-POV Chief Commander Bonanza-

"Lieutenant Grillo, as you probably know, the task of a Chief Commander is to execute the orders of the General on the battlefield through leading and coordinating the Commanders under him. A Commander is leading a battalion of ten thousand soldiers as well as the vehicles he was given."

"What is the mission the General entrusted you with?"

Lieutenant Grillo asked me. I am currently instructing him and letting him get some inside into the job of Chief Commander. He is a young man who just turned twenty and already a Lieutenant. He is an up-and-coming military talent. And also the child of my sister.

"The first task I have to coordinate is building an underground base under this desert, as we are heavily vulnerable to enemy bombers. When we build the base below the sand, we will be protected way better from above and also more hidden."

"And what about attacks while we are building the base? What do you plan on doing against that?"

Lieutenant Grillo asked.

"That is indeed an excellent question, Lieutenant. I have discussed this exact question with the Chief General and the Chief Captains for a long time. At first, we were not able to find an answer. We even thought about declaring this mission impossible precisely because of this problem you mentioned, but luckily, Chief Captain Landov has a friend who originates from Orio. When he told him of our situation, he informed the Chief Captain that we could use a massive protective dome generator, which would generally be nonsense as we can only power them for a very short time. But then he informed Landov that he knows of several locations where approximately thirty meters below the desert run huge gasoline pipes that power the power-hungry cities of Orio. We could tap into them and power our shield with them. "

I explained to Lieutenant Grillo.

"Chief Commander Bonanza, that indeed is a great plan. I see one problem, though: we first have to bore thirty meters into the desert ground. That will take time in which we are very vulnerable. The Galactic Empire will most likely exploit this golden opportunity. What is your solution to that?"

Lieutenant Grillo asked me.

"Another good question, though I do not have a great answer this time. We have to hold off the enemy bombers through our air troops and hinder them from reaching our base until the shield is up and running. We will also receive support from our anti-air vehicles on the ground. This is by no means a good strategy, but we simply have no alternatives."

My short distance communicator (SDC) beeped as the voice of Commander Miller resounded out of it. "Chief Commander Bonanza, we spotted the whole enemy hunter squadrons on the radar. They are flying towards our location and will arrive here in ten minutes. Should we start the defense operation we worked out?"

"They are here earlier than expected, anyway. Proceed as planned."

"As you have heard, Lieutenant, things will get real now. The first phase for a Chief Commander in a mission is planning. The second phase is the use of those plans in practice. You will now see how a Chief Commander operates in the second phase. Please tag along. I am needed in the Commander tent. "

"Sure."

-three minutes later-

-POV a hunter pilot-

"Help me! He is right behind me!" resounded in my ship. A brother in arms did get hunted by an enemy pilot.

I did the only right thing a soldier should do in this position: help your comrade. I moved my control stick to the right and up and quickly caught my brother in arms and the enemy pilot chasing him in my line of sight.

"Right with you, I will help you, buddy, just hold on," I reassured him.

I shoot with my plasma cannons at the enemy hunter. Sadly he was able to evade every shot skillfully. I had to watch in horror when my comrade's ship got hit several times and instantly exploded.

"Fuck" I cursed. I again fired my plasma cannons but still with no success.

The enemy pilot moved his deck straight up in the air till it was at the starting position again, and in combination with his extremely reduced speed, he managed to move behind me.

I could only hear the high-pitched sounds of the enemy plasma cannons, then I felt some sharp pain, after which everything went black.

-POV Commander Hiron of the Galactic Empire-

I rejoiced as I saw the enemy ship explode, which was trying to get me from behind. It was my sixth kill if I counted correctly. We were far from winning this fight, but we are making good progress, and there seem to be more casualties on the enemy side. But One thing bothers me: the enemies are trying to stop us from passing by them, which is odd considering they are risking higher casualties because of their limited movement ability.

"Chief Commander Kazuke, the Federation seems to be up to something. They desperately try to stop us from passing by. Therefore I propose that we coordinately push through and see what they are trying to protect."

"Good observation, Commander. We will do as you propose."

"To all units, we are breaking through the enemy lines in a coordinated attack. Prepare yourself. Our charge will begin in ten seconds."

"One, zero, go!"

Adrenalin was rushing through my whole body as we charged head-on onto the enemy defense line. I barely managed to dodge all the laser cannons, but I made it through, and that is what counts.

We kept flying straight and even noticed the enemy units chasing us. It seems I was right, and they indeed tried to protect something essential to them. After one more minute of evading enemy fire, we reached an enemy camp. I could see giant machines boring into the desert. I tried to fly nearer but quickly discarded that idea since the Federation built heavy anti-air weaponry, and I did not plan to get in their range.

"Chief Commander Kazuke, I spotted the enemy camp. They are boring into the desert and have built heavy anti-air weaponry."

"Good job Commander Hiron! I will surely mention your outstanding contributions to this mission."

"Full retreat! Let us regroup with the base and discuss further actions, now that we know the location of their base."

-POV Chief Commander Bonanza-

"Fuck" I cursed when I saw them breaking through our defense. They noticed.

"Ready our anti-air weaponry. Prepare for engaging in one minute."

-one

minute later-

"Focus all weaponry on the first ship! I do not want any survivors!"

I shouted into the communicator.

I rejoiced as I saw the first three ships of the enemy getting obliterated through our superior weaponry.

Two minutes later, every enemy ship had retreated. Sadly we failed in keeping the base a secret, which I expected.

I exhaled deeply. It is always extremely nerve-racking to know you can die at any moment. Luckily the enemy did not manage to hit the commander tent I resided in. Casualties were minimal since they only seemed to scout. The next time they come, this will surely not end as peacefully. Anyway, this brought us valuable time. I expect them to come back with bombers and heavy weaponry—time to see how the boring is going.