Meanwhile, back at Home Base with Team 3...

Sergeant Emily Foreman's POV

You started reading the first reports from the other residents just a few minutes ago, while Allen and Zachary kept watch. Still, it was a bit discouraging that their food reserves were running dangerously low but hopefully, Team One and Team Two will be able to fulfill those parts of their missions so that they can put those concerns to rest, at least in the short term.

"At least we have quite a bit of cleaning supplies," You realized, muttering as you read between the lines. "And while they will be a lower priority overall, I am sure we will miss those chemicals when they are gone, especially once our clothes and the place starts to stink. So, better to have them in excess for now."

Next, you picked up another report from Nicholas Barnes' extended hands, the husband of the female resident that accompanied their owner on Team 1's mission. He looked in deep thought the whole time. You scanned through the amounts of supplies listed there but soon, found something different that made you raise an eyebrow.

"You have solar-powered drones?" You asked him with renewed interest.

Barnes nodded, looking proud despite his overall sad demeanor. "I actually got rich in the tech sector by investing in solar power improvements through my company, and these drones can fly without issue as long as the sun is out there. And even when it isn't their also store power on a battery for use at night if need be that can last for several hours So, they were usually my most-sold items in that growing, niche market. They are remarkably efficient where energy consumption is concerned. "

You scratched your chin, quickly seeing huge potential for scouting with such drones, either for scavenging missions or for watching out for marauding threats; be they living or undead. And the best part was that they would not consume their limited access to diesel to make them work. "How many do you have?"

The former CEO shrugged. "Only four right now. They are from the higher quality models sold by my company that I kept in my apartment for my own personal use. However," Barnes said slowly, "we would be able to find more drones, and other solar-powered devices too, if our boss sends us on a scavenging mission to my nearest branch store. Thing is, the closest one to this apartment complex would be at Ventures’ Mall, about 5 miles from here. And there were many hordes of zombies around the place near the beginning of this madness."

You filed that information away for future reference and decided that 4 solar-powered drones may be enough for the time being. But now that you knew that you can scout ahead from above, you nodded yourself as it hit you: now, you will have enough air support to provide the intel needed to chart a safer route toward that mall, and beyond, for a future mission.

And that made you smile slightly, pleased that this gave you a great opportunity to come up with a plan to serve your owner. This realization came as a relief too, since you were painfully aware that you were the most plain-looking member of your squad.

But that wasn't going to stop you from coming up with ways to make your Supreme Commander very, very happy...

Abruptly, however, you were snapped out of your thoughts when you saw another of the residents climb down the stairs to the lobby with a report in hand. You frowned slightly, trying to remember the name of the woman before you from the introductory meetings of the day before.