HQC-5P-2ND Squad "Storm Heavies"
"Hey, commissar!" What? Wanda never called him by his title...
"What is it, private?"
Oh, phtewey, he is throwing the book... She thought to herself.
"Sir, I'm not acting like a private right now, I'd like to talk to you about the squad, if I may?"
"The very squad I busted you down to buck private for failing to act like a proper squad leader for? Surely, this will be interesting..."
"Well, Sir, I was wondering if you could do about the squad strength, we're half-strength for a heavy weapons squad in the division..."
"No, you're not. In the new doctrine, heavy weapon squads are fire teams of three heavy weapons... Four squads to a company..."
"Can I ask where the rest of them are, sir?"
"Two are engineer support, attached to Major Brador, and not your concern."
"That leaves one unaccounted for..."
"The grenadiers of first squad are hardly your concern..."
"Oh...."
"But, and let me make this clear, since as a commissar, I'm expected to provide instruction, not just punishment... If, and that's a pretty big if, but if, you weren't pushing so many insubordination and conduct unbecoming buttons at high command, there'd be a spot for a lieutenant, a lieutenant Wolowicz, I hear ex-tempestus scions, even... shaggy ones, do well in such roles, and have made recommendations to that effect to high command a time or two, only for my efforts to land me egg on my face, and you in the brig..."
"I'm sorry sir!"[
"If you'd been sorry, Wanda, you'd not have done it, you'd not keep doing it... Wanda, we've known each other since we were teenagers, why are you constituionally unable to accept the authority of anyone not from our scholam or a tempestor?"
"I don't... I don't know..." Wanda was shaking, possibly a seizure, and sank to her knees. Michael picked her up gently, ugh, she was heavier than him, so he'd had to use leverage, that armor of hers...
He arrived on the floor of HQ where the medics were concentrated: "Ill or injured soldier here, make a hole, and maybe a little help?"
"Sure sir!" The soldier on orderly duty picked up her legs, and they laid her on a medical table gently.
"What's this, Sir?" Tandi asked.
"We were talking, about her recent demotion, and started shaking, but not, I believe, from the emotional content of my words..."
"No? What then?"
"I believe it's something to do with her tempestus conditioning, from the topic we were addressing, and the extreme reaction..."
"Oh. I'm afraid that's above my pay grade, sir, but I'll ask division hq..."
"Anton should know..." He'd known Anton since the funeral, a boy his age, an orderly wanting to move on up, while the Cadet-commissar Michael had been had just wanted answers. Anton had known the value of keeping his mouth shut, and so had gotten promoted as a result.
"Thank you Anton, so I was right?" "Close enough as makes no difference, her conditioning broke down, because of conflict with her deep-seated formative memories of you and many of the other officers. She'll recover now, the magos has removed the conditioning, it should have been done when she was discharged from Tempestus." "Who was to order that?" "Err, the Tempestus hierarchy normally depends on an inquisitor or senior officio prefectus member to do so." "Why do you say 'senior' like that, Anton?" "No one else would have the fortitude, sir." "And whose negligence prevented Wanda from being de-programmed?" "Err, the schola progenium staff was decimated along with Inquisitors Gervais and Inquisitor Falstaff. By the time their replacements were assigned, she'd been assigned to the fusiliers for six months..." "So it was my negligence. Sigh." "You can hardly be blamed sir, no one outside the scholam system is expected to even know about this conditioning, how do you know about it?" "I was the executor of Commissar-General Verlaine Oktar, as you well know, he authorized the program for certain tempestus units as scholam dean." "Oh, so not a leak..." "No, I'm considered his officio prefectus successor in this matter." "Well, without the conflict with her conditioning, she may rise through the ranks much easier... Her medical file..." "I'd rather not read that, Anton, as much as I'm responsible for her, reading the medical file of someone who I went to scholam with makes me mildly ill..." "Ah, of course." Michael was in for a surprise then... "But sir, her conditioning was replaced, in part, not wholly removed..." "Replaced by what?" "Well, admiration and respect, for the officio prefectus, of course." Anton wanted to say more, but to do so would violate quite a number of vows, besides, how she showed her admiration was her own business... But she'd made it clear she felt immense gratitude to Michael for getting her treatment, she'd not known what was wrong with her, and had been coping with drink... Michael, and Marsha, a senior NCO in the regiment, were her only friends, Sophia, her scholam room mate would have been a friend but for her policy not to fraternize too much... Same with most of the officers in the regiment. Life was going to be interesting for Michael for a little while...
"Thank you Anton, so I was right?" "Close enough as makes no difference, her conditioning broke down, because of conflict with her deep-seated formative memories of you and many of the other officers. She'll recover now, the magos has removed the conditioning, it should have been done when she was discharged from Tempestus." "Who was to order that?" "Err, the Tempestus hierarchy normally depends on an inquisitor or senior officio prefectus member to do so." "Why do you say 'senior' like that, Anton?" "No one else would have the fortitude, sir." "And whose negligence prevented Wanda from being de-programmed?" "Err, the schola progenium staff was decimated along with Inquisitors Gervais and Inquisitor Falstaff. By the time their replacements were assigned, she'd been assigned to the fusiliers for six months..." "So it was my negligence. Sigh." "You can hardly be blamed sir, no one outside the scholam system is expected to even know about this conditioning, how do you know about it?" "I was the executor of Commissar-General Verlaine Oktar, as you well know, he authorized the program for certain tempestus units as scholam dean." "Oh, so not a leak..." "No, I'm considered his officio prefectus successor in this matter." "Well, without the conflict with her conditioning, she may rise through the ranks much easier... Her medical file..." "I'd rather not read that, Anton, as much as I'm responsible for her, reading the medical file of someone who I went to scholam with makes me mildly ill..." "Ah, of course." Michael was in for a surprise then... "But sir, her conditioning was replaced, in part, not wholly removed..." "Replaced by what?" "Well, admiration and respect, for the officio prefectus, of course." Anton wanted to say more, but to do so would violate quite a number of vows, besides, how she showed her admiration was her own business... But she'd made it clear she felt immense gratitude to Michael for getting her treatment, she'd not known what was wrong with her, and had been coping with drink... Michael, and Marsha, a senior NCO in the regiment, were her only friends, Sophia, her scholam room mate would have been a friend but for her policy not to fraternize too much... Same with most of the officers in the regiment. Life was going to be interesting for Michael for a little while...
Structure
One squad leader, then three heavy weapon operators and their loaders, each loader being able to operate the weapon they serve as well as load and maintain it.
Watch our wake, for we are the storm
Type
Military, Army Squad
Parent Organization
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