La Marine Nationale Gauloise - Transmission Centre

[Lanakov]

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MARINE ROYALE GAULOISE

Nouveau message entrant.
Identifiant : Amiral Isabelle Montlaville de Chanteloup
Unité : Etat-major de la Marine Royale Gauloise
Destinataire : Lieutenant de Vaisseau Eloi Leclerc, Enseignes de Vaisseau Félix Lacroix and Guy Josselyn, Aspirant Madeline Sabine de Bordeleaux

Sujet : New assignments.

31 mai, 741 A.G.S.
Ile-de-France

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Montlaville appears onscreen, her uniform gleaming with practiced flawlessness. Her face shows tiny signs of satisfaction : a slight grin and unfrowning eyebrows. Which, for those versed in Chanteloup body language, is a rare case of expressive detonation which may as well be interpreted as "I AM ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED ABOUT EVERYTHING".

Bonjour,

Gentlemen, madame, I've been hearing from you in various ways since yesterday's report. Nothing incriminating... Yet... But clear signs that you felt like you had potential that you'd like to put to good use. Potential and initiative brings victory. I like victory. Therefore, here are your assignements.

She pauses, and lights a Gauloise cigarette.

Lieutenant de Vaisseau Eloi Leclerc,

Your rise through the ranks has been significant. To you, certainly, but to me as well. I don't have a habit of over-promoting people under my command : it makes them either complacent or utterly panicked. In both cases, they make mistakes, and, worst of all, they feel like they need to express their gratitude to me. That's why it does not happen.
It happened with you. I suspect you're a little shaken : you'd be fooling yourself if you weren't. You've entered the world of adults, and MRG adulthood is a terrifying thing that will put you to the test. So cheer up ! Adversity means you'll get better, and I need you to get better. In fact, I need everyone to get better. Getting better at war is a requirement to winning them : that's a constant. In light of this, and to soothe your undoubtedly racing mind, I've thought of something for you to do.

The reports about your flying skills are certainly impressive. With little prior training and in the short time you've served my fleet, you've demonstrated unusual competence in fighter combat and good interpersonal dispositions. I hereby order you to take charge of a new training regimen for our pilots : the Programme d'Instruction et d'Entraînement au Pilotage, or PIEP. Your duties are simple : come up with something to make my pilots better at being pilots. You have no budget limit and the entire infrastructure of the Marine is yours. You will have full power over those who volunteer to make use of the programme, and should you feel some of the men and women NEED the training and are lacking the drive to sign up, let me know and I'll arrange for them to find the motivation. I don't care what it takes : do what you can to bring out the best in our pilots and keep them in top shape for whatever comes next.

It's not an easy task, and is traditionally reserved to the As des As office. That being vacant at present, there will be no one to get in your way, as befits the accomplishment of such an important assignment. You will report only to me. I trust you on this, Capitaine : you've not ranked up so fast to piss around with your new golden rectangles. Show me I was right and Lieutenant de Vaisseau won't be the end of it for you.
If you've got questions about the logistics side of things, consult with Commandant L'Herminier, if you please. Good luck in your efforts.

Enseignes de Vaisseau Félix Lacroix and Guy Josselyn,

Lieutenants,

It has come to my attention that you've been displeased at not seeing your names on the tableau d'avancement lately. I can understand staying at the rank of Enseigne can be underwhelming when you think you've much to offer to the Marine. What I CANNOT understand, however, is two young and somewhat promising junior officers doing VERY LITTLE OF SIGNIFICANCE and expecting to be lauded for it. I normally would have let this slide with only moderate amounts of scorn, but it just so happens that I believe you could be up to some good if you only put some effort in it. Since you've failed to demonstrate the required initiative, I've decided to give you the chance to illustrate yourselves with a series of missions. Listen well.

Gallia needs eyes and ears. The GRI does a good job of listening everywhere we need them to, but they're not always well disposed to share what they find. I can't blame them : inter-service rivalry and budget-hunting is a constant of life, especially in war. Still, I need people to gather information on sensitive issues for the good of the MRG, and to act as my voice where I can't or at least shouldn't be heard. That's what you're going to do, in tandem. I'm partnering you to fulfill the duties of the Messenger office for the duration of this campaign. The endgame for you is to investigate the threat that CA Pierre Vincent Dupetit-Thouars du plateau des Coucous mentioned in his latest report. Not bad, huh ? You will touch what is perhaps the greatest mystery of our history with the tip of your fingers... And perhaps help us find a way to weaponise it for the Roi. But as I said, this will be the endgame. Speak of it to no one.

First, you will be assigned a series of missions, each new one handed following successful completion of the previous. Think of it as a campaign with increasing difficulty that will allow me to check your progress and ensure you're both ready for the big plan. Do well, and I'll see you rewarded and issued the promotions you so ardently desire.

These tasks will be dangerous and delicate, increasingly so. They will require finesse, stealth, cunning, diplomacy and resourcefulness. Which is why I'm adding the aspirant Sabine de Bordeleaux to your team. She's experienced in dealing with foreign groups and difficult situations and will be of great help to you in the coming missions. Make good use of her skills both in support capacity and directly on the field. Cooperation will be of the essence to see this campaign through, and I intend for the three of you to learn to work together as a cohesive unit. Cohesion wins wars.

Now that the introduction is set, here is your first assignment : opération Bernard-l'hermite.
I want a full report on the Natio Octavarium. They're a band of renegades in fealty to the Crayterian rogue state for some reason, and a new player in the region.
I want to know who they are, what they want, what they are up to, and what threat they pose to us and our operations, particularly in the Tau Highway (the Au-Tau-Route !).
Any extra information past that will be a bonus and put to good use by our analysts.

To accomplish this, you have carte blanche. But I don't want a desk-job report : you will lead an investigation on the field. Get out there, locate their bases, find their agents, their accomplices, their enemies. Ask around, hell, even talk to them if it comes to that. Test their combat capabilities if the opportunity arises, too. The idea here is to know who we are dealing with and what level of threat we should expect from them.

I expect a well put-together report. Create a good template that you can use for your next missions, to save your time. And mine.
Opération Bernard-l'hermite is a go. Do not fail me.


Surprisingly, she gets up from her seat and goes to shut down the communication by herself, after making three curt steps towards it, her expression unflinching.

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If everyone was a bit more like Lanakov, the entire world would be more positive. Including pregnancy tests.