Trailblazer Two was already waiting outside the War Factory when Hans reached the yard.
Its engine remained idle while Engineers checked the tires, deployment supports, and the folded antenna along its roof. One Guardian APC waited beside it with the second newly trained squad already inside.
The first squad had left for Route One several minutes earlier.
Hans glanced toward the Power Plant interface under construction before entering the Armored SUV.
------
[ Power Plant Construction: 68% ]
[ Remaining Time: 4 hours and 16 minutes. ]
------
Enough time.
Trailblazer Two could establish its construction radius without consuming more Energy. The first Walls could be placed immediately if the site passed inspection. Anything heavier could wait until the Power Plant became operational.
Matilda entered through the other side and placed the Site Three folder between them.
"Convoy is ready, Commander."
"Artillery?"
"Firing solutions are being prepared. The Hellhammers will remain on standby."
Hans opened the Radar map.
The deeper hostile concentrations had barely moved overnight. Several remained clustered inside buildings and along roads farther east, south, and southeast. None were close enough to Site Three to interfere with the initial inspection.
For now.
"Move out."
The Armored SUV led the convoy through the main Gate.
Trailblazer Two followed behind them, with the Guardian APC, one Vanguard, and several escort vehicles spread around it. The PCV was unarmed, large, and worth fifteen thousand Gold.
Hans had no intention of letting it travel through Westgate alone.
...
Route One was already active when they arrived.
The newly trained squad had dismounted near Ramp Four. Some of its soldiers joined the existing guards while the rest moved toward the warehouse and parking structure.
Exterior lights still shone above several entrances, though the morning had made them less noticeable.
Trailblazer Two slowed near the Gate.
The PCV could not pass through the three-meter opening, so the convoy continued toward Ramp Four instead. Both Pillboxes tracked the approaching vehicles before allowing them through.
Hans looked toward Trailblazer One as they passed.
A short Wall now surrounded the side of the lot facing the road. The PCV itself remained visible behind it, but no longer completely exposed.
Not finished, but it was better than yesterday.
"Route One reports no movement from the deeper concentrations," Matilda said.
Hans looked at the Radar again.
The neutral markers denoting some of these survivor groups remained where they had been.
"Keep it that way until Site Three is secured."
The convoy continued east.
The cleared road stretched ahead of them through the first blocks of Westgate. Several wrecked vehicles had been pushed aside during the earlier sweeps. Painted arrows and reflective markers remained on walls, posts, and intersections, showing cleared routes and inspected buildings.
Other marks warned them away from entrances the soldiers had not opened.
Hans watched each one pass.
There was more work here than the Radar showed.
Every marker meant someone had entered a building, checked a room, or stopped long enough to decide that something could wait.
The farther they went, the cleared markings continued across most of the surrounding buildings.
The platoons had covered more ground than Hans first realized.
Doors bore painted marks. Reflective strips had been fixed beside entrances and intersections. Abandoned vehicles had been pushed away from the main road, while several side streets remained blocked off for later clearing.
Only beyond the eastern edge of the previous sweep did the markings begin to thin.
The convoy slowed at an intersection.
A reflective stake stood near the roadside with a large number three painted across it.
"Site Three," Matilda said.
The Armored SUV turned south and entered the distribution yard.
Two adjoining lots opened between a warehouse and several office buildings. Delivery bays lined one side. Abandoned trucks remained parked near the loading area, though enough open ground had already been cleared for Trailblazer Two to enter.
The PCV stopped near the center of the first lot.
Hans stepped out.
The main road ran behind them. A second road continued east between the office buildings and disappeared deeper into Westgate.
Good access.
Too much access, perhaps.
The Engineer operator inside Trailblazer Two activated the vehicle’s Structural Scanner.
The PCV remained in place while the scan passed beneath the proposed deployment area, checking the concrete and the ground below for unstable sections or residual geological activity.
Several Engineers watched the readings from beside the vehicle.
The others moved outward with their own equipment, inspecting cracks, drainage covers, utility access points, and the concrete around the loading yard.
The PCV could tell them whether the ground itself was unstable.
It could not tell Hans and the rest of the Engineering team whether an old drainage channel, buried service line, or underground storage room would become a problem after deployment.
The escort squads moved in the opposite direction.
One covered the southern road and the entrance they had used. Another spread along the eastern side of the yard, facing the uncleared blocks deeper inside Westgate. Several soldiers entered the warehouse and office buildings that had already been marked clear, taking positions beside windows and rooftop access points.
The newly trained squad remained closest to Trailblazer Two.
Hans opened the Radar map.
No neutral markers appeared within the proposed construction radius. The nearest survivor groups remained several blocks away, outside the planned perimeter.
The deeper infected concentrations were also holding their positions.
For now, Site Three remained quiet.
"Perimeter established," Matilda reported. "The adjoining buildings were cleared yesterday. The squads are occupying them for observation."
Hans looked toward the distribution yard.
"So only the ground remains."
"And the underground sections," Matilda said. "Drainage channels, utility tunnels, storage spaces, and anything else beneath the deployment point. We also need to confirm that the PCV will not block the delivery lanes once it expands."
That was reasonable.
The System could probably place Trailblazer Two on the marked concrete immediately.
But the vehicle would not be moving again when it was deployed.
Once Walls, Pillboxes, and restored facilities began gathering around it, selling them was not a problem. It was only a matter of when would problems regarding traffic load would arise.
Trailblazer Two’s side hatch opened.
Its Engineer operator stepped down with the scanner display still in hand.
"Structural scan complete, Commander. No unstable ground or residual geological activity beneath the proposed deployment position."
Hans looked toward the other Engineers.
"What remains?"
"The drainage channels, underground service lines, storage areas, and deployment clearance," the lead Engineer answered.
"How long?"
"Less than an hour."
Hans glanced back at Trailblazer Two.
"Make it two. Finish the inspection properly. I don’t want this FOB to be ambushed because of hindsight."
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