NationStates Jolt Archive

[OOC: At long last, this is the IC thread referred to here (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=430075). This RP is MOSTLY closed so unless you've been invited to take part in this thread, please do not post here. Please do not post to this thread OOCly. Please do not tag it. If you want to follow this thread, please use the thread tools provided by Jolt to subscribe.

For the sake of the timeline, this occurs after Sarzonia withdraws from Inkana and before the events of Operation Hellfire.

If you want to get involved with this thread, please telegram me.]

Senate Military Affairs Chairman Brian Delgado (Conservative-Cooke) shook his head. Finally, the Sarzonian men and women who 'fought' in Inkana were coming home a defeated, demoralised bunch. Sarzonia's attempt to intercede in Inkana was a disaster on the order of the United States's failed Vietnam campaign. The Army was exposed as being poorly-trained and ill-equipped to handle combat against a unit that far outstripped it in terms of experience, leadership, and technology.

The Navy didn't have much of a chance to distinguish itself as Sarzonia's new enemies from Doomingsland wisely avoided the strongest asset of the Sarzonian military machine. The Air Force got an education from Doomie fighters, but Avalon Aerospace Corporation was already at work on an interceptor that could answer the avionics of the Doomies. The biggest problem that reared itself in this war was the Army.

Delgado sat with the members of his Committee as they looked through what was a fairly quiet appropriations schedule and grimaced. The Army was a national embarrassment and Delgado was getting tired of seeing newspaper reports about it. The problem didn't hit home for him until he rode the subway next to a schoolboy who looked and saw the Senate logo on his briefcase and he asked, "Sir, why does our army suck so much?"

"What do we have on the agenda Thursday morning," Delgado asked.

"Nothing much, just something about a contract for UAVs," Ranking Member Bethany Locasto (Liberal-Endymion) said. "Why?"

"Call Karen," Delgado said sharply. "I want hearings on the Army's pathetic performance in Inkana and I want them sooner, rather than later."

"Brian!"

"Do it!"

"What good is that going to do? The public expects us to call hearings. That doesn't mean they're going to accomplish anything!"

"These hearings will accomplish something, mark my words Bethie," Delgado said. "If nothing else, it might give me a chance to demand a Presidential election."

That stopped Locasto cold. She knew President Mike Sarzo didn't have to call a special election for his job if he didn't want to, but she also knew that he could set the ball in motion for impeachment proceedings. He had a way of strong-arming people when he had to and she knew Delgado's game. If Sarzo didn't play along with the hearings and call for them from the Gray House, he was going to be able to vote in articles of impeachment and send Sarzo to the House of Delegates, where he'd have to stand trial.

Locasto knew the political writing was potentially on the wall for many Liberals who opposed the war or who opposed military reforms. If she didn't back down from Delgado's blusterous call, she knew the way the wind blew for her too.

"All right," Locasto said in a weak croak. "Call the hearings." Maybe some good will come from this mess, she thought sombrely.

Within minutes of Delgado's demand for hearings into reforms for the Incorporated Sarzonian Army, the news networks and outlets throughout Sarzonia were abuzz with activity. A normally slow Thursday morning roll call became a bedlam of activity as Senators murmured. The House of Delegates even sent their Speaker, Josh Williams, to monitor the activity in the Senate hall.

It was clear that the Senate vote was about to take place and Williams caught a frustrated glance from Karen Beltran, the Senate President Pro Tempore. It was only a matter of time before the Senate was going to vote for hearings on the Army's performance in Inkana. Williams knew it was going to be no use for Beltran to try to stop the hearings. It was about as likely to stop the hearings from taking place as it was for police to stop hordes of college students from tearing down a goalpost after a big gridball win.

"Looks like the shit's going to hit the fan," Williams whispered to Beltran.

"You don't know the half of it," Beltran whispered back. Her face returned to a blank, neutral countenance of a veteran Senate leader, but Williams knew Beltran much too long. He looked in her eyes and saw a glimpse of the turmoil this demand for a hearing was placing on Beltran.

How long before I get my ass dragged in here, Williams thought sombrely. Even though he technically had a right to stonewall an attempt to call him as a witness, a right that both Sarzo and the officers immediately ahead of Beltran in the Constitutional line of succession all enjoyed, he knew that if he were asked to testify, it would be political suicide if he refused.

"Madame President Pro Tempore, the vote is in," a clerk told Beltran. She looked at the digital display. Even though she knew the outcome, the numbers staring her in the face still dragged a breath in a noticeable gasp.

"By a vote of 41 to eight, the Senate has called for hearings into the performance of and needed reforms for the Incorporated Sarzonian Army," the statement read. "We call upon the President of the Incorporated States of Sarzonia to endorse these hearings."

While it would be political suicide for Williams to refuse to testify, it would be even worse of a fate if Sarzo chose to block the hearings. Every Senator knew that, even the eight that voted against the hearings. They waited to see what Sarzo would say about the hearings. Even though they figured Sarzo would probably expect them.

Within 10 minutes of the call for a vote, ratings for SNN jumped approximately 48 percent.

Sarzo sat looking at the vote for hearings with a grim expresssion on his face. He knew that the army was eventually going to have to pay some kind of price for its dreadful performance in Inkana, but the fervor with which the Senate called for the hearings caught him by surprise.

"Looks like if I stonewall these hearings, it'll be political suicide," Sarzo said to no one in particular. It was a thought that began running through his head as he saw the talk about the hearings begin on SNN. Now, he voiced that concern.

First Partner Jay Tyler walked over to him. He heard Sarzo say it out loud and like his partner, he was watching the developments.

"You've still got a chance to reclaim initiative," Tyler said.

"Oh?"

"Go to the press room immediately and announce that you support the hearings. That way, the Conservatives won't be able to say they're doing it to get one over on you."

"Or it will just be a little bit harder," Sarzo said. Sarzo thought that hearings would have to come eventually, anyway. Especially with Doomingsland set up as Sarzonia's enemy in the years to come, the Army would have to improve dramatically. But focusing on the Army was going to be like a child taking medication for Sarzonia. It was going to feel forced.

Naval appropriations had always vastly outstripped those of the rest of the military. Training of naval officers and rates was always head and shoulders above that of any other branch of the Sarzonian military. There were few navies in the world that could stand up to the Sarzonian navy. But the Army was a vastly different story and they got exposed in Inkana.

Sarzo thought about all those things and more as he made his way to the press room in the Gray House. Until he hired a full-time secretary to replace the one killed during the Restore Sarzonia Task Force's attack, he would have to do this himself.

"My fellow Sarzonians," he said as the cameras began to roll. "As you have seen, the Senate has called for hearings on the state of your Incorporated Sarzonian Army. Our performance in Inkana is requiring us to take a long, hard look at our practices for our army.

"I am here to tell you now that I fully support the call for these hearings and I fervently hope that we can make the substantive changes that need to be made for these reforms to take hold. We will come out of the Inkana experience with lessons learned and we will ultimately come out of this a better military. I can guarantee you that we will leave no stone unturned as we strive to improve the military."

Sarzo hoped his speech wouldn't be seen as too little, too late by the growing faction of Conservatives who were lurking around Parliament like vultures. At least he had a toehold on their territory.

SNN Main Studio, Woodstock


REENA BALDOUR, ANCHOR FOR SNN NEWS HOUR: Our top story today, President Sarzo today made a startling announcement at the Gray House when he supported Conservative Party calls for hearings leading up to what they hope will be massive reforms in the Army. Correspondent Tracee Charles is with you from Parliament Hall with continuing coverage of The Inkana Disaster. Tracee?

CUT TO GRAPHIC OF THE WORDS "DISASTER IN INKANA" IN RED JUXTAPOSED OVER A SARZONIAN FLAG IN THE CENTRE WITH A SMALL IMPERIAL INKANA FLAG IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER AND A SMALL CONFEDERATE INKANA FLAG IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER. THEN, TRACEE APPEARS ON SCREEN.

TRACEE: Thanks Reena. I'm with Senate Military Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Delgado. Senator Delgado, talk to me for a moment about the President's annoucement. Did it come to you as a surprise?

DELGADO: To be honest, Tracee, no it didn't. It's a politically expedient move and if anyone knows Sarzo, nine times out of 10, he's going to make the politically expedient move. But if I can step away from partisanship for a minute, I think the problems our army demonstrated in that Inkana mess are evident to anyone regardless of party affiliation. The biggest disagreement is going to be how we can fix this.

TRACEE: And how do you think the army's going to get 'fixed'? Do you have a plan for the reforms?

DELGADO: I think it's vitally important that we pursue an agenda that is well-considered and...

TRACEE: (cuts off DELGADO in mid-sentence) Senator, we're running low on time. Can you give us in a nutshell what your plan is to fix the army?

DELGADO: It's going to take more than just talk and spending more money to solve the fundamental problems in the army. But we're going to develop an action plan that is going to be evident once the hearings take place.

TRACEE: Thank you Senator Delgado. Back to you in the studio Reena.

REENA: Thanks Tracee. What do you think Senator Delgado's plan is going to entail?

TRACEE: Well that's just it, Reena. You saw all I was able to get out of him regarding his plan. I don't think even he knows how the reforms are going to happen. But sources tell me the committee is planning to interview several people involved in Inkana. Former Major General Wes Pinckney, Colonel Mike Quinn, Commodore Travis Moraine, on down the line. There may even be some foreign military officials who are called in as witnesses according to a memorandum I obtained thanks to a National Open Records Law request.

REENA: What is in the memorandum?

TRACEE: It shows a list of witnesses as long as your arm. Army Chief Antonius Santius, General Pinckney, Colonel Quinn, Commodore Moraine, various engineers from Praetonia and Mauiwowee. It looks like they may be asking Colonel Quinn to serve as the first witness.

REENA: Any speculation of the possible outcomes of this hearing?

TRACEE: That's just it, Reena. It could be anything from blowing hot air and throwing money at a problem to a specific action plan. Sources within the committee are telling me that Delgado wants to let the testimony guide what reforms the army needs to make, but he was clear to the members that change must happen.

REENA: All right, thanks Tracee. Turning now to financial news, the Incorporated Ordnance Company announced it was bidding for Pomentane Ballistics of Pacitalia in a $42.5 billion Sarzonian deal that would...

General Jack T. Ripper, former Royal Guardsmen to the royal family of Mauiwowee, currently serving as the military chief of staff to the young king Roxicet "Rox" Soma Narcosis (as he had done for king Rox's father, king 'Lude II) and as CEO of W.M.D., Inc. - the largest military contractor in Mauiwowee and a $569 Billion corporation arrived at his office and took the mail from his assistant. He had just signed a $2 Trillion dollar contract for new aircraft with MassPwnAge on behalf of his subsidary, Design-a-Plane, Ltd. and was feeling very pleased with himself. As he looked through the mail while walking into his office something stood out - a certified letter from Sarzonia - and not from the IOC, but from the government - The Senate Military Affairs Committee to be exact - that was unusual.
As he sat down at his desk, other tasks forgotten for the moment, he opened the letter and began to read - it was more than just a letter, it was a subpoena, issued pursuant to the Mauiwowee/Sarzonian alliance and Respect for Laws Treaty. this can't be good. he thought as he read the subpoena and the letter from a Mr. Mike Delgado that was attached to it:

Dear General Ripper the letter began,
As you are no doubt aware by now the armies of Sarzonia suffered humiliation in their recent campaign in Inkana and were forced to withdraw. This "defeat" of our military has drawn the attention of the public and resulted in a call by me and others for a special investigative committee to determine what went wrong. Your company, W.M.D., Inc. is a long time business partner and producer of equipment and supplies used by the IOC, Portland Iron works and other military suppliers in Sarzonia. In our efforts to determine what truly happened in Inkana, we need your testimony in the hearings we are preparing to conduct as an expert witness who is not interested in the outcome of the hearings, but who does have intimate knowledge of the military supply and production capabilities of Sarzonian industries and their ties with the military as well as general information on how military supply companies should relate with their governments in general. To that end, you will find a subpoena with this letter directing you to appear before our committee and testify. You will be granted the right to make a statement of your own, but you will be required to answer, under oath, questions regarding the military contracting business in general as well as questions regarding Sarzonia's contrators, in particular, the IOC. If you have any questions, please feel free to call my office. The date and time of your scheduled appearance is on the subpoena - please ensure you bring records of W.M.D., Inc.'s dealings with the IOC to the hearing.

/s/Mike Delgado
Senate Military Affairs Chairman
Sarzonia

Jack glanced at the subpoena noting the time and date and thought briefly "Well, at least I'll get to visit Woodstock again, haven't been there in a while" before his his thoughts turned serious "Damn, this wasn't good - of course he knew what had happened in Inkana, as military chief of staff to the king it was his job to know; but to testify at a hearing, crap! that was unexpected." He knew he'd have to go, even without the treaty and alliance, King Rox would order him to show up just to show Mauiwowee was a cooperative player on the world stage, but with the alliance and treaty to back the demand he appear, he had no choice. He buzzed Ms. Jackson "Emily, I need you to come in here with the calendar, I'm going to need to put some stuff on hold for a bit." He then began reviewing the reports again and printing hard copies of select W.M.D., Inc. and IOC partnership and sales documents. "Damn, I'm getting too old for this." he thought.

.

General Antonius Santius was grimacing as he watched the television reports announcing the hearings.

I'm already getting blamed for this, he thought. He looked at a folder he absent-mindedly pulled out of his desk. He had a reason for bringing it out but he forgot what it was until he looked down at the label.

Proposed Sarzonian Army Reforms, he saw the title read. He looked at the date and raised his eyebrow slightly. The date was approximately six months after he'd been hired as a consultant to then-Army Chief Hal Luxton. He'd been taked with evaluating the Army and suggesting reforms. He pulled out the contents and looked at his recommendations.

Adopt standardised rank system was the first. The Sarzonian army inverted the ranks of Brigadier General and Major General and that split caused confusion with Sarzonian allies. Besides, many of the current Brigadier Generals didn't even earn the lower of the ranks. It had the least text behind it, but Santius shook his head at how cavalierly the simplest of recommendations was tossed aside.

Conduct training programmes with highly-regarded allied army units was the second. Santius recalled his reaction to the lack of training by some of the army units with the notable exception of the First Incorporated Army under then-Lieutenant General Taylor Dent. The rest of the army was a disgrace, Santius noted in his report. That recommendation, like all the others, fell on deaf ears.

Make people want to join the Army was included. Santius noted the Navy's reputation for excellence that made it the most revered branch in the Sarzonian military. He also knew that the Army was getting the worst of the recruits, and people who would never make another army, or even another branch of the Sarzonian military, were in the Army. That practice had to end and soon. But his programme of increasing the marketing budget, troop salaries, and improving food stores for the rank and file army brats was judged too expensive.

On the list went, reforms that Santius knew right when he took the job could make the difference between a green unit that disgraced itself against the Legionaires of Doomingsland and a unit that could face almost any conceivable enemy and at the very least hold its own. Even when he ascended to Army Chief after Luxton retired, Santius couldn't convince a Parliament that was loath to spend more money on defence than necessary to divert money from Sarzonia's world class navy.

"Our Navy is more than capable of winning a war by itself," he remembered Senator Alex Looney saying before Sarzo's brief overthrow cost him his life. "We don't need you to come in here and waste our taxpayers' money on the army." That slight among others nearly kept Santius from applying for the Army Chief position, but he figured the time would come when he could oversee the reforms he knew the Army desperately needed.

Now he was getting the chance to earn some vindication. But first, he knew he would have to take some heat from Senators who didn't know any better. As he was planning his next move, his secretary walked in with an official-looking envelope. Santius opened it and shook his head slowly.

Dear General Santius,

With regard to the humiliation of the Incorporated Sarzonian Army in Inkana, I have called for a special investigative committee to determine what went wrong in Inkana and determine solutions to solve this problem so that future combat does not render us impotent on the ground. This "defeat" of our military has drawn the attention of the public and as a result, I require your testimony to determine the best methods to improve our army's performance in future combat situations.

You are therefore served with this Official Subpoena to testify at hearings to be conducted by our Committee. You would, of course, be permitted to make an opening statement, but would be required to answer questions under oath that are posed by the Committee. I need not remind you that any and all hearings will be televised by all major television networks, and as such, your respect of the sensitivity of top secret information is expected.

With your familiarity with the Army's training methods, we believe you would share a special insight into our needs at a time like this. We look forward to discussing matters with you and we hope to work with you to ensure that the problems that surfaced in Inkana are resolved to the satisfaction of the Sarzonian people.

Brian Delgado
Chairman
Senate Military Affairs CommitteeSantius opened his briefcase and put the folder outlining his recommended reforms into it. He knew that folder would play a role in the hearings, but he had no way of knowing what exactly its role would be.

Whilst sifting through an assortment of papers, Delgado happened upon a letter that was addressed to him.

"I'm going to kill Georgia for not opening this for me," he groaned as he ripped the envelope open and pulled out its contents.

Dear Chairman Delgado,

You may not know me, but I am a private who served in Inkana. I'm writing because I heard you were planning on having hearings into our performance there.

Please think about the people who fought on the front lines and what they had to go through. Politics can only do a small bit to solve a problem. From my time on the front lines, I can tell you it's worse than you can imagine.

Our leaders don't have a clue about running an army. General Pinckney shouldn't even have been a second lieutenant. The only one who was any good was Colonel Quinn and it's hard to know how good he is with an army that's so bad he can't even mask its weakness. You've gotta blow up everything and start over.

Sincerely,

Jared Clark
Private
Third Incorporated Army

Delgado read the letter over and thought for a minute about Clark's handwritten plea. He thought about all the media attention and the bellyaching the politicos and talking heads in Woodstock were devoting to the Army. But all the suits and big shots were effectively armchair quarterbacks. He needed someone who had first hand experience with the pratfalls of Inkana.

"Georgia, please get me the number for a Private Jared Clark," Delgado said. He was going to ask Clark to use his letter or his person at the hearings. Whether that would give him the political capital he hoped for was a matter for the future to decide, but for the present, he knew the insight Clark could give him and the committee could help make a real difference regardless of politics.

Delgado sat down with members of the committee as they debated the format the hearings would take.

"Certainly, these hearings are going to be televised," Senator Courtney Forbes (Liberal Imperialist-New Isselmere) said. "We need to realise that and make sure we don't ask questions that compromise our national security."

"We're already compromising our national security by even having these hearings," Howard Trussel (Liberal-Somerset) said. "I say ban the cameras. Ban the whole flipping media for Chrissakes."

"That's a violation of the Open Records Act," Liberal Akhbar Hasafjani said. "We've made our beds by calling for these hearings. Now we have to live with the results."

"Do we have to live with those nosy paparazzi in our faces 24/7," Trussel bellowed.

"Unfortunately, yes," Delgado sighed. "The Sarzonian people are ultimately who are going to hold our feet to the fire to make sure our military doesn't embarrass us in the future."

"Dellie, the military wouldn't have embarrassed us if we'd relied on the Navy," Trussel snapped.

"But what happens when an enemy doesn't even engage our Navy," Hasafjani asked. "The Doomies aren't dumb. They're not going to take on a Navy that can send theirs to the bottom without breaking a sweat."

"They're not so weak with their navy now," Trussel countered. "Remember those Goddamn turncoats."

"The point here is that we lost a war we could easily have won even if we faced a combined Doomie and Generian army if our army were any good," Forbes said. "Frankly, it's broke and it needs fixing."

"I hope you're just not going to dump $10 trillion into the army and watch them fritter that away," Trussel said.

"We're going to do what it takes to ensure that the army we have is professional and able to at the very least hold its own against the Legionaires or the Imperial Praetorians," Delgado said.

"And what about the Sentinels?"

"We're not at war with Automagfreek, remember? They're still dickering about the Cariya Islands with Hogsweat. It doesn't look like it will involve us. I don't see how comparing our troops to the Sentinels is going to solve anything," Delgado said. "Besides, if everything goes well, the Army will be able to face the Sentinels if worse comes to worse.

"If there's nothing further," Delgado said, punctuating his fragment of a sentence with the bang of a gavel. "This meeting is in recess while I work out the format and present it to you for a vote." Delgado stood up to send the message to the committee that he would brook no further debate, then walked to his office with a rough sketch of the agenda for the hearings in mind as he continued to toy with the final composition of the witness list.

Re-reading the subpoena, General Ripper realized there were two things left he needed to do to get ready for his trip to Sarzonia. The first was easy, it would take time, but he had enough of that now since he had cleared his calendar. Picking up the phone he called Jackson Russel, his chief intel. guy.

Jack, I need you latest briefing on makeup of Doomingsland's army - no, not the navy, the army as well as a copy of your report on the Sarzonian war in Inkana - yes, I know I've read them and attended the meeting, but I need to read them again - get them over here ASAP please. - OK, thanks Jack - what, oh yeah, I've been subpoenead to testify in Sarzonia about their humiliation in that war - some sort of investigative, political panel - you know, a blue ribbon deal, find out who to blame so we can make sure it's not the politicians. What, Oh, yeah, I know - been there/done that. Ok, thanks again - leave the documents with my secretary. I'll get them in the morning. I"ve got one more errand to do this afternoon. Hanging up the phone, General Ripper then set out to do the one thing he didn't mind doing - tell king Rox what was going on and then to do the one thing he dreaded doing, but felt was advisable - visit a maximum security cell and speak with former queen and Sarzonian citizen, Harriet "the Black Queen" Levine Narcosis. It was going to be a long afternoon.

Delgado stood just before the threshold that led to the committee's meeting room, pausing before he opened the door. He had pushed heavily for both the hearings themselves and for SNN coverage, but he found himself taking quick breaths. He extended his arms slightly in front of him and closed his eyes, deliberately trying to breathe more slowly.

"Mr. Chairman, they're waiting for you," his legislative assistant said in a voice that tried to sound matter-of-fact and authoritative, but the assistant began berating himself for sounding like he was just out of A Levels.

"I know Brad," Delgado said in what could be described as a stage whisper. "I know."

Delgado finally drew in his breath one more time and opened the door. Still, he inched back slightly when the flash of digital and old fashioned cameras assaulted his eyes. The glare of the video cameras and the figurative staring of probably two billion Sarzonians weren't lost on Delgado as he deliberately walked to his seat.

This is what you wanted, he thought, still trying to convince himself that the attention focused on his small committee was part of the package he'd bullied his way into. Don't let 'em see you sweat.

"This special hearing of the Senate Military Affairs Committee shall come to order," Delgado said, banging the gavel forcefully.

"As you know," Delgado said, issuing the opening statement that his position as committee chairman allowed him to make. "The Incorporated Sarzonian Army's performance in the Inkana disaster was nothing short of a national disgrace. The purpose of these hearings is to determine what went wrong there, where any possible doctrinal problems have caused this debacle, and what sort of solutions we can reach that will ensure that such an embarrassment does not happen again.

"Ranking Member Locasto will make an opening statement as befitting her membership in the Opposition. Following that, we will call our witnesses, who will be permitted to make opening statements, then will answer questions from the Committee. Once we have taken the sworn testimonies of the witnesses, we will make our recommendations to the full Senate.

"There's an old saying that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Well, our army's broke and, uh, we need to fix it. Madame Locasto?"

That sounded real smart, Delgado thought as he watched the ranking member adjust her mic and open her mouth to speak.

Maximus smirked as the light of the television danced across his hardened face. His enemies, the Sarzonians, had apparently learned their lesson from the ass-kicking he'd given them. It seemed as if it were only yesterday he'd dragged General Pickney through the streets of Doom City, chained to the back of his chariot, to the cheering of millions.

He knew that as long as Sarzonia believed their army was vastly inferior to the one he commanded, he knew that they wouldn't dare oppose him.

This greatly distressed him.

He had found a man among their ranks he believed would be a suitable opponent, General Mike Quinn. The last he had seen of this man was a glare from the back of a Sarzonian helicopter as he fled the crumbling city of Georgestown.

Maximus had actualy had to order his batteries to not shoot down the helicopter, lest he kill the first decent opponent he had found in quite some time before he was given a worthy command.

Well, the faster they get their reforms in, the quicker my boys can get back to killing Sarzonians... he thought with amusement as he listened to the muelings of the Sarzonian Senate.

I suppose I might as well help them along...

With the TV still on, he switched on his computer and began to compose a message,



To: Whom ever it may concern

Greetings not-so-worthy adversary,

As you most likely remember, I just kicked the shit out of your army over in Inkana. Now, I feel that this contest was far from worthy of my men's precious time, what with the sheer lack of worthy opponents and inferior equipment. It is with this in mind that I make this offer to you:

I, Imperator Maximus, Son of Emperor Helldawg V, the guy who just handed you the most humiliating defeat you will most likely ever witness, offer to aid you in the reform of your army. Of course, this aid won't be quite direct; rather, I am offering to testify at your senatorial hearing via satelite feed as to just why you were so easily crushed.

I hope you find this offer helpful in resolving your issues of having a crappy army,

Your's Truely,

Imperator Maximus

Locasto leaned deliberately forward to amplify her voice. Delgado looked over with the intent to give her respectful attention, but grimaced as she began to hunch over to make sure that her voice carried enough for the microphone to pick up her naturally mousy voice.

Damn she needs to work on her posture, Delgado thought as he gazed disapprovingly. He was a conservative legislator and he and Locasto were frequently at odds on the Senate floor, but he couldn't help his concern over the effect that position would have on her back. Even 10 years removed from practicing medicine, he still thought like a doctor.

"I don't need to get into great detail about the problems we faced in Inkana," she said. Delgado glanced out and saw two reporters scrambling and trying hard to find a transcriptor. Preferrably someone who was used to hearing a voice that was barely louder than the rustle of leaves in autumn. "Chairman Delgado and I disagree on many things, but one thing we both agree upon is that our experience in Inkana was a negative one. The purpose of these hearings will be to determine our next step as a nation."

Delgado turned to Delgado and said, "I'm done." He then read from the agenda.

"Our first witness will be Private Jared Clark, who served in Inkana," he said. "Next, I intend to call Colonel Mike Quinn, Commodore Travis Moraine, and Army Chief Antonius Santius to the witness stand. From there, we also have Jack T. Ripper, the CEO of WMD, Inc. to provide a little bit of foreign perspective on the ISA. Finally, we'll have an engineer from Imperial Praetonian Ordnance, who'll outline some of the problems from their point of view. Following that, we will prepare a report with recommendations based on the findings of this panel and we will call upon the Senate and the House to follow through on those recommendations.

"I'm not going to sit here and promise these hearings themselves will be a panacea for our problems," Delgado said after glancing at Locasto. "But perhaps by shining a light on our deficiencies, we can take steps to overcome them and make Sarzonia a truly great player on the international stage." He banged his gavel, then said, "meeting will be in recess for approximately half an hour whilst we wait for Private Clark."

Going to his office to grab a series of notes he had accumulated, he noticed the telltale beep of his e-mail client. He opened the e-mail and his eyes widened. Maximus, the Imperator and the commanding officer of the Doomingsland ground forces that made mincemeat of the green Sarzonian troops, was offering to testify via satellite.

I, Imperator Maximus, Son of Emperor Helldawg V, the guy who just handed you the most humiliating defeat you will most likely ever witness, offer to aid you in the reform of your army. Of course, this aid won't be quite direct; rather, I am offering to testify at your senatorial hearing via satelite feed as to just why you were so easily crushed.

Delgado's gaze at the transmission suddenly took on a faraway air and his face contorted into a strange grimace worthy of Tommy Lee Jones's acting turn as Two Face. If his wife Stacey were in his office, she would have been able to pick out the expression as a mixture of revulsion over the insults to the country Delgado held dear and a strange vindication of the need to call for the hearings. He sighed in an effort to compose his thoughts.



To: Imperator Maximus
From: Chairman Brian Delgado
Senate Military Affairs Committee, Incorporated States of Sarzonia
Subject: Your offer

As strange as I find my next words to be, I accept your equally unusual offer of assistance by agreeing to testify via satellite at our hearings. I look forward to hearing what you have to say. Delgado hit send and then stood up slowly, aware that his stomach began to churn. He grabbed two bottles of Pepsi imported from Pacitalia and set them aside, throwing the ice that kept them cold into the trashcan and bringing the bucket that held the bottles with him in the event he needed it.

He walked into the hearing room with a stony expression and sat down next to Locasto. With the television cameras now glaring at him, Delgado made an announcement but decided to keep his trump card hidden.

"In addition to the aforementioned testimony, we will have via satellite sworn testimony from someone with," Delgado paused, clearing his throat somewhat theatrically, "intimate first hand knowledge of the Sarzonian army's failings." Delgado looked around the room at the expressions of shock and surprise from various reporters and heard the buzzing of speculation.

"Mister chairman, who is this source," one reporter finally dared to ask after a 10 second pause that seemed longer.

"You'll know when everyone else does," Delgado said tersely. He looked away from the reporter and down into the bucket he carried with him into the room as if making a mental note that it was still there if he needed it.

Wearing a dress uniform that felt more out of place than it looked, Clark walked purposefully toward the table with his attorney, Lieutenant Colonel Ray Mattian walking stride for stride next to him. Clark had never met Mattian until three days before the hearings themselves began and Mattian spent what seemed to be a maddening amount of time coaching Clark on the particulars of the Senate and SNN cameras.

But right now, Clark wasn't thinking about SNN or Delgado. He had more pressing concerns on his mind.

"Dammit, why do I have to wear this goop," Clark whispered to Mattian, referring to the makeup applied to him to make him look better on camera.

"We've already had a talk about it, and it's not that much, just a little bit of foundation," Mattian said. "Now remember what we talked about with respect to answering questions."

"Yes, sir."

The two men reached the table where they would be fielding questions from the committee, and Delgado addressed Clark.

"Please remain standing. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

Delgado nodded gruffly. "Please be seated."

Clark sat down, fixing a steady look at Delgado.

"Do you have an opening statement?"

"Mr. Chairman, I believe my letters that you have before you make my case far better than I can at the moment."

"Very well. Mr. Clark, please tell me why you felt compelled to write to me upon the announcement of the hearings."

"Mr. Chairman, I felt that if we are to achieve the results we really want from these hearings, we need to get past the politics and the talking heads," Clark began. "There's only so much that officers who are in armoured vehicles planning strategy far removed from the front lines can tell you about what the rank and file infantryman can. That's why I wanted to be here."

"Fair enough," Delgado said in an unusually gruff tone, even for him. He peered out at Clark, who returned his glance evenly.

Damn kid's got a lot of nerve, Delgado thought as he watched Clark looking impassively at him. He looked down for a moment at the bucket as it sat there in the event he needed to take a quick recess from the chambre. If we had more guys like him, we'd have done a hell of lot better in Inkana.

That guy's got a bug up his arse, Clark thought as he consciously kept his glance even so as not to show the nerves he felt with the eyes of several nations on his every move. The unspoken jousting between the two figures, strangely allied even though they had never met until a few minutes ago was the stuff future Senate staffers would talk about in the years to come. But for right now, the focus was on the questions and the answers forthcoming from two men who were suddenly at the forefront of the biggest Sarzonian drama of the moment.

As General Ripper watched the video feed of the proceedings during his flight to Sarzonia he thought back on his conversation with Sarzonia's former ambassador to Mauiwowee and his former queen, Harriet Levine. He was still not over his anger at her for having murdered king 'Lude and almost causing a nuclear war with the nation of Vineyard, but he had needed to speak with her before he played his part in the unfolding drama in Sarzonia. He knew what had happened from factual standpoint in Inkana, but what about the players - what were their backgrounds. Harriet had begrudgingly answered some of his questions. She knew General Pickney and knew of, but did not know personally, Quinn. She knew also how Sarzonia politics worked and the priorities of the military. The long and short of it was the policy makers had created one of the the world's best navies at the expense of the army and to some small extent, at the expense of the air force. Like all Sarzonian military men, Pickney was a proud man, proud of his men and his skills. Unfortunately, he was too proud. He thought his men could do more than they could. He tended to want to impute the strength of the Navy to his army and it just didn't work that way. General Ripper almost felt sorry for Pickney, he saw the man's head being handed to the populance on a platter when it was the politician's fault that his army wasn't as good as it should have been. War is damned important to be left to the politicians he thought to himself. He sighed and settled back in his seat to watch the remaining exchanges between Clark and Delgado.

"So tell me what you think the problems are Mr. Clark," Delgado said in that same gruff tone. The tone caused Trussel to look at Delgado askance with a glance that suggested Delgado had just been caught streaking at a Wild match in 15 degree weather. Delgado caught the glance and pointed down to the bucket and subtly tapped his stomach with his right hand. Trussel raised an eyebrow and fixed his glance back on Clark after a small shake of his head.

"It's simple," Clark said. "There is a vacuum of leadership at the top levels on the battlefield. The people who should be in command are subordinates to people who have no bloody clue how to run an army."

"Who do you think should have been in command?"

"Colonel Quinn," Clark said. "You don't have to be an expert on the military to know that Quinn knows what he's doing. It's almost uncanny because I don't think he did anything out of the ordinary. Maybe he went to a Praetonian military academy."

"That's possible," Delgado said. "But tell me more about this leadership vacuum you described."

"General Pinckney's mistakes are well-documented," Clark said. "I don't have to tell you what he did from a strategy standpoint. But I will tell you a lot of the guys were wondering what the hell he was doing.

"He split our forces and sent the infantry headlong into Georgestown without securing aerial or tank support and let us get trapped into surrender."

Surrender. That word was almost considered an obscenity in Sarzonia. The commission that was Sarzonia's answer to the FCC just had a vote to consider "surrender" a bleepable word and the proposal only failed by a 3-2 vote with Conservative Chairman Geoff Kinney casting the deciding vote in a move that brought controversy in the party. As such, Clark's uttering the word brought murmurs from the chambre.

"Order!" Delgado banged his gavel. "This meeting is in recess for 10 minutes," he announced, almost completely out of the blue, again banging his gavel. He grabbed the bucket and briskly walked out of the room. After 15 minutes, Delgado finally emerged looking wan and slightly dehydrated, not even hiding the bucket which he had so carefully concealed just minutes before.

"Are you all right," Locasto asked.

Delgado sighed.

"Honestly, no," he whispered. "I just threw up."

Maximus could hardly contain his amusement as he watched the proceedings on his 90" plasma screen mounted on the wood-paneled wall on the far side of the room. He reclined in his seat, plopping his feet on top of the desk. This was the first time he'd been able to relax for almost six months. In fact, he still had his armor on. It was 1:00 AM Doomingsland Time, and most of the Citadel slept, with the exception of him and the gaurds.

He hadn't been in this fortress, the home of his father, for almost a year. He'd been out commanding the Legions most of the time. Of course, deep down he feared that he would become used to what he percieved as a life of luxury. Because of this, he intended to rejoin his Legions by the end of the week to resume training operations in the newly secured Inkanan Confederacy with the locals, who he had found to be skilled fighters.

More skilled than his adversaries, at least. They'd certainly put up a good fight against the Isselmerens, who were far from as poorly trained as the Sarzonians.

Maximus took a puff of his cigar as he watched as the session went into recess. He was schedualed to make his appearence, soon.

Reflecting back on the war, he knew just why he'd one. He was a better general than the man opposing him and he commanded better men. Plain and simple. The Sarzonians had an army of deer lead by a lion, a foolish one at that, while the Doomingslanders had an army of lions commanded by a an ever tougher lion. Maximus had personaly slain fifty-six Sarzonians in battle. In fact, the mug he drank from was actualy made from the skull of an enemy captain he'd decapitated with his blade when they were moving in on the last enemy positions.

He would make sure to have this suvenier of his handy when he made his appearence. He intended to be subtle when trying to unnerve the senators, hitting them with the standard macabre Doomingslandian sense of humor. This rarely failed to make an impression on foreigners.

It would certainly work well on men such as these, politicians. He hated their kind with a passion, having been long forced to deal with such creatures. He truely disliked them, with their false smiles and empty promises. These qualities, along with cowardice, were qualities he dispised.

However, he would make an attempt to be polite. He was royalty, after all, and if he came out good on this, he could possibly make a profound effect on the Sarzonian populace...

"So tell me, Mr. Clark," Delgado said in a professional, matter-of-fact tone that was an attempt to restore some order to the proceedings. "What difference do you think better leadership would have made, in particular, Colonel Quinn?"

"Number one," Clark said, continuing to fix his gaze evenly on Delgado, "Colonel Quinn wanted to spend a lot more time on training and intel for facing Legionaires. Number two, he was a firm believer in using armoured units as the point of the spear and our infantry in support. Number three, he never would have split our forces and charged headlong into Georgestown.

"Frankly, if Quinn were in command, we'd have at least had a fighting chance to win."

"I see," Delgado said, slowly taking a gulp from a bottle of water put in front of him by a Senate intern. "What do you think the solution should be young man?"

"The wrong men and women are in charge," Clark said. "A full review should include figuring out who our leaders should be and then we should be training our men a lot harder than they have been. And the ban on guns has not been serving our nation well at all."

Delgado winced. He had opposed the law banning the owning of firearms by civilians, but the Liberals held the reigns of both houses at the time. Even though the Senate was now under Conservative control, it was the lesser House in Sarzonia. He hoped Clark's statement could start the ball rolling toward repealing a law that caused hippies to run amok in Sarzonia.

"Thank you, Mr. Clark for that illuminating testimony," Delgado said. "You may leave if you wish."

"Thank you, Mister Chairman," Clark said. "I'd like to watch the proceedings here if you don't mind."

"Very well," Delgado said. "I call Colonel Mike Quinn to the witness stand."

Clark looked around and saw a slender man in full dress uniform walk purposefully into the chambre. Instinctively, he stood up and saluted as Quinn walked toward the table. Clark then saw General Pinckney walk in and dropped his salute, silently taking his seat in the audience. The gesture was lost on most of the reporters, but a nineteen year old recent graduate of high school in Nicksia noted the act with widening eyes. Steven Noah Brown, a boy who was a part of a prestigious academy for ship designers, was also keenly interested in military protocol.

That's like mutiny, he thought, fully understanding exactly what Clark's refusal to salute Pinckney was intended to be. Damn!

These hearings were begining to bore Maximus. He glanced on antique clock on the wall and was shocked to see that it was 3:00 AM. He had a plane to catch. Arising from his seat, he grabbed his sword, Ironwind, off of the wall, and hooked the sheath to his belt. The Sarzonian security officials would most likely try to confiscate it when he arrived, but then again, the politicians would most likely intervene on his behalf and allow for him to keep it, lest they worsen relations with Doomingsland.

Then again, this same sword had killed scores of Sarzonian soldiers...

He exited the spacious room out into the massive, dark corridor, the cieling seemingly infinately high, the hall stretching on into eternity. He strode down the hall and was suddenly surrounded by a swarm of advisors and gaurds, all asking him questions which he answered.

Within a few minutes, he would board a V-90D VTOL VIP transport bound for Sarzonia to take part in the hearings. He would arrive just in time to take the stand. Little did he know, his arrival would be a complete surprise to the senators, most likely causing everyone in the room to shit themselves.

Although he thought they'd be expecting them, he was still certain they'd shit themselves anyway. He tended to have that affect on people. Plus, there were most likely wild rumors about him in Sarzonia, so that would only magnify the fear factor.

But he intended to be polite and couteous to his hosts, none the less. This was merely to crush the rumor he was a mindless barbarian, and hopefully crush any propaganda put out by the government regarding him.

Colonel Mike Quinn's stony expression was the mark of a veteran soldier, but anyone who was familiar with his mindset knew that his emotions were swirling with a combination of nerves being in front of cameras for the first time and feeling like his own conduct during the Inkana war would be on trial.

The Commandant of the Blue Cobras, the developing elite special operations forces nodded his head as he watched the developments on the television in his office. More than anyone else, he knew the mental exercises going on in the army colonel's head. Blue Cobras Command David Quinn eyed his older brother Mike closely as he did his best to put up a brave front whilst dealing with his first-ever exposure to the television cameras.

Mike Quinn stood as straight as the statue of former U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens outside the Supreme Judicial Court building that bears his name, raising his right hand to affirm that he would tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Upon the instruction of Delgado, he sat down with a firm gaze fixed at Delgado.

"So tell me Colonel, what do you make of Private Clark's testimony?"

"I believe that front lines personnel have an insight into the failings of a military that politicans or even senior command personnel are unable to," he said. Even though the sentence was a subtle suggestion that Delgado didn't grasp the full gravity of the problems bedeviling the Sarzonian army, the chairman smiled faintly. He had no idea that the army colonel could speak so glibly. Truth be told, neither did Quinn himself.

"From our perspective, I can only comment on the general circumstances of the problems facing our army as a whole. As far as the specifics of troop morale are concerned, that is best left to people like Private Clark to answer. As far as the overall picture of the army is concerned, we need to do a much better job of training our forces, not just in general for any threat, but we need to look at training to deal with specific threats.

"As you know, the Legionaires from Doomingsland are trained almost from birth. The Imperial Praetorians from Generic Empire are fierce foes that we'll most likely have to face somewhere down the line. I'm not suggesting that we train our people like that, but three months of training for people who in some cases have never touched a gun is no way to prepare for foes that have been firing guns since they were old enough to walk."

Delgado nodded gravely. The problems inherent in a nation that wasn't naturally inclined to ground combat were going to be exposed again by Quinn's testimony.

"All right, Colonel. You heard Private Clark's comments about the vacuum of leadership. What do you have to say about that?"

"Well," Quinn began with an even tone, "I think if you looked at the war journals and Commodore Moraine's logs, you'll see an idea of what happened. I can't disagree that there was a problem of leadership. Namely, there is an ages-old intraservice rivalry between the Army and the Navy and when the two get together and there isn't an overall commander, you see an argument about who can give whom orders. Besides that, we had problems coordinating with Isselmerian-Nielander and Imperial Inkanan forces. When you have different national forces and military cultures, it's even more vitally important that we get on the same page. We failed to do that in Inkana."

"I see," Delgado said. "How would you assess your performance in Inkana Colonel? In particular, the accusation by General Pinckney that you were guilty of frequent insubordination?"

"Mr. Chairman," Quinn began as an unmistakable scowl crossed his face, "as a senior officer in the Incorporated Sarzonian Army, it is my duty to question orders when I feel they put the men under my command in jeopardy." Quinn paused for a moment as the murmurs began to ring through the chambre at his last comment, then after Delgado banged his gavel thrice and said, "order! Order!" he continued.

"I believe that the orders by General Pinckney frequently put our men at risk and as an officer, I found his unwillingness to listen to subordinates a further risk to our troops. As long as I wear this uniform, I will continue to put the lives of my men and my duty to this country above any expectation to just blindly follow orders. If that means I am not worthy of a command position in this Army, I will accept that."

"Very well, Colonel. You may leave if you so choose. I call our next witness to the stand, a man whom you may be familar with Colonel. I call Imperator Maximus of the Imperial Doomingslandi Army to the stand."

The murmurs suddenly crashed down onto the chambre like a crescendo that even overpowered the repeated sound of Delgado's gavel. But reporters and spectators alike let out a collective gasp when the large figure stalked his way into the chambre. This was Delgado's trump card, but even though Delgado knew Maximus was coming, his eyes still widened at the presence of Maximus. He looked down slowly at the bucket which had a few stray droplets of water that came from the rinsing it took after Delgado rushed out of the chambre just minutes before. He looked warily at Maximus and noticed Quinn's grimace at seeing a man who was destined to be his rival walk toward the table he had occupied only minutes previously.

Maximus' face conveyed no emotion, his cold brown eyes gazing at the room in an almost cruel manner, causing an unusual uneasiness about the senators. He was dressed from the neck down in meticulously polished black armor, his steel boots clanking as they hit the ground. His sword, Ironwind, was slung on his back, his crested Gallic Helm tucked under his shoulder. On the breastplate, sharply contrasting the dark armor, was a golden cross, something no doubt unusual to be seen in a public place in Sarzonia.

As Quinn left the stand, he and Maximus walked by each other. For a few seconds, time seemed to stand still as the two men stared into each others eyes for the first time since Quinn had been evacuated from Georgestown. They seemed to glare at each other as they passed. This was the first time Maximus showed any emotion.

As he took the stand, he plopped down and whipped out a cigar, lighting it, and taking a puff.

General Ripper had been pleasantly surprised when he arrived in Sarzonia to be met at the airport by Mauiwowee's ambassador to Sarzonia, Juliette Norton.
"General Ripper, I trust you flight was ok"

"Yes, thanks Juliette - it's always a pleasure to see you, but why are you here to meet me at the airport? Isn't this a job for staff personnel?"

"Normally, yes, but things are rather tense in Sarzonia at present and the reason you are here is on everyone's mind - there is huge cadre' of press hoping to speak with you as well. I felt it would be better if I met you here, if anything, for the "show" to let the people here know we considered this to be important as well."

"Ahh, ok. Do things like bad for president Sarzo? I've been watching the hearings and the condemnation of the army leadership in Inkana seems to be pretty much right on the mark - is that going to hurt the president?"

"Oh, I"m sure he'll get some fall out, but I'm betting the real heat is going to be on the legilature and how it appropriates funds as well as leadership in the army - there'll be a military shake up, but Sarzo should come through it all right."

As they exited the terminal headed to the Limo several reporters attemtpted to shove their microphones at General Ripper:
"General Ripper, is it true you're going to testify in favor of General Pinckny?"
"General, was Quinn truly a hero?"
"General, what about the role of president Sarzo?"

"No comment and no previews" is all any of them got out of Jack before he entered the limosine.

"We've got your quarters at the compound ready for you" said Juliette. I figured you might want to freshen up a bit and get a short rest before we head over to the hearings. Our last communcation from Delgado's office indicated they didn't expect you to be called to testify until late in the afternoon."

"Good, thanks Juliette. A good meal and a shower would do me good."

The ashen expression on Delgado's face, which he had taken great care to mask from the assembled witnesses, media, and even his own colleagues was now in plain view in front of everyone. And frankly, Delgado didn't care. The only person in the room who didn't blanch from the sight of Maximus walking into the chambre with such naked daring in fact was Quinn.

Quinn's scowl was remarkable for the lack of fear it conveyed to the rest of the room. The cameramen covering the hearing chose quickly to fixate upon the army colonel's bald lack of visible fear. No matter what came out of these hearings, at least the Army had an enduring image it could latch onto for want of a collection of heroes: That of Mike Quinn showing more courage than all of the soldiers under his command put together.

Delgado grimaced when he saw Maximus take a drag off his cigar, brazenly ignoring the no smoking sign that sat in silent protest of the enemy defiance of the Sarzonians. Raising himself from his seat, even though the effect would muffle his voice, Delgado croaked, "Imperator Maximus, if you would care to make an opening statement?"

He sat down before adding as an afterthought, "unless you choose to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God before you begin your statement?"

Oh great, Delagado thought as he awaited Maximus's statement. Now I sound like a lily livered liberal. The fact that just about everyone else in the room was quivering from obvious fear was of cold comfort to him. Even Quinn's defiant scowl didn't comfort him that much. That's what an army person was supposed to do. At least Quinn seems to have the stuff of a real army man.

Maximus spoke up in almost perfect English with a slight accent. His tone was non-demeaning, almost polite, yet could be percieved as a bit arrogant. His face still conveyed nothing as he spoke,

"Senator, I am a God fearing man. I would be pleased to take such an oath, as such a practice is customary within the courts of my people."

He stood, raised his right hand, placed the other on a Bible which was promptly brought over, and proceeded to say the whole thing in Latin. Once finished, he sat back down, taking another drag of his cigar,

"Now, my friends, I shall tell you just how you were so easily crushed. You see, it has far littler to do with technology than you think: this war was a clash of cultures, and the better came out on top. You see, ladies and gentlemen of the senate, we are a nation bred for war!" he said proudly, pounding his chest.

"While your children sit, basking in the comforts of a society the preaches immorality and weakness, learning such pointless things as the arts, our's learn something more useful: how to kill a grown man with your bare hands, how to take one's head off of one's shoulders from a thousand yards away.

Our victory was not so much a matter of technological superiority as it was that we are simply better at what we do. Yet, you are correct that we did have better equipment. Yes, the technology gap was tremendous, and it wasn't until you began to field those Praetonian-built tanks that you actualy began to pose a threat, but that's no excuse for the way we were able to crush your men without trying very hard.

What you need is better training. Better equipment, yes, but the best equipment in the world won't help if your men flee like frightened rabits at the first sign of trouble. Your men were horribly ill-disciplined and not particularly brave, for the most part. There were a few exceptions, however." he said, hinting towards Quinn.

He paused, taking another puff, and continued "Now, your General Pickney, were he under my command, would have been crucified for the way he lead his men. Throwing the lives of your men away so uselessly does nothing but provide your foe with some entertaining target practice. He should be replaced," he added quite bluntly, his eyes moving towards the general.

"In my opinion, your whole performance in Inkana was a reflection of the weak morale of your people. You must learn to properly motivate. For example, in the Imperial Military, we all fight for the Glory of God. I know many of you will find that strange, but the promise of going straight to heaven should you be killed is far greater than the promise of dying for a concept such as 'democracy'." he said, smiling ever so slightly.

"Now, I am open to questioning."

Having had a shit, shower and shave, along with a good meal and a few hours rest in the embassy compound to get over his jet lag, General Ripper had, had Juliette send a car around and now he sat in the ante-room outside the hearing chamber waiting his turn to be called to testify. As he watched Maximus testify inside the room on the big screen LCD television, he thought to himself:

Damn, what a cockey SOB. What he's saying is about right, but the arrogance in his tone is going to piss off these political types to no end.

He looked over at Colonel Quinn who had re-entered the waiting area to retrieve his briefcase before he left and saw the face of a grim and worried soldier. It was a face he had seen more than once in those under his command and a face he had made himself on more than one occassion. It was the look of a leader who had been called on the carpet by supposed superiors who had no clue what was going on in the trenches. Unlike General Pinckney had done in the Inkanan conflict though, when General Ripper saw that face on his subordinates he stopped and asked for the input of that subordinate before making a final decision and luckily for him, when General Ripper had made this face in the past, it had been to King 'Lude who would also stop and say (without fail) "So, Jack, what are you thinking so far? Is this a dumb idea?" Sometimes he overrode the concerns expressed, sometimes he changed his position based on them, but he always listened to them and General Ripper had made it a personal challenge to follow in that ideal. He had come up "through the trenchs" and he understood what it was like to have his judgment on the front line questioned by a politico at home and he also understood what it was like to be the questioner and the person who must listen the hardest, not just "hear" but actually listen. Yes, he was prepared, more than he had originally believed, to offer his testimony.

As he waited his turn to talk to the politico elitists though, he decided it was time to speak to a fellow soldier and victim of the constant tug-of-war between the military and the politicians:

"Colonel Quinn" he said, as the man turned towards him "I just wanted to say I watched your testimony and know what our intelligence reported happened in Inkana and I want you to know that were you a Mauiwoweean soldier, I'd be proud to have you as a part of my battlefield command."

Colonel Quinn's grim look seemed to loosen a small amount with this affirmation of his capabilities as General Ripper continued: "If you are ever in Mauiwowee, please make sure you let me know" ::: handing Quinn a business card with personal and cell phone numbers on it ::: "I'd like to buy you a steak dinner."

Delgado grimaced at the tone of Maximus's blunt assessment of the Sarzonian army, but the enemy Imperator's glance toward Quinn didn't pass his notice. Nor did the look of grim determination that creased Quinn's face throughout Maximus's testimony.

He scribbled down notes based on Maximus's testimony and decided he would look through those when General Ripper and others came in to testify. He would have a field day with General Antonius Santius when the time came to grill the Army Chief, that much was certain. But now he had more pressing matters to contend with. Namely, questioning the Doomie sitting there in the halls of his enemy's house with complete disregard of everyone who sat there. Except one Colonel Mike Quinn.

But the part of Maximus's speech that rankled Delgado the most was a pointed last sentence.

(T)he promise of going straight to heaven should you be killed is far greater than the promise of dying for a concept such as 'democracy'.

"With all due respect to our Doomingslandi colleague," Delgado said in a tone that was an attempt to seize the high road in word choice at least, if not in tone. "Sarzonians fight for their freedoms, something which seems to be quite foreign to your people." While Delgado's spoken transition into that sentence was a collection of words that at first glance could be an attempt at conciliation, the tone of voice coupled with agitated body language suggested something else.

"All right, my first question to you Maximus is this: I noticed your look towards Colonel Quinn as you cited rare exceptions to your denigration of our Incorporated Army. Tell me what it was about Colonel Quinn that merited your special attention?"

Delgado sat back as uneasily as someone who was thrust onto a stage he wished he'd never even seen waiting for Maximus's answer. It was sort of a throwaway question, but it could still be somewhat illuminating. Especially if Quinn did something right to merit Maximus's attention.

OOC:Sarz, wanna do the flashback from Quinn’s perspective, too?

The comment on freedom was exactly what Maximus had been waiting for: The perfect chance to undermine Sarzonia's involvement in Inkana completely.

"Senator, please, enlighten me as to how fighting to preserve a monarchy in a foreign country is protecting the freedoms of your people. Not only this, but this monarchy was fighting a democratically elected government. I thought Sarzonia was an avid supporter of democracy?" He smiled wryly as he said this. This would be all over the evening news and he knew it. "Please, senator, think before you speak: you tend to make your government look better that way."

With that point addressed, Maximus moved on to the question, his face turning to stone once more:

Several Months Earlier, Georgestown, Inkana

Maximus tensely gripped his rifle, moving low along the shattered wall of the Sarzonian HQ. The world seemed to be falling apart around him, mortars hitting seemingly randomly around, sending massive torrents of sand, rubble, charred flesh and bone soaring into the air. Bullets whizzed over the wall just inches above his head. His enemy was very close.

The sun was just rising; a blood red dawn. This was indeed ominous.

The city had been reduced to a pile of rubble and ash and the battle had turned to tense urban fighting. The last Sarzonian pocket of resistance lay on the other side of this wall. It was a fifty yard dash to the command post and Maximus knew he could easily be picked off by machinegun fire, but the adrenline flowing through his veins and his sheer lust for blood got the better of him.

He stood up, shouldering his rifle, and spotted a Sarzonian machinegun team, attempting to suppress a nearby Marine squad. He fired off a burst from his M-28, ripping the two men apart and silencing the position. He put his left hand on the top of the wall and pushed himself over, hitting the dirt just as a rocket streaked by, blowing up behind him.

Up ahead he could see a man wearing the insignia of an ISA colonel, commanding this last position. He was unusualy calm, shouting orders over the radio in an attempt to direct naval gun fire on the onrushing Doomie hoard. But fear of civilian casualties prevented this from ever arriving. However, the man had set up a decent defensive position, and seemed to be doing quite a good job of holding off the Imperial onslaught. This position had been holding out the past hour or so against constant assaults by infantry and armor, the Marines taking moderate casualties in the process. Perhaps Maximus had found a worthy opponent?

Desperately, the man grabbed a machinegun off of the corpse of a Sarzonian soldier, pulling back and releasing the bolt, and proceeding to pepper away at a group of Marines that were following Maximus.

The 7.62x51mm armor piercing rounds ripped through their flesh, tearing through their armor like tissue paper and rupturing organs. His men cried out in pain, yet Maximus knew they could only be saved if he slew this man. He shouldered his rifle once more and sqeazed the trigger, resulting in a 'click'.

Shit.

Checking his magazine pouches, he saw that he was empty. He tossed away his rifle and unsheathed his gladius. He stood and began to run towards his enemy, only to witness the man being dragged off to an awaiting helicopter by a pair of ISA soldiers, staring angrily back at Maximus.

Maximus stopped cold, staring across the shattered ground towards his foe.

Their eyes met and the two men glared at one another.

Another time, perhaps.

As the helicopter took off, Maximus shouted to a nearby missile team to hold their fire. Maximus would kill this man himself when the chance arose.

Maximus continued on towards the small, bombed out building, leaping over a low wall, nearly tripping as he found six Sarzonians sitting crouched behind it. He was the first to act. He swung his blade broadly, catching the first man in the throat, sending a jet spray of blood towards his comrades. With the flick of his wrist, he completely reversed the blade, stabing backwards underhandedly, catching an enemy soldier in the gut as he attempted to stick a bayonet in the back of the Imperator.

He withdrew his blade as he turned about to face the other four men, now in a complete state of shock as to what was happening.

Maximus grabbed a 9mm from the holster of the man he had just impaled before he even hit the ground, unloading the half-empty magazine in under two seconds, catching two of the four survivors in the chest and head. He tossed that blade away as the two Sarzonians opened up at point blank range with their M-16s, knocking Maximus off his feet. Luckily, his multi-million dollar custom built body armor easily stopped the weak 5.56mm rounds, and he simply lept back up, surprising his two foes as he ripped the air with his blade, decapitating them both with a single pass.

The entrance of the command bunker was now ungaurded, and he prepared to move in to slay their leader. Before he got the chance to do this, a Sarzonian major ran out, frantically waving a white flag.

The battle was over.

The man knelt down and held up a sheathed blade with both hands, offering it to Maximus.

”General Pickney said to give this to you, sir.”



Present

"Yes, Quinn. As many of you know, I personaly lead my men in Georgestown, personally accepting your garrison's surrender. As I closed in on the last of your positions, I could see that Quinn was the only Sarzonian who seemed to not be panicking. In fact, he actually seemed to be doing quite a nice job of leading your men. That is, however, before your men dragged him onto a helicopter to flee the battle." this could have been interpreted as an insult to Quinn by some of the senators, but Quinn would have known better: Maximus had emphasized that he was forced to flee against his will by his own men. He didn't want to insult the honor of what seemed to be the only competent Sarzonian officer of the war,

"Also, our intellegence was listening in on your radio communications practically the entire battle. Quinn was giving sensable suggestions to Pickney that would have saved many Sarzonian lives should he have chosen to heed them. Of course, we all know he didn't, and just look at what happened as a result. All in all, had this man been leading your army rather than that idiot, Pickney, Georgestown wouldn't have been such a horrible disaster for you, and may have been a somewhat decent challenge to my men. Well, strategically, at least. We still woulda' kicked your asses, either way," he said, smiling slightly. "That's my opinion, anyway."

Following Maximus's testimony, Trussel quickly jumped in with barely disguised vitriol. Anyone who didn't know better woudl have thought Trussel was grandstanding for the cameras despite his initial opposition to them.

"I see that our 'honourable' guest here has chosen to insult the courage, or lack thereof of Colonel Quinn," Trussel said. "No commander worth his salt leaves the battlefield no matter how bleak. But according to the Imperator, even Quinn tucked tail like a puppy that just wet the carpet. And this man is supposed to be a symbol of our army?"

Quinn glared at Trussel as he showed a complete lack of understanding of Maximus's testimony while Delgado shook his head. He heard the underlying compliment in Maximus's testimony and unlike Trussel, he heard Maximus's emphasis on the fact that Quinn was dragged into the helicopter against his will. Forbes rolled her eyes, wondering what Trussel was on about.

However, Clark, with an impetuous streak befitting an enlisted soldier barely old enough to vote and looking like a kid who was barely old enough to shave had his own outburst.

"Senator, didn't you hear the man?"

"Order!" Delgado bellowed, banging his gavel with authority.

"Senator, Colonel Quinn was taken against his will to the helicopter! There should be no question of his courage or his competence," Clark said as the gavel and Delgado's blusterous intoning of, "Order! Order" provided a discordant acoustic backdrop to Clark's outburst.

"The private will sit down and shut up," Trussel said into his mic after Clark's last sentence.

"No, you will sit down and shut up," Delgado snapped. standing up and sending a piercing scowl into Trussel. Delgado's six foot, two inch, 210 pound frame punctuated the scowl and his pugilistic nature gave the look even greater force.

"I don't endorse Private Clark's breach of protocol, but he seems to be pointing out something you missed," Delgado continued in a stage whisper. "Colonel Quinn was hardly turning tail and running. Those men dragged Quinn to the helicopter. And if he were a coward, do you think he'd even be here in this hearing today? Maximus likely wouldn't have spared Quinn's life if he were anything like Pinckney."

Trussel returned a glare that made it seem as though he was trying to come up with a retort, but none was forthcoming. Besides, Delgado was the chairman and the committee members all nodded as soon as Delgado pointed out Quinn's forced removal from combat. Keeping that scowl on his face, he sat back down.

"Now, Private Clark, I remind you that your time on the witness stand has passed, unless we choose to call you back on the stand later on," Delgado said.

Delgado gave a glance at Quinn and gave a slight nod to the colonel, who returned it with one of his own. Even though the communication wasn't spoken, they sure seemed to communicate with the same language. Delgado noticed the look on Quinn's face turned to a determined rememberance. The view from the Sarzonian colonel's perspective of the battle would make its way into the televised testimony later on.

Georgestown, Inkana

Damn it, where the fuck's that naval fire Quinn thought bitterly as his radio communications to the fleet to fire the 22 inch guns from the Constellation-class battleships fell on deaf ears. It wasn't that the messages didn't get through, but Admiral Napier vetoed the use of naval ordnance because of the concern for civilian lives.

"There've been too many civilian fatalities that have come about as a result of our actions," she said. "We're paying a severe price back home."

"With all due respect, sir," Quinn had told her, "we've got hundreds of men and women here paying the ultimate price for lack of naval fire."

"I'm aware of that, Colonel," she said apologetically. "But that's a risk I just can't afford to have us take. Admiral Napier out."

So we're a sitting duck, Quinn half-whispered. His thoughts about the lack of naval support quickly turned to the present situation."

"Get me anti armour rounds," Quinn yelled into his radio. Normally, he would have taken the split second encrypting his radio would have required so as to make it harder for the enemy to detect his strategies, but he knew time was of the essence. "We need armour piercing shells and I need you guys to take cover. Make yourselves as hard a target as you can!"

Unlike the other positions, which crumbled as quickly as Christmas wrapping paper around a six year old, Quinn's position held firm against the onslaught. Some of the Doomie tanks, even the brand new ones, were becoming mission kills thanks in part to Quinn's instructions to his men. While the troops under Quinn's command weren't any better than the skittish amateurs under General Pinckney or any other Sarzonian commander, Quinn's steady calm had a positive effect on his men that kept several of them fighting long after they would have retreated.

"Bentley!"

Quinn noticed Staff Sergeant Rajan Bentley felled by Doomie fire and grabbed the machine gun from his fallen comrade. His own sidearm wasn't big enough or accurate enough to reach his intended targets, so he decided to take aim with Bentley's weapon. He cocked the weapon and fired, not pausing to take grim satisfaction in his kills, instead searching for cover to reload more armour piercing shells to have a go at more Imperial Marines.

All of a sudden, Quinn's progress was stopped when he felt two hands on his shoulders and the two solders grabbed him and started pulling him toward a waiting helicopter.

"What the fuck," Quinn yelled angrily as the men started pulling him away from the battle. "Let me go! My men need me!"

"We need you back on the Publius," a sergeant said, ignoring Quinn's protests. He looked back and saw Maximus running toward him with gladius in hand and glared.

Next time, you won't be so lucky, Quinn thought as he was roughly thrust into the helicopter and it began its slow ascent. Quinn looked around for a sniper rifle to try to shoot down at Maximus and saw him yell something and put his hand up. Miraculously, it seemed, the Doomies didn't fire on the helicopter. That proved to be cold comfort as he saw a small white square being held by someone that looked like a ISA officer.

Surrender.

The very thought of surrender made Sarzonians sick to their stomachs. The Navy's successes spoiled Sarzonians into thinking that surrender was for other militaries. Not theirs. But now that reviled word was a part of Sarzonia's vocabulary for the first time. And it made Quinn want to vomit.

Present

Quinn fixed a steady scowl back on Trussel, whose hard expression turned into the sullen look of an overconfident academic know it all who'd been corrected in class over a simple math problem.

"I see," Delgado said. "Any further comments Imperator?"

Delgado slouched back into his chair with a look on his face that suggested he might reach for the bucket once again.

The totally relaxed atmosphere of the Empress' living room was new to most of her guests, if not her family. She, and the people around her, worked too hard during the day for formality to even be an issue, as evidenced by General Jackson's removal of his Class A jacket and tie.

The Empress, bouncing her bubbly twin children on her knees, considered the proceedings and said, "You know, it's kind of sad. The Imperium hasn't lost a battle in almost a thousand years, but here the Sarzonians are after a humiliation of epic proportions. What's worse, the pride of their military, their Navy, failed them. Admiral Napier failed his brothers in arms fighting the land battle. Yet they don't even acknowledge that fact."

"What can be done, Lien? We don't have the means to make our thoughts known when this is going on real time," the large black general with the boarding school accent observed.

"Not necessarily true, Brandon. We can set up a equally real-time satellite conference with the hearing. A quick note should be all that it takes to set it up. I'll see to it immediately," handing her children off to the gentle giant, who immensely enjoyed watching her heirs, the Empress went to make the proper arrangements.


..::Flash Message, Class 1 Priority::..
TO: Senator Delgado, Sarzonia
FR: Empress Lien Larsen, Imperium of Scandavian States
SUB: Sarzonian Army Hearings

Having watched these hearings and having heard reports about the poor performance of your Army has made me profoundly sad. It does my heart poorly to know so many good men and women, whose only sin was to be poor soldiers, had to die to get to this point. Because of that, I am volunteering the commander of the Imperial Army to share his thoughts on the Sarzonian performance during the land war and I am willing to interject my own thoughts, although they will turn towards your navy's performance in this war.

..::End Class 1 Flash Message::..


[I honestly don't know what weight the opinion of a foreign officer who wasn't involved in the war will carry, I just hope that the fact that he commands an army that has remained undefeated for a millenia will make people sit up and take notes. As for the Empress, who happens to be a former Fleet Admiral with combat experience (I believe she's participated in a couple ops with Sarzonian naval units), what she has to say about the Sarzonian Navy's performance won't be positive.]

Delgado looked intently at Maximus as he tried in vain to read the Doomingslandi Imperator for what might be on his mind. He took glimpses of Colonel Quinn, who seemed to have gained the respect of this sadistic bastard Maximus for what Maximus described as unusual courage, at least when it came to the Sarzonian army. Quinn didn't paint himself as being anything more than a devoted officer doing his damnest to will his inexperienced troops to an unlikely victory.

Delgado opened his mouth, ready to ask Maximus again to make his closing statement or he would call General Ripper to the stand, but before Delgado could speak the words, an intern spoke.

"Mr. Chairman?"

"Lainey, I told you not to interrupt me during the hearing unless it was important!"

"Mr. Chairman, the Scandavian Empress is sending you a communicade."

Delgado stopped for a moment.

"The Empress?"

"Yes, Lien Larsen I believe is her name."

Delgado stopped short. Being contacted by the Empress directly was not something that happened very often, particularly during a Senate hearing. Yes, this was not a typical Senate hearing, and yes the results of this series of hearings could have wide-ranging implications on Sarzonia and the world at large. But Empress Lien Larsen normally didn't contact a senator herself. At least not the Sarzonian senate.

"Very well Lainey. What does she want?"

Lainey handed Delgado the communications device and he saw the Empress's face and listened to the offer. He raised his eyebrow when he heard Larsen mention the Navy. The Navy was hardly in need of major reforms; in fact, the Navy earned the Sarzonians one shred of honour they could take from the disaster in Inkana. The Navy was the strength of the Sarzonian military; seemingly the whole world knew of Sarzonia's naval prowess.

Delgado knew that the other branches would eventually get their proverbial day in court, but he realised he might lose a large audience if the Navy were made the focus. The Sarzonian navy long got the pick of the lot when it came to recruits. The navy was able to gain some of its objectives on reputation alone. The daughter of the Navy's greatest hero was able to intimidate two full fleets of Moronyickan warships with a squadron.

He sighed. Giving the entire military a facelift wasn't on the agenda, and the Navy wasn't even on the committee's radar screen; however, the offer from Empress Lien was much too tempting. If the Sarzonians could train with an army that hasn't lost in a millennium, they could turn earn the parity they'd been seeking for the army and the navy in a way they hadn't counted on.

Delgado finally smiled when he realised what he was about to commit to. The simple move of saying yes to one of the most powerful allies Sarzonia had could raise the bar for Sarzonia's army to something much greater than he originally envisioned.

..::High Priority Message, Grade 1 Encrpytion::..
TO: Empress Lien Larsen, Imperium of Scandavian States
FR: Senator Brian Delgado
Chairman, Senate Military Affairs Committee
SUB: Sarzonian Army Hearings

We accept your military's gracious offer of help for our Army and for our Navy. Considering your military pedigree, I see no problem with adding your comments to these hearings. I look forward to helping to speed up the process that can turn the Incorporated Sarzonian Army into something all who fly the Blue and White can be proud of.

.::End High Priority Message, Grade 1 Encryption::..

The reply made a ghost of a smile touch Lien's lips. Turning to her electronics guru, she said, "Alright, set up the feed. I'll get General Jackson in here."

"Brandon, get in here and bring your uniform, we need to get you ready," the Empress ordered.

The massive General came walking into the room at a somewhat fast clip, hurriedly donning his Class A jacket and using his hands to iron out any wrinkles he could find and finding no serious offenders to his habitually neat appearance, donned his service cap. The ivory, cobalt, and bronze of his uniform contrasted sharply with his dark skin, but it merely made his features more striking.

That did not, of course, make him any less nervous at addressing an elected body and he ran his finger along the inside edge of his shirt's mandarin collar to ease the imagine constriction around his neck. Taking a steadying breath, he nodded to the Empress and the holocam operator, which was the director's cue to begin counting down from five with his fingers. Just as the man's head made a fist General Jackson adopted a neutral expression and lifted his chin in a somewhat imperious manner.

Jackson considered the large holoscreen in front of him that projected the image of the foreign Senate, "Ladies, gentlement, and representatives of Sarzonia, I come before you today at the request of my Empress and in the hopes that with the assistance of my Army, yours can become what it deserves to be.

"Before the war and before this hearing I hadn't heard much of the Sarzonian Army. I had hoped that to be a positive thing, a sure sign that our allies possessed a land force that was quietly professional in its competance. On one hand, I am sad to say that I was disappointed in my expectations. On the other, I am relieved that I was not disappointed when it might have mattered to the Imperium the most.

"Now, you might be wondering what I think of the Sarzonian Army now. What I think is this: your enlisted men are ill-disciplined and undertrained, your officers are for the most part incompetent, and if you have warrant officers I have seen neither hide nor hair of them. Fortunately, that can all be fixed and as much as I dislike Private Clark for the poor soldiering that has been displayed through this hearing, he is indeed right that a top-down shakeup of the Sarzonian Army is needed for any reforms to be effective.

"Some of you might be asking: 'where does the Imperial Army come into this?' The answer is this: the Imperial Army will train the best units the Sarzonian Army has, which I don't expect will mean much until I'm through with them, and then those units will return home to teach the rest of the Sarzonian Army. The Imperium will be contributing its best units to this effort; the training will be long, physically and mentally brutal, and more often than not the Sarzonian units are going to fail at their objects, but they will be better in the end because of it. I guarantee that.

"I have said what I am going to say, so I pass the ball to my Empress so she can now adress you all," the General made a short but sincere bow to somebody off the screen and backed out of the frame.

The Empress settled herself into the chair the large man had just occupie and adjusted herself so she was comfortable, largely ignoring the camera and by extension the Senators that were watching. Finally looking up, she began, "I thank you for allowing my General to address you and now if I may please have your attention. As most of you no doubt know, I am Empress Lien Larsen of the Imperium of Scandavian States and once upon a time I was a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Navy. General Jackson has said all that can be said about the state of your Army, so tonight I speak tonight upon the failings of the Sarzonian Navy.

Yes, the pride and joy of your armed forces did not, as I see it, escape with its honor virtuously intact as some of you are inclined to to believe. Their first sin was to complain about the enemy not cooperating and allowing the Sarzonian Navy to freely engage them and saying they ran in fear of the obvious Sarzonian naval supremacy. You would never hear Imperial Navy personel say something so baldly arrogant, an Imperial Navy commander would know from the get-go that a competant enemy is going to try its damnedest to make sure that they get an engagement on their terms or none at all. I can't help but think that the Sarzonian Navy has been spoiled by easy victories.

"The second sin was not necessarily one committed by the organization as a whole but by one commander, an Admiral Napier. From what I can gather she was responsible for giving Sarzonian ground forces in Georgetown fire support, but that support never materialized. Had Admiral Napier committed her command to her mission, the defense of Georgetown might have at the very least turned into a stalemate that forced the enemy fleets to engage when they didn't want to or give up Georgetown as unwinable.

"How any of this has escaped the attention of your press or the Senators gathered for this hearing, I do not know. My only quess is that you and your citizens wanted a bright spot to cling to, so that the loss of the ground war did not appear to be so bad in the bigger picture. Well, if that's what you want, look to your airmen, who fought bravely and well despite not having the tools for the job. Now, I wish you a good evening and hope this hearing is more than a dog and pony show to make some of you feel like you're actually solving problems."

With a curt hand signal the screen in the Sarzonian Senate showed Her Imperial Highness' coat of arms for a few seconds before the link was disconnected altogether.


[I hope that was sufficient.]

The sudden appearance of the the Scandanavian states had surprised General Ripper as much as it had surprised everyone else in the hearings. Listening to the statement though, he found himself forced to agree with much of what she said - some which echoed exactly what he had planned for his presentation as well. Most of all though, he truly did hope it was not a dog and pony show.

Delgado felt his face taking on a hardened expression and his muscles tighten. He took in his breath with a slow, measured gasp. His brow furrowed and he deliberately uncurled his fingers from the fists that caused his arm to shake.

While Delgado was doing his best to control his temper at the comments surrounding the Navy, Trussel went off.

"What the hell is that bitch Lien on about? Our Navy substandard? Who the fuck does she think she is?"

The profane challenge to Lien's authority as a former naval officer soon got Delgado groping for his gavel as the audience started to mutter. When he finally looked down and saw the handle, he quickly grabbed it and banged it.

"Order! Order in these chambres," Delgado bellowed. He caught himself at the raised decibel level, but realised that he was in danger of losing control of much more than the court or anyone in it. "The Senator is reminded that we are being broadcast across the country and overseas," he said in a curt tone, looking straight at Trussel.

Too bad I can't replace him until the next session, he thought. Hell, too bad I can't shoot his ass.

"What are you going to do about her assessment of the Navy," Locasto asked. "More hearings?"

God I hope not.

"I don't think they're necessary," Delgado said in a stage whisper. "Getting called out like that should be enough of a wakeup call for the Navy. I don't think Brynne's going to like her eprformance being dissected like that."

Delgado began to scribble a note down so he could add that to the Committee's report. He had no way of knowing that the report he would ghostwrite with a budding author would occupy a place on Borders bookshelves in the decades to follow. Right now, he had a far more shallow thought in mind.

Calgon take me away.

Xavier de Soto's eyes narrowed slightly and Gen. Jackson froze in the middle of doffing his jacket, "SSG, you think?"

Admiral de Soto shook his head, "I like Kraft Opklaring for this one, there needs to be some noise to set an example."

"Has a strongly worded diplomatic note ever crossed either of your minds? Then again, the current CO of my old regiment used to be one of my privates, I'm sure he'd do me a favor," Duchess Asiya Saleh noted.

Just then Lien entered the room with her twins and noticed the looks on the faces of the room's other occupants, "What are you three talking about?"

"Nothing," came the instant reply from all three.

"Uh huh, and why don't I believe any of you?" Asked an amused Empress.

"Because the cloak and dagger imperial politics that you've been immersed in since childhood have conditioned you to automatic suspicion," came the dry reply from her husband.

A raised eyebrow and a slight shake of the head was her only reply to his cheek and she sat down to watch the rest of the day's hearings.

Maximus could hardly contain his laughter at the prospect of the hearing nearly turn into a fist fight. This wasn't because that he found their conduct to be rediculous, rather, it was because it was so similar to that of the politicians of his homeland. When Maximus was asked for his closing statement, Maximus responded with a smile,

"My closing statement? Well, originaly it was going to be something about us being better than you, but now I realise we are not quite so different as you think," he said with an almost mocking grin. He stood and walked back to his seat, putting both his feet up on the table in front of him.

Delgado winced at the closing statement from Maximus and inwardly groaned when he noticed the audacity of Maximus to simply prop his feet on the table as he finished his testimony.

I'd give real money to make this cretin eat his words Delgado thought. He looked at Tressel for a moment and thought about calling the meeting to recess while he ripped that Senator a new one for his impolitic comments, particularly about Empress Larsen, but also to a lesser extent about Colonel Quinn. He thought for a moment and realised that the hearing needed to proceed.

"Thank you Imperator for your illuminating comments," Delgado said. "I now call General Jack T. Ripper, CEO of WMD, Inc. of Mauiwowee to testify." Delgado looked around the chambre for a moment and noticed General Pinckney creating a false regal air with his full dress uniform.

In due time you dumb prick, Delgado thought as he sized Pinckney up. It was clear to him and to anyone there that Pinckney would get a major dressing down from the committee, though with Santius now arriving in the court room, the man who would be the next major target was approaching the crosshairs of the committee. However, he was lugging a bag that would act better than any flak jacket or body armour could, though no one in the room would know that until later.

As Ripper began to walk toward the table to testify, Delgado noticed two immaculately groomed and dressed men walk into the room with as stately a gait as that of any men who had ever entered the committee's chambres. Praetonians, he thought immediately. Only they could make the simple act of entering a room so dignified.

As General Ripper approached the witness table, he looked around at those gathered and thought to himself dumbass politicians! You've got the military talent to rule the world gathered here in one room, giving you their opinions about your military's failures and all I see from most of you an attempt to use these hearings as a political tool to save your own asses while blaming things on the military. You've heard what was wrong in Inkana with the army - I'm gonna tell you what is wrong with you!

As he sat down at the table, General Ripper cut an interesting figure in his hemp green, full dress uniform. His two Diamonds with crossed hemp leaf medals displayed prominently on his right breast. Only 9 other people in the entire history of Mauiwowee had earned two diamonds for bravery and only 4 of those had merited the crossed hemp leaf designation on both. In his mid 50's, General Ripper appeared as a man deserving of respect - kind of like your favorite college professor. He didn't have the swagger or bravado or arrogance of the Doomingsland commander. He didn't have the defensive posture of General Pinckney or the self-depreciating stance of commander Quinn - a wonderful military commander who was unsure of his ability due, primarily to, the actions of those above him. Instead, he had the calm assurance of a man who has done this before and is not stressed about it. His thick brown hair with graying at the temples and fringes of his neck only added to his presence. No matter what anyone thought of him personally, his very appearance ensured he would be listened to - calm, quiet, but fierce understanding of the situation, radiated from his light gray-blue eyes. Looking down only briefly at the 2 index cards he carried to the table as reminders of the points he intended to get across, he began his statement to the gathered politicos:

"Ladies, Gentlemen, I am General Jack T. Ripper of Mauiwowee. Many of you know me, however, some of you don't. I don't want to spend much time on who I am as Mr. Delgado would clearly not have asked me here if I didn't have the qualifications and information to form an opinion and provide information. Briefly though, for those of you who only know me by name or not at all, I'm the CEO of W.M.D., Inc. of Mauiwowee and also serve as the military chief of staff to his highness, King Rox of Mauiwowee. My company does business with the IOC and Portland Iron works having developed the Ferret and jointly developing the new tri-maran battleships that we can both be proud of in their technological prowess. I came up through the ranks, my career in the military beginning at age 17 when I graduated from high school and began our nation's compulsory military service.

My country has long had good relations with Sarzonia - until she "went mad" so to speak, your former ambassador, Harriet Levine, was our beloved and respected queen, married to King 'Lude II. Her assasination of King 'Lude and assumption of the throne in a short lived palace coupe taught us a lesson though - a lesson you should learn here today - it is the enemy within you should be most worried about. It is only the existence of an illigitmate son of King 'Lude; Roxicet Soma Narcosis, or "King Rox" that prevented our nation's complete downfall at the hands of the "Black Queen" as Harriet liked to call herself. Gentlemen, I hate to put it this way, but YOU are the "enemy within" and Colonel Quinn is the closest thing you have to an illigitimate son that might save you.

The reference to Harriet Levine clearly unnerved more than one person in the room. The story of how she had seduced and married the king of Mauiwowee and then had him murdered so she could gain the throne had not been missed in Sarzonia. The grocery store rags had followed the story for years and even the serious reporters and commentators had not missed out on reporting the more sorid details. For General Ripper to compare the legislature to the "Black Queen" was equivalent to calling each and every legislator a traitor to his face. He might just have well accused them of deliberately sabotoging the mission in Inkana for their own political gain. More than one legislator on the commission scowled at General Ripper over the comparison. Those watching on TV were intially shocked, but when they considered it, the more intelligent of the viewers saw a very scary truth in what had been said.

"You asked my opinion (looking at chairman Delgado), this is it. You, the legislature of Sarzonia have failed your military. You pumped all your money into the Navy - to be sure, a Navy that is the envy of nations worldwide, a Navy even we, masters of the South Pacific, would hesitate to take on. You should be proud of your Navy because of what you made them. However, you should be begging the forgiveness of your people over what you did to the Army and, to some extent, the air force as a result. You screwed them, plain and simple. You gave the Navy caviar and you gave the army Spam. Not only that, you set up a competition between your army and navy. The army was in a position in Inkana of having to "prove" itself as "worthy" and the Navy was in a position of backing their own and telling the army go save themselves. They did not work in a cooperative fashion. I'm sickened as I hear the testimony I've heard and review my nation's intelligence reports on the war and learn the navy just sat back, "defending" the shores from "invaders," but didn't do anything to back it's own army's attempt to invade, but rather fought about who was really in charge of the operation."

Turning to look directly at the recipient of his next remarks:

"General Pinckney, how you became a General I'll never know. The very idea of dividing your forces the way you did and then failing to DEMAND of the navy full coastal bombardments and targeted air strikes before you sent you men into invade is unforgiveable in my book. They were slaughtered, not by a necessarily superior force, but by a force that had the time and resources to prepare for an invasion; an invasion that had nothing to back it up and ensure it's sucess. General Pinckey, you KNEW Doomingsland was waiting for you, but you went in without assistance anyway. General, the key to a great military is cooperation between the branches, not mis-trust and an atmosphere of one=upmanship. Only Col. Quinn seemed to understand that; You, however, seemingly decided your army was as good or better than your navy and tried to go it alone and prove that point."

Turning to the legislators on the committte, General Ripper continued -

"and gentlemen, your navy stood there and let them! You, you men of education and privilege, why do you give your navy caviar and your army spam?! Why do you inflate the navy's abilities at the expense of all your other military forces? Sure, you've got one the world's best navies - it served well in Inkana don't you think (the sarcasm in General Ripper's voice was getting just a bit much for members of the military that were present)?

It was what General Ripper hated most - a free population that had handed control over the military to the politicians who were bound and determined to gut it completely and worked from the idea that even the most hardened of terrorists can be re-habilitated. "That's a claim that I don't see ever being made here in these hearings."

Gentlemen to sum up, you were shamed in Inkana for several reasons, but primarily because:
1. Your Navy and army didn't cooperate with each other
2. Your army leader, General Pinckney, made incredibly ill-advised tactical decisions regarding the invasion, but first and foremost
3. YOU, the legislators who decide where and when wars are fought, have failed to comprehend that you can't fight a war with your navy alone, it takes all branches of the military working together and receiving parity in their financial and other support. You've set up your army to fail like they did, you've bred jealousy between the branches of service and put the army in a position of having to prove themselves to the Navy - a sure recipe for the type of disaster such as you saw in Inkana. You need to re-examine your priorities in how you support your military.

Finally, just as an example, Mauiwowee is an island nation in the Pacific. We control what some people refer to as Australia and dozens of smaller islands and we rely heavily on our navy to do that. Even so, our navy receives, at most, 40% of our military budget. We know, controlling the ocean isn't enough, people live on and resources are found on, the land - that takes an army and an airforce to control and, when needed, conquer. Gentlemen, you need to re-think your legislative priorities as it regards your military, only then will an attitude of cooperation, and not competition, come into being within your military's branches and commanders.

Now, I've said enough - do you have any questions?"

General Ripper sat back in his chair. He knew he had probably angered some, if not most, of those present. However, Sarzonia was an ally and a friend and when friends were in the kind of trouble Sarzonia was, it sometimes took "tough love" in order to help them see the light. Pinckney was an idiot, but the legislature hadn't done anything to make the situation better, no, not by a long shot.

Ripper's testimony made it increasingly hard for Delgado to maintain a poker face and anyone who knew the chairman well enough would know he was seething when he heard the general rip into the Sarzonian Parliament. There were a few people in Parliament, mostly the ex-military types, who pushed for a funding parity among the major branches of the military. Truth be told, there were wags who even wanted the Army to receive more funds than the Navy, but Sarzonia's successes on the high seas created an expectation that the Navy would always carry them to victory. But more importantly, Delgado knew something had to change.

Hearing one military leader from an enemy country point out their army's problems was one thing. Hearing an ally, particularly one that was a close ally of Sarzonia's for so long say essentially the same things was a different ballgame. Coming on the heels of yet another ally's testimony, the growing crescendo was becoming too great to ignore. Even for Trussel.

Don't even say anything you dumbass, Delgado thought as he leered at Trussel out of the corner of his eye. Thankfully for the chambre, Trussel didn't have anything to say on the record or off. Delgado looked out at Clark, who was nodding his head emphatically as Ripper made his points about the Sarzonian military, then glanced at Maximus, whose arrogant demeanor betrayed little beyond a grudging agreement with Ripper. Finally, he looked out at Quinn, once again singled out as the exception to a rule of putrid army officers. Quinn wore a blank expression, trying hard to remain neutral even through the hardly neutral comments of friend and foe alike.

Delgado took a look out at Pinckney, who caught Delgado's glance and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Poor sod, Delgado thought. I almost feel bad for you. He looked out at Santius, who sat nervously in his own chair wearing the Sarzonian military uniform his status as a former Sanctaphrax general permitted him to wear. He didn't know it, but he genuinely felt bad for Santius. He just didn't know with complete certainty that he had good reason to harbour his legitimate empathy with a man who the press had made into the scapegoat for Sarzonia's failures in Inkana.

He swallowed, hard, then opened his mouth and said, "thank you General Ripper for your insightful analysis of our military. He nodded toward the Praetonian engineers, both immaculately dressed and cutting a very dignified air. Delgado couldn't shake the feeling that the Praetonians would have been right at home at a white tie affair. In torn jeans and wifebeaters. And flip flops. He allowed himself a half smirk as he considered that prospect, then cleared his throat.

"Would the gentlemen from Praetonia please approach the witness desk," Delgado said.

The Praetonian engineers were indeed emaculately dressed in red military uniforms. As direct employees of the military, contracted through Imperial Praetonian Ordnance, they had received military training and held the King's Commissions. The highest ranking of the engineers, one Lieutenant Colonel Carnorious Regus, approached the witness desk. He cleared his throat and took off his cocked hat. It wouldnt have looked out of place in the 18th Century.

"Your Honour," he began, "I believe that over the past few weeks, the robustness of the design which my team created, and therefore the honour of the company and service for which I stand representative have been called into question. Today I wish to explain to the court my understanding of the underlying reasons behind the poor performance of the IPO-145 Hoplite II - Phalanx MBT as deployed by General Pickney in the Inkanan Civil War.

"Firstly, the vehicle itself, if used correctly is in my mind a match for the best of what Doomingsland has to offer. It is perfectly possible that there are slight disadvantages and slight advantage inherent in both designs, but in a realistic combat situation both tanks have an equal chance of inflicting fatal damage upon the enemy.

"Secondly, I wish to tell the court now that I do not doubt for one minute the courage and valour of the Sarzonian crews of these vehicles. Their advance was brave and noble and against a foe as accomplished as the one they were facing, it is more than one may reasonably expect of them. On matters of training and mechanical adeptness, I cannot comment, but I do not feel than any disparegy in training can adequately explain the unmitigated disaster that the Phalanx equipped tank force endured.

"It is my opinion," he continued, this time sternly, "that the way in which these vehicles were deployed was utterly incorrect and incondusive to a favourable outcome in the conflict with which this matter is concerned. Doomingslandi forces were on the advance and with the upper hand. Both vehicles are designed to provide a good chance of a one-hit kill on the front armour should first engagement be provided for.

"The way in which the Phalanx equipped units were ordered to advance to me is the complete opposite of the way that this conflict should have been handled. In moving so openly, with the vehicles' large engines producing enough heat and noise to be detected miles away, effectively gave this first shot to the Doomingslandi forces. This in turn led to the deaths of many a fine crew, and many a fine vehicle before they could even spot the enemy, or turn their guns to engage.

"The idiotic blind courage in the piece of equipment with no recourse to the strategic or tactical facts is to my mind indicative of a General who has lost all hope in his troops and his ability to win the conflict, and has decided instead to rest all his hope upon one last mad dash at the enemy which, to any mind not clouded by the mists of combat-stress, fatigue and frustration, appears doomed to fail from the start. That it has done, and I do not believe that in fairness the acts of my design team, the performance of our vehicle, or the valour of the Sarzonian crews can be held accountable for the abject failure of Mr Pickney, as I understand it.

"Your honour?" He awaited the judge's move to have him questioned or to allow him to rejoin his colleagues. Although throughout the entire speech he had remained clam and ajectly polite in his attacks upon General Pickney, beneath the surface he was enraged and just a little upset that the failings of a foreign army were being pinned to him. Even worse that, despite the truth of the matter, this was bound to reflect badly on the public and international preception of the vehicle.

Delgado nodded his head. By now, he and the committee were beginning to resemble a punch drunk prize fighter on the verge of crashing to the canvas from the torrent of criticism of both the military and Parliament's handling of it. The difference is that the Praetonians were a lot nicer about it than the others who ripped them.

He looked at Colonel Quinn for a moment after a page had brought in a page photocopied from Quinn's combat journal. His eyes widened as he read the account following Regus's testimony and he discreetly showed Quinn the paper with a questioning look on his face and mouthed the words, "may I." Quinn nodded his ascent grimly.

"Colonel Regus," Delgado began. "What I'm handing you is an excerpt from Colonel Quinn's personal combat journal. Would you answer me a question when you've finished reading this?"

Delgado sat back, trying to read Regus's non-verbal cues as intently as the Praetonian colonel was reading Quinn's log.

Georgestown, Inkana

We just received a shipment of 10,000 Hoplite II MBTs from Praetonia for our war effort. Headquarters says these babies are some of the best in the world and should be a fair match for the M-29s the Doomies have. If we can spring a trap for those holy bastards, we may be able to pull something off.

I think we should set up camouflage netting with foil strips and station some of these puppies behind them. That should make them nearly impossible to spot even with millimetric wave radar. Maybe we can use some of our remaining Zephyrs to draw them in and have a couple unpowered until they come through.

I tried to tell Pinckney about my suggestion, but the dumbass ignored me again and said, and I wish I were fucking lying, "If these tanks are supposed to be the best in the world, we should just challenge 'em! Forget this mamby pamby hiding shit." I wonder who he fucked to get those two stars.

Thirty minutes later

Fuck! [Captain Ben] Sullivan of Alpha Company has been wounded! Wait, [First Lieutenant Lisa] Vergara's taking over. Beta Company can still be hidden from those Doomies. I've got to take over Beta Company.

'All right men, here's what we're going to do,' I tell 'em. They look like scared puppies, poor men. Damn it! We're going to lose our edge if we go another minute slower. There!

There we go! Mission kill. Saboted rounds do pay off. Hell, one of our Zephyrs just got a mission kill! Holy fuck! Doomies are coming and they're sending packs now. I don't think they liked seeing their armour with smoke belching out of it.

One hour later

So much for that. Beta Company got us our only successes. Alpha got slaughtered. Delta's got one tank with any kind of life left. Gamma's got one tank that can be repaired. The second one, I don't know. If we actually knew what the fuck we were doing...

Present

"To the point Colonel Regus," Delgado said as he noticed Regus put down the paper. "You've said our military used its armour improperly. Were Colonel Quinn's actions in the Battle of Georgestown correct strategy for the use of Phalanx main battle tanks? And, in your experience as a member of the Imperial Army, do you have any further recommendations besides those you or anyone else in these hearings have made so far?"

"Oh, General Ripper, my apologies," Delgado said. "In light of the testimony by Colonel Regus, do you believe that Colonel Quinn would have properly utilised the IPO-145 tanks and possibly could have turned the Georgestown disaster into something more promising?

"And on a further note, I noticed your comment about Colonel Quinn being the closest to an 'illegitimate son' who could save our army. Please amplify that comment with respect to Quinn's performance as a leader. In particular, the accusations from General Pinckney that Quinn is guilty of, and I read the direct quote as 'rampant insubordination' for challenging his decision making.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong, but something tells me that simply following orders no matter what doesn't seem to me to be the way a military officer should operate. If you can enlighten us on that point, that would help us for the record.

"And finally, comment if you would on Colonel Regus's testimony. Thank you General Ripper."

Mr. Delgado, I will not and cannot speculate on what Colonel Quinn would have done, that is a question he alone can answer. However, I will state that he could have turned the tide of battle had he been listened to. However, I'll add, it would still have been exceptionally difficult for him and his men to do so due to the lack of naval support and the decision to split the army's forces in the face of an entrenched, well prepared Doomingsland army. He might have turned the tide, but he might not have, that is something I can't say. I can say his chances of doing so would have significantly increased.

As to the claim of insubordination - yes, I can understand General Pinckney's distress and possible anger at having his orders questioned. However, as I noted in my statement, it is the duty of a good officer to question orders he feels are questionable and it is the duty of a superior to explain why he has issued those orders when they are questioned. Mr. Delgado, I have, on more than one occassion, issued orders that I knew would result in the death of hundreds of men, but there was a reason - a reason that I could explain to a Colonel or a Major or a Captain, etc. that they would understand. A reason that would make them tell those in their command "Men, we are likely to die here, we are sacrificial lambs. However, our sacrifice will ensure that Mauiwowee wins the war. We will likely lose our battle, but Mauiwowee will win the war.
Mr. Delgado, men loyal to the nation will gladly lay down their lives in a battle to ensure their nation wins the war. General Pinckney gave no such assurance to Col. Quinn or his people. As far as they knew, they would be laying down their lives for nothing, which, in all honesty, turns out to be the case. They died for these hearings, nothing more.

Simply following orders without question is stupid. A commander of troops has every right to know why he is being asked to do something he believes is ill-advised. He also has the right to expect a straight answer. I will say though, that once this is accomplished, he has the right to refuse an "illegal command" but not a right to refuse a command he die.

An order I have my soldiers die trying to kill all Doomingslandians because the people of Doomingsland are an inferior race is an illegal order that should be disregarded. An order I try to drive Doomingsland out of Georgetown and, if need be, sacrifice all my men in doing so in order to ensure a succesful invasion by troops left behind would be OK. The problem here is General Pinckney never explained anything. He just said "do it," but gave no reason why it should be done; and it is clear he had no real, ultimate plan in place either - well, no plan beyond proving his army, which was provided Spam funding and support by the legislature was a good as a navy given caviar.

It's a difficult decision by an officer in the field to question a superior. However, I believe they have a right to do so and when they do, they should be respected enough to receive honest answers. If you tell a major he and his command are to be sacrificed to achieve a higher purpose - a purpose he believes in - all but the worst case majors will say "Oh, ok, thanks general, I understand and me and my men will take care of it." Without such an explanation as to why what they are doing is beneficial to all, they have every right to say they aren't going to do it and die needlessly.

Col. Quinn knew he and his men were in dire straights, many of them likely to die. I am convinced that would not have benn an issue at all IF General Pinckney could have given him a good reason as to why he was split off from the rest of the army and why the sacrifice of his men would adavance the cause of Sarzonia in the war. However, General Pinckney would not or could not provide that information. Faced with a well equipped, entreched army, having the troops split and having troops that had been shortchanged in their training and equipment, Col. Quinn did what he could and he did it well. However, he could have done MUCH better if Pinckey hadn't been sitting around trying to prove an army with less equipment and training was as good as a Navy with everything. OR if he had been willling to explain some goals the men would be happy to die for. Pinckney did neither and it cost Quinn his men.

However, and finally, the most important position I take here today, is that your legislature needs to take a look at itself. You are the ones who set up General Pinckney to make poor choices and feel he had no need to explain his choices. You are the ones who in express and subtle ways told the General that he didn't need support from home since he and his army were not as important or deserving as the navy, a navy he couldn't access to support his decisisions. You put him in the position of feeling he had to prove to you that his army was as good as, or better than, the navy, despite a lack of legislative support. A position he had to defend at all costs, even when it was clear his men were being slaughtered. Colonel Quinn had the guts to question his orders. However, you legislature put the General in the position of answering those questions with, at best, a demand that Colonel Quinn sacrifice his people to prove they could outdo the navy. When General Pinckey couldn't admit to himself that was what he was doing, he couldn't give Quinn a valid reason to sacrifice his people. Without that reason, Quinn's questioning of his orders and the decisions made caused him to be viewed as insubordinate. A position you forced him and his CO into.

I hope that answers your questions Chairman Delgado" Said General Ripper as he sat back.

"Thank you General Ripper. And thank you Colonel Regus. We will be in recess for 15 minutes until our next witness is prepared to take the witness stand," Delgado said, banging his gavel.

He'd better be ready, Delgado thought as he looked at the next witness. He looked back at the witness and, to his complete amazement, saw the witness was actually smirking.

"Is it my imagination or does that bastard have a smirk on his face," Delgado whispered to Locasto as the committee neared the staff lounge. They looked at the closed-circuit television and noticed the witness was smiling. Even worse, when the camera briefly focused in closely on him, they saw the full flush of arrogance that befell the witness.

"What's it matter," a janitor said as she started mopping the floor near the wetbar. "Y'all are going to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face 'fore long."

Delgado caught the look the janitor gave him. She was right. She knew what the witness would have coming and she knew it wasn't pretty.

In ten minutes, she's going to be right on the money, Delgado thought as he quickly downed a cup of Artitsan coffee. Not Pacitalian, he thought with a grimace, but with the state of Sarz-Pacitalian relations being strained, the cost-cutting accounting offices replaced the Pacitalian brew with Artitsan coffees. Finally, he looked at the clock. It was time to go.

Walking in briskly, Delgado grabbed his gavel and banged it.

"This court is back in session. I call the next witness to the stand."

The crowd murmured as they sat and waited for Pinckney to bring the next witness to the stand.

"I call Brigadier General Wesley Pinckney to the stand."

The murmurs began to build to a crescendo as Pinckney stood up and confidently strode to the witness's table. Delgado noticed the two stars on the epaulettes on each shoulder glistened in the artificial light of the chambre. Even they will soon lose their lustre, he thought as the intonation of Pinckney's voice became mere background noise compared to the grilling he would soon get from Delgado and the committee as a whole.

"General Pinckney," Trussel began in a voice that suggested he was doing his damnest to regain some dignity after being caught on international television mouthing off about the Scandavian Empress, "we've heard the testimony from others in both our and other militaries. Tell us what you think the problems with the Army are."

Pinckney flashed the grin that anyone watching the court would describe as the smug appearance of someone who was unduly sure of himself. He sneered at Quinn, then gave a repulsed glance to Maximus. He then scowled at Ripper and Regus for several moments, until Locasto interrupted.

"General, we don't have all day."

"With all due respect to the people who've testified before me," Pinckney sneered, "an Army needs strong, decisive leadership, but it also needs quality soldiers. The riffraff I had in Inkana wouldn't be worth the lowliest colonial militia. The boys in Branwyn would have beaten the troops I had, even if they were fighting a colonial war at the same time.

"We need to rescind the ban on firearms in this country. That much is certain. Only half the men under my command could even hold a gun when I got 'em. Repeal the gun ban and you'll see results."

"With all due respect to the general," Delgado said evenly, "but your suggesting that just repealing the gun ban would be a panacea for all the Army's problems. That's more than a bit disingenuous."

"We also need to teach our soldiers a thing or two about obeying orders," Pinckney retorted, casting a glare in Quinn's direction. "Especially that piece of shit over there," he added, pointing at Quinn. The break in decorum caused the room to drown in murmurs as Delgado began banging his gavel, shouting 'Order!'.

"That's quite enough of that General," Delgado intoned menacingly. "One more outburst like that and I'll hold you in contempt. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Pinckney said with a small flash of the grin that he had as his testimony began. "We also would do a lot better without antique equipment that wouldn't hold up in the Smithsonian. A little bit of funding for the army would be nice, but it seems to be a little beyond your comprehension that there's more to a military than a navy."

"Are you trying to show your contempt for this court," Trussel snapped. Even though Trussel was the man many Senators wished weren't part of the committee, the other Senators nodded in agreement.

"Your honour, I'm trying to hide it," Pinckney whispered.

"What did you say, General," Delgado asked.

"Nothing, your honour." That you need to hear you nitwit, Pinckney thought.

"General, you are hereby held in contempt of this court. I'm giving you one final chance to grow up and shape up or we'll ship you to the J. Edgar Hoover Correctional Facility," Delgado said, leering at Pinckney. His smirk melted away like ice in a spot of tea and he stared blankly at Delgado. Hoover, Pinckney thought, shivering almost imperceptibly. He remembered that Sarzo was incarcerated there during the coup that led to the Second Civil War. It earned a reputation throughout Atlantian Oceania as one of the region's most infamous prisons.

"Now, let's try this again," Delgado said. "Do you have anything to say about the testimony of the foreign military officers?"

"Those Phalanxes are guilty of false advertising," Pinckney said, drawing a glare from Regus. "Those pieces of shit should have stood up to the Doomie armour. No excuses for why they didn't. As for the rest of the military officers, there's only so much intelligence reports and SNN can tell you about the horrors of war. We respect their views, but they didn't fight the same war we did."

"General, we've heard from people who have fought the same war you did and their testimony dovetailed with the sworn testimony of the foreign military officers who haven't 'fought the same war' you did," Locasto said. "And even Imperator Maximus's testimony was generally along the same lines as that of our allies and friends."

"You're going to believe that," Pinckney said, gesturing toward Maximus, an act that brought a brief flash of outrage from Maximus, who sat up in his seat. That expression then morphed into a smug look that suggested he lost even more respect for Pinckney. If that were possible. "He's the enemy! Take anything he says with a grain of salt."

"We would if it weren't in line with what our allies are saying," Locasto said. "General, you're not doing yourself any favours with your testimony. I suggest you switch gears or you're going to find yourself in a whole heap of trouble. Even more so than you are now."

"Senator Locasto is right," Delgado said. As hard as it is for me to believe I'm actually agreeing with her, he thought. "If I were you, I'd start taking this hearing a bit more seriously. Once the committee's report gets sent to the President, he has the right to act on any or all of our recommendations. And he can make your life a living hell."

"That liberal pansie?"

"That liberal pansie supports these hearings," Trussel countered.

"Because it's politically expedient," Pinckney said.

"Doing something politically expedient is sometimes useful," Delgado said. "You could learn something from the President." Delgado inched back in his seat for a moment, pausing after he uttered a sentence he didn't expect he'd say.

"General, much of the testimony in these hearings has borne out as fact that a good officer questions orders that are an unnecessary risk to the soldiers under his command. Countless examples of modern and even historical combat have shown that a general who fails to listen to his subordinates is one who fails. The claim 'I was only following orders' is what's led to many of the world's biggest atrocities. Following all orders without question is not a defence for aberrant behaviours.

"And as for Colonel Quinn, it's been borne out that Inkana might have turned out differently if you'd actually listened to him. And the combat actions under his direct command had the potential to be successful. Look at Lieutenant General Ryan Kennedy. He has consistently earned high marks among his men and handled the border dispute with Chacor about as well as you could possibly expect. And he listens to his subordinates. You, General Pinckney are no military genius."

"Neither is General Kennedy," Pinckney said. "[Colonel David] Whitney is the brains behind that operation."

"General Kennedy does one thing you don't," Delgado said. "He listens to Colonel Whitney. And when things go well, he notes Colonel Whitney's contributions in his reports. When the chips are down, he can make a decision, but he also knows how to foster a spirit of cooperation with his subordinates."

"With all due respect, I don't have any Whitneys on my staff," Pinckney said. "Golden boy over there," he growled, pointing to Quinn, "is no Whitney."

"I beg to differ," Delgado said. "You forget I've held this chairmanship for two terms. I've seen all the reports. Colonel Quinn has consistently earned some of the highest marks in the army for his tactical and strategic acumen. If you worked with him the way Kennedy works with Whitney, he might make you look even better than Kennedy. You might be up for a four star rank right now.

"I'm afraid that as it stands right now, I'm going to have to offer you two choices. One, you accept a demotion to Lieutenant Colonel and take a general discharge with the pension and benefits pursuant to that rank or you get a dishonourable discharge. And no pension."

"You can't do that," Pinckney yelled, bolting to a standing position. Gone forever was the smile that irritated so many people in the room. In its place was a flash of pure outrage that reminded people of a rabid Rottweiler.

"Technically, you're right," Delgado said. "But I have a feeling Sarzo will listen if I include that amongst the recommendations in this report. It would be the politically expedient thing for the President to do," Delgado said, cracking a subtle but noticeable smile that was every bit as infuriating to Pinckney as the disgraced general's was to Delgado. Pinckney's face turned ashen and his outrage faded into a defeated sadness.

"All right," he said in a near whisper. "I'll accept the demotion. But wait until I get my chance to tell my side of the story."

"You had your chance," Delgado said. "And you, if you'll pardon my French, fucked it up."

"This court is in recess for 15 minutes whilst the next witness readies himself to take the stand," Delgado said, banging his gavel. He stood up and walked briskly out of the chambre, not wanting to look at the man whose fall from grace in the Sarzonian military was completed in the committee's chambres. Instead, he made a beeline for the closed circuit television to watch a hooded figure enter the Senate office building and walk purposefully toward the chambre.

"What a fucking idiot," remarked Xavier.

Jackson nodded, "Indeed. If the Imperium had fought the war in Sarzonia's place, we'd have turned them inside out and their intestines would be trailing them like a longass tail."

"Too right. The Navy would have had the ships to support the land assault and take down the Doomie fleet. Fuckers wouldn't have known what hit them," snarled Lien.

"Jackson, how hard are you going to train those idiots?" The Empress asked.

"Back to basic," answered the general with a grin.

Lien winced; Jackson was talking about going back to fundamentals in the most basic sense and that meant drill sargeants. She didn't envy the field grade officers who would be put through the ringer again. The Imperial Army's drill sargeants were good, but they usually only graduated about 10% of recruits, simply because so many of them quit. The Sarzonians wouldn't be allowed to quit, they had signed their contracts and they were going to train until they got it right.

"What about you, Xavier? Going to school their navy?" The answering smirk was all she need.

...Were Colonel Quinn's actions in the Battle of Georgestown correct strategy for the use of Phalanx main battle tanks? And, in your experience as a member of the Imperial Army, do you have any further recommendations besides those you or anyone else in these hearings have made so far?"
Regus did not respond for several minutes. He was not a vindictive man but he knew that he could use this situation to completely destroy the career of the man sitting before him and that was not something he felt particularly ashamed to want to do. On the other hand, he knew little about military tactics - he was an engineer, not a Manoeuvers Officer.

"Well," he began, choosing his words carefully, "it is my opinion that had the vehicles been deployed in that way they would undoubtably have ensured the first hit using massive sensors such as the vehicles' laser rangefinders and IR scanners, which the enemy would be unable to detect. It is also an advantage that the Phalanx has over its adversary in this case - the ability to fire off of reserve batteries with the engine turned off completely."

"Since your forces were on the defensive, there is no reason for the tanks not to be used this way, and any offensive against your forces could, with adequate infantry support, have been easily bogged down and driven off. Of course, I am no expert on tactics - and the tanks would certainly have to change position after the initial engagement to avoid destruction by long range missiles, aircraft and artillery, but there is no reason for the strategy, properly implemented, not to work."

"Regardless of alternative strategies, upon which I can only comment to a limitted degree, the scale of destruction inflicted upon the Sarzonian Phalanx-equipped tank divisions was excessive, and any competant commander could have done better. From what I have read, Mister Quinn is quite competant. Tanks, no matter how powerful and no matter what opposition they are against, are not wonder-weapons. The tank advances across the Somme showed that - they are only useful when used in well planned operations with adequate support, not in mad-dashes at the enemy. "

Maximus was minorly amused by the testamony of the others. In his mind, while they spoke the truth of the Sarzonian army's lack of training, they seriously underestimated him and his men. While Quinn could have easily caused plenty more damage to him had he utilized the Hoplites correctly, Maximus highly doubted that they could have possibly turned the tide. The Imperial Fleet was quite a ways away from the battle when it occured, so a Sarzonian strike on that would have simply degraded their local fire support. That, and he had a tremendous amount of air and artillery support and the advantage of being on the defensive. Even if the Sarzonians had decided to target the city with artillery fire it would have done little more than kill a few more Doomies and delay the inevitable.

Even if the Sarzonians had had a more competant commander, Maximus probably would have come out on top. He was sure of that. He doubted any of them save Quinn himself would actualy recognize that, but that didn't really bother him. It would simply mean an easier victory next time around...

Pickney's testimony hadn't surprised Maximus in the least: he knew the type. He wasn't completely surprised when Pickney had challenged his honesty, but that still didn't prevent him from being insulted. This lowly son of a peasant dared challenge his word? No matter. He would be getting his over the course of the hearings. That much was obvious to everyone in the room.

It would all sink in once Delgado showed the footage Maximus had given him. Helmet cam footage shot by the Legionaries that had siezed Pickney's HQ and taken him prisoner. That display of Pickney's incompetance would be enough to get him dishonorably discharged in most armies, and easily enough to have him end up on a cross by the end of the day in Doomingsland. He woundered how these people would punish the fool...

Regus' testimony had been enlightening to Maximus, to say the very least. While DoomCorp had more than enough captured Hoplite IIs to discect and study (in fact, the Phalanx's electro-magnetic rifleling was rumored to appear in the next Imperial MBT), it was refreshening to hear such information come straight from the men who built the vehicle. He took in all of this information like a spunge. He intended to put it all to good use.

Delgado returned to the chambre and noticed the tape sitting to the immediate left of the surface his gavel pounded. He picked it up and gave it to an aide to take it over to the television projection set that was being wheeled in. This way, the entire chambre -- and the world's countries who were tuning in -- could all see what the Doomies saw.

Damnit, where's that guy, Delgado thought of the hooded figure who was still en route to the chambre. He's holding up Santius. He then decided this would give the next witness more of a chance to enter the room or prepare himself for the confrontation that was to come, both by the committee and by the principles in this drama that was playing on a much larger stage than he expected.

"While we wait for our next witness to arrive, I would like to enter this next tape into evidence," Delgado said. He turned to the large screen as the aide pressed PLAY.

As the screen flickered on, the image of a squad of heavily armored Legionaries sitting in the cramped rear compartment of an MV-68 Banshee. Heavy metal music blared in the background, adding to the dark atmosphere generated by the dim red cabin light. Latin chatter could be heard as the soldiers conversed through their helmet voice transceivers with one another. In the top right corner was the man's name, Centvrion Herivs, beneath that were various Roman numerals, displaying information such as heart rate, ammunition count, time to target, et cetera. As the man brought his DR-31 assault rifle up in front of the camera and popped in a fresh magazine, he began to speak...

Several Months Earlier, Southern Inkana

"Brothers," began the ageing Centurion in a harsh voice, "We have prevailed against our foe, the Sarzonians, thus far. We come now to our final objective: the headquarters of their general."

He had the full attention of his men, who's faces were hidden behind darkened visors, the red light reflecting off of that, and two red lights resembling eyes burning through from the inside,

"Do not let your guard down. Though our enemy is dispairing, this may drive them to foolhardy defiance. However, I fully expect you to crush these fools without much trouble."

As he spoke, hydrolics crooned with the opening of the rear ramp door and the lowering of the door gun into its current position on the cieling into firing position. The gunner arose from his seat next to the 15.5mm electro-thermal chemical gattling gun and locked himself into the harness attached to the mighty weapon. Staring through an infrared scope, he began to scan the blurring countryside below the fast moving VTOL, occasionaly letting off a burst at a reatreating column of Sarzonian troops, fleeing from the battlefield to their HQ in the hopes of putting up a good last stand.

Over the sound of gunfire and the swishing of air from the outside, Herius continued to speak,

"Do not forget why you fight, men,"

"For the glory of God and the Empire, even to our deaths!" they shouted in unison.

"Our foe has been lead to the battlefield by a blundering idiot. He has denied us an honorable victory by presenting us with a slaughter, hardly a challenge worthy of warriors such as ourselves. The good Imperator would like this fool up on a cross by nightfall."

The flight of Banshees now penetrated the airspace of the HQ section, a mansion the Sarzonians had confiscated from a rich southern Inkanan family for use as Pickney's headquarters. The magnificent structure had been fortified, the balconies sandbagged, the front yard mined and strung with barbed wire. Machinegun pits could be visualy seen on either side of the main entrance, a massive fifteen-foot high set of oaken doors.

The chatter from the aircraft's 30mm chingun was clearly distinctive when compared with that of the 15.5's mounted in the door, and the damage was even more distinctive. The Banshees swooped down over the estate's yard, the 30mm cannons rotating in their own semi-maneuverable bubbles, selectively targetting enemy gun emplacements and vehicles, causing utter chaos on the ground. Within seconds of their arival, the charred hulks of several vehicles warmed the area around with massive plumes of flame.

Bodies lie strewn throughout the complex, charred and mutilated from the high caliber weapons they'd been struck with. As they passed over the mansion itself, the pilot of Angel Six, the aircraft in which Herius' unit rode, spotted an enemy helicopter warming up. A fast moving HMMWV sped towards it.

Selecting the aircraft's rocket pods, the pilot carefully lined up the targetting pipper with the enemy helicopter and squeezed the trigger on his joystick. The shriek of the engines was defeaning as two 70mm fin-stabalized rockets exploded out of the pods, streaking towards the Blackhawk helicopter. They burst when within just ten meters, the high explosive warhead forcing thousands of tiny flechette needles out through the nose of the rocket, showering the helo.

The result was instantanious: the chopper was ripped apart by these thousands of penetrating needles, the pilot and copilot torn to pieces, the fuel tank thoroughly punctured. It went up in a great ball of fire, the already spinning rotar blade flying high into the air, forcing Angel Six to pull up, jostling the passengers.

As Herius looked back through the door at the damage, he could see a well-dressed Sarzonian officer scrambling back towards the mansion as 15.5mm rounds kicked up dirt around him, scaring him utterly shitless.

The aircraft banked around, the twin turbofan engines arching downwards and the lift fans kicking in, slowing the VTOL down as it neared the roof of the mansion.

"Let us do our lord's will one last time, then we shall call it a day. GOD WILLS IT!" he shouted as he lept from the aircraft onto the roof, rolling onto it and immediatly taking up a defensive position.

The others in his unit followed suite, and the Banshee soon departed them, remaining on station to provide fire support. Data from other units now circulated through Herius' visor, providing detailed, up-to-the-minute detail on the movement of the others. The first floor of the mansion had already been cleared of Sarzonians without so much as a single casualty. The same could not be said of their enemy.

Herius cautiously approached the edge of the roof, hitting the ground and going prone as he probed his rifle over the edge and looked down on the balcony. Below him was an abandoned Sarzonian anti-tank missile launcher mounted behind sandbags on a balcony just seven feet below him.

Motioning to his comrades, the others carefully moved over to him, constantly scanning the area from enemy troops.

On Herius' order, his unit's demolitions specialist dropped a grenade over onto the balcony. Five seconds later, it went off, cooking off several spare missiles and blowing the glass door leading inside to smithereens, creating plenty of covering smoke. A split second later, Herius rolled over the side and landed on the balcony with his rifle raised. He quickly got to his feet and rushed through the smoke, already knowing what lie on the other side thanks to a small milimetric wave radar mounted on his shoulder and infrared.

However, he was most surprised to find that he had a Sarzonian general's head directly in his sights when he exited the cloud of smoke.

With a red dot projected by the weapon's laser bouncing around his head, Pickney was in utter shock when these seemingly demonic beasts stormed into his office from the area he'd least expected to see them come through.

Colonel Dusan Alberevo stared blankly at the floor, his long, unkempt brown hair falling chaotically over his face and shoulders. He held a cigarette to his lips, dragging on it every now and then and letting the smoke drift from the corners of his mouth and through his nostrils, ignoring the prominent no smoking sign on the wall beside the uncomfortable bench where he sat waiting. His arm twitched involuntarily and a large clump of ash detached from the end of the cigarette, falling down to the sparkling floor below. He reached a leathery and scarred hand around to the back of his neck and scratched furiously at an old tattoo depicting the emblem of the Imperial Generian Regular Infantry.

He had arrived at the chamber a few moments before, late, but then again he had never been prone to punctuality. For the city that he had called his home for almost a year, it still seemed oddly foreign to him when compared to his native village in Alberia. Here everyone moved quickly, like they were all fighting on some battlefield, scurrying along station platform ramparts, issuing orders through cellular phones. There was no laughter, no raucous carousing except on Friday or Saturday night, and even then it seemed structured, planned. Absent was the comradely feeling in his small local tavern. Albeit, he realized, he had not set foot in that place for nearly a decade, and it was strange that he was remembering it so clearly now.

Perhaps, he figured, it was something born from the isolation he knew in this land of the free. He was a foreigner, unwelcome here, but without a home to return to. His warrior code was broken, wrenched from his heart when he defected from Generia and his order to come to this place, and now he realized the importance of loyalty more acutely than he ever had when he served the Emperor. He longed for an ideal, thirsted for something to swear himself to or against, but he could not find it. He could not align his heart with the government of this new home that was not home, though in action he served them. Even the uniform he had worn for eleven years now seemed strange, as if not his at all, but one belonging to a better man long gone.

Before his reflection could bring him to any discernable conclusion, he was interrupted by a smartly clad individual who gestured for him to enter the chamber. He got to his feet, towering over the man, and dropped the cigarette to the ground, grinding it under his heel.

As General Ripper listened to General Pinckney's audaciously bold testimony he was struck by how arrogant and full of himself the man was. Watching the video-tape made it clear that he was a total fool though. Yes, Pinckney would be going down for this debacle. However, the question still remained, would the legislature change its ways and give the army the support it needed. If these politicians took anything away from what he had said, General Ripper hoped it would be that they deserved as much blame for what happened in Inkana as that idiot Pinckney did. In a strange sort of way, General Ripper felt sorry for Pinckney because, despite being an idiot, he had been set up for failure by the legislature's total unwillingness to recognize the army was just as important as the navy when it came to military strength. Ruling the seas did not give you control over the land, you needed an army for that. The legislature didn't seem to get that, at least, they didn't seem to understand it before these hearings. Maybe it would sink in now.
As he saw the delegate from the Generic Empire enter the chamber to speak, he thought to himself Good! Someone else who understands your navy and army go hand-in-hand. They know what Pinckey messed up on, but they understand everything else about the legislature's failings too.

Delgado gave a piercing stare at Pinckney as the tape came to a stop. He took a look at a round of photocopies handed to him and to the other committee members and looked down at it.

"Now General Pinckney," Delgado began. "Am I correct in assuming that this is photocopied from your journal surrounding the day you were captured by the, um, Doomingslandi army?" Delgado silently berated himself. He almost called the enemy forces the Doomies. As a under duress nickname, it worked well, but with Maximus there, the idea of a phrase that could be a racial slur escaping his lips didn't sit well with Delgado.

"It is," Pinckney said. He looked worn and haggard to the outsider. To someone who was familiar with him, he looked defeated. Even more so than in any video when he was being paraded around Doom City.

"Please enter this into evidence," Delgado said.

Southern Inkana, several months earlier

Goddamn Doomies have been pummeling the crap out of my army. What the fuck did they get these dime store rejects? Fuck! There goes the wall!

We've been fighting nothing but a losing battle all day. The only thing worth hanging our hats on has been that dipshit Quinn's units have been holding their own for a while against the Doomies. Of course, that jackass don't know shit about following orders. I've got to find a way out of here. Let that snivelly little brat Quinn fight us out of this hellhole.

Oh good, there's a helicopter... I've got to get out of here. Shit! It just exploded! I've got to go somewhere... anywhere. Jesus Fucking Christ! I've gotta run. My God I've got to get back on a treadmill when I get home. Holy fuck! There goes the last wall! Here they come!

Present

Delgado rolled his eyes visibly when he finished reading the log entry from Pinckney. He sighed in an attempt to keep his real feelings from spilling out.

"General Pinckney, the way I see it, you're going to find yourself with a hefty demotion and a dishonourable discharge. Hope you find a way to make some money soon. You're not going to get much of a pension if I remember what Lieutenant Colonels get."

Pinckney stood up quickly, his face turning beet red and his eyes flashing fire that was all too absent in Inkana.

"You can't do that!"

"By the time I get done, you might find yourself a lot worse off, General," Delgado said. "Actually, I think you have found yourself much worse off than if you'd just learned a few lessons from this hearing. Now, if I were you, I'd keep your mouth shut before you put your foot in it any more."

As Pinckney's mouth opened wide and a reply began to form in his mouth, two security guards came up and restrained him, dragging him out of the chambre.

"Now that's done," Delgado said. "On to business. I call Colonel Dusan Alberevo to the stand." Murmurs began as soon as the camera flashed on Maximus's face as Alberevo began his approach to the witness's table.

Quinn sat impassively, staring straight ahead at Pinckney as he was skewered once and for all by Delgado. He took great care not to show his emotions, but he allowed himself a brief pang of vindication.

Serves the fucker right, the young colonel thought as Pinckney received the threat of living out the rest of his life in ignominy. He would even be hard pressed to make a living on the lecture circuit because of his disgraceful performance in these hearings. Quinn hated to see a man broken so publicly, but it was Pinckney's own fault and Quinn knew that all too well.

He looked around the room and saw a lopsided grin on Clark's face. The private hadn't learned the political skills necessary to mask his emotions and it was clear the soldier wasn't masking his dislike for Pinckney. He wondered what the President would do, especially with someone in the most significant "opposition" party essentially threatening Pinckney's job without the political clout to pull off his threats. He also wondered if the Senators had what it took to do more than talk about all the problems that were evident in Inkana and whether they'd actually do something about them.

One row in front of Quinn and three seats over to his right, Santius fidgeted in his seat, nervously fingering his briefcase whilst waiting for his turn on the proverbial hot seat. Quinn had briefly skimmed through the recommendations Santius made and knew that they would have made some difference in Inkana, but he hadn't seen the full report.

As for reports, the one that would come about after these hearings was getting close to the end chapters. The book that would be written had the potential for several endings. Quinn hoped that the ending chosen would be the one where the Army got the major reconstruction it needed and the Air Force benefitted from a newly-increased defence budget. But the writing had not yet appeared on the wall. The waiting was indeed the hardest part.

[OOC: Sort of a lengthy, overblown BUMP.]

[OOC: As a small comedic aside and a glorified BUMP to keep this RP going, I figured I'd present you this little number, originally posted in Skinny87's Department Wars (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=436519) comedy thread. Consider it a little SNL-styled comedy that gives the reader an idea of what the Army's been facing.]

Army Chief Antonius Santius had a problem. His department was quickly running low of basic materials. Not chobham armour or the newly-developed M32 assault rifles that the Incorporated Ordnance Company was preparing to sell to them. The problem was far more basic.

Toner. Reams of copy paper. Technicians who could fix the unreliable copy machines and printers in the office. Old desktop computers that ran Windows 98, and not a single flat screen monitor or laptop in the entire department. My commission for a laptop! Santius would oftentimes think. He sent his office manager Betty Barclay to Office Depot at 816 Cambridge Avenue, four blocks down the street from the Military Command Centre in Saugerties, where he and the other branch chiefs had their headquarters.

CLERK: "Yes, Ms. Barclay, what can I do for you?"

BARCLAY: "Yes, hi. I would like to order 10,000 reams of Office Paper, 1,000 black ink toner cartridges, and 1 million bags of pens, please."

CLERK: "That will be $25 million please."

BARCLAY: "I have a Federal Discount code."

CLERK: "That won't be necessary. Which department?"

BARCLAY: "The ISA."

CLERK: "The who?"

BARCLAY (sighs impatiently): "The Incorporated Sarzonian Army."

CLERK: "I'm terribly sorry, ma'am. We do not have the ISA in our codes. You will have to pay full price."

BARCLAY: "That is an outrage! I demand to speak to the manager at once!"

CLERK: "Actually, I am the manager." (under his breath, with the receiver far away to deaden the sound of her screaming, "you're screwed.")

BARCLAY hangs up the phone and cries.

Meanwhile, at the Incorporated Sarzonian Navy office, Vice President for Naval Operations Kathy Bunhall asked her office manager about the status of office supplies.

"Kath, we just got a shipment in from Office Depot," Laura Linville, the office manager said. I'm on the phone with them right now."

"Very good, carry on."

LINVILLE: "Uh, sorry about that. Did you get our discount code?"

CLERK: "We don't need the code. What is your office name?"

LINVILLE: "The ISN."

CLERK: "Oh, the Navy? Let me see... oh yes. Your discount code has been auto-renewed for another fiscal year. You should continue to enjoy your 15 percent discount. If you have any questions, you can call and ask to speak to Matt Jennings at extension 5129."

LINVILLE: "Thanks Matt."

CLERK: "Anytime."
Barclay walked by the office door and overheard Linville's conversation with Jennings. She sighed heavily and her high heels clack-clack-clacked down the hall as she looked for a water cooler to kick over. Preferrably a Navy water cooler.

Dusan stepped into the chamber. He wore the green dress uniform of the Imperial Generian Regular Infantry, yet it was bare save the emblems of his rank on the shoulders. His eyes roved the chambers, darting back and forth from face to face, many staring right back at him as if they regarded some exotic animal in a zoo, a strange misplaced oddity. He set his jaw in something just short of a scowl, but held his head high and walked with confidence towards the stand. As he reached it he found himself wishing he had shaved that morning, feeling particularly barbaric in the sea of suits.

“Colonel Dusan Alberevo, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?”

Alberevo placed a heavy hand on the Bible, and replied in a deep, accented baritone.

“I do.”

The words brought a sharp sensation to the back of his mind and he quickly drew the hand away and took his seat. He had memorized an opening statement the night before, but he was not sure whether the words would still come to him.

“My name is Dusan Alberevo. As of seven months ago I held the rank of Colonel in the Imperial Generian Regular Army. Nine months ago I was contacted by elements of the Sarzonian government, which agency I do not recall, but they expressed interest in offering me safe passage out of Generia.”

Dusan’s speech was slow and uneven. He was feeling the effects of the television cameras.

“In return for this safe passage I was expected to assist the resident ISA authorities in analyzing the structure of the ISA and their performance in the recent Inkanan War. I agreed to their terms and arrived here a month later, to find my work was cut out for me. Most of the obvious problems have already been expressed by those before me, namely the lack of priority given to the Army with deference to the Navy, and the lack of a warrior tradition in Sarzonia. However, what I was able to see after some observation was that the real problem was not such a material one. The soldiers of the ISA lost the war in Inkana because they did not have the heart for victory. I doubt they were aware of what they were fighting for.”

He took a moment to let it sink in before continuing.

“You see, Generia is not like Doomingsland in that we do not train our warriors from birth. Ours is still a volunteer army despite its size, and our training is an arduous process though a comparatively short one. The difference between Generia and Sarzonia however is that our men are true volunteers. When they sign on, they know what they are signing up for. They know that there is a great chance that even in the first three years of their commitment they will see combat, and they will have to apply their training to survive. For a Generian soldier in the field one must be victorious to survive. It is the nature of the Generian tactical philosophy. Every man must pull his weight; every man must drive the machine. If one man falls, he knows that he is dead and that his compatriots are dead and that his cause is dead.”

Alberevo felt something growing in his breast, a burning sensation he could not quite place. Perhaps pride, perhaps shame, or perhaps a combination of the two. He was speaking more smoothly now, still slow but deliberate.

“In Sarzonia, however, from what I see the men of the army do not count on the chance that they will see combat, but instead count on the chance that they will not. And I must say to you that they are good in their calculations. The men of the Navy know that their training may mean the difference between their life and death. The men of the army simply want it over with so they can begin collecting their paycheck. They have no ideal to fight for, with notable exceptions.”

He nodded in the direction of Quinn.

“In Generia, when a man goes to war, he is not fighting for his own personal honor or glory. He is not fighting for his own survival even though his performance dictates this as well. No, he is fighting for his nation’s survival, his nation’s standing in the eyes of the world. It has been that way as long as anyone can remember. Generia has always been at war.”

Alberevo had found his pace truly now, and the burning in his breast had grown to a bonfire. He knew what the emotion was now. It was more than simple pride or shame. It was genuine love. Love for that distant land of his even more distant memories. Love for the white expanses of the Alberian Steppe. Love for the gray, silent Estranged mountains. Love for the proud towers of Generia City and the stately avenues of Sofia. Love for the salt air of the Port Belgrade docks that stung the nostrils when the cold westerly winds would blow through every October. Love for the brothers of the sword he had fought with and watched die on distant battlefields.

“Even when we are at peace, we know that it is only a temporary state. We know that there will always be a time soon to come when we must shoulder our arms and march under the banner of the Royal House of Alexei, when we must put aside our own personal desires for safety, to leave our families and our homes, to march straight into Hell and never look back. And when the time comes we go gladly, because we have an ideal. We have something that you in Sarzonia do not: a cause. A palpable cause, one you can reach out and hold in your hand. One you can see and smell. The cause of country. When we fight, we fight to defend something: Generia. Our home. What do you fight for? Democracy? Liberty? Equality? Lofty ideals, and in some cases noble ones, but they are broad. You cannot see democracy. Here, even in this chamber, the beating heart of your system, it remains invisible. You see only suits. You see only tired men with their briefcases and cellular phones. You hear only endless debate, empty words, ideals, policies.”

He stopped and looked around at the room, at the faces of the committee members.

“You have called me here for advice, for help, for insight into your shortcomings. I have agreed, and so I will tell you something. If you want victory, if you want great strength of arms and the capacity to stride with the military giants of the world than there is only one thing you must do. Teach your soldiers to love this land. Teach them what they’re fighting for. Certainly you must improve their training and expand their budget, but fancy guns mean nothing if your men are unwilling to take victory, because in the heat of battle there is only one thing that is truly tangible, that can truly allow you the will to brave the blinding fire of a Doomingsland machine gun nest, or to stand toe to toe with an Imperial Praetorian. You must be able to see perfectly the standard of your land and know as an absolute truth that if you do not win, that standard will fall, and your entire existence will have proved meaningless. Failure must break your heart as much as it breaks your body.”