RP: 4th Fleet (NSN) [Mission 4.3] A Private Word

Five Marines assembled in the large but oddly sparsely decorated office. It was a squarish room with a green-carpeted floor. Framed pictures of Robert Davis and Pyros Westwood hung on the bulkheads facing each other, sentinels observing the proceedings between them.

To one side was a cot with a blanket and pillow neatly folded. Next to it was a small cabinet. At the far end of the room, a large wooden desk was sited. Behind that desk sat one Rear Admiral Dominic Valken. Beside him stood his flag-captain, Valencia Ironside, wearing green earrings which matched her eyes and distracted Valken every few minutes.

"Sergeants Volkov and Sommerville, Marines Aubrey, Greer and Stenton." Valken knew exactly who they were. He had, after all, summoned them for an express purpose. He sat with fingers intertwined, his narrowed eyes glaring out from under the pristine blue peaked cap.

"Four of you are here because you disobeyed my orders. Sergeant Volkov is here because she is your squad leader. She may have perspective I lack." The inflection made it clear that Valken doubted it but her absence was necessary if the possibility existed. Hence why she was at this informal hearing.

"Captain Ironside is here as witness." She was also the ultimate authority on the ship so it would very impolite to keep her out of the loop.

"The purpose of this hearing is to determine your justification of why you think you only need to follow certain orders. Not to assess the mission's outcome, regardless of how it may or may not factor into the end result. I specifically ordered you not to load or use anti-matter weaponry. Greer, Sommerville and Stenton used BOLTs. Aubrey used GREEN antimatter shells. So tell me, individually, why you think this legal order should not have been obeyed?" The Rear Admiral's tone was even and calm but reproachful. Valken, himself, thought he was being fairly mild considering he could not find a legal reason to disobey the order.

He further noted that Private Bernhard Greer had his left arm cast in a sling and Private Sawyer Aubrey in a wheelchair. "Let's start, Yamataian-style, seniority first," Valken looked and gestured towards Staff Sergeant Cedric Sommerville

An informal hearing.

This was nice.

Plenty of room for uncouth brow-beating that the Admiral wouldn't have to account for should he choose. Cedric stood in the line, glad at the informal nature of the hearing in a way, as he didn't have to wear his dress uniform, and so could stand comfortably in his service uniform.

"I'm going to begin with this, Admiral." Cedric motioned with one hand to Greer, Stenton, and Aubrey, "These Marines shouldn't be here. What they did was my fault as their superior." A pause.

"I ordered them to bring the weapons." He said bluntly

He stood at the position of attention as he spoke to the officer, "They were just listening to their Staff Sergeant. Sergeant Volkov didn't know. Sir: I hate to say it, but it was due to a lack of trust that I did this. As bad as that sounds, I can explain."

He paused for a moment, thinking of the right way to spin this lie of his.

"Sir, I just got back from an off-field op. to help redesign the sapper training program, and was thrust in to a case of culture shock-from-hell when I got back to my home in 4th Fleet with a new commander. I tried to take it in stride, but this mission was a push. You didn't give us any details, any information, and only told us to expect enemy resistance. Worse yet, you took out our teeth. I figured having some game-changers on the field, however against the rules, would be justified if it meant my Marines could get off that dirt-ball alive, sir."

He swallowed the spit in his mouth, meeting the Admiral's "calm" glower with a stern and unwavering stare of his own, "I'm not saying what I did was right, or legal under the Nepleslian military's code of conduct. I'm just saying that I did it. If you feel the pressing need to destroy somebody's career, then I'm standing right here, sir."

Throat still sore from his only recently recovered lung, Cedric just hoped that the three young Marines would role along with what he had said.

"Really, Staff Sergeant? I had my trust in Admiral Wazu's judgment of your character. I see now that it has been misplaced. I suppose you are aware that this is also an insult to your direct superior, Sergeant Volkov? You have gone above her head and ignored her authority. I shall return to your case." Valken spoke with a low growl. His anger was rising. Was Admiral Wazu wrong? Or was he wrong to have trusted a man so evidently loyal to Wazu? Sergeant Phaedra Volkov had fallen into line easily enough, despite her obvious misgivings. Should he have foreseen her second-in-command would not do so? It was an issue he needed time to contemplate. So he would move to the next Marine before him.

"Private Stenton, you place me in a very awkward situation. On the one hand, your actions saved Private Aubrey's life. That alone deserves commendation. Yet your use of BOLT anti-matter warheads makes it difficult for me to do this publicly considering your violation of my restriction order. How do you feel I should proceed? I am curious to hear your justification." There was less reproach in Valken's voice when it came to Rita. The Rear Admiral knew that if he weighed her actions and disobedience against each other, the former would outdo the latter. However, despite that, she had disobeyed orders and it could not be seen that Valken would tolerate exceptions. So, he had summoned her along with all the other Marines who had disobeyed him.

When it was her turn to Speak, Rita stood at attention, with her hands clasped behind her back. "Sir," she began, "Permission to speak freely?"
"Within limits, Private," Valken replied, eyeing the former convict. He wondered how much she had adjusted to military life, especially life in the Marines. Well, if things really got out of hand, he knew he had a rather awful solution.

"During the briefing in which you issued orders not to use certain types of weapons, you informed the squad as follows:" Rita opened her mouth, and for a few moments of processing, she was silent. Then, Valkens voice could be heard coming out of her throat, a recording with about the quality of a radio transmission.

"Sergeant Volkov, your squad will be joining me on the flagship, Dauntless. Other Marine squads will be stationed on other warships, but yours is the only squad tasked with data retrieval. We've also got some new toys for you to use. Whoever is taking an Aggressor or VOID, no anti-matter or fusion warheads. We want the base intact before we pull the information. No other restrictions. Any questions?"

Click to expand...

Rita closed her mouth, stood silent for a moment, and then spoke once again in her own voice. "Those are data logs from my external memory device." An external memory device was a device built into cybernetic brains like Rita's which allowed far more information to be stored than normally possible, and all of it could be recalled with greater efficiency. "As you can see, you ordered those piloting Aggressors and VOIDs not to use anti-matter or fusion warheads. I piloted a Hostile, and was then ordered to bring BOLTs by my NCO. I thought it was a little strange that you would order only those two suits not to bring those weapons, but I assumed that your orders stood when I was told to bring them. That's all I have to say, sir."

Valken was quiet, digesting how odd it was to hear his voice come from a woman. "I don't claim to be terribly familiar with Marine weapons. Had I known BOLTs were anti-matter weapons, those too would have been restricted. Was my intent to restrict anti-matter weapons, to prevent unnecessary collateral damage, not clear?" he asked Rita, lowering his hands and looking her in the eyes.
"No sir," Rita began, giving a shrug. "I'm not a commanding officer, sir. I was trained to follow orders, and that's what I did. Like I said before, I thought it was a little strange, but I'm not in a position to question the orders of my superiors."

The Rear Admiral's gaze remained locked onto Rita. In his mind, he was going through the reams of Nepleslian military code. Nope, he was turning up nothing that he could justifiably censure the Private for. If, though he wondered at the truth of it, Stenton was following orders from her superior, then she had a legitimate loophole. It didn't excuse her density for misunderstanding but that wasn't a crime.
"I find it strange too. But you have yet to give me reason to doubt your honor so I will take your word on it that the blame is Staff Sergeant Sommerville's. Do you have anything to add?" Valken finally said.

"No, sir," Rita replied definitively.

"Private Greer. I had thought you to be a solid Marine. What explanation do you have for me?" Valken turned his attention to the medic.

He noted how the man fidgeted slightly, almost sheepishly. "Sir, I forgot. Not an excuse, sir," Bernhard replied at the end, trying and failing to meet Valken's stare.

Times like these, Valken wanted to bury his face in his hands. "You... forgot. 500DA pay deduction and a week of kitchen duty. And yes, I am aware of where your money gets sent. It is for that reason I am not deducting more."

"Yes, sir." Valken continued to note how the previously deflated Greer seemed to have cheered up slightly at the leniency he had received.

"Now, Private Aubrey. Now that we have heard, with eerie vocal clarity I might add, my exact orders from Private Stenton, how do you justify your position? Does a Staff Sergeant's orders override a Rear Admiral's?" Valken was very interested to hear the man's testimony.

Considering the shape he was in, it was little surprise that when Sawyer replied his drawl came through much thicker than usual. "Sah, Ah, remember the Tange mission when we encountered a number of Rippers and Ravagers on the ground. Ah was up on the rooftop when Private Kancre came in piloting his Air-2 Lancer when he fired a single green round into a ripper and destroyed it immediately. Considering what we encountered on Tange, Ah followed Staff Sergeant Sommerville's orders in the belief that he had gotten clearance from yourself to have us load antimatter rounds, Ah was taught in boot camp that when a NCO gives you an order you obey it and you don't go over their head to the Commanding officer to see if it is a valid order. Sah, I apologize for not checking with you to see, but doing so would have been considered disrespect to a NCO."

That was about as believable as the video of the Sky Marshall singing opera. Which was to say, not at all.

"I find it difficult to believe that story. When you are presented with contradicting orders, one from a NCO and the other from a flag officer, you immediately believe that the lower ranked officer overrides the preceding flag officer's orders. If Sergeant Volkov issued you with an order to advance then disappeared and Staff Sergeant Sommerville issued you with an order to retreat, your logic would follow that you would retreat. It therefore occurs to me that either you are extremely dense or Marine training has deteriorated over the years. And I am disinclined to believe the latter considering the caliber of Marines present in the other Fleets."

"You could very, very easily have checked with Drei and that would not constitute 'going over' your NCO. You could have checked with Sergeant Volkov, who is your direct superior officer. Staff Sergeant Sommerville's informal capacity as the second-in-command is due to the virtue of his rank and because Sergeant Volkov did not desire a change. Had she so wished, I would have endorsed her decision to replace the Staff Sergeant with a different executive. Unless my understanding of Marine command structures is entirely off, Sergeant Volkov remains the final authority within your squad, pending anything from her direct superior."

So far, Aubrey was sounding like Greer. Stupid. Any Marine who knew the system would know the appropriate means of confirming or denying legitimate and illegitimate orders.

"Did Staff Sergeant Sommerville actually say my orders had been rescinded? Or did you simply imply and assume, Private? I advise you to think carefully."

"Sir, I implied and assumed therefore making an ass out of myself I followed the orders of the NCO that gave them to me and did not think to check them against anyone else. I apologize for not checking them and thus disobeying your orders sir. I await your decision on my fate" Sawyer replied with less of a drawl than he'd had.

"Sir, it's hardly fair to say he could have gone to Drei." Cedric spoke up, "What he did was entirely justified. Drei carries rank and authority in the chain of command, technically being a commissioned officer, thus it would have been going past an NCO, and disrespecting the chain of command as it stands." He readjusted his position of attention, "He's a damn fine Marine and he was just doing like we're all taught in boot camp. It's not his fault. The blame lies with me, regardless of why what was done happened, because in the end it was my call as an NCO."

Somewhere in the back of his mind was the thought, "Stupid beurecratic mess. Why is it now of all times that the brass decides that they actually want to attempt to solve a problem?"

He continued, "All of these Marines gave enough in the course of this operation that, even if they have done something wrong, they were doing it on orders, without knowledge of the violation, and they've all suffered enough for it. Like I said sir: as the NCO who issued it, it was my order, and thus my responsibility for the outcome."

Phaedra stood silently at parade rest while those on charges explained their position. Phaedra did not like the direction the conversation was turning, but there was very little she could do at this point. The fact of the matter was simple; the Marines were ordered by the Admiral to not take anti-matter weapons, yet several of the squad not only equipped them, but used them in combat against the NMX.

Phaedra was angry; but that anger was only directed at herself. As the unit leader, she needed to watch out for those under her command; she should have checked everyone's loadouts to ensure no one was violating the Admiral's commands.

"I assumed too much," she thought.

"It seems I cannot take anything for granted when most of my unit is green as grass."

Phaedra held her commonly stern expression and waited patiently for her chance to speak.

"My current role in 4th Fleet is advisory and supplementary. I am forbidden by the Admiral to issue orders to human personnel. At Tange, I controlled unmanned warships but I do not have the authority to coordinate manned formations. This differs from Admiral Wazu's tenure but I have no reason to see why a Marine cannot consult me. I am, after all, here to be consulted." Admiral Valken looked up. The ship's AI had spoken without prompt. Yes, so things really were different under Admiral Wazu. Thank goodness he'd had the techs check her programming and fix it. What other little surprises had the errant Admiral left behind for Valken to clean up?

He returned his attention to Sawyer. "For future reference, you've heard from Drei what her opinion is on her role. Even a simple, 'Drei, remind me what weapons are restricted?' could have saved you from this hearing. I suggest you remember to make use of it. 500 DA pay deduction and a week of kitchen duty. Both you and Private Greer will begin your kitchen duty when we return to Nepleslia Prime." He would not reward stupidity.

But Dominic Valken would be damned before he allowed deliberate insubordination to go unpunished. "I've received notification from HQ that the enlisted ranking system has been updated and expanded. In light of your deliberate disobedience, I find it difficult to entrust authority to you. It is an insult to me and it is an insult to Sergeant Volkov. However, Sergeant Volkov has been quiet so I would like to hear her thoughts."

"Understood sir" Sawyer replied from his position in the wheel chair.

"Yes, sir." Cedric said curtly.

Let himself burn, he had volunteered for this. Cedric didn't have any regrets about this lie. Or what the Admiral might do. He doubted that the Admiral would be as lenient on him as he had for the others (especially in the case of Stenton). Besides that, Phaedra had only previous experience with the demolitionist, and time spent with him out in the field to doubt the story.Though he just hoped she wouldn't break the facade that he had s et up.

"Let me burn, Phaedra." Cedric thought, closing his eyes as he waited to hear her speak, "Just let me burn."

When it was her time to speak, Phaedra cleared her throat politely and then began:

"Admiral, I was unfortunately unaware that those under my command had equipped Anti-Matter weaponry until it was used against the NMX we encountered in the moon facility."

"I believe that the Staff Sergeant's reasoning behind ordering his squadmates to take AM weaponry was the relative lack of intelligence as to what we would encounter at the NMX facility. Without a doubt, I was thankful that we had AM weaponry when we had to fight a pair of Rippers armored with Zesuaium."

"But this unfortunately does not change the facts. Regardless of any miscommunication about what specific weapons or PAs were restricted for this mission, I believe that your intent was made clear: no AM weaponry."

"Staff Sergeant Sommerville did not clear AM weapon use with myself, nor did the rest of the unit. He took it upon himself to order the Marines in our unit to equip AM weapons against your orders. This was a deliberate contradiction, and as such I believe he should be disciplined," said Phaedra, drawing her gaze toward Cedric's.

"However," she said, bringing her gaze back to the Admiral.
"As the commanding officer of the Marines in question, I should be aware of what load-outs they equip. Had I inspected the equipment of the Marines in question, this situation could have been avoided altogether."

"Therefore," said Phaedra, raising her chin, "I believe that I should be disciplined as well for failing to check on the equipment load-outs of my Marines, sir."

Dominic Valken sighed. "So I should hold you accountable when I did not hold Stenton accountable? Fine. Stenton, you and the Sergeant on a week of kitchen duty with Greer and Aubrey. Appearances must be maintained. I will not be so lenient with any of you if this happens again. I can trust mistakes to happen but I do not expect them to be repeated by Marines." It would not do for the Sergeant to take the blow while a subordinate gets away clean. Not at all. Besides, misery loved company and what better way to bond than through mutual hardship in the kitchens? Valken remembered his own time on those punishment details in the Yamataian Star Army. Chopping daikon, washing it, cooking it, eating it... Valken hated the vegetable!

He returned his attention to Staff Sergeant Sommerville. "I cannot, however, trust a man who has deliberately disobeyed my orders and ordered his own subordinates to do so. At the least, it is insubordination. At the worst, treason. I am demoting you to Private First Class. Consider it a lucky day that I do not simply have you thrown into the brig. A record of this hearing will be placed in all of your files. No formal charges will be made, no court-martial will be assembled, as far as I am concerned. The matter ends the moment you leave this room. Do you have any questions?"

"None sir," said Phaedra, her expression unreadable. Things went better then they could have; she was thankful that the Admiral had only demoted Cedric and put the rest of them on kitchen duty for a week.

"This could have gone worse; much worse," thought Phaedra.

Cedric, to be honest, was thankful.

Not for himself, but for the young privates. The Admiral had bought in to the lie, whether or not he had doubted it at any time, and that meant that those three Privates weren't going to suffer any worse than they had. He wished that Phaedra hadn't volunteered herself, but even so she had come out with nothing more than kitchen duty. If Cedric got knocked down from his NCO status, then so be it. He could always find a way to work himself up again. So with that, he delivered a crisp salute to the Admiral. He physically seemed to be far more relieved and relaxed than he had been at the start of this whole situation.

"No, sir." He dropped the salute, "I understand, sir."

With that, he returned to the position of attention, and as soon as he was dismissed: he was going to try to talk to Phaedra as soon as he possibly could. He wanted to at least let HER know that he hadn't actually been so insubordinate. He just didn't want to see good Marines in his squad burn.

"You are dismissed." Valken kept his glare up until the Marines had exited his office. Then he relaxed and sighed.

"What are your thoughts, Captain?" Valken leaned back into his chair and reclined.

To his surprise, Captain Valencia Ironside, who had been stoically graven-faced up till now, giggled. "You're soft on them. It's a like a grumpy father telling his children to stand in the corner."

"And I should have thrown the whole book at them? These are the rogues who were hand-picked by Admiral Wazu. One does not tame a wild beast through overly-harsh methods, it only serves to anger him. Instead, let it fear the stick and desire the carrot. I've given them plenty of carrots and I've given them one chance to avoid the stick. If they fail me again, they will know its through their own fault when I really throw the book at them."

Ironside chuckled at her superior's response. "Here I thought you didn't give second chances," she said. "I was feeling lenient," was Valken's only response.