“Right after those beasts were let loose, some scuttle bots followed them before a white box came out of the roof and the mortars began aiming. We ducked for cover before they went off, but there were no Gremlins up there manning the guns. It was all automatic.”

Balldrick nodded along, as I explained. Zimthose and Lance must have noticed our absence, because they were right on our heels. Quiet, thankfully. As we headed back up the hill, we went prone and crawled as we neared the peak, Zimthose managing to do so with the dust bunny still in his arms. As we arrived at the top, the only thing we could hear now was the shuffle of our armor as we moved into position, and the sight before us was drastically different from before.

The small stretch of open field between the forest and the facility was untouched, and the scuttle bots from before were walking back to the open doors of the building. It was the forest that did not fare so well.

We didn’t need any help seeing that four large patches of charred earth were now present, with flames fighting to find more parts of the forest to consume. Three of the zones were spaced out over a central area, and one was much closer to our current position, but a ways off to our right.

“So what exactly happened? Figures they did something as soon as I passed the binoculars off,” Lance grumbled.

“I thought I was caught, at first,” Balldrick said. “I just picked up Bigsby and ran. Figured you guys would be watching in my stead.”

“Please don’t call it by name…” Lance grumbled.

The Dust Bunny let out a short chirpy noise before it began purring. Zimthose was stroking its head again.

“Okay, forget the bunny. Blast was saying something about beasts before the alarms blared right?” Lance asked. “Where’d they go? They should have come across us by now, unless…”

We took a look over the forest before us once more, but saw nothing. I looked through the binoculars to try for a better visual, but quickly put them back down.

“They’re… everywhere,” I said with a shudder. “That wasn’t just a weapons test. It was target practice. And I don’t see any survivors…”

““No!”” Lance and my brother replied, just below a shout. Zimthose pounded the earth, and Bigsby let out a scared chirp.

“How messed up are they gonna get?!” He held the dust bunny in one arm while he punched the ground a few more times. He cursed again as he got up, and began marching to the facility with Bigsby under one arm.

“Zim, don’t be rash!” Lance said, getting up after him.

“What, you want to stay and wait to see them do it again?” he asked. “I’m heading to the west side. Or east, wherever. I’m gonna figure out how to break in, get that data, and set free any more beasts they’ve got imprisoned, whether I’m doing it alone with Bigsby or not.”

“I get how you feel, Zim, but wait just a moment!” I called out. We were all on our feet now. Checking the roof, I could see nothing had changed since the mortar strike. The box was still at the edge of the roof, and there were still no Gremlins in sight. “We’ve got no idea when or where it’ll fire again. If you head out now, you could just be walking into another pack of mortars. I hate the idea of using innocent creatures as bait, but are you gonna take those kinds of hits in their place?”

“Well what are we supposed to do then? Just wait?”

“Yes.” Balldrick’s reply was blunt. “Zim– No, all of you. I’ll be frank. You guys are getting a bit too emotional. Lately, it’s been a lot more than usual, and it’s getting worse.” We were all quiet at that. Nobody could argue his point. “I’m not gonna say things are falling apart without Silver, but obviously things are different. Right now, Blast is Squad Lead. Zimthose, you and the rest of us move on his command, or with his permission.”

“Oh please, he’s as much a Squad Lead right now as I could be!” he replied.

“You’d just get us in trouble we’d never get out of,” Lance interjected. “At least Blast tries to think things through, and doesn’t immediately get attached to something all because it’s a little cute! Even if we’re in over our heads, at least we know Blast will be rational instead of telling us to charge in blind and hope for the best.”

“It’s that kind of delayed action that’ll get us killed some day! You ever hear of ‘paralysis by analysis’?”

“Enough!” I shouted. Maybe a bit too loudly. But this back and forth, the praise and degradation, were getting to be a bit too much. “Look, I get it. I know, okay? I’m not Silver. I’ll never be the same Squad Lead we’re all used to. That we all looked to for that assurance, safety, and supportiveness. I’m not the same kind of warrior he was, and I’m not as fast on my feet or with my train of thought.” I looked at my squadmates, meeting their eyes. Lance, scared. Zimthose, angry. Balldrick, shut and hidden.

I thought back to everyone we’d talked with just today, everyone who had helped and was waiting for us to return. Kora, and her faith in us. Plinkop, and his gratitude. Rhendon, and his desperation. Even Kozma, and her rambunctious, cheery attitude. 

I sighed, closing my eyes and forcing myself to continue. “Silver had faith in me. In us. And I’ll be damned if Wolver Squad gives up now, when so many people are counting on us. We’ve only just started this mission, and I’ve been given the role of Squad Lead. So please, guys… lend me your support. Let me lean on you, and I’ll do everything I can do to return the favor.”

The hill was quiet for a minute. I opened my eyes finally. Lance and Balldrick nodded, while my brother rolled his eyes, clapping sarcastically. Bigsby made no noise as he sat now perched on Zimthose’s left shoulder.

“Zim–” Lance started, but I raised my hand to cut him off.

“Zimthose. What do you want to do?” I asked. My brother stopped clapping and looked at me, confused. 

“I’m sorry, I thought I was supposed to shut up and be a pillar for you to lean on? Support the snowflake, keep him from melting?” The sarcasm was still heavy, but I breathed a sigh of relief that he was communicating at least.

“No. I mean, yes, but not literally. I’m asking you to give me your input. I won’t– can’t have all the answers. So I need you guys to help me out from time to time, like right now. So, again, what do you want to do?”

My brother crossed his arms, shrugging.

“Kick some ass, I guess. And take Bigsby back home.”

“No kidding,” I said. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh at that. “We all want to kick some ass! And as long as he behaves, I’ve no qualms with Bigsby. But how do you plan on getting past a series of mortars that have miles of range? Or the rotating guards, gun puppies, and scuttle bots?” I turned to the other two knights to my right. “What about you, Lance?” The Tech Knight thought for a moment, rubbing his eyes.

“If you’ll accept having a pet on the field, fine. Maybe you can write it off as a new Battle Sprite, or something.” He dropped to the ground, criss crossing his legs. “Regarding the operation, I hate to say it, but until we figure out their firing schedule, we can’t risk getting close. I say we keep scouting until we can make sure we don’t need to worry about being under fire, whether it’s meant for us or not.”

I nodded. “Balldrick?”

“I second that. But while Lance and Zimthose will be breaking and entering, you and I should come up with a plan in case things go bad. We can enter the same way after them, cause a scene or distraction of some kind from outside, whatever. But we can’t just wait around twiddling our thumbs, obviously.”

“Of course. I’d prefer it if all they needed was us to turn the guards’ attention away from the facility for a minute, if they’re going to need help at all. But sounds good.” I turned back to my brother. “Back to you, Zimthose. What say you?”

“...How far do our short range comms work?”

“We can go about ten miles max over uninterrupted distances,” Lance answered. “In this forest, probably eight or seven miles.”

“Then let’s split up,” Zimthose said, “Lance and I scout one side, Blast and Balldrick take the other. We’ll meet on the other side of the facility, and go from there. It’s faster than checking all sides one at a time.”

“Everything’s always gotta be fast with you, huh?” Lance jabbed.

“He’s right, though,” I said. “I’m fine with that. Just no bickering, and no getting caught yet. Even if that means leaving Bigsby behind. I’m sure he’ll manage just fine by himself,” I said. Zimthose didn’t meet my gaze. 

“If we maintain the same distance from the facility as we are now, we should have no problems staying hidden,” Balldrick said. “We’ll also stay within communication range. Good thinking, Zim.”

“Good thinking for Zim, you mean,” Lance said, getting back to his feet.

“Drop it,” I ordered. “None of that while we’re gone. Now, squad ready?”

Everyone nodded. I gave Lance his binoculars back, and we were off.

* * *

“You did well,” Balldrick said, breaking the few minutes of silence. We hadn’t said anything for a while after heading to the west side of the Gremlin’s facility, making sure to stay in the sweet spot between ‘too far for Lance and Zimthose to contact us’, and what we knew to be safely out of range of the mortars.

“I did what well?” I asked. “Every part of that hurt my soul.”

“It wasn’t that bad. Definitely could have been worse.”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it, sure.” I let out a sigh. “Man, I miss Silver.”

“We all do,” Balldrick said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I may not have been on as many missions with Silver as you, Zimthose, and Lance, but he was still an inspiration. And he did a damn good job helping to not just keep you three alive, but training you all to be better knights in general.” A moment passed. “And you did well to pick up what you could about leading a squad.”

“I’m pretty sure I’d have been better off picking up nothing than picking up whatever I did to land in this position.”

We found ourselves in a spot with fewer trees between us and the facility, granting just enough vision to see the edge of the roof.

Maybe one of us should have stayed on the hill, to keep a better visual…

Balldrick was using his binoculars, scanning from side to side without saying a word as I kept an eye on our surroundings. We hadn’t come across anything in the forest so far, which was more worrying than not. No trace of any Gremlins or their constructs, not to mention other beasts like Bigsby. Really hope this isn’t the start of us constantly picking up lone strays…