Commander's Rounds

Entry 115: The Finding Out Phase

Albert Kesler sighed as he looked at the forces arrayed against him. He had been entirely outmaneuvered and trapped, and his only choices now were to fight foolishly on to the end, or simply accept defeat. It didn't take very long for even someone like him, who was lacking in tactical acumen, to see how any attempts to relieve himself of his difficulties.

And worst of all, the commander had a front-row seat.

He could only shrug. "I feel like I must concede the victory to you."

At the other end of the wargaming table, Sovetskaya Belorussiya could only smile. "Don't feel too bad. You at least were willing to admit your weaknesses, which not many people can bring themselves to do."

It was an oddly slow day at the commander's office, with only paperwork to bother him, and since Albert was without orders and had already completed his assignments, he decided to play a tabletop wargame against Belo while in the commander's office to find out exactly how much he didn't know.

And Belo was more than eager to show him.

"You seemed to know you would lose." She said. "I'm not sure that's the healthiest attitude when going into battle, but you were interested in finding out your weaknesses. Of course, it's not as though even something like this is an adequate measure of ability, seeing as games have far more rules than war does." She began putting away the models. "Were you that curious about yourself that you would challenge me at my strengths?"

"You seemed like the correct person to talk to about this." He pushed the few remaining models on his side over to Belo. "...Kii and Izumo wanted me to face off against the commander in a war exercise a little while ago."

The commander looked up from his desk. "So, why did you decline?"

Albert shook his head. "I did not believe I could put on a good show. My talents lie in other places."

Belo smiled. "It's a skill that can be developed, but I can understand why you feel it would be a poor use of your time to embarrass yourself. There's nothing wrong with discretion, after all." Once she finished putting away the figures, she leaned on the table. "Now, if it's something you'd like to learn..."

Albert shot that down immediately. "Between my other duties, I don't see that as entirely practicable. Besides, even if the commander is unavailable for some reason, there are plenty of Kansen who can take over, even if only for a temporary basis- I can think of at least a dozen I would put ahead of myself under any circumstance."

"All right." She said, picking up her case. "The offer is still there, of course." And soon the voluptuous northerner left the office with her toys.

The commander looked at the time. "She's good- She finished just before our next appointment."

Albert agreed, and got up. "Someone from the Sakura Empire, if I recall."

"Yeah, Special Envoy from the Ministry of Defense, Captain Masaharu Ishimoto." He said. "They've been fine with being hands-off most of the time, but considering we now have a couple of VIPs here, I think they're going to want to add a bit more of a personal touch to their dealings with us."

The Lieutenant remained silent for a moment. "...Do you believe they will try to interfere with our operations?"

"Doubtful." He replied. "I think that they just want to put on a show and make it look like they're putting some closer oversight on our activities, but the message from their government referred to him as a visitor rather than an investigator. I think the most he'll actually want to bring home is a photo op of me and him shaking hands. For the papers, of course."