War Core Wednesday, War Core 4, Chapter 16.

Chapter 16.

Hugh wasn’t sure what to expect. He knew the final stage of the trial was supposed to be something similar to a normal battle, but so far, the GCA hadn’t given him much in the way of details. There wasn’t even a war core anywhere aboard the escape pod he was on. When Hugh thought about the war core, the seat he was strapped into began to retract into the floor of the escape pod. When it stopped, Hugh found himself in a small supply room that would normally be used to store emergency food and water for the people on the escape pod. Instead of crates of supplies, there stood a single war core.

Please enter the war core to begin the final stage of the battle pits trial. Failure to enter within one minute will result in an automatic forfeiture and immediate termination.

Hugh only had sixty seconds to step into the machine that had caused him and countless others much pain and suffering. If things went as planned, this would be the last time that he and anyone else would have to enter the murder box that was a war core. Taking a final deep breath and enjoying the feel of his physical body one more time, Hugh climbed onto the metal slab that would connect him to the core. The war core sealed around him, and then the pain began as his body was destroyed and his mind uploaded into the core.

War core integration successful. Please stand by as you are transported to the battlefield. This battle will commence on one of the prime worlds of a GCA member species.

That was new, every other time, Hugh’s battles as a war core were on some out-of-the-way location. Many of the worlds were desolate, with the battlefield transformed into whatever suited the GCA’s fancy for that round. If what the Ssath said was correct, there were no living members of the GCA, and this world would be a good test to see if it was true. Sure, the battleground would be set apart from the rest of the world, but he would catch a glimpse as he flew toward his physical core.

Hugh had grown accustomed to the flights through space, they always fascinated him, but the shine was starting to wear off. This time, he paid much closer attention, especially when they neared the planet where the battle would take place. It could have almost been Earth, a world with large continents and vast oceans. The clouds were different though, they had an orange tinge to them, and on the ground, it must look like the place was in a perpetual state of sunset or sunrise.

He zoomed over the edge of one continent before heading out to sea. Like most areas on Earth, the coast had been densely populated, and while Hugh was too far away to make out individuals, he could see there was little movement. It gave credence to Hssim’s argument that the GCA’s living members were all gone. There didn’t appear to be any great catastrophe that had occurred here, no flood, earthquake, nuclear war, or meteor strike. From the limited view Hugh had, it looked like everyone had just up and left, with only a few automated systems still running and keeping the world functional.

Over the ocean he flew, and a large volcanic island soon appeared in the distance. The island itself seemed like something he would expect from a GCA creation. It was almost perfectly round and was dominated in the center by a volcano. Sandy beaches gave way to lush forests with vegetation not too unlike what they had in the tropics back home. The volcano appeared dormant, so he shouldn’t have to worry about an eruption. At the foot of the volcano, a wide area was devoid of vegetation and covered in black volcanic rock where nothing living would grow. Hugh wasn’t sure, but he thought that volcanic soil was usually good for plants, but this was an alien world so things might work a bit differently here.

He had hoped for a flyover of the island, but instead, he just skirted around the southern end before moving further out to sea. Hugh found himself moving toward a small flotilla of ships about a mile from the island. There was six smaller craft that looked like warships and the large vessel in the center that might have been an aircraft carrier. Hugh headed toward the carrier and when his view hit the ship, he could feel himself entering a command post.

A command post connection has been established. Your allies arrived earlier and the battle is already in progress. A briefing will now be given to bring you up to speed on the parameters of this battle as well as your individual situation.

Battle Parameters: This battle is one for the control of a critical point at the center of the island. Your forces must battle their way through the dangers in your assigned sector and then assault the final fortification at the heart of the dormant volcano. Enemies will spawn at regular intervals and assault your core, so you will need to find a balance between offense and defense. Please review the following parameters.

1. Maximum command post tier is 10.

2. All unit types are available.

3. Combat pod support is available.

4. Command post starting tier is 0.

5. Normal resource flow.

6. Additional starting structures: Barracks.

7. No pre-fight battlefield recon.

8. Starting forces consist of 6 gunboats, 1 command post carrier, and 10 infantry mechs. All forces start at tier 0.

Starting options:

Your forces have arrived late to the battle. To partially compensate for your late arrival, the hostile forces defending your landing zone have not been reinforced or upgraded since the start of the battle. You may expend your final battle upgrades at this time for various advantages. After this opportunity, you will not be able to access these upgrades until your command post reaches a tier 5.

You currently have the following upgrades.

Minor: 3. You may expend 1 minor upgrade to increase your starting forces, grant additional starting resources, or reduce the number of enemy forces guarding your landing zone.

Standard: 1. You may expend your standard upgrade to boost your core and all associated units to tier 2.

Superior: You may expend your superior upgrade to increase your core and all associated units to tier 3 as well as expand your forces for the initial assault. Initial resistance at the landing zone will be greatly reduced.

You will have 3 minutes to make your selections.

Things were happening fast. Hugh was still unsure exactly how the battle was going to progress. He was linked to the carrier as his command post and had to assault the beach, which was a new one for him. Who his enemy was hadn’t been revealed and he didn’t know what kind of numbers he would face. He could feel the ships around him, along with the infantry mechs which were inside the hull of his carrier. They were all automated units, with simple commands available. It looked like any pod-controlled mechs would have to wait until he set up a normal command post and produced some fresh units. These were all considered garrison mechs.

Hugh wanted to save at least some of the upgrades he had earned in the earlier stages of the fight. This wasn’t going to be an easy battle, and he might regret not saving something to help turn the tide later. On the other hand, he was starting late and needed to catch up to his allies if he was going to be of any help. Hugh held off on the superior upgrade, saving it and at least one of the minor upgrades for later.

The standard upgrade would push him up to tier 2, which was a huge jump and a big time saver once he got his command post up and running. He also wanted to use a minor upgrade for more starting forces. Hugh made sure to purchase that upgrade first, just to make sure they were also upgraded to tier 2 when he used the standard upgrade.

You have used 1 minor upgrade and have been granted 2 additional gunboats and another squad of infantry mechs. This perk may be selected multiple times.

The new ships appeared on the horizon speeding to join the flotilla. Inside his carrier, a production line activated and worked at a blazing speed to produce the new squad of infantry. The gunboats were small things, more like a speedboat with a machine gun mounted on a turret at the front. For tier 0, they were better than nothing, but it was a bit unnerving to have no defenses on his carrier other than the possibility of commanding his infantry to march on deck and take shots at whatever threat they found.

With the additional forces produced, Hugh used up his standard perk. His carrier began to stretch and grow another five feet in length. On the bow of the ship, a small 20mm cannon turret was built, and on the aft of the ship, a box launcher with six missiles was now mounted. His command carrier finally had firepower. The gunboats already in the water were also upgraded, the GCA using the powerful tech they possessed to make things happen in what seemed like an instant. The gunboats now featured twin .50 caliber turrets in the front, and the hull was slightly armored where before it had been a thin, vulnerable area.

The most unusual change was with the infantry mechs. As he hit tier two, the ship began to produce more infantry. If they were supposed to be his garrison force, it made sense that they would match what he normally had as a tier two command post. He should also get an additional ten for the minor upgrade he had already used. Instead of the forty infantry that he was expecting, his ship stopped producing at thirty, shorting him by ten units. When the production line started up again, Hugh didn’t feel so bad as ten tier two air mechs were produced to round out his garrison.

To make things even better his infantry now had a ride to shore. A trio of landing ships, each holding a squad of his infantry, were built. The landing ships mounted a .30 caliber machine gun for one of the mechs to operate, bolstering their firepower. His landing craft was positioned behind the carrier for protection, but Hugh could order them to land at any time. With his choices made, the system gave Hugh the final instructions.

The first stage of the battle has begun. Your small flotilla is approaching a hostile landing zone. You must defeat any nearby defenders and secure the indicated point for your command post. All your ship mechs have limited land movement capability and your command carrier will transform into the command post and barracks once you reach the designated point. Make your assault quickly, once your first unit reaches land, the countdown for a counterattack will begin.

Further instructions will be given if you survive this stage of the battle.

Good luck war core, prepare for battle.