strengths as an administrator and leader of men James had a rather poor speaking voice, I decided as I stared across our spanking-new barracks complex and at the newly renovated Richard , whose Field was powered up just enough to make her glitter and sparkle in the sun. He wouldn't mind if I let my attention drift, I knew—after all, I'd helped write his speech, just as he had mine. So instead of listening to James enumerate the crimes of the Imperials against our common homeworld and wax eloquent about the future of the fencibles on all Royal worlds once we'd proven the concept, I smiled to myself in satisfaction as I admired Richard 's crew, all formed up in neat lines in front of their shiny, freshly-refurbished ship. I was still amazed that we'd come so far so quickly, once we made the decision to purchase her. Part of it was pure luck; even before we could send out a destroyer a Royal revenue cutter had Jumped into the system on a perfect vector to intercept our new purchase and bring her home. That alone had halved the time it should’ve taken us to bring the former mining-service vessel into commission. We'd also been able to streamline the process by borrowing some key personnel from the navy—we could never have come up with a trained engine-room crew on such short notice, for example. And such volunteers we'd been blessed with! We could've easily manned Richard three times over with a skilled, all-human crew if we'd chosen. The fencibles wouldn't always be able to be so choosy, however, and a precedent needed to be set. While I chose a few humans to fill certain of the lowest ranks, for the most part Richard was the first commissioned vessel in history (so far as I knew) whose crew included Rabbits under arms. Certainly, her officers were all human—I was the only qualified Rabbit officer there was, after all. But I hand-selected each and every one of said humans, rejecting them freely at the slightest sign of smugness or self-assurance in my presence. And Snow returned just in time to go through a crash-course on military discipline and take over as sergeant in charge of the tiny marine detachment. My classmate Jean ended up in command, and I was confident that he'd deal with the volatile social problems that were certain to arise as well as anyone could.
"...someone who of course needs no introduction," James was just finishing up as I returned my attention to the real world around me. "David Birkenhead, the hero of Zombie Station!"
I took my time stepping up to the podium so as to let the cheering die down. As was our habit at such events, James and I took a moment to embrace like brothers in front of the cameras—we never missed a chance to broadcast the fact of our personal alliance far and wide, so that no one would ever have any doubts that to make an enemy of one of us was to make an enemy of both. Then I stood at the microphone, notes fluttering in the wind.
"Gentlemen of the press," I began. "My fellow natives of Marcus Prime..." I had to wait for the cheering to cease again after that—emphasizing our common birthplace was something that James had suggested, and sure enough he'd been right. "Today marks the beginning of not just a new branch of the armed forces, but of a new, tighter partnership between the civilian and military spheres of influence..."
My speech was considerably longer than I'd have liked. But there was so much that simply had to be said! The fencibles, I explained, would be the province of the common man within the military establishment. "We'll soon be in need of far more officers and men than the nobility can possibly provide!" And we'd accept not just every able-bodied human, but Rabbits and eventually Dogs as well. "Marcus Prime has long offered proof that members of the gengineered species can and will be productive, useful citizens when offered the chance. Zombie Station has proven that we can serve as soldiers as well." By the time I was finished, what
"...someone who of course needs no introduction," James was just finishing up as I returned my attention to the real world around me. "David Birkenhead, the hero of Zombie Station!"
I took my time stepping up to the podium so as to let the cheering die down. As was our habit at such events, James and I took a moment to embrace like brothers in front of the cameras—we never missed a chance to broadcast the fact of our personal alliance far and wide, so that no one would ever have any doubts that to make an enemy of one of us was to make an enemy of both. Then I stood at the microphone, notes fluttering in the wind.
"Gentlemen of the press," I began. "My fellow natives of Marcus Prime..." I had to wait for the cheering to cease again after that—emphasizing our common birthplace was something that James had suggested, and sure enough he'd been right. "Today marks the beginning of not just a new branch of the armed forces, but of a new, tighter partnership between the civilian and military spheres of influence..."
My speech was considerably longer than I'd have liked. But there was so much that simply had to be said! The fencibles, I explained, would be the province of the common man within the military establishment. "We'll soon be in need of far more officers and men than the nobility can possibly provide!" And we'd accept not just every able-bodied human, but Rabbits and eventually Dogs as well. "Marcus Prime has long offered proof that members of the gengineered species can and will be productive, useful citizens when offered the chance. Zombie Station has proven that we can serve as soldiers as well." By the time I was finished, what
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