by Carlo Zen
The candidate is a rare (and that’s an understatement) Silver Wings Assault Badge recipient and was also nominated for an Aerial Field Service Badge for frontline accomplishments. Such an officer would normally be wholeheartedly welcomed as a future leader.
The problem is that the one who achieved all these things is a child of eleven. Any sensible officer would hesitate to send a little kid into battle. The general affairs director figures Lergen is opposing her advancement due to her age. That is about as much as he understands of the situation, but he agrees to declassify the information.
“…You mean a kid did all these things?” Her age is enough to stun even Rudersdorf. By that point, it seems that everyone understands how abnormal this is. The room abruptly quiets down in confusion and astonishment.
She became a magic first lieutenant at age eleven. Graduated from the academy second in her class. Received the Silver Wings Assault Badge and was recommended for the Aerial Field Service Badge. Was recognized as an Ace of Aces with sixty-two downed (plus thirty-two assists) and nicknamed “White Silver.” And she’s working in the instructor unit?
They wonder if they should laugh. A résumé like that makes her a prodigy.
“Cultivating magic officers is a pressing matter, but her age gives you pause, correct?”
More than a few of the committee members feel she is too young. They aren’t sure they can entrust her with command of a whole battalion. More importantly, even though there has long been demand for more magic officer training, some people criticize magic officers as shortsighted.
“Yes. She may be a competent magic officer, but whether we can use her as a commander is a different question.”
Excelling in a highly specialized field is hard enough. Plenty of aerial mages boast outstanding individual capacities, but surprisingly few of them make decent commanders.
No, a magic officer’s high competency doesn’t necessarily make them a great superior. Not all famous athletes become great coaches. The qualities required for commanders are different from the ones it takes to be an individual ace.
Thus, some of the officers interpret Lergen’s doubt as a response to the girl’s age and ability level. From those angles, there is indeed room for debate.
But her reviewers dismiss those concerns. “She’s plenty talented. And her achievements, unit recommendations, and so on fit the requirements perfectly. She has nothing to find fault with.” Her records include her experience leading a platoon with no mistakes. Well, if she couldn’t even lead a platoon, there wouldn’t be any point in officer training; more people than you might expect get tripped up there.
That said, at this point, considering her unit recommendation, it wouldn’t be right to express doubts as far as her command ability was concerned.
“She’s an officer from the accelerated training program. Her tactical knowledge might be too specialized. Maybe it would be better for her to do advanced officer schooling first.”
Some of the generals still raise doubts. She took an accelerated course, after all. Even if she can put what she knows to use in actual combat, she could have holes in her knowledge. Regardless of whether she can give simple instructions at the tactical level, does she have the appropriate skills to give commands that take complex situations into consideration? It’s only common sense to wonder.
But the reviewers who rated her so highly during the anonymous screening stand their ground. “Her graduation thesis was ‘The Logistics of Swift Deployment.’ The Railroad Department thought very highly of it.”
As of her graduation, there is already proof that she is capable of debating strategic issues—the thesis in question.
For a cadet to write on such a subdued topic was rare; usually they preferred something more rousing. Considering the results she had attained on the battlefield, it was even stranger. During the anonymous review, everyone figured the candidate had to be someone with extensive field operation experience if they could write logistical analysis like that. Anyone who read it would assume it was written by an expert and think no more of it.
And when people who knew logistics read it, they were impressed by the superior writing and viewpoint, even if they didn’t want to admit it. The outline was simple and clear. She emphasized gathering resources and said that supply lines should be secured through depot organization and a standardized distribution process. She argued that efficiency should be a top priority with the goal of eliminating all long-term storage, except for emergency supplies.
After her criticism of hoarding resources in the rear, she proposed a way of managing essential matériel that would support continuous combat on the front lines. Apparently, it was common knowledge in logistics that the Railroad Department had read it, loved it, and practically begged for her to be assigned to the team.
In fact, a number of skilled field officers reviewed the paper and gave it high praise. They said that anyone who had ever launched an offensive from the front line and run out of supplies had a keen understanding of where it was coming from.
Rudersdorf, always worrying about operation logistics himself, was no exception. No one assessing the anonymous candidate would have ever imagined that she was only eleven.
“Sorry, one thing. I hadn’t given much thought to who wrote it, since information about the author was classified…but it wasn’t a research report from the war college?”
“No, she wrote it in the academy.”
“Excuse me, but do you really think any further deliberation is required? I can’t see the need for it myself.”
If she can debate on topics in logistics, it’s hard to call her shortsighted. Rudersdorf cocks his head. The longer the discussion goes on, the better the candidate looks, and the fewer reasons to doubt her remain.
Then, and perhaps it’s to be expected, Brigadier General von Zettour breaks his silence, looking as if he can no longer stand by. He doesn’t particularly raise his voice, but his tone is dissatisfied, to be sure. “Here’s a question. It appears that the candidate previously received a recommendation to advance to war college from Brigadier General von Valkov during her field training as a cadet, but Personnel rejected it. Can someone explain what happened?”
As far as Zettour can see, aside from her age, First Lieutenant Degurechaff is an excellent candidate and fits the bill with no problem. She even received high evaluations from some officers while she was still a cadet.
Valkov admired her performance in the conflict zone so much that he recommended her for war college admission. Though Zettour had only met him in person a handful of times, he sensed the man’s intelligence during those conversations, and it was hard for him to imagine that Valkov would make a deeply erroneous recommendation.
And furthermore, as far as he can tell, she was regarded highly throughout her entire career, and her abilities have never been doubted before.
“Why wasn’t she reviewed at that point? Who rejected her?”
“…I rejected her for her age and lack of achievements.”
Zettour nods as if he expects Lergen’s answer and turns a stern eye on him. “Major von Lergen.”
“Yes, what can I do for you, sir?”
“I don’t want to go on a tangent questioning your impartiality, so setting aside the initial rejection, why did you request this reassessment?”
Lergen’s objection is so problematic his fairness is being called into question. Zettour doesn’t outright say it, but everyone is wondering the same thing. She has so much talent, so many achievements. She is an outstanding officer. How could he doubt her?
“Because I have serious qualms about Lieutenant Degurechaff’s character.”
Lergen can’t shake a bad feeling he has about her. His experience assessing numerous officers tells him something is off.
And that uneasiness has solidified into a deep distrust. He is determined not to let this abnormal girl be appointed to the heart of the Imperial Army.
“Are you saying that despite knowing she sc
ored extremely high on both her psychiatric evaluation and Intelligence’s test of her ability to maintain confidentiality?”
“Yes.”
Of course. She would pass both the psychiatric evaluation and Intelligence’s assessment. Not only that, she might even be religious enough to get complimented on her piousness by a priest—most soldiers wouldn’t ask God for forgiveness in the middle of a fight. Still, that only means no one has been able to detect her abnormalities.
“Are you questioning the results of the tests?”
“That’s right, but I don’t doubt the tests themselves. I concede that the results are adequate.”
I’m sure the tests all came up with the right numbers—that’s not what’s abnormal about her. Well, I understand the issue anyhow. That psychiatric evaluation is meant to test adult military professionals, not weirdos like her. So I’m sure those numbers are the result of a fair and carefully conducted test.
And that’s precisely what’s abnormal.
“Major von Lergen, I’d like to take the opportunity to remind you that everything you say will go on record, and then ask you to confirm something.”
“Yes, sir.”
For Lergen, both going on record and doing major damage to his career are frightening prospects. Really, as one of the best of the best racing down the elite track, he would rather avoid these sorts of arguments.
But he has to say something—the urge has taken hold of him. His entire body, his soul, warns him of something like a natural enemy to him as a human being—something alien, an abnormality that can’t be allowed to exist.
“Why do you doubt Lieutenant Degurechaff’s character?”
“I’ve seen her three times.”
The first time, he thought she was an outstanding officer candidate. The second time, he thought she was a terrifying officer candidate. The third time, he was sure she was an insane officer candidate.
“In an official capacity or privately?”
“All three times came about due to my military duties. I saw her three times during inspections of the military academy.”
There is probably no cadet who has made a deeper impression on me, and there probably never will be. She’s at least abnormal enough that I can say that. Coolheaded and logical, patriotic and egalitarian, devoutly religious yet a liberal. Though all of those are praiseworthy qualities for a person to have, she’s warped. Something about her is strange and twisted.
“Are you claiming that she’s done something wrong? Or did she say something?”
“Please look at the remarks from her instructors. The word ‘abnormal’ is scribbled at the top.”
Her academic advisor, who had interacted with her the most, had left an interesting memo. Though he gave her excellent scores in every area, he’d scribbled the word abnormal as a personal note. Was it her character that had made him uneasy? Instructors often point out students’ deficiencies, but writing abnormal seems unthinkable.
“…Hmm, so there is a reason? Please explain.” Even Zettour relaxes his accusatory stance and shows he is willing to listen—although it is only because he feels it necessary to confirm the facts from an impartial point of view.
“She’s abnormal. I’ve never seen an officer candidate with a fully formed personality and perspective who regards people as objects.”
She’s just like a perfected machine. She takes orders and carries them out to the letter—an ideal officer. Despite that, she understands reality—I’ve never heard her spout any pointless theories. I just can’t believe she’s normal.
And that’s why she was capable of what I witnessed when I saw her the third time.
“Did you ever think it might be some quirk of a genius’s mind?”
“She definitely comes off as a genius in combat. In fact, General von Valkov and Intelligence jointly recommended her for the Iron Cross Second Class.”
More than anything, something about that kid as a newly commissioned officer seemed wrong. Lergen exercised his full authority to investigate and found indications that she had participated in actual combat even before she was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
There were very few clues, but when he put them together, his suspicion of her involvement in an intelligence operation deepened. The recommendation may have been dismissed during the application-processing stage, but they wouldn’t have nominated her for an Iron Cross Second Class for no reason.
“…You mean during her field training?!”
This surprises everyone, and a stir goes through the room. It is difficult to believe no matter what, but the rapid growth of her career over such a short time lends it credence.
During her field training—in other words, when she was nine—this child saw action and came out of it with a nomination for an award? If they heard it anywhere else, they would write it off as a bad joke. The abnormality here is this nonsense coming up during a review of candidates who may hold the future of the army on their shoulders.
“When I grilled Intelligence, they hinted that they might have involved her in some kind of top secret operation.”
A border conflict zone… It is a rather dangerous place for an officer candidate to do field training, but…well, still probably fine. But the long-range penetration training makes even the hardiest soldiers scream—and doing it in actual enemy territory?
A march in full combat gear in the middle of the night to an isolated friendly base across land crawling with barbarians—you’d never expect a cadet to lead that sort of operation. Lergen wrung the information out from an acquaintance from Intelligence, and even he had assumed it was run by a battle-tested warrant officer.
Well, it made sense. It was only natural that Intelligence would look to such a capable leader for help. They probably never dreamed she was a cadet doing field training. Now Lergen has a hunch that the medal application was withdrawn after they belatedly realized that Tanya was only an officer candidate.
“…You mean to say that a cadet was involved in a field operation that led Intelligence to apply for her decoration?”
By now, no one can ignore how anomalous she is. The intelligence officers fend off glares by shaking their heads as if they know nothing about it. But it’s common knowledge that Intelligence’s right hand doesn’t know what its left hand is doing. They have to know that they’d come up with something if they investigated—their faces became awfully pale a few moments ago.
“If possible, I’d like to get that information declassified.”
“I’ll check on it. And? If that’s it, I’m pretty sure she’s just an outstanding officer.” We’ll ascertain the truth of this matter. That’s what the chairman means, but he is already convinced. That is why none of this makes sense to him.
Why is Lergen so skeptical about an officer with whom, aside from her age, they have no issues—not with achievements, performance, or anything else?
“While attending the academy, she pulled a magic blade on someone for insubordination.”
“…Isn’t it the senior cadets’ responsibility to smack the rebels into shape?”
To come out and say it, although military law prohibits taking punishment into one’s own hands, there are unwritten rules. For example, injuries incurred during training are “accidents,” and they happen quite commonly in sparring matches against upper classmates.
It’s not a nice way to say it, but if the committee is going to punish her for that, almost half of the army deserves some kind of similar criticism.
“She really meant to pry his head open. If the instructor hadn’t stopped her, she would have turned an able soldier into a disabled person.” Lergen suppresses the urge to shout, No, this is different! and explains. He knows no one could possibly understand unless they were there.
“Major, if we believed everything the trainers said, the army would be full of corpses by now.”
Trainers hurling excessively harsh words at new recruits was business as usual for the army. Of the verbal abuse marines
and aerial magic officers hurled at recruits during drills, I’m gonna kill you! was still on the cuddly side. In the army, it wasn’t rare to see instruction that completely rejected a student’s worth as a human being.
Nobody bats an eye when threats like, I’m gonna crack your head open! and I’m gonna blast your empty head off! echo out over the training grounds. And corporal punishment isn’t just endorsed.
“Even if she tended to go to extremes, that’s a bit of a mean evaluation.”
“Considering her age, you could say she has great self-control.”
If it were only words and some threats. Frankly, if that were all, most of them would go by what they know and think it was cute. But they hadn’t see her with their own eyes.
Actually, they probably even think they are being considerate by not court-martialing people for every failure to obey.
After all, disobeying a superior officer can, at worst, result in capital punishment by firing squad. To put it a different way, they believe it’s kinder to the new recruits, who might not have great judgment, to punch them out rather than execute them.
“Hmm, well, if your worries are her age and capacity for self-control, then I suppose I understand.”
They aren’t going to change their minds at this point. Everyone can agree there is an issue with her age. Coming down hard on a new recruit as the major commented may have been overkill, but it was still within bounds of the permissible. And it isn’t as if they don’t understand his concerns about her unusual ability.
But actually, by putting her through war college, they can offer her education in areas she lacks and grow her into a remarkable, competent officer. That much is certain, they think.
“Major von Lergen, your views are too subjective. Yes, I must say you’re lacking in objectivity.”
Despite all the debate and reservations, she will still be admitted.
“I recognize that you were trying to be fair. I’m surprised that someone like you would get so caught up in superficial impressions.”
“Well, nice investigating. We’ll have to grill Intelligence.”
No one understands that he brought her up as a problem in earnest. Most of the committee thinks he took this tack as an indirect way to criticize Intelligence; with the way army politics works, a personnel section chief can’t very well censure them openly.
