In the field command center in New Sara, Caity faced most of the Phasewalker High Command. She just gave a briefing of the current situation of Camp York to some of the high-ranking officers who weren't too familiar with the situation.
With all but one of its high tier Mutants dead, Camp York was a vulnerable target. A target that the Phasewalker Corps would seize for themselves. Caity was the one to start.
"Our goal is to take Camp York and, in the process, eliminate all opposing forces. That includes anyone from Tier 2 Mutant Caleb to the basic survivors in the camp that choose to resist our advance. Exercise lethal force if necessary. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir!"
"As of the moment, we have 2,800 Phasewalkers, 800 Rebirth Troopers, and 3,000 Alpha Troopers." Caity glanced at Katherine and Leon, both of whom have received the same treatment as Zhao and Taylor. To ensure their loyalty, they were taken to Earth. When they returned, their faith was amplified.
Only by standing by the Phasewalker Corps and Colonel Hunter could World Alpha finally be saved. Turn away from this light of salvation, and all would be lost.
Caity went on.
"Major Fox and the 5th Motorized Battalion will remain at Fortress Alpha. The 4th Alpha Battalion and the 2nd Rebirth Battalion will remain in New Sara. Both of these locations are invaluable to our cause. I am entrusting them to your care."
Major Fox, Major Taylor, and Major Leon all nodded. Fortress Alpha was obviously central to the Phasewalker cause. New Sara was home to most of the 10,000 locals. The Phasewalkers have established fortifications, as well as worked to bring the local manufacturing plants back online. This way, the Phasewalkers could produce their own weapons and armors instead of salvaging them. It was crucial to the Corps as well.
Just these two places occupied 1,900 locals and 700 Phasewalkers.
"Part of our reason to seize Camp York is for its people. Therefore, our tactics will be using lightning war to destroy the factors of opposition, and then use a large force to force a surrender."
"As such, the 1st Armored and the 3rd Artillery will approach Camp York from the North. The 4th Motorized will circle around and move into position at the South of Camp York. 1st Rebirth and 3rd Alpha. These two units will flank Camp York from its East and West sides. I want Camp York to be fully surrounded."
"As for the Mutants, Eric…" Caity snapped at Eric. After being demoted to a Private, Eric was actually able to work his way back up the ranks until eventually making it to the head of the Stasis Troopers. Quite a feat. "Lieutenant Hemingway, you will work with Major Riley. All the Stasis Troopers, along with the 2nd Airborne, will be dropped into Camp York via Arbiter X and attack choppers."
"During their time in Camp York, Commissar Charlotte and her squad of Security Troopers have recorded and returned precious information on the layouts of Camp York and its defenses. Camp York has limited anti-air capabilities, nothing the Arbiter X can't handle. And here," She passed a piece of paper to the two officers.
"This is the marked location of one Tier 2 and 21 Tier 1 Mutant in Camp York, along with 3 high ranking officers in the York military, including its commander, General Johnson. Your job is to divide your forces into squads and terminate them all before the York forces can react."
"Once these kills have been confirmed, the rest of our forces will converge on Camp York. If things go well, without a leader in place, all the York forces will lower their weapons."
"And if things don't go well?" Eric questioned, despite already knowing the answer.
"If things don't go well, whether it is because the assassinations are unsuccessful or because the York forces refuse to yield, then we will take the camp by force." Caity's gaze was fierce as she tapped several spots on the map.
"The 2nd Airborne and the 3rd Artillery will fire on any points of resistance. If it is necessary, our F-22s will be called in. When the resistance is weakened enough, our armor will push forward into the camp. Of course, if that's the case, there will be plenty of casualties, mostly on their side. Therefore, it is preferred that our Plan A works well."
"Any questions?"
The officers shook their heads.
"Then let's move. It is 16:00 now. Operation starts at 1:00, but we need to start moving at 23:00 today. Get your troops ready."
1:00 AM in the morning. The Phasewalkers wanted to take Camp York completely by surprise.
As the officers left, Caity turned back to Ryan with a victorious look.
"See? We don't need to use the Mutated Animals to win." She still remembered when Ryan proposed unleashing the entire horde of Mutated Ants on Camp York.
But Ryan wasn't as convinced.
"Apollo and his fellow Mutants in Camp York killed each other. That made it easy for us, but sooner or later, Caity, we will meet a faction more competent than Camp York. What will we do then?"
"We will find a way."
Ryan nodded slowly.
Perhaps...
---
The barracks at New Sara were quickly sprung into action. Tank crews did some more examinations on their vehicles. Machine gunners checked their Defender-IIs or Gauss Machineguns one last time. Ammos was getting loaded into Predator II and Leopards. Gasoline was pumped into vehicles and aircrafts that would be part of the operation.
But perhaps, most importantly, troopers were busy adjusting their mentalities to one of war. The Phasewalkers had professional Commissars for the new Generation IV Phasewalkers. The Alpha troopers, on the other hand, were a little lacking in that regard.
A few troopers were sitting around a bonfire, checking their Defender-I when one of them suddenly posted a question.
"Why are we fighting another group of survivors? Those damn Mutant animals took away our home and slaughtered our families. Shouldn't we be busy killing them?"
The conversation immediately grew a little quiet. No one wanted to answer that, not because they had no answer, but rather because they didn't dare speak up and risk saying the wrong thing. That first Alpha trooper bit his lips. Suddenly, another trooper spoke up.
It was David, the survivor Eric and the other Stasis Troopers rescued from New Sara.
"Why do you care? Fortress Alpha and Colonel Hunter feed us. If they tell us to kill God, I will pull the trigger myself!"
David used to be a religious person, but when all hell went loose, God didn't save him or his family. God wasn't there when countless were ripped to shreds, nor was he there when female survivors were assaulted and raped by their male counterparts. To him, God was long dead.
"Yeah, but...aren't you even a little curious?"
"Nope. Can curiosity give me food and shelter?"
That was when a feminine voice cut in.
"Actually, the man asked a good question."
The troopers snapped around and found themselves facing Major Katherine of the 3rd Alpha Support Battalion.
The men immediately stood up and saluted. This wasn't what they were used to, but just days after being organized into the Support Battalions, several Commissars were dispatched over from the Phasewalker Battalions. Tasked with turning the survivors from a mob into an army, these Commissars instilled a whole set of rules and orders in the ordinary survivors, along with a set of punishments for those who failed to obey those rules.
There were dissents. There were questions. But eventually, after the Phasewalker Commissars held their ground and punished those who questioned their instructions, there was only obedience.
"At ease."
Katherine replied quietly. As the men sat back down, Katherine scanned the group before starting to talk.
"Once upon a time, our people dominated the planet. We have reached unification. Our populations were in the billions. Our starfleets once sailed across the galaxy! We put extensions of our civilization on Mars!" She exclaimed emotionally.
"And now? What have we fallen to now? Our cities are in ruins, infested by the foul Mutants that have been preying on the flesh of our people for a whole year! Our military is in ruins! Our law and order are gone! Even our once proud civilization...exists only in the form of tiny groups of survivors!"
Gradually, more and more Alpha Troopers found themselves attracted to what Katherine was saying. They slowly strolled over and joined the audience.
"I know many of you joined the Support Battalions because you were looking after yourselves. Maybe you were after the rations. Maybe it was the comforting feeling of holding onto a rifle. But what's the point? Tell me, what's the point of just being alive in a world like this? Tell me, one day, do you really want to look your sons and daughters in the eye, and the only thing you can tell them is how proud the human civilization used to be in this world?"
"Or instead, are you perfectly content with how you have spent the last year? Living...no! Hiding in underground garages or behind the walls of apartment complexes. Living off your life by scavenging the remains of our proud cities, remains that will sooner or later run out."
Katherine was a small woman. She was no more than a teenager, but she has always been one of the smarter and more mature ones. The year of torment truly changed her. She found herself a cause, and she wasn't afraid to spread that cause to those around her. Despite her petite figure, she radiated power and conviction.
"Or do you want to say 'no more'! The era for humanity to suffer in silence is over! From now on, humanity fights back! From now on, we will fight back! With our planes and tanks and rifles and teeth and nails, we will rally behind Colonel Hunter's banners, and we will retake our cities from those Mutants! We will retake our planets from those Mutants! We were the ones to lose the planet, and now, we will be the ones to take it back!"
"We will all die someday. Such is the nature of humanity. But tell me, which one do you prefer? Do you want to die alone, in a cold dark corner of the city, unmourned and unsung, or do you want to go down fighting in a blaze of glory for a cause greater than yourself, knowing that your descendants will be honored by your name!"
Katherine turned back to the Alpha Trooper who first asked that question.
"So, why are we turning on our fellow survivors? We can't retake Earth alone. First, we must rally every force humanity has to offer. Right now, Camp York is led by a tyrant who rose to power by butchering his own kind." Katherine snickered in disgust.
"He was fortunate to be a Tier 2 Mutant and the leader of thousands of survivors, yet instead of using his power and authority to spread the glory of mankind, he chose to dwell in his castle, feasting on luxuries while his own people, his own kind, starved to death outside the walls!"
"Someone like that, he doesn't deserve his authority or his power. He is a stain of humanity! He doesn't even deserve to live! For people like that, for the scourges of our kind who choose to rejoice while our world burns and our people suffer, we only have one thing to offer."
"Death!"
She waved her hand.
"In the name of Colonel Caity Hunter and Fortress Alpha, we will relieve him of his authority and his life. We will rescue those who have suffered under false tyrants for too long, and we will set them on a proper path!"
"For our world! For our people! For...Colonel Hunter!"
Across the bonfire where Katherine gave her speech, hundreds of Alpha Troopers cheered.
Right next to her, even David found himself reflecting on himself. Once upon a time, he was proud of the United Earth Confederation. When he watched the UEC Space Fleet patrol the orbit of Earth, he cheered. When lines and lines of Predator II strolled across the streets, he cheered. He has been so far away from any semblance of order and stability that he almost forgot how it felt.
He has even given in to the apocalypse. He has given up all hope for a better world. All he had in mind was keeping himself alive. Nothing else mattered. To survive, he has allowed himself to give up the pride of being a human, to descend into an animal who would slay his own just to live another day.
But for a moment, as he looked at Major Loris, he saw hope. Hope for a brave new time where humanity, once more, dominated the planet.
Perhaps following Colonel Hunter was indeed the right call.
---
A distance away, Caity Hunter stood in silence. The sound of Alpha Troopers cheering could distinctly be heard.
But the Colonel wasn't impressed. Well, she was impressed by what Katherine was able to do, but at the same time, she felt guilty.
Despite what Katherine might think, the Phasewalker Corps wasn't here to help the Alpha locals retake World Alpha. It was here to make sure Earth, their Earth, stood tall against all threats. All the Support Battalions, Alpha and Rebirth alike, were created to make up for the lack of Phasewalker numbers.
In a sense, they were just expendable cannon fodders. They would bleed their last drop of blood for the Phasewalker Corps, a Corps that was never designed to protect their interest.
What she was doing with Katherine was manipulation. Caity took a broken, young woman, and she twisted her into a weapon of propaganda. It was something she would be disgusted by a few months ago, but now, she was watching the events unfold with a cold look.
But what terrified Caity wasn't how much guilt she felt. It was how much guilt she didn't feel. This was something that she should be losing sleep over, but right now, as disturbed as Caity was, she was able to easily get over it. It was good, on the surface, but if you looked at things on a deeper level…
If she could betray a girl who saw her as the lord and savior. If she could watch as thousands of people, people who trusted their lives to her, get coerced into dying for a lie without batting an eye, then would she still be the champion of humankind that she was supposed to be? Or would she be a different monster altogether?
In fact, at that point, would she still fight for humanity? Would she even care? Perhaps at that point, human lives would just be numbers to her. Numbers that didn't hold any sentimental meaning.
Would a world like that be something she was willing to fight, to die, for?
That thought terrified her.