RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

Hans left Tyrus with his samples once the situation inside the Core settled down.

The interruption had only stopped Recovery long enough to pull exposed personnel out of the area. By the time Hans reached the road, Engineers and DASF elements were already returning to the Directorate facility, while Kimmy had gone back with Johannes to continue searching for the remaining modules Vaughn had hidden somewhere behind its shielded walls.

Callum entered the armored SUV from the other side. Hans barely closed the door when his communicator sounded.

"Adjutant Dianne to Golden Eagle."

"Golden Eagle here."

"Commander, the northern and southern reconnaissance groups have submitted their reports. There are several things you should see."

Hans leaned back against the seat.

Only a couple of days had passed since the latest force expansion began, yet the new Commanders were already being pushed into different assignments.

Some had gone north with the formations preparing around Saicine and Pylow. Others joined the southern preparations toward Silverpeak, while several more remained on standby until the next formations were ready for them.

Maybe I should expand again.

Hans left the thought there. Whether he actually needed another round could wait until he saw what those officers had found.

"Have the reports ready. I’m heading back."

"Understood, Commander."

The channel closed.

The SUV accelerated away from the Core.

The first several streets still carried most of the damage from the siege. Broken concrete filled the sides of the cleared lanes, dead roots remained exposed between fractured foundations and several buildings were still marked off by Engineering teams waiting to inspect them properly.

The destruction gradually thinned as they moved west.

Recovery vehicles passed them heading toward the Core with empty trailers and sealed containers. Farther out, reopened intersections were already carrying civilian vehicles between districts that had been inaccessible only days earlier. Temporary barriers remained around unstable buildings, but people were beginning to move around them instead of treating entire streets as forbidden ground.

Hans watched the city pass outside the window.

Grefort was starting to look less like one enormous battlefield. The work replacing that battlefield was becoming considerably larger.

Almost an hour later, the SUV entered Main Base.

Hans and Callum went directly into the Command Center and continued toward the Master Command Room.

Callum remained outside while Hans entered.

The room was considerably busier than during Hans’s first inspection. Headquarters personnel occupied most of the surrounding stations, while reconnaissance routes, formation positions and report markers covered the main display. Dianne had already separated the material into two wider operational pictures instead of leaving every patrol report competing for space.

Seven Commanders waited around the central table.

Four occupied the northern side. Marianne Krile represented the Infantry branch, Victor Pracht handled Armor, Elise Marhiel Omikov stood for Air, while Conrad Halestar completed the group from Naval.

Across from them were the three officers assigned to the southern approach: Joseph Brandon, Dietrich Vanderson and Hugo Metler.

The officers rose as Hans approached.

"Commander."

"Take a seat."

Hans approached the table.

The northern portion of the display covered Saicine and the surrounding coastline before splitting in two directions. One set of reconnaissance tracks continued west toward Anchorage, while another extended northeast through the approaches leading toward Pylow. Several Raptor recordings occupied the upper section of the display, with ground routes and proposed staging areas underneath them.

The southern picture remained beside it, centered on the roads leading toward Silverpeak.

Dianne waited until everyone settled.

"Commander. We’ve consolidated the reconnaissance reports."

"What’s first on the agenda?"

"The northern corridors."

The southern picture reduced while Saicine expanded across the table.

Elise brought several aerial captures forward.

"The Raptors encountered several defensive emplacements west of Saicine. Their placement and response are similar to the concealed installation Raptors Five and Six encountered along the western river route toward Ashbourne."

Hans remembered that one.

The old installation had tracked two Raptors through separate maneuvers and warned them away without firing. Nobody had ever confirmed whether anyone remained inside or whether the entire thing had simply continued operating by itself.

"These ones automated too?"

"Likely, but unconfirmed. The flights did not remain inside their warning area to test that assumption."

That was probably for the best. Hans looked farther along the western route.

"Any survivor settlements?"

"A few were identified before the Raptors broke off. There are also several infected concentrations between our current positions and those settlements."

Krile took over from there.

"We’re already preparing ground patrols to reach the nearest groups and clear the infected along the road. If the emplacements leave our ground formations alone, we can continue developing the western corridor."

Pracht indicated the proposed positions behind the reconnaissance boundary.

"We don’t need to commit the main force toward Anchorage immediately. We can establish a forward position on the western side first and keep the route open while the larger ground effort turns northeast."

Conrad added, "The fleet can continue the Anchorage approach from the sea. That would also let us inspect more of the coastline without forcing the western ground route."

Two workable directions.

Anchorage had obvious value. Hans wanted a proper naval base eventually. Pylow, however, was different.

"Prioritize Pylow," Hans said. "Follow Plan B."

Krile nodded.

"Keep the western position moving, but don’t turn Anchorage into the main ground objective yet."

"Yes, Commander."

Hans shifted toward Conrad.

"Start pushing the naval reconnaissance outward as well. If the sea gives us another approach toward Anchorage, use it. There are offshore installations farther north as well. Don’t make them an objective yet, but include them once the coastline is secure."

Conrad nodded. "The extraction platforms?"

"Those and anything else still standing. I want to know what survived before somebody decides to use it."

"Understood."

"And I don’t want those fish monsters sitting around Saicine’s coast forever. People are eventually going to want those beaches back."

Conrad brought up the current fleet status.

"The ships are ready, Commander. Most of the crews have been waiting for permission to start clearing the marine contacts farther from the harbor."

"Then let them."

Hans looked across the coastal markers.

The maritime route continued much farther north beyond Anchorage, eventually opening toward Albian waters. Hans ignored that part for now. Anchorage was already far enough ahead.

"Prioritize the mutated contacts, but don’t turn the entire seabed into a crater field. There might still be normal fish down there."

Conrad paused for only a moment.

"Understood, Commander."

"I’d rather have something left in the sea after we finish securing it."

The northern routes remained on the display for another few seconds before Hans leaned back.

"That settles the northern plan. Let’s move south."

Krile, Pracht, Omikov and Halestar acknowledged the decision while Dianne collapsed the northern operational picture.

Silverpeak spread across the table in its place.

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