Send Amelia

You didn't know where the enemy's main **** was, how quickly they could respond or if they even intended to respond at all. Faced with that uncertainty you knew you needed someone on the ground who you could depend on to think on her feet. You directed one of your map aids to reroute Hotel 3 to Hotel 4's position. Meanwhile you called Amelia. "We've got a **** in contact, unknown enemy position and no idea what you're going into. I need you to go get that patrol out of there." You ordered, you switched your cam view to her and saw that she was already up and moving to grab her weapon. You sent her the coordinates of the patrol's estimated position and got out of the way. She had everything she needed, talking to her would only distract from the mission.

Her forces had been on standby and she got them moving in under a minute. You could see on your sand table that Hotel 3 was also moving to engage the enemy. You could tell by the suit signals that 4 was still fighting. You had a sand aid make a note about that area. If the enemy was there they might have their main camp in that direction.

You switched your view to Hotel 3 as they ran through the woods towards the target. Already you could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance and a short two minutes later they came upon the battle site. It had obviously been going against your patrol as those still standing were circled up surrounded by the enemy. The number of bodies on the ground showed that the circle had been bigger but had rapidly gotten smaller due to attrition. You could also tell that Hotel 4 had grossly underrepresented the number of enemies present. Or the UCA reinforcements had gotten there faster. Still Hotel 3 didn't hesitate and they charged into the unsuspecting enemy whose sentries had been pointed towards the town rather than another area of the forest. Their surprise allowed for an initial advantage but the enemy had the numbers to spare and the battle soon turned into a general melee as weapons clashed across the clearing. Your initial viewpoint went down and your suit automatically switched you to another one. It didn't do you much good for understanding the situation so you switched back to Amelia.

"Hotel 3 has engaged the enemy. Be advised initial troop reports inaccurate, new estimate company strength. Friendly casualties heavy." You heard one of your aides informing her as she ran through the woods. She didn't verbally acknowledge the report as you could hear her panting as she made her way through the woods. It would still be another ten minutes before she arrived at her current pace. As you switched your view back to the battle you weren't sure if that was a ten minutes your forces had. The two groups had managed to fight through and link up but they were still being hemmed in from all sides. Only the chaos of fighting in the undergrowth had so far made it possible for them to last this long as they used the natural barriers of the forest to their advantage.

There was nothing left for you to do. No orders you could give that would change the outcome. It was all up to them and Ameila now, this was always the worst part of the job. As the minutes ticked down so did your numbers until there were only five left standing, their backs together as they protected themselves and each other, not able to take any offensive moves.

It was only when the pressure slackened off suddenly that you realized that Amelia had made it. You switched back to her camera just in time to see her forces collide with the enemy. They'd obviously had sentries who'd warned of her coming as they greeted her with a proper battle line. It didn't make a difference as her wedge slammed into them. Sending the front rank staggering back as they were caught between the weight of the charge and their comrades behind them. The fighting quickly turned brutal as long weapons were made useless in the press and knives came out. Some of the fighters forwent even those punching and elbowing the helmeted faces of their enemy. The armor was of course designed for this but you were sure there would be at least one concussion treatment needed after a UCA fighter landed a wicked haymaker that recorded her opponent as 'killed'. The tense struggle continued for far too long but eventually the enemy began backing off. Then they pulled back. It was no wild sprint of a broken rout but a gradual withdrawal of an enemy who knew they were beaten.

Ameila wisely didn't order a pursuit, her own numbers were badly battered. Of the five who had been standing when she arrived there was only one of them left. That one immediately fell to the ground in exhaustion. A quick check to her vitals revealed she was fine but Amelia immediately sent a recommendation that she be given tomorrow off.

"Good work Amelia. I'll let the armorer know to set up for the incoming." You commended. If this had just been a one and done battle it would have required the Swiss to run out there and unlock all of the 'killed' combatants. Due to this being a full campaign however that wouldn't have been a practical requirement. To remedy this both sides had been given a 'key' program that could unlock the lower body of the other side. It required physical contact and its usage was monitored closely by a small ship in orbit from the Conglomerate for just this purpose. It also couldn't unlock the legs of your own side requiring the dead to be carried back to an armorer in order to revive them. It was there that you realized there was a problem.

"General, we've taken too many casualties to carry all of our dead out. Can you send us some help?" Amelia asked. This left you with a choice.

Amelia's **** had been 400 strong when it left the base. It was now down to 143. With the two patrols of 36 each down as well and assuming each of the ones still standing could carry one downed soldier each that would leave 186 still out there. That would also leave them **** as they returned to base.

The easy thing to do would be to send out another quick reaction ****. They would both be able to carry the dead and provide security. You had two left on standby for that area. That would leave you with only one left to respond to situations, both opportunities and calls for help.

Alternatively you could send out some of the town's defenders to go and help. If you sent 300 defenders you wouldn't weaken yourself too badly. They would take longer to get there however which would give the enemy a chance to consider another attack.

The third option was to make two trips and restock Amelia's **** with reserves for the second. This would be risky, if the enemy was watching they would likely move in to abduct your dead or use them as bait for an ambush.