Turnabout Trial (2)
"Bring him in."
"User, would you tell us what you know about the corruption in the Fifth Army?"
Ellen called forward User, a platoon leader from the First Infantry.
"I am User, Third Platoon Leader of the First Company, First Infantry. I've come to speak about Tony, who took command of the First Infantry three years ago. There were things about his appointment that never sat right with me."
Tony's expression soured the moment User appeared. The man had already been serving in the First Infantry long before Tony ever arrived. If someone like that was opening his mouth, the testimony was bound to cut against him.
"When the First Infantry commander's post fell vacant, Donovan — currently the First Company commander — had already been tapped for the job. But two days before the appointment was to be announced, Tony was suddenly installed as commander on the Grand Marshal's orders."
"Where do you get off slandering me like that?"
Tony shot to his feet, jabbing a finger at User, his face flushed a deep red.
"From this moment on, anyone who speaks without first receiving leave to do so will be severely punished."
It was Akard who cut him off. At those words, Tony clapped a hand over his own mouth.
"Looking at the ledger, there's a transfer of money right around that time."
The ledger recorded funds sent from Tony to Germil during precisely the period User had described. Next to the entry, the words First Infantry Commander had been written out as well.
"Ellen, are there any other witnesses to the corruption besides User?"
"Yes, sir. There are more. Candle, would you speak?"
Ellen named Candle as the next witness.
Four more witnesses followed after that. All of them held the rank of platoon leader or company commander. Most were commoners — men with neither money nor a family title to their names.
After seizing Sabe's ledger, Ellen had gone straight to the commoner officers in every unit where corrupt appointments had been made. Those men had long harbored deep grievances against the army itself. Ever since Germil took over, promotion had required either wealth or a well-connected house. Commoners who possessed neither — no matter their skill or their results — were left frozen in place. They had languished as perpetual platoon and company commanders because of it.
Ellen understood their bitterness all too well. He had laid out his plan and proposed they use this opportunity to rip those rotten bastards out by the roots. Once they heard it, they agreed to join him.
"Their testimony all appears well-founded. Do any of you have anything to say for yourselves?"
Having heard every witness, Akard fixed Germil and Sabe with a hard stare.
"Th-that is…"
Germil was already half out of his mind. Unable to find any footing, he could only stammer and fumble for words.
"That ledger isn't m—"
Sabe was no better off. The evidence and testimony were so damning that he couldn't find a single crack through which to wriggle free. All he could manage was the desperate claim that the ledger wasn't his.
"Mana verification confirms it matches Sabe Sennen's signature."
A mage who had accompanied Akard reported the results of the ledger's mana authentication. At those words, Sabe felt the ground drop out from under him.
"I've heard enough. Those of you who paid for your posts — do you have anything to say?"
Akard turned to Tony and the others who had bought their way into command.
"……"
They, too, had nothing.
Then Ellen raised his hand.
"May I be permitted to speak, sir?"
"You may."
Granted the floor, Ellen rose to his feet.
"I have been assigned to the Fifth Army for a little over two months. In that short time, I have witnessed far too much corruption. Men without money or a house behind them — men who had the ability — were never given a chance."
Around the chamber, every commoner officer nodded. The noble-born and the wealthy, by contrast, kept their heads down. Some among them already looked terrified of what measures might follow.
"Because of that endemic corruption, our unit was driven to the brink of annihilation. If the Magic Unit commander had not heeded my counsel, the Fifth Army would have been wiped out in that gorge. Acting independently was, I grant you, a breach of discipline."
Ellen paused for a breath. In that brief silence, no one in the hall spoke a word.
"But what would have happened if we hadn't? Should an entire unit die because of an incompetent commander? If promotions had been granted by ability and by results from the start, none of this would ever have come to pass."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Save for a handful of officers, everyone present in the council chamber broke into applause.
So it was true — in the last two battles, he really was the one who contributed the most, both as a tactical commander and as a fighter.
Akard was a warrior, but as Grand Marshal he also had a foot firmly planted in politics. He took the measure of the situation in an instant.
He flipped Germil's scheme right back on him. And he carried public opinion with him while he was at it — like a seasoned political operator.
Akard found himself growing interested. The boy was young, but physical age had never been a factor that mattered much to him.
"I will deliver my judgment."
The moment Akard spoke, a heavy tension settled over the chamber.
"This court-martial was originally convened to pass judgment on Jett Kanero and Ellen. But it seems we must redirect that judgment toward Germil Zvet and Sabe Sennen instead."
Germil and Sabe were still trembling violently.
"Military corruption is a grave crime even in peacetime. In a state of war such as we face now, it must be punished with the utmost severity. The fact that this corruption was not confined to the past, but continued right up until recently, makes it utterly unforgivable."
Indeed, the most recent date recorded in Sabe's ledger was only two days prior. And selling offices had been far from the extent of it — they had diverted military funds and committed graft across every domain under their control.
"Moreover, their crimes are so numerous that I could not even begin to list them all. Therefore, acting in the name of the Crown, and as Grand Marshal with full authority over the armed forces, I hereby sentence them to execution."
"Execution?"
"Grand Marshal — did you say execution?"
The two men reeled under the weight of Akard's sentence. They had never imagined they would hear the word execution.
"Grand Marshal, execution is far too harsh a punishment."
"Germil is a son of House Zvet. Executing a noble's child requires careful deliberation."
Other noble-born officers joined Germil's protest.
"They are nobles, yes — but they are also soldiers. As the supreme commander of this army, I find it impossible to simply let this pass."
At Akard's words, their faces went deathly pale. Men who had rarely felt their lives truly threatened found the fear of this moment almost unbearable.
"Given that we are at war, I would be within my rights to exercise summary judgment here and now. I will not go that far. I will return to the capital, order a reinvestigation, and then issue the final sentence."
What that meant was clear enough: if the reinvestigation confirmed their guilt, the death sentence would proceed as planned. With evidence this ironclad, the result was never going to change. Knowing that, the two men finally dropped to their knees.
"Grand Marshal, please — spare us just this once."
Thud.
Akard kicked Germil away as the man clutched at his pant leg.
"Do not disgrace yourself any further as a soldier."
Germil clamped his mouth shut even as blood welled from his split lip. The other nobles fell silent as well. As Akard had said, in wartime the Grand Marshal's word carried the weight of a royal decree. There was no room for them to interfere.
"Next. Those who purchased their ranks are hereby stripped of their posts, effective immediately. Any further measures against them will be determined after additional investigation upon my return to the capital. Drag them all out of here."
At Akard's command, the adjutants who had accompanied him hauled the corrupt officers away.
"You can't do this, Grand Marshal!"
"Without us, the army's fighting strength will suffer a critical shortfall!"
Even as they were dragged out, they thrashed and struggled — ugly to the last.
"With the likes of you around, the shortfall would only be worse. All mouth and no spine, right to the end."
This man — his decisiveness is beyond anything I expected.
Ellen was thrown by how the situation was unfolding. This was the plan he himself had set in motion, but he had never imagined the response would come so fast, or with such uncompromising force.
"Next, we will fill the vacant posts and handle the awards for merit at the same time. And then we will move straight into planning the capture of Roche."
Akard took the seat of honor as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"As this incident has made plain, every appointment will be made carefully, after thorough investigation. This may well become a sweeping reform of the Fifth Army. Ah — and drag those two out of here as well."
Mid-sentence, Akard glanced at Germil, still crawling on the floor, and at Sabe beside him. Moments later, they too were hauled out by the scruff in the hands of Akard's adjutants.
"But there can be no question that the capture of Roche must take priority. For this battle alone, therefore, I will assign temporary commands."
Akard produced the battlefield reports he had reviewed on his way here. The posts of the First and Second Infantry commanders, the Grand Marshal of the army, and his two adjutants all stood vacant.
"Temporarily, the First and Second Infantry commands will fall to their respective First Company commanders. As for the two adjutant posts, they can remain empty for the time being. The other unit commanders will provide support as needed."
Only the army commander's seat remained. Everyone still in the chamber hung on Akard's next words.
"Selecting an army commander requires far greater care, so I will defer that appointment."
At that, the tension that had blanketed the chamber abruptly drained away. He was right, of course. The army commander's post was not something one could simply hand out on a whim.
"But someone will still need to take overall command of the Roche operation in the army commander's place."
An intrigued smile touched the corner of Akard's mouth.
"Ellen. You will take this operation."
For an instant, not even a breath could be heard in the chamber.
"Sir?"
Even Ellen himself let out a dazed sound before he could stop it.
"I said you will take command — of the entire Roche capture operation."
Only then did the murmuring begin. It spread like wildfire, and within moments the council chamber was as noisy as a marketplace in Harryford.
"Silence, all of you!"
The Grand Master's lion's roar crushed every sound in the hall to nothing.
"I know exactly what you all want to say. Experience. Age. Rank. Tradition. You'll rattle off every one of those excuses. But let me tell you something — I think I can say this with certainty."
Akard pointed at the still-stunned Ellen.
"Is there anyone in this room who can do a better job than him?"
The officers said nothing. Part of it was the lingering force of Akard's roar. But more than that, none of them had a real rebuttal. In both of the previous battles, Ellen's performance had been in a class of its own.
A few of them still twitched as if to speak. Akard shut each of those mouths with a single hard look.
"Good. No objections, then. Ellen — I'm counting on you for this operation."
Akard thrust out his hand toward him.