"He's obviously built a coalition with malcontents from other Overworld factions," Thomas continued. "If we don't attack fast and finish him now, his army will be too large for one Templar legion, and we'll need to ask the Synod for reinforcements."
Christian Salazar stood. "May I have the floor, Commander?"
Thomas replied with a curt nod. "Of course, Commander."
The Colombian Templar faced the room. "Due to unforeseen circumstance, I altered our original plan to attack Maximus's main force. The original attack was scheduled over two weeks ago." His eyes held Elyssa's gaze for a moment.
She remembered. He'd ordered them to divert to capture a high value target. The target turned out to be Justin. Of course, she hadn't even remembered having a boyfriend at the time thanks to taking the White and having her memories of him wiped.
"We'd hoped to keep this conflict strictly non-lethal. It appears Maximus has other plans. We lost three good people in the fight today, and could have lost more if not for Templar Meghan Andretti and Adam Nosti supporting us with their arcane abilities." He gestured toward the couple where they sat near the front.
A loud "HOOAH!" went up from the gathered Templars. Meghan blushed. Adam was busy doing something on his arcphone. Probably programming in a new spell. The guy was gawky and a bit of a nerd, not to mention a conspiracy theorist, but he'd helped her and Justin out before and seemed like a good guy. Meghan, on the other hand, despised most spawn except for Justin. Somehow, her boyfriend had that effect on most people, winning them over despite their prejudices. Unfortunately, there were just as many people who wanted him dead.
"Where's Harry?" Bella asked.
Elyssa couldn't find him in the throng. Then again, he might still be off doing his own thing.
Christian continued. "Operation Staunch will be a two-pronged assault on Maximus's stronghold, located here." He activated an all-seeing eye on the table in front of him. A 3D holograph flickered on in the air above the table, showing an overhead view of the city. Elyssa felt a sudden sense of déjà vu, having seen an almost identical briefing not more than a week or so ago just before they diverted to capture Justin.
Christian continued the briefing, outlining how the attack would commence and calling on his two best infiltration squads to start the assault, followed by a clean-and-sweep from the main force.
"Our infil squads will take out sentries and surveillance with non-lethal force while the main force will surround the compound and contain any escape attempts. We have a high degree of confidence Maximus is on-site." Christian paused and looked around the room. "Any questions?"
A Templar near the front raised his hand. "What if we come under fire from scroll casters or other lethal attack?"
"Use the Lancers to knock out targets whenever possible. If you are under direct threat, lethal force is authorized."
A young woman stood up. "Sir, why are we going non-lethal?" Her fists clenched as she spoke. "They didn't show us any mercy, so why should we?"
Murmurs rose around the room and Elyssa saw quite a few nods of agreement at the Templar's questions.
"We deserve some payback," Fausta said, almost under her breath.
Elyssa agreed with the sentiment in some regards. Maximus didn't deserve to draw another breath. Neither did the scroll casters. But so many of those vampires were hardly her age and had probably been brainwashed or lured in by the romantic notions of being a vampire.
Christian motioned for the murmurs to cease and spoke. "I understand how you feel, Sallah," he said. "I lost a friend and a colleague today. But Maximus has convinced many of his newest followers that we're the evil ones, the ones who want to kill them. He's convinced them we're in league with the Red Syndicate, and want to destroy them. We have no way of countering his blatant lies, but we can fight clean."
From the murmurs in the room, it was clear many Templars didn't agree.
A pale man Elyssa hadn't noticed stood in the front of the room. "Commander, if I may?" His voice oozed with condescension.
Christian looked at the man for a moment before giving a curt nod.
"I am Luciano Pavarotti, special envoy from the Red Syndicate." He smiled, but it was a cold smile, devoid of any real emotion.
Fausta snickered. Elyssa didn't have time to ask her why before the vampire continued.
"My leaders are firmly against Maximus's rogue actions. But they have made it equally