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Max watched in appreciation as the pilots got ready for action, powering up their mecha and double-checking the weapons functions as they moved into position for deployment. They are all intensely focused, and he can’t see any real errors or problems with their training as they form a column to move out.

[Four minutes fifteen seconds. Not bad, but you can do better.] Nico calls over the intercom, eliciting a few soft laughs from the other unit commanders.

Five minutes is the standard for most units, three is the standard for Special Forces. The fact that they were actually ready in under five minutes for a surprise deployment took most of their commanders by surprise, but it stands as a testament to their dedication to wiping the invaders off the face of this human-colonized planet.

[Everyone move. Double time to the meeting point. We still have a patrol squad in the immediate vicinity and they won’t remain undetected forever.] Max orders, leading the column with Nico moving Tarith’s Rage to his right side.

She has a combat shield in her mecha’s gauntlet, with her sword hung from the hooks on her torso armor. Even after the mecha was repainted to the new color scheme, the chains and razor wire remained. With the red and bone white paint a bit scorched and splattered with swamp filth, the combination gives the ten-meter-tall mecha a menacing aura, which somehow feels more at home here than the other Crusader Class Units, who clearly look like interlopers.

While Max picked Red and Bone as his unit’s colors, the rank and file mecha of the 43rd Mechanized are all drab green with yellow accents. In a forest, they should look like part of the scenery, but somehow the black bark of the trees, and the odd teal green of the leaves just highlight the fact that these units were painted to blend into a different world.

Stealth was never going to be an option, moving dozens of giant mecha through the swamp, so instead, they go for a high rate of movement. None of the Special Tactics Units Mecha are with them, though they will be meeting up with the Alpha squad in just a few minutes, so Max decides to teach the new pilots an old trick._.

[I need two Corvette Class Pilots forward. Grab a long branch, at least your mecha’s height, and move in front of the column.] Max instructs, and two of the Lieutenants hurry to comply.

[Move thirty meters out front and probe the swamp with every step using the sticks. If you find a deep spot, spread left and right and find us a better path so we don’t have to slow down.] Max orders and the two agile light mecha dart out ahead to begin their scouting duty.

That saves them the need to be extra cautious of their footsteps since the route has already been checked. There shouldn’t be too many deep spots in the swamp, and much of it looks like land until you try to step on it with a mecha, but they’re in a hurry and don’t need to be spending time fishing pilots out of holes. This side wasn’t a high priority for artillery, but it did receive some outgoing fire.

[Contact, 10 o’clock.] Nico calls and Max turns to engage but doesn’t see anything on his radar or thermal scans.

[What do you see Nico?] He asks, confused before the Ion Destroyer on Tarith’s Rage begins vaporizing swamp water.

The moment the first round hits the water, a group of Narsian scouts jumps up and begins to fire back, their purple energy weapons a stark contrast against the blue and white of the Kepler units.

They are wearing some sort of flexible body suit that hides their thermal signature, so they didn’t show up on any of Max’s sensors until they stood up and made themselves a moving target above the water. They weren’t even showing any sort of energy signature.

[Good find Tarith’s Rage. How did you do that?] One of the other Crusader pilots, in a unit named Jericho with a Heavy Laser Cannon and a gauntlet, asks, watching the light mecha verify that the scouts are indeed dead.

[Call it a woman’s intuition, Jericho. Do you remember how your mom used to catch you sneaking cookies? It’s just like that.] Nico informs him in a smug tone.

[How did you know about that?] The pilot gasps and the comms fill with soft laughter.

[Man, everyone’s mom caught them stealing cookies. Even guys without moms were caught by a babysitter or neighborhood auntie. It’s just a fact of life. But I’m guessing she actually used a System Skill.] One of the other mecha teases the naive pilot of the Jericho.

[A sensory skill as your fifty-point upgrade? That’s just not fair.] One of the pilots, who Stalwart’s display tags as being in a light mecha, complains.

[No, my fifty-point reward was a repair-related System Skill, and it comes in really handy in a prolonged battle. I’m over two hundred points of bonus stats now. Just like you will be by the time you go home.] Nico informs the young man, who clearly forgot who he was talking to.

[One day for sure, Major. I’ll just have to wait. I only got my first step bonus just last year after all.] He agrees and Max sighs, looking through the pilot’s profile.

He’s Gamma Ranked for system compatibility, as expected of a Line Mecha Pilot, but back on Kepler Terminus, fifty points was the goal for the first years at their academy, since progress slows down so much afterward, with a hundred points being the goal before graduation for the light mecha pilots.

Since the stats are based on a standardized average human, that really shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish, but it is becoming clear that not all planets view things the same way.

[Friendly Mecha sighted.] The two corvette class scouts call in unison a few minutes later, alerting the mecha of Alpha company to their presence, which signals them all to stand up and join the incoming force.

[Here’s what we have found out about the enemy position. They are settled in, but the only defenses that they have built are the heavy weapons emplacements. Trenches and Foxholes aren’t really feasible in the swamp after all, but they have a dozen heavy plasma cannons, evenly spaced around the base, at the positions that I’ve indicated.

[Good work, Bulwark.] Max commends Ari by the name of her Ion Destroyer equipped Mecha.

She must have gotten caught on a low-hanging branch, because the curved top carapace armor has a rather sizeable tree draped across it, and it doesn’t look intentional. It does make for fairly decent camouflage though, and she isn’t in a hurry to dislodge it.

[Battle Cannon mecha, stay here and take up artillery positions, Bulwark you take the left flank with half the force, and Tarith’s Rage will take the right. Stop once you get a good line of sight. The Narsian plasma is decent, but their true strength lies in close combat. Get as many of them down as you can before they close the distance.] Max orders and the column smoothly split.

Everyone has a preferred wingman, so the Crusaders move by pairs, while the Light Mecha split off a unit at a time.

Kepler’s battle strategy isn’t big on heroic charges and individual heroism, so as long as the intelligence was correct they should outnumber the enemy force. The artillery will soften the target and move them to hiding spots, then the main force will move in and clear them out.

Simple, Safe, and Efficient. At least that’s the plan.

Nico feeds live orbital scans to the unit, showing everyone with Battle Cannons, the only weapon they have available that is capable of indirect fire, where they should start their barrage, and the mecha begin to pick their targets.

[Begin bombardment, everyone move out.]

Max’s order begins a thunderous roar of artillery shells being hurled into the air while two large units of mecha spread out to prevent the enemy from fleeing.

Even from kilometers away Max can hear the shouting and screams as the first shells land, proving that they are right on target. If they hadn’t heard the mecha coming already, they know about it now, and Max can see the lights of energy weapon fire in the distance, making the low-hanging fog glow in the dim light under the forest canopy.

[Spread and encircle.] Nico orders, signaling that the Heavy Mecha have reached the target, so Max orders the bombardment to stop.

[Artillery, move forward, and engage. Fill any weak points in the encirclement.]

The battle seems to be going well, at least on their side, and Max doesn’t see any major damage to the mecha of the Special Tactics unit as he advances, leading the long-ranged mecha into combat. But the reason why soon becomes clear. The battle is about to turn ugly.

What they thought was a standard Portal opening is actually a Narsian Special Forces unit, kitted for close combat with extra heavy armor. They must be the ones that sent the scouts that the unit encountered earlier, and they were expecting company.

As the mecha move to encircle the camp, Max spots stealthy giants moving around well outside the perimeter getting ready for an ambush.

[Check your backs everyone, Narsian Special Forces outside the camp.] Max sends the order just as the battle cries of the giants begin. The sound is more like an animal’s roar than any coherent speech, and it is met by the barking report of light mecha firing at the charging heavy infantry.