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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 2839848" data-attributes="member: 3448">Field Marshal Sir Derrick Brightspan, the commander of the Third Federated Field Army, entered Lord Alistair's conference room. "You wished to see me, your highness?""Indeed." Alistair fixed Sir Derrick with a calm look. "As you have likely realized, my grandmother has been hesitant to deploy the Third to locations where it would be exposed to heavy combat, especially after your injury fighting the orcs. She judged the wrath of your father if you were killed too great a risk to run." Alistair paused. "As you can see and surely know, we face too many possible risks to leave one of our best field armies safely away from danger. Between the skaven and the eastern barbarians, Canberry needs all of our armies ready. I can't have a commander who I cannot commit to action for political reasons. So I need to know: Are you an officer of the Federated Army who I can rely on, regardless of the peril you may face, or should I treat you as just the son of one of the great nobles of the realm?""I am a soldier and an officer, sir. If you command me into battle, I will go willingly." Sir Derrick smiled self-consciously. "I have enough understanding of politics to know that my appointment was intended as a sop to my family, in the same way that many of the generals under me were appointed to please their families. But I have served as best as I can, and I believe I have proved that I am capable and unafraid of battle.""No one doubts your bravery, Sir Derrick. I simply needed to be sure I could rely on you to serve Canberry fully. I can't be serving both Canberry and the desires of your father when I make assignments.""Then serve Canberry, your highness, and I will as well. I had heard many worrisome things about you, I must admit. But I should have known that you would focus on protecting the realm. Your father was a heroic leader, especially with his efforts in protecting the refugees in the south, and I should have known that some of his determination would live on through you.""Thank you, Sir Derrick. The loss of my father weighs heavily on all of us, but we must press on. I'm glad to hear that I can rely on you. In a few minutes, I'll give you an important assignment. But first, I would like your opinion of the other general officers.""Field Marshal Broadfields is an outstanding commander. Field Marshal Greening is too timid. I know that some think that I'm overly aggressive, but Greening is unwilling to take any chances and will throw away opportunities to win decisive victories because some people will die. Soldiers die in warfare. It's regretable, but also unavoidable, and when you try to not lose any troops, more people die eventually. Still, he has a fine understanding of defensive tactics. There is no general I would less want to face if I were called on to assault a fortification, and he can wage brilliant defensive campaigns. As for the other generals-- as I said, there are many political appointees. Some of them, like myself, turn out to be able. Others are flatly incompetent. We need to promote from the more junior officers, and rapidly, to build a completely solid core of general officers.""Thank you, Sir Derrick. How would you respond to our strategic situation?" Alistair asked."And do you have any thoughts on who Lord Alistair should marry?" added Dame Brionna, ignoring the slightly irritated look that provoked from Alistair."There are two pressing concerns. The skaven in the south must be dealt with, and when the eastern barbarians attack we must strike back hard to deter further aggression. You should raise ten field armies, and dispatch four south. Annex the refugee settlements, and they will provide a defensive buffer. Send the rest of the new field armies to the east to meet the barbarians. To find officers for the new field armies, promote from the ranks rapidly. Some officers will fail, but we do not have enough able young generals to be able to work more carefully.""I'm considering assigning Greening to command the field armies in the south, and sending you to the east. Thoughts?""Greening is perfect for the southern command. It's necessarily a defensive operation, which capitalizes on his strengths. And I lack the diplomatic skills to be effective at organizing an annexation. Fighting the barbarians, in turn, is perfect for my skills. As for your question," Sir Derrick nodded to Dame Brionna, "there are only three reasonable matches. My sister; the sister of the King of the Cities of the Gates, who is young, but that is acceptable for a marriage of state; and the daughter of the Queen of Hanal. If you have other ways to extend the Archduchy, my sister is the wisest choice. She would secure my father's support and settle the internal politics of the Archduchy, while binding my family to your house permanently.""Thank you for your advice. Here are your orders. I want you to head directly to the Duchy of Tusslefields with enough officers from your current command to form the nucleus of four new field armies. Raise the new armies, promoting new generals to command their legions and head to the east. You will need to drill them rapidly; in two to three months time, you will need to be ready to fight the barbarians. I want a quick, decisive victory that breaks their will to fight without wasting too many lives or permitting them to raid. I will be sending the remainder of the Third south with another field army to reinforce the two already in position to meet the skaven, under the overall command of Field Marshal Greening. Broadfields will remain in Canberry with the balance of the Federated Army as a reserve against other threats. Will two months be enough time to ready your new troops?""It should be, and the Duke of Tusslefields will be happy to have good slots to place his young men in. My only concern... the second ranking general in the Third is flatly incompetent. Shall I challenge him to a duel or try to quietly convince him to resign? He cannot be allowed to assume command.""Do you have proof of his incompetence?""Ample.""Then court-martial him publicly and break him. We'll use him as a signal to other generals who have only family connections, not ability, that they should retire honorably, and soon.""Very good, your highness. I will take care of that before I depart. If you will excuse me, I need to begin preparations." Sir Derrick began heading towards the exit and then paused. "One last thing. Some of my troops have reported seeing skaven creeping through the sewer system. I haven't yet had the time to deal with the threat properly, but you should be aware of the dangers."</blockquote>

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