17-11-2024, 02:30 PM
Hafndam, Great Temrkai Naval Port, Admiralty Board headquarters, 28 September 5571, 9:02.
His face was red with anger as he stormed up the staircase, his hand holding the papers tightly. At every loud step up the marbled stairs he got angrier at the memorandum he had received. For more than thirty years he had given his life to the navy. He had done everything, sacrificed it all, all for the great Naval Forces. Under his command the Froahiko-class nuclear submarine Mirz Juhn I had done things no other captain in the navy had been able to do. He had trained his crew to perfection. A well-oiled disciplined machine, his personal pride! Now they were taking it away, a crew rotation, they would strip his command at the end of next mission. Oh, he had known that one day he would lose his command, but he had expected it to come with a promotion to Rear Admiral. Not to be left with a 'next mission pending'. A forced retirement!
Then suddenly the steps ran out. In his anger he had gone up the many wide marbled staircases far faster than he expected. The paper in his hand had been fully crumpled. He released his grip, straightened out the paper and walked towards the big wooden doors that marked the office of the Commander of the Naval Forces: Admiral Mhnrád Sardnpal. There was a guard at the door who looked rather surprised at how fast he was approaching, he suddenly stood a lot straighter and his eyes darted up and down. He sputtered out objections as he approached. "C-Captain, the Admiral- You will need an appointment, sir, I cann-" He interrupted him. "Move aside, sailor," he barked at him, swinging open the large wooden door himself. The Admiral looked up in surprise, peering over his reading glasses at him. "I will call you back," he said, before hanging up the phone. "Captain Dorfluzke, what a surprise."
For a few minutes he tore into the Admiral, his anger taking the better of him. He told him everything that had enraged him about this ordeal. How his command would be taken from him, how his crew would be rotated away from him, how he had given everything and would now be discarded like an old sock. The Admiral just sat and listened. At the end of the story he took off his glasses and simply asked: "Are you done, Captain?" The response took him aback, he straightened up and simply responded. "Yes, Admiral." The Admiral nodded. "Good, then let me ask you a question. Are you a loyal servant of the crown and party?" He wondered if it was a trap, he had been a loyal party member since he was a young adult and his own father had been a close confidant of King Kezkai. "Of course, Admiral, I would give everything for the crown." The Admiral stood up and walked out from behind his desk to stand close to him. "Then you will take this memorandum to heart. You are not being discarded, Captain, you are one of the most capable naval officers I have ever seen. One day you might sit behind that desk. But for now you are a far more valuable asset than you even realise. Others however do realise that and have chosen you for a future mission, one I could not tell you about as it is the most classified document to ever come across my desk. Do you understand?" He swallowed, realising the great mistake he had made. "I do, sir." "Good, then you will do your next mission with the same vigilance as ever and when you return in four weeks I will personally brief you. Until then, not a word to anyone about your next assignment."
As he walked outside the office his head was throbbing. The nuclear submarine fleet was considered the peak in Wrnuke's Naval Forces, commanding a carrier was more prestigious but every sailor knew the real skill went into the submarines - the silent watchers of the Jelbic Empire that patrolled every corner of the world. What special operation could require him?
His face was red with anger as he stormed up the staircase, his hand holding the papers tightly. At every loud step up the marbled stairs he got angrier at the memorandum he had received. For more than thirty years he had given his life to the navy. He had done everything, sacrificed it all, all for the great Naval Forces. Under his command the Froahiko-class nuclear submarine Mirz Juhn I had done things no other captain in the navy had been able to do. He had trained his crew to perfection. A well-oiled disciplined machine, his personal pride! Now they were taking it away, a crew rotation, they would strip his command at the end of next mission. Oh, he had known that one day he would lose his command, but he had expected it to come with a promotion to Rear Admiral. Not to be left with a 'next mission pending'. A forced retirement!
Then suddenly the steps ran out. In his anger he had gone up the many wide marbled staircases far faster than he expected. The paper in his hand had been fully crumpled. He released his grip, straightened out the paper and walked towards the big wooden doors that marked the office of the Commander of the Naval Forces: Admiral Mhnrád Sardnpal. There was a guard at the door who looked rather surprised at how fast he was approaching, he suddenly stood a lot straighter and his eyes darted up and down. He sputtered out objections as he approached. "C-Captain, the Admiral- You will need an appointment, sir, I cann-" He interrupted him. "Move aside, sailor," he barked at him, swinging open the large wooden door himself. The Admiral looked up in surprise, peering over his reading glasses at him. "I will call you back," he said, before hanging up the phone. "Captain Dorfluzke, what a surprise."
For a few minutes he tore into the Admiral, his anger taking the better of him. He told him everything that had enraged him about this ordeal. How his command would be taken from him, how his crew would be rotated away from him, how he had given everything and would now be discarded like an old sock. The Admiral just sat and listened. At the end of the story he took off his glasses and simply asked: "Are you done, Captain?" The response took him aback, he straightened up and simply responded. "Yes, Admiral." The Admiral nodded. "Good, then let me ask you a question. Are you a loyal servant of the crown and party?" He wondered if it was a trap, he had been a loyal party member since he was a young adult and his own father had been a close confidant of King Kezkai. "Of course, Admiral, I would give everything for the crown." The Admiral stood up and walked out from behind his desk to stand close to him. "Then you will take this memorandum to heart. You are not being discarded, Captain, you are one of the most capable naval officers I have ever seen. One day you might sit behind that desk. But for now you are a far more valuable asset than you even realise. Others however do realise that and have chosen you for a future mission, one I could not tell you about as it is the most classified document to ever come across my desk. Do you understand?" He swallowed, realising the great mistake he had made. "I do, sir." "Good, then you will do your next mission with the same vigilance as ever and when you return in four weeks I will personally brief you. Until then, not a word to anyone about your next assignment."
As he walked outside the office his head was throbbing. The nuclear submarine fleet was considered the peak in Wrnuke's Naval Forces, commanding a carrier was more prestigious but every sailor knew the real skill went into the submarines - the silent watchers of the Jelbic Empire that patrolled every corner of the world. What special operation could require him?