Miller and Osei stood on opposite sides of the group, leaving a deliberate gap between them. The rest of the platoon filled in around them without being told. Park stood at the head of the platoon with Tomás, both already logged into a shared datapad.
"Veyra Dynamics Independent Platoon Two," Park said. "Corporate-sponsored. Their composition is heavily skewed toward high-mobility platforms. Roughly ninety per cent of their active mechs are Skirmishers, with a smaller number of Strikers integrated into their forward elements and a dedicated Support squad handling sensors and communications."
Tomás tapped at his datapad and placed it on the floor. The device whirred for a few moments before a soft blue glow emanated from it and projected upwards. Five simplified mech silhouettes formed from the light.
"For those who haven't internalised the loadout categories yet," he started, "simulations use five base chassis types. Medium Fighters are the most balanced, with versatile movement, decent armour, and flexible weapon options. Skirmishers are lighter, faster, and built for repositioning and flanking. Heavy mechs trade speed for raw durability and firepower. Strikers are frontally armoured shock platforms designed for short-range engagements, typically used with shotguns or heavy melee weapons. Support mechs are the lightest and most modular, focused entirely on sensors, comms, and battlefield awareness."
He paused, then continued.
"Veyra doesn't run standard squad structures. They operate in groups of four. One Striker supported by three Skirmishers. The Striker acts as the point of contact, while the Skirmishers use their speed to flow around targets and exploit any gaps created. The remaining pilots form their Support element, which feeds targeting data and maintains battlefield awareness across all their forward squads."
Park walked over to the hologram, tapped on the lighter chassis, and pinched. The display shifted as a repeating video played of the light chassis moving around and engaging pixels.
"Their doctrine is built around prolonged skirmishes. They probe, displace, and re-engage from new angles. If we present a rigid front, they will attempt to stretch and fragment it rather than meet it directly."
"In contrast, our own platoon maintains a more balanced distribution across all five chassis types. We have elements capable of holding ground, elements built for rapid repositioning, and a Support component capable of both coordination and sensor work. On paper, this makes us more flexible than a heavily specialised force. However, it also means we lack the concentrated mobility advantage Veyra possesses," Tomás added.
"So they're fast, they fight in small mobile groups, and they don't want to stand and trade with us?" Miller asked.
"Correct," Park said.
"I know one of the frameworks they're running," Jin added. "Veyra approached me after the exhibition. Their abilities and skills are almost entirely dependent on squad-sized engagements, along with independent decision-making. Once contact happens, they're encouraged to find and exploit weaknesses on their own. It makes them difficult to pin down with standard formation tactics, but also makes them weaker at platoon-wide manoeuvres and overall positioning."
Osei leaned forward slightly. "Which means a conventional hammer-and-anvil approach will struggle. If Vanguard commits forward and they simply refuse to meet it, we risk overextending while their mobile elements isolate our flanking and support squads."
Miller's expression hardened. "So instead we slow down, clump up, and let them run circles around us?"
"We maintain enough cohesion to deny them easy targets," Osei replied. "If we fragment ourselves trying to chase every pair, they'll pick us apart piece by piece."
"We've drilled hammer and anvil for months because it works against almost everything we've faced. And you want to abandon that because these ones move faster than the others?"
"I want to adapt it because they move faster than the others," Osei said firmly. "A rigid front only works if the enemy is willing to engage it. They'll drag our heavier elements out of position and isolate whatever they can reach."
The group went quiet. Most of the platoon was watching the exchange without speaking.
I had been in situations like this before. Not official ones, but the same kind of tension had existed in family training sessions and prep academy assignments. I knew what it felt like when two strong personalities pulled in different directions. Back then, I could usually smooth things over or let someone else take the lead. But this was different. This was our first real engagement as a formed unit and my first commissioned position as a leader. If I chose wrong here, the consequences wouldn't just stay inside a simulation.
So I stayed silent longer than I should have, and Miller noticed.
"You're the platoon leader," he said, turning toward me. "You going to let him turn us into a slow-moving target because it suits his coordination?"
I exhaled. "I think we need to account for how mobile they are. But I also don't think we should completely abandon the structures we've trained."
It's the safest answer I can give without committing to either side.
Miller let out a short breath through his nose. "Then what does that actually mean in practice?"
Osei's gaze stayed on me for a second longer before he spoke. "It means we need a plan that doesn't assume they'll behave like every other platoon we've drilled against."
Another stretch of silence followed.
Eventually, Miller spoke again. "Fine. We keep it flexible. Vanguard pushes where it looks weakest. Flanking operates with more independence. Support keeps the link running where it can. Everyone works to their strengths, and we adjust on the fly."
It's not a plan, but at least it stopped the arguing.
Osei studied him, then gave a single, measured nod. "Acceptable for now."
Park brought the holo back up without being asked.
"Before we finish," he said, "we should run a quick ansatz of the proposed approach."
The display shifted into a simplified simulation, with the mechs indicated by glowing squares, circles, and triangles, each shape representing a mech class Our platoon appeared in standard formation, glowing green: Vanguard in the centre, Flanking elements on the wings, Support positioned further back. Veyra's forces were red and quickly positioned into fast-moving groups of four.
When the simulation began, Miller's Vanguard advanced toward the nearest Veyra group. The opposing Striker and its supporting Skirmishers immediately began to flow around the edges rather than meet the advance directly. Two of our Flanking elements moved to intercept, but one Veyra group slipped between them and struck at the side of our Vanguard before disengaging.
The simulation paused.
Park looked around the group. "As you can see, the gaps appear quickly when we try to collapse on them. Veyra's groups are small and quick enough to exploit the timing differences."
No one spoke for several seconds.
Miller eventually broke the silence. "We'll adjust on the fly. It's only the first engagement."
Osei moved to speak. "What if we purposefully create the gap between the lines and draw them into a firing lane?"
Park looked down at his datapad, picked it up and tapped at it for a few minutes. After he was satisfied, he placed it on the ground between the platoon. The holopad sprang to life as the simulation reset.
A similar situation played out. The Vanguard pushed to the closest group, our flanking element moved with them slightly out of step, creating a moment to allow the enemy forces to pile into the gap. The rear side of the Vanguard peeled off, aiming to envelope the four opposing mechs while the flanking squad began to lay fire into the newly created line.
It seemed to work for a moment before the opponent adapted; they peeled off the engagement and moved across the Vanguard's front line, denying the firing lane. Around half the opposing squad was eliminated in short order before their three remaining squads converged on the now-displaced rear vanguard and on the backside of the flanking element.
The flanking squad and rear were quickly engaged and lost a total of five mechs, an unfavourable trade.
I watched the frozen holo for a moment longer. The problems were visible even in the simplified simulation. Our balanced composition provided us with options, but without tighter integration between the squads, those options would remain separate rather than being combined.
"Drawing them in requires overextension, and overextension is the path to a losing fight," Tomás said.
"And if we split off into our own squads and try to fight them on equal terms?" Miller asked.
"Then they will beat us individually, don't forget we are against C and B Grade fighters. The second we play into that is the second we lose." Osei countered.
"So it's going to have to be a play-by-ear affair. We also have a few hidden weapons up our sleeves to cause an upset. Let's see what we have after the battle ends. The first battle is important, but not as important as the last one." I said.
"It's the best we've got for now. Despite our options compared to others, we're still a little light on practiced tactics. We can't work on a new one in a day, so let's work on what we have and then look to expand later." Osei chimed.
"One step at a time," I said more to myself. "Let's show them what we're made of. Dismissed."
The platoon moved off in three different groups.
Miller took Vanguard to one of the outer training fields and drilled rapid closure and repositioning. I watched long enough to see them practising tight, aggressive advances with minimal hesitation between movements.