War Core Wednesday, War Core 3, Chapter 19.

Chapter 19.

“Nothing, sir, I don’t think there’s an interface here,” Marthman said. They had dug through the quickly disintegrating spider webs, and it was apparent that there wasn’t a logistics interface to be found in this compartment. Hugh knew they had to run into one sooner or later, but would they find it before all their mechs were worn down by the constant combat? Hugh thought about backtracking to see if they had missed something, but when they started heading in the wrong direction, a warning prompt appeared.

Please be aware that portions of the trial that you have already completed will become cut off as time passes. If you are not moving forward in the trial, you risk the chance of being sealed off from your objectives. If you are sealed off, the trapped units will be decommissioned, and their operators terminated. Should the core become trapped, the core, and all units under its command, will be terminated.

“We push forward, keep an eye out for Ssath, there’s only one way out of this compartment, and it looks like that’s where the Ssath came from,” Hugh said. The others had also received the same system warning, so they all understood the situation and the need to pick up the pace.

The terrain was pretty much the same, a solid, metal-walled corridor that led to another open hatchway. Dalven moved forward to investigate, and after peeking inside, waved the others on. Inside, Hugh saw the signs of battle, two Ssath infantry mechs were down, their metal structure dissolved by acidic spider venom. Around the chamber were the smashed remains of at least a dozen of the smaller spider mechs. The walls in this compartment were indented to match the shape of a Ssath mech. The Ssath had started in this compartment, but whether they were AI-controlled units cooked up by the GCA for the trial, or actual combat pod-controlled units, Hugh had no idea. As the last of them entered the compartment, another system prompt triggered.

You have completed the training familiarization objective. Proceed forward to receive your rewards and prepare for the main trial.

“Rewards sound good, but I suppose we shouldn’t let our guard down just yet,” Marthman said.

The short passage led to a modest-sized chamber with the very welcome presence of a logistics interface. Indentations that matched the shape of the human, Yaelar, and Ssath mechs lined three of the walls, but Hugh told them not to mess with anything yet, at least until he had a chance to check out the logistics interface. As Hugh approached the interface, it recognized his presence, granting him the rewards they had been promised. There were four small metal cubes that the system identified when Hugh concentrated on them.

Upgrade access key. Use these keys in any compatible upgrade access point to improve your mech to the next tier. This upgrade will also repair any existing damage and fill empty ammunition hoppers.

“I assume these are supposed to work with the indentation in the wall, look for a slot on them that matches the cubes. Supposedly, they’ll upgrade and repair our mechs,” Hugh said. Private Burnette didn’t hesitate, walking toward the nearest human mech-shaped indentation, they saw a small, square shape light up next to it as he approached. The private placed the cube against the glowing square, which caused the entire indentation to light up.

“Should I try it?” Burnette asked.

“Better you than Major Logan,” Marthman answered. He hated using one of his men as what was essentially a test subject, but Marthman was correct. If this was some trap, only the private would be affected, but if the trap sprung and destroyed Hugh’s mech, they would all be taken out.

As Burnette backed into the indentation, it seemed to suck his mech in, holding it in place like a giant magnet. His mech started to glow as more of the nanobots were released to crawl over the mech and do whatever it was they did. Comms were cut off from the private during the transformation, but from what Hugh could see, nothing bad was happening to Burnette. After about thirty seconds the light behind the indentation dimmed and the Burnette stepped out, a bit wobbly but better off than he had been before the upgrade.

“It worked, nice upgrade, too. The mech’s upgrades aren’t bad, and the ammo was topped off as well. The rifle’s magazine holds 250 rounds,” Burnette said.

“Everyone in, let’s get our upgrades and see what we can get with the logistics interface,” Hugh ordered, moving toward the nearest indentation and placing his access key in place. Like with Burnette, Hugh felt his mech lock into place as the nanobots covered him.

War Core Status.

Hugh Logan, Tier 2 Bipedal Mech Avatar.

Functionality: 100%.

Offensive Capabilities:

1. Plasma Beam Generator, Tier 3. Power reserve, 100%

2. Melee Attack, bludgeoning damage, Tier 1.

Defenses:

Armor: 0.

Your mech agility and speed have increased by 15%, chassis strength has improved by 10%, and ranged weapons accuracy is improved by 5%.

At Tier 2, your mech has unlocked an integrated internal weapon. This weapon is shoulder-mounted and generates a beam of plasma that will melt through even the hardest armor of your foes. An internal power supply for the weapon is included, and its energy will slowly recharge itself from your main power source.

It was a nice upgrade and the first beam weapon that Hugh had seen for a human mech. Of course, the mechs they were driving now weren’t exactly like the human mechs his men took into their other battles. These looked almost like an organic metal version of a human, while the others he used were more robotic in their appearance, and also clumsier in operation. These moved fluid like a human would.

An overlay snapped into view, allowing him to target his new weapon. It would track and engage any designated target autonomously, leaving Hugh free to direct the overall battle. He would only need to dedicate a few moments of his attention when changing targets. Hugh had no idea how powerful the weapon would be, or how long the power supply would last. He didn’t want to risk damaging anything in this compartment, but once they made it out, he would have to take the weapon for a test drive. The others finished their upgrades, Hugh pulling up a basic update on their improvements before diving into the logistics interface.

Mech H001, Sergeant Marthman. Tier 1.

Functionality: 100%

Armaments: Plasma Rifle with 250 rounds of ammunition.

Armor: 0.

Mech H002, Private Burnette. Tier 1.

Functionality: 100%

Armaments: Plasma Rifle with 250 rounds of ammunition.

Armor: 0.

Mech Y001, Pack Monitor Dalven. Tier 1.

Functionality: 100%.

Armaments:

1. Plasma pistol with 100 rounds of ammunition.

2. Power Claws: 10% enhancement.

Armor: 10%.

The upgrade had given them all weapons to suit their preferences. Hugh wouldn’t have to scrounge around or have his men hit stuff with broken spider legs any longer. Both his human mechs had rifles, and the Yaelar had the familiar over-the-shoulder pistol mount. Pack Monitor Dalven’s lower caliber weapon and smaller ammo capacity were offset by the Yaelar’s deadly claws. It was also the only mech to be granted some armor.

“Dalven, how do the claw enhancements work?” Hugh asked, curious over what the ability was. Dalven looked hesitant at first, likely not wanting to give up some kind of secret to the human commander.

“It empowers the claw when it hits a target, using the same plasma energy our weapons use to burn into our victim. Our claws can be used without enhancement, but with it, I can take on more heavily armored foes,” Dalven replied.

“Thank you, I just want to know how to best use our resources so we can all get out of here,” Hugh said. Nobody had any other questions, so Hugh activated the logistics interface.

Available Items Categories:

1. Consumables.

2. Weapons Upgrades.

3. Defensive Upgrades.

4. Locked.

5. Locked.

Interestingly, two of the categories were locked, which implied that he would have a way to unlock them at a higher tier. Focussing on what he could access, Hugh dug into consumables, finding it offered about what he expected.

Consumables:

1. Ammunition: A limited replenishment cube for any weapon system, 1 requisition point.

2. Repair kit: Each kit is a single-use item that provides basic repairs to any mech type, 5 requisition points.

3. Armor kit: Each armor kit provides replenishment of your liquid external armor, 5 requisition points.

4. Locked.

5. Locked.

Weapons Upgrades:

Please note that all weapons upgrades improve when the tier of the mech increases.

1. Heavy Plasma Rifle. Upgrade the standard plasma rifle with one chambered in a heavier caliber that is effective against both soft and armored targets. The system comes with an extended range and tracking interface suite. This upgrade requires 25 requisition points.

2. External Launcher System. This system fires short to medium range support projectiles. This upgrade requires 50 requisition points.

3. Heavy Launcher System. This system allows for the mounting of long-range and anti-air missiles. This upgrade requires 75 requisition points. Note that only one launcher system may be present on each mech.

4. Locked.

5. Locked.

Defensive Upgrades:

1. Reactive Armor Panels. This upgrade secures reactive armor panels to your mech which release a low-powered energy burst to reduce incoming damage from any plasma-based weapon. Expended panels will recharge over time, but until they do so, the mech will be left vulnerable in that area. This upgrade requires 25 requisition points.

2. Defensive Shielding: This upgrade secures a shield generator to the mech, allowing it to deflect incoming damage until the system is depleted. A depleted shield will recharge over time, and it will not reform until it reaches a 25% charge level. This upgrade requires 50 requisition points.

3. ECM Projector: Upgrades the mech with countermeasures to make targeting and tracking the mech more difficult. This upgrade requires 50 requisition points.

4. Locked.

5. Locked.

There wasn’t anything shocking with the upgrades, but Hugh’s curiosity was piqued at what might be lurking behind the locked sections of each upgrade category. He needed additional insight from his soldiers before making any choices. It took a bit of fiddling, but he was able to push the lists over to each mech.

“Take a look, let me know what you think about upgrades. We could stock up on consumables or save up for more substantial upgrades,” Hugh asked.

“I want all these upgrades, how many of these requisition points do we have to play with?” Private Burnette asked.

“I’m sitting at forty-two right now,” Hugh answered.

“I don’t know what to think, the upgrades you sent over aren’t compatible with my mech. Wait, okay, I just received a notice that you select an upgrade for me, the one you selected would be changed to something appropriate for a Yaelar unit,” Dalven said.

“That’s not good, you’d think they would at least tell us that it will do for you before I dump resources into it, but I suppose we can’t complain too much. At least the system is letting a human core purchase upgrades for you,” Hugh said.

“True, and while any upgrade would be appreciated, we should perhaps secure consumables to effect emergency repairs and replenish our ammunition. We have no idea how long it will be before another logistics interface will be provided,” Dalven said.

“I agree with Dalven, but only to a limited extent. Let’s stock up on some consumables but keep some of our requisition points in the bank for upgrades. We don’t want to get further in this combat trial thing and find our mechs our outclassed and outgunned by the enemy,” Sergeant Marthman offered.

“I think we need to make sure that we survive the next stage. Once we have a better feel for how the combat trial works, we can see about saving up for some upgrades, but for now, I think we need to make sure we all stay alive and in the fight.  First off, let me buy one of these ammo replenishment cubes and see how many rounds we get for one requisition point. Hopefully, it’s not a one-for-one rate of exchange,” Hugh said.

He purchased a single ammo replenishment cube from the interface, the small compartment under the panel opened, and inside there was a metal cube about the size of his fist. When Hugh concentrated on it, it told him it was compatible with his new internal beam weapon, and it would instantly recharge 5% of its power. Trying it on the other weapons showed it would replenish ten rounds of pistol ammo or twenty-five for the rifles.

In the end, Hugh purchased a repair kit as well as five ammo cubes for each mech. It turned out that their mechs had an external storage attachment ability that allowed them to attach the cubes to their chest. Each mech now looked like it had a bandolier of cubes across its chest. They could carry up to ten of either the repair or armor kits and twenty of the ammo replenishment cubes. He was left with only two requisition points when all was said and done, but he felt a bit more confident when a new doorway opened and the GCA announced the next stage of their trial.

Please proceed out of the training familiarization zone. To complete the next stage of your Combat Trial, proceed to the indicated objective. Beware, several threats and challenges await you. In addition, there is an optional objective you may complete for a chance at special rewards and upgrades.

As creepy and dangerous as the spider mechs were, it seems they were only the warmup. Hugh and his soldiers were about to face the real test.