War Core Wednesday! War Core 2, Chapter 9.

As a head's up, you may notice some discrepancies in this chapter compared to the information in earlier chapters. I've changed some of the battle parameters, with the GCA eliminating the ability to upgrade units, or build additional structures. I changed things in the previous chapters to reflect this in my manuscript, but haven't taken the time to edit the  earlier chapters here on Patreon. I've also introduced a new battle mechanic in this chapter, a new and potentially risky way for the cores to supplement their forces in a fight. I hope you enjoy this one and have a great week! 

Chapter 9.

Hugh needed to preserve some of his forces, time was critical for this battle, waiting around to rebuild his entire army after each fight was a great way to give the Ximkas a win. Time was the key to this fight, and since it took much less time to build infantry mechs than his other units, they would have to be the sacrificial lambs. Ordering his infantry to stand and fight, Hugh pulled back the rest of his forces, setting the turret defended side passage as their destination. With the infantry holding the line, it looked like his other mechs would have time to withdraw from the slavering horde.

His forces cut a bloody swath through the attacking monsters, but the sheer weight of numbers pushed them forward, heedless of their losses. Larger blasts from the main guns of the M3 and M4 mechs tore holes in the enemy ranks, but his retreating light and medium mechs were soon out of range. Just as Hugh had suspected, the goo covering the creatures’ tentacles melted anything they touched, the powerful limbs tearing apart his troops. Unable to feel fear, his infantry kept fighting until the last unit was finally dragged down.

Thankfully, the flow of reinforcing creatures had finally cut off, showing Hugh there was a limit to their numbers. The two M3 light mechs and the single M4 stalked behind the cannon turret, waiting for the attackers to enter range. During the fight, another pair of infantry mechs had joined them, but the others coming off the line were held back at the command post. It would be foolish to feed his forces into the battle one or two at a time, only to have them swallowed up by the swarm of violent creatures that were even now moving further down the canyon, their path leading them toward the command post.

Hugh had figured the creatures would follow the same pattern as the siege spheres, once any visible opposition was destroyed, they would head toward his base. The vines that had covered the side passage that the turret was defending had been shredded in the earlier fighting but were even now starting to grow back into place. Anyone paying attention would see easily enough through the gaps in vegetation, but these creatures were AI-controlled and focused on the goal of his command post. Hugh had hoped this would be the case and planned his ambush accordingly.

He let the leading elements of the horde pass by the partially obscured side passage. The enemy didn’t even glance in that direction, and Hugh let over half their number pass by before ordering his units to fire. The heavy defense turret was the largest caliber weapon in his arsenal and its first blast tore apart dozens of the creatures. Not to be outdone, his other mechs opened up, a combination of cannon, machinegun, and rifle fire shredded the strange serpent-humanoid monsters. The enemy didn’t react to the new attack very quickly, more and more of the foe falling as they raced past the side passage.

Something or someone must have finally decided they had enough and while most of the force continued toward the command post, those at the rear turned to engage his forces. Hugh set a defensive line for his mobile units well behind the turret. The turret was a fixed defense, one that he could rebuild at his leisure, preserving his mobile forces was more important. While their numbers were impressive, the enemy attacking his small force was having a hard time making headway against Hugh’s defense. The narrower side passage allowed only a limited number of attackers through at one time.

The turret had a slow rate of fire, but each blast took out over a score of the tightly packed enemy. His defenders poured fire in, grinding up the attackers who were making slow progress. As he had hoped, the attackers were focused solely on the turret once they reached it. Heavily armored, the turret withstood their initial attacks, and it would take some time for the acidic goo covering the creatures to melt through. Despite the onslaught unleashed against it, the turret continued to fire, the point-blank range making the 150mm weapon even more devastating than its longer-ranged fire had been.

Hugh’s other forces never relented, tearing apart the attackers and finally thinning the swarm down to a manageable size. The continuous damage eventually destroyed the turret, but by then only a few dozen enemies remained. His remaining forces mopped them up without any further losses. A sizeable army of creatures was still headed toward the command post, which had been reinforced by any new units coming off the assembly lines. Hugh had forty-two defensive garrison units, four infantry mechs, a light mech, and a medium mech on hand to defend his base. It should be enough, but just in case, he ordered his other forces covering the turret to launch a counterattack from the rear.

The enemy was faster, but Hugh’s forces should make it back to the command post in time to help out with the defense. On a whim, Hugh detached one of the light mechs, ordering it to take the oasis that the monsters had emerged from. It would reach the oasis before the horde reached his base, and as it marched onto the shore of the pink-tinged pond, Hugh received a very welcome system notification.

You have taken command of a critical location. This oasis will slowly generate Plenurian warriors to defend the location. You can order these forces to assault the enemy command post at any time. Once ordered to attack, the Plenurian’s will move at their best possible speed toward the enemy, stopping to engage any hostile threats on the way. Current defender count, 10.

Now that it was under his control, Hugh could see some of these strange-looking creatures lurking around the undergrowth. Apparently, these things were a species called Plenurian’s, but no further information was given. Hugh couldn’t help but wonder if this were some other spacefaring species that would join the fight against earth at some point. Sadly, his taking over the critical location didn’t stop the attacking force of monsters still heading toward his base.

The attackers slithered their way toward the command post and in the time that it took for them to arrive, another pair of infantry mechs, a light mech, and a single defensive garrison mech had been constructed. A wall of fire hit the attackers, and despite not having a huge defensive turret to assist them, the amount of outgoing weapons fire was impressive. After several minutes, the Plenurian attack began to falter, and it didn’t look like the enemy had a chance of making it into melee range this time. Once the surviving mechs from the assault force began to attack from the rear, the fight was all but over.

Hugh now had a third critical location under his control and no immediate threats to his survival. Setting the oasis as his army’s new rally point, the assault force reformed. While he wasn’t able to unlock any upgrades in this battle, but Hugh was able to build much more efficiently with the level five factories. The bottleneck had been resources, but with the enhanced resource flow upgrades, harvesting the debris field, and the occasional supply crates generated in the side passage guarded by the turret, he was making good progress.

Reshuffling his drone force. One squad was kept at the base to affect any repairs that were needed. Two were assigned to harvest the debris field, and the final two were assigned to the resource crate spawn location. One of the drones at the resource spawn point was tasked with repairing the destroyed defensive turret. The turret was a powerful unit that should do well against any of the heavy Ximkas mechs that crossed its path. Two squads at the resource crate location were more than he needed to harvest the slowly spawning crates, but at least here, they would be closer to any new locations he might conquer, making their transit time less frustrating.

Observing the oasis while his forces gathered, Hugh could see that the strange defenders of this area seemed to repopulate at a rate of one every few minutes. It would be some time before he had amassed a horde anywhere near the size of the one that attacked him, but these were essentially free units that didn’t take up any precious unit expense or resources to field. Hugh wanted a full assault force to be gathered before he pressed on, but he could feel time ticking by and the need to keep the momentum going too important to ignore.

He had the full platoon of four light mechs and both M4 medium mechs in his force, but only had twenty-seven infantry and none of the weapons teams. It would have to be enough, and since the infantry were the fastest units to construct, he might even be able to build up his forces while on the move. Ordering the assault force to attack, they began to move through the winding canyons, ever closer to the enemy that he knew was waiting out there.

This battle would have been a great place to use some scout aircraft, but the restrictive battle parameter eliminated that option for him. Sadly, the loss of an airfield also prevented him from using his Drop Beacon of the Vanquished. He also couldn’t build any additional factory structures, so if he lost one, the units it produced would be off the table. You fought with the army you had, not the army you wanted, and he could only assume the enemy was feeling the same pinch.

Hugh continued to juggle his forces, getting more comfortable with pausing certain units at times to keep the formation together. It wouldn’t do to have some forces charging ahead unsupported, and the limited command options for AI-controlled units made this entire fight a bit more labor-intensive than his others. After turning around yet another bend in the winding canyon, Hugh could see a ramp leading up to a plateau, just like the one leading from the canyon floor to his base. According to his estimation, they should only be about halfway across the battlefield and were not even close to the Ximkas base yet. Holding his assault force in place, Hugh ordered a single light mech forward to scout.

A strange sight greeted him at the top of the plateau. There, placed right in the center was a large building with what looked like some type of landing platform attached to the side. The construction style wasn’t human, but also lacked the organic-looking features that his opponent’s structures had. The system tagged this location as a critical one, but he could see no defenders as his mech crept slowly forward. A system prompt surprised Hugh as his mech neared the structure.

You have discovered a mercenary outpost. Each participant in the battle will receive merc tokens that they can spend to hire mercenary forces to supplement their own. Mercenary forces for this battle are AI-controlled and are hired from a limited pool. You must maintain control of this location to utilize the mercenary interface. Shielding protects the structure from inadvertent damage, and deliberate attacks against the outpost will be met with harsh penalties.

Each participant has been allocated 100 merc tokens, to receive these, you must control the outpost. The initial mercenary units offered for purchase will be lower level and less effective mechs, the ability and power of the units available for hire will improve over time. Once ordered, a mercenary force takes five minutes to arrive by transport. If your control over the outpost is lost during that time, the unit will return to the pool and the tokens spent to purchase them will be forfeit.

Congratulations, as the first to discover and control this outpost, you have been awarded an additional 25 tokens. While holding this outpost, your opponent’s token balance will drop by 1 every five minutes.

That was nice, he had gotten here first and had even received a small bonus for doing so. If he could somehow keep the Ximkas away from this location, he would hold the advantage. Ordering forces was going to be a gamble, given the order could be disrupted by the outpost changing hands. He also had to decide whether to order now or wait for better units to show up. It might be better to wait and see what his opponent was up to before committing to an order. A scouting run seemed to be in order, and while the light mech assigned to the task was working, he would wait for more of his forces to arrive.

While he waited, Hugh perused the available units.

1. Silrax Industries combat drones (10). These simple, level 1 combat mechs feature a quad appendage movement system and a light plasma rifle mounted on a lightly armored chassis. A low, but accurate rate of fire deals consistent damage, but their low durability can be a problem. The price per drone is 5 tokens.

2. Brektar Swarmer Bots (5). These small mechs are a one-use weapon. They will charge toward the nearest foe at a modest speed, and once in range, will detonate their reactor, dealing minor plasma blast damage in a five-foot radius. The price per swarmer bot is 5 tokens.

Not a great selection and their numbers were limited. Was it better to throw all his tokens into purchasing weaker units, or risk waiting for better ones to arrive? He would mull it over while he waited for his scouting M3 mech to make contact, something he expected would happen soon given the sounds of weapons fire in the distance.