Finally, I managed to update in quicker than a month and a half! I'll try to keep up this pace.

Field Training III: Escalation

Orange Star Cosmo Territory, Alara Region

Golden Fortress Command Room

December 13, 5:10 PM

David Carroll couldn't get rid of that itch; it kept coming back throughout the afternoon, no matter what he did to try and stop it. It had been distracting him for a couple hours now, though in some ways, that was welcome; after the first orders were given, it had become more and more difficult to block out the fact that these people were his responsibility. In some ways, it was just like being a soldier on the ground, except he wasn't in harm's way.

No, that wasn't true at all. First off, he didn't know any of the other officers here, and he could tell few of them knew each other from the way they were acting. Personnel shortage, probably; all the crack troops were under Andy's direct command. There was no time to question what he was doing here, though: he was starting to see patterns in the way they moved.

Based on just the satellite view, he could see in his mind some ways that the enemy soldiers might move, and how long it would take his soldiers to get where he wanted them to – estimates that often diverged wildly from the computer's estimates. However, that sixth sense seemed to fade in and out, and whenever that sense was distant, he hoped it wasn't noticeable to the officers around him. Thankfully, they were too distracted by their work or by each other.

His troops had crossed the river and hills by now and were bearing down on the enemy HQ. The two enemy heavy infantry squads had fortified the outside, and a "small" firefight raged down below, no more threatening on the satellite view than the shuttering of a camera. Across the river, the tanks had retreated, trying to make it around to another crossing under Blue Moon control, but if all went well, Andy would have control of the crossing by the time they arrived. If not, then David's troops were to set charges and destroy the HQ, then head back across the river, where the tanks wouldn't be able to follow.

The HQ looked more sophisticated than the images he'd seen in training. For one thing, it wasn't by itself; there were some small fortifications surrounding it, and even a wire-topped wall around the HQ's perimeter. Higher up in the tower, there were snipers.

David could see the threat lines even on the satellite map, clustered so close that they couldn't be distinguished from each other, but he tried his best to ignore them; he was acutely aware through an ache in his chest that he wasn't an OF, and couldn't create a Comnet. He certainly wouldn't be able to warn an individual soldier about incoming small-arms fire in time.

The Command Room continued to buzz with the sound of officers listening to the yells and reports of the troops on the ground. David could do nothing but watch as his three platoons fired away at the enemy's two, advantages and disadvantages disappearing into a portrait of two groups of humans trying their hardest to wipe the other out.

Frontline near Spire Hills HQ

5:12 PM

"I ever tell you how much I hate the outdoors?" asked Staff Sergeant Matvei Shevsky, leader of Force Gamma's 5th Squad, struggling to see over the rocky, grassless slope that lead to the Blue Moon HQ. The din of weapons fire had died down; despite the radio chatter in the ears of the soldiers, it still seemed that an uncomfortable silence lay over the muddy field.

"Fourteen times now, Matt," growled Staff Sergeant Thomas Kurse over the radio. "And yeah, there is a goddamn sniper or three in the HQ. So shut up and let Hops do the pathfinding."

"What pathfinding? Let's just drop some smoke and rush the tower." Shevsky stared into his weapon's red-dot sight. "All you gotta do is get my team over there."

No response over the radio. Shevsky sighed and turned to his neighbor and second-in-command, Sergeant Mallory "Chaser" Mateer. "It was only three times," he complained.

"It would do us better to find a flanking position," Chaser drawled.

"Or we could just pop smoke and dash." Shevsky squinted down the sights. Still nothing.

A beeping noise rang from his earpiece, and a faint highlight appeared over one of the windows of the HQ Tower, courtesy of the goggles he had. He slid down the slope until he was comfortable, stopping at a slightly-sunken patch of ground; he wasn't taking any chances today. He really wasn't a good judge of whether or not anyone could hit from there, but he figured that if even part of the window was visible to him, then that sniper could see him as well.

"I ever tell-" He was rewarded with a sharp jab to his ribs. "Fine, sheesh."

"Shevsky, it's your chance. Hops found us a safe approach to the HQ. I've marked it on your AR. Rendezvous with Hops at the waypoint."

"Acknowledged." Shevsky signaled the other four of them and they disappeared down the slope, the other infantry groups filling in the gaps they left.

He led his troops back down the hill, following the waypoints displayed on his goggles and keeping a lookout for any Blue Moon troops that the commanders may have missed. As it turned out, it was one of his luckier days; Hops' route was actually safe for once, taking him through a small wooded thicket down south and back up on a more heavily-sloped part of the hill. Perfect cover from the snipers; just a short climb up and over the cliff, and they'd be right there.

Near the edge of the forest, he ran into Sergeant Noreen "Skip" Kirts and her scouting partner, Corporal Eugene "Hops" Rednall. These were the squad members he trusted with open-air missions like these.

"Thanks for waiting to start the party." Shevsky looked at the dirt hill; kind of steep, but scalable. "What's the plan?"

"We've found ourselves a blind spot in their sniper positions. It's steep, so I wouldn't shoot 'til you're up top unless you want a quick way back down. They've probably got us on satellite cam right now, but if we toss 'em a pineapple and break a nice gap in the wall around the tower, there'll just be some sandbags between us and the HQ." Skip gestured to the slope. "Well, time's a wastin'."

Shevsky hated slopes almost as much as he hated the outdoors, though he never let this particular fact slip. If the enemy were to spot them, then a quick roll down might actually be the best option. However, this time was a little more nerve-wracking; he was almost at the top when the shouting started and the bullets splashed near them.

A split-second decision; Shevsky went prone and clung to the side of the hill uncomfortably. He saw Hops toss a concussion grenade towards the point marked on the back of his goggles, but as much as he wanted to dive for the level ground above, he didn't feel like taking any chances of being too close to that pineapple when it goes off.

He heard no more; damn. The shooters must have been in the forest, but satellite camera should have spotted enemies there and the commander should've warned them. If there were enemies below, that meant it wouldn't be too hard a shot to pop his entire squad at once, and then it would be another hundred points towards Sergeant Kurse's incompetence. That raised a good question, though: if they were target turkeys right now, then why had their assailants stopped firing?

The grenade went off, and Shevsky gladly pulled himself to level ground, just as another volley of bullets sounded off from below. This time, he felt a *zip* on the side of his combat vest; didn't sound like most bullets did, but now wasn't the time to question that.

Though the thoughts came methodically, Shevsky didn't stop moving; he was already up and over the slope, scrambling on all fours towards the side of the HQ Tower, eyes scanning the wall that was still ten long meters away. Good; the grenade had managed to blast a hole in it, and enough of one that they wouldn't be in any danger of electrocution from the wires up top.

No Blue Moon soldiers circling around the sandbags to their location, either – no, wait, there's a couple of them coming around the corner. Three more meters to the fence, perhaps twelve to the sandbags. Now that was his preferred combat range.

Shevsky was already bringing his rifle sights up to his face. He squeezed off a couple rounds, and both soldiers fell; one of them was shot by Skip, who was partially obscured behind a large rock. Good; she'd found a little cover.

They'd lost time; thank goodness there wasn't a watchtower covering the area. Shevsky checked the map on his goggles. The map showed no more enemies behind the sandbags on their side. The rest were still out front for some reason. He gestured, and the group of them stood up and ran the remaining distance to the sandbags.

"Something weird's going on, Kurse. We only had two Moonies try to stop us, and not prepared ones either, unless you count the ones in the woods you failed to warn me about."

"What Moonies in the woods?" Kurse didn't hide his confusion.

"There was gunfire from down there. They could've fragged us in seconds, but they didn't."

"We're not getting anything from down there."

Shevsky hissed. "Fine, be useless. Speaking of useless, how are things on your end?"

"Just flank them before our advantage is lost, Matt. Maybe their commander's on the toilet." The map on Shevsky's goggles updated to show that the Blue Moon forces out front were reduced in number from before.

Shevsky turned to his squad. "Alright. There's a bunch of them out front. I don't know if they're all on stupid or something, but they aren't responding to us. It's us against maybe 20 of 'em left outside the HQ. We've also got to watch out for the ones in the southwest watch tower. Are you ready?"

5:57 PM

"Gunfire from the woods?" David repeated. "If there was someone there, we would have caught it on satcam."

"Check it again. Matt's hardly wrong." The guy didn't sound convinced so much as nervous; something told David that this wasn't something to ignore.

"Got it. Lieutenant, uh..." He thought for a moment about how to say it. "Full sat sweep, grid area Golf Oscar Niner."

"Sir." The officer moved his fingers across the keys like spiders dancing on a chessboard. David's screen beeped; a message from Nell.

"General? What is it?"

"Please, just call me Nell." She leaned forward. "Just a reminder, keep an eye on the greater situation of the battle. For instance, Satcom reports enemy reinforcements coming from the east, three infantry platoons strong."

"ETA?" He almost choked; that could be trouble.

"Four hours. Don't rush it; that should be ample time, given that the specialist squad is in position. However, that means we won't have time to secure the HQ. We'll have to hope that the enemy reinforcements consider this position lost and go elsewhere."

"Um... ma'am, what if we were to pull back?" David fidgeted with the edges of the screen. "Not to question your authority, but I mean, what would be the likely outcome if we retreated and attacked again when we're stronger?"

"That's actually a good question, Advisor, and you shouldn't feel nervous to ask. Unfortunately, it's not practical; the only reason we have a chance here is because they don't have enough troops left to fully staff the defenses around the HQ. I'd rather we defend this position from the top of the hill. We won't get another chance at this."

"Alright. I'll... do it." David saw his satellite map expand eastwards, and new markers signifying the oncoming enemies appeared. Nell's face had already disappeared from the screen; he didn't question it. It was already a bit much that she was in contact with him like this to begin with.

"On my mark... now."

Three rifle grenades shot past the wall of the skyscraper and into the fortifications near the front of the HQ, sending chunks flying up in the air. Shevsky, hidden with his squad behind a parked Blue Moon APC up near the HQ's wall, listened for return fire, and heard nothing except a single wailing scream.

"Weren't too many of them out there," remarked Hops.

"Don't be so quick to figure that." Shevsky waited a few more moments.

"This is HQ. Satview says you got 'em all. Feel free to approach and breach, but you're on the clock here."

"Yeah, I know. Incoming east, kill the snipers before then. You got their positions yet?"

"Head to the HQ's basement and cut the power. With the shields down, we'll be able to get visual in the building and tell you whether to blow and run or sweep and clear."

Despite the lack of greater air support, Kurse's 3rd Platoon had a couple scout drones in the air, which would be able to take infrared images of the HQ's insides if it weren't for the HQ Tower's inbuilt defenses. Specifically, as a measure to protect the expensive equipment inside, the structure was field-reinforced, making the building all but impossible to destroy while the power was still up. Thankfully, the shielded door hadn't been rebuilt since Blue Moon had taken the tower, or else it would take specialized explosives to breach through.

That shield wasn't limited to protecting against weapons; the field that permeated the building blocked both external and internal cameras from using wall-piercing imaging of almost all types unless they were calibrated properly; even old thermal imaging could only see what was in the same room. In the field, it meant that cameras controlled by the HQ's controller were able to function, while the invaders would have to make do without it. However, with the power cut and the field down, their drones would have only a little trouble getting exact numbers and positions of all Blue Moon soldiers in the HQ.

It wouldn't be practical to destroy the HQ tower, but if they were to destroy the generator and other important electronics, it would make the position useless to Blue Moon until they repaired it, aside from the defensive benefits. A hollow victory, but who really cared?

The squad advanced slowly, moving between covered points as any exposed area was vulnerable, splitting up into its usual teams once they reached the door. Skip and Hops stayed with Shevsky, positioned on either side of the gate leading to the HQ. Chaser took command of team A, standing on the left of the door with Loner (Sergeant Autumn Lonus) and Staller (Corporal Leo Hawking). On the other side, Shevsky's other commander, Crock (Sergeant Kengol Cornet), took command of team B, Mud (Corporal Jack Cassidy) and Stone (Corporal Ray Talbot).

Explosives fired off and the door flew in, followed by grenades and bullets from the two subteam leaders. With their infrared goggles, they could see shapes through the smoke since the door had no shields. Shevsky could see four warm figures inside; all fell under the hail of bullets, barely a single shot fired back.

"This is the point where they'd surrender if they were smart," Hops said. "They should know we're Spec Ops by now."

"Moonies aren't exactly known for their brains," Chaser muttered. "Orders, sir?"

Shevsky pressed against the HQ's outer wall and peered through the front door; the atrium didn't look any different from most Orange Star-built HQ towers. The large reception area, spanning about a quarter of the tower's width in the center, was stocked with barricades defending the four elevator towers in the room's center. Above was a network of catwalks easily usable by defenders (except in the case of heavy weapons); these extended about five stories up, and then the five floors above those could only be accessed by the elevators from here.

Another way of accessing those floors would be to use the other stairwells and elevators near the edges of the building, where the outer hallways were. The living quarters, office areas, cafeterias, and such were accessible from those hallways, located on the first five floors. All sensitive military equipment was either higher in the tower or underground.

The underground passages went three to five more floors deep; those were Shevsky's favorite place to fight.

All of the easily-defensible areas and hiding spots meant that any enemy who seized the HQ would have to think very carefully about whether to risk damaging it during the capture. Those catwalks would fall pretty fast with a couple well-placed rockets, for instance. The whole barely-touched look of the atrium (aside from the parts his squad had just shot up) told him that the previous inhabitants had surrendered without a fight.

"Team A, sweep and clear the ground floor. Team B, sweep and clear the basements. Skip, Hops, and I are going to switch off that generator."

"That's it?" David felt the knots throughout his body begin to unravel. "You're ordering me to a different front already?"

"The outside of the HQ is secure, and we have trouble in a couple other areas. I'm transferring command of the Golden Fortress to Lieutenant Thaner; she's on her way up the elevator. You are to head north to the Riverdale National Guard Outpost."

David stood, then paused. "North? Am I joining up with... with OF-Lieutenant Andy yet?"

"Not quite. However, I think you'll be very interested in this assignment." Nell's mouth went into that same practiced smile he kept seeing from her. "The HQ you'll be assaulting is the location used as a staging area by the Blue Moon forces that attacked the Golden Fortress."

If those bastards hadn't attacked, then Wreck would still be...

"Are they still there?"

"Reports state that their commander and most forces have been reassigned. However, the tank platoons that survived the battle have retreated here for repairs. A few of them are still active, but your force should have the advantage in numbers."

"I'm on my way." David marched towards the elevator at the edge of the room, not a word for the officers that surrounded him. He felt they were just as happy to see him go.

As he arrived, the doors opened and a dull-eyed woman in full uniform stepped out and saluted. "Advisor Carroll."

It took a couple moments for David to salute back; he still wasn't fully used to officers saluting him. "Platoon Commander Thaner. At ease."

"Good hunting, Advisor." Without a further word, she strolled past, manner tight but upright. David had initially been reminded of Steele, but those few seconds showed him the difference. She held her threat lines closer than Steele did.

As the elevator went down, David wondered just how that impression had crept so quickly into his thoughts.

Jefferson Tower – Central Conference Room

6:30 PM

"I see." Nell folded her hands below her chin and bowed as if in thought.

"I see?" General Payton Vance's face twitched, and his fingers fumbled about, opening and closing as if searching for a neck to grasp. "Blue Moon has opened hostilities on the mainland! The border is in open warfare! All but one of our Breakcoms are abroad! And all you have to say is 'I see?'"

"Calm, Vance," General Bernstein soothed, though he was rather removed from the situation; of the three generals, he was the only one not at the Jefferson Tower.

"Only one of us can use the coldborn killer excuse, Bernstein!" Vance snapped. "And you! Miriam! Don't you have something to say about this?"

"Payton!" General Carpenter raised her voice in response. "We've planned for this event, haven't we? We made sure sufficient forces remained behind. Even if that Breakcom we left there is CO-Captain Rachel, who has no experience coordinating something of this scale-"

"And my sister won't be fully in charge of it anyways," Nell finished. "General Foster will be coordinating the defense."

"General... Foster. As in, Clara Foster." Some of the color drained from General Carpenter's face. "She's come out of retirement?"

"That she has." Bernstein sighed. "Apparently the recent crisis warranted it. Personally, I'm glad for this. Though her methods are somewhat... extreme... she has proven to be a capable commander in the past, particularly in terms of counterattack."

Vance narrowed his eyes. "I don't care who's in charge. I just want to know why the three of you are brushing this off so easily!"

"The attack on the mainland is a diversion," Nell said. "They're trying to make us panic and do something rash."

"That doesn't change the danger in it." Vance's face was turning a duller shade of red, though, and his fingers had stopped moving so quickly. "Defending the mainland should be the priority. Our little colony here doesn't mean much in-"

Nell sighed loudly, cutting him off; Vance's glare was directed back at her again. "General. Isn't it irrational to worry now? Even if it were a major problem, you wouldn't be able to do anything about it until we break the siege here. After all, Blue Moon forces are still less than a mile from here, and we can't exactly have Bernstein's forces abandon Falcon Island; it's one of the few airbases we still control on the continent."

"I..." Vance looked choked. "Fine. But in that vein, we need a quicker plan to break the siege on the capital. Despite our successes in the northwest... Nell, are you sure this is a good time to give that Jackal command of the day ops? It will all be for nothing if the Tower falls and we are captured!"

Nell slumped over a little. "Trust me for once, General Vance. My mentorship of the Advisors will grant us success later in the war. And remember, if they do breach the Jefferson Tower, they'll have to get through me."

Spire Hills HQ

Floor B2

6:56 PM

"Shevsky. This is Lieutenant Thaner. We've got an update on those gunshots you heard."

"Better late than never." Shevsky and his team had just finished clearing the second basement floor, if one could call it that; aside from some mines, there were no hostiles to be found. "So, what's the scoop?"

"Whoever it was, they're long gone. We did pick up a couple dead Moonies in the forest, but we weren't the ones who took them out. Sounds like you've got yourself a guardian angel of some kind."

"Or devil." In the outdoors, there were too many variables. Inside, you could know where an attack would come from... unless it came from outside, in which case it was the outdoors' fault once again.

"True. I'll keep searching. Can you move any faster, though? Enemy reinforcements are only three hours out now."

"I get it, I get it. This whole place is rigged up. Cut me some slack."

"Spec Ops isn't supposed to use that phrase. Get it done. Thaner out."

Shevsky's communicator was overwhelmed by static. He sighed at Hops, who rolled his eyes at him. "She loves me."

"I can see," Skip said dryly. "Can we move on now?"

"Sure, sure." The three of them began to descend the stairs, keeping eyes out for anything unusual, whether it be on the ground or the ceiling. They got almost all the way down – twelve small steps, two big steps, 90 degree turn, repeat four times, an enclosed winding tunnel of stairs – but before they reached the final turn, Hops signaled with his hand.

"Ceiling mine," Hops whispered, pointing at a shape on the steps above them.

"They're probably waiting downstairs," Shevsky muttered back. "Let's send it back at them. Hops, you do the first step."

The three of them took several steps back, just in case they were about to set off the mine by accident. Hops took aim with his rifle and fired off a couple rounds into the concrete on the side of the mine, then into three of the four clamps that attached the mine to the stairs. The mine broke off from the ceiling and bounced down the stairs, and the faint sound of voices came from there, but there was no sound of an explosion.

"Damn. Must be remote. Plan B?"

"Well, they already know we're here now. Skip, use the Cracker."

Skip shifted her rifle to her left hand and removed a small, pistol-shaped object from her belt. She peeked around the corner, then aimed the device down the stairs, until a small click was heard.

"The mine's circuits are fried. Also, I'm obligated to tell you, just in case your brain's not working today..."

"Yeah. The Moonies down there have moved." Shevsky made a hand signal, and he and Skip switched places, allowing him to peer around the corner.

"It's a good thing for us that the Moonies haven't fixed up any of the cams they trashed when they took this place," observed Hops.

"Their loss. Alright, there's a wide landing down there, reaching five meters from the base of the stairs. There's a doorway down there; it leads to a narrow hallway. Skip, you see any more traps?"

"No, sir, though the generator should be on this floor. It'd be odd if they didn't make a stand soon."

"Or maybe they plan to blow the gen themselves. Of course, that would be an admission that those reinforcements aren't coming here after all..." Shevsky hopped a couple times, feeling his adrenaline kick in again. "Alright. We're doing this the standard way."

Step after step, shotgun held high, Shevsky descended the rest of the stairs, eyes shifting rapidly back and forth around the landing and into the hallway. The hall was another narrow stone tunnel with several metal service doors on the sides – perfect places for those Moonies to be hiding. They would have to sweep each room one at a time before going down to the generator.

A faint clicking sound reached Shevsky's ears, and he saw one of the doors on the left move. His hands brought up the shotgun in one quick motion, and he fired off a slug towards the opening; he didn't expect to hit anything, but he really didn't want a grenade bouncing around in the hallway.

His action had the desired reaction; the door slipped closed, and he took that opportunity to dash to the wall to the left of the entrance to the hallway. Skip and Hops pressed against the wall on the other side, aiming their rifles at the nearest two doors on the left side.

The nearest door on the right squeaked open; Shevsky's hands were already in position to toss one of his three remaining grenades. He let it fly and stepped backwards several times in case his enemy was fast. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. He saw Skip fire her rifle around the corner, and from the hallway, the sound of a gasp.

One enemy down. After the sound of a grenade blast told him it was safe to look, he glanced out around the corner again, and saw his would-be assailant lying face down on the floor in the middle of the hall. The door of the room she had come from had fallen onto her legs after being blown off its hinges by the grenade he'd tossed into the room.

Silence for a few seconds. Another door creaked, and Hops fired a grenade from his rifle. The sound of bullets rang out, and as Shevsky peered around the corner again, a blast sent his staggering to the side.

Everything went strange for a moment, and then his brain recovered its focus; he noted the sound of rifle fire from the corridor, and saw his squadmates still firing. A wet feeling; was it his head, or something else? His goggles were cracked, all Augmented Reality systems offline. He backed away from the wall a little, then fired a couple slugs down the corridor. That should be... 7 rounds left.

A pain shot up Shevsky's back, and he fell against the wall again, his breathing painful. Skip glanced at him a moment, then fired a rifle grenade down the corridor. As Hops switched places with her, taking position at the corner of the wall, Skip gave Shevsky a couple hand signals: six enemies in corridor and rooms, trying to assault down corridor. Another signal: are you okay?

Shevsky made an "O" with his thumb and pinky: light injury, nothing crippling. He lifted his shotgun and fired down the corridor, catching and severing the gloved hand of a Moonie who was about to toss a grenade.

The three of them dived towards the corners of the room; that grenade was going to go off in the hall, and Shevsky was already pretty sure that the blast from earlier was a misaimed grenade, perhaps near the wall of the room he'd blown out, perhaps even within the room. Whatever the case, he had been peering around the corner when it had gone off, and the concussive force had knocked him around; perhaps some shrapnel had glanced off his goggles. That could have been much worse.

The sound of a bang, and then Shevsky was back in the corridor, unloading another slug into the chest of a panicked Moonie who decided to up and charge the group. The soldier was knocked off his feet by the blast and fell on his butt a couple meters away, but didn't drop his rifle. As he struggled to raise it towards Shevsky's head, Shevsky pulled the trigger on his shotgun one last time, the barrel of his weapon aimed at the young soldier's face.

"Sir." Skip slipped under Shevsky's arm and caught him before he fell. "Sit down for a moment."

"Well... fine, just a moment. Hops, cover us." Shevsky let the strength drain from his arms and legs, and he clattered down against the wall. "Did they fix my face any, Skip?"

"Still the same ugly mug as usual, sir." Skip punched him lightly on the forehead.

Shevsky closed his eyes. "Give me a few minutes to rest up. Is Team B done with their sweep?"

"They're on their way," Hops called. "We can have 'em take the lead if you want."

"Tell them to sweep the side corridors. We're making a beeline for the generator room." Shevsky pulled himself up again. "That's just a left turn at the end of the hall, then a right, and finally the door at the end. Shouldn't be any asshole doors there, either."

Hops let out a mocking whoop. "Great. By the way, Lieutenant Thaner wants to talk to you."

Shevsky activated his comm. "I know, I know, hurry, right?"

"I figured I don't need to tell you that, Shevsky. Actually, we did find something odd. First, you were right that some of the Blue Moon soldiers guarding the HQ were missing."

"See? What did I tell you?"

"No, it's stranger than that. Out front, there are signs that some of them weren't shot by you."

"Say that again?"

"You may have been shot at by the force in the forest, but whoever it was in the forest was also shooting at our enemy."

Most people would be pleased to hear that, but Shevsky? "Great. More unknowns." He watched as Hops opened the door at the end of the hall. Hops gave a signal; all clear.

"I ever tell you how much I hate the outdoors?"