Chapter 101 – Moving Out
Talia opened the crew cabin’s exit hatch, stepping into the desert sun. Heat waves shimmered off the sand, distorting the horizon. Thankfully her suit provided all the air conditioning she’d ever need. She opened a commlink, pinging the zoological module.
“Hey, we are moving out. The Takers are attacking again,” she said, her voice steady.
The monitor feed showed Hot Pink and Dapple waking up, their movements becoming lively as they chirped a response.
Talia made her way toward the CIC.
[Notice: Tch’Llik’yzz’Lrr sleep patterns might be disrupted by current events.]
“Yeah, we have no idea what’s really baseline for them, do we?” Talia mumbled, her thoughts racing. The spiders’ adaptability was fascinating, but she was worried about Dapple still. Hot Pink explanation hadn’t been very clear on what to expect.
She needed to just… ask. Directly. That was an option, but she hadn’t had the chance. She’d do so later.
The CIC bulkhead door opened, and she slipped inside, settling into the command seat. “Neo, show me the movements on the main screen.”
The map flickered to life. Red dots marked enemy positions, converging toward a familiar target. Talia grunted. “They’re spearheading for the HEM site again.”
[Confirmation: It appears that is their objective from the currently detected activity.]
A grin spread across Talia’s face. “This should be easy. The enemy isn’t very smart to keep trying the same thing over and over.”
[Warning: User should not become complacent.]
Talia nodded. Neo was right… but it was so obvious as to what they were after. “Alright, let’s position our units to attack the enemy spearhead. Shift Slim Girl and the primary defense line southwest to cut them off.”
Her eyes flicked to the northwest of the map where a detached force was stationed. “Reroute the ship flanking force to the front line and ambush the Blues from the west too. We’ll cancel the rear sneak attack on the ship area.”
[Confirmation: Orders received.]
Talia leaned back, considering the broader strategy. “We’ll leave a secondary defense line and keep some defenses along the entire front. Happy now? I’m not leaving anywhere undefended.”
[Affirmation: It is a good precaution.]
The engines of Slim Girl rumbled through the compartment as the vehicle began to roll westward. Talia watched gantries and cranes lower combat vehicles to the ground while IRU units deployed onto the deck.
She glanced at the zoological module’s feed. Dapple and Hot Pink were fully awake now, their movements quick and alert. Something felt off, though. She opened a commlink when she spotted the problem.
“Hey, you two need to get your shield belts on and probably your survival tool weapons,” she said.
The spiders chirped in response and moved to obey, fetching the equipment. It wasn’t easy for them to put it on themselves but together their legs moved in a coordinated dance as they helped each other. Talia’s lips curved into a small smile. They were always so efficient.
[Notice: Scouts require deployment orders.]
“Right,” Talia muttered. “We need our scouts in position to determine the make-up of the Blue spearhead. Even if they get shot down, we’ll know if the enemy is bringing anti-air.”
[Confirmation: Solar scout units are moving ahead.]
Talia watched the map, seeing the small icons representing the scouts dart forward. She tapped her fingers on the console, her mind racing through various scenarios. “Angle Slim Girl more southwest,” she ordered. “We are the slowest unit, but by striking the base of the enemy spike, we’ll cut off the ones in front.”
[Warning: User and unit are critical. Other units are expendable. Placing User directly in the fighting could lead to a poor outcome.]
Talia shook her head. “I disagree. We need to strike decisively, and Slim Girl is armed with very heavy long-range guns.”
[Notice: Slim Girl is heavily armed and protected precisely to ensure User’s safety.]
Talia bit her lip. She knew he was right, but doing nothing and sitting back just didn’t feel right. “Neo, I need a force estimate. Will this attack place me at risk?”
Silence stretched for a moment.
[Estimate: Standard risk, assessed. The enemy is not likely to recover from spearhead attack if pincer succeeds. Reinforcement units should handle counter-attack if one occurs on Slim Girl.]
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Talia nodded, her resolve firming. “We’re following my plan. Just being on this planet is ‘standard risk’ so it’s not bad.”
The minutes turned into an hour. Her fingers drummed against the armrest of her command seat as they watched the progress of everything slowly converging.
It was all done with excruciating slowness. Hurry up and then wait. Anxiety gnawed at her, a constant reminder of the stakes. She resisted the urge to fidget.
“Neo, when’s the next update from Dusky?” she asked, her voice tight.
[Notice: Next scheduled update is in approximately one hour.]
Talia sighed. “I really wish we had convinced Big Red to let us put in a hard line.”
[Suggestion: Rosetta might help convince them while stationed at the spider’s nest.]
Talia nodded. “I hope so. Everything’s been on the fly. We need to understand the Tch’Llik better. It feels like we are just slipping in that.”
[Affirmation: Information and knowledge base is increasing rapidly without full understanding.]
[Notice: User should not have a negative view of accomplishments.]
“Yeah, yeah, we’ve done good,” Talia muttered. “But it always feels like a shitshow.”
[Notice: Long-range heavy artillery has come within range of the enemy axis of advance.]
Talia leaned forward. “What do the scouts have for us?”
The screen flickered, displaying video feeds of Blue light vehicles. Talia frowned. “This is it?”
[Warning: Pushing scouts further into the enemy axis would risk them.]
“Go ahead,” Talia ordered. “We need a better check.”
The feed shifted, revealing four columns of heavier vehicles. Talia’s eyes narrowed. Before she could give an order, anti-air munitions erupted, cutting off the feed.
“Start shooting back,” she commanded.
[Confirmation: Targeted artillery barrage will begin shortly.]
The heavy thump of Slim Girl’s guns shook the vehicle. Talia checked the Lynx-M3s; they were still moving into position. Her armored columns advanced in front of them, forming a front advancing on the enemy axis from multiple directions.
Everything she had put together was coming together.
Talia watched the monitor feed as Dapple and Hot Pink emerged to join the IRUs on the deck. A pang of conflict tugged at her. She hated being stuck inside the CIC, unable to do anything directly.
“Being in command is hard,” she muttered. “I’m stuck here while they risk their lives. I feel bad for the drones, too… like we’re just building them to go die.”
[Notice: User’s position is critical for reacting and responding to Blue changes. Positioning as a front-line combatant would be a mistake.]
Talia sighed. “I know that, Neo.”
Two blue dots blinked red on the monitor. Talia’s eyes narrowed.
[Notice: Long-range observation has determined artillery strike partially destroyed the closest enemy column.]
“Good,” Talia said, her mind racing. Should they pound them down with more artillery strikes or move in? Artillery would reduce risk, but moving in would resolve things faster and more decisively.
“We’re going to pound them down,” she decided.
[Confirmation: Command received. Artillery barrages will continue.]
The thump of artillery fire echoed through the CIC. Her mobile artillery units were now in range as well, and stopped to fire before continuing to advance in waves. Neo made the coordination of the units look like a dance.
She turned her attention to the monitor, watching for any results. Time stretched. There wasn’t any visible feedback on the monitor.
[Notice: More observational data required.]
“Scouts, move them in to observe,” Talia ordered.
[Confirmation: Scout surge initiated.]
Gray areas on the map receded as circles representing visual observation expanded. Black circles appeared, marking destroyed enemy vehicles.
[Notice: Nearest enemy column destroyed with 95% confidence.]
“Three more to go,” Talia said. “Push forward to bring the artillery in range of all three columns now.”
[Confirmation: Command received.]
Talia frowned. “Have them push ahead of Slim Girl instead of matching her slower speed.”
[Caution: Do not weaken defenses around Slim Girl excessively.]
She nodded, a bad feeling gnawing at her.
The Blues were being too dumb, rushing into her units and dying like this.
Something felt off, but she pushed the feeling down. She was doing the best she could with the information she had.
[Notice: Flanking unit to the west ready to begin engagement.]
Talia steeled herself. “Let’s finish this quick.”