Deep within Team Origin's secure digital network, the figure known to the outside world only as the "Great Master" sat in silence, listening to a report from Weasel, one of the senior members of the organization's management tier.
"According to intelligence gathered from inside Lune Town, the Goodnight Project has not produced the results we expected."
Weasel paused before continuing.
"In fact, it would be more accurate to say the Goodnight Project failed at its very first step."
"At least two hundred Security Officers survived the initial explosion. Of those, more than one hundred and eighty successfully regrouped and have established a defensive position in the abandoned district on the western edge of Lune Town."
The Great Master said nothing for a moment after the report ended. He was not a man who showed his feelings easily. But even so, Weasel could hear the edge in his voice when he finally spoke, a sharpness that was not usually there.
"Has Kingston confirmed what is being reported from the front line?"
"Yes, Great Master. According to intelligence sent back by Kingston, he did receive communication signals at the command center from a significant number of surviving Security Officers on the front line."
The Great Master's shadow gave a slow, barely visible nod. "Then, combining that with the earlier intelligence Kingston sent, it seems a Security Officer on the front line discovered the devices planted throughout Lune Town, and subsequently chose to act outside of command center authority on her own judgment. Is that correct?"
"Yes, Great Master." Weasel added, "That same officer, Jenny, also arrested Taylor during the operation."
The Great Master let out a short, cold sound. "Then she is exactly as courageous and resourceful as that title suggests. Out of every possible course of action available to them, there was only one path that gave those officers any real chance of surviving the initial stage. And she found it."
He let that settle for a moment, then continued.
"I can accept that the first stage of the Goodnight Project was disrupted by an opponent who was both lucky and sharp. But what about the second stage? What happened that allowed those officers to regroup in the western ruins without a single serious interception? What exactly was Robbin doing out there?"
The Great Master was not directing his frustration at Weasel personally. Even so, as someone who spent most of her time managing networks rather than field operations, seeing her superior in this state was enough to make her feel deeply uncomfortable.
"Great Master, the truth is we have not been able to reach Robbin at all since the operation began."
"Unable." The Great Master's voice was measured and quiet. "To contact. Weasel, I need you to explain that."
Weasel understood immediately that he was wondering whether the fault lay with the communication network she maintained. She was quick to clarify. "The communication channels are completely functional on our end. The problem is with Robbin herself. Neither the team members operating under her command in Lune Town nor my own direct attempts have received any response. One minute ago, a squad leader on the front line managed to reach Robbin's personal guard unit. According to their report..."
Weasel hesitated, aware of how it was going to sound.
"Robbin was taken by an unidentified flying object."
The Great Master made a short sound. It was not quite a laugh. There were very few things in this world capable of producing that particular reaction from him.
"Taken. By an unidentified flying object. Do the people on the front line think they can send back reports like this and have anyone believe them?"
Weasel understood completely how absurd it sounded. But the intelligence had been cross-checked against multiple independent sources, and every one of them said the same thing.
That was, in many ways, the worst part of all of this. It was not simply bad news. The Great Master could handle bad news. Plans went wrong, operations failed, enemies proved more capable than expected. Those things could be analyzed, understood, and accounted for in future planning.
But receiving reports that read like a bad joke while watching an operation fall apart in real time was something else entirely. Remaining emotionally steady in that situation was something close to impossible for anyone, and the Great Master was not someone who handled being made to look foolish with any patience.
Weasel recognized the danger she was in simply by being the one delivering this information. But the situation on the front line could not be left to deteriorate on its own.
"What is certain at this point," she said carefully, "is that Robbin is genuinely missing, and command on the front line has broken down completely. I have already exceeded my authority and issued a temporary order for all squads to hold their positions and await further instruction. Great Master, do you wish to designate a new field commander, or would you prefer to direct the front line personally?"
The Great Master did not immediately answer either option.
The Goodnight Project had been built around a simple premise. Use the explosions to reduce the Security Officers to a fraction of their strength during the initial chaos, then close in and overwhelm the survivors with numbers. A scheme of that kind depends entirely on its setup. Once the setup is exposed, the scheme loses most of its value.
Right now, Team Origin had more than three hundred members deployed around Lune Town. The original plan had assumed that no more than sixty Security Officers would be able to regroup and mount any kind of resistance. A five-to-one numerical advantage would have made the final outcome a certainty.
But the numbers had shifted in a way that changed everything. Three hundred and twenty against one hundred and eighty was no longer a comfortable margin. Not when every one of those one hundred and eighty officers was an experienced professional, and not when each of their partner Pokemon had been trained for exactly this kind of high-pressure situation.
In open warfare, individual skill does not scale the same way it does in a one-on-one battle. But that did not make it irrelevant, and the Great Master was not willing to ignore what he was actually dealing with. These were not ordinary Security Officers. A straightforward assault against a prepared defensive line, held by opponents of that caliber, was not a plan. It was a gamble.
Rather than respond to either of Weasel's suggestions, the Great Master shifted the subject.
"What is Kingston's assessment?"
"Kingston says he is not prepared to withdraw yet. He was not directly responsible for what happened tonight, and he believes he is unlikely to fall under suspicion in any investigation that follows."
That was the first piece of genuinely good news the Great Master had received since the operation began.
Kingston's position within the organization was too important to put at risk. As long as he had not been exposed tonight, the losses from the rest of the operation were something the Great Master could absorb.
"Tell Kingston to handle any relevant loose ends and then go quiet. He is to wait until I contact him directly before doing anything else."
"Understood, Great Master." Weasel steadied herself before continuing. "And regarding the front line in Lune Town?"
A quiet breath. "Tell all squads to pull back. Separate routes, cross-cover withdrawal. Get them out of Lune Town as quickly as possible."
Weasel hesitated. "Great Master, are we certain we should not attempt one more push? We still have the numbers. Breaking through the Security Officers' defensive line is not impossible. If we commit to it..."
The shadow across the screen gave a slow shake of its head.
"Weasel. Do you know what the most important quality a skilled strategist needs to have?"
Weasel did not follow his line of thinking, and she had no answer ready. She shook her head.
"Knowing when a position is already lost, and being willing to cut away the dead weight before it drags down everything else."
"Our organization has been operating under pressure from the Pokemon Leagues of multiple regions for years. What we have built did not come easily. I am not going to throw away resources I cannot replace for the sake of a plan that is already finished. As someone who works closely with me, you should start thinking about problems the same way."
"Yes, Great Master. I will issue the withdrawal orders to the front line immediately." Weasel paused. "And Robbin?"
The Great Master's voice was flat. "If she is dead, that is the cleaner outcome. If she is still alive, she has a great deal to answer for."
What the Great Master did not know was that Robbin was, at that very moment, having an extremely unpleasant time.