'1x Hero Unit Capsule, an extra 1,000 Source Points, and 1x Vulture Gunship... In exchange for the termination of a thousand aberrants in the surroundings.' Duke silently thought to himself while halting his advance towards the mechanical round table where the Sentinels stood.
He expected a mission to emerge during the operation briefing and meeting. What he didn't expect was the rewards it would give him. He didn't know what a Hero Unit Capsule was. But from its words alone, it might suggest a Hero Summoning Capsule.
The capsule would probably grant him the ability to summon Hero Units like the usual of Real-Time Strategy Games. Hero Units were monster units that could aid him in numerous ways.
They might increase troops' efficiency, have the source point's rewards higher, lower the maintenance time, and sometimes give discounts on cost within the purchase. In simpler terms, the Hero Units were good cheats. Some of them might even be the wonder weapons of a faction.
There was also the extra 1,000 Source Points reward. He was lacking in terms of funding, and he needed whatever source point he could get. So, the additional source point reward was a blessing to the poor Director.
With it, he wouldn't have to keep thinking about ways to feed his precious Sentinels.
And finally, the last reward of the termination mission was a gunship of some sort. It was the Vulture Gunship. He didn't know what it looked like, but since it was a gunship. It would probably be an aircraft.
Having an air unit under his command will lessen the pressure of any threats the Cerberus War Machine would face. Of course, that was if the Cerberus had complete control of the airspace. He hadn't met a single flying mutated beast, but he'd rather avoid meeting one with his aircraft broken.
'A requirement of a thousand terminated aberrants and 50% fewer casualties. I don't know what it suggests, but if the risks and rewards are correlational. I'll have to make more preparations and strategies for this operation.' Duke furrowed his eyebrows and thought to himself.
He wasn't a military man who knew the ins and outs of the art of war. But he was a survivor. He knew the best about how to stay alive in the Dark Cataclysmic Era. And staying alive was what he wanted from his Sentinels.
Duke arrived at the round mechanical table where the holographic map of the 10-kilometer surrounding radius was presented. The Sentinels in front of him were armed and ready for the operation.
Aleph and Bet walked towards him and stood beside their Director while the others surrounded the round mechanical table. It was time for the military briefing for the hunting operation to start.
He glances at the Sentinels with an aloof expression plastered on his face. After a short while, he calmly uttered at the Sentinels. "Shall we start the mission briefing?" The Sentinels nodded in acceptance. Their ears perked up, wanting to listen to the words of their Director.
"Well then, the mission briefing will start."
"The mission codename will be Black Hammer. We will strike them hard and fast in this operation. Our targets will be nearby settlements. Which will get separated into Target A, B, C, and D."
Duke pointed at a location in the holographic map. It was southeast of the headquarters and was a small village of a hundred people. This was the first target of the operation, Target A.
"The small village was constructed a few months ago as the southern shelter. But it was overrun by an aberrant horde and fell under the grasp of the night. It's the nearest to us and the safest target of the operation."
Afterward, he pointed at another location in the holographic map. It settled west of the headquarters and was a tiny warehouse in nowhere. The location was the second target of the operation, Target B.
"This tiny warehouse was a former bastion of the Goshen County. There were tons of supplies stored here before the fall of humanity. Because of this, it became a settlement in the south of Goshen County. Unfortunately, it also fell due to the migration of an aberrant horde."
Then, Duke placed his fingers into a new location in the holographic map. The location resided in the northwest of the Cerberus Headquarters. It was a middle-sized village with a probable population of a thousand before the dark Cataclysmic Era. This was the third target, Target C.
"Hawk Springs, an intriguing village that fell during the first weeks of the Dark Cataclysmic Era. I heard some things about the former inhabitants of Hawk Springs. Most of them told me that the people there escaped to the highway. None wanted to stay, so it fell almost immediately."
"But nonetheless, it was a village with a population of a thousand. Even with the migration of aberrants and survivors, there should be hundreds of aberrants trapped there."
"And finally, this place." Duke pointed at the final location of the operation in the holographic map. His fingers were pointed almost entirely north of the headquarters. It was a large settlement with a former large population. It was none other than the New Torrington.
The Sentinels were unsurprised after seeing the New Torrington as their final target. It was well beyond the scope of a dozen kilometers. But the same could be said for Target B and C. New Torrington was the former settlement where their Director resided.
It wasn't farfetched for the Director to desire its recapture.
"The settlement of New Torrington. This is where we escaped from. With the commotion we have caused there, one can expect several aberrants scattered throughout the devastated encampment. It will be a dangerous and long journey, but the settlement contains information."
"We didn't have the chance to scour it before, though we'll get our chance in this operation. So, does anyone have any objections to our targets?"
Duke questioned the Sentinels in front of him. Ever since the long journey to the headquarters, he had been thinking about the places he should assault, especially with the introduction of source points. The holographic map only made it apparent to him, so the locations were easy to choose.
None of the Sentinels stated their objections to the target locations of the operation. The objective was to cleanse the target locations of aberrant filth and liberate it from the clutches of the Dark Cataclysmic Era. There were no complications with the targets that their Director had chosen.
Seeing the silence of the Sentinels, Duke nodded in satisfaction and continued with the briefing. The next thing they were about to discuss were the platoon Alpha and Bravo. It was mainly about the squad structuring of the platoons.
"Now that our target locations have been considered. We'll talk about the next agenda of our briefing. It is about the structuring of the Sentinels." He aloofly stated. He needed to solidify the military structure of the Sentinels. After all, it would be problematic if the chain of command gets hindered.
"I will be creating eight squads with four of them under a single platoon. Each squad will have eight squad members and a squad leader. In simpler terms, nine Sentinels in one squad. Also, there will be two extra squads directly under platoon leaders. These squads will have four members."
"The extra squads within the command of the platoon leaders will be the logistic squads. They will be the handlers of a platoon. They are mainly for logistics and management. One can consider them the direct subordinates of a platoon leader."
"The importance they hold in the military is no less than that of Sentinels on the frontlines. They will be the blood of the Cerberus War Machine. The heart that will make the machinery of Cerberus keep pumping." It was a long remark about the squads and the logistics of the Sentinels.
But Duke wasn't lying about the words that had escaped his mouth. Logistics were the lifeline of any military in the world. Its importance was equal to that of the chain of command. The complicated transportation and delivery of basic necessities and supplies were principal to Cerberus.
"This will be the temporary structure of the Cerberus Military and will be subject to change in the future. Does any of you have objections to this plan of mine?" He calmly questioned and glanced at the surrounding Sentinels, who found themselves deep in thought.
Alpha and Bravo, the two platoons of Cerberus. Each platoon will have four squads, along with one logistic squad, under the direction of the platoon leader. The platoons will probably accommodate 40 Sentinels in its grasp. It was larger than usual but quite enough for the Cerberus.
"We have no objections, Director. The Sentinels will follow the Cerberus Military Structure." Aleph responded with Bet nodding in acceptance. "The structure is simple and efficient for the current state of Cerberus. As expected of the great lord, Director."
And while accepting the military structure, Bet didn't hesitate to deliver some remarks of reverence to his grand Director. Duke wryly smiled after hearing him and quietly ignored Bet's last words.
At any rate, inside his mind, he was relieved. Despite maintaining a degree of aloofness outside, he was slightly nervous about their reactions, especially regarding how merciless they were.
"Since there are no objections, let's continue, shall we?" With the conclusion of the target locations and the military structure of Cerberus, it was time to discuss strategies. Aberrant hordes were dangerous to handle. And without any appropriate planning. Casualties will emerge.
"Why don't we discuss strategies against aberrants and mutated beasts?" A smile formed on Duke's face as the Sentinels nodded and began discussing the strategies they had in mind. The discussion was somewhat long, about half an hour. It was the longest part of the briefing.
The ideas of the Sentinels were simple and complicated. Most of them thought about the logistics and the efficiency of their strategies. So they weren't problematic to carry out. But, there was a problem in terms of their mindset. There was too much sacrifice.
During the discussion, Duke always reminded them to lower the casualties to none. It doesn't matter if the strategy's efficiency would be affected. The Sentinels had to change their ideas of warfare in the middle of the meeting under the pressure of their Director.
His reasoning was their expensiveness. The funds of the Cerberus were low, so he didn't want them to waste the resources and funding of the organization. However, this reason was merely a distraction. It affected the Sentinels greatly.
After the tiny obstacle of mindset, the discussion continued. It took some time. But the strategy the Sentinels ended up with was somewhat simple. It mainly used the grenade launchers of the Vanguards to attract the aberrants into an open area, which would become a kill zone.
The Sentinels will use the kill zone to terminate most of the aberrants in the area. Afterward, the squads will start cleansing the nearby surroundings with cautiousness deep in mind. If variables emerge, the platoon leaders will be contacted, and a plan will be made depending on the threat.
It wasn't a bad strategy, and it was in line with the thoughts of Duke. At the very least, the Sentinels weren't using themselves as bait.
Anyhow, after cleansing the entirety of a target location. The Sentinels will start restocking their supplies, ammunition, and equipment. Repairs and recovery of vehicles and personnel will also be done. The moment the target resolution ends. The Sentinels will continue to the next one.
"Now that we have a strategy in mind. Why don't we start the operation?" It was time to start the cleansing operation. The rewards will be abundant, and he will say goodbye to bankruptcy. Unless, of course, he goes through a purchasing spree in the Doomsday Mall.
Which he will not do, right?
As the Director, there's no way he'll become bad at managing his wallet. He was confident in his wealth management. The near bankruptcy situation will never happen again.
Or so the poor Director thought.