Order the attack

The warnings of that larger **** was in the back of your mind but if the sergeant could wipe out this **** quickly it would be a simple matter for her to gather her prizes and get them back to base. If this was a one and done battle you'd have to send out the Swiss to help them but as this was a larger campaign each side had been given a 'key' that could unlock the legs of the other side. Its required physical contact and there was a Swiss ship in orbit keeping a very careful eye on its usage. The sergeant would have to be careful however, as it couldn't unlock your own, meaning any dead had to be carried back to the armorer for revival.

"Engage, five minute window." You ordered, the time constraint would be more than enough to get the job done. Balia would be happy with you when she got back from her inspection of the local area.

"Understood." The sergeant, sounded eager, if the enemy was platoon strength they outnumbered the patrol by a small amount, the surprise attack from behind would take care of that. That meant the sergeant, as the patrol leader, would get a wide selection for the first pick. She was obviously anticipating the experience as her heart rate showed a slight uptick as the battle neared. She maneuvered her forces into position very carefully, letting her HUD assign a target for each member of the patrol to focus on. It was vital that they took as many of them by surprise as possible, there was no room for doubling up in the initial attack.

At precisely the 1 minute mark she attacked. The ambusher's sentries obviously had either been watching so long their senses had become dulled or were just looking the wrong way at the time as your patrol slammed into their unsuspecting rears. Half of the enemy didn't even have time to turn around before they were struck down and the ones still standing who did found themselves overwhelmed by two to three patrol members each as they flowed from their targets to the ones still standing. Two of the attempted ambushers immediately took off running, knowing that there was no chance of winning if they fought, one of them was eliminated by a lucky thrown sword while the other managed to slip out of the net, downing a patrol member who tried to block her. The fighting was over in less than two minutes. "Move it people! Get these unlocked and moving. First squad, you're on litter detail, second squad, unlock, third watch for their friends."

Everyone quickly got about their assigned tasks. A small perimeter was set up as first squad gathered up the friendly dead, 7 members of the patrol had been 'killed' in the fighting, mostly from second squad hence why they were the ones running around and keying all the downed enemies. It took two minutes to get everyone mobile and you watched your timer tick up. 5 minutes had been your best guess for how long they could safely stay in the area before the enemy responded and the time was ticking. Finally at 4:55 the patrol was once again moving, this time back towards base, herding their captives whose upper bodies had been frozen in a myriad of positions perfect for getting caught on the undergrowth. Still it had been a quick and clean operation.

You watched as their marker on the table moved back towards the base, that enemy who'd escaped concerned you, a worry that turned out to be unfounded as after a tense half hour the patrol emerged out of the woods with their captives in tow. You smiled as the patrol immediately headed for where the Swiss were waiting to receive them.