Nick sat on the floor of an aircraft hanger next to the only phone in the building. Their orders to deploy had been cancelled until further notice. After a couple of hours they were finally told what happened. The divisions they were to rendezvous with had abandoned their positions and moved up to the first line the wolves would need to stop for fuel at. There was only one problem, none of the generals had accounted for the Canisian Air Force. Nick learned from Van that they had discussed it with the rabbits, but they would always dismiss its effectiveness.

Burrowland hadn't fought in a war since airplanes were in their infancy. Their own air force had literally never made it off the ground. As time went by it was completely defunded and forgotten about. Eventually the entire concept was taken from their war college. That left Nick with a sick feeling in his stomach, they haven't received reports yet about the casualty numbers. Their battalion was to help bolster the rabbits numbers slightly while also providing knowledge of tactics. Essentially, fully combat ready advisors. The main advantage they had was their communications equipment. It was leaps and bounds beyond anything the rabbits had. It also allowed them to communicate with the VAF and coordinate strikes against advancing enemy columns.

The rabbits learned a hard lesson that could possibly cost everyone the opportunity for victory. The infantry, artillery and tank battalions were still rushing towards the border. No one had decided yet if they would continue on to the pass and try to stop the enemy or halt at the Vulpisian border and let the rabbits fend for themselves. But one thing puzzled him, the rabbits had 15 more divisions with 30,000 soldiers each. Why weren't they deploying them to cover the gap?

His thoughts were interrupted when the phone finally rang causing him to jump slightly. Gathering himself, he lifted the handset from its mount.

"This is Wilde."

Judy had never felt so defeated as she did that long drive back. Their trucks had proven to be far more fuel efficient and speedy than their Canisian pursuers. Even the sound of aircraft overhead had disappeared. They had bumped into other groups along the way. All sharing the same experience of being attacked by aircraft before beating a hasty retreat back to their main lines. Judy only allowed her convoy to stop twice to refuel and change drivers before moving again.

When they finally made it back to their original staging point at the center of the gap between the two mountain ranges, Judy pulled into the outpost, reported to her superiors what she'd seen and was then ordered to get some sleep. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

"Yes sir."

…

"I understand."

…

"We'll get it done."

…

With the conversation over, Nick placed the phone back on the receiver and stood from his perch on the ground. He walked over where Skye was conversing with some of the other staff officers. Waiting till he was close before speaking.

"What's the word?" Nick looked at her and then at each of the officers surrounding him. Their NCOs were beginning to take notice of their gathering and anxiously started shuffling around.

"Current estimates are a minimum of 50 percent combat strength lost from the three divisions that encountered the Canisian army." A collective gasp and a few swear words were muttered by those around him. "To make matters worse, they didn't have enough weapons to arm the entire army. Those three divisions were the only ones carrying any form of weapon they considered combat ready. Command is moving the rest of our brigade along our border with Burrowland to set up a defensive line there. The Burrows are on their own." The group could only look at each other, dumbfounded by the news.

"What are our orders sir?" Nick looked over at Skye, thankful for her ability to keep a stable head in these uncertain times.

"Ready the troops, we'll be sticking to our original plan. Tomorrow ten more cargo planes will join us and drop extra weapons and ammunition for the rabbits that we'll be joining. We don't know exactly how many will be there or what shape they'll be in so be prepared for the worst." Nick looked over the group before him. Most of them were young and inexperienced. He had to remind himself that he was no different.

"I know this isn't exactly what we were hoping for. We'll be going in mostly unsupported. The air jockey's will still be there to provide air cover, we just have to slow the Canisians down enough to let them bomb those wolves back into the stone age. Make sure everyone understands, we are the tip of the spear and no wolf makes it past us." He made sure to make eye contact with everyone to drive home his point. "Dismissed."