The first conversion left Hans with 329,098 Gold and another shipment already entering the warehouse.
He remained near the emptied rows while Priya directed the unloading crews back inside. Reinforced containers began occupying the space that the conversion had cleared only minutes earlier, followed by smaller cases from the local bank and the surrounding stores.
Hans moved farther from the loading lanes and opened his current roster.
The army did not lack infantry.
Hundreds of soldiers were already distributed across the Main Base, Route One, Site Three, the Airfield, the captured military positions, and the roads connecting them.
More could be trained quickly now that the Gold shortage had disappeared, but adding soldiers alone would not solve the problem exposed by the Highcross operation.
Most of the available Guardian APCs had been committed to one battlefield.
The Vanguards had been divided between the two field formations, their supporting routes, and the reserves behind them. Both Hellhammers had also supported the same operation because there was no second artillery section to place elsewhere.
Hans closed the roster for a moment.
He had enough soldiers to hold more territory. What he lacked was another force capable of moving through it without borrowing vehicles from every position behind the front.
Matilda entered the warehouse while the next container was being placed beside the wall.
"You called for me, Commander?"
"I am expanding the forces, but I need your thoughts on this."
Matilda looked toward the unloading crews before turning back to him.
"What are you concerned about, Commander?"
"What exactly is the army lacking right now?"
Matilda considered it for a moment.
"Another platoon, Commander."
Hans raised a brow.
"We had enough soldiers for Highcross."
"We had enough to finish the operation. South One and South Two were both committed to their approaches. If the fighting had lasted longer, spread into Kingswell, or another concentration had struck the secured routes, we would have no complete platoon left to rotate into the battle."
Hans crossed his arms.
"So we lack a reserve."
"A complete operational reserve," Matilda clarified. "Individual squads can reinforce a position, but they cannot relieve an entire platoon during a prolonged siege."
She glanced toward the eastern side of Site Three. Bastion Four and Bastion Six had already departed for the Service Center.
"The vehicles are the next problem. Even after those two return, most of the Guardian APCs will remain attached to existing formations and permanent positions. Training another platoon without giving it its own transports would only force us to borrow from them again."
"And the Vanguards?"
"Enough for the forces we have now. Not enough to support another platoon while keeping a proper armored reserve."
"And the Hellhammers?"
"We only have one artillery section. It can support one main battlefield. If the fighting widens, or two fronts require artillery at the same time, one of them will have to wait."
Hans looked at the roster again.
"What do we add first?"
"A third mobile platoon. Six squads and enough Guardian APCs to move them. After that, more Vanguards and another artillery section."
"How many exactly?"
"Six Guardian APCs. One for each squad."
Hans looked at her.
"The platoon would have more transport than South One or South Two."
"It would," Matilda answered. "The remaining space can carry attached Medics, Sniper Teams, Engineers, or rescued survivors without forcing the squads to separate between several vehicles."
That would also keep the platoon mobile even if one APC had to remain behind for repair.
"And the Vanguards?"
"Four more. We can attach armor wherever the fighting is heaviest while keeping several tanks outside the main battle."
"Four Hellhammers?"
"Yes, Commander. That would give us three complete artillery sections. Two can be committed at once. The third can remain in reserve or reinforce the same battlefield when necessary."
Hans returned to the roster.
Six squads would add seventy-two soldiers to the army. Their composition already included the specialists needed for a standard formation, though the platoon would still require its own command element and additional support before entering the field.
It was still the most useful place to begin.
Hans opened the Barracks interface and selected the Standard Infantry Squad.
------
[ Standard Infantry Squad ]
[ Unit Composition: 12 Personnel ]
[ Cost: 9,500 Gold ]
[ Select Quantity ]
------
He increased the quantity to six.
------
[ Produce 6 Standard Infantry Squads? ]
[ Total Personnel: 72 ]
[ Total Cost: 57,000 Gold ]
[ Confirm training? ]
------
"Confirm."
------
[ 6 Standard Infantry Squads queued. ]
[ Gold: 329,098 (-57,000) => 272,098 ]
------
The training queue appeared beside the roster.
Hans dismissed it and opened the War Factory interface.
The Guardian APC came first.
He selected six, then moved to the Vanguard Main Battle Tank and added four more. The HMT-90 Hellhammer remained at the bottom of the available armored vehicles.
Hans entered four.
The System gathered the selections.
------
[ Selected War Factory Production ]
[ 6 Guardian APCs ]
[ Cost: 43,200 Gold ]
[ 4 Vanguard Main Battle Tanks ]
[ Cost: 36,000 Gold ]
[ 4 HMT-90 Hellhammer Artillery Tanks ]
[ Cost: 64,800 Gold ]
[ Total Cost: 144,000 Gold ]
[ Confirm production? ]
------
Hans studied the list.
The Guardian APCs would give the new platoon its own transports instead of pulling vehicles away from the existing army. The additional Vanguards would expand the armored force from eight to twelve, while six Hellhammers could finally be divided between separate operational areas.
It was a large purchase.
A few hours earlier, he would not have been able to afford even half of it.
"Any changes?" Hans asked.
Matilda looked over the selections.
"No, Commander."
"Confirm."
------
[ War Factory production queue confirmed. ]
[ Gold: 272,098 (-144,000) => 128,098 ]
------
The new production queue opened beside the infantry list.
Guardian APCs occupied the first positions. The Vanguards followed them, while the four Hellhammers remained at the end.
Hans looked at the remaining balance.
One hundred twenty-eight thousand ninety-eight Gold remained.
The next recovery shipment was already filling the warehouse behind them, and the loot from the second international bank had yet to arrive. He could keep the remaining Gold untouched until the full recovery was complete.
He could also remove another weakness while he had the chance.
Hans opened the Airfield interface.
"What about the aircraft?"
Matilda looked toward the new list.
"That depends on what you want them to cover, Commander."
"The next operations will not always keep the platoons this close together," Hans said.
"Then the attack helicopters should receive priority," Matilda answered. "Three Strikers were enough because South One and South Two fought inside the same operational area. Once the third platoon is active, the aircraft may be divided between separate fronts."
"Three more?"
"That would give Flight Operations several options. Two can support each platoon during a large operation, or some can remain available while the others are already committed."
Hans looked through the aircraft list.
The Strikers had done more than destroy infected. They had broken concentrations apart before those groups reached the ground formations, attacked specials hidden behind the surrounding structures, and moved between threatened sectors faster than any armored reserve could have reached them.
Future operations would not always place every aircraft over the same district. Some would remain with the southern forces while others supported the next front.
Six attack helicopters would still not cover the entire city, but they would keep every large operation from depending on the same three aircraft.
"What about the Falcons?"
"One more," Matilda said. "Both of the current aircraft were needed during the Highcross operation. If another position required evacuation, transport, or aerial observation at the same time, we would have to remove one from the operation."
"A third Falcon would remain available."
"Or rotate with the others if the operation continues for several hours."
Hans moved farther down the list until the Raptor appeared.
"And Raptor One?"
Matilda paused before answering.
"The enhanced Tank exposed itself once. Raptor One was available and eliminated it before it could return beneath the structures."
Hans remembered the missile crossing the district.
The Tank had already survived artillery, armor, and repeated attacks while remaining beneath the surrounding buildings. Once it entered the open road, Raptor One had ended the problem within seconds.
"If the aircraft had been somewhere else?" Hans asked.
"We would have needed another method, Commander."
"A second Raptor."
"Yes. One can conduct reconnaissance or remain committed to another sector without removing our only precision aircraft from the Airfield."
Hans selected three Apache Heavy Attack Helicopters.
Another Falcon followed.
He stopped at the Raptor for several seconds before adding one more.
The Airfield interface gathered the selections.
------
[ Selected Airfield Production ]
[ 3 Apache Heavy Attack Helicopters ]
[ Cost: 45,000 Gold ]
[ 1 Falcon Utility Helicopter ]
[ Cost: 9,500 Gold ]
[ 1 Raptor Air Superiority Fighter ]
[ Cost: 20,000 Gold ]
[ Total Cost: 74,500 Gold ]
[ Confirm production? ]
------
Hans studied the list. The remaining Gold would fall below sixty thousand.
"Confirm."
------
[ Airfield production queue confirmed. ]
[ Gold: 128,098 (-74,500) => 53,598 ]
------
The aircraft joined the other production queues.
Once completed, they would become Striker Four through Striker Six, Falcon Three, and Raptor Two. The pilots and support crews would come with the aircraft, though Flight Operations would still need time to organize them with the existing formations.
Hans closed the Airfield interface.
At that moment, a series of distant gunshots reached the warehouse.
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