Military Necessity

We all know that, during a war, a military commander orders his men to kill the enemy. That is what a war is. However, he also causes deaths in another way. He must order his men into action, knowing in advance that some of them will be killed. Therefore, he must calculate whether the losses on his side will be acceptable. But, in any case, he knows that there will be losses.

When the slaves revolt, the ship's armory is guarded by two Gorzuni with "...a portable shield against blaster bolts." (Rise Of The Terran Empire, p. 352) Manuel says:

"'We need a direct charge to draw their attention, while a few of us use the zero gravity to soar "overhead" and come down on them from "above"'"..."'John, lead the main attack.'" (ibid.)

Reeves initial response is "'Like hell!'...It would be murder." (ibid.)

But his second response is to lead the attack. It is instantly ripped apart and repelled although, in that instant, Manuel's flying attack succeeds. As it happens, Reeves survives with a mere burn but both of them had known that some men would die and that Reeves would be in front.

There is an issue here that is not addressed in the story. Reeves and the reader later learn that Manuel has become engaged to Reeves' fiancee who therefore breaks off her engagement to Reeves. Was this in Manuel's mind when he ordered Reeves to lead the attack? I do not think so. Manuel is Captain; Reeves is First Mate. They have not adopted these titles yet but this is already their de facto relationship. Manuel simply orders the First Mate to lead the direct charge while he himself leads the flying attack. He would have had neither time nor inclination to consider personal issues.