It gave him a headache, all these voices screaming at him to do something.

To help them.

To make the right decision.

To not get them all killed.

Mirage rubbed his temples, closing his eyes for a brief second before opening them again. They had lost around 250 out of 800 men. Another hundred or so were wounded.

That left only 400 of them. Reinforcements would be there soon, but for now they were all that was left. Ace and his squadron had been on standby and had engaged the enemy pilots.

They were still fighting for control over the skies, but they were slowly gaining ground. Mirage sighed, shifting on his feet.

They were making another advance, hopefully this time the mission was successful. The forces to their East were meeting resistance, several firefights had broken out.

The worst part of all this was Mirage knew this wasn't all Reclaimer had to offer. It would only get worse as they neared the headquarters.

Mirage pushed those thoughts down, not wanting to think about it just yet. Instead he turned his attention to the map spread out before him.

He had marked where the Eastern forces were stationed as of now and where they currently were. They still had a long way to go.

He had deliberated with several of his Platoon Leaders and they had all agreed that they needed to pull support from the additional 3,000 men to the North.

Every shop and building would need to be cleared, if they missed a sniper or squad of men it could spell disaster for the men fighting.

He hadn't been in contact with Oracle since they were attacked, but he guessed he would be hearing from her soon. Mirage knew she had survived without anyone having to tell him.

Now he couldn't think about that however, he had to figure out where they were going to go from where they were.

They had already come to consensus and had contacted the platoons in the North for help. They would be here within seven or eight hours.

By then they should have taken the buildings West of the downtown district. Then they would move into downtown.

That's where Mirage thought they would meet the most resistance. Several roads intersected with one another, roads that were vital for moving vehicles and men back and forth.

Whoever had control over those highways was free to move men wherever they wished via transport vehicles.

Mirage needed to keep the highways to the Southeast under Rogue control as their vehicle support came in.

If they didn't have control that entire unit would be dead before they could do anything to save them and they would be down an important element.

Mirage glanced up when he heard the fighters scream past overhead, the airspace still contested heavily.

That was another huge determining factor as well. Whoever had control of skies knew the other's movements and could easily take out groups of men.

There was a lot of moving parts to this operation, things that needed to stay under their control, areas that were vital to their success.

Mirage knew he could trust his men to carry out orders, he just needed to make the right decisions, a task that was easier said than done.

Mirage looked up as someone walked into the room. One of the medics that had been caring for the wounded had come to give him an update.

"Three hundred and ten were wounded, one hundred and twenty three were able to return to their squads. The other one hundred and seventy-seven are to severely wounded to return."

"How many are dead?" Asked Mirage, fearing the answer.

"Around two hundred and fifty," answered the medic, "the attack took more lives then were first imagined."

Mirage nodded, turning back to the map. Casualties couldn't be avoided but he couldn't help but wonder if he could have done something to protect them.

"Attend to the wounded and keep me updated. We're pulling reinforcements from the North, so we should have more men within the next seven or eight hours."

The medic nodded, thanking Mirage and leaving.

What is he thanking me for? I haven't done anything, they are the ones working to save the wounded, not them. I should be thanking them.

Mirage bit back a sigh, putting his hands to his temples. The headache was worsening and he couldn't afford his mind to be distracted.

"General," crackled a voice.

He turned to where a radio sat on the table, reaching for it.

"Yes?" He answered.

"This sector is captured and secure sir. What are our orders now?"

Mirage was pleasantly surprised when the Platoon Leader said this. It had only been a few hours since they had begun the second push. This would speed things up and keep them moving.

"Stay where you are for now and wait for orders. I'll send them when reinforcements arrive."

"Copied sir." He said.

Mirage set the radio down as the Platoon Leaders disconnected, leaving him alone again. Mirage still found it hard to accept when he was called 'sir' by men five, ten or even twenty years his senior.

How he had come in to the position of General was certainly not ideal, and he had had to prove his worth before many of the Captains, Lieutenants and Platoon Leaders would respect him.

Their trust had been worked for, and now they put their lives in his hands. Mirage glanced at the rifle that lay against the wall, drumming his fingers on the table.

He was restless, not used to not fighting. If his men were putting their lives on the line he should be helping them in battle.

If he uploaded the map to his HUD...

He knew the Squad Leaders still around wouldn't approve, but when their reinforcements arrived he was going with.

He would fight alongside his men for the same cause they all believed in. He would be able to make better decisions if he could gauge the situation for himself, and if he had the map of Hyperion on his HUD he could share it with those on his COM channel.

Mirage went to go find whichever Squad Leader was around, knowing that there was much more that needed to be done before he could move out with his men.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright, so here's the deal. Previous chapters have not been of the quality I would like and what chapters have been. I have been lacking the motivation to write since school has taken up most of my time. So, since I leave on vacation to Wisconsin in 8 days, and updates will be sparse, I'm going to take that time to reset and relax.

You might see an update, maybe, but I'll be gone for 3 weeks and during that time it will be hit-or-miss in terms of updates. It might just be revising and editing chapters. Anyway, just so you guys know, I hope you enjoyed as always!

~~Nightfury107