War Core 2, Chapter 31.

Chapter 31.

“Human core known as Major Hugh Logan, I am ready to begin repairs on your units, I have assigned a squad to begin the process. I am also pleased to announce that I have gathered enough resources to begin upgrading the defense spheres as well as installing new ones,” David said. Hugh was happy to see ten of the Krixnas infantry mechs pulled from resource gathering, half working on his units and half of them working on Jiro’s

David was back up to fifty infantry mechs and the factory was working on producing more, Hugh supposed that the Krixnas core had been stockpiling resources before he began his big push to upgrade. A squad of Krixnas infantry worked on the existing defense spheres while another squad began installing new ones at the locations David had indicated earlier. Thankfully, the upgrades didn’t take long, the installation of new defense spheres looked to be a more involved process given the requirement that they must be hidden inside a disguised building.

Hugh would have preferred that David leave off on the camouflage and instead concentrate on getting the weapons installed, but it turned out the GCA had a defined template the core had to follow, one that required each new sphere hat to be built to the same standards as the others. Repairs on their mechs took some time, but the Krixnas got faster the longer they worked, learning the differences between their systems and adjusting their techniques.

“Major Hugh Logan, my forces have nearly completed repairs on your damaged units. Now that we have worked on them, I believe I can rebuild some of your destroyed units if you wish me to do so. It will deplete our resources and I will need to use several damaged units to create one functional mech,” David advised.

“That would be amazing, we want you to rebuild anything you can. I didn’t know that was even possible,” Hugh answered.

“I did not know of the possibility either, I received a notice about doing so after repairing most of your damaged mechs. The process must have triggered this new ability. I will have my workers begin the task, kindly have your commanders point out the location of your fallen mechs so we can gather all that is possible,” David told them.

“That will definitely help, but you also might want to think about also upping the total number of defenders you have,” Jiro suggested.

“I have plans to do just that, but felt the other items I have been working on will take precedence. Once all the defensive spheres are installed, I will be improving the quantity and the quality of my forces,” David advised.

“Can you prioritize our air mechs for the rebuild project? I don’t want to be left hanging if those enemy bombers come back for another round. I also want them out to scout for incoming ground forces,” Hugh asked.

“It shall be done as you request,” David replied.

“Hey Hugh,” Jiro called over their private commlink.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we can unlock the ability to repair our destroyed units in other campaigns? It would really speed up unit production if you could rebuild a destroyed unit instead of processing the resources and waiting for them to be used to create a new one at the factory, Jiro asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure going to try whenever I start a new campaign. For now, let’s get our troops dug in, with the new defensive spheres as well as some replacements, we may need to move back to defend the outer ring, or at least make some show of force out there,” Hugh suggested.

“I’ll take north again, and you take south. We only have two air mechs between us right now so having eyes at the outer ring will be important in case something slips past the air patrols,” Jiro said. Hugh’s air mechs had followed the enemy bombers, harrying them as they left the battlefield. They had completely wiped out the fighter escort and whittled down the bomber numbers to fifteen, but the cost had been high. One of his wildcats and one of Jiro’s air mechs were the only ones remaining. Jiro’s brave mech that had transformed and cut its way inside the enemy bomber had somehow survived.

“Major Hugh Logan, I just received notice that my factory is building some units that will be under your command. The interface is calling them Attached Forces. I assume this is from the same ability that you used to supply me with those medium mechs?” David asked.

“I believe so, both my core and any allied cores are supposed to get some AI-controlled units to use for each battle. Mine are kind of late, the description of the ability and the previous system comments about it led me to believe they would be available at the start of a fight, but I’ll gladly take whatever I can get,” Hugh replied.

David confirmed these units weren’t taking up any of their resources and were also constructing much faster than a normal unit would take. The first pair walked out of the large command post structure; they were Krixnas light mechs. Having fought them in his previous campaign, Hugh knew them to be formidable melee opponents, even if they suffered from inaccurate ranged weapons like the rest of the Krixnas units. Four of the light mechs were created, and Hugh decided to keep them with his avatar, they would make a good counterattack force during the battle and should also perform well as extra bodyguards for him. Any Ssath infantry trying to jump down on his avatar would meet the light mechs’ extra powerful face tentacles.

Time passed as Hugh and Jiro shuffled their forces around. Leaving a supporting force in the outer ring and strong quick reaction teams to help protect the others. His avatar patrolled the outer ring, while Jiro and his bodyguards stayed near the command post to assist if another surprise appeared. Rebuilding his destroyed units worked out well, and though David could only create one operable unit out of every three or four wrecks, his combat pod operators had no trouble reconnecting once they were back online.

Once the last of the human mechs were rebuilt, the Krixnas infantry hauled the leftover bits back to the command post. At least David would get a few points of salvage out of the deal. While the last of the defense spheres in the outer ring were being completed, David pumped out more units, bringing his total infantry up to seventy as well as creating three light mechs to help defend his command post. Hugh reviewed the updated numbers while he waited for their air mechs to report any enemy activity.

Human war core Hugh Logan, order of battle:

1. Infantry mechs (88).

2. Light mechs (5).

3. Medium mechs (6).

4. Air mechs (4).

Human war core Jiro Masaki, order of battle:

1. Infantry mechs (97).

2. Light mechs (5).

3. Air mechs (1).

Krixnas war core designated David, order of battle.

1. Infantry mechs (70).

2. Light mechs (3).

“I am sending more units out to gather salvage and as the resources come in, I plan to start on defenses for the second ring of the city. With my most recent command post upgrade, the spheres have slightly longer range and a five-second reduction in the recharge time needed between shots. My infantry and light mechs will be upgraded next and then I will begin to develop additional fixed defense types,” David advised. It seemed that his core could research upgrades in exchange for resources, making Hugh a bit jealous that he had to wait until after the battle to see what was available.

“Contact, looks like a scouting force,” Tremaine advised. His mech was making a circuit toward the east, the anticipated approach for the Ssath. Pulling up Tremaine’s viewpoint, Hugh could see several small groups of Ssath charging across the open plains and low hills of the area, heading toward the city.

“Keep them in sight and have our other air mechs cover each possible approach. After their airborne invasion stunt, I wouldn’t put it past our foe to try some other trick,” Hugh ordered.

The evacuation was moving along well, the outer ring was done, and the second ring was making good progress as a steady stream of transports walked their way to the west and, hopefully, safety. It was a slow process, and while Hugh wanted to complain about it, he could only guess how chaotic the evacuation of a human city would be, especially if the inhabitants knew that flesh-eating dinosaurs were on the way to gobble them up for lunch.

Evacuation status.

Ring 1: 100%.

Ring 2: 37%.

Ring 3: 19%.

Ring 4: 19%.

Civilian casualties 1%.

“Sir, the scouting forces are gathering into two groups, one is heading toward the northwest and one toward the southwest, I don’t think they’ve spotted my air units, we’re operating as high as we can without losing visual contact with the enemy. I’ll get you a count once the groups are finished forming,” Tremaine called out. Hugh was about to reply when a system prompt interrupted them.

The Ssath core has failed in a costly airborne assault and now is using more conventional means to assault the city. Two scouting teams are approaching and destroying them will impose a delay on the main Ssath force. You may also opt to retreat before the Ssath forces arrive, and your army will be granted additional reinforcements and upgrades before your next battle.

“So, we abandon our ally, and the GCA will reward us for it?” Jiro asked, disgust evident in his voice.

“Replacements and upgrades are important, but there’s no way I’m going to abandon the civilians for it,” Hugh replied.

“It may be the wisest course of action. I can assure you my people would not disapprove of you taking the material gain at the civilian’s expense if it meant you would be better positioned to save our entire world,” David argued. It was surprising to see him so flippant about civilian deaths, sure the Krixnas valued life differently, but if Hugh and Jiro bailed out now, David would surely be killed.

“We’re not turning tail just for an unspecified number of replacements and the promise of an upgrade. Let’s see what we’re facing before we get deeper into this discussion,” Hugh advised, imaginary fingers crossed that the scouting forces were something they could handle.

“I’ll have that for you in a second, sir,” Tremaine replied, pushing the count to all three cores once it was complete.

Ssath forces to the southwest consist of the following units.

1. Infantry mechs (45).

2. Light mechs (4).

3. Unknown class of support mech (1).

The Ssath forces to the northwest consist of the following units.

1. Infantry mechs (41).

2. Light mechs (2).

3. Unknown class of support mech (2).

Hugh pulled up Tremaine’s feed to get a look at this unknown mech type. It was another of the sauropod-looking four-legged mechs. Instead of small cannon mounted in the armored box on its back, the box-like storage was completely enclosed, hiding whatever lurked inside. It could be anything from a simple supply unit to a new form of artillery. There was also the possibility of some kind of flak unit, given the Ssath had just lost a good portion of their air mechs.

“We can take them, Hugh, I’ll go after the northwest and you take the southwest,” Jiro said excitedly. Both groups were close in size, one having fewer normal mechs but instead having an extra mystery dino.

“I agree, let’s leave some support behind for David, but still take most of our army to ambush those scouting teams. Captain Tremaine, try and find us a safe approach where they can’t get eyes on us,” Hugh ordered.

“Thank you for continuing your support, I shall continue to oversee the evacuation as well as improve on our defenses,” David replied.

After the fight, Hugh still had two medium and two light mechs supporting Jiro, and in return, he had two infantry squads. Working the numbers around, he came up with an acceptable strike force, while leaving behind some extra firepower for David in case of any surprises. Once he had his force composition, Hugh pushed the data out to the other cores as he gathered his troops and left the city. He would take a full platoon of fifty infantry, which included the two squads from Jiro. A pair of light mechs and medium mechs would join in, with Hugh’s avatar providing the heavy firepower. His Attached Forces Krixnas light mechs would also stay on as his bodyguards.

Jiro had a similar force and those that remained behind were ordered to defend David’s command center and assist in any way they could. He didn’t have a huge numerical advantage against the enemy scouting teams, but that wouldn’t be a problem if they were able to use the terrain to their advantage. An ambush should give them the edge they needed, but that would only work if Tremaine could find them a good spot to strike from. The air mechs would be his ace in the hole, a pair of them were now circling high above each group, while the others continued to look for signs of the main Ssath force. His avatar was fully repaired, all weapons were back online, and his shield was charged up. Despite the risk, Hugh was ready to jump back into the fight. Directing things from back at a command post was fine, but tearing into the enemy with your avatar’s guns blazing was more satisfying than he would have thought.