Col. Chen studied the situation map on the antique command vambrace display and saw that large sections of the internal security sensor grid were gone. Essentially everything in Prisoner Territory, and three sections above, was hidden from his view. Excellent strategy, of course, and he felt a hint of admiration for McNab. The Engineering sections were still on-line though, and if they were any indication, the Browncoats – he could not let himself think of them as “prisoners” any more – were making for several relatively unprotected sites of enormous strategic value with a great deal of determination. That would be problematic, if the battle raged too long, but for now he could safely ignore the tactical importance of them. If he controlled the tactical situation, the strategic situation would sort itself out eventually.

“Sergeant Anhauser!” he said calmly into the command frequency to the senior surviving soldier in charge of a little knot of his men who had taken refuge in a medical supply room – ostensibly more secure than any of the other rooms – and had been thus-far able to defend their position thanks to two pistols and a non-lethal riot gun. “I want you to send two men to junction box 19-244C and by-pass the security feeds from the main trunk line to the emergency line, or I’m not going to be able to see anyone sneaking up on you.”

“Uh, Colonel?” came Anhauser’s frightened voice, “I’m a security officer, I got two grunts, a horticulture tech and a supply guy, and the tech has a belly wound. I doubt any of us know how to do that,” he added.

“Challenge yourself, Sergeant,” Chen said, evenly. “It’s not brain surgery. Take the black cable out of the socket, put it into the other socket that will accept it, the one with the hao jie symbol in red. Then get back to your position. But you’re the only operatives I have in that sector, and that’s where they cut the feed.”

“Yes, Colonel, I’ll handle it,” Anhauser said, grimly. Chen had already moved on to the next tactical situation be