Chapter 63: Conspiracy in Camp York
Fortunately, the Tier 3 Mutated Tree was one of its kind. After the most powerful Mutant in the city fell, New Sara has officially fallen into the hands of the Phasewalker Corps.
Throughout the campaign, the Phasewalkers massacred hostile Mutants beyond count. Half their arsenal was exhausted. One-third of the city has been plowed over by artillery fire. Hundreds of Phasewalkers gave their lives, but the objective was achieved.
One of the most populated and technologically advanced cities in the United Earth Confederacy was mostly under the control of the Motherland. Its value was beyond what numbers could explain.
The follow-up cleansing would take weeks, if not months. No one knew how many Mutated Animals or Mutated Plants could be hiding in the corners of the city. In underground basements. Behind the closed doors of skyscrapers. The streets might've been cleared, but the city itself was by no means safe.
But the Phasewalkers have already started working on that. Replacing the expensive Phasewalkers with more replaceable Rebirth Troopers and Alpha Troopers, the Phasewalker High Command has been devoting resources to fully secure the city. As soon as that was achieved, the Phasewalkers could finally have another foothold in World Alpha to themselves.
As more of the city was freed, the number of survivors the Phasewalkers rescued from New Sara nearly doubled, reaching a startling height of 10,000. For a city that had 12 million residents one year ago, this was simply pathetic, but it was still a significant population for the less than 3,000 Phasewalkers in the entire Phasewalker Corps.
The number of survivors who signed up to be Alpha Troopers reached 3,000. Again, it was a number as big as the Phasewalker Corps itself. These were experienced fighters who survived hell for a whole year with little supply or ammunition to rely on. This training was non-existent and their understanding of the chain of commands was foggy, but in a fair fight to the death, only a few elite Phasewalker units could confidently defeat them.
Honestly, if she had another choice, Caity would've been more conservative with the Alpha Trooper numbers, but what happened to Major Blyfield and half the Airborne Battalion was a serious warning. Despite the recent victories, the Phasewalkers were hardly sufficient by themselves. They needed help, and 3,000 new Alpha Troopers was the very definition of help.
These troops were divided into the two Alpha Support Battalions and sent on combat missions across the city.
At this point, all the Phasewalkers, Rebirth Troopers, and Alpha Troopers in the 1st Phasewalker Regiment summed up to 7,000.
"Chelsea. You never cease to surprise me!"
In a newly constructed dining hall in New Sara, Alex grinned as a familiar figure sat down next to her. The Captain in command of the 42nd Assault Company added.
"Imagine my surprise when you quit the job as the second-in-command in the 3rd Alpha Support Battalion and came back to the 4th Battalion, to be just a Captain!" Alex wondered. "That's the first time I heard about someone asking for a demotion on purpose!"
Chelsea has been a zealot of the Phasewalker cause. As a recruit, that wasn't rare. But after countless battles and seeing many of her comrades fall brutally, the woman was somehow able to maintain that zealotry. Never, not even once, did she shy away from command. Not when she was facing hordes of Mutants, nor when she had to gun down innocent people.
She seemed to be the perfect embodiment of what ideal Phasewalkers should be.
This quickly got her the attention of her commanders. Back in Fortress Alpha, she was already promoted from Private to Lieutenant. After New Sara was seized and the Alpha Troopers were recruited, she was given the rank of Captain and appointed as the second-in-command of Major Katherine Loris.
Katherine herself was more of a figurehead. She had little military experience and had to rely on people like Chelsea. In other words, Chelsea would be the actual leader of the 3rd Alpha Support Battalion and its 1,500 soldiers.
That would make her a member of the Phasewalker High Command.
From Private to Phasewalker High Command, it only took her several weeks. True meritocracy indeed.
Alex congratulated her girlfriend with her heart, but soon, news reached her that Chelsea asked to be removed from that position and returned to the 4th Assault Battalion.
"Yeah...you're not the only one surprised. When I left, a lot of officers looked at me like I'm stupid." Chelsea joked.
"So why did you leave?"
"I just can't work with the locals." Chelsea sighed before complaining. "They are so...pathetic, in a sense. They have no cause to fight for. The only reason they raise their weapons is for themselves and their petty, trivial self-interest. I mean...their officers are a bit better. Katherine and Leon have been promoting officers who share their belief that, you know, only Colonel Hunter can restore the former glory of the UEC to this world, but that's a selected few."
She glanced around the other Phasewalkers in the dining hall.
"Some of us are no better, but at least everything we are doing here is helping our world and our people. This is what differentiates us from those Alpha Troopers. They fight so they themselves can live." Chelsea suddenly smirked. There was a sense of entitlement in her voice.
"Even the Rebirth Troopers are a little better than them. Some of the Rebirth Troopers are actually fighting to rebuild their civilization."
"So did their Mutant leader, but we ended up dissecting him." Alex countered.
"To be fair, he started this. I mean...if you're gonna do a coup, check for hidden cameras and recorders in the room first!" Chelsea joked before looking down at the food tray she filled before she sat down. "Plus, the food for Phasewalkers is a lot better, so…"
If the locals were fed, then the Phasewalkers were well-fed. To maintain morale in an environment where practically anyone could end up dead the next day, Section X tried its best. Fighting and dying was a lot easier after having a stomach full of roasted turkeys, barbeque chicken, and a hundred other categories of delicious food that rivaled what was provided to the Camp York Mutants.
In contrast, Alpha and Rebirth Troopers were only given the basics. They had sufficient food, which was by itself a miracle in the apocalypse, but the flavor was a whole different topic.
Chelsea started eating, but Alex wasn't satisfied.
"But why back to the 4th? I heard a rumor that Major Fox tried to promote you to be the Commander of the 5th Assault!"
Chelsea almost burst out laughing. "Really? The 5th Assault Battalion? I would die before falling to that level!"
When the 1st Phasewalker Regiment, or rather the 1st Phasewalker Battalion at that time, was first created, the general-purpose infantry soldiers were divided into two groups. 4th Motorized Company and 5th Motorized Company. Both were nearly identical.
But as time passed, perhaps it was unintentional on the part of Caity, but the Colonel had a tendency to use the 4th Company over the 5th. As a result, troopers of the 4th Company were a lot more experienced while those of the 5th usually just defended Fortress Alpha while everyone else was away.
When the units were expanded and new recruits were added, which unit would get the first picks depended on that unit's past accomplishments and casualties.
The 1st Armored always got the first pick. The 2nd Airborne and the 4th Motorized would fight over the rest. The 3rd Artillery always selected recruits better at STEM. Only the leftovers were handed to the 5th Motorized.
Eventually, the 5th Motorized became synonymous with weakness and incompetence. Officers would rather choose a lesser rank in the other units than be in the 5th Motorized.
Major Fox has complained about this to Colonel Hunter for more times than Alex and Chelsea could count, but even Caity couldn't do much about it. Plus, in a sense, the 5th Motorized was more than sufficient with its duty of performing menial tasks. No need to risk weakening the other, stronger units to change that.
Was it unfair to some of the officers in the 5th Motorized who had ambition? Sure, but they could always ask to be reassigned.
"Fair enough." Alex shrugged and finished her drink, a type of orange-flavored pepsi. "You're off-duty tonight, right?"
"Yep."
"So...my place?"
"Yes!"
---
Meanwhile, to the South of both New Sara and Fortress Alpha, a conspiracy was spiraling into existence.
In his enormous mansion, Apollo was enjoying a sweet meal of steaks. The dish was brought to him a few days ago, frozen, but after his personal cook heated it up with the few heating devices in the camp, it was perhaps one of the best things he has tasted for a long time.
He has been running low on these luxurious foods recently. Fortunately, Aryan has been taking another trip to Fortress Alpha. He should return with more than enough supply soon.
Across the halls, a dozen of his personal guards gulped, their mouths watering as the smell of delicious, cooked meat reached them. Even they, with their superior status compared to most of the 8,000 survivors in the camp, could only occasionally enjoy the taste of meat. Something as luxurious as the steak was only available for them in their dreams.
But none of them did a thing. All they could do was stand at their posts like the loyal hounds they were supposed to be.
Suddenly, Apollo's expression changed as he reached out and grabbed onto his chest. His face turned pink as if he couldn't breathe. The guards exchanged a look before charging up to him.
"What's wrong, sir?"
Apollo didn't answer. Instead, before the guards even reached his seat, the Tier 3 Mutant stood up. A sea of flames exploded across his body, washing over every segment of his vein and every inch of his skin. A guard that was too close to him screamed as his body was lit up by the immense heat. The rest wisely retreated as quickly as they came.
The dining table, the seats surrounding it, and the steak on the table all evaporated, scorched into ashes by the fury of the Mutant.
When the fires died down, Apollo was perfectly fine again, but one look at his expression could tell he was beyond furious.
"The food...it's poisoned!"
The guards were surprised, or at least they acted as surprised as possible. When your boss almost died from an assassination, only a fool would put on the face that says "yep, I saw it coming!".
Apollo's orders were concise.
"Secure the mansion! No one gets in or out! And get me the Mutants! And that girl from Fortress Alpha! She has some explaining to do!" His look was fierce. "I wonder who has gotten the wrong ideas!"
The guards scurried into motion like their lives depended on it.
---
Soon, everyone that mattered in Camp York arrived at the doors of Apollo's mansion, the Sun Throne. All four Tier 2 Mutants, apart from Aryan, who was away on the trip to Fortress Alpha, was here. Joker looked like he was bored out of his mind. Caleb stood there, along and in silence. Victoria was nowhere as friendly and social as she was normally.
Another man stood slightly behind them. General Johnson, commander of most of the 3,000 York Troopers. That would've been a critical position, except this was a settlement where the Mutants did most of the fighting and the common soldiers mostly just sat around and cheered or ran menial errands. General Johnson was more like a sidekick to Apollo. Nonetheless, he wore a UEC uniform. At least he was trying to look professional.
Charlotte was in her Guardian IV Armor. She had no idea what happened, but she still acted like she had everything under control. In reality, she ordered some Security Troopers to fan out across the camp. If anything went wrong and Apollo or someone wanted to turn on Fortress Alpha, these Security Troopers would pass the message out of the city before they could be silenced.
When the door opened, Charlotte realized the halls were filled with stern-looking York Troopers. The others realized it as well. General Johnson started sweating like crazy. Victoria put on a cold look.
Inside the room, Apollo grabbed onto a cook by the neck.
"Oh Bob...have you forgotten who saved you from that Mutated Rat? Me! You would've been dead without me! I gave you your life! Now I can take it! With that in mind, do you have something to say to me?"
Bob wanted to curse life. What the hell was he supposed to say? As Apollo's personal cook, he made food for him every day! Today was no different! He didn't do anything! He shook his head, but Apollo wasn't satisfied. With a simple tap, he set a droplet of flame on Bob's neck.
That droplet of flame quickly exploded into a sea, and the Mutants and Charlotte watched as the unfortunate cook was turned into a human torch.
Honestly, Apollo knew the cook probably wasn't responsible. Even if he did it, he wasn't the one who ordered the hit. But he has just had an attempt made on his life. He almost died. Was it so wrong to kill someone to ease his mood a little? A cook with no background...he could find a dozen replacements in a day!
The others watched in silence as Apollo finished the kill. Finally, with the pile of ashes right beside him, the Tier 3 Mutant, the lord and king of Camp York, spoke up.
"Commissar Charlotte. I was poisoned by food delivered to me from your faction! How...do you plead? In fact...give me one reason why I shouldn't burn you alive right now!"
All eyes snapped to Charlotte. The Commissar paused for a moment before taking a step forward.
"My lord…"