RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

Matilda finally appeared before Hans finished the next folder.

Callum moved aside from the doorway as she entered, carrying another report beneath one arm.

Hans stared at it.

"Please tell me that isn’t for the pile."

"It isn’t, Commander."

"That’s wonderful."

Matilda placed it directly in front of him.

Hans stared at the new folder for several seconds.

"..."

He looked at the cover.

------

SAICINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

------

"So we’re doing this now?"

"The Commander’s promotion is imperative."

Unfortunately, she was not wrong.

The Core could be contained without committing every Mobile Company he owned. The northern and eastern sectors already had enough formations to continue expanding their perimeter, while the four companies still under formation would eventually give Matilda more room to rotate units between the inner fronts.

Saicine was different.

The city remained outside their secured territory, though repeated Raptor sorties throughout the week had removed much of the uncertainty surrounding its northern approaches.

Hans opened the report.

Six Mobile Companies were listed under the expeditionary allocation.

He stopped.

"Six?"

"Three will move during the opening phase," Matilda answered.

Hans looked farther down the page.

The remaining three were listed separately under follow-on deployment.

"So you’re already sending the rest."

"Once the first staging areas are established."

Matilda brought the route map closer.

"Flight Operations has given us enough coverage of the northern corridor. Major concentrations along the highway have either been destroyed or reduced. The northern approach to Saicine is considerably lighter than during the first reconnaissance, and the survivor position on the ridge remains stable."

Matilda moved to another marker along the highway.

"The smaller settlement recorded during the first reconnaissance is still occupied. No contact has been established with them."

She pointed toward several marked crossings.

"What remains uncertain is mostly on the ground. Engineers still need to confirm the bridges, establish checkpoints, and prepare enough secured space for the rest of the expedition."

Hans followed the marked route.

"So why not move all six together?"

"Because six companies arriving before we have somewhere to put them would create another problem."

"Alright then."

Three companies alone already meant more than a thousand soldiers and a long column of armored vehicles before the additional support elements were counted.

Matilda continued.

"The opening force secures the corridor, establishes contact with the settlement along the route, reaches the northern ridge, and creates the first forward construction areas. The second group follows once those positions can receive them."

"What will happen next?"

"Two companies expand south from the ridge. One reinforces the northern sector and route. The remaining formations give us enough strength to rotate units, secure captured ground, and prepare for the port without pulling the entire expedition into the same area."

Hans looked toward the harbor.

"You’re expecting to use all six."

"Yes, Commander."

She replied without hesitation.

"And the contact that headed south during the first reconnaissance?"

"Not reacquired. Follow-up coastal sweeps found no matching shallow-water contact near the northern waterways."

"Keep watching for it."

"Already included in the coastal patrol criteria."

Hans returned to the force list.

Twenty-four Hellhammers accompanied the expedition, along with additional Engineers, Medics, Field Support Vehicles, and several DASF squads outside the normal company structure. PCVs would follow the first ground elements once the road had been secured far enough to support forward construction.

An MCV remained listed separately.

Hans tapped the line.

"Why isn’t this moving with them?"

"It will not."

Matilda turned the page.

"The Commander will establish a War Factory closer to Saicine first. The MCV will be produced there."

Hans nodded.

That made more sense than dragging something that large through damaged roads and bridges for several dozen kilometers.

A PCV could move ahead with the expedition, establish the first construction area, and give Hans somewhere to deploy the War Factory once enough ground was secured.

He moved to the next section.

"You’re planning to leave them there."

"Some of them."

Matilda shifted the report toward him.

"Saicine will require permanent security if the Commander intends to build a Shipyard, secure the port facilities, protect the survivors, and maintain the route back to Grefort. The mobile formations can continue once rear personnel replace them."

Hans leaned back slightly.

There it was again. More territory meant more people staying behind.

No wonder Matilda wanted another fourteen hundred forty personnel before he started producing Seventeenth Company.

Hans returned to the report.

The expedition had not even departed yet, and part of the force was already being planned for replacement.

At least this time they had enough soldiers to do it.

He flipped to the aviation section.

The four Raptors already assigned to the northern corridor would remain there throughout the opening phase, while eight Strikers would become available once the companies reached Saicine’s outer districts.

The Falcons were divided between casualty evacuation and personnel transport, though none of the aircraft would operate directly over the harbor unless required.

"The harbor is still excluded?"

"Until we have ground Radar and secured positions close enough to support proper observation."

Hans nodded.

"So the port comes later then."

"Yes, Commander. The northern half of the city comes first."

The Shipyard could wait until they knew what was actually living underneath it.

Hans continued through the deployment schedule.

The opening force would leave in stages. Reconnaissance and road-clearing elements moved first, followed by the lead company and its armor. The second company remained close enough to reinforce it, while the third carried most of the personnel intended to secure the rear.

The Hellhammers would follow once the major crossings were confirmed.

Several PCVs were scheduled behind the main body, enough to extend the construction network north without committing every spare vehicle to the expedition.

Hans stopped at the final section.

"When are they leaving?"

"First elements tomorrow morning. The main body will follow after the northern route receives its final inspection."

"Who has command?"

Matilda turned to the personnel page.

Hans read the assignment.

------

Company Leader Felix Voss.

------

"One of the newer Company Leaders?"

"Yes, Commander."

Hans looked through the attached record.

"Alright."

Three Mobile Companies, twenty-four Hellhammers, and several support elements formed the opening force, while the remaining three companies would follow once the northern staging areas were ready.

A few months ago, Hans would have needed to follow an operation like this personally. Now, he had another problem sitting in the middle of Grefort.

Hans pushed the report back toward Matilda.

"Proceed with it. First three tomorrow. Move the second group once the staging areas are ready."

"Understood, Commander."

Hans looked at the remaining folders on his desk.

There were still too many of them.

...

By first light, the northern Ironford staging road was already full.

Hans arrived before the lead elements moved out. Guardian APCs and Vanguards occupied most of the widened lanes, while the Hellhammers waited farther back with the other heavy vehicles that would only follow after Engineering cleared the major crossings. The PCVs sat with the rear elements instead of crowding the front of the column.

A smaller group of vehicles stood near them.

Field Support Vehicles.

Hans had already produced ninety-six of them during the expansion. Somehow, that number had become another line in Matilda’s organization reports before he ever bothered to look at one for more than a few seconds.

They were considerably less impressive beside the Vanguards. A single 7.62mm machine gun gave them enough firepower to defend themselves against ordinary infected, but everything else about the vehicle existed for one purpose.

Keeping the rest of the army moving.

Hans opened the information panel of the nearest one.

------

[ Vehicle Name: Field Support One ]

[ Unit: Field Support Vehicle ]

[ Crew: 3 ]

[ Primary Repair System ]

Type-R Arc Welder Array

Repair Range: 15 meters

Vehicle Repair Rate: 50 HP / second

Structure Repair Rate: 30 HP / second

Operational Restriction: Vehicle must remain stationary

[ Secondary Repair System ]

Nanite Dispersion Nozzles

Charges: 10 / day

Repair Efficiency: +20% for 15 seconds

[ Defensive Weapon ]

7.62mm Machine Gun

Current Ammunition Capacity: 500 rounds

[ Maximum Speed: 55 km/h ]

------

Hans read through it.

The Field Support Vehicle was effectively a mobile repair platform with enough armor to follow an armored formation without immediately becoming scrap itself.

It could repair vehicles much faster than sending them back to a War Factory, increase its repair efficiency for short periods with the limited nanite charges, and work on structures as long as it could stop within range.

The restrictions were equally straightforward. It could not repair anything while moving, it could do nothing for aircraft, and the machine gun on top would not save it from anything that could seriously threaten a Vanguard.

That explained why Matilda kept them behind the armored formations instead of counting them among the combat vehicles.

Hans closed the panel and looked farther down the road.

Several FSVs were spread between the support groups rather than gathered into one block. The arrangement made more sense for an expedition expected to stretch itself across an increasingly long route.

A damaged APC near Saicine did not need to crawl all the way back toward Ironford if a repair vehicle was already moving with the rear elements.

The same applied to whatever forward positions Hans built along the way.

One of the lead vehicles started moving.

The rest of the first road-clearing element followed several seconds later, disappearing north one group at a time rather than turning the staging road into a single enormous convoy.

Hans watched until the last vehicle of the first element cleared the intersection.

Saicine had finally started moving from a report into an operation.

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