'A mess' is what Donovan would call the entrance to the arena his squad had been assigned to. 

He had given Titanyana and the boys another day off in order to guarantee performance, and because Arc was pestering him to keep his stress in check. A day spent with Diana did wonders for him mentally, but the physical stress imposed by the Caffeine overdose and events leading up to said overdose were not so easily mitigated. He had been forced to spend his day relaxing.

Now was one of those rare few times he was thankful for having been told off by Arc. The peace and quiet of yesterday had prepared him for the hectic storm of bodies moving about today. Spectators all swarmed towards the front desk to pay for access to the show, few of them paying him and his squad much mind.

"Are we late?"

"If anything, we are early. The Squad competitions and above are much more interesting to spectators than the preliminary individual matches." Sanna, who seemed to be using Wall as a shield to weather the tide of people, answered Donovan's question. "I would imagine that the doors opened a few hours ago."

If they were here two hours early, and the doors had opened 'a few hours ago', then how many people would be in the crowd to watch them fight? Probably quite a few, right?

"It's a mad house in here." Even Wall, the rowdiest man in their party, began to express discontent. "I feel like I'm going to step on someone's foot at this rate."

"I suppose it's a good thing you aren't wearing your armor then. Those boots of yours would break their bones."

"The bag is a bit annoying to move around without hitting anyone though . . ." 

- - - - -

If the reception area was comparable to rapids in terms of human interaction and flow, then the locker rooms could be described as hot springs, relatively calm water steaming from extreme temperatures under the surface. Fortunately, Donovan and company were on the proverbial patio, free from the boiling heat of the rivalries between those present but still subjected to the suffocating atmosphere. They had chosen an alcove in the corner, hidden away from most others, deciding to mind their own business.

"What are the chances we fight against another of Trebar's subordinates?"

"Zero." Donovan tightened the straps on his vambrace while they made light conversation. "We are competing in the five to six person squad tournament. The Holifanians put their people in squads of nine or ten."

"Really?" Sanna did not seem convinced. "Why would that be?"

"I don't know, probably something about not getting too involved. I imagine that they don't participate in the squad competitions often if at all, so it probably has something to do with reducing administrative burden. It's easier to manage five squads of ten than ten squads of five."

"Is that so?"

"That seems weird. It's the same amount of people, isn't it?" Len, already in full kit, carefully leaned his pile lance against the wall. 

"Would you rather deal with five people or ten?" Wall posed the question as he fumbled with a leather strap.

"Um, I don't know. What am I doing with them?"

"Commanding them, in battle."

"I wouldn't know, I haven't been in the position to command anybody before." Len seemed embarrassed of that, though nobody present was about to blame him for that.

"I can't speak to the everyone's chain of command, but I was taught that you should only have as many subordinates as is strictly necessary." Titanyana, currently focused on checking her and Donovan's swords, presented a rare instance of personal input on the matter. "The number of people under my father's direct command coincided with the number of regions in need of policing. Each man under that man only had as many subordinates as need to handle the sub-regions, and so on. We've always struggled with manpower, so it might be different for the rest of you, but it was the only way we could cover everything."

"Hm. That's interesting, but I was referring to how much of a pain in the ass it is to deal with a collection of rowdy subordinates all vying for prestige and influence. It is much easier to keep the lid on five of them than it is ten, even if they have a few more men under them individually."

"Oh... we don't have that problem, I suppose." Titanyana almost immediately went back into her shell.

"So they keep the number of squads low in order to keep the squad leaders in check?"

"I would imagine so." Sanna answered for Wall, who grunted in agreement. He needed to make sure his chest straps were as tight as possible if his breastplate was to stay in place.

"Hmm." Len looked back down towards the floor, contemplating it.

"That might be the case for other armies, but the Holifanians are operating in a more professional context. Considering that most of their army is composed of nationals and they do not partake in many foreign conquests, the majority of their leadership is not as interested in the prestige. Instead, they want to make it easier for the leadership to control the battlefield. Fewer units mean fewer orders need to be given when advancing on or defending an objective, though this comes at the cost of flexibility across an extended front line. I imagine they have some form of shared leadership within the squads to handle that issue, a sort of 'commanding and executive' officer system in the case that a squad needs to split up or for whatever reason the CO is incapacitated. Hell, they strike me as the type to have an established squad order should the leaders be taken out first."

". . ." "Huh?" "What?"

The three stooges collectively expressed their confusion about what Donovan just said. Titanyana's ears perked up at the mention of a 'system'. 

"Do you not- what was so confusing about what I just said?" Donovan immediately recognized this to be one of those scenarios where his understanding of a subject vastly outstripped his peers. 

"The, um, I don't think anybody uses a system like that." Sanna was not of a particularly militant background, but he was still more than knowledgeable about how his domain's military forces were structured. "Higher level officers and nobility might have a second in command they defer power to in the case they are not available, but I haven't heard of a system where squads are split up."

"Yeah. Maybe its different with a squad comprised of nobles, but splitting a squad of professional soldiers or conscripts is generally accepted to be a bad idea. They are often trained in how to hold the line together, so splitting them up to act independently is . . . risky." Wall going so far as to speak the word in English. "Because of the disparity in the number of conscripts and trained officers, the death or incapacitation of their sergeant usually causes them to falter if nearby officers can't get a handle on them."

"So your men aren't trained to act independently?" Sanna and Wall shook their head while Len tilted his head. Titanyana was the outlier here, nodding in affirmation.

"There isn't the time or money to train a peasant in battlefield tactics when their primary purpose is to keep their shield in line with the rest. That might be different for a more professional or salaried soldier, but most of them aren't expected to assume a commanding role like that." Wall fiddled with his shield.

"I think our cavalry are given some level of tactics training so they can accurately report what they see when scouting, but beyond that..." Len frowned as he tried to remember what his father drilled his men on. "I can't remember."

Len's father, General Arrelois, was responsible for a large contingent of the Bulsarzian Empire's professional army. If they didn't use such a system with their regulars, then it was reasonable to assume nobody else did either.

"In that case, let's chalk it up to a difference in weaponry and tactics. When your main forces aren't fighting in battle lines, you need to order everything a little bit differently." In spite of their silent pleas for more information, Donovan was not about to reveal such information in the presence of potential rivals. If they asked about it later, maybe he would consider it, but not now. "Titanyana is my second in command, remember? That makes her the executive officer of our squad."

"Ah, that was what you meant."

"I honestly forgot about that bit."

Something seemed to click in the minds of Sanna and Wall, the two of them recalling Donovan's introduction of Titanyana. He hadn't explicitly called her that before, the label seemed a tad dehumanizing with so few members, so he had assumed that it was implied.

"Enough of that, let's get ready for battle. Sanna, in the case that our 'strategy' has some real potential in the future, I don't want to waste the surprise on the only tournament we will be participating in. Is that alright with you?"

"I'm fine with that. I must admit that I want to see how well I perform in group combat using more direct methods."

"Perfect. Wall, Len, Trebar and I want to see how the two of you perform in tandem with each other. I'm not asking you to jump around like Tabo and Yabo, but I would like you to try covering each other's weaknesses like we practiced. Hopefully we'll be fighting somebody more on our level, but I won't blame you for a loss. As it stands, I am the weakest link, and I don't think any of us quite have a grasp on how Sanna is supposed to engage opponents."

"Yes sir." "Understood."

"Titanyana, I would like for you to bring the balance between squads relatively equal and give the rest of us a chance for some combat experience. You should be reducing their number to four, one for each of us, so I will be relying on your judgement as to which enemies you leave for us to handle and to not interfere until it is clear one of us has lost. Keep in mind that I have no expectations of you fulfilling an oversight role if the squad we are fighting fields a member of similar prowess."

"Okay. Do you want me to clean up the battlefield if you all lose?" There were some expressions of disappointment from the others, but they understood what she was getting at.

"Naturally. Winning will give us another chance to practice, so I would like to win as many times as possible." Donovan paid such emotions little mind. They were not so fragile as to need encouragement for this matter. "It will be a bit of a prestige boost for us as well. I'm not familiar with the politics behind Titles, but I imagine 'Tempest' having the temerity and manners to offer her squad the chance of losing instead of an easy victory will be seen in a positive light by the general public."

Titanyana nodded, gathering that this move was just as much for her as it was for the squad in general. A favorable reputation would lend itself to the acquisition of further support.

"As for me . . . I think I will try to work with Sanna for the time being. I don't exactly know what I'm good at yet, so I imagine lending Sanna a barrier against his opponent whilst Sanna gives the person focusing me something else to worry about will give me a better shot. Does that jive with you Sanna?"

"Sorcerers excel in handling multiple targets, albeit not in so few a number. I am sure I can work something out."

"Perfect, just try not to hit me while you're at it."

"No promises."

cakeonfrosting

Sup gamers, sorry for lack of CONTENT. Who would have thought my last semester in college would be this time consuming?