The Watchman’s attention was focused on the Komani warriors making their way on their one-man flyers down the broken, tumbled rocks toward the valley floor. They were about halfway between the crest of the hills and the bottom.
“They’re sticking pretty close to cover,” the exec observed.
“Yes, but the cover thins out rather quickly as they approach the valley floor,” Vorgens said. “I think we can hold our fire for another few minutes, and then hit them with a massed barrage ”
The exec nodded agreement. “We might try peppering the hilltops with missiles, too. The Komani probably have their second and third waves up there.”
Vorgens thought a moment “I’d rather wait until I see some definite targets. No sense wasting ammunition on probabilities.”
“As you wish.”
And no sense bombarding the Shinarian rebels, Vorgens thought to himself, if we can avoid getting them into combat altogether. “What’s the latest word from W5 and 6?” the Watchman asked.
The exec flicked a switch on his desk communicator, and scanned the report that flashed across its tiny viewscreen. “The troopers have advanced about halfway up he slopes. Their perimeter is almost exactly as planned— the outer edges of the two sectors. Looks good.”
“Start the engineers to work.”
“Yes sir.” The exec pressed a stud on the communicator.
“Are all the units in the forward battle line ready to fire?” Vorgens asked.
“All units report fire control tracking and standing by,” answered the communications tech.
Vorgens took a last look at the viewscreen before him. The Komani warriors were nearing the base of the hills.