Thunder Reforged
Copyright© 2026 by FozzieBare
Chapter 8: Reforged takes the field.
The relationship with Maximum Boom didn’t get off to the greatest start. While attending the pre-brief virtually, Reforged got the distinct impression that a fair number of Maximum Boom’s rank and file were giving them the cold shoulder. Adrian had to tell Amy off-microphone that he had expected something like this. Hiring outside help came perilously close to admitting that Maximum Boom’s own members weren’t good enough to handle the operation themselves. To some of them, Reforged wasn’t backup. They were outsiders on Maximum Boom’s turf, showing up to profit from what should have been Maximum Boom’s glory. It continued when Reforged’s platoon was assigned reserve duty.
Elias had expected that too. It still rankled.
They don’t trust us. They don’t want us here. I’m pretty sure if Adrian said, “This isn’t working, let’s call it off,” half their invasion force would cheer.
It would also wreck the relationship with their leadership.
So. Fine. We take it as it comes.
The landing went well, the opponents, a guild called Royal Road, declined to fight for the landing zones, and Maximum Boom’s forces were able to establish their landing area, securing it against any surprises, before moving out in tight groups. Adrian, who was sitting next to Elias in the training area that had turned into Reforged Mission Control for this battle, was pointing out small facts to him, just as little reminders. Not for things Elias needed to do, but giving him a bit of background on why they did it this way.
“They form up by platoon, establish a perimeter, and only move once the company is fully assembled.”
Adrian pointed toward the tactical display.
“Keeps them compact. Stops one eager idiot from wandering off and delaying everyone else.”
Elias nodded. “Downside?”
“You’re vulnerable while forming. A good scouting force can harass the platoons, make them deploy early, maybe knock out one or two WarMACs and put the whole timetable off balance.”
Adrian shifted the display slightly.
“Also notice they haven’t unloaded the bulk of their force yet.”
Elias looked. “Artillery?”
“Exactly. They make sure nothing hostile is in artillery range of the landing zone before they really disgorge the main body. Last thing you want is to stack half your invasion force in one nice convenient target area.”
Elias considered Maximum Boom’s platoons as they headed out.
“So, you’re saying they’re letting Maximum Boom land. That seems ... ambitious.”
Adrian nodded. “Possibly. Or they looked at what it would cost to contest the landing and decided they didn’t want to play for high stakes right off the bat. Anything they spend trying to keep them pinned here isn’t available later.”
Elias nodded slowly. “So they may think whatever they have planned later gives them a better return.”
“Exactly.”
Elias looked back at the tactical display. “So what IS their plan?”
Adrian grinned. “I thought that was your job to figure out.”
Elias glared at him, then chuckled.
He had walked straight into that one.
Adrian continued, more seriously. “Right now? Too many variables. Trying to guess their whole plan from this would be like hunting for a needle in a haystack during a tornado.”
“So we wait?”
“We watch. There’s a difference.”
Adrian considered the map for a moment.
“I did some comparative religion reading when I was younger. Came across a concept I always liked. Maya. Roughly speaking, the veil of illusion. The difference between what we think we’re seeing and what’s actually there.”
Elias looked at the tactical display. “And right now?”
“Right now we’re staring through the veil.”
Adrian pointed toward Royal Road’s positions.
“We’re already thinking about how to counter their plan, except we don’t actually know what their plan is. We have guesses. That’s all.”
“So we watch.”
“We watch. We look for things that don’t fit. Forces where they shouldn’t be. Forces missing from where they should be. Movements that cost them something without an obvious payoff.”
He leaned back.
“Eventually the plan starts showing through.”
Elias nodded. “Hopefully before it’s too late to counter it.”
Adrian smiled. “More accurately, before Maximum Boom figures out what’s happening and decides how they want to use us to counter it.”
The first half-hour or so was fine. Elias just had to continually remind Amy that their job right now wasn’t to do, it was to wait. Amy hated waiting. It ran counter to everything she believed about Universe at War battles. Amy muted her microphone.
“They’re probably not going to assign us anything, are they?”
Adrian glanced at her. “Maybe not.”
“So we’re just going to sit around?”
“For now.”
Amy frowned. “If they’re going to ignore us, we could at least go show them what we can do.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That would be counterproductive.”
“Why?”
“Because then we’re acting without orders on somebody else’s operation.”
Amy started to answer, but Adrian continued. “And what happens if Maximum Boom suddenly needs us to plug a hole?”
She paused.
“We’d be somewhere else.”
“Exactly.”
He nodded toward the tactical display. “Reserve doesn’t mean useless. It means available.”
Amy sighed. “That’s significantly less exciting.”
“Most useful things are.”
But Elias had started feeling an itch between his shoulder blades. He was locked out of Maximum Boom’s leadership comms, but the reports filtering through the channels he could see suggested the eastern axis was running into trouble. Elias tried to picture the terrain mentally, then decided that was stupid and pulled up the large-scale map on his WarMAC’s display. Rough ground. Hills. Broken sightlines. Prime skirmishing country. If Maximum Boom was running into more WarMACs there than expected, the advance could stall in place. Elias mentioned it to Adrian. Adrian nodded.
“Ideally, Maximum Boom punches through that area with enough force to keep moving. There are several Royal Road supply hubs beyond it.”
He indicated them on the map.
“Take those away, and Royal Road has to fall back. If they fall back too quickly, maybe they lose more ground than they intended.”
Elias looked at the eastern axis again. “And if they don’t punch through?”
Adrian shrugged slightly.
“Then Royal Road has found a place where it can make Maximum Boom spend time, armor, ammunition, maybe reinforcements.”
Elias stared at the map.
“Which means the question is whether Royal Road just found good terrain...”
“ ... or whether they intended Maximum Boom to get stuck there.”
That itch between Elias’s shoulder blades got worse.
“If they hold there and commit a reserve, they could turn the tables. Push back. Take the momentum from Maximum Boom. Put some doubt in their heads. Kinda like...”
He stopped.
That last battle with Everloathing still bothered him. Adrian had heard the story.
“Yes. If Maximum Boom starts going backward, their nearest supply hub is something like five klicks behind them.”
Elias looked at the map again. “That’s a lot of ground to give up.”
“And a lot of time. They could lose units to attrition while falling back, especially through terrain like this. Then a bad situation starts feeding itself.”
“They’re bleeding the force. Weakening it. Then when the time comes, they commit something heavy and the retreat risks becoming a rout.”
Elias’s hand moved toward the comm controls. He wanted to call Maximum Boom HQ. Warn them.
He stopped.
If I can see this, so can they.
His eyes stayed on the tactical display.
So what are they going to do about it?
Are they going to reinforce the eastern axis? Pull it back before Royal Road can spring whatever they’re setting up? Shift pressure somewhere else?
He glanced toward Adrian. Adrian said nothing. Which was increasingly becoming one of the more irritating ways Adrian taught. Elias looked back at the map.
No. Don’t tell them what they already know. Watch what they do.
And figure out where we fit when they do it.
He came to a decision.
“Adrian.”
“Yeah?”
“I need you to look over the approaches to that area.”
Elias highlighted the eastern axis.
“If Maximum Boom decides to plug in a reserve force, we’re fresh. There’s a good chance it’ll be us.”
Adrian nodded. “What are you looking for?”
“Two things. Give me waypoints where we can move in fast enough to plug a hole if the line starts to break.”
Elias shifted the map.
“And give me another route where we can hit something important enough to pull pressure away without just throwing ourselves into the same fight.”
Adrian glanced at him. “Preparing options.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian smiled slightly. “Right, boss.”
It would be good to be prepared. Like a bunch of Boy Scouts...
Elias caught himself.
And one Girl Scout.
Preparation paid off when Elias’s comm chimed not four minutes later.
“Reforged Actual, go.”
“Reforged Actual, this is Maximum Boom Actual. We’ve run into a ... situation on the eastern advance. Our units are being pressed hard.”
The other guild leader paused, choosing his next words carefully.
“I know things were a little chilly when we brought you in before the battle, but right now I think the guys and gals over there would appreciate any help you can give them.”
Elias glanced at the eastern axis. “Understood.”
“Just do your best to relieve the pressure on that side. I’ll leave the details up to you. I’m too far away to play ‘Mother, May I?’ with every move you make.”
A pause.
“Use your judgment.”
Elias felt like snarking “Well, it’s nice to be needed ... now.” But realized not the place, not the time.
“Reforged Actual confirms. Relieve eastern-axis forces, draw off pressure on that side. Tell them they have help coming. Reforged Actual, out.”
He toggled over to the Reforged channel. “All right, Reforged, we’ve got a mission.”
He waited for Amy’s inevitable “FINALLY!” to die down. Not the time for a lecture on comm discipline.
“Maximum Boom’s eastern advance has gotten into deep water and apparently forgotten its ducky floats. Adrian’s sending coordinates. Our job is to relieve pressure on them.”
Amy acknowledged, then asked, “Are we going into the thick of things?” An idea tickled at Elias’s brain. “Negative. We’re relieving pressure, not throwing six more WarMACs into the grinder.”
He studied the tactical display.
“We’re going to give Royal Road something else to worry about.”
Amy paused.
“Such as?”
Elias smiled slightly. “We’ll play it by ear.”
The Reforged platoon had about five minutes to reach its waypoint, and Elias spent nearly all of them quietly consulting with Adrian. A hard flanking attack was probably out. Too many unknowns. But they could do better than simply show up and get swallowed by an escalating fight. Elias’s mind raced. With only a kilometer and a half left to the final waypoint, something finally clicked.
He had a plan.
“Okay. Here’s step one.”
Elias marked two points on the map.
“Adrian, Amy. I want you between the nearest Royal Road supply hub and their forward lines. Hunt stragglers. Quick, decisive fights only. Units heading back to rearm or repair. Missile boats coming forward with fresh loads. Anything isolated.”
He paused.
“Do not get dragged into a furball you can’t end quickly. We’re too far outside friendly supply to trade damage casually.”
“Got it,” Adrian said.
Amy sounded entirely too pleased.
“Mikel, Hiroshi. You’re farther inland. Your job is warning and delay. If Royal Road sends units back to deal with us, report it and get the hell out. Same rules if you find stragglers. Nothing extended.”
Two acknowledgements came back. Elias looked at the sixth icon. “Kevin...”
His mind went briefly blank.
This was probably how people felt immediately before signing documents they would later regret.
“You’re on independent action. Cause trouble for them.”
Silence.
Elias immediately realized what he had just said. “Within reason.”
Kevin made a witch’s cackle straight out of Shakespeare.
“Double, double, toil and trouble. WarMACs burn and WarMACs bubble ... GOT IT, BOSS!”
Everyone laughed.
It cut some of the tension.
Elias did not laugh quite as hard.
Did I just give the lunatic a free pass to the Chaos Carnival?
Too late for take-backs.
“I’ll stay mobile. I’ll back up whoever needs it, and I’ll keep working on step two.”
The next three minutes went about as well as could be expected. Amy and Adrian pounced on a trio of missile boats returning from a supply run and got inside their effective missile range.
At that point, the result was academic.
Mikel and Hiroshi spotted a pair of Royal Road WarMACs approaching, probably checking the missile boats’ reports that somebody was loose in the backline. The two scouts took one look at them, veered off, and kept their distance.
Calling all their friends, apparently.
Elias had options.
Push deeper into Royal Road’s rear. Make a quick flank attack to force a response, then disengage before anyone could pin them down. Shift toward one of the supply routes and make the enemy spend even more attention protecting it. They had done their...
The situation changed in a direction nobody had planned.
A red icon about two and a half klicks away had turned blue. Kevin’s voice came over the comms, loud and triumphant. “YAHOOO!!!!!” Elias forgot his command voice for a half-beat. “KEVIN, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO???”
“Well, Boss, you said we were way outside friendly supply range.”
Elias closed his eyes.
“Kevin.”
“So I figured, why not borrow theirs?”
Elias had several questions.
None of them were currently useful.
Then one question stuck.
Can we use this?
His tactical brain grabbed the words, shuffled them around like a three-card monte dealer, and laid them back down in a different order.
We can use this.
“All Reforged, disengage if you’re currently fighting. Our resident lunatic has just captured a Royal Road base.”
A brief burst of laughter hit the comms.
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