Chapter 8
by 
leroy
The next day
Contact
As enemy operations had been unlikely you had allowed all of your soldiers to get a full nights sleep other than a few sentries who drew the short straw. It was likely to be the last such night for the next few days. At dawn Balia's patrols left the base to go on their routes. Ameilia's quick reaction forces took up their positions and you were left in the command center, checking cams and working on the countless administrative tasks that were required to keep a large body of soldiers moving and staying productive.
You were working on deciding what percent of soldiers could rest out of their armor when you heard a small alarm. Your suit immediately brought up the relevant information. Your patrols had been discovering subtle hints that the the enemy was out there. Now first contact had been made. You switched your view to look at the camera of the patrol leader, a sergeant, and found yourself looking at the camouflaged forms of a UCA **** waiting in ambush. Probably waiting for the very patrol you were watching. Hotel-4 according to your table. "Command this is Hotel-4, enemy forces located, Hotel-2 found signs of them moving this way and we've managed to get the drop on them. Requesting permission to engage." Looking at the full notice you saw that Hotel-2 had also found signs of a larger **** moving in the area in the same line of movement.
You were left with a choice.
- Give permission to attack. If the enemy was on their own this would be the most economical course of action but it would put the patrol in danger if a larger **** was nearby. You wouldn't be able to send help in time if that was the case.
- Send out an attack **** to engage the enemy. This action would ensure that you could defeat the small **** in front of the patrol but the enemy might give up and move on in the meantime. It could also lead to a larger engagement if there was another enemy **** nearby.
- Send Amelia's reaction ****. If the enemy is out there in strength and responds she has a better chance of beating them. This course of action would increase the chance of victory in a general engagement but it also puts one of your main commanders in danger.
- Pull back. Order the patrol to move away and fall back to base. This is the safest course of action but it won't achieve much.