One of the keys to Proxies’ success is the integration of a special module called the Specialized Armament to Ensure Terrific Execution of Tactics—also known as the SANTET module—to their combined arms warfare. It does exactly what the name says by enhancing soldiers’ performance in the field. The module’s function is unique to every classes. For the Direct-class Proxies, the module will increase their movement speed and project a protective shield. They are currently available for infantry only. There are words that the state is developing a similar feature for the vehicles. But Caitlyn takes it with a pinch of salt.

She doesn’t really understand how that works. Mainly because she is not an infantry herself. The Chord is the way for her to deal damage. All she knows is that the Proxies foot soldiers just press a button on their armlet and their particular enhancements will occur. But she can relate to the motives behind it. The Chord can survive a few hits. In a war where lethal weaponries rule, infantry themselves are not enough. Those enhancements are intended to help them deal damage while regarding their survival.

It’s early in dawn. The sun hasn’t rise yet. Task Force Caution is relocated to the southeast of their previous deploy point. They are reinforced with another Kris, two additional Convexes, and four Crescents with each carrying a full squad. Caitlyn is positioned in a forest overlooking a small village of Patih Thread not more than two kilometers to the southwest.

There’s a ridge past that village. Deep reconnaissance troops were sent a few hours prior. The telves are less concentrated on the village. Command orders her task force to take control of it in a single assault. Then she has to secure a position on the ridge. It overlooks the road leading to Patih Tread about two kilometers to the northwest. She can harass enemy supply lines from that position. In particular, the telve trucks that carry necessary parts to maintain the Thorns. But it has to be done in an hour top to attain the shock factor. The sowed confusion can force the telves to withdraw from Patih Tread.

Caitlyn thinks that it’s a bold plan. And it’s the one she is worried about due to the Thorns. They have enough firepower to halt their assault. Fort said that they don’t have to worry about them. He didn’t explain why. He told them to just trust Command, because they seem to have a plan to deal with them. She shouldn’t be concerned really. If those Thorns have to pick their target, they’re probably going after the Proxies storming the village. While that is happening, she will be quite away from the firefight to provide fire-support. She has the Convexes with her to cover her flanks.

The assault will happen from the southeastern side of Patih Thread, along the road leading to it. The darkness allows Caution to put their troops there undetected for preparation. All of the squads consisted of Directs. There shouldn’t be any armor there. But if there is any, either PT, the Convexes, or the Kris should take care of it. Fort also said that Command is sending them mobile artillery pieces, the DG100 ‘Concave’ which has dual 152mm guns when deployed. She doesn’t get the numbers but she hopes that they arrive at any moment and help them perform better.

They now are waiting for the signal. Command said that they will begin after ten lightning flashes. Caitlyn didn’t mishear it, ten lightning that comes down from the sky. Caitlyn is more than skeptical. What does nature have to do with their operations? It feels like a practice of superstition. Which is odd considering it’s a state who enforces reason as the order of the day. But she has to suspend that belief, because the sky is overcast now. It was clear a few hours ago.

“You served longer than I do. You should’ve developed trust to them.” Genesis says.

The maid caught her daydreaming. She must have seen the worried look on her face as she waits for those signals.

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Caitlyn replies. “Because I served longer, I have more reasons to not trust them.”

Her service days have granted her knowledges of the army’s inner machinations. She heard tales. Most of the times it’s high-ranking officers vying for greater positions. It’s not a problem when they opt for healthy competitions. The concern is when they resort to stabbing each other in the back, often done by sabotaging their respective units. In the end, it’s the soldiers that paid the price. It’s them who are put in danger when their weapon systems malfunction, or when they are denied support mid-firefight. With no commissar around, she has the rights to be worried. She doesn’t want to die for those petty games.

“They want us to do this but they aren’t sending us enough. Why do you think is that?” PT adds.

“This particular task or the whole operation?” Caitlyn asks.

“The latter.”

“I believe in Captain Fort.” Genesis states.

“You’re saying that just because of his looks, don’t you?” PT says. The interface shows a sneering emoji.

Because she literally just met the captain. Caitlyn admits that it’s technically the case for her as well. The captain seems like not the person to do that. It would be disheartening if his smiles and friendly tones are actually just a make-up.

“Well, he looks kind. I hope he is.”

“You remember how he doesn’t seem to be guilty after losing a lot of his men when those overly buffed tanks showed up?”

“Now you’re just conspiring, PT.” Caitlyn says.

“Isn’t it good to have thoughts for a while?”

“Not for you, I think.” Genesis chuckles.

“Oh yeah…of course.” PT scoffs. “It’s always not for me.”

Caitlyn observes Patih Thread through the first quadrant env-screen. She has full view of the place thanks to the slight elevation she is enjoying. Telves have firing positions along the northeastern side of the village. Seems like they aren’t expecting any advances from down the road. That or they don’t have the resources to do it yet. It should be a perfect moment to strike.

Two lightning flashes occur. They strike the ground in the distance in a blink of an eye. It’s hard to believe. She has never seen it happen during any operations she participated in. The lightnings strike simultaneously, too good to be a coincidence. And the fact that there are eight more coming convinces her that someone is controlling those lightning bolts. She has so many questions. But that’s when Fort tells everyone to advance. She hasn’t seen the other eight. Maybe Command confirms to her task force that ten has occurred and she is just not meant to see the other eight.

Caitlyn gives the permission to fire. PT’s gun blares as thunders are heard. He aims for the firing positions he can see. Dust spews out as his shells hit. He tears the positions one by one. After ten shots, PT successfully takes down two and damages the others. It draws the telves’ attention. Their man-portable Pilum anti-tank guided missile can’t reach PT. They begin to withdraw from the positions.

PT turns to fire at the barbed wires on the road as well as the wooden bunkers accompanying it. Caitlyn hopes that the sporadic fire of high-explosive rounds could open a path for the advancing infantry forces. The Crescents close in, unloading their 30mm autocannons to the bunkers. The telves inside there eventually abandons their position. Some are gunned down by the Crescents. The armored personnel carriers switch target to the houses that have telves inside. A soldier carrying a Pilum emerges on one of the houses’ roof. PT fires at him. A cloud of smoke pops on the roof. The man is no longer there as the smoke disperses.

The Crescents lob HE grenade rounds followed by smoke grenades. The Directs disembark and charges into the smoke. Their SANTET speeds them up. Caitlyn can no longer see them a few seconds after they left their APC. The Crescents follows at a slower pace. The event is happening far enough that no small-arms noises are heard, except for a bunch of deep and faint clicking. It’s eerie to think that there’s actually a brawl happening down there. But Caitlyn is accustomed to it. The lack of noise allows her to focus on finding any hardpoints that she can handle.

Two bursts of flame occur consecutively in the village’s center. Smokes billow, the explosion is heard a few seconds later. Caitlyn receives a request to fire on enemy strongpoint in the village. She squints at the env-screen to find the building given the Directs’ description and pinpoints it. PT fires six shots that rend the building as if a pack of beasts are gnawing on them. The Directs then update her of their advance to secure the village. The Crescents are in close support. Caitlyn asks of any telve armor. The assault squads confirm that there is none. It feels strange to her but she’s just going to take it for granted. Perhaps the telves are being cocky with their new toy around.

Speaking of which, Caitlyn realizes that they don’t do anything as her peers storm Patih Thread. The Thorns’ absence in the commotion makes her forget for a moment that they exist.

She suddenly hears explosions. Steels are raining down on where those Directs are supposed to be. It hooks her up for a second until she realizes that the blast lacks the punches carried by artillery shells. It’s just mortars shelling. It’s easier to seek shelter from those, but that still doesn’t make it easy. The Directs request support but Caitlyn don’t have clear line of fire to the telve mortars. The deep reconnaissance troops in the village point their location. Caitlyn sees a ping on the map. She is about to order Genesis to circle around the village for a clear shot at them. She changes her mind when a Kris flies overhead. Their Kris. It flies just past Patih Thread. Caitlyn sees it unloads its revolving 30mm gun and its unguided rockets. The mortars stop firing. The Kris presumably scares them away.

Caitlyn then receives an all-clear from the Directs. It’s been twenty minutes since they commenced the assault. Caitlyn likes how they did better than she expected. Fort orders her to link up with the deep reconnaissance troops before advancing to the ridge. They’ll support her to secure the place.

Genesis drives PT through the remains of the telves’ positions he tore down. PT cruises over a recently dug trench with no wooden structure to hold the dirt. It has a now shambled wooden bunker connected to it. It isn’t well-built to begin with. Two HE rounds just put them out of commission. Caitlyn sees two telve bodies lying in the trench. Human personnel. Their crimson armor has several slits. Blood are leaking out of them. Looks like some shrapnel went through. At least they got a quick death.

PT and the two Convexes form a column as they enter the village’s road. He is in between them. His gun constantly sweeps left and right, from one house to the other. The houses are still standing. Their walls are shattered, the bricks are showing and the metal beams are sticking out of them. Most still have their roofs intact though some have fist-sized holes on them, probably caused by mortars. The state construction workers can make them livable again in two days. It’ll be a hard labor, but it’s still possible.

Caitlyn can only speculate where did the occupants flee. She catches a glimpse of a living room. Debris are scattered on the floor. There’s a large couch that seem to have not moved or damaged at all. The shelves and the drawers are stacked, forming some sort of a cover. The flipped table has holes on the edges. And there’s a man-sized hole on the wall that leads to the other room. Caitlyn imagines a family of five—a father, a mother, two sons, and a daughter—sitting on the couch. Wherever they are now, it’ll be wrecking for them to see their gathering place like this. The room is no longer living.

It’s a sad thought, so she shrugs that off. She doesn’t want to burden herself with more of them. The ones in her are already giving trouble. For some reason she just pictured a family spending their times together there. She doesn’t know why. But it opens her eyes. One day, she will eventually return. And she will be free of her haunting thoughts. She has to.

“I can’t live like this forever.”

“What’s that?” Genesis looks at her.

“Nothing.” Caitlyn shakes her head. Her attention is still fixed to the env-screen.

Caitlyn contacts the deep reconnaissance troops squad leader. They were assigned to Caution just two hours ago. Caitlyn didn’t get to see them since they were sent in advance. But they are in the channel. The squad leader tells her to rendezvous at Patih Thread’s plaza.

“How do you think it’s like being one of those deep recon guys?” Genesis asks.

“You know I can’t answer that, right?” Caitlyn replies.

“Just…” Genesis glances at Caitlyn. “What do you think.”

“Theft, robbery, or any sort of privacy violation basically.” PT says. “But legally justified.”

The state has the Browser-class Proxies infantry whose main tasks are spotting enemies from the distance and taking down high-value target. They are usually armed with sniper rifles as their primary arms, and in general lighter than the Directs. The deep reconnaissance troops are something else. They are a branch of the state military, similar to the Maid Sections, employed for infiltrations and behind-enemy-lines operations. They are special forces of the Artificial Creationists, and they are called Vertices. Their job ranges from reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, sabotage, and assassination being the most extreme. They are secluded from the rest of the armies most of the time. Command urges to keep their channel clear unless one has mutual dependence with them.

“Imagine how thrilling it is. Deep in enemy territories, harassing their stuffs while staying hidden.” Genesis fantasizes. “Ten out of ten my things.”

“You snuck to your dad’s bedroom for additional allowances, didn’t you blonde?” PT laughs. The interface shows a tilted laughing emoji. “You’re one naughty girl.”

“N-No…!” Genesis stutters. She looks away from the screen. “W-well…there’s this cute notebook on the local stationery…and dad hadn’t returned the electricity bill that I covered…”

PT chuckles. “We’ll see what kind of Vertices it’ll make you.”

Genesis pouts as PT continues to laugh.

Caitlyn folds her arms and glances at Genesis. “As long as they don’t throw tanks, airforce, or other non-small-arms firepower at you.”

“Yeah I think so.” Genesis says. “Maybe I’m being too far off myself. Charlotte is actually qualified you know? But well…she got all the talents in the world.”

Caitlyn pats Genesis shoulder. “It’s okay.” She half-smiles.

They stop at the plaza. It’s just an empty circular place ten meters in diameter with a limestone fountain in the middle. The fountain is about two times Caitlyn’s height and has a star shaped base with curved sides. There’s no water spurting out of it. And just like most of the houses in the village, its structure has been mostly chipped away.

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A Crescent joins her column. She spots six men hustling toward PT from the right. The Vertices have their own insignia on their right shoulder armor. It’s the symbol of the state—a curved line with three more lines crossing it perpendicularly—but flipped with extra strokes. Caitlyn notices them on those men. She then emerges out from the hatch. Caitlyn salutes the squad leader once they got close.

“Captain Hassle.”

Hassle stops before the tank and return the salute. “First sergeant.” His men head straight for the Crescent and board it. “Up the ridge, double time it.”

That’s all he said before boarding the Crescent with his men. Caitlyn returns to her seat.

“That’s the shortest introduction ever.” PT says.

“He got priorities.” Genesis says.

The column moves again at a greater rate. Their engines’ rumble is heard across the village. The Directs will stay and consolidate their gains. Defensive posture isn’t their main game. But it’s all they have at the moment. At least they still have five other Crescents and a Kris to support them. Caitlyn hopes those Concaves arrive any second now. Either they or she could use their twin 152mm guns.

Caitlyn hears gunshots from the northwest. Small-arms and autocannons exchange along Patih Tread. She catches some Chords doing the job as well. Alezia is probably there too. Friendly artillery follows up the firefight. Caitlyn sees a lot of smoke in that direction. They’re not hers, however. They are base howitzers controlled by Command. Fort should be able to lobby for them. But Command’s plan is to give him his own Concaves. They decided to commit all of them to shell the towns in order to keep the telves there suppressed as much as possible. That is so she could advance on Patih Thread and beyond.

Now that she has secured the village, everyone must be depending on her to secure the ridge. She should be able to support them from there too. The high elevation should provide a clear shot to Patih Tread. She could try to fire a shot or two. That should give an impression to the telves that they are being encircled. They will have to withdraw or be decimated.

But that’s wishful thinking. The Terran Vindicator is an ingenious and determined opponent. They’ve faced two grueling wars against her state, plus this one which has been active for eight years, yet they are still nowhere on their knees. Caitlyn shakes her head. Her current operation went smoothly so far that she resorted to such thinking. Who can blame her? Who doesn’t want anything goes according to the plan or better?

The dark starts to recede. Visibility grows better. The sky was gloomy with lightnings dancing among the clouds when Caution first sets out. Now they are clear. For all she knows, the Thorns have yet to participate in any of this clamor that her forces are indulged in. She finds it strange. They are their crown jewels at the moment and they’re not using it. Even their indirect fires are absent. Caitlyn is convinced that they could blunt their attacks immediately, an edge that’s impossible for them not to see.

The column deploys into a line with Convexes on both flanks. PT and the Crescent is between them. They are spaced enough to not get wiped by a single fortunate artillery shot. The ridge is surprisingly secure. Seems like those telves who were in Patih Thread withdrew to Patih Tread. Perhaps panic set in and they have little to no support available for a new defensive line. Thus, they preferred to join their comrades in the town.

The Vertices squad disembark from the Crescent. The vehicle line screens them as they move to the tree-line on the left side. Caitlyn orders the line to stop so that squad could go ahead and eye the area.

“Clear.” Hassle reports.

It feels wrong to have an officer like him serving in direct combat, especially as an infantry. Caitlyn sees herself a little bit higher than the man simply because she is in a tank. She knows she is not supposed to. Fort placed her in charge of the column. And he placed Hassle to support the column. Although Hassle is a captain like Fort, Caitlyn is still the one that decides for the group. This is not her first time, but it seldomly happened to her. She prefers to view it as a coordination between her and Hassle instead of bossing him around. Nevertheless, the latter is usually going to be the case.

“Aren’t you both a little suspicious?” PT asks.

“About the Thorns?” Caitlyn asks.

“Yes.”

“A bit.” She admits.

“It was the Household Manager guys, don’t worry.” Genesis answers.

“Sir Edward?” Caitlyn asks.

Genesis nods. “He got us covered.”

“Those lightnings were his doings?” Caitlyn glances at Genesis with disbelief. She even studies her face, trying to spot hints that she is not being serious.

Genesis sighs. She meets her glance with a confident smile on her face. “There’s a reason why our leaders remain in power after decades.” Genesis shrugs. “They simply have the power to do so. No one could challenge them. No one has the gift that they do.”

Caitlyn raises an eyebrow.

“You mean Sir Edward went zap-zap, and the whole state bends over?” PT asks, the interface shows an emoji with a raised eyebrow.

“Pretty much.” Genesis gestures.

The news of Sir Edward’s presence in the local front spread like wildfires. Caitlyn isn’t deaf to them. Everyone was talking about it hours ago that it’s impossible not to catch them.

“How do you know it’s him, though?” Caitlyn asks.

“When my village was razed, I was found by a telve convoy. The skies were as murky as it is recently. And lightning struck them down. No survivors.” Genesis says. “I thought it was nature acting up. But someone else emerged from the wreckage, striding to my direction. Azure lightnings are twisting around his arms. He wore a slouch hat and the standard issue Proxy coat, complete with the armor. It was Sir Edward.”

“Sir Edward the wizard?” PT asks.

“It’s their SANTET module.” Genesis shrugs. “Theirs are just built different.”

Judging by what happened and Genesis’ explanation, Caitlyn sees what she just went through.

“So those lightnings were done by him to disable the Thorns?” She asks.

“Most likely.” Genesis replies.

“That’s convenient.” PT comments.

“How do you think the state expanded in a blitz while facing wars on every front during its early days?”

The vehicles split up. The Convexes and Crescent take positions along the tree-line which also gives them cover. PT takes up position that overlooks Patih Tread. Shells are raining down on the settlement. Each impact gives off brief yet fiery explosion that quickly turns into smoke. The town is about three kilometers from his position. His gun could reach as far as four kilometers. But at this distance, everything is already a dot. Aiming will be difficult. Though she is sure that there is no friendly presence in the town, Caitlyn isn’t sure whether she can deal any damage from this distance.

“Open fire, PT.” Caitlyn orders.

“At the town?”

“Anything you can see.”

“We’ll see. Been a while since I shoot stuffs at this distance.”

Caitlyn can see the gunner view on the interface screen. It’s how she knows what PT is aiming at. He is aiming at the general direction of the town for the moment. He seems to be unsure of what to shoot at as he keeps nudging the sight. Or perhaps he has identified the target, only estimating the shell’s trajectory to make sure it hits.

“Is there actually anyone there?” Caitlyn asks.

“You said anything I can see. I swear I see movements there.”

“Two shots.” Caitlyn says.

PT let loose one round. A distant smoke cloud bloom about a second later. The shell falls short of its intended target. It hits the base of the structure. PT raises his gun and fires another. The shell flies over the target, hitting whatever is on the other side. Caitlyn can’t see them from her position thanks to the obstruction. But she can still see the smoke cloud.

“Yeah a bit rusty here, hang on.” PT says. He nudges the sight up and down again repeatedly. “Can I get another?”

“Go ahead.” Caitlyn nods.

This time the shot blows the house. Caitlyn sees a large opening once the smoke clears.

“Anyone there have probably left.” Genesis says.

“Message sent, then.” PT exclaims.

“Contact. Contact.” Hassle reports. His voice drowns in gunshots exchange that follows. “Ten plus telves west-southwest.”

Caitlyn and Genesis glances to the left at the captain’s distress. Caitlyn checks the fourth-quadrant env-screen. There’s a steady decline past the ridge to that direction. Hassle and his men go prone there and fire down on the enemy forces. The trees are covering them.

“Captain?” Caitlyn asks.

“We’re falling back.” Hassle replies. “Georg, covering fire!”

A light-machine-gun rattle. The rapid bullet-spray dominates over rifle fires. One of Hassle’s men stands up while keeping his head down. He instantly collapses. It doesn’t look like he tripped on a root or something.

“We got a man down!” Hassle’s men shout.

“That’s a sniper!”

“I can’t see them.”

“We should help them.” Genesis says to Caitlyn.

There is no word of telves withdrawal from Patih Tread. It has been thirty-minutes since the assault on Patih Thread commenced. Caitlyn considers sending PT to assist. But she is still keen on pounding telves’ position in the town. She orders him to resume firing and sends the Crescent to support Hassle. The Crescent moves into position and unloads its 30mm autocannon. It pops smoke while doing so. The concealment allows Hassle’s squad to retreat. The captain drags the body of his fallen comrade. The Crescent pulls back shortly after.

A thunderous noise startles Caitlyn, like an oversized drum slammed with a hammer held by a divine. She glances up in reflex. She has been hearing friendly artillery shelling Patih Tread for the past twenty minutes. A similar orchestration. The telves are finally replying. The sound suggests that it’s their 203mm guns. Caitlyn wonders who is their target.

The ridge quakes. The cabin rocks. Caitlyn cowers to resist the shockwave. The ear cuffs of her helmet save her from temporary deafness. The maid however, seem to fare less. Her helmet isn’t equipped the way Caitlyn’s is. Her eyes are shut tight and her lips are flattened as she presses on her ears.

“Genesis!” Caitlyn shakes her vigorously. She is not losing her newfound partner like this.

Genesis shakes her head and blinks repeatedly.

That shot landed close to them. Not close enough to damage PT though. The channel is filled with Hassle shouting withdrawal orders to his men. Caitlyn orders PT to reverse from the ridge. Genesis turns the tank to their direction, anticipating Pilum shots. Another shell hits the Crescent. It rips through its armor and explodes within. The vehicle’s parts are spewed outward. Hassle and the man beside him are near the Crescent. The shock topples them down. They scramble to get up in a rush to withdraw.

Then comes another shot. And another. The fifth shot pulverizes two more of Hassle’s men. They, or what remains of them, are flung about four meters above. Some of their bits find their way between the trees’ branches and reside there. The sixth shot hits a Convex. The one on the back. It turns into a ball of flame and crashes to the ground.

“Bloody hell!” PT cries.

The telves emerge from the smoke. They quickly scurry for cover as PT and the other Convex open fire at them. PT manages to neutralize two with his main gun. The Convex gun is able to shred through the trunks. The vehicle successfully downs five hiding behind them. But the telves’ number give them the edge. Those who are gunned down by the Convex give time for the others to train their Pilum at the vehicle. One Pilum misses. One hits its front armor. The other soars up and dives through its top armor. The vehicle collapses to the ground.

“Get us out of here!” Caitlyn shouts at Genesis.

PT pops a smoke screen as Genesis hits the reverse gear. The distance between them and the advancing telves grow. The smoke caves in as two rockets make it through. Both hits simultaneously. The armor still holds. But the track flashes into solid red.

“Uh oh.” PT says.

The tank returns fire with all of his gun. Firing blindly into the smoke. “Everyone out! Out! Out!” He added. The tank pops another smoke screen.

Caitlyn doesn’t think twice when she scrambles out of the hatch. She then leaps into the ground and starts to scurry away. Genesis follows behind. Hassle and his two surviving men give them covering fire. The tank did its job. She now has to get herself to safety. It’s a pity that they only worked together for four days. Perhaps her shortest time span between being given a tank and losing it. Just now she realized that he wasn’t so bad. He is an excellent gunner. He might be a bit intrusive to her privacy, but it doesn’t take long for her to be used to it. That sentiment always comes at the last moments.

Caitlyn dares to glance back. Azure hue is flashing on Genesis’ back. Her shield is deflecting bullets. The telves are firing blindly into the smoke as well. Then another Pilum missile hits PT. The tank is still standing. But the explosion topples Genesis aside. A red flash blankets her whole body for a second, an indication that her shield is gone.

“Genesis!” Caitlyn runs back for her.

The maid brings herself up while keeping her head down. Something hits her waist and explodes.

Genesis shrieks as it tears a part of her.

She is tossed to Caitlyn’s direction. Her body lands before the tank commander. There’s a gap between her chest and her waist as if someone just took a big bite out of the right side of her stomach. Her inner components are sticking out. Endoskeleton, wires, organic tissues, and various metallic beams are visible. Caitlyn covers her mouth. It is as horrid as seeing strings of flesh, intestines, and various viscera sprawling on the ground, drenched in blood and all sorts of internal body fluid.

“Don’t just stand there, first sergeant!” Hassle yells at her.

“KT! Get out of here!” PT yells to her as well.

Caitlyn is just a few steps away from Genesis’ body. She is about to lose her partner again. But unlike the countless other crewmen and women before her, she feels the urge to grab the wounded maid. She can’t quite figure out why. She just thinks that she has to get her. If the medical team fails to save her, at least she’ll pass away in the infirmary instead of a forgotten corner of the battlefield.

Caitlyn grips her hand and runs for the maid. This time her feet don’t move on their own. She orders them to. She crouches once she reaches Genesis.

“KT!” PT yells again.

At that moment, artillery shells fall ahead of them. They pulverize the ground and smite all telves that stands near. The telves scatter in their wake. They scurry away from the storm of explosions that fall upon them. Caitlyn squints her eyes as dust and smoke flies all over the place. She strives to resist the shock. While at the same time, she is relieved at the sight of shells coming down to save her. She can hear Hassle’s men cheering behind her. The captain meanwhile is busy with her utilizer. Seems like he called down the barrage.

“Imperator One watches over you, first sergeant.” An unfamiliar voice says to her through private channel.

“Captain Kiraly sends his regard.” Fort follows, also through private channel.

“Thank you…good sirs.” Caitlyn replies.

She looks down at Genesis while breathing heavily. She presses her ear against the maid’s chest. She can’t hear the sound of her core. Even when an Android is unconscious, their core would still make a faint hum. Pressing ears on their chest is enough to catch it. The absence of the sound means the core is out of function. The Android is dead. Caitlyn takes a deep breath. She strokes her left cheek gently. Her tender skin grows paler. She raises her sight and finds PT with his gun to her direction. He must have something to say. He usually does. Instead he depresses his gun in silence.