“He’s right,” Kaiden said, trying to shake the ever-growing dread that’d been brought on by the sight of the marching calamity they were facing. He’d thought they’d brought enough troops, but it was becoming increasingly apparent they hadn’t.
What happened? We had a good idea what sort of resistance to expect, but this... this far exceeds even our contingency plans—
No.
He stopped the worrying right there.
“Analyze and adapt,” Zelda said, likely seeing the concern in his features. “We can do this.”
“Somehow,” he agreed. “But yeah, we can.” Kaiden clapped his hands together.
Okay, okay. What do we do?
The warden classes had basically been built to fight together in formation. Their abilities just went well together. Shielders in the front, blocking damage and using Shield Link to feed the blast wardens who’d be behind them, raining ranged damage down on the enemy. Then there were the power wardens, too adept at wreaking havoc in the enemy ranks. And the enhanced wardens, not to be forgotten, debuffing just about anyone they could reach which, considering their high dexterity stats and incredible speed, was pretty much everyone.
So how do we beat this?
The plan previously had been to take them straight on. Their army didn’t need to win; it just needed to buy time to get the bomb team into the AFBS control room. Except…
The more Kaiden thought about it, the more he realized that was still true. Right?
We don’t need to beat this force. We just need to break through it. Break through it and hold long enough to get the gate open.
Even as he concocted a plan, it seemed fate had deigned to grant him a bit of much-needed luck. One of Odditor’s freighters, no doubt loaded with landing troops, was coming in late. The raging fires burning in its engines and spreading through the rest of the ship were a good indication of why, and based on its approach speed and angle, its maneuvering thrusters weren’t exactly pulling their weight.
The front ranks of the warden army braced for impact as the freighter crashed to the ground. For a moment, Kaiden thought it was going to land on them, going to crush them flat and solve most of his problems in one fell swoop – but it missed. Came down just short and left a swath of rubble spread across the front ranks of the warden army.
And then that rubble started to move.
But it wasn’t the rubble that was moving; rather, what was in it. Voidspawn, Kaiden realized as his visor brought up info on the hissing, chittering shapes rising from the wreckage of the ship. Kaiden had no idea how many had initially been on the ship but apparently a good number of them had survived.
“Odditor!” Kaiden called through command comms. “Did you bring a landing ship full of voidspawn?”
“Oh! Is that where that went?” his reply came, cracking with static. “I’d been wondering. Hey, uh, try not to get too close. They’re not exactly tame.”
You think? Kaiden couldn’t help but think as the voidspawn charged the warden army. Some had noticed his own troops and were coming at them as well, but easily ninety percent of the creatures were bearing down on the front ranks of the wardens.
This could be our window! We’ll use the distraction to give us an edge in the attack!
Charge. A simple command in concept. A bit more complex in execution. Kaiden gave the command verbally and from all across the battlefield his forces sprang from their cover and rushed forward.
Kaiden joined them, but his focus was on the command module. He flew through it, giving specific orders as quickly as possible. He selected the free warden battlegroup, one hundred or so members strong, and plotted a course for them. It cut in toward the middle of the battleground so they could form up as the center of the charging force. He confirmed the route and sent it out.
Off to the right, where the free wardens were charging from, Kaiden knew their HUDs had just updated with the order and a route was being projected into their vision. They moved with the precision expected of wardens – a phalanx of shielders in front, power and enhanced wardens in the middle, and blasters bringing up the rear – as they cut a diagonal path across the battleground.
Kaiden stumbled over some unseen obstacle, near toppling over, but a steadying hand from Thorne kept him upright. Lasers were flying in all directions now, exploding against Titus and Eqokkhabone’s shields in the front, but he didn’t have time to focus on that. He was too busy giving orders via the command module.
He sent the vast majority of his army to form up on either flank of the centerline of free wardens. What had once been a blind charge was beginning to take shape into something approaching a coherent strategy.
Next, Kaiden split the Maximus battlegroup between both flanks of the centerline of free wardens. As he confirmed the changes, he couldn’t help but admire the efficiency of the PVP guilders. They didn’t move in a tightly controlled formation like the free wardens, but they all followed the order immediately, breaking into a sprint to reposition as quickly as possible.
Lastly came The Syndicate soldiers, players and NPCs of all different classes and skill sets. What they lacked in individual skill they no doubt made up for in sheer numbers. Kaiden gave them no specific orders except to cause as much chaos as possible. For the enthusiasm with which they advanced, it seemed they were happy to oblige.
Kaiden looked up from his command module in time to see the battle had been joined– but not because of his army. The voidspawn had reached the warden force. And they were being decimated.
The front row crashed
