Legion Reform

On the morning after the Battle of Egret Bay, officers of battalion rank and above from the Joint Legion began arriving at the temporary command tent.

The battlefield map that had covered the long table the day before had been moved aside. Maren and the clerks had prepared two operational charts.

The first recorded troop movements before the red military order took effect. The second covered everything from the start of unified command to the end of the battle.

Once everyone had arrived, Shien nodded to a clerk. "Begin."

The clerk summarized only the key points. "The First Legion arrived eleven minutes early. The Second Legion entered its assigned area on time—"

As the officers listened, their expressions shifted.

Even before coming, they had known they had made a mess of things, and that Shien had saved them all.

Yesterday, they had been scattered across Egret Bay, each watching the stretch of line before him. Now that every movement had been placed on the same chart, problems none of them had noticed at the time came into view.

A battalion officer pointed to one spot. "We waited here for the Second Legion to confirm its position on the right flank. They'd already arrived."

An officer from the Second Legion checked his records. "We had, but we reported our position using our own numbering system.

"When the first Short Code reached you, you couldn't match it to yours, so we had to confirm it again."

There were several similar points on the first chart.

Taken alone, each meant only a short wait. Added together along the line, they had led to a grave mistake.

Aldrick studied the chart for a long time, then rose and approached the table. "I bear responsibility."

Several First Legion officers straightened in their seats.

Aldrick pointed