Vreta moved behind the bus to block off the line of sight between him and Thebes, then took his other grenade in hand. It was a “scrambler” smoke grenade which, in addition to being a visual obstruction, provided disruption to enhanced vision modes, such as EM or thermal vision. Given the prevalence of augmented vision among militaries, smoke with disrupting capabilities was the norm. He landed the grenade just outside the doorway on Knossos’ flank to block off the sightline Carthage had on him, so she would have to run outside to have any impact on the front line. Since the smoke did nothing to disrupt sound waves, Vreta could still track enemy positions through it. 

Since Kjartan had lost the apartment building, Vreta stopped trying to challenge Thebes and instead kept in cover while watching the windows and doors of the apartments. “Anyone still inside, retreat. I can cover the doors and keep them from giving chase. Our soldiers are holding the middle for now, so if we can keep Carthage and her squad trapped in that apartment building, they won’t be accomplishing much for their team. Every one of them in there is one less between us and the flag.”

Vreta’s conscious attention was now on the apartment exits, while his neural implant handled the live updates on enemy positions. “Knossos, Athena, work together to take out Thebes. If you can get smoke on him, Knossos, I can keep updating his position through it. He might not expect that. You don’t even need to get him out of cover. With me tracking his position, you only need to get him behind something Athena’s weapon can pierce through.”