novelraw Chapter 243 243: The Bait
Chapter 243 243: The Bait
Tatehan payed them no attention, he just stared at the holographic map for a moment longer, his mind still turning over the problem, and then something occurred to him. A question that should have been obvious from the start but had only just surfaced now that he was processing everything Torvan had told them.
He turned to look at Torvan, his expression curious. "How do you know all this?"
Torvan blinked, clearly not expecting the question. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, how do you know about the cleared land, the surveillance systems, the automated defenses, all of it?" Tatehan gestured at the map. "You're sitting here in your workshop in Waython Hollow. You haven't been to the West. You haven't scouted the perimeter. So how do you know what the Obscuron's done out there?"
Torvan's expression shifted into something a little sheepish, and he scratched the back of his head. "Oh. Right. Yeah, I've been doing extensive research. Like, really extensive. Ever since you told me the details you learned from the battle commander during the interrogation, I've been digging into everything I could find about the West. Old satellite imagery, pre-war geological surveys, reports from traders who used to travel near that region before the Obscuron locked it down. I've been cross-referencing terrain data, analyzing patrol patterns based on what little intel we have and running simulations to predict how the Obscuron would defend his territory."
He paused, his tone becoming more serious. "I've basically spent every free moment over the past month trying to figure out what we're up against. And the more I learned, the worse it looked."
Tatehan nodded slowly, absorbing that. Torvan had been working on this problem in the background, quietly and without fanfare, trying to give them the information they would need to survive an approach to the West. That was... impressive, actually. And deeply appreciated.
But it still left them with the same core problem: they had no way to get close without being seen.
The four of them stood there in silence for a moment, the pressure of the situation pressing down on them, and then Tatehan's mind latched onto something. An idea. It was risky, maybe even crazy, but it was better than nothing.
"What if," Tatehan said slowly, his voice thoughtful, "we use the battle commander?"
The others all looked at him, their expressions shifting from confusion to curiosity.
"The battle commander?" Riven repeated. "The one we captured? The one sitting in a cell in New Helios right now?"
"Yeah," Tatehan confirmed. "What if we use him as bait?"
Torvan stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing as he considered the suggestion. "Okay... I'm listening."
Lyra, Riven, and Torvan all leaned forward slightly, their attention locked on Tatehan, and then they asked in perfect unison, "How?"
Tatehan took a breath, organizing his thoughts, and then he laid out the plan.
"We find someone with a super speed ability. Someone who can move fast enough that they're almost impossible to track or catch. Then we send that person and the battle commander to the West together."
He gestured at the holographic map, his finger tracing a path toward the red zone. "The battle commander goes in a vehicle; something small, something that looks like it belongs to the Obscuron's forces. We paint it with his logo, make it look official, like it's one of his own transports coming back from a mission or something."
Torvan's eyes widened slightly. "You want to disguise the vehicle as one of theirs?"
"Exactly," Tatehan said. "The super speed guy hides inside the vehicle, stays out of sight. The battle commander drives it, and from the outside, it just looks like one of the Obscuron's people returning to base. No one suspects anything because why would they? It's got the right markings, the right silhouette, and it's being driven by someone they recognize."
Riven frowned. "But what about the force field? How do they get close enough to use the device without triggering it?"
Tatehan nodded. "That's where the battle commander comes in. He's got clearance. He's one of the Obscuron's officers. If anyone can get close to the force field without being shot, it's him. So he drives the vehicle right up to the edge of the barrier, activates Torvan's scanner, and collects the data."
Lyra tilted her head, her expression skeptical. "And then what? They just turn around and drive away? You really think the Obscuron's forces are going to let them leave once they realize what's happening?"
"No," Tatehan admitted. "They won't. That's why, at the last minute, the vehicle explodes."
There was a beat of stunned silence.
Torvan blinked. "What?"
"We rig the vehicle with explosives," Tatehan explained. "Nothing huge, just enough to create a distraction. A big, loud, attention-grabbing explosion that makes everyone think the vehicle was destroyed, maybe by a malfunction or sabotage. While the Obscuron's forces are dealing with the explosion, trying to figure out what happened, the super speed guy grabs the battle commander and the device and runs."
He paused, his expression darkening slightly. "Or, if we decide the battle commander is too much of a liability, we just leave him there to die in the explosion. Either way, the super speed guy gets out with the device, and we get the data we need."
The room fell silent as the others absorbed the plan, their expressions ranging from thoughtful to deeply conflicted.
Torvan was the first to speak. "That's... actually not a terrible idea. I mean, it's risky as hell, and there are about a dozen things that could go wrong, but the core logic is sound. If we can make the vehicle look convincing enough, and if the battle commander cooperates, then yeah, they might be able to get close enough to use the scanner."
Riven crossed her arms, her expression troubled. "But what if the battle commander refuses to cooperate? What if he warns the Obscuron's forces the moment we send him out there?"
Tatehan shrugged. "Then we make it very clear to him that cooperating is his only chance of survival. If he helps us, maybe we let him live. If he doesn't, we tell him we'll detonate the explosives remotely and kill him before he even gets close to the force field."
Lyra frowned. "And what about the super speed person? Who are we even going to get for this? Do we know anyone with that ability?"
Tatehan hesitated. That was a good question. He did not personally know anyone with super speed, but the Red Crest Clan was large, and the alliance now spanned multiple cities. There had to be someone out there with the right ability.
"We'll find someone," Tatehan said, scratching the back of his head. "Uh…, we put the word out, see who's willing to volunteer. Offer them compensation, make it worth their while."
Torvan nodded slowly, his expression still uncertain. "Alright. So assuming we can find someone with super speed, and assuming the battle commander cooperates, and assuming the vehicle disguise is convincing enough, and assuming the explosion works as a distraction... yeah, this might actually work."
He paused, and then he added, "But it's still insane."
Tatehan grinned. "Yeah. But it's the best shot we've got."