Despite having only just been plugged into the base, Chris and Yuna were made to disintegrate themselves from its many connections and choose a physical weapon to wield instead. To touch such heavy objects was incredibly disorienting after having been disconnected from their own flesh. Having to immediately heft rifles and tactical gear may as well have been transporting an empath into a psychopath convention (that is to say one of the Emperor’s opponents’ many rallies). And for this Chris almost dropped a rifle on his toe, saved only by Raethor’s quick reaction speed and obvious foreknowledge of what would happen.

They exited the armory, and the opaque membrane door closed behind them with a wet sound. A pit opened up in Anya’s stomach as Raethor issued the order to get in position. While typically Raethor would lead from the front, calling any general who would lead from behind a sniveling coward deserving nothing but defeat, in this case he knew this line of thought was wrong. They didn’t know where their enemy would intercept from, and as such if Raethor led from the front it could delay the party’s reaction to attacks from behind. Likewise, if Raethor was to the front then Peter would be to his right and Lulululu not far behind. She didn’t like fighting in close quarters, but being the best shot behind or perhaps equal to Peter, she was forced wherever Raethor was in the position as it would be irresponsible to take frontal command without sufficient protection. As such, Raethor positioned himself in the center of their formation and instructed Peter to take the right-point with Lulululu behind-left. To his rear-right he placed Anya, and to the front-left opened a hole in the defence by the name of Dio, who wasn’t such a bad shot but also couldn’t be relied on to stay on target. His reflexes and close-quarter attacks were acceptable enough, however, and with that quadrant being an easy mark for Lulu, Peter, and Raethor it wasn’t necessary to put any extra strength there.

For the same reason, he placed Jesús and Will with Anya. They weren’t capable soldiers, but with her there to solidify the position it would be easier to control them as a block. It wasn’t that they couldn’t hit a mark or some other such objective failing, only that their sense of tactics was very poor. Jesús in particular could always be relied upon to shoot the darkest-skinned target without regard to its strategic value without a close eye on his target selection. Anya couldn’t live up to that expectation, but it wasn’t like anyone else would do any better. Even if Raethor took direct command of two out of his thirteen soldiers to the detriment of the overall position, their marksmanship was average at best and their ability to keep cool under pressure only somewhat better than average. Placing their commander right behind them to ride them like common whores would not merely alter their target selection. Much like the whores, they would moan with the pleasure of their great and glorious commander’s undivided attention. This would be to the detriment of their marksmanship, as their attention would be to the rear.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

This would pose the opposite problem as placing Raethor at the front— instead emphasising their rear formation and leaving the others to take local tactical command and thus also breaking down their overall strategy to a mishmash collection of three or five smaller ones. In Lululu’s group he placed Luther and Chris, who could be relied on as a wall of solid iron. His spartan helmet wasn’t just for show, and despite the fact he was a full mute with mutilated eyes, closed ears, and a broken tongue, his words would come through clearly in every ringing shot. Always to the target, always finding their mark; he could be relied on to butcher every civilian or destroy every enemy without question. If it furthered the overall strategy he would gladly trade his own life for a minor tactical advantage. And with his above-average cqc enhanced by a lifetime of withstanding brutal abuse, there was a reason he wore and was allowed to wear that full-face Spartan helmet.

Luther, then, was there as a secondary marksman. His aim was true and his temper cool, making him ideal for the rear left and causing this section to be the strongest of the four corners by some margin. Raethor would give full tactical command to Lulululu, and she would do everything possible to defend his weak side, allowing him to bolster strengths and shots as needed to the other directions.

Alex, Alissa, and Jessica were put to the top left, with the brother as a mediator intended to drive the simmering hatred of the two women to a fine point aimed at the enemy rather than inside the formation. It wasn’t always successful, but it would at least drive mutual professional respect, even if their personal relationship was beyond salvaging, and perhaps already to the point of a murder in any other situation.

Henry was placed with Peter, which would ordinarily be a point of confidence for their attack, but in light of Peter’s uncomfortably high level of knowledge about the situation and about the chemical and biological weapons that had ended World War Three, it was unnerving to see him paired with a loner that took an uncomfortable amount of pleasure in taking shots at non-vital targets when allowed. The contents of their heads was unknown, and the best thing she could hope for was thoughts of death and instant, clean, shots. At worst she could have been positioned behind the teeth of a serrated meat-grinder. Would it be safe? Sure, but there were much worse fates of safety than the alternative of mild danger would imply.

Yuna was closer to the center than Henry or Peter or anyone else, despite nominally being part of their block. Not because they didn’t need reinforcement or because she was being left in reserve, though this was true in large part, but primarily because Yuna was a close-quarters specialist. Her tall, lanky build and new flesh legs made her extremely fast, and her choice of arms being two mid-sized curved daggers gave her a mix of both range and dexterity ideal for close-quarters situations. It was disadvantageous for her to be in the open, however, so she typically held a pistol at mid range, but given the halls and their closed-off nature, it wasn’t necessary for her to take on this auxiliary role.