The Prime Beacon strode back and forth behind the officer's console. He could tell he was making his younger colleague nervous with his overbearing presence. He let things stay that way for half a minute longer, then distanced himself to begin pacing in the vicinity of his remaining head generals.
Several of them had vanished or dispersed deeper within Directory Control, pulled away to address various circumstances that arose across the four war theaters. North, east, south, and west all had their similarities, but the unique challenges each stretch had to confront were shaped by the quantities of different fur tiers they had to face, and the assets they could count on.
Then there were two more sides, or rather, dimensions to the first human-Aud battle around the Last Light. The dome above the city remained fixed, pulsing at irregular intervals as hundreds of impacts scattered across its surface.
The Aud fell in impressive numbers, but without being able to pass through the dome and continue downward to wreak havoc in the city, they could only make a single, negligible contribution toward destabilizing the integrity of the dome before a combination of gravity and the dome's frictionless exterior forced them off.
And most recently, Directory Control had been suspecting that the Aud weren't content with their existing vectors of approach and attack. This was as close to an all-out assault against humanity as the Aud had ever massed--it didn't make sense for them not to unveil every single actionable variable that could tilt the outcome of the battle in their favor.
Being the attackers of a siege where the defenders were well-prepared and had prepped the environment and technology they used in advance, the Aud had few clear advantages aside from their numbers and the lesser quantities in the first ring of green-furs and higher.
Even then, more unconventional assets such as the Jackal could thwart their advance through indirect means too, as a strong body didn't necessarily mean a resilient one. The Aud were strong, but they weren't immune to everything humanity had, and still could, throw at them.
"Sir," Four called across the platform, "there's something you should see."
The Prime Beacon didn't like how fast he transitioned his path until he was at Four's side, but comfort was foreign to him then and there. It had been, long before the battle began. Battle. He struggled to recall the last time humanity had had a true battle with the Aud, and not just a skirmish of abnormal proportions. The shorter man tugged at the green band around his bicep, loosening it and moving the strip of complex fabric upward.
"Show me" was the extent of his response.
"The seismographs and GPRs have concluded their initial scanning procedures of the ground beneath the Last Light. They took longer than anticipated, but that's because they were either installed several levels above ground floor, or affixed to the internal face of the walls at a much higher altitude. Both options meant they had to bypass the scutumsteel plate layering laid down across the Last Light's foundations, and the surface layers of the ground beneath that, too. The penetrative capabilities and effectiveness of the scans suffered, but not to the point that it became completely impossible. We've got motion diagrams and live feeds simulating motion beneath the city which are…enlightening in their own results."
"Motion." The Prime Beacon pinched the bridge of his nose. "You said motion."
"Yes, sir. They're certain of it."
"Are you sure that isn't possible? At all? The autonomous intelligences made no error that could explain it away?"
"Don't go pretending as if I'm pleased." Four shivered and crossed his arms. "I almost wish I had spent a couple of favors of my own to get one of Two's vests right about now."
"You and I both. Do you suppose it's like Rhea?"
"It is what it is. But we'll make them bleed so much for every half-meter of progress that the walls themselves won't forget us."
"Strong words. And their estimated numbers?"
"That's not as important. Oh, after triangulating the greatest pockets of movement, fur scanners were brought to bear to determine the collective quality of the saboteurs coming from below." He passed a screen. "I doubt their findings will lift your spirits much."
"Or at all," the Prime Beacon murmured, flicking through the data. Fantastic. Utterly fantastic. He coughed, then opened a communication between himself and some other high-ranking military officials. They exchanged dialogue before suspending the communication, and he stepped closer to the officer behind the console again, frustrated. He grew tired of keeping his tumultuous emotions off his face.
"Get me a proxy communication with one of the walls' targeting crews." His head jerked in another direction as a new communication opened. He patted the officer's shoulder. "A supervisor stationed on the northern stretch."
"Yes, sir." The officer worked fast, navigating half a dozen different conversations and bypassing more in under three minutes through implied urgency. The Prime Beacon found himself holding a proxy conversation with one of the officers organizing the retaliatory tempo of a trio of wall-grade electrics.
"How should I assist you, sir?" Succinct, pointed, and lacking in useless bootlicking. The Prime Beacon smiled. That was better and faster for his purposes.
"Redirect one of your electrics to fire upon the Nyx Breaker." There were several seconds of silence, enough for him to wonder. "Serviceman?"
"...c-can you repeat that, sir?" The officer sitting at the console looked as confused as the other officer located on the walls sounded. "There's no--"
"Do it, serviceman." He checked the handheld screen when its display data shifted to reflect the most recent changes captured by the underground motion sensors. He fought the urge to chew on his tongue. "Now."
"Right away, sir." Though the officer undoubtedly had reservations, he'd execute the new order with the same diligence as every other assignment he'd completed to that point.
The officer lifted a monocular, tracking the progress of the Nyx Breaker beyond the outer edge of the first ring. If the Last Light were overrun, the Titans operating beyond its walls would become the last surviving bastions of humanity. And though it didn't escape the officer's mind that there were other Titans present in the Gaiss Hollow aside from the Nyx Breaker, it being the only one in his vision contributed to its image in his mind as humanity's true final hope.
Not the Last Light, already surrounded and besieged from every possible angle. And he had to fire on the Titan with a wall-grade emplacement, something strong enough to melt scutumsteel with--
"Oh, I forgot some details. Do keep them in mind." To the officer's surprise, the Prime Beacon wasn't done with him yet. He listened to the extra instructions, nodding along. He issued the necessary orders and stood by as one of the wall-grade electrics under his purview began to tilt about its base, reorienting its barrel.