Chapter Text
Visha was making her rounds through the SPARTAN-II compound. It was a warm summer day, though the chill of winter would blow down from the nearby mountains before long. Today was a day of rest and relaxation for both the cadets and training staff, her fellow SPARTANS were playing, training, or chatting in the cool breeze.
She waved whenever they greeted her, but refrained from joining anything just yet. The Major—Doctor Halsey, she corrected herself—would be wanting the daily report on their cadets. Technically, she was included, but still!
Hmm, maybe some coffee as well.
Visha made her way inside a the building opposite the barracks, greeting the armed guards who nodded back. Before she could ascend to Dr. Halsey’s office, however, something through a door’s small window caught her eye.
There, gathered around a large table in one of the general purpose conference center/classrooms, was a cluster of people. Her fellow SPARTANS and some training cadre, to be more precise. Visha allowed her curiosity to get the better, so she slipped inside.
John-117 was the first to notice her. He seemed bored, sitting at a small desk off to the side, and Visha saw that his chess board was set but untouched.
“‘llo, Visha.”
“Good afternoon, John!” She smiled and made to join him. Settling into the chair opposite him, she leaned in. “So, what are the others up to right now? Oh, and White Pawn to d4.”
The boy shrugged, sending her an eyeroll. As if to say, ‘London, really?’
And…alright, it makes for a boring start, but Visha was never the best at chess. Sue her!
“They’ve been messing around with Déjà over some sort of game about war. I don’t really care for it though; Dr. Halsey has always said that war isn’t a game at all!” He complained, matching her move. “Pawn to D5.”
She moved her bishop f4, he moved a pawn e6.
“Hmm, game of war…” Absently-minded following the London Gambit, Visha wracked her brain. Plenty of games were about war, but they were drastically simplified; Risk, Stratego, or chess even. Anything more advanced and realistic would be in the virtual simulators, but if the other SPARTANs were gathered around a table…
Aha.
“Oh! You mean, they are having Kriegsspiel~!"
John shrugged, but thankfully Kurt-151 interrupted from the table. “Yeah, that’s basically it. John already lost a round though. Care to watch, Visha? We’ve been on this scenario for a couple times now!”
Visha saw John’s eyebrow twitch. Yes, it would make sense that the leader of Blue Team would hate losing, especially to the leader of Green. She wanted to say yes, but the game with John was still going-
…Oh dear.
“That’s check.” John said, clasping his hands to hide his smug grin. “You should know that the London gambit gets countered so easily because it’s easier at the start.”
“I-I know that!” She pouted, but made sure to help reset the board with him. “You know I was never all that good at Chess, or other games.”
“Except Poker.” John glared. “If we didn’t know any better, I’d almost call you out for cheating with how lucky you get, Visha!”
She gave a shrug, rising from her seat. It was the, ah, 'Pot calling Kettle metal', with how lucky Blue Team's leader could be. It's not their fault she actually has a good poker face from her time in the war.
The Major is still better, though.
With the brutally ruthless (or was it ruthlessly brutal?) victory on the chessboard cementing his reign of terror, John followed Visha over to the others. On one side, Kelly was poring over each detail of the holographic map—a trio of cold, glacial valleys on the verge of winter, if Déjà’s special effects were anything to go by—while Fhajad sat next to her with a datapad.
From what Visha could see, the setting was late 19th century judging by the marching columns of resplendent uniforms and canon displayed on the hologram. Déjà chimed in as Visha leaned in to observe. “Cadet Visha, Cadet John, would you care for my analysis of the proceedings thus far?”
John shook his head. “Let me guess, they’re still stuck on the same scenario?”
“Correct. Previous iterations have proven insufficient for either side’s satisfaction.”
“It’s boooring!” Groaned Kelly. “And I just don’t get why Director Hals-“
Visha tilted her head, staring her friend in the eyes. “What’s this about, Doctor Halsey?”
The other SPARTANS shifted nervously, for some reason.
“Well, I-...” Fhajad started, then gestured to John. “You say it.”
The Blue Team’s leader rolled his eyes. “We got curious about what Doctor Halsey thought of board games, and when I asked her, she mentioned something like this. At least, we think she was talking about this ‘Krieg Spiele’ stuff. Déjà helped narrow it down, but from how Doctor Halsey described it, it would be a lot more... dynamic, compared to what we’ve tried.”
“We just can’t figure out why,” Kelly added.
Visha looked to Fhajad, who simply shrugged.
So, they were curious about the Major’s experience with tabletop war games? Visha could appreciate that, but it’s understandable they would be missing context.
As far as they could tell, she and the Major are still the only ones with magic—and Visha had checked! For all that her fellow SPARTANS are good at what they do, none of them have the protections and sheer *utility* of a good Aerial Mage....
*’Aaha.’*
She brightened, (sending the other kids to the further edge of curiosity and worry). Yes, this would do perfectly.
“Déjà, I think I have an idea how to make it more dynamic, but I’ll need to set some groundwork...”
Déjà's avatar turned on the spot to face Visha, blue light washing over the table and the children clustered around it. "Please elaborate your statement, Cadet Visha."
Visha clasped her hands behind her back and tried not to look too pleased with herself. "Of course! So, the problem with the model of your kriegsspielen, is that it does not mesh well with the paradigms of modern combat. As you may know, it was derived from the game Chess, but expanded greatly in its complexity to attempt realistic representation of warfare. Though Herr George Leopold von Reisswitz did his best, the game could not properly represent actual movement of real troops — the game only allows straight ligns, while natural barriers were twisted by the use of grid squares."
She took a deep breath, pausing to note how her fellow SPARTANS were following. Fhajad and John were nodding...though Kelly was staring with glazed crosseyes. Déjà had kindly modified the holo-projector to show exactly what Visha spoke of; grids and various blocks painted with symbols.
"To summarize," Visha held her finger up, "it is too simplistic and 'flat', not even accounting for the changes in warfare barely a century after its inception!"
"Like I said. Boring." Kelly huffed.
"So what are you suggesting to make it less 'flat', Visha?" Fhajad asked.
Visha leaned over the holotable, manipulating it to bring up a spinning globe of Reach. "Déjà, if you would please generate a large valley- Ah, my thanks." The AI had beaten her to it. The globe shifted into a glacial valley, pale ridges and narrow roads picked out in cold blue lines. Infantry blocks sat at chokepoints, batteries hidden behind hills, cavalry screens and marching columns all fixed in clean, tidy positions.
"By the old standards of Kriegsspiel, everything important happens here on the ground," she said. "The artillery, for example, stays where it is place while limbered — this is obsolete with 'Self Propelled Guns'. Furthermore, scouts go only where the roads and hills allow. The marching speed and direction of an infantry column are limited by terrain, and thus the Umpire. Once the frontline is found, the whole battle narrows into a few obvious choices."
John narrowed his eyes in interest. Kelly perked up, almost looking offended at the idea of having limited speed and movement. "So...you're going to make that better, right Visha?"
Fhajad only folded his arms and kept listening.
The brunette girl smiled kindly. "Thus, my idea to modify the game."
Déjà inclined her head. "You believe a missing force element has oversimplified the exercise?"
"Yes." Visha closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath. This would be it, the moment of truth. "I think you are missing Mages."
The room went silent.
One of the trainers — when did he arrive? — gave a snort, but stopped when nobody else laughed.
Kelly blinked. "Mages."
"Yes."
"Like in fairytale stories?"
Visha tilted her head. "No? I mean, like soldiers!"
Maybe it was the assured way she said it, but the stares she got were less than she expected. Good. Let them think on it, let them react with even the slightest sparks; if the word stirred anything deeper than curiousity in her SPARTAN siblings, she *needed* to know! And if they *do* somehow awaken magic...
Well. It's only a small step to the backup plan she had in case the Major's plan for the SPARTAN-II Project fails and those ONI spooks try something stupid.
Déjà broke the silence first. "Cadet Visha, please define 'mage' in military terms. You have piqued my curiosity."
Relief flickered through Visha. Leave it to the AI to rescue the conversation and move things forward!
Visha hummed, tilting her head in thought on how best to explain.
"A mage is not unlike the intended result of the SPARTAN Project; a soldier with specialized capabilities," she started. "They can fly under their own power with the proper equipment, carry light or even crew-serve weaponry or explosive payloads, conduct reconnaissance, strike behind the line, and redeploy faster than any infantry. Oh, and serve as the most reliable counter to enemy mages due to energy shielding."
She looked around to gauge their reactions before continuing. "Er, imagine their internal mana reserves to be like batteries, or miniaturized reactors that Doctor Sullivan's team are working on for our own armors. Each mage will vary in power, but we can just, uh, standardize it in this case!"
It wouldn't do to reveal *too* much for this. And besides, they might think she's insane for coming up with too many details!
ohn, for his part, nodded encouragingly." Sounds good so far, Visha. It's not far off from a certain someone's wish for jetpacks in their armor."
They all sighed. The enthusiasm of Cadet Adriana for speed and aerial supremacy was contagious. Even though Visha had refrained from getting in on the betting pools, it was an open secret that Adriana was the top scoring Sim pilot for the XF-29 interceptor — yet another secret project that Director Halsey had gotten involved with in budget and tech sharing.
"So," Kelly slapped the table, "Mages are durable, self-sustaining, fast supersoldiers? You can count me in, Visha!"
"Their utility sounds very promising, I must admit; imagine, being able to carry equipment or even small artillery pieces into areas accessible only to air...it would make the battle of Điện Biên Phủ look like child's play!" Fhajad said with a slight grin; which, for him, was practically leaping with excitement. "
John rested his fingertips against the edge of the table. "Visha, I have an idea why, but what stops them from deciding everything?"
"There are never enough mages," Visha said at once. "They still tire, their equipment is complex, and their carry weight is still vastly inferior to modern aircraft. Furthermore! They can and *would be* taken down by concentrated firepower; missiles, anti-material rifles, flak barrages, and *especially* fighters if they're caught where they shouldn't be." She stared at the holo-displayed valley, eyes glazing over. "They can change a battle...but they can't win the war alone."
“That,” one of the trainers said, “sounds more reasonable.”
Deep inside, Visha felt incredible relief. They were taking it seriously. Her gamble paid off!
John looked up from the map. "If both sides have them, then the battle would surely be determined by which side can see the most, first. And more importantly, which commander can react appropriately. If you over-react, you can get cut off..." He trailed off, but now it was Visha's turn to study him.
That was a good answer. Too good, Visha would say, except these were her sibli- her fellow SPARTANs. Doctor Halsey — Tanya —was the absolute best at training a unit into shape. And that was with a weeklong training trip! If John and the others could learn this only five years into the decade-long SPARTAN-II program, who knows what they could do by the end, when Doctor Halsey inevitably did the impossible by recreating magic?
Unaware of Visha's musings, Déjà turned towards him. "Please explain your reasoning, Cadet John."
John did not seem bothered by the training AI's pressure; it was her job to poke and prod so they could learn. "Right. So if mages can scout, raid, and move faster than infantry while evading ground vehicles, they're the largest force multiplier. If this were chess, consider them Knights...which means the best way to counter them is with other mages. But this means it's possible to set up traps, and to *counter* those traps. With equal sides, it's down to who can utilize all the *other* assets, like artillery or fightercraft."
Kurt gave him a short nod. "It's about command. And who 'flinches' first, so to speak."
Visha took the moment to observe the trainers, who were leaned against the back wall but saying nothing. They didn't have anything to add, she shrugged.
"So let's get into it then!" Kelly said, planning both palms on the table. "What do we need to get started, boss?"
Visha coughed into one hand. "It will take quite a few changes to standard Krieggspielen."
"Such as?" Déjà's flat voice asked, her digital avatar tapping at the clay tablet covered in binaric cuneiform. Maybe she was imagining things, but the Dumb AI's gaze was more intense than normal.
"Well," The former Imperial Mage looked at the map, then at the SPARTAN children around it. "For one thing, there is no point in forcing a twenty-sixth century military into a nineteenth century problem. We have aircraft, missiles, electronic warfare, armor and anti-armor. If I leave all that out, this could be a lot less helpful an exercise, and more boring."
Kelly looked triumphant. "That's what I've been saying!"
John ignored her. "Not to mention, these 'Aerial Mages' sound a lot like what Doctor Halsey intend for us to be when Dr. Sullivan finishes our suits. So, can we model all that?"
That made Visha hesitate. Was that Tanya's plan? So far, she hadn't noticed any magic in her fellow SPARTANS, but Tanya- Doctor Halsey, she corrected herself- would know best. Maybe the goal was both the augmentations *and* magic?
Déjà noticed the pause. Of course she did, but only stared intensely.
"I suppose we can simplify it, for now. Air support isn't always a given on missions so we can allow it in windows. Electronic warfare could be simulated to affect reports, sensors and comm delays. tanks and artillery..." Visha hummed. "We keep those, because someone still needs to hold ground and push the spearheads. Missiles and anti-air are equally important.
"And orbital support?" asked one of the trainers— Visha didn't know his name, was it Lance Corporal Dukovac?-but if Chief Mendez and Doctor Halsey selected him to be here, Visha would gladly include his input. And it was a good question. Orbital support could range anywhere from simple ISR, to medevac and supply drop via shuttle or drop pods, as well as reinforcements. At the more extreme end, missiles and even MAC rounds could devastate any battlefield to great effect.
When Visha had first learned of 26th century warfare, the idea of orbital obliteration had been terrifying to learn about. MAC rounds in atmosphere, even from a frigate, could destroy all but the most hardened of bunkers; perhaps the Highland Mountains Training Grounds — aka, the home of the SPARTAN Program — could withstand such a thing, but short of the Major (Doctor Halsey, she corrected herself again) with fresh mana reserves and the Type 95 Orb? Not even an aerial mage would survive such a thing.
Visha felt heat rise to her face. Folding her arms, she shook her head. "I confess, I don't know how to handle space properly yet."
There was a pregnant silence.
Kelly blinked. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
Kurt looked faintly amused, which was rude. "But Doctor Halsey usually knows everything."
The "And thus teaches you, to help teach the rest of us," went unsaid.
That was enough to get a few snickers out of the others.
Again, rude!
"I said I don't know how to model space support yet!" She continued, more stiffly than she meant to. "So for this exercise, space and high-atmospheric assets are unavailable, contested, or assigned elsewhere. Pick whatever explanation makes you happiest; regardless, we are fighting in the valley." There's also the fact that the Major wasn't actually the driving factor behind this idea. In fact, Visha felt her heart race at the thought of her disapproval...
But the opportunity is too good to pass up! Seize it now, before the Republic Forces can evacuate!
Déjà saved her from any further embarrassment. "Constraint accepted. Orbital fires and fleet support removed from scenario—rudimentary spy-sats shall remain in play. Aerospace support limited by weather, anti-air threat, and operational tasking."
The holo-table's map changed at once.
The old glacial valley dissolved. A new terrain layout unfolded beneath the holographic grid: A lush cedar mountain basin vivisected by a railroad and frozen river, steep ridgelines on both sides, a cluster of depots and warehouses near the center, and artillery hide-sites tucked into the rough ground behind them. Further out, approaches branched through narrow passes and rocky shelves. Red, green, blue and gold icons flickered into place as Déjà populated the table.
Visha stepped closer. It felt familiar... too familiar, almost; perhaps from the land-navigation exercises around the Highland Military Training Complex? The mountain range itself covered much of Reach's northern continent, Eposz.
"The scenario is this," she started with what she hoped to be an authoritative voice, like the Major's. "You are defending this mountain valley supply depot, which in turn supports the wider front. If this depot falls, every formation downstream of it suffers. You have four infantry battalions, one thousand troops each, with attached engineering and artillery units. In addition, you have one augmented Mage battalion, or four companies; Though we've yet to solidify our own deployment doctrine in the future, we can simply go with twelve mages in each company."
Each battalion and corresponding mage company were demarcated by color; again, Red, Green, Blue and Gold. Against them, red symbols appeared and multiplied along the other routes.
"According to the preliminary intelligence reports; The enemy is advancing with an estimated twelve infantry battalions," Visha continued, "Along with a mage regiment. They are less well equipped than your own, and may be less disciplined. They can, and will, overwhelm you with sheer numbers."
"That's a lot of targets," whistled one of the trainers.
"As Cadet Candidate Visha stated: Enemy force composition and position are a preliminary estimate only. Aside from the primary road leading out of the base, designated MSR "Foresight", the confirmed avenues of approach will be here, and here. Further information may come in, dependent on destruction of the enemy's EW assets." Helpfully, Déjà highlighted the narrow roads in white with red arrows. Aside from six infantry battalions marching along the main road, the red icons shimmered out of existence leaving the map shrouded in the fog of war.
Visha saw it, then. There, growing and building and etching itself onto her fellow SPARTAN's faces, was the spark she wanted to see. Anticipation glinting in John's eyes, a wolf-like grin on Kelly's face. Fhajad gave a hum, while Kurt crossed his arms.
She had them.
"So, Visha," John drawled. "When do we begin?"