Chapter VII
Top Brass
Disclaimer: See Previous Chapter.
Nathan sat with one leg resting on the other, drumming his fingers on the side of his boot.
He was sitting outside the office of two of the senior admirals of the aviators.
No matter how this meeting went, he was still feeling very pleased with himself.
Evidently, word of his offer of 'wonder-weapons' in exchange for a place in the Aerial Corps and the signing of a code of war had piqued someone's interest, because a couple of hours after he'd made landfall with Laurence and Temeraire, he'd been given a date for an appointment to speak with senior figures on the Admiralty board and the War Office.
The meeting had taken roughly three hours, a lot of which after the pleasantries were done came down to clarifying points regarding the Geneva Conventions.
Fortunately, he'd managed to convince Laurence to read the codes over on the week long cruise aboard the transport, because as it had happened, things like nuclear warfare, nerve gas, and the restrictions on phosphorous incendiaries were inapplicable due to the fact they hadn't even been conceived yet.
So a lot of stuff had been quietly written out.
In the meantime, he'd also learnt that he was mistaken on one of his assumptions regarding child soldiers:
The age limit on who constituted a 'child soldier' was actually fifteen instead of eighteen, and if a child under this limit took up arms anyway, they were treated like normal combatants.
The revelation left a bad taste in his mouth, as he'd figured he'd have an up-hill battle pushing it through, even with a carrot like the one he was dangling. To learn it was effectively cosmetic in this context didn't sit comfortably with him.
In the end, the various military men had said they'd get back to him, but after he'd outlined exactly what he'd meant to give them,-breech-loading cannons and artillery and breech loading rifles,- and how these innovations would increase fire rate and effectiveness, he'd seen at least two of the more sceptical men change their tune almost immediately,-especially after he showed them an animation of how quickly a breechloader could be loaded, fired, then reloaded, as compared to a muzzle loaded flintlock.
It was kind of hard to tell whether they were more fascinated by the guns or the laptop. He thought to himself with some amusement.
He also recalled with some amusement that some of the generals had raised the issue of whether animals counted as combatants in regards to how POWs were treated.
'I've heard of horses, donkeys, cats, rats, dogs, pidgeons and even dolphins and elephants used in war. They were all treated with respect in the conflicts they were involved in, even when captured. If you mean to ask whether that applies to dragons, I can see no reason why not.' He'd replied, and had drawn a couple of chuckles from the assembled men.
'And what's this 'biological warfare?'' Asked another man, wearing a Navy officer's uniform.
'That prohibits the use of diseases and the like in warfare, so you can't go infecting the population of a besieged city with small pox, or turning a disease into a weapon.' Nathan replied. 'And once again, I'm pretty sure that was meant to be universal, so it'd probably go against using-' At this he stopped and frowned.
'You were saying, Mr. King?' Asked one of the Aviator Admirals.
Nathan shook his head.
'I was going to say it might very well have meant you couldn't use dragons in combat, but I just realised that was ridiculous; they'd probably fall under the same category as heavy cavalry. But it could probably be construed that you can't go and deliberately infect another nation's dragons with a disease for your own advantage, but these weren't written with dragons in mind, so I'll leave that in the 'what if…?' pile for the moment.' He'd replied.
The door open and Laurence stepped out, looking slightly perplexed.
'They're expecting you.' Laurence said sounding slightly distracted, motioning to the door.
'That's good, because they did extend the invitation.' Nathan replied, standing and brushing past Laurence into the room and closing the door behind him.
'Morning Admirals.' He said, nodding to the two men, who he'd seen at the meeting with the other senior military men. 'Powys and Bowen, if memory serves, correct?' He asked.
'Yes,' said Powys, regarding Nathan with a bemused look.
'If those designs are half as effective as you claim, you'll be knighted. You know that, don't you?' Bowen asked him.
'No, I didn't, but I really wasn't thinking about it from a selfish perspective.' Nathan replied.
'You're aware that Captain Portland sent us a dispatch regarding recommending you for a position of,-' Powys broke off and dug out a dispatch and scanned it momentarily, then looked up again,-'Aerial Tactics Advisory Officer, coming in at a rank equivalent to that of a Lieutenant in His Majesty's Aerial Corps?' He asked, looking at Nathan measuringly.
'He said he'd put in a good word or two, I just hope I can deliver; I do have a few suggestions regarding tactics, but from what I've managed to read up on the subject so far, current aerial warfare doesn't really put much stock in one-on-one, hit-and-run or wolf-pack tactics, and as to formation fighting, the only modification I can suggest at present is using pincer movements as a counter.' Nathan replied.
'Pincer movement?' Asked Bowen, frowning.
'Right, you either split your force and circle around the enemy's flanks and hit them in the sides,-and the rear if you've got enough troops,- or if you really want to get fancy, you leave a group of heavily entrenched soldiers,-or in this case heavyweight dragons,- in a position where the enemy is heading straight for them, and then hit them from both sides with lighter flyers, or you can reverse this if you're feeling particularly confident or vindictive.' Nathan explained, and at Powys's request sketched a diagram.
'I think you might've paid your entry fee.' Bowen noted.
'You said you had a suggestion as well?' Asked Powys curiously.
In response, Nathan pulled out his laptop, and proceeded to bring up a pre-prepared video file, which depicted a parachute deployment.
'Well, that'd certainly be something,-a fine way to keep men who fall overboard from needlessly dying if nothing else,' Powys admitted.
'I don't think you've quite grasped the full measure of how bad a headache you could give an opponent if you used this to deploy troops.' Nathan said.
Being military men,-albeit retired from active service,- they realised just what he meant a moment later.
'You mean, these could be used to drop infantry behind enemy lines?' Bowen asked sharply.
'Artillery as well,-but you'd need a bloody big parachute.' Nathan confirmed. 'What I'm suggesting, is that you and the army commission a small corps of specialists to train in the use of this sort of thing,-I can provide designs for a simple parachute,- and then train them in the use of the best weapons you can provide, as well as in unconventional tactics, like individual accuracy with a rifle instead of volley fire, and taking cover behind things like walls, and then suppress the enemy,-breaking unit cohesion and making them duck or go to ground and the like.' Nathan said.
They were both quiet a long moment as they considered this, then, unexpectedly, Powys chuckled.
'That'd certainly be a fine thing,-and it'd probably have its effect,- but you couldn't pay any normal soldier enough to get on a dragon unless it was an evacuation.' He said.
'So, no one has really stopped to consider how the use of aerial deployment could be used to disrupt an enemy battle plan?' Nathan asked.
'…No…'Powys replied.
'I'd suggest you think about it; nothing gets under an enemy's skin like the unexpected arrival of a force from an unexpected quarter,-particularly if they have a mortar or cannon or dragon in tow. Or all three. There's actually an in-joke about it as well.' Nathan replied.
'You seem to know an awful lot about warfare for a self-confessed civilian.' Noted Bowen.
'Part of coming from when I do; knowledge is readily available and we know more about the world than any time in the past. I'm not an expert on warfare. If you wanted anything better than what I can give, you'd have to take it up with my younger brother Daniel,-which I highly doubt you'll ever have the chance to do.' Nathan replied with a shrug.
Powys shook himself as Nathan closed his laptop again.
'Yes, well, here is your commission,' he said, handing Nathan a sheaf of papers.
Nathan accepted them with a nod, and scanned over them.
He frowned.
'Syntax is a bit archaic to me, but if I'm reading this right, you're saying that I'm equal in rank to a Lieutenant, and am free to have my two cents on matters of tactics, as well as confirming my pay, forbidding me from duelling, welcoming me to the service, and…-' he scanned a passage somewhere near the middle again,- 'if I want to be promoted to a Captain, I have to earn the right via merit, correct?' Nathan queried.
'Yes, you said you wanted to join the Corps. Not that you wanted a dragon,-and that would've been a far more…difficult request to fulfil.' Bowen said. 'Also, we believe it for the best if we send you with Captain Laurence to Loch Laggan for training; you'd oblige us greatly if you don't discuss any aspect of your training with anyone outside the Corps, either.'
'Fine by me.' Nathan replied. 'But I reserve the right to drop anyone mentally challenged enough to try and use standover tactics or intimidation. Call me crazy, but I just can't stand bullies.' He said.
Bowen chuckled darkly.
'Don't worry, you won't need to resort to anything like that; I don't think you'd care to try it either.'
Nathan turned the pieces over in his head as he realised what Laurence had been puzzling about.
Then he snapped his fingers in realisation and stood straighter.
'The instructor is a dragon, aren't they?' Nathan asked.
Powys and Bowen looked surprised.
'How did you-' Bowen looked at him, eyes agog.
Nathan shrugged again and chuckled.
'Lucky guess, deduction, take your pick, but the pieces were there: something similar is often used in fiction back in my own version of the world, and they're intelligent enough to make good teachers…' Nathan shrugged again modestly. 'Coupled with your request not to discuss the training and the seemingly irrational fear of dragons I've thus far encountered, it wasn't hard to figure that out as a logical reason.'
'Very clever.' Powys said with a nod. 'Though, the fear of dragons isn't as irrational as you seem to believe; not all dragons agree to go into harness, and these wild dragons have been known to eat men if they're hungry enough.' He admonished.
'Well, I s'pose that's as good a reason as any.' Nathan replied easily, 'I guess I really shouldn't be surprised either,' he shook his head. 'If that'll be all, I'll be going then.'
'Oh, wait, here,' Powys called, and Nathan stopped and came back over to them.
'These are yours,-bars of rank,- we'll see if we can't scare up something to denote you as a Tactics Officer,- and see about getting yourself a uniform as well.' Bowen said formally, handing the two little gold bars to Nathan.
'Sir.' Nathan replied, coming to the form of attention he'd seen Danny use on parade at ANZAC Day the previous year in his own time.
That's going to get confusing really fast. He noted to himself.
'I'll see what I can do, but I don't have too much cash.' He said.
Bowen nodded.
'Just see to it you get a proper uniform as soon as you can. Dismissed.' He replied.
You think I'm neglecting Laurence a little here?
I guess not,-it's still early and he hasn't faded into the background like in Brothers in Arms, but let me know.
So, next time…
…That extra-awkward dinner party at Laurence's family home?
I wonder what fun I could have there…
Guess we'll find out next time.
So, thanks this time around:
A gold star to JAtkins for the info regarding child soldiers under the Geneva Convention and pointing out that some stuff (e.g. nukes) were inapplicable.
For Story Alerting, I'd like to thank: silentmidnightdeath.
For Reviewing, I'd like to thank: JAtkins, Hideout Writer and silentmidnightdeath.
That's all for now.
'til next time:
No One-liners.
