"No problem, you had difficulties to work around. We'll try to get things ship shape as quickly as possible. Shall we go?" She said with a bright warm smile.
I rose and we exited the office. We were joined at the lift by Admiral Leeds.
"Off to the amphitheater?" She asked.
"Yes Admiral. This is Commodore Anita Enzulio the new Task 1 Chief. Commodore, this is Vice Admiral Helena Leeds. Where are you headed, Admiral?” I asked.
"We’ve met before. But, welcome Anita. I am Helena. I'm headed to the amphitheater to spy on you; if, you must know.' Helena said with a smile as the two women shook hands. 'Besides, I want Anita and I to be close friends. After you get your house in order; and, you find a new Chief, I might be able to entice her to take on my staff. We could trade Kurt." She said with a laugh.
"It's a little early, Admiral. Anita just got off the shuttle. Besides, she might not want to move. Maybe she'll like the vacation atmosphere. And, maybe, I won't want to part with her." I said with a wink.
"And, just maybe, I can help you both at the same time. Task Force 1 is in pretty desperate shape, right now. I need two to three weeks to establish processes and get people working with them. From then on, the job will get a little easier every day. Compared to Quadrant 2, both your staffs together are pretty small. I may be able to spend an increasing amount of time with your people, too, Helena. You might end up with two first class chiefs. Then, you can trade us back and forth as you like." She said we a laugh as we approached the amphitheater.
"Group!!!" Someone snapped as we stepped through the doorway. Everyone leapt to their feet and came to attention.
"Take your seats." I said ignoring Helena's superior rank. I had called the meeting; and, she said she was just auditing.
"I would like to introduce you to Commodore Anita Enzulio.' I extended my right hand towards the Commodore. 'She is your new boss. She has my full support and speaks for me in every order she gives or writes; so, please give her your full support and cooperation.
Commodore, our little configuration was for my benefit, when I called a meeting a while back. People are positioned by department from front to back of the hall. Every fourth seat marks the positioning of another department. You will note that each department head has a place card bearing the department name and the name of its department head. The meeting is now yours." I said.
"Good morning everyone." She yelled into the microphone.
There was a chorus of sheepish responses.
"Good morning everyone. " She yelled even louder.
"Good morning Commodore." The crowd roared.
"Much better; but, you can still improve. You must use my name; and you must smile, when you reply. My name is Commodore Anita Enzulio -E - N - Z - U - L - I - O she said as she turned and wrote it in grease pen on the white board. It's on the board now; so, you can use my last name. But, if you can't remember, call me Commodore Anita in public. If I am in your department; and, there is no one from any other department or command in the room, we may talk in first names. But service protocol requires you to pay the respect of using my rank when others are present. That goes for Admiral Brubacher; and even Admiral Leeds. Now, let's try it again. Good morning everyone!" This time it was not a yell, but loud and cheery; as she pointed to her mouth to highlight her smile.
"Good Morning Commodore Enzulio." A roar echoed back. This time it sounds like happy not angry voices and everyone was smiling.
"Very Good. You have not had a lot to smile about, lately. I think things have been tough for a long time. Things don't look so bad considering. It looks like most of you went about your business despite Captain Singh and Admiral Chan. That took a lot of strength and we are proud of you. And, we are proud of the work you did; since, Admiral Brubacher took over the Task Force. For a little while, I will come into each office in the morning and say good morning to you so we can practice what we just learned. If you have to smile, every day, it will become easier; and, you will find you will become more positive. We must get you out of any "Funk" you may have been pushed into, over the past six months.
And I will tell you there is justice. Admiral Chan, Captain Singh and a Leading Crewman from the warehouse have been arrested and charged. They are all facing heavy jail time. The good thing about it is that, none of you got caught up in the embezzlement; and, you all tried to do your jobs, correctly. The facts bear testimony to that. From here on, you may want to take notes.
It won't take long for us to straighten things up. You are all competent and capable. The biggest problem will be processes. Did Singh follow protocol; or, did he take shortcuts. I will work a little with each department. We will look at the process. We may have to change a few completely; but, we may only have to modify others a little. Still others might only need to be tweaked. And a lot are probably okay, as they are.
When you came to Phoenix Fleet, you all had skills, training and experience that made you a valuable commodity. Tomorrow morning, that's the you I want to meet. Not the you Captain Singh tried to create. We want the pure accountant, lawyer or encryption specialist.
The Flag Officer who commands a large body is responsible for all aspects of his Command. That's why Admiral Brubacher has a staff; and, that's why he stopped everything and called for an investigation, when he smelled something foul. He is the final responsible person for all the departments you represent. He is also responsible for all the tactical decisions the Task Force has to make. That's why we're here. To lighten his load. We keep his appointment calendar. We take his notes and write promotion and assignment warrants. We take his e-mails and write his tactical orders. We filter them down to the Group Level; and, we report everything back to the Fleet. - all in his name and on his behalf. But, we take those orders, warrants and messages and look them over and make sure they conform to the protocols in the Rules and Regulations. We edit and get his approval before sending anything out. With all the warehouse withdrawals, payroll distributions, promotions, demotions, attacks, withdrawals, meetings, acquisitions, memos, personnel evaluations and all the other areas of responsibility, we will handle a thousand decisions a day, in his name. They must convey his meaning without breaching regulations or protocol.
I only tell you this because, it does not look like Singh had his office doing all those things; so, your work level will rise, over the next while. It will rise just to handle what our offices were supposed to handle, in the first place. I can only imagine how busy Admiral Brubacher has been over the last ten days. He had to do a lot of the detail stuff himself. And, in the mayhem he may have missed some things; like, forwarding a promotion or reassignment to payroll and / or human resources. So, we will go over everything he has done that, we should have handled, in the last ten days; and, correct any missteps. From e-mails I have read, I can remember a few, right off the top of my head. The Admiral had a meeting with his marine chief a while back about security. A transcript of that meeting should have been posted with the Task Force amended Rules and Regulations. Another one was an informal meeting he had with senior officers that also included security precautions. That should be cause to amend the R&R protocols, too. Once a Commander demands or orders something, it becomes the law of the Command; until, changed by that or a subsequent Commander. He helped you out over the last ten days; so, we will help him out now. Does everyone agree with my plan and assessment?" Anita finished and looked around to a chorus of nods. Many of the nearly four hundred actually looked relieved.
"Are there any questions? Do you all understand, what I am trying to convey?" She asked as a hand went up in the front row.
"Yes... Mary." She said; as she read the name off the place marker.
"Commodore Enzulio, I have an observation. May I present it?" Mary asked.
"Yes, of course. Any observations or opinions you have are welcome. Go ahead." Anita said and leaned forward to listen intently.
"Commodore, first, I want to say we are very thankful you took this assignment. We were all afraid
we might get another Captain Singh.' A round of applause exploded. When it stopped Mary went on. 'We all saw the struggle Admiral Brubacher endured; and, we'd have done more, if we could. But, we could see he needed to handle most of it because of the possible criminal aspects; and, we didn't know about handling all his communication, appointments and orders. I want to say, we all feel very bad about this. But, we are happy, too. And, I think we should thank him for all his patience, consideration, hard work and the loyalty he showed us. I think we should give him an OESA cheer!" She yelled as she stood with her right arm in the air. Everyone else rose.
"Rah" The chorus was delivered in the fashion Commodore Enzulio had just fostered.
"Thank you all. I am finished; so, I'll turn this back to the Admiral." Anita projected a bit.
"Isn't she something? I may not know anything else; but, I know how to pick people who do. Do you like your new Commander?" I yelled.
Marie's right arm rose again as she stood up. Everyone followed.
"Rah" the chorus was delivered in Anita's fashion.
"Admiral Leeds is here. I want to bring her up. She will have a few words for you." I said as Helena rose from among them and came forward.
"Hi folks.' She was speaking softly. 'You know, it did not occur to me until I heard Commodore Enzulio, just how traumatic all this may have been on all of you. She is so right. We are so proud of all of you. You did your jobs as well as you could under the conditions of the time. And, it's so nice you noticed Admiral Brubacher's efforts. He has worked so hard on behalf of all Task Force personnel and for me. Before becoming Task Force Commander, he had the Loki; and, I don't think I'm exaggerating by saying, he took a death trap and turned it into the best ship in the Fleet. And, then he faced all this mess with Task Force 1. Personnel issues caused by rapid expansion, illegal activities, security issues and unfilled positions.' She paused. Then yelled. "How about a cheer for him?"
Again it was Mary who stood with her hand in the air. Everyone followed delivering a loud call. "Rah"
I took over the podium.
"Mary. After the meeting, you might want to spend a few minutes with the Commodore. You are a natural leader. She may want to use that. What's that you say. 'I cup my right hand to my ear; then, drop it. 'Oh, she paid you for that.' I said naively to a chorus of laughter. Then I continue. ‘Okay. We established that we love all of you.' I said as I waved a hand to the audience. 'And, you love all of us.' I waved a hand to the two women Flag Officers and me. 'Oh boy, this is really getting sappy.' I said as I shook my head in feigned disgust. 'There are seven thousand requisitions, two hundred orders, twenty warrants and seventy-five memos I have to send to your offices, when we leave here. Your all dismissed." I said with a laugh and a wave as the staff rose in laughter and actually applauded. This is the first meeting I've attended where, people applauded at the end.
"Wow, you missed your calling." Anita said.
"Yeah, I didn't know I was hiring a standup comic when I asked for you." Helena added.
"Ah come on. You two aren't going to gang up on me, are you? I was just trying to make them feel good about themselves and their situations." I feign sadness.
"And a very fine job you did of it, too, Stanley." Helena said reminiscent of Oliver Hardy in the ancient comedies,
"You ain't so bad yourself, Admiral' I answered. 'Let's stop for an early lunch or brunch; or, whatever it's called." I suggested to the positive nods of the others.
Chapter 15 The Conspiracy
Monday June 1, 2257
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." - Plato
It's been over a year since my unexpected promotion and my assignment as Phoenix Task Force 1 Commander. I can honestly say, the last three months have seemed like leave. Things were so busy for the fifteen months, after I was assigned the Loki, that; the next three made me realize, I am like a marathon runner doing a cool down lap. But, the Task Force is running smoothly. We have not faltered in any assignments. Reviews of Phoenix and Task Force 1 conducted by my superiors have been outstanding.
It took three weeks for Anita to get things really straightened out in the Staff Office. Singh proved there's nothing like an amateur to really screw up the works. But, she is my right arm, now. At least when, she's not crossing over to the other side to work with Helena's COS. That office is ticking like a watch, too.
For her part, Helena's been a great boss. And, a great lover, too. Our biggest impediments have been Nichols and Bryant. They keep wanting the Phoenix Group close to the Midgard or Valhalla; but, we still go on about patrols we are assigned, in the region. The Fifth has moved to all four quadrants of the Empire, during the last four months; so, I think Anita's seen more than she thought she would. Even the most basic red dwarf, we all take for granted, strikes her with awe; when, we approach it. And, she can't get enough of emission nebulae. She stood at a viewport for hours; studying the Lagoon Nebula; when, we were working at Zeta Sagittarius. She'd be happy to go six to eight hundred light years out from Earth, where some truly dense and beautiful ones reside.
Anyway, Nichols will call Helena and the two Task Commanders into his office for some lame brained excuse, when we're near Midgard; and, Bryant will do the same, when we are near Valhalla. We've spent as much time on those ships as we have on the Loki. One thing I began to notice as early as my War College days was how often the Emperor is at the Valhalla. And, sometime Bryant and he are at the Midgard, when we pull in. There have been other times when Stephenson is with them, too. And, I get the impression that, they are watching Helena and me. Sometime I see them all sideways-glancing at the two of us while talking softly through a hand covered mouths. I am not sure about Harter Brocken my counterpart in Phoenix Task Force 2. All eyes seem to be focused on Helena and me, when all three of us our present. Sometimes, there are other Flag officers nearby on the station, too. I notice the same interest in some; and not in others. It seems like a group of us are being assessed for some mysterious purpose. Or, maybe I'm just paranoid. I am so doubtful of these observations; I haven't even mentioned them to Helena.
Helena is another story. Or, I should say that; ours is another story of growth over the past year. We still don't live in a single apartment. We would not want to shock our subordinates. So, we spend three or four hours a night in one or the other’s quarters. Both are spacious and elegant; so, we don't really care whose unit we're in. Three hundred or four hundred in the morning will see whichever one is in the wrong apartment relocating to their own. But, we would marry at the drop of a hat. It wouldn't take much. My third star or the threat of a war could push us into a quick one. We have lots of ship's captains to perform the ceremony, quickly.
The quiet time has been good. It has taken me out of the spotlight, for now. I feel like the whole year; after, I was promoted to the Loki; I was under a magnifying glass. It seems like everything I was exposed to during that period was faulty in one way or the other and fixing those things brought me attention. I feel like, I was holding my breath through all of it; and, am just catching my wind, now.
Right now, Valhalla is positioned outside the 61 Virgo system, not quite twenty-eight light years from Earth. And, that is something else I've noticed. Most of our designated patrol areas haven't taken us more than thirty light years from Earth, in the past year. It means, we can usually bring the entire Fifth to Earth in less than a week; and, in three days if, we travel at forty percent. Anyway, Phoenix has been ordered to patrol a 66000 cubic light year cube centered at Ross 695 and Task Force One is patrolling half the cube while Task Force Two patrols the other. The thing is that Task Force One has the half cube that nearly meets 61 Virgo. Loki Group is at that end of our half. I would bet, that Loki will be called to Valhalla, soon. We are only two hours from it at standard speed; and, could be there in an hour, if need be. This is another thing I've noticed. Phoenix Fleet is always close to either the Valhalla or the Midgard; but, the Loki G
roup is always closest of all. For the last year, the ESS Loki could get to one of these pointless meetings in a few hours, or less.
Sure enough, the expected message arrives in the afternoon requiring us to report to Admiral Bryant aboard the Valhalla at eight hundred hours Tuesday June 2, 2257. I had Ngyuen order the Loki to head to Valhalla at four hundred thirty hours the next morning.
"Good Morning you two. Forget the formalities and grab a seat.' Admiral Bryant says; waving his hand towards the spacious conversation area. 'That is, unless you need breakfast. There's scrambled eggs, pea-meal bacon, fruit, toast and assorted beverages. Help yourself." He offered; directing us to a side-table.
We both took only a coffee; then, took a seat on each end of a sofa. Ryan sat leaning toward us on the opposite side of the coffee table intently holding our eyes.
"I'm going to bring in a few other parties, in a couple of minutes. I just wanted to say that, I wouldn't be surprised if you were both wondering, what the hell is going on.' He paused for a moment. 'The Emperor has been observing you both. He studies our reports on Flag Officers; but, he likes to be able to envision the ones he is interested in. There is something in the wind. I am sure you guessed. We can't tell you yet. It's too dangerous. But you are part of a plan; and things will start changing for you both, today. And tomorrow, you will know what you want to know." He rose, went to the door, waved someone toward the office and came back to sit down. It was great to know; I had not been paranoid. We were being watched.
As the three people enter the room we both bolt to our feet.
"Vice Admiral Leeds and Rear Admiral Brubacher, I want to introduce you to Emperor Edward III, Fleet Admiral William Stephenson; and, you know Admiral Nichols, of course.' He directed his hand toward each man as he introduced him. 'And, gentlemen, this is Vice Admiral Helena Leeds and Rear Admiral Kurt Brubacher." He said using his hand the same way to indicate us.
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