War Core 4, Chapter 25.

Chapter 25.

“They’ve spotted us, take them down!” Cartwright ordered. The attack force made it all the way to the northern part of the zone and then crossed over into the serpent territory without being spotted. A random patrol had blundered into them, and it only took a few moments for the lead elements to gun down the pair of infantry mechs that had discovered their attack.

“Move fast, the other core will know we’re here,” Hugh said. They weren’t too far from the forward base now, and the scouts there still hadn’t reported any enemy forces in sight. The scouts gave a final count of garrison troops at the base, only thirteen, and then pushed south to give them some warning if an attack from the serpent core was on the way.

Cartwright led with his main battle mechs, their 75mm guns opening the fight while they were still inside the jungle. As they walked into the clearing around the base, the garrison started to open fire. Cartwright responded with their .50 caliber machineguns and another blast of the main guns. With the enemy still focused on the big threat, the light mechs charged in from the west, their operators kicking in the overdrive ability to cross the killing ground as fast as they could. Before they even reached the trench line, the last defender had fallen. Thirteen AI-controlled mechs were never going to last long against the force that Hugh had brought.

Congratulations, your forces have captured a Forward Operating Base (FOB), tier 1. At this tier, the base offers bunkers and a trench line for defending troops to utilize. This location will now start generating resources for your command post.

At the center of the base is an automated high-velocity missile system that incorporates anti-armor and anti-air capabilities. Reloads are replaced over time and do not consume any resources.

There is a cost of 250 resources to upgrade the base to tier 2. A tier 2 forward operating base will provide resources for a longer timeframe and adds a resource drop-off location. In addition, the defenses inside the base are strengthened and new structures may be added to the base for an additional cost.

Hugh had taken the place without any losses, now he just had to hold it against the inevitable counterattack. It was an investment to upgrade the place, but it might be worth it. If he could secure the FOB against the serpent core, he would win the resource race and eventually overwhelm his opponent.

“Cartwright, hold the base with what you have. The drones I sent along will start repairs for any damage our units have and then they’ll begin upgrades to the base. Zacharias, I’m going to build another ten air mechs, and send them to cover Cartwright,” Hugh ordered.

“Are we still able to expand our forces? I don’t want to leave you hanging there at the command post,” Cartwright said.

“Yes, with both forward bases feeding us resources, and what we’re gathering here and at the millipede hive, the resource flow is strong enough to build up our forces a bit. I want to flesh out your force and also build up a large one here at the command post. When the time is right. We’ll strike for the serpent core from two directions,” Hugh replied.

He was committed now to expanding his army, but how far should he go? Cartwright needed enough forces to hold the forward base, and also have the oomph to punch through when they eventually went on the offensive. A second platoon of infantry would bring them up to a hundred infantry mechs, more than enough to hold the trench line and support the heavier mechs on the attack. Ten light mechs would be good and twenty main battle mechs. An air force of ten air mechs would help against any air assaults and would round out Cartwright’s forces.

For their home zone, Hugh wanted a smaller force at his forward base, just enough to hold it, not participate in offensive action, at least not yet. To do that, a platoon of fifty infantry supported by four light mechs and two medium mechs would suffice. Adding in a flight of five air mechs would do nicely. He would also have the construction drones at both forward bases build a quartet of defense turrets and a light minefield to strengthen their defenses.

His millipede nest was a bit different. It might hold the largest salvage reserves given how huge the pile of destroyed mechs was that made up the queen’s nest. In addition, she was generating what could be considered an inexhaustible supply of resources in the form of eggs. They had to keep her alive, but the area wasn’t as conducive to defense.  It was a single tunnel leading to the nest and the resource drop-off outside the hive itself. The area of jungle that had been cleared around the hive was small, not a large killing ground like the forward bases enjoyed. He would also queue the millipede nest upgrade in between some of the unit production.

Light units would be best here, so Hugh decided on a platoon of infantry and four light mechs to make up the permanent garrison. To help in their defense, he ordered the drones on salvage duty to also start placing eggs around the hive to present a deadly minefield for any attackers. The drones weren’t that great at camouflaging the eggs, but the nearby troops would be able to cover them up with jungle debris to hide them a bit better. To round things out, Hugh had four defensive turrets built as well, two inside the tunnel itself, where they could really do some work in the narrow confines of the place, and two in the main hive to help protect the queen.

At the command post, Hugh wanted a full company of 250 infantry, 10 light mechs, 50 main battle mechs, and 20 air mechs to defend the place and provide the backbone for any offensive actions. For defending the sea, he would just have the admiral and his four patrol boats, but with the coast also protected by the trio of bunkers. Ships were expensive and Hugh didn’t want to dump too many resources into the smaller craft, and would rather save for the heavy hitters further up their tier chain. The craft he did build needed to be in top form, though, so when the drydock addon was finished, he jumped into the upgrades.

Drydock upgrade options, tier 4:

1. Aft mounted cannon. A 20mm cannon in an unarmored turret is mounted to the aft of the patrol boats, giving them extended range and firepower. The weapon is vulnerable to incoming fire. Make sure to utilize the patrol boat’s excellent maneuverability to throw off the aim of any foes. This upgrade requires 100 resources to activate.

2. Additional armor. This upgrade adds additional armor plating to the critical areas of the ship, particularly around the powerplant and weapons systems. By not armoring the entire ship, the additional weight is not excessive and will only have a negligible effect on the ship’s speed and maneuverability. The cost for this upgrade is 50 resources.

It looked like everything about the ships was expensive, but he was committed to this path. He queued the upgrades, but they would have to wait a bit as more forces were built and the critical locations improved with defenses. He forwarded his build orders to the officers, getting their input.

“Sir, we had to dodge more of those construction drones that were out on patrol, but we’re in a position to observe the western forward base. The enemy has taken it, and there is only a single defender here, but it’s a beast,” the team scouting to the west reported. Hugh was finally getting a good look at his other opponent. As he suspected, it wasn’t one of his allies.

“Does that mech look familiar to anyone? If I’m not mistaken it’s one of the D’kahn mechs that the Russian cores have been tangling with,” Hugh said.

“I can confirm, they’re nasty and powerful, but they usually only can produce a few mechs in a battle. Don’t get me wrong, a few fully upgraded D’kahn mechs can ruin an army at higher tiers,” Cartwright added.

Hugh hadn’t planned to ever face them, their territory of space was far from where the American cores were defending. Maddison did have them included in a few of the simulated battles they fought, just for variety and because the Russians had shared the data on their battles. From the monster he was seeing, the D’kahn command post had to be about tier six. It was one of the species that made figuring out the command post tier a bit easy. The size of the mech was a direct result of the command post tier, the higher the tier, the bigger the mech.

At this tier, it would be heavily armored, many times that of a main battle mech. Their armor was strange, more of a liquid metal that coated the mech instead of specific plates. You had to burn off just about all the armor from the mech before you could damage it. The liquid metal would flow from the less damaged areas to heal wherever it was being hit. Once you burned through the liquid armor, only a lightly armored exoskeleton remained. It also had a modest defensive shield at this tier. Firepower was equally impressive with each arm of the humanoid mech being a massive cannon, not to mention at least six other secondary weapons of various calibers and whatever upgrades the core had lavished on their units.

“Keep an observation post out there for now, and try to get at least some of your team to their command post. We need as much warning as we can get if any of their mechs start heading our way,” Hugh ordered.

“Watch for their construction drones, they’re armed and used for scouting,” Cartwright added.

“Roger that, sir, we’ll give you the word if they start to get frisky,” the soldier replied.

There were just about fifteen minutes left before the next attack wave. Hugh decided to leave his scouts in D’kahn territory, it might give him a good idea of how they were handling the different assaults that kept occurring. He still needed a lot more forces to reach his ideal troop levels, but for now, he just kept most of the newly produced units at the command post. Once he felt comfortable with the command post’s defense, he’d start spreading the production out.

Income wasn’t going to keep up with expenditures, so Hugh prioritized getting more construction drones produced. He needed them out there gathering resources and the ones here at the command post had barely touched the salvage fields. Instead of the salvage just outside the base, his drones had been working on the remains of the Kraken and had now moved on to the Hydra which they had stripped down nearly half of.

At the millipede nest, they needed about five more workers to maximize the harvest of the salvage inside the nest and not get in each other’s way. Each of the forward bases generated resources automatically, and also had small debris fields that could be harvested. He’d have a better idea about the forward base as the one in his territory was finishing the upgrade to tier two.

Your forward operating base has been upgraded to tier 2. A resource drop-off location has been added and new structures have been unlocked. A small headquarters building has also been constructed, unlocking the ability to produce additional structures. The natural flow of resources from the forward base has increased. Please be advised these resources are finite and will eventually become depleted.

The outer defenses have been expanded and the trench line now has overhead cover to protect from indirect fire. Hardened bunkers will replace the existing structures and will incorporate a light shield generator to improve their survivability. Weapons fired from inside the bunkers are accelerated and have both range and damage increased by 10%. The dual-purpose launcher at the center of the forward base now has a magazine holding three missiles.

To effect these changes on the forward base, a group of 5 construction drones will deploy from the headquarters building. These drones are automated and cannot be controlled by the core. They will prioritize repairs, then expansion and installation of defenses. Should one be destroyed, a replacement will be produced inside the headquarters. These replacement drones do not require any resources, but they do take a much greater time to construct.

You may upgrade your forward base to tier 3 for a cost of 500 resources. This final upgrade will greatly improve its defensive capability, resource reserves, and add additional structures for construction.

It was good news all around. The headquarters resembled an old Quonset hut from the 1940s, but it did appear to have at least some armor built into it. The AI-controlled drones walked out of the headquarters and got to work. One upgraded the launcher, incorporating the magazine into the system. He would have three missiles right away but reloads would take a while. The other four drones started on the trench line. They added reinforcements to the structure of the trench, and it was now deeper, offering better protection. Mechs that crouched down would be fully protected.

Hugh then took a look at the structures unlocked by the command post’s upgrade to tier two.

Forward operating base, tier 2.

Available structures:

1. Guard post. This structure automatically produces automated defenders for your forward base. The rate of production is slow and the units match your current infantry mechs in tier and armaments. No resources are required to produce these units, but the structure itself requires 250 resources. Further upgrades may be unlocked once this structure is built.

2. Listening post. A small structure that provides intel on any threats a short distance around the forward base. This structure requires 50 resources to construct and further upgrades may become available once this structure is completed.

Both structures were added to the production list, with the guard post taking priority over the listening post. Any free units, even AI-controlled ones, were a good deal despite the initial cost. The forward base upgrade in the serpent zone would be completed shortly and Hugh would place the same upgrades for it in the queue. He wanted to see what would happen with a tier three forward base, but he had to put a stop to the construction at some point. Once everything in the queue was built, Hugh needed to get his command post to tier five.