It's been a few months since I've updated. Been quite busy. In addition to this update, I have revised the battle in the Prologue to be a little more interesting, and made some small additions to the next two chapters. Anyhow, the story continues now...
Venture Capital II: Initiation
Blue Moon Forward HQ
South of Fort Halberd
December 4, 8:15 AM
"CO-General Olaf. The Dark Spot will clear within 5 minutes. All units are ready to move on your signal." Olaf's comm-control officer spoke over the transceiver, as Olaf preferred privacy in his command room.
"Excellent. Now where the hell is Grit?" Olaf leaned back in his custom-made command chair, which was highly reminiscent of a sofa. He flicked a switch. "Grit! Grit, are you there?"
"Uh..." A lanky young officer with dark circles under his eyes. "Uh, this is Lieutenant Nyberg, triple-com officer. CO-Colonel Grit is... still preparing." The man winced.
"Darn it, Grit! Blue Moon is about to make history, and you..." Olaf glared. "Lieutenant! Direct order from the top: get that idiot moving!"
"Yes, CO-General."
Olaf switched channels on his transceiver, then took a deep breath. Now was the time... at last. He could feel a tingling in his chest. "All units! This is CO-General Olaf speaking."
"There have been times in the history of Wars World where the greatness of a nation is tested. In approximately five minutes, one such moment will begin. The nation to be tested, of course, is Orange Star. We of Blue Moon need not such tests, for we know where the strength of our nation lies!"
"We stand upon land that Orange Star has claimed in the name of their corruption. The day has finally come when we shall expose their rot for all the world to see. I will not lie, comrades: we have been humbled before by the fiends of the north. Over 35 years ago, we seemingly lost our being, our nation's borders broken and our people claimed by the sea of hatred that is Orange Star."
"But that proved to be our enemy's weakness. The colonialist invaders believed that planting their flag in our gut would destroy us. What folly! They have no concept of the identity of a nation! A country is not composed merely of lines on a map! It is not defined by the politicians who surrender all to save their own skin! It is not limited by the cities that dot its surface, nor the factories that produce materials for war!
"No. A nation lives in the land that serves as its foundation! It is nourished by the plants, the trees, the creatures that choose to call it their home! It is embodied by the common people who give it life and breath, the spirits that embody the ideals that compose it!"
"We are those spirits. We, as soldiers of the Blue Moon armed forces, are a living testament to all that the nation stands for, all that the nation LIVES for! Does Orange Star live for anything? What could they live for other than their lack of principle? Breath and consumption alone do not create life! We do not call their drones Bowlheads merely for the shapes of their helmets! They are empty-headed fools driven solely by the fear of death!"
"My comrades. This is not a struggle between mere mortals over a pile of concrete. This is a war between the spirits of two nations. One nation is unwavering, strong in what it embodies and believes. The other revels in indecision as if it is some kind of virtue! How can a nation stand when it has nothing to stand for? How can the dead destroy the living?"
"That answer, comrades, is simple: they cannot. That is why we will win today. We shall swarm into the heart of the soulless capitalist machine and bring it down. We will show Orange Star – and the world – the spirit, the glory of our nation! The enemy is blinded by our radiance! It will fight its hardest to stay out of the light that will banish it back to the abyss! But the monster has no legs with which to stand, no arms with which to fight! All that remains is to strike the head and kill!"
"Look, comrades! The winds of war bring snow! Let the enemy be buried under our unstoppable tide of white and blue!"
As Olaf said this, he placed his hand within an open tube within the Break Amplifier. His body glowed as the bars on the side of the machine filled up. Within a minute, a flash emitted from the top of the Headquarters Tower, releasing power and data into the atmosphere.
Jefferson Tower
8:18 AM
General Vance was awoken by a buzzing sound his groggy mind almost took as a Blue Moon auditory attack. He rolled over in his bed, clumsily-swinging hand first pushing around an occupied pictureframe, then an alarm clock, and finally coming to rest on his datapad. "Freaking..." He pressed a button on it, and the face of Colonel Kristoph appeared on the screen.
"Sorry to bother you, General, but I think it's starting! As the Dark Spots cleared, Blue Moon units have been spotted moving towards the capital! And we've detected a CO Power discharge!"
"What? Whose?" The General was already getting his uniform on.
"Judging from the atmospheric data, it's Olaf, sir! We've got massive snowfall around the capital area! These conditions are perfect for Olaf's troops!"
"Keep your panties on, Kristoph!" Vance growled. "We've been expecting this, haven't we? Where in the battle preparations did I give you directions to panic?"
"S-sorry, sir. I'm going to contact Fort Halberd now."
"Good, you do that. Is... she already-"
"Yes, sir. She's in the Amplifier."
"Hmph. I'll be there in a few minutes." General Vance went right out into the halls and stepped briskly towards the Central Command Room.
HQ Tower, Post Foxtrot Alpha
East of Jefferson City
8:20 AM
Grit yawned, his footsteps soft as he walked towards the Command Room. "Didn't have to wake me so abruptly, Hadrian."
Lieutenant Nyberg's footsteps, on the other hand, were loud and clipped. "Sir! You completely missed CO-General Olaf's speech! It was amazing!"
"Eh... sorry about that. Well, I'm all rested up like Frosty wanted. So, what now?"
"The Dark Spot may have cleared in the south, but it'll be here for a few more days. He wants you to determine if Orange Star is continuing their advance, or retreating to defend the capital. Either way, flank them."
"As usual, he relies on my well-known power of omniscience to win the day." Grit sighed. "Well, I've got yesterday's Break energy all ready. I can launch a Snipe Attack whenever I want."
"That's the spirit, sir. We're going to kick ass today. I can feel it." The Lieutenant grinned.
"Let's hope. Well, it's time to start." Grit walked through the door of the Command Room, causing the staff officers in the room to turn, varying degrees of irritation on their faces. "Howdy, everyone. Great morning, ain't it?"
The buildings along the highway shook under the noise of hundreds of war machines moving towards Jefferson City. The areas around the capital had already been evacuated, so there was nobody to stop the columns of Blue Moon tanks from rolling right over anything that blocked their paths.
An airport near the Blue Moon HQ played host to several wings of fighters and bombers. Several squadrons were already in the air, following behind the tanks. Artillery, missiles, and infantry were right behind the aircraft; several more platoons of infantry rode with the armor, in APCs or even sitting on the sides of the tanks until the engagement would begin.
As of yet, no Orange Star units had come out to engage this giant army; rather, they had formed a defensive swarm along the hills south of the capital, near the city's automated factories. Blue Moon units were attacking from the west (towards Fort Halberd), the south, and the southeast; Grit's forces waited in the east, watching to see what their army there would do.
Half an hour later, as the snow fell in the skies and on the ground, Blue Moon forces made contact.
9:20 AM
'Pull back in the east? That's crazy!' General Vance scowled, trying to pour as much anger as he could into the Comnet.
Nell's response was as measured and even as always. 'We have to force Grit to make the first move. He'll obviously try to flank us as we retreat, but his artillery and rockets have to set up before they can attack. He'll be open. If we press the attack, he's bound to use that CO Power he's charged up.'
'Damn it. Alright, alright.' Vance turned to Colonel Kristoph. "You heard her. You handle advising for the eastern front. I've got everything around the capital aside from Fort Halberd."
"General Vance... can we really expect to hold that base?" The Colonel picked at a loose thread on his sleeve.
"We have to. If Olaf gets the factories at that base... well, we'll be in for a long one, at best. We can't let that happen."
"Yes, sir." As the Colonel hunched back over his screen, General Vance swirled his chair around and stared back at the room's central overview. Massive amounts of armor and air... that's practically enough firepower to flatten those hills if they can't break through the highway outposts.
'Miriam. They've already started hitting the fort?' General Vance sent his message through the Comnet.
'Lots of rockets on my end. More than anything, though, it's an air war, and that's bad news for us in this weather. That's the main threat from this snow; we could send out all our fighters and it'd be like trying to screen our bombers with toilet paper.'
'Olaf's a damn cheater, that's what.'
The Comnet rippled with General Carpenter's derisive chuckling. 'Heh. You could say we have a cheater on our side, too. Look.'
Vance stared at the screens around the room. Most of the images were obscured by smoke; however, he could see a distinct pattern starting to emerge on the screens. He could see Blue Moon shells exploding all around Orange Star's defensive positions. Yet, few of those shells had made a direct hit. Vance then looked at the image of an Orange Star armored group moving to engage a Blue Moon commando squad. A set of explosives went off on the side of the road, obscuring the tanks in flying dust; as the commandos retreated, one tank emerged from the smoke, then three more, all undamaged. The lead tank fired on the running infantry; bodies flew through the air as it scored a direct hit.
'Hmph. I guess she's good for something...' Vance turned his eyes back to the command overview. "Well, you've got your miracle, Colonel. I suppose it isn't so bad to accept it, considering the alternative."
That miracle was clearly visible to the soldiers on the front lines; however, in the face of their enemy, it seemed almost inconsequential. The snowstorm frustrated Major Neil Storch; he would have liked to have seen the situation clearly while flying towards the target. Normally Storch despised escort duty, but in light of the current situation, it seemed like a solemn task; without his squadron (and others), Orange Star would run out of bombers pretty fast. The fleet of fighters and bombers that surrounded him had one duty: halt the Blue Moon advance along the southern highway, even if that meant blowing the highway itself to kingdom come.
One thing Storch did hate about the situation, however, was flying in such icy weather. Normal snow wasn't so bad to fly in, but as things were, he had to rely completely on the Command Network and satellite feeds to see anything. The bombers flew at an altitude that was supposed to be above the clouds. This, of course, didn't hold true during one of Olaf's blizzards. It was annoying enough to deal with all the wind and hail, and yet he had to deal with enemy fighters that had perfect maneuverability on top of that.
Storch snapped out of his trance when he heard that familiar signal over the Comnet: incoming enemy fighters. "You all know what to do, guys."
One second – lasted a lifetime. Noise he knew well – a bullet hit the wing. Go left. Damn – Comnet says they're hitting one of the bombers. Nobody can see them?
Storch cursed under his breath; one pass from the Blue Moon fighters, and his aircraft's sensors had picked up nothing at all. They were coming around for another run. He knew it.
He still couldn't tell where from. Damn this snow.
"Albatross 2 here. I've taken several hits on the tail. Heading back to base."
"Pelican 1. The chaff took care of the missiles. We can probably chalk this up to luck. We're still good for the run."
Storch decided to take a guess. "Albatross Squadron, we're moving back and down a little bit. Hang behind the bombers. Blue Moon's visibility is better, but when they think we're blind, they'll get lazy."
"Got it, sir."
A minute later, Storch hit the jackpot; several Blue Moon fighters came down from the clouds, easy targets for the fighter escorts. The Major had heard that a soldier's intuition was sharpened with Nell in charge; it seemed that those rumors were correct.
However, spotting the Blue Moon fighters was only half the job. Albatross Squadron pounched on the fighters, missiles and bullets blazing through the air. In the seconds that followed, two Blue Moon fighters dropped out of the sky, and the rest disappeared into the blizzard. This was all from the corner of Storch's eye; the fighter he was chasing jerked out of his sights before he could get a missile lock.
"Pelican 1. We've reached the target zone. Preparing to bomb."
Storch saw the hatches open on the underside of the lead bomber; then, a carpet of lead fell from the sky. He felt a momentary excitement; then, his HUD started to flash red. Missile locks! In the blizzard, he couldn't tell where from; all he could do was take a sharp nosedive to increase his speed, while releasing the fighter's chaff. When his aircraft rocked and he felt the back half explode, he knew that Blue Moon had stationed missile launchers on the ground, and his squadron had gotten far too close.
As Storch's seat ejected from the doomed fighter, he saw one, then another of the bombers go up in flames. The only consolation he had as his body began to go numb was that this was only one skirmish of many around the capital. With all hope, those would go better than this one.
In the midst of the raging blizzard, Storch's parachute was not the only one to fail. Through death, he was to be spared the knowledge that his hopes were in vain; Blue Moon was winning the air war. Orange Star positions were subject to constant bombing, while tanks advanced from the front. The defenses repelled one, two, maybe five waves at most, but no position held for long before Nell detected their weakness and ordered the soldiers there to retreat.
The storm had only worsened as noon arrived. Orange Star's forces had fallen back to the walls, but there was still no end to the Blue Moon forces. An outside observer would declare it a war of attrition – one that Orange Star did not appear likely to win.
Golden Fortress Main Complex
12:20 PM
"Up so early?" Captain Steele quipped. She sat on the couch in the Officers' Lounge as Frank Levins entered. Steele didn't remove her eyes from the large television screen, which held several images of Orange Star soldiers and vehicles in combat, along with color-coded maps of the city. Several other officers were there too, including a couple heavily-bandaged officers on hospital beds, IVs still stuck in their bodies.
Levins would normally wonder at her casual attitude in front of the other officers, but under the circumstances he wasn't in the mood for playing around. "It's started?"
"Yep. Probably for the better, since that means the pressure's off our base. Barely enough active troops down here to even form a patrol this morning."
The Sergeant sat down. A seconds passed before he asked the question: "How many of our boys are dead?"
"The report is complete." Levins took the folder from Steele, and flipped through it, listening to the television as the words within confirmed the dark feeling in his gut.
"...no update from the Jefferson Tower about the command situation around the capital. We have confirmation that Blue Moon forces have penetrated the outer walls, with breaches in the suburban areas of Hillsboro and Milwaukee. More information as it becomes available."
Levins wordlessly handed the folder back to the Captain. "Well, now what? Nell ain't going to get back to us today at this rate."
"It's a break, then. It's good. The troops need it after what they've seen."
The officers turned their eyes back to the screen. Levins scratched at his goatee, then stared down at his fingers as though expecting to see blood. He sighed. "I'm going to get something to eat. Update me in an hour."
As Levins walked out, Lieutenant Volke turned to the Captain. "Do you really think we can win this battle?"
Steele turned to look at him. "Only Nell would know that. Fort Halberd's already fallen."
Volke began to tremble a little. "So soon?"
"Olaf went straight for the fort. The General has gotten out alive, but those automated factories at the fort... he'll have them operational again by tomorrow. It could go either way."
"With Olaf's abilities the way they are..." Volke gulped.
"I do not deny that his CO power is quite strong. While its effects measure up to – and perhaps even surpass CO-General Nell's abilities, Nell's luck control is always active, while Olaf can only create a storm on this scale once every few days." Steele motioned for a young-looking officer to bring her another coffee, then stared straight into Volke's eyes, prompting him to take a quick step back. "Relax, Lieutenant: I can offer you one piece of reassurance."
"Y-yes, Captain?"
"I guarantee that the battle won't be decided by the end of today."
Jefferson City
4:30 PM
The outer walls of Jefferson City fell, slab by slab. The bodies of the slain lay across the fields, only to be driven over by the next wave of Blue Moon armor that tried to break further into the city. Buildings across the conflict zones had been abandoned; the civilians had retreated into the heart of the metropolis.
The city had been designed with a siege in mind. Blue Moon had to penetrate three layers of walls to reach the Jefferson Tower. The second wall lay across the river from the southern Blue Moon army. The third and final wall surrounded Freedom Hill, the mound upon which the Jefferson Tower and surrounding base sat, daring all enemies to try and attack. The hill wasn't for decoration, of course; in the event that Blue Moon breached the second or third walls, it would make a great staging point for rockets.
Civilians who had made it into the inner perimeter huddled within refugee bunkers that had been established long ago, listening to the sounds of rolling thunder and dripping water from above. Nobody attempted to make conversation; the televisions in the corner reporting on the battle's progress were far more important than any small talk a stranger might wish to make.
Of course, this was mainly because it was Jefferson City, a place thought unassailable just a few weeks earlier. Most cities were used to such evacuations while a battle took place; as a result, the bunkers in conflict zones were much livelier, the news often ignored in favor of gossip.
However, there was one piece of news that prompted the refugees to quiet down immediately:
"-a surge of Break Energy from the Jefferson Tower. Yes, Anna: it appears that CO-General Nell has unleashed her CO Power."
The news was met with cheering, high-fiving, and, among the more cynical members of the bunker, an exchange of cash as the bets they had placed earlier in the day came to fruition.
On the battlefield, Blue Moon's soldiers noticed the difference immediately. Bullets no longer hit their enemy. High explosive shells discharged spectacularly before they could fire, turning Blue Moon's tanks into glorified heaps of twisted metal. CO-General Olaf's forces pressed the attack, charging uselessly against the now-energized wall of Orange Star defenders again and again. Meanwhile, Grit's small force in the east dug in, shelling the ground between the defenders and themselves to dissuade Orange Star from a counterattack.
5:10 PM
Up in the Jefferson Tower's command room, the situation still appeared quite grim.
Colonel Kristoph, covered with sweat, lifted his head up off the keyboard. "General Carpenter's APC has safely arrived within the second circle. She'll be at the citadel within the hour."
Vance gripped the sides of his console's screen as though it was the throat of Olaf himself. "Pfeh."
"In the last hour since Nell released her CO Power, Blue Moon hasn't broken any further into the city."
"All we're doing is holding on, and those bastards have taken Fort Halberd. With the factories there..." Vance pushed a few buttons, then glowered at the screen. "When is this goddamn snow going to end?"
"Uh, General... Olaf's Break signature is slowly leaving the atmosphere, and a natural low pressure front is moving in. With luck-"
"Pfeh."
"-it'll warm up and turn to rain in a couple hours, negating Olaf's advantage."
Vance focused tighter on the Comnet, reaching through to Nell's consciousness. 'You'd better have an idea on how to get us out of this mess.'
Nell's reply betrayed no fatigue. 'Patience, General.'
Vance felt his teeth grind together. 'Our retreat in the east has led Grit's forces right to the capital's ridge. He'll use his CO Power at any time!'
'I've deployed the remainder of our aircraft to counter that. His force is small and anti-air capabilities limited.'
'And what about Olaf? He'll be through the second wall in hours!'
'Let him. He won't get any further than that.'
Shaking, General Vance stood up, then pulled off his headset with such force that several nearby support officers jumped slightly, their concentration broken. He could feel Nell's concentration on him through the Comnet. 'I can see you cycling through my last commands. Are you second-guessing my decisions, General?'
'Do what you want, CO-General. After all, you're in command here.' Vance smiled mockingly, making sure his irritation could be felt through the Comnet. 'I'm going to deliver my report to the mainland.'
'Very well. It will be easier without you in the room, after all.' Vance though he heard a giggle over the Comnet, but dismissed it for the sake of his sanity.
Golden Fortress Main Complex
5:25 PM
"You're finally up." Sergeant Levins, sitting in the cramped officers' dining room, glowered at the recruit he'd grown to despise. "Still too much of a shit to face your squad, I see."
David Carroll stared up at the man's forehead. "I was told I have access to the Officers' Lounge now."
"Funny coincidence, kid. They also told me that you do." Sergeant Levins inwardly rolled his eyes as he passed. Well, the Captain had ordered him not to shake down the boy too badly.
David slowed down as he entered the lounge; the stares he got upon entering were the least of his wonders as he took in the large room. The couches were complete with an automated massage system, although the bullet hole in the back made it clear it wasn't operational right now. It was a bright room even in the midst of the rainy winter evening; the light fixtures that had been destroyed in the fighting had already been replaced. In fact, if it weren't for the damage to the couch and the tarp covering a broken window, David would've been surprised to learn there was a battle here at all.
He was surprised to see the Captain sitting on the couch with the other officers; the awkward way they sat showed him that they weren't used to it either. As he walked over to the couch, she turned her head and locked piercing grey eyes with him.
David sighed. "I suppose this is your way of telling me I can't refuse."
"As the Sergeant would say, 'this is the army, not summer camp.' Come and look." The Captain beckoned to the large TV screen. "Our soldiers in the capital are giving it their all."
"It's... it's started?" David ran behind the couch and stared intently at the screen.
"Yes. Come with me, recruit. I was hoping to finalize your promotion today, but current events have slowed the process considerably and now I'm waiting on approval from General Bernstein."
She stood up, and walked towards the door. David stood still for a moment, then sighed and followed. On the way out they passed Levins, who was still staring at the microwave as if that would make it work faster. He heard them pass, but didn't turn to look.
As they stepped out into the hall, David slowly realized just how deserted the base now seemed. Usually, there were many soldiers running back and forth at this time; now, there was nobody. Perhaps it was because training had been suspended. He didn't want to consider the other possibility; even the Captain seemed pained and he could tell the thought had crossed her mind too.
"Uh... Captain..."
"We're going to the Archive Room. Maybe if I put this in perspective, you'll understand."
David ran his hand along the wall as he turned the corner. "The battle at the capital..."
"It started this morning. They've entered the city and taken Fort Halberd. At this rate, it'll be a long siege."
David felt a seed of dread form in his stomach. "Are we in danger of, of losing-"
"Blue Moon's offensive is slowing down, and Olaf's snow is turning to rain. However, Nell's CO Power will run out within the hour, so we'll soon see if that's the only thing keeping us alive."
The two of them turned the corner and walked down yet another hallway that David didn't recognize. They had still passed only two soldiers, a couple of electricians from the engineering corps who looked in dire need of some rest. "This war has been a long time in coming. I don't know how much they teach you in class, but do you remember the Triple Rebellion War five years ago?"
David felt a pain rise in his chest. "I... Mom lost her legs in that war, and my uncle was-" He stopped; with his brother's don't think about it he hadn't even stopped to consider the rest of his family. "Captain Steele, have the Moonie bastards taken Eugenia province in the west?"
"Not the whole thing. The northwest region... we still have a garrison up there guarding the factories. Your parents live there, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Don't worry. The war hasn't come to them yet." The two of them reached a highly-secured door; the Captain slid her ID card into the reader, and the door slid open with a creak, revealing a room lined with computer screens and several tower-like metal boxes that David assumed were some kind of computers.
"Well, no need to be formal anymore, Recruit. What do you remember from that war?"
"The mainland... a lot of people were killed in the capital, right? And Green Earth and Yellow Comet sent spies to sabotage our bases, so we retaliated, but then Olaf led a rebellion in the south. Most of the old Blue Moon country rebuilt itself, and even part of Cosmo Land joined them. They tried to take over Orange Star, but we managed to fight them off. They destroyed our capital in the process, though."
"I see. I keep forgetting that civilians and students are only given the official version of recent history."
"What?" David blinked. "I don't understand."
Captain Steele began typing login information at a large terminal in the center of the room. "The war in Orange Star five years ago was orchestrated by former CO-General Olaf to make Blue Moon's rebellion easier."
David blinked. "Wait. All of it?"
"That's all you're authorized to know as an officer, Recruit."
David sighed. "And you want me to agree to something in return for this information?"
"I'm merely educating you on the benefits of officership. However..."
"The catch is-"
"Your power, yes. If you accept it, there's a special rank available that would grant you access to the records of that war... and this one too." The Captain turned back towards him. "It's time I explained to you exactly what you're expected to do."
"Expected?" David almost yelled. "I... I understand that this isn't a game to you, Captain. But-"
"But?"
"I can't do this."
"Even if your abilities can help save another Breakcom from meeting the same fate?"
"So you've already said yes for me. You just need to make me agree." David stared daggers at the expressionless Captain.
"Don't accuse me of using your family to influence you. I understand you are still grieving, but we're at war and we need to utilize all possible resources, or else we'll all be learning Blue Moon's national anthem soon." Steele stared back into his eyes. "Are you a soldier, David Carroll?"
David hissed. "What did you mean by saving another Breakcom?"
"Nell's looking for advisors."
"For OFs?"
"Perhaps. Even as a Projector, you have a built-in aptitude for command, so that won't be an issue."
"Built-in? You talk like I'm fresh off the conveyor belt from some factory in the countryside."
Steele's eyes narrowed. "That's not the point, Carroll. Again I ask you: are you a soldier?"
David mentally kicked a row of kittens. "I get what you're saying. Fine. I accept the offer. I don't have a choice."
"Not the best attitude, but I'll take what I can get." The Captain leaned back. "There were no Green Earth spies. The rumors on underground radio that we attacked Green Earth and Yellow Comet for land... have truth to them, but the spies were a ruse by Olaf to trigger the war."
"But... that doesn't make sense." David felt the room grow slightly colder. "Wouldn't Green Earth want to expose the truth in order to clear their name?"
"Orange Star made a deal with Green Earth and Yellow Comet." Steele typed a search query into the computer, then turned back to face David with an odd expression.
"Tell me, Recruit. Have you ever heard of the Black Hole Army?"
Blue Moon Forward HQ
South of Fort Halberd
5:50 PM
Inside the control room, CO-General Olaf glared up at the screen. Those nine hours of this battle so far had felt like an entire month of warfare. However, thanks to his genius planning, the battle was going well for Blue Moon. The vengeful General summoned up just enough strength to grin as he stared at the battle overview in his command console. "Just as I expected of you, Nell! But that won't be enough. Nothing will be."
He pressed a button on the console. "Sasha. Are you ready to take over the Comnet?"
"I'm ready, CO-General. Taking over control in 5 seconds."
As soon as he felt Sasha enter the Comnet, Olaf removed himself from it, and promptly fell back in his chair, panting. He groaned, only now noticing the sweat that caked his entire body. But there was still more work to do. Over the last hour, Olaf had been barraged with calls from Blue Moon Central Command; apparently, Orange Star's other COs had been busy during the assault. As the computer brought up the global command overview, Olaf narrowed his eyed and ground his teeth.
Orange Star forces from Cosmo Land's northwest coast had begun to push south, retaking several key factories. Meanwhile, Blue Moon's supply lines from the east had been sabotaged, probably by Special Forces groups. So that's how you want to play, is it, Nell? Fine. Game on.
Olaf sent a few short messages from the computer. First, to Grit: trigger his CO power and do as much damage as he could here, then transfer command of his forces at the capital to an OF and go east to stop the sabotage. The second was to OF-Captain Vladi: break the western counterattack and kill the commander in charge.
Next order of business: what to do with that rogue Droma. Olaf had told Grit to replace him in the east region with one of his own OFs, preferably Petrine. However, it couldn't be denied that Droma had managed to unexpectedly extend his power... "No, that can't be it." Olaf knew that much. Much more likely was that the nature of Droma's power had been misinterpreted. It seemed that his control extended to the whole environment, not just the debris of war. A pity that the man was a raving lunatic, or else his potential as a Breakcom would be immense.
Still, he would be useful as a weapon, if nothing else. They'd just have to find a way to get him under control.
Even then, his work wasn't done. Olaf sent a message to arrange a meeting contacting Blue Moon's high command council, the Stavka, knowing that it would be several hours before he would be able to rest.