8.

Transcript #30,512 Highborn Archives: of an exchange of notes between Paenus, Inspector General, Earth, and Cassius, Grand Admiral of Highborn. Dates: February 1 to February 7, 2350.

February 1

To Paenus:

Disaster was barely averted in Sydney. A court of Inquiry thus convenes on the Twenty-fourth concerning it and other anomalies regarding the Australian Campaign. Whether you are in the dock or on the bench remains to be seen.

Luckily, for you, the suicide squadrons were able to breach stubborn city strongholds. Reports indicate that cortex-bomb-laden Earth troops preformed best in this regard. Surprisingly, renegade police personnel showed an avid bloodthirstiness when pitched against Social Unity security forces. Because of these specialist troops, Highborn casualties remained within the accepted limits during the underground city fighting. I am recommending a hundred and fifty percent increase in the number of suicide troops.

That is, however, the only bright spot regarding your premen troops. The Hawk Teams and panzer crews—I wish to remind the Inspector General of staking his reputation upon them if they were given the right training. The Hawk Teams and panzer crews have failed miserably. They lacked adequate zeal and cunning, while the casualties among the Hawk Teams were simply staggering. The panzer crews were worse: timid in the attack and cowardly during exploitation maneuvers. Because of this, Highborn casualties exceeded the acceptable limits during the first half of the Australian campaign.

I await your explanations and your plans in order to avoid this in the future, provided you have one, my dear Paenus.

February 3

To Cassius:

Grand Admiral, please forgive my delay in answering. My training personnel are strained to the limit and I am overloaded. We badly need more Highborn drill lieutenants and captains. As it is, I have been forced to take veteran Earth troops off line to use as instructors. Their veteran status is dubious at best, as you indicated in your letter. Earthlings lack fiber and fighting ferocity—I had simply not realized the extent of their non-Highborn qualities. To instill this into them is daunting in the extreme.

One might as well take sheep and teach them to be wolves. The best we can do is to find the rams among them. Unfortunately, we must comb through thousands in order to find one who has the fire. As might be expected, the former policemen have more fire than the rank and file Social Unitarians.

Grand Admiral, despite these grave flaws, I believe the Hawk and panzer teams will improve from campaign to campaign. The very nature of their specialty takes longer to gain mastery than suicide troops. Suicide troops are not so much rigorously trained as highly motivated to make frontal charges. My records indicate that the best suicide troop results came after double doses of Shaker were force-injected. Some suggest we inject Shaker into all our troops. I highly recommend AGAINST this. Hawk and panzer personnel are seldom composed of former policemen, and I believe would become listless and inclined to apathy if faced with forced injections. The Hawk Team and panzer crews wish to live through the conflict and take up civilian occupations afterward.

Rather than point fingers, Grand Admiral, I suggest we thank the Fates that the worst disasters were avoided and that we now take extreme measures to ensure they never occur again.

February 3

To Paenus:

Request for extra Highborn denied.

The Inspector General surely realizes that all troops are readying for the next campaign. Social Unity is on the run. We must maintain pressure. Nor do I accept your excuses for listless Hawk and panzer teams. What you’ve really said is that they are not properly motivated. Motivate them, my dear Paenus, and train them to fight!

February 4

To Cassius:

I will comply as best I can, Grand Admiral. But the number of recruits has swamped my resources. I suggest we make thorough tests for aggressiveness and combat ability, skimming the cream, so to speak, and train the remainder as fire fighters and other emergency personnel.

February 5

To Paenus:

I simply don’t understand you sometimes. War on this scale devours vast amounts of troops. Highborn casualties must remain within the accepted limits or we will lose. Anything else is superfluous. As it is impossible to advance without sustaining heavy losses, we must continue to absorb those losses among our Earth troops. Think of them as fodder, if it will clarify their true function.

If you lack enough training personnel, I suggest you throw the recruits into battle and let the war train them.

Yes, many units will break under the pressure, and yes, they will sustain excessive casualties. So you must rush them through basic training, discover the fighters and make them corporals and sergeants. The units that survive and perform above average will then be pulled out and retrained as Hawk and panzer troops. Use this promise of renewed training as a reward.

Please note the attached New Free Earth Corps unit configuration schedule. High Command has agreed that we must use this influx of volunteers to push Social Unity. Train them to fire their weapons, the corporals and sergeants to attack. We must maintain pressure. First grade levies, as they are now officially termed, can sustain one hundred percent casualties as long as they inflict harm upon the enemy.

February 6

To Cassius:

I hear and obey, and may I add, Grand Admiral, that as always your advice is flawless.

I wish to add a note of caution, however. One hundred percent casualties, over time, will undoubtedly cause a decrease in Earth volunteers. I understand the logic of mass wave assaults with expendable troops, behind which our men can maneuver. But surely, Grand Admiral, we must consider what effect this will have later in the War for Earth.

February 7

To Paenus:

Just train your volunteers into fighting troops, Inspector General. That’s all I ask.