Wings of Honor: Meeting The Enemy

Chapter 6: Hope?

Dear Mr. And Ms. Perez,
I hope all is well. I am writing to tell you that I have arrived in Fort Benning. Here is where I will begin my 16 weeks of basic training. I will write again as soon as I can.
Respectfully,
Pvt. Marvin Jerez

We updated McManis. Travers and I shared a canteen cup of coffee, and a quick snack. Once we had our meal, it was back to the boring but arduous task of watching shapes for hours.
Travers and I were already discussing how in the world we'd try to root Goldman and Darkstalker out of Jade Mountain. The big problem was limiting our use of firearms at or around the Academy. Ricochets can still be deadly, and especially with rifle rounds, direct engagements had to be taken off the table.
Smoking them out wouldn't work either. All our smokes, except one, were all white phosphorus grenades. Our one FS filled frangible might throw up a good amount of smoke once we get it up there, but we would be confined to one grenade, unless we risk phosphorus burns and overwhelmingly toxic smoke for the dragonettes. Remembering what happened to the art cave, let alone if I accidentally threw one into the library, I do t want to imagine what could happen.
Frags and other explosives were out of the question for obvious reasons. Shrapnel and cave-ins would be unavoidable. And especially with all the stalactites in the underground lake and in the Prey Center. You know how little Sora had to scrape away one of those things? Hell, a big earthquake was liable to impale at least one or two unlucky dragons.
What options we still had were few and far between. Most escaped me, if I had any at all. So I remained standing there, in the mid-morning sun, binos trained at the Acadamy.
There still wasn't much going on. Darkstalker was milling around in the Great Hall, reading scrolls that Moon, Starflight, and Fatespeaker kept him supplied. Half the Jade Winglet was scattered, and mostly everyone went about their normal days. Everyone except the NightWings and the IceWings. The IceWings crowded away into a single cave and seemed to be holding a meeting to decide a course of action. The NightWings, on the other hand, were all cautiously gathered around Darkstalker and holding a conversation.
"Any improvements Marvin?" Travers came and settled next to me. The both of us in Travers' hastily made scout trench. Thank God he set up some bedding around.
"Nope. Nothing so far." I groaned, settling down to sit Indian style, cross legged, however you call it now.
"They've been at it the whole day." He commented.
"Yup. I'm gettin it all down." Keeping my gaze over them, and Goldman's camp. As the irregular two man patrol circled round the cave entrance once more.
He moved the roving squad further down the mountain it seems. And it looks like he was beginning to set up a heavy machine gun emplacement in front of the entrance to the Great Hall, but that wasn't anything out of plain tactical foresight. In case there's an attack, you want a machine gun to help chop it up. Especially if there is only a limited number of your guys, a machine gun is a force multiplier.
Man, I wish we had gunners with us. I wish I still had my squad. I wonder how they're holding up right now? I have no doubt Kish is maintaining discipline. He may not be one for direct orders, but one of my teachers, Mr. V, never seemed to give orders either, and he was the vice principal of the entire school.
But man, would a full squad be helpful in this situation. I would have Wessly target that HMG nest, and take out a few LMG emplacements I've noticed. I would have Towne and Reed put fire on the roving squad, while the rest of my rifleman would pick off targets of opportunity. We would attack over a wide area, so as to spread them out and be unable to focus an adequate defense. Smokes and frags would break them up and cause confusion. Then I would have me, McManis, and Travers fly in on Grace and punch a hole through their line. Once in, we would dismount and wrap up their defense from the inside. And depending if Goldman or Darkstalker got caught in the crossfire, I would take appropriate measures to tackle those two.
I would light Darkstalker up until he couldn't take it anymore. Roaring in pain, I would slip in Kinkajou's strawberry and it would be lights out for him.
For Goldman, I would have my two animi pin him down and incapacitate him if they can. From there, we can send him through a portal back to the future, where four animi and all the dragon tribes could decide a proper course of action for my friend here.
There would be no casualties. The plan was soundproof, and it's executive would be swift and competent by trusted individuals. We've done this once, we can do it again easily.

But I didn't have my squad.
I didn't have the tribes behind me.
Goldman and Darkstalker have at least four equivalent animi between them.
Darkstalker can read minds and tell the future, as would Goldman.
This plan would be destined for failure long before I could even think it up.

A counter sniper could dispatch Wessly as easily as his friend Harding.
Towne and Reed would be clear targets that would be focused down rapidly.
My rifleman wouldn't be able to hit what they can't see, even if it is suppression. An invisibility spell would render that section all but useless.
A single casualty would be enough to call off the entire attack... and Goldman knows this. The four of us would likely never get past the Great Hall.
I would be too busy tending to the wounded to fight. Grace would get focused on and bogged down.
Travers or Gossing would do something stupid and accidentally offer an advantage to the enemy. And the Japs know when to push an advantage.

There was no way to stop Goldman in a direct conflict. He has an answer to everything I could possibly throw at him. There is nothing I can do against him. Nothing that could possibly dislodge him now.

There is no hope for this.

Or is there?