Perfect re´su´, perfect career, perfect future. This three-item set must be defended with one's life.
"First the friend-or-foe identification signal and then an appropriate conversational exchange. And the grace of God. Yes, I think that's about it."
Calandro leaves the room with an "I see" and a "Thank you," either because he realizes I'm busy or because he wants to observe the situation so more.
Whichever it is, I'm grateful he's gone.
"I can't believe I have to deal with this ineptitude… The instructors who sent these idiots to the front can rot. Observer accuracy is the root of the Imperial Army's firepower!"
If we're getting lax with that, the future is bleak.
"…As losses reach their limit, the quality of the replenishnts is bound to drop." "I know, Major Weiss."
It'd be stranger to replace veterans with part-tirs and expect things to function without issue as normal… Would the General Staff really cling to such stupid wishful thinking?
Hmm… Tanya sinks into thought for a mont.
The more she regains her composure, the stranger it all seems. It's common knowledge that the army is running short on fighting power. She can't deny that committing newbies to the front is a theoretically sound last-ditch asure.
But that's not what happened. The essential point is that the Imperial Army still has so sturdy personnel left. Running low and running out are two different things.
"…Unless the ho country has ntal issues, sothing weird is going on."
It was just such a shit show. It's difficult to imagine that coming out of nowhere. I'm not citing insurance statistics, but usually an accident is preceded by a flood of previous smaller stresses.
The incident this ti seed much larger than a simple mistake. So then has the quality of the troops shifted so radically? In the span of a few days?
"In the past few days, we had the advance order from yesterday and the sudden retreat order today."
Talk about getting jerked around. Normally this would be an indication of how much chaos the Imperial Army is facing.
Normally, that is…
"…Not experiencing confusion in the field would be more of a surprise, but actually right now, things are fairly orderly?"
She thought maybe the idea was to purposely tangle the lines, but in any case, this is too quick of a reversal. It's easy to say, The lines are tangled, so retreat for now, but much harder to pull off.
If it was so simple to retreat with the enemy right there, they would never need a rear guard.
"…But the higher-ups an for us to do it."
And, she adds in her head. We can't say that there's zero confusion. But for a unit riddled with rookies, those guys have been operating in a relatively organized fashion up until now!
This is blatantly suspect. It couldn't have happened unless soone sowhere was manipulating things.
"In which case, the question is the aims of the actor."
A modest advance, a clash, and a tidying up of the lines. If we were going by the textbook, the order would probably be to build up a defensive position, but… what are all these newbies doing on the front lines? What are they planning to do by freeing up the veterans?
"Recon-in-force? But if they want to push all the lines up…"
Usually it would just be a Kampfgruppe like us sent in. It's not sothing you need the
whole army for, and it isn't the Imperial Army's custom to perform reconnaissance in force with a whole corps.
"Colonel? Is sothing wrong?"
Tanya suddenly realizes she's been in her own world for quite a while. It wasn't until her adjutant prodded her with a stare that she noticed.
"Oh, no, I was just thinking. An officer's bad habit."
Anyhow. She shakes her head. Leaving her questions on a note in the back of her mind and recalling her role, she knows what she needs to do is simple.
She re-confronts the situation before her.
She has to present her subordinates with a plan to rediate and give them their next orders.
"Troops, I'm glad we didn't end up having to charge on the numbskulls in that other unit. If sothing had happened to Colonel Calandro, it would have been an international incident, so I'm glad we escaped that, too."
"""Ha-ha-ha!""" The officers who burst out laughing, including Tospan, must all be beefing up their nerves here on the eastern front. Tanya finds adaptability to be a powerful force.
Wow, she's compelled to marvel.
All that's left is to alternate an appropriate level of tension with appropriate rest. That's the task of Tanya and the other personnel-managing mbers of the General Staff. Human resources function perfectly when managed appropriately.
"Let's seize apology and consolatory gifts from headquarters. The requisition I leave up to she who is supposedly the most rciless among us, Lieutenant Serebryakov!"
"Wha—? I—I object, Colonel!" But Serebryakov's sputtering protest is the minority opinion in the Kampfgruppe. All the officers must have been fleeced by her multiple tis.
"That's our commander, always keeping a sharp eye on her subordinates."
"Yes, I hope that my eye for people, at least, is accurate, Captain Ahrens. But she's robbed more than just the magic officers?"
"I certainly have no desire to play cards with her." There's sothing sad in Ahrens's eyes as he murmurs that. It must an she's beaten him more than once.
She glances around and sees that all the officers seem to agree.
"Captain ybert, Lieutenant Tospan, judging from the looks on your faces, you agree with Captain Ahrens? Did you hear that, Major Weiss?"
"Sure did. What an embarrassnt. She's utterly ruthless." The duet of sighs plays out perfectly.
As a light topic of conversation, it's not bad. Maybe it's a bit obnoxious, but it's important to share a sense of humor if you're going to be working together. Tanya had been worried that she couldn't connect to her subordinates in that way, so she feels like she has stumbled upon so handy material.
"…I'm not going to tell you to have rcy on the enemy, but you might want to rethink being so heartless toward your friends and fellows."
"Colonel?! Major?!"
"""Ha-ha-ha!""" The laughter reviving inside Kampfgruppe HQ is a sign that precious normalcy is returning. Harmony is invaluable.
"All right, troops. That's that for the settlent. Make sure you tell Lieutenant Serebryakov what you'd like later." Tanya tenses up her expression to head back to the point. "We need to retreat to the designated line in order to tidy up the front. Major Weiss, you're on rear guard. Captain Ahrens, you're in charging of securing our route." When she glances at them, she sees the faces of veterans who know what they're doing. "So the aerial mage battalion, with their mobility, will protect the rear, and the armored forces, with their breakthrough capacity, will lead the way out. Let's set ourselves up for a solid withdrawal!" She makes her intentions clear. "Lieutenant Tospan, operate under Captain ybert. Assist the artillery in their retreat. Lieutenant Serebryakov, you'll go with them and escort Colonel Calandro."
"Understood!"
The fact that she can leave that to her adjutant ans she has a great adjutant. You can't find support like that just anywhere. She thanks Serebryakov and doles out tasks to her other equally trustworthy officers.
"Okay, Major Weiss, Lieutenant Grantz. We'll leave last as usual. Boy, it's a drag that managers don't get paid for overti."
"Sa as always, then. But I'm one of the lower ranking of the lowest ranks, so I'd like to apply for overti pay."
"Oh?" she blurts as Grantz's uncharacteristic banter catches her by surprise. Right, Weiss is mid-ranking, but Grantz is still lower. "The privileges of being a lieutenant. Sheesh, I can't argue with that. I'll make sure we get you a form to apply for the overti allowance. If we can get Legal and General Affairs to sign off, you'll get your extra pay."
"…Your kindness brings tears to my eyes."
"Ha-ha-ha. Well, just think of it as being an aerial mage on call to scramble includes your flight, rapid response, and overti allowances."
"That's just what I'd expect a manager from the holand to say."
By the point he raises his hands in surrender, Grantz must have accurately comprehended the power differential between them. Very good, Tanya thinks, shooting a wry grin at Weiss.
"Well, I am a general staffer who ca through the war college, rember. I know a thing or two about military administration."
"So, then?"
"If I could, I'd get one of those refined desk-polishing jobs."
Weiss's face says he finds that unexpected as he murmurs, "So you wanted to work in the rear, Colonel?"
"That's right, Major. Perhaps I'm a different animal than you. It's not as if I was hoping to be serving on the front lines."
"This is what it ans to be truly surprised." "Why do you say that?"
"It just doesn't sound like the sort of thing an officer who has stood on pretty much every front would say."
"That's for sure." She groans at Weiss's comnt. Even she finds her perfect attendance–like score odd. Maybe she needs to pay more attention to her work-life balance.
"How much better would it have been—how much better!—if that wasn't true." She smiles bitterly and nods. "That said, you can't wish the world into being a certain way. Ever since I got mixed up in combat in Norden, I seem to have a connection to war."
Or more like ever since I was hurled into this world by Being X? Malicious beings really cause nothing but trouble for good civilized people.
"Ha-ha. Maybe that's what you call fate."
"Fate? You have no idea how much of a relief it would be if I could shout, 'Nein!'" She sighs heavily. "We're at war even as we have this ridiculous conversation. For soone with common sense like , it's truly painful."
"If I may, ma'am, I agree."
"Oh, you understand, do you? That's great, Lieutenant Grantz."
Major Weiss, who pipes up with a "It really is," has spent as much ti with Grantz as Tanya has. He probably has a thing or two on his mind. "I'm impressed with how far you've co. How about a simple quiz, then?"
"A quiz? What should we have him do?" Tanya asks, her interest piqued. "Hmm, what about having him explain the war situation?"
"Good. Okay, let's get to it. Lieutenant Grantz, I'll ask you just like back in the academy. Explain this order to retreat and the background to it."
"Yes, ma'am." Grantz stiffens before speaking. "…It's a sort of weird way to reorganize
the defense lines." "How so?"
"It's a question of timing, Colonel. Isn't it strange to reorganize the lines while there's still combat continuing in various places… instead of after the fighting is over?"
"You felt the sa way, hmm?"
"Yes… You thought the sa thing, ma'am?"
"…I have the feeling that maybe, just maybe… the ho country is planning a major counteroffensive? The way they're moving forces around feels a bit peculiar. It feels sohow deliberate. Oh, but that said…" She smiles bitterly. "This is just one officer's guesswork. I think that's enough chatter for now. Ti to retreat; let's do it. We'll withdraw to the rear and thank headquarters for those shells."
"""Understood!"""
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