Send Amelia

"Negative, support inbound. Wait for my order to attack." You ordered. It had been tempting just to let the patrol handle the issue. There was every chance they could deal with it and be gone before the larger enemy **** arrived. That wasn't a risk you were inclined to take however. You immediately called Amelia, wanting to make sure the job was done right. "Amelia we've got an enemy **** about platoon strength trying to lay an ambush. They likely have a larger **** in reserve. Go get us some morale boosters." You ordered, confident in her abilities. You sent her the coordinates.

"Understood ma'am." She replied you switched to her cam and saw her gather her weapons. Her forces had been on standby for an occasion just like this and they were moving in less than a minute. Orders and briefings being done on the move. Switching back to the patrol leader you saw she was still in a position to observe the enemy. You intended to wait until the enemy noticed Amelia's approach before closing the trap on them. That would allow for a quick resolution to the first fight in preparation for the possible second.

When Amelia was almost there you noticed a shift in the ambushers posture. Their lookouts had obviously caught sight of Stella's ****. You decided this was a perfect time to spring the trap. As you prepared to give the order you heard a twig snap. That was all the warning you had as the sergeant. working on instinct. rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding an arrow as it hit where she had been a moment before. She didn't have time to admire her luck as her patrol came under attack. Those without the same experience or overhead cover went down in that initial attack, leaving just over half of her **** combat effective. Those forces were scattered over the immediate area to better attack those whom you thought were unsuspecting victims waiting to be claimed. It was obvious that the unsuspecting part was false but you weren't yet willing to give up on the victims to be claimed part.

"They've discovered our trap. Get in there." You ordered Amelia, her pace immediately changed as she increased her speed as her formation became a flying wedge. She was on the battle a moment later, sweeping aside the initial enemy **** and advancing through the remaining patrol members who fell in behind to reform. There were only eight left including the sergeant in charge.

As that happened the engagement shifted form from an attack on a disparate element to a company sized engagement. Arrows typically weren't a very useful weapon in the forest, too many trees in the way and bushes to slow them down so much they didn't always register a kill. The enemy commander obviously thought differently. A small **** of archers had set up on an incline and were raining down **** on anyone they could see. Amelia prioritized their elimination and you watched as she sent a wedge to break through the enemy line to get at them. The enemy responded by letting them through and trying to close the gap behind them but it backfired as Amelia had the wings of the wedge turn around and pincer the blocking ****. The tip went on to scatter the archers, killing half while the others ran away. The enemy sent a **** around the side and managed to slam into Amelia's flank but a counter by her second in command prevented them from causing too much damage.

The deadly dance continued like this for what seemed like hours but was only roughly fifteen minutes, Amelia would make a move, her opponent would counter, a counter attack would be launched, she'd repel it. Eventually the enemy began to fall back, losing their order and cohesion as they began to run. You couldn't understand the reason, despite the ferocity of the fighting the numbers still seemed around equal. The only thing you could figure was the enemy commander must have gone down somewhere. Amelia immediately launched a pursuit, leading it personally in order to help prevent more enemies from getting away than could be helped. You could see she set the limit at one hundred meters in order to prevent her forces from getting too caught up and going too far. It turned out she should have set it to fifty.

You didn't see where the first arrows came from but their effect was devastating. Your forces had been so intent on capturing as many enemies as possible that they had forgotten about the archers who had gotten away. A serious mistake. Oddly enough Amelia remained active as the arrows continued to rain down, this spot had obviously been carefully chosen, its fields of fire better than the previous battlefield. Amelia immediately attempted to regroup her forces but the enemy had seemingly regained their spine and the previously fleeing troops returned in ****. It was clear this had been a trap. One only made possible by Amelia's aggressive strategy. One you felt you were partially responsible for considering the way you had worded your orders. The battle wasn't lost yet however and at the vanguard of her forces Amelia charged. The arrows continued to miss her and she made it to the enemy line, no one else did. The surprise had been too devastating in the wake of what was thought to be certain victory. The arrows too accurate and the threat of being captured too real. Her forces broke and ran. Her second managed to rally some of them together but not enough to make a difference. Amelia knew what she had to do.

"Fall back. Get as many of the dead and prisoners back as you can. I'll meet you back at base." She lied, both you and her second knew she was lying, you immediately contacted Captain Stella of the quick reaction **** and ordered her to go assist but you knew she wouldn't arrive in time. She would have to be called back. The enemy probably had another **** of their own on the way and you couldn't afford to meet them on ground they obviously knew better than you. If nothing else Stella would make sure the survivors got back.