The ding of a notification rings Dante to alert, nearly pressing his nose against the screen as he takes in everything he’s missed during his wait.
_OVERWATCH: MOVEMENT DETECTED
_DETAILS: Scout Droid 4 has identified movement to the north.
It’s been about four hours since Dante sent the droids out, and nothing really happened since. The South East of the convoy is still under fire, but their shield is still at eighty-seven percent and the units in the area still have full munitions since they haven’t engaged at all.
_OVERWATCH: Sending Droid 4 to the area.
Dante immediately notifies his units. The movement notification was a few kilometres away from their position - about four to be exact, but Dante would rather play it safe.
_OVERWATCH: ORDER FROM DANTE FORST
_DETAILS: Be advised- Movement detected to the North by Droid 4 (_ping_). Await further orders.
_OVERWATCH: ORDER APPROVED BY COMMAND
Right as Dante sends out the order, another ping grabs his attention, this time from Droid Six, which was stationed to the northwest of Dante’s units.
Shit, he breaks a sweat as his concern builds. There's about a 10-kilometre difference between the two scouts, so if the Krix have more positions in the surrounding areas they could get pinched.
_OVERWATCH: Sending Droid 6 to the area.
“Reporting two pings from scouts to the North and North-west of the convoy, Heir,” Dante says, figuring he doesn't know what to do, and could use some orders,”
“Understood,” Cassie calmly responds, “Notify me of any updates,”
It’s obvious she already knows what’s going on considering she has to approve each of Dante’s orders. It is reassuring to know he doesn't have to do much, he was starting to overthink the situation.
“You got a plan lined up?” Commander Preston asks.
“Still finishing it up,” She says, toiling away on her monitors.
Commander Preston is incredibly trusting in Cassie, despite being one of the most successful strategists among all Zo’ans. It would make sense that Cassie would have to learn the ropes but this is beyond learning. She’s been commanding most of the assaults they’ve launched, when would Commander Preston step in?
_OVERWATCH: MOVEMENT DETECTED
_DETAILS: Scout Droid 3 has identified movement to the North-East.
Dante's stomach drops as the sound of the notification weighs heavier- they're definitely out there. Another drone, eight or so kilometres from the first detection. These are just garrisons, right? There's no way their forces extend from the North-West, all the way through to the North-East.
_OVERWATCH: Sending Droid 3 to the area.
“Another detection, Heir,”
“Copy that, Move your garrison to center,”
“Yes, Heir,” Dante says, feeling the relief of bringing his units away from whatever is brewing to the North.
_ALERT: Scout Droids 3, 5 and 6 have been destroyed!
_DETAILS: Data analysis underway.
This is bad, Dante frantically works on sending his order out to his units.
_OVERWATCH: ORDER FROM DANTE FORST
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
_DETAILS: Regroup at the centre of the convoy.
_OVERWATCH: ORDER APPROVED BY COMMAND
“The scouts to the North have all been-”
“Understood, Dante,” Cassie interrupts him, “I am sending the schematics of the mission now,”
As she says so, a detailed breakdown of the convoy appears in front of Dante. According to her assessment, the Convoy is to the South-West of the region, with two Krix units at the Convoys South, and one presumably massive Krix army to the North. Their Relocation Site (RS) is to the North-East. Where we're headed.
“The Convoy is going to split into two, with the first garrison moving via the Northern route. This garrison will be our front lines, and will engage with the enemy as it makes its way to the RS. The second Garrison will initially follow this Eastern route, before turning North to cross the path of the first garrison. Upon alignment, garrison two will split into a third garrison of non-combat units, and they will head straight to the RS. Once broken off, Garrison Two will engage the Krix from their East and cut off their path to the RS. Any questions?” She asks.
So the plan is to get to the RS whilst putting the Krix behind us. But, the plan ends once they arrive at the RS- Wouldn't they keep following?
“How will we stop the Krix from following?” Taydo asks.
“We want them to follow us,” Cassie says, “Squads two-eighty and five-four-two will be at the RS on arrival. If the Krix follow us they’ll walk into a nice trap. If they notice the other squads then they’ll back away,”
That's a pretty solid plan- Better than anything he could have come up with in this state. The sight of it alone releases the tension in Dante’s jaw and back- but he’s still pretty stressed. Understandable considering the circumstances, he just mustn't get flustered.
“Dante and Nadia will be joining me with the first garrison,” Cassie adds, suffocating Dante’s glimmer of calm, “Taydo and Commander P will coordinate the plan from overwatch,”
“Commander P?” He asks with a soft chuckle.
“I'm workshopping it,” Cassie grins, “It was between that and old man P, but I chose the respectful route,”
“I like Old Man P,” Taydo comments, immediately reprimanded by a semi-humoured glare from the Commander.
“I second that,” Dante chuckles.
“Old man P it is,” Cassie says as she unbuckles her seatbelt and opens up the roof of the truck. Raising her entire commander centre above the vehicle before standing on the ceiling to scan the surroundings.
“Can't see shit,” She says as she stares at the endless rubble. “These fuckers and their goddamn ambushes,”
“Keep a level head,” The commander orders sternly.
“You two, on me,” Cassie orders.
“Uhh?” Nadia and Dante both stammer before their seats rise through the vehicle roof, meeting Cassie with the expansive view of the fallen metropolis.
The sun kisses the monotone terrain with a glimmer of gold, Academy gold- Dante recognizes. Cassie’s right though, apart from that, there are a million places the Krix could be hiding. Dante didn't read the map with a clear enough mind to recognize they have the high ground, nothing crazy, but enough to get a good view of the surroundings.
“We’ll hop onto the drill beam when unit three passes by,” Cassie says, “You kids ready?”
“Sure,” Dante says as his heart beats from his chest.
“Yes, Heir,” Nadia says with confidence.
“Do as I say and you’ll get out alive,”
“Yes, Heir,” Both recruits chant.
As the drill beam barrels in their direction, they prepare to hop aboard the giant, cannon-infused train treading through the rubble with its armoured plough. Drill beams are the strongest gun in any squad's armoury, other than Zo’ans of course. With three cart-like segments, these beasts run on coal- so an entire compartment is dedicated to the engine room and a crew of shovelers hauling ass as long as the vehicle is in motion. The other two carts each have a team of their own, one dedicated to operating the drill, and the other is focused on steering the vehicle.
It’d be testing Dante to ask which order these carts are in, but he’d imagine it’s interchanged to commands preferences. He wouldn't even know which room to prioritize in the centre, which is presumably the safest point. Engine room? The drill beam operators?
Dante flushed the thoughts from his mind as he felt the rumble of the drill beam rushing towards them. There’s no time to get lost in thought, he's better off just copying Cassie for now and learning ‘why’ later.
“Let’s move,” Cassie calls out as she jumps from the overwatch truck, way sooner than Dante would've considering he could never jump that far.
Once the vehicle gets a little closer, Dante and Nadia leap onto the walkways alongside the front of the train. The moment Dante looks inside he sees a team of eight people in what looks like a command room with the steering wheel at the center. Steering up front, of course.
“We’ll touch down with the drill operators at the rear cart,” Cassie yells amongst the grinding of the treads.
“Yes, Heir,” They call out, barely able to hear themselves before they follow behind Cassie along the side of the train.
So that means the engine room is in the centre. Why, though? He can't figure that out right now. And what's bothering him more is the fact that he can't put an end to his ceaseless overanalyzing.
“For fuck sake,” He mumbles under his breath.