Military in the field - ID issues

[rusquen]

This is a fantasy story set in a secondary world. The army in question is vaguely reminiscent of the Napoleonic army, but the country it belongs to is definitely and defiantly a republic (so - no nobles pulling rank

Comments

[xolo]

His army will have issued a set of peace-time regulations which ought to cover the case of meeting an apparent superior, when one isn't certain of that person's bona fides. Considering that they're close to war, there may well have been additional general orders issued about such situations. A lieutenant would be expected to be familiar with all such regulations and orders. More than likely, Lt. S needs to punt, and go to the Officer of the Day, or else to his own superior officer for instructions. A good general will recognize the lieutenant's situation, and not make unnecessary trouble for a soldier who's doing his duty.

[rusquen]

Hey, thanks for responding!

So... what kind of regulations would those be? I'm just completely failing at finding or designing them. The best I can think of is some sort of password exchange, but passwords would need to be changed often for security, and these guys don't have fast long-distance communication beyond pigeon post. I somehow don't see pigeons being regularly sent to every single little outpost with the message of "today's password for recognizing random superior officers is swordfishRe punting... I'm afraid Lt.S would have to make some sort of decision on his own. It's not that the general is trying to make any trouble - he's pretty much incoherent by this point. And, in theory, Lt.S could just bring him inside the fortress on the basis of common humanity and then let the garrison commander and medic figure out how real is the general and his health issues. The problem is, he did see the general perform a major magical stunt while fighting off the assassins. If it turns out the general's actually an enemy pulling off a

[marycatelli]

How necessary is actually being in the post for treatment of the injuries?

Also remember that if they are not what they claim to be, he wants them as prisoners.

[green_grrl]

Maybe the general is also wearing the military’s ornate signet ring identifiable from the wax impression on sealed orders. Between the uniform and the ring, Lt. S can be 80-98% sure this is who he thinks it is, depending on the counterfeiting skill and tactical style of the enemy. On that, he can at least get them just inside the fortress and call the commander to come down and take over.

[tabaqui]

What is communication like in this world? Since there is magic, can anyone speak to anyone (regular anyone) or is that only reserved for super-special magic users? Do they have telegraph service or some such

[marycatelli]

Also, once the entire post is alert, having someone be able to recognize the general is not that odd of a coincidence. . . .

Much depends on where the story should go.

[tabaqui]

That's true!

[rusquen]

To: tabaqui
Yeah, the communication on this world is late 18th century for most intents and purposes :)

The problem I'm having with the general's arrest is that, given the numbers and his magic, putting him under arrest in that fortress is an equivalent of politely inviting an armed robber into your house to wait until police arrives. If he's hostile, there is some chance of keeping him out if they lock the gate and call for reinforcements, but once he's in, the fortress is his and getting him out will be a major pain.
But maybe I'm overthinking it. Or Lt.S is. Come to think of it, the general's magic would actually kinda corroborate his identity - there aren't exactly herds of magicians running around.
So maybe if Lt.S sees a) magic, b) uniform, and c) a signet ring, he can decide something along the lines of "well, it's most likely our general, and if it's not we're utterly screwed anyway and can't do much about it" and let them in.

Anyway, thanks for the response, it's very helpful to know what a normal procedure would be otherwise!

[rusquen]

Alright, I think I'm starting to get the picture. Thank you so much, everyone!

[anonymous]

Disclaimer: no firsthand military experience here.

Lt. S. doesn't know about magic, so he sees 1 injured man, 1 healthy man, and 2 dead men. He can assume that the attackers are unlikely to return ((Side note: why did they attack the newcomers rather than finish off their target? Assassins should either finish the job, or vamoose)). Therefore he should render aid, and bring them in, but keep them under guard if he's not satisfied with their identities or stories. Additionally, seeing a superior officer of younger age is not all that odd, especially for the 18th Century. Col. Alexander Hamilton is a notable example, as is Cpt. John Lewis (of Lewis & Clark fame). Furthermore, at worst Lt. S.'s suspicion should be that a couple of junior officers, or local boys, stole military uniforms, and got into a lethal scrape.

Hope that helps,
- Beaumains