John Ringo - To Sail a Darkling Sea

“GET DOWN ON YOUR FACE NOW , RECRUIT!” he screamed. “DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!”

Hadley got down.

“Repeat after me, Recruit,” Barney said, kneeling down so his face was by the recruit’s ear. “I WILL COMPLY WITH THE ORDERS GIVEN AND NOT ASK STUPID BLOODY QUESTIONS!”

“I will comply with the orders given and not ask stupid questions!” Hadley said.

“I’m a little deaf from years in Her Majesty’s Army,” Barney said. “SO I CAN’T SODDING HEAR YOU!”

“I WILL COMPLY WITH… I WILL COMPLY WITH MY ORDERS AND NOT ASK STUPID QUESTIONS!”

“Recover,” Barney said, straightening up. “That means get up, you stupid poofter. At attention, you too, Hill, side by side, arms cupped… ”

When he’d gotten them to understand the position of attention, he started to circle them.

“Yes, there is a point to not dropping your salute until an officer has returned it,” Barney said. “In the old days, and we seemed to be back to them, officers could not trust their enlisted men. Fragging as you Americans call it is a very old tradition. By forcing the enlisted to keep their salute until returned, especially and always under arms, it gave the officer a moment more to reach for his weapon in the event that the enlisted was likely to attempt to kill said officer.”

“Seriously?” Sophia said, laughing. “I heard it was a gesture of respect between two warriors.”

“Which it is, ma’am,” the Sergeant Major said. “But when two warriors meet, there is always tension. The reason that you do not ask questions, unless specifically told to ask questions, is that in many circumstances there is not time for questions or thought on your part. You do not know, now, enough about how to do your jobs to have any really useful input. You think you have useful input. You do not . Any idea you may have is more than likely idiotic. An example of that is Steinholtz attempting to hit an infected at four hundred meters on a rocking platform. And because of the narrowness of said platform, he was blocking everyone else from continuing the mission. Which I already explained to him . So you do not ask questions unless you are told you can ask questions. I do not want to hear the word ‘why’ come from your lips, again, ever , unless you are specifically told you may ask questions. Do you understand? The correct response is ‘Yes, Sergeant Major.’ ”

“Yes, Sergeant Major,” they chorused.

“You always salute an officer,” the Sergeant Major continued. “You do so because that officer can tell you to jump into that shark infested marina and if you do not do so when she orders it, I shall shoot you for failure to follow an order. I will not hesitate. And that officer always salutes back. Because that salute should remind them that they have the awful responsibility of giving orders that may lead to your deaths. This is not a bloody video game. There’s no… what’s that word? There is no respawn.

“Yesterday, this officer gave an order that led to an unfortunate loss. It was the right order, there was nothing wrong with it. But she bears that responsibility for her life. You were not responsible. I was not responsible. If one of you dies, today , I am not responsible. I may or may not feel responsible, but I am not. You are not. That officer is . That is her burden. That is what you acknowledge with that salute. That you don’t have to think and worry and plan. That you don’t have to bear the responsibility for a mate’s death. That it’s on your officers. Your job is to follow her orders and keep your bloody mouths shut. She doesn’t need your input and it’s not going to help. All it will do is add to her stress load which she does not bloody well need . Is this all perfectly clear? Again, the correct response is ‘Yes, Sergeant Major.’ ”

“Yes, Sergeant Major,” they chorused.

“I can’t HEAR YOU!”

“YES, SERGEANT MAJOR!”

“Good,” Barney said, mildly. “Now that we’ve got that straight. The Lieutenant gave me an order to get the topside of the yachts cleared with a second security team. You are detailed. Moving carefully and covering each other, you shall clear the topside of the yachts. Is that clear ?”

“YES, SERGEANT MAJOR!”

“Lieutenant, do you have any additional information for these two?”

“Make noise before you board,” Sophia said. “We’ve got the area clear so don’t worry about drawing infecteds. One of you, Hill, have your weapon loaded and ready. Hadley, shout and yell to wake the dead. Then, if there’s no response, safe your weapon and board. Check for open doors. Do not go below. Topside only. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Hill said.

“Together and the Lieutenant can’t HEAR YOU EITHER!”

“YES, MA’AM!”

“And I’d like a repeat back,” Sophia said. “From Hill. And not shouted.”

“Check the topside, aye,” Hill said. “Uh… Hadley’s going to yell. I’ll cover. Don’t board until we’re sure there aren’t infected. Just check the topside. Uh… I want to ask a question… ”

“Not yet,” Barney said.

“Questions, comments, concerns?” Sophia asked.

“What do we do if we find an open door, ma’am?” Hill asked.

“Call it in,” Sophia said. “Otherwise, stay off your radios except to report the yacht clear. But do check the hatches just to see if they’re open.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Hill, you are in charge of the team,” Barney said. “If you have further questions, and only if you have important and valid questions, ask for me on the radio and I will clarify. Understood?”

“YES, SERGEANT MAJOR!”

“Very good,” the Sergeant Major said. “Off you go, lads.”

“Sorry,” Sophia said. “We’ve really never gotten into the whole discipline thing. Which I know is a bad thing.”

“The Army and the Navy have very different approaches to, well, most things, ma’am,” Sergeant Major Barney said. “But discipline is important in both, ma’am.”

“Am I really responsible for Anarchy’s death?” Sophia asked, quietly.

“Officially and legally, yes, ma’am,” the Sergeant Major said. “That is the hard part of being an officer. Had he any family, it would be your job, not mine, to write them a letter telling them what happened, how he died. You have the authority to order them to perform actions which I do not have the authority to order. By the same token, you bear the responsibility of the result of those actions. From all I’ve gleaned, there was little that you could have done to prevent his death. You were under orders, yourself, to gather the boats. He died as the result of an accident while performing that mission. There will be more, ma’am. That is the nature of this profession and the sea, of itself, takes lives. It is one of the reasons that I am less than sure it is entirely wise placing a teenager in the position of an officer. That is a terrible burden to bear. By the same token, you do the job quite well.”

“Thank you,” Sophia said, clearly thinking about it. She was watching Hill and Hadley tentatively board one of the yachts.

“If I may add, ma’am,” the Sergeant Major said. “The other problem of being in this position is that you have to set aside such thoughts. It is my job to watch the teams and ensure that everyone is doing their jobs and doing so in such a way that they, probably, are not going to kill themselves. Speaking of which, I need to get up to the defense team in a moment. However, your job, ma’am, is to put aside anything but anticipating future issues and plans. Let me handle this. You think about what is next. Because, among other things, I haven’t a clue about any of this and don’t know what is probably going to go wrong.”