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.All of the corridors he had traveled andthe rooms he had poked his head into were equally baroque.The Indowy love ofcraftsmanship apparently extended to interior decoration.Unlike similardecorations by humans, there were no scenes or portraits.All the decorationswere intricate abstract curves and geometrics.Despite their alien nature theywere pleasing to the human eye and surprisingly similar to patterns on CelticPage 106 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlbrooches.There were about sixty people milling around in the large room that was to beused for the battalion's tactical operations center.The machinery and tanksof mysterious liquid had been moved against the walls and a set of foldingchairs erected facing a low dais; the front row included an upholstered easychair.On the back of the chair was a sign depicting a silver oak leaf and thewords "2 Falcon 6." Arooster in a cage clucked on one side of the dais.As Mike inspected itbalefully, it crowed.Also on the dais were several junior NCOs and enlisted men referring toclipboards and updating easeled maps.They were being supervised Mike wasreminded of the rooster with his hens by the battalion S-3, Major Norton.Atall, distinguished-looking man, Norton, Mike had quickly come to realize, wasnot nearly as intelligent as he looked.Extremely energetic and able to parrotdoctrine well, he responded poorly to novel situations and ideas.He and Mikehad come to verbal blows several times during the battalion's work-up.Mike dialed up the zoom on his glasses and looked at the battle plan beingdrawn on the board."Christ,"he whispered, "has anyone talked to the fire support officer?" Just thenCaptain Jackson, the FSO, got a good look at the board and walked over toMajor Norton.When Captain Jackson tried to draw him aside, the S-3 brushedhim off.He was, after all, Artillery, there for the battalion's support, anda captain;thus, he could be ignored.Mike looked around the room filled with camouflage-clad officers and NCOs.There were the commanders of the five companies, with their executiveofficers, the staff with their assistants and seniorNCOs, the attachment leaders, engineering, fire support, medical andartillery.They were all pointedly ignoring him; in the case of a few of themhe knew it was for mutual good.Consorting with the company commanders wouldhave drawn fire for both of them from the S-3.Then he started countingchairs."Michelle," he queried, "how many personnel first lieutenant and above in theroom?""Fifty-three.""And how many chairs?" he asked."Fifty.""Michelle, who was in charge of setting up the seating?""The Battalion Operations section.""Bloody hell." His relations with the battalion commander and his staff hadnot improved; if anything they had worsened.His, he thought, tactful andconstructive critiques of communications and control were viewed asinappropriate to his experience, despite the fact that he limited his commentsto subjects directly affected by the combat suits.He did not, for example,comment on the commander's proclivity to place the battalion in a movement tocontact formation after the enemy's axis of advance had already beendetermined.Despite the enormous casualties caused by the resultant open fieldfighting, the colonel had apparently decided that the suits were invulnerableto the Posleen's weapons and preferred to meet them mano y monstruo.The training scenarios were, after all, "theoretical"; no data on Posleenbehavior in combat had yet been gathered by human units.His disdain for theresearch involved in developing the scenarios had only heightened since Mike'sabortive attempt to have the battalion held out of battle.Mike had felt it necessary, however tactless it might have been, to comment onthe communications structure.Lieutenant Colonel Youngman's lack of practicewith the suits and general technophobia caused him to fall back on acommunications section and RTOs for communications control instead of traininghis AID to communications tasking.The RTOs were designated for specific netsPage 107 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmland the only personnel permitted direct contact with the commander werecertain members of the staff and the battalion executive officer, MajorPauley.Further, Youngman had designated the battalion as the sole source toauthorize all requests for support except medical and logistics.Companycommanders were to contact him to request fire support, for example, and hewould determine if the request was valid.The commanders, in fact, had topractically contact him for permission to pass gas.The colonel had discoveredthat the suit systems gave him an Olympian view of the battlefield, and theability to control the movement of every platoon if he so chose.He chose.Thus he controlled all aspects of the operation.Perfect micromanagement.Unfortunately, the resulting managerial and information overload he had chosento blame on the suit instead of the process.He had responded by placing morelayers between himself and the company commanders while continuing to denythem their normal initiative.Thus, in every single combat scenario run todate the battalion had bogged down around its inability to maneuver or respondeffectively.And now they were going into battle.At a few moments before 0900 the groups started to break up and find seats.Surprising him not at all,when everyone was done, Second Lieutenant Eamons, the engineer platoon leader,Second LieutenantSmith, the scout platoon leader, two of the company XOs and himself along withall the enlisted from the sergeant major to the privates with red pencils weresans chairs.The sergeant major looked really pissed.A few moments later Major Norton called attention and Lieutenant ColonelYoungman entered and strode down the aisle to his spot.Reaching his seat 2Falcon 6 sat, accepted a cup of coffee from a hovering mess private and called"As you were," permitting everyone to resume their seats."Good afternoon, gentlemen," said Major Norton."Our mission is as follows:Task Force 2nd3-2-5Infantry has been tasked with defense of the III Corp flank in the area of theDeushi megalopolis where it is contiguous with the Nomzedi massif.The S-2will brief on the threat situation."The S-2 was First Lieutenant Phil Corley.Dark of hair and slightly belowaverage height, he was highly intelligent but lacked in great order commonsense.He stepped up to an easel and threw back its canvas cover dramatically.The canvas cover had been thrown on moments before the colonel's entrance.Itwas liberally covered with large red TOP SECRET stamps
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Tematy
IndexWarren Adler Wojna państwa Rose 01 Wojna państwa Rose
§ Menzel Iwona W poszukiwaniu zapachu snów 01 W poszukiwaniu zapachu snów
Lachlan M D Synowie boga 01 Synowie boga (2)
Robbins Harold Handlarze snów 01 Handlarze snow
§ Rudnicka Olga (01) Zacisze 13 Zacisze 13
Reynard Sylvain Piekło Gabriela 01 Piekło Gabriela
Kalifornijska noc 01 Kalifornijska noc Adler Elizabeth
Alexandra Bracken Mroczne umysły 01 Mroczne umysły
Christopher David Petersen [T Prisoner in Time (epub)
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