Vitae Memorandum

13-Pincer Maneuver

Not that far away, other members of the Rebellion were also hard at work. The Rebellion operated as a large organization, it fortunately didn't depend on the victory of a half dozen people.

Commander Rhyde was reading through some of his reports. He was well aware of the operation Zyuixqs had set out for. He didn't think highly of their successes, but it wasn't any of his business. Zyuixqs' father would probably do something, after all. What was his business was the sabotage of enemy resources. His Marauders have had considerable experience dealing with the enemy's advanced weaponry, and it was their experience that would matter in the conflict.

The siege weapons being tested were designated 'Destroyer' class armored platforms. Still powerful enough to get a siege designation, but it was still a roughly mass-produced weapon. They had dealt with a number of them already. Catching them unmanned has been the leading solution, but it wasn't the most reliable one. They had learned that muffling the main weapon generally resulted in it's self-destruction. Getting the opportunity to muffle the weapon was still the hardest part.

Rhyde checked the map he had prepared, collecting the results of the reports. It seems everything lined up. The nearby hills had concealed no less than a dozen Destroyers, but there was only enough supply to operate half of them. Storming the grounds with the intent of putting priority on the idle ones would be foolhardy, they had to deal with the armed ones first. In counter, they had almost 3 times as many tar barrels, a substance which has proven dramatically effective at muffling the weapon. However, they only had 3 catapults and 7 slingers, which weren't the most mobile. The alternative was close range application by hand, which was both dangerous before and after success. If things got too dangerous, they would withdraw, though that would give their enemy more weapons to make use of later.

The plan he had before him involved setting up a choke-point to anticipate the weapon's approach. In most cases, Destroyers were found to be hardest to control the soonest after activation, so they needed to get as close as possible. Catapults had the best long range viability, though they were also really large targets, so they were placed quite a distance away. Slingers were placed effectively around the first corner in both directions, one being left near the catapults in case the backup was required. Each position had at least 13 barrels, with additional storage places underground in a safe nearby location. After taking out the active bunch, they would get to move to the easier part.

"Commander, it appears our scouts have reported activity in the den. The Destroyers are being activated." "Ah, Yuxzn, glad you could join me. Do you see anything that was missed?" "No sir, by my calculations our preparations should be more than sufficient for 6 Destroyers. There are suitable odds as well that were all 13 to be activated, all of them could still be dealt with. Our spare tar would need to be applied in that case, of course. Enemy bandit capabilities are, as usual, negligible in this scenario." Rhyde was glad to have his elven strategist at his side, Yuxzn had always proven to be highly capable.

Not all of Yuxzn's news was good, however. "I've just been concerned about reports sighting Khaexyn's personal presence in the area. That man has been a wildcard in any encounter, we still don't fully understand exactly how much he's capable of." "Khaexyn?!" Rhyde did not like hearing that the Fortress Lord himself might possibly make an appearance. "With him in the area, put a greater priority in ensuring a proper escape route. We should ensure we can abort the whole operation in the event that something unexpected happens." "Of course."

Rhyde trusted Yuxzn to his task, and himself moved into position. Getting things taken care of before Khaexyn had arrived would be ideal. He went in position near the middle Catapult, and got a report from a scout. "Sir, our scout has spotted a large group moving in this direction from our backs. They do not appear to be bandits, but they are not otherwise identified. We suspect they are a platoon of Hyenzaelni." More unwelcome strangers? Zyuixqs had already recently found four, but this was getting ridiculous. They could also affect the whole operation! He returned his orders. "Send word to Yuxzn, tell him that I need him to hurry and return to me. Report your same findings to him, he will understand." The scout saluted and departed.