The Next Morning

“Man… we really don’t get a break, huh?”

“It is what it is, Captain,” Major Hackett replied as she passed Captain Travis a glance. “We all knew we’d be the tip of the spear for this op.”

“Yeah, but we haven’t even been here for a full day…” Travis grumbled, and then sighed. “Oh well. At least I have my good ol’ sniper rifle back.”

Hackett briefly looked down at the rifle in Travis’s grasp, and then swept her gaze across the rest of CSF-1 and the Eximius Vir. Everyone was currently sitting within the small cargo space of a Corvette that was zipping through the air, disguised from sight and detection with its Partial Cloaking System. In the interior, everyone was already fully decked out in their armor and weapons, with Travis taking up position in an observation seat below the main deck that allowed him to see the forests of Sunova as the Corvette passed over them.

The group was currently flying toward the Black Suns outpost to scout the place out and eventually position themselves for the inevitable assault. Of the eight members of CSF-1 and the Eximius Vir, only two weren’t present within the Corvette: Colonel Saito, who had remained at the Gatefort to take charge of the main assault force; and Danielle, who currently was the Corvette that everyone was riding.

“I, for one, can’t fucking wait!” Kate remarked, slamming her fists together eagerly. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight. And this’ll be the first time we’ve ever gone up against the fucking Suns, too! I can’t wait to see what they got!”

“Don’t get carried away,” Mote admonished from his seat across from Kate. “We’re here to neutralize the Black Suns as quickly as possible while leaving their gear and computers as intact as possible.”

“I know, I know… still, though. When was the last time we got a chance to fight elite fucking Chaotics, huh? Never, that’s when!”

“All the more reason to be cautious, not reckless.”

“Maybe, but the incredible speed that Shepherd wants to move at seems rather reckless to me…” Mark commented warily. “As Luke said, we haven’t even been here for 24 hours… yet Shepherd wants to own the Black Suns’ outpost by the end of tomorrow. Is that really enough time to both establish a beachhead and launch an assault?”

“It’s been long established that overwhelming your opponent with speed and force is an effective military tactic,” Mote declared.

“Emerson’s right on this one,” Hackett affirmed. “You all remember the mission plans we saw yesterday. Shepherd has come prepared, and with the Colonel leading the main assault force, I have faith that this op will go down without a hitch.”

“I bet you’re just trying to sound confident since this is your first time taking control of the squad for a whole mission,” Travis cheekily replied.

“Which also means I have the authority to discipline you, Captain,” Hackett responded firmly.

“Ah, you outrank me, you always have that authority.”

“Captain.”

“Sorry, sorry… ma’am.”

“Since everyone is being so antsy, though…” The Major swept her gaze over the other five faces around her, including Researcher MacTavish, who sat by herself in the corner of the small passenger space. “…We still have a couple minutes before our recon mission officially commences, so how about we review our tasks?”

“We scout the outpost and we blow the Suns up, easy,” Kate replied. “Review done.”

“You know that’s not what the Major meant,” Mote admonished. “Blowing up the Black Suns isn’t even an objective in the first place!”

“I certainly hope you were listening the first time, Lieutenant,” Hackett stated as she passed Kate a disapproving look. “Why don’t you explain the actual objectives and timeline, just to be sure?”

“…Tch.” Kate scowled and crossed her arms petulantly, though nonetheless replied, “…we’re supposed to scout the fucking outpost from afar and report whatever we find. Then we hide out in the mountains like homeless losers until the actual op tomorrow morning, when we fucking bumrush the outpost from two sides and crush the Suns like the stupid bugs that they are.”

“Embellishments aside, that’s not too far off. Good job.”

“I’m a little concerned about the hiding part, though…” Mark commented. “The scouting, too, really. The Black Suns are known for having a lot of high-tech equipment and skilled Chaotics. How do we know they won’t detect us?”

«Don’t worry, Mark!» came Danielle’s voice from a loudspeaker in the compartment’s ceiling. «I made sure to make and activate a PCS when I turned into this Corvette. We’ll be fine!»

“Partial Cloaking Systems aren’t as perfect as the Genesis’s Absolute Cloaking System, that much is true,” Hackett commented as she addressed Mark, “but even a PCS will hide us from any sensor equipment that uses the electromagnetic spectrum. That includes optical sensors, radar, and infrared. A PCS can also muffle sound, which, combined with the fact that a Corvette’s engines are already quiet by spacecraft standards, means that we can safely approach to within two kilometers of the outpost. Any closer, and the Black Suns might be able to detect us if we don’t go groundside first.”

“We can use that same PCS to help us hide overnight, as well,” Mote commented. “It sounds like a solid plan to me. To be expected from the Colonel.”

“A solid plan, sure, but this is still our first time going against the Black Suns,” Captain Travis pointed out. “Let’s all keep on our toes. And, speaking of the Suns…” He paused for a moment to bring a set of binoculars up to his eyes, using them to peer through the observation dome and into the distance. “…I think I see the outpost. 10 kilometers out.”

“Alright, then.” Hackett stiffened her posture as she looked over the group again. “It’s time. Travis, call things out as you spot them; we’ll report back to the Colonel after the fact. Everyone else, cut the chatter. Our mission officially starts… now.”

---

*

“Colonel! You’re right on time.”

“Commander,” Saito acknowledged with a nod as he stepped up next to Shepherd. He then turned to look in the same direction as the Commander, at the large clearing outside of Sunova’s Gatefort. The overgrown grass that had dominated the clearing barely a day prior was now pressed flat by a variety of staging operations. Toward the back of the clearing, nearest the Gatefort, was Sunova’s Interstellar Gate; the Frigates that Shepherd had called as backup had beamed it out of the Gatefort and into the clearing the previous night. Over the next several hours, the Gate had been used to ferry in all sorts of SERRCom equipment, from personnel, to weapons, to tanks and mechs.

Saito’s attention drifted off toward another part of the clearing. The far side of the clearing, nearest the forest, was walled off with an energy barrier and several autoturrets. To the left of that were a handful of mechs, all deactivated and kneeling on the flattened grass as their maintenance crews tended to them. And to the right was a full tank squadron, consisting of three different types of vehicles. Rounding out the set of heavy machinery was a pair of gunships resting in the middle of the clearing.

After taking all of this in, as well as the bustling activity of the dozens of soldiers around him, Saito turned back to the Commander. “You certainly move fast, sir.”

“Speed and numbers are all we have on the Black Suns, Colonel,” Shepherd replied. “I intend to make full use of those advantages.”

“I’m not doubting that, sir. Still, I don’t often see this much equipment moved by Gate, this quickly.”

“Ah… yes.” Shepherd released a lofty sigh. “It’s a shame, isn’t it? SERRCom likes to rely on the navy for transporting people and goods, to the extent that many people forget just how effective a tool the Interstellar Gate can be.” He then passed Saito a pleased smile. “And we wouldn’t have access to Sunova’s Gate without your good work, Colonel.”

“Well, we aren’t done yet, sir,” Saito replied as he adopted a pleasant smile in response. He then allowed his face to return to a neutral expression as he continued, “so, sir, I understand you wanted to review the next part of the op.”

“Right to the point, Saito — that’s what I like about you,” Shepherd remarked, and then turned to gesture out over the clearing. “Before we go over the details of confronting the outpost, it’s necessary to know what tools we have at our disposal. That’s why I called you here.”

“Right. Looks like one tank squadron, one mech squadron, and a half-flight of gunships, is that it?”

“That’s correct. Joining us from the Eana garrison are the 16th Mechanized Assault squadron, the 104th Armored Assault squadron, and the 57th Infantry Support platoon.” Shepherd gestured toward the mechs; five of the large humanoid machines were present, with three of them bearing the same form and heavy armored plating as the mech Saito had piloted several months ago against the Drakkars. The remaining two were slightly smaller and leaner models. “As you can see,” the Commander continued, “the 16th consists of one Halberd Assault Mech group, with 3 mechs, and one Arbalest Support Mech group, with 2. They’re a general assault squadron.”

“General assault…” Saito echoed, his eyes lingering on the dormant mechs before shifting to a large rack to the side of them, against which a handful of massive guns were leaning. “I take it they use assault rifles, then?”

“Right as ever, Saito. The MWG-AR02 has a 4 kilometer range, I believe, but you’ll have to quarter that in the forests around the outpost.”

“1 kilometer is workable. The Suns will be hampered by the forest as well, after all.”

“Of course. Another mitigating factor will be the 104th,” Shepherd declared, turning toward the myriad of heavily armored vehicles across the clearing. Of the seven vehicles, 5 were obviously tanks, with two of them bearing significantly heavier armor and a double-barreled main cannon. The two non-tank vehicles didn’t have any guns, instead hosting a rigid, angular metal structure on their topsides that vaguely resembled a tree. “In the 104th, we have a group of two Rhino tanks, a group of three Wolverine tanks, and a group of two Aegis shield units.”

“Two main battle tanks and three support tanks…” Saito mused. “And two Mobile Shield Units, for good measure. I can appreciate this level of firepower.” He then nodded toward the two attack helicopters resting in the middle of the clearing. “I see you even brought a couple of Hawks.”

“As a former tank commander, I’ve always preferred our Armored and Mechanized divisions, but you can’t deny the effectiveness of gunships,” Shepherd declared. “I’m sure you’ll find a good use for them, Colonel.”

“Of course, sir— huh?” Saito glanced toward the Commander in confusion. “What was that last part?”

A knowing smile spread across Shepherd’s face. “You are a Colonel, Saito,” he replied. “Most Colonels have a few thousand soldiers under their command. Operation New Dawn consists of a mere couple hundred — and only a quarter of that number will be joining the actual assault. I’m sure you can manage that.”

“…I appreciate the confidence you have in me, sir. And I might technically be under your command in the ESFC, but CSF-1 is still a spec ops squad. Ranks don’t mean quite the same thing to us as the rest of the military.”

“Are you happy with that, though?”

“…Hmm?” The confusion writ across Saito’s face merely deepened as he turned to face Shepherd head-on. “…Are you trying to say something, sir?”

Shepherd, meanwhile, continued to look out over the clearing as he replied, “well, as I said. Most Colonels have a few thousand soldiers under their command, but you’re only in charge of seven. Soon to be fifteen, I suppose, if you include those new Chaotic recruits… but even fifteen is a far cry from five thousand.” The Commander finally looked Saito in the eye once again. “The rank of Colonel deserves a certain level of respect and authority. And you in particular, Saito, deserve to share in that respect, after all you’ve done for SERRCom. Do you think you’re getting that from your work with CSF-1?”

Saito fell silent as he mulled over the Commander’s words. …This feels like a recruitment attempt, the Colonel thought to himself, which, coming from Commander Shepherd, is an odd olive branch. Springing this in the middle of an op, too. Just what is his plan? I guess he wins either way, if I’m in charge — if I fail, he can use that against Lead, but if I succeed, then it looks good on him. Is that what’s going on here, then? Did Lead know that he would try to pull this? The Colonel’s chest heaved as he took a deep, long breath, idly looking out over the vehicles in the clearing before squaring his shoulders and returning his attention to Shepherd. “…Well, sir, you aren’t the first to question what I’m doing with CSF-1 at this rank.”

“I know that both Lead and Hamasaki pushed for it,” the Commander commented, “but even so, it always felt off, don’t you think? That they would give you the title, but none of the authority?”

I can’t deny that I’ve thought similarly, Saito mused. I sometimes wonder if the only reason I made Colonel was as an indirect way of giving the Eximius Vir greater freedom in their actions. That said, I doubt saying as much now would be wise. Instead… “Respectfully, sir, I disagree,” Saito declared. “I understand your point, but I think there’s something you might be missing. I may not be in charge of a lot of people, but I am in charge of some of the most important people. And that, I believe, is worth it.”

A brief chuckle escaped Shepherd’s throat. “You know, Colonel, that’s not a bad point. There’s no doubt that the Eximius Vir are important to SERRCom — past, present, and future.”

“Don’t forget the rest of CSF-1, sir. It might not be obvious, but Major Hackett, Captain Travis, and Researcher MacTavish have all been very helpful.”

“Of course, of course. I meant no offense when I broached the topic, Colonel; I was merely curious as to whether or not you were satisfied with your position. Even so…” Shepherd passed Saito a glance. “For someone of your background, commanding the assault on the Black Suns outpost should be simple. I’d like to see how you fare. And, who knows… you might even develop a taste for it.”

“…I suppose we’ll see, sir,” Saito responded stiffly. I knew from the start that I’d be leading the assault force on the ground, but it sounds like Shepherd is giving me full control over ALL of the forces. I’m sure most officers would jump at that chance, but after everything Shepherd just said… I can’t shake the feeling that I’m being used…

«Vanguard 6 to Vanguard 0, come in.»

Captain Travis’s voice coming over the comms shook Saito out of his thoughts. He passed Commander Shepherd a brief glance, who replied with a curt nod; the Colonel then grasped his headset to respond. “This is Vanguard 0. Report.”

«We’ve completed preliminary reconnaissance,» the Captain continued. «What we see seems to match the initial orbital survey. Looks like there’s only one platoon, around 30 soldiers. There’s four mechs: two BSMI-A-389 Enforcers, one BSMI-Su-237 Defender, and one BSMI-R-245 Spotter. In other words, they’re all the newest version of the Suns’ Assault, Support, and Recon lines.»

Leave it to Travis to know and report even their series numbers, Saito mused, half in annoyance and half in amusement. “Is that all?”

«It’s all we could see, but something doesn’t sit right with me. For a little outpost like this, a mech squadron consisting of two assault mechs, one support mech, and only one recon mech doesn’t line up. I’d bet good money that the Spotter is living up to its name, and that the Suns have a fifth mech hiding around here somewhere. Likely a sniper, probably a BSMI-Sn-112 Ace, if the others are anything to judge by.»

“You haven’t spotted it, though?”

«No sir, we haven’t. But it would only make sense. That Spotter is pretty lightly armed, even for a recon mech. Why else would it be around, but to spot for a hidden sniper?»

“I see.” Saito found himself pursing his lips in frustration. If the Captain was right, then the Black Suns would only have five mechs to go against everything SERRCom had to offer. The numbers were clearly in SERRCom’s favor, but Black Suns mechanized sniper rifles were known for having incredible ranges — up to 20 kilometers, in fact. Given that the Black Suns outpost in question was located around a cave at the foot of a mountain, the Colonel had no doubt that there was no shortage of places for a sniper mech to hide in the surrounding mountains and have a good vantage point over the entire surrounding area. I knew things wouldn’t be easy… but there’s still one more thing to check. “What about Chaotics? Do you know how many, and what types?”

«Hard to say. They aren’t in combat, after all. Seems like there’s a couple of Forcetechnics; they’ve been carrying a lot of material in and out of the cave. Oh, right. I guess I should tell you that they seem to be on alert, huh?»

“That would be useful, yes,” Saito remarked incredulously. “But it stands to reason. Vanguard 1 said he likely destroyed several Black Suns bugs, yesterday. There’s no way that went unnoticed.”

«True. Not much else to report. Aside from the Spotter, the other mechs seem to have typical loadouts. MCR-24 Coil Rifles, and MSB-33 Short Blades. Hard to know how long they’ve been running, but there might also be an Electrotechnic down there, so who’s to say how their shields are doing. The boots on the ground seem to be wearing mid-line Chaos Armor, too. CPA-1450s, to be exact. Those’ll be tough to deal with.»

“Understood, Vanguard 6. Is that all?”

«Uh, yep. For real, this time.»

“Good. After this, lay low. Establish contact only for emergencies until you receive the signal.”

«Got it, sir. Vanguard 6, out.»

“Sounds like the Suns are prepared,” Shepherd remarked as Saito turned back to face him. “As we expected.”

“Right. If they have Chaotics with them, then they’re being careful to not reveal their abilities, as well…” Saito mused. “Not to mention whatever secrets their prosthetics might be hiding…”

“Ah… right.” Shepherd’s face clouded over. “That nonsense about replacing their arms with prosthetics. It’s ridiculous, I say. They have no respect for the human body, and all it can do.”

“…Either way, sir,” the Colonel continued, deciding to leave the Commander’s comment well enough alone. “I’m sure we can handle this, but it won’t be easy. I have only two questions. One: will we have naval support for the actual assault?”

“Yes. The two Frigates in orbit will remain to provide support. They both have PCS and Beaming tech, not to mention a bay full of CENT field generators.”

“Ah, perfect. And two…” Saito glanced back at the dormant mechs kneeling on the side of the clearing. “…Is it possible to get me a Halberd before the attack?”

An amused grin spread across Shepherd’s face. “I’d be more than happy to make that happen, Colonel,” he replied. “Anything to make this op as easy as possible.”

“Right. Well, sir.” The Colonel cracked his knuckles and began stretching. “This assault won’t plan itself.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll call the squadron commanders to the briefing tent. You get yourself prepared, Colonel — we have a big day tomorrow!”

“Yes…” Saito replied under his breath as he watched the Commander march off. He then turned toward the tent in question, nearest the tanks, and began to approach while muttering to himself. “…What the hell have I gotten myself into…?”