A FEW HOURS EARLIER IN THE MESS HALL

“Eh? You want to do a war game?” Friederika asks in surprise “right before the beginning of the operation? Commander Buttermilch might want us to be in general quarters at a given notice.”

“I’m aware,” I say, running my finger on the rim of my coffee cup, “but I doubt they would announce general quarters this early. We still have at least half a day’s worth after all. Besides,” I finished the remainder of my food and stood up for a much-needed stretch, “it’s not just one war game. We’ll be doing a few rounds at least.”

“And what do you hope to accomplish with this?” Friederika asks, finishing the rest of her biscuits.

“If we get a big enough crowd,” I start “we’ll get our superiors' attention. Then, we can convince commander Buttermilch that this operation is doomed to fail.” Fredericka gives me a look of uncertainty. Well, it’s less uncertain and more like she is gazing at a crazy person. She crosses her arms with a sigh.

“And how is that going to change anything?” She asks, frowning.

“You’re starting to irritate me with all these questions. Who was it that said guys don’t like persistence?” We both let out a laugh, “no, but seriously, Kiki,” I put a hand on her shoulder “I need you to give it your best. Don’t go easy on me. As much as I would want you to let me win, we need to actually convince Buttermilch with our best effort.”

“Okay…” she mutters “but don’t get mad at me later for crushing your spirits. I don’t want you down in the dumps for when the operation actually starts.”

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BACK AT THE PRESENT IN THE MSN YILAN’S TACTICAL OPERATIONS ROOM

Perhaps it is because of uneasiness. Or maybe it’s stress from the piercing gaze of the crowd, but the two of us—Friederika and me—played our opening moves rather safely. Maybe we played it a bit too safe. But that isn’t what I’m aiming for. If we play too safe, we would be wasting all this time for nothing. Buttermilch wouldn’t be convinced that this operation will be in vain.

Luckily, once our forces make contact and engage, the simulation becomes less predictable and takes on a more fluid form. Or at least mine does

I break concentration and look up from my tablet at the holographic display. The units representing Friederika’s forces advance at a slower pace than usual. I shift my attention to Friederika. She’s gripping her tablet intensely and looks deep in thought. What is she doing? Is she hesitating? Waiting for me to make some moves perhaps? It’s uncharacteristic for Friederika to not be more aggressive. Usually, she would try for an encirclement by now…

Wait, maybe she’s expecting me to predict that? Is she tripped up on how to progress because of that? Our battle lines are still in the early stages. Well, I say battle lines, but…

Considering I’m still dwarfed in numbers, it’s more like the “battle lines” are my few squadrons fighting a defensive skirmish against two individual Federation squadrons. The rest of her flotilla is shadowing the vanguards in combat, possibly waiting to envelop me. For that reason, I wouldn’t be able to maintain it for much longer. Even if I did manage to knock out the squadrons I’m engaging, the rest of Friederika’s flotilla will finish me off.

I need to at least preserve my force in Valspon so I can get the upper hand in numbers. But I also need to make a move on Friederika, or this will end prematurely through attrition. Something to make her react to and get the ball rolling. Currently, any potential reinforcements from Lübeck are on a cooldown timer. What this means is, I have a set amount of time before I can call in a relief force if I so desire. Even if Friederika keeps this passive play up, I won’t last long from attrition.

I could abandon Valspon itself and force Friederika to decide between either dividing her Federation force or continue to the capital as one entity. But that’s all for later. For now, I need to give Friederika a little encouraging push.

“What was it that you told me before… hmm,” I tap my lip and squint at Friederika “’a man doesn’t like a woman who doesn’t know what she wants’?”

“Why you…” Friederika grits her teeth, “I’ll make you eat those words!” Well, it’s not exactly what she said in the past. There might have been a few liberties there. The battle lines, for what they are, began to gradually shift. Friederika begins to utilize her reserves for pincer attacks which cause my losses to mount, and it becomes increasingly hard to plug in holes in the line.

Hmm, did the taunt work a little too well? I admit it was a little lame. But I didn’t think she would overreact this much. It’s like I flipped a switch on a killer robot hell-bent on destruction. Friederika’s newfound aggression forces me to repeat the woes of our past games. I’m forced to undertake the cowardly process of retreat. “All bark and no bite, aren’t we?” I heard that dreaded sneer from across the table. I’m sure if our superiors weren’t here, things would certainly get more heated.

Typically, I would’ve holed up in the Side colony and waited it out with my whole force. Then it would simply be a matter of waiting until I can call in the relief force and force Friederika into a two-front battle. But as I order my units to garrison inside the colony, an even better idea comes to mind.

One of Friederika’s rear squadrons, isolated from the rest of the flotilla, is merrily making its way to my side of the holographic map. If I have to guess, she’s planning on securing the hyper lane to Lübeck. Back at the academy, I remember “spawn camping” was considered a scummy move that was frowned upon. On the other hand, in a real-life scenario, warping into an active combat zone is tantamount to disaster. So you were better off advancing along a hyper lane with traditional engines.

But unlike real life, those games don’t have the luxury of being manned by humans. What would often happen is when you warp in reinforcements to the outskirts of the battlefield, your crooked opponent would have at least one squadron docked at the warp entrance. This results in them(the reinforcements) getting shredded because it takes the ai a couple of seconds to realize yes, we are getting turned into swiss cheese. Because of its high rate of success, the practice was nominally banned by the senior students at the academy.

But it ran rampant in the freshmen and sophomore classes. In the hundreds of years of technological breakthroughs, game artificial intelligence is another thing to add to the list of not being on humanity’s agenda. I couldn’t allow that to happen, of course. Although realistically, it is something that commodore Hugo would think about doing to establish a warning line, given a scenario where Valspon does not fall immediately.

Selecting the furthest squadron, I try to discreetly avoid the Federation squadron hot on its tail, praying that Friederika isn't paying attention to that particular unit. See, the downside of having too few units is also my plus. I don’t have to focus on as many units as Friederika does. Since I can easily focus on two units alone, Friederika has to divide her attention all along the front. But I’d say it’s a double-edged sword for me at least. One wrong move can mean the elimination of one squadron and it’ll be over for me, even if I gain the reinforcements in time.

Hmm, it seems Friederika is making the biggest rookie mistake of forgetting to utilize the attack move stance. A unit in attack move stance will attempt to fight any units found in their line of sight as they make their way to their destination. I don’t blame her though. For some reason, the geniuses who designed this system never thought to put them as a default stance, so it often gets overlooked by most junior officers. Good for me. Bad for the future of our Navy’s leadership.

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Both of the Federation squadrons sandwiching my outward squadron don’t seem to be in this stance. When all three have briefly intersected, neither of Friederika’s squadrons have engaged in combat. Thankfully, because of my forgetfulness, mine aren’t in attack move stance either. So what plays out is three squadrons hostile to each other moving in peace. Such beautiful harmony.

I have to wait for the one heading for the Side colony to be out of relative combat range before I can pounce on the other squadron heading for the Lübeck hyper-lane point.

Oh, yeah, the Side colony sector. I kind of put it off to focus on the Federation rear squadron maneuver. Before shadowing the rear squadron, I have the squadron heading for the Side colony hide behind it rather than garrison inside it. Unlike the other two squadrons, the rest of Friederika’s flotilla is, in fact, in attack move formation, and it begins to show.

Technically, I used to have two and a half squadrons. But after the initial beatings from Friederika’s force, I am left with basically two and some more. So I end up being forced to merge the remnants of the third squadron into the Side-centric one.

If I decide to garrison inside the colony, then it means having virtually no flexible defensible options. Mainly, if I risk breaking out of the siege then the squadron will suffer enormous casualties and possibly cause a shattered rout.

No, not possibly. That’s what will happen. There is no doubt about it. I can’t afford to lose this squadron—never mind the importance of the other one shadowing the sleazy rear Federation squadron. Losing my fighting capacity at the Side colony means losing the linchpin for a two-front battle line.

On the opposite end of the Side colony is, so far, a single idle Federation squadron. I take it Friederika is waiting for the rest of her flotilla to complete an encirclement? There is still some distance that the rest of her fleet needs to cover before she can do it.

I could circle and attack it from the side for some real damage. But that’s a bit risky since she can return the favor when my squadron finishes the loop to the Side’s backside.

I scratch my head and feel a lot of wetness between my fingers. Naturally, I give my hand a look over and… wow, I didn’t realize I am sweating this much! I hear a few guys behind me try to stifle some chuckles, and my gaze turns to Friederika who is resisting the temptation of throwing out yet another one of her verbal insults. “Getting all hot and bothered over there taking in my beauty, are we?” Friederika lets out a hearty chuckle, “don’t worry, I’ll end this so swiftly you’ll be in the showers having a shower thought before you know it!”

Friederika… I don’t know what I’m going to do with you sometimes. Your jokes are so lame it makes even ugly ducks cry. Like an overconfident gambler carelessly pushing in all of his chips, Friederika advances her squadrons to the Side colony. Friederika is finally aiming to encircle it. If I don’t act fast, I’ll be doomed once my squadron there has no place to run to.

“Ngh…!” At the same time, neither of us are keeping any attention on the rearguard squadron.

…Hm?

Oh.

My puny little squadron has obliterated the rear squadron there. I didn’t intend on destroying it, though, it has more uses to me alive rather than dead. I was hoping to call out Friederika on it and split her force up, but this kinda changes up things now. Oh well, there’s always room for improvising.

“Oi… Kiki, are you maybe…,” I pause to crack a grin, “forgetting about something?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Friederika asks, rather innocently. Perfect.

“I don’t mean to lead you on, but…” Friederika looks confused, but finally realizes what I am getting at. She curses in silence and diverts three of the nearest squadrons to confront it.

Which means…

Only two are still facing the Side, and the rest have their backs turned to it. Friederika is so caught up on the rear that she didn’t even reposition either of them to cover the latter’s departure. This isn’t exactly the opportunity I had in mind, but it’s as good an opportunity as any. It’s now or never!

The squadron still hiding behind the Side colony sallied out and unleashes a fiery polygonal barrage on the departing squadrons, then presses forward to flank the other two. From across the room comes a distressed groan, and small applause from the room follows suit. My cheeks flush with red again.

“But that’s not all! I think it’s time for the grand finale—” I strike the most pretentious pose I could think of, just to rub it in Friederika’s face, “and with it, the downfall to your overconfidence!” I couldn’t let Friederika steal all the glory of being a lame duck after all. It’s okay for me to act silly too, right?

I firmly press the button that lets me call in the reinforcements from Lübeck, and after a few more taps, place their predicted deployment down on the map. Now, it’s only a matter of time before I win. Though with all my eggs now in one basket, there’s always a possibility of error and Friederika turning this situation around. As long as there’s a will, there will always be a way. I admit, I probably am getting a little too overconfident myself. It would be tragic if I got hoist by my own petard, and I would forever live with Friederika teasing me over this until we grow old and die.

That is, if we even survive this campaign…

Friederika frantically tries to regroup her flotilla. If she manages to do that, then it will be game over for me. I’m only getting three additional squadrons, which would put my strength just a little over three hundred strong. It’s still a hundred or so less than what Friederika has.

Luckily, my squadrons are doing a good enough job of harassing her that she is unable to successfully link up. Just in time too, since my virtual squadrons finally come into the fray. “How the tides have turned, hmm?” Now it’s my turn to give her a sneer. I receive only a cold scoff in true Friederika fashion. Soon enough, I trap three of Friederika’s squadrons in a textbook example of encirclement. To my added surprise, there are a handful of auxiliary ships in it, too… unless that’s all of it? No, that couldn’t be. Friederika wouldn’t be that foolish to put herself in a corner like that.

Should I be merciful and widen the width so Friederika can break out? It would be disheartening to end it like this, but…

I met eyes with Buttermilich, if only for a split second. I need to prove my point. All this would be for waste otherwise.

The pocket grows gradually smaller. Friederika becomes increasingly desperate. In a nearby sector, she has fallen for my bait of diverting manpower against the lone squadron that had successfully broken out of its partial Side siege from earlier. She commits two squadrons initially, but it proves fruitless with the cat and mouse chase that unfolds. Friederika proceeds to disengage one—using the other as its cover so she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice—and attempts to relieve the pocket.

It’s too little and too late. A couple of her squadrons begin flashing, a telltale sign of a unit’s morale being shattered. By the time the relief squadron arrives, it’s a doomed outcome. It’s rebuffed by several of mine, until its models too, begin slowly flashing.

Despite my expectations, though, I’m unable to deliver the killing blow on the auxiliary units. Friederika’s desperateness pays off there, at least. Using both the remaining pocket squadron and the relief one, she’s able to sacrifice a few of her ships so that they could get through to the other side.

In the other sector, my squadron puts up its white flag and disappears into the polygonal abyss... or what remains of it anyway. The glimpse I have of it before it goes into the void numbers only several or so left. I give it a brief salute; they did their best against the odds. But it will not be vain!

“Now then, Kiki…” I mutter. The tables are more or less flipped now. She has two squadrons—only one of which can operate at full firepower—and not much else to go on, besides her battered auxiliary corps anyway. She can’t exactly call in any more reinforcements, either. To be honest, I feel bad for her. I’m basically humiliating her in front of the entire general staff right now. But if I look at it as payback for all the time she teased me in the past, then it makes me feel less guilty.

“I think you should concede defeat here,” I say, flatly.

“As if,” Friederika says rather bitterly. Is she being stubborn?

“Kiki, there’s no way you can come back from this,” I remark “I think the rest of the war game is settled,” she doesn’t respond. But it’s clear she is deep in thought about how she could salvage this situation. Well, to be fair, I did say to give it our all. She’s just doing what I asked her to do earlier. But sometimes you just have to know when to throw in the towel.

Friederika slowly retreats to her initial spawn area, where she gradually orders what remained of her flotilla to retreat.

But do I let her peacefully go, or do I attempt to destroy her force here and now? Do pirates even have any honor? Do they even know what honor is? I heard old war stories that the so-called Madame Scarface was harsh on Federation officers during the Don’s reign of terror in the Merican region. I suppose it wouldn’t be too unreasonable for me to attack, right?

I let out a sigh. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Just as I was about to order an attack on her remaining force, the holographic display changed to a red hue, signaling the end of the stimulation.

It’s over.