Post 9: First Aerial Company.
[Spoiler= "Winning Vote"]
[X] Plan Mercenary Squadron
-[X] Free Actions:
-[X] Take a deal: [Free]
-[X] Lucia's deal (you like this deal): Free recruiting actions, budget to establish force.
-[X] As for your Oathsworn, you…
-[X] Have Aisha… [Free]
-[X] Run extra combat drills for the new recruits (improves combat skill and gains experience as sub-officer)
-[X] Have Sasha…(listed in order of priority) [Free]
-[X] Hire Tullius to train her in healing (expected cost D120,000, may not agree)
-[X] Train combat medics out of new recruits (requires new recruits)
-[X] Recruit new mages… [Free]
-[X] Have whoever you made a deal with visit the slave markets, keeping an eye out on those with magical potential. (Free Action, requires deal)
-[X] with a minimum age of (8), maximum age of (15), and no physical impediments.
-[X] Hire some people to design a practical uniform… [Free]
-[X] Important considerations include...
-[X] Freedom of movement and sight
-[X] Protection of vital locations.
-[X] Adaptability of load out.
-[X] Person can put it on quickly
-[X] Durability
-[X] Comfort
-[X] Vital (determined by Tanya) enchantments if possible
-[X] Do air mage unit tasks… [2 AP]
-[X] Produce a set of basic mechanimagical devices to begin training subordinates (note, same as personal enchanting option. 3 sets currently available).
-[X] Basic Aerial mage training for a class of new recruits (requires mechanimagical devices, up to 8 recruits, 12 if Aisha is assisting).
[/Spoiler]
1/1/686 - 4/1/687 of the Imperial Calendar (Age 14-15 years).
Over the last fifteen months, you'd hurried to get your first company of Aerial Mages assembled. You had taken Mama Lucia's deal, and she'd managed the recruit selection and fronted the budget to establish your force.
While Sasha was training her healing magic and preparing a combat medic course under Tullius' supervision, you and Aisha ran basic recruit training. Honestly, Aisha ran most of it; you were pretty busy finishing all of the casting devices and flight boots needed to outfit the unit.
Soon enough, your new recruits, ranging in age from ten to fifteen years old, finished their basic intake training.
You gave an adequate speech to mark the occasion…
"Salute!" Aisha barked out as you entered the room. You ascended the stage in the ringing silence that followed the right foot stomp, right hand to left should salute from the gathered troop.
"Stand at ease," you ordered, looking out at them. "Today, recruits, you are no longer maggots. Today, you become warriors. Look to your left and right. From now until the day you die, wherever you go and whatever you do, these men and women are your family. I trust you to keep that in mind, and for your actions to honor your brothers and sisters in arms."
You could see the pride on their little faces, the satisfaction. You were, of course, lying. You had yet to have your troops take their Oaths; until then, they were useless meat. Basic training had been a few months of hell to break them down and mold them back into a cohesive, obedient, loyal machine. This talk of family was a false promise, lure to force them forwards.
"Now, you stand at a crossroads. The training from here on out is far more difficult, more challenging. You passed basic training, and are to be commended for that. But what comes next is what really separates the wheat from the chaff. It will test you mentally, physically, and spiritually. But as you learned in basic, the strongest steel is forged in the hottest crucible. And make no mistake; if you choose to go on, to take the oaths, you will become the strongest steel. I will ensure it.
"As for those who choose to give up and quit at this juncture, you will have your freedom and I will ensure you find stable employment in some trade. Weaving, pottery, something like that," you said dismissively.
"So, make your choice. Those who wish to stay, to travel the hard road ahead, to learn magic and become one of my Storm-Hawks, remain in ranks. Those who wish to leave, abandoning this journey, step forward."
This was, of course, drastically unfair. By having them have to volunteer to quit, in front of all their peers, having come so far, you ensured that they'd stay. But after staying, and becoming oathsworn, they'd be stuck. The Japanese navy had used similar tactics in World War Two to get "volunteers" for kamikaze missions. You'd never misuse your men in such a way, but were happy to crib from any successful tactic.
Your little chicks didn't surprise you. Not one broke ranks.
After they took the Oaths, the real training started. Over the following year, you ran them through standard mechanimagic training, aerial mechanimagic school and aerial combat school. One of the recruits, Alus Gerlind, shone out as being more powerful magically and more capable in general. He was made the sergeant of the third squad. Aisha took the first, and Sasha the second.
The two weakest recruits, the only two in the company who were merely average mages, formed a reserve and got extra training as medics. Longer term, they'd stay behind in the staging area looking after the wounded, protecting the baggage and liaising with command. They just weren't as fast as the rest of the unit.
While you and Aisha whipped them into combat shape, Sasha helped but mostly focused on running training in basic first aid during less active periods. From that, she selected one member of each squad for further training as a medic.
Overall, the results were impressive. Though not equal to your 203rd, a veteran battalion which you had hand selected and then put through hell to select on the cream, your Storm-Hawks were at least the match for a regular Imperial Aerial Mage Company from the beginning of the War, or a freshly formed one which had gone through your academy post war. In other words, your child soldiers were worthy of the title 'soldier'.
And with you leading them, well… you expected great things from your troops. Already they could shred any equivalent force within the Saderan Empire.
Now, if only you had radios. As it stood, you were forced to use visual signals. It worked, and was fine so long as you deployed in company strength, or even as a single battalion sized force, but eventually you wanted to be able to give more complicated orders or use more sophisticated formations.
Eventually though, all good things came to an end. And as much as you'd have liked to have more time for training, looking down at this note from your mother, it seemed as if events were once more in motion.
Dear Tanya,
My cousin, Marius Julius Longinus, has written to me requesting the repayment of the favor of loaning the family guard for our trip North. He is the eldest son of our Paterfamilias's heir, and has recently come of age. As such, he will be joining the upcoming campaign at the Great Gate as a Cohort Prefect in command of a cohort raised by our family.
Apparently Marius holds quite the martial ambition; he has been given a full Equitata Regiment to command. I'm told it includes a century of household guards, six of legion-standard infantry, and three centuries of archers. For cavalry, he has two turmae of light javelin skirmishers, three of light lancers, two turmae of mounted men-at-arms, and a turme of knights doubling as his bodyguard. However, he lacks a significant magical or aerial contingent.
Although he would prefer that you and your company join the campaign under his command, that isn't necessary. All you need do to pay back the favor is to send a squad of your mages to serve under his command, or to independently join the campaign with your whole company and bring honor to the Longinus name.
That said, if you do join the campaign in full force under his command, you will doubtless elevate his standing significantly, and he should be suitably grateful in the future. His prospects within the family are strong, and he is favored by his grandfather not just for the order of his birth, but for his intelligence and strength at arms.
He would not be a poor match for you, come to think of it, though your position and power afford you the luxury of choice in that matter.
Please make your decision, and send either yourself or your mages to meet with his contingent at the large wheat farm five miles east of Italica within the fortnight.
I remain your loving mother,
Lucia Octavia Longina.
Well. No way in hell were you marrying a man, ever. But this brings the whole Gate operation back front and center. You're sure that Being X will use it to fuck with you. Interdimensional gates check off basically every fantasy disaster scenario possible.
The only questions are, do you want to be there to mitigate the situation? Or far enough to try and run if necessary? And do you feel comfortable sending your troops in without you?
Decisions, decisions.
