The general was aghast. Such a display from so senior an officer, and such a stalwart one at that, was disconcerting to him. “Colonel, are you asking for retirement or reassignment?”

“No, sir, no, not retirement. No sir, my dedication to the service remains absolute, but reassignment would, indeed, be very … welcome, and hopefully a little closer to Washington, if that might be possible.”

The general’s mind raced. This was an unfortunate display, and the idea of having Colonel Milton in the Pentagon, even if he was an excellent officer, was suddenly unappealing.

Meanwhile, the colonel watched the senior man’s face tell the tales of his emotions. He was flushed red, his blood pressure clearly even higher than normal.

The colonel knew that there was a chance that he would not be reassigned, and that if he was it might not be to DC itself. He was OK with that. Anything in the NE would, by the very nature of the bases up here, probably be more tactical than his role at the Array.

The general eventually broke the silence, “Well, this is very irregular, and not something I would normally entertain. But, as you say, this is not something you are given to, and so I am inclined to consider it. It would mean transferring you out of my command, of course.” As he said that, he hesitated a little. The colonel was a very effective and reliable officer. While having some nauseating lovebird at the Pentagon sounded like a bad idea, he had another option, and one that didn’t make it seem like he was bending over backward to meet the needs of some colonel.

“Or maybe not. Colonel, your expertise might, actually, lend itself to another assignment within my division,” the colonel’s eyes narrowed, he had considered that this might happen, “and I believe you have worked with the folks up at ESC before.”

The ESC, or Electronic Systems Center, based at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, was in charge of developing and testing the air force’s command and control, communications, computer, and intelligence systems. Its location was not ideal for Barrett’s needs, but it would give him more than enough access to the information he would require.

Even more than that, it was the only base in the air force that had more officers than enlisted men, and it housed some of the finest minds in the US. Ripe recruiting grounds for the colonel and his friends.

As the colonel contemplated the assignment, the general waffled on. He made sure that the colonel knew he would be receiving a very large favor, and that the general was a very generous man for giving it to him.

The colonel nodded until his neck hurt, and thanked the general enough to tan his nose, but he didn’t push hard for it. He let the general make the final call, and once he did, the interview finally came to an end.