentially got the bottom of the barrel." It was a frankly honest opinion.
"Can you spare two hours?" I ask him.
"For you I can. You're the boss." He laughs.
"Good. Let's go to the staff offices.
We thread our way through the bridge and out the doors to the office. Singh’s is first on the left in the corridor. We walk in without knocking.
"Admiral it's good to see you." Singh says from his chair.
"Captain, get on your feet.' I yell. 'Your first encounter of the day with your superior demands certain protocol. Regulation requires you to seek out your new Commander, at the beginning of your first duty shift, after his arrival. Where were you? It's nine-thirty hours, now." I am still yelling.
"Well sir, I didn't think..."
"No, you didn't; and, you don't. I can see that by your office. Give me the latest expense statement and asset sheet for the Task Force, please?" I ask. I am still yelling.
"I can have them to you tomorrow, sir." Singh responds.
"Tomorrow - what the hell is wrong with you? You should not have all this shit all over your desk. The staff should be working on it. When, I ask for something you should be able to get it from the staff in a minute. What was your last job, Captain?" I demand.
"Sir, I was the second shift Lieutenant Commander in Engineering aboard the ESS Detroit." He says.
"That's where I know you from. You were on the Detroit when I was the Exec. How the hell did you get a Chief's job?" I yell.
"It was available and sounded interesting; so, I posted for it." Singh explains.
"You're fired, Captain. You are demoted to Lieutenant, immediately. We will find you a place in an Engineering Department. Get out of here right, now. You're restricted to quarters until I place you." I yell.
"But sir... my wife..."
"I am sorry for your wife. It's not her fault. You got yourself into this mess. You'll have to explain it. Take your Eagles off, right now. I want to see your other two sets in my office in an hour. I will give you a Lieutenant's double bars, at that time. Throw the Eagles on the desk. Go to your quarters and get the other sets. After I have them you are restricted to quarters. I will discuss this with Admiral Leeds. Your application for the job is fraudulent. You may face charges for this. Now, get out!" I snap.
I type up a memo to Helena on my pad.
MEMO
From: Rear Admiral Kurt Brubacher Commander Phoenix Fleet Task Force One
To: Vice Admiral Helena Leeds Commander Phoenix Fleet
C.C. Phoenix JAG services offices
Re: COS Task Force One
Date: March 21, 2256
Admiral,
There is a potentially serious problem in the Task Force 1 staff office. I have relieved the Chief, immediately. I have taken the summary action of demoting him to Lieutenant and will reassign him to an Engineering Department, where he actually belongs. Things are such a mess here that, I believe an audit and full investigation of the office and Amrit Singh is in order. I also believe his application for the position may have been fraudulent, in the first place. This is quite a surprise to get on the first day on the job.
Rear Admiral Kurt Brubacher.
"Can, will you take the offices on the left side of the aisle? I'll take the ones on the right. Let's get all the staff into the amphitheater, immediately. I need to meet with them." There is urgency in my voice.
"Right away, Kurt." He says and takes off into a doorway.
I head into the first doorway on the right. "Which Office is this?" I ask as everyone jumps to attention when they realize the Commander is at the door.
"This is payroll, Admiral." A female ensign offers.
"Are you in command of this Group of people?" I ask her.
"Yes sir. I am the payroll supervisor." She responds.
"I have relieved the Chief of Staff. Until I have a replacement, I will run the staff offices myself. We will be having a meeting in half an hour in the amphitheater. Please have all your people put on their nametags and report there for the meeting. I need to see everyone, from all shifts." I order.
"Aye sir. We will be on time."
I stop to punch up a note to Captain El; locking up the amphitheater for the meeting. Then I repeat the same procedure I followed in payroll in the other nine offices on my side of the corridor. In the last office I decide to ask another question.
"Are the only Task Force 1 offices in this corridor?" I ask the human resources super.
"No sir. If you go through that hallway door, turn left and go through the next doorway there are two more in that short hallway. On the left you will find purchasing and acquisitions and on the right is logistics." She says with a smile.
"Thank you very much." I say as I speed off through the doorway. I repeat the process in the final two offices.
"Ladies and Gentlemen can I have some silence, please? The first order of business is to separate you by department; so, I will know who I am talking to. There are seventy-five seats in the front row and there are eighteen departments. Let's have a supervisor from every department in every fourth seat in that row. Take the middle seat and seat your assistant or assistants to either side of you. All staff should fill the seats lined up with you four in the rows behind you. So, from the front, I will see each department from the front to the back of the amphitheater. Once you are seated, let's get the supervisors up here. Grab a piece of paper. Write your department along its length near the center. Write your name below that. Fold the paper like a tent and place it on your lap, like this.' I demonstrate and sit down with my place marker on my lap.
'Hopefully, I will know at least all the supervisors' names by the time we're done.’ I stop and tap a message to my steward to bring sweet rolls and refreshments for two hundred eighty-five.
‘I am Rear Admiral Kurt Brubacher; and, I am essentially your boss. You would normally work directly for the Chief of Staff; but, I have relieved him of duty. Things are definitely not like they should be.’ I stop to give time for the seating shuffle. Dave and his people begin showing up with the snacks a short while later.
‘Please, feel free to help yourselves to something.’ I point to the side-table; and, allow more time for those who rise to retrieve something.
‘I will ask questions of you. Please don't answer them. Write them down. You will come to my office and we will go over the information I need.
Mary, your card says you are payroll. Do you have any outstanding complaints? If so, I need to see each one. If you have some, I will also prepare a list for you in Human Resources Elsa. I will need a brief synopsis of that persons work history. Mary, I will also nee
d to know if the payroll ledgers are up to date. Accounting cannot be accurate if other departments submit inaccurate results. I will need to know how many people you are paying.
Elsa, from you I will first need Amrit Singh's local file. I will call up the OESA dossier on my system. From you I will need a special search. I will need to find a new COS. Loki needs a Group Commander. Task Force One will also need Three new ships' Captains. One must have his pilot’s wings. There is no one in our local directory that qualifies. I will need you to search all other Fleets, Theatre, Quadrant and HQ Commands to find qualified candidates seeking a move. We will need to vet them all very well because of the mayhem in the whole service caused by expansion. You may want to come to me for requirements for both the COS and the Group Commander. See Commodore Ngyuen for information on the three Captains.
Fred your card says you are accounting. I need to know if your ledgers are up to date. I need to know if the asset sheet is up to date. I need to know our budget for the current year. I need to know our current expenditures for this year. I also need you to go over the ledgers of those from Task Force One for anyone with the privilege to charge expenses to Task Force One and Phoenix Fleet. We need to examine those closely and make sure they are not being abused.
Logistics, I need a report of what you received year to date and what you shipped or issued year to date. I also need you to order a full inventory of stores and reconcile receipts, issues and stock. We need to know inventory losses - especially weapons.
Legal, I want your department on notice, now that I have asked for an investigation of Amrit Singh. A lot of his practices may have been illegal. He may also have filed a fraudulent application to get the COS position.
Everyone here will need to go through their department and audit for problems. I have requested a full audit of the staff offices; so, if you can correct issue before that starts, things will be a lot better. I don't want others to suffer for Singh's short comings.
All of you will have to go to Singh's office. It is in a real state. You need to go through anything on his desk, in his drawers and on his system. If it belongs to your department take possession of it and get it into your records. Anything left over comes to me. Nothing should be thrown out. Once you've dealt with Singh's leftovers, clip all the little papers together in a wrapper that states their current disposition. Don't throw it out. It may become evidence. We have about three days before the shit's going to hit the fan. We can mitigate the shock if we work hard, now. We will find us a COS who can do the job properly. Are there any questions?" I finish.
"Sir, is Captain Singh going to face criminal charges?" Mary from payroll asks.
"I am not sure he really did anything illegally. That will be determined in an investigation. I suspect he did; even if it was accidental as a result of ignorance. Regardless of that, he has been relieved, demoted and will be reassigned due to severe incompetence. He is now a lieutenant and will be assigned to an Engineering job; which is where he really belongs. Any more questions?' I ask and get a room full of negative nods. 'Remember, we need to work hard, fast and smart. Department managers use all your people to get this all done. Come see me if you have a question; or, you find something really out of whack. I have to tell you all, this was my first day on the job. When you start an assignment like this, the one thing you need to be sure of is your staff. With a good staff, you can resolve any other issues. Today, when I came into a new job with a host of issues, I did not have a Chief and could not be sure of my staff because of the Chief. Ours is a life and death business. We need all the little things in the background to work correctly; so, we can defend our Empire properly. I really need your help, right now. Your all dismissed." I ended the meeting.
My system chimed. It was an e-mail from Helena.
Kurt,
Jag on the way. Auditors on the way. Investigation will start in five days. Sorry about such a bad first day. Chan should be fired, too. He protected Singh.
Helena.
It's only been one day and things look a hell of a lot better. Payroll already checks out pretty well. There doesn't appear to be any criminal activity. Two people never got their raises for promotions. Accounting is another issue. They have already detected very large irregularities in both Singh and Chan's OESA credit cards. It is early but, it looks like Chan is into the OESA for one hundred fifty thousand sovereigns. There are about a thousand sovereigns questionable with Singh's account. Those charges could turn out to be legitimate. HR did intensive searches very quickly. They visited me three times, yesterday to clarify requirements. I now have four candidates for COS and Five for Group One Commander. They found Can eleven ships' Captains who want to make moves. Most are double moves. They are trying to find a Fleet that will take them and their future wives; so, they can be together. I am sure we can use the extra help. We are short, anyway. Logistics found extensive shortages. No weapons are missing; but, there are a lot of shoes, clothing and personal electronic devices gone. Our CAG offices were advised of pending Mobile Fifth investigators, this morning. I am already gaining confidence in the staff personnel. They seem okay. It's beginning to look like it was Chan and Singh. Can Ngyuen was in today to discuss the Thor Captain. He is interviewing now; and has two he likes for the job. He asked how we handle the current Captain. I told him, when he knows who he will hire and has a commitment and start date, I will handle the dirty deed. This guy will never be a ships' captain. He has to be redirected. I need to study his file closely.
I begin scanning the files of the four available Candidates for a Group Command. There is one I know. She is experienced. She has married a ship's Captain; but, there is no way for her current Group to assign him where they can be together. I get an idea.
"Commodore Ngyuen, can you shuttle over and come to my office, please?" I ask after tapping my implant for internal communication.
"Aye sir, I will be right over." The response sounds very positive.
"Commodore Ngyuen reporting as requested, Admiral." He says while at attention in the doorway, twenty minutes later.
" Take a seat and relax. Would you like anything? I want you to see this file." I said as I handed my data pad over.
"No thank you, Kurt. I finished a coffee just before I shuttle over.' There is a pause as he reads the file. 'Very impressive. It looks like you found a Group Commander." He says with a smile as he returns my pad.
"Maybe. There is a hitch. I want you to read this file." I say as I hand the pad back.
"Brother; did you ever hit the mother lode. This is my Carrier Captain. I don't see the hitch." He says with his hands raise palms in the air.
"The file is not quite up to date. They are married. They come as a matched set." I responded.
There is a pregnant pause. "So, you are asking me if, I will take Loki Group and you can give Anna Arce Thor Group; so, her husband can fill the Captains' chair. I would be happy to comply. It is the best thing for the Task Force. It solves a lot of problems, in one fell swoop.' He observes. "I accept. Go ahead and make the arrangements." He finishes.
"How's the other searches going?" I ask.
"Fine, I will submit my final choices to you for approval. Once I have it, I will send offers. It looks like we will be resolving things very quickly." He says with a smile.
"Do you need anything." I asked.
A loud belly laugh came from deep inside him.
"What's so funny, Can?" I ask.
"Never once did Chan ask that question. You haven't been here a week. No sir, I am fine for now. Will you excuse me?" He says as he rises from the chair, still chuckling.
"Of course. You're dismissed." I snap officiously through my smile.
I begin to compose a memo.
MEMO
To: Vice Admiral Helena Leeds Commander Phoenix Fleet
From: Rear Admiral Kurt Brubacher Commander Phoenix Task Force 1
Re: Candidates for current and pending position vacancies.
C.C. Admiral S. Nichols Theat
re Nine Commander, Admiral G. Bryant Mobile Fifth RAC Commander, Commodore Can Ngyuen Commander Phoenix Thor Group
Date: March 31, 2256
Admiral,
I am attaching two personnel files for your examination. They reference Commodore Anna Arce and Captain David Simmons. Anna is the commander of the Columbia Group and David is Captain of the ESS Espanola. They were recently married; and, are requesting transfers to be together. It seems there is no way their parent, Boots Fleet, can meet those needs; since, others that would have to accept reassignment to make room have refused.
I have worked extensively with both officers. Both my personal experiences with them, and their file histories, make them candidates to fill our current needs.
To make their assignments their common ship, I have spoken to Commodore Ngyuen. He will accept reassignment to the Loki Group Command. That would make it possible to assign Commodore Arce the Thor Group and assign her new husband command of the ESS Thor. The Thor is in desperate need of a new Captain. The current one will be demoted and reassigned. He is incapable of handling command of a vessel.
I am excited by this opportunity. It solves a lot of problems, in one shot.
Rear Admiral Kurt Brubacher.
Ten minutes later, I receive the following reply.
MEMO
From: Vice Admiral H. Leeds Commander Phoenix Fleet
To: Rear Admiral K. Brubacher Commander Phoenix Task Force 1
C.C. Admiral G. Bryant Commander Fifth Mobile RAC, Admiral S. Nichols Commander Theatre Nine, Commodore Can Ngyuen Commander Phoenix Thor Group
Re: Candidates for current and pending position vacancies.
Date: March 31, 2256
Admiral,
I like your plan for filling the needy positions in Phoenix Task Force 1. I am approving your transfer of Commodore Ngyuen to Loki Group Command, provided all other details fall into place. I would be happy to have both Anna Arce and David Simmons in the fold.
Despite my approval, you will have to wait for a positive response from Admiral Bryant. Good job.
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