The Kathiawari Mare

by AShadowOfCygnus

KM-12198409-73

Exam Form KM-12198409-73
Results

Examinee: S. Armour
School (Year): Royal Equestrian Military Academy (Year 5 - graduating)
Exam Date: 18 Hearthfire 988
Examiners Presiding: C. Cruller, S. Frisk, Withershins

Reason for Testing: Graduation requirement

Scenario:
A variant on the Bandit Kidnap scenario subset—candidate and two constables of the local township against a score of armed brigands with six prisoners. Contemporary gear supplied. Scenario took place in a densely-wooded area just outside said township after midnight.

Minor alterations made by examiners to ensure appropriate test of small-unit tactics. Candidate is well-versed in battlefield strategy on the larger scale; after thorough consultation with his instructors, it was determined that this would be an ideal test of his command flexibility.

Account:
Simulacrum began at the edge of a Fey Wild outside the developed township of [Redacted]—a locale evidently familiar to the recruit, as he was able to easily orient himself by way of several local landmarks on querying his escort. Recruit would later confirm that he had visited the area with family in the past whilst on holiday.

Candidate reviewed orders with auxiliaries one final time: candidate had assumed the guise of an off-duty veteran, tasked with leading local constabulary to retrieve a half-dozen villagers taken prisoner in a raid by local subsistence farmers-turned-raiders, in protest at recent expansions into their ancestral lands. Diplomatic solutions had failed, and a previous party of constables was sent back in saddlebags, along with one of the hostages. The brigands had threatened to kill one further hostage each night their demands were not met. Mayor of [Redacted] had requested volunteer assistance for the second party, with explicit orders to incapacitate hostiles where possible; killing would awaken the blood-fever in the fey-beasts and potentially provoke a more drastic response from the survivors.

Candidate also took the opportunity to assess his cohort: a wiry, bespectacled Pegasus with a well-meaning frown, the only formal member of the constabulary among the group; and a burly, brooding fellow with a beady eye and a sharp tongue: a deputy of only a few years, working in the local off-season. Both were familiar with the forest, and moved out swiftly at candidate’s direction—though not without some grumbling from the rough. Candidate attempted to engage both in light conversation throughout the journey, but only the constable indulged him.

Candidate correctly surmised that a farm militia only lately turned scavenger would be unlikely to take any great care hiding traces of their presence, and tracks were soon located leading deeper into the forest. The group followed these for a time, the rough ranging ahead as the constable and candidate spoke in low tones, swapping stories about family and assessing each other’s field training and how best to leverage it against a numerically superior force. Then they came to a split in the tracks, and there things began to break down.

The more obvious set of tracks led southeast, down a shallow incline into a place where the trees grew thicker together, near the heart of the forest; the other—scattered, narrower—up a steeply-sloping ridge directly northward. Logic dictated that the better-worn path was the more likely alternative, but despite the patient reasoning of the candidate and the constable both, the deputy swore up and down that the upper route was safer, easier, and—in face of all logic—the ‘right direction’. This quickly escalated to an argument, as the reasonable members of the group insisted on the logic of the lower path, and the deputy that his ‘intuition’ was sound, that no-one had ever had enough faith in him to let him be a real deputy, that the out-of-towner was impinging on his chance to shine, and so on and so forth.

This caught both the candidate—and the constable, who had known the rough longer—somewhat off-guard, and they both changed tack to quiet him; his shouts would be sure to alert any nearby brigands to their presence. Eventually, they were able to quiet him and let him take the lead down the slope, candidate continuing to try and engage him in conversation. But the deputy just forged ahead.

Eventually, the light of a fire evidenced itself through the trees, and the three crept to the edge of a clearing where the bandits had made camp. Candidate pulled the other two into a huddle to determine a reasonable approach to extracting the hostages; the constable was all in favour of a sneaky approach, possibly weaponising some of the local flora or megafauna, but the deputy was almost frothing at the bit at an opportunity to rush in. This again descended into whispered argument of some minutes as the two utterly irreconcilable positions struggled for supremacy. Candidate maintained a conciliatory approach at all times, evidently to the mounting fury of the deputy, who finally screamed that he’d had enough of waiting and dove into the centre of the camp in a highly unbecoming bloodlust.

(Candidate would later refer to this strategy—or lack thereof—as the ‘Ahoy Jenkins’, after some apocryphal tale popular around the naval barracks at REMA. The panel is considering adopting this as official terminology for want of a similarly pithy designation.)

The rough took up his sword and scattered coals from the fire among the tents, panicking the inhabitants even as he cut through their fellows in threes and fours. Candidate and constable had little option but to assist him, and between the three of them they were able to kill or disable almost half the opposing force before the latter had time to muster themselves. Once these latter were on securer footing, however, the tide turned back on the group: candidate suffered a glancing arrow-wound to the shoulder, and the rough was cut down by the combined efforts of a half-dozen of the remaining brigands.

Candidate and constable were thereafter able to pick off several of the remaining brigands at range until they were left facing down but a single survivor, who emerged from the largest tent holding a knife to the throat of a [Redacted] filly no older than eight. Candidate evidently recognised the hostage, calling her by name.

[Redacted]

The bandit then stated his terms—be allowed to walk free with half the hostages, or the child would die. Candidate had already ‘tipped he hoof’ [sic] by acknowledging he recognised her, and the bandit refused point-blank to swap for any of the other hostages. Candidate and constable attempted for several minutes to defuse the situation in exactly the appropriate manner—pushing where they could, backing off as the hostage-taker grew more agitated. The dialogue grew noticeably in pitch and volume, and the knife pressed harder still into [Redacted]’s throat.

Constable was gently convincing candidate that they had minimal hope of changing the stallion’s stance when a second brigand leapt from ambush behind a tent at the left flank. Candidate and constable moved at the same time; candidate firing a spell at the new attacker by reflex, the constable leaping over him for the hostage-taker, wing-blades bared. Candidate confirmed takedown with a single blast, and turned back in time to see the knife [Redacted].

[Redacted]

Simulacrum ended as constable prepared to guide all surviving hostages back to town.

Results:
The examiners have elected to award Recruit Armour a score of 8 for expert handling of a harrowing and emotionally-charged situation, and wish to extend their sincere apologies for the particular subject matter raised in the course of the test. It was under no circumstances understood or considered that the simulacrum would react in this manner to the particular fears of [REDACTED] held by the candidate. Candidate has full assurances that future iterations of the test will be modified to account for particularly strong feelings related to family and [REDACTED]. Personal leave, medi-magical amnestics, and counselling will be made available on request. As per usual in such cases, the Crown will assume all costs.

In terms of performance, we feel that the candidate functioned more than adequately in the line of duty, though we do note a particular concern relating to the candidate’s insistence on earning the respect of the ponies under his command. Irregular troops—constables of the local prefectures especially—are prone to a certain laxness that regimental soldiers are trained to avoid, and feel freer to voice their disagreements with command decisions in the field. Such arguments must be taken in stride when issuing command decisions, and insubordinate soldiers to be dealt with appropriately: while conciliation is occasionally the smart play, there comes a time when a commander must put her boot down and indicate her decisions are final.

Overall, we assess the candidate to be a highly ethical and competent commander, and will be taking the necessary steps to recommend him for a commission to the General Staff.

Comments

[Neighrator Pony]

"Ahoy Jenkins" I'm dead 🤣🤣