The Never-ending Trail

[pbrione]

Nelson gave the Captain a hard stare. He knew the officer too well to be fooled by his evasive remarks. Suddenly, Nelson stood up, turned and stood with his back to Hobart, looking at a photograph on the wall behind him. It was a picture of Nelson himself in the uniform of the Queen Carina's Regulars, receiving his first officer's commission from one Captain Isaac Brock the day he began active service. Nelson was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"We were all young and reckless once Captain, even I. I remember the day I received my first commission, I was so confused as to address Captain Brock as General." He smiled briefly, before continuing, "he was an excellent officer. A fighter ace, like young Rockwell. No doubt would have beaten me to my job were he still alive." Nelson turned from the photograph to look Hobart in the eye, "Killed. In action against corsairs, his wife died when Stokes fell. We lose too many good officers every day Captain. Logistics are constantly sending me reports telling me we lose far more fighters than we do pilots, that it is the ship shortage, not manpower, that is holding us back, but they're wrong. We may have enough men and women to fly all our ships with plenty to spare, but truly good officers, those who we need to form the backbone of our forces, are few and far between. Promotions are rapid for those who are qualified, you know this yourself from experience." He glanced briefly back at the photograph of himself and Brock, "We lose good officers every day. I'm not about to throw another one away."

He sat down behind his desk and brought up Rockwell's file on his computer.

"Reckless? Perhaps. But bold. We need more officers prepared to take risks against the Kusari if we are ever to win this war, our defensive strategy has proven far too costly. He's listed as 2 months AWOL." Nelson paused, looking stern, "Family visits require leaves of absence, Captain, which require permission. Rockwell must know this. As he didn't ask for permission, he can't possibly have been visiting family. This record therefore must be inaccurate. Instead he must have been missing, presumably injured or captured in the line of duty for 2 months and has miraculously returned to us alive. I shall correct the record; 2 months AWOL replaced with 2 months MIA. I shall assume he has already been debriefed on his actions during those months by yourself, so he can return to active duty immediately. Transferred to...."

Nelson paused for a moment and Hobart, trying to catch up with what was being said, tentatively said "York Fleet?"

Nelson smiled "Quite. Transferred to York Fleet. And a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, which I'm sure is overdue judging by service records. You have your officer Hobart. Make sure you keep an eye on him - we may all have been reckless once, but those that stay that way rarely survive for long."

"Indeed sir! Thank you sir!" Hobart saluted the Fleet Admiral and made to leave the office.

"One more thing Captain" Nelson called after him.

"Sir?" asked Hobart, pausing.

"Tell him that he's lucky the Fleet Admiral believes in second chances. But I don't believe in third ones. Next time, he would be shot, understood?"

"Yes sir." Nodded Hobart, before quickly turning out of the room and hurrying back down the corridor, glad to have survived the meeting without suffering the misfortune of a transfer to the MacDuff Fleet.

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Sir Stanley Nelson




<span style="color:#000066">Charles Canning </span><span style="color:#000066"> Foreign Secretary</span>