Fire Density. Макс Глебов

caused the Earth Federation to react sharply, and draw on significant reserves to address the threat. As a result, it was almost impossible to counterbalance a strong and unexpected blow in the other direction – it was an attack on the Federation planets of stars Gliese-338 and Groombridge-1618. This led to a serious defence crisis, which the people were unable to overcome quickly.

      When I returned to the Academy, the high command was in a very nervous state. Reserves have been raked out wherever it’s been possible, and Lieutenant General Schiller had to reluctantly agree to the early graduation of third-year cadets. As it happens in such cases those cadets received only one star on their shoulder straps instead of two and the rank of second lieutenant, which was rare in the army. Suddenly I was out of the job as an instructor, since it was the graduate course of the Academy that mastered the captured machines.

      Academy director called me back to his office. When I tried to report, he waved it away annoyingly and silently pointed me to the meeting table.

      “Cadet Lavroff, ” began gloomily the General, whose mood fluctuated at the mark „below the skirting board”, “you’ve certainly done a great job, and you are a hero. Colonel Kreps sent me Major Weber’s report on your practice. For your rescue mission, he recommended you for the Iron Cross. We, Germans, prefer to recommend deserving soldiers for precisely this award.” A light shadow of smile appeared on the General’s gloomy face. “Kreps approved the recommendation, punch a hole in the tunic.”

      “Serving the Earth Federation.”

      “Ehh, yes. And you serve it pretty good. Except with the situation on the front… Do you know, Lavroff, when was the last time we had to throw undertrained cadets into battle?” Forced to sign the order for the early graduation of the third course the General couldn’t calm down.

      “That was in the first year of the was with quargs, General, Sir.”

      “That’s it. Twenty years ago. Do you understand where we have returned?”

      “These are temporary difficulties caused by the strategic error and intelligence deficiencies. We shall undoubtedly prevail, Gen… ”

      “Put ranks aside, Cadet. ”

      “Yes, Sir.”

      “You’re right! The recon guys have overslept, to put it mildly, preparations for strikes on Gliese and Groombridge. And right you are about the Luyten’s system – too much force was thrown in there, although this mistake may have saved the lives of you personally and of our freshmen.”

      “Not of all of them, unfortunately.”

      “Not of all of them. This is war, Cadet, you know it as good as me, or better yet, I haven’t been in a fight in a while. And that’s the second question I want to discuss with you. We’ve already lost almost half our freshmen and we’ve lost the opportunity to prepare well our graduates. I wouldn’t be surprised if they cut the curriculum down to two years. Now freshmen, your comrades, are better prepared for battle than sophomore cadets, and, probably better than those fresh second lieutenants who have just been graduates. I need practical advice based on your combat experience. I have to turn the remaining cadets into officers who will not be killed in the first battle with their units. Don’t look at me with wild eyes. Yes, the General asks the Cadet to share his combat experience. Have you recently looked in the mirror at your qualification tab?”

      “I can tell you one thing, if it wasn’t for the six months we spent at the Academy, none of us would have come back from Luyten-5. When our ship was hit by several shells and began to drift uncontrollably towards the planet, the cadets remained a capable military formation despite the deaths of the officers. The platoon commanders did not lose control of their subordinates, and as a result, the landing took place with minimal casualties. You’ve prepared us well, Lieutenant General, Sir. What we had frankly missed was heavy weaponry and experience of guerrilla activities and sabotage. If it wasn’t for Captain Mbia’s men, I don’t know how we’d get away with it. I’m afraid that in the new circumstances commandos will be regularly caught in such situations of complete encirclement and isolation from the main forces. We need knowledge in this sphere and reconnaissance equipment. I’ve been meaning to report my proposals to establish a special recon platoon equipped as regular scouts in each commando battalion, but since you called me yourself, I’d like to take this opportunity.”

      “Usually, scouts are assigned to commandos at the time of landing, if the command deems it necessary. Your case was special. No one was planning on sending you into battle, so you had to work it out on your own. I do not yet see arguments in favor of a special platoon in each battalion.”

      “You told us yourself that a saboteur and a commando are different military specialties. From Captain Mbia’s men, I’m very well aware of that. They’re good scouts, but they’re not first line fighters. They can’t be sent to attack. They just don’t have the training and equipment for this kind of battle, and I was desperately short of men on Luyten-5 who could attack in the regimental order of battle, and then, if necessary, become saboteurs. Everyone in the landing party has to fight. This rule has been known since pre-Cosmic times,” here again it’s been far-fetched from the experience of my past life.

      “Well, that makes sense,” said the General after a moment of reflection. “Prepare a report, Cadet, I’ll review it, and maybe I’ll give it a go. And now I have news for you. Yesterday at the Academy’s board of trustees meeting we talked about you. The Chairman of the Council, General of the Army Vasnetsov joked that we have cadets in the Academy with sufficient combat experience to enter the General Staff Academy. Laugh all you want, but after the meeting I pulled your file. You’re a ready candidate for the Academy. You’ve had enough experience in command positions. The only thing you need is a higher military education, and only officers are allowed in the Academy. You’re 16 now, as strange as it sounds. I keep getting the feeling that I’m dealing with someone my own age, but from a formal point of view, it doesn’t change the case. You’ve done enough for the Academy to make its director in my person want to take part in your destiny,” grinned the General, “but the only person in the Earth Federation who can authorize officer promotion circumventing the age limit is the President. I’ve spoken to Vasnetsov, and he’s ready to make a presentation to the President for you to be promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. I’ll sign the recommendation, too. We need the signatures of three other high-ranking officers who know you personally and can vouch for you. Do you have an idea?”

      “Colonel General Knyazev, Admiral Nelson, Admiral Fulton,“ without hesitation I listed,”I really don’t know Admiral Nelson personally, but he commanded the operation to free Luyten-5, and I think the Colonel General can persuade him to sign this document.

      “You didn’t waste any time,” grinned the General, “Fulton and Knyazev can’t stand each other. To the extent that this is known well beyond the Fifth Strike Fleet. If you manage to collect both these signatures on the same document… Okay, enough of this stuff. Let’s start, perhaps, with Knyazev.”

* * *

      We fought off the quarg attack at the cost of losing the Gliese-338 system and almost complete destruction of the infrastructure in Groombridge 1618, but the enemy’s advance was stopped. The early graduates were even sent back to the Academy to finish their studies. A little over a quarter of those who left the Planetary Commando Academy 40 days ago have returned.

      For the next four months, I worked like wood-carver Geppetto on the Pinocchios’ assembly line. The director of the Academy had drawn up a plan for me to crash into my wretched head and the motor centers of the spinal cord the knowledge of all specialized subjects for which the cadets were normally given two and a half years of learning. I was handling it, but I sank into bed in the evening like a sack of potatoes and fell into a dead sleep until the morning. And then I was called to the capital, to Earth, to be awarded the Gold Star.

      I didn’t like the situation on the front lines. When I came here, the balance of opposing forces seemed steady, and I thought I had at least five years left to get promoted and to make useful connections and improve my abilities. Now I realized clearly that if I wouldn’t act now, The Earth Federation risked losing the war before I can complete my mission. It was time to put a team together. I