A/N: A number of setbacks has greatly delayed this project. But I'm still determined to finish it. Updates will continue every Tuesday and the chapter tally will be a neat 10 chapters.
When communications from Andall missed their schedule, Mirkenses and her staff had feared the worst. There was another reason she'd had him relocate to one position and stay there: it was a reference point if the enemy attacked. Without radar, it would still give them a way to direct their air wings to attack. Now that it had happened, the Gra Valkas Imperial Navy didn't hold back.
Every single Antaras fighter and Sirius dive-bomber the adhoc fleet had was launched: 144 fighters and 153 dive-bombers. They only had one chance to overwhelm the enemy, and they were going to take it. If they perished in the attempt, then they died for the empire. Nothing would deter them.
The Japanese were in trouble. It could be close to an hour before the ASDF showed up. Escort Squadron 6 didn't have enough anti-air missiles to deal with a force this numerous on their own. They couldn't run; any plane would always be faster than a ship. The safest place right now was here, in the middle of the Milishial fleet. As morbid as it sounded, the many other ships could be shields and decoys. Staying here reduced the risk of being targeted, while separating would almost certainly lead to them getting overwhelmed.
The only real option was to stay and fight, but they had to do it efficiently. The squadron only had 146 anti-air missiles-they had to make sure every one of them hit an attack aircraft. The enemy's fleet carriers heavily resembled the IJN Shōkaku, which could carry up to 72 aircraft. They had no idea how the enemy structured its air wings. Assuming an even split between all types, that came to 24 bombers and 24 torpedo bombers per carrier. If there were five fleet carriers and one light carrier like the MoD reported, then there were potentially 260 dive-bombers and torpedo-bombers in total. It was a solid enough assumption to strategize off of.
Given the speed of the aircraft on radar, this formation was just fighters and dive-bombers. They'd have to focus exclusively on the latter. Fighters could strafe them but a bomb hitting was many times more dangerous.
The enemy was over 180km away.
"Look at the radar signatures closely!" Captain Tamuramaro ordered. "Some should be flying slower than the rest. Those will be the attackers. We'll focus on them entirely." The crews in the CICs scrutinized the data.
"The Holy Milishial Empire's carriers are launching planes to intercept!" Lieutenant Degarmo was sweating profusely.
"Tell them we'll be using our weapons on any plane within 50km of the fleet." The captain instructed quickly. Wasting a missile on a hostile fighter would be bad enough, let alone a friendly one.
The Gra Valkan planes covered a large swatch of the sky like a giant aluminum cloud. It was so widespread that it would make out the Milishial and Japanese fleet even on a non-direct heading. The Japanese turned jamming back on. Every extra second bought was time to whittle down the enemy's numbers. But the wider formation was contracting as they looked at it. Almost every plane was on a direct heading for the surviving battleship and destroyer the MSDF hadn't sunk.
"We've discerned some differences in the enemy formation!" The lieutenant down in CIC radioed the bridge. The enemy altitude and speed was nearly identical for all contacts, but there were discernible groups within the mass: noticeable gaps in between contacts, and other gaps where one group was flying behind another. Even if they were attacking at once, it was likely fighters and bombers from the same carriers were sticking together.
"The ones at the back of the formations are likely the attackers." Tamuramaro nodded at Nakashima's statement. "We should isolate and target them."
The enemy was 170km away.
"Arm the SM-2s and standby." Tamuramaro ordered. "We'll fire a salvo at each formation." Wearing down half of them would be a good start.
As the Gra Valkas aircraft approached Andall's position, their radios stopped functioning. But they stayed on their heading. Andall and his flagship were still right where he was supposed to be, even if almost the rest of fleet wasn't
"We still have the signal lights!" The Leifor Defense Fleet commander realized. "Quick! Tell them the direction the enemy attack came from! They'll crush them!" He wanted vengeance.
But even as the friendly planes approached, black flowers bloomed in the sky. Twelve Sirius dive-bombers exploded in one of the formations. A minute later, twelve more in a different formation. By the time a third dozen was lost they knew they were being targeted by Japan's fabled guided weapons without knowing where. But the Marzelan told them, transmitting the heading the attack had come from repeatedly. Gradually, the massive formation got the message and started heading in that direction, some seeing the signal directly and the others simply following the rest. The still massive attack wave was on a direct course to the Milishial-Japan fleet.
Any doubts the Gra Valkans had about their heading dissipated when they saw the 155 Elpacio 3s launched by the Milishial Fleet. The enemy fleet was definitely ahead. The Milishial pilots sweated at the sheer number of planes, but they pressed on, confident in their Floating Ships of the Heavens.
300 fighters collided in the skies less than 100km from the Milishial-Japanese fleet. In just minutes, casualties mounted on both sides and planes started falling from the sky in flames. The Antaras was an excellent fighter, and its pilots were all veterans in some form or another. But they had no radio to coordinate squadron action or even just wingmen. The Milishials could communicate with each other. Sure, many of them had little actual combat experience, but they were well trained and the Elpacio 3 was a viable plane itself. With the Gra Valkan pilots handicapped, the balance between both sides was quite nearly equal at the start of the battle.
While that happened, the dive-bombers all skirted past the furball and stayed on their heading. 117 were left, but the attacks had stopped. They realized the Japanese must've run out of long-range weapons. If they could outlast those, they could outlast the rest of their weapons too. They pressed on, pushing their aircraft to their limits.
Escort Squadron 6 had dispersed itself, putting each ship in a different interior corner of the Milishial fleet to cover every possible angle. The Kirishima was located in the southwest area of the formation, close to the Milishial battleships and heavy cruisers.
"Weapons free." Captain Tamuramaro breathed. "Each ship will engage at its discretion." The enemy aircraft were just minutes away from entering ESSM range. They could be confident that every approaching aircraft was an attacker; it looked like every fighter had broken off to engage the Milishial fighters. Judging by how fast blips were disappearing from radar, it was an intense aerial battle.
From the sky, a plane could see far into the distance-well over 100km even-depending on the altitude. Making anything out was a different matter, but pilots were still trained to be watchful. Over 100 ships on the surface of the sea would be hard to miss even for an untrained aviator. The Sirius pilots spotted the Milishial-Japanese fleet from afar and converged. Some stayed on a direct heading, others began turning to approach from the sides. The different squadrons stayed together, making it easier for the Japanese to track them.
"Target Group Alpha, approaching from 1-8-6. 15 units. Target Group Bravo approaching from 2-1-4. 15 units. Target Group Charlie approaching from 2-7-2, 15 units." The three groups coming from a vector the Kirishima could defend were the same ones that had been weakened by SM-2 salvos earlier.
"Alternate ESSM salvos between Groups Bravo and Charlie." Tamuramaro ordered. The Takanami behind them could focus on Group Alpha. The Onami and Teruzuki on the northwest and northeast side of the fleet could engage the last three target groups, containing 72 aircraft total.
They could launch a few salvos, but it was inevitable a dozen or so planes could still reach this side of the fleet. At that point, the Japanese had to rely on two possibilities outside their control: That the enemy planes targeted Milishial ships, and that the Milishials shot down some of the planes themselves. But if they weren't attacked, they could keep firing ESSMs.
"Targeting Group Bravo. Salvo!" At the call, 4 ESSMs were launched from the Kirishima's VLS. It wasn't as effective as the SM-2 paired with the AEGIS system, but they could still engage multiple targets at once. "Hits confirmed!" The missiles intersected with four contacts and disappeared with them. "Targeting Group Charlie." The destroyer's advanced systems quickly locked onto four targets from that group. "Salvo!" Four more hits were confirmed, reducing both target groups to 11 planes. One final salvo at Target Group Bravo knocked it down to 7. By then the enemy was upon the fleet.
"Enemy bombers are diving!" A lookout reported.
"Shoot them down!" Captain Tagus ordered. The Japanese's guided light munitions had shot down between a third and half of the enemy planes before they reached them, leaving a still sizable number. Anti-air fire erupted from all the Milishial ships. Lettal Kauran counted eleven coming for his battleships and cruisers leading the way, and it looked like two were heading for the Caledwolf directly.
Bright, colorful streaks filled the air. On the first day of the battle, the Milishials had struggled to shoot down the scouting Antaras fighter, but the Sirius was an easier target. Even so, they only shot down two of them. 12.7mm gunfire harmlessly raked the hulls of the Milishial ship, including the flagship. That wasn't what they had to be worried about-that would be the bombs each plane was carrying. To maximize their agility and speed, each had been fitted with only two 60kg bombs for this mission.
Eighteen bombs were hit the water and exploded. Two hit a Silver-class cruiser and exploded, dealing moderate damage to the warship. Two more damaged an already damaged Gold-class battleship, not killing it but reducing its capacity to take any more hits. The Caledwolf escaped unharmed. Lettal Kauran watched the Gra Valkan planes pull up and start to fly away. As they did, more guided light munitions fired from the Japanese ships hit them, creating brilliant fireballs in the sky.
The gulf between the two ally's anti-aircraft abilities was night and day. Any Milishial comfortable at home would find it depressing. But Lettal Kauran only felt relief.
Nearly 300 naval aircraft attacked the Milishial-Japanese fleet. 144 Gra Valkan fighters engaged in a massive furball with 155 Milishial fighters. By the time the two groups finally untangled themselves, less than 50 Milishial fighters remained and around a third of the Gra Valkan fighters had been shot down.
153 dive-bombers made it past and attacked the fleet directly. Escort Squadron 6 fired off all 146 anti-air missiles it had, destroying as many attacking planes. The Milishials shot down 3 with anti-aircraft fire. In exchange, three Milishial small ships were sunk, and a battleship and cruiser damaged. The Japanese ships suffered no damage. The few surviving dive-bombers escaped north. A handful of Gra Valkan fighters flew over the fleet to scout it, but there was nothing either side could do about it. After a while, they flew away too.
When the first radio transmission came back confirming the attack wave had made contact with the enemy, Mirkenses inwardly felt a great sense of relief, both at her gamble paying off and that some of her men had survived. Outwardly, she stayed composed, lending strength to those around her. Given the sheer number of planes deployed, it took some while to get an accurate report of the battle. But eventually, one of her staff officers came to present it.
"Lady Mirkenses!" He began. His expression was pale but held an unmistakable air of excitement. "The attack wave located Commander Andall's fleet. His flagship and a destroyer are all that's left. He directed them to the enemy and a battle ensued! 87 fighters and 4 dive-bombers have returned." That was just over half of their fighters back, but nearly all their dive-bombers had been lost. "It was the Milishial fleet. Four Japanese ships were accompanying them."
"Did we sink them?" Mirkenses demanded.
"Three Milishial ships. We damaged two more." They'd sacrificed their entire dive-bomber force for five ships?! "Our fighters shot down over a hundred Milishial fighters." The staff officer could sense his commander's growing fury, so he cut to the point. "The Japanese ships are out of guided anti-air weapons!"
"Are you sure?" Mirkenses asked. "Are you certain?" She demanded.
"We are." The officer nodded and explained. "A fifth of our dive-bombers were shot down over 100km from the enemy fleet, but they weren't engaged again until they got within visual range of it." Mirkenses nodded; that at least confirmed the Japanese didn't have long-ranged guided munitions. "After attacking the fleet, four planes managed to escape. Then, several of our fighters flew over the enemy fleet to perform recon and didn't get shot down." If the Japanese had had ammo, there was no reason to not shoot down those planes.
"It could be true…" Mirkenses realized. "But then, do four Japanese cruisers really have the ability to shoot down over 100 aircraft?" That was an absurd ratio. Going forward, they had proof the Japanese could be overwhelmed, but the cost was so high it made utilizing naval aircraft against the Japanese Navy virtually untenable as a strategy.
"We still have 90 torpedo-bombers." The staff officer reminded her. "And we can use them now without fear of Japan's anti-air weapons." That was true, but there was a big issue.
"Our planes scouted the enemy. What's the Milishial fleet's composition?" Mirkenses had faced down the Milishial Navy before-she'd been in command of the fleet that attacked its Zeroth Fleet near the Leadership Conference. During that attack, she'd sent 84 torpedo-bombers to finish the fleet off after it had been damaged in a surface skirmish and by dive-bombers. Despite the damage, half the torpedo-bombers hadn't come back. Torpedo-bombers were powerful, but they were exceptionally vulnerable. Sending them against a large undamaged Milishial fleet might as well be a mass suicide order.
"Four battleships, six aircraft carriers, around thirty cruisers, and over fifty destroyers." The staff officer listed. "Two of the battleships appeared damaged." He added. That was still too large a fleet to send torpedo-bombers against. If they could find the main body of the World Union fleet, that would make a better target. They couldn't be far behind the Milishials and Japanese.
Mirkenses dwelled on it.
The Japanese were out of ranged anti-air weapons, but their guns would probably still shoot down any planes sent after them. If anti-air guided weapons were real, anti-ship probably were too. How many did they have? She still hoped not enough to destroy her whole fleet; a weapon capable of destroying a ship had to be bigger and harder to store than one capable of destroying much smaller planes, so they probably couldn't destroy as many ships as planes. The Emergency Response Fleet had over 100 ships, not far off from the number of planes lost.
Attacking the Japanese (and Milishials by extension) with air power again was out of the question, but the World Union was vulnerable to air attack now. It was unorthodox, but the 7.7mm machine guns and 20mm cannon on an Antaras meant they could strafe and destroy wooden warships easily. Mu's anti-air was inefficient enough that she doubted they could inflict much damage on a torpedo-bomber run. When they found the World Union fleet, they'd hit it with all their remaining air power. As for the Milishials and Japanese…
"We'll close in and engage the Milishial-Japanese fleet in a surface battle." She decided. "When they're occupied, we'll deploy all our air power against the rest of the World Union. Without Japanese protection they'll be vulnerable. But a surface battle is the only way we'll sink the Japanese ships. We can overwhelm them." It would be bloody, but it was the only option they had. "Commander Andall will join us if he's alive when we reach him."
"We can!" The staff officer agreed. He was sweating in nervousness and fear, but he was undoubtedly excited. They had a tangible path to victory in front of them. And if they followed it, they truly believed they'd succeed.
The Gra Valkan Imperial Navy sailed on.
By the time the F-15Js arrived above the Milishial Combined Fleet and Escort Squadron 6, the enemy had long since deserted the skies. Captain Tamuramaro had ordered Escort Squadron 6 to turn around and return closer to land. They were out of anti-air missiles entirely now. That made them extremely vulnerable. Lettal Kauran, over the objections of his staff, turned his fleet around too.
"The Japanese's plan failed." He tried to console them while also letting out some of his own frustration. "So, we'll rejoin the rest of the World Union and face the enemy together." Though he said that, and it did frustrate him a little, he knew he couldn't exactly blame the Japanese for one screw up that had still turned out better than it should've. The Gra Valkas Empire had tied up all the World Union's land-based air support by attacking from Leifor. They had to respond to it. He wasn't sure (and neither were the Japanese-he'd asked them) if the enemy fleet had attacked at the same instance by coincidence or planning, but it unnerved him either way. Blow after blow and the Gra Valkas just never gave up.
When Lieutenant Degarmo relayed the results of the battle to the rest of the World Union, they reacted far more positively. The enemy's air power had been massively reduced. That was very easy to take joy in when you weren't still drenched in a cold sweat from having faced it.
At the JSDF's base in the Nigrat Union, Defense Executive Mitsugi was facing a hard decision: Should the SDF retreat? He had that authority. That had been the closest the SDF had skirted danger since arriving in the New World; there'd been a very real risk of Japanese personnel dying or being injured. They'd gotten through it, but only barely. And now that the MSDF was out of anti-air missiles, they had no room to stretch.
Of course, there were people above him. The information had been transmitted by satellite back home. At that moment, the Prime Minister and his cabinet were convening for an emergency meeting. They could order it too, but given how insistent they'd been on this operation, it was up in the air if they would, but he didn't think they'd stop him if he made the call.
Mitsugi asked for an assessment from each commander to help him make up his mind.
"There's no air activity in southwest Leifor. I am fairly certain we've neutralized most of the enemy's air power in the region. We've depleted a lot of our anti-air missiles, but we still have over a hundred. I believe we can still neutralize that enemy fleet and control the local airspace." Colonel Yuudai didn't seem to believe the situation was dire. Even more surprisingly, Captain Tamuramaro didn't think so either.
"We could retreat now." He acknowledged over the radio, "But we still have SSMs we can fire. The enemy lost a huge portion of its air forces in that attack. The probability is high that we shot down most of their attack aircraft. An air attack of that scale again is unlikely. And as long as the ASDF can provide overwatch, I think we can still do something against the enemy fleet."
After that, Mitsugi and Colonel Yuudai looked over the MoD's satellite images again and compared the battle report. The enemy's carrier air power likely was severely crippled now. It could still be substantial, enough so that the ASDF admitted it might use up the rest of their air-to-air weapons, but they could do it. The anxiety was still there, but the Japanese were seeing a viable path.
A while later, the official response came. It wasn't an order to pull back, but it reaffirmed the importance of preserving Japanese lives and preemptively accepted a need to retreat if the battlefield had become too dangerous. Mitsugi read it, thought over what the commanders had told him, and made a decision.
"We'll stay until tonight. Whether the enemy arrives or not, we'll begin pulling out by tomorrow." He informed them. "Our transport aircraft stationed in Mu are already standing by." The SDF would try to help against the enemy fleet. But if it didn't show up, or they refused to come closer to shore, then it couldn't be helped. They had to put their own lives first.
But despite the setbacks and close calls, the SDF personnel were hoping the enemy did arrive. Their countrymen had been avenged when the Grade Atlaster sank, but it wasn't over until the enemy's march was stopped for good. They still wanted to fight.
And the Japanese got what they wished for. Early that afternoon, the E-2C detected the main body of the enemy fleet joining up with the battleship from the border force, and all began heading southwest towards where the World Union lay at anchor.
The F-2As that had been on standby all morning were quickly switched to an anti-ship loud out. Captain Tamuramaro had news of the enemy fleet relayed to the rest of the World Union. He also used it to inform them that the Japanese would be out of ammunition and have no choice but to withdraw after this. But this was the last enemy force before Leifor. There'd be nothing to stop them after this. It whipped everyone into a frenzy. With the Milishial Combined Fleet as the vanguard, the World Union set out to defeat their enemy.
The final battle began.
When the F-2As delivered their first swarm of anti-ship missiles, Mikenses and her staff were disappointed but not surprised.
"The Imperial Army couldn't defeat them." If they could manhandle the Imperial Navy so easily, was it really a stretch they could do it to the other branch too?
"Do you think we can still overwhelm them with numbers?" Her staff officer asked. He had no excitement in his features anymore.
"We have seven battleships in this fleet that the Japanese can't sink." She was confident. "Caesar reached the enemy and dealt them damage, so will we. Every bit helps our comrades."
Four destroyers stayed behind to rescue the survivors; Mirkenses was doing the same thing Caesar had and sending back whatever relevant information she could. There weren't that many survivors to rescue anyway. Since the ASDF was going for numerical casualties over targeting key assets, most of the ships hit were destroyers, and they sank so fast that there were hardly any people to rescue.
An hour later, the air attack came again, sinking more destroyers and light cruisers. Not too long after that, radar and radio ceased to function entirely. It lined up with Andall's report before the Japanese attack, meaning the Japanese fleet was probably close. Every officer and sailor were nervous. They'd been whittled down to less than 30 ships. Could they outlast the enemy? Were the crews on the larger ships even safe? They were terrified even if they tried not to show it to their comrades.
But running meant execution by their own for cowardice. And there was nowhere to run anyway; they were at the Empire's borders. If they ran from the enemy here, it would just chase them home and then fight them. There was no choice, that was the unfortunate truth for a serviceman.
Even though they were jumpy, they still tried to shoot down the missiles when the attack finally came. Courage wasn't living without fear; it was going on despite fear. The Gra Valkans were scared, but they weren't going to stop trying. Even if it didn't help them here, it would very soon. This third swarm of guided munitions wasn't as bad-only 14 instead of 40. After that, all that was left of their fleet was seven battleships, two heavy cruisers, five light cruisers, and a single destroyer.
On the bridge of the Opiuchi, Mirkenses and her staff looked over the remains of the fleet, but with a new sense of determination.
"That attack wasn't as strong as the rest. Are they finally-?" After being slaughtered one-sidedly for hours, it was almost too much to believe.
"I think they are." Mirkenses' steely facade strengthened like the real thing. The first two attacks had sunk 40 ships each, but they'd had their radars and radio working. This third attack sunk less than half that and they'd lost their radar and radio beforehand, which matched up with Andall's description of when the Japanese fleet attacked. It must be close, and it must be out of guided munitions. She couldn't be 100% sure the Japanese planes were out of guided munitions, but what mattered is the Japanese fleet had to be close, within 200km of their position. And Mirkenses was willing to bet that they'd come with the Milishial fleet to finish her fleet off.
This was their chance. If they sank the Japanese fleet, then the radio and radar jamming would probably dissipate (it was the only logical source, given how it precluded two attacks). They could call the carriers to find and attack the World Union while she kept the Milishials busy. She had seven battleships and as many cruisers-the destroyer could be left behind for search and rescue. The Milishials only had four battleships, half of them apparently damaged. As long as she could sink those, the cruisers and destroyer equivalents shouldn't pose that much of a threat. Neither should the Japanese ships. If she sank those, the rest of the World Union would be vulnerable. It didn't even matter if her fleet ran out of ammunition; they could simply ram the wooden ships, and they'd sink. They could still take the whole damn thing on.
Mirkenses' mind latched onto the best-case scenario and twisted it into another best-case scenario for herself and her men. Victory suddenly seemed inevitable again. A heroic and decisively military achievement to save the empire. It really seemed possible. Milishial fighters appearing over her fleet to track her became another piece of evidence she was right.
And the unfortunate thing was, Mirkenses was right.
Four battleships, ten Silver-class cruisers, twenty-four Bronze-class cruisers, and fifty-seven small ships. That's what Lettal Kauran had to face down the fourteen Gra Valkan battleships and cruisers. Captain Lerjen's Local Fleet, which Kauran had ordered join him and the Japanese in facing off the Gra Valkans, added another three battleships, six bronze-class cruisers, and four small ships. Somewhere out there were six Gra Valkas carriers and escorts, but the Japanese were promising to provide air cover. The fleet ahead was the true last obstacle before they could reach Leifor.
How many losses will I take this time? He wondered. Facing three crippled battleships had cost him a third of his battleships sunk and another third damaged, along with two cruisers. Now he was facing seven full strength battleships. His and Lerjan's losses were going to be high, he could already tell. The Japanese were doing their own effort to make sure the Gra Valkas couldn't communicate or coordinate, but at this point it was clear the star of the Third Civilization was out of surprises. The Milishials were the only ones that could really do anything now. It was the way things ought to be, but still bitter. The downside of being the #1 Superpower.
The Gra Valkan battleships were in a vertical formation just like the last fleet; the line of battle tactic would always be the most efficient way to utilize battleships. Two large cruisers were heading the formation, and five smaller cruisers were guarding the flanks. At present, they were still 90km away.
"Captain Lerjen's fleet will circle around the south." Lettal Kauran was discussing the battle plan with his staff. "The Combined Fleet's battleships will take the north path. Primary target will be the enemy battleships. Our silver-class cruisers will maintain a head on approach and sink the enemy cruisers leading their battleships. After that, they'll form their own north and south lines and engage the enemy at their discretion." Although slightly more complex, it was the same plan as they'd used before encircling the enemy, engage in a long-range gun duel, and hope luck, skill, and overwhelming numbers sank the enemy before they accrued too many losses. "Our Bronze-class cruisers and small ships will be used to corral enemy movement while doing as much damage as they can." They probably couldn't sink the enemy on the first pass; both sides would have to maneuver to fire on each other again.
With the benefit of knowing the enemy's exact location, the Milishial ships got into position well before the enemy saw them. And thanks to Japan's intervention, the Gra Valkas couldn't see the Milishials on radar either; by the time they finally spotted the Milishial fleet on the horizon, it was too late to outmaneuver the larger fleet.
"There's seven battleships?!" While Mirkenses was initially willing to meet the Milishials in a long-range duel, she noticed too late that the enemy's strength was greater than what the Naval Air Service had reported.
"Second line forces, probably attached to the World Union." A staff officer correctly guessed.
"Damn." The idea that they had more battleships than their enemy had been a tentpole of their morale and strategy. Now? It was more tenuous. "Does anyone see the Japanese ships?" Mirkenses scanned with her binoculars again.
"Negative."
"Negative!" Neither her staff nor the lookouts could see them.
"Orders?" Her staff pressed. If she ordered the formation to turn either north or south to meet one of the Milishial prongs, the other would likely come up from behind and decimate her formation. Sailing directly into the enemy formation would give her battleships the most opportunities to fire, but it would expose them to too much danger. Mirkenses looked at each formation again: Four battleships to the northeast, ten cruisers directly east, three battleships and ten smaller ships southeast. It was either engaging one or splitting her forces to engage both. Each carried risks. Mirkenses looked at each group again, eyes lingering on the northern line.
She made her decision.