Fleet Admiral Griffin Dunlavey and Ranger General Glenn
Waters hold a joint meeting with the command staff of
the vessels of Battle Group 9.
"HARD ORDERS"
LES GREENLEAF
Major General Glenn Waters of the Federation
Rangers stood
near the head table in the large conference
room. He was
not an impressive looking individual standing
only slightly
over 170 cm tall. At 71 his short gray
hair was quickly
turning pure white. Other than his hair
he was fit and
sharp. He could still play a mean game
of racquet ball.
After nearly 52 years in military service,
he still served
with a fervor which had carried him through
war and peace
and had propelled him up in rank.
Yet, even now, he still found it hard to give
the orders
that would send young men and women into danger.
Orders
that could kill them. Not once had he
hesitated to give
those orders. But, hard had he thought
over them before
issuing those dangerous and often times lethal
orders.
Now he looked over at his long time friend,
Fleet Admiral
Griffin Dunlavey. Waters was still unsure
of what to make
of Dunlavey. Married and divorced six
times. He chuckled
slightly. Waters had been best man at
four of them. Griff
Dunlavey had twelve children, 22 grand children
and three
great grand children. And he was still
friendly with each
of his exs.
Waters shook his head. He had never delved
into marriage.
Came close once or twice, but in the end the
service always
held sway.
But this man before him, who had an army of
children, was
one of the best military minds that Waters
had seen in his
years of service. There were some who
came close, but his
friend Dunlavey was the best.
At that moment Griffin looked over at him.
He was talking
to a couple of female officers from one of
the ships.
Dunlavey nodded to him. Waters held
up two hands showing
a seven count. Dunlavey smiled, shook
his head and
started to laugh.
"Excuse me, General," came a female voice from beside him.
Waters turned towards the voice he recognized.
Lt. Col.
Shannon Dovers was in command of the 149 Rangers
he had
assigned to the Nebula Class vessel the USS
Rasta Kom.
"Yes, Shannon. What can I do for you?"
"Just a snafou, Sir." She held out a
Padd to him. "Seems
some small brained, desk jockey won't release
our equipment
from storage."
Waters looked at the Padd. He snorted
as he reviewed the
equipment list. Most of it was heavy
grade weaponry and
its ammo and personal protective gear.
It had all been
shipped out to the Star Base before the Rangers.
"And the reason?" Waters asked.
"Because we're not the 54th, General."
Dovers continued to speak. "She has also
ear marked our
classified equipment for inspection,
Such as the Folders."
He looked at her. "I don't think so.
Just who is this
individual?"
"The base's quartermaster," supplied Dovers.
"A Lt.
Thallis, an Andorian."
Waters touched his comm badge. "General
Waters to Lt.
Thallis." There was no answer.
He tapped his comm badge
again. "General Waters to Lt. Thallis."
Still there
was no reply. He exchanged glances with
Dovers. "General
Waters to Quartermaster Office."
There was no answer.
Waters took another look at Dovers. Taking
a deep breath,
he asked, "Who's on deck?"
"Major Kim, Sir."
"Perfect," said Waters, thinking of the Major's
joy at
making life miserable for low ranking officers.
"General Waters to Major Kim."
"Kim here, General."
"Major, I have a job for you." Quickly
Waters explained
the situation to him. "So when you find
Lt. Thallis, you
tell her that if I don't get my equipment,
I shall come
talk to her and I shall have stir fried lieutenant
for
dinner."
"My pleasure, General. Do you want onions
with that,
Sir?"
Waters chuckled. "Stan, just keep a lid
on our
equipment."
"Will do, General. Kim out."
Ting. Ting. Ting.
Waters turned towards the sound. Admiral
Dunlavey had a
spoon and was tapping a water glass.
Ting. Ting. Ting.
Conversation faded away and those assembled
faced the
Admiral.
Dunlavey placed the spoon down and then waved
towards the
tables. "Please. Take your places."
Waters turned at Dovers. "Keep me posted."
"Aye, Sir."
Waters joined the others as they moved to the
tables.
Only Waters moved to the head table to sit.
After he sat
down, he watched the assembled officers settle
in. And
he remembered the many times when he had sat
in on such
assemblies.
Dunlavey remained standing. "I requested
you to attend
this gathering not to plan a war. You
have all received
your orders. But, at this time, in the
calm before battle,
I wanted to have a chance to sit with friends
and comrades.
For as I look about the room, I feel saddened.
For when
this is over, if we are able to meet again,
there will be
empty seats among us.
"I have never been much good with words, so
I have asked
Major General Glenn Waters of the Rangers
to speak."
Waters rose. He slowly looked about the
room. Trying to
see each face. To place a name with
the person he looked
at. The Rangers he all knew, It
was different with Fleet
officers. There were 12 tables with
ten individuals at
each table. One hundred twenty.
Most of the command staff
of the 6 ships of Battle Group 9 and the from
the USS Zhukou.
There were also the Officers of the Ranger
Units. And
scattered those assembled were lower ranking
members of the ship's crews and Ranger units.
"There are no words which I can say that would
make what I
am about to ask of you any easier. We
are gathered here in
this place, far from our homes, to prepare
for war. I am
not here to rally up your feelings and courage.
I am not
going to wave the flag and have you march
head held high
off to war."
"Each of you has the right to resign from service
and to
walk away from the upcoming conflict.
And I would not
blame you if you did. For there is nothing
glorious about
war. War is about death and destruction.
War is killing.
War is destroying."
Waters bent over and picked up a packing crate
from the
floor and placed it on the table.
"With war comes duty. Duty to your ship
and to your
company."
He moved around to the front of the table and
opened the
crate.
He looked out at those seated. "War is
also about hard
things. Those hard terrible things that
have to be done.
Pulling the trigger of your weapon to fell
an enemy.
Firing ship's phasers to destroy another vessel.
Giving
orders to attack another individual.
Giving orders to
send others into battle to fight and possibly
to die."
He turned back to the packing case and pulled
out a bottle.
"War is also about sacrifice," he paused for
a moment. He
turned to face them. "And about dying."
Admiral Dunlavey rose and joined Waters in
front of the
table. Together both men took bottles
from the crate and
placed them on certain tables. Each
bottle was labeled as
to where it should go. When the bottles
were distributed
Admiral Dunlavey returned to his seat and
Waters continued
to speak.
"I tried to find a bottle that would best suite
each of
you." He looked at the Vulcan female
T'Sharn, Captain of
the Nebula Class vessel USS Rasta Kom.
"Captain T'Sharn,
I think you and your staff will enjoy that.
A bottle of
Rhis from Vulcan."
Captain T'Sharn nodded her thanks.
"I can not give you a reason to stay.
To become part of
the conflict. To risk life and limb.
I could say do it
for your family. I could say for do
it for your culture.
But that is not enough. You must seek
within your selves a
reason. A reason that will allow you
to kill and to
destroy. A reason that will allow you
face injury and
death. Some thing that will allow you
to face the injuries
and the deaths of your comrades, of your friends.
Some
thing that will still allow you to do your
duty."
"My reason. I have no wife or family.
I have no one place
which I call home. For me the service
is home. For me the
service is my family. I fight because
I hate the chaos that
war brings to home and family. I hate
the useless
destruction that comes with war and the lives
which are lost.
I hate the loss to cultures. I hate
the loss of choices.
That is why I fight."
"I do not fight for revenge. Or because I have lost friends."
Waters was again standing before them.
He looked slowly
about the room. "To only fight for revenge
and to only feel
hate for your enemy just means that you have
already been lost
to the war. You are already a
casualty."
"Hate and revenge only blinds you to your duty.
Hate and
revenge consumes you. And when the last
enemy is dead.
There is nothing left for you to return to.
Where is your
reason to live."
"For your reason to fight and to risk death
must also be your
reason to want to live when the conflict is
over. For the
war will end. In time it will be over.
What will you have
to return to?"
"So consider well your reasons to be here."
Waters again looked about the room. "For
when the time comes
that I must give those hard orders that send
men and women
out to fight and to die. And to all
of you I am sorry, for I
will not hesitate to give those hard orders."
In the silence of the room General Glenn Waters
then turned
and moved around the table and sat down.
Admiral Dunlavey rose. He picked up the
bottle that was on
the head table. "Gentlemen, if you would
please." He
opened the bottle. Then Admiral Dunlavey
poured for General
Waters then himself.
Around the room, the senior officer at each
table rose,
opened their bottle and then proceeded to
pour a drink for
each person at their table. Captains
poured for ensigns.
Commanders served to crewmen.
When everyone settled Admiral Dunlavey raised
his glass.
"Gentlemen!"
Those assembled rose to their feet and raised their glasses.
Admiral Dunlavey spoke. "To our comrades.
To peace. And
to the best in all of us." Admiral Dunlavey
then drank.
Beside him Waters sipped at the brandy.
He looked out at
the young men and women whom he would soon
be ordering into
battle, Either he was getting too old
for this or he was
becoming leery of the blood on his hands.
He feared this war
was going to be another bloody one.
The Dominion War had
cost the Rangers dearly in personal.
They were still not up
to full strength.
Dunlavey turned to him. He touched his
glass to Waters.
Softly he asked, "So what do you think?"
Waters shook his head. "If the Khynah
fight like they did
the last time." He paused before adding,
"It will be a long
and bloody war."
"I think you're right," agreed Dunlavey,
"But I hope you
are wrong."
Dunlavey spoke louder, to the assembly.
"Enjoy the buffet."
He turned back to Waters. "Glenn, I
want to ask you a favor.
If the Ajax was captured, it could happen
to one or all of ours.
I need your Rangers prepared to help defend
the ships against
boarding."
"Done," stated Waters. "They're trained for that."
Dunlavey looked at him. "Or to destroy them it necessary."
Waters reached out and grasped his friend's
arm. "Already
done, Griff."
It was a sad smile which played on Dunlavey's
face. "I hope
that things do not get that bad."
"So do I," replied Waters.
"Is your back up force ready?" asked Dunlavey.
"Most are here," replied Waters. "I am expecting 3 more."
"I'm glad that you talked me into that venture
after the last
skirmish with the Khynah." With a sigh
Admiral Dunlavey
looked at the deck. "We could have used
them then. And
with the Dominion."
"I know," stated Waters. "But they're ready now."
Dunlavey looked up at his friend. "Good."
"We'll wait 9 or 10 hours then the Zhukou will
leave to
follow you like a last minute addition.
My surprise will
be right there with her."
Dunlavey snorted. "You and your stinking surprises."
Waters punched him in the arm. "Pirate!"
"Thief," countered Dunlavey.
"I prefer scrounge."
Dunlavey's face brightened. "Now tell
me, Glenn. What's
this I hear about you ordering up stir fried
lieutenant?"
"With onions," added Waters.
"Really!" stated Dunlavey. "You know they taste like chicken."
The two senior officers chuckled as they moved
towards the
serving line.
The End - Hard Orders
