Chapter 37: With Our Combined Strength
General POV:
Sojourn sat in the barracks looking in the mirror at her cracked eye while soldiers were busy around her.
Major Campbell's words about what could have happened should Overwatch had not been there was fresh on her mind leaving her with too many questions.
'Why did they wait to attack?'
She thought that she took into account almost everything when planning for the mission, but this was unexpected.
There were too many unknowns on the enemies side to take into account, leaving Sojourn worried about the future of this war.
Sighing, she stands as its time for her to head to the meeting that was going to take place in a couple of minutes.
She enters the room to find a lot of the top brass already present and is waiting for the debriefing.
The moment she saw the generals, she knew something big was being planned and their authority was required to approve it.
Commanding Officer Fournier walks up to the podium and takes a brief second to survey the faces back at him.
He only glanced at the generals without worry because he knew that with this victory, he only needed to butter them up to get their approval.
However the blonde guy named Jack revealed very little from his current emotionless face.
Out of the three sent from Overwatch, he was clearly the leader and made the decisions.
If he presented any kind of opposition to the plan, the generals would be sure to notice and may be more hesitant to agree.
Clearing his throat to grab anyone's attention that he already didn't previously have, the lights dim as he begins.
"In the course of a month, omnic forces have pushed us back from a majority of southern Canada.
We've lost major cities, including Toronto and Ottawa, with the threat of losing Quebec imminent.
But there is still hope.
In the form of a device called a heron."
A picture of a tall antenna appears on the holovid behind him.
"This device was recently created by the brilliant minds of Dr. Mina Liao and Torbjorn Lindholm.
They are completely invisible to any omnics, and when coupled with turrets can easily wipe any omnic force.
Using this device, we plan on retaking the lost southern cities and forming a perimeter to keep the omnics we suspect are coming from Detroit out of Canada entirely.
We first retake Ottawa, by using our air superiority we lessen the omnic presence with a RCAF bombing sweep.
Then we set up a heron siege that would allow us to easily retake our city."
At this point he pauses to let his words sink in and allow for any questions to be asked by the generals.
All while explaining, he would glance over at Jack to see his expression to see if he was onboard or not, but his face revealed nothing.
"How do we know if these herons work?" A general asks.
Before I can answer, Major Campbell interjects and I let him take over.
"This device obstructs anything in its radius from the omnic's perception. THey have been tested and have been proven to be efficient.
The heron siege is the most effective use of them but they would require some time to set up.
This works in our favor, as we'll have the defenders advantage against their numbers.
AFter they waste a lot of their resources on attacking our defenses, it's only the matter of purging them from Ottawa.
Overwatch's strike team will lead the dene while Chase's team would provide tactical support." He explains.
Looking over the faces while he continued to sell the plan, he didn't fail to notice Chase's doubtful look at the plan.
Glancing over at the generals he adds, "It's time we stop running and reclaim our country."
The generals knew that with their recent victory, morale would be high, therefore increasing the success of this mission.
Which is why they approved of this mission.
As everyone leaves the debriefing, Chase approaches Dr. Liao.
"I think I'll take you up on that offer but only fix it, no upgrades." She says.
She knew that on a mission of this proportion, not going in a hundred percent would cause complications.
"Of course, follow me." Dr. Liao says with a smile, pleased with Chase's decision to swallow her pride and ask for assistance.
She takes her to the infirmary, where Chase lets her examine her eyes.
Dr. Liao takes her time and breaks her unfortunate news to Chase.
"Due to the fractures in the frames, they are unsalvageable and would be better to be replaced.
I could easily install our prototype lens, which would help improve everyday life, by giving you reminders and taking notes." She offers.
Chase declines her offer.
"I just want you to fix them." She responds which Liao understands. Most people were scared of change and Chase just needed to get used to it before she could appreciate her body.
"Very well, if you have the time, I can install them now for you." To which Chase nods her head.
Two hours later, Chase wakes up and Liao starts explaining her new interface.
Chase notices the difference between her old lens and this one and already prefers this one.
They begin walking together letting Chase adapt to her new lens.
They end up in the armory, where Chase recognizes the small stature of Torbjorn talking to another who introduces himself as Doctor Karlesson.
Upon seeing Liao, Torbjorn's face grimaces shooting her a sour look that Liao ignores but I catch.
"He introduced the heron as a coalition between us. As if I'd ever work on anything with you." Torbjorn says to Liao with animosity.
"Tobrjorn, like others believes my research responsible for the war. He thinks if omnics weren't sentient, none of this would have happened."
Chase knew of Liao's involvement with Omnica Corporation but to say that one person is responsible for millions of deaths because of their research was a bit unfair.
But she kept her mouth shut as such matters wasn't her business to interfere with.
Plus, she was more worried about the mission and how stretched thin their resources were.
She momentarily thought about Shawn and how he was doing.
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Sorry for the late chapter, I got called into work.