his replacement.”
“Yes sir. His command authorization has already been revoked,” Ensign Barry the resource manager AI reported neutrally.
The admiral grunted. “Very well then,” he said after a moment. “Commander Decius is also out the door. You can notify him when he wakes … if he ever wakes,” he said in annoyance.
“Sir, his species ….”
“Doctor, do not presume to lecture me on his species. I've served with his kind before. They only need to hibernate during breeding season once every standard year or two, not four or five or more times a year. That is beyond excessive. You didn't look into a medical reason as to why I take it?”
She frowned, clearly tempering her words carefully. “Sir, he is working with other members of his species in an attempt to rebuild their species population. He is also very good at his job,” she shot Horatio a look of appeal.
The admiral scowled, ready to bark at her to remind her to look at him not the captain. She was obviously searching for support, but the captain wasn't willing to give it. “Yes, when he is awake . Yes, I know that. He runs his people ragged, and they can barely keep up. Then he takes a nap, they play catch up, and then drift. Things pile up because they aren't being taken care of properly, so he then has to work through the backlog when he wakes. It is a viscous circle. He's not on top of the situation day-to-day; that much is obvious from a cursory look. There are a lot of holes in the ranks, dangerous ones.”
“Yes sir,” Commander Garretaj replied with a nod and grimace.
“Let me be clear here. I don't want people who don't want to be here,” the admiral said. “Anyone else have a problem with that? I warn you now, I run a tight command.”
The chief of staff checked his notes and found a lot of transfers to ships, the fortresses, and to other posts. “There are a lot of holes in the chain of command here, sir,” he murmured.
“Who is next in line?”
“Try …,” The chief of staff frowned.
Horatio cleared his throat. “If memory serves that would be First Lieutenant Irene Teague in intel and Lieutenant Commander Strongbirth in BUPERS, sir. Both have recently been promoted.”
“That is correct, sir,” Kamia, the other AI said. She had been rather quiet, which was surprising for a communication's AI. Apparently she spent a lot of time in the net.
“I'll make my own decisions, thank you,” the admiral said testily as the chief of staff looked up.
“He's right, sir,” the chief of staff stated, handing the admiral his tablet.
“Let me see that,” the admiral said, peering at the offending electronic device. His frown deepened as he read the brief synopses in their personnel jackets.
Admiral Subert was surprised when only a first lieutenant left to run intel and a newly promoted lieutenant commander were left in BUPERS. “What the hell are they doing? What have you been doing?”
“Bootstrapping the organization, sir. From the ground up it seems. And not doing it right,” Saul said with a slight sneer in his voice.
“I see that.”
“But they are doing the best they can making bricks without straw, sir.”
“I'll be the judge of that. So far I am not impressed,” the admiral said. “Now, we have some other changes to make. I have gone through them and drawn up a priority list for each department. Since we have to wait for intel and personnel to get sorted out, we can work on the changes with the pickets and training schedules,” the admiral said, eying Matilda. “And then go from there as time allows.”
“You have a dinner reservation with the governor in two and a half hours, sir. It will take time to shuttle over …,” Commander Garretaj warned. The admiral waved a hand.
“Be that as it may, we'll cover the high points now, bringing you up to speed. You each have a download copy of the orders in your inbox. I expect you to go over them and begin implementing them immediately upon receipt.
“Yes sir. His command authorization has already been revoked,” Ensign Barry the resource manager AI reported neutrally.
The admiral grunted. “Very well then,” he said after a moment. “Commander Decius is also out the door. You can notify him when he wakes … if he ever wakes,” he said in annoyance.
“Sir, his species ….”
“Doctor, do not presume to lecture me on his species. I've served with his kind before. They only need to hibernate during breeding season once every standard year or two, not four or five or more times a year. That is beyond excessive. You didn't look into a medical reason as to why I take it?”
She frowned, clearly tempering her words carefully. “Sir, he is working with other members of his species in an attempt to rebuild their species population. He is also very good at his job,” she shot Horatio a look of appeal.
The admiral scowled, ready to bark at her to remind her to look at him not the captain. She was obviously searching for support, but the captain wasn't willing to give it. “Yes, when he is awake . Yes, I know that. He runs his people ragged, and they can barely keep up. Then he takes a nap, they play catch up, and then drift. Things pile up because they aren't being taken care of properly, so he then has to work through the backlog when he wakes. It is a viscous circle. He's not on top of the situation day-to-day; that much is obvious from a cursory look. There are a lot of holes in the ranks, dangerous ones.”
“Yes sir,” Commander Garretaj replied with a nod and grimace.
“Let me be clear here. I don't want people who don't want to be here,” the admiral said. “Anyone else have a problem with that? I warn you now, I run a tight command.”
The chief of staff checked his notes and found a lot of transfers to ships, the fortresses, and to other posts. “There are a lot of holes in the chain of command here, sir,” he murmured.
“Who is next in line?”
“Try …,” The chief of staff frowned.
Horatio cleared his throat. “If memory serves that would be First Lieutenant Irene Teague in intel and Lieutenant Commander Strongbirth in BUPERS, sir. Both have recently been promoted.”
“That is correct, sir,” Kamia, the other AI said. She had been rather quiet, which was surprising for a communication's AI. Apparently she spent a lot of time in the net.
“I'll make my own decisions, thank you,” the admiral said testily as the chief of staff looked up.
“He's right, sir,” the chief of staff stated, handing the admiral his tablet.
“Let me see that,” the admiral said, peering at the offending electronic device. His frown deepened as he read the brief synopses in their personnel jackets.
Admiral Subert was surprised when only a first lieutenant left to run intel and a newly promoted lieutenant commander were left in BUPERS. “What the hell are they doing? What have you been doing?”
“Bootstrapping the organization, sir. From the ground up it seems. And not doing it right,” Saul said with a slight sneer in his voice.
“I see that.”
“But they are doing the best they can making bricks without straw, sir.”
“I'll be the judge of that. So far I am not impressed,” the admiral said. “Now, we have some other changes to make. I have gone through them and drawn up a priority list for each department. Since we have to wait for intel and personnel to get sorted out, we can work on the changes with the pickets and training schedules,” the admiral said, eying Matilda. “And then go from there as time allows.”
“You have a dinner reservation with the governor in two and a half hours, sir. It will take time to shuttle over …,” Commander Garretaj warned. The admiral waved a hand.
“Be that as it may, we'll cover the high points now, bringing you up to speed. You each have a download copy of the orders in your inbox. I expect you to go over them and begin implementing them immediately upon receipt.
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