This post is inspired by a writing prompt in the Worldbuilding Community - Worldbuilding Prompt #541 - Reprimanded
It's the next part of the space opera tale of Alex Deroma.... enjoy !
Image created by AI in Wombo.art
"It is not acceptable, Admiral Deroma. Your Battle Corps has been training for a month now, and it's a complete shambles."
The expression on the face in the 3V holoviewer was thunderous. To say that the Arch-Warlord was displeased was an understatement. He went on.
"We lost a lot of good people at Tharwell, good ships, crew and officers. We can rebuild ships, but getting crews up to speed takes longer. We had to promote people far faster than normal to fill the command-level gaps. That includes you. You are the only one who was promoted three full ranks, from Commodore to commander of your own Battle Corps. Five thousand ships, nearly a million crew and marines. I took a personal chance on you, and you are letting me down. Badly."
Alex stood to attention behind her desk. Even though she was in her own stateroom, one did not sit down in front of Arch-Warlord Tahr Kvanar, not even when he was just in a screen.
She tried to form coherent words. "My Lord, we are doing all we can to be ready. But it would be easier with new recruits than the survivors of a hundred broken formations. They need R and R, time to recover, not ...."
"No excuses ! I will not hear them. You were put there to do a job, an important mission. You need experienced crew, not raw recruits. You will be at your destination in three weeks. You have until then to get your people ready. They have the experience and technical knowledge. So find the problem and fix it. Fast."
Out of sight of the screen in the corner of the chamber Alex's X.O., Trass Yalandri, was watching her commander and friend being ripped a new one by one of the most senior leaders of the Empire. She felt shame and anger, and could see from Alex's clenched fists and pale complexion that she did too. They'd been working everyone so hard, maybe too hard, and didn't deserve this.
Yet it felt like their effort to get the Battle Corps ready for it's mission in time was being sabotaged from within. Wait.... that was a thought that needed following up.....
Alex saw Trass trying to get her attention. The Arch-Warlord had fallen silent for a moment, clearly waiting for confirmation that everything was going to be okay.
"My Lord Kvanar, please forgive me, but my X.O. is indicating to me that she has something to contribute to the discussion. May I have your permission to elevate her from observer to participant ?"
The face in the screen nodded brusquely. "Irregular, but I'll allow it."
A touch on the controls expanded the view to include Trass. She bowed to the Arch-Warlord. "I am Kailen Trass Yalandri, My Lord. I have been going over the exercise data. I'm... not sure yet... but I think I may have identified a factor. We have a lot of damaged people here, and they just aren't gelling. Too many of them are disruptive. The after effects of battle shock. With your permission, I would ask that we be allowed to try something unconventional that steps outside normal fleet structures."
"If you mean executing the troublemakers, be my guest. Anything that convinces the rest to bloody well work together is acceptable."
The Arch-Warlord seemed slightly mollified by the idea that there was a possible solution, and seemed to have no objection to even the most drastic measures. Alex wondered if the mission they had been sent on was more important than she'd been led to believe.
Trass continued. "That's.... not ... exactly what I had in mind My Lord. Hopefully what I'm thinking will work. We'll let you know within the week if it shows signs of success."
Lord Kvanar nodded again, and cut the connection.
Looking at Trass, Alex said grimly, "Tell me your plan. This had better work or we'll both be scrubbing out uzak pens for the rest of time."
It was later that afternoon that Alex and Trass convened their Legion Commanders for a holovision conference. The Battle Corps was made up of five Legions, each of a thousand ships, and each legion in turn was made up of twenty Fleets of fifty ships. The Legion Commanders were also all new promotions, although every one of them had vast amounts of combat experience.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Alex began, "as I am sure you are aware, our training schedule has not been a success. I had hoped that by keeping everyone working hard, people would be too busy to dwell on what happened to them at Tharwell and we would start working as a disciplined formation. It hasn't worked, it has been a total clusterfuck."
She signalled Trass to step forward. "My X.O., Kailen Trass Yalandri."
Trass was clearly nervous, dealing with such senior people as equals was a very new experience for her, and totally out of her comfort zone.
"I've been looking over the training data. It looks like sabotage. But I don't think it is. I think we've got damaged people who haven't come to terms with being often the sole survivors of crew or whole formations wiped out at Tharwell."
She keyed the comm deck to send out written orders that would confirm what she was about to ask for.
"So we want one ship to be detached from each and every Fleet under your command. Transfer into it your worst people; your disruptive, disrespectful, battle shocked no good wasters. The ones who come up on charges most often. The ones filling your brigs or waiting for neuro-lashings. Then put your most insubordinate officers in command."
She tried not to smile as she saw the shock on the faces of the officers in front of her.
"You'll be left with forty nine ships in each fleet which should start to actually work now the disruptive crew have been removed."
Kailen Tarill Horgett of the Third Legion raised a hand. "But what of the one ship full of troublemakers ? Do we use it for target practice or something ?"
Alex laughed out loud. Horgett clearly thought along the same lines as Kvanar.
"No, no. Those ships are going to be something special. We're breaking all the rules about fleet structure and making a double-strength fleet. It won't have a number like most Fleets, I'm giving it a name. Alexandra's Avengers. I will be taking personal command of them."
To be continued.....
Previous parts of Alex's Saga;
Part 1
Part 2
The First Saga, the Tale of Fedric - Final Part - with links to all the previous parts.