Moving Out

(It is unfortunate that I wasn't able to release any chapters this past week. I wasn't in the right mindset to write and a whole bunch happened. I refuse to release anything that isn't up to my standard. Don't be surprised when this happens in the future.)

*HUGGGGGGHSHHHHHHHH*

A cacophony of snoring grated upon my ears as I stepped into the command room. I could only sigh and take another bite of my sandwich as I looked around the room.

Half of the individuals present were silently reviewing intelligence while the other half were passed out in their seats or on the ground.

My gaze eventually made it over to the holotable at the center of the room. Sitting on the other side of it was Sigurd. He was also snoring.

I pointed towards him and looked at Sirius. "That's a prime example of sleep deprivation."

Sigurd suddenly shook as his eyes shot open. "Oh! Did someone say my name?"

I shrugged and patted his shoulder as I walked past him. "Pretty much. Go get some sleep. And take the other sleepers with you. I want you all bright eyed and bushy tailed by noon."

Sigurd nodded tiredly and struggled to his feet. "Aye aye, captain."

He then stumbled away, smacking several people on their backs to wake them. They all sleepily followed him to a room behind the command center.

Once he was gone, I turned my eyes on my next target. I stepped behind Violet and followed her gaze. She was intently looking at a report on her datapad. "Whatcha lookin at?"

Violet sniffed twice before turning around to look at me, her face mere inches from mine. "Is that alcohol on your breath?"

Once again, I shrugged as I found a seat next to her before taking another sip of my tea. "A shot of whiskey with my morning tea puts some pep in my step."

I then continued eating my sandwich. There were only a few bites left at this point.

I heard an audible sigh from my left and glanced over at Violet who was intently watching my sandwich disappear. "A drink does sound pretty night right now."

I held out my flask towards her and shook it. "Here, have some. It's more like 2 shots though so be… careful…"

Before I was even able to finish my sentence, she had snatched the flask and taken a few gulps.

She pulled the flask away from her lips and let her head slowly fall back. Her face flushed red a bit from the hot tea and alcohol. "Ahhhh, that hit the spot."

I started at her, my mouth slightly ajar. "Damn, that was weirdly attractive."

Violet handed the flask back to me and returned to look at her datapad. Immediately, I could tell that she was more relaxed. Her shoulders appeared less tight and her expression wasn't as irritable. "Me being put together doesn't mean that I can't handle my alcohol."

For the third time, I shrugged. "Fair enough. So, what's our move? I heard you slept well so I expect that you have something."

She blushed a bit, turning her already rosy face even more so as she swiped up on the datapad. "Based on the intelligence we gathered, there isn't one guild, but two. The second guild looks a lot more organized than the one that attacked us. We believe that they are PMCs that the first guild hired. There aren't many of them, but they appear to be ordering around everyone in the first guild barring a select few."

I nodded, observing the two guild emblems that were floating over the holotable. "That explains their decisive retreat. They are professionals and have an army of idiots at their disposal."

Violet sighed, scratching the side of her head. "This only makes it harder. The only bright side is that the two of us are proven commanders. We don't have much real experience but I'm confident that we can figure something out."

I smirked. "We also have the tanks."

Violet nodded. "That is true. Anyways, their setup is formidable, and those tanks will probably be our only method of attack. We still can't get through to our cruisers so air support is out of the question."

I rolled my eyes. "We're still getting jammed?"

Violet nodded. "Yep. On top of that, we have no spacecraft so we can't even send a messenger."

I sighed. "Ugh, what a pain in the ass. That leaves only one course of action. Rally the troops. Full mobilization in one hour."

-9:15 AM-

I pressed on my wrist comm, opening the command channel. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Let's take attendance. Crewman?"

Madison replied. "Locked and loaded."

I nodded. "Infantry?"

Rachel replied. "On board the Havocs."

I smiled. "Logistics?"

Violet responded. "Prepped and loaded."

I nodded. "Last but not least command."

Jeremiah, my friend, replied. "Nominal. I'll update you when intel wakes up."

I smiled, taking a deep breath with my eyes closed. When I opened them, there was a newfound focus deep within. "Affirm on SITREP. Curtains up in five… four… three… two… one… GO GO GO GO!"

*BOOOM*

A huge explosion went off just meters from my precious tanks. Fortunately, they were shaped charges so the entire force of the blast was directed into the rubble blocking the entrance of the garage. I watched from the tank cockpit as the massive boulders were obliterated and scattered across the ground outside of the cave.

*BVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV*

All three tanks took off, their engines roaring and nearly knocking me off my feet from the sudden acceleration. The tanks didn't even shake as they pulverized every chunk of rock they ran over like a bulldozer.

I went back into the command channel as we took off. "Hold deployment pattern A until we have eyes in the sky. Vi, get those drones up."

Madison quickly replied. "Yes, sir."

Violet then followed him up. "In-progress."

I then swapped to a private channel. "Sirius, SITREP."

Sirius replied almost instantly. "Master, Alpha team is in position."

*BCHHHHH*

The tank shook from an explosion outside. I had to grab onto the crewman's seat in front of me to maintain my balance.

I smirked as I thought of our brand-new special operations unit. "Remember, primary mission objective is stealing their logistics vehicles. Weapons free. Don't leave any of these fuckers alive."