RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

Raptor Seven and Raptor Eight returned to the Airfield before the middle of the afternoon.

Flight Operations moved them through separate landing approaches, then transferred the mission recordings once both fighters cleared the runway.

Matilda already reviewed the three earlier reconnaissance routes.

The Saicine recording completed the set.

Four reports remained open across her tablet when she entered the Main Base briefing room. Hans sat behind the table with the larger country map spread beside him, while the Airfield’s synchronized recordings occupied the terminal against the wall.

Matilda placed the tablet between them.

"The dam remains structurally intact from the exterior. Water continues passing through two discharge sections, and the approaches can still support ground vehicles after clearing."

Hans looked toward the first report.

"No immediate problem there?"

"Not one that the aircraft could confirm. The control building, gates, and internal machinery still require Engineers. The infected concentration around the maintenance compound is limited."

"We’ll leave it alone then."

"For now."

Matilda moved to the next file.

"Grefort International Airport remains usable in part. The second runway can receive aircraft. Several hangars, the cargo section, and the fuel-storage area also remain standing."

"What about the terminal?"

"Occupied."

Hans glanced at the images showing the infected gathered behind the glass walls and service entrances.

The airport mattered because it connected Grefort to the wider region. Its terminals, cargo facilities, approach roads, and whatever operational records remained could later show how people and supplies had moved before communications failed. Restoring part of it would also give civilians a separate location for transport and evacuation without opening his military infrastructure to them.

"Mark it for restoration and civilian use later."

Matilda nodded.

"Here’s the result from Raptors Five and Six. The western route produced two separate concerns: the bridges and the hidden installation. The collapsed crossing prevents large vessels from following the full river route. That can be cleared later if naval access becomes necessary."

She enlarged the northern ridge captured by Raptors Five and Six.

The concealed aperture remained difficult to distinguish after it closed. Only the straight break between the artificial panel and surrounding rock betrayed where the weapon had emerged.

"The installation detected both aircraft, tracked them through separate maneuvers, and issued two warnings without firing."

"Someone was polite enough to warn them."

"Or its engagement rules required the warning."

Hans looked at the synthetic transcript.

Nothing inside the recording confirmed whether personnel remained in the ridge. The weapon could have operated under human control, partial automation, or something left active after everyone inside died.

The difference mattered, though not enough to justify another flight.

"Let’s not force a second reconnaissance," Hans said.

"I agree. Flight Operations should establish a restricted boundary east of the ridge. Aircraft will not enter it unless we have a reason beyond curiosity."

"Make it wider than the point where the first signal appeared."

Matilda added the boundary to the operational map.

"That leaves Saicine."

The harbor recording opened.

Hans already watched a part of it after the fighters landed. Seeing the creatures climb over the seawall a second time did not make their bodies easier to understand.

The largest visible one had been wider than a delivery truck. It moved inland while infected tore at the joints beneath its shell. More contacts remained beneath the harbor, including one large enough to shift a freighter against its mooring lines.

Another left the bay and continued south.

"Survivors remain on the northern ridge," Matilda said. "The cargo port and repair facilities are damaged but not destroyed. The lower city belongs to neither side."

Hans watched one of the smaller creatures crush infected around the fish market.

"Can the contact moving south reach Grefort?"

"The coastline leads toward the northern waterways. Whether it follows them depends on how far it can travel and whether it prefers shallow water."

"We don’t have reliable intel about that."

"No."

"And the Raptors cannot follow it under the surface."

"They can keep the marker inside local Radar while remaining close enough. That would require an aircraft to follow the coastline continuously, and the contact may move deeper or leave the route at any point."

Hans closed the underwater track.

Assigning a Raptor to chase one unknown creature through the sea would accomplish little. It might surface near Grefort, continue past the city, or disappear before the aircraft returned to the Airfield.

"Schedule another coastal inspection before the northern operation," he said. "Not a continuous patrol."

"Raptor Seven and Raptor Eight?"

"They already know the route. They will inspect the southern approach to Saicine and the waterways north of Grefort. Record any contact. I don’t want an oversight on this unknown threat. Engage when necessary."

Matilda entered the task.

"This changes the Shipyard problem."

Hans looked at the empty naval requirements still attached to his next rank.

Ten combat ships.

Five naval transports.

He treated the river and northern shipyards as places to construct vessels. Saicine had shown that the water itself could carry threats against his naval units.

"Any Shipyard will need defenses facing the water," he said.

"And reconnaissance under. We have to delay construction until the approaches are inspected and secured."

Hans nodded.

He would not use any of the locations immediately, but future expansion would depend on what the flights had uncovered.

Ironford remained the immediate military target.

The dam remained stable enough to leave alone.

The airport belonged to a later civilian restoration effort.

The downstream river route ended under the watch of an unknown defense installation.

Saicine offered usable port facilities, but it had also introduced an entirely different threat to his army.

"How’s the progress on our rope testing?"

Matilda changed reports.

"Completed while the long-range flights were underway. Every Falcon crew assigned to the procedure conducted approaches from multiple directions. The available DASF squads completed insertions on different roof types and returned through separate ground routes."

Hans leaned back.

The first Specter Squad test had shown that the insertion itself worked. The later exercises had removed the remaining uncertainty from the other crews.

"Good." Hans nodded. "Finish the Ironford plan before Anton returns."

Matilda opened the northern district map.

Several buildings remained marked around the routes used by the larger infected during the Raptor patrols. Most had reinforced roofs, enclosed loading areas, and service access leading away from the main roads.

Matilda had removed several locations from consideration.

One lacked a usable ground withdrawal route. Another sat too close to a structure where the local Radar had recorded dense underground movement.

A third roof offered a clear view but might leave the Falcon exposed during its final approach.

The remaining positions had both aerial and ground withdrawal options.

Matilda brought one of the southern rooftops forward.

The building stood beside a service lane leading away from the inner industrial blocks. Its northern side overlooked two structures used by the larger infected during the Raptor patrols, while the southern stairwell opened toward a road that the First Mobile Company could approach without entering the Hive’s immediate concentration.

"This position gives the clearest view," Matilda said. "The drop will not be a problem. The surrounding area is also clear of obstructions."

Hans examined the surrounding roads.

"Their objective is to lure the infected toward the prepared firing lanes. What support can we give them after the deployment?"

"The first mobile company can hold the firing lanes with the armor. Its platoons will secure the side streets and keep the withdrawal route open. The Hellhammers can engage once Specter Squad clears the marked zone. Falcon One will leave after deployment and remain ready for extraction."

She shifted the map slightly.

"I would keep the Raptors at the Airfield during the probe. Once the ground formations fully draw out the Hive’s main concentration, Flight Operations can commit them against exposed priority targets."

"Do that," Hans said. "I do not want the fighters warning the Hive before the draw is complete. Any updates on Anton’s side?"

"They will depart from the Colony tomorrow and should reach Site Three after noon."

"Give them the rest of the day for inspection and reorganization. We move before sunrise the following morning."

Matilda nodded. "That gives us the noon refresh during the operation."

"Exactly. Tell the army to prepare."

The First Mobile Company left the Colony the following morning.

A few veteran squads remained behind to secure the military staging area and accompany the recovery teams approved by the council. The northern entrance stayed closed to ordinary civilian movement, while the request tables continued receiving names, addresses, medicine, and property claims.

South One departed last.

Its Guardian APCs followed the Vanguards through the northern checkpoint, leaving Anton enough time to inspect the transfer and speak with the squad leaders taking over the route. Colony guards watched from behind the barricades while civilians gathered farther inside.

Some still called after the vehicles.

"Please check Westgate Avenue!"

"My brother lived near the old station!"

"There’s medicine inside our house!"

The requests followed the column until the buildings blocked the entrance from view.

Anton remained beside the lead Guardian APC.

"South One Actual to Colony Station."

"Colony Station receives."

"The staging area and northern checkpoint are under your control. No civilian shall enter the secured route without authorization."

"Understood."

"Approved recovery teams stay with the escort assigned to them. If they separate, return them to the Colony."

"Colony Station copies."

Anton entered the Guardian APC and closed the hatch.

The column continued north.

The checkpoints established during the earlier advance remained occupied. Soldiers stepped aside as the company passed, then returned to the barricades once the final vehicle cleared the road. Recovery trucks moved through several sections in the opposite direction, carrying supplies and marked containers back toward the Colony.

Bastion One remained near the center of South One.

Kimmy sat beside Yunera inside the troop compartment. She could still feel the Colony behind them for several kilometers, though its population gradually disappeared beneath the smaller signals scattered along the road.

The strange impression did not return, but its absence did not relieve her. She kept wondering whether they were still nearby or had already abandoned those thoughts.

Yunera noticed the sweat gathering on her face.

"Are you still searching for them, sister?"

Kimmy shook her head. "No, I’m not trying to."

"You obviously are trying to."

"I can’t help it, sister. I... don’t want anything to happen on this trip."

"Happen?" Yunera chuckled. "Sister, you can sense how many soldiers there are here. What could possibly happen? It’s even safer with you around. You don’t have to worry."

"Okay..." Kimmy released a long breath.

The soldiers around them remained quiet. One continued recording the formation’s movement while another checked the route reports sent from the checkpoints ahead.

Kimmy rested her hands against her knees.

She had followed Hans’s instructions. She kept track of the crowd and the surrounding road, but the vague impression remained somewhere in her mind.

The thoughts had reached her first, faint and incomplete, then disappeared whenever she attempted to understand them.

That did not stop her from feeling as though she had missed something.

The road widened near Westgate.

More military vehicles joined the route from adjoining positions. The third, fourth, and fifth platoons had departed ahead of South One and South Two, leaving enough distance between the formations for the checkpoints to process them without filling every road at once.

Site Three appeared after noon.

Its outer barriers opened before the lead Scouts reached the final approach. Soldiers directed the returning Vanguards toward the inspection lanes while Guardian APCs continued toward the staging structures assigned to each platoon.

The Hellhammers entered separately.

Their crews guided the artillery tanks toward the reinforced holding area, where Engineers already waited beside inspection equipment and ammunition records.

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