Colonel Albrecht Holvmeer was dismissed two days ago. Fort was informed not long after. Command had ordered him to withdraw. Newly arrived detachment took his place in holding the ridge. That armor column Command had given him was meant to last at least three days. He has to wait for that long until he can get another batch of reinforcements. His unit can’t fight properly with only a Chord, a Crescent, and a Kris. Maybe they can but it won’t be effective. At least Command and him is in mind.

They allowed his unit to rest behind the line for a day. Friendly forces should have fortified the objective by now. It’ll take a struggle for the telves to recapture them. Caution will assume a passive role in case of counter-attacks. They can support the defense with artilleries.

Fort is restless in his bunker three kilometers northeast of Patih Thread. Command wanted him to take a break. But he can’t rest his mind. He has two competent tank commanders days ago. He almost lost all of them. He plugs off his cord from the battery tin he is holding on his right hand. The cord swiftly retracts back to his nape which then closes.

Now that they have secured the objective, Feld ordered all units to hold the ground at all costs. Sir Edward left this evening. He relayed that order from The Primus to the lieutenant-colonel just as he departed. Fort has a bad feeling about it. He knows both Holvmeer and Feld. The colonel was more into preserving his manpower, relying more on long-range attacks to soften enemy positions before sending his men in. Fort is in line with him. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. As long as the casualties are superficial, it’s a win for him.

Feld usually exhaust his men before pulling them back and let the artillery to work while they rest. It was him that ordered Fort to secure Patih Thread. The blitz worked because the telves don’t have any reserves ready to shore the losses. And that man is more objective-focused. He would do anything to achieve it. Even at the expense of his unit. Caution is facing potential annihilation.

Fort sent Hassle forward two hours ago. He wants to know what the telves are hiding in the fog of war at the moment. He feels bad for ending his break early. Hassle assured him that it’s fine. Of course he is. Hassle has always been loyal. Anything Fort says, he’ll do. Fort finds it stupid how he worries about him yet he sends him for reconnaissance. And he is a human. Unlike Fort, he can have anything better than fighting the war.

“Take it easy, Fort.” Kiraly says through his utilizer. “Things are meant to go terribly, aren’t they?”

“You literally have fully-automated self-propelled-guns at your disposal, not some guys that still want to live.”

Fort has been weighing the possibilities that Feld is trying to discredit him. Even the men and women still in bootcamp can see that advancing beyond friendly air-defenses is suicide.

“Well, who do you think maintenance them?”

They have been discussing their situation for three hours now. Since they’re supposed to have a break, they constantly switch between banters and actually grinding their brains.

“Shut up, man.”

Fort leans against a patch of dirt behind him. He shouldn’t be worried about any attacks on his unit. There are friendly forces all around. They’ll alert him if there’s any incursion. He’s currently waiting for what Hassle would bring. He’ll decide what to do from his intel. He keeps on hoping that nothing will go wrong to his friend.

“Fort.”

“What?”

“Genesis or Charlotte?”

“Seriously? Why is that all of a sudden?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Don’t stall and just answer the question.”

Fort wipes his chin. “Genesis obviously.”

Kiraly chuckles. “You’re trash, Fort.”

“Excuse me?”

“Certainly, Charlotte is way better. Her composed demeanor, her long pale-blonde hair, and the way she deals with people…they’re just lovely.”

“Let’s be honest, I’d fair her better if only she isn’t…” Fort put the battery tin down. “Hmm…how do I say it?”

“So, you are after those curves.”

“What do you think I should hold on to in bed if not that?”

“That explains why you’re trash.”

“You spelled ‘boys’ wrong, my friend.”

“Who are you to represent the boys?”

“Shut up.”

Fort takes a deep breath. He has nothing to do with Feld. He has no memory of any discourse between them. Whatever Feld tells him, Fort always obliges albeit with a little improvement on his side to minimize losses. He doesn’t know what’s going on between him and Holvmeer. He does know that they’re friends. He projects the map of Patih Tread to his visual sensor. Latest update was an hour ago. Command assesses thinly stretched telve forces along the contact line. The battle of Patih Tread is wrapping up with a Proxies’ victory. If this trend remains, the telves will withdraw soon.

…will withdraw soon…

Fort gets it now. Feld wants to snatch the victory for himself. He has to get Holvmeer out of the picture in order to take the credit for Patih Tread. Fort clasps his hands. The town may just be one amongst many. But it’s still worth a badge or two, or at least a mention, considering how crucial it is for the planned operation far west of Patih Tread. He doesn’t like how Feld ditched Holvmeer. Firstly, the latter was his instructor back in officer school. Secondly, Holvmeer cares about his soldiers’ lives; a rare trait for senior officers given the presence of Androids and Automatons who do the fighting. Lastly, they both are friends.

Fort receives an incoming transmission from Hassle.

“Fort, we got movements.” Hassle says. “Here’s a footage from Wuss’ cam.”

Fort activates his utilizer’s video projector. He just put his thoughts into it and his system will execute it. The footage is night-vision filtered. There he sees a road leading to Patih Tread from the southwest. The telves are setting up positions alongside it. A convoy of several armored vehicles and tanks can be seen in the distance. A Thorn is among them. Fort squints. On a hill overlooking the road, he notices a cluster of Thorns with their guns elevated. An actual Thorns’ nest this time. Fort counts five nests.

“By the Primus…”

“We can’t skirt closer without being spotted. Georg has been listening to their comms. Twenty more are in the area, all aimed toward Patih Tread.”

“With the additional ten that Sir Edward had struck?”

“They are functional again.”

Fort takes a deep breath. “Crap.”

Right now, he has no way to deal with the Thorns other than throwing anti-tank guided missiles at them until they break. That’s if they’re pushing it to the front. But the footage suggests that the telves are going to utilize their indirect fire function. Which is even worse. With their sheer armor, they could weather counter-battery fire and counter it with ease. He can’t have Kiraly supporting the defense or he’ll lose his artilleries.

“Hassle, get out of there.” Fort says.

“Copy.” Hassle responds.

“Fort.” Kiraly calls him again. “What do you reckon we should do?”

Feld is a traitor to his friend, the Proxy, and the motherland. Patih Tread is a town amongst many that have been, or waiting to be destroyed. If he is willing to get a friend discharged so that the victory over it is on his name, what will he do to an entire brigade to keep it that way?

“Prepare to evacuate.”