Firefly Light

Chapter 19

Solomon Pierce was disappointed when he first heard about Keika's breach of conduct and that he was going to have to discipline her. He had been the child's Sword Master since she had first picked up a blade and knew her very well. Disobeying orders was not like her, not at all, but she would have to be punished for the act just like anyone else. After thinking about it for a while, however, he realized there was a way to turn this to the army's advantage.

With the expansion of the kingdom that had taken place during the past fifteen years the army was now asked to cover too much territory. He had talked with Joe on several occasions about expanding the army, but the king had wanted to delay that for a while due to the cost. There had been no serious military threats during this time. It was Solomon's argument that it would be too late to expand the military if an unexpected crisis took place and that needed to be done now, during peace time. The king had agreed, but countered that a great deal of their effort was presently being expended in assimilating the new territories into the kingdom and establishing governmental, educational and judicial services and agencies in those areas. An expansion of the army would have to wait until after this activity had been completed.

They had also, however, talked for months about how Keika's abilities might be used to their best advantage, within the kingdom as well as during combat. The king had shared his vision for the small unit that would be established under her command to support her in a combat role. After some consideration, Solomon enlarged this idea into something that could have a peacetime impact as well.

When he couldn't get the expansion of the regular army he had requested, he had asked the king about the possibility of establishing volunteer reserve army units in each of the towns. These would be composed of retired army members that still passed the army physical, and former army members who had moved on to other occupations after serving the time required in the army. These units could be set up with a minimum of expense, using old, or personally owned, armor, uniforms and equipment. They would be expected to assemble only in case of emergencies or for occasional refresher training. They would be paid for their time only when the unit was active. The king had been much more receptive to this idea, and had told him to proceed with a study about how this could be done.

These units could be called up and deployed for local emergencies or joined together to make a larger unit that could directly support the army if needed. The only thing missing would be officers ranked higher than reserve captain. That is where Keika's special unit came in. Solomon viewed this unit as a group of exceptional officers that would fight at her side as a single unit during war or could be broken up to operate as single, pairs or small groups of officers for peacetime duties. If there were enough of them then the bulk could be assigned to accompany her as needed with some being held back for other special duties, even during a conflict. Special strike teams could be assembled from the group as needed. If plugged into the reserve unit system, they could provide high level leadership to a reserve unit anywhere in the country within a short period of time.

Another major concern that Field Marshall Pierce had was the fact that there had been a significant uptick of gang and criminal activity taking place on the roads again. The focus of the country was now on bringing the new territories into the fold as well as the recent discovery of a new neighboring kingdom. He feared that a new threat was growing, and he didn't want to allow it to escalate out of control. When caught, the criminals were presently being sent to the judicial system for trial. This was beginning to overload the court system. If given appropriate authority to conduct a criminal trial in the field these officers could be used with small groups of reserves or even garrison troops to patrol and clear the roads of brigands in an efficient manner. Those found guilty of major crimes would be executed on the spot. Lesser criminals were sent back to civilian jails to serve their sentence. This way Keika's unit would be available for her use as envisioned during war, but yet, they would have important duties to perform during peacetime as well.

In his judgment, the members of this unit would have to occupy a special place in both the civilian and military organizations of the country and be viewed differently than any other position. They would be a combination of battle companion, military leader and administrator of the law. Thus, they could perform any of their duties as required by the kingdom. A lot would be asked of them. After some research, he decided that the name Paladins, after Charlemagne's most famous knights, would be a good name for them.

Joseph had not stated when he wanted this unit to be set up, but Solomon got the impression that it would be a year or two away. The Field Marshall wanted to speed that up, and he decided to make as the girl's punishment the job of establishing this unit. Under his supervision she would do all of the planning, research and work needed to launch the unit. She would also be responsible for interviewing and screening its potential members, with her, the king, Solomon and Edmund making up the selection committee. In addition he wanted for her and Valerie Vair to begin road patrols now to be joined by the new Paladins as they were trained in the law. As an Otani Princess her father could give her the authority of making decisions in criminal cases, so she could start immediately. She could then be gaining experience for the task at hand and be serving the kingdom with her remarkable skills at the same time.

Of course, it stood to reason that you would want the best people to fill these positions, so they should be open to competition. The nature of this competition was something else that the young Ms. Otani could work out. The new Paladins, however, would have to understand that the teenage Keika was their leader, no matter how old or experienced they might be.

He presented his ideas to the king and after some discussion, they were approved. Joseph admitted to Solomon that, with the discovery of a bordering kingdom, he had decided to speed up the formation of Keika's unit anyway. He was also becoming more and more concerned about security along the kingdom's roads. The idea about forming the reserves was a sound one fiscally and he especially liked the idea about the Paladins. Together they presented the concepts at the next General Staff meeting and at the Council meeting. Both groups enthusiastically supported and approved the changes.