The Mech Touch
CH 196
hexapods, such a deployment made sense.
”It
’s not as bad as it looks.
” D
’Amato told him while they retreated to the inner base.
As noncombatants, they played no role in the upcoming battle, especially when the ensign still waited for a new arm.
”The Dragons of the Void are impatient for results.
They can
’t run out the clock by sieging us from a distance.
Once they commit their mechs to a full-on assault, our melee mechs will be able to hold the line.
”
They quietly waited until the first signs of danger emerged through the haze in the air.
”Are those aerial mechs? ” Ves asked with an astounded voice.
Around two squads of flying mechs buzzed around the base.
Their flight systems screamed as they strained to keep the fliers aloft.
A couple of turrets fired projectiles at them but their speed and distance along with their ECM kept them out of harm
’s way.
To all accounts, the pirate mechs behaved as if they were playing with their food.
The passes high in the air was meant to test their defenses while observing the base camp
’s exact layout.
The low-level miasma forced them to fly a little closer, but in turn it also interfered with everyone
’s targeting systems.
In the meantime, half of the defenders looked on with anticipation.
”There they go! ”
The native wildlife finally detected the delicious morsels darting in the air.
Huge flocks of hexabats converged from far away as they honed in on the heat emitted by the mechs trying to fly under 1.4 times standard gravity.
The formation in the air fell apart as thousands of hexabats gnawed at their lightly armored frames.
While their armor proved to be a little more resilient than those enjoyed by civilian transports, many of their surface components such as sensors and joints sustained a lot of damage.
Furthermore, the aerial mechs had mainly been configured as riflemen and harassers, so they lacked the melee options to throw off the hexabats.
They shot their lasers and rifles as best they could, but even as they harvested hundreds of hexabats, thousands more flocked to their constant heat build-up.
The invading force suffered a heavy blow with the loss of all of their flight squadrons.
Best of all, the defenders didn
’t even have to lift a finger.
Ves shook his head as he sympathised with the hapless pirate mechs.
”I guess it
’s safe to say they haven
’t received any intelligence of what is going on here.
”
”The Dragons of the Void haven
’t received any transmissions from base camp.
” Ensign D
’Amato nodded.
”Our investigators suspect that one of our attached mercenary vessels left behind a dead drop whenever they transitioned into FTL.
That left a trail of breadcrumbs right into the Groening System.
”
”Didn ’t you keep an eye on this kind of stuff? ”
”We did, but evidently the traitors outsmarted us.
”
In any case, the fact that the pirates only gained some coordinates and nothing else meant that they came in blind.
Their lack of knowledge concerning the habits of the hexapod life forms would come to bite them back several times.
Ves could already imagine the land-bound hexapods drawing to their heat emissions, though the expedition had already cleaned up most of the creatures in the vicinity.
The landbound pirate mechs took their time approaching the base, as constant hexapod harassment must have delayed their deployment.
Still, they came with numbers on their side.
”How many mechs are out there? ”
”Around a hundred so far, but they ’re definitely holding back. ”
The expedition could only scrape around seventy mechs that functioned well enough.
They also fielded a handful of half-crippled mechs that couldn
’t do more than stand and shoot, even if they didn
’t possess the right configuration to handle ranged weaponry.
The numbers alone highlighted the precarious state of the groundside team.
Without support from the main fleet and with depleted supplies, they lacked the depth to withstand an overwhelming assault.
To put it simply, their backs were on the wall.
”Can you lend me a gun? ” Ves asked his escort.
”Why? ”
”Just in case.
If they come for me, I won
’t go down without a fight.
”
In fact, Ves had no intention of staying aboard a sinking ship.
If the worst case scenario happened and the base had been breached, Ves intended to sneak away under stealth and survive in the wilderness with his adapted body.
However, he
’d have to leave behind Melkor to do so.
His cousin
’s Stanislaw had joined the defending mechs in huddling behind the walls, using them as cover to fire pot shots at the approaching pirate mechs.
Between the risk of getting captured and having his System robbed of his possession, Ves would rather give up his cousin.
As a noncombatant, Ves lacked the means to change the course of the ensuing battle.
No matter how much his body grew stronger, he could never match Doctor Jutland
’s display of strength.
The pirates swelled to around two-hundred mechs.
At least they came without any additional assets such as infantry or artillery.
Still, as kings of the battlefield, mechs alone operated well-enough on their own.
No one spoke a word.
Everyone waited with baited breath for the pirates to make their move.
This time, the pirate mechs came in a dizzying array of colors and symbols.
Like House Kaine, the Dragons of the Void enlisted other groups to fill up their ranks.
The lack of unity among the pirates could serve as a weak point.
A brilliant-looking swordsman mech in black stepped forward.
Its sleek black coating had been decorated with a pair of coiling red dragons.
It wielded a slim but high-quality mech duelling sword that looked perfect for swift, aggressive strikes.
The loudspeakers of the elite mech bellowed out the terms of the pirate commander.
”I am Jaded Serpent.
In the name of the Dragons of the Void, I lay claim to your lives and your possessions! We have gained complete orbital supremacy.
There will be no help coming for your rescue.
I will only say this once.
Shut off your mechs and lock down your turrets!
”
Captain Kaine
’s Cathrec stepped up above the wall and faced Jaded Serpent
’s mech.
She gave a simple reply to the pirate commander
’s demands.
”Get lost!
”
Her reply firmed up their resolve.
Even Ves felt an irrational sense of pride at the thought of resisting the pirates with his comrades in the expedition.
He held his borrowed laser pistol with a tightening grip, though he quickly regained his cool.
The dragon mech reacted swiftly to the course reply by stretching out its sword.
”Commence the attack!
”
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