Celeste Vance moved in formation because that was what she was trained to do.
Left foot. Right foot. Shield wall ahead. Ranged support behind. Command element in the rear. The phalanx advanced through the west wing of the Sunken Necropolis with all the grace of a well-oiled machine and all the soul of a tax document.
Aaron Sanders held the front line, his massive frame anchoring their formation like a concrete pillar. His graviton Aspect made him nearly immovable, a human barricade that absorbed impacts that would shatter lesser men. Behind him, Cassandra Lion and Daniel Lovestone flanked with medium-range support. Celeste occupied the center with Monica, their ranged attacks covering whatever gaps appeared in their defensive wall.
And Julian Valerius commanded from the rear, barking orders like a general who'd learned warfare from textbooks instead of trenches.
"Target at eleven o'clock. Eliminate."
