“What I was about to say,” Battleax continued, “was that in light of this new information, I think Major Humpty’s earlier suggestion has a certain degree of merit to it. “
It took the other officers a moment to follow her train of thought. When they did, they were understandably taken aback.
“What? You mean transfer him to the Omegas?” Captain Joshua said.
“Why not? As I just pointed out, Omega Companies are a fact of life in the Legion. While Headquarters generally disbands them as being too easy a solution for our problems, at times they have their purposes … and it seems to me this is one of those times.”
She leaned forward, her eyes bright.
“Think about it, gentlemen. An unpleasant, no-win assignment may be just what’s needed to convince our young lieutenant to resign. If not, he’s conveniently out of the way and in no position to cause us further embarrassment. The beauty of it is that no one, including his father and the lieutenant himself, can accuse us of not giving him a chance at redemption. “
“But the only officer’s post available there is-or will be-the CO slot,” the major protested, “and that position calls for at least a captain. That’s what I was saying when-“
“So promote him.”
“Promote him?” the captain said, painfully aware they were talking about a rank equal to his own. “We’re going to reward him for fouling up? That doesn’t seem right.”
“Captain, would you consider it a reward to be placed in command of an Omega Company … even if there was a promotion attached?”