Page 207 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

Prime Alpha Zero enters, followed by Jason and Shade. The Prime Alpha commanders file in behind them with the Communications and Logistics specialists close behind. Chairs scrape, datapads light up, and the low murmur of side conversations cuts off once everyone takes their place.

Halley does not step back from my desk when they enter.

She stays where she is at my right side, steady and completely certain of her place. Nobody questions it or so much as glances twice. One of the Communications specialists passes her a datapad with the latest intercept summaries before he even acknowledges me.

I notice.

So does everyone else.

As General of Blackgate Fortress, I sit at the top of the chain of command, but after what Halley did in the battle, no one in this room doubts her value.

Prime Alpha Zero drops into the seat opposite us and gives Halley a brief nod, still unable to make eye contact with her, his guilt a heavy weight he carries. "Omega Specialist Sparks."

Halley returns it with a warm smile. "Prime Alpha Zero."

The room quiets fully, and twenty pairs of eyes turn toward my desk.

"Specialist Shade, begin with an update from Comms."

Shade, seated beside Jason, opens his datapad. "I’ve updated the spread projections from yesterday’s communication intercepts. They’re in the shared folder for this briefing."

Tapping sounds fill the room as everyone uses their datapad to pull up the reports.

Jason adds, "Automated surveillance is already running on the new rotation schedule."

Good.

Shade and Jason have spent the last few weeks building a surveillance network that closes one of General Stone’s most dangerous gaps in Blackgate’s defenses. Cameras now monitor the vulnerable roads and mountain paths around the clock, flagging movement in Communications.

Before this, constant surveillance cost us manpower, which made it easier for an exhausted soldier to miss something important. Now the cameras will share that burden, shortening rotations and allowing my soldiers to recover between shifts.

Honestly, I have enough self-awareness now to know that a year ago, I would have called exhaustion the price of readiness and expected everyone under my command to pay it without complaint. Now I know better, thanks to Halley changing me.

Saving Blackgate, and Blackreach by extension, isn't worth it if everything good worth living for has been stripped away.

I fold my hands on the desk and bring my focus back to the room.

"Good," I say aloud. "I want patrols used where judgment is required, not wasted standing in the cold to prove they can endure it."

A few of the commanders nod. A year ago, I know they would also have thought of it as coddling, but after only a few weeks, they've begun to accept my new way of leading.

I glance to my right. "Omega Specialist Sparks. Your assessment of the status of your Omega Command."

Halley does not hesitate. The Omega Command is hers, and with only some very gentle nudging from me, she's accepted all responsibility for monitoring and assessing it. "The retreat is still holding as of this morning, but it's not stable. Their leaders don't remember the reason for the invasion, and right now, they are confused."

Intercepted communications paint the same picture. Their command structure is in disarray. Units are requesting directions that never come, their officers are contradicting each other, and entire chains of command appear to be circling the same question without anyone able to answer it.

Why are they here?

The answer used to be us.

Now it's gone from their collective memory.

Halley continues, "Someone will eventually make sense of the confusion the Command has created, identify the memory gap, and trace it back to us. When they do, they’ll come back harder and with more caution. That means we need to continue to prepare for attacks in the future."

She is right.

"That is our operating assumption," I say, looking around the room. "We stay ready, preserve the welfare of our people first, and prepare to defend ourselves when they return. We have the Omega Command online now, so our strategy will need refining in the coming weeks. Now, let's dig into how we're going to do that."