Dante cheers, running around the edge of the circular overwatch lab as he high-fives each of his classmates.
“Nice work you guys!” He smiles, “Snacks on me,”
The rest of the class nods and passes around their looks of satisfaction with the whole arena lit green and the words fixed on their HUD-
_OVERWATCH: CLASSTEST PASSED
“It was good performance,” Madam Liiv’s thick accent silences the celebrations, “If goal was to kill all ally units,”
She glances at the command hologram in front of Dante and brings up the stats.
_LIFELINE
_UNITS REMAINING: 1
_MUNITIONS REMAINING: 53%
_DURATION: 26 min 13 sec
“In sim, there is no personal connections. Would you sacrifice lives like that in real scenario?” Madam Liiv ponders. “You only use offense when your back against the wall but why? The objective is to protect the gem, how that is done is up to you,”
She addresses the entire class with her criticism, not just Dante- despite him being in charge. She has taught them how to lead whilst allowing the input from subordinates and thus, they are also held liable for what they do not say.
“It is quite horrifying, actually. You use less than half of your ammo… Across 35 units. It's so bad,”
“Still a pass,” Pete grins.
“There is no ‘pass’ beyond the dome,” She snides, “You live or you die. In this sim, you all die,”
“Isn't that the point?” Kassian asks, “Protect the gem?”
“The gem is not real,” She iterates, “It is concept. A mission. Executing the mission is in your hands. Do you know what most successful strategy has been for this test?” She asks the class.
No one answers.
_LEADERBOARD_
_SORT BY CLASS: OVERWATCH
_SHOW: TOP 5 of 327,000
* M. Linklater: 98%
* A. Pearl - 92%
* P. Lin - 88%
* G. Mehdi - 87%
* J. Lutula - 74%
_EXPAND FOR MORE_
Woah, Dante’s eyes gaze at the name atop the list- Linklater. It sounds familiar, but he’s not sure why.
“One Unit,” Madam Liiv states, “That’s all he lost,”
“Bullshit,” Mich slouches in his chair and waves a hand dismissively, “Fear isn’t a strategy,”
“Out of line!” Madam Liiv steps over and smacks Mich over the back of the head.
“ah, fuck! It’s bullshit, Ma’am,” He nearly slips out of his seat, rubbing the back of his head.
“What is the strategy?” Tiffany asks.
“Retreat,” Mich slurs on his words, “Just run away,”
“It is much more complex than this,” Madam Liiv says, playing back his test on the hologram and screens in the lab, “He chose to keep the gem on the move- splitting all thirty-five units into seven garrison’s and hiding it among just one of them. Each garrison went its own direction, and fought like hell to buy as much time as possible. Not only did this reduce the concentration of enemy fire on each unit, it also increased the efficiency of his own munitions. The garrison carrying his gem was never discovered, and the garrison with the least firearms had a unit taken out,”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“You’re forgetting the part where he got lucky, Ma’am,”
“Yes. Luck is a factor- one that may sometimes extend beyond the wall. The OWS had not yet encountered such a strategy, and thus failed to adapt to it in time. That is why the score has never been replicated.”
“It was a fluke,” Mich sighs.
“So it probably wouldn't have worked on the Krix,” Dante wonders aloud.
“This is unknown. My class isn't designed to stimulate speculation. We take the information we have, and proceed,”
_ _ _ _ _
Dante Awakens to the sudden jolt of the Humvee, drifting off road as the fireworks of an explosion severs the road they were driving on.
“What's going on?” Dante asks in a panic, shifting his seat upright.
“We’re under attack,” Cassie answers. “Look at your monitor,”
Dante’s garrison is predominantly supportive. That would explain why she wants him waiting out in the shadows as the fight drifts further east.
“Yes, Heir,” He nods.
_OVERWATCH: ORDER FROM HEIR CASSIE
_DETAILS: Move via the northeast. Stay out of sight.
_ALLOCATIONS:
* UNIT 3 - Drill beam
* UNIT 4 - Ground troops (Humvee’s)
* UNIT 6 - Gravity Truck
Something about this Overwatch system feels different. As if the text before him can be understood before it's read- speaking of which, he didn't hear Cassie make that order.
This is different to the labs, there are more advanced features at play here and these are real lives Dante’s looking at on the screen. If he glances beyond the doors of the overwatch truck, he sees the blue glow of all the allied vehicles in the distance, swerving and evading the orange glows of destruction seeking them out.
Dante looks at the orbital view of the route on the screen and starts taking note of the situation- My units are pretty far out from the action, in fact, Dante can see them with his own eyes, keeping a wider turning circle than the overwatch truck.
Are my units supporting us?
“All signs show that we’ve been intercepted by Krix along the Eastern side of the convoy. It only looks like two units, no more than tier four,” Cassie states to the team, “My guess is that they have more, and they're trying to push us into a trap to the North. Hence why your units are there, Dante. If we get attacked from the North, you're job is to slow them down,”
“Copy that,” The recruits nods.
“Taydo, your units are with mine in the centre. No matter what happens, we keep moving. Yes?”
“Yes, Heir,” Taydo responds.
“And Nadia, you're with Preston- all of your units are to the South East. Right now, you're the frontlines of combat. Keep that shield up and maintain movement with the centre,” Cassie adds.
“Copy,” Nadia confirms.
“We’re on the move for three days. So, this is a long game. We have enough juice for a battle but I’d prefer a proxy that has them running out of ammo- our primary goal is still relocation,”
“Yes, Heir,” All the recruits chant in unison.
Dante looks back at the monitor, focusing as he scans the northern hemisphere of the map for any blips or details. He brings up the command prompt, and orders his units to send out a scout droid- similar to the ones that the Krix have, but incapable of laser fire.
_ 6/6 SCOUT AVAILABLE
Dante confirms the order and sends it out to his units- His first time giving orders to real troops.
_OVERWATCH: ORDER BY DANTE FORST
_DETAILS: Scout the northern side of the convoy. Deploy four scouts long-range, and two to protect your unit.
_OVERWATCH: ORDERS APPROVED BY COMMAND
_OVERWATCH: ORDERS SENT
And now we wait. It's strange knowing there's a battle brewing, but from this far out they can't hear or see it. Whenever Dante’s been in the sim, it's always high-stress scenarios where there’s barely any time to think and conclude within a few hours. The Academy rarely taught students about battles spanning days or weeks, but he’d hear about them from Mich.
Dante leans back into his seat, trying to relax and avoid straining himself whilst doing nothing. He just needs to wait for the scouts to pick something up. And hopefully, they do before those Krix catch them off guard. The Western side of the convoy is pretty exposed, which could be a problem if the Krix have more troops.
They always do.
Dante notices the two Humvees of operator squads one and three, zooming towards the relocation site, presumably to lock it down for the rest of the squad's arrival.
I wonder why the Commander sent Julz with them, Dante queries wondering if she’s doing alright before it's immediately dismissed by his trust in the Operators. It isn't common for a Zo’an to join the Operators of a Squad, but it isn't unheard of either. There are a lot of reasons why a Zo’ans skill may best serve the operators, and in those cases, it can greatly enhance the efficacy of the operators.
Most of these reasons are beyond Dante’s knowledge- he still isn't sure of what operators even do. But all he knows is they're among the most skilled soldiers in any squad, second to Zo’ans.
“Mmm,” Dante grunts as he relaxes his head, she’ll be okay.
_NOTE: 64 hours to relocation site.