35"And you don't see any issue with that assessment?"
"None, Sir." Sigma responded. "The blade was of a non-molecular edge and did not possess any sharpness enhancing properties. The firearm was of a caliber insufficient to pierce kevlar and would fail utterly to damage badnik armor. Cosmetic damage only, non-threat."
"True, they wouldn't do anything against our armor but…" I said patiently. "What if rounds of that caliber or that knife edge found the gaps in my armor?"
"... Reassessing threat levels." Sigma said after a moment and I had to repress a sigh. "Warning, Commander Unit, Reginald the Rabbit is wearing armor of insufficient coverage! Weapons of minimal ballistic potential are of extreme danger! Minor bludgeoning, cutting and piercing melee weapons are of extreme danger!"
"Yes, yes, I am aware." I said, cutting him off. "Just keep this fact in mind the next time you assess threat potential."
"Shall I disseminate this data to the horde, Sir?" Sigma asked a question that shouldn't have needed asking.
"Yes, of course, Sigma!" This time I couldn't help raising my voice. "Do so immediately!"
"Acknowledged."
I suppose I ought to be grateful my badniks didn't come preloaded with hyper aggression, turbo murder protocols. But in turn they were all so very obviously born yesterday as it were. My orders to the badniks to avoid civilian casualties meant that when one of those civilians ran out to try to kill me, they couldn't really stop her. Utterly lacking any means of nonlethal ranged weapons the badniks only had melee left as an answer. Only one of my badniks was close enough to do so effectively. So it had been up to the one badnik with no real efficient means of combat to protect me…
'I miss Alfa, I truly do.' I thought in frustration. 'That monkey bot is experienced enough to know when to think for himself, he'd have known my orders regarding the civilians were to be ignored if it came down to my own safety. The moment I have the budget again I am having him fixed as soon as possible! I am sure Sigma will eventually reach his own form of competence but that will likely take years… it's probably going to be up to me to do any thinking around here, the E-100s are all far too literal to be trusted with anything complicated.'
And speaking of badniks.
My earlier concerns about taking casualties already were partially confirmed. The E-100s all suffered cosmetic damage at best but the armor of the Egg Robos was clearly weaker. Most of it was cosmetic damage, some however had suffered structural damage. For the most part it wasn't anything to be concerned about, typically it was a small tear in the metal along the side or a crater in the plating. Two units however suffered severe damage, one had it's left arm blown off and the other had taken a hit squarely to the crotch from one of the APC guns, that one had it's hip actuators mashed together into scrap and caused it's legs to fall out. And that wasn't even mentioning the empathic agony I felt just looking at the damage. Both machines were still operating just fine, one just kept on using its weapon one handed and the other would have to keep its jetpack running.
'I knew it was foolish to believe that the ambush could be so wildly successful that I'd suffer no losses. But this is a very worrying sign.'
The GUN soldiers baited into a full on charge, my forces ambushing from the side at their most vulnerable. All the advantages surrendered to me and yet I couldn't manage a clean victory. Cosmetic damage for the most part with two badniks suffering heavy but non-crippling damage. If I couldn't manage a clean victory against actual soldiers even with all the advantages I had, then the thought of a toe to toe fight had my stomach twisting and flopping at the potential results. If I had simply attacked the GUN column openly I'd have no doubt succeeded but I'd very likely have outright lost some badniks instead of merely sustained damage. I have very little doubts that it would be possible to ambush every GUN force being sent to Station Square, especially now that they know it's not merely a natural disaster going on. GUN would know either from spotting Robotnik doing his back and forth with Sonic or from the news the refugees would bring back with them.
'Every force dispatched to Station Square from now on will be on high alert. Ambushing them will be difficult, though I wouldn't go so far as to say impossible. The Manta is a stealth ship after all, even not being a dedicated frontline craft it should be more than able to fight anything GUN can deploy. Not that I'm especially confident with my new Captaining abilities to match wits with opposing GUN airships, namely on account of the absolute lack of them.'
I had no formal training in tactics and strategy, all that I knew was dearly won from actual experience. And at the very least that experience was against non-military foes. In contrast all that I knew of commanding a vessel was that being a passenger on one was unpleasant if you didn't have your sea legs. Now I'd have to very rapidly obtain the skills to command an airship, enough to effectively fight opposing GUN airships with no doubt trained and talented commanders. The technological superiority of my vessel was going to be playing a very key part in me not getting outmaneuvered to say the least. But at best that would merely level the playing field, my advantage matching theirs. And an equal fight was the last thing I wanted.
'I need something extra, another edge over the opposition.' I thought, leaning back in my captain's seat. 'I can't rely on pure hardware performance to make up the difference in skill. But what? What else can I use to gain the advantage?'
Absently I took in the various data feeds on the bridge windows. While I had been busy with the column, Robotnik and Chaos had encountered Sonic again, this time with Tails in tow. Robotnik utilized a large rocket sled attachment to his hover pod to attempt to crush Sonic and Tails several times. Anyone else would have been smears on the ground but the two danced around the rocket pod in twin blurs, smashing into it several times. Watching the massive armored rocket be steadily torn apart by bodily impacts and tail strikes was… stomach churning and reminded me that I'd be facing THAT one day. I was honestly surprised the hover pod itself wasn't all that damaged, but I suppose at this point Robotnik would be well experienced in creating an expendable outer shell for his pods. An initial defeat wasn't enough to stop Doctor Robotnik however. After playing possum crashed in the dirt for a moment a mechanical arm shot out and managed to steal away a gem Tails was holding.
'Wait, is that…'
I leaned forward to get a closer look of the gem now in Robotnik's hand. It was purple and perfectly cut in the typical diamond shape and huge on top of that, quite certainly the biggest gem I ever saw barring the one Robotnik shattered on Angel Island, the 'Master Emerald'. It had to be a Chaos Emerald!
'A chaos emerald…' I thought as Robotnik spoke something and the Water God suddenly appeared. Frowning, I turned up the audio to listen just as the Doctor tossed the emerald into Chaos.
"What?!" I exclaimed alongside Sonic and Tails as the Water God suddenly flashed with blinding light and grew bones in its right arm upon taking in the mythical gem.
"Oooh yes!" Robotnik pumped both his arms excitedly. "It's just as the stone tablets predicted!"
'The stone tablets?' I thought in confusion before I suddenly realized. 'The ruins he had me and the badniks searching for. But… those were on the other side of the planet. Why would ruins half a world away talk about the results of breaking a giant gem on a flying island?'
"His strength increases every time I feed him a chaos emerald!" Robotnik explained with a laugh. "With all seven emeralds in him, he'll be invincible! And work for me!"
'Really? Some dusty old tablets said that if you feed a water monster the most legendary and powerful gems in the world it'll become invincible and under your control?' I commented inwardly. 'Well he's revealed the first few bits of the plan, I wonder-'
"Together, we'll destroy Station Square!" Robotnik continued maniacally. 'And on its ruins, I'll build Robotnikland, the ULTIMATE CITY! Where I will rule it all!"
'Ah… so that's the big scheme… Why am I not surprised.'
"Come on Chaos!" Robotnik commanded and hefted a metal sphere in one hand. "Let's find another Emerald, shall we?"
Robotnik then tossed the sphere to the ground and the screen whited out for a moment. I winced as a horrific screeching noise and feedback emitted from the audio for a brief moment before the system adapted. The screen cleared and I saw Sonic and Tails rubbing at their eyes while Robotnik flew away with Chaos flowing across the ground. I just sat there staring as the view started drifting across the area.
'So, Robotnik's big plan is to destroy Station Square and build a city in his image atop the ruins.' I thought as I leaned back. 'It's… not unexpected with a man of his ego. But why use a water monster? He could have done a surprise attack with a force of badniks and leveled the city so fast that even if Sonic got involved it wouldn't change much, the city would still be in ruins. Hell if he wanted to make sure he got ruins to build atop of he could have attacked two cities at once, fast as Sonic is he can still only be in one place at a time.'
Of course I already knew the answer, for I was merely complaining inwardly to take my mind off my anxieties. The regular garden variety man of ambition and power lust would simply use the murder bot legions to start conquering places. And if Robotnik was anything it was aberrant to say the very least. Instead of doing the mundane thing of committing to mundane conquest he wanted to spice it up, add a bit of drama to the works. Oh no, merely razing Station Square to the ground wasn't good enough for the 'Great Doctor Eggman', he had to do something extra like finding and empowering some weird water monster to do it for him!
It was an effort to not let my irritation show as anything more than an especially deep breath and exhale. But I sat there stewing, just idly watching as the drones spied on Sonic and Tails, panning the area and-
'What's that?' I sat up and narrowed my eyes at the screen.
Two people were quietly making their way through the undergrowth in the background. Seeming to sense my desire the screen suddenly zoomed in on the two and I bolted upright at the sight of them. It was the man and mobian from the Frontier Canyon Zone! Now thoroughly interested I kept the camera locked on the two. The two treasure hunters traveled through the lush undergrowth until they reached a cliff face. After a few moments and scanning the view over the area I realized what I was looking at was the portion of Angel Island that landed on the ground.
'Odd.' I frowned as I stared at the earth around Angel Island that was merely pushed up. 'Angel Island crashed down hard enough to cause a tsunami but not create a massive crater in the ground? But then again such a thing would also shatter the island wouldn't it? Is there some kind of mystical force at play here? I mean Robotnik did free a water monster called 'The God of Destruction' from here. Possibly all the force of impact was diverted to the water purely for the wave it would make? It… makes sense, about as much sense as wild guessing on my part would make in any case.'
The two treasure hunters had now taken out climbing tools and were ascending the side of Angel Island. I watched them climb for a minute more before fast forwarding the recording to where the current feed was. The two had in that time ascended the cliff wall and were no doubt now traveling through the wilderness of Angel Island. After a few moments I directed one of the observation drones to seek them out and keep an eye on them. Chances were all I'd see was them nabbing another gold artifact but I was interested in this chance meeting all the same.
And now back to the crisis that concerns me.
What further advantage could I possibly leverage? Merely leveling the playing field is unacceptable. Sighing I stood up and walked up to the bridge windows. Scratching my suddenly itchy ears I considered what I was facing again. GUN forces would have training and numbers whereas I'd have superior technology and badniks. But we'd be up in the air, it wouldn't be like captaining a boat in the water and being able to just board the enemy… couldn't it?
Suddenly remembrance hit me like a lightning bolt and I ceased scratching my ears.
"The Ancient Etruscans and their answer to the naval superiority of the Phonicians." I commented aloud, feeling a lot less anxious.
I had a plan, here's hoping it survives contact with the enemy.
Abraham Tower
'No doubt about it, this is enemy action.'
Below, the command personnel monitored various feeds from around the world but most of them were focused on the North Arcadian west coast. Some damage was being reported in Central and South Arcadia but it was less coastal devastation and more boats being ran ashore. The lack of destruction across the entirety of the west coast had garbled initial conclusions but the sudden communication difficulties with Sation Square had my hackles up. It could have been the result of damages from the tsunami but from all accounts the wave hadn't gone that far inland. The damage wasn't as severe for it to be a repeat of Angel Island but that didn't mean I dismissed the possibility. Despite it being a big floating rock in the sky the flying island wasn't easy to keep anything but direct line of sight on. Something about it just disrupted all means of electronic detection and the clouds didn't do the spy satellites any favors.
'Angel Island was scheduled to be near the coast at this time, if it fell there wouldn't just be a tsunami. The impact would have been felt by half the world. But what seismic activity there was, was far too weak to create the tsunami that hit Station Square. Confirmation on Angel Island's position will come soon enough, we'll go from there.'
There was the sound of a door opening and dress shoes clicking on the floor. I didn't turn away from the glass barrier between me and the control room. The video streams on the far screens were too important to turn entirely away from. You never know if an easily missed detail could be caught, hard evidence of anything was the most important thing you could have.
"Commander Tower, sir! We have an urgent report from the Station Square Police Department!"
'Not from our own dispatched forces.' I mused, already mentally taking this as proof of my earlier thought.
"Go on, Captain."
"We have confirmation that Angel Island fell during the night, Sir." The Captain continued. "Analysts say its proximity to the coast when it fell would explain the lesser severity of the tsunami though they can't explain why there was so little seismic activity from the impact. But not only that, sir. The convoy was attacked, leaving only civilian survivors to bring back news."
This time I looked back at the Captain over my shoulder. Black shoes nearly glittering with a perfect polish, immaculate blue uniform so harshly starched he probably could stand upright without trying. Cleanly shaven and blonde hair cut to exact regulation crew cut. The man looked military to the core and probably bled GUN blue. His one personal touch to his appearance was the insistence of wearing his sunglasses even when indoors.
'What a fucking tryhard.'
Never did like the man. In my experience, men like Westwood often used the veneer of being a good and 'by the book' soldier to hide their unfettered ambition. You keep a man like that too close and you end up having to demote officers who 'suddenly' became incompetent, and now you have a gap in your command staff and a soldier who is, on paper, perfect for promotion. But much as I wanted to 'promote' the man to a far and out of the way posting, Westwood was still genuinely competent. Even poisoned chalices like him had a use in these times so I'd just have to keep him even closer then I'd like
"Eggman, then?" I said.
"Eggman has yet to be spotted, sir." Captain Westwood answered. "But it was definitely his machines that attacked the convoy and there are reported sightings of them in the city as well. And furthermore sir, the civilians state there was a mobian in command of the force that attacked the convoy."
"... Was it a rabbit?"
"According to the civilians, yes sir."
"Hmm…" I turned back to the control room, considering everything I heard. "Captain, tell SCOPE to give further weight to Dan's reports from Eggman's territory."
"The former Colonel reported a mobian commanding Eggman's machines, sir?" I never could tell if Westwood's silent insistence on calling Dan, 'Former Colonel' was a dig at me or not. The Captain was so slimy he went back around again looking like a polite and professional officer.
"Yes, dismissed Captain."
"Sir!" With a click of his heels I heard Westwood quickly stride away.
It was a bit galling to acknowledge anything coming from Dan Jeon. Part of it was my first encounter with the man on the Space Colony being a bit much for the little boy I'd been at the time. The rest of it was more professional, Dan was everything about the old GUN I hated. A savage black ops doorkicker for the politicians and nothing more. But… like Westwood, Dan was genuinely competent and it was on me for ignoring anything he offered freely.
I sat down in my seat and thumbed the radio.
"Coms, this is Commander Tower." I stated. "Get Captain Jet and Colonel Agate on the horn."
There was an acknowledgement and I sat back and waited. It didn't take long before a video call appeared on the glass before me. The first to answer my call was Captain Jennifer Jet, she stood smartly in her navy BDU, black hair tightly bound in a bun and the bridge of her vessel visible behind her. I could see the ocean through the bridge windows and vessels sailing in the distance.
"Commander Tower, sir!" She saluted.
"Captain Jet, I'm going to need to reassign you away from supporting the flotilla's rescue efforts."
Jet furrowed her brows and was about to ask a question when she was interrupted by the ring of someone joining the call. A moment later a screen opened with the image of Colonel Agate.
Colonel Bruce L. Agate, a tall bulky ginger haired man. He wore a dark leather bomber jacket with actual fur in the lining over his air force BDU, not exactly regulation but an officer of his rank was allowed their minor luxuries. Also not regulation was his full though neatly combed beard and wearing the peaked cap of his dress uniform while on duty. But on top of being an officer of rank he was also a good man so I let him have his frivolities, not that Captain Jet seemed to feel the same with the way she was subtly side eyeing him. Behind him a bridge that looked not too dissimilar from my control room twinkled with electronic lights.
"Commander Tower." He saluted.
"Colonel Agate, I need to pull you off hunting ghosts in the FCZ."
"Whatever for, Commander?" The Colonel asked. "Scouts on the ground have been talking with locals and we've managed to make a breakthrough."
"Hmm… it'll have to wait, we have a situation in Station Square." I began.
Wish I could assign more to this but the wider destruction from the tsunami demanded attention, this would have to do for now.
-TBC-
Author Note: A faster and shorter update this time though I could have been faster.
Reginald's first airbattle next chapter, will his cribbing notes from ancient naval battles work in the clouds? We'll be finding out soon enough. And Commander Tower makes his first appearance along with another face from the comics I VERY MUCH do not like and hate the fact he essentially got away with everything. Not that I'm going to go out of the way to give him the ax, a character you can reliably hate has its uses after all.