---
"Not yet," he told himself as much as the Net. "We do not spend a hammer on one nail while the wall is still wet."
Instead, he dropped a short, sudden pulse of Monarch Phenomenon — not on the enemy this time, but behind his own line, washing over the drones whose knees were starting to wonder if standing here was a good idea.
[Ding! Monarch Phenomenon: limited-friendly emission.
Affected: 203 allied signatures. Hostile impact negligible (shielded by enemy commander's aura field).]
Drones whose thoughts had been edging toward oh no corrected to oh right. Their grips steadied. Breath synced. The commander's pressure met the peculiar, quiet reassurance of being absolutely certain you wanted to be near the white-haired monster behind you, because the alternative was much worse.
The line held again.
Third hour.
