Zim tripped and fell flat on his face. 'Great, just what I need,' Zim thought. He struggled to get to his feet for some reason. He had worked this thing enough that he knew how to do it, yet it was like the machine it'self was working against him, like it was trying to prevent Zim and Black Star from reaching the pillars where he would be most useful. About the time that he finally got the machine back to its feet was when the message came that it was a trap. Unsure of what to do Zim thanked Black Star. He truly doubted that the machine knew what was out there ahead of him, but he thanked it for preventing him from being in that mess anyways as the first round of mortar fire went off.

The private channel flickered through, it was Roger. 'The Lake?' Zim thought in response to the question, 'Never too late to learn.' He gestured to Roger his consent. He sent a text message to Elora as he started heading that way. The message read:

"Radio hurt us. Radio help us. Relay true message via text to all troops. Relay false message to troops via radio. Keep everyone in a Panic."

He sent a similar message to Roger:
"Lets find out if we can swim, ignore radio chatter."

Zim then dispatched over the radio in as panicy of a voice as he could muster despite his usually cool, calm, and serious demeanor. "Oh God, we are so screwed! Everybody, regroup in Zone A!"

Zim of course had no idea of the text messages sent direct recipient were also able to be monitored, but if not then it was their best bet to buy some time and get the troops moving.

With his gamble played Zero focused his best efforts on piloting the machine towards the Lake. The cut out anything that wasn't important. He event turned off the thermal blade of his Scythe until he was closer to the enemy. He kept his eyes on the radar, and the incoming messages, but paid little attention to anything else inside his chassis. He needed to trust his compatriots, and he needed to trust Black Star. Together, he hoped, they might be able to ambush the those in the Lake while they were in transit, thinking they were going to catch the battle rattled cadets. 

If anything, this highlight of the groups folly only hardened Zim's resolve.