War Core 3, Chapter 46.

Chapter 46.

Hugh took stock of what he had on hand to defend his command post with. A dozen bunkers surrounded the command post itself along with half that number of automated turrets. The turrets all mounted heavy machineguns, Hugh’s summoned turrets with their larger 75mm guns, which he received on Harmony Station, had all been destroyed in the last battle. Just over two hundred infantry mechs were online and ready to fight, with three platoons of light mechs supporting the bunkers directly. Firing pits had been dug for the main battle mechs, positioned just behind the line of bunkers, the six main battle mechs he had at his disposal could drop some serious hate on any Ssath that approached, and then duck down behind cover to protect against return fire.

The police headquarters had rebuilt their losses from the previous fight and Hugh decided to keep them where they were, defending their headquarters. They were within range of the command post, so the two forces could support each other. The automated factory was still producing units, having rebuilt fifty of their maximum capacity of sixty mechs. Like before, they positioned themselves around the command post, but would likely charge blindly forward into another orbital bombardment when the enemy arrived.

Just before the first drop pods landed, another barrage was unleashed from the fleet above, the beams pummeling the areas around many of the projected drop locations. They couldn’t have seen any human mechs there, since there weren’t any, but the Ssath were just likely playing it safe and making sure there weren’t any stealthed units waiting in ambush. It wasn’t a bad idea, but against Hugh’s defense, it was a very welcome, and wasted, effort. The Ssath in orbit were now down to three barrages, but those three still prevented Hugh from shifting his forces en mass. Out at the airport, the upgraded turrets engaged the incoming drop pods, scoring several kills before the enemy landed.

The Krixnas have renounced their neutrality and entered the conflict on the side of humanity. Be advised that the Krixnas bring 6 new Conquest Points to the campaign, raising the total pool of Conquest Points to 137.

“What’s going on with the Krixnas?” Cartwright asked.

“I don’t have any idea, but I guess since they had skin in the game, the GCA allowed them to participate in the fight. I’m not sure how it’ll work since they don’t have any war cores remaining,” Hugh said. A quick check on Mars, where the Krixnas had their new home, showed six stations orbiting the world, and around each station was a small flotilla of starships. The GCA must have given them some time to build up their forces before declaring war, otherwise, a few Ssath ships would crush newly made, low-tier stations. These were showing on Hugh’s interface as tier five stations, and each was actively producing starships.

“It won’t be much help to us for now, here comes the Ssath,” Tran said as the enemy drop pods started impacting.

The artillery positioned at the observatory got into action. Their first fire missions were to pound the impact points of the drop pods nearest the command post. Their fire devastated the Ssath mechs leaving their pods, shattering masses of infantry before they were able to disperse. The guns shifted fire from one drop pod to another but soon ran out of good targets as the Ssath spread out into the surrounding structures, preventing further mass casualties.

“Here come the heavies,” Hugh said as more drop pods emerged from the Ssath fleet. This time, there were fewer, but much larger drop pods rocketing toward the planet. So far, the initial wave consisted of mostly infantry and a few light mechs to support them, but they were about to be joined by their big brothers.

Supporting units from the Krixnas will arrive momentarily. Given that they no longer have a surviving war core, the Krixnas mechs will be AI-controlled.

Like with his Drop Beacon of the Vanquished, the drop pods containing his Krixnas allies seemingly appeared from nowhere. There were several dozen pods and all had appeared in the atmosphere, near their final landing points. Unlike his Drop Beacon of the Vanquished, the Krixnas drop pods could be targeted by the Ssath fleet in orbit. Beams lashed out, tearing apart the Krixnas force. Just over half their pods impacted, disgorging masses of the strange Krixnas infantry mechs near each of the victory points.

The Krixnas didn’t land directly on the victory points, instead, they were forced to observe the same rules as the Ssath, landing just outside the protected zone surrounding the victory points and the command post. Almost immediately, incoming bombardments from the Ssath fleet slammed into the largest concentrations of Krixnas mechs. The enemy seemed to view the Krixnas as a large enough threat to expend the last of their bombardments on them, leading Hugh to believe they had no idea these were just AI-controlled units.

“The roads are open if we need to shift forces now,” Tran said.

“Yes, but we don’t exactly have much to send yet,” Cartwright added. He was right, but if could win at one point, they could use some of those forces to support locations that were in trouble. The command post also didn’t stop production and every minute they held out, more forces could be created. Of course, the Ssath would likely do what they had done on their first attack wave, and consolidate forces as they claimed victory points.

You have lost control of the Dodger Stadium victory point. This loss will reduce your resource flow for the remainder of the battle. By taking the victory point, all damaged Ssath units in the area are automatically repaired to full operational status.

It happened about as quickly as Hugh feared, with only a few automated turrets to defend the abandoned victory points, the Ssath just walked in with minimal losses. Hugh’s other unoccupied victory points fell moments later, with only the airport holding out for a bit longer, by virtue of it having more automated turrets than the others. The forces that captured the airport were now streaming toward the Queen Mary, while the forces at the stadium and the Hollywood sign closed in on the observatory. One interesting fact in the announcement was that, unlike before, it didn’t mention anything about granting additional drop pod capacity for the next wave. Did that mean this was the final effort for the Ssath?

With the Ssath expending their bombardments to stop the Krixnas, the forces from Hugh’s automated factory were able to move out without being instantly smashed by orbital fire. They closed with the Ssath forces moving toward the command post, exchanging fire and helping to slow the enemy's advance. Artillery fire hit a few of the larger concentrations of the enemy during these skirmishes, but with the observatory being pressed hard by a huge enemy force, the artillery was soon forced to cease their supporting fire and help defend the observatory directly.

Hugh feared the jail was going to fall quickly, the Ssath had overrun the turrets and scattered bunkers that had been positioned outside the building and were pouring inside. When he shifted his view to the interior of the jail, Hugh could see the Ssath mechs weren’t making any real headway. With each cellblock being its own mini-fortress, the Ssath were being cut to pieces as they tried to eliminate the defenders who were protected by thick walls and metal bars that slowed the enemy's advance.

A block away from the jail, the platoon of main battle mechs, supported by several light mechs moved out from the ruined structures they were hiding in. Main gun rounds tore holes in the Ssath assault, while concentrated machinegun fire from the mechs raked any infantry that tried to counterattack.

More Ssath drop pods landed around the city, disgorging the medium and heavy mechs of the enemy force. A dozen medium mechs and a pair of heavy mechs approached each victory point, with double that moving to support the enemy infantry assaulting the command post. Hugh was confused when one group of heavy and medium mechs approaching the command post stopped and gathered together.

“Captain Cartwright, I’ve got a good target for the arty, can we drop some rounds on them?” Hugh asked, highlighting the grouped-up enemy force.

“Negative, sir, if I pull the artillery for a fire mission, the observatory might fall. I need them in direct fire mode for now,” Cartwright replied. The observatory was being hard pressed, and while there were only a few paths that lead to the top of the victory point, all were being swarmed by infantry and light mechs. In a few minutes, the heavies would arrive and things at the observatory would become even more strained.

“What are they doing?” Tran asked, drawing Hugh’s attention back to the group of enemy mechs that he had been trying to drop artillery fire on. The two heavy mechs latched onto each other, their mechanized bodies shifting and merging as they lay on a large open area.

“It’s like something out of an anime,” Hugh said, watching as the mechs merged, each one increasing the overall size of the construct. They finally stopped when the monstrosity had absorbed two heavy mechs, four medium mechs, and a pair of light mechs that had been in the area. A system prompt told Hugh what the new Ssath threat was.

Ssath Annihilator. While the Ssath field all manner of mech types, their largest unit is the Annihilator. Combined from up to 10 mechs of various types, the annihilator is more powerful than the sum of its parts. Requiring a massive investment in resources and command points to field, annihilators are rarely seen in combat other than for the most critical of battles.

“How do we stop that?” Cartwright asked, already pulling the artillery to engage the monster, despite the danger to the observatory.

“I don’t know, but it’s happening at each victory point,” Hugh said, watching as similar giant amalgamations took shape across the battlefield. They vaguely resembled massive versions of the T-rex heavy mechs that they had faced before, only everything was scaled up, including the weapons. In addition, each mech had two heads, both filled with row after row of chainsaw-like teeth. The light blue sheen of a shield dropped into place over each mech, granting them additional protection to supplement their thick armor.

At least the giant enemy mechs were slow, and Hugh had no idea how they were piloted. Did all the pod operators involved have to work together, or did one just take over the whole thing? For now, each of the points was holding, but once the heavier mechs of the enemy arrived, all bets were off.

The initial swarm of infantry, supported by a handful of light mechs, was proving no challenge to the command post defenders. The ring of bunkers, each fully manned, could put up an impressive amount of firepower. Supporting light mechs were quick to respond to any immediate dangers, and the main battle mechs were dominating the lightly armed and armored Ssath infantry. If the enemy could get into melee range, there was going to be a problem, but for now, the command post was secure.

An anonymous observer has funded a final upgrade for the Queen Mary victory point. All hidden features for this upgrade are now unlocked.

Looking over at the ship, Hugh could see a sheen over the vessel as nanobots coated the hull, doing whatever the GCA had programmed them to do based on the benefactor's largesse. Since the prompt had mentioned a final upgrade, Hugh believed it would be something good. He wasn’t disappointed.

“Well that’s not something you see every day,” Hugh muttered as the ship finished its upgrade. Incoming fire from the infantry and light mechs assaulting the point pinged off a newly activated shield over the ship, the distraction allowing Hugh’s forces inside the bunkers to score some kills while facing little in the way of return fire. Like firing ports on an old-fashioned sailing vessel, armored doors dropped from the port side of the Queen Mary, the side that faced the shore. The barrels of cannons emerged, and while the weapons looked small compared to the bulk of the ship, a score of 75mm guns could do some serious damage.

As the guns opened up, any nearby Ssath mechs were swept away. The overwhelming firepower stopped, then pushed back the enemy assault. Water frothed around the ship as four huge panels opened in the hull. Hugh waited for the ship to sink as the water poured in, but instead, the ship raised itself, revealing a quartet of thick legs that had emerged from where the panels had been. Unsteady, the ship seemed to take some time to find its balance. The whole while, the guns continued to pound the Ssath, but their fire was now wildly inaccurate due to the movement of the ship as it tried to step out of the water and onto the pier. With the loud creak and crack, the pier gave way under the bulk of the Queen Mary.

Wobbling, the ship was able to recover before falling over, and once again tried to emerge from the water. This time, the ship found footing on the solid concrete dockyard. Steadying itself, the ship resumed its fire, cutting swaths through the enemy infantry that were now all focused on the walking ship. The ship itself was the victory point, and if they took it down, the point was theirs. Guns continuously fired, and though their reload speed was slow, there were enough of them to keep up the rate of fire. More panels opened on the other side of the ship, revealing there were guns on both port and starboard.

With a blinding flash, twin beams struck the ship, dropping the shield around it and burning deep into the armored hull. The ship looked like it was punch drunk, swaying back and forth as whoever, or whatever was controlling it tried to get their bearings. The source of the twin beams was easy to find, they came from the mouths of the giant, two-headed Ssath annihilator that was closing in. Steam and smoke rose from the open mouths of the annihilator, and however powerful it might have been, the beam weapon didn’t seem to have a quick recharge time. The question was, how long did they have before it fired again, and would their benefactor get their act together before then?