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The worst thing about this posting had to be the swamp itself. The ancient flooded forest produced an enormous amount of methane from its decomposing base, and the smell, combined with some particularly aromatic local animal defense mechanisms was nearly enough to burn the eyes.

Despite the air being safe to breathe, most of the infantry had taken to wearing at least a cloth mask and goggles to keep down the smell and reduce the effects of the fumes on their eyes while on patrol.

While off patrol, they retreated to the mine shafts, where an air purification and radiation mitigation system had been set up to keep them safe while the construction machines reinforced the tunnels so that they wouldn’t collapse when under attack.

Max was keeping up with the state of the battle as well as he could, given the situation. There wasn’t much to go on, with reports so scattered and the Narsian efforts to disrupt their communications being so successful, but with Nico’s help, he had a pretty good satellite and radar overlay of the region, showing that there were battles moving in this direction, but they were still hundreds of kilometers away.

It was quite likely that the enemy didn’t yet know that this region was important to them, since they hadn’t had a chance to explore it yet, but that could change on short notice. There wasn’t much data about their sensory and exploration capabilities, but if they could hack launch control, there was no reason to believe that they couldn’t find a buried fuel source on a planet that they had occupied.

And so, they just waited, building a proper defensive position big enough to hold two landers’ worth of reinforcements, in case the battle turned for the worst and someone needed to retreat to their position. Max didn’t expand the position, that would stretch his units too thin. Instead, they built a second row of defenses on the hill that held the mine entrance. If they were attacked before the third wave of drops, they could retreat to the second row and rig the first one to detonate if necessary, and if they weren’t they were ready to accept a full landing force to defend the mine._.

This planet’s evolutionary path didn’t ever use hydrocarbons as fuel, so the entire swamp was rich in both coal and oil, often leaking to the surface and adding to the innate stench of the place, but that wasn’t going to attract the Narsians, as they had stopped using them centuries ago. It did give Max an idea for defense though, as the floating unrefined oils were still highly flammable and long burning. They could gather them and create ponds on the islands within the swamp, lighting them as a distraction to divert enemy troops or to mask the heat signatures of giant mecha.

The work wasn’t pleasant, even using the Comor Pattern Corvettes that had full environmental systems, but by the end of the second day, they had a half dozen pools of crude oil filled in case of emergencies. The idea was one from his memories of his past life, where a burning oilfield was used as an ambush site to eliminate an enemy force that relied heavily on thermal sight.

Nico suggested that a series of randomly place traps and explosives in the swamp would be a fun and efficient idea, but the risk that friendly troops would be the first through the area was too high. They couldn’t risk their allies being blown up as they retreated toward the unit’s position.

Their next four days went this way, while the Officers trained the troops on relevant combat techniques to use against the oversized enemies in this world, and the freshly recruited infantry slowly started to look more cohesive.

They hadn’t seen a proper battle yet, but the location was enough to make everyone put in maximum effort, not wanting to be a liability should they be attacked.

[Command to Stalwart] Third-wave has begun. Keep your sector secured, sector GA18 has been selected for attack staging.] The automated message comes up on Max’s cockpit display and he sighs. That’s their sector, and that means that more than a few Landers are coming.

That also means that they will almost certainly be redeployed somewhere more dangerous once the defense force is here, ending the relatively safe start to their first battle as a special tactics unit.

The attacking forces were in for a shock when they landed though. The swamp is a meter deep in most places with dozens of meters of peat bog underneath, built up from decayed plant life over centuries. If they weren’t careful, it was entirely possible to sink a Crusader Class Mecha over its carapace armor in the muck, and extraction would be a nightmare.

[Stalwart to Command. Copy mission update. Advise that Landers only place on verified solid ground. Swamp unsuitable for Mecha Travel.] Max sees that the message is confirmed, but doesn’t get an immediate response, not that he was expecting one.

In only a few minutes, the sky lights up with the fires of orbital drops, though this region is mostly free of anything that could harm them.

[Tarith’s Rage to Stalwart. The radar reports mass enemy movement in the zone. Recommend sending out patrols to intercept.]

She is right, they have charged right by the forces outside the swamp that they were engaged with and are coming this way. The landers will be falling on the far side of where they are now, so the entire Narsian force will have to pass by the mine to get to the targets.

Their best bet for victory is to attack the moment the lander doors open, so they are rushing to get there on time, not even stopping to scan the area, since they hadn’t noted any forces moving about in the zone, or coming through since the battle started.

[Charlie, your turn on base defense is canceled. Bravo, you get an extra shift. Alpha and Charlie squads, prepare to move out. We will be intercepting the forces coming for the landing zone.] Max calls and the unit rushes into action.

They have carefully mapped the area in the days since their landing, so they know where the deep and soft spots are, which should give them an advantage here. The alpha squad under Ari takes the left side with Tarith’s Rage reinforcing them, while Max moves Stalwart to join Vincente and Charlie Squad on the right flank.

The Narsian force is running full speed through the swamp, at least they are at first.

Then they find out about the swamp mud and the seemingly endless peat bog underneath it. Max’s radar scans show multiple groups stop, or entirely disappear in the swamp while the others slow down. Their battle armor has environmental systems, so it is unlikely that any of the giants have drowned, but the effort to pull everyone out of the mud will slow them down for a while, letting the Special Tactics Unit engage them a few at a time instead of in one cohesive wave.

Those who aren’t stuck only slow for safety, they aren’t waiting for their allies. Doing that would make them all late to arrive, which would greatly increase the casualties on their side since the Kepler Mecha would have time to prepare for their attacks.

Tarith’s Rage is the first to engage, sending a long-range blast of glowing white energy from her Ion Destroyer to obliterate the leader of a Narsian attack squad, before clanging her sword against the side of her leg, letting the sound echo through the swamp and drawing wayward attackers towards their position instead of having to chase them down to defend the zone.

Compared to her, Max’s side is not nearly as lucky. The Narsians heard the attack, and they are rushing in her direction, grouping together near where Max had Charlie Squad set up their defenses.

They have ten Plasma Cannons for the infantry, plus ten Corvette Class Mecha with heavy energy weapons. The Narsians are well defended against the energy blasts, but projectile ammunition is just too hard to replace for Max to have equipped most of the unit with them. His Battle Cannon roars as the first shell is fired, a high explosive round that throws a half dozen giants from their feet and turns the force in his direction.

They are still out of visual range, so Max continues firing, using the artillery shells to his advantage and reducing enemy numbers before they are capable of shooting back.

The plan seems to be going well until a huge explosion nearly takes Max from his feet, and topples over a number of light mecha.

[What in the world was that?] Max shouts, hoping someone has information. If that was a misdirected enemy round, they could all be in trouble. The explosion covered nearly a hundred meters.

[Artillery hit a methane pocket] Vincente reports, trying not to laugh at the accidental destruction.

The methane pockets are a common occurrence here. Max just happened to land a direct hit on a methane vent and blow one of them sky high, wiping out the enemy units, but creating a giant crater that is quickly filling with brackish water.

[Add the crater to the known obstacles list. Radar, where is my next target?] Max sighs, checking the position of the Narsian attackers.]