John Ringo - To Sail a Darkling Sea

“It was a matter of social values systems as well as competence. Various persons in history have styled themselves Generalissimo something or another. Fertig was, in fact, competent to organize and develop a guerilla movement. But he also needed the cachet of being a general , not a major. The entire thing was, as ‘Wolf Squadron’ is, a cult of personality. A barbarian band more than a military force. It is about getting lots of people to do stuff, quoting Wolf, ‘for no other reason than that I ask.’

“You are currently the senior Navy officer who is not essentially trapped. But no one knows who ‘Lieutenant Pellerin’ is. Everyone knows of Commodore Wolf. He did not style himself that way, by the way, the moniker was given to him by his captains. Which is sort of the point. With an actual captaincy, he has both his cult of personality and controlling legal authority. And he is the man with the plan who, thus far, has been succeeding. Thus the ‘competence’ part. I will not say that there are not questions and a degree of angst. Captain Smith, himself, expressed some negativity about the captaincy. Among other things, he expressed that he intends to continue to consider himself essentially acting in independent command. His exact words were ‘Okay, but don’t joggle my elbow.’ ”

“This is an old fashioned approach,” Huskey said. “Lieutenant, we are brought up in a professional environment of low-key officership. It’s about standing out just enough. Stand out too much, make too many waves, and you’re never going to make captain much less admiral. Just do your job professionally and stand out that way. But… Things change. There’s been this thing called the Plague that has wiped out most of humanity. People need someone who does stand out. Someone to follow. A legend, if you will. Smith has created that.”

“Half militia, half regular forces,” Sands said. “Mixing that will be… difficult, sir.”

“Regular officers will retain much of the actual control,” Galloway said. “We’re not going to give him the keys to a boomer and he sure as heck cannot order a nuclear strike. Be that as it may, the decision has been made. Steven John Smith is now a Captain in the United States Navy and outranks everyone else he may run across for the time being. You are, Lieutenant, Gunnery Sergeant, shortly to be under his command. There remains only one small detail to complete.”

“Which is, sir?” Pellerin asked.

“It is required by law that a commissioned officer swear in a commissioned officer,” Huskey said, drily. “And since none of us can so much as shake his hand… ”

* * *

General Orders, Wolf Squadron…

Steven John Smith directly commissioned Ensign, USN.

Steven John Smith promoted Captain, USNR.

Captain Steven John Smith, USNR, appointed Commander, Atlantic Fleet.

“Oooo,” Sophia said, setting down the mike on the flying bridge. “Da’s going to have the big head.”

They were floating under a moonlit tropical sky. It was nearly impossible to spot vessels at night so they went to low power to conserve energy rather than continuing their search grid and just kept an eye on the radar. With the lights of the boat turned down, there was so little light pollution in the middle of the Atlantic you could see every satellite hurtling by. Sophia wondered how long they’d stay up. The GPS satellites were particularly important.

“You really think so?” Paula said.

“Actually, no,” Sophia said. “But I’ll have to twit him about it.”

“ No Tan Lines, Alexandria , over.”

“Who?” Paula said.

“Dunno,” Sophia said. “ Alexandria, Lines, over.”

“Switch to channel twenty-two for retrans, over.”

“Sub,” Sophia said. “Roger. Up on twenty-two.”

“Sophia, Da, over.”

“Da,” Sophia said, grinning. “Got the big head have we? Commander Atlantic Fleet?”

“Maybe once I find a uniform that fits. Not a personal call.”

“Roger, Captain,” Sophia said.

“I just got off the horn with Kuzma. He’s going to be a Navy lieutenant as soon as we get an officer there to swear him in. I shot for Lieutenant JG for you but was overruled. They’re willing to go Acting Ensign Third Class but not Ensign or JG at the moment.”

“Wait, you want me to join the Navy?” Sophia said.

“You’re already in the Navy in case you hadn’t noticed,” Steve replied. “I want you to be an officer in the Navy.”

“Does that mean we have to join the Navy?” Paula asked.

“What about my crew?” Sophia asked.

“Crews, except for certain positions, can be civilian. Basic structure of the Wolf Squadron remains the same. Certain officers, both skippers and administrative, have been asked to become Naval personnel. It’s a bit of a mish-mash for right now. But certain equipment has to be under control of Naval personnel, including Marines. Basically, you can only legally use big guns from Navy or Coast Guard ships if you’re under Federal controlling legal authority. It’s a technicality of a regulation they’re not willing to overlook and I understand why and agree. Goes back to the Treaty of Westphalia. That’s not the only reason I’d like you to be an officer, but it’s one of them. Other than that, there’s no real difference. You don’t have to respond now. Contact Kuzma one way or the other. Any major questions?”

“Not right now,” Sophia said. “I can think on it?”

“You can think on it,” Steve said.

“Okay, I’ll think on it,” Sophia said. “No worries, Da. And take care of yourself.”

“You too. Wolf, out.”

“ Alexandria , I think we’re done,” Sophia said.

“Roger, No Tan Lines . Be advised… You have a cabin cruiser sixteen miles south of your position. Don’t know if you want to check it out.”

“Roger, Alexandria ,” Sophia said, starting up the engine. “We’ll go check it. Did you visual?”

“Roger. No infecteds on deck. We have several other sierras in the area we’re tracking including some lifeboats and life rafts.”

“And they tell us now ?” Paula said.

“Might have just got on station,” Sophia said. “Might have been a change with Da getting promoted. Alexandria , got coordinates on that boat?”

“I wonder if this means… No, they wouldn’t … ”

* * *

“Gunny,” Steve said, waving to a chair. “How you doing?”

“Ready to rock and roll, sir,” Sands said, sitting down carefully.

“Bullshit,” Steve said. “I won’t tell you you can’t work for a few days, but you’re not going to be running around the bowels of the Iwo for now. Not until you’re fit. There’s too damned much gear to carry. We made that mistake with Hooch and he was in better shape than you are. You need to put on some pounds, first.”

“And you, sir?” the Gunny asked, looking over at Fontana, who was looking… closed.

“Alas, I think my days of clearing ships is done,” Steve said, waving at his desk. “I’m conning a desk for a while. Isham has agreed to take a lieutenancy, temporary like mine, so he can tell Navy people where to get off. He’s a bit of an asshole, but he’s a competent one. I’ll keep him as my Chief of Staff for now. But, no, I’m not going to be clearing ships. Some of the Marines we found are fairly hail and they can continue the clearance ops. But that gets to the point of this meeting… ” Steve leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment.