But where did you get the resources, the ships and the production capacity, Captain? This is actually not a combat test, but a major raid on the enemys rear with the involvement of serious fleet forces.
The ships were provided to me by Colonel General Knyazev, with the permission of Fleet Admiral Nelson, as part of the agreement on the testing of new equipment, which has not been rescinded since the name of the FAWC was Lavroff Weapons Company. Minister of Military Production Zwerev agreed to provide me with shipyards for their reequipment. I cant say he did it willingly, but he did it. And as for resources, the FAWC had its own funds after the sale of battleship Titan to the Fleet.
Captain, you are a pure adventurer. You put yourself at risk, you injure me as your immediate superior. Couldnt you have checked with me in advance?
You wouldnt approve of my plan, Mr Minister, if Id informed you beforehand.
Fine, Captain! Just fine! You knew I wouldnt let you do this and you did it without my knowledge, and now you have the audacity to say it looking me in the face.
I always prefer honest answers, Fleet Admiral, Sir, unless a lie is necessary.
Ghm Bronstein choked on another angry tirade,What should I do with you, Captain? I cant sanction this operation, obviously. Im gonna have to deal with what you did, you understand? Youve acted contrary to the decisions taken at the Presidential High Command meeting. No one ordered you to prepare this raid, and youve diverted industrial resources from the repair of ships and the manufacture of equipment that we may very soon need in battle.
It wont help us, Minister, Sir
Silence! Captain, if you dare to challenge the commands decisions again, Ill dismiss you from your functions and send you to command a battalion on Kapteyn, so that you remain in this hole for the rest of the war and not cause any more trouble.
Mr Minister, I answered as calmly as possible, but I have never exceeded my authority anywhere, not once. The development of new weapons and their preparation for testing is my immediate responsibility. My job description doesnt say I cant involve other ministries and agencies. I made a formal request to Minister Zwerev, and he granted it, which means he was able to do so without compromising the Federations defence capability, and his decision in no way affects the Ministry of Defence, headed by you. This is his sole responsibility.
Well, lets just say you are right, Bronstein agreed, cooling off a little, But why is it that the Minister of Defense finds out about the preparation of such an operation two days before it begins, and the General Staff doesnt know about it at all?
Because this is not an operation by the Federation armed forces, but a combat test of a new experimental weapon, Mr Minister, I patiently explained, and it is being conducted under the auspices of the New Equipment and Weapons Commission of the Ministry of Defense, which I have the honour to head. The job description I mentioned earlier says that Im obliged to notify you of the tests, and not to get your agreement for them at the planning stage. You are, of course, free to make any adjustments to the test plan, if it is contrary to the current interests of the General Staff or the Ministry of Defence as a whole, thats what the notification is for, so that I dont accidentally mess things up for you and the General Staff. But somehow I dont think thats the case.
And I think youre a cocky squirt, Captain. I recognize your distinguished combat service, but youre neither politician nor an official, and Im afraid youll never be either. You should be commanding a landing brigade, maybe a division. You want me to write down an order right now, Captain? Thats where youd be.
You have no idea, Mr Minister, how happy I would be to accept this appointment, but being a commanding officer of a Commando Division, it is impossible to resolve the outcome of the war, and I want the Federation to win, and I will pursue it with all the means at my disposal.
Those are beautiful words, Captain. And I can see that youre being sincere. Would you like me to be frank with you? Youve done a very foolish thing by bringing your ideas to the High Command meeting. I didnt just tell you you werent a politician. You shouldnt have done that. In the eyes of respectable generals, you are a boy with the rank of captain, who tries to impose his plans on adults with such stars on their shoulder straps that you have yet to grow up to, and its not like with this attitude, youll ever make it happen. You think I dont understand that there was some merit in your words? Im well aware of that, and at the meeting, I understood that, too. But you should have reported your thoughts to the Chief of Staff first, since your position allows it, then he and his analysts would conduct a comprehensive analysis of these ideas, would make corrections and turn a naked idea into a preliminary plan of operations. And then he would come to me with this plan, and I would also make comments and changes, and only then could we propose it for discussion at the Presidential meeting.
And when would I have done all this, Mr Minister? I was pulled into a meeting right off the tarmac.
Then you shouldnt have said those things at all. You should have brought your idea up later, in the usual way. It would have been more useful.
We dont have time, Mr Minister. I listen to you, and I wonder how the Federation has managed to survive twenty years of fighting such a dangerous enemy with such an approach. Youre Fleet Admiral, Mr Minister, I dont believe you dont understand what would happen if we let the quargs build their battleships
Captain Lavroff, Bronstein abruptly interrupted me, Youre not listening to me at all, and youre not drawing the right conclusions from what Im saying. The only thing that makes me still talk to you is your genuine desire to defeat the quargs, which you have demonstrated many times to all of us, and which you constantly put above any personal interests. Right now, as you drive me mad with your boorishness, youre risking your career, and I think you understand that perfectly well. Why are you doing this, Captain?
I need this operation, Mr Minister, said I with the utmost patience,Weve already spent too much time preparing it. If we allow the quargs to strike our planets with their new weapons, the Federation will not stand. I know that for a fact, Ive seen a ship like that in battle on both sides of the sight. Youre right, now I dont care what happens to my career, but I dont want 200 billion people going into nonexistence because of my inaction. Ive already died once, Mr Minister, but that guy looking down on us gave me a second chance, and now I owe him, because he didnt do it for nothing, and Im used to paying my debts in full.
Asteroid fever? asked Bronstein thoughtfully, I remember, I was told.
Mr Minister, I took the liberty of drafting your order to test new torpedoes. It says you authorize them, but you leave it up to me to select the targets in the enemys rear. If I dont come back from there, itll be my fault, because itll be my decision, and your headaches will go away without me. Well, if this works out, itll be obvious to everyone whose orders I acted on, said I sending the appropriate file to the Ministers tablet.
Bronstein looked me in the eye for 15 seconds and kept silent, and then he looked down at the screen and went into the reading. The Minister frowned and tweaked the text, then he put the tablet down and looked back at me.