232 Slaves (1/2)
Haven, Camp Alpha, Command Center, Operation Freedom, Day Five
”7 river barges impounded, over 200 other various types of small boats also held,” Joseph's voice came through the speakers with some background static and slight chops to the audio feed. ”Death toll as of now is over two thousand Imperial troops and slaver guards.”
”2nd Battalion suffered two deaths and 22 injured,” The 2nd Battalion commander reported. ”Also there were 300 over collateral damage to civilians and slaves.”
”Three thousand soldiers and guards captured and currently being imprisoned at the Slave Pens,” Joseph continued. ”We have taken major merchants leaders and the Governor as HVTs* (High Value Targets*) and will be sending them back for Intel to debrief on the Mariners.”
”In total, there are over 3,376 civilian residents remaining in the city,” Joseph's image said. ”That's not counting the population of outlying farms and fishing villages. So far, the citizenry is following our orders without any issues.”
”We seized over five thousand slaves, which more than half were so badly abused that they could only blindly follow orders,” Joseph's expression hardened in the video link. ”And over a thousand of those slaves are just children!”
”We found a slum about two kilometers away from the city that consisted of slaves too weak, ill, or crippled to work,” Joseph's expression looked tired. ”Battalion medics are warning all personnel to not approach the slums as it is overflowing with diseases and other viral infections.”
”Its a dumping ground for unwanted slaves,” Joseph gave a sigh. ”Teams in protective gear checked out the slums and found hundreds of bodies, most in various stages of decay and some bodies are still thawing.”
”Still there were two hundred survivors, all sick and malnutrition and half dead,” Joseph looked deflated.
”Do what you can for them,” Blake replied. ”If they can be saved, do it.”
Joseph nodded, ”We can only do so much for them.”
”Now, material goods ranging from winter food supplies are over 800 tons, enough to feed the whole city for a couple of weeks,” Joseph continued. ”We expect shipments of supplies to start coming in now that Spring is here.”
”Over 27 tons of cold weapons and armor seized, two hundred war dragons taken from the stables and the valuables we confiscated from the merchants and nobles there, are still being tally. But current value estimated at over half a million gold crowns.”
Someone whistled in the background, ”Damn that's a lot of money!”
”We expect the figure to climb as seriously, some of the stuff here, we do not even know how much the true value is,” Joseph admitted. ”Just from the pay chest of the slavers, it's more than enough to equip a company of soldiers!”
An average layman in most kingdoms earns roughly one gold per year, the money plundered from Orwell's Point is more than enough for Blake to buy a dozen warships from the Isles!
”We are using the prisoners to help rebuilt the city and also to buff up the defense works,” Joseph grinned. ”We estimate another two days before traders and other travelers to start coming to the city as the weather turns warmer.”
”Good, do what must be done,” Blake nodded before turning to Major Frank who shook his head, indicating that he has nothing to add. ”Alright, we will talk again later.”
Joseph's image saluted and the video link cut off shortly. ”So now, the easy part is completed. Here comes the hard part of holding the city.”
”Sir, I still think we should ship a squadron of Cobras over via the Mariners in crates,” Airforce Commander Tommy suggested. ”The FA - 1 Cobras can be disassembled and reassembled easily. Having a fighter squadron would greatly help the troops there.”
”Hmm, true,” Blake nodded. ”Ensure that the planes have a defendable location for the runways before giving Tactics a workable plan for that. There's no point to having the planes there but the runways get attacked and destroyed.”
Commander Tommy nodded, ”The Mariners will be down for major maintenance after this Op is over!”
Ford and Frank both nodded, ”We really need a dedicated cargo hauler, just relying on the Mariners isn't gonna cut it in the long run.”
Blake agreed, ”Yeah, I agreed too. Still, we work with what we have now. Anyway, hows the defenses for all the outposts now that Spring is here?”
Frank gestured to the map on the wall and said, ”Well, all the personnel at the mining outposts, farms, logging camps, and other works have completed their basic military training over the winter.”
”They are all equipped with surplus M1s and the outposts are all fortified and holds enough supplies for them to hold for two weeks,” Frank said. ”We expect the feral goblins to start their usual attacks and raids within the week.”
”All vehicles now are traveling in armed convoys and no one is to solo drive at any highway now,” Frank added. ”Even the new cargo trains have armed guards accompanying them.”
”What happens if the goblins lay siege to any one of the outposts?” Ford asked.
”3rd Battalion is on rapid response duties,” Frank replied. ”The guys under siege at the outposts will hunker down and wait for the 3rd to come in and relieve them.”
”The Air Force is also on full standby to provide close air support,” Tommy added. ”We can keep the pressure off the outposts till the 3rd comes and save the day.”
Frank winked and bumped fists with Tommy. ”1st Battalion will be holding the defenses for both Haven and Far Harbor.”
”The Navy is also on standby for any sightings of goblin raiders,” Ford said. ”Intel has been throwing up UAVs and scout planes up to recce Goblin City for any ship movements. But so far they seemed to be trying to recover from the previous bombings.”
”Good, everyone knows your assigned work and duties!” Blake smiled. ”I can start relaxing and planning my honeymoon!”
”Yea right!” The guys laughed. ”You are still the Boss!”
”Alright, jokes over,” Blake grinned. ”Great work all around. I want constant recce flights all over our area to spot any goblin movements. Hit them as they mass up, try to destroy them before they near any of our facilities!”
”Aye, aye Captain!”
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Dead Frontier
Teams of men carried several horned deers into the village to the cheers of the gathered. They managed to survive winter and now the wild game has reappeared due to warmer weather, the people won't starve anymore.
Borse smiled at the cheerful gaunt faces of the people and saw hope on their faces. The wild game they had caught will most likely be lean meat as the animals just came out of hibernation.