Chapter 52 - Theater

The battle was heavily tilted in her favor and Ursula was still suffering severe losses. Her opponent was simply better than her. The AR team was her only ace at the moment. SAR's and USP's team had been completely wiped. Ursula cursed and began to scan for additional tactical advantages.

Bryant, on the other hand, was greatly enjoying the footage of Ursula getting humbled. Even from a few miles away, he could almost hear her. The radio cracked to life. "Commander Bryant? We've picked up a Sangvis patrol deviating from position." Bryant nodded and adjusted his screen to get back to work.

"How many?"

"About Forty, maybe more, I can't be sure. Another commander spotted a few more patrols. They're converging to the east." Bryant paused for a moment and shut his eyes tight.

"Any ringleader detected?"

"No." Bryant sighed. "Permission to engage?"

"Granted. Take them out." Bryant could almost hear the commander on the other side of the radio salute.

"Yes sir!" The transmission ended and Bryant returned to his tactical screen. He updated the Sagnvis positions and frowned. Something didn't add up. The way they were moving signaled that they were being led by a Ringleader, but nothing had appeared on the scanners. Bryant looked to his side. His temporary adjutant was IDW. She was lazily lounging in the sun, her cat ears twitching slightly. He gently petted her head.

"Time to get to work, IDW." She meowed in annoyance and stretched before standing at attention.

"Yes Commander! What can I do for ya?" Bryant pointed to the opposite side of the gathering Sangvis Ferri Dolls.

"Go here and do some scouting. Stay hidden. Bring a few rifles with you. I'll send the FN Team once they return from their patrol." IDW saluted and trotted off to join the rest of the Dolls. Bryant leaned back and put his nervous hand down. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. He turned to the stream of Ursula's battle. He had missed quite a bit, but she had managed to turn it around.

The battle was over, and Ursula began to talk with her team and her opponent. Bryant wished he could be there to hear that. The other battles were going on as well. WAVE had their work cut out for them: the strategy on display was intense. His communicator buzzed. It was a message from Kalina, encrypted. Her face flickered on the screen, but eventually the recording played. "Sangvis is gathering on the border, Commander. We cannot safely complete logistics missions in the area. I looked into that Sangvis Ringleader, codename Alchemist…I'm working on something with Yulia. Be safe Commanders: I'll make sure you have a home to come back to!"

Bryant smiled and returned to his post. The next round of combat had started. Just as he was about to look at the battles, a red light flashed on a monitor. "Mayday, mayday, we are going down!" Bryant picked up the communicator.

"This is Griffin and Kryuger, what is your emergency?!"

"A Doll shot at our aircraft from above, we're losing altitude. We've lost one engine and-" there was a loud blast, and the communication cut out briefly. "Shit…both engines are gone! We're going to crash. Brace for impact!" Before the communication went out, Bryant had a team deployed to the crash site. He then quickly turned to his other communicator.

"IDW, check the skies! An aircraft just went down in the area."

"Da nya~! We saw it! It's a Sangvis signal, Ringleader class. We…we ran, Commander. She saw us." Bryant's blood chilled. There's no way a Sangvis doll could fly. That's…not something he was aware of. Just then, another monitor flickered to life.

"Commander Bryant? How is your connection? We're experiencing some lag on our end." The voice was calm, unaware of the ringleader nearby. But, the base was a secret, so the Griffin personnel should be fine.

"We have some trouble, but we are handling it for now. We need some more dolls…how many can you spare?"

"Not many, but I'll send who we can." The other commander sent a list of dossiers ahead of time. Bryant scanned their combat specs and wasn't impressed. This was not a good situation. He took a deep breath and paused. No use causing a panic.

"That will work, thanks." Bryant kept an eye on the area as the plane approached its destined crash site. The other commanders were scrambling to manage the series of emergencies. Bryant kept a calm facade, but inside he was nearing a panic. He took a few breaths before issuing orders.

"Alright: teams 4 and 5, handle the civilian aircraft. Take any survivors to checkpoint charlie and keep them calm. Teams 11, 6…and 2, deal with the Sangvis east by southeast of the base. Everyone else, direct your teams to meet up with IDW's team at oh-nine-three-three." Just as Bryant said that, he felt a chill.

IDW connected to an emergency, wide range broadcast. "Enemy artillery inbound! Bail!" She let out an anxious meow as the first round of shells struck the earth right over the supposed secret base. Bryant immediately took command and began issuing orders to prioritize the G leadership. By the time the dolls had mobilized, the second round of artillery hit. A massive crater was opened up, allowing the waiting Sangvis Dolls to pour into the base. Bryant stood and turned to the staff.

"In case of communication blackout, follow contingency plan kilo. All combat teams head to the crater." He pointed to an analyst. "You, find the artillery positions and activate the signal scramblers. Don't let another round of shells hit the base." He looked over the group in the small outpost. "Our top priority is Mr Kryuger and Ms Helianthus. Everyone else is a secondary objective. Once Kryuger or Helianthus have been secured, they will assume command authority."

Bryant began to sweat slightly. His mouth dried out. He felt the pressure building on his shoulder, threatening to snap his spine. He was leading combat operations again. His chest tightened and a stabbing phantom pain shot through his severed arm. He took a shaky breath. "I need two volunteers to come with me to the combat zone. We need to establish a Zerner connection in the event of a blackout." No hands raised. A few murmurs and prayers were muttered, but finally a few timid hands raised. Bryant nodded. "Get your weapons and come with me. Everyone...good luck."