Tim wasn’t going to admit it to most of the drones here with him, but he was enjoying the summit.
There were rarely opportunities to see this many people all together, especially from so many different countries and cultures. He knew he was considered ‘taciturn’, especially by people outside the Hive, but being a 'man of few words’ - boy of few words? Even if he was young, that just sounded weird - didn’t mean he didn’t like listening to their stories. Or just listening to them talking among each other or to him, he wasn’t picky.
He was unfailingly treated with respect, which he assumed still had to do with his Class and perceived status as a Royal Champion. Which he was actually getting quite close to replacing, assuming he got a new Class at his next threshold, as soon as he reached level 60. He was pretty sure he was getting experience at this conference, even.
Of course, he also had tasks to do that had less to do with any kind of social or political interaction or a need to act as Regina’s representative, and more with his experience as a military commander.
It was mostly because of the latter that he sat in a small office right now, listening to the approaching people getting closer before they knocked. It was a small room with a hastily raised wooden partition to one side, but he’d checked that there was no one close by, and in fact, only a few other drones were in the vicinity at all currently. This wasn’t the most secret or clandestine of meetings, but he still didn’t want any details getting out to their enemies. A lot of what they were doing here could be described like that, though, thinking about it now.
Tim stood up as his visitors entered and smiled in welcome. “Sir Owin, Sir Egon,” he greeted, not letting on that he liked one of those two much better than the other. “I understand that Lady Gwen is less interested in these matters, and so isn’t with you. If she should change her mind or you feel that we would benefit from her input, though, she’d be welcome to join.”
“Gwen is indeed more concerned with the political situation at present and doesn’t feel that she is the best to discuss more traditionally military matters,” Owin said. He sat down on one of the two chairs Tim had pulled up to the small table at his gesture, nodding at Tim respectfully.
Egon Trito waited for a moment longer, glancing at Tim, before he sat as well. Unlike Owin, he looked more like a courtier or at least a noble, sitting in a way that was a bit too prim and proper for their surroundings. Tim didn’t let it distract him, though. Trito was still a dangerous man, and, despite his bias, an intelligent one, which should hopefully be helpful now.
“We are here because Empress Regina would like to start a proper military for the Empire,” he began. “Ben is not currently available in person, but he is listening in and I will be conveying any points he may want to make. Janis might also be joining us in a bit, depending on how her current meeting goes.”
“I wasn’t aware Princess Janis was charged with these matters?” Trito asked.
“Janis is one of our most successful commanders,” Tim answered, narrowing his gaze a little.
“Of course. We’d welcome her input if her other duties permit her to attend.”
“Good. If not, I am charged with these matters, as you said.” Tim cleared his throat and shuffled some papers on the desk where he’d drafted a few suggestions. “Maybe we should start with the rank structure we can use.”
They exchanged a look, and Owin sank deeper into his chair. “Not standard unit sizes or something of that sort? Should the size of their commands not determine commanders’ ranks?”
Tim shook his head. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a good idea. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll need some standards, but they are going to vary quite a lot. Elites at higher levels will most likely operate in smaller units, if at all — sometimes, they’ll work alone or in pairs — and still need higher pay and the ability to command others. That’s not to mention all the support staff and medical, technical and other professionals.”
He paused and looked at the Delvers, but they seemed to be following him so far. Trito was nodding, a contemplative expression on his face as he clearly considered the matter. Owin was watching quietly. It struck him that he didn’t really know much about either of them, even when it came to professional qualifications, but they’d participated in at least one war. Two, actually, counting the war against the elves and the Cernlian civil war. And they’d made it clear in arranging this meeting what would be discussed, so the Delvers could have sent others if they thought they were more suited to it. He would probably end up working with them a lot more in the future, though.
"So,” he said, “we’re thinking of a fairly standard ranking structure. To start with, there should probably be several tiers for the basic, enlisted soldiers. Soldier class one, class two and maybe three. Or Grunt or Sailor, if we ever get a navy, and so on. I suppose we’ll need to decide on the actual terms, but they could vary by general occupation.”
“Infantryman?” Trito suggested. “’Grunt’ sounds a bit peculiar.”
“We’d rather avoid gendered terms, actually. Not only might there be some female human soldiers —” He gave them a pointed look, reminding them that there were, after all, female Delvers fighting — “but many of our Hive’ warriors are, too.”
“That’s fair,” Owin said. “And after that?”
“Some general leadership positions and ranks. I’d say not too many, though. For enlisted fighters upwards, as non-commissioned officers, probably Corporal and Sergeant, maybe two classes for the latter. Beyond that would be officer ranks proper. Lieutenant, Captain — although that term is a bit dicey, we don’t want confusion with seafaring captains.”
Trito nodded. “You’d separate commissioned and non-commissioned officers?”
“Yes and no.” Tim leaned back a bit, glancing at one of the drafts on paper on the desk. “It’s obvious that there will be different skills and requirements needed, but we don’t just want an officer caste full of noble sprouts who don’t know the first thing about practical realities. On the other hand, we can’t have a man getting promoted based on valor and in a position to lead others when he can’t read or write and doesn’t know anything about strategy. We’d rather use a sort of checkpoint system. A candidate would need to show proficiency in some required areas to be promoted higher, and it would probably be good to have further education courses for those things in our military academy, too. Everyone should be able to advance in principle. I imagine the first point would be to start non-com ranks, then a major checkpoint to become a lieutenant, and probably one for senior officers like colonels or generals who’d be expected to be in an overall strategic command role or working in the general staff, as well.”
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“That actually sounds like a good idea,” Owin commented. “I’ve seen too many of the kinds of problems you mentioned with men getting commands because of their family’s money. There are a few potential issues, but I think we can work most of them out.”
“The nobles won’t like it if their sons have to start as a common soldier,” Trito warned. “You’ll need them to recruit commanders, especially in the short term, so I’d urge caution. Not to mention it frankly seems like a waste to me to pass someone through an academy education only to start him on the bottom, too.”
Tim shrugged. “I never said you can’t jump in at a higher rank, that’s what these checkpoints would be good for, too. Military academy graduates would presumably still expect to work as officers. Although we’ll need a rank for them to gain some experience before they’re handed real responsibility, too. Probably beyond being a cadet. Something equivalent to sergeant so if there’s an emergency, experienced non-coms can still take charge over someone fresh from the academy, maybe?”
“That sounds good,” Trito nodded.
“Maybe you can have the last semester of the academy working in the field at that rank, or require a stint in the army before full graduation?” Owin suggested. “Practical experience would certainly be a good feature.”
Tim smiled. The two Delvers seemed pretty open to their tentative ideas and had already pretty much moved on to talking about the academy curriculum, for a military academy that didn’t even have plans drawn up for yet. Not that he minded, it was obviously an important aspect.
“What sort of rank structure were you thinking of, Sir Tim?” Trito asked.
“Something like Lieutenant, Captain, or Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Major, Colonel, General, going from one-star to four or five? We’d need to agree on one version, though. Having separate rank structures for different service branches might have been the norm, but I don’t think it makes much sense. We’re creating this from the ground up rather than existing traditions, anyway.”
“Before we get hung up on details,” Owin interjected, “what would those actually mean?”
"As I mentioned, I’d prefer not to associate it too closely with unit sizes or having a certain number of soldiers under one’s command,” Tim said. “Although having a standard structure for the regular army might still be good. Apart from that, obviously they’re different pay grades and spots in a chain of command. Within a grade, presumably either seniority or something about their respective duties and positions would determine precedence.”
They all seemed to consider his words carefully, and then the others asked a few clarifying questions. Tim mostly drew on what he vaguely recalled and had asked Galatea about regarding the old world’s former nations’ militaries, whose ranks he’d used as examples just now.
That led to a discussion of the structure as a whole, and made Tim realize he might have been assuming a bit too much familiarity and common ground, after all.
“What you call support personnel would be part of the army proper?” Trito asked.
“Well, yes, as a general rule? Of course, we could also work with doctors who aren’t part of the military but still agree to work with it, but we would need healers of our own as well. And people to handle the logistics and administrative tasks, certainly. I suppose for engineers, there’d be a bit of the same issues as with doctors and it might be better to hire outside professionals depending on the circumstances.”
Owin and Trito nodded. Owin looked like he was taking mental notes, or perhaps considering something else. Trito frowned slightly.
“What else would be included in this military, in a general sense? You mentioned a navy, is that something the Empress is intending to do?”
“Right now?” Tim smiled. “Hardly. Although, I suppose having a few river boats wouldn’t exactly be a bad idea. But no, there are no plans for a real navy yet, as far as I know. It’s just an idea for the future.”
Owin still looked contemplative. He shifted on the chair, then glanced up. “Regarding this project as a whole … I understand the reasoning to create a professional military, of course. But what will it mean for the Empire? What are its duties?”
Tim leaned back on his seat. Perhaps I should have started there, he thought. “As much as you’d expect from any military,” he said, shrugging with open hands. “Protecting the citizens of the Empire, primarily. Fighting in any wars the Empire enters for whatever reasons. It should not be involved in law enforcement, catching criminals or sentencing. Although I suppose there should be cooperation between the army and some law enforcement organs. They might help in a few cases, like counterintelligence operations, or, I suppose, apprehending particularly dangerous high-level criminals. The army might also help in cases of natural disasters or the like.”
Owin and Trito exchanged another look. Briefly, Tim wondered if they’d expected more phrases like ‘enforcing the Empress’ will’ in his answer. “That makes sense,” Owin commented.
They asked a few more questions that delved deeper into the details, but Tim could tell their attention was split, especially Trito’s. The two men were clearly eager to get back to their people and discuss what they’d established so far with the other Delvers. And they had come to a few conclusions and worked out some fundamentals, so he supposed that was good enough.
A while later, Owin and Trito excused themselves and Tim bid them goodbye, standing from his desk and holding open the door politely. They acknowledged it with equally polite half-bows and left.
Tim had barely closed the door and not sat back down yet when it swung open again, and Janis peered in. She quickly stepped in and closed the door, frowning at the mostly-empty room, though he also noted she seemed to relax a bit.
“You just missed the Delvers,” he informed her. Then Tim crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching Janis. “Trying day?”
“It could be worse.” She shrugged, then sighed and slumped a bit.
He saw her eying the cup on his table and pushed it closer silently, then watched as she gulped the water down.
“Thanks. All this talking is making my throat dry.”
“We can’t have that,” he said, then took a half-step closer. “How are you holding up?”
She looked at him, seeming a bit surprised. “Fine.”
“I suppose people are still being annoying about your new title.”
Janis shrugged again. “Not eager to start talking about your plans for the military?”
“Hey, don’t give me that,” he chided her playfully. “I value our friendship, you know. I’m allowed to ask about your day.”
She blinked, then looked slightly guilty. “Of course. Sorry, Tim, I didn’t mean it like that.” She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head, then smiled slyly. “Well, since you’re offering, maybe this evening we can get some of the fruit juice Mia has been talking about and you can listen to me talking all about my girlfriend and how our relationship is going.”
Tim groaned dramatically. But he really should have known it might backfire on him like that. “I’m really not the best person to speak about relationship woes.”
“But you’re such a great friend and you’re a great listener, you know,” she told him earnestly. “You’re the best choice, really.”
He rolled his eyes at her grin and silently conceded defeat.
“Besides, I’m probably just going to gush about Kiara and you won’t need to give any advice,” Janis added.
“Well, I’m glad it’s going well, then,” he muttered. Then Tim shook his head and turned back to the documents on his desk. “Now, we probably should discuss the Imperial military.”
Janis plopped down on the chair across from him. “Lay it on me, Marshal.”
Tim eyed her for a moment, then decided to just follow what could technically be considered an order (as if it mattered) and caught her up on what they’d been discussing.